Cambodia gives big boost to military budget

14% of the national budget will be allocated to defense, including the upkeep of Brigade B-70 (Left), Hun Sen's private bodyguards unit, in stark contrast to the 1.7% budget spent on agriculture, Cambodia's economic backbone

By Ek Madra

PHNOM PENH, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Cambodia, one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries, plans to boost defense and security spending by 23 percent next year, its budget showed on Saturday, raising the prospect of a clash with the IMF.

Cambodia plans to spend $274 million on defense and security next year, up from $223 million this year, the budget showed. The total budget for calendar 2010 was $1.97 billion, which meant the military was allocated about 14 percent of total spending.
That compares with 1.7 percent spent on agriculture, the backbone of Cambodia's economy, and 0.7 percent on water resources. About 1.7 percent was set aside for rural development.

Military spending is a sensitive topic in Cambodia because of the millions of dollars of donor money flowing into the country, largely to social programmes.

"This big budget for defense is meant for preventative measures in response to international conflicts," said government spokesman Phay Siphan.

Siphan said the spending was unrelated to tensions with neighbouring Thailand over land surrounding a 900-year-old, cliff-top Hindu temple known as Preah Vihear. Skirmishes in the border area have killed seven troops in the past year.

Thailand is challenging a U.N. decision to make the temple a world heritage site under Cambodian jurisdiction. Cambodia was awarded the temple in a 1962 international court ruling that did not determine who owns 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) next to it.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) criticised Cambodia last year for its military spending, leading the Cambodian government to cut back its defense budget during a debate in parliament after questioning by the IMF.

"Donors will not be happy," Ou Vireak, head of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said of the latest military budget.

He said Prime Minister Hun Sen was likely trying to whip up nationalist support by projecting an image of a strong military at a time of heightened tension with Thailand.

"By doing so, he is turning the country effectively into a military state," he said.

(Editing by Jason Szep and Dean Yates)

Long journey to a new life

HAPPY: Cambodian refugee Sam Put with his partner Nicky and daughter Madison. (WARWICK SMITH/The Manawatu Standard)

31/10/2009
Manawatu Standard (New Zealand)

War, extreme poverty and starvation are not issues Manawatu residents face every day, but for migrants and refugees, these problems have often been part of life. Adjusting to a new homeland may not be easy, but when JONATHON HOWE spoke to 29-year-old Cambodian refugee Sam Put, he discovered that success in the face of adversity was possible.

Sam Put was just one week old when his mother carried him, his brother and a bag of rice across Cambodia's killing fields and into Thailand.

His parents were fleeing from Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime, which killed more than one million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979. "My parents had to flee," Sam says. "If they'd stayed, they would have been shot or abducted to work in rice fields.

"Pol Pot's regime, they don't want anyone that could think, because they don't want leaders, they want followers."

The 14-day trek to the Thai border was a dangerous journey over mountains and across rivers. Sam's parents endured many horrors on that journey. They lost a daughter to starvation, they saw the dead and disfigured bodies of men, women and children on the side of the road, they saw babies abandoned because their cries would alert soldiers. Sam's cries led to his family being ostracised by a larger group, but his mother would not abandon him.

"She got pushed aside from the group that was leading the way," he says. "At that time, if a soldier hear you, they will pretty much kill you, and you can't tell a baby to sshh."

Sam's family was placed in the Khao-I-Dang refugee camp with tens of thousands of asylum seekers. He spent his first nine years in Khao-I-Dang, a nightmare place filled with death, violence and sexual abuse.

"For me, seeing people die of starvation felt like it was natural because I grew up with it."

He remembers soldiers raiding the camp looking for women and children to rape. "It would happen about once a week. About 10 or 20 soldiers would come in. We always kept everything packed in case we had to run.

"Looking back now, I don't know how so many people survived in that camp for such a long time."

But Sam learnt to adapt, spending most of his time looking for food and attending lessons given by elders.

Sometimes he would escape from the camp and go fishing at a nearby river, a perilous task because Khmer Rouge boats patrolled the waters.

"One night when we went we saw one guy who was caught and got decapitated.

"Although his death distressed me, we continued to fish there. It was that or my family would have starved."

Every year his family prayed they would be chosen for resettlement. Sam compares the selection process to a lottery that his family lost for eight years.

"It's just a list and if your name comes up, you get to go. If it doesn't, then you just stay there," he says. "We were there for nine years, so you can just think the amount of time we'd just wait around to go every year, hoping, hoping, hoping to go."

People were reluctant to take in big families, so Sam's parents put him and his brother forward as a separate family.

In 1989, Sam and his brother hit the jackpot and were headed for New Zealand.

Today, Sam is a polite, cheerful and confident 29-year-old family man. He works in business banking at the Bank of New Zealand and is a semester away from finishing a Bachelor of Education degree, majoring in secondary school physical education, at Massey University.

He also coaches the Takaro International soccer team, attends St Matthew's Church and plays a leading role in the Manawatu Cambodian Association. He recently celebrated the arrival of his first child, Madison Grace Put, with his Kiwi fiancee, Nicola.

His achievements have even caught the attention of staff at Wellington's Te Papa museum. Sam will feature in an exhibition called The Mixing Room: Stories from Young Refugees in New Zealand, opening in April next year, which will tell the settlement stories of refugees aged between 12 and 29 who act as leaders and mentors in their communities.

But Sam wasn't always happy. On arrival in Palmerston North, he felt trapped by his poor English, his loneliness and his lack of independence.

Sam and his brother were placed with a Cambodian family who, although kind, were no substitute for parents.

"A month felt like a decade without a family," he says.

"When I left the camp, I didn't realise that I was going so far away. I thought I could see my mum and dad whenever I wanted."

Sam's lack of English meant he needed help with basic tasks like buying books or ordering food.

"I just felt I was dumb and isolated and a burden on people.

"I felt it was harder to cope than when I was in the refugee camp, because I didn't know how to relate to this place."

Sam was most afraid of school, where he could not hide his lack of English. Some children ridiculed him for being different, and he was subjected to racism.

"I was being laughed at because I didn't really know what I was doing there," he says.

"There were names like black spot because I was real black, dumb a.... One kid called me alien, because the things I was doing were quite strange.

"In the camp, we would hunt sparrow. I did that at school and I got told off because it wasn't the norm, but for me I thought it was normal, because in the refugee camp we hunt sparrow all the time."

He also felt awed by the abundance of food and comfortable lifestyle in Palmerston North.

"I'd never seen a telly, so when I first saw a telly, I cried because I thought, `Why are these little people stuck in this TV'?"

It was a huge moment when Sam's parents came to Palmerston North about a year after he arrived.

"I can never repay what my parents done for me and that's why, in a way, I wanted to help bring them to New Zealand, because without them I wouldn't be here today."

But the problems did not stop. The feelings of isolation remained and at his lowest point he contemplated suicide.

"You've just got to be strong.

"Because of my language barrier, it was hard for me to speak it out. It's hard to tell people what was wrong if you find it hard to communicate."

Sam worked hard at his English, and when he left high school, things began to improve. He credits the turnaround to three things: tertiary study, sport and church.

He completed a sports science and coaching diploma at Universal College of Learning and started to coach the multicultural Massey International soccer side, which later became Takaro International.

"I just slowly started to become confident in who I am, to grow up and be a man and take responsibility."

Making Kiwi friends was vital for integrating into New Zealand society, he says.

"Rather than just hanging with my own people, I learnt to branch out. To me, it was getting both cultures and bringing them together to adapt."

Sam now helps other Palmerston North refugees in his roles on the Manawatu Cambodian Association and Ethnic Forum. His most recent project was organising last weekend's Cambodian Soccer tournament in Palmerston North.

"There is hope for migrants or refugees if they learn to adapt and, as a community. We try to provide them with the correct network and just promote the awareness of different people.

"They will be able to achieve what I have achieved. It's going to be hard at first, but there is light at the end of the tunnel."

