Tourists to Siem Reap down 0.6pc in first half

Total tourism declines slightly from 2008 as domestic travellers replace foreigners flocking to visit Angkorian historical sites

Tourists gather at one of the temples outside of Siem Reap. BLOOMBERG

SIEM Reap's tourism department said the overall number of tourists visiting the province dropped slightly in the first six months of this year compared with the same period last year.
The department said the number of local tourists rose 11 percent to 692,000, which almost offset the 13-percent decline in foreign visitors.
Than Chhayvanna, deputy administrator of the provincial tourism department, told the Post that total numbers dipped 0.6 percent to 1.195 million. Around 503,000 were foreign tourists, down from 578,000.
She blamed the decline in part on the global economic crisis.
"The other factor was political unrest in Thailand, but the key issue now is swine flu," Than Chhayvanna said. "However ... local tourists increased a lot, which means that the tourism industry in my province is still good."
Kong Sophearak, director of the Ministry of Tourism's statistics department, said the key to boosting tourism revenue is to emulate China and focus more on domestic tourism.
He said foreign tourists spent US$1.6 billion in 2008, which equates to $118 per foreign tourist per day. The ministry does not calculate revenue from local tourists, he said, but it is certainly substantially lower.
Ho Vandy, co-chairman of the tourism working group, a government-private sector initiative, said the difference in revenue between the two categories explains why boosting local tourist numbers will not solve the problem entirely. But he said the government is trying hard to make Cambodia the most attractive destination in Asia.
"We have a variety of tourism destinations to entice tourists - such as the white sand beaches on the coast, eco-tourism, and soon a new amusement park [on Bokor mountain]," he said.
Minister of Tourism Thong Khon told the Post on Thursday that the government is working to improve services and said one focus is to open new border crossings.
"We are trying to make things more convenient ... which is a key issue," he said. "Also we are looking to get rid of other unnecessary barriers and introduce visa exemptions."
Thong Khon said safety and cutting prices for tourism products remain ongoing priorities.
Statistics from the ministry show that 2.85 million Cambodians travelled as tourists inside the Kingdom in the first five months of this year, up 5.3 percent on the same period in 2008. The total number of Cambodian tourists was 6.7 million for 2008.
About 2.12 million foreign nationals visited the Kingdom last year, with the number of foreign visitors down 2.2 percent in the first five months to 946,000.

Blasts may be start of campaign: experts

Deadly blasts that rocked two Jakarta hotels on Friday could be the start of a continued bombing campaign in Indonesia, experts say.

Two Australians - Perth businessman Nathan Verity, 38, and senior trade official Craig Senger - are believed to be among those killed in the explosions at the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he has grave concerns for three Australians.

Carl Ungerer, national security project director for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said Indonesia's most wanted terrorist, Noordin Mohammed Top, or people acting for him, were likely to be behind the bombings.

"The threat from a continuing campaign of bombing remains high, particularly in Indonesia and as new recruits join the organisation," he told ABC Television.

"As they gravitate towards this very hardline view, this splinter group, then I do think we can expect to continue to see this sort of thing."

International Crisis Group senior adviser Sidney Jones said the bombings were likely to have involved 10 to 15 perpetrators.

"This is the most sophisticated (bombing) that we have seen in a long time, I think, both in terms of coordination and the targeting," she told ABC Television.

Indonesian Police Chief Bambang Hendaro Danuri told reporters in Jakarta the heads of two suicide bombers had been recovered.

He said police were still working to identify the bombers and the victims.

Jakarta hotel bombs kill at least eight

Several people died and many injured in hotel blasts in Jakarta, Indonesia's security minister says. (July 17, 2009, 8:54 pm)

High-explosive bombs tore through two luxury hotels in Jakarta on Friday, killing at least eight people including foreigners as terrorism returned to the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Australian trade official Craig Senger and Perth businessman Nathan Verity were believed to be among the victims of the deadly bomb blasts.

Geoff Lazarus told AAP Mr Senger, his nephew, was almost certainly among the dead.

Nathan Verity was a human resources and recruitment manager based in Indonesia.

Jim Truscott, a personal friend, said Mr Verity lived in Perth with his wife Vanessa and five-year-old son but ran his business out of Jakarta.

A New Zealander among the victims was identified by his employer as Timothy David Mackay, 62, who worked for cement products manufacturer PT Holcim Indonesia. He was reportedly attending a business meeting at the Marriott Hotel when the explosions occurred.

Officials said at least 41 other people were injured when two breakfast-time blasts shook the Indonesian capital's Ritz-Carlton hotel and the nearby JW Marriott, leaving terrified people bloodied from flying glass and debris.

The suspected suicide bomber at the Marriott hotel had disguised himself as a guest of the hotel, killing at least seven people, senior police said on Friday.

Video from a security camera at Jakarta's Ritz-Carlton hotel shows a man wearing a backpack on his chest and carrying a suitcase entering the restaurant moments before a bomb exploded.

The closed-circuit television footage, aired on local TV One station, shows the man wearing a suit and baseball cap walking awkwardly into the restaurant before the blast.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, confronting Indonesia's bloodiest attacks since 2005 barely a fortnight after he won re-election, denounced the attacks as an "act of terrorism".

"This undermines the security situation in the country," a grim-looking Yudhoyono, whose crackdown on the extremist Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) appeared to have quelled the terrorism threat, said at a televised press conference.

He said the attackers "have no humanity and they don't care about the damage done to our country with this act of terrorism, which will have wide effects on our economy, trade, tourism and image in the eyes of the world".

Manchester United were due to stay at the Ritz-Carlton next week as part of an Asian tour but they cancelled the trip, denying a sell-out crowd of 100,000 the chance to see the English football giants play an Indonesia XI on Monday.

The Marriott was hit in 2003 by a blast that killed 12 people, and Friday's carnage bore the hallmark of past attacks blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked JI both in Jakarta and the tourism hotspot of Bali.

"These were high-explosive bombs," Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto told reporters at the scene, where the broad streets were littered with glass and smears of blood.

National police spokesman Nanan Soekarna confirmed at least eight people were killed and more than 40 were injured, including 14 foreigners, when the blasts struck around 8am (1100 AEST).

"I was walking outside and I saw three injured people taken to the ambulance," shop assistant Syarif, 32, said.

"They were all foreigners, their faces and bodies all covered in blood. The skin near the eye of one of them was peeling off," he said.

Despite security measures in place at Jakarta's top hotels, including vehicle searches and metal detectors, police said one blast hit the basement of the Marriott and a second struck the restaurant of the Ritz-Carlton.

An unexploded bomb was later found and defused by police in a room of the Marriott, presidential adviser Djali Yusuf said.

At least two Australians, a South Korean man and a Japanese national were listed among the foreigners who were injured.

"Any terrorist attack is an act of cowardice. It is an act of murder," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said. "It is a barbaric act that violates the fundamental principles of human decency."

Condemnation also poured in from Indonesia's neighbours in Southeast Asia, where JI is accused of a spread of attacks in its bloodthirsty ambition to create a pan-Islamic state.

The European Union condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the Indonesian government.

"The presidency of the European Union condemns today's bomb attacks in Jakarta that have killed and injured so many innocent people," said a statement from Sweden, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

"The European Union conveys its deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the victims of these brutal acts.

In Paris, the French government said it condemned the double attack "in the strongest terms" and offered the victims families and the Indonesian government its support and solidarity.

"France stands by the side of Indonesia, a major partner for our country in Asia, in its courageous fight against terrorism," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: "We condemn these senseless acts of violence and stand ready to provide assistance if the Indonesian government requests us to do so."

The State Department was working "to help American citizens injured in the blasts" in the Indonesian capital, Clinton said in a statement issued from Prague as her plane stopped for refuelling en route to India.

The hotel blasts were the first major attacks in Indonesia since a series of suicide bombings on Bali in 2005 which killed 20 and which were blamed on JI.

The group was accused in 2002 for attacks on bars and nightclubs packed with Western tourists in Bali that killed more than 200. It was also blamed for an attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta in 2004 which left 10 dead.

The Indonesian authorities have arrested many of JI's top leadership and key leader Hambali is being detained at the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. But other key leaders remain at large.

Three JI members were executed in November last year for their role in the 2002 bombings in Bali, and analysts warned at the time there could be reprisal attacks.

