No suit against Chea Mony

Monday, 31 August 2009 15:04 Meas Sokchea

MINISTER of Information Khieu Kanharith said Sunday that Prime Minister Hun Sen had ordered officials of the Cambodian People's Party to halt legal action against Chea Mony, brother of slain union leader Chea Vichea, after he blamed the government for his brother's killing.

The announcement during a Radio Free Asia broadcast reverses the government's position stated earlier this month that it had already begun legal action against Chea Mony.

Khieu Kanharith could not be reached for comment Sunday, but Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak confirmed the order, though he declined to provide any further details.

Chea Vichea, former head of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, was gunned down in 2004. Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were convicted of the crime the same year, but the Supreme Court ordered their provisional release in December 2008, citing contradictory evidence in their previous trial.

During a hearing on August 17, the Appeal Court announced a new investigation into the case and ruled that the two men were to remain free until a verdict was handed down.

Chea Mony said following the hearing that he remained convinced the government had been involved in his brother's killing - comments that prompted Khieu Kanharith to say initially that the government had no choice but to file a legal complaint.

Chea Mony on Sunday welcomed the U-turn. "I would like to congratulate the government, especially the prime minister, for reversing this decision, and again I would urge the courts to find the real killers and bring them to justice," he said.

"Hun Sen's decision is a good strategy because no one should be sued by the government for defamation or anything else. Our country has the rule of law and democracy, so we must find the truth."

Rights groups welcomed the government's climbdown on Sunday, describing it as a vital step towards restoring freedom of speech in Cambodia.

Ny Chakrya, of the rights group Adhoc, said: "I support this change of stance, which shows the government is capable of acting with maturity. Even if our politicians are criticised, they can respond with patience."

Am Sam Ath, head of an investigative team with the rights group Licadho, said the government had been wrong to take the words of a grieving man so literally.

"Chea Mony made his statement in the Appeal Court because he was upset that his brother was murdered five years ago and the real killers still haven't been found," he said. "If the government were to sue him for that, it would spell the end for freedom of expression."

The Appeal Court ordered further investigations into the 2004 killing of trade union leader Chea Vichea following requests from the defence lawyers of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, the two men accused of the killing.

"This case is still not clear, which requires us to conduct further investigations involving some police in relation to the [slaying]," presiding Judge Chuon Sunleng said after the two-hour hearing.

He ordered that suspects Born Samnang, 28, and Sok Sam Oeun, 41, remain free until the investigation is closed and a verdict handed down.

During the hearing, the two men again declared that they had not been involved in the killing, accusing the police who arrested them in 2004 of forcing them to confess to a crime they didn't commit.

Troops exit temple complex

Monday, 31 August 2009 15:04 Thet Sambath

Cambodia's Defence Ministry says government has halved deployed troops at Preah Vihear but warns that forces remain prepared for any future hostilities.

Photo by: Tracey Shelton

Soldiers walk down the mountain near Preah Vihear temple last month. One brigade left the area this week following Hun Sen’s promise to reduce troop numbers around the disputed temple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Troops stationed at the Preah Vihear temple complex near the Thai border completed their redeployment over the weekend, a Royal Cambodian Armed Forces commander told the Post on Sunday.

Srey Doek, commander of RCAF Division 3, said Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday met soldiers from Brigade 11 during their redeployment to their base in Kampot province.

"[Hun Sen] welcomed them as they travelled near Siem Reap and offered them each 50,000 riels [US$12], and the prime minister's wife offered them gifts of fruit," Srey Doek said.

Srey Doek said the money and fruit were given to nearly 1,000 RCAF soldiers as expressions of gratitude for their service at the front line, adding that troops from other brigades from Siem Reap as well as members of Hun Sen's personal bodyguard who were also redeployed over the weekend did not meet the prime minister.

Meanwhile, an official at the Defence Ministry said Sunday that forces at the border have now been halved.

"We have pulled out 50 percent of the troops from Preah Vihear temple," said ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat.

"This shows that the situation at the border is really getting better, and that both countries have a mutual understanding of peace," he added.

Hun Sen declared last week that the 13-month standoff with Thailand over the disputed Preah Vihear temple complex, which claimed more than seven lives and left hundreds homeless, had effectively ended following a bilateral withdrawal of troops announced during a meeting on August 24 between the head of RCAF, General Pol Saroeun, and his Thai counterpart, General Songkitti Jaggabatra of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.

Troops still on guard
Despite a thaw in relations, Cambodian military officials last week were quick to point out that troops would still be necessary to guard the integrity of the border and the sovereignty of the nation.

Defence Minister Tea Banh said some troops would remain at the border.

"We do not need too many soldiers there now. We are currently adjusting the numbers to achieve the right balance for the situation," Tea Banh said last week.

Chea Dara, RCAF deputy commander in chief, echoed this sentiment Sunday, saying the border's security remained a vital concern and downplaying the impact of the withdrawal on Cambodia's ability to secure its border with Thailand.

"It is not a problem for our soldiers to defend the nation, even as their numbers have been reduced by the withdrawal," he said Sunday. "We have kept enough of our troops in place."

He said if Thailand "shows a softer manner" Cambodia could cut troop numbers further. "However, if anything happened, our troop mobility would be very swift."

Thailand in June reignited the row over the temple when it asked World Heritage body UNESCO to reconsider its decision to formally list the temple in Cambodia.

Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads over the land around Preah Vihear temple for decades.

Govt warns Beeline on below-market pricing

Friday, 28 August 2009 15:02 Steve Finch

Newest entrant to Cambodia’s increasingly crowded mobile phone sector told to raise tariffs after dispute with Mobitel

Photo by: SOVAN PHILONG

Beeline employees take part in a promotional campaign in Phnom Penh in this file photo. The government has warned the company to increase its tariffs to US$0.06 a minute.

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I request [Kith Meng] to open sufficient Trunk Network so as to allow high efficiency of traffic.

THE government has warned Beeline, Cambodia's newest mobile phone service, to increase its tariffs following a dispute with market leader Mobitel, according to a letter from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications obtained by the Post.

Dated August 17, the letter says that Beeline - in a meeting with Royal Group CEO Kith Meng - agreed to raise tariffs from US$0.05 a minute to $0.06. Royal Group is due to become the majority shareholder in Mobitel following an agreement this month to buy out Millicom International's stake.

