Army team suffer lack of depth

Friday, 31 July 2009 15:00 Ken Gadaffi

With an injury room full of key players and a policy not to sign foreign players, the National Defence Ministry have struggled to compete this season

National Defence Ministry manager Op Sam An (centre, white shirt) shouts intructions to his players from the dugout during their CPL match against Khemara Keila Saturday.

Army team plagued by injury
The National Defence Ministry team (MND), popularly known as "Army", is feeling the pressure to perform with the key squad members plagued by injury.

Noted for their fluid passing game, MND are currently languishing in eighth out of 10 teams, with 13 points from 12 games, although a nine-point gap separates them from the drop zone. With only six rounds remaining, the Army side face a titanic struggle to make it into the Super 4, with fourth-placed Naga Corp five points ahead.

According to the assistant coach Long Rithea, who spoke on behalf of head coach Oup Som An, the club has been hit hard by the loss of players such as leading goalscorer Khim Borey, fellow forwards Um Kompheak and To Vanthan, and defensive midfielder Nhem Piseth. "This problem has affected our game plan, and we have been trying to find a solution by introducing other players," said Long Rihtea said just moments after his team fell to Khemara Keila by a lone goal last Saturday. "We hope to improve further as the league progresses."

The team has registered the maximum 30 players allowed by the Football Federation, but all are under 23 years of age with many representing the national team: nine players in the under-23 team, and six players in the under-19 team. MND is the only Cambodian Premier League team without a foreign player, which many soccer pundits have blamed for the team's poor showing this season. Coach Long Rithea stated that it's the decision of the club's management to install a policy of not signing foreign players. "They [the management] want to develop the local players," Long Rithea remarked.

However, the assistant coach, who played of the Army team from 1995-2005, noted a lack of physicality and experience due to the youthfulness of the squad. "We have assembled players since 2006, and most are very young ... so they are [still] learning," he said.

Long Rithea is realistic that the club can squeeze into the top four by the end of the season and, having played the top teams already, they are looking to capitalise on the weaknesses of teams lower down the table in their remaining fixtures.

MND have lost all three of their games in the second half of the season, 1-3 to Phnom Penh Crown July 11, 0-2 to Preah Khan Reach July 18 and 0-1 to Khemara Keila last Saturday. They face second from bottom Post Tel this Sunday at 2pm.

Khemara Keila's Adeleke Eleshin (right) has moved to play in the Thai Premier League after two years in the CPL.

Eleshin packs his boots for Thailand
Khemara Keila defender Adeleke Eleshin has signed for Thailand club Bangkok Glass for an undisclosed amount. The Nigerian-born defender, who won the 2008 CPL season and 2009 Samdech Hun Sen Cup with Phnom Penh Crown before joining Khemara Keila earlier this season, finally got his clearance from the club on Monday to leave. Eleshin will be joining fellow compatriot Gbenga Ajayi at the club currently second in the Thai Premier League (TPL), which entered its second round last Sunday.

"I am delighted to be moving to Thailand," said Eleshin. "With the experience I have [from] playing for Phnom Penh Crown and Khemara Keila, I hope to do well."

The lanky defender, who also can play in midfield, was originally signed by Thai Ports Authority, but has been loaned to Bangkok Glass for the rest of the TPL season, after which he will return to Thai Port.

Ironically, Eleshin will come up against his former club Phnom Penh Crown next month when Bangkok Glass play them in the quarterfinals of the Singapore Cup. First leg is slated for August 26 with the second leg on September 2.

Cambodian FM to visit Thailand in early August on border issues

PHNOM PENH, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and Thailand will have a meeting of multi-committee in Bangkok to push the measurement for border demarcation, a senior official said on Thursday.

"I will go to Thailand for the meeting of multi-committee on August 3 and 4," Hor Namhong, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation told reporters after the signing ceremony of receiving over 33 million U.S. dollars grant aid from Japanese government at his ministry.

"I will require Thai side to continue discussion on the border issues and the Border Committee from both countries will meet soon to discuss on the measurement of the border to plant border posts," he added.

"The situation at areas near Preah Vihear temple is calm now, and Thai troops are deployed on there soil," Hor Namhong said. "There are no tension at the border, not like the media reported," he stressed.

At the same time, Hor also thanked Thai government cabinet for its approving on Tuesday to provide 41.2 million U.S. dollars for road improvement projects in Cambodia. The fund will be used to build Road 68 near border with Thailand, which will help facilitate the trade and tourism between the two countries, he noted.

Moreover, Cambodia and Thailand will open more border gates to push and facilitate the trade and tourism, he said.

Cambodia and Thailand share over 800 km-long borders. The troops from both sides have some confrontation since July 15, 2008, mainly near 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

Mu Sochua’s immunity will not be affected by the law but it could be difficult for her to get it back

Mu Sochua speaking to a newspaper vendor (Photo: Jarred Ferrie, The National)

29 July 2009
Rasmei Kampuchea
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

A high-ranking official from the National Election Committee (NEC) said in the afternoon of 28 July that, if the court finds Mrs. Mu Sochua guilty of defaming Hun Xen, this sentence will not affect her political rights once she pays off the fine imposed by the court. Nevertheless, political analysts said that, most likely, there is little chance for Mu Sochua to receive back her parliamentary immunity according to the law and the explanation provided by Cheam Yeap, the CPP chairman of the National Assembly (NA) finance committee and a member of the NA permanent committee.

Tep Nitha, NEC secretary-general, told Rasmei Kampuchea yesterday that: “In the event the court finds Mrs. Mu Sochua guilty in this defamation lawsuit case, her sentence will not affect her right to receive her immunity back.” Tep Nitha added: “This is a light sentence. It’s only a sentence with a fine. It is not a sentence with jail time.” According to Tep Nitha’s explanation, the law only prevents those who are sentenced to jail from voting. This means that people who are not sentenced to jail time, have the right to vote and to present their candidacy during the elections.

Cheam Yeap claimed that when Mrs. Mu Sochua will be done paying her fine, and the court will send a letter to the minister of Justice so that the latter informs the NA about the fine payment, then the NA will move according the rule to decide on Mrs. Mu Sochua’s immunity. However, he also claimed that: “It’s like the case of Mr. Sam Rainsy, whichever way it came in, it will go back out the same way.”

Political analysts said that if they comment on Cheam Yeap’s claim, Mrs. Mu Sochua will have great difficulty to get her immunity back without the support from CPP MPs. Mrs. Mu Sochua saw her immunity lifted with the vote of 2/3 of the MPs. Therefore, [based on Cheam Yeap’s claim that] whichever way the case came in, it will go back out the same way, then Mrs. Mu Sochua must find 2/3 of the 123 MPs’ vote to get her immunity back.

Hun Xen also issued a warning to CPP MPs ordering them to reject their support. Therefore, Mrs. Mu Sochua’s case is different from that of Sam Rainsy because the latter’s immunity was suspended by the NA’s permanent committee and it was re-instated back by the permanent committee.

As for Mrs. Mu Sochua, she claimed that she will go to court to listen to the announcement of her sentence on 04 August, she believes that a fine sentence should not lead to a [permanent] loss of her immunity.

Ministry of Defense spokesman rejects tense situation in the confrontation in Veal Entry and Phnom Trop

Thai troops maneuver along the border

28 July 2009
By Sopheap
Khmer Sthabna
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

A report from an army official indicated that the situation along the Cambodian-Thai border is remaining still, however, both troops are constantly on alert in case an incident would occur.
The same source indicated that Thailand dug trenches, sent in armaments, tanks, troops and heavy artillery and posted them in the region located in front of Veal Entry (Eagle Field) and Phnom Trop hill on 28 July 2009, in the area where past armed clashes took place. However, the trenches are dug inside the Thai territory, only that these trenches are located right in front of Veal Entry and Phnom Trop zones.
The same source indicated that when Cambodian troops saw Thailand brought in tanks, armaments and troops and placed them in front of Veal Entry and Phnom trop, they have increased their vigilance in order to defend Cambodia’s territorial integrity.
The army official source claimed that the situation along the border is normal, and there is no tension.
Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Cambodian ministry of Defense, confirmed that he is currently in Preah Vihear province and there is no tension, the situation is not tense and there is no problem. He also said that he walked along the border and nothing happened.
Chhum Socheat rejected the fact that there is tension along the border, and he said that Thailand dug trenches inside its own territory, and Cambodia is not concerned about it, there is no tension.

Khmer rock revival seeks new audience

Chhom Nimol fronts the LA-based Khmer rock band Dengue Fever

Tuesday, 28 July 2009
By Sarah Cuddon
BBC News

Decades after Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge silenced the sound of Westernised music in Cambodia, the little-known 60s genre "Khmer rock" is finding new fans.

