With just one month to go before Cambodia submits an application for World Heritage listing for another of its magnificent temples, an ongoing border dispute with Thailand threatens to undermine the process.Presenter: Bo Hill Speakers:Srisakra Vallibhotama, anthropologist and archaeologist, Lek Prapai Foundation; Tharapong Srisuchat, director archaeology, Thailand Ministry of Culture
(MUSIC)HILL: Built more than 800 years ago, the Preah Vihear temple has been a destination for pilgrims of many faiths. It sits on a mountain straddling Cambodia and Thailand, and although lesser known, it's by no means less spectacular then Cambodia's tourist-drawcard, Angkor Wat. Professor Srisakra Vallibhotama is a Thai archaeologist and anthropologist. He says while the Preah Vihear temple is a wonder in itself, the mountain and surrounds are also significant.VALLIBHOTAMA: The temple was constructed by the King of Cambodia but when we review the history, that area is the sacred site where the spirit of the mountain resides and the people from both lowland and highland went up to pay homage.HILL As well as its significance to pilgrims, the Preah Vihear temple is also part of an ongoing dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, which Professor Srisakra says dates back to its status during French occupation: VALLIBHOTAMA: That place is no mans land. It belongs to neither Cambodia or Thai. Because the border was created by the colonial period, the border created by the French.HILL: The International Court of Justice recognised Cambodian claims over the temple in 1962, a decision Thailand accepted. In recent years, however, Cambodia's unilateral efforts to have the temple and surrounds World Heritage listed, have caused concern in Bangkok. Thailand says maps drawn by Cambodian officials show a border encroaching on Thai territory. Some revisions were made, and last year the dispute was supposedly settled at senior government level. But it resurfaced earlier this year, when the Thai Defence Ministry again accused Cambodia of misrepresenting the temple border -- putting World Heritage status efforts in limbo. Tharapong Srisuchat, the director of Thailand's Ministry of Culture's archaeology department, says Bangkok doesn't oppose Cambodia's efforts to have the temple World Heritage listed, as long as it's done fairly: SRISUCHAT: By policy of Thai government we support that temple Preah Vihear be the World Heritage, Thai government support it. But we have to investigate about the how to management that area.HILL: The management of the border, and how it's represented on a map, will be a key part of a submission to the United Nation's Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation's assessment next month. Local Thai media reported this week of further speculation in Bangkok about the accuracy of Cambodia's map. Professor Srisakra Vallibhotama says things would be easier if Cambodia and Thailand were working together.VALLIBHOTAMA: We should join forces in order to make the temple be World Heritage. But if we settle in this matter we can talk about how we can compromise in terms of - we need to look at the temple, not only the temple but we must include the surroundings, because the temple itself is located in the centre of the community. And that area, the whole area, doesn't belong... become a no mans land that UNESCO can manage for the benefit of both sides.
by ABC Australia
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Chunghwa Telecom Plans To Launch Telecom Services In Cambodia
HANOI -(Dow Jones)- Chunghwa Telecom Co. (CHT) plans to cooperate with Vietnamese operator Viettel to offer telecommunications services in Cambodia, Chairman and Chief Executive Ho Chen Tan said Thursday.
"Chunghwa Telecom is working with Viettel to offer telecom services in Cambodia," Ho Chen told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview on a sidelines of a telecom conference in Hanoi.
Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's largest phone company, has been looking overseas for growth, and has a 30% stake in an Internet data storage joint venture with Viettel, Vietnam's largest mobile operator by subscribers.
Viettel, which is run by the Ministry of Defense, is the only Vietnamese telecom company to have received permission to operate telecom services in Cambodia.
Ho Chen also said the company plans to finalize a plan to reduce capital by issuing new shares from the company's capital surplus and will submit a plan to the board by the end of June. He didn't elaborate on the size of the planned capital reduction.
-By Nguyen Pham Muoi and Alex Pevzner, Dow Jones Newswires; 8862-2502-2557; alex.pevzner@dowjones.com
"Chunghwa Telecom is working with Viettel to offer telecom services in Cambodia," Ho Chen told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview on a sidelines of a telecom conference in Hanoi.
Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's largest phone company, has been looking overseas for growth, and has a 30% stake in an Internet data storage joint venture with Viettel, Vietnam's largest mobile operator by subscribers.
Viettel, which is run by the Ministry of Defense, is the only Vietnamese telecom company to have received permission to operate telecom services in Cambodia.
Ho Chen also said the company plans to finalize a plan to reduce capital by issuing new shares from the company's capital surplus and will submit a plan to the board by the end of June. He didn't elaborate on the size of the planned capital reduction.
-By Nguyen Pham Muoi and Alex Pevzner, Dow Jones Newswires; 8862-2502-2557; alex.pevzner@dowjones.com
Cambodian children march against child labour
Cambodian school children have taken to the streets to mark World Against Child Labour Day, calling for parents to send their kids to school, rather than forcing them to work.
About 500 children marched through the capital carrying placards and banners with slogans such as "Work is not necessary for children, but schooling is," and "Child labour is unjust for children".
The demonstration was organised by the International Labour Organisation with the Cambodian Government.
One of the marchers, 15-year-old student Roeun Ra, said his parents used to make him work by scavenging through garbage.
"Many of my friends cannot go to school because their parents ask them to work for money," the boy said.
The World Bank said that last year about 1.5 million Cambodians under the age of 14 were forced to work, often in hazardous conditions.
Chey Chab, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Education, told marchers the Government was working to prevent the children from being exploited.
"Children are like bamboo shoots and are the [future] strong force for the country," he said in a speech, calling on all people to "take care, protect, and think of the interest of children".
Following years of civil unrest and Government mismanagement, Cambodia remains mired in poverty, with more than 30 per cent of its 14 million people living on less than 50 US cents per day.
by APF
http://www.abc.net.au
About 500 children marched through the capital carrying placards and banners with slogans such as "Work is not necessary for children, but schooling is," and "Child labour is unjust for children".
The demonstration was organised by the International Labour Organisation with the Cambodian Government.
One of the marchers, 15-year-old student Roeun Ra, said his parents used to make him work by scavenging through garbage.
"Many of my friends cannot go to school because their parents ask them to work for money," the boy said.
The World Bank said that last year about 1.5 million Cambodians under the age of 14 were forced to work, often in hazardous conditions.
Chey Chab, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Education, told marchers the Government was working to prevent the children from being exploited.
"Children are like bamboo shoots and are the [future] strong force for the country," he said in a speech, calling on all people to "take care, protect, and think of the interest of children".
Following years of civil unrest and Government mismanagement, Cambodia remains mired in poverty, with more than 30 per cent of its 14 million people living on less than 50 US cents per day.
by APF
http://www.abc.net.au
Borderguards detain two Cambodia-flagged crabbers within Russia's zone in the Bering Sea
PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, June 12 (Itar-Tass) - Borderguards have detained two Cambodia-flagged crabbers within Russia's exclusive economic zone in the Bering Sea, an official in the public relations group of the Northeastern coast guard department of the Federal Security Service told Itar-Tass on Thursday.
The fishing schooner Nereus-2 under the flag of Cambodia was spotted by the border guarding ship Bars (panther) in its patrolling area. The skipper of the boat defied the borderguards' demand to take an inspection party on board and made an attempt to shake off the pursuers. The border guards succeeded in detaining the boat after a brief pursuit.
The schooner's crew consists of 11 Russians, five Indonesians, and two Koreans. The boat is equipped to catch and transport live crabs. The boat lacked permission for crab fishing. The boat has been arrested and all documentation has been confiscated.
The other refrigerated fish transport Cea-1 was in Russian waters without identification marks. Following the boat's detention, the skipper said it was registered at the port of Phnom Penh and operated under Cambodia's flag. All the crewmembers are citizens of the Russian Federation.
The borderguards found about 86 tonnes of crabs in the boat's holds. The boat lacked permission for crab fishing operations and did not maintain any documentation.
Both vessels are being escorted to the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky for an inquiry.
by ITAR-TASS
http://www.itar-tass.com
The fishing schooner Nereus-2 under the flag of Cambodia was spotted by the border guarding ship Bars (panther) in its patrolling area. The skipper of the boat defied the borderguards' demand to take an inspection party on board and made an attempt to shake off the pursuers. The border guards succeeded in detaining the boat after a brief pursuit.
The schooner's crew consists of 11 Russians, five Indonesians, and two Koreans. The boat is equipped to catch and transport live crabs. The boat lacked permission for crab fishing. The boat has been arrested and all documentation has been confiscated.