Group 78 evicted

Friday, 17 July 2009 14:04 May Thittara and Christopher Shay

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Oun Sos, 60, gathers all her belonging in Phnom Penh’s Group 78 community on Friday. In the early morning, armed security forces and demolition teams evicted the families that had chosen to remain despite eviction threats.

AT dawn on Friday, police in riot gear, military officers and truckloads of demolition workers entered Group 78, an inner-city Phnom Penh community that once held more than 80 families. Despite eviction threats, four families remained in their homes, hoping for better a deal.
Upon entering the community, the scores of red-shirted workers started tearing down the community's homes, and by midday the community had been razed, marking the end of the inner-city community that residents say is over 25 years old.
"They came and evicted us today without violence, because they already threatened us with their words," resident Hem Many, 29, said. "It shows that this country does not respect law; they respect the power."
Though there was no physical violence during the eviction, residents say the government's previous verbal threats combined with Friday's show of armed force intimidated the residents into leaving their homes and prevented fair, last-minute negotiations from taking place.
Resident Suong Sarin said that no one in the community wanted to accept any of the government compensation packages, but that people felt they had no choice.
"Nobody here volunteered to get compensation, but we had to agree with the government. Accepting the government money is better than if they demolish our houses and we have empty hands," he said.
In the morning, the six families who had previously refused to accept government compensation met with Mann Chhoeun, the Phnom Penh deputy governor, and discussed compensation packages. While their community was being dismantled, the families agreed to accept government money, though one family told the Post the government tricked them into leaving their home.
Three families, according to Group 78 representative Kheng Soroth, will receive US$20,000, while two families agreed to accept $9,000.

Photo by: Christopher Shay

A woman piles up the wooden planks that used to make up her house in Group 78, a community in central Phnom Penh that was forcibly evicted on Friday morning.

But Kheng Soroth said he will refuse the $8,000 being offered to him, because Mann Chhoeun reneged on his agreement. Kheng Soroth said the Deputy Governor promised his family $20,000, but after their homes were demolished, he was told he would get only $8,000.
Mann Chhoeun, however, claimed all Group 78 residents had agreed to let the government tear their houses down.
"Today, we evicted people without violence, because all the residents agree to have their houses torn down," he said, adding that City Hall will give families clothes, books and food as gifts.
But Mann Chhoeun's promises of presents did not placate all Group 78 residents.
Hem Many said that if she could, she would get back at Municipal officials responsible for the destruction of her home.
"In the future, if I become rich or a high-ranking officer, I will demolish the former high-ranking officers' houses so they will know how it feels when they meet that situation."
During Friday's eviction, six embassies and five international organisations including the United Nations and the World Bank released a joint statement calling for a moratorium on land evictions until a better mechanism for resolving land dispute is put in place.
The statement does not mention Group 78 specifically nor does it call any of Phnom Penh's previous the land evictions illegal, but it says Cambodia's policies and practices "do not make effective use of the procedures and institutions allowed for in Cambodian law."
The group's choice to release the statement right as the community's houses were being knocked down and its refusal to condemn the Cambodian government in harsher terms came under criticism from civil society groups.
Dan Nicholson, a coordinator at Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), said that the statement was "completely irrelevant" for Group 78, and David Pred, the director of Bridges Across Borders, said that though it is significant that major donors "have publicly acknowledged that the current systems of dispute resolution ... are not fair and transparent ... their words will ring hollow ... unless they are backed up by real consequences."
A coordinator for the Community Legal Education Centre, Man Vuthy, said that the evictions were clearly in violation of Cambodian law.
Many of the families should have received land titles since they have been living on the land for five years prior to the 2001 Land Law, and that they should receive "fair and just compensation in advance" if the government can prove their evictions are for the public interest.
"The government should pay before they smash their houses," he said as the Group78 homes were being demolished around him.

Anti-Thai protests blocked

Thursday, 16 July 2009 14:03 meas sokchea

City Hall halts demonstration marking one-year anniversary of Thai troops' border incursion near Preah Vihear temple.

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan (left) and union leader Rong Chhun (right) speak at separate press events Wednesday.

MUNICIPAL authorities prevented about 150 members of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU) from holding a demonstration in front of the old National Assembly building on Wednesday to mark the one-year anniversary of Thai troops crossing the border near Preah Vihear temple, CCU members said.
Instead, CCU leaders held a press conference at their office, during which they aired their grievances about the Thai government's handling of the Preah Vihear issue as well as the Cambodian government's decision to halt their demonstration plans.
"We express today as a day against Siam's invasion of our Cambodia," CCU President Rong Chhun said during the press conference, adding that the group's attempt to mark the anniversary would have been a show of nationalism that would have encouraged the Thai government to acknowledge the 1962 World Court ruling that stated that Preah Vihear temple belonged to Cambodia.
Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union, said his entire group became frustrated when it was barred from demonstrating in front of the old National Assembly building.
"This is not an issue that belongs to an individual. This is a national issue," he said.
City Hall on Wednesday sent a letter, signed by Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema, to the CCU informing it that its plans to stage a public protest against Thailand's military actions along the border near Preah Vihear temple had not been approved.
The letter did not offer any explanation as to why the protest would not be permitted.
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Thursday that the government did not want the demonstrators to wreak havoc on traffic in the capital, adding that the intention was not for the government to prevent members of the CCU from expressing their opinions.
"I just don't want them protesting in roads because it is not civilised," he said.
At a separate press conference Wednesday, Phay Siphan said that Cambodia had enough troops to defend itself should Thailand decide to enter Cambodian territory, though he said the military's policy was to avoid using force unless it was deemed absolutely necessary.
Phay Siphan said the international community supported Cambodia in the Preah Vihear dispute, which has erupted in violence several times since UNESCO approved Cambodia's application to list the temple as a World Heritage site last July.
He said some of Thailand's actions with regard to the temple were attempts to stoke nationalist fervor within Thailand.
"If Thailand continues to use the issue ... for political reasons ... then it will lose support from the international community," he said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VONG SOKHENG

Total awarded energy concession, says govt

Wednesday, 15 July 2009 14:02 Kay Kimsong

Announcement during Hun Sen’s official government visit follows years of negotiations with French oil company

Prime Minister Hun Sen (left) shakes hands Monday with French Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner at the Quai d’Orsay in Paris. AFP

CAMBODIA has awarded French oil giant Total the rights to a contested drilling area in the Gulf of Thailand.
The announcement was contained in a press release dated July 14 - Bastille Day - from Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cabinet during his official visit to France.
The statement was confirmed to the Post by Prak Sokhon, secretary of state for the Council of Ministers, who is in France with Hun Sen.
Both Thailand and Cambodia claim a 27,000 square kilometre swath of the seabed, which is thought to be rich in oil and gas deposits.
The area in the press statement that has been awarded to Total is referred to as Block III.
In the statement, Hun Sen said the decision to award the concession was made after proper overview of bidding documents, adding that he welcomed the presence of any French companies wishing to invest in Cambodia, a former French colony.
The news was a surprise to Total's leading upstream executive in Cambodia, Jean-Pierre Labbe.
Last week he told the Post that Total had been negotiating with Phnom Penh for several years and in 2008 submitted an official request for concessions.
Contacted by phone on Tuesday, Labbe said he had not heard an official response from the government on the bid.
"I don't know. We knew the Cambodian Prime Minister [Hun Sen] is visiting France, but we have no feedback from Paris," he said.
A source at the Council of Ministers, who asked not to be named, said it was likely that Total's bid had come up in discussions in Paris, but was unable to provide detailed information and referred all questions to the prime minister's Cabinet.
Hun Sen is accompanied on his trip by Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.
The director general of the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority (CNPA), Te Duong Tara, hung up when called about the issue, saying he was too busy to comment.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner reportedly welcomed the announcement.
Multiple concessions
Stephane Dion, managing director of Total Cambodge, told the Post during an interview last week that the firm was in ongoing discussions with Phnom Penh on offshore and onshore concessions for oil and gas exploration.
"[There are] at two different projects that we are interested in," he said at the time.
Minister Hun Sen left on Thursday for a five-day visit to France at the invitation of President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The trip was aimed at boosting ties between the two countries. "This visit is to strengthen cooperation between Cambodia and France," said Koy Kuong, a spokesman for Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STEVE FINCH

The wife of Cambodia's dictator visits the birthplace of Human Rights ... Vive la NO-Liberty in Cambodia?

