BANGKOK, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Labour Ministry is worried about the well-being of about 2,600 Thai workers now employed in the Gaza Strip as fierce fighting between Israeli troops and the militant group Hamas continues without any sign of ending soon, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Labour Pornchai Yooprayong said Tuesday.
Pornchai said there are about 2,600 Thai workers employed at 27 sites in the area.
The Ministry's Employment Department has been instructed not to dispatch new batches of Thai workers to Gaza for safety reasons, said Pornchai. So far all Thai workers there are safe, he said.
Fighting intensified when Israel sent ground forces into the Gaza Strip after several days of air raids against Hamas. More than 500 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 100 civilians, according to United Nations figures. Nine Israelis have died since the operation began on Dec. 27.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Thai gov't worries about 2,600 Thai workers in Gaza Strip
BANGKOK, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Labour Ministry is worried about the well-being of about 2,600 Thai workers now employed in the Gaza Strip as fierce fighting between Israeli troops and the militant group Hamas continues without any sign of ending soon, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Labour Pornchai Yooprayong said Tuesday.
Pornchai said there are about 2,600 Thai workers employed at 27 sites in the area.
The Ministry's Employment Department has been instructed not to dispatch new batches of Thai workers to Gaza for safety reasons, said Pornchai. So far all Thai workers there are safe, he said.
Fighting intensified when Israel sent ground forces into the Gaza Strip after several days of air raids against Hamas. More than 500 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 100 civilians, according to United Nations figures. Nine Israelis have died since the operation began on Dec. 27.
Pornchai said there are about 2,600 Thai workers employed at 27 sites in the area.
The Ministry's Employment Department has been instructed not to dispatch new batches of Thai workers to Gaza for safety reasons, said Pornchai. So far all Thai workers there are safe, he said.
Fighting intensified when Israel sent ground forces into the Gaza Strip after several days of air raids against Hamas. More than 500 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 100 civilians, according to United Nations figures. Nine Israelis have died since the operation began on Dec. 27.
Calling for a government mea culpa for the KR
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Cambodia’s Extraordinary Chambers will see its first trial early this year, but some observers are calling for the government to do more than support the trial - by apologising for the injustices of the KR regime.
Tuesday, 06 January 2009
By Long Panhavuth
Letter to the Editor of The Phnom Penh Post
Dear Editor,
The fall of the Khmer Rouge regime left 1.7 million killed, all infrastructure destroyed and many widows and orphans.
The new government after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime and the current government tried to provide restorative justice for Cambodians, but the scale of the crimes committed was so big and a genuine political will to seek redress remained so fragile that today Cambodia is still struggling to obtain reparations for the victims of past human rights violations.
In (the book) An Introduction to the Khmer Rouge Trials, Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen said: "Not a single one of our people has been spared from the ravages brought upon our country during the three years, eight months and twenty days" of Democratic Kampuchea.
The present operation of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is an illustration of the government's good will to deal with past human rights violations by providing some sort of justice for Cambodians who were victimised during the period of the KR regime. This court allows victims to participate as civil parties and to make claims for reparations, though in symbolic ways. As of the end of October 2008, there were 28 civil parties in case 001 (S21-Kaing Guk Eav aka Duch) and 24 civil parties in case 002 (Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith, and Kaing Guk Eav) and there are more than 2,500 applications pending. These figures show that the court is relevant and important for Cambodians.
Soon the court will conduct its first trial. Due to the number of victims, neither the court nor the state can compensate each individual. Individual compensation, if it were to be selective, may also affect existing reconciliation in communities.
In any case, the internal rules of the ECCC only allow the court to provide collective and symbolic reparations. There is no money in the court's current budget and the ECCC has not established a Trust Fund to provide and implement reparations. The accused also claim to be indigent. In the minds of the judges, collective and symbolic reparation may be limited to forcing the convicted person(s) to pay for publication of the court decision or forcing him/them to publicly apologise.
This is not enough for the victims to move forward.
Reparations uphold the status of victims as bearers of rights and convey a sense that they are owed some compensation. Reparations should serve as a vehicle for acknowledging past violations and state responsibility for crimes committed in its name, as well as a public commitment to address their enduring impact. We can't change the past, but how can victims move forward?
What victims have asked for is not necessarily money. Public apology is often referred to by victims as a key element of the reparations they seek. Up to now, such an apology has never come from the state.
Many victims say that they cannot reconcile when the state has never apologised for the crimes of its predecessor. Yet, state agent(s) continue to get political benefit from the sufferings of the victims.