[Caambodian-American] Wilson High School track athlete killed after football game in Long Beach

Photo: Friends and classmates mourn the death of 16-year-old track athlete Melody Ross. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

October 31, 2009
Los Angeles Times

Friends and family gathered today at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach to mourn the death of a 16-year-old honors student and track athlete who was gunned down as she and her friends were leaving a football game the night before.
Melody Ross, a junior in advanced-placement honors and a pole vaulter on the track team, was randomly hit by gunfire that also injured two young men, police said. It is not known if the shooting was gang-related. No arrests have been made.

Ross was identified by her uncle, Sam Che, who said their family emigrated to Southern California in the mid-1980s from Cambodia. “We escaped the killing fields,” said Che, 36.

Ross was dressed as Supergirl for the homecoming game against Polytechnic High School that was attended by many other students in costume on the day before Halloween. Ross was “an innocent kid” said Mario Morales, the Wilson High football coach.

“It’s very disconcerting. I’m sick to my stomach when something like that happens and you have an innocent kid involved,” Morales said. He said he heard five to seven shots as he was leaving the stadium after his team’s loss to Poly.

[Updated at 1:30 p.m.: A homecoming dance attended by about 200 students was underway on campus when the shots were fired, said Long Beach Unified School District spokesman Chris Eftychiou. The sparsely attended event for the school with 4,500 students was locked down while police and school district security combed the campus for the perpetrators, he said.

Extra security had been brought in for the sold-out game pitting longtime rivals Wilson and Poly, said Eftychiou, adding that police told school officials they had no indications the shootings stemmed from the schools' "healthy rivalry." Poly beat Wilson in the Friday night matchup, 34-15.

Counselors will be at school Monday to talk with Ross' classmates and any other students who feel the need to talk about the incident, said Eftychiou, describing the violence as a rare occurrence even in vicinity of the suburban school.]

Ross' classmates gathered at a pedestrian crossing along Ximeno Avenue near the football stadium exit to leave flowers and light candles by the curb where she was shot. They hugged each other, and some sat against the school fence or on the grass with their heads down, pondering the loss of a friend they described as polite and well-liked. A passerby in a green Toyota truck yelled out: "Police need to do their job!"

Ross, who attended the game with her 17-year-old sister, Emily, a senior at Wilson, died at St. Mary Medical Center about half an hour after the 10 p.m. shooting. At least one bullet struck her in the side, Che said.

The young men, 18 and 20, who were struck suffered non-life-threatening injuries, said Long Beach Police spokeswoman Sgt. Dina Zapalski. Their identities were not released.

-- Ruben Vives in Long Beach, and Ben Bolch

[Cambodian-American] Girl killed after Poly-Wilson game called 'innocent bystander'

Melody Ross, 16, seen on the LCD monitor of a friend's camera.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Friends and classmates of Wilson High School junior, Melody Ross, 16, gather on Ximeno Ave. between 7th and 10th streets adjacent to Wilson on Saturday, October 31, 2009 to mourn Ross s death in a Friday night shooting. Ross and friends were leaving the school s football game against crosstown rival Poly when Ross was struck by a stray bullet. Two other males were wounded. (Diandra Jay/Press-Telegram)

Man wounded in second incident Friday night

10/30/2009
By John Canalis and Greg Mellen, Staff Writers
Long Beach Press Telegram

LONG BEACH -- The 16-year-old girl shot and killed after the football game between Poly and Wilson high schools was believed to have been "an innocent bystander who was not involved" in the altercation, City Councilman Gary DeLong said Saturday morning.

The girl went to Wilson High School, the 3rd District councilman said. Her identity was not released by officials but she was identified Saturday morning as Melody Ross by a cousin, Han Yin, who was among mourners gathering at the scene near the high school.

The girl, a junior and one of three victims in the 10 p.m. Friday attack near 10th Street and Ximeno Avenue, died in an area hospital, the Long Beach Police Department reported.

Two men, ages 18 and 20, were also injured in the shooting. They were hospitalized with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.

The other two victims are not believed to be students at either Wilson or Poly, DeLong said, citing preliminary police information.

The shooting occurred sometime after 10 p.m., shortly after Wilson had lost to arch-rival Poly High School 34-15.

Friends said that the dead teen's parents had come to the United States fleeing the "Killing Fields" of Cambodia, and had recently moved to a new home that they considered a safer place to live.

DeLong, whose district includes Wilson High, said he was told police have strong leads in the case but was not yet aware of any arrests.

"It's a horrific event," DeLong said, "and my heart goes out to the families."

DeLong said police have not yet been able to determine what led to the altercation.

LBPD is the finest law enforcement agency in California and I have no doubt they will find and arrest the criminals who committed this horrific act.

I've been in constant contact beginning last evening with Deputy Chief Luna, City Manager Pat West, both Wilson Co-Principals and concerned parents. All City resources will be available for Wilson High School to access both over the weekend, and continuing as necessary.

"Having a daughter who recently graduated from Wilson High, I feel a personal connection to the family who lost a daughter as a result of this atrocity," DeLong said.

By mid-Saturday morning, friends and classmates had gathered at the scene and a temporary memorial of flowers, signs and balloons had begun to grow. On the nearby football field, young players were tossing around balls.

Anyone with information, video or photos involving the shooting is asked to call Long Beach Police Homicide Detectives Scott Lasch and Malcolm Evans at (562) 570-7244.

In a second incident, police were flagged down in the area of Atlantic Avenue and 4th Street at about 9:30 p.m. Friday by a person who had just been carjacked. He pointed out his vehicle, which was leaving the scene.

Officers stopped the vehicle in the area of 4th Street and Cerritos Avenue where an officer-involved shooting occurred. The suspect refused to exit the vehicle after numerous attempts were made to get him out. SWAT came to the scene and the suspect was taken into custody. He was transported to a hospital, where is being treated for his life-threatening injuries. No officers were injured.

In addition to the Long Beach Police Department's ongoing investigation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is also conducting an independent investigation, which is routine for all "hit" officer involved shootings that occur in Los Angeles County.

Anyone with any information regarding this incident is urged to contact Long Beach Police Homicide Detectives Bryan McMahon and Teri Hubert at (562) 570-7244.

Press-Telegram photographer Jeff Gritchen contributed to this story.

Helping out in Cambodia

By MICHELLE LOTTER - North Shore Times
30/10/2009


A Takapuna resident is volunteering her skills in language for a three- month Cambodia trip.

Fiona Whyte, a foreign exchange specialist, is looking forward to working with young Cambodian students through the Global Volunteer Network from November.

"To live and work in Cambodia, to be able to offer my knowledge and skills, that’s the really exciting
aspect of this opportunity."

She is paying for her own food and accommodation as she works with nine teachers from throughout the world as a language teacher in Phnom Penh on a project that provides affordable classes.

The aim is to raise money for the local non- government organisation Cambodian Rural Development Trust who works to improve livelihoods in rural Cambodian communities,
Ms Whyte says.

"Students pay a small fee to attend the classes and funds raised are used to improve the community in areas such as water, sanitation, livestock and agriculture production, and environmental awareness.

"Essentially I’ll be helping students improve their English skills while also assisting in the development of the community."

She travelled to Cambodia last year on a World Vision Cycle Charity Challenge that raised $63,000 and assisted 17,000 people in accessing clean water through the charity’s Cambodian projects.

"It was a wonderful experience made particularly special when World Vision was able to arrange for me to meet the two girls I sponsor.

"Even though we didn’t share the same language, we were able to connect. These people are warm, friendly and amazingly resilient."

She says she is looking forward to seeing the education, health and housing rights projects supported by the trust.

She will help facilitate fair trade with World Vision’s microfinance schemes to distribute goods which are sold in New Zealand.

Thailand to strip Thaksin of awards, police rank

2009-10-28



BANGKOK, Oct 28 (AFP) - Thailand said Wednesday that it would strip fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra of his royal awards and his police rank as the government presses on with a campaign against its arch-foe.

The announcement came amid tensions over an offer of shelter from neighbouring Cambodia for Thaksin, who was toppled in a coup in 2006 and is living in self-imposed exile to avoid a jail term for corruption.