The other refrigerated fish transport Cea-1 was in Russian waters without identification marks. Following the boat's detention, the skipper said it was registered at the port of Phnom Penh and operated under Cambodia's flag. All the crewmembers are citizens of the Russian Federation.
The borderguards found about 86 tonnes of crabs in the boat's holds. The boat lacked permission for crab fishing operations and did not maintain any documentation.
Both vessels are being escorted to the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky for an inquiry.
by ITAR-TASS
http://www.itar-tass.com
Cambodia Intimidates Media, Opposition Before Vote, Groups Say
June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Cambodia's government, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, is using the justice system to intimidate journalists and the opposition before next month's general elections, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.
Dam Sith, a candidate of the Sam Rainsy Party and editor of the Khmer Conscience newspaper, was arrested for questioning the role of Hor Namhong, the foreign minister, during the rule of the Khmer Rouge movement, the groups said in a statement.
The arrest ``demonstrates how the criminal justice system is used and abused to silence government critics,'' said Brittis Edman, a researcher at London-based Amnesty. It ``sends a message of fear to journalists and other media workers in the lead-up to national elections.''
The ruling Cambodian People's Party will repeat its victory of 2003 when elections are held July 27 in the South Asian country of 14 million people, Hun Sen said earlier this week. Sam Rainsy spent a year in exile in France from February 2005, during which he was jailed for 18 months in absentia for defaming the prime minister.
Cambodia's economy expanded 9.6 percent in 2007, after growing by at least 10 percent during the previous three years, according to data compiled by the World Bank.
Hun Sen wants to develop oil and mineral resources to attract international investment and reduce Cambodia's dependence on clothing exports and tourism for growth. About a third of the population live on less than 50 cents a day and 90 percent live in rural areas.
Intimidation Pattern
Dam Sith's arrest is part of a pattern of intimidation against the opposition and independent media in the run-up to the election, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.
On May 21, Hun Sen threatened the independent Beehive radio station after it broadcast programming from opposition parties, according to the groups. A week later, independent radio station Angkor Ratha had its license, issued less than six months earlier, revoked after it sold air time to opposition parties, the groups said.
Hun Sen said his party may win two-thirds of seats in the 123-member parliament, the Mekong Times reported yesterday.
The party will probably win at least 81 seats, up from 73, and receive 73 percent of the vote versus 64 percent in the 2003 election, the Phnom Penh-based English-language daily cited him as saying. The Sam Rainsy Party won 24 seats in the last ballot.
Hun Sen formed a coalition government in July 2004 with the royalist Funcinpec party, which won 26 seats in 2003.
Opposition Members
Dam Sith, who is running for election in Phnom Penh, was arrested as Hun Sen's CPP presses opposition members to join the party and punishes those who refuse, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.
In March, police detained local Sam Rainsy Party leader Tuot Saron in Kampong Thom. Tuot Saron is still in detention and faces charges of illegal confinement after seeking to assist a former party colleague following her alleged defection to the CPP, according to the groups.
The court issued arrest warrants against three other local Sam Rainsy Party leaders, who are in hiding after avoiding arrest, the groups said.
Cambodia's attention has been focused on five former leaders of the Khmer Rouge who are facing trial this year at a United Nations-backed genocide tribunal for crimes allegedly committed during the regime's 1975-1979 rule.
The Khmer Rouge forced the population out of cities as it tried to establish an agrarian state, killing an estimated 1.7 million people through starvation, disease or execution.
The regime was ousted when Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia, plunging the country into civil war. Most fighting stopped after the 1991 Paris Peace Accords that called for a cease-fire and democratic elections, which were held in 1993.
Penal Code
Two years after the elections, Cambodia passed a Press Law that provides some protection to journalists, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty said. It's rarely used. Instead, the so-called 1992 UNTAC Law, Cambodia's current penal code, is used in most legal cases against journalists or media representatives.
``There's little room for critical or opposition journalists in Cambodia, and those who express dissent risk harassment, intimidation and, at times, imprisonment,'' Sara Colm, senior researcher at New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in the statement.
Dam Sith has been charged with violating articles 62 and 63 of the UNTAC Law. His newspaper, Khmer Conscience, is one of the few in Cambodia that is not affiliated with the government or the CPP, which controls all television and most radio stations.
by Michael Heath
To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.net.
Dam Sith, a candidate of the Sam Rainsy Party and editor of the Khmer Conscience newspaper, was arrested for questioning the role of Hor Namhong, the foreign minister, during the rule of the Khmer Rouge movement, the groups said in a statement.
The arrest ``demonstrates how the criminal justice system is used and abused to silence government critics,'' said Brittis Edman, a researcher at London-based Amnesty. It ``sends a message of fear to journalists and other media workers in the lead-up to national elections.''
The ruling Cambodian People's Party will repeat its victory of 2003 when elections are held July 27 in the South Asian country of 14 million people, Hun Sen said earlier this week. Sam Rainsy spent a year in exile in France from February 2005, during which he was jailed for 18 months in absentia for defaming the prime minister.
Cambodia's economy expanded 9.6 percent in 2007, after growing by at least 10 percent during the previous three years, according to data compiled by the World Bank.
Hun Sen wants to develop oil and mineral resources to attract international investment and reduce Cambodia's dependence on clothing exports and tourism for growth. About a third of the population live on less than 50 cents a day and 90 percent live in rural areas.
Intimidation Pattern
Dam Sith's arrest is part of a pattern of intimidation against the opposition and independent media in the run-up to the election, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.
On May 21, Hun Sen threatened the independent Beehive radio station after it broadcast programming from opposition parties, according to the groups. A week later, independent radio station Angkor Ratha had its license, issued less than six months earlier, revoked after it sold air time to opposition parties, the groups said.
Hun Sen said his party may win two-thirds of seats in the 123-member parliament, the Mekong Times reported yesterday.
The party will probably win at least 81 seats, up from 73, and receive 73 percent of the vote versus 64 percent in the 2003 election, the Phnom Penh-based English-language daily cited him as saying. The Sam Rainsy Party won 24 seats in the last ballot.
Hun Sen formed a coalition government in July 2004 with the royalist Funcinpec party, which won 26 seats in 2003.
Opposition Members
Dam Sith, who is running for election in Phnom Penh, was arrested as Hun Sen's CPP presses opposition members to join the party and punishes those who refuse, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.
In March, police detained local Sam Rainsy Party leader Tuot Saron in Kampong Thom. Tuot Saron is still in detention and faces charges of illegal confinement after seeking to assist a former party colleague following her alleged defection to the CPP, according to the groups.
The court issued arrest warrants against three other local Sam Rainsy Party leaders, who are in hiding after avoiding arrest, the groups said.
Cambodia's attention has been focused on five former leaders of the Khmer Rouge who are facing trial this year at a United Nations-backed genocide tribunal for crimes allegedly committed during the regime's 1975-1979 rule.
The Khmer Rouge forced the population out of cities as it tried to establish an agrarian state, killing an estimated 1.7 million people through starvation, disease or execution.
The regime was ousted when Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia, plunging the country into civil war. Most fighting stopped after the 1991 Paris Peace Accords that called for a cease-fire and democratic elections, which were held in 1993.
Penal Code
Two years after the elections, Cambodia passed a Press Law that provides some protection to journalists, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty said. It's rarely used. Instead, the so-called 1992 UNTAC Law, Cambodia's current penal code, is used in most legal cases against journalists or media representatives.
``There's little room for critical or opposition journalists in Cambodia, and those who express dissent risk harassment, intimidation and, at times, imprisonment,'' Sara Colm, senior researcher at New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in the statement.
Dam Sith has been charged with violating articles 62 and 63 of the UNTAC Law. His newspaper, Khmer Conscience, is one of the few in Cambodia that is not affiliated with the government or the CPP, which controls all television and most radio stations.
by Michael Heath
To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.net.
Cambodia Tackles Human Trafficking
Cambodia is regularly referred to as the human-trafficking hub of Southeast Asia, but it's hard to know by which measure. Anywhere from thousands to hundreds of thousands of men, women and children are trafficked there annually. Without reliable data on these crimes, it's hard to combat this clandestine trade or to prioritize needs and services for its victims.
Which is why it's heartening to see Phnom Penh take action. Last week, the government launched its first-ever national effort to collect standardized data on human trafficking. Headed by the National Task Force, a collaborative effort between 14 government ministries and agencies and more than 200 nongovernmental organizations, the goal is to establish common definitions and data collection methodology.
This isn't as easy as it might sound. For example, does cross-border trafficking refer to national borders or movement across provinces? Should the recorded age of the victim be based on his or her age when first trafficked, or the age when the person was rescued? If a woman agrees to be sold by her parents into the sex industry, is she trafficked?
