Cambodian ferries cut travel budget

For $25, you can sail down Cambodia's Tonle Sap lake and river system. CREDIT: Photo-Michael McCarthy
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Michael McCarthy
Special to Vancouver Courier (Canada)

Angkor Wat, the famous abandoned temple complex in the jungles of northern Cambodia, is fast becoming one of the world's greatest tourist destinations. Planes fly hourly from the capital of Phnom Penh and soon there will be direct flights from Japan. However, those wishing to save a bundle on the over-priced airfare have options; the buses are fairly safe, although the roads are insane. Or you can take the fast ferry down the lake.

At $25 one-way, it's only rich Westerners who can afford a ticket down the vast Tonle Sap, almost 180 miles to Phnom Penh. On this day, the 120 seats of the main cabin were full and the roof packed with tourists keen for an adventure. So, yes, we were well over capacity but in Cambodia it's not like there's anybody in charge of such minor things.

About 30 minutes into the trip, the horizon disappeared and the dazzling blue waters of the huge waterway stretched into the distance. The rainy season was over and the vast lake was completely full of water, fish and crocodiles. The great speed we were making seemed to allow water to creep into the cabin. Crammed in like sardines, we grinned at this small annoyance, just one of those situations that make developing countries so charming.

I then noted with some alarm that some passengers were casually putting on life jackets. The water by this time was over our ankles amidships, and even deeper at the back. Two elderly ladies in the seat front started crying, and then everyone stood up and tried to put on life jackets. As the ferry turned, water sloshed back and forth and the boat made slow sickening slides.

It became obvious that it was necessary to find the source of the water immediately because we were listing so heavily. Looking out the window I noticed the crew had secured life jackets for themselves and were ready to jump overboard at any moment. Some of us then told the captain to jump overboard, with strict order to locate the source of the leak.

A very slim passenger went down into the muck of the bilges and found the leak, a hole the size of a soccer ball punched through the hull just below the waterline. All three compartments in the hull were completely saturated with water. This is when we discovered that not only were the life vests useless but there was no rear exit, no life rafts, all the windows were welded shut and the bilge pumps did not work.

A perusal of my Lonely Planet explained there were two fast ferries that plied the waters of the Tonle Sap, one of which actually ran on a somewhat regular basis; the other was known as "The Floating Coffin" for its sad state of disrepair. Evidently, from time to time, various bits and pieces like the propeller would fall off the Coffin and the crew would be required to hail passing fish boats for rescue, although the boat didn't usually sink.

Several volunteers formed a water bucket line, and soon six strong men were throwing five-gallon buckets of water overboard, using an old paint can rousted from the engine room. At the rate of one bucket every 10 seconds, we bailed several tons of water over four hours. We finally got a small portable water pump going, and soon a steady waterfall of bilge water erupted over the side of the boat.

All the time the bucket crew were bailing, the captain had been banging away with a hammer at the hole, a most disconcerting sound inside a crowded metal boat. Finally, one of the passengers grabbed the hammer and went down into the bilge armed with a fistful of T-shirts and some donated rubber sandals. The hammering and bailing continued for several hours as we slowly proceeded, but the T-shirts did the trick and we somehow stayed afloat.

Finally, we approached a small town and a police boat came out to meet us. Conjecture began; would the boat be impounded and certain people arrested along with it? Whom, exactly? Those of us involved in the mutiny discussed our options. The prospect of spending quality time with the local gendarmes weighed heavily upon my stomach, so I headed directly for the loo where I performed emergency business. Searching my pockets desperately for paper, all I could find was my fast ferry ticket so I made good use of it; a rough day under trying circumstances to be sure, but the job's never really over until the paperwork is done.

We jumped into a decrepit taxi idling at the dock, grabbed a six pack of cold beer, and fled 100 miles to Phnom Penh, toasting the fact that we were still alive while discussing our next adventures in Southeast Asia. It was mutually agreed that Cambodian boat captains or crocodiles would not be part of future transportation arrangements. In Phnom Penh, I met with the editor of the Cambodia Daily, who thought our adventure constituted an excellent story and promised to publish it the following week, thoroughly embarrassing the government while allowing us enough time to flee the country. In Cambodia, it's not like there are people in charge of such minor things as boat sinkings, but sending 125 foreign tourists to the bottom of the Tonle Sap does make for bad publicity.

Phnom Penh, as it turned out, was a lovely city full of French colonial architecture and well worth visiting. The cuisine is French-influenced with Thai and Vietnamese flavours. Flights from Bangkok and Hong Kong are regular, although of course if you are heading up to Angkor Wat you can always take the fast ferry to save a few dollars.

Laos royal to sell family jewels [-What can Khmer royals offer to sell for Dharma?]

Chao Soymala Inieum na Jampasak, 67, shows a tray of her glittering inheritance.