Mobitel was considering shutting down Beeline's access to its infrastructure, the letter said, on the basis that Beeline was selling its mobile services below cost price.

"I would ... like to request [Kith Meng] to open sufficient Trunk Network so as to allow high efficiency of ... traffic between Mobitel and Beeline for the benefit of the customers of both networks," said the letter, signed by Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun.

Beeline - which is run by Russia's Vimpelcom Group - has been given until Tuesday to up its tariffs, according to an industry official who did not want to be named. The company was unavailable for comment Thursday.

"There is no comment, and there are no issues [with Beeline]," Kith Meng said Thursday. It remained unclear whether Mobitel still intended to block its competitor.

The letter was sent to Beeline, Mobitel and the Kingdom's seven other mobile operators in an apparent warning to the sector over increasing competition that has seen companies offer services for free or below-cost price. It is the first time the government has directly intervened in the sector's pricing policies.

On Thursday, in announcing its second-quarter results, Hello owner Axiata of Malaysia bemoaned the distribution of free SIM cards as the reason behind a 17.4 percent drop in revenues. Millicom International has also previously complained about the competitiveness of the Cambodian mobile market, which was the main reason it cited in deciding to sell its stake in Mobitel to Royal Group.

In launching operations in May, Beeline Executive Vice President Vladimir Riabokon said the company would pursue an aggressive investment strategy in a bid to gain half a million users by December.

The company registered 100,000 users in its first fortnight of operations, Riabokon said in May, adding that Beeline was aiming for 20 percent market share within the next three years, which - if achieved - would place it second in the market behind Mobitel.

At the time, Touch Heng, an undersecretary of state at MPTC, welcomed Beeline's low prices.

"The rate [$0.05 for a local call] offered by Beeline is a very good price for users because Cambodians want low prices and a high-quality service," he said.

American commander: US on the road out of Iraq

 

By CHELSEA J. CARTER, Associated Press Writer Chelsea J. Carter, Associated Press Writer – 49 mins ago

 

AP – FILE - In this June 22, 2009 file photo, a U.S. Army soldier carries American flags used at a ceremony …

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military is packing up to leave Iraq in what has been deemed the largest movement of manpower and equipment in modern military history — shipping out more than 1.5 million pieces of equipment from tanks to antennas along with a force the size of a small city.

The massive operation already under way a year ahead of the Aug. 31, 2010 deadline to remove all U.S. combat troops from Iraq shows the U.S. military has picked up the pace of a planned exit from Iraq that could cost billions.

The goal is to withdraw tens of thousands of troops and about 60 percent of equipment out of Iraq by the end of next March, Brig. Gen. Heidi Brown, a deputy commander charged with overseeing the withdrawal, told The Associated Press in one of the first detailed accounts of how the U.S. military plans to leave Iraq.

Convoys carrying everything from armored trucks to radios have been rolling near daily through southern Iraq to Kuwait and the western desert to Jordan since President Barack Obama announced the deadline to remove combat troops, leaving up to 50,000 troops under a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement until the end of 2011.

First out, Brown said, will be the early withdrawal of an Army combat brigade of about 5,000. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said a brigade would leave by the end of the year, months ahead of schedule, if violence in Iraq did not escalate beyond current levels.

That will be followed by the Marine Corps, which has already shipped out about half of its 22,000 troops and more than 50 percent of its equipment since May.

"In about six months or less, they will be gone," she said.

The U.S. military also plans to shrink the contractor force from roughly 130,000 to between 50,000 and 75,000 by September 2010. Those remaining would pick up additional duties from departing troops, Brown said.

The nearly 300 American bases and outposts currently remaining in Iraq will shrink to 50 or less by the president's deadline, Brown said.

The Al Faw Palace in Baghdad, which serves as the U.S. military headquarters, is among U.S. operations expected to be turned over to the Iraqis, she said.

The price tag to move the American force has not been fully calculated by the Pentagon because it was not immediately clear how much equipment would be returned to the United States, donated to the Iraqis or shipped to Afghanistan, according to officials.

However, the independent Government Accountability Office reported to Congress earlier this year that the withdrawal would be a "massive and expensive effort" that would likely increase war costs by billions. It also estimated an additional $12 billion to $13 billion a year would be needed for two years following the withdrawal for maintenance, repairs and replacement of equipment returned from Iraq.

Not since Vietnam has the U.S. withdrawn so many troops and so much equipment with a looming deadline.

The military anticipates keeping the majority of its 130,000 combat troops currently in Iraq until nearly two months after the Jan. 16 national elections, then rapidly drawing down troops and equipment in the weeks that follow.

"We would stay steady with troop strength until after the election plus 60 days," Brown said. "You don't know who will win the government and how long it will take to seat the government."

The plan was based on orders by Gen. Raymond Odierno — the top commander in Iraq who used a similar approach following this year's provincial elections. Odierno waited 60 days after balloting to make decisions about future movement, and shifting American soldiers south to Basra to replace the departing Brits.

Brown said the phased withdrawal of troops and equipment could be halted at any time, if, for example, the Iraqi government asks U.S. troops to stay longer due to a resurgence in violence.

One of the biggest challenges is moving the millions of tons of equipment.

"The easiest thing to move is the troops. You put them on a plane and ship them out. The heavy stuff is going to be the hard stuff," said Tim Brown, an intelligence and military analyst at GlobalSecurity.org, which follows security and defense issues. "They have been planning this for several years ... and it is probably still overwhelming."

The military has identified more than 1.5 million pieces of equipment, from tanks to antennas, that need to be shipped out of Iraq, Brown said.

Under the plan, much of that equipment would go by ground to Kuwait, 330 miles (530 kilometers) south of Baghdad, and to Jordan's Aqaba port, more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) southwest of Baghdad, where it would either be shipped back to the states or sent to troops in Afghanistan, Brown said. Some will likely go through Turkey as well.

"We are going to use every means necessary: air, Iraqi railroad, the roads. Whatever it takes," Brown said.

The U.S. has already begun donating items, such as blast walls, desks, televisions and air conditioners, that it considered too costly to move. Up to $15 million of such equipment per base closure can be handed over to the Iraqis, Brown said.