The billionaire remains an influential figure on Thailand's turbulent political scene, stirring up mass protests from abroad against the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Abhisit said the government's legal advisory body, the Council of State, had recommended that the National Police Office should revoke Thaksin's rank of lieutenant colonel from his days in the police force from 1973 to 1987.

It should also confiscate the two highest royal awards given to Thaksin -- the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant and the Most Illustrious Order of King Chula Chonklao, Abhisit said.

"The National Police Office had sought the recommendation from the Council of State and the recommendation has come out, so it must act to comply with the ruling," he told reporters.

Abhisit denied that the government was trying to tarnish Thaksin's image after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen angered the Thai government last week by offering Thaksin refuge in Cambodia and a job as his economic advisor.

Thai and Cambodian forces have fought several deadly battles in the past year and a half in a row over disputed land around an ancient temple on their border.

Twice-elected Thaksin fled Thailand last year before he was sentenced to two years in jail in a corruption case. His allies were driven from government in December after anti-Thaksin protesters occupied Bangkok's airports.

Abhisit has said Thaksin, who has several passports and divides his time between a number of countries, must return to Thailand to face justice. (AFP)

MySinchew 2009.10.28

Cambodia, UN mark 64th anniversary of UN Day

http://www.chinaview.cn/
2009-10-28



PHNOM PENH, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government and the United Nations country team on Tuesday jointly marked the 64th anniversary of UN Day, focusing on reviewing common priorities, said a press released from UN Resident Coordinator in Cambodia on Wednesday.

The discussion with Prime Minister Hun Sen and 11 UN Representatives focused on the excellent working relationship between Cambodia and the UN.

"The United Nations brings around 100 million U.S. dollars of development assistance to Cambodia each year but our support stretches beyond the dollar value of this contribution. We have a long-standing history of promoting peace and human development in Cambodia and we are extremely proud to serve the Cambodian people" expressed UN Resident Coordinator to Cambodia, Douglas Broderick.

Topics raised during the meeting included climate change, the global economic crisis, drug awareness, disaster management and Cambodia's support to international peacekeeping.

Among the highest priorities for the UN Country Team is helping Cambodia to achieve its Millennium Development Goals including improving maternal health, the goal currently requiring the most attention.

"The United Nations believes that no Cambodian woman should die giving life. We are committed to assisting the government to scale-up the quantity and quality of midwives and to improve access to emergency obstetrics care and reproductive health services as part of our joint effort to advance maternal health" Broderick assured the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister shared UN concern that the Millennium Development Goals could be endangered by the combined impacts of the global economic crisis and climate change but was grateful to the UN system for its assistance in helping compile information on the goals' progress at sub-national level.

Regarding the global economic crisis and its impact on the local economy, both sides recognized the importance of coordinating closely to maintain focus on the most vulnerable groups.

"We have been pleased by Cambodia's active response to the global economic crisis especially the attention given to social protection and the progress made towards an integrated Social Safety Net strategy. The UN will work with the government to maintain efforts in this area of social protection to ensure that as the world moves out of this crisis, the poorest people are protected from current and future economic shocks"

In closing the meeting, the Prime Minister congratulated the UN on its 64th anniversary and vowed to continue the UN Day meeting tradition.

United Nations Day (October 24) marks the signing of the United Nations Charter in 1945. Cambodia joined the United Nations on 14 December 1955.

The United Nations Country Team in Cambodia consists of 23 agencies, fund and programmes operating in the country.

Editor: Lin Zhi

Cambodian court upholds politician's sentence for defaming premier

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/

Asia-Pacific News
Oct 28, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Phnom Penh - Cambodia's Appeal Court on Wednesday upheld the fine levied by a lower court on opposition parliamentarian Mu Sochua in her legal wrangle with Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Mu Sochua, a prominent member of the Sam Rainsy Party and a former minister of women's affairs, lost a defamation case brought by Hun Sun earlier this year.

She had originally sued Hun Sen for defamation after comments made by him in 2008 that she said referred to her. The courts threw out her case but allowed the prime minister to countersue on the basis that her lawsuit had defamed him.

Hun Sen won his case in early August with the lower court fining Mu Sochua around 4,100 US dollars.

Mu Sochua told the German Press Agency dpa that she was disappointed by Wednesday's verdict.

'The Appeal Court did not take this opportunity to prove to the people of Cambodia as well as to the world that they had the chance, but did not take the chance, to fix the irregular and bad image that the judicial system has in the eyes of the public,' she said.

Mu Sochua, who was present in court, said proper procedure was followed, but insisted that she was disadvantaged because she could not find a lawyer to represent her.

Her attorney in the original case quit and joined Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party after he came under intense political pressure and was threatened with disbarment for representing her.

'I will file to the Supreme Court to have today's decision rejected,' she said. 'I am not guilty of any crime. I will not pay the fine and no one else will pay the fine.'

The case against the opposition legislator was one of several brought this year by the Cambodian government as it moved controversially against its perceived critics in politics, media and civil society.

Appeal Court Ruling [in Mu Sochua's case] a Mockery of Justice: SRP MPs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 012 788 999
October 28, 2009

Appeal Court Ruling a Mockery of Justice

“[The IPU] observes with deep concern that the decisions such as those in question may have a dampening effect on the ability of members of parliament and, even more so, of citizens to criticize the conduct of government officials and hence may detract from democratic debate…” - Resolution adopted by consensus by the IPU Governing Council at its 185th session (Geneva, 21 October 2009)

PHNOM PENH – October 28, 2009

We, Members of Parliament of the Sam Rainsy Party strongly denounce the ruling of the Appeal Court today, which upheld the defamation conviction of MP, Mu Sochua. The Court’s decision confirms that there is no rule of law in Cambodia when a person dares to challenge the government.

The Appeal Court, ignoring principles of fair trial, blindly affirmed the decision of the municipal court: the accused was denied her rights to be represented by a lawyer of her choice, and to be judged by an independent and impartial tribunal.

Last week, the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) adopted a resolution on this case, finding that “the threat of disbarment of [Mu Sochua’s] lawyer, which forced him to withdraw from the case, violated her right to counsel of her choice…whatever may have been the reasons for [his] withdrawal….” The IPU further concluded that “it is difficult to accept the argument of the authorities that no link exists between the risk of his being disbarred from the Bar Association and his having taken on Mu Sochua’s defence…”

The lack of reforms of the judiciary in Cambodia and the direct manipulation of the justice system by the executive branch must be condemned and immediate steps must be taken to allow judges and lawyers to exercise their roles and functions according to the rule of law and the principle of independence of judges and lawyers.

We acknowledge and highly value the presence of all local and international human rights organizations during the hearing today, and we call on civil society and the international community to continue their vigilance of the current surge of defamation cases against dissenting voices, and partisan political pressure on the judiciary.

The government must be held accountable to deliver clear results in the reforms of the judiciary and its commitment to democratic principles. Such manipulation of the judiciary to silence critics is a serious attack of people’s rights under the Constitution and international law, and can not be tolerated in a free society.

The full version of the IPU Resolution can be found at http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2009/10/ipu-resolution-regarding-mrs-mu-sochuas.html.

Mu Sochua and her supporters lighted candles in front of Appeal Court to call for Justice

SRP Mu Sochua and supporters light candles today in front of Appeal Court to call for Justice before the Appeal Court announced verdict today.

(All Photos: SRP)

Asia's intra-regional marriage migration on rise

Wed, 28 Oct 2009
DPA

Bangkok/Phnom Penh - When it comes to attracting a potential spouse, South Korean soap operas seem to be the best way to a South-East Asian bride's heart. Over the last decade, thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodian women have left their homes to marry South Korean husbands, lured into dubious unions by dreams of financial security and glitzy, city lifestyles in a modern Asian nation.

Cambodia, alarmed by a report that 1,760 Cambodian women had left the country in 2007 for brokered marriages in South Korea, slapped a ban on all marriages to foreigners in April 2008, lifting it only in December after putting in place restrictions on the nuptials trade.