These questions matter. Policy makers can't construct effective laws without knowing the nature of the crimes committed. Law enforcement can't combat trafficking effectively without good data. NGOs can't provide the correct services to victims of trafficking without data on gender, age, education level, forms of exploitation and the location of rescue.
Once definitions are established, the National Task Force can start collecting and analyzing data to ensure that policies and programs respond to real needs. This is already starting to happen. The National Task Force, together with the Ministry of Social Affairs and its partners, have agreed to collect 15 key data sets to determine the profile of the victim, forms of assistance and reintegration services provided. This data will help the Cambodian government and countertrafficking actors monitor and measure the impact of antitrafficking efforts.
This collaborative effort is the latest indication that Cambodia is getting serious about combating trafficking. Earlier this year, parliament passed the Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation. This law is a watershed because it criminalizes a wide range of trafficking offenses, from sex slavery to bonded labor. Phnom Pehn has also started to crack down harder on offenders, in an effort to protect Cambodian nationals from exploitation.
These are just the first steps in a long war ahead. But it's worth it. Modern-day slavery is alive and well. It will only be eradicated when government and citizens make a concerted effort to fight it.
Ms. Sander-Lindstrom heads the Asia Foundation's Counter-Trafficking in Persons Program in Cambodia.
By MARIELLE SANDER-LINDSTROM
FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA
Which is why it's heartening to see Phnom Penh take action. Last week, the government launched its first-ever national effort to collect standardized data on human trafficking. Headed by the National Task Force, a collaborative effort between 14 government ministries and agencies and more than 200 nongovernmental organizations, the goal is to establish common definitions and data collection methodology.
This isn't as easy as it might sound. For example, does cross-border trafficking refer to national borders or movement across provinces? Should the recorded age of the victim be based on his or her age when first trafficked, or the age when the person was rescued? If a woman agrees to be sold by her parents into the sex industry, is she trafficked?
These questions matter. Policy makers can't construct effective laws without knowing the nature of the crimes committed. Law enforcement can't combat trafficking effectively without good data. NGOs can't provide the correct services to victims of trafficking without data on gender, age, education level, forms of exploitation and the location of rescue.
Once definitions are established, the National Task Force can start collecting and analyzing data to ensure that policies and programs respond to real needs. This is already starting to happen. The National Task Force, together with the Ministry of Social Affairs and its partners, have agreed to collect 15 key data sets to determine the profile of the victim, forms of assistance and reintegration services provided. This data will help the Cambodian government and countertrafficking actors monitor and measure the impact of antitrafficking efforts.
This collaborative effort is the latest indication that Cambodia is getting serious about combating trafficking. Earlier this year, parliament passed the Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation. This law is a watershed because it criminalizes a wide range of trafficking offenses, from sex slavery to bonded labor. Phnom Pehn has also started to crack down harder on offenders, in an effort to protect Cambodian nationals from exploitation.
These are just the first steps in a long war ahead. But it's worth it. Modern-day slavery is alive and well. It will only be eradicated when government and citizens make a concerted effort to fight it.
Ms. Sander-Lindstrom heads the Asia Foundation's Counter-Trafficking in Persons Program in Cambodia.
By MARIELLE SANDER-LINDSTROM
FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA
The Ugly Canadian
Richard Beaulac says he is having fun.
But his idea of fun has the seaside town of Nha Trang in Vietnam sounding the alarm.
The locals led by anti-child sex activists believe that the 37-year-old Beaulac from Quebec has arrived in their tourist beach to prey on the young.
Beaulac is the same man charged with child sex crimes in neighbouring Cambodia, and his past has followed him to Vietnam.
His alleged penchant for local prostitutes, the party life and his writings on the web have upset the local community so much that they have lodged a police complaint against him.
Now they want the Canadian government to investigate his alleged sex tourism activities in Asia.
But Beaulac says he doesn’t deserve the bad reputation and according to his website, he is just having loads of fun.
In an e-mail this week, Bealuac said the charges against him in Cambodia are trumped up.
He said the charges were dropped.
But anti-child sex advocate Kimmy Le of Nha Trang suspects Beaulac is up to no good in her town.
Le, who runs a bar and a school for local street kids, said she has contacted the police in the Loc Tho District where Beaulac is suspected to be staying. Le, who is also known locally as ‘Crazy Kim’ for her die-hard dedication to catching sexual predators, said Beaulac came to relax at her bar about a week ago.
"He was playing pool in my bar," she told the Asian Pacific Post. "He asked me, ‘Are you Crazy Kim?’ I said, ‘Yes.’"
Beaulac has not returned since then, she said.
He plans to sue Le for releasing his "private information."
Le said others in the town have allegedly seen Beaulac cavorting with hookers and boozing it up with locals.
"He has been paying for a lot of prostitutes, and then he puts their pictures up on the Internet and rates them about skill and price," said David Heft, originally from California who lives in Nha Trang.
"We think this is disgusting."
Heft said several residents have confronted Beaulac about his alleged ugly behaviour and his past but Beaulac claims the charge in Cambodia was made up by local gangsters trying to extort money from him.
Last year, the Asian Pacific Post reported that Bealuac was charged with attempted rape after allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old Cambodian street beggar, in the Angkor temple town of Siem Reap, where he worked as an English teacher.
Beaulac allegedly picked up the 13-year old girl along with three other female street children and took them back to his apartment. He then allegedly sent the three girls away before molesting the remaining girl. He told police he lay naked on the bed but denies molesting her. The Siem Reap Provincial Court in Vietnam subsequently charged him with attempted rape.
At that time Somath Khun, an English teacher who acted as Beaulac’s translator for the police, said Beaulac told him that he was innocent and claimed that police had demanded $7,000 to drop the charges.
In an e-mail Tuesday, Beaulac wrote: "This story is long time finish. It was all about extracting money. I did not pay the money they asked me and I took a lawyer, then it took a year to finalize all this, went to court and theses charges were dropped. All the officials who were involved . . . lost their employments . . . and some others.
"The girl and mom in my story. . . it was not the first time they were doing this to extract money."
Calls to the Canadian Embassy in Cambodia were not answered.
Cambodia has struggled to shed its reputation as a haven for pedophiles, putting dozens of foreigners in jail for child sex crimes or deporting them to face trial in their home countries since 2003.
Le, who has helped authorities nab others wanted for sexually exploiting children, said Beaulac has been writing some disturbing stuff on his FaceBook website since he arrived in Vietnam about four months ago.
She runs the the Pedophiles Buster Team, where she leads investigations from the back of her bar.
Beaulac currently works as a scuba diver instructor for Scuba Zone, she says, a company frequented by tourists.
He is also listed as the administrator of "Boom Boom Divers," a group on the social networking site FaceBook.
On the group’s page, written by Beaulac, are hints of his behaviour that has the locals alarmed.
"In no way do Boom Boom Divers endorse binge drinking, but we do enjoy it. In no circumstances Boom Boom Divers agree to pay for sex relationships, but we agree for performance bonus donations so they can afford their taxi back home," the web page says.
On his website, Beaulac says he served in the UN Protection Forces in former Yugoslavia in 1993. His site features pictures of him at war, posing next to scorched bodies and melted flesh. There are pictures of young women posing seductively and tributes to the Nazi regime on the website. Beaulac states he is currently reading Mein Kampft, Adolph Hitler’s autobiography.
Heft says as well as using the services of local prostitutes, Beaulac has a new 21-year-old girlfriend, whom he plans to marry.
"We have told (the girlfriend) about him and she says it doesn’t matter," Heft told the Asian Pacific Post.
"He has asked her to marry him after knowing her for two weeks, and she is desperate to be married."
Beaulac is not on Interpol’s list but The Future Group, a non-profit in Calgary, has repeatedly called for the Canadian government to investigate the charges against Beaulac and to lay charges under Canada’s child sex tourism laws.
Only one person has ever been charged under Bill C-27 and C-15, amendments to the Canadian Criminal Code criminalizing child sex tourism. That prosecution of Donald Bakker in Vancouver is largely considered accidental, since the overseas crimes were originally discovered during the course of an investigation for offenses in Canada.
by http://www.asianpacificpost.com
But his idea of fun has the seaside town of Nha Trang in Vietnam sounding the alarm.
The locals led by anti-child sex activists believe that the 37-year-old Beaulac from Quebec has arrived in their tourist beach to prey on the young.
Beaulac is the same man charged with child sex crimes in neighbouring Cambodia, and his past has followed him to Vietnam.