January 22, 2009
The Nation

Chiang Mai - A descendant of Laos' Luang Prabang royals yesterday announced she was selling 200-year-old silks and jewellery worth Bt30 million to raise funds for monks' education.
Chao Soymala Inieum na Jampasak, 67, said she wanted to help cover fees for more than 200 monks from Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bhutan, Nepal and Chiang Tung City to study at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University in Chiang Mai, her adopted home.

Treasures for dharma

Chao Soymala, whose great great grandfather was Phrachao Chaiyachettha, a ruler in the Lan Chang Dynasty, escaped to Thailand as a 30-year-old after the Laotian revolution of 1975. After marrying, she settled in Chiang Mai and sold Laotian silks.

She is selling 1,000 antique silks decorated with gold and silver threads, some estimated to be worth Bt150,000, as part of a collection that's expected to fetch Bt20 million or more. Century old gold ornaments worth about Bt10 million in total are also for sale, she added.

Bt600,000 from the sale will go towards the tuition fees. The rest will form a fund to assist monks on dharma study missions and to buy clothes for needy female prison inmates, she said.

Those interested can contact Chao Soymala at (053) 832 854.

Knights are put to the sword

Written by Ray Leos

Monday, 19 January 2009

PSE Garudas thrash Sisowath Knights 64-7 in the Cambodian Rugby Premiership Photo by: Heng Chivoan Yorn Vantha of the Sisowath Knights (centre top) leaps to catch a line-out during the match against PSE Garudas at the Old Stadium. PSE Garudas continued their domination of the Cambodian Rugby Premiership as they rolled over the outmanned Sisowath Knights 64-7 Sunday afternoon at Phnom Penh's Old Stadium. The outcome of the match was never in doubt as the Garudas surged to a 40-7 half time lead and used their superior speed and quickness to wear down the slower Sisowath side. The Garudas sit on top of the league having won both their games this season with the Knights yet to record a victory. Garuda flanker Chey Sophal opened the scoring after just ten minutes with a nifty 20-metre run off a ruck in the middle of the field, as he fended off three attempted tackles on his way to the tryline. Scrumhalf and Garuda captain Pich Ratana converted to give the Garudas a 7-0 advantage.

The Garudas continued their offensive onslaught with tries from flanker Ra Naren and center Ros Chansophorn in the 20th and 25th minutes. Pich Ratana made good on both conversions, extending the lead to 21-0.

Knights' consolation points
Sisowath momentarily stemmed the onslaught in the 30th minute as flanker Dave Friedberg intercepted a Garuda pass and rumbled in from 12 metres to score. Friedberg successfully converted his own try, cutting the Garuda lead to 21-7.

But Sisowath's hopes were dashed moments later as center Vannak Vireak took a pass off a ruck and sprinted down the sideline from 50 metres out to score the try in the 33rd minute. Pich Ratana's conversion made it 28-7.

The Garudas then added two more tries just before halftime with tries from hooker Uk Dara and winger Nhep Ratha, upping the score to 40-7 at the intermission.

The second half was played at a slower pace with the Garudas maintaining possession throughout most of the final 40 minutes and scoring four tries in the last 15. The tries came from center Som Chanphearom (65th minute), Nhep Ratha (70th minute), Ra Naren (73rd minute) and Chey Sophal (76th minute).

Sisowath prop Chro Kim Seang felt his team could not compete with the Garuda speed in the backline.

"They are very fast," he said. "We pushed good in the scrum, but it wasn't enough. When they get to play in the open field it is over [for us]."

Garudas skipper Pich Ratana was pleased with the performance of his team although he felt his forwards could have played better.

PM opens golf course in Siem Reap

Written by kay Kimsong
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Cambodia links

Prime Minister Hun Sen opened Cambodia's third international-standard golf course, the Siem Reap Lake Golf Resort, Monday, Siem Reap Governor Sou Phirin told the Post Monday.

"[Golf] is a modern sport popular with the rich. It attracts rich tourists and keeps them in Cambodia longer," said Sou Phirin.

The 27-hole course, located on 200 hectares of land in Bakorng District, was built by South Korea-based KTC Company, whose investment is said to be US$450 million.

KTC plans to build a 300-room hotel and a 160 single-room motel that could employ around 4,000 staff.

Siem Reap continues to welcome golf course businesses with the Siem Reap Lake Golf Resort currently the biggest golfing facility in Cambodia.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said Siem Reap's main attraction is the Angkor Wat temple complex but by adding entertainment facilites he hopes Asean heads of state, government officials, rich foreigners and Cambodian businessmen will consider Siem Reap as a relaxing holiday destination.

Sou Phirin said the prime minister has spent the last three days practising his golf at the course and plans to play another couple of sessions over the next two days.

Hun Sen's playing partners are said to include the older brother of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, as well as KTC chief Kim Myung-il, Ouk Rabun, secretary of state at the Finance Ministry, and customs director Pen Siman.