From left, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur, French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's wife, Bun Rany, attend the Bastille Day military parade, in Paris, Tuesday, July 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Philippe Wojazer, Pool)

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's wife, Bun Rany, center, salutes French President Nicolas Sarkozy, right, as Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, left, looks on, as Nicolas Sarkozy arrives to the presidential tribune to attend the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris, Tuesday July 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
From left, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's wife, Jeannine de Hoop Scheffer, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 's wife Gursharan Kaur, French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's wife, Bun Rany, applaud as they attend the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris, Tuesday July 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (L) and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's wife Bun Rany Hun Sen, react to a parachute display as they attend the Bastille day parade in Paris July 14, 2009. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
From left, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's wife, Jeannine de Hoop Scheffer, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 's wife Gursharan Kaur, French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's wife, Bun Rany, attend the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris, Tuesday July 14, 2009.

(L-R) Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's wife Bun Rany Hun Sen, France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur (partly hidden) and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's wife Jeannine de Hoop Scheffer react to a parachute display as they attend the Bastille day parade in Paris July 14, 2009. REUTERS/Mal Langsdon

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy speaks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's wife Bun Rany Hun Sen on the Place de la Concorde in Paris as they attend the Bastille day parade, July 14, 2009. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

Court upholds eviction date

Court of Appeal rejects Group 78’s request to prevent the forced relocation of residents slated for Friday, setting the stage for potential confrontation

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Group 78 residents pray to Buddha as they await a ruling Monday from the Court of Appeal.

THE Phnom Penh Court of Appeal on Monday upheld a Friday eviction deadline for the embattled Group 78 community.
After the hearing, Group 78 representatives attacked the eviction letter issued by Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema, describing it as a gross violation of Cambodian law.
"It is an injustice," said community representative Lim Sambo. "We have evidence that shows why we want to stop the court warrant."
Representatives claim that Group 78 community members have lived on the plot since the 1980s and should be recognised as owners under the Land Law. As owners, they would be entitled to "fair and just compensation".
The lawyer for Group 78, Sourng Sophea, who works at the Community Legal Education Centre (CLEC), said the residents still had legal options to prevent the demolition of their homes.
"Residents can still file another suit with the Municipal Court. This is not the final result yet," he said.
Lim Sambo vowed to file suit against City Hall again.
"I don't care if they upheld our case. I will sue again," he said. "I am not afraid of eviction day ... because I respect the law."
According to municipal officials, there are 86 families in Group 78, only 20 of which have agreed to the government's compensation terms, setting the stage for potential conflict on Friday.
Residents of Group 78 said they believed the government was even resorting to trickery to convince families to leave their homes.
Kim Houn, a Group 78 resident, said a man pretending to be a local newspaper reporter tried to force her to accept one of the compensation plans presented by City Hall.
"A man called me and said that he was from the local newspaper," she said. "He claimed to have news from City Hall that the government would not give anything to residents if they had to use administrative measures."
She added: "They should not claim to be journalists. I know they are not journalists. They just threatened us. Journalists never threaten people."
'A duty to develop'
Mann Chhoeun, deputy governor of Phnom Penh, said the "situation is similar to people in Dey Krahorm", referring to another Phnom Penh community that was relocated in a violent eviction that left 18 injured.
"They have been over deadline since April. I am not Pol Pot, but this country has laws," Mann Chhoeun said. "When we evict people it does not mean that we do not care about them ... but the government has a duty to develop the country."
Resident Lim Liken said he hoped police would allow him to at least take his family's belongings with him if he is forced out of his home.
"If they come and apply their 'administrative measures' on us, I just ask them to allow me to take my property, because we have no guns or gunpowder like the authorities. We have only our hands," he said.
According to a document obtained by the Post, the government is offering Group 78 a choice of four compensation packages: US$5,000 with a 5-by-12-metre plot of land in Trapaing Anhchanh village in Dangkor district; $1,000, the plot in Dangkor district and a flat; an apartment in Borey Sensok with running water; or $8,000 with no land or shelter.

Officials meet in Siem Reap for golf and informal talks

Cambodian soldiers walk down the mountain near the Preah Vihear temple complex last week. Cambodian military officers said Sunday that Thailand had brought in reinforcements to the border area. (Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON)
Thai Captain Manus Sripitak (second from left) meets with Cambodian officials at Sambok Khmum last week. Officials from the two countries also met informally in Siem Reap last Thursday.Along the border, Cambodian military officers said Sunday that the Thai army had brought in reinforcements to the border area. (Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON)

Monday, 13 July 2009
Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

Meeting between Thai, Cambodian military brass seeks to further dialogue between front-line commanders, defence official says.
HIGH-ranking Cambodian and Thai authorities held an informal meeting Thursday in Siem Reap to encourage their regional commanders to set up additional meetings in an effort to reduce tension along the border near Preah Vihear temple, a defence official said.
Chhum Sucheat, the spokesman and undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Defence, told the Post Sunday that ministry officials hoped the meeting would push the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) commander of region 4 and the Thai commander of region 2 to meet more regularly.
"We are optimistic from the meeting that the result will be more dialogue between Cambodian and Thai commanders, which will help reduce tensions in order to avoid armed confrontation," he said.
Neang Phat, a secretary of state at the Defence Ministry, and advisers to General Anupong Paochinda, commander-in-chief of the Thai army, participated in the meeting, said Chhum Sucheat, who added that after the meeting the Cambodian and Thai delegation played golf together.

"It is normal for both Cambodia and Thailand to reinforce troops at the border."

Chhum Sucheat said the next meeting between the Thai and Cambodian defence ministries would be an annual meeting to discuss border issues, which will be held in Bangkok between July 21 and July 23.
Yim Phim, commander of Brigade 8, said Sunday that Thailand brought tanks, artillery and infantry to the border.
"So far, nothing has occurred, and the armies at the front lines remain on alert," Yim Phim said.
Chhum Socheat would neither confirm nor deny reports of troop reinforcements but downplayed their significance.
"It is normal for both Cambodia and Thailand to reinforce troops at the border ... therefore both sides now want to try to hold more meetings between regional commanders," Sucheat said. "We will try to set up more meetings in line with the recommendation of Prime Minister Hun Sen."
Cambodia and Thailand have long disagreed about the ownership of the area near Preah Vihear temple, and the dispute turned violent after UNESCO granted the 11th-century temple World Heritage site status last July.
Periodic gunbattles, the last one in April, have killed seven soldiers since then.
Although in 1962 the World Court ruled that the temple was in Cambodian territory, recently Thailand said it would seek joint listing of the temple, further raising tensions on the border.
The area near the temple has never been officially demarcated, in part because the border is still littered with land mines.

Hun Sen's rule by order: "Spoiled youngsters" [most of whom are sons on high-ranking CPP officials] had to be dealt with Hun Sen's personal order

'Spoiled youngsters' become govt target

Monday, 13 July 2009
Khuon Leakhana
The Phnom Penh Post

Officials say new disciplinary measures will help address the problem of juvenile delinquency.

FOLLOWING a directive issued last month by Prime Minister Hun Sen, the government has launched a crackdown on juvenile delinquency that will target "spoiled youngsters" in a bid to maintain social order, an Interior Ministry official said Sunday.

According to a list of disciplinary measures to be posted in towns across the country, young people will be more closely monitored and could face more serious charges if caught engaging in crimes.

"We have just begun to gradually implement the disciplinary measures after the prime minister called for action against spoiled youngsters,"

Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak told the Post Sunday, referring to a directive on June 24 ordering ministries and law enforcement officials to crack down on "gangster activity".

'Big brothers' disciplined
"We see that nowadays young people's acts are sometimes entangled with crime and the destruction of culture and tradition," Khieu Sopheak said.

"If we do not have any measures to cope with [young people], our society will definitely become chaotic, and children of the next generation will imitate such a lack of discipline."

Khieu Sopheak said most of the young people that the ministry has picked up so far were "big brothers" associated with criminal gangs.

"In the past, we have gathered thousands of young people who were acting immorally and causing trouble to society. Having gone through rehabilitation, some young people are sent back to their parents.... However, in some serious cases, they are sent to the court," he said.

The new disciplinary measures are being tested in pilot programmes in the country's more densely populated areas, though Khieu Sopheak said it would likely be taken to small villages.

"We thought delinquency only happened in the cities, but now this culture of immorality has become widespread."

