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
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
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
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