His alleged penchant for local prostitutes, the party life and his writings on the web have upset the local community so much that they have lodged a police complaint against him.
Now they want the Canadian government to investigate his alleged sex tourism activities in Asia.
But Beaulac says he doesn’t deserve the bad reputation and according to his website, he is just having loads of fun.
In an e-mail this week, Bealuac said the charges against him in Cambodia are trumped up.
He said the charges were dropped.
But anti-child sex advocate Kimmy Le of Nha Trang suspects Beaulac is up to no good in her town.
Le, who runs a bar and a school for local street kids, said she has contacted the police in the Loc Tho District where Beaulac is suspected to be staying. Le, who is also known locally as ‘Crazy Kim’ for her die-hard dedication to catching sexual predators, said Beaulac came to relax at her bar about a week ago.
"He was playing pool in my bar," she told the Asian Pacific Post. "He asked me, ‘Are you Crazy Kim?’ I said, ‘Yes.’"
Beaulac has not returned since then, she said.
He plans to sue Le for releasing his "private information."
Le said others in the town have allegedly seen Beaulac cavorting with hookers and boozing it up with locals.
"He has been paying for a lot of prostitutes, and then he puts their pictures up on the Internet and rates them about skill and price," said David Heft, originally from California who lives in Nha Trang.
"We think this is disgusting."
Heft said several residents have confronted Beaulac about his alleged ugly behaviour and his past but Beaulac claims the charge in Cambodia was made up by local gangsters trying to extort money from him.
Last year, the Asian Pacific Post reported that Bealuac was charged with attempted rape after allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old Cambodian street beggar, in the Angkor temple town of Siem Reap, where he worked as an English teacher.
Beaulac allegedly picked up the 13-year old girl along with three other female street children and took them back to his apartment. He then allegedly sent the three girls away before molesting the remaining girl. He told police he lay naked on the bed but denies molesting her. The Siem Reap Provincial Court in Vietnam subsequently charged him with attempted rape.
At that time Somath Khun, an English teacher who acted as Beaulac’s translator for the police, said Beaulac told him that he was innocent and claimed that police had demanded $7,000 to drop the charges.
In an e-mail Tuesday, Beaulac wrote: "This story is long time finish. It was all about extracting money. I did not pay the money they asked me and I took a lawyer, then it took a year to finalize all this, went to court and theses charges were dropped. All the officials who were involved . . . lost their employments . . . and some others.
"The girl and mom in my story. . . it was not the first time they were doing this to extract money."
Calls to the Canadian Embassy in Cambodia were not answered.
Cambodia has struggled to shed its reputation as a haven for pedophiles, putting dozens of foreigners in jail for child sex crimes or deporting them to face trial in their home countries since 2003.
Le, who has helped authorities nab others wanted for sexually exploiting children, said Beaulac has been writing some disturbing stuff on his FaceBook website since he arrived in Vietnam about four months ago.
She runs the the Pedophiles Buster Team, where she leads investigations from the back of her bar.
Beaulac currently works as a scuba diver instructor for Scuba Zone, she says, a company frequented by tourists.
He is also listed as the administrator of "Boom Boom Divers," a group on the social networking site FaceBook.
On the group’s page, written by Beaulac, are hints of his behaviour that has the locals alarmed.
"In no way do Boom Boom Divers endorse binge drinking, but we do enjoy it. In no circumstances Boom Boom Divers agree to pay for sex relationships, but we agree for performance bonus donations so they can afford their taxi back home," the web page says.
On his website, Beaulac says he served in the UN Protection Forces in former Yugoslavia in 1993. His site features pictures of him at war, posing next to scorched bodies and melted flesh. There are pictures of young women posing seductively and tributes to the Nazi regime on the website. Beaulac states he is currently reading Mein Kampft, Adolph Hitler’s autobiography.
Heft says as well as using the services of local prostitutes, Beaulac has a new 21-year-old girlfriend, whom he plans to marry.
"We have told (the girlfriend) about him and she says it doesn’t matter," Heft told the Asian Pacific Post.
"He has asked her to marry him after knowing her for two weeks, and she is desperate to be married."
Beaulac is not on Interpol’s list but The Future Group, a non-profit in Calgary, has repeatedly called for the Canadian government to investigate the charges against Beaulac and to lay charges under Canada’s child sex tourism laws.
Only one person has ever been charged under Bill C-27 and C-15, amendments to the Canadian Criminal Code criminalizing child sex tourism. That prosecution of Donald Bakker in Vancouver is largely considered accidental, since the overseas crimes were originally discovered during the course of an investigation for offenses in Canada.
by http://www.asianpacificpost.com
Prosecutor in Cambodia's genocide tribunal to deliver RP lecture
MANILA, Philippines - A top government lawyer in Cambodia’s genocide trials will visit the Philippines to deliver a lecture on the prosecution of grave crimes against international human rights and international humanitarian law.Robert Petit, the head counsel in an international tribunal which will try war criminals of Cambodia’s communist Khmer Rouge, will deliver a keynote speech and a lecture at an international training conference to be held at the Vista Marina Hotel in Subic Bay from June 16 to 17, 2008. A former Quebec and Canadian Federal (Crown) prosecutor, Petit shares the chief prosecutor’s role in the Cambodian genocide trials with his Cambodian counterpart, Chea Leang. He will speak at the Subic conference side by side with new Commission on Human Rights chair Leila De Lima, who will lecture on Philippine State Obligations on the Right to Life.Also speaking at the landmark conference is top forensic anthropologist Dr. Jose Pablo Baraybar, who heads the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team, one of several Latin American groups investigating the complicity of former dictatorships in acts of impunity. The organization has documented some 13,000 cases of enforced disappearances, almost 4,000 more than the estimate of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.The two-day conference is envisioned as a complement to the Seminar Workshop on Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances by the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR)). Around 30 public prosecutors from the Department of Justice and a comparable number of human rights activists and workers have been invited to join the conference, which features speakers from various international criminal tribunals who will share their expertise with their Filipino counterparts.“This activity is a follow-up to an international conference on the same theme that CenterLaw staged in Davao early this year," said Prof. Harry L. Roque Jr., one of the organizers of the Subic conference. He said the conference aims to acquaint Filipino prosecutors about developments abroad in the campaign against impunity, noting that the Philippines has been in the spotlight before the eyes of the international community because of the rising cases of human rights violations in the country since the Arroyo administration took power in 2001.“The establishment of the war crimes tribunal where Mr. Petit is a top prosecutor is in fact a warning to governments that in this day and age of human rights movements, impunity cannot remain unpunished forever," he said. Meanwhile, Dr. Baraybar’s work in Peru acquires an added significance today following the extradition to Peru of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, under whose regime many of enforced disappearances of dissidents took place. Dr. Baraybar served as an expert witness with both the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and headed the Office on Missing Persons and Forensics of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. He also recently published a major textbook on the detection of torture and related human rights abuses and is a much sought after lecturer on forensic anthropology. Dr. Baraybar has also lectured before the Philippine Judicial Academy (Philja) and was part of the sterling roster of international speakers at the first ever international conference on extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture held in Davao early this year, also organized by CenterLaw.Dr. Baraybar will lecture at the Subic conference on the forensics of impunity, drawing from his extensive experience digging up the truth in mass graves of victims of extrajudicial killings and disappearances in Peru, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.The event will be held under the auspices of the Center for International law (CenterLaw), the American Bar Association (ABA), Rule of Law Initiative-US State Department-Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor (DRL), The Asia Foundation (TAF), the Open Society Institute (OSI), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the University of the Philippine Foundation for Integrative and Development Studies (UPFIDS). - GMANews.TV
by http://www.gmanews.tv
by http://www.gmanews.tv
Cambodia: Release Jailed Editor
Journalists and Opposition Members Under Attack as Elections Near