The country established May 21 as "Hatred Day" to commemorate the death of the victims and, in most public speeches, our prime minister acknowledges the crimes and sufferings of Cambodians during the KR regime. However, he has never issued or planned to come up with any state policy to apologise for the wrongdoings of the prior regime.
Such a state apology has been made in many parts of the world. Hungarian authorities apologised for the role of the state in the genocide of the Jews; Canada apologised and provided compensation for historical abuses against native nations; former French president Jacques Chirac apologized for the crimes committed in the name of the state during the Second World War; the US president as well as the secretary general of the United Nations apologised publicly for their failure to stop the genocide in Rwanda; and other heads of state apologised for past abuse in Australia, Chile, Serbia, etc.
Why not Cambodia?
The government's issuance of a public apology in the name of the state would not disturb social peace, nor would it upset any former Khmer Rouge members who are now in the government, at the parliament or in the Cambodian People's Party.
It would not create political instability. Instead, it would bring more legitimacy to the current government, as it would show its consciousness of the enormous price paid by Cambodians to previous human rights abuses, and assure that they won't be repeated again.
The apology will help the victims to heal and move forward. The state apology could be issued in parallel with the first judgment issued by the ECCC in order to make the symbolic reparations offered more meaningful.
But it could also be made on the 30th anniversary of the end of the KR regime, on January 7, 2009, the day on which the CPP's current leaders put an end to Democratic Kampuchea.
Long Panhavuth
Cambodia Justice Initiative
Cambodia’s Extraordinary Chambers will see its first trial early this year, but some observers are calling for the government to do more than support the trial - by apologising for the injustices of the KR regime.
Tuesday, 06 January 2009
By Long Panhavuth
Letter to the Editor of The Phnom Penh Post
Dear Editor,
The fall of the Khmer Rouge regime left 1.7 million killed, all infrastructure destroyed and many widows and orphans.
The new government after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime and the current government tried to provide restorative justice for Cambodians, but the scale of the crimes committed was so big and a genuine political will to seek redress remained so fragile that today Cambodia is still struggling to obtain reparations for the victims of past human rights violations.
In (the book) An Introduction to the Khmer Rouge Trials, Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen said: "Not a single one of our people has been spared from the ravages brought upon our country during the three years, eight months and twenty days" of Democratic Kampuchea.
The present operation of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is an illustration of the government's good will to deal with past human rights violations by providing some sort of justice for Cambodians who were victimised during the period of the KR regime. This court allows victims to participate as civil parties and to make claims for reparations, though in symbolic ways. As of the end of October 2008, there were 28 civil parties in case 001 (S21-Kaing Guk Eav aka Duch) and 24 civil parties in case 002 (Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith, and Kaing Guk Eav) and there are more than 2,500 applications pending. These figures show that the court is relevant and important for Cambodians.
Soon the court will conduct its first trial. Due to the number of victims, neither the court nor the state can compensate each individual. Individual compensation, if it were to be selective, may also affect existing reconciliation in communities.
In any case, the internal rules of the ECCC only allow the court to provide collective and symbolic reparations. There is no money in the court's current budget and the ECCC has not established a Trust Fund to provide and implement reparations. The accused also claim to be indigent. In the minds of the judges, collective and symbolic reparation may be limited to forcing the convicted person(s) to pay for publication of the court decision or forcing him/them to publicly apologise.
This is not enough for the victims to move forward.
Reparations uphold the status of victims as bearers of rights and convey a sense that they are owed some compensation. Reparations should serve as a vehicle for acknowledging past violations and state responsibility for crimes committed in its name, as well as a public commitment to address their enduring impact. We can't change the past, but how can victims move forward?
What victims have asked for is not necessarily money. Public apology is often referred to by victims as a key element of the reparations they seek. Up to now, such an apology has never come from the state.
Many victims say that they cannot reconcile when the state has never apologised for the crimes of its predecessor. Yet, state agent(s) continue to get political benefit from the sufferings of the victims.
The country established May 21 as "Hatred Day" to commemorate the death of the victims and, in most public speeches, our prime minister acknowledges the crimes and sufferings of Cambodians during the KR regime. However, he has never issued or planned to come up with any state policy to apologise for the wrongdoings of the prior regime.