"Korean men have demographic problems in their own country, particularly in finding wives for rural men who are mainly from the lower-income groups," said John McGeoghan, a human-trafficking expert for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Cambodia.

"In the marketing of this exercise, the Cambodian women are looking at Korean soap operas and thinking they are going to a glamorous life."

It was an IOM report on the exodus of Cambodian brides that sparked Phnom Penh's eight-month foreign marriage ban.

There might be nothing wrong in principle with impoverished women from rural Cambodia or Vietnam choosing to migrate through marriage to South Korea, an industrialized, high-tech country with a rapidly greying population and a lack of womenfolk on the farms.

But the Asian foreign brides business has been a source of disillusionment and outright abuses.

"Part of the reason this is an issue is because it's broker arranged, so they come in and two guys might see 100 Vietnamese girls, and they chose the one they like and are encouraged to sleep with the woman that night," said Andrew Bruce, IOM's Bangkok-based regional representative for South-East Asia.

IOM estimates that some 100,000 Vietnamese women have been brokered to Taiwanese husbands over the last decade. There are some 170,000 brides from mainland China in Taiwan, according to government figures, though the real figure may be closer to 270,000, according to non-government estimates.

South Korea, where brokers formerly recruited wives from rural north-east China, has switched to Vietnamese brides, with about 12,000 arriving every year.

It is big business. A broker charges each would-be husband 5,000- 20,000 dollars for a foreign bride, arranging the introductions, marriages, and processing the visa and passport for the newlywed.

"There was a Vietnamese woman who wanted to get out of it, once the husband had left, and she was told she had to pay all the fees, amounting to 6,000 dollars, and of course she had no money," IOM's Bruce said.

In Taiwan, there are stories of Vietnamese "brides" being used as maids by their new mothers-in-law or shared among several brothers as common chattel.

Alarmed by the horror stories, the Taiwan government has tightened up on immigration controls on Vietnamese women, making it more difficult for them to acquire citizenship.

In South Korea, where four in every 10 marriages in rural areas are cross-cultural, the government has commissioned the Women Migrants Human Rights Centre to run 24-hour emergency help lines for foreign brides in six languages.

Divorces among cross-cultural couples in South Korea have increased from 4,171 in 2003 to 11,225 in 2008, one indication that the soap operas might not be painting an accurate picture of rural lifestyles.

In Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh, the IOM has set up orientation programmes for foreign brides awaiting their visas, informing them of their legal rights and providing them with a smattering of cultural and linguistic preparation for their future marriages.

"These women need information about Korea," IOM's McGeoghan said. "They need to know they are not going to be leading glamorous lives, that sometimes in Korean culture they won't be allowed out of the home or get pocket money."

But IOM regional representative Bruce acknowledged that the programme is more damage control than a solution for the abuses inherit in the marriage trade, which is likely to continue as long as poverty is rampant in the countrysides of Cambodia and Vietnam.

As in all marriages, there is both good and bad.

"On the one hand, these women are open to abuse, and they are almost being bought and sold," Bruce said. "But, on the other hand, the women also earn power, because they have an opportunity then to send money home and become far more important in their own families."

SRP pursues King's help to free editor

Hang Chakra (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Wednesday, October 28, 2009
By Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

PARLIAMENTARIANS from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party met with King Norodom Sihamoni on Tuesday to request that he grant amnesty to jailed newspaper publisher and edi tor in chief Hang Chakra.
Hang Chakra, who runs the opposition paper Khmer Ma chas Srok, was convicted in June of defamation and pub lishing false information in a series of articles that appeared in his newspaper accusing officials working for Deputy Prime Minister Sok An of cor ruption.

The publisher was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 9 million riels (US$2,187). The Court of Appeal rejected his case on August 11.

SRP lawmaker Son Chhay said that an 18-member del egation met with the King on Tuesday to report on the leg islature's recent activities and to request amnesty for Hang Chakra.

The King did not offer a de finitive statement on the case, Son Chhay said, though the monarch has already written a letter to Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana asking that the Supreme Council of the Mag istracy examine Hang Chakra's situation.

"The King is waiting for the government's response. He promised that he will do what he can," Son Chhay said, ac knowledging that he was un sure of whether the King's at tention would be enough to free Hang Chakra.

Council of Ministers spokes man Phay Siphan said the government has no power to intervene in this case, par ticularly because it was the original plaintiff against Hang Chakra.

"The government cannot play both plaintiff and judge," Phay Siphan said. "The court has given Hang Chakra a verdict – it is the court's case."

The government's duty, Phay Siphan said, is to enforce the law rather than to interpret it, and as such, he was unsure that any government body would have the power to grant amnesty to Hang Chakra.

Foreign brides rejuvenate South Korea's aging society

Wed, 28 Oct 2009
DPA

Seoul - Foreign brides are replacing local women as a major source of vitality in South Korea's greying rural communities, helping to rebuild rural family bonds by providing babies and farm labour and participating in community activities. Lured by the prospect of a higher standard of living, brides recruited from other Asian countries are becoming commonplace in the South Korean countryside.

In rural communities, which once prided themselves on their homogeneity, four in every 10 women married in 2008 were foreign-born, according to data from the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.

In small towns with average ages in the 50s or above, many old farm houses are abandoned or under-utilized by elderly residents after their adult children have left for jobs in the cities.

The farm house of Han Jun-Hee, 44, is a good example. Han said the house used to be a place of "sighs and silence" before his Thai bride arrived in 2002.

Now, the couple's three daughters play in the garden, and wife Onnoi, 36, helps work the family rice paddy. She even takes care of Han's aging parents and works as an English interpreter at a local community centre.

"I cannot imagine our family without her," Han said. "She gave us a new family. She helps me with the rice harvest. She is a good mother. She is a good daughter-in-law."

Onnoi had to work hard to fit in.

"You have no idea how lonely and hard it was when I first started my life here," she said. "I didn't understand what the other family members were saying. I was scared about everything that is different here."

Cultural differences often deepen the homesickness felt by the foreign brides.

"I weep secretly when I think of my parents at home and miss them," said a 25-year-old Vietnamese bride who married a South Korean farmer last year.

The passage of time may ease the homesickness as the young women adapt to their roles as wife and mother.

But some of the marriages, especially those undertaken out of necessity rather of romance, can end with runaway brides after the women discover a huge gap between their fantasies and the reality of life on South Korean farms.

A 2008 survey by the Korea Institute of Health and Society showed that 28 per cent of foreign brides experience verbal abuse from their Korean spouses. Twenty-five per cent feel physically threatened by spouses.

Some foreign brides have even been locked into their houses to keep them from running away. Suicides among foreign brides have been reported.

Divorces among these mixed-marriage couples increased from 4,171 in 2003 to 11,225 in 2008. In 2008 there were 36,204 marriages registered between South Koreans and foreign-born spouses, according to South Korea's Statistics Office.

The offspring of mixed marriages often suffer for being different. Many of these children have a harder time with the Korean language and are subjected to teasing or bullying by peers.

As of the end of 2008, there were 167,090 marriages between South Korean and foreign-born spouses, and those unions have produced more than 100,000 babies over the years, according to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. At least 25,000 of those children have reached school age.

Foreign wives are emerging from the pain of loneliness and prejudice by forging networks among themselves. Across the country are dozens of inter-cultural family centres, where foreign brides get counseling on family welfare, learn about Korean culture and take part in community services.

At the centres, the foreign brides work as interpreters to help recent arrivals adapt to their own new lives.

Some of the foreign mothers are preparing to teach English at community centres or schools.

A 35-year-old Philippine-born woman, mother of a 10-year-old son, is one of 13 foreign brides attending classes to become English teachers at primary school in the Korea Arts and Culture Education Service.

"I want to teach English at primary school, where my son is learning," said the woman, who asked not to be named. "I'd like my son to be proud of his mom when I teach his class."

The state-run Korean National Tourism Organization provides a medical tourism class for 18 brides from China, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines so they can work for local government or medical clinics or travel agents.