(London, June 11, 2008) – The Cambodian government should release a jailed opposition newspaper editor and candidate, and end its intimidation of journalists and opposition party candidates in the lead-up to National Assembly elections in July, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today.On June 8, military police arrested newspaper editor Dam Sith, 39, who is also running as a candidate for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), after his newspaper published allegations about the current foreign minister. “Dam Sith’s arrest demonstrates how the criminal justice system is used and abused to silence government critics,” said Brittis Edman, researcher for Amnesty International. “His arrest sends a message of fear to journalists and other media workers in the lead-up to national elections next month.” Dam Sith’s newspaper, Moneaksekar Khmer (Khmer Conscience), quoted allegations by opposition leader Sam Rainsy over the role of the current minister of foreign affairs, Hor Namhong, during the period of Khmer Rouge rule from 1975-1979. Hor Namhong filed a criminal complaint against Dam Sith for disinformation, defamation and libel under Cambodia’s 1992 penal code. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International believe that public officials who consider themselves defamed should not seek redress through the criminal law in order to protect their reputation. Moneaksekar Khmer is one of the few newspapers in Cambodia that is not affiliated with the government or the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen, which also controls all television and most radio stations. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said that the arrest of Dam Sith is part of a pattern of intimidation by the government against opposition and independent media in the run-up to the July elections. On May 21, Hun Sen threatened the independent Beehive radio station for running programming from opposition parties, stating: “You have one channel; we have 39 channels. If you curse me, you will receive bad merit. Those who [previously] cursed me already disappeared from the world.” On May 28, the government shut down independent radio station Angkor Ratha (FM 105.25) in Kratie province. The station, whose headquarters is in Siem Reap province, was granted a license to broadcast in January 2008. The Ministry of Information abruptly cancelled the license for the station’s Kratie broadcasts after it sold air time to opposition parties. “There’s little room for critical or opposition journalists in Cambodia, and those who express dissent risk harassment, intimidation and, at times, imprisonment,” said Sara Colm, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called on the Cambodian authorities to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression, allowing journalists to report news and express opinions about politics without retribution. Dam Sith, who is running as an opposition candidate in the capital Phnom Penh, was arrested in the midst of an intense campaign by the ruling CPP to induce opposition members to join the CPP and punish those who refuse. In March 2008, police arrested and detained local opposition SRP leader Tuot Saron in Kampong Thom. Tuot Saron is still detained and faces charges of illegal confinement after seeking to assist a distressed former party colleague following her alleged defection to the CPP under controversial circumstances. The court issued arrest warrants against three other local SRP leaders, who avoided arrest and remain in hiding. “Arrests and other politically motivated legal actions are being used to intimidate, coerce and silence opposition members and journalists,” said Colm. “With elections pending, it’s crucial that Cambodians are able to receive information from a variety of news sources, and that opposition candidates are able to campaign without fear of reprisals.” The right to freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Cambodian Constitution and enshrined in international human rights law. As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Cambodia is obliged to promote and protect these rights and ensure that people can fully enjoy them. The 1995 Press Law provides for some protection of journalists, but is rarely used. Instead, the so-called 1992 UNTAC Law, Cambodia’s current penal code, is used in most legal cases against journalists or media representatives. These cases often violate the right to freedom of expression. Dam Sith has been charged with violating articles 62 and 63 of the UNTAC Law. Article 62 criminalizes the publication, distribution or reproduction of false information that “has disturbed or is likely to disturb the public peace.” Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch consider the provision to be too vague and sweeping, enabling the government to intimidate and prosecute those who are exercising their right to freedom of expression. Article 63 provides that allegations against public figures “which the author, the journalist, editor, or producer knows to be false” may constitute defamation. The article does not carry a custodial sentence. This article also restricts the right to freedom of expression in violation of international law and standards. “It is time for Cambodia to repeal provisions in its laws that allow individuals, including journalists, to be criminally prosecuted for peaceful speech,” said Edman.
by http://hrw.org
(London, June 11, 2008) – The Cambodian government should release a jailed opposition newspaper editor and candidate, and end its intimidation of journalists and opposition party candidates in the lead-up to National Assembly elections in July, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today.On June 8, military police arrested newspaper editor Dam Sith, 39, who is also running as a candidate for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), after his newspaper published allegations about the current foreign minister. “Dam Sith’s arrest demonstrates how the criminal justice system is used and abused to silence government critics,” said Brittis Edman, researcher for Amnesty International. “His arrest sends a message of fear to journalists and other media workers in the lead-up to national elections next month.” Dam Sith’s newspaper, Moneaksekar Khmer (Khmer Conscience), quoted allegations by opposition leader Sam Rainsy over the role of the current minister of foreign affairs, Hor Namhong, during the period of Khmer Rouge rule from 1975-1979. Hor Namhong filed a criminal complaint against Dam Sith for disinformation, defamation and libel under Cambodia’s 1992 penal code. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International believe that public officials who consider themselves defamed should not seek redress through the criminal law in order to protect their reputation. Moneaksekar Khmer is one of the few newspapers in Cambodia that is not affiliated with the government or the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen, which also controls all television and most radio stations. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said that the arrest of Dam Sith is part of a pattern of intimidation by the government against opposition and independent media in the run-up to the July elections. On May 21, Hun Sen threatened the independent Beehive radio station for running programming from opposition parties, stating: “You have one channel; we have 39 channels. If you curse me, you will receive bad merit. Those who [previously] cursed me already disappeared from the world.” On May 28, the government shut down independent radio station Angkor Ratha (FM 105.25) in Kratie province. The station, whose headquarters is in Siem Reap province, was granted a license to broadcast in January 2008. The Ministry of Information abruptly cancelled the license for the station’s Kratie broadcasts after it sold air time to opposition parties. “There’s little room for critical or opposition journalists in Cambodia, and those who express dissent risk harassment, intimidation and, at times, imprisonment,” said Sara Colm, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called on the Cambodian authorities to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression, allowing journalists to report news and express opinions about politics without retribution. Dam Sith, who is running as an opposition candidate in the capital Phnom Penh, was arrested in the midst of an intense campaign by the ruling CPP to induce opposition members to join the CPP and punish those who refuse. In March 2008, police arrested and detained local opposition SRP leader Tuot Saron in Kampong Thom. Tuot Saron is still detained and faces charges of illegal confinement after seeking to assist a distressed former party colleague following her alleged defection to the CPP under controversial circumstances. The court issued arrest warrants against three other local SRP leaders, who avoided arrest and remain in hiding. “Arrests and other politically motivated legal actions are being used to intimidate, coerce and silence opposition members and journalists,” said Colm. “With elections pending, it’s crucial that Cambodians are able to receive information from a variety of news sources, and that opposition candidates are able to campaign without fear of reprisals.” The right to freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Cambodian Constitution and enshrined in international human rights law. As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Cambodia is obliged to promote and protect these rights and ensure that people can fully enjoy them. The 1995 Press Law provides for some protection of journalists, but is rarely used. Instead, the so-called 1992 UNTAC Law, Cambodia’s current penal code, is used in most legal cases against journalists or media representatives. These cases often violate the right to freedom of expression. Dam Sith has been charged with violating articles 62 and 63 of the UNTAC Law. Article 62 criminalizes the publication, distribution or reproduction of false information that “has disturbed or is likely to disturb the public peace.” Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch consider the provision to be too vague and sweeping, enabling the government to intimidate and prosecute those who are exercising their right to freedom of expression. Article 63 provides that allegations against public figures “which the author, the journalist, editor, or producer knows to be false” may constitute defamation. The article does not carry a custodial sentence. This article also restricts the right to freedom of expression in violation of international law and standards. “It is time for Cambodia to repeal provisions in its laws that allow individuals, including journalists, to be criminally prosecuted for peaceful speech,” said Edman.
by http://hrw.org
Minister gives each Cambodian Olympic Games candidate $200
Special report: 2008 Olympic Games PHNOM PENH, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Tourism Minister and National Olympic Committee (NOCC) President Thong Khon has donated200 U.S. dollars for each of the six Cambodian athletes and trainers heading for the Beijing Olympics in August, national media said Wednesday.
"I just visited them and offered them my personal money," he said, adding that he had asked the committee to raise the stipend for Cambodia's Olympic hopefuls, which is currently set at 50 U.S. dollars each athlete per month for three months prior to the games.
The minister confirmed that Cambodia receives annual funding from the International Olympic committee in Switzerland, but no member of NOCC could tell the amount and spending situation of the funding, reported English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodian Daily.
Cambodia's two Olympic track and field athletes said last week they had been preparing for the games with little to no support from NOCC.
Cambodia will send a 15-member delegation to participate in the Olympic Games in Beijing in August with focus on swimming and marathon medals. The team will include Thong Khon himself, who will depart for Beijing on August 7
King Norodom Sihamoni and Education Minister Kol Pheng also plan to attend the opening ceremony of the games.
It is not the first time Cambodia has sent athletes to the Olympics.
The first post-war delegation of five Khmers competed in the Atlanta Games in 1996, and Cambodia subsequently sent four athletes to both Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004.
by Chinaview
"I just visited them and offered them my personal money," he said, adding that he had asked the committee to raise the stipend for Cambodia's Olympic hopefuls, which is currently set at 50 U.S. dollars each athlete per month for three months prior to the games.