Such a state apology has been made in many parts of the world. Hungarian authorities apologised for the role of the state in the genocide of the Jews; Canada apologised and provided compensation for historical abuses against native nations; former French president Jacques Chirac apologized for the crimes committed in the name of the state during the Second World War; the US president as well as the secretary general of the United Nations apologised publicly for their failure to stop the genocide in Rwanda; and other heads of state apologised for past abuse in Australia, Chile, Serbia, etc.
Why not Cambodia?
The government's issuance of a public apology in the name of the state would not disturb social peace, nor would it upset any former Khmer Rouge members who are now in the government, at the parliament or in the Cambodian People's Party.
It would not create political instability. Instead, it would bring more legitimacy to the current government, as it would show its consciousness of the enormous price paid by Cambodians to previous human rights abuses, and assure that they won't be repeated again.
The apology will help the victims to heal and move forward. The state apology could be issued in parallel with the first judgment issued by the ECCC in order to make the symbolic reparations offered more meaningful.
But it could also be made on the 30th anniversary of the end of the KR regime, on January 7, 2009, the day on which the CPP's current leaders put an end to Democratic Kampuchea.
Long Panhavuth
Cambodia Justice Initiative
Cambodian prosecutor Chea Leang (L) and Sok An, her powerful CPP uncle
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
No more KR suspects: Chea Leang, Sok An's niece
No more KR suspects: Cambodian prosecutor
Tuesday, 06 January 2009
Written by Brendan Brady
The Phnom Penh Post
The Extraordinary Chambers’ Chea Leang breaks her silence on why the court must not seek to bring more ex-KR leaders on the docket
PUTTING more former KR leaders on the docket would contradict the original mandate of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, overstretch its duration and budget, and undermine national stability and reconciliation, according to Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang, whose reasoning against expanding the trials was made public for the first time on Monday.
Since late last year, Chea Leang and her international counterpart, Robert Petit, have been at loggerheads over whether to submit more suspects for investigation - beyond the five former Khmer Rouge leaders currently detained.
"She feels that this court should instead prioritise the trials of the five suspects already detained," especially since, according to her, the tribunal's mandate "envisioned only a small number of trials", said a statement from the UN-backed tribunal released Monday.
"She maintains that this Court's mandate can be adequately filled by the prosecution of the suspects already detained," it added.
Chea Leang, who could not be reached for comment Monday, had filed her arguments December 29 to the tribunal's Pre-Trial Chamber in response to a "statement of disagreement" lodged earlier in the month by Petit after the pair failed to agree on his proposal to add additional suspects. While Petit has refused to confirm any figures, sources close to the court say that six additional former regime members have been targeted.
"There is a difference in our interpretation of what this court is about," Petit told the Post Monday, although he insisted the disagreement has not delayed ongoing investigations at the tribunal.
Expanding the docket would help the court fulfill its mandate, he said, adding: "The stability of any society can only be enhanced by improved accountability".
Petit acknowledged that expanding the docket presented "legitimate" financial concerns but was confident the move "would be supported by donors".
Long Panhavuth, program coordinator for the legal watchdog Cambodian Justice Initiative, said, "Expanding the number of suspects will improve the integrity and independence of the court, and that will attract more donor funds".
The group has urged the Cambodian side of the court to demonstrate its independence by allowing further investigation in the face of government fears that a wider roundup could expose current leaders to scrutiny.
No more KR suspects: Chea Leang, Sok An's niece
No more KR suspects: Cambodian prosecutor
Tuesday, 06 January 2009
Written by Brendan Brady
The Phnom Penh Post
The Extraordinary Chambers’ Chea Leang breaks her silence on why the court must not seek to bring more ex-KR leaders on the docket
PUTTING more former KR leaders on the docket would contradict the original mandate of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, overstretch its duration and budget, and undermine national stability and reconciliation, according to Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang, whose reasoning against expanding the trials was made public for the first time on Monday.
Since late last year, Chea Leang and her international counterpart, Robert Petit, have been at loggerheads over whether to submit more suspects for investigation - beyond the five former Khmer Rouge leaders currently detained.
"She feels that this court should instead prioritise the trials of the five suspects already detained," especially since, according to her, the tribunal's mandate "envisioned only a small number of trials", said a statement from the UN-backed tribunal released Monday.
"She maintains that this Court's mandate can be adequately filled by the prosecution of the suspects already detained," it added.
Chea Leang, who could not be reached for comment Monday, had filed her arguments December 29 to the tribunal's Pre-Trial Chamber in response to a "statement of disagreement" lodged earlier in the month by Petit after the pair failed to agree on his proposal to add additional suspects. While Petit has refused to confirm any figures, sources close to the court say that six additional former regime members have been targeted.
