Thai always get over Cambodian?

Thai authority denied Cambodian tourists entry to Thailand and demanded them to pay $1500 each

Reaksmey Kampuchea newspaper

8th January, 2009
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization

The 7-storey Jupiter Cruise liner (pictured) with 450 passengers had docked at a Bangkok Seaport on 25th December, 2008 at 10:30am with the hopes that the passengers will be able to celebrate Christmas in the land of Thailand. On the cruise ship there were 269 Cambodian passengers but it was the worst nightmare for them that the Thai authority did not allow them to leave the ship and sent them packing back to Cambodia.
On the 4th of December, Jupiter Cruise, as part of its first launch, has left Phu Quoc (Koh Tral) island in Nha Trang province for Kompong Som in Cambodia to go to Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket in Thailand. This is a free cruise and according to Mr. Benson Samay, defence attorney for the cruise, on the cruise ship there were 269 Cambodian passengers, among them there were 27 Cambodian passengers who hold diplomatic and government official passports, 22 Cambodians who hold foreign passports and 215 Cambodians who hold ordinary passports with Thai visas stamped on them.

In a letter to Mr. Chheang Vun, Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, sent on 6th January, 2009, Mr. Benson Samay said that, according to an English captain of the Jupiter Cruise, the Thai authority did not allow the Cambodian passengers to enter into Thailand by using an excuse that “there might be some Khmer Rouge disguising among the passengers who can create insecurity in their country (Thailand).” The letter added that the Thai authority will only allow the Cambodian passengers to enter Thailand “on the condition that those Cambodian passengers agreed to pay $1500 each person in security bond and the bond money can only be withdrawn after 3 months time.”

Mr. Chheang Vun has told Reaksmey Kampuchea newspaper that he has sent the letter to Mr. Long Visalo, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to summon the Thai officials to explain the incident.

Mr. Chheang Vun added: “if this information is true, it is a regrettable incident”, by adding that he was not aware whether the cruise ship has sufficient documents to enter Thailand or not, Mr. Chheang Vun said that Cambodia and Thailand have a visa agreement, and among the 269 passengers, only 5 passengers who did not have the Thai visas. Mr. Chheang Vun said that according to Mr. Benson Samay, those 5 passengers did not wish to leave the cruise ship to enter the Thai territories. By saying this, Mr. Chheang Vun wanted to stress that there is no reason for the Thai authority to bar the 269 Cambodian passengers from entering Thai territories.

Mr. Benson Samay added that the Thai authority allowed the Vietnamese passengers to disembark the cruise ship to enter Thai territories by transporting the 24 Vietnamese passengers by boat to Bangkok. The Cambodian were not allowed to enter Thailand unless they agreed to pay the $1500 security bond as requested.

Under international regulations, regulated by the International Maritime Organisation (OMI), the regulations for any ships to dock at any international seaports are not linked to the passengers on board of the ships. This means that as long as the passengers on the ship have appropriate visas agreed between the two countries, they must be allowed to enter the country they intended to visit. On the contrary, if the passengers have no proper documentations, when the ship has already docked at any international ports, those passengers can remain on the ship legally because that ship is considered as “a country” as well.

Two days ago an official from the Thai Foreign Ministry told the Thai media that he did not know of the incident and that same official has assured that Thailand will launch an investigation if there is a detailed diplomatic protest from Cambodia.

Thai always get over Cambodian?

Thai authority denied Cambodian tourists entry to Thailand and demanded them to pay $1500 each

Reaksmey Kampuchea newspaper

8th January, 2009
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization

The 7-storey Jupiter Cruise liner (pictured) with 450 passengers had docked at a Bangkok Seaport on 25th December, 2008 at 10:30am with the hopes that the passengers will be able to celebrate Christmas in the land of Thailand. On the cruise ship there were 269 Cambodian passengers but it was the worst nightmare for them that the Thai authority did not allow them to leave the ship and sent them packing back to Cambodia.
On the 4th of December, Jupiter Cruise, as part of its first launch, has left Phu Quoc (Koh Tral) island in Nha Trang province for Kompong Som in Cambodia to go to Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket in Thailand. This is a free cruise and according to Mr. Benson Samay, defence attorney for the cruise, on the cruise ship there were 269 Cambodian passengers, among them there were 27 Cambodian passengers who hold diplomatic and government official passports, 22 Cambodians who hold foreign passports and 215 Cambodians who hold ordinary passports with Thai visas stamped on them.

In a letter to Mr. Chheang Vun, Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, sent on 6th January, 2009, Mr. Benson Samay said that, according to an English captain of the Jupiter Cruise, the Thai authority did not allow the Cambodian passengers to enter into Thailand by using an excuse that “there might be some Khmer Rouge disguising among the passengers who can create insecurity in their country (Thailand).” The letter added that the Thai authority will only allow the Cambodian passengers to enter Thailand “on the condition that those Cambodian passengers agreed to pay $1500 each person in security bond and the bond money can only be withdrawn after 3 months time.”

Mr. Chheang Vun has told Reaksmey Kampuchea newspaper that he has sent the letter to Mr. Long Visalo, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to summon the Thai officials to explain the incident.

Mr. Chheang Vun added: “if this information is true, it is a regrettable incident”, by adding that he was not aware whether the cruise ship has sufficient documents to enter Thailand or not, Mr. Chheang Vun said that Cambodia and Thailand have a visa agreement, and among the 269 passengers, only 5 passengers who did not have the Thai visas. Mr. Chheang Vun said that according to Mr. Benson Samay, those 5 passengers did not wish to leave the cruise ship to enter the Thai territories. By saying this, Mr. Chheang Vun wanted to stress that there is no reason for the Thai authority to bar the 269 Cambodian passengers from entering Thai territories.

Mr. Benson Samay added that the Thai authority allowed the Vietnamese passengers to disembark the cruise ship to enter Thai territories by transporting the 24 Vietnamese passengers by boat to Bangkok. The Cambodian were not allowed to enter Thailand unless they agreed to pay the $1500 security bond as requested.

Under international regulations, regulated by the International Maritime Organisation (OMI), the regulations for any ships to dock at any international seaports are not linked to the passengers on board of the ships. This means that as long as the passengers on the ship have appropriate visas agreed between the two countries, they must be allowed to enter the country they intended to visit. On the contrary, if the passengers have no proper documentations, when the ship has already docked at any international ports, those passengers can remain on the ship legally because that ship is considered as “a country” as well.

Two days ago an official from the Thai Foreign Ministry told the Thai media that he did not know of the incident and that same official has assured that Thailand will launch an investigation if there is a detailed diplomatic protest from Cambodia.

beautiful decoration during Khmer year

Happy New Year From Sydney, Australia

The spectacular fireworks over Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House on new year's day, Thursday 1st January, 2009! Happy New Year, 2009!

Khmer-Thai Relations: The Good Old Days

I bumped into this pictures by chance at Monkgol's blog. I thought it is wonderful that Mongkol has dug out these historical artistic relations between the Cambodian and Thai people. I do hope that the Preah Vihear and border issues can be resolved amicably to the satisfaction of both the Khmer and Thai people so that trusts and mutual understandings can be rebuilt - Khmerization

-----------------------------------------------

Cambodian stars Dy Saveth and Chea Yuthorn as seen in a Thai magazine from the early 1970’s. The two were in Thailand to promote a movie called “ស្នេហ៍ឆ្លងវេហា” or “รักข้ามขอบฟ้า,” which was jointly produced by Cambodia and Thailand.

The Khmer and Thai versions of the movie’s soundtrack were sung by Sin Sisamuth and Dy Saveth. Until these days, it remains an everlasting hit greatly loved by people from both countries. Hmmm! Good old days!

SRP calls for probe of Siem Reap violence

Military police man a checkpoint in Siem Reap's Anlong Samnor commune following outbreaks of violence Sunday. (Photo by: KYLE SHERER)

Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Written by Chrann Chamroeun and Kyle Sherer
The Phnom Penh Post

Siem Reap province:

Local officials and rights groups say armed confrontation between police and villagers is the result of long-simmering land dispute between rival communes.