The minister confirmed that Cambodia receives annual funding from the International Olympic committee in Switzerland, but no member of NOCC could tell the amount and spending situation of the funding, reported English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodian Daily.
Cambodia's two Olympic track and field athletes said last week they had been preparing for the games with little to no support from NOCC.
Cambodia will send a 15-member delegation to participate in the Olympic Games in Beijing in August with focus on swimming and marathon medals. The team will include Thong Khon himself, who will depart for Beijing on August 7
King Norodom Sihamoni and Education Minister Kol Pheng also plan to attend the opening ceremony of the games.
It is not the first time Cambodia has sent athletes to the Olympics.
The first post-war delegation of five Khmers competed in the Atlanta Games in 1996, and Cambodia subsequently sent four athletes to both Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004.
by Chinaview
WFP resumes School Feeding Program in Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The UN World Food Program (WFP) has resumed to provide free meals for some 450,000 primary school children across Cambodia, after obtaining new contribution to ease its financial strain, said a WFP press release Wednesday.
"The last minute contribution of 5.4 million U.S. dollars came at a time when WFP was forced to suspend its School Feeding Program (recently) in Cambodia because of rising food prices and lack of corresponding funds," it said.
The contribution was part of a WFP corporate fund established to help the organization's Country Programs continue to provide food assistance despite higher food procurement costs, it added.
Students in 1,344 schools are to benefit from the resumption which will continue until July 5.
by: Bi Mingxin
Chinaview
"The last minute contribution of 5.4 million U.S. dollars came at a time when WFP was forced to suspend its School Feeding Program (recently) in Cambodia because of rising food prices and lack of corresponding funds," it said.
The contribution was part of a WFP corporate fund established to help the organization's Country Programs continue to provide food assistance despite higher food procurement costs, it added.
Students in 1,344 schools are to benefit from the resumption which will continue until July 5.
by: Bi Mingxin
Chinaview
Tackling Cambodia's landmine legacy
On a wooded hillside above a village in north-west Cambodia, a man speaks into a radio.
Figures in body armour and visors head downhill to shelter from the sun under some trees.
A whistle sounds and then a siren. A few minutes later a loud crack echoes around the countryside. Grey smoke floats into the air.
The first landmine of the morning has been destroyed.
It was a Chinese-made type 72A - a small, green object that blows off the leg that treads on it or the arm that picks it up.
The team head back up the hill. There are many more mines to go.
This is a scene that is repeated day after day across Cambodia, one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.
Between four and six million landmines are thought to have been laid during the country's three decades of civil war.
Several million landmines planted over 30 years of civil conflict
Highest concentration of landmines in north-western areas along the Thai border
Many eastern areas contaminated by unexploded ordnance
Khmer Rouge fighters, Vietnamese troops and government forces all planted devices, but did not record where or how many. Huge areas of land were contaminated, particularly in western border regions where the fighting was fiercest.
Across the country, victims of landmine blasts are a strikingly visible presence. More than 40,000 people are thought to have lost limbs.
Work to remove the mines has been going on ever since the conflict ended, and a great deal of progress has been made. But there is a lot still to do.
"Cambodia still has a significant landmine problem," says Rupert Leighton, Cambodia country director of the Mines Advisory Group. "They are not starting to dry up yet."
Casualties have fallen significantly in recent years, from more than 2,000 annually in the early 1990s to less than a quarter of that in 2006.
This is because the movement of displaced people has subsided, people know more about landmines and more clearance has been carried out. There are also fewer people facing acute hunger, meaning fewer people foraging in the forests.
The key issue now, says Mr Leighton, is the fact that so much land still cannot be used - at a time when competition for it has become fierce.
Ten families
Boeung Prolite lies 6 km ( 4 miles) from the Thai border, not far from the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin.
For more than two decades a guerrilla conflict raged in this area - and both sides laid mines extensively.
A red triangle marks a landmine which must be blown up
People began settling in Boeung Prolite in the 1990s, when the fighting wound down.
About 30% of villagers are former Khmer Rouge fighters, the rest are new arrivals from other provinces. They live in simple wooden houses and grow crops for subsistence and sale.
On high ground above the village lies a mine field about the size of 19 football pitches.
This one was laid mainly by the Khmer Rouge and, as well as 72As, contains type 69s - small grey mines which spring upwards to explode at waist height.
Nine casualties have been recorded on this minefield over the years. The last was in 2002, a farmer who wanted to plant more crops.
Roeu Sokhom heads the team that is clearing the site. He, a deputy supervisor, a medic, a driver and 12 deminers began work there in early March after the initial site survey was complete.
Using metal detectors to examine every inch of ground, working in high heat and humidity, they have already destroyed dozens of mines. They expect to complete the job by the end of June.
When it is done, 10 local families, comprising a total of 59 people, will be able to farm there, Roeu Sokhom says.
Some have already moved in to plant up earth cleared only days before, such is their hunger for land.
'Finish line'
One of the mine clearers is 26 year-old Khoeun Sokhorn. She lives with her family in a village near Pailin and has been a deminer for two years.
Khoeun Sokhorn demonstrates how she checks the earth for landmines
In 2002, she went into the forest to gather firewood. The area had been classified as "suspect", but people had been going there for years and everyone thought it was safe. A landmine blew off her right leg.
She wants to clear mines so that no-one else gets hurt the way she did, she says. She is proud that the number of casualties is continuing to fall.
But when she finds a mine, there is no flash of triumph - she just reports it to her supervisor and moves on to the next one.
She says she will clear mines as long as there is work for her. She does not need to look for another job yet.
"We will never clear all the mines out of Cambodia, but in 10 years we have a reasonable chance of saying that the worst areas have been cleared," says Mr Leighton.
"It depends on funding and also on how we define the finish line - are we talking about impact-free or casualty-free?"
"We could go on working in Cambodia forever, but the law of diminishing returns would mean that we become more and more expensive."
In Khoeun Sokhorn's village there are several mine fields that need to be cleared.
She is married and she has a three-year-old daughter.
The little girl does not know what a landmine is yet. But, Khoeun Sokhorn says, she is old enough to know that she must not go into certain parts of the forest.
By Philippa Fogarty
BBC News, Pailin
Figures in body armour and visors head downhill to shelter from the sun under some trees.
A whistle sounds and then a siren. A few minutes later a loud crack echoes around the countryside. Grey smoke floats into the air.
The first landmine of the morning has been destroyed.
It was a Chinese-made type 72A - a small, green object that blows off the leg that treads on it or the arm that picks it up.
The team head back up the hill. There are many more mines to go.
This is a scene that is repeated day after day across Cambodia, one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.
Between four and six million landmines are thought to have been laid during the country's three decades of civil war.
Several million landmines planted over 30 years of civil conflict
Highest concentration of landmines in north-western areas along the Thai border
Many eastern areas contaminated by unexploded ordnance
Khmer Rouge fighters, Vietnamese troops and government forces all planted devices, but did not record where or how many. Huge areas of land were contaminated, particularly in western border regions where the fighting was fiercest.
Across the country, victims of landmine blasts are a strikingly visible presence. More than 40,000 people are thought to have lost limbs.
Work to remove the mines has been going on ever since the conflict ended, and a great deal of progress has been made. But there is a lot still to do.
"Cambodia still has a significant landmine problem," says Rupert Leighton, Cambodia country director of the Mines Advisory Group. "They are not starting to dry up yet."
Casualties have fallen significantly in recent years, from more than 2,000 annually in the early 1990s to less than a quarter of that in 2006.
This is because the movement of displaced people has subsided, people know more about landmines and more clearance has been carried out. There are also fewer people facing acute hunger, meaning fewer people foraging in the forests.
The key issue now, says Mr Leighton, is the fact that so much land still cannot be used - at a time when competition for it has become fierce.
Ten families
Boeung Prolite lies 6 km ( 4 miles) from the Thai border, not far from the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin.
For more than two decades a guerrilla conflict raged in this area - and both sides laid mines extensively.
A red triangle marks a landmine which must be blown up
People began settling in Boeung Prolite in the 1990s, when the fighting wound down.
About 30% of villagers are former Khmer Rouge fighters, the rest are new arrivals from other provinces. They live in simple wooden houses and grow crops for subsistence and sale.
On high ground above the village lies a mine field about the size of 19 football pitches.
This one was laid mainly by the Khmer Rouge and, as well as 72As, contains type 69s - small grey mines which spring upwards to explode at waist height.
Nine casualties have been recorded on this minefield over the years. The last was in 2002, a farmer who wanted to plant more crops.