Khmer rock is the sound of the West meeting the East in the 1960s - a mixture of US surf guitar music, early rock and doo-wop mixed with Cambodian traditional instruments.

At the time, the music was virtually unknown outside Asia but its followers in the West are now burgeoning.

Music writer Nik Cohn is a new fan who stumbled across the sound by chance.

He said: "One night I was watching (the film) City of Ghosts, and there's an amazing moment when Matt Dillon jumps on a motorbike and rides through Phnom Penh and this incredible music comes on. An unbelievable voice.

"(I'd) not heard anything that good since Ronnie and Ronettes... and then I began to think about it musically."

Today, the sounds of the old Phnom Penh are being revived in the West by the Los Angeles-based band Dengue Fever, which is fronted by a Cambodian singer, Chhom Nimol, the daughter of musicians who played with the original Khmer rockers.

The band's guitarist Zac Holtzman loves the sound and stories of Phnom Penh's music scene.

"It was modern city, with lots of musicians. By day they played traditional stuff and by night they'd rock out.

"In general the Khmer culture is reserved, but this is the closest to stepping out and going crazy. We can really have fun here."

The country's former controversial ruler, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, was a big influence on the sound.

Despite presiding over an often corrupt and repressive regime, he was passionate and liberal about the arts, and encouraged the traditional court musicians to experiment with Western styles.

But influences also came directly from the US - as the American military presence in Vietnam increased, the American Forces Radio Network also became more well-known.

Flying studios operated by the US Navy spread the sound of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country music to Cambodia.

Phnom Penh's young musicians did not necessarily know who Jimi Hendrix, the Doors or the Beach Boys actually were, but they loved the sound and they started to imitate it.

"They just took the sound and re-channelled it through instruments equivalent to guitars… a primitive drum kit, and they certainly had bass guitar," Nik Cohn said.

The Khmer rock musicians did not have elaborate studios, and most of the songs were recorded live - often in one take - with any keyboards or guitars they could find, and incorporated traditional instruments.

For a decade, this experimental Khmer rock music transformed the nightlife of the capital, Phnom Penh.

But in 1975 the fanatically anti-Western Khmer Rouge marched in, led by Pol Pot, and the vibrant rock and roll scene was silenced.

Within four years, the Khmer Rouge killed an estimated two million Cambodians in the notorious killing fields, including many of the Khmer musicians.

Him Sophy was one of those sent to a labour camp.

"Ninety percent of the famous singers were killed. I saw the prisoners they took," he said.

Jon Swain, who was the Sunday Times war correspondent in South Vietnam and Cambodia at the time, said: "Educated people, musicians, people with glasses… a lot were taken to the killing fields… so the great singers disappeared."

All the local heroes the scene had produced - like Sin Sisamouth, who became known as "the King of Khmer music" - were wiped out, killed by the Khmer Rouge.

Cambodian musician and composer Sophy Him was a young music student in Phnom Penh and remembered him well.

"Sin Sisamouth would play (royal) court music, then rock music… improvisation from traditional and rock."

Guitarist Zac Holtzman said Sin Sisamouth was a songwriter who he initially thought "was like the Elvis of Cambodia", but then he found his lyrics were more like the "Bob Dylan of Cambodia".

"When you know that every one them was wiped out by the Khmer Rouge, many in hideous ways, it deepens the experience of listening to it" - Nik Cohn, music writer

No one quite knows what happened to the famous diva of the time, Ros Sereysothea, but it is believe she also died under Pol Pot.

Like almost all the Khmer rock artists, Ros Sereysothea came from a poor farming family.

She moved to Phnom Penh, where was heard singing by Prince Sihanouk, who later honoured her as "The Golden Voice of the Royal Capital".

It was her voice that Nik Cohn first heard on the soundtrack for film City Of Ghosts, and he said there was always "something tragic about her".

The music was wild and anarchic, but the lyrics often told a different story of teenage angst, death, betrayal and sorrow.

The translation to Ros Sereysothea's funky rock song "Have You Seen My Love" is: "I drink until I get drunk, but I can't seem to get drunk. The sky is all black, love has wings to fly."

It is this strange mix that appeals to fans like Nik Cohn. "It's the sound of innocence, teenagers and innocence, symbolising everything that was lost - and when you know that every one them was wiped out by the Khmer Rouge, many in hideous ways, it deepens the experience of listening to it."

Khmer Rock is adored in Cambodia. It survived on bootlegged cassette tapes and vintage vinyl kept hidden during the Communist years at enormous risk to the owners.

"The name of Sin Sisamouth is still there… after Khmer Rouge was overthrown, his songs came back on the radio.

"I remember hearing them again and they are still going on now," Jon Swain said.

And the old songs are winning new fans through reissues and compilations, a presence on the internet, and the new recordings by Dengue Fever.

Khmer Rock and the Killing Fields presented by Robin Denselow, is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Tuesday, 28 July, at 1330 BST.

Govt to buy 60K tonnes of China salt

Monday, 20 July 2009 14:01 May Kunmakara

CAMBODIA imported 10,000 tonnes of salt from China last week to offset a domestic production shortfall, a local industry representative said Sunday.

Ly Seng, director of the Kampot-Kep Salt Production Association, said last year's production was washed out by heavy rains in Kampot, the Kingdom's main salt-producing area.

A first batch of 10,000 tonnes came from China's Guangdong province last week, he added.

"We imported 10,000 tonnes to meet current demand, but we plan to import a total of 60,000 tonnes," said Ly Seng. "Last season we were able to produce just 30,000 tonnes."

Ly Seng said annual demand is up to 120,000 tonnes which peaks in the December-to -arch prahok season when the Kingdom's famous fish paste - which requires huge amounts of salt - is made.

"Importing salt costs around US$100 per tonne, so this will cost $6 million," he said. "Financially we couldn't afford to import the entire requirement in one go, but we have the money to do so with 10,000 tonnes monthly."

Chhun Hinn, director of Kampot's Department of Industry, Mines and Energy, said he worked with the Kampot association on solving the salt shortage because it is the key salt-producing area in Cambodia.

Ly Seng said the country's fast-growing population means demand for salt is rising. His association manages 4,447 hectares of salt flats in Kampot and neighbouring Kep province, but he said that figure will likely rise by 200 hectares this season.

"So I am hopeful that next season our salt yields will improve," he said.

Millicom's profitability hurt

Thursday, 23 July 2009 14:01 Steve Finch

Majority shareholder in Mobitel, Cambodia’s leading mobile phone firm, says new market entrants have been ‘disruptive’ as it prepares to sell Asian assets

Photo by: SOVANN PHILONG

A vendor offers a variety of mobile cards displayed for sale at a Phnom Penh store. Millicom International on Tuesday said its profitability in Cambodia had been hit by excessive competition.

MILLICOM International SA, the Luxembourg-based company with a 58.4 percent share in Mobitel, the country's leading mobile-phone operator, said late Tuesday that profitability had been affected in Cambodia due to excessive competition.

In a report announcing its second-quarter financial results, Millicom appeared to criticise the tactics of new entrants into Cambodia's increasingly crowded mobile-phone sector, which now has nine operators, referring to the practice of issuing free SIM cards and airtime.

"In Cambodia and Sri Lanka new competitors have entered the market with disruptive market-entrance strategies," the report said. "Profitability is being negatively impacted as a result."

Mark Hanna, chief financial officer of Royal Group, which owns a 38.5 percent stake in Mobitel, denied that margins had become tighter.
"[There are] no concerns on profitability from our side," he said by email Wednesday.

Millicom did not release figures on Cambodia, as it has reclassified its Asian assets as "discontinued operations", having put operations in Cambodia, Laos and Sri Lanka up for sale, a process it said Tuesday was expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2010.

"The disposal of our Asian assets is in progress, and expressions of interest have been received from a number of parties for the three assets," Millicom Chief Executive Officer Mikael Grahne said in the report.

Royal Group; Axiata of Malaysia, which runs Hello; and Vimpelcom, operator of Beeline, have all reportedly made offers for Millicom's stake in Mobitel.

Hanna declined to comment further on the process on Wednesday.

Millicom recorded a 13.64 percent fall in net profit for the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2008, Tuesday's financial results showed, from US$132 million down to $114 million. Revenues climbed 5 percent over the same period to $814 million, the report said.

"We have not noticed any improvement in the economic environment in the last three months, but, encouragingly, there has been no further deterioration either," Grahne said.

Reported basic earnings per common share, which included Asian assets, fell to $1.05 in the second quarter from $1.22 for the same period last year, the report said.

Following the release of Millicom's results Tuesday its shares jumped 10.16 percent on the Nasdaq to $68.01, although in Wednesday trading it fell 1.18 percent on the Nordic OMX.