WITH some villagers in prison, others in hospital with serious bullet wounds and more still missing, the mystery surrounding the swift yet brutal eruption of violence Sunday in a long-simmering Siem Reap land dispute continues, with opposition lawmakers petitioning the National Assembly for an investigation.

In a formal request to parliament Monday, Ke Sovannroth, the Sam Rainsy Party's representative from Siem Reap, asked for a probe into Sunday's fighting between rival communes and local authorities in Chi Kraeng district, which saw at least four people injured.

Some 90 armed security personnel, sent by local authorities, opened fire on a crowd of about 300 Chi Kraeng villagers when they prevented the arrest of community representative Kim Savoeun, the SRP said.

Chi Kraeng villagers have been locked in dispute with neighbouring Anlong Samnor commune over a 92-hectare plot of land for years now, the SRP added.

"Authorities should have solved the problem peacefully because they have tried to solve this dispute several times already," Ke Sovannroth said in the party's request to the National Assembly.

In a statement Monday, Siem Reap's provincial Department of Information said that troops opened fire on the crowd in Chi Kraeng district at 9am Sunday, as they confronted about 100 villagers carrying machetes and wooden sticks.

The department said police and military police were sent to enforce a court-ordered arrest warrant for Kim Savoeun, who was hiding among the crowd.

According to the statement, villagers from neighbouring Chi Kraeng and Anlong Samnor communes are disputing the plot of land that abuts the two communes, and that authorities have made many attempts to resolve the problem.

Nou Puthyk, provincial coordinator for Cambodian rights group Licadho, told the Post that the group would launch its own investigations into both the land dispute and the response by the authorities.

"We visited three victims today with serious bullet wounds," he said, adding that a fourth injured man was being treated in hospital.

"We are undertaking a thorough investigation to clear up the problem of who has the right to the 92 hectares of farmland."

He said that provincial Governor Sou Phirin ruled on February 2 that Anlong Samnor residents could continue farming the land, while Chi Kraeng commune residents would receive a social land concession.

Sou Phirin said Monday that he regretted the violence and that those injured would have their medical bills paid for.

Despite Sunday's violence, 155 Chi Kraeng families continued Monday to squat land, in what Anlong Samnor commune chief Seng Young described as an "invasion".

He said that the altercation erupted Sunday when Anlong Samnor farmers attempted to harvest their rice but were forced to call the police when Chi Kraeng farmers refused them access to the land.

"My people tried to harvest their crops, but the people from Chi Kraeng village went to fight them and took the crops," he said.

"The police went to settle the problem, but the Chi Kraeng people wanted to fight the police instead," Seng Young said.

"They don't listen to the governor or the military police. They just fight whoever goes near them."

Licadho's Nou Puthyk said that of the 40 people arrested, those who were allowed to return home had to sign a statement promising not to continue the dispute.

Those remaining in police custody are accused of masterminding the violence and could be charged with robbery for allegedly taking the land, Ty Sovinthal said.

Chhuon Leng, a Chi Kraeng villager, also confirmed that only nine people, including representative Kim Savoeun, remained in prison, while the other 30 had been released.

"There are still people who are missing, and we are looking for them now," he said.

SRP calls for probe of Siem Reap violence

Military police man a checkpoint in Siem Reap's Anlong Samnor commune following outbreaks of violence Sunday. (Photo by: KYLE SHERER)

Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Written by Chrann Chamroeun and Kyle Sherer
The Phnom Penh Post

Siem Reap province:

Local officials and rights groups say armed confrontation between police and villagers is the result of long-simmering land dispute between rival communes.

WITH some villagers in prison, others in hospital with serious bullet wounds and more still missing, the mystery surrounding the swift yet brutal eruption of violence Sunday in a long-simmering Siem Reap land dispute continues, with opposition lawmakers petitioning the National Assembly for an investigation.

In a formal request to parliament Monday, Ke Sovannroth, the Sam Rainsy Party's representative from Siem Reap, asked for a probe into Sunday's fighting between rival communes and local authorities in Chi Kraeng district, which saw at least four people injured.

Some 90 armed security personnel, sent by local authorities, opened fire on a crowd of about 300 Chi Kraeng villagers when they prevented the arrest of community representative Kim Savoeun, the SRP said.

Chi Kraeng villagers have been locked in dispute with neighbouring Anlong Samnor commune over a 92-hectare plot of land for years now, the SRP added.

"Authorities should have solved the problem peacefully because they have tried to solve this dispute several times already," Ke Sovannroth said in the party's request to the National Assembly.

In a statement Monday, Siem Reap's provincial Department of Information said that troops opened fire on the crowd in Chi Kraeng district at 9am Sunday, as they confronted about 100 villagers carrying machetes and wooden sticks.

The department said police and military police were sent to enforce a court-ordered arrest warrant for Kim Savoeun, who was hiding among the crowd.

According to the statement, villagers from neighbouring Chi Kraeng and Anlong Samnor communes are disputing the plot of land that abuts the two communes, and that authorities have made many attempts to resolve the problem.

Nou Puthyk, provincial coordinator for Cambodian rights group Licadho, told the Post that the group would launch its own investigations into both the land dispute and the response by the authorities.

"We visited three victims today with serious bullet wounds," he said, adding that a fourth injured man was being treated in hospital.

"We are undertaking a thorough investigation to clear up the problem of who has the right to the 92 hectares of farmland."

He said that provincial Governor Sou Phirin ruled on February 2 that Anlong Samnor residents could continue farming the land, while Chi Kraeng commune residents would receive a social land concession.

Sou Phirin said Monday that he regretted the violence and that those injured would have their medical bills paid for.

Despite Sunday's violence, 155 Chi Kraeng families continued Monday to squat land, in what Anlong Samnor commune chief Seng Young described as an "invasion".

He said that the altercation erupted Sunday when Anlong Samnor farmers attempted to harvest their rice but were forced to call the police when Chi Kraeng farmers refused them access to the land.

"My people tried to harvest their crops, but the people from Chi Kraeng village went to fight them and took the crops," he said.

"The police went to settle the problem, but the Chi Kraeng people wanted to fight the police instead," Seng Young said.

"They don't listen to the governor or the military police. They just fight whoever goes near them."

Licadho's Nou Puthyk said that of the 40 people arrested, those who were allowed to return home had to sign a statement promising not to continue the dispute.

Those remaining in police custody are accused of masterminding the violence and could be charged with robbery for allegedly taking the land, Ty Sovinthal said.

Chhuon Leng, a Chi Kraeng villager, also confirmed that only nine people, including representative Kim Savoeun, remained in prison, while the other 30 had been released.

"There are still people who are missing, and we are looking for them now," he said.

Senate's decade angers critics [-Another useless institution?]

CPP and Senate President Chea Sim speaks on Friday at the Senate building in Phnom Penh. (Photo by: Khem Rony John)

Monday, 23 March 2009
Written by Sebastian Strangio and Neth Pheaktra
The Phnom Penh Post

IN the wake of official celebrations marking the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Kingdom's Senate, opposition members and civil society groups have called for the body's reform, saying it has failed to fulfill its constitutional obligations and is acting as a drain on national resources.

In a ceremony marking the Senate's first decade Friday, Senate President Chea Sim said the body had contributed strongly to the Kingdom's political stability and economic development since its establishment on March 25, 1999.

"During the 10 years of its existence, the Senate has walked an honourable path through activities that have aided the country's reconstruction and national development, and it has played an important role in integrating Cambodia with the region and the world in an era of globalisation," he said in a speech.

But while Article 112 of the Kingdom's Constitution states that the Senate has "duties to coordinate the work between the Assembly and the Government", government critics said the 61-member body performs no practical function.

"Over the last 10 years, [the Senate] has not proven to be useful in any way at all. It has only managed to spend large amounts of public funds for nothing," opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Sunday.

"It is a legitimate body because it is in the Constitution, but performing its role in a useful way is another story."

He added that for 2008, the body cost a total of nearly 29 billion riels (US$7.07 million) in salaries and upkeep.