Roeu Sokhom heads the team that is clearing the site. He, a deputy supervisor, a medic, a driver and 12 deminers began work there in early March after the initial site survey was complete.
Using metal detectors to examine every inch of ground, working in high heat and humidity, they have already destroyed dozens of mines. They expect to complete the job by the end of June.
When it is done, 10 local families, comprising a total of 59 people, will be able to farm there, Roeu Sokhom says.
Some have already moved in to plant up earth cleared only days before, such is their hunger for land.
'Finish line'
One of the mine clearers is 26 year-old Khoeun Sokhorn. She lives with her family in a village near Pailin and has been a deminer for two years.
Khoeun Sokhorn demonstrates how she checks the earth for landmines
In 2002, she went into the forest to gather firewood. The area had been classified as "suspect", but people had been going there for years and everyone thought it was safe. A landmine blew off her right leg.
She wants to clear mines so that no-one else gets hurt the way she did, she says. She is proud that the number of casualties is continuing to fall.
But when she finds a mine, there is no flash of triumph - she just reports it to her supervisor and moves on to the next one.
She says she will clear mines as long as there is work for her. She does not need to look for another job yet.
"We will never clear all the mines out of Cambodia, but in 10 years we have a reasonable chance of saying that the worst areas have been cleared," says Mr Leighton.
"It depends on funding and also on how we define the finish line - are we talking about impact-free or casualty-free?"
"We could go on working in Cambodia forever, but the law of diminishing returns would mean that we become more and more expensive."
In Khoeun Sokhorn's village there are several mine fields that need to be cleared.
She is married and she has a three-year-old daughter.
The little girl does not know what a landmine is yet. But, Khoeun Sokhorn says, she is old enough to know that she must not go into certain parts of the forest.
By Philippa Fogarty
BBC News, Pailin
Cambodian aircraft left at Vietnamese airport for over 1 year
VietNamNet Bridge – The abandoned plane named “Air Dream” broke down in May 2007 and it has been lying at Noi Bai International Airport since then, said an official of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration.
Vo Huy Cuong, Head of the Transportation Department under the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration, said his agency revoked the flying licence of this plane a long time ago. In the future, if this aircraft is mended and meets flying conditions and wants to fly back to Cambodia, it must get an export flying certificate.
The plane belongs to Royal Khmer Airlines of Cambodia. The Cambodian Aviation Agency had scratched its name from its aircraft registration book. The Northern Airport Management Agency said Royal Khmer Airlines paid part of the parking fees.
“This is a great waste,” Cuong said.
In the world, broken-down aircrafts are often left at airports for one month but it is strange that the Cambodian plane has been at Noi Bai Airport for over one year. This is the first such case at Noi Bai.
by TP
http://english.vietnamnet.vn
Vo Huy Cuong, Head of the Transportation Department under the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration, said his agency revoked the flying licence of this plane a long time ago. In the future, if this aircraft is mended and meets flying conditions and wants to fly back to Cambodia, it must get an export flying certificate.
The plane belongs to Royal Khmer Airlines of Cambodia. The Cambodian Aviation Agency had scratched its name from its aircraft registration book. The Northern Airport Management Agency said Royal Khmer Airlines paid part of the parking fees.
“This is a great waste,” Cuong said.
In the world, broken-down aircrafts are often left at airports for one month but it is strange that the Cambodian plane has been at Noi Bai Airport for over one year. This is the first such case at Noi Bai.
by TP
http://english.vietnamnet.vn
First Int’l Central Highland Gong Culture Festival scheduled for next year
VietNamNet Bridge - The Institute of Art and Culture, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has held a meeting with leaders from the five Central Highland provinces to organize the First International Central Highland Gong Culture Festival in Gia Lai province in March 2009. Apart from 11 ensembles from the five Central Highlands provinces and a number of ethnic minorities from around the country such as the Muong, Thai, Cham and Khmer, the organizing board will invite international artists from Laos, Cambodia, China, Thailand and Japan to join the festival. The event will focus on three main subjects, including performances showing unique features of Central Highland Gong space, a photographic exhibition taken by French artists before 1954 and an international seminar on preserving Gong culture.
by VOV
http://english.vietnamnet.vn
by VOV
http://english.vietnamnet.vn
Phnom Penh serves authentic Cambodian food
Like all Cambodians of a certain age, Saroeun Trou has stories to tell of the horror the Khmer Rouge inflicted on his country.
But Trou and his mother, Tuoch Keo, were among the lucky few who survived the slaughter that was later chronicled in “The Killing Fields.”
They escaped Cambodia and lived in refugee camps along the Thai border from 1979 to 1981. While in the camp, Trou worked for the American Embassy. In 1982 the two of them made their way to Kansas City. He has not been back since, although his mother has made a few trips home. Instead, he’s paying homage to his country through food.
In March Trou opened Phnom Penh Restaurant. He’d owned a Chinese restaurant years ago but had never included food from his homeland on the menu.
And I’d never had Cambodian food. It reminded me a little bit of Thai and Vietnamese food, although it was lighter than Thai and not as spicy as Vietnamese.
An exception was the Phnom Penh beefsticks, chewy, bite-size nuggets of beef threaded on a stick and served as an appetizer. Lacquered with a sweet, earthy sauce, the beefsticks were served with a shredded green papaya salad dressed in a bitingly spicy dressing.
Two of us shared three entrees, not knowing just how generous the portions were. The cha kreung was a mess of beef slices, green peppers and yellow onion slices spooned over white rice. The mee ka-thaing reminded me of pad Thai, without the fish sauce aroma and lime juice bite of the Thai dishes. The wide rice noodles were tossed with chopped Chinese broccoli, eggs and beef.
The favorite was the Phnom Penh machu, a tamarind-based brothy soup seasoned with crispy garlic pieces and loaded with pan-fried catfish hunks, lotus root slices, tomatoes, pineapple, Thai basil and chunks of some sort of Asian gourd. The tamarind gave the broth a snappy citrus taste. The lotus root, threaded with tiny holes, looked like pasta and had a vegetal crunch. The gourd pieces, which looked like cucumber, were slithery but al dente, while the pineapple gave the soup a tropical sweetness. It was fabulous.
Trou has two Cambodian desserts: sarai, a Cambodian-style gelatin made with coconut milk and loaded with jackfruit and longan, and loat, a dessert soup made with cooked tapioca flour bits stirred into a sweet cane sugar and coconut milk syrup.
A couple of things to keep in mind: Trou was waiting on the credit card machine to arrive, so take cash. And service can be slow; dishes are prepared to order. Although he does much of the cooking, two of his children, Julie and Jimmy, help out.
Phnom Penh Restaurant: 3537 Independence Ave. 816-231-1700. Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday
By LAUREN CHAPIN
The Kansas City Star
But Trou and his mother, Tuoch Keo, were among the lucky few who survived the slaughter that was later chronicled in “The Killing Fields.”
They escaped Cambodia and lived in refugee camps along the Thai border from 1979 to 1981. While in the camp, Trou worked for the American Embassy. In 1982 the two of them made their way to Kansas City. He has not been back since, although his mother has made a few trips home. Instead, he’s paying homage to his country through food.
In March Trou opened Phnom Penh Restaurant. He’d owned a Chinese restaurant years ago but had never included food from his homeland on the menu.
And I’d never had Cambodian food. It reminded me a little bit of Thai and Vietnamese food, although it was lighter than Thai and not as spicy as Vietnamese.
An exception was the Phnom Penh beefsticks, chewy, bite-size nuggets of beef threaded on a stick and served as an appetizer. Lacquered with a sweet, earthy sauce, the beefsticks were served with a shredded green papaya salad dressed in a bitingly spicy dressing.
Two of us shared three entrees, not knowing just how generous the portions were. The cha kreung was a mess of beef slices, green peppers and yellow onion slices spooned over white rice. The mee ka-thaing reminded me of pad Thai, without the fish sauce aroma and lime juice bite of the Thai dishes. The wide rice noodles were tossed with chopped Chinese broccoli, eggs and beef.
The favorite was the Phnom Penh machu, a tamarind-based brothy soup seasoned with crispy garlic pieces and loaded with pan-fried catfish hunks, lotus root slices, tomatoes, pineapple, Thai basil and chunks of some sort of Asian gourd. The tamarind gave the broth a snappy citrus taste. The lotus root, threaded with tiny holes, looked like pasta and had a vegetal crunch. The gourd pieces, which looked like cucumber, were slithery but al dente, while the pineapple gave the soup a tropical sweetness. It was fabulous.