Bears get a second chance at Phnom Tamao Zoo

Written by Stephanie Mee

Wednesday, 21 January 2009

With countless animals in Cambodia falling victim to illegal wildlife trade, one organisation offers a safe and healthy environment for rescued bears. Photo by: Photo Supplied Harry is one of several vulnerable Sun Bears that fall prey each year to poachers or wealthy families looking to acquire an exotic pet. THE timid, brown Sun Bear peered suspiciously out of his cage in the quarantine area of the Phnom Tamao Zoo, nervously growling if anybody came near him. He was extremely sick when he arrived at the zoo and had to have daily injections of antibiotics. Hence, his aversion to humans. His name is Harry, and he was recently rescued from the fourth floor of a wealthy Phnom Penh family home. Harry was purchased from a dealer in Ratanakkiri by his previous owners when he was three weeks old and taken to Phnom Penh as a family pet. Not knowing how to properly care for a wild bear, the family fed him a diet of tap water mixed with sweetened condensed milk and kept him in a small cage, barely big enough for a dog. By the time he was rescued a year later, he was weak, emaciated and had lost large patches of fur that had rubbed off when he paced against the metal bars of the cage.

I had to carry him in my arms down four flights of stairs, as the transport cage could not fit up the narrow passageways," said head bear keeper at the zoo, Chuon Vuthy.

The keeper works for an organisation called Free the Bears Fund Inc, which runs a centre at the Phnom Tamao Zoological Gardens and Wildlife Rescue Centre, 40 kilometres south of Phnom Penh. The Australian NGO was created in 1995 in response to the terrible treatment of illegally poached bears, many of which are cruelly imprisoned and sold for their body parts and bile, often used in Chinese medicines.

Free the Bears operates centres in five countries across Asia. They work together with local authorities to combat the illegal wildlife trade, and provide care and rehabilitation to hundreds of bears.

The Cambodian operation
The centre in Cambodia has been open since 1997.

"We get some of the bears from the illegal wildlife trade and some have been donated by wealthy people," Chuon Vuthy explained.
"Sometimes, we go to people's homes where bears are being kept as pets, and we explain to them that it's illegal to keep wild animals as pets or property. We tell them that they can donate the bears to the zoo, where we can care for them properly. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't."
090121_17b.jpg
Photo by: Photo Supplied
One of the caregivers at the center with Nutkins .

In October, the centre took on three new bear cubs, two of which had been donated to the zoo, and one of which had been taken from a poacher in Pursat province.

Holly, a small but friendly Sun Bear, had caught her leg in a poacher's snare and lost her hind paw as a result. She is also missing three of her front claws, which the poacher offered no explanation for. At the centre, she is receiving the medical care she needs, as well as a safe and healthy environment in which to grow.

A large family
Free the Bears currently houses 102 bears at the Phnom Tamao Zoo in 16 outdoor enclosures with a wealth of trees and wooden walkway.

The bear species are made up of Asiatic Black Bears and Sun Bears, both of which are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Bears at the zoo are closely monitored to ensure that they are healthy and happy, and there is an onsite veterinarian for any medical problems that may arise.

"As of now, none of the bears are released back into the wild, as much of their natural habitat has been lost, and they have become too accustomed to people, but I'm hoping that will change in the future," said Chuon Vuthy.

Phnom Tamao Zoo and the Free the Bears Fund Inc are currently building two new wooded enclosures where the bears can forage and play, and a new indoor holding pen for up to 20 bears. This new space will house the bears at the zoo, as well as future arrivals.

Volunteer opportunities
Volunteers are welcome at the centre. At present, they can sign on for one to six weeks to help feed and clean the bears. Volunteer packages include accommodation at a house near the sanctuary, transportation to the centre as well as breakfast and dinner. Interested parties have the opportunity to learn from veteran bear keeper of 12 years, Chuon Vuthy, and his highly trained and knowledgeable colleagues.

We get some of the bears from the illegal wildlife trade and some have been donated by wealthy people.


"The first day the volunteers are here, we teach them the rules - what they can and can't do so nobody gets hurt," said Chuon Vuthy. "Then, we teach them how to clean the cages, feed the bears and take general observations. Volunteers learn a lot, and they seem to really enjoy the time they spend here."

Matt Hunt, the Southeast Asia program manager and CEO, said: "It's great for people to come in and meet the bears, meet their personalities and learn about the program. For example, I can go tell people in Australia what we're doing here in about 30 minutes, but it doesn't really give them a clear idea about the centre or the bears themselves."

Each week the centre accepts no more than six volunteers, ensuring that the number of visitor caregivers never exceeds the number of onsite bear keepers.

Free the Bears Fund Inc is also in the process of opening a new centre for bears three hours away from Phnom Tamao on the South coast of Vietnam, where they plan to create small eco-lodges where volunteers can stay onsite and take part in caring for and learning about rescued bears in the region. The first bears will move there this month, and the centre should be open to volunteers in 2010.