Him Yun, vice president of the Khmer Youth Association, told the Post Sunday that he welcomed measures to control delinquency, but he warned authorities not to use the directive as a front for their own bullying.

"While we approve measures to cope with problematic youngsters, local authorities should implement measures effectively," Him Yun said.

Cambodia accuses Thailand of sending tanks and heavy artillery

13 July 2009
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Following the Thai accusation alleging that Cambodia sent tanks and troops to the border near Preah Vihear temple, it is now the turn of Cambodia to accuse Thailand of sending tanks and heavy artillery, as well as troops to the border. According to the Phnom Penh Post, General Yim Pim, the commander at RCAF unit 8, indicated on Sunday that Thailand sent in tanks, heavy artillery and troops to the border zone to confront Cambodian troops. Yim Pim said that, even though Thailand added tanks, heavy artillery and troops, nothing has happened yet, as of now. He said that troops from both countries are still on high alert. Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the ministry of National Defense, did not deny or confirm about this report on Thai troops, he said that it is normal for both countries to strengthen their troops along the border.

Officials announce further delay on cluster bomb ban

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON

A cluster munition is shown at an ordnance disposal facility in Kampong Chhnang.

GOVERNMENT officials said Cambodia will fulfill its promise to sign an international treaty banning cluster bombs, but that they may need more time to consider its impact on the country's defence capabilities.
Prak Sokhon, secretary of state at the Council of Ministers, said Tuesday that due to the current border tensions with Thailand, the country had to delay signing.
"This does not mean that Cambodia has turned away from its promise," he told local and international participants during a conference on the government's national mine clearance strategy Tuesday.
"We still sign on to this treaty ... even though our two big neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam, have refused to sign [it]."
He added that the Ministry of Defence had requested more time to determine how many cluster bombs the army possesses and how long it will take to replenish its defence capabilities after stockpiled bombs are destroyed.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions, signed in Oslo, Norway, in December, requires signatories to cease their use of cluster munitions, and not to "develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer [them] to anyone, directly or indirectly". It also obliges nations to destroy stockpiles within eight years.
But officials say it is unclear how long the Ministry of Defence will take to complete its study into the army's cluster bomb stockpiles.
Oum Phumro, deputy director general of the Cambodian Mines Action Centre, estimated that it could take "this year or until the middle of next year" to prepare the study, but did not elaborate further.
Leng Sochea, deputy secretary general at the Cambodian Mine Action Authority, also declined to put a timeframe on the signing of the treaty, but denied the border conflict with Thailand was behind the delay.
"The tensions between Cambodia and Thailand have not affected the signing of the Cluster Munitions Convention ... because the tensions are only at Preah Vihear," he said.
Defence Ministry spokesman Chhum Sucheat said Wednesday that the ministry was currently studying the likely impact of the convention, and "needed time" to consider the issue.

fence capabilities.
Prak Sokhon, secretary of state at the Council of Ministers, said Tuesday that due to the current border tensions with Thailand, the country had to delay signing.
"This does not mean that Cambodia has turned away from its promise," he told local and international participants during a conference on the government's national mine clearance strategy Tuesday.
"We still sign on to this treaty ... even though our two big neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam, have refused to sign [it]."
He added that the Ministry of Defence had requested more time to determine how many cluster bombs the army possesses and how long it will take to replenish its defence capabilities after stockpiled bombs are destroyed.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions, signed in Oslo, Norway, in December, requires signatories to cease their use of cluster munitions, and not to "develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer [them] to anyone, directly or indirectly". It also obliges nations to destroy stockpiles within eight years.
But officials say it is unclear how long the Ministry of Defence will take to complete its study into the army's cluster bomb stockpiles.
Oum Phumro, deputy director general of the Cambodian Mines Action Centre, estimated that it could take "this year or until the middle of next year" to prepare the study, but did not elaborate further.
Leng Sochea, deputy secretary general at the Cambodian Mine Action Authority, also declined to put a timeframe on the signing of the treaty, but denied the border conflict with Thailand was behind the delay.
"The tensions between Cambodia and Thailand have not affected the signing of the Cluster Munitions Convention ... because the tensions are only at Preah Vihear," he said.
Defence Ministry spokesman Chhum Sucheat said Wednesday that the ministry was currently studying the likely impact of the convention, and "needed time" to consider the issue.

Seng Theary removed from her position by court order: Another govt critics hit by Hun Sen’s kangaroo court?

Seng Theary (L) and Vi Houi (R)

Uploaded by CambodgeSoir. - News videos hot off the press.

CSD: the prosecutor installs Vi Houi
09 July 2009
By F.C.
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French

Seng Theary, Director of the Center for Social Development (CSD), was removed from her position on Thursday 09 July based on a decision handed down by the Phnom Penh municipal court.
The news was known since the verdict was handed down by the court at 2:30PM the day before. Vi Houi, the former CSD director should “temporarily” replace Seng Theary at the head of the organization. This is the outcome of a conflict which opposes the two leaders for more than one year.
Several CSD officials and reporters were present in front of the organization headquarters in Phnom Penh when the court prosecutor arrived to confirm the news and read the verdict. He also listened to the criticisms raised by Seng Theary’s defenders who noted that she is currently absent from Cambodia, as she is on a trip overseas. CSD officials also indicated that a large number of the organization personnel are currently completing their duties in the provinces, and they could not be present to listen to the verdict. The officials also raised the issue of the CSD image being affected by the case, as well as the difficulties CSD is encountering in the provinces where it is accomplishing its work. [DAP news also reported that lawyer Ang Uddom and several CSD personnel claimed that Vi Houi does not have the ability to lead CSD, unlike Seng Theary].
Following long discussions, the various parties present signed the document recognizing the court decision and Vi Houi was declared the CSD president. The latter immediately proceeded to ask that Seng Theary’s belonging be removed from her office so that he can settle in.
Seng Theary was nominated as CSD president at the beginning of 2008 to replace Vi Houi. She also nominated a new board of directors while the old one still proclaim their legitimacy. Since then, the two “teams” never stop criticizing each other, and in the absence of an amicable resolution, the case was brought to the court.

National Assembly in Thailand foiling demining efforts: officials

Thursday, 09 July 2009 14:03 SAM RITH

Cambodian government says it needs Thai approval to demine border.

Photo by: Tracey Shelton

RCAF soldiers conduct demining operations on the roadside near Preah Vihear temple on Monday.

CAMBODIA is unable to demine the border with Thailand because a key bilateral agreement has yet to be approved by the Thai National Assembly, and not because the Cambodian government wants the mines to stay, Cambodian officials said at a conference on Tuesday.
"Cambodia, as a signatory country to the Ottawa Treaty, respects its regulations and fulfills its obligations ... to clear mines without reluctance,"
Prak Sokhon, secretary of state at the Council of Ministers, told an audience of international demining experts at the end of a two-day conference on Cambodia's mine clearance strategy on Tuesday.
"Mine clearing along the border will be permitted after there is a [demarcation] agreement," he said.
Var Kimhong, Cambodia's top border negotiator, told the Post Wednesday that the agreement made last April to demine from Choam Srangam to Ta Moan temple in Oddar Meanchey province has not been implemented, but that the fault lies with the Thai government.
"We have not yet implemented [the agreement] ... because [the Thai Commission on the Demarcation of the Border is] waiting for approval from their National Assembly," he said.
To clear the remaining mines in Cambodia, the government is preparing their National Mine Action Strategy for the next 10 years, a final draft of which is to be finished in September and approved by the government in December, said Chum Bunrong, secretary general of the Cambodian Mine Action Authority (CMAA).

Mayarith left RFA to join Soy Sopheap's pro-CPP Deum Ampil Radio

High-profile former RFA reporter accepted to work for Deum Ampil Radio
Source: Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization

Mr. Mayarith, a former Radio Free Asia's (RFA) reporter has accepted Mr. Soy Sopheap's offer to work for his upcoming Deum Ampil Radio, a few hours after the offer was made on the 5th of July.
Mr. Mayarithh unexpectedly resigned from Radio Free Asia on 2nd of July after serving RFA for more than a decade.
Mr. Soy Sopheap, publisher of Deum Ampil newspaper and the owner of upcoming Deum Ampil Radio, said he will offer the role of Director of Deum Ampil Radio to Mr. Mayarith.
Mr. Soy Sopheap said his radio will be professional, neutral and unbiased toward any political party. The Radio will deliver fast news to the listeners.