Sam Rainsy also criticised the body's "non-universal" elections - open only to commune councillors and lawmakers - as undemocratic, calling for the introduction of direct universal elections.

"This current Senate was elected [in 2006] by commune councillors who were elected in 2002," he said. "But from 2002 to 2009, many things have changed."

Several of those contacted by the Post said that the body itself had a questionable origin, having been born out of political compromise in the aftermath of the 1998 election.

At that time, Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh was awarded the post of National Assembly president as a reward for bringing his party into coalition with the CPP, leading to the creation of the Senate as a new power base for CPP President Chea Sim, who had occupied the post of Assembly head since 1993.

"Ten years ago, the Senate was created out of political expediency to create a position for Chea Sim," Sam Rainsy said.

"Everybody knew from the very beginning that it had no utility of any sort, and since then it has proven these first perceptions."

Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, agreed that because of its origins, the Senate was an institutional contrivance that served no necessary function.

Although the body "reviewed" legislation passed by the National Assembly, checking laws to ensure their intended meanings were reflected in eventual legislation, its power to effect changes in the law was limited, he said. "They are the proofreaders of the Assembly," he said.

He added that in 10 years, the Senate sent just two laws back to the National Assembly for revision, and that they both concerned matters of semantics rather than substance.

Others said that the Senate, lacking the power to fulfill its purpose as a body of review, had become - like many Cambodian institutions - a vessel for political party power.

"Over the last 10 years, the senate has not proven ... useful in any way at all."

Unlike in most democratic states, Cambodian Senators are elected as representatives of their political parties and are personally dependent upon party support.

"If you are dismissed from the party, or you resign your membership in the party, you also lose your seat in parliament or in the Senate," said Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project.

"In this situation, political parties control the National Assembly and the Senate."

Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha said the body played a potentially important role, but that without reforms it would continue to be compromised by political control. "The Senate demands a lot of money but provides very little for the national interest," he said.

The presence of 15 powerful businessmen in the Senate was another worrying trend, said Ou Virak, showing that economic interests were now benefiting from parliamentary immunity.

"This is an interesting turn and a significant one, because it indicates the business interests involved in obtaining a seat in the Senate," he said.

In a special March bulletin, the Senate claimed to have "actively fulfilled" its duties, making recommendations to the National Assembly on 205 laws, holding 155 meetings and 15 plenary sessions, and organising eight forums on the government's decentralisation reforms.

Senate's decade angers critics [-Another useless institution?]

CPP and Senate President Chea Sim speaks on Friday at the Senate building in Phnom Penh. (Photo by: Khem Rony John)

Monday, 23 March 2009
Written by Sebastian Strangio and Neth Pheaktra
The Phnom Penh Post

IN the wake of official celebrations marking the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Kingdom's Senate, opposition members and civil society groups have called for the body's reform, saying it has failed to fulfill its constitutional obligations and is acting as a drain on national resources.

In a ceremony marking the Senate's first decade Friday, Senate President Chea Sim said the body had contributed strongly to the Kingdom's political stability and economic development since its establishment on March 25, 1999.

"During the 10 years of its existence, the Senate has walked an honourable path through activities that have aided the country's reconstruction and national development, and it has played an important role in integrating Cambodia with the region and the world in an era of globalisation," he said in a speech.

But while Article 112 of the Kingdom's Constitution states that the Senate has "duties to coordinate the work between the Assembly and the Government", government critics said the 61-member body performs no practical function.

"Over the last 10 years, [the Senate] has not proven to be useful in any way at all. It has only managed to spend large amounts of public funds for nothing," opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Sunday.

"It is a legitimate body because it is in the Constitution, but performing its role in a useful way is another story."

He added that for 2008, the body cost a total of nearly 29 billion riels (US$7.07 million) in salaries and upkeep.

Sam Rainsy also criticised the body's "non-universal" elections - open only to commune councillors and lawmakers - as undemocratic, calling for the introduction of direct universal elections.

"This current Senate was elected [in 2006] by commune councillors who were elected in 2002," he said. "But from 2002 to 2009, many things have changed."

Several of those contacted by the Post said that the body itself had a questionable origin, having been born out of political compromise in the aftermath of the 1998 election.

At that time, Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh was awarded the post of National Assembly president as a reward for bringing his party into coalition with the CPP, leading to the creation of the Senate as a new power base for CPP President Chea Sim, who had occupied the post of Assembly head since 1993.

"Ten years ago, the Senate was created out of political expediency to create a position for Chea Sim," Sam Rainsy said.

"Everybody knew from the very beginning that it had no utility of any sort, and since then it has proven these first perceptions."

Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, agreed that because of its origins, the Senate was an institutional contrivance that served no necessary function.

Although the body "reviewed" legislation passed by the National Assembly, checking laws to ensure their intended meanings were reflected in eventual legislation, its power to effect changes in the law was limited, he said. "They are the proofreaders of the Assembly," he said.

He added that in 10 years, the Senate sent just two laws back to the National Assembly for revision, and that they both concerned matters of semantics rather than substance.

Others said that the Senate, lacking the power to fulfill its purpose as a body of review, had become - like many Cambodian institutions - a vessel for political party power.

"Over the last 10 years, the senate has not proven ... useful in any way at all."

Unlike in most democratic states, Cambodian Senators are elected as representatives of their political parties and are personally dependent upon party support.

"If you are dismissed from the party, or you resign your membership in the party, you also lose your seat in parliament or in the Senate," said Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project.

"In this situation, political parties control the National Assembly and the Senate."

Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha said the body played a potentially important role, but that without reforms it would continue to be compromised by political control. "The Senate demands a lot of money but provides very little for the national interest," he said.

The presence of 15 powerful businessmen in the Senate was another worrying trend, said Ou Virak, showing that economic interests were now benefiting from parliamentary immunity.

"This is an interesting turn and a significant one, because it indicates the business interests involved in obtaining a seat in the Senate," he said.

In a special March bulletin, the Senate claimed to have "actively fulfilled" its duties, making recommendations to the National Assembly on 205 laws, holding 155 meetings and 15 plenary sessions, and organising eight forums on the government's decentralisation reforms.

S. Africa's discrimination against the Dalai Lama ... to please communist China?

Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, greets a crowd in Dharmsala, India, on March 8. South Africa is barring him from a peace conference in Johannesburg, saying it did not want to endanger the government's relationship with China. (Ashwini Bhatia / AP)

S. Africa bars Dalai Lama from peace forum

Nobel Prize winners Desmond Tutu, F.W. de Klerk boycott in retaliation

Mon., March. 23, 2009
AP

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa barred the Dalai Lama from a peace conference in Johannesburg this week, hoping to keep good relations with trading partner China but instead generating a storm of criticism.
Friday's peace conference was organized by South African soccer officials to highlight the first World Cup to be held in Africa, which South Africa will host in 2010.

But because the Dalai Lama isn't being allowed to attend, it is now being boycotted by fellow Nobel Peace Prize winners retired Cape Town Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former President F.W. de Klerk as well as members of the Nobel Committee.

"It is disappointing that South Africa, which has received so much solidarity from the world, doesn't want to give that solidarity to others," Nobel Institute Director Geir Lundestad told The Associated Press in Oslo, referring to the decades-long fight against apartheid.

An eclectic mix of Nobel laureates, Hollywood celebrities and other dignitaries are coming to discuss issues ranging from combating racism to how sports can unite people and nations.

But Thabo Masebe, spokesman for President Kgalema Motlanthe, said a high-profile visit by the Tibetan spiritual leader would have distracted from the conference's focus.

"South Africa would have been the source of negative publicity about China," he said Monday. "We do value our relationship with China."

China's largest trading partner in Africa

South Africa is China's largest trading partner on a continent in which China is heavily and increasingly involved.

Tamu Matose, a spokeswoman for Tutu, told the AP that Tutu would not attend "because of the Dalai Lama issue." Tutu was quoted Sunday as calling the barring "disgraceful."