Total agreements to be signed in coming days

Thursday, 23 July 2009 14:01 Steve Finch

French oil giant says both sides are making final checks on offshore and onshore hydrocarbon concession agreements

FRENCH oil company Total said Wednesday it would sign official agreements on two hydrocarbon concessions with the Cambodia government "in the coming days" following more than three years of discussions.

Jean-Pierre Labbe, Total's senior representative in Cambodia for exploration and production, said both sides were going over the wording of the contracts ahead of an official signing expected before the end of the month.

"It's the final reading [of the agreement] on the Cambodian side [and] on our side," he said.

Total has also sent to Phnom Penh another member of its new ventures team, Jean-Paul Precigout, to help with the process, Labbe added.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Hun Sen announced the deals from Paris on July 14, the French holiday Bastille Day, during an official visit by the Cambodian government.

"When the prime minister left Phnom Penh [for France] his decision was made," Labbe said.

The agreements relate to two blocks: the 2,430-square-kilometre offshore Area III in the Gulf of Thailand, the ownership of which is still under dispute between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, and onshore Block 26, a 22,050 square-kilometre concession that cuts through Phnom Penh as well as Kep, Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, Kandal, Takeo, Kampot, Kampong Speu and Kampong Chnnang provinces.

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When the prime minister left Phnom Penh [For France] his decision was made.

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Labbe said Total would sign a 10-year conditional petroleum agreement (CPA) for Area III, the terms of which prevent the company from undertaking any exploration work until a resolution is reached with Thailand.

Bangkok has already allocated the area - which it calls B10 and B11 - to Chevron of the United States and Japanese company Mitsui. Labbe said that he expected some kind of joint-development agreement would be required between Cambodia and Thailand rather than geographical separation of the total 27,000-square-kilometre offshore area that is still under dispute.
"In the sea it's very difficult [to demarcate]," he said.

In regards to onshore Block 26 - which Labbe acknowledged will be a difficult area to explore - Total will be able to begin work almost immediately, but it will take about 10 years before any oil or gas could be produced, he said, if at all.

"We will start with a two-year programme of geological study," Labbe said, adding that an environmental impact assessment would also be conducted early on.

Few onshore agreements
In a study published in March on Cambodia's oil and gas resources, UBIFRANCE et les Missions Economiques said that Block 26 "may ... have an interesting geology", adding that Block 12 west of Tonle Sap Lake was the only onshore concession thus far granted in Cambodia.

MedcoEnergi of Indonesia signed an agreement with the government in September 2007 for a 52.5 percent stake in the Block 12 concession. The Cambodian National Petroleum Authority controls 40 percent of the concession and JHL - a company registered in the Bahamas on which "little information is available" - holds the remaining 7.5 percent.

Sex workers seek policy partners

Tuesday, 28 July 2009 15:02 Katrin Redfern

After a report condemns the lack of dialogue between officials and sex worker groups, sex workers tell the Post they want to be directly involved in efforts to combat trafficking.

Photo by: Sovann Philong

Sex workers wait for customers near Wat Phnom last month. A new report says more dialogue between sex workers and the government could lead to better anti-trafficking policies.

AREPORT released earlier this month that surveyed more than 1,000 female sex workers called for more consultation between government and NGO representatives and those who actually work in the sex industry.
The report, released by the Cambodian Alliance for Combating HIV/AIDS (CACHA) along with 11 local, international and governmental organisations, said such consultation would lead to more effective policies than the existing 2008 Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, which it roundly criticised.
In recent interviews, sex workers and those who advocate on their behalf in the capital told the Post they would appreciate the chance to work with law enforcement officers and NGOs, but they said their efforts to engage both groups in the past had not been well received.
"We've approached a number of NGOs running anti-trafficking and rehabilitation programmes ... about incorporating sex workers into the conversation, as well as law enforcement, but don't meet with much interest," said Ly Pisey, part of the support staff at the Women's Network for Unity (WNU).
"One sex worker was invited to the talks at the National Assembly about the [2008 law], but she wasn't allowed to speak. NGO staff have had a lot of opportunities to recommend whatever they like, but there's no space for grassroots people."
Sara Bradford, a technical adviser for the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers, said direct engagement of sex workers should be promoted.
"Sex workers have expressed a huge willingness in assisting law enforcement with locating trafficked persons. It's unfortunate that the sex workers are being ignored because they have access to the people and places law enforcement does not," she said.
When asked about training programmes, sex workers' main complaint was that many of them were mandatory.
"If a sex worker wants to participate in a rehab or vocational programme, that's good," said Keo Tha, a coordinator at WNU and a sex worker. "But if they don't volunteer, it violates their rights.... They lock us up like we're thieves. But sex workers are not criminals."
According to the CACHA report, the 2008 law does not make prostitution illegal, although there are few sex workers who can meet the
requirements for legal sex work.
Keo Tha said part of respecting women's rights involves respecting their choices, even when they choose to pursue sex work.
"Sex work is good work. You're very free, you can choose which clients you want to accept," Keo Tha said. "As long as you have the skills to negotiate with the client, to use a condom. We can make money very quickly ... and then we can buy rice right away."
The women interviewed described what they would like NGO-sponsored programmes to emphasise.
"I'd like to see them teach HIV education. And also how to negotiate with clients and brothel owners, and how to use condoms, which the clients don't want to use. If sex workers are empowered to negotiate with clients, HIV won't spread," said Uk Mony, a sex worker in Tuol Kork district.
Sex workers cited what they described as conflicting priorities on the part of NGOs, the UN, the government and donor groups.
For instance, the act of providing information to sex workers aimed at training them to negotiate safe, commercial sex or avoid violence is illegal under Article 25 of the 2008 law, meaning the law technically criminalises some HIV-prevention activities promoted by NGOs and even the government.
Several women also said some NGOs had demonstrated outright insensitivity in their interactions with sex workers.
During recent arrests, sex workers detained at a local anti-trafficking NGO said they could not access their HIV medicine while advocates negotiated on their behalf.
"Those who are HIV-positive need to have quick access to antiretroviral medication. Sometimes in arrest situations they go for days without it while people negotiate for their release. Why don't they have it easily available?" said Pich Sokchea, a sex worker and advocacy officer at WNU.
Ten Borany, deputy director of the Ministry of Interior's anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection department, said the government has repeatedly tried to involve sex workers but has not received an enthusiastic response.
"Our group organised public forums in five provinces to encourage sex workers to participate," he said. "But we haven't had any sex workers come to cooperate with us yet."

Miss Landmine to spotlight victims

Tuesday, 28 July 2009 15:02 Sam Rith

Organisers of the beauty pageant claim it will raise public awareness of the challenges facing land mine victims, but doubts persist about the long-term effects on participants and society.

Photo by: Courtesy of Gorm K Gaare

Miss Landmine contestant So Yeu, 35, is from Kampong Cham province’s Chhoeung Prey district.

THE second annual Miss Landmine beauty pageant, a controversial event that debuted in Angola last year, will open in Cambodia next month, with organisers saying they hope the event will raise awareness about the continuing risk of land mines around the globe.
"I believe it is a good way of looking at things in a new and different way ... [to see] these women as strong, glamorous and beautiful," said Norwegian artist Morten Traavik, who organised the first Miss Landmine pageant.
"It will make a contribution to how the rest of society will look at them ... Society will feel that these women can do anything."
The contest, which has support from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, the Ministry of Women's Affairs, the Cambodian Mine Action Centre and the Cambodian Disabled People's Organisation, has been designed to highlight the difficulties faced by female land mine victims.
The path to victory
A total of 21 contestants representing all provinces except Ratanakkiri, Koh Kong and Kratie are set to participate in the contest.
The contestants will launch a photo exhibition and a fashion magazine that uses land mine survivors as models at Meta House on August 7, and the public will be able to vote for the winner on the project's Web site (www.miss-landmine.org) beginning on August 1.

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IT'S NOT RIGHT. IT IS AS IF [CONTESTANTS] ARE BEING MADE FUN OF.

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The winner, who will be awarded a custom-made prosthetic leg, will be crowned by a special jury at a live stage event in Phnom Penh in early December.
If online voters and the jury choose different contestants, then both will be crowned winners.
Reactions to the pageant - as with last year's event in Angola - have been mixed.
Sem Sokha, secretary of state at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, said his ministry and the government had "no objection" to the Miss Landmine contest, adding that the ministry worked to provide "all kinds of services" to the disabled.
Chin Vuthy, project manager for Action on Disability and Development, a rights group for the disabled, said the contest would likely attract funds to help disabled people and also encourage disabled women to participate more directly in society.
But Lim Mony, a women's programme officer for the rights group Adhoc, said she did not support the event because it would do nothing to help disabled women and would only make them upset.
"The word 'miss' means very beautiful," she said.
"They are disabled, but being taken to participate in a contest like that - it's not right. It is as if they are being made fun of," she said.
Song Kosal, 24, a Miss Landmine contestant from Phnom Penh who lost a leg after she stepped on a land mine as a 5-year-old, praised the event, saying that it would give disabled people, particularly women, an opportunity for recognition.
"This is an opportunity to let the world know not to discriminate against disabled people.... Even though we are disabled, we also have the right to be beautiful, to participate in society's activities, and to have equal rights with non-disabled people," she said.