Cambodia marks anniversary of temple's world heritage listing

Comment: Thinking outside the box, we absolutely agree that Preah Vihear must belong to Cambodia, Cambodia territory land has to be protected, Cambodian people have to celebrate any meaningful successes regarding pride and heritage of Cambodian nation. But thinking inside the box would offer us different taste. In reality, Preah Vihear will be officially listed by UNESCO or not, this ancient ruin is legally belonging to Cambodia. The decision of the World Court ruled in 1962 legally and internationally claimed the legal ownership of Cambodia over Preah Vihear temple. This is one of the prolific legacies of King Norodom Sihanouk. But what value and pride in this time for Cambodians to celebrate Preah Vihear again with this government's event organizing to diffuse such a doubtful nationalism? Is it just a plan designed by Sok An or CPP government to mobilize nationalism for the benefit of CPP? It is truly showing us that this time, nationalism has been tremendously influenced by the coverage of biased mass media and sponsored by the government. In reality, we don't know much on whow are relevant plans and mechanisms that government has taken steps to handle with the scheme of Preah Vihear temple? More than this, this Preah Vihear scheme has made Cambodian people forget all the controversial border issues with Vietnam. Cambodian people who are living along the border with Vietnam have complained a lot about their farms and lands have been gradually encroached by Vietnam, but TV channels or radios dare not cover about those complains. Local authority has always used their accuses to close those complains. This time is like a popular Khmer proverb says "while Thailand is crazily trying to take the stone from Cambodia, Vietnam is happily taking Cambodia land and enforcing its hegemonic authority over Cambodia". In term of stone, Angkor Wat is controlled by Vietnamese company and guarded by Vietnamese policemen. In term of land, Vietnamese people are allowing to resettle and plant their houses in every spot of Cambodian soil.

Op-ed: Cambodian Bright Future

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodians on Tuesday noisily celebrated the first anniversary of the UN's world heritage listing of an ancient temple which has stoked nationalist tensions with neighbouring Thailand.
Posters of the 11th century Preah Vihear temple were plastered in pagodas, schools and prominent locations around the capital Phnom Penh while celebrators screamed, "Long Live Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site!"

"As Cambodian people, we are very proud of Preah Vihear temple. We must celebrate this day, it is historic for us," Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema said after a traditional dance ceremony at a pagoda in front of 1,000 people.

Waving colourful Cambodian flags, Buddhist monks, nuns, students and teachers gathered at pagodas and schools nationwide and promptly beat drums and rang bells at 11:00 am (0400 GMT) to herald the listing, officials said.

"I am very happy and proud of Preah Vihear temple. The temple belongs to Cambodia. Thailand has no right to claim it," said student Hang Dalune as at another event as hundreds of people sang and danced to nationalist songs, waving Cambodian flags.

Soldiers, villagers, monks and officials at Preah Vihear also celebrated the listing despite a standoff nearby between Cambodian and Thai troops, Cambodian commanders said.

The neighbouring countries have been at loggerheads over the land around the Preah Vihear temple for decades, but tensions spilled over into violence last July when the temple was granted UN World Heritage status.

Although the World Court ruled in 1962 that it belonged to Cambodia, the most accessible entrance to the ancient Khmer temple with its crumbling stone staircases and elegant carvings is from northeastern Thailand.

Thousands of people were also expected to gather in Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium Tuesday evening for an anniversary ceremony complete with a fireworks display, official speeches and patriotic songs.

Relations between Thailand and Cambodia worsened last month when Bangkok announced it would ask UNESCO to reconsider its decision to list Preah Vihear as a world heritage site, as the surrounding land is still in dispute.

Old News: Chea Xim's wife left to join Uncle Ho before him

 

Nhem Soeun, Chea Xim's wife

Chea Sim's wife dies
Friday, 3 July 2009
Source: Deum Ampil newspaper
Translsted from Khmer by Khmerization

The wife of the Cambodian Senate president has passed away on the morning of Friday, 3rd July 2009, reports Deum Ampil.
Madame Nhem Soeun (pictured), wife of Mr. Chea Sim (pictured), president of the Senate and president of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, died at her home in Phnom Penh.
According to Deum Ampil, Madame Nhem Soeun passed away peacefully at 3 o'clock on the early morning of Friday at the old age of 71.
According to Khmer Sthapana newspaper, Prime Minister Hun Sen has on 4th July ordered all government and public buildings to fly the national flag at half-mast as a sign of respect. Madame Nhem Soeun's body will be cremated on Monday 6th July at Wat Botum Vadey pagoda in Phnom Penh.

ECCC judges suppress filings: Ieng Sary team

Monday, 06 July 2009 14:02 georgia wilkins

Lawyers say judges have 'barred' the defence from filing on controversial conspiracy doctrine.
DEFENCE laywers for Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary have accused judges at Cambodia's war crimes court of barring defence teams from filing on a controversial conspiracy doctrine under which leaders could be charged with crimes they didn't directly commit.
According to lawyers Michael Karnavas and Ang Udom, the Trial Chamber on Friday denied a request by the lawyers to make submissions on Joint Criminal Enterprise (JCE), a legal doctrine that can be used to convict a defendant of crimes committed by other people in furtherance of a common plan or purpose.
"The result of the trial chamber's decision is that a fundamental legal issue facing the [court] will be decided with the majority of defence teams barred from participating," stated a press release posted to the team's Web site Saturday.
"Needless to say, we, the co-lawyers representing Mr Ieng Sary before the ECCC, are extremely disappointed with this decision."
Last month, co-prosecutors filed a request for the application of the doctrine in the case of former Tuol Sleng chief Kaing Guek Eav, who is currently being tried at the court.
Attached to the request were two filings that prosecutors previously submitted in response to the Ieng Sary team's motion against JCE, an act lawyers on Saturday called an attempt to "sneak JCE into case file 002 through the back door".
Karnavas said Sunday that the decision to block the filing "lack[ed] any legal analysis".
UN court spokesman Lars Olsen said, "As a matter of principle, the court doesn't engage in any polemic debate about the decisions that have been issued."

Pride party for Preah Vihear

Monday, 06 July 2009 14:02 mom kunthear

With banners in every school and flags at every ministry, Cambodia prepares itself for the one-year anniversary of the temple's World Heritage designation.

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

A Cintri worker sweeps in front of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, which has recently been adorned with flags.

WHEN Prime Minister Hun Sen proclaimed on June 25 that Cambodia would celebrate the one-year anniversary of Preah Vihear temple's World Heritage listing on Tuesday, he sent the country into a flurry of activity.
Following Hun Sen's lead, Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema said in a meeting last week at City Hall that every ministry, company, school, hospital, pagoda and church should raise a Cambodian flag. In addition, he said people should ring bells at 11pm on July 7.
"We are doing this to make the Cambodian people proud of our nation and to encourage all soldiers who are protecting our country at the border," he said.
Kep Chuktema added that Cambodians should be happy about the anniversary despite lingering border tensions with Thailand.

---

We are doing this to make the cambodian people proud of our nation.

---

Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun said the government would put up Preah Vihear banners celebrating the temple in every pagoda and school.
"We will make that day a wonderful day for an anniversary. I deeply hope that many people will come celebrate together in order to show our real nationalism," he said, adding that there will be an increased police presence "because we don't want to have problems when we are happy".
Chhiv Sreyneang, a 25-year-old fruit vendor from Takeo province, said she would travel to Phnom Penh to celebrate the anniversary.
"I need to participate ... because it is our nation, and I am very proud for our country that we won against Thailand," she said. "
She said Hun Sen's decision to hold a celebration made her very proud and that she looked forward to showing the world Cambodia's unity.
"We all have to do a big anniversary for Preah Vihear temple in order show the world that Cambodian people love each other, love our nation and that we don't allow any other country to invade it," she said.

Jackson memorial performers announced as LA braces

AP – Fans wait in line to signs a large poster of Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles , Monday, …

By JESSE WASHINGTON, AP National Writer Jesse Washington, Ap National Writer – 2 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – The stage was set Monday for Michael Jackson's final act as the world capital of make-believe braced for what could be the biggest, most spectacular celebrity send-off of all time.

Ecstatic fans who won the lottery for seats at Tuesday's memorial received the tickets and spangly wristbands that will get them into the 20,000-seat Staples Center downtown. The family announced the participants will include Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer and Martin Luther King III.