"(South Africa) should admit anyone with a legitimate and peaceful interest and should not take political decisions on who should, and who should not, attend," de Klerk said Monday, announcing he also would skip the conference.

The Norwegian government said it "regrets" the South African decision, and was considering whether to withdraw.

However, the South African Communist Party backed the move, saying March was a particularly sensitive time for a visit.

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of anti-government riots in Lhasa, Tibet's regional capital, and 50 years since the Dalai Lama escaped into exile in India after Chinese troops crushed a Tibetan uprising.

China claims Tibet as part of its territory, but many Tibetans say Chinese rule deprives them of religious freedom and autonomy. Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of pushing for Tibetan independence and fomenting anti-Chinese protests.

South Africa decided last month to refuse to issue an official invitation, without which, Masebe said, the Dalai Lama cannot visit.

Masebe said the spiritual leader had been welcomed twice previously in South Africa and would be welcome again in the future — but "not now, when the whole world is looking at South Africa."

ANC alliance with Beijing

Beijing, an ally when South Africa's now-governing African National Congress was a liberation movement, and Pretoria have diplomatic ties stretching back a decade and an economic relationship based on trade as well as aid.

China's exports to Africa last year rose 36.3 percent from 2007 to $50.8 billion, while imports of African goods rose 54 percent to $56 billion, according to customs data reported by Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency.

Critics say China's investment in and aid to Africa, ranging from building presidential palaces and sports stadiums to rail and road projects, aims to secure access to the continent's natural resources.

African governments, though, are eager for the funds and counting on continued Chinese investment despite the global economic meltdown.

Samdhong Rinpoche, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, said South Africa was under pressure from Beijing and its decision to bar the Dalai Lama was a business matter.

"South Africa is a newly emerging country and China is giving it considerable economic resources so it is understandable," he said Monday in Dharmsala, India. "Every country has to protect its economic and political interests."

Masebe insisted that his government was not bowing to pressure from China.

"We make our own decisions," he said.

Masebe said if conference organizers had talked with officials beforehand, they would have been advised to exclude the Dalai Lama and the controversy could have been avoided.

But Kjetil Siem, chief executive officer of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, said the Dalai Lama was invited in a routine way along with other Nobel laureates.

"When it comes to peace conferences ... it has nothing to do with the government," Siem said.

Siem said the conference was a chance to show what South Africa has accomplished. Soccer was once as segregated as the rest of South African society, with four race-based leagues. Today, the nation is proudly united behind the upcoming World Cup.

The controversy over the Dalai Lama shows the peace conference is "more needed than ever," Siem said.

S. Africa's discrimination against the Dalai Lama ... to please communist China?

Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, greets a crowd in Dharmsala, India, on March 8. South Africa is barring him from a peace conference in Johannesburg, saying it did not want to endanger the government's relationship with China. (Ashwini Bhatia / AP)

S. Africa bars Dalai Lama from peace forum

Nobel Prize winners Desmond Tutu, F.W. de Klerk boycott in retaliation

Mon., March. 23, 2009
AP

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa barred the Dalai Lama from a peace conference in Johannesburg this week, hoping to keep good relations with trading partner China but instead generating a storm of criticism.
Friday's peace conference was organized by South African soccer officials to highlight the first World Cup to be held in Africa, which South Africa will host in 2010.

But because the Dalai Lama isn't being allowed to attend, it is now being boycotted by fellow Nobel Peace Prize winners retired Cape Town Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former President F.W. de Klerk as well as members of the Nobel Committee.

"It is disappointing that South Africa, which has received so much solidarity from the world, doesn't want to give that solidarity to others," Nobel Institute Director Geir Lundestad told The Associated Press in Oslo, referring to the decades-long fight against apartheid.

An eclectic mix of Nobel laureates, Hollywood celebrities and other dignitaries are coming to discuss issues ranging from combating racism to how sports can unite people and nations.

But Thabo Masebe, spokesman for President Kgalema Motlanthe, said a high-profile visit by the Tibetan spiritual leader would have distracted from the conference's focus.

"South Africa would have been the source of negative publicity about China," he said Monday. "We do value our relationship with China."

China's largest trading partner in Africa

South Africa is China's largest trading partner on a continent in which China is heavily and increasingly involved.

Tamu Matose, a spokeswoman for Tutu, told the AP that Tutu would not attend "because of the Dalai Lama issue." Tutu was quoted Sunday as calling the barring "disgraceful."

"(South Africa) should admit anyone with a legitimate and peaceful interest and should not take political decisions on who should, and who should not, attend," de Klerk said Monday, announcing he also would skip the conference.

The Norwegian government said it "regrets" the South African decision, and was considering whether to withdraw.

However, the South African Communist Party backed the move, saying March was a particularly sensitive time for a visit.

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of anti-government riots in Lhasa, Tibet's regional capital, and 50 years since the Dalai Lama escaped into exile in India after Chinese troops crushed a Tibetan uprising.

China claims Tibet as part of its territory, but many Tibetans say Chinese rule deprives them of religious freedom and autonomy. Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of pushing for Tibetan independence and fomenting anti-Chinese protests.

South Africa decided last month to refuse to issue an official invitation, without which, Masebe said, the Dalai Lama cannot visit.

Masebe said the spiritual leader had been welcomed twice previously in South Africa and would be welcome again in the future — but "not now, when the whole world is looking at South Africa."

ANC alliance with Beijing

Beijing, an ally when South Africa's now-governing African National Congress was a liberation movement, and Pretoria have diplomatic ties stretching back a decade and an economic relationship based on trade as well as aid.

China's exports to Africa last year rose 36.3 percent from 2007 to $50.8 billion, while imports of African goods rose 54 percent to $56 billion, according to customs data reported by Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency.

Critics say China's investment in and aid to Africa, ranging from building presidential palaces and sports stadiums to rail and road projects, aims to secure access to the continent's natural resources.

African governments, though, are eager for the funds and counting on continued Chinese investment despite the global economic meltdown.

Samdhong Rinpoche, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, said South Africa was under pressure from Beijing and its decision to bar the Dalai Lama was a business matter.

"South Africa is a newly emerging country and China is giving it considerable economic resources so it is understandable," he said Monday in Dharmsala, India. "Every country has to protect its economic and political interests."

Masebe insisted that his government was not bowing to pressure from China.

"We make our own decisions," he said.

Masebe said if conference organizers had talked with officials beforehand, they would have been advised to exclude the Dalai Lama and the controversy could have been avoided.

But Kjetil Siem, chief executive officer of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, said the Dalai Lama was invited in a routine way along with other Nobel laureates.

"When it comes to peace conferences ... it has nothing to do with the government," Siem said.

Siem said the conference was a chance to show what South Africa has accomplished. Soccer was once as segregated as the rest of South African society, with four race-based leagues. Today, the nation is proudly united behind the upcoming World Cup.

The controversy over the Dalai Lama shows the peace conference is "more needed than ever," Siem said.

Cambodian tourism sector, slowed down by the crisis, turns to its neighbours

Kep (Cambodia). 11/01/2008: Back to empty beaches?

©John Vink/ Magnum

The tourism sector has been the spearhead of Cambodia’s economic growth over the past decade, but will it be spared by the economic crisis which affects the Kingdom? The Cambodian Ministry of Tourism and representatives of the tourism industry show their optimism and claim they only fear, at worst, a slowdown in the frenzied growth which the sector went through since the end of the 1990s.Minister of Tourism Thong Khon recently told Ka-set that the number of tourists in January 2009 had “only” gone down by 2% compared to this time last year when 223,581 tourists, out of an annual total of 2.1 million, entered the Cambodian territory. Generally speaking for the year 2009, the Minister plans a growth rate situated between 0 and 2%, quoting predictions made by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO). However, small enterprises and those living on little jobs in that sector do not agree with the figures.