Dancing for dollars

Tuesday, 28 July 2009 15:02 Tracey Shelton

Photo by: Tracey Shelton

Sina, 21, and Both, 32 (pictured left), dance in giant costumes - referred to in Khmer as tin mong, or scarecrow - on the road to Phnom Tamao mountain in Takeo province last week to raise money for their pagoda. Such dancers can be seen roadside throughout Cambodia

New airline a bridge to Cambodia, PM says

Tuesday, 28 July 2009 15:03 Chun Sophal

Cambodia Angkor Air will help the Kingdom realise its potential as a tourist destination, Hun Sen says, starting with flights today

Photo by: SOVANN PHILONG

Monks bless a Cambodia Angkor Air plane during the airline's inauguration ceremony Monday at Phnom Penh International Airport. In his remarks, Prime Minister Hun Sen said the Kingdom's new national carrier, which is to start commercial flights today, will prove a boon to the tourism industry.

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The new flights will bring competitiveness to the airline industry.

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PRIME Minister Hun Sen described the Kingdom's new national carrier as a bridge for carrying visiting tourists to Cambodia in his speech at the airline's inauguration ceremony on Monday.

Hun Sen said Cambodia Angkor Air (CAA), which starts commercial flights today, can play a significant role in boosting tourism and economic development.

"If Cambodia can increase air travel, then it has the potential to boost tourism more than other countries in the region," Hun Sen said at Phnom Penh International Airport.

He added that air travel has turned the globe into a small village, a development favourable for travel and communications.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said on Monday that CAA, a joint venture between the Cambodian government and state-owned Vietnam Airlines, is to start operating today from Phnom Penh International Airport to Siem Reap, and later to Preah Sihanouk province.

He said CAA will at some future point fly to Bangkok and to destinations in Vietnam and Laos.

Cambodia has lacked its own carrier since the demise of Royal Air Cambodge in 2001.

Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said the government must act to encourage more domestic and foreign flights to come to the Kingdom.

Photo by: SOVANN PHILONG

Air attendants prepare the inaugural flight of Cambodia’s new national airline Cambodia Angkor Air on Monday morning at Phnom Penh International Airport.

"We are pushing direct flights from the Philippines to Cambodia to increase the number of tourists in the Kingdom," the minister said, adding that CAA and other flights should see the number of tourists this year at least 2 percent higher than last year.

Figures from the Ministry of Tourism showed that 1.09 million tourists travelled in Cambodia in the first half of the year. That was 1 percent down on the same period last year.

Ang Kem Eang, the president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents, welcomed CAA's inaugural flights, but said it will continue to be difficult to boost tourist numbers if the government does not push CAA to fly further than Vietnam and Thailand.

"The new flights will bring competitiveness to the airline industry, which will act as a step to lure more tourists, but flights should not just go to neighbouring nations," Ang Kem Eang said.

Cambodian art show casts light on Khmer Rouge horrors

Artist Vann Nath, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison, explains a painting to villagers during an art workshop and exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Tue Jul 28, 2009

KAMPOT, Cambodia (Reuters Life!) - Cambodian artist Vann Nath only survived the Khmer Rouge's most brutal prison because its chief torturer liked his paintings of the tyrannical leader Pol Pot.
Now, the survivor of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison is using art to educate younger generations about one of the 20th century's darkest chapters through an exhibition of paintings reflecting the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime.
"I come here to share my experiences as well as to remember our country's history, and ensure that it's not lost," Nath told Reuters Television.
An estimated 1.7 million people died during the Khmer Rouge's four-year "killing fields" reign of terror, which ended when Vietnamese forces invaded in 1979.
Three decades on, villagers at the exhibition reflected on the horrors of the regime with paintings of skulls, bodies lined up in a room, blindfolded prisoners and people with weapons in their hands.
The exhibition showcasing the work of about 16 Cambodian artists is the second of seven in the Cambodian countryside this year.
"It is good to have the Khmer Rouge tribunal going on because it can let the victims know what has happened then, why Pol Pot killed innocent people," said Chan Pisey, an artist and co-organiser of the exhibition.
"Of course, it cannot heal the suffering of everybody but at least 20 to 30 percent of it can be done."
The exhibition comes just weeks after Nath testified against Duch, Tuol Sleng's head jailer. He told the joint United Nations-Cambodian tribunal his experience inside the S-21 prison was like "hell".
He described the squalid conditions inside the prison and said there were times he was so hungry, he was forced to eat insects, such as grasshoppers or crickets.
"When there were insects falling from the lamp, I collected them and ate them. When the security guards saw this, they asked, 'What are you eating?' So they hit me until I spit out the grasshopper or cricket from my mouth," he told the court.
But Vann Nath is confident the people responsible for the killings will be brought to justice.
"I expect the Khmer Rouge court to point to the right killers so that we know clearly whoever committed such crime gets how much punishment," he said.

Opposition to Change Tactics: Sam Rainsy

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
27 July 2009

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Monday his party was changing tactics, looking to make changes beyond demonstrations and protests.
“Before, we mainly organized street demonstrations, because we had no other options to be visible,” the leader of his self-named party told VOA Khmer. “Now we can be much more constructive and effective about bringing change through other mechanisms.”
The announcement comes following a defamation trial against SRP Kampot lawmaker Mu Sochua, on Friday, and the suit of 22 military officials, also for defamation, against SRP lawmaker Ho Vann.
Both parliamentarians had their immunity suspended by the National Assembly, now dominated by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, whose members hold 90 of 123 Assembly seats.
Sam Rainsy said his party would not be drawn onto his adversary’s “battlefield,” as this gained nothing for the opposition.
Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha, whose party has combined in an opposition coalition with the Sam Rainsy Party, said the decision for a change in tactics was up to Sam Rainsy.
The opposition must be strong in its stance when the ruling-party government puts on more pressure, he said.
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Teacher’s Association, said the decision was up to opposition leaders, but he warned they must also think about the best interests of the people and the nation.
His association would continue to back parties that work for the public interest and would continue to watch the Sam Rainsy Party in the future.
Ruling party officials could not be reached for comment Monday, but CPP lawmaker Cheam Yiep told the Cambodia Daily newspaper he was hopeful the opposition would be committed to helping the country develop.

Malaysian bank HwangDBS opens Cambodian branch

riday, 24 July 2009 15:01 Nguon Sovan and Ith Sothoeuth

Kuala Lumpur-based lender becomes 28th commercial bank to launch in the Kingdom with official opening of new branch in Phnom Penh

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN

National Bank of Cambodia Governor Chea Chanto (second from left) opens the first HwangDBS branch in Cambodia with the bank’s senior executives.

THE nation's 28th commercial bank - Malaysia's HwangDBS - launched in Phnom Penh on Thursday. Chea Chanto, the governor of the National Bank of Cambodia, told attendees at the opening ceremony the new entrant reflected increasing confidence by Malaysian and Singaporean investors in the banking system.

"HwangDBS Commercial bank is the fourth Malaysian bank to have invested in Cambodia so far, and its equity is 100-percent held by Hwang-
DBS Berhad, composed of Malaysian and Singaporean shareholders," said Chea Chanto.

The NBC is Cambodia's central bank and also acts as the banking regulator.

"The central bank continues to support a culture of free and fair competition to ensure reasonable interest-rate levels on loans for both borrowers and lenders," he said.

Alex Hwang, the CEO of HwangDBS Investment Bank, told a press briefing after the launch that the bank would target loans to individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises. The bank has US$20 million of initial capital.

Other bankers said the increasing number of foreign banks was bringing tough competition, as they typically have access to large amounts of capital.

Pung Kheav Se, president of Canadia Bank, told the Post on Thursday he does not expect the influx of foreign banks will affect local banks to a great extent, but agreed loan rates would be dragged lower.

"Most importantly, [foreign banks] bring in fixed capital, and Cambodia lacks capital for economic development. Cambodia's economy is still emerging," he said. "[Foreign banks] don't expect to earn money at the present time - they are just building up their positions and envisaging future potential."

Chhay Soeun, the executive vice president and chief financial officer of ACLEDA Bank, said foreign banks see the Kingdom as a good opportunity.