"If we have more Asian brides, we may have more of an international mix, or third culture, that is partly Korean and partly Thai or Vietnam or Philippine," said Park Dae-Sik, a researcher for the Korea Rural Economic Institute.

Dong Thap boosts trade cooperation with Cambodia

10/28/2009
VNA/VOVNews

Almost 30 Vietnamese businesses from southern Dong Thap province and Cambodian companies have discussed how to boost opportunities for trade and investment cooperation between the two sides.

At a workshop on trade and investment promotion held in Phnom Penh on October 27, participants introduced each other to areas of potential and opportunity for cooperation, and ask questions on legal issues, customs, finance and banking.

Sharing a common borderline with Cambodia, Dong Thap province is ideally suited to boost trade promotion, expand into the market and consume products in Cambodia, said the Chairman of the Dong Thap Provincial People’s Committee, Truong Ngoc Han, at the workshop, which was held by the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce and the Dong Thap Provincial Trade and Investment Promotion Centre.

A memorandum of understanding on enhancement of investment and trade was signed right after the workshop by senior officials of Dong Thap province and the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce.

Additionally, companies from both sides agreed trade contracts worth US$1 million at the workshop.

Earlier, at a meeting with Cambodian Vice Prime Minster Men Sam On, Chairman of the Dong Thap Provincial People’s Committee Truong Ngoc Han pledged to push up activities at gates along the borderline between Dong Thap province and Cambodia’s Prey Veng province.

Dong Thap province has helped build infrastructure for provincial road 102 in Cambodia, linking from the Dinh Ba-Bontea Chak Krey border gate to the trans-Asia highway.

Ancient [Baphuon] temple nearly restored

Oct 28, 2009
AFP

SIEM REAP (Cambodia) - ON A muggy afternoon in Cambodia's ancient Angkor complex, workers in hardhats hunch over the world's biggest jigsaw puzzle, painstakingly assembling sandstone blocks.
Walled-off from camera-toting tourists, they are finally close to completing an astonishing reconstruction of the fabled 11th century Baphuon Temple.

'This is not easy to plan like a construction project is,' says architect Pascal Royere from the French School of Asian Studies, who is leading the rebuilding team.

Restorers dismantled Baphuon in the 1960s when it was falling apart, laying some 300,000 of its stone blocks in the grass and jungle around the site.

But before the French-led team of archaeologists could reassemble the 34-metre tall temple, the hardline communist Khmer Rouge swept to power in 1975.

Up to two million people died from overwork, starvation and torture as the regime tried to re-set Cambodia to 'Year Zero' by eliminating reminders of its past - including the records to put Baphuon back together.

Elder Monk Beats 68-Year-old Nun to Death

10/28/2009
ShortNews.com

In Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia, Pov Ron,68, confessed to beating a 68-year-old nun to death with a piece of firewood. The nun allowed pigs to eat from Pov's rice bowl and this caused an "uncontrollable anger" in Pov which resulted in murder.
Two days earlier, two monks beat a fourth-year medical student to death because he had chastised the monks for drinking palm wine (a strong wine made from palm trees).

Chhith Sophay, the chief monk, expressed alarm at the most recent killing, as well as the potential damage such violence could cause to the Buddhist faith.

Thailand's fugitive former premier to visit Cambodia "soon"

Oct 28, 2009
DPA

Bangkok - Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra plans to visit Cambodia soon after being offered refuge and a job as an economic adviser by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, media reports said Wednesday.
Thaksin said he would be paying a visit to Thailand's neighbour 'soon to thank Hun Sen,' the Bangkok Post reported, citing an unnamed source in the Puea Thai opposition party, which has the financial backing of the former prime minister.

Hun Sen last week threw a monkey wrench in Thai-Cambodian relations by claiming that Thaksin, who faces a two-year jail sentence in Thailand and is living in self-imposed exile, was his good friend and would be granted refuge and a job as an economic adviser should be come to Cambodia.

He added that Cambodia would not extradite Thaksin to Thailand, even though the neighbouring countries have signed an extradition agreement.

The former Khmer Rouge cadre went on to compare Thaksin with Myanmar pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has spent 14 of the past 20 years under house detention and was recently sentenced to another 18 months of house arrest.

Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon turned populist politician, was sentenced last year for abuse of power for allowing his wife in 2003 to bid on a plot of land at a public auction when he was still prime minister.

Thaksin was premier from 2001 to 2006 before being toppled in a bloodless military coup on charges of corruption, dividing the nation and undermining democratic institutions.

Thaksin's close ties to Hun Sen date back to when he was still the chairman of the Shinawatra Corp, which won several telecommunications concessions in neighbouring Cambodia.

Hun Sen's open support of Thaksin, made upon his arrival in Thailand Friday to attend a summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, was seen as a diplomatic slap in the face to current Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who came to power in December after the downfall of the previous pro-Thaksin coalition government.

Thailand and Cambodia have a long history of animosity and border spats, the latest one being over joint claims to land adjacent to the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on their border.

All in the "Hor" family: A Baby Hor will sit at the UN World Heritage Committee

Second Thai candidate makes it to UN Heritage panel

October 28, 2009
The Nation

Somsuda Leeyavanich, deputy permanent secretary for Culture Ministry, has been chosen to represent Thailand at the 12member World Heritage Committee. She will be joining other new members from Switzerland, Cambodia, South Africa, France, Ethiopia, Mexico, Estonia, Iraq and Mali.

Twentynine countries had put forward names for the new panel, which will be replacing the current one later this year, and will be in office until 2013.

According to Culture Minister Teera Slukpetch, the UN World Heritage agency reportedly had problems deciding on the new panel because both Thailand and Cambodia - currently in a dispute over the Preah Vihear temple - had put forward candidates.

Eventually, though, the UN agency decided to select candidates from both countries as a way to help solve the conflicts. The son of Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong will represent Cambodia.

Somsuda is the second Thai candidate selected to the UN panel, following Adul Wichiencharoen who had served in the panel for two terms.

"From now on, Thailand will play a bigger role in the world stage. More importantly, Somsuda's selection will help push Thai sites to be included in the UN World Heritage listing," Teera said yesterday.

Somsuda will be proposing historical sites to the UN, including the Sriwichai Chaiya - Nakhon Si Thammarat - Sating Phra - Yarang cultural route, Kedah of Malaysia, as well as the Lanna culture.

Initial reports mentioned that the new panel will check out Thai heritage sites in March. It might also visit Preah Vihear.

Thailand is hoping to host the 2011 UN World Heritage Committee meeting, once the summit next year has been hosted by Brazil.

Somsuda, meanwhile, said that she was glad she had been selected and thanked everyone for supporting her. "I will be neutral and work for the benefit of all countries. Sites in many countries have not yet been included in the UN list and I will push for them to be made part of the list," she said.

Cambodia's killing fields 30 years on: 'They will kill our parents tonight... we must escape'

Orphaned Cambodian children in refugee camp in 1979
Young Somaly Lun
Somaly as she is today
With her daughters (All pics: Harry Page, Getty)

27/10/2009
By Ros Wynne-Jones
Mirror.co.uk

It is 30 years since John Pilger revealed the existence of the Cambodian Killing Fields in the Daily Mirror. For Somaly Lun, the anniversary is bittersweet.
Today, customers at the Oxfordshire supermarket checkout where she works have no idea of her extraordinary story.

How she escaped US B-52 bombers as a child, a Khmer Rouge concentration camp as a teenager, and Vietnamese soldiers as a young woman. How she lost her father and six brothers to the Khmer Rouge.

Somaly owes her life in the UK to Oxfam's Marcus Thompson, then a young humanitarian worker who had become friends with Somaly and her husband Borithy.

"England gave me the first safe place I had ever lived," Somaly says.

By the time she was 10, her home town of Kratie was under attack, even though Cambodia was neutral. Kratie was close to the border with Vietnam which was at war with the States, and US President Richard Nixon ordered 100,000 tonnes of secret bombings.

"The B-52s came every day," Somaly recalls. "Every day, shooting and bombing and running." One day a man grabbed her as an F-11 US fighter jet swept low and held her in front of him as a shield. "The plane was so low I could almost see the pilot's face," she says. It permanently damaged her hearing.