Rogue tour operators face govt crackdown

Written by Ngoun Sovan

Wednesday, 21 January 2009

The minister of tourism says that unlicensed travel agencies have until the end of January to register with the government and pay up or face closure. Photo by: Heng Chivoan A travel agent in Phnom Penh. The government hopes to clean up the tourism industry by shutting down unregistered operators. TOURISM officials are set to launch a crackdown on unlicensed travel agents after issuing repeated calls for tighter regulation of the sector, said the tourism minister. The ruling could see 12 percent of the Kingdom's 200 travel agencies shut down the end of the month, according to ministry figures. "Twenty-two of Cambodia's 200 travel companies are operating without licences," Thong Khon, minister of tourism, told the Post Tuesday.

The Ministry has been working to upgrade the country's hotels and travel agencies by introducing industry standards. The minister said the ministry sent warning letters on January 12 saying that companies have until January 31 to register or face legal action.

"After the deadline at month's end, we will invite them one by one to license their companies," said Thong Khon.

"If they still fail to apply for a licence, we will shut them down."

Last warning
The minister said that the offending travel agencies have already been warned to register.

"To get a licence for a travel agent, the law requires that the operator deposits US$5,000 at the National Bank of Cambodia, just in case something happens. It is for the benefit of guests. If they are not made to do this, the agents might abandon guests that have made reservations," he said.

He assured the agencies that the government will not steal the money held by the national bank.

"The deposit still belongs to them, not us. It is to ensure that they have the funds available for their customers," said Thong Khon.

Ho Vandy, president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents (CATA), told the Post Tuesday that its 171 members back the ministry action.

He said that CATA has complained to the tourism ministry for several years regarding legal action against unlicensed tour operators.

"There is no transparency in the market. We have licences, we comply with the law and pay the tax. [Unlicensed agencies] are not following the rules, so they do not pay tax - it is unfair competition," he said.

One owner of an unlicensed travel agency in Daun Penh district said that the government's reserve requirement is too high. "If I have to pay the money, I will go out of business. I am already losing every month, and sometimes there is often no money to pay the staff. I cannot afford to deposit $5,000 for the licence," said Chhoeun Marany, the owner of Rany Travel Agency.

She said that she plans to shut down at the end of the month when the ruling comes into force.

Probe 'will not interrupt KRT'

Written by Georgia Wilkins

Wednesday, 21 January 2009

Criminal investigation into corruption at Khmer Rouge tribunal will not interrupt Duch's trial, Municipal Court prosecutors say, despite legal overlap. Photo by: AFP Toul Sleng prison chief Duch at the Extrodinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia on Friday. PROSECUTORS at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court claim that a criminal investigation into corruption at the Khmer Rouge tribunal will not interrupt the first trial at the court, that of Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, which is scheduled to begin in the middle of proposed investigations with judges and administrative staff. Sok Kaliyan, deputy prosecutor at the Municipal Court, told the Post Tuesday that he expected investigations, which had already begun, to take a maximum of two months, after which a verdict could be given.

Despite the initial hearing for the torture chief's trial scheduled for February 17, Sok Kaliyan was confident investigations would not interrupt the highly anticipated first trial.

"They are different things," he said.
International defence lawyers for former Khmer Rouge Brother No 2 Nuon Chea filed a criminal complaint to the civil court Friday, claiming Sean Visoth, the government's top official to the Khmer Rouge tribunal, as well as the court's former chief of personnel, Keo Thyvuth, violated criminal law by "perpetrating, facilitating, aiding and/or abetting an organised regime of institutional corruption at the ECCC during the pending judicial investigation".

The complaint also accused judges of misdemeanours, prompting Cambodian judges to make a statement denying the allegations.

Foreign lawyer summoned
Sok Kaliyan confirmed that one of the foreign legal adviser for Nuon Chea, consultant Andrew Ianuzzi, had already been summoned to the court and would appear on Thursday to be interviewed.

He said summoning the complainants was the first step in the inquiry, after which he would decide who else to summons.

"The complaint is divided into two parts - the first part relates to people working in the head of administration and the second relates to judges - so after I interview the complainants, I will decide who to interview from these [sections of the court]," he said.

Ianuzzi said Tuesday he was ready to be summoned to the court.

"We are looking forward to helping the court," he said.