"Economically speaking, interest rates are low in their own countries with few opportunities to invest. But in Cambodia, an emerging market, businesses and investors need capital to expand, and interest rates here are high compared to developed countries, so they can make more profit," he said. "Also, they see political stability, and that boosts the confidence of foreign investors."

Chhay Soeun said ACLEDA raised its annual fixed-deposit rate to 7 percent from 6.5 percent last year, while cutting loan rates by 2 percent to between 10 and 14 percent for large and medium-sized loans.

"Competition means we need to lower our loan rates," he said.

 

Ethanol plant planned

Friday, 24 July 2009 15:01 May Kunmakara

China's largest oil and gas company CNPC is looking to invest $58m in a plant that would process cassava, says govt source

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON

A farmer stands in his cassava field in Preah Vihear province.

AN official at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is looking to invest US$58 million in an ethanol plant that would use cassava as its raw material to generate fuel.

CNPC is China's largest oil and gas producer.

The official, who would not allow his name to be used, said the ministry has not decided on the proposal since the factory would require 40 million to 50 million tonnes of cassava annually - about 15 times current domestic production.

"It would be a great benefit for our farmers who are struggling to find markets for their cassava yields," the official said, adding that the CNPC project would be funded by a Chinese government loan.

The project would require a huge amount of land, he said, and because concessions are contentious, the ministry needs to discuss the proposal with other ministries and government officials.

"So far we haven't identified a concession area because it would be so big, and also [CNPC] hasn't yet received the money from its government," he said. "So we are not sure about the project - they have simply come to ask for permission."

Cambodian law states that a land concession cannot be larger than 10,000 hectares.

Khem Chenda, the ministry's administrative director, said that, in the past, cassava was exported to Vietnam and Thailand. However, since the global economic crisis hit, most buyers have stopped purchasing. As a result, prices have halved from $100 per tonne last year.

"Cassava farmers are only able to sell to neighbouring countries at a very low price, so I would be happy if we could find a new market that would generate a more suitable price," Khem Chanda said.

Cambodia has 180,000 hectares of land producing 3.7 million tonnes of cassava, he said, with both figures up two-thirds since 2007.

Extrapolating those figures means the country would need to turn over a further 2.25 million hectares to cassava production. That represents an unrealistic 12.5 percent of Cambodia's entire land area, so buying cassava from outside Cambodia would be the only feasible option for the factory at its proposed size.

Lann Chhorn, deputy governor of Kampong Cham province, many of whose farmers grow cassava, said prices are so low that villagers are selling cassava in the markets and to buyers in Vietnam for just 200 riels [$0.05] per kilogram.

"I will be really pleased if we can get more markets for our local farmers and better prices as that will encourage them in this business."

Young players to get feeder league

The Cambodian Football Federation proposes establishment of a youth league parallel to the Cambodian Premier League to allow inexperienced players to gain extra match practice

 

Photo by: NICK SELLS

FFC Vice President Khek Ravy has announced plans to form a reserves league.

FFC plan to create reserves league
Khek Ravy, vice president of the Cambodian Football Federation (FFC), has announced plans for an additional league to the Cambodian Premier League (CPL) to help develop young and emerging talent of the clubs. "We are happy with the progress we are making [with the CPL]," said Khek Ravy. "But we need to set a benchmark for our league to be more professional. We are looking into setting up a youth or feeder team league, because in the 2009 season teams were requested to register at least 30 players, and with that most teams have younger players who don't get to play [regularly]."

The FFC is hoping that this extra league will provide the younger players an opportunity to play week in, week out, mirroring the practice in Europe, where there are reserve leagues and youth competitions to help players gain match experience despite being left out of the first team.

Khek Ravy, who doubles as the CPL organising committee president, also noted the federation's awareness of some players' concerns over breach of contract. "From 2010, there will be a tripartite contract arrangement between clubs, players and the FFC," he asserted. "Thus if a club breaches the contract, players can bring complaints to the FFC for arbitration, and any club who does not adhere to this will be taken to the world soccer governing body FIFA."

Meanwhile in a separate interview, the spokesman of the soccer federation, Deputy General Secretary May Tola, stated that the federation is looking into having a full- time executive board in their secretariat. Currently, nearly all the members of the executive committee are working for the federation part time, which seems to be impeding the work of the federation. It is hoped that by 2010, nearly 80 percent, if not all, will be working full time.

Ministries play volleyball match
Cambodia's Ministry of Interior volleyball team will head to Vietnam next week to play a friendly against their Vietnamese counterparts. The Cambodian team defeated the Vietnamese Ministry of Interior side last year by three sets to one, and are looking to repeat the feat in the match scheduled for Tuesday.

The Cambodian ministry team smashed past the Cambodian national team in straight sets in a warm-up match, scoring 24-23, 25-17 and 25-23. The ministry side, coached by Ky Mengham and Bun Chunkim, played the Cambodian national team at the indoor hall of the Olympic Stadium Wednesday morning. Spokesman of the Ministry of Interior team Ky Sethy revealed that the game coming up in Vietnam is to foster a good relationship between the two countries. "The [Cambodian] team is getting stronger and has confidence to win in Vietnam," Ky Sethy said after their victory at the Olympic Stadium.

Photo by: NICK SELLS

Cambodian national team coach Scott O’Donell watches the CPL game Wednesday at Olympic Stadium.

O'Donell summons 40 for selection
Cambodian national team coach Scott O'Donell has called up 40 players to a training camp next week in preparation for the forthcoming Southeast Asian Games in Laos this December. Players have been drawn from CPL teams and a few youth sides across the country.

"We have invited 40 players for the first phase to be screened to 25 later," O'Donell said. "All the players are notable, so I cannot tell you any player [selected] now, but I will surely have a hard time screening to the final 25."

The coach revealed that the Ministry of Defence team is the main contributor with nine players invited.

After the conclusion of next week's session, O'Donell said he will publish the selected 25, who will train twice a week with him until the end of the Cambodian Premier League season September 26, after which they will train full time.

The coach is also working with the FFC to organise tune-up matches to perfect strategies ahead of the SEA games. International friendly matches both at home and away will be played after the CPL has drawn to a close.

Kirivong crisis still looming
Him Salam's dramatic stoppage time equaliser for Kirivong Sok Sen Chey last Saturday against Post Tel may have saved their coaching staff's jobs for another week at least, but after a week of crisis meetings with Chairman Leang Khoun yet to follow through on a threat to walk out on the club, things still rest on a knife edge.

Claims of divisions within the club have done little to appease the situation, with rumours of rifts between foreign and local players, Muslim and Buddhist members and even Phnom Penh- and Takeo-based management.

There appears to be numerous places to point the finger for their recent slide down the table. Vice Chairman Ing Kimleang stated that the problem lies with Vietnamese coach Lou Foekten not being respected by the players due to a lack of authority. Director of Administration Somay Sokhea noted that some players were found to be drinking out late on the eve a match, thus leading to a string of bad results. However, a source from within the Kirivong camp, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said that these same players were out drinking until late during the early part of the season, when they were winning matches.

Other players who also refused to be named have denied allegations levied against the squad member, deflecting the blame to the division in the technical crew and the incessant changes of coaching staff. Kirivong have had a high turnover of coaches in the last 12 months, with players not given time to adapt to a coach's system before he is booted out.

"Its true that we have changed coaches more frequently, and that may be part of the problem, but we are going to steady the ship soon," declared Somay Sokhea.

Former Kirivong coach Andrew Ehiwarior, who had an exemplary record of saving the team from relegation on more than one occasion, has expressed his exasperation with the management. "Kirivong have simply refused to learn from their past mistakes," he stated, noting that the club's past record with Vietnamese coaches is not encouraging.

Ehiwarior, who is favoured by Ing Kimleang and Somay Sokea, remains optimistic that if called upon, he will do his utmost to salvage the team. "My heart has always been with Kirivong," he remarked. "You never say never in football, so lets see what happens at the end of the day."

Cambodia A/H1N1 flu case rises to 17

PHNOM PENH, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's confirmed A/H1N1 flucases have increased to 17 and the latest case is a 22-year-old Irish woman who traveled from Vietnam, health officials said here on Sunday.
"So far, nobody has died in the country," said Ly Sovan, deputy director of the communicable disease control department. The latest person is in a stable condition and is recovering well.
Mom Bun Heng, Cambodian health minister, told reporters that his ministry has strengthened the tracking system at two main airports, Phnom Penh International Airport and Siem Reap International Airport by using thermal scanners.
"Our officials also have been observing the travelers coming into the country through border gates," he added. Earlier this week, Cambodian Health Ministry issued a call to appeal people notto travel to neighboring Thailand if they were not in urgent need.
Cambodia's first case of influenza A/H1N1 was confirmed on June 23, 2009.