Cambodia turns to its neighbours
“We will make sure that the growth in the number of tourists reaches at least a rate situated between 0 and 2%, if not more. If we are not in a position, today, to say with certainty what the sector growth will be this year, we are nonetheless looking to maintain at least the same number [of tourists] as in 2008”, the Minister of Tourism Thong Khon declared recently, showing caution and trying to be reassuring at the same time. Despite the crisis and the slight decrease in the number of entries officially registered at the beginning of the year, the Minister would like to believe that his policy favouring regional shorthold tourism, mainly coming from the ASEAN+3 (Brunei, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, plus China, South Korea and Japan) country-members, will pay off and will weaken the effects of the global decline in the traffic of tourists coming from European countries and the United States.

“Longhold tourists are less numerous today because transportation now represents heavy expenses for them. We will therefore encourage shorthold trips, since air transportation is less expensive in the region. Also, road transportation like buses are a lot cheaper”, the Minister analyses, asserting that he obtained the consent of the head of the Cambodian government Hun Sen to facilitate the crossing of tourists from neighbouring Lao PDR and Vietnam. This strategic choice seems logical in the eyes of Asian tourists, who have now become a majority in Cambodia. Indeed, according to the Minister, 60% of foreign tourists come from a country in the Asia-Pacific region, when only 20% come from Europe and 10% from the United States. According to official statistics, all in all, 40% of visitors come from the ASEAN+3 region, out of which 20% come from the member-states of the regional organisation. Moreover, Thong Khon points out, 40% of them enter Cambodia via land.

A winning ticket to Angkor?
The government also intends to encourage longer stays, particularly in sites other than the town of Siem Reap, home of the Angkorian temples. It is with this in mind that the government decided on the relaxing of rules regarding the use of entry tickets and passes to the Angkor temples. From now on, visitors will have a week to use their three-day pass, and a month to use their 7-day pass, so they can punctuate their temple visits with other activities and the discovery of other places of interest. “Now, tourists are free to make their own choices. They can visit Angkor today and enjoy the seaside tomorrow, then come back to Siem Reap to spend another day or two visiting Angkor or other sites, with the same pass. Financially, we will be on the winning side, because they will be spending their money elsewhere than in Siem Reap. And tourists are pleased with that”, Thong Khon boasts, and adds that this measure is a response to demand identified through strategic studies. “I believe that with that policy, we will get victory”, the Minister claims without mincing his words.

Worried but confident
On the part of representatives of the tourism industry, the same optimism, tainted with caution, seems to be the rule. No hotel, restaurant or travel agency has yet closed down or made any staff redundant, says Ho Vandy, co-president of the working group on tourism on the Government-Private Sector Forum (G-PSF) and head of Cambodia’s Association of Travel Agents (CATA). But the members of his working group, composed of 21 representatives of travel agencies, hotels, restaurants and the Société Concessionnaire des Aéroports (SCA), are not necessarily resting easy, he says, as they are all keeping their eyes on the evolution of the global economic downturn. Ho Vandy and his partners are working hard together with the authorities to “solve some priority points” and “encourage tourism” in times of crisis.

“We have asked the Minister of Economy and Finances, last November when the crisis only just started, to lower the price of the visa and to abolish it for ASEAN nationals”, Ho Vandy cites as an example. “This topic was brought back on the agenda during the ASEAN Tourism Forum, held in Hanoi on January 8th and 9th 2009. And as it was the case for the relaxing of rules concerning Angkor tickets, we obtained a positive answer for that request, although it is not official yet”, Ho Vandy says, delighted. He hopes that those measures will contribute to curb the decrease in the number of tourists, which he estimates reaches 2.5% since the start of this year, compared to the same period of time in 2008. Yet, this first decline happens after ten years marked by an extraordinary increase in the number of tourist entries in Cambodia – an average growth of 25% every year, according to estimations of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

From 2% to 30% less tourists
If we were to believe other protagonists working in that sector, the situation is a lot more serious than what the authorities and representatives of the industry, close to the inner circles of power, would like to believe. Moeung Son, president of the National Association of Tourism Enterprises, gives worrying figures: according to the information he collected with guides and personnel in the hotel and catering industry, tourist activity is said to have gone down by 30% compared to the beginning of this year. This plummeting is partly due, he explains, to the devaluation of certain currencies, especially Asian, in front of the dollar. “All exchanges are made in dollars in Cambodia. So when the value of a currency of a country from where tourists come starts going down in front of the dollar, it creates problems”, he deplores. For example, Koreans, who are the largest group of tourists in Cambodia, saw their currency (the won) lose more than 16% of its worth facing the dollar, during the first months of 2009. Europeans do not have that problem, since the euro has remained stronger than the dollar. But they too, face difficulties, like the threat of unemployment, generated by the crisis”, Moeung Son says.

You Khemarak, who has been an independent Cambodian guide and interpreter in French and Spanish since 2001, also puts forward figures closer to 30% to evaluate the decrease in his monthly wages over the course of several months. “Before, in a month, I accompanied about ten groups of tourists, for an average of 25 days. Today, I hardly work 18 days a month”, he says. Same goes for Tan Chhunsinh, a young guide hired by a Chinese travel agency, who noticed a first drop right after the Chinese New Year, at the end of January. His wages are still comfortable, around 800 dollars a month, but he used to earn 200 more just a few months ago.

Self-employed: the first to be affected
Phat Raby, a self-employed tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap, finds it hard to makes ends meet: last year, showing tourists around made him earn 150 dollars per month. In 2009, his monthly salary hardly goes over 50 dollars. Phat Raby owns his house and feels lucky compared to other colleagues who have to pay for a 30-dollar rent for a room in Siem Reap. Unlike those who are employed or affiliated to travel agencies and still have customers, the situation of self-employed drivers is insecure: they pace up and down the streets looking for tourists, a rare species these days. In order to make sure he gets a few customers, Raby joined the Bus station association linked with the private bus company Mekong Express. “I pay thirty dollars every month to be able to go to the station and pick up tourists coming from Phnom Penh and take them to their hotel”, he says. “If they ask me to be their driver the next day, I am lucky. Otherwise, it is very hard.”

Cambodian tourism sector, slowed down by the crisis, turns to its neighbours

Kep (Cambodia). 11/01/2008: Back to empty beaches?

©John Vink/ Magnum

The tourism sector has been the spearhead of Cambodia’s economic growth over the past decade, but will it be spared by the economic crisis which affects the Kingdom? The Cambodian Ministry of Tourism and representatives of the tourism industry show their optimism and claim they only fear, at worst, a slowdown in the frenzied growth which the sector went through since the end of the 1990s.Minister of Tourism Thong Khon recently told Ka-set that the number of tourists in January 2009 had “only” gone down by 2% compared to this time last year when 223,581 tourists, out of an annual total of 2.1 million, entered the Cambodian territory. Generally speaking for the year 2009, the Minister plans a growth rate situated between 0 and 2%, quoting predictions made by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO). However, small enterprises and those living on little jobs in that sector do not agree with the figures.



Cambodia turns to its neighbours
“We will make sure that the growth in the number of tourists reaches at least a rate situated between 0 and 2%, if not more. If we are not in a position, today, to say with certainty what the sector growth will be this year, we are nonetheless looking to maintain at least the same number [of tourists] as in 2008”, the Minister of Tourism Thong Khon declared recently, showing caution and trying to be reassuring at the same time. Despite the crisis and the slight decrease in the number of entries officially registered at the beginning of the year, the Minister would like to believe that his policy favouring regional shorthold tourism, mainly coming from the ASEAN+3 (Brunei, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, plus China, South Korea and Japan) country-members, will pay off and will weaken the effects of the global decline in the traffic of tourists coming from European countries and the United States.

“Longhold tourists are less numerous today because transportation now represents heavy expenses for them. We will therefore encourage shorthold trips, since air transportation is less expensive in the region. Also, road transportation like buses are a lot cheaper”, the Minister analyses, asserting that he obtained the consent of the head of the Cambodian government Hun Sen to facilitate the crossing of tourists from neighbouring Lao PDR and Vietnam. This strategic choice seems logical in the eyes of Asian tourists, who have now become a majority in Cambodia. Indeed, according to the Minister, 60% of foreign tourists come from a country in the Asia-Pacific region, when only 20% come from Europe and 10% from the United States. According to official statistics, all in all, 40% of visitors come from the ASEAN+3 region, out of which 20% come from the member-states of the regional organisation. Moreover, Thong Khon points out, 40% of them enter Cambodia via land.