"There is a difference in our interpretation of what this court is about," Petit told the Post Monday, although he insisted the disagreement has not delayed ongoing investigations at the tribunal.
Expanding the docket would help the court fulfill its mandate, he said, adding: "The stability of any society can only be enhanced by improved accountability".
Petit acknowledged that expanding the docket presented "legitimate" financial concerns but was confident the move "would be supported by donors".
Long Panhavuth, program coordinator for the legal watchdog Cambodian Justice Initiative, said, "Expanding the number of suspects will improve the integrity and independence of the court, and that will attract more donor funds".
The group has urged the Cambodian side of the court to demonstrate its independence by allowing further investigation in the face of government fears that a wider roundup could expose current leaders to scrutiny.
PM: 30% of Cambodians live under poverty line
PHNOM PENH, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Some 30 percent of Cambodians now live under the poverty line, said Prime Minister Hun Sen here on Tuesday while addressing a bridge inauguration ceremony.
"We are making efforts to reduce poverty step by step and I couldn't achieve giant leap in this regard," he said.
Cambodia realized 1 percent reduction of poverty on annual basis in the past years, thanks to the government policy and the economic growth, he said.
Cambodia is one among the 49 least developed countries in the world and the government previously claimed that 35 percent of the population lived under the poverty line of no more than 1 U.S. dollar of daily income for a person.
"We are making efforts to reduce poverty step by step and I couldn't achieve giant leap in this regard," he said.
Cambodia realized 1 percent reduction of poverty on annual basis in the past years, thanks to the government policy and the economic growth, he said.
Cambodia is one among the 49 least developed countries in the world and the government previously claimed that 35 percent of the population lived under the poverty line of no more than 1 U.S. dollar of daily income for a person.
Illegal slot machine operations was a corruption case of a CPP official after all?
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
A slot-machine parlour in Phnom Penh. The government is in the midst of a crackdown on illegally licensed slot-machine establishments. (Photo by: HOR HAB)Official suspended over slots
Tuesday, 06 January 2009
Written by Nguon Sovan and Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post
The head of the Phnom Penh tourism authority has been suspended for his role in illegally licensing slot-machine parlours, minister says
PHNOM Penh's tourism director was suspended last Tuesday for his role in a hotel licensing scam that helped dubious establishments use a legal loophole and illegally operate slot machines, according to Cambodia's minister of tourism.
"I suspended Chen Saman, the director of the Phnom Penh tourism department, on December 30 for his involvement in issuing licences for six nominal hotels without practical inspections," Minister of Tourism Thong Khon told the Post on Sunday.
"[Chen Saman] was careless in his duties because he failed to have these venues properly inspected before licensing them as hotels," said Thong Khon. He said some of the places that received licenses were actually restaurants with only one or two rooms, but Chen Saman's office nonetheless designated them as hotels.
Following a December 5 government directive, the Ministry of Finance can only issue licences to operate slot machines legally inside hotels. Individual slot-machine owners may rent space at hotels if they want to continue to run their business.
Thong Khon acknowledged that some places applied for hotel licences just so they could operate slot machines.
"The problem is that our officials conspire with the operators in issuing licences improperly," he said. "From now on, we will thoroughly inspect the hotels before issuing their licences."
"...our officials conspire with the operators in issuing licences improperly."
Opposition lawmaker Yim Sovann said on Sunday that since the directive was issued, many slot-machine operators have relabeled their venues as hotels, even though they do not offer accommodation.
"The suspension of Chen Saman is not enough," he said. "I believe there are many officials involved in this process, as corruption is a fact of life in Cambodia."
He said he did not think the December 5 directive was effective because inspectors sent by the ministry would take bribes from slot-machine operators and turn a blind eye on the issue. He criticised the government for allowing any slot machines, saying that the revenue did not benefit government coffers but was shared by operators and corrupt officials.
Chen Saman could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
On December 19, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered all relevant authorities to shut down 12 slot-machine operators in Phnom Penh, two in Sihanoukville and one in Kandal province, all of which operated without licences.
Em Sam An, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior, said Sunday that he could not provide figures on how many slot machines have been shut down so far, but said that the specific venues named by the prime minister were shut down immediately.
He said the government had to continue its drive to identify slot machines operating without licences and fake hotels.
"I urge the Tourism and Finance ministries to investigate before issuing licences for hotels and slot machines."
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