Freed woman wants money

Friday, 24 July 2009 15:03 May Titthara

Photo by: Courtesy of Adhoc

Rights group workers discover Svay Yi Pho, who was chained to her bed in her Sen Sok district home for weeks.

A WOMAN who was reportedly chained to a bed in her Sen Sok district home for weeks told the Post Thursday that she had not received the US$23,500 that was taken from her by relatives including Chea Savoeun, an assistant to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
"I felt very angry when they put that shackle on my leg, because I am not crazy," Svay Yi Pho said in an interview. "I just want to get my money back. I can manage my money."
Workers for the rights group Adhoc discovered Svay Yi Pho last Thursday after receiving a tip from an RCAF soldier that she had been forcibly detained in her home in Dong village, Teuk Thla commune, Sen Sok district.
Adhoc investigator Ouch Leng said he believed the 37-year-old had been held for three months by relatives who wanted to take from her the $23,500 she had recently pocketed when she sold her Central Market bookstore.
Chea Savoeun, the assistant to the premier who is also Svay Yi Pho's cousin, confirmed in an interview Monday that he and several other relatives had detained her against her will, though he said this had been done because she suffered from an unspecified mental disorder and was prone to neurotic and destructive behaviour.
He said she had only been held for two weeks.
He also acknowledged taking her money, arguing that she could not be trusted to spend it responsibly.
In an interview Thursday, Chea Savoeun said he stood by his actions.
"As I said before, I didn't want to keep her money, and she could come and take it from me as she needs, but we cannot give all of it to her because she has a sensitive nerve problem," he said.
"I keep records of how much she takes from me. For example, this morning she came and took about $50, and we needed her thumbprint so that we can make it clear."
He added: "I want to give all the money to her because I don't want to have contact with her, but some NGOs and government officials told me not to because she can't look after her money."
Ouch Leng and Am Sam Ath, a technical supervisor for the rights group Licadho, have said that Adhoc and Licadho doctors examined Svay Yi Pho shortly after she was discovered and concluded that she did not suffer from anything other than stress.
Chea Savoeun said Thursday that other NGOs would soon release test results proving that Svay Yi Pho suffers from a "sensitive nerve problem", though he declined to specify which ones.
Mann Sotheara, a doctor for the rights group Licadho, said Thursday that he would continue to monitor her for the next two months.
Chea Savoeun also defended his relatives' decision to chain her to the bed, which he described as "nothing new".
"Her husband did this for 10 years already after she got her sensitive nerve problem, and we followed that process after they got divorced because we wanted her to take her medication," he said.
Meas Sam Oeun, who Svay Yi Pho divorced one month ago, acknowledged Thursday that he had chained his ex-wife in the past.
Looking ahead
Svay Yi Pho said Thursday that she wanted to use the $23,500 she got from the sale of her bookstore to purchase a new bookstore, but that she had been unable to persuade Chea Savoeun to give it to her.
Chiv Paly, deputy director of the Interior Ministry's anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection department, said earlier this week that the case had been sent to Municipal Court but declined to answer questions about whether an investigation had been conducted or charges filed.
Chiv Paly and Municipal Court President Chiv Keng declined to comment on the case Thursday. Deputy Prosecutor Sok Kalyan said the case was being handled by Deputy Prosecutor Sok Roeun, who could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Delay in Cambodia defamation case

 

Cambodian Opposition MP Mu Sochua is surrounded as she leaves court on July 24, 2009. A court as delayed judgement in the defamation case brought against her by Cambodian PM Hun Sen until August 4. [ABC/Robert Carmichael]

Friday, July 24, 2009
Robert Carmichael, Phnom Penh
ABC Radio Australia

A Cambodian parliamentarian has urged the judge presiding over her defamation case to give her justice, and deliver an historic ruling for the country's women.

But Opposition MP Mu Sochua won't know the outcome of the case - brought against her by Prime Minister Hun Sen - until next month.

A Cambodian court on Friday delayed judgement in the high-profile case.

A verdict is now expected August 4.

Dozens of supporters cheered Mu Sochua as she left the court.

Hun Sen sued Mu Sochua, a former minister of women's affairs, after she filed a legal case against him earlier this year.

Her case against the Prime Minister was dismissed several weeks ago.

Political pressure

A number of Mu Sochua party MPs attended the hearing, along with human rights observers and diplomats.

After making her appeal to the judge, she told the court she would remain silent as she had been unable to find a lawyer to represent her.

Her previous lawyer was forced to quit after coming under intense political pressure.

The court case against her is the latest in a series brought by the government against the opposition, the media and NGOs.

Human rights groups have decried the crackdown as an abuse of Cambodia's young democracy.

Scenes outside the Phnom Penh municipal court on Friday 24 July 2009

Mu Sochua remains silent in front of the judges

24 July 2009
By Pen Bona
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French

The defamation trial opposing Hun Sen to SRP MP Mu Sochua took place in the morning of Friday 24 July in the Phnom Penh municipal court.
The Kampot MP showed up in court without defense lawyer and she chose to use her right to remain silent during the trial. She did not answer to the judge’s questions. Ky Tech, Hun Sen’s lawyer, who was present during the hearing, asked the tribunal to sentence Mu Sochua according to the law while asking 10 million riels ($2,500) in damage compensation. At the end of the hearing, Mu Sochua asked the tribunal to judge the case according to the spirit of the law and not based on the court’s concerns about men in power.
With Mu Sochua refusing to answer questions, the trial was essentially based on the report provided by each party during the court process. There was no argument in the case. After two hours of hearing, the judges announced that the verdict will be delivered on 04 August.
The trial was followed up closely by the news media: several reporters – local and foreign – shoved each other in front of the court on Friday morning at 07AM. Several of them had to remain outside of the courtroom. Mu Sochua, accompanied by Sam Rainsy, SRP MPs and about 30 or so party activists arrived to the court at 08AM. Before entering the courtroom, they lighted red candles to ask for justice.
The SRP indicated that it is ready to pay the damage compensation to close this affair should Mu Sochua is found guilty.

High-level handholding

(From left) Vietnam Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win, Brunei Foreign Minister Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Cambodia Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan reach for one another's hands during a group photo at the start of the 42nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers Plus Three (China, Japan and South Korea) ministerial meeting at the resort island of Phuket. Hor Namhong and other ministers were to meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday.

Metfone signs $1.5m deal to sponsor football federation

Thursday, 23 July 2009 14:00 Hor Hab

Telecom company approves three-year deal with the FFC for exclusive rights to the Cambodian Premier League, which will be renamed the Metfone C-League

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN

FFC President Sao Sokha (left) and Metfone Director Nguyen Duy Tho exchange signed contracts Wednesday morning during the official signing ceremony of their US$1.5 million Cambodian football sponsorship deal at the Hotel InterContinental.

METFONE, the Cambodian subsidiary of Vietnamese telecom company Viettel, has signed a three-year sponsorship deal worth US$1.5 million with the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC), officially announced Wednesday morning at a signing ceremony at the Hotel InterContinental.
During his address, FFC President Sao Sokha said that this substantial contribution from Metfone will greatly assist the federation's development of football and its infrastructure in the Kingdom, adding that a portion of the money will be used to relocate the National Football Centre.
According to the president, the existing centre, built in 2003 approximately 14 kilometres outside of Phnom Penh along National Highway 4, was often flooded during the monsoon season and was too small to accommodate more than a single pitch. A 52-hectare site (compared to just 3 hectares at the old location) has been chosen in Takeo's Bati district, around 40 kilometres south of the capital, where a large, modern facility will be constructed accompanied by four football pitches at a cost suggested to be around US$260,000.
"Without a [new] football center, I don't think football in Cambodia can grow," Sao Sokha opined.
The federation president stated that the Metfone sponsorship will also fund the training of the under-19 national team, as well as the U-23 squad, who are in preparation for a match in September in Ho Chi Minh City and the upcoming SEA Games in Laos in December.
CPL to be renamed in 2010
With the sponsorship deal, the FFC has given Metfone exclusive rights to commission the domestic Cambodian Premier League, which will be renamed the Metfone C-League from 2010-12, as well as numerous other football matches during this period.
However, Sao Sokha stated that from 2010, the FFC will allow all football clubs to find their own sponsors, something they have previously been prohibited from doing, which could prove vital for a team's survival in an increasingly competitive league. It is unclear as to whether clubs with existing branding such as Phnom Penh Crown and Naga Corp will opt for additional shirt sponsorship. The FFC president also confirmed that ticket sales generated from each match at Olympic Stadium will be shared equally between the clubs.
Sao Sokha noted that the amounts presently involved in Cambodian football are significantly less than neighbouring Vietnam.
"The annual budget of the FFC is around $1 million," he said. "[This is] less than the budget of just one football club in Vietnam."
Metfone, launched in February this year, has about 2 million current users. So far, Metfone has provided $5 million for Internet access to over a thousand schools nationwide for the next five years.
Nguyen Duy Tho, director of Metfone, said at the telecom company will also provide free Internet service to the FFC and will contribute to the future construction of a sports training centre for disabled athletes.
"Metfone will continue to sponsor other sports in Cambodia, as well as Cambodian athletes training overseas," said Nguyen Duy Tho.