The legal maneuvering that marked Jackson's extraordinary and troubled life also continued on Monday, with his mother losing a bid to control his enormous but tangled estate. And in one of the few reminders of Jackson's darkest hours, a New York congressman branded Jackson a "pervert" undeserving of so much attention.

More than 1.6 million people registered for free tickets to the 10 a.m. memorial, which will be broadcast live worldwide. A total of 8,750 people were chosen to receive two tickets each. The lucky ones picked up their passes Monday at Dodger Stadium amid heavy police presence.

"I got the golden ticket!" one fan screamed out of his car window in a Willy Wonka moment as he drove out of the parking lot.

"My mother loves Elvis. This is my Elvis," said ticket winner Mynor Garcia, 29.

Downtown hotels were quickly filling. Police, trying to avoid a mob scene, warned those without tickets to stay away because they would not be able to get close to the Staples Center.

British Airways reported a surge of bookings as soon as the memorial arrangements were announced. Virgin's trans-Atlantic flights to San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles were all packed with fans and VIPs, spokesman Paul Charles said.

"I think this is America's version of Princess Diana. People want to be in the vicinity. People from the UK and elsewhere want to share their emotions together," Charles said.

About 50 theaters across the country, from Los Angeles to Topeka, Kan., to Washington, D.C., were planning to broadcast the memorial live, said Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. spokeswoman Suzanne Moore. Admission will be free — first-come, first-served.

Jackson's friend Elizabeth Taylor will be mourning in private. She said on her Twitter feed Monday that she would not attend the memorial.

"I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others," she tweeted. "How I feel is between us. Not a public event."

In Los Angeles Superior Court, meanwhile, a judge appointed Jackson's longtime attorney and a family friend as administrators of his estate over the objections of his mother, Katherine. Attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain had been designated in Jackson's 2002 will as the people he wanted to oversee his empire.

Mrs. Jackson's attorneys expressed concerns about McClain and Branca's financial leadership.

"Frankly, Mrs. Jackson has concerns about handing over the keys to the kingdom," said one of her attorneys, John E. Schreiber.

Another one of her attorneys, Burt Levitch, told Judge Mitchell Beckloff that Branca had previously been removed from financial positions of authority by Jackson. Branca's attorney said he was rehired by Jackson on June 17, days before Jackson's death.

Branca and McClain will have to post a $1 million bond on the estate, and their authority will expire Aug. 3, when another hearing will be held.

"Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain for the next month are at the helm of the ship," the judge said.

Jackson died at age 50 with hundreds of millions in debts. But a court filing estimates his estate is worth more than $500 million. His assets are destined for a trust, with his three children, his mother and charities as beneficiaries.

On eBay, bids for memorial tickets were reaching as high as $3,000, and prices on Craigslist were in the thousands, although both sites were removing postings attempting to sell memorial tickets.

Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife and the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, had planned to attend the memorial but backed out Monday.

"The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy," her attorney Marta Almli said in a statement. "Debbie will continue to celebrate Michael's memory privately."

In New York, Republican Rep. Peter King released a YouTube video calling Jackson, who was acquitted of child molestation charges, a "pervert" and a "low-life."

But the memories of Jackson's problems were far from the minds of fans preparing to say goodbye.

"It's the passing of a great soul," said Matt Tyson, 31, of Ojai, Calif. "He brought people together, helped express something that's in us all."

The family was expected to hold a private funeral at some point at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles. No public funeral procession through city streets was scheduled, and it was not known whether Jackson's body would be at the Staples Center memorial.

In a symbolic convergence of events, however, the circus will be there.

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey starts a run at Staples Center on Wednesday. In the predawn hours before Jackson's memorial, the elephants will walk from the train station to the arena.

___

Associated Press Writers Anthony McCartney, Danica Kirka and Michelle Rindels contributed to this report.

District police stymie mall protest at Hun Sen's house

Friday, 03 July 2009 14:04 May Titthara

Sovanna Shopping Centre vendors protest near Hun Sen's house in
Takhmao Thursday.

AROUND 200 Sovanna Shopping Centre vendors were threatened by district police and prevented from boarding buses set to take them to Prime Minister Hun Sen's Kandal province residence on Thursday, where they had planned to protest high rents at the mall.
"This morning we rented two buses, but district police came to warn the drivers that if they took us to the prime minister's house they would have a problem," said Thea Neapy, a shoe seller at Sovanna.
"A lot of district police with guns banned us from getting into the bus ... and said we have no right to go to the PM's house."
Thea Neapy accused the police of having been paid off by the market owner, who "knows that if we go to Hun Sen's house he will help us".
Driver Thy Na said police told him not to allow market vendors into his vehicle and told him to "go back home" if he didn't want "problems".

 

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Sovanna Shopping Centre vendors protest near Hun Sen's house in
Takhmao Thursday.

Yem Dany, a cloth vendor at the market, said she was kicked by police outside the mall as the buses left the scene.
"They have no right to kick me like this. If they are so strong, they should go to Preah Vihear and fight with the Thais instead," she said.
Vendors from the mall, located in Chamkarmon district, managed to meet with representatives of the prime minister after making their way to Takhmao in tuk-tuks and private cars.
Two tuk-tuks full of protesters were stopped and detained by police near Takhmao Bridge, one vendor said, but were released after the police received a phone call from Hun Sen's staff.
They were then invited to speak with Nouv Ra, the prime minister's Cabinet chief, who said he would forward their concerns to City Hall.
"We told him we would like to reduce the price by 30 percent because of the economic crisis," said the vendor, who declined to be named.
"We will close our shops until we get a resolution."
Chesda Metrey, the head of Sovanna Shopping Centre, said the mall had "a lot of problems", and that he would not reduce the rental price for vendors.
"The vendors should already know our policy. We reduce the price by 13 percent for vendors who are under a 10-year lease, and 10 percent for a two-year lease," he said.
Chamkarmon district police Chief Ouch Sokhon declined to comment when contacted Thursday.

Jackson children 'don't know' mother

The children of Michael Jackson do not know their mother and want to stay with the pop icon's relatives, family friend Jesse Jackson said after reports of a looming custody battle.

Jackson told MSNBC on Saturday he doubts whether a possible claim for custody by Debbie Rowe, the biological mother of the pop star's eldest son and daughter, would be in the best interests of the children.

"At this point Mrs Rowe has not been in their lives. They do not know her, she does not know them," said veteran activist Jackson, who is not related to the musical clan but is a close adviser.

"I'm convinced the family feels that the children will be more secure with their grandparents and with their cousins in this relationship," he added, describing the Jacksons as "the only family they've ever known".

Rowe, who was married to Jackson from 1996 to 1999, told local television on Thursday she planned to fight for custody of her two children with the pop star, although her lawyer later claimed no decision on a lawsuit had been taken.

A custody hearing scheduled for July 6 has now been reset for July 13.

On June 29 a Los Angeles court named the star's 79-year-old mother Katherine Jackson as the temporary guardian of Prince Michael, Paris and younger brother Prince Michael II, who was born to a secret surrogate.

Chinese station set to expand coverage

Monday, 06 July 2009 14:02 KHUoN LEAKHANA

THE six-month-old Cambodia-China Alliance radio station is to change its frequency from FM 96.5 to FM 105.75 next month in a move that will extend its reach, the head of National Radio of Cambodia told the Post last week.
"The reason for the change in radio frequency is that we wanted the Cambodia-China Alliance radio station to be able to expand their coverage ... so that many more provinces will be reached," said Tong Yan, director general of National Radio.
The Chinese-run station, which launched in July 2008 on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, plays music and reports on news, education and art in English, Mandarin, Khmer and Teochew, a Chinese dialect spoken by many Chinese in Cambodia.
"We have broadcasted our programmes for six months now, and we have gained popularity among both Chinese and Cambodians," said An Xiaoyu, the director of China Radio International in Cambodia.
Chinese perspectives
Pen Samitthy, president of the Cambodian Club of Journalists, said the radio station is not a mouthpiece for Chinese propaganda and instead provides listeners with a chance to learn about Chinese culture. He did, however, say the station shies away from contentious issues.
"The radio station usually broadcasts news that is not sensitive.... [But] the radio station does not broadcast news that is in favour of the [Chinese] government or any propaganda," he said.
The new frequency will allow the radio station to expand in to Kampong Chhnang, Kandal, Takeo and Siem Reap provinces, Tong Yan said.
The popularity of FM radio, especially among young people, makes it an effective way to reach out to a wide audience and to reinforce links between Cambodia and China, he said.
"Listening to FM radio is still in fashion among youth, so we need to respond to their demand," he said.
"The station can be an additional bond that strengthens the relationship between Cambodia and China."