No decision has been made about whether the U.S. will donate any of it military equipment, she said.

Culture shock hits hard in Cambodia

A typical slum village in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (All PHOTOS FROM BETSY BAEHR / SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER)
Sunset in Phnom Penh, the capitol city of Cambodia.
A little boy I met at a river slum village in Phnom Penh.
This beautiful little girl lives in a slum village built on stilts over two feet of floating garbage.

August 30, 2009
By BETSY BAEHR
Special to the DesMoines Register (Iowa, USA)

"The other side of the world" is an impossible phrase to comprehend until you're actually on the other side of the world. Within 15 minutes of my arrival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the culture shock hit hard. Within a few short minutes, that simple phrase had a whole new meaning.

Eighteen months ago, as a student at Oral Roberts University, I attended a seminar on the growing problem of child trafficking and prostitution in southeast Asia. I realized that I was rather naive to the topic. I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around this worlds-away issue, and I was immediately intrigued and interested to learn more.
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In 2004, Citipointe Church in Brisbane, Australia, started a child rescue home in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. They house 15 girls, ages 3-16. Once I learned of the shocking statistics of child prostitution in Cambodia, and the hope and life Citipointe was bringing, I was both heartbroken and captivated to learn more and to see this country for myself.

I spent June 27 through July 10 in Cambodia with a group from the church's rescue home, and it was one of the greatest experiences I have encountered. Breaking out of the "American bubble" was exhilarating.

I visited the "killing fields" and was floored that the mass killings by the Khmer Rouge happened just 30 years ago.

Outwardly, the Cambodian people are unlike any group I have seen. They are absolutely, unknowingly stunning. Everywhere you look is a photo waiting to be taken. Some Cambodian clothing stores only offer one size since the people there are so small and lean — talk about culture shock.

The overarching language barrier was difficult since there was so much I wanted to learn from them. But the fact that I, a Westerner, was there only to hang out in orphanages and slums, to offer hugs, shampoo, rice and lollypops, visibly resonated with them.

When visiting the slum villages and the rescue home in Phnom Penh, the contrast between the startling and numbing experiences these children had been through and their cheerful attitudes, was striking. The children in the slums and rescue homes were vibrant, loving and lively.

Our group also visited the town of Siem Reap, Cambodia, which is primarily known for its ancient temples. The only other location with similar ancient temples is Egypt, in the Nile Valley. The temples were beautifully aged, elaborate and breathtaking. Built in the early 12th century, Angkor Wat is the most famous of the temples and appears on the Cambodian flag.

Understanding and experiencing "the other side of the world," is an irreplaceable, unexplainable gift. It cannot be truly grasped through textbooks, documentaries or Wikipedia. There is beauty in authenticity and the need to see with your own eyes.

Hun Sen orders a stop to the plan to sue Chea Mony: Hun Xen’s rule-by-order

Chea Mony (L) at the Appeal court on 17 August 2009 (Photo: Khmer Sthabna)

30 August 2009
By Sok Serey
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

A high-ranking government official indicated on 29 August that Hun Xen issued an order to all government officials and government lawyers to end all plans to sue Chea Mony, President of the Free Trade Union of Workers in the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC), for defamation. Chea Mony exploded in anger [in court] and accused the government of planning the murder of Chea Vichea, Chea Mony’s older brother, on 22 January 2004.

In a short interview over the phone with Khieu Kanharith, government spokesman, on Saturday 29 August, the latter indicated that, on Friday, Hun Xen issued an order to stop all government officials and government lawyers from suing Chea Mony.

Khieu Kanharith said that the reason for Hun Xen’s order was because he believed that Chea Mony’s accusation was an outburst of grief and anger for the loss of his cherished brother. The main order from Hun Xen is not to sue, but to find the true killers in this assassination.

General Khieu Sopheak, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior (MoI), said that the MoI will follow Hun Xen’s directive in this case.

Chea Mony welcomes this new and he reacted by saying: “As to what Samdach [Hun Xen] indicated about the order to all government officials to cancel all lawsuits against me, and his request to find the killers of Chea Vichea, I, all the workers and my family are very happy because we want justice. Therefore, I always welcome it. In general, I am very hurt by the murder of Chea Vichea [which took place] 6 years ago.”

Chea Mony had a strong verbal outburst during the hearing of the Appeal court on 17 August, and he accused the Cambodian government of planning the murder of Chea Vichea, his older brother. He also indicated that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun [the two accused artificial killers of Chea Vichea] are not the real killers.

Following this outburst, the MoI and the government revealed that they plan to sue Chea Mony for defamation and disinformation, and for using the Appeal court platform for propaganda and incitation.

Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were sentence to 20 years of jail each in August 2005 by the Phnom Penh municipal court, they were accused of shooting and killing Chea Vichea, the former FTUWKC President, on 22 January 2004.

On 17 August 2009, the Appeal court ordered the maintenance of the bail release for Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, and it also ordered additional investigations into Chea Vichea’s murder

Protest of citizens and motorcycle-taxi drivers in Banteay Meanchey

(All Photos: DAP news)

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Radio Australia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

A group of several hundreds of citizens and motorcycle-taxi drivers in Banteay Meanchey led a protest to demand that the government lowers the motorcycle import tax fees. Sok Savy is reporting from Battambang.

At least two persons were arrested by the cops during a new protest held in Banteay Meanchey on 24 August. The protest was held by several hundreds of motorcycle-taxi drivers and citizens to demand that the government lowers the motorcycle import tax fees,

The protest started in the morning and it lasted until the afternoon, with processions along the streets and stops in front of various institutions. The protesters shouted to made their demand heard.
(Voice of people shouting)

Regarding this issue, Radio Australia could not reach Mr. Ung Oeun, the Banteay Meanchey provincial governor, nor can we reach customs officials. Nevertheless, Mr. Hun Hean, the Banteay Meanchey police commissioner, said that he welcomes this protest as it is befitting of a democratic country, but Hun Hean added: “We must not overdo it, it could cause social unrest.”

Hun Hean indicated that the provincial authority had sent the protesters request to the upper government level to resolve this issue.
(Hun Hean’s voice)

The protesters dispersed in the afternoon following the claim made by Hun Hean. Two persons were arrested by police after they burnt down car tires and safety helmets. They were released by the police after they made the promise not to undertake such actions in the future.