Hun Sen decries reliance on foreign styles in the arts

Thursday, 23 July 2009 14:04 Sam Rith

Premier says Cambodian artists should reflect Khmer tradition rather than incorporating 'other countries' styles' in their work.

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Prime Minister Hun Sen and renowned chapei singer Prach Chhoun at a workshop on Cambodian performing arts Wednesday. In his remarks, the premier called on artists to refrain from allowing “other countries’ styles” to influence their compositions.

PRIME MINISTER Hun Sen on Wednesday called on the Kingdom's artists to refrain from allowing "other countries' styles" to influence their compositions, be they books, films or songs.
Speaking during the closing ceremony of a workshop centred on what some officials have described as a decline in Cambodian performing arts, Hun Sen decried the proliferation of movies and television shows that he said were not in keeping with national cultural traditions.
"I would like to call on writers, [film] producers, actors and actresses to make efforts to improve their creations," he said.
Hun Sen also ordered the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts to apply to have several traditional Khmer art forms registered under UNESCO's Intangible Heritage of Humanity Programme.
Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Him Chhem said the ministry was already preparing applications for chapei, a form of sung storytelling; khol and yike, two types of theatrical performances; and lakhon bassac, or Cambodian folk opera.

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Khmer actors and writers applaud during the launch of a two-day workshop on the performing arts in Cambodia.

Meas Sarun, general director of the ministry's "technique of culture" department, told the Post in February that the chapei and khol applications were being prepared.
UNESCO Country Director Teruo Jinnai said at the time that his office would likely assist in revising and polishing both applications before they were sent to UNESCO headquarters, where experts will evaluate them and then submit them to a vote by member states.
Jinnai said the process of getting the applications approved once they are submitted will likely take about one year.
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association, said he agreed with the prime minister's remarks regarding the state of Cambodian performing arts, though he said the government could facilitate a greater emphasis on high-quality compositions by strengthening intellectual property rights and increasing support for arts education.

Cambodian PM calls for help on ASEAN rail

Editor: Li Xianzhi
PHNOM PENH, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday called for other countries to provide assistance for the construction of the missing link in Cambodia of the ASEAN railroad which connects from Singapore to China.

"We need help from other countries to construct the missing link in Cambodia of the ASEAN railway," he announced in the workshop of Khmer Art performing at Chaktumok Theater hall in Phnom Penh.

"The ASEAN railway will also provide the huge benefit for other countries," he added. "Therefore we need the help for that project," he said, adding that so far only china has provided the assistance including research study of the project. "China alone will not be enough," he said.

Missing link is distance about the 225-kilometer between Phnom Penh and Loc Ninh, a provincial capital in southern Vietnam. ASEAN ministers have agreed to build a modern railway from Singapore through Thailand and ending in Kunming, China, which will enter Cambodia at Poipet and follow the existing line along the southern shore of the Tonle Sap lake into Phnom Penh.

Sun Chanthol, former Cambodian minister of public work and transport said in 2008 that Cambodia need about 500 million U.S. dollars to build and upgrade Cambodia's stretch of a proposed railway of the ASEAN and it depends on the price of materials. The proposed Trans-Asia Rail Link will be completed by 2015.

Railroad conditions across Cambodia have eroded greatly in the past 30 years so much money is needed for reconstruction and upgrade.

Bernanke fights for Fed independence

 

By Alister Bull and Mark Felsenthal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday fought hard to protect the independence of the U.S. central bank and keep responsibility for consumer protection on financial products in its hands.

In a second day of testimony on the Fed's semiannual monetary policy report, Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee that the U.S. central bank wants to shield monetary policy from political interference, but understands the need to be accountable to taxpayers.

"We do think that the Congress has the right to see how we are using taxpayer money. Where we are concerned is that the Congress would be intervening in our specific policy decisions relating to monetary policy and the economy," Bernanke said when asked about a proposal to expand audits of the Fed.

"So yes, we are quite willing to work with Congress to try to figure out exactly where the line should be," he said.

The Fed has pushed back hard against a bill that has already won sponsorship by a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives, and a companion Senate measure, that would expose monetary policy decisions to audits by the Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog.

The central bank has argued such audits would alarm financial markets and drive U.S. borrowing costs higher as investors would come to fret politics, not economics, would drive monetary policy-making.

Some investors are already nervous that the Fed might face pressure to create money to finance record U.S. budget deficits. The Fed says these concerns would intensify if there was any move to put its policy under political sway.

Bernanke was also challenged on whether he would have the courage to raise interest rates to keep inflation at bay if the economy was still weak.

He said emphatically that he would, provided Congress did not change the rules to stop him, and he invoked the Fed's epic anti-inflation campaign in the late 1970s under Paul Volcker to illustrate why independence was key to safeguard this freedom.

"It was in 1978 in the Humphrey Hawkins bill that Congress put in the exclusion for monetary policy from the GAO audit bill," he said, referring to the law that requires the Fed to report to Congress twice-yearly on the economy.

"That was right before Volcker came in and Volcker was able to take those decisions (to raise interest rates sharply) because Congress did not intervene, although there were plenty in Congress who said they should intervene," Bernanke said.

FED BID TO RETAIN CONSUMER PROTECTION POWERS

U.S. lawmakers have responded to public anger over last year's crisis and subsequent multibillion-dollar bailouts of investment bank Bear Stearns and insurer American International Group by demanding greater Fed accountability.

This scrutiny intensified after President Barack Obama proposed making the Fed responsible for overseeing systemic financial risks as part of a broad revamp of the U.S. regulatory structure. The revamp would also strip the Fed of consumer protection powers and invest them with a new agency.

Bernanke admitted that the Fed had not done as good a job as it should have protecting consumers in the past. But he made a concerted pitch to keep these responsibilities at the central bank, telling lawmakers that they could take additional steps to be assured the Fed would take these duties very seriously.

"A few suggestions I would make: One would be to put consumer protection in the Federal Reserve Act along with full employment and price stability as a major goal of the Fed," he said.

"A second step could be to require the (Fed) chairman to come before you or another committee at least once a year to present a report, the same way we do for monetary policy, on our consumer protection steps," Bernanke said.

Amazon.com buying shoe seller Zappos for $928 million

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the company had considered going public through an IPO, but that main investor Sequoia Capital had pushed for a sale instead. Sequoia did not return calls for comment.

An irreverent company, Zappos' website calls its executives monkeys and Hsieh joked in his letter that the deal's headline should read "Zappos and Amazon sitting in a tree ...," a reference to a nursery rhyme.

Zappos has put customers at ease buying shoes online because it guarantees free shipping on deliveries as well as returns.

Pacific Crest analyst Steve Weinstein said the deal allows Amazon to dominate a big new category.

"It (Endless.com) certainly hasn't been as successful as Zappos," he said. In shoes I think Zappos is clearly the brand in the mind of consumers."

The acquisition is slated to close this autumn, and Amazon said the Zappos management team will remain intact. Zappos said it will be run as an independent entity and its brand will be separate from the Amazon brand.

"We think that there is a huge opportunity for us to really accelerate the growth of the Zappos brand and culture, and we believe that Amazon is the best partner to help us get there faster," Hsieh said in his letter to employees.

Amazon said it will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Zappos and assume its outstanding options and warrants in exchange for approximately 10 million shares of Amazon common stock. It will provide Zappos employees with $40 million of cash and restricted stock units.

Based on Amazon's closing price of $88.79, the deal is valued at about $927.9 million.

Morgan Stanley, and Fenwick & West advised Zappos on the deal. Lazard Ltd advised Amazon.

(Additional reporting by Alexander Haislip; Editing by Edwin Chan and Anshuman Daga)

Phelps has unfinished business at worlds

"To be back in the water after about six months and swim a best time it shows anything can happen if you put your mind to it." he added.

Phelps is not the only American likely to make waves in Rome.

Aaron Peirsol smashed the 100m and 200m backstroke world records in Indianapolis, easily beating compatriot and Olympic champion Ryan Lochte in the 200 final.

Dara Torres, winner of three silvers in Beijing, will also be hunting 50m freestyle glory at the age of 42.