Man shot in the groin during robbery

A man has been shot in a morning robbery in Sydney's south-west this morning.

Cake store owner 'John' was shot in the groin by one of two men as they tried to rob the Clemton Park newsagency in Earlwood at about 6.30pm.

Store owners in the area were surprised to hear of the shooting

"The police officer told me [John] heard the commotion and went to see what was going on,'' said flooring business owner Ross Pappas.

The man was fully conscious when taken to St George Hospital, but was in a serious condition, an ambulance spokesman said.

The spokesman also said there appeared to be an exit wound in his buttocks.

The two offenders fled the newsagency and were last seen in a black ute turning onto Bexley Road, police said.

Those with information on the shooting should call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.

Teen girl sexually assaulted in car

A teenager girl has been sexually assaulted in a car after being picked up on a fashionable cafe strip in Sydney's inner west.

The 14-year-old girl was approached by four men in a black four-wheel drive as she walked along Norton Street, in Leichhardt, about 5pm (AEST) on Tuesday, police said.

"It's reported the girl was taken to a laneway parallel to Lilyfield Road where she was sexually assaulted in the vehicle by one of the men while allegedly being held down by the other two men," a NSW police statement said.

The girl ran home after being released from the vehicle.

She was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for examination.

Joint Investigation Response Squad Commander Paul Devaney urged parents to sit down with their children and reinforce the "Safe People, Safe Places" messages.

"Children should avoid walking on their own especially in the late afternoon or evening," Commander Devaney said.

He said young people should be encouraged to walk with other family members, friends or an adult they know, and stick to main roads and paths that are well-lit.

Anyone who has information about a black 4WD with four males acting suspiciously in the area should contac

Vietnam to pulp sex-selection books

AAP July 4, 2009, 7:44 am

Vietnam, concerned that too many boys are being born, will destroy more than 30,000 copies of books instructing couples on how to have a baby of their desired sex.

The books include 27 titles and were seized last month, VietnamNet online news service said on Friday, citing officials.

Articles with the same content have been removed from seven websites, it said.

The United Nations Population Fund noted in May a steadily increasing sex ratio at birth. The ratio is now 112 boys born for every 100 girls in Vietnam, compared with a ratio of 105 or 106 boys before sex selection took place.

The trend will leave millions of Vietnamese men with difficulty finding wives if it continues, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan said, according to state media.

"Obviously, the imbalance in SRB (sex ratio at birth) results from son preference and sex selection abortion practices," the UN said.

Vietnam's prime minister has prohibited all practices of foetal sex determination and selection, the UN noted.

"Furthermore, continued efforts must be made to strengthen public education and to promote gender equality to enhance the important role of women both within families and society," the UN said.

Six killed in London high-rise fire

ix people, including a three-week-old baby, have been killed in a fire that ripped through a high-rise apartment building in London, emergency services said.

The London Fire Brigade said 30 people were rescued from the blaze and the dead included three adults and three children, one a three-week old baby and another aged seven.

The brigade said 18 fire engines and more than 100 firefighters were called to the blaze in the Camberwell area of south London at around 4.20pm local time.

The fire started on the fourth floor and spread quickly to seven floors of the 12-story building, part of a large 1960s public-housing project.

"It was shocking to see the quantities of smoke and flames," said Sarah Gresty, who lives nearby.

The brigade said 30 residents had been rescued from the building "in extremely difficult circumstances."

The London Ambulance Service said 16 people had been taken to local hospitals, most suffering from smoke inhalation.

Four hours after it began, the fire brigade said the blaze was under control and investigators were on the scene to determine its cause.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to resign

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate in 2008, said on Friday she will resign this month, an unexpected move that could signal a run for higher office.

Palin took no questions after a brief news conference in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, members of her state Cabinet by her side. She gave no indication of her future plans.

"I'm not seeking re-election" in 2010, Palin said, adding she would transfer authority to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell on July 26.

Palin, Arizona Sen. John McCain's surprise pick as his running-mate in the 2008 presidential race, rallied the party's conservative base but alienated others who believed she did not have the experience to be vice president.

She has been mentioned as one of the top three Republicans who could vie for the party's presidential nomination in 2012. Those mentioned most often include Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

"We are not retreating, we are advancing in a different direction," Palin said. "We know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time."

Palin, 45, said her decision came after much "prayer and consideration." She said she did not want to waste time on "political blood sport" and cited public criticism of her actions and her family since the 2008 campaign.

"You are naive if you don't see a full-court press right now on the national level picking apart a good point guard," Palin said, using a basketball analogy.

"She closed a chapter in Alaska politics on a very weird and bizarre note," said former Alaska Governor Tony Knowles, a Democrat who served two terms, in a telephone interview.

"Friends or foes alike would have never thought that she would be a quitter, but that's what she did today."

WHAT LIES AHEAD

The announcement at the beginning of a three-day holiday weekend, with little Washington news expected, gave Palin wide access to the airwaves and could make for a strong start at gaining public attention.

Republican strategist Sophia Nelson said in the online publication Huffington Post that Palin vowing to work for change "from outside government" was "code for 'I'm running for president.

Other analysts wondered if it was a smart political move.

Andrew Halcro, a Republican who ran against Palin in 2006, said he did not think resigning would help her chances.

"If she was trying to transition to the national stage, there was a much better way to do it," he said.

Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer said Palin's future in public life depends on the reason she stepped down.

"If there is any evidence that the decision was a result of political problems or looming scandals, she is done," he said.

"The Republican Party already feels to be in a moment of crisis," after losing the presidency and control of Congress to the Democrats. He noted that in 2008 "she revealed many weaknesses ... limited policy knowledge, association with fringe groups, weak performances on television and more."

Palin faced criticism and ridicule from Republicans and Democrats alike after embarrassing television interviews that raised questions about her knowledge and experience.

During the campaign, the mother of five revealed her unmarried 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant but planned to marry the baby's father. The couple split in March.

Palin was cleared of wrongdoing in an abuse-of-power probe into the firing of Alaska's public safety commissioner.

In May, Palin signed a book deal to tell her own story, for an undisclosed sum, with News Corp's HarperCollins.

Palin established herself as a party outsider by promoting a natural gas pipeline project opposed by Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski. She ran against the governor in 2006, defeated him in the primary, and then won the general election.

The project to ship abundant North Slope gas reserves to U.S. markets has been dimmed by the economic recession and a sharp dip in natural gas prices.

(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York, Robert Campbell in Mexico, Andrea Shalal-Esa, Chris Wilson, Jeff Mason in Washington; writing by Doina Chiacu, editing by Jackie Frank and Todd Eastham)

Hilary Duff Joins Gossip Girl

Hilary Duff is coming to start some drama on the Upper East Side.

The singer and actress is joining the cast of Gossip Girl for several episodes, reports EW.com.

Duff will play Olivia Burke, a famous film star in search of the normal college experience. Her school of choice will be New York University, where Blair (Leighton Meester), Dan (Penn Badgley) and Vanessa (Jessica Szohr) were also accepted.

And in an excellent twist, Olivia will be rooming with Vanessa! Will they be friends? How will Blair react? And could she catch the eye of a certain Brooklynite?

Duff's first episode is set to air Oct. 5.

Kevin Jonas surprised his girlfriend Danielle Deleasa by proposing

Source: People.comThursday, Jul 02, 2009

Kevin Jonas surprised his girlfriend Danielle Deleasa by showing up at her doorstep in New Jersey early Wednesday morning and dropping down to his knee to ask her to marry him. Presented with a cushion-cut diamond ring that Jonas designed with Jacob & Co., Deleasa couldn't believe what was happening.

Then, "She said yes, yes, yes like 500 times super fast in a row," the oldest of the Jonas Brothers says.

Jonas, 21, and Deleasa, 22, who met in May of 2007 while vacationing with their families in the Bahamas, haven't set a wedding date yet. "It still feels like a dream," she says.

Overnight Flight
When Deleasa, a former hairdresser, first met Jonas two years ago, she admits, "I didn't know who the Jonas Brothers were." It was Kevin who eagerly pursued her after meeting her and then spotting her walking on the beach with a flower in her hair.