A winning ticket to Angkor?
The government also intends to encourage longer stays, particularly in sites other than the town of Siem Reap, home of the Angkorian temples. It is with this in mind that the government decided on the relaxing of rules regarding the use of entry tickets and passes to the Angkor temples. From now on, visitors will have a week to use their three-day pass, and a month to use their 7-day pass, so they can punctuate their temple visits with other activities and the discovery of other places of interest. “Now, tourists are free to make their own choices. They can visit Angkor today and enjoy the seaside tomorrow, then come back to Siem Reap to spend another day or two visiting Angkor or other sites, with the same pass. Financially, we will be on the winning side, because they will be spending their money elsewhere than in Siem Reap. And tourists are pleased with that”, Thong Khon boasts, and adds that this measure is a response to demand identified through strategic studies. “I believe that with that policy, we will get victory”, the Minister claims without mincing his words.

Worried but confident
On the part of representatives of the tourism industry, the same optimism, tainted with caution, seems to be the rule. No hotel, restaurant or travel agency has yet closed down or made any staff redundant, says Ho Vandy, co-president of the working group on tourism on the Government-Private Sector Forum (G-PSF) and head of Cambodia’s Association of Travel Agents (CATA). But the members of his working group, composed of 21 representatives of travel agencies, hotels, restaurants and the Société Concessionnaire des Aéroports (SCA), are not necessarily resting easy, he says, as they are all keeping their eyes on the evolution of the global economic downturn. Ho Vandy and his partners are working hard together with the authorities to “solve some priority points” and “encourage tourism” in times of crisis.

“We have asked the Minister of Economy and Finances, last November when the crisis only just started, to lower the price of the visa and to abolish it for ASEAN nationals”, Ho Vandy cites as an example. “This topic was brought back on the agenda during the ASEAN Tourism Forum, held in Hanoi on January 8th and 9th 2009. And as it was the case for the relaxing of rules concerning Angkor tickets, we obtained a positive answer for that request, although it is not official yet”, Ho Vandy says, delighted. He hopes that those measures will contribute to curb the decrease in the number of tourists, which he estimates reaches 2.5% since the start of this year, compared to the same period of time in 2008. Yet, this first decline happens after ten years marked by an extraordinary increase in the number of tourist entries in Cambodia – an average growth of 25% every year, according to estimations of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

From 2% to 30% less tourists
If we were to believe other protagonists working in that sector, the situation is a lot more serious than what the authorities and representatives of the industry, close to the inner circles of power, would like to believe. Moeung Son, president of the National Association of Tourism Enterprises, gives worrying figures: according to the information he collected with guides and personnel in the hotel and catering industry, tourist activity is said to have gone down by 30% compared to the beginning of this year. This plummeting is partly due, he explains, to the devaluation of certain currencies, especially Asian, in front of the dollar. “All exchanges are made in dollars in Cambodia. So when the value of a currency of a country from where tourists come starts going down in front of the dollar, it creates problems”, he deplores. For example, Koreans, who are the largest group of tourists in Cambodia, saw their currency (the won) lose more than 16% of its worth facing the dollar, during the first months of 2009. Europeans do not have that problem, since the euro has remained stronger than the dollar. But they too, face difficulties, like the threat of unemployment, generated by the crisis”, Moeung Son says.

You Khemarak, who has been an independent Cambodian guide and interpreter in French and Spanish since 2001, also puts forward figures closer to 30% to evaluate the decrease in his monthly wages over the course of several months. “Before, in a month, I accompanied about ten groups of tourists, for an average of 25 days. Today, I hardly work 18 days a month”, he says. Same goes for Tan Chhunsinh, a young guide hired by a Chinese travel agency, who noticed a first drop right after the Chinese New Year, at the end of January. His wages are still comfortable, around 800 dollars a month, but he used to earn 200 more just a few months ago.

Self-employed: the first to be affected
Phat Raby, a self-employed tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap, finds it hard to makes ends meet: last year, showing tourists around made him earn 150 dollars per month. In 2009, his monthly salary hardly goes over 50 dollars. Phat Raby owns his house and feels lucky compared to other colleagues who have to pay for a 30-dollar rent for a room in Siem Reap. Unlike those who are employed or affiliated to travel agencies and still have customers, the situation of self-employed drivers is insecure: they pace up and down the streets looking for tourists, a rare species these days. In order to make sure he gets a few customers, Raby joined the Bus station association linked with the private bus company Mekong Express. “I pay thirty dollars every month to be able to go to the station and pick up tourists coming from Phnom Penh and take them to their hotel”, he says. “If they ask me to be their driver the next day, I am lucky. Otherwise, it is very hard.”

Cambodians seek justice

Cambodians Kim San, left, Sun Dary and Sokyoom Kem listen to Dr. Leakhena Nou explain how they can provide testimony for the war crime tribunals. Nou, a Cal State Long Beach professor, founded the Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia. (Diandra Jay/Staff Photographer)

03/23/2009
By Greg Mellen Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)

LONG BEACH - For decades, one of the debilitating fallouts for survivors of the Cambodian genocide has been their feelings of helplessness and powerlessness as victims.
A professor at Cal State Long Beach is trying to change that by giving Cambodians the opportunity to give testimony that could be used in the U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunals being conducted in Cambodia.

Dr. Leakhena Nou, a medical sociologist at CSULB, is making it her mission to get the word out. And she's doing it one person and one community group at a time. One day it's at the United Cambodian Community. Another it's at McBride Park. A session in Orange County is planned. The more groups, the more testimonies, the better.

"It's a matter of human rights," Nou says of victims speaking out. "They have a right to be part of truth and reconciliation for their suffering and for their own healing."

And while justice may only seem symbolic and too-long delayed, Nou feels it is vital for healing and empowerment for the survivors and the generations that follow.

Nou typically starts by asking groups how many of them were victims of the Khmer Rouge, how many have bad dreams, how many would like justice.

The hands go up, the stories often gush forth.

An elderly Cambodian tells how she lost her entire family to atrocities. Another tells of her husband being pulled from a rice paddy and led to his execution. Another tells of losing 10 children. The stories emerge, each as heart-rending as the next.

For years these victims have mourned the dead but felt powerless to do anything about it. They still suffer from nightmares, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Aaron Va works with the Asian and Pacific Islander Older Adults Task Force. Like Va, the people in his group are survivors. He says all have stories they want to tell but don't know where to go. And they still fear consequences of speaking out.

On Friday at 10 a.m. at McBride Park, genocide survivors will have a chance to fill out information forms and provide testimonials that will be forwarded to the victims' unit of the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia, which is overseeing the trials.

If there is enough interest, more opportunities will be offered.

Last Wednesday, Nou and a pair of associates attended a Women's Health Forum at the UCC, and on Monday they met with the Asian and Pacific Islander group.

Each time, planned short presentations unfurled into long discussions followed by question-and-answer sessions about the roles of victims in the tribunals.

All victims and relatives of victims of acts of genocide during the Khmer Rouge reign between April 17, 1975, and Jan. 6, 1979, have the right to file complaints that will be brought to the ECCC.

Through a program called the Cambodian Diaspora Victims' Participation Project, Nou's nonprofit group - Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia - and the Asian Pacific American Institute are gathering victim statements that could become part of the official court proceedings.

Law students and translators will help victims fill out official information forms.

However, time is short as the courts recently announced they will only take complaints for a limited time.

Sean Butler, an attorney helping Nou and her group, said a program has been set up to make it easier for victims to fill out the forms.

"This may be the only opportunity you have (to participate in the trial)," Butler told the crowd.

The first tribunal in Cambodia is currently under way against Kaing Geuk Eav, also known as Duch, who allegedly oversaw the mass torture and execution in prison camps, including Cambodia's notorious Tuol Sleng, or S-21, camp.