Trials, tribulations and textbooks: Govt, DC-Cam review KR teaching

Written by Robbie Corey-Boulet

Wednesday, 21 January 2009

After a long and at times contentious review by a government committee, a guidebook combined with a training program will advise teachers on controversial instruction methods. Photo by: Photo Supplied Youk Chhang and other members of DC-Cam's staff hand out the new textbooks on the Khmer Rouge period in Takeo province. In schools, a longing for information Touch Thouda, a teacher at the Phnom Penh Regional Teacher Training Centre, said she never tells her high school students about the Khmer Rouge years, adding that she would welcome guidance on how to treat the period. Hok Phally, a 10th-grade student in Phnom Penh, said most of what she knows about the Khmer Rouge she learned from her parents. Chum On, 18, a 12th-grader in Battambang province, lamented that she does not know more about the period. "I was told that during this regime many people died," she said. Ï do not understand why. We should have it taught in the classrooms because the new generation can take it as an example not to follow." THE Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) plans next week to publish a guide for high school teachers, advising them on the best ways to present A History of Democratic Kampuchea, a textbook detailing the history of the Khmer Rouge. Monday's release of the 79-page guidebook, a draft of which has been obtained by the Post, will mark the end of a review process that saw members of a Ministry of Education review committee occasionally clash with DC-Cam staff over how the history should be taught.

Its distribution is to coincide with an expanded printing of the textbook itself, which was approved by the government as a supplementary text more than two years ago but so far has not been widely used in classrooms, said DC-Cam Director Youk Chhang.

Youk Chhang said the nationwide distribution of both books, combined with a teacher training program designed to familiarise 3,000 high school teachers with their contents, will standardise and improve the information students receive about the Khmer Rouge years. The information teachers currently provide too often takes the form of incomplete accounts based primarily on their own experiences and those of their relatives, he said, in part because their resources are limited: The government-issued social studies textbook devotes only eight or nine pages to the period.

The textbook, written by DC-Cam researcher Khamboly Dy, skirts some of the more contentious aspects of the period - for instance, whether Vietnam's defeat of the Khmer Rouge amounted to liberation or an invasion - so clashes over the content of the guidebook centred more on methods than message.

Painstaking review
The review committee was concerned about some interactive activities outlined in the guidebook. In one, described in the draft teachers' guide, students are instructed to illustrate and write a one-page news report about the scene in Phnom Penh when the Khmer Rouge arrived on April 17, 1975.

Youk Chhang said the committee objected to this because of concerns that students' imaginations would lead them to illustrate scenes "that go beyond the truth". He said Sunday that DC-Cam and the committee were still hashing out a compromise.

The committee responded favorably, however, to other interactive tasks. One lesson calls for students to be divided into two groups, one of which is given interviews with victims and the other interviews with former Khmer Rouge guards. Students are to read the interviews and then deliver presentations on them.

Though the committee approved it, not every reviewer was convinced it could be executed successfully. Cheng Hong, a lecturer at the National Institute of Education and a member of the review committee, said classes in some schools contain more than 60 students, making this type of managed role-play untenable.

He also said such activities might anger students unnecessarily.

Sambo Manara, a professor of history at the Royal University of Phnom Penh and a member of DC-Cam's review team, said he would like to do away with interactive tasks altogether, arguing that they had been rendered unnecessary by the proliferation of books and news reports in a range of media on the Khmer Rouge.

Other objections had to do with logistics. Cheng Hong questioned whether schools lacking in modern infrastructure would be able to screen films such as S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine, which the guidebook recommends.

These disagreements aside, Youk Chhang said DC-Cam's relationship with the government reviewers was largely productive.

"They gave us a lot of good suggestions," he said, "and we think most of them are appropriate."


First print, then train
Since its approval, enough copies of A History of Democratic Kampuchea have been distributed for each of Cambodia's more than 1,300 high schools to carry four copies in their libraries.

"They disappear from the bookshelves, so we keep sending more copies when we can," Youk Chhang said.

With this year's expanded printing, funded by the German embassy, roughly 200,000 copies are to be made available to high school students.
The distribution of the books is to be followed by a training program set to unfold in three stages. In May, 24 people from the government review committee are to attend a workshop to become national trainers. In June, this group of 24 is to train 185 provincial trainers, who in turn will train 3,000 high school teachers across the country by September.

Youk Chhang said the 3,000 teachers would be split evenly along gender lines to ensure that different aspects of the period's history receive equal emphasis in classrooms.

"All male teachers want to talk about prison and torture," he said. "All females want to talk about food and starvation issues, and forced marriage."

There will also be an even split between teachers who survived the regime, who tend to focus on their personal experiences and neglect peer-reviewed academic material, and younger teachers, who might lack a personal connection to the events and thus be less engaging, Youk Chhang said.

DC-Cam and the Ministry of Education will observe how the guidebook is implemented over the next few years.

Youk Chhang said he expects some changes will be necessary.

"We anticipate some problems because this material is very new," he said.