Jonas popped the question after arriving in New Jersey on an overnight flight from a concert in Vancouver. "It was tough performing last night, knowing that I was going to ask the biggest question in my life to the most amazing girl in the world," he says.

And while the news is bound to break a lot of young girls' hearts, the Jonas family couldn't be happier.

"Our hearts are filled with joy today and we are happy to share with you that our son Kevin has asked Danielle for her hand in marriage," parents Denise and Kevin Jonas Sr. say in a statement. "Her answer was yes, and it is such a blessing that she will be joining our family. Kevin and Danielle have not yet set a date. Family is very dear to us, and we hope we have raised Kevin to be a wonderful man and husband. Please join us in our family's celebration and in congratulating Kevin and Danielle. Thank you for all of your support."

And younger brothers Joe and Nick said on their Twitter page: "Congrats big brother.....Dani welcome to the family, we can't wait to have you join us on the road!"

Passengers to pay price for crisis on the railways

Passengers face years of overcrowded trains and dilapidated rolling stock as plans to expand and upgrade the network are cancelled or put on hold.

A series of big projects are in grave doubt after the collapse of the highest-earning franchise exposed a deepening hole in the rail budget.

National Express East Coast is to be renationalised after the parent company refused to honour a pledge to pay the Department for Transport £1.4 billion in the years to 2015.

The DfT will have to accept a much lower sum when it puts the franchise back out to tender and is likely to be forced to pay up to £500 million a year to other rail companies that have been hit by the recession and can recoup most of their losses from the taxpayer.

Related Links

• East Coast rail contract collapses

• National Express did not make a reckless bid

• Taxpayer loses out in broken system

As a result the Government may be forced to cancel or scale back plans including the purchase of about 4,000 carriages to expand capacity on commuter routes such as Thameslink and replace ageing intercity trains.

Plans to electrify the Great Western Main Line and the Midland Main Line are likely to be put on hold. Even Crossrail, the £16 billion London project, could be delayed yet again. The Government may also have to abandon its key project to build a 200mph line between London and the West Midlands by the early 2020s.

Lord Adonis admitted to The Times that reduced income from franchises might force the Government to revise its plans but insisted that it would honour existing commitments such as Crossrail and capacity upgrades in Reading and Birmingham.

The Transport Secretary said that renationalising the East Coast service for a year would be cheaper than allowing National Express to continue running it under a revised contract. “If I had done a deal with National Express every other operator would have been outside my door wanting a similar deal,” he said.

Five operators are already exercising clauses in their contracts under which the State pays up to 80 per cent of the shortfall in projected revenues. These clauses come into effect for five more over the next two years. Several also have clauses allowing them to walk away from their franchises without penalty in the last two to three years — just as they were due to start paying very large sums to the DfT.

Professor Stephen Glaister, a transport economist, said: “This is a disaster for the taxpayer. The only reason National Express is handing back the service is because it is not financially viable. The whole sorry episode shows how flawed the rail franchise bidding system has been. It created a win-win situation for companies: bumper profits in the good times and the expectation they could walk away from their commitments in the bad times.”

A Pig-M who couldn’t take the heat? [-Thveu chrouk kom rea teuk kdao]

Hun Sen call his critics biased

01 July 2009
By Ratana
Khmer Sthabna
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

During the national fishery day on 01 July 2009 in Kampot province, Hun Sen reacted to opposition leaders and officials who criticized him for his past and present constructions in Cambodia.

Hun Sen said: “… Ah Msier (pejorative for “that guy”) said that there is no prime minister who is doing that, wherever he (PM) goes, he gave out one [construction]. Other PMs are planning in such and such manner, Your Excellency, what you said is very true: [you] cow thief, rice thief... Then, they scolded [me] again for building schools, saying that this is the job of officials from the ministry of education, when I build irrigation dikes, they said that it is the job of the minister of Water Resources, when I build roads, they said that the jobs of the minister of Public Work are being taken away by the prime minister. Oh, aren’t they all the work of the prime minister?...”

Hun Sen added: “Because the population does not listen to them [opposition], that’s why they all vote for the CPP in unison.” He also said: “During the 5th mandate [election], he will act according to request again. It’s too much, if they [opposition] do not help, they should not criticize others.”

Hun Sen reacted by saying also: “Currently, I almost compare all of them [opposition] to animals, even animals know their leaders, and even dogs wag their tail when they are fed, but “Ah nis” (pejorative for “this guy”), they don’t do it at all.” Hun Sen said: “They are biased, biased and they are becoming crazy, if they criticize others, they can do it, but when they are being criticized, they said that their critics violate their freedom rights. When they criticize others, they never stop to think about it. Why is there freedom for you only? Others have freedom also.”

During the national fishery day, Hun Sen also ordered the ending of the sand dredging for export overseas. He also warned all government officials involved that they shouldn’t reap the benefit from the sand dredging operations that could create impact on other issues, and they should not dredge a creek to serve small-scale tourism at the expense of other areas being affected.

Hun Sen added: “I am afraid history will blame me as being the sand seller. From today on, you must stop [sand dredging], even if you don’t stop, I order you to stop. I you dare do it again, I will hit you, nobody has the right [to dredge sand] anymore.” He said that sand dredging is allowed only for local construction, but sand dredging for overseas export is prohibited.

Hun Sen also added: “Sand dredging from the river in Neak Loeung area, and the dredging along other places caused the collapse of almost all river banks belonging to the people. Now, you must stop this sand dredging for overseas export, there will be no [overseas] exporters.” Hun Sen added that, in the past, he spoke with Goh Chok Tong, the former PM of Singapore, to have Singapore come and dredge sands [in Cambodia] for export to Singapore, but they didn’t come. So in order to avoid headaches for the Council of Development of Cambodia (CDC), all sand dredging companies are closed and they shouldn’t violate the law because dredging creates a lot of danger.

Hun Sen added that he agreed with sand dredging at sea, such as in Koh Kong province (in the Peam Krasob area), because in this region, sand dredging operations must take place only in areas where sand is mixed with mud, and the dredgers must discuss with Chan Sarun (the minister of forestry and fishery) and Lim Kean Hor (the minister of water resource) when the dredging operations affect fishes and crabs. What is allowed to be dredged or not must require a clear study prior to the authorization for dredging in that region, in order to avoid the development in one area and causing the destruction in another one. Hun Sen also warned all of his ministers to pay attention because he is not a newcomer-PM, in fact he was a PM way before these ministers became ministers, so these ministers must be careful.

NO criticism allowed under the CPP's KR-style regime

Nguon Nhel, vice president of the National Assembly, in this file photo. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)

SRP lawmakers threatened with lawsuits over criticism

Wednesday, 01 July 2009
Written by Khouth Sophak Chakrya
The Phnom Penh Post

CPP warns it will file a complaint against any opposition MP who says the National Assembly is run by one man or party.

LAWMAKERS for the ruling Cambodian People's Party on Tuesday threatened to file a complaint against opposition lawmakers who claim that the National Assembly is controlled by the CPP or "one powerful man".

Nguon Nhel, first vice president of the National Assembly and a member of the CPP, said at a meeting to sign an extradition treaty with India that he would file a complaint against Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Yim Sovann and "other SRP parliamentarians" if they "continue to call the National Assembly the ‘dictated National Assembly' or ‘under the control of the CPP or one powerful man'".

"If you [Yim Sovann and other SRP's parliamentarians] say these things again, we will file a complaint to the court against all of you," he said.

The comments were a response to earlier criticism by the SRP that the ruling party's recent removal of opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua's immunity resembled policy under a dictatorship.

Speaking on the same day at the National Assembly, CPP parliamentarian Ai Khon also threatened the opposition with lawsuits, saying that the National Assembly was "one of three top national departments and an independent body that was in no way under the power of one man or any party".

"You [Yim Sovann] are one of the members of the parliament. Saying things like this means you look down on yourself and other parliamentarians," he said.

"If you say it again, we, CPP's parliamentarians, will file a complaint to the court against you soon with charges of slander or defamation."

SRP lawmaker Yim Sovann told the Post on Tuesday afternoon by phone that he will continue to say what he said again and again, even if he was seriously threatened by the members of parliamentary from the CPP.

"We are speaking the truth ... and we will not be intimidated," he said.