The demand for lower motorcycle import tax fees has sparked protests almost everywhere, following the government’s decision to strengthen the application of the traffic law.

Fishing communities in peril

Wednesday, 26 August 2009 15:03 Khouth Sophakchakrya

Global economic crisis has brought disaster to some Cambodian fishermen as high operating costs and rising debt eat into already meagre profits, experts say.

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Tha Vichhay, 20, prepares his fishing net for a day's work in Tuol Krosang village, Sa'ang district, Kandal province last week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FISHING communities around the country have been disproportionately affected by the global economic crisis - saddled with debt as operation costs rise and fish yields decline, officials at a workshop on Cambodian fisheries said Tuesday.

The workshop, titled "The Global Economic Downturn and the Food Security for Fishermen in Cambodia", was hosted by the Fisheries Action Coalition Team (FACT), an environmental group, and featured representatives from the government and fishing communities.

Though the economic crisis has affected sectors across the economy, fishermen have been especially vulnerable, said Mak Sithirith, executive director of FACT.

Low yields in the past few years have reduced revenue for fishermen across the country, and rising costs of equipment and fuel - driven by external factors - have cut into their profit margins.

"Fishing communities are currently falling deeper into poverty, while the prices of rice, oil and other commodities remain quite high," Mak Sithirith said, adding that the rising price of fish at the market did little to offset these expenses.

In a survey of 1,000 fishermen conducted by the Cambodia Economic Association over the last few months, 90 percent reported debt of some kind, typically to help pay for business expenses, said the association's president, Chan Sophal.

Um Meng, 66, chief of the Patsanday fishing community in Kampong Thom province, confirmed that he and many others in his community had taken on large loads of debt as fish yields declined in the past few years - debt that is compounded with each financial setback.

"We don't have the money to pay [lenders] back, so our debts are now increasing," he said.

Chan Sophal called on the government to provide land grants to some fishermen and support the transition from an overcrowded industry.

Fisherman Um Meng said that some in his province had attempted to take this transition into their own hands, but had been arrested for illegally clearing forested areas.

Sam Nov, deputy director general of the Fisheries Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, urged fishermen to get more of their catch from private ponds in order to increase fish yields in larger bodies of water.

He acknowledged that many fishermen have resorted to illegal activities, such as clearing forests and wetlands or fishing out of season, to supplement their meagre earnings, but said these activities are "not a good solution" and that they are "devastating fishery resources".

Many fishermen, however, say they feel that they have no choice other than to engage in such activities.

Others, like Kin Sok, 49, the chief of Vatanak village in Kratie province, told the Post outside the workshop that although he and his fellow villagers refrain from illegal fishing themselves, they fear that their resources may nonetheless be in jeopardy from others.

"We do not catch fish during the spawning season because we're afraid they won't be able to breed, but when the fish move downstream, other fishermen who live along the Mekong River catch them using illegal fishing nets and tools," he said.

SKorea rocket takes off, satellite launch fails

AP – The South Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, South Korea's first space rocket, takes off from the launch pad …

By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Kwang-tae Kim, Associated Press Writer – Tue Aug 25, 8:49 pm ET

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's first rocket launch Tuesday failed to push a satellite into its orbit but the flawed mission may still anger rival North Korea, coming just months after the communist nation's own launch drew international condemnation.

The failure dealt a blow to Seoul's quest to become a regional space power. It comes against the complex backdrop of relations on the Korean peninsula — and recent signs that months of heightened tension over the North's nuclear program may be easing.

Also Tuesday, a South Korean newspaper reported that North Korea has invited top envoys of President Barack Obama for the first nuclear negotiations between the two countries under his presidency, but Washington quickly said it has no plans to send the envoys to Pyongyang.

The North gave no immediate reaction to the rocket launch but has said it will watch to see if the U.S. and regional powers refer the matter to the U.N. Security Council. A launch by North Korea in April was suspected to be a disguised test of long-range missile technology and drew a U.N. rebuke.

The North regarded the reaction as discriminatory, saying it fired a satellite into space, although experts say no such satellite has been detected. The North, unlike the South, is banned from any ballistic activity by Security Council resolutions as part of efforts to eliminate its nuclear and long-range missile programs.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly spoke in support of South Korea, saying it has pledged to develop rockets for peaceful purposes only, and that there was no indication the launch was "in any way inconsistent with its international obligations and international commitments."

The launch Tuesday was South Korea's first involving a rocket from its own territory. It was a two-stage Naro rocket whose first stage was designed by Russia. It lifted off from South Korea's space center on Oenaro Island, about 290 miles (465 kilometers) south of Seoul.

The rocket was carrying a domestically built satellite aimed at observing the atmosphere and oceans. A South Korean official said they could not trace the satellite in orbit after it separated from the rocket.

"We could not locate our satellite. It seems that communications with the satellite scheduled on Wednesday are unlikely to happen," Science Ministry official Yum Ki-soo told The Associated Press late Tuesday.

He said South Korean and Russian scientists were analyzing data to try to determine the cause of the failure.

Russia's Interfax-AVN news agency, citing an unidentified Russian space industry source, said the satellite never reached orbit and problems occurred in the South Korean-built second stage of the rocket.

In Moscow, an official at the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, declined to comment on the fate of the satellite. In joint statements, Roscosmos and the state-controlled Khrunichev company, which made the rocket's first stage, said that the first stage of the rocket operated as planned.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called the launch a "half success."

"We must further strive to realize the dream of becoming a space power," Lee said, according to his office. Among Asian countries, China has conducted a manned space flight, and Japan and India have also sent rockets carrying satellites into space.

North Korea said it would be "watching closely" for the international response to Seoul's launch after its own launch drew what it maintains was unfair international condemnation.

South Korean officials said it is inappropriate to compare their launch with the North's because Seoul's is for peaceful purposes, in accordance with its membership in international treaties, and was carried out with transparency.

"We've been doing this openly," Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae told reporters.

Kim Tae-woo, a senior analyst of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said that despite the North's stance, Tuesday's launch is unlikely to have major implications on inter-Korean relations.

In recent weeks, the North has become markedly more conciliatory toward both the United States and South Korea.