A second trial is slated for alleged Khmer Rouge leaders Noun Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith. The court will stop taking complaints 10 days before the second trial, which has not been scheduled.

It is unknown if there will be any more trials or defendants in the perennially cash-strapped courts.

Victims have two avenues to provide testimony. One is as a civil party, but that requires legal representation in Cambodia and could require travel to participate in the trials. The second avenue, which is free and the one Nou and Butler are assisting in, is for complainants who want to get their stories on the record without being required to testify.

Butler stressed that testimony is voluntary. However, he added that defense attorneys have the right to contact complainants.

And that's what worries some of the elders, who still fear retribution for having their names on the record.

One man worried he'd be targeted when he returned to Cambodia if he testified. Others were mistrustful of the proceedings.

Butler said the best defense for the victims was to testify in large numbers. Similar efforts are being organized in Lowell, Mass., Portland, Ore., Virginia, Chicago and elsewhere. However, Butler could not guarantee absolute safety from threats.

Joshua Bender, who is helping Nou, told the group that his family was victimized by the Nazi Holocaust.

"What helped me understand what happened to my family is the stories and the testimony of my grandparents," Bender said. "Because they had the courage to tell their stories, my community can keep its traditions. I hope through your courage your grandchildren can understand."

"We hope courage comes in large numbers and can help to heal the scars," Butler said.

People interested in testifying and groups with survivors who would like to become involved can contact ASRIC on-line at www.apa.nyu.edu under research and special projects or by calling Nou at 562-985-7439.

Cambodians seek justice

Cambodians Kim San, left, Sun Dary and Sokyoom Kem listen to Dr. Leakhena Nou explain how they can provide testimony for the war crime tribunals. Nou, a Cal State Long Beach professor, founded the Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia. (Diandra Jay/Staff Photographer)

03/23/2009
By Greg Mellen Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)

LONG BEACH - For decades, one of the debilitating fallouts for survivors of the Cambodian genocide has been their feelings of helplessness and powerlessness as victims.
A professor at Cal State Long Beach is trying to change that by giving Cambodians the opportunity to give testimony that could be used in the U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunals being conducted in Cambodia.

Dr. Leakhena Nou, a medical sociologist at CSULB, is making it her mission to get the word out. And she's doing it one person and one community group at a time. One day it's at the United Cambodian Community. Another it's at McBride Park. A session in Orange County is planned. The more groups, the more testimonies, the better.

"It's a matter of human rights," Nou says of victims speaking out. "They have a right to be part of truth and reconciliation for their suffering and for their own healing."

And while justice may only seem symbolic and too-long delayed, Nou feels it is vital for healing and empowerment for the survivors and the generations that follow.

Nou typically starts by asking groups how many of them were victims of the Khmer Rouge, how many have bad dreams, how many would like justice.

The hands go up, the stories often gush forth.

An elderly Cambodian tells how she lost her entire family to atrocities. Another tells of her husband being pulled from a rice paddy and led to his execution. Another tells of losing 10 children. The stories emerge, each as heart-rending as the next.

For years these victims have mourned the dead but felt powerless to do anything about it. They still suffer from nightmares, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Aaron Va works with the Asian and Pacific Islander Older Adults Task Force. Like Va, the people in his group are survivors. He says all have stories they want to tell but don't know where to go. And they still fear consequences of speaking out.

On Friday at 10 a.m. at McBride Park, genocide survivors will have a chance to fill out information forms and provide testimonials that will be forwarded to the victims' unit of the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia, which is overseeing the trials.

If there is enough interest, more opportunities will be offered.

Last Wednesday, Nou and a pair of associates attended a Women's Health Forum at the UCC, and on Monday they met with the Asian and Pacific Islander group.

Each time, planned short presentations unfurled into long discussions followed by question-and-answer sessions about the roles of victims in the tribunals.

All victims and relatives of victims of acts of genocide during the Khmer Rouge reign between April 17, 1975, and Jan. 6, 1979, have the right to file complaints that will be brought to the ECCC.

Through a program called the Cambodian Diaspora Victims' Participation Project, Nou's nonprofit group - Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia - and the Asian Pacific American Institute are gathering victim statements that could become part of the official court proceedings.

Law students and translators will help victims fill out official information forms.

However, time is short as the courts recently announced they will only take complaints for a limited time.

Sean Butler, an attorney helping Nou and her group, said a program has been set up to make it easier for victims to fill out the forms.

"This may be the only opportunity you have (to participate in the trial)," Butler told the crowd.

The first tribunal in Cambodia is currently under way against Kaing Geuk Eav, also known as Duch, who allegedly oversaw the mass torture and execution in prison camps, including Cambodia's notorious Tuol Sleng, or S-21, camp.

A second trial is slated for alleged Khmer Rouge leaders Noun Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith. The court will stop taking complaints 10 days before the second trial, which has not been scheduled.

It is unknown if there will be any more trials or defendants in the perennially cash-strapped courts.

Victims have two avenues to provide testimony. One is as a civil party, but that requires legal representation in Cambodia and could require travel to participate in the trials. The second avenue, which is free and the one Nou and Butler are assisting in, is for complainants who want to get their stories on the record without being required to testify.

Butler stressed that testimony is voluntary. However, he added that defense attorneys have the right to contact complainants.

And that's what worries some of the elders, who still fear retribution for having their names on the record.

One man worried he'd be targeted when he returned to Cambodia if he testified. Others were mistrustful of the proceedings.

Butler said the best defense for the victims was to testify in large numbers. Similar efforts are being organized in Lowell, Mass., Portland, Ore., Virginia, Chicago and elsewhere. However, Butler could not guarantee absolute safety from threats.

Joshua Bender, who is helping Nou, told the group that his family was victimized by the Nazi Holocaust.

"What helped me understand what happened to my family is the stories and the testimony of my grandparents," Bender said. "Because they had the courage to tell their stories, my community can keep its traditions. I hope through your courage your grandchildren can understand."

"We hope courage comes in large numbers and can help to heal the scars," Butler said.

People interested in testifying and groups with survivors who would like to become involved can contact ASRIC on-line at www.apa.nyu.edu under research and special projects or by calling Nou at 562-985-7439.

Injured victims of Siem Reap police shooting demand compensation

Injured victims of cops opening fire on protesting villagers in Chikreng commune, Siem Reap province (Photo: Savyouth, RFA)

23 March 2009
By Savyouth
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Relatives of three men from Chikreng commune who were seriously injured following the shooting perpetrated by armed cops in Chikreng district stemming from a land dispute involving 90-hectare of rice field located in the Dike 78 Suong region, are looking for legal help to sue for compensation for their injured loved ones.

In the morning of Monday 23 March, Mrs. Cheng Hon said that Luon Vinh, her husband, was seriously injured by bullets (shot by the cops) and he is currently undergoing medical care at the Siem Reap province hospital. She said that she is currently suing the Chikreng district authority which is responsible for this case and she also said that each family of the victims demands $5,000 in damage compensation for their loved ones who were shot. The victims have contacted the Adhoc human rights group in Siem reap province to ask for its help to file the lawsuit against the shooting perpetrated by the cops: “My husband was shot twice, he was seriously injured and his knee cap was shattered. We ask $5,000 in compensation.”

The decision by the victim’s families to sue the cops was made one day after a joint civilian and military police forces opened fire on a group of villagers from Chikreng commune. The villagers came by the hundreds to hold a protest at the Dike 78 Suong because of a land dispute involving their rice fields. The shooting injured 4 villagers and 40 other villagers were arrested on the morning of 22 March.

Ty Sovinthal, the prosecutor for the Siem Reap court, denied involvement in the armed violence, he said that the shooting was not undertaken by his order. He said that he only traveled to the incident location based on the request made by the Chikreng district governor and the police inspector. He then went on to visit the incident location, but 3 kilometers away from his destination, he received the information that the cops were shooting at the villagers there.

Nevertheless, Ty Sovinthal added that he will order the cops to file a report so that the cops involved in the shooting will face the law. However, he also threatened to sue news reporters and RFA which published the information in which he allegedly led the cops during the shooting raid on the villagers.