Somaly's family fled to Phnom Penh, but by 1975 it had fallen to Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. Backed by the US against the Vietnamese communists, the Khmer Rouge were determined to return Cambodia to Year Zero, to a time before industrialisation.

"My father, a doctor, was in the middle of an operation the day the Khmer Rouge came," Somaly says. "He said, 'What about the patient?' They pointed a gun at him and asked, 'Do you want to die?'"

Somaly's family were herded out at gunpoint with two million other people. The family was taken to Pursat, a concentration camp in the remote countryside. Then the Khmer Rouge came for Somaly's father.

"They said, 'We know you are a doctor'." The first time, they wanted him to treat one of the leaders. But the second time, "they took him away and he never came back". Somaly was forced to spend 20 hours a day as a slave doing hard labour in the rice fields despite starvation, exhaustion and malaria.

Her older brother was caught saving his food rations for her. "They made him confess he was a US spy," she says. "They kept beating him until he died. Then my younger brother was taken. They put him in a prison with other children, and burned it to the ground. The screams have haunted me ever since.

"One day, they came and took 2,000 people. One of the girls came back like a zombie with blood all over her. She said, 'They killed everyone'." Then, one day a pal whispered: "They are killing our parents and we have to escape now, tonight." Somaly says: "After dark we went to where people were gathered with three big boats."

The Khmer Rouge chased them along the river, firing at the boats. She says: "We hid in the mangrove and caught fish and ate it raw as we didn't dare to make a fire. We drank muddy water. We all became sick - just skin and bones."

Everyone on Somaly's boat was drifting in and out of consciousness. "But somehow it arrived by itself at Kampong Chhnang, where the Khmer Rouge was driven out," she says. "They gave us food, water, shelter."

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New escapees from Pursat told Somaly that thousands had been taken to a cliff and forced off at gunpoint. Yet, somehow her mother, sister and brother had escaped. "The day I saw them again was the happiest day of my life," Somaly says.

When they returned to Phnom Penh in 1979 they found a ghost city occupied by the Vietnamese liberators.

Somaly took a job at the hotel Samaki - now Le Royale - as a receptionist, where she met Borithy, who was working for the Cambodian foreign office as a translator.

She also met Marcus Thompson, a 34-year-old British aid worker sent by Oxfam to set up a humanitarian programme. "We became friends," he remembers. "We were all stuck together at the hotel."

But Cambodia was still dangerous - and Borithy was warned to leave Phnom Penh. "He said he was in love with me and refused to leave without me," Somaly says.

On March 16, 1980, the couple married in secret inside a destroyed pagoda. The next day, they escaped. Passing through fields of landmines, they made it through Vietnamese, then Khmer Rouge territory and even past the Thai border guards to Khao I Dang, a squalid refugee camp on the border. Somaly wrote to her family and to Marcus to tell them they were alive.

"I needed to go to those camps as part of my work," Marcus says. Somaly says she will never forget seeing Marcus walking through the camp. "I cried out 'Marcus!' and just hung on to his neck," she says.

Marcus was shocked by their plight. "They couldn't go back to Cambodia," he says. "The Thais wouldn't accept them. We had to do something."

Back in England, Marcus and his Oxfam colleagues went through official channels to ask whether Britain would accept the family as refugees.

"We had no expectation anything would happen," Marcus says. "But then we got a letter saying 'Yes'."

Somaly, 22 and pregnant, arrived in the UK on May 12, 1981, with Borithy, Somaly's mother Moeun, brother Rithy and sister Virak - and settled close to Marcus and his family in Witney, Oxfordshire.

"People at the Oxfam offices donated all kinds of furniture, saucepans, an old TV, carpets," Somaly remembers.

Today, the couple's daughters are success stories in their own right. The youngest, 23-year-old Bophanie, is a teacher in Brighton, while her sister, Mary Thida Lun, 27, is Assistant Private Secretary to the Minister of State for International Development, Gareth Thomas.

At 64, Marcus still works as an adviser to Oxfam, and the charity remains working in Cambodia, still tackling the legacy of the dark days of the Khmer Rouge and facing new challenges from climate change, typhoons and flooding.

Today, 30 years on, when she goes to and from work at the local supermarket, living her British life, Somaly sometimes remembers the words her father said to her before they took him away.

"He said, 'You are going to survive. You are going to go places'." She shakes her head slowly. "I think that was what gave me the strength to survive."

Second Thai candidate makes it to UN Heritage panel

By The Nation

Published on October 28, 2009

Somsuda Leeyavanich, deputy permanent secretary for Culture Ministry, has been chosen to represent Thailand at the 12member World Heritage Committee. She will be joining other new members from Switzerland, Cambodia, South Africa, France, Ethiopia, Mexico, Estonia, Iraq and Mali.

Twentynine countries had put forward names for the new panel, which will be replacing the current one later this year, and will be in office until 2013.
According to Culture Minister Teera Slukpetch, the UN World Heritage agency reportedly had problems deciding on the new panel because both Thailand and Cambodia - currently in a dispute over the Preah Vihear temple - had put forward candidates.

Eventually, though, the UN agency decided to select candidates from both countries as a way to help solve the conflicts. The son of Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong will represent Cambodia.

Somsuda is the second Thai candidate selected to the UN panel, following Adul Wichiencharoen who had served in the panel for two terms.

"From now on, Thailand will play a bigger role in the world stage. More importantly, Somsuda's selection will help push Thai sites to be included in the UN World Heritage listing," Teera said yesterday.

Somsuda will be proposing historical sites to the UN, including the Sriwichai Chaiya - Nakhon Si Thammarat - Sating Phra - Yarang cultural route, Kedah of Malaysia, as well as the Lanna culture.

Initial reports mentioned that the new panel will check out Thai heritage sites in March. It might also visit Preah Vihear.

Thailand is hoping to host the 2011 UN World Heritage Committee meeting, once the summit next year has been hosted by Brazil.

Somsuda, meanwhile, said that she was glad she had been selected and thanked everyone for supporting her. "I will be neutral and work for the benefit of all countries. Sites in many countries have not yet been included in the UN list and I will push for them to be made part of the list," she said.

Suu Kyi counterpart gets 'offer' from Rangoon

By Tulsathit Taptim
The Nation
Published on October 28, 2009
Disclaimer: The following e-mail was intercepted on its way from Rangoon to Thaksin Shinawatra. Though unsigned, it seems to have been written by someone in the top echelons of power. It could be a fake, but it sounds as sincere as Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and Hun Sen put together.
WE NEVER thought of doing this, but since our pal Hun Sen can give an international lecture on humanitarianism and political persecution, it makes us believe that we, too, should be in with a shout. Dear friend Thaksin Shinawatra, what has happened to you is horrible, and if you think Phnom Penh is too risky a place, please consider a warm exile in Rangoon.

Of course, we are totally aware of the irony. How can a foreign version of Aung San Suu Kyi seek refuge in a country where she is under house arrest and her political party is denied a role? We would like you to put that aside for a minute and hear us out.

This whole exile thing is benefiting both of us. Thanks to Hun Sen, the world - which has been shedding crocodile tears for its "Lady" Suu Kyi - is starting to know the truth. The sincerest tears we've soon belonged to his wife who cried over you. And the man himself was spot on when he said that if international babbling about our country is not considered nosy or inappropriate, why should his comments on your plight be?

We don't mind you comparing yourself to Suu Kyi. You were in need of something catchy, and we don't blame you. But most of all, your actions spoke louder than words. The Exim bank loan was the true reflection of our friendship. You can call us dogs for all we care.

This offer is being made out of concern for your well-being. No offence to Hun Sen, but Phnom Penh isn't the safest place in the world. How could you do your second favourite thing after fighting for democracy - shopping - when you wouldn't be able to tell innocent Cambodian pedestrians from Thai agents sent by your enemies?