(Editing by Ed Osmond; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Clinton keeps up pressure on North Korea at Asia meeting

The statement, obtained by Reuters, also said the group wanted to "overcome security threats and challenges and prevent escalation of potential conflicts." It made no direct mention of North Korea or Myanmar.

Many experts on North Korea have concluded from the reclusive state's belligerence that Pyongyang wants to be recognized as a nuclear weapons state and will not end its atomic activities.

The poor health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, believed to have suffered a stroke a year ago, and uncertainty about who might succeed him has further complicated efforts to persuade Pyongyang to curb its nuclear ambitions.

The United States urged Myanmar to implement the U.N. resolution imposing an arms embargo on North Korea in a rare face-to-face meeting, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Thursday.

The official, who spoke on condition he not be named, said Washington's willingness to improve relations with the military-ruled former Burma will depend partly on the outcome of a trial against pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Clinton said on Wednesday the United States was worried about possible nuclear technology transfers from North Korea to Myanmar.

Talk of Myanmar-North Korea military ties was fueled after a North Korean ship, tracked by the United States in June and July on suspicion of carrying banned arms, appeared headed toward Myanmar before turning around.

Obama says economic recovery depends on healthcare

"We are now seeing broad agreement thanks to the work that was done over the last few days. So even though we still have a few issues to work out, what's remarkable at this point is not how far we have left to go -- it's how far we have already come," he said.

Obama promised he would not sign into law any healthcare legislation that would drive up the budget deficit, or fail to rein in rising healthcare costs.

Legislation pushed by House Democrats would increase budget deficits by more than $240 billion over 10 years, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated last week.

Although fellow Democrats are raising many questions about the plan, Obama went on the attack against Republicans, accusing them of wanting to kill his healthcare plans.

"The politics may dictate that they don't vote for healthcare reform because they think it makes Obama more vulnerable," he said. "But if they've got a good idea we'll still take it."

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Richard Cowan; Editing by Simon Denyer and Chris Wilson) consumers. "Part of the reason we want to have a public option is just to help keep the insurance companies honest," he said.

Obama, who had been careful not to comment on various proposals on Capitol Hill on how to pay for the overhaul, did offer support for a Democratic proposal to tax the rich.

He said a surcharge on families making more than $1 million a year "meets my principle" of not putting the burden of paying for healthcare reform on middle-class families.

He insisted there was momentum behind the healthcare effort, despite strains on Capitol Hill, and that lawmakers are closer to agreement on cost savings to the plan.

"We are now seeing broad agreement thanks to the work that was done over the last few days. So even though we still have a few issues to work out, what's remarkable at this point is not how far we have left to go -- it's how far we have already come," he said.

Obama promised he would not sign into law any healthcare legislation that would drive up the budget deficit, or fail to rein in rising healthcare costs.

Legislation pushed by House Democrats would increase budget deficits by more than $240 billion over 10 years, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated last week.

Although fellow Democrats are raising many questions about the plan, Obama went on the attack against Republicans, accusing them of wanting to kill his healthcare plans.

"The politics may dictate that they don't vote for healthcare reform because they think it makes Obama more vulnerable," he said. "But if they've got a good idea we'll still take it."

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Richard Cowan; Editing by Simon Denyer and Chris Wilson)

Action filmmakers seek out authenticity on Kampot set

Wednesday, 22 July 2009 14:00 Bennett Murray

An independent US film producer says, despite their inexperience, working with Cambodians has been a pleasure – and he plans to return to the Kingdom to shoot another film project

Photo by: BENNETT MURRAY

Khmer Rouge extras menace Joshua Frederic Smith’s character during the filming of The Road to Freedom. Inset: Smith playing photojournalist Sean, a character inspired by real-life photojournalist Sean Flynn, who disappeared with fellow photojournalist Dana Stone in 1970 Cambodia.

The true history of two ill-fated journalists

Although The Road to Freedom is fiction, the story is largely inspired by the disappearance of real-life photojournalists Sean Flynn and Dana Stone in 1970. Sean Flynn was the son of Hollywood actor Errol Flynn and originally started his own acting career but became bored and went to Vietnam in January 1966 as a freelance photojournalist. He made a name for himself for taking risks to get the best photos possible, even doing a parachute jump with the US Army’s 101st
Airborne Division. He continued to cover the Vietnam War, as well as the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, before heading to Cambodia in the spring of 1970. He met up with fellow photojournalist Dana Stone in Phnom Penh and the two embarked on motorcycles to find the front lines of the fighting. Their exact fate is unknown, but it is believed that they were captured by the Vietcong at a roadblock and subsequently handed over to the Khmer Rouge and executed.

Kampot has once again been flooded with armed men dressed in the black and red uniforms of the Khmer Rouge. This time, however, their guns fire blanks and they smile at their Western colleagues.
They are extras on the set of The Road to Freedom - a new, independent action-adventure movie by first-time director Brendan Moriarty.
The two leading characters, Dana and Sean, are a pair of American reporters who venture into Khmer Rouge territory in 1972 to cover the civil war.
"Dana is a photojournalist," explains Scott Maguire, who plays Dana. "He was on assignment and has a wife and two girls back at home. He's very religious and follows his best friend down into Kampot for a story, where he is picked up by the Khmer Rouge."
Sean is played by Joshua Frederic Smith, who explains that his character is somewhat injudicious.
"Sean is an adventurous guy, who takes some risks and likes to figure things out on the fly instead of absorbing information beforehand," revealed Smith, saying filming in Cambodia had helped him create his character.
"It's not like building a soundstage in LA. Out here you're actually living these elements. In movie terms, this is as real as it gets."
Although the story is fictional, Moriarity based the material on the untold stories of actual photojournalists who disappeared in Khmer Rouge territory in the early 1970s.
To prepare for their roles, Maguire and Smith read up on contemporary journalism, spoke to prominent journalists, researched the works of photographers who shot in Cambodia, and even practised photography around Los Angeles.
The film's shoot last Friday took the crew to a salt farm, to film a confrontation between the protagonists and a Khmer Rouge cadre.
Producer Tom Proctor, who has worked in film for 28 years as a stuntman, actor, director and producer, spent 15 minutes showing the Cambodian extras - all of whom are real soldiers - how to give the illusion of hitting an actor with an AK-47 butt.
He lined up the 15 extras and had them practise the maneouvre as he looked for the best one. He found two who mastered the stunt - but only one could do it without smiling.
Afterward, Proctor explained the scene was difficult to shoot.
"We wound up running Stunt School 101," he said.
"We're coordinating extras to do something that should have been done by stuntmen."
The scene was further complicated by the lack of acting experience or training on the part of the extras.
"Here are people who are being paid to come out here to play army," said Proctor. "They're having fun, so they're smiling during a crucial kill scene."
Despite their lack of experience, the movie veteran says it has been a pleasure to work with the Cambodian cast and crew and is even reworking an upcoming project for it to be set in Cambodia.
"A lot of them put their heart into it, and that to me is part of the intrigue of filming in Cambodia," he says, adding that they've discovered many local actors with great talent, despite their lack of training.
The locals have also been helpful and cooperative with the production, Proctor reveals.
"They seem to be very friendly to us, considering we must be inconveniencing them. We're asking them to be quiet; we're asking them to stop work during the take."

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I think the story is a tribute to photojournalists of that time and of this time.

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Unlike Americans, who are generally reluctant to allow film crews to come onto their property without prior permission, the locals have been exceptionally generous.
"We intrude in front of somebody's property, they see you out there and bring you extra chairs!" Proctor exclaimed.
Shooting the film has cost a mere $150,000, yet the man in charge insists that "nobody will believe this movie was made on less than $2 million".
Currently, more funds are needed to get the film to post-production.
"By the time we get prints and ads and it's set in the theatre, we'll probably have spent $500,000," Proctor said.
The movie is to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival next January.
Filming a movie about the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia has proved to be an emotional experience for the cast and crew, Scott Maguire reveals.
"It really touches you, and you get more of a sense of the story you're telling when you're here. We shot in one area where we were blowing things up, people were running, and two days later we found out that those things actually happened right there," he said.
As it turned out, the shot took place around the site of the 1994 abduction and murder of three Western tourists at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.
The movie intends to honour the real journalists who died in Cambodia prior to the fall of Phnom Penh.
"Many of them thought it would be like Vietnam," said Moriarty, but revealed that, unlike the Vietcong, the Khmer Rouge made a point of executing any Western journalist they captured.
Meanwhile, Maguire insists the movie is pertinent to this era as well as the 1970s.
"I think the story is a tribute to photojournalists of that time and of this time.
"All over the world people are fighting to get their stories. People go into places that are not so friendly, and hopefully they make it out, but sometimes they don't.
"They're really brave, and I think it's fantastic I have the opportunity to play someone like that."