Earlier this month, it freed two American journalists following a trip to Pyongyang by former President Bill Clinton. It has also freed a South Korean detainee, agreed to lift restrictions on border crossings with the South and resume suspended inter-Korean projects in industry and tourism.

Pyongyang also reportedly invited U.S. envoys for talks on its nuclear program. The invitation was extended to Stephen Bosworth, special envoy to North Korea, and nuclear negotiator Sung Kim, Seoul's JoongAng Ilbo daily reported.

But in Washington, spokesman Kelly said Tuesday that neither Bosworth nor Sung Kim has plans to go to North Korea. He would not say explicitly whether any North Korean invitation was received.

Pyongyang has long sought direct negotiations with Washington about its nuclear program and other issues. The U.S. says it is willing to talk bilaterally to Pyongyang, but only within the framework of six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, which North Korea withdrew from in April.

__

Associated Press writers Jae-soon Chang and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, Jin-man Lee in Goheung, South Korea, Steve Gutterman in Moscow and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Obamas visit top adviser's home, then go to dinner

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. – President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama visited White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett's house and then accompanied her to a nearby restaurant.

The Obamas' motorcade left their rented compound in Chilmark for Jarrett's nearby home in Oak Bluffs early Tuesday evening. Reporters traveling with the Obamas did not see the couple enter the home on the north shore of Martha's Vineyard.

The Obamas then accompanied Jarrett and Eric Whitaker, another longtime Obama friend, to Sweet Life, a restaurant in Oak Bluffs. The president's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and her husband, Konrad Ng, were among the dinner party.

Obama is spending a week on the island, a destination for the wealthy and privileged. They arrived on Sunday and so far have kept a low profile. Obama played golf earlier in the day with a White House chef and an aide.

Jarrett is a friend to both Obamas and helped the first couple navigate politics in their shared hometown of Chicago. Whitaker is also from Chicago.

Bush CIA insider key to Obama plan

osh Gerstein Josh Gerstein – Tue Aug 25, 8:19 pm ET

President Barack Obama has tried to distance himself in every way from Bush-era interrogation policies, stripping the lead role in questioning detainees from the CIA and banning the harshest tactics critics have decried as torture.

But now, Obama has chosen a man who was at the heart of Bush’s intelligence effort to play a key role in overseeing the new administration’s own interrogation policies: John Brennan, a 25-year CIA veteran who was privy to the extreme tactics Obama has declared off limits.

The White House on Tuesday refused to discuss Brennan’s exact role in the new interrogation policy. But a former CIA official familiar with the situation said Brennan — Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser — will head up a National Security Council team overseeing a new Justice Department interrogation corps, specifically chosen to interrogate the most important terror detainees.

The new interrogation unit will be led by the FBI, with the CIA in a supporting role.

This isn’t the first time Brennan has drawn controversy. When Brennan’s name was floated as a leading candidate for CIA director during Obama’s transition, liberal activists loudly questioned the possible choice, and Brennan later withdrew.

Brennan himself has defended his role in an administration that has repeatedly distanced itself from the Bush-era tactics — saying he objected to the use of waterboarding on terror suspects, both in his time at the CIA and today.

“I personally was always opposed to waterboarding and certain types of techniques, and I think there were people who supported me in that and were able to acknowledge that I was a critic of that while I was in the agency,” Brennan said earlier this month in an interview for an ABC News podcast.

Several former CIA officials said Brennan, a former senior aide to CIA director George Tenet and later head of a national center to coordinate intelligence, was clearly in the loop when the so-called Enhanced Interrogation Techniques were approved in 2002. At the time, Brennan served as the CIA’s deputy executive director.

Brennan’s critics contend assigning him to oversee future interrogation policy is the wrong approach for an administration trying to signal a clear break from the previous White House’s approach.

“He supported everything with great enthusiasm—apparently he did make claims in house…against waterboarding, but he was defending detentions, defending extraordinary renditions, enhanced interrogation techniques and secret prisons,” said Melvin Goodman, a former intelligence analyst who spent 20 years at the CIA. “Giving it to him shows that Obama is politically deaf or doesn’t care…Everything about this is wrong.”

A former FBI terrorism agent, Jack Cloonan, said Brennan’s presence at the top ranks of the CIA during the extreme interrogations will impact his role in the new apparatus.

“I think everyone understands he has a cloud over his head….He clearly knew at least part of what was going on. I think that is a concession maybe to the Agency,” Cloonan said. However, he said he still supports the new arrangement and believes the prominent role for the FBI will ensure that future interrogations don’t go too far.

But a former colleague said he thinks Brennan, who knows Arabic and also served as a CIA station chief in Saudi Arabia, is a good fit to oversee future interrogation efforts. “He’s a good choice to do it,” the ex-official said. “At some point, someone has to stop taking people out of play just because they were somewhere near this program. That’s just not right.”

White House spokesmen did not respond to requests to interview Brennan for this article, nor would they say whether Brennan was interviewed for the 2004 CIA Inspector General’s report which examined the Bush-era interrogations. The report was released Monday.

Former CIA officials and others say Brennan was never in a decision-making role in regards to which interrogation tactics to use, but as the deputy to the agency’s executive director from 2001 to 2003, was in the midst of the discussions about which tactics to use and what to do with the intelligence gained.

“You know a lot in that role. Lots of stuff goes through your office,” a former CIA official said.

“He was privy to or aware of every policy that was carried out but was not in a policymaking role on detainee matters,” another former CIA executive said.

Obama aides are stressing that the role of the National Security Council in future interrogations will be limited and supervisory in nature.

“The White House is not going to be involved in any of the tactical, operational decisions that are made,” a senior administration official said Monday during a telephone briefing on the new interrogation unit. 
 
From 1999 to 2001, Brennan was chief of staff to CIA Director George Tenet. Brennan then moved into the deputy executive director slot before becoming the first director of the Interagency Terrorist Threat Integration Center in 2003. He retired in 2005 and went to the private sector before joining Obama’s NSC earlier this year.

Brennan has said his past opposition to some of the tactics is lost on his critics.

“It has been immaterial to the critics that I have been a strong opponent of many of the policies of the Bush administration such as the pre-emptive war in Iraq and coercive interrogation tactics, to include waterboarding,” Brennan wrote.