And not all Cambodians will be friendly. Your telecom endeavour there, while it brought everlasting friendship with many, left several others with a bad taste in their mouth. Not to mention the silly rumours about you and a power play there in the past. Yes, any political victim can go to Dubai, but it takes a real man to go and live in Cambodia. What we are saying is, why take unnecessary chances?

We also want to take some heat off our good friend Hun Sen, who we know is sincere but was naive enough to wait exactly one year since the Ratchada land ruling to come out and decry the verdict. And he did that just hours before the Thai government was about to host the Asean Summit, too. Whereas Hun Sen can be wrongly accused of being political, we can't be.

So please consider our offer. We can build you a home near Aung San Suu Kyi's, and everyone will win. We will have repaid you the Exim loan favour, you will be near your real-life heroine, safe and sound, and she will enjoy the company of a great admirer. Cambodia will be spared the heavy political baggage your exile there could entail, while Thailand will be able to quit thinking about seeking extradition, and concentrate on things more plausible.

Last but not least, although accommodating you won't get the human-rights fanatics off our back, hopefully it will confuse the daylights out of them. It will also give the otherwise pretentious and ambiguous "constructive engagement" policy of Asean a solid platform. Anwar Ibrahim, if he faces new persecution, can now flee to Phnom Penh, while defanged Cambodian princes - if somehow they need sanctuary in the future - can go to Manila.

What an intriguing web that would be. You can be the catalyst for it. And don't worry about your phone-ins. Whatever Hun Sen has promised you, you will get from us - and more.

We are terribly sorry if the Hun Sen saga was just supposed to be a tactic to steal the media spotlight and you didn't really mean to come back to this region. If that was the plan, bravo. You have caused quite a stir, and this must rank in the top five of the world's much-ado-about-nothing diplomatic issues.

But if Hun Sen is dead serious and so are you, give our offer a little thought. At least think about the publicity you'll get. Of course, "Thaksin begins Cambodia exile" is a sexy headline, but nothing would beat "Aung San Suu Kyi counterpart given asylum in Rangoon".

Sincerely,

Another true friend of yours.

The Financial Sector in Cambodia Employs 14,698 People – Tuesday, 27.10.2009

http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

Posted on 28 October 2009

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 636

“Phnom Penh: All banks and micro-credit institutions in Cambodia employ 14,698 Cambodian persons, according to a report from the National Bank of Cambodia.
“The report of the National Bank issued recently said that banks and micro-credit institutions provide jobs for 14,698 people.

“The report shows that all commercial and other special banks create jobs for 9,550 citizens in total, while micro-finance institutions employ 5,148 people.

“According to this report, all banks in Cambodia recognized by the National Bank provide a variety of numbers of jobs. The banks employ between 13 to 6,128 persons, while the micro-finance institutions employ freom 6 to 1,024 persons.

“Based on the report, the job market in the banking and micro-finance sectors has achieved a moderate growth rate. In 2007, all commercial and other special banks provided 6,869 jobs, while in 2006, they could employ only 4,624 persons. Micro-finance institutions employed just 3,511 persons in 2007, and only 2,503 persons in 2006.

“By now, there are 24 commercial banks, 6 specialized banks, 18 micro-finance institutions, 26 rural credit operators, and about 60 organizations handling credits.”

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5031, 27.10.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Tuesday, 27 October 2009

Thaksin is Cambodia-bound

Demonstrators, led by People’s Alliance for Democracy core member Chaiwat Sinsuwong, gather yesterday in front of the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok to protest against comments made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at last weekend’s Asean summit in support of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. SURAPOL PROMSAKA NA SAKOLNAKORN

Ex-PM wants to thank Hun Sen for job offer

28/10/2009
Bangkok Post

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra insists he will go to Cambodia to thank Prime Minister Hun Sen for laying out the welcome mat for him.
Thaksin confirmed his plan yesterday via a video link to a meeting of the Puea Thai Party amid a simmering conflict that has arisen between Thailand and Cambodia over his status.

Thaksin said he would fly to Cambodia soon to thank Hun Sen, a party source said.

Thaksin said he and Hun Sen had been friends for a long time.

Thaksin also thanked Puea Thai's new chairman, Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, for "doing the right thing".

He denied having any businesses in Cambodia, saying he had sold them all before entering politics, the source said.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday claimed he had cleared up Hun Sen's misunderstanding of Thaksin's situation.

Mr Suthep, who is in charge of national security, said he told Hun Sen Thaksin had not been bullied. He had broken the law and the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions had jailed him for two years after a proper judicial hearing.

He explained Thaksin was not living in exile because of the 2006 coup.

Mr Suthep said Thaksin was fielding members of the political party he controls in elections and they had won. But two party prime ministers had to step down because they had violated the law.

"It's too late to say he has been unfairly treated. If he accepted the constitution and had not fielded candidates in the general election, it would be another story," Mr Suthep said.

"Prime Minister Hun Sen understands this point well."

The Cambodian prime minister was told that if he allowed Thaksin to live in exile in Cambodia, Thailand would use international law to seek his extradition.

"I said it was fine because the law will not be interpreted by me and Mr Hun Sen alone. There is an extradition process, and the court might be the one ruling on the extradition," he said.

The Cambodian premier said on his arrival at the Asean summit in Thailand last weekend that his government would allow Thaksin to take refuge in Cambodia and work as his economic adviser. Cambodia would not extradite him if asked by Thailand as Thaksin had been unfairly treated, he said.

The Foreign Ministry is preparing to issue a statement explaining the facts relating to Thaksin's status in response to the remarks by Hun Sen. The statement will be sent to the Cambodian government as the ministry believed the remark was a result of misinformation, said Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.

Army chief Anupong Paojinda yesterday insisted Hun Sen's stance on Thaksin had no effect on the situation along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Military beefs up defences

Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Thet Sambath
The Phnom Penh Post

TROOPS in the northwest are stockpiling munitions following heightened tensions between Thailand and Cambodia in recent weeks, officers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) confirmed Monday.

RCAF General Men Saroeun, in charge of air defence in Military Region 5 based in Battambang province, said his forces had recently received significant supplies of new small arms and artillery. “We now have modern weapons to defend our nation,” he said. “We have what the Thai soldiers have. This is our strategy to defend our border.”

Tanks were seen being transported along National Road 5 last week in Battambang province, and an RCAF general, speaking on condition of anonymity, said missiles with a range of up to 60 kilometres had also arrived. In addition to 16 new tanks delivered to Military Region 5, he said, more than 700 RCAF officers have been issued K-54 pistols, marking the first time since 2000 that low-level commanders have been issued sidearms.

Chhouk Ang, commander of Border Police Battalion 911 in Banteay Meanchey province, said he received word from his superiors to be on alert in the wake of the spat between Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. “While we remain watchful at all times, we have put our forces on alert to prevent Thai forces from entering Cambodian territory,” he said.

But Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the re-arming was unrelated to tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, which intensified last week after Prime Minister Hun Sen invited fugitive ex-Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to serve as his economic adviser.

“This has nothing to do with relations between Cambodia and Thailand. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said that Cambodia and Thailand have a good relationship and that Thaksin’s case is a personal issue,” he said, adding that such rearmaments are a normal part of military operations.

Thai politics taints relationship with neighbours

Tuesday, 27 October 2009
By Usa Pichai

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Thailand’s internal political strife has tainted and complicated bilateral relationship with its neighbouring countries, particularly Cambodia and Burma.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Monday that former Thai Prime Minister Chavalit Yongjaiyuth, who has close ties with ousted Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra plans to visit neighbouring countries including Burma. It would be good if it is for the sake of the country, he added.

“Gen Chavalit is within his rights to visit these countries but should not cause problems to the countries, like when he visits Cambodia. I insisted that the anti-government groups should not put pressure on the Thai government by asking neighboring countries to help them,” according to a report in the Thai News Agency website.

Previously, Gen Chavalit visited Cambodia and met Hun Sen, The Cambodian premier, who asserted that Thaksin could remain in Cambodia as his guest and could be his economic advisor. Hun Sen added that he was not interfering in Thailand's internal affairs but that Cambodia has the right to exercise its sovereignty and take such a decision.