The long road towards the creation of a specific code of procedure for international criminal courts

Kambol (Cambodia, Phnom Penh). 11/11/2008. Mock trial organised by the ECCC Defence Support Section (DSS) for Law students (Photo: John Vink/ Magnum)

20-01-2009
By Stéphanie Gée
Ka-set in English
Click here to read the article in French
Click here to read the article in Khmer

A man called Jean-Jacques Gandini, an associate professor in French Literature, found himself standing before the Khmer Rouge Tribunal on November 26th last year, and was asked to answer for his verbal assault of public officials in the course of their duty...
A much incongruous trial, held in premises intended for the hearings of senior leaders and criminals of Pol Pot's regime. The mock trial, performed by lawyers from the Montpellier Bar Human Rights Institute (in the South of France) was used as a test-trial, which turned out to be successful, to check the functionality of courtroom technical equipment but most importantly, to give an example of the French legal system, based on Romano-Germanic Law (Civil Law), but also of the Cambodian system which prevails within the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), right beside International Law, elaborated on the basis of the Anglo-Saxon system (Common Law). Two legal systems, a single court... quite a headache for whoever deals with the mix.

A mock trial meant to throw light on many an issue

The Gandini case is based on a real trial, conducted under the principles of Criminal Law, and was examined by the Montpellier Criminal Chamber a few years ago, in which the Defence lawyer was actually François Roux, the French co-Lawyer for Duch, the former director of the S-21 torture centre, first on the list of the Khmer Rouge trials before the ECCC. However, the rules of French Law for the case procedure were slightly bent - and authorised - for the occasion so as to add to the impact of the trial within the ECCC: a “protected” witness was thus added, and his/her identity was concealed and protected. The French lawyers, who are none other than Francois Roux's colleagues from the same Bar, happily stood in the shoes of the different parties present at the trial.

The case: Events happened in the defendant's hometown, in the evening - to justify his intervention as the police proceeded to what he thought was an unfairly tough way of taking people in for questioning, a professor, speaking with composure and poise, pleads the state of lawful rebellion on the part of a citizen. He denies the charges pressed against him by three policemen, alleging he hurled insults at them. The defendant is discharged. In a matter of seconds, the “actors” left their part and went back to sit among the audience, mainly composed of Cambodian Law students and ECCC personnel. After the practical demonstration, the debate was opened. The aim, as explained, is not to “give a lesson” but to “take part in a common reflection”: how can different legal systems possibly work together?” Between Civil and Common Law, “the one is just as good as the other”, and the ECCC, basing its fundamental system on both, must therefore “invent something together”.

"See what works best"

The initiative was launched by the ECCC Defence Support Section (DSS), led by its acting head Richard Rogers. The hybrid court, established in Phnom Penh, has now been operating since 2006 but the union of the two legal systems still raises questions on both sides.

“The new Criminal Procedure Code of Cambodia (CPC) came into force in the country during the summer 2007 and is based on the French Penal Code. This gave rise to the idea of a mock trial organised along the lines of Civil Law”, Richard Rogers explains, pointing out that several elements of International Law, like the protection of witnesses, will be added to Civil Law in the ECCC. For him, “there is no fight” between those guided by Civil Law principles and those rather based on the Common Law system, but just a group of people “coming from different backgrounds, who think together to see what works best for serious cases coming under the responsibility of an International Criminal Court, within Cambodian context”.

Combining systems with a view to reduce trial length

“Many of the Common Law jurists who came here do not know the Civil Law system. Some see it positively while others approach it with more stiffness. This is why we thought about holding a criminal trial along the lines of Civil Law”, François Roux says. “There are Codes, rules, which allow everyone to express themselves according to different Common Law procedures but which also tend to reach the same result in the end, i.e. the manifestation of truth - this is what we are seeking - and therefore of justice. I still fundamentally believe that differences are not that major...”

The French co-Lawyer for Duch reckons that “International Criminal justice deserves trials to be held “within a reasonable amount of time”. “Here, we have the opportunity to test a system other than what is followed by other International Criminal Courts, so let's test it! In the end, we will obviously see whether it is better, not better, or worse! But if we notice that with that adaptation of both systems, we really do improve the length of these trials, then I think everyone will come off better.” The hard challenge, he continues, lies in “the way that we, today, can build up a new international Criminal Law system to allow trials to be held within reasonable periods of time, and trials which civil parties will attend and take part in, trials in which the defendant – and this is my wish here – will always be allowed to speak last”.

Does Cambodian procedure have to have the last word?

In the Preamble to the Internal Rules , the ECCC indeed explain that the purpose of the document is “to consolidate applicable Cambodian procedure for proceedings before the ECCC and […] to adopt additional rules where these existing procedures do not deal with a particular matter, or if there is uncertainty regarding their interpretation or application, or if there is a question regarding their consistency with international standards”. However, in practice, this calls for several interpretations. On many occasions, during Pre-Trial Chamber hearings, parties disagreed on the question as to whether the court should be guided by Cambodian procedure or rather refer to the ECCC Internal Rules.