While Brennan’s opposition to waterboarding was known to some in CIA circles, his attitude at the time toward other enhanced interrogation practices, such as sleep deprivation and confinement boxes, is more murky.

In the recent ABC interview, Brennan said he was in agreement with Obama’s decision to limit future interrogations to the techniques listed in the Army Field Manual, but the ex-CIA official stopped short of saying he has always subscribed to that view.

“The president has decided that none of these enhanced interrogation techniques will continue,” Brennan said. “My views, I believe, are entirely consistent right now with where the president is on that issue.”

The White House said Monday that Obama will leave in place the ban he ordered in January on the enhanced techniques but continue renditions and transfers of terrorist suspects for detention abroad.

In a 2007 interview with the New Yorker, Brennan seemed to defend the aggressive interrogations. “Would the U.S. be handicapped if the CIA was not, in fact, able to carry out these types of detention and debriefing activities? I would say, yes,” he said.

Sidewalk vendors face eviction

Tuesday, 25 August 2009 15:02 Chhay Channyda

Crackdown to reduce traffic congestion is slated to begin in two weeks.

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Roadside stalls spill out across Street 271 on Monday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OVER the next two weeks, Phnom Penh municipal authorities say they will attempt to raise awareness of a ban on sidewalk vendors in the run-up to more stringent enforcement of this provision of the Land Traffic Law.

In a meeting of around 400 government officials at City Hall on Monday, Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema said that businesses and vendors who operate on city sidewalks must be informed of the law, so that they have a chance to vacate in an orderly fashion.

Following through on an August 17 directive from Interior Minister Sar Kheng, municipal authorities are to begin enforcing the ban on sidewalk vendors in two weeks' time, beginning with main boulevards such as Monivong, Mao Tse-tung and Kampuchea Krom.

"We are targeting big businesses along the boulevards first. I do not want ordinary people to complain that we are targeting only them," Kep Chuktema said.

Businesses who do not comply with the order will be subject to "administrative measures or legal action", the governor said, though he did not mention specific penalties.

Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Touch Naruth said Monday that authorities were still deciding how best to inform sidewalk vendors of the ban, which is aimed at reducing traffic congestion.

At the meeting, Kep Chuktema suggested that vehicles equipped with loudspeakers drive through neighborhoods playing the message: "Please do not run businesses on the sidewalk. Good people must respect the law."

Widespread enforcement
The focus on sidewalk vendors comes less than a month after officials ramped up enforcement of other aspects of the Land Traffic Law.

Authorities announced last week that they had temporarily impounded more than 60,000 vehicles, the vast majority of them motorbikes, the drivers of which had been found to be in violation of the law.

That enforcement effort, implemented with an eye towards improving traffic safety rather that reducing congestion, targeted vehicles that lacked licence plates and mirrors as well as motorbike drivers who were not wearing helmets.

National exam scores improve

Monday, 24 August 2009 15:03 Chhay Channyda

 

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Students celebrate Friday after receiving their exam results at Chba Om Pav High School.

NEARLY 80 percent of the 86,610 high school students who took the national exam last month earned passing scores, according to data from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, marking a 6 percent increase over last year.

Chroeng Lim Sry, the director of the ministry's high schools department, said on Friday that 67,377 students - roughly 78 percent of those who sat for the exam - had passed.

Results were made public in Phnom Penh and Kandal province on Friday, and results for all other provinces were posted Saturday.

Chroeng Lim Sry said the results indicated that the quality of instruction in the Kingdom's schools might have improved over last year, when only 70.7 percent of the 77,178 students who took the national exam passed.

Cheating concerns
But Cambodian Independent Teachers Association President Rong Chhun cautioned against reading too much into the scores.

"The high percentage of students passing the exam has not shown their real capacity," he said. "There have been irregularities, like bribing officials for answers and leaking the contents of the math section before the exam."

But Chroeng Lim Sry said the heightened security presence while the exam was being administered had cut down on cheating.

Chan Kham Kheour, director of the education department in Ratanakkiri province, said Friday that she believed fewer students had resorted to cheating this year on account of the security.

"We wanted to see the real capacity of the students," she said.

Hang Chakra sick in jail

Hang Chakra (Photo: Leang Delux, RFI)

23 August 2009
By Pen Bona
Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by KI-Media

Hang Chakra, the editor-in-chief of the Khmer Machas Srok newspaper who is currently being jailed in Prey Sar prison, is currently sick and is facing health deterioration. His family and defense lawyer have expressed concerns about his health condition. Hang Chakra’s health condition could be the reason why he hesitates whether to continue his case to the Supreme court or to find an arrangement outside the legal system.

Hang Chakra is currently facing a severe case of flu and his health is seriously deteriorating, he is tired and lost a lot of weight, Hang Pisey, Hang Chakra’s daughter, indicated on Saturday. The situation worries very much Hang Pisey’s family.

Choun Chou-ngy, Hang Chakra’s defense lawyer, also indicated about his concern about his client’s health condition. According to Chuong Chou-ngy, doctors from the Licadho human rights group, visited Hang Chakra several times already and his family also bought medicines for him as well.

Hang Chakra is the 56-year-old editor-in-chief of the Khmer Machas Srok, a newspaper known to be opposing the government. He was sentenced by the Phnom Penh municipal court to 12 month in jail and he was order to pay 9 million riels ($2,250) in fine for publishing disinformation.

The government lawyer sued Hang Chakra after his newspaper published an article titled “Mr. Hun Sen breaks up the nest of officials close to Mr. Sok An.” The article was deemed as disinformation by the Council of Ministers, and it was considered as an article that incites the internal breakup of the government.

Hang Chakra lost his case twice already. On 11 August, the Appeal court decided to stay on the sentence handed down by the Phnom Penh municipal court. It is not yet known whether Hang Chakra will take his case to the Supreme court or not. Chuong Chou-ngy claimed that, as of now, his client has not decided yet.

Hang Chakra is hesitating whether to bring his case to the Supreme court or end the case through an arrangement outside the legal system. His health condition and the livelihood of his family are necessities that could force Hang Chankra to find a mean to get out of jail.