Trou has two Cambodian desserts: sarai, a Cambodian-style gelatin made with coconut milk and loaded with jackfruit and longan, and loat, a dessert soup made with cooked tapioca flour bits stirred into a sweet cane sugar and coconut milk syrup.
A couple of things to keep in mind: Trou was waiting on the credit card machine to arrive, so take cash. And service can be slow; dishes are prepared to order. Although he does much of the cooking, two of his children, Julie and Jimmy, help out.
Phnom Penh Restaurant: 3537 Independence Ave. 816-231-1700. Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday
By LAUREN CHAPIN
The Kansas City Star
Anniversary of Preah Vihear ruling to be held at in Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The Khmer Civilization Support Association (KCSA) has announced its celebration of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)'s 1962 ruling that Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia rather than Thailand, will be held Sunday at Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh, local newspaper the Mekong Times reported Thursday.
"The ceremony is being held in gratitude to our Cambodian ancestors who built Preah Vihear," said the KCSA statement, adding that it was also dedicated to former King Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodian head of state when the ICJ ruling was made.
The ceremony is also being held to thank the Cambodian government for maintaining sovereignty and integrity until the temple is registered as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site list, said the KSCA.
The UN body will discuss the temple's listing at talks to be held early next month in Quebec.
The KSCA announcement comes as the Thai government studies in detail a new drawing of the temple grounds that Cambodia submitted last week.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungwat told The Bangkok Post Wednesday that further talks between Thai and Cambodian officials are needed because the Cambodian map of the area slightly differs from the border map used by Thailand, the Mekong Times said.
Pai Siphan, spokesman for the Cambodian Council of Ministers, said Wednesday that the term "map" as opposed to "drawing" was causing confusion.
"We use the word drawing, as it was a drawing submitted to UNESCO and Thailand. We have sent the drawing to the Thai side and they approved it," he said.
He added that, according to Cambodian law, the legal premises of each temple are adjudged to be 30 meters starting from the base of its outer buildings.
"Currently Preah Vihear temple fences are too near the gate of the temple, which indicates that Thailand has moved its border markers into Cambodian territory," said the spokesman.
by: Jiang Yuxia
http://news.xinhuanet.com
"The ceremony is being held in gratitude to our Cambodian ancestors who built Preah Vihear," said the KCSA statement, adding that it was also dedicated to former King Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodian head of state when the ICJ ruling was made.
The ceremony is also being held to thank the Cambodian government for maintaining sovereignty and integrity until the temple is registered as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site list, said the KSCA.
The UN body will discuss the temple's listing at talks to be held early next month in Quebec.
The KSCA announcement comes as the Thai government studies in detail a new drawing of the temple grounds that Cambodia submitted last week.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungwat told The Bangkok Post Wednesday that further talks between Thai and Cambodian officials are needed because the Cambodian map of the area slightly differs from the border map used by Thailand, the Mekong Times said.
Pai Siphan, spokesman for the Cambodian Council of Ministers, said Wednesday that the term "map" as opposed to "drawing" was causing confusion.
"We use the word drawing, as it was a drawing submitted to UNESCO and Thailand. We have sent the drawing to the Thai side and they approved it," he said.
He added that, according to Cambodian law, the legal premises of each temple are adjudged to be 30 meters starting from the base of its outer buildings.
"Currently Preah Vihear temple fences are too near the gate of the temple, which indicates that Thailand has moved its border markers into Cambodian territory," said the spokesman.
by: Jiang Yuxia
http://news.xinhuanet.com
Monday, June 2, 2008
Rice from Thailand due to the ban from other countries
KUALA LUMPUR, Mon:
The government had to buy rice from Thailand to beef up the country’s stockpile due to the difficulty in getting supply from other countries.
Secretary-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Dr Zulkifli Idris said the difficulty was due to the ban on rice exports by India, Vietnam and Cambodia. However, he said, these countries had now lifted their ban and Malaysia would have more options to import rice apart from Thailand. "We bought rice from Thailand as these countries (India, Vietnam and Cambodia) stopped their exports due to production shortage but now they have lifted their ban on the export of rice,” he told reporters after opening the International Master Class in Plant Biosecurity: Isues and Responses here, today. Malaysia had requested 500,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter which sold 9.5 million tonnes overseas last year.
The order came in the wake of a record price for rice, which breached the US$1,000 per tonne (US$1=RM3.24) mark last month and Malaysia paid US$950 per tonne. The Thai Government had offered to sell 500,000 tonnes of rice to Malaysia from its existing 2.1 million-tonne stock under a government-to-government arrangement. — BERNAMA
resource: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/NewsBreak/20080602145244/Article/index_html
The government had to buy rice from Thailand to beef up the country’s stockpile due to the difficulty in getting supply from other countries.
Secretary-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Dr Zulkifli Idris said the difficulty was due to the ban on rice exports by India, Vietnam and Cambodia. However, he said, these countries had now lifted their ban and Malaysia would have more options to import rice apart from Thailand. "We bought rice from Thailand as these countries (India, Vietnam and Cambodia) stopped their exports due to production shortage but now they have lifted their ban on the export of rice,” he told reporters after opening the International Master Class in Plant Biosecurity: Isues and Responses here, today. Malaysia had requested 500,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter which sold 9.5 million tonnes overseas last year.
The order came in the wake of a record price for rice, which breached the US$1,000 per tonne (US$1=RM3.24) mark last month and Malaysia paid US$950 per tonne. The Thai Government had offered to sell 500,000 tonnes of rice to Malaysia from its existing 2.1 million-tonne stock under a government-to-government arrangement. — BERNAMA
resource: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/NewsBreak/20080602145244/Article/index_html
Active Duty
Army Sgt. Jodi F. Stone recently was awarded a certificate of achievement and the Commander's Coin for serving with the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Camp Taji, Iraq. She and her explosive detector dog, appropriately named "Staff Sgt. Bango," completed more than 10 missions with the unit in Iraq. Stone is a patrol explosive detector dog handler regularly assigned to the 51st Military Police Detachment, 42nd Military Police Brigade at Fort Lewis in Tacoma. The sergeant has served in the military for nine years. She is the daughter of Francis and Barbara Stone of Stanwood and a 1998 graduate of Stanwood High School. The Commander's Coin was given to Sgt. Stone in recognition of her outstanding performance.Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Frank Coffey Jr. is at home on leave, visiting his parents Frank and Salley Coffey of Camano Island. A 1987 graduate of Mountlake Terrace High School, Coffey has served in the Navy for 20 years. His tours of duty include in Panama, Guam, Japan, Okinawa, the Persian Gulf and Iraq, where he was awarded a Purple Heart after being wounded a year ago. At the end of June, Coffey has been assigned to a tour in Afghanistan.Air Force Reserve Col. Paul Abson recently participated in a humanitarian mission in Cambodia. Dr. Abson, an ear, nose and throat specialist at The Everett Clinic in Everett, is a reservist with the 446th Airlift Wing based at McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma. He worked at a clinic in Cambodia were he conducted medical examinations and distributed fluoride treatment kits to more than 500 children. The humanitarian assistance program is aimed to improve the cooperation between the armed forces of Thailand, Cambodia and the United States.Air Force Airman Jason D. Lurf has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. He is the son of Kenneth Lurf of Lakewood, Calif., and grandson of Donald Lurf of Marysville.Air Force Airman Della M. Sciascia has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. She is the daughter of Della Crookes of Granite Falls and granddaughter of Connie Smith of Edmonds. Sciascia is a 2007 graduate of Granite Falls High School.Air Force Airman Joshua D. Nicholson has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, and technology school at Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas. Airman Nicholson will be stationed in Germany. He is the son of Nic Nicholson of Granite Falls and Patricia Nicholson of Everett. He is a 2007 graduate of Weston High School in Arlington.
resource: http://heraldnet.com/article/20080602/NEWS01/574743983
resource: http://heraldnet.com/article/20080602/NEWS01/574743983
Sunday, June 1, 2008
US man convicted over Cambodia sex offences
A federal jury in the United States has convicted a retired marine captain of travelling to Cambodia to have sex with underage girls.Michael Joseph Pepe faces up to 210 years in prison for guilty verdicts on seven felony counts.During the trial, six girls aged 9 to 12 testified that Pepe drugged, bound, beat and raped them.A prostitute also told the court on videotape that she brought him young victims.Pepe was prosecuted under the Protect Act, which was adopted five years ago to increase penalties against predatory crimes involving children outside the United States.
by http://www.radioaustralia.net.au
resource: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200806/s2262156.htm?tab=asia
by http://www.radioaustralia.net.au
resource: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200806/s2262156.htm?tab=asia
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