Thus, on February 25th 2008, the Defence Team for Nuon Chea appealed against the Order refusing the Request for Annulment by the Office of the co-Investigating Judges (OCIJ), claiming that Cambodian procedure, i.e. the Criminal Procedure Code of Cambodia (CPC) had priority in this case. Co-Lawyers for the civil parties then decided to deal with the issue by supporting, in form rather than substance, the argument of the Defence. They called the pre-Trial Chamber to reconsider its decision dated August 28th 2008 regarding the relationship between the Internal Rules and the CPC, and stated that the latter must constitute the primary instrument in the proceedings, before the Internal Rules.

Indeed, the pre-Trial Chamber (PTC), emphasising the exceptional context of the ECCC, asserted that the Internal Rules constituted “the primary instrument to which reference should be made in determining procedures before the ECCC where there is a difference between the procedures in the Internal Rules and the Criminal Procedure Code”. The PTC then considered that “the provisions of the CPC should only apply where a question arises which is not addressed by the Internal Rules”. It is true that at the time of the adoption of the Internal Rules in June 2007, the CPC was not effective yet – it came into force in August 2007 – but, as pointed out by lawyers for civil parties, “the draft of the CPC, which was very similar to the ultimately enacted law, was already available”. They added that the CPC had already been adopted by the National Assembly during the June 2007 plenary session.

Legitimacy of the ECCC Internal Rules called into question

Silke Studzinsky, the German lawyer for the civil parties at the ECCC, claims that the Criminal Procedure Code of Cambodia should be implemented in accordance with the Agreement between the United Nations and Cambodia, and with the ECCC Law and quotes Article 33 (new) of the Law on the establishment of the ECCC: “If the existing procedures do not deal with a particular matter, or if there is uncertainty regarding their interpretation or application or if there is a question regarding their consistency with international standard, guidance may be sought in procedural rules established at the international level”. By emphasising this aspect, Silke Studzinsky questions the legitimacy of the Internal Rules, drafted by her judiciary personnel during the plenary session(* ), which, she points out, was not subjected to any vote at the National Assembly of Cambodia. Thus, she suggests the question of hierarchy of rules and rights within the hybrid court be closely looked at again.

“The plenary session has no authority over the adoption of the Internal Rules which represent an independent system of legal procedure. However, in Cambodia, the National Assembly alone holds legislative power. Neither the Agreement establishing the ECCC nor the ECCC law delegate such legislative power to the plenary session. Even if the Internal Rules are valid, they come under the Criminal Procedure Code of Cambodia”, the lawyer details, reminding that practices are much different in International courts like the ones in Rwanda, Sierra Leone or former Yugoslavia, where a provision was created to allow judges to adopt their own procedural rules.

“Therefore, we expect judges to be creative”, Silke Studzinsky says, “since it is the first time they have to deal with so many victims. The solution, however, is not to restrict their rights by giving the Internal Rules priority over the Criminal Procedure Code, but to enforce them. This might serves as a pattern for future international courts.”

The debate over the hierarchy of procedures was already held by other international UN courts and might appear before the future Special Tribunal for Lebanon, due to start works on March 1st. The tribunal was also formed following a hybrid pattern applied to a country, in this case Lebanon, in which the legal tradition is that of French Law. After fifteen years and the creation of international jurisdictions, the international criminal justice system is still feeling its way along a winding path and trying to elaborate a code of procedure that would be specific to this type of crimes. But for the time being, these courts have not yet found a solution to organise trials within “a reasonable amount of time”...

* Participants at the plenary session: co-Investigating Judges, Judges of the Chambers, co-Prosecutors, the director of the Defence Support Section, head of the Victims Unit, head and deputy head of the ECCC Office of Administration. However, as stipulated in Rule 18 (3b) of the Internal Rules, only the co-Investigating Judges and Judges of the Chambers are entitled to vote on the rules contained in Chapter III (Rule 21 to 114) regarding the procedure.

CCU annuncement to Chea Vichea's commemoration

Press Release

March to Place a garland of Flowers
Mr.Chea Vichea, Former President of FTUWKC,
Gunnded down on 22nd January 2004

On 22nd January 2008 Cambodian Confederation of Union (CCU) which consists of Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association (CITA) and Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) organizes a march in order to place garland of flowers to show respects to spirits of Mr. Chea Vichea, former President of FTUWKC, was gunned down on 22nd January 2004 ,.
Mr. Chea Vichea did too much works for our nation, especially, demanding for rights, freedom and better working conditions for workers.

His patriotism and actions were bore in mind of workers, citizens, teachers, FTUWKC and CITA for ever and a day, on the other hand, we all always organize this event every year in order to recall his favor. We also demand the Phnom Penh authority to look for a real murderer and person behind to sentence during a laying of garland of flowers and would like to make a royal appeal to the king to give a title to Mr. Chea Vichea as a Khmer Worker Hero.