Floating villages on the Tonle Sap

Local residents rest on a boat on Tonle Sap Lake, northwest of Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Aug. 19, 2009. Tonle Sap Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, covering an area of 2,500-3,000 square kilometers during the dry season. In recent years, Tonle Sap Lake has become a famous scenic spot for tourists from all over the world, who have interest in the lifestyle of local residents living in floating villages around the lake. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)
Local vendors sell vegetables and fruits on a boat on Tonle Sap Lake, northwest of Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Aug. 19, 2009.(Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)
Local residents live on a floating water dwelling on Tonle Sap Lake, northwest of Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Aug. 19, 2009.(Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)
Foreign tourists take a tour by boat on Tonle Sap Lake, northwest of Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Aug. 19, 2009.(Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)
Local fishmen return home after a day's work by boat on Tonle Sap Lake, northwest of Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Aug. 19, 2009.(Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)
Children play on Tonle Sap Lake, northwest of Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Aug. 19, 2009.(Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)

Dancing Away From Tragedy

Khmer Arts Ensemble dancers Mot Pharan (left) and Sao Phirom in Sophiline Cheam Shapiro's Shir Ha-Shirim. (Photo by Sophiline Cheam Shapiro)

Sophiline Cheam Shapiro '97 was among the first students to re-learn the classical dances of war-ravaged Cambodia. Now, she teaches the almost-lost art form and produces original choreography, which has been staged around the world.

By Angilee Shah
Contributing Writer
UCLA Magazine

After the terrible violence of Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, the joy of dance returned to war-ravaged Cambodia. Sophiline Cheam Shapiro '97 was among the first students to re-learn the country's classical dances. Now, this National Heritage Fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts is teaching the almost-lost art form in the Long Beach studio of her Khmer Arts Academy.

Cheam Shapiro's students are often the children of refugees; she hopes her students find inspiration in the arts the same way she did as a young girl who survived a terrible tragedy. "You can either run [from the past] or come back and help," she says. "I chose dance."

Cheam Shapiro is from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and at 8 years old, in 1975, she was forced to leave the city and work in the fields. It was the time of the Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields of Cambodia. In four years, more than 1 million people — as many as 2.2 million by some estimates — were killed by the genocidal Communist regime. Among them were Cheam Shapiro's father and two brothers.

The Khmer Rouge saw Cambodian classical dance as a symbol of royal power, a backwards spectacle that went against the principles of a cultural revolution. But Cheam Shapiro saw it as resurrection of Cambodian cultural pride. When she returned to Phnom Penh with her mother in 1979, their house had been burnt to the ground. But her uncle, a well-known artist, had survived and begun the work of reviving classical art by creating an artists colony. He told Cheam Shapiro, then a teenager, that she could have a long career if she studied theater arts.

But she loved the slow and intricate movements, the representations of nature and life that infuse Cambodian dance. In 1988, she graduated from the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh (now the Royal University), part of the first class to master the now-rare art form after the Khmer Rouge was removed from power. She joined the university's faculty and performed her unique pieces around the world, including uniquely Cambodian adaptations of such English-language classics as Othello, and choreography that both built upon and challenged traditional forms.

In 1991, Cheam Shapiro moved to California with her husband. But she felt that she had lost her "sense of Cambodian-ness" and started practicing dance at home. She made her own practice costumes, and when she put them on she felt like she was maintaining her identity.

At UCLA, she graduated with a degree in dance ethnology. Since then, her choreography has been seen around the world. In 2002, she opened the Khmer Arts Academy with her husband, and more recently created the Khmer Arts Ensemble in Takhmao, outside of Phnom Penh. The 29-member troupe of dancers and musicians has performed Cheam Shapiro's original choreography in festivals and shows around the world.

"I came from Cambodia and I had nothing with me but dance," Cheam Shapiro explains. Thanks to her, people around the world have it, too.