Former Thai premier Thaksin jumped bail and fled, evading his sentence to a two-year jail term for malfeasance in the controversial land purchase case in Bangkok. He spends most of his time in the United Arab Emirates after his status as a visitor was rejected by some countries including both the United Kingdom and Germany.

Hun Sen compared Thaksin to Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, asking rhetorically why he should not talk about his friend when everybody is allowed to talk about the detained Nobel Peace Laureate.

Abhisit responded saying that Hun Sen may have received incorrect information about Thaksin and should not allow himself to be used as a 'pawn'.

Kasit Piromya, the Thai Foreign Minister said Thailand and Cambodia are fellow ASEAN members and should cooperate and live together peacefully. Both countries should observe the same rules and the leaders should not do anything that could lead to misunderstanding.

On Saturday, at a bilateral meeting, the Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein, who attended the 15th ASEAN Summit in Thailand told the Thai premier that he would not allow any person to use Burma’s territory for activities against Thailand.

Abhisit thanked Burma for supporting Thailand as the ASEAN chair and said there would be more participation in development projects including the, Tavoy deep sea port in Burma and the East-West Corridor project which will benefit both countries.

About Burmese politics, Kasit said at a press conference on Saturday that he was optimistic about the ongoing developments inside the country, in which opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of the military government are engaging in dialogue.

He also welcomed the shift in tactics by the US government, which has called for engagement rather than relying purely on sanctions against the regime.

Assistance from ASEAN countries or an election observation team can be done collectively or individually. The final result will be worked out, Kasit said.

Cambodia becomes permanent member of World Heritage Committee

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister on Tuesday expressed his warmly welcome as Cambodia becomes the permanent member of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO in 17th general assembly in France.
"It is a new pride for our country that became fully permanent member of the world heritage committee," Hun Sen told over 2,000 students in graduation ceremony of a university in Phnom Penh. "Itwill promote the image and prestige of the Kingdom of Cambodia on the world arena," he added.

On behalf of new permanent member of the WHC, Cambodia will implement its mission with high responsibility and will strengthen the cooperation with other countries, he said.

"We will enhance capacity building and study multi experiences with the world heritage committee, UNESCO, and other international forums," he stressed.

Moreover, Hun Sen said that Cambodia will do more to follow the common purposes in the WHC that has been working on conservation, culture and heritage development. "We have to enhance more international cooperation to move forward of conservation and heritage development."

The Kingdom of Cambodia was elected as a member of the WHC thanks to her richness in cultural properties and history including intangible cultural properties, several of which were inscribed on the World Heritage List, namely the Royal Ballet, the Shadow Theater, Angkor area, and the Temple of Preah Vihear, the premier said.

Cambodia becomes one of 21 permanent members which represent 186 countries in the world in the 17th general assembly of world heritage committee that is held from Oct. 23 to 28, 2009 in Paris, France at UNESCO Headquarters.

Cambodia became a member of UNESCO in 1951.

[Thai] FM to issue official response [to Hun Xen]

27/10/2009
Bangkok Post

The Foreign Affairs Ministry will issue an official response to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, because he may have obtained incorrect information about former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the foreign minister's secretary said on Tuesday.
Mr Hun Sen expressed sympathy for Thaksin during the Asean summit last week. The Cambodian leader said Thaksin was treated unjustly and was homeless as a result.

He also said Thailand had allowed Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy, his political rival, to attack him from Thai soil.

Mr Chavanont said the Foreign Ministry's statement will outline the facts about Thaksin because Mr Hun Sen might have been given incorrect information, leading to a misunderstanding and uncomfortable feelings between Thailand and Cambodia.

Mr Chavanont said the government had nothing to do with Sam Rainsy being invited to speak at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Moreover, Sam Rainsy, unlike Thaksin, was not a convicted criminal and could enter the country as an ordinary tourist.

On the issue of Thaksin's possible extradition if he stays in Cambodia, he said this was a matter for the appropriate parties to determine prove whether he is a political victim or convicted criminal. It was not a subject for verbal argument.

Mr Chavanont said the Foreign Ministry has to be careful not to turn the Thaksin case into a dispute between countries. The government had no policy to hold talks in secret in exchange for some benefit without telling the people, he said.

He also clarified Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya's remark that a senior figure was clearing up this matter with Mr Hun Sen,

Mr Chavanont said that person was Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who already talked with the Cambodian leader during the Asean summit.

Mr Suthep said he explained to Mr Hun Sen that Thaksin had not been unfairly persecuted as claimed. In fact, the former prime minister was found to have broken the law and was sentenced to imprisonment in a proper judicial process.

Mr Suthep said he told Mr Hun Sen that Thaksin fled the country not because of the Sept 19 coup but to avoid the court's legal sentencing and a two year ail term.

"The post-coup government stayed for only one year and a new constitution was approved by the people in a public referendum.

''Thaksin and his men accepted the constitution, took part in the elections and their party was the winner and subsequently formed governments in which Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat were the prime ministers.

''However, these two were unseated because they had broken the law," Mr Suthep said.

On extradition, Mr Suthep said he told Mr Hun Sen said that although he and Thaksin were friends, Thailand would ask Cambodia to extradite Thaksin if he was in Cambodia, as allowed by the extradition treaty.

''It was up to Cambodia to decide whether or not it would do as requested. The matter might have to be taken to court in the end,'' he added.

Asked if Hun Sen wanted to know when there would be an election in Thailand, Mr Suthep said: "The Cambodian leader told me he does not want to interfere in Thai politics at all. He also accepted my request that the verbal exchanges between the leaders of the two countries should not lead to border tensions or a clash between soldiers."

Gen Chavalit: Mediator or divider?

27/10/2009
Writer: Veera Prateepchaikul
Bangkok Post
Opinion

Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's first effort to bring about national reconciliation as Puea Thai party chairman by visiting Cambodia and meeting Prime Minister Hun Sen was a miserable flop. Not only did he fail to mend fences, he managed to fuel tensions between the two countries and raised suspicions locally about his real motives.
If national reconciliation is really one of a few objectives that Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh aspires to, to justify his decision to join the opposition Puea Thai party, then his first attempt to realise that objective was a complete fiasco.

Two days before the start of the 15th Asean Summit in Hua Hin and Cha-am beach resort townships, the retired general flew to Phnom Penh for a one-day visit during which he met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Upon his return home, he told reporters of Hun Sen’s sympathy for exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his generous offer of temporary refuge in Cambodia for the fugitive.

Arriving in Bangkok to attend the Asean Summit, Hun Sen confirmed his feelings for Thaksin, and went even further by likening the deposed Thai premier to Burma’s iconic democracy crusader Aung San Suu Kyi.

As expected, Hun Sen’s unprovoked inflammatory remarks prompted a sharp response from an annoyed Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Dusit Poll, of the Rajabhat Institute, reported that 70 per cent of people surveyed felt that Gen Chavalit’s untimely diplomacy tended to increase tension between Thailand and Cambodia. Of these, 40 per cent believed that the trip to Cambodia was part of a political game to help Thaksin and 30 per cent believed it was intended to stir up trouble.

Given the opinion survey result, plus the negative reactions of the government and a group of senators to the whole saga generated by Gen Chavalit’s visit and Hun Sen’s remarks about Thaksin, there is little doubt that the Puea Thai chairman's supposed attempt to bring about national reconciliation or to mend fences between Thailand and Cambodia was a complete failure.

Unless, of course, the real purpose of his self-initiated diplomacy was totally different from his stated objectives - and was not to restore national reconciliation as he preached.

But Gen Chavalit has yet to admit his failure and to apologise to the peoples of Thailand and Cambodia for his bungled diplomacy. He has unnecessarily soured relations between the two neighbours and generated misunderstanding and distrust between Thais and Cambodians.

And if the retired general really has the national interest at heart and wants to leave behind a memorable legacy, then he should rethink his next ''diplomatic'' move, which is to visit Burma and then Malaysia.

He should put off his planned visits and and do some deep soul-searching about what he had just done to his home country and his countrymen.