Ty Sovinthal said: “If you can find that I arrived at the incident location, and I wrongfully ordered (the shooting), I agree to go to jail.”

Sou Phirin, the CPP Siem Reap provincial governor, said that in the case of the land dispute involving 90-hectare of rice field between villagers from Chikreng and Anlong Samnor communes, the provincial authority attempted to mediate this issue on several occasions already, he also regretted to see the shooting on the protesting villagers and the injuries inflicted on them. Therefore, the provincial authority will pay the medical bill for the villagers and it will continue to find a better solution to this land dispute: “The medical care cost will be paid by the provincial authority, these are poor [villagers].”

In the afternoon of 23 March, a group of provincial officials led by Sou Phirin himself, visited the incident location and they studied the land dispute in order to provide a new land subdivision.

On Monday evening, it was learnt that a number of villagers have disappeared following the shooting by the cops. Several hundred rounds of bullet were shot by the cops. As for the 40 villagers arrested by the cops, more than 30 of them were released and sent back home.

Injured victims of Siem Reap police shooting demand compensation

Injured victims of cops opening fire on protesting villagers in Chikreng commune, Siem Reap province (Photo: Savyouth, RFA)

23 March 2009
By Savyouth
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Relatives of three men from Chikreng commune who were seriously injured following the shooting perpetrated by armed cops in Chikreng district stemming from a land dispute involving 90-hectare of rice field located in the Dike 78 Suong region, are looking for legal help to sue for compensation for their injured loved ones.

In the morning of Monday 23 March, Mrs. Cheng Hon said that Luon Vinh, her husband, was seriously injured by bullets (shot by the cops) and he is currently undergoing medical care at the Siem Reap province hospital. She said that she is currently suing the Chikreng district authority which is responsible for this case and she also said that each family of the victims demands $5,000 in damage compensation for their loved ones who were shot. The victims have contacted the Adhoc human rights group in Siem reap province to ask for its help to file the lawsuit against the shooting perpetrated by the cops: “My husband was shot twice, he was seriously injured and his knee cap was shattered. We ask $5,000 in compensation.”

The decision by the victim’s families to sue the cops was made one day after a joint civilian and military police forces opened fire on a group of villagers from Chikreng commune. The villagers came by the hundreds to hold a protest at the Dike 78 Suong because of a land dispute involving their rice fields. The shooting injured 4 villagers and 40 other villagers were arrested on the morning of 22 March.

Ty Sovinthal, the prosecutor for the Siem Reap court, denied involvement in the armed violence, he said that the shooting was not undertaken by his order. He said that he only traveled to the incident location based on the request made by the Chikreng district governor and the police inspector. He then went on to visit the incident location, but 3 kilometers away from his destination, he received the information that the cops were shooting at the villagers there.

Nevertheless, Ty Sovinthal added that he will order the cops to file a report so that the cops involved in the shooting will face the law. However, he also threatened to sue news reporters and RFA which published the information in which he allegedly led the cops during the shooting raid on the villagers.

Ty Sovinthal said: “If you can find that I arrived at the incident location, and I wrongfully ordered (the shooting), I agree to go to jail.”

Sou Phirin, the CPP Siem Reap provincial governor, said that in the case of the land dispute involving 90-hectare of rice field between villagers from Chikreng and Anlong Samnor communes, the provincial authority attempted to mediate this issue on several occasions already, he also regretted to see the shooting on the protesting villagers and the injuries inflicted on them. Therefore, the provincial authority will pay the medical bill for the villagers and it will continue to find a better solution to this land dispute: “The medical care cost will be paid by the provincial authority, these are poor [villagers].”

In the afternoon of 23 March, a group of provincial officials led by Sou Phirin himself, visited the incident location and they studied the land dispute in order to provide a new land subdivision.

On Monday evening, it was learnt that a number of villagers have disappeared following the shooting by the cops. Several hundred rounds of bullet were shot by the cops. As for the 40 villagers arrested by the cops, more than 30 of them were released and sent back home.

Seng Theary criticizes Hun Sen’s political interference in the KRT

22 March 2009
By San Suwidh
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Seng Theary, Director of the Center for Social Development (CSD), considers the recent declaration made by PM Hun Sen in regards to the number of suspects to be charged by the KR Tribunal (KRT) as a political interference.
Seng Theary said: “Now we can see that the KRT has charged only 5 individuals, as for the PM, I think that his action is illegal because he cannot interfere with the court system which must remain independent. He raised the issue that there should be no more than 5 persons being charged [by the KRT], this is political interference, however, the court must remain independent.”

Following the alleged corruption perpetrated by the KRT employees, a report indicated that employees had to pay salary kickbacks to their bosses in order to keep their jobs. Furthermore, regarding the claim that Hun Sen interferes in the KRT, Hun Sen angrily replied to this charge by saying that the UN should be the first one to be brought to court because it always supported the KR.

Hun Sen declared: “If there was no 07 January, there would be no today either, there would not be any human rights to come and make all these claims. The human rights chief, they were rice thieves [under Pol Pot], they are 100-cow puppets, at that time [Pol Pot era], they bowed their heads to Ah Pot [Pol Pot: then-Hun Sen’s boss], they carried the dirt in the country also. They never talked about human rights during that time (Pol Pot era) because a number of groups knew that Pol Pot killed people between 75 to 79, so why do they support Pol Pot until 1993? If they did not know, they are not at fault, but if they knew and they still get involved with it, then their sentence should be even more serious than Ah Pot. If there is a judgment, the UN should be sentenced first, the UN itself should be sentenced, including all those countries that supported Pol Pot at the UN between 1979 and 1991. Now you are proud to judge this and that, nonstop. I just saw the declaration, I received the report, this issue must end. It must stop! This person is this, that person is that, how can there be so many issues? We judged them [KR leaders] in 1979, but you do not recognize it and you want to continue. With the new judgment, it is so complicated and it costs several hundreds of millions.”

The above statement made by Hun Sen clearly shows that the government is interfering with the independence of the KRT.

Seng Theary criticizes Hun Sen’s political interference in the KRT

22 March 2009
By San Suwidh
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Seng Theary, Director of the Center for Social Development (CSD), considers the recent declaration made by PM Hun Sen in regards to the number of suspects to be charged by the KR Tribunal (KRT) as a political interference.
Seng Theary said: “Now we can see that the KRT has charged only 5 individuals, as for the PM, I think that his action is illegal because he cannot interfere with the court system which must remain independent. He raised the issue that there should be no more than 5 persons being charged [by the KRT], this is political interference, however, the court must remain independent.”

Following the alleged corruption perpetrated by the KRT employees, a report indicated that employees had to pay salary kickbacks to their bosses in order to keep their jobs. Furthermore, regarding the claim that Hun Sen interferes in the KRT, Hun Sen angrily replied to this charge by saying that the UN should be the first one to be brought to court because it always supported the KR.

Hun Sen declared: “If there was no 07 January, there would be no today either, there would not be any human rights to come and make all these claims. The human rights chief, they were rice thieves [under Pol Pot], they are 100-cow puppets, at that time [Pol Pot era], they bowed their heads to Ah Pot [Pol Pot: then-Hun Sen’s boss], they carried the dirt in the country also. They never talked about human rights during that time (Pol Pot era) because a number of groups knew that Pol Pot killed people between 75 to 79, so why do they support Pol Pot until 1993? If they did not know, they are not at fault, but if they knew and they still get involved with it, then their sentence should be even more serious than Ah Pot. If there is a judgment, the UN should be sentenced first, the UN itself should be sentenced, including all those countries that supported Pol Pot at the UN between 1979 and 1991. Now you are proud to judge this and that, nonstop. I just saw the declaration, I received the report, this issue must end. It must stop! This person is this, that person is that, how can there be so many issues? We judged them [KR leaders] in 1979, but you do not recognize it and you want to continue. With the new judgment, it is so complicated and it costs several hundreds of millions.”

The above statement made by Hun Sen clearly shows that the government is interfering with the independence of the KRT.