Sunday, August 23, 2009 Vietnam Successfully Maintains Its Investment Appeal

22/08/2009
Writer: WITTAYA SUPATANAKUL
Bangkok Post

For the past decade, Vietnam has been one of the most attractive countries for investment, with its fast-growing economy, large and inexpensive workforce, abundant resources and raw materials, as well as privileges for investors. Despite drawbacks such as lack of infrastructure, the determined government has managed to lure large investors with generous tax benefits and other incentives.
However, in light of a domestic economic crisis in 2007 and the current global slowdown, many wonder whether Vietnam can still work its magic.
The Pho crisis: The mid-2007 shock, named after the national cuisine, was caused by various factors such as high inflation and the trade deficit, a weak currency and exchange-rate speculation, and rising savings interest rates. Its stock market index fell by 68%, from 1,170 to 370 points, while property prices plummeted by 30-50%.
However, with centralised authority under the one-party system and sound decisions by policymakers, Vietnam bounced back impressively. The exchange rate stabilised and interest rates came down to a reasonable 7% for savings and 10.5% for loans from 18-21% earlier.
Increased import taxes on luxury products, such as cars (from 60% to 83%), cut inflation from 23% to 10.27% in just one year. Although slow, property and stocks have been recovering, with the index rising from 370 points in March 2007 to 458 in July this year.
The Hamburger crisis: Not long after suffering its home-brewed crisis, Vietnam was hit hard by the global economic downturn that originated in the United States. The "Hamburger crisis", however, seems to have caused less damage in Vietnam, even though it derives 70% of its GDP (similar to Thailand) from exports. While the Thai economy contracted by 7.1% in the first quarter, Vietnam's grew by 3.9% and the government targets 5% for the year.
The Hanoi government is working to alleviate the impact of the crisis. While countries such as Thailand and Taiwan are handing out cash and coupons to consumers to spur spending, Vietnam instead exempted personal income tax for the first six months of 2009, which cost it US$382.7 million.
For the business sector, the government offered industrial SMEs a subsidy of 4% on loan interest to buy raw materials and for working capital for 2009, and subsidised loans to build assets will be extended until 2011. It cut corporate income taxes for SMEs to 30%.
Also helping business has been the managed float of the dong. Each day the central bank sets a rate that commercial banks can adjust up or down by 5%. The bank has lowered the rate by 1-5 dong a day, allowing it to direct the rate to some degree. As result, the dong has weakened 6% against the dollar this year, compared with a 2% gain for the baht.
Investment benefits in Vietnam: The Vietnamese market is a large one, with 86 million people in the country and 3.2 overseas Vietnamese who last year sent US$8 billion back to their relatives at home. Its large workforce of 46.5 million is another significant draw. Hard working and fast learning, Vietnamese workers are considered quality human resources at relatively low wages. Depending on the location, the minimum wages can be $53, $60, or $67 for a 48-hour work week, plus 17% of wages paid to the government for social welfare.
Most importantly, it also offers outstanding tax benefits for foreign entrepreneurs. Public and private companies all pay profit tax of 25%, but the businesses with promotional privileges may pay only 10-20% for up to 15 years. In addition, the entrepreneurs may receive full tax exemption for two to four years, starting from the first year of profit, and another 50% exemption for the next four to nine years.
Investments in undeveloped areas may be exempted from land-lease fees for 11 years, while large projects and certain encouraged businesses, including high-tech, health care and education, may directly request special privileges on case by case basis. Some foreign companies, such as Taiwan's Formosa Group and the chipmaker Intel, are receiving a tax exemption of 10 years and a low tax rate of 10% for 50 years.
Vietnam seems to have many drawbacks when compared to Thailand. Its lack of infrastructure and supporting domestic industries can increase costs, while laws are often unclear and unreliable due to frequent changes. Businesses also have trouble finding skilled middle and top managers, and face high land and office lease expenses.
However, even with these disadvantages, Vietnam and its incentives have proven irresistible and have secured some large foreign investments. Formosa, for example, is investing in a US$7.9-billion steel smelting plant in the northern province of Ha Tinh, and plans a petrochemical factory that will be worth US$12.4 billion and create 9,000 jobs.
Prospective investors: In general, investors with large projects or businesses encouraged by the government should seriously consider Vietnam. As Thailand is largely discouraging foreign investment in its property sector and China has stopped attracting more SMEs, investors from these two sectors may also find Vietnam a more welcoming place.
Some businesses in labour-intensive industries, such as textiles and apparel, have already moved their production bases from Thailand to Vietnam to enjoy lower costs, while various Thai products, ranging from Red Bull energy drinks to Tiffy flu medicine, have successfully penetrated the Vietnamese market and seem to have a future there as well.
Vietnamese consumers perceive Thai products as having good quality at affordable prices, so Thai producers should not have trouble finding distributors, although they do need a systematic and continuous marketing plan.For more details, investors should consult the Board of Investment or the Thai Business Association of Vietnam at http://www.tbavietnam.org.
Wittaya Supatanakul is a retired general manager of the Vietnam office of Bangkok Bank Plc, where he spent more than 10 years. He and is currently an adviser to the BoI's CLMV (Cambodia/Laos/Myanmar/Vietnam) projects and an eminent speaker at investment forums regarding Vietnam.

Angkor 333-2010 model is here: Builder claims the car allows users to open its doors telepathically

Cambodian mechanic Nhean Phaloek sits in his self-designed home-made Angkor 333-2010 car at his house in Phnom Penh on August 21, 2009. Phaloek hopes to mass-produce the petrol-powered vehicle to which he has incorporated various peculiar features, including one which he claims allows users to open its doors telepathically. (AFP PHOTO/TANG CHHIN SOTHY)
Cambodian mechanic Nhean Phaloek sits in his self-designed homemade Angkor 333-2010 car at his house in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Phaloek hopes to mass-produce the petrol-powered vehicle to which he has incorporated various peculiar features, including one which he claims allows users to open its doors telepathically. (Tang Chhin Sothy-AFP/Getty Images)

Cambodia & Vietnam: tie that needs our measure and evaluation

We have escaped from civil war but dangerously slip into Vietnam's absorbing hole under their "political economy" strategy. We can say China has helped to block Vietnam's hegemony over Cambodia, but how honesty if China allowed Vietnam to take over Cambodia and China will take all this region later. On the other hand, there are evidences that China has pressured Vietnam about border conflict between them both. So truthfully China oppresses Vietnam, Vietnam oppresses Cambodia.

The strengthening tie Cambodian government and Vietnam has created make us wonder in many aspects. Any tie and corporation are good for mutual understanding and development, but the tie between incumbent Cambodian government and Vietnam has showed us only the self-destruction of Cambodia. The following policies might help us to understand more the above claimed ramification:

• The border demarcation which has been singly helped by Vietnam and their expertise.
  
• The national media and Hun Sen have frequently and publicly claimed the legitimacy of Vietnamese troops presence in January 7, 1979.
  
• Triangle border zone plan between Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao (of course Vietnam) for development. Japan has already funded this project. But who are Cambodian expertise who take in charge of this plan? Is it only Vietnamese who planned and monitored all those projects?
• Cambodian airline that is franchising with Vietnam. Of course, no Cambodian expertise and personnel are working or monitoring this company. On the other hand, why Vietnam? Why not Japan, France and others who can also invest this prestigious national airline? Was it pre-arranged for Vietnamese company since the beginning like the concession of Angkor Wat?
• The listing of Preah Vihea temple to be recognized by UNESCO and the conflict with Thailand...who benefit more, Cambodia or Thailand or Vietnam? ICJ has already recognized Preah Vihea as it is belonged to Cambodia. What is the significance and prudence of listing this temple to UNESCO...Sok An can take the land back from Thailand to Cambodia? Or it is just a policy to forget Vietnam and allow Vietnam to continue take Cambodia land more?
• etc
  

Of course there are many things and many words to describe the self-destruction approaches of incumbent Cambodian government. One of the important hypothesis we make here is that when this county is not governed by the rule of laws, the independent court, and democratic principle. We can clearly reiterate that Cambodia has been moving to self-suicide. Under those policies of Hun Sen illustrate the death of Cambodia in the near future. Vietnam will take over our land easily. We have escaped from civil war but dangerously slip into Vietnam's absorbing hole under their "political economy" strategy. We can say China has helped to block Vietnam's hegemony in Cambodia, but how honesty if China allowed Vietnam to take over Cambodia and China will take all this region later. On the other hand, there are evidences that China has pressured Vietnam about border conflict between them both. So truthfully China oppresses Vietnam, Vietnam oppresses Cambodia.

Lao has already fallen into Vietnam's trap, Cambodia is next if the policies and political environment is like the present day.