CCU would like to make a call to workers, motor drivers, businessmen, citizens, NGOs, diplomats, and national-international reporters to fully participate in that event in order to show respects to his spirits.

The gathering will be at an office of FTUWKC, #16A, St.376, Sangkat Boeng Kengkang3, Khan Chamkarmorn, Phnom Penh , at 7:30am and march toward the place closed to the Lungkar pagoda where he was shot to death.


With best regards,

Rong Chhun
President of CCU

Tobique Valley students help Cambodia kids

Wednesday January 21st, 2009
By Corinne Fitzherbert
The Victoria Star (Canada)

A yearbook is full of memories and for the students of Tobique Valley Middle High School, the 2009 edition will evoke images of how they helped less fortunate children thousands of miles away. The students have raised $650 for school children in Cambodia and on Friday, Jan. 16, they added their signatures to a school banner that has already been signed by the Asian youngsters.
"We decided this year that we wanted to do something a little more meaningful than dedicating our yearbook to an individual," Dylan Mahaney, yearbook editor, said of their decision to dedicate it to the project. "This was something we thought was worthwhile."

Teacher Bridget Nugent Rideout is yearbook advisor and she suggested the Cambodian project to the students. Her dad Professor Bill Nugent and his childhood friend Gary Keenan of K-Line Construction in Woodstock are working to help the Pinocchio School for Poor Children in Sihanoukville, coastal Cambodia, and travelled there over the Christmas holidays to deliver $4,000 raised by a variety of supporters mostly in New Brunswick. The money will be used to buy school uniforms, shoes, school desks and other supplies.

On Jan. 16, the Tobique Valley middle school students watched a presentation that featured photographs of the children taken during the Cambodian visit. Dylan Mahaney along with Sabrina St. Pierre, junior editor, and Kelsey Witherly, yearbook member, explained Prof. Nugent and Keenan not only delivered much-needed money but also book bags and other school supplies that delighted the youngsters.

"They bought a lot of flip-flops," Mahaney added, noting the lightweight footwear is ideal there. "These children really don't have very much."

As students saw photographs of sparse living conditions, Mahaney noted the hammocks in the pictures serve as beds, couches and chairs. Families that number as many as 26 people live in one small home. In another photograph, the Tobique Valley students saw their school banner being signed by the Cambodian children.

"Their alphabet doesn't look like ours so some of their names don't look like words," Nugent Rideout explained. "This is the same banner that you are going to sign and then it will be on display in our school."

The majority of the funds raised by Tobique Valley Middle High School came from the 24-hour famine held by high school students recently. The middle school classrooms had donation collection jars that also brought in dollars.

Anyone who wants to help the children in Cambodia is also welcome to get involved. Paul Nugent is currently working as a professor in the English department at Yeungnam University in Korea and Gary Keenan is back in Woodstock but both men have committed to continuing to help the children.

"Paul is planning to return within the year to personally deliver any donations or items that in been donated in Woodstock or Korea," Nugent Rideout explained. "The two Monquarters will bear the costs of shipping or delivering any items that are donated."

Although Professor Nugent and Keenan have been involved in a variety of humanitarian projects, their discovery of the Sihanoukville school happened almost by accident. The men had been delivering aid in Vietnam and were spending two weeks touring Cambodia when they met the founder of an orphanage and school for the poor who was in the guest house where they stayed. Cees Chamuleau, originally from Holland, had gone to Cambodia to visit an old friend when he became aware of child labour being used to run a small stone quarry in the community. Appalled by what he saw, he brought the story to the attention of the United Nations and then decided he wanted to open a school there to give the youngsters an alternative to labouring.

Despite a lot of opposition, Cees eventually opened a school for 250 students, many of them residents of the orphanage he also established nearby.

"Children do not have to pay to attend the school as most families in the area have little or no money," Nugent Rideout stated.

"Cees and his associates give the children uniforms and shoes, a midday meal and look after their medical needs, some of which are very serious."

The visit to the school was described as "heart warming" by Nugent and Keenan who said the children were delighted to have visitors. The pupils received Canada pins and flags, a large New Brunswick and Canadian flag, as well as some candy. The children will receive some of Prof. Nugent's recently published storybooks as well as Scotiabank rulers donated by Tom and Bridget Brennan. The supporters also provided a Christmas feast of suckling pig that was enjoyed during the December visit.

"There are some Christians there and they do have Christmas but it isn't like here. They don't have all the presents. It's just a day they observe," Mahaney explained.

Items still being collected include new clothes like t-shirts, caps, school supplies, calculators and donations. A donation of $25 can buy five school uniforms, a desk or flip-flops for 50 children.

More information is available by contacting Gary Keenan at 328-9848.

When the students at Tobique Valley look back on their school year, they will have the satisfaction of knowing they did something that made a difference in the world. The photographs of Cambodian children with big, bright grins make the Tobique Valley students smile.

"You can see how excited these children are," Mahaney noted.