Cham Muslims Homeless After Fire

Firefighters race to put out flames in the Reussey Keo district of Phnom Penh, Nov. 19, 2009. (RFA)

A fire in Cambodia's capital leaves hundreds of ethnic Muslims homeless.

2009-11-20
Radio Free Asia

PHNOM PENH—Hundreds of ethnic Cham Muslims are now homeless after a fire razed their crowded section of the Cambodian capital.

The blaze erupted early on Nov. 19 in an area dominated by the city's Muslim Cham minority, local police chief Som Bunny said.

Some 300 houses were destroyed in Reussey Keo district, Ly Rossamy, deputy district chief, said.

It lasted from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., she said, adding that an explosion of a cooking gas or electricity in the area may start the fire.

"No one was killed or injured. They all were evacuated," she said. An investigation into the cause is under way.

"Some removed their belongings and went by boat to the other side of the river. Some others moved to the main road."

Although large neighborhood fires are increasingly rare in Phnom Penh, a series of suspicious blazes several years ago destroyed a number of slum areas, forcing tens of thousands to flee.

"Each of us has [lost] hundreds of thousands of dollars," one resident said.

"We lost everything... The firefighters didn't even try to stop it."

Under Secretary of State for Vocational Training Okgna Ousman Hassan, who was at the scene, said fire trucks didn't have sufficient road access to put out the blaze.

Some 240,000 Cham Muslims live in Cambodia, making them about 1.6 percent of the population in the predominantly Buddhist country, according to a recent survey by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center.

Original reporting by Sek Bandith for RFA's Khmer service. Khmer service director: Sos Kem. Executive producer: Susan Lavery. Written for the Web in English by Sarah Jackson-Han.

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Thai businesses fear closure of border

21/11/2009
Bangkok Post

As the Thai-Cambodian media skirmish continues, Thai executives are starting to fear their operations will suffer.

Gamblers are staying away from casinos in Koh Kong and Poipet, while tourist numbers are on the slide. Kasikorn Research Center said the escalating tensions could affect businesses and populations on both sides of the border.

The conflict between the Thai and Cambodian governments recently reached a new and alarming level when both countries withdrew their ambassadors after Cambodia named fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser and refused to extradite him when he visited the country.

But the Thai-Cambodian border remains open so the border trade, which accounts for as much as 80% of bilateral trade, continues as usual.

If the conflict is quickly resolved without either side resorting to force, trade will not be disrupted, said K-Research.

Even a temporary border closure, similar to that caused by the earlier Preah Vihear temple dispute, would only have a limited impact, the researchers said. But a prolonged closure would inevitably damage trade, causing Thai exporters to lose their share in Cambodia's market.

Thai exports to Cambodia last year were worth 67 billion baht, while imports from Cambodia were only 3 billion baht.

Thailand's trade surplus reflects Cambodia's inability to supply its market's demand, while Cambodian consumers are accustomed to imported Thai products such as sugar, beverages, cosmetics, soaps and related products. The Cambodian business sector also relies on imported processed oil and cement.

Thailand is currently the largest exporter to Cambodia, supplying 23% of its imports, followed by Vietnam with 17% and China with 15%.

Like Thailand, Vietnam benefits from close proximity with Cambodia, with significant border trade. Vietnam's exports to Cambodia have soared from US$178 million in 2002 to $1.43 billion last year. The country is now competing directly with Thailand in oil, sugar and cement.

Chinese goods, currently in third place, also have good opportunities for growth due to the strength of the Chinese economy and the development of the logistics system linking China and Asean.

But Cambodia would also face losses from this scenario. Materials and intermediate goods from other countries for its production sector would likely have higher prices due to the logistics costs. Similarly, Cambodian consumers would likely have higher living costs.

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Navy chief warns govt on MoU

21/11/2009
By Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post

Navy chief Kamthorn Pumhirun has warned the government to tread carefully with its plan to revoke a memorandum of understanding on the overlapping maritime boundary with Cambodia.

Adm Kamthorn said even though the cabinet has decided to scrap the MoU, the decision will not take effect until it is approved by parliament. The government is seeking parliamentary approval to annul the MoU.

Adm Kamthorn urged all parties concerned to weigh the pros and cons of terminating the MoU carefully.

However, he was confident the Foreign Ministry and three House committees responsible for deliberating the matter will handle it in a professional manner.

"I believe they are professionals and will put the country's interests first. They should know what the advantages and disadvantages are for the country," he said.

The government's move to scrap the MoU is in response to Cambodia's appointment of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as its economic adviser.

The document was signed in 2001 when Thaksin was prime minister. Its main goal is for the two countries to demarcate territorial waters and jointly explore natural gas and oil reserves in the overlapping area.

Adm Kamthorn said the navy has continued to look after Thai territorial waters and to make sure the disputed maritime area is not violated.

The navy chief said relations between the navies of the two countries have remained healthy. There had been no Cambodian military movements nor any Cambodian navy presence in the waterways, he said.

Defence Ministry spokesman Thanathip Sawangsaeng said the Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee (GBC) will hold its meeting to discuss border issues in Pattaya next Thursday and Friday.

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh will jointly chair the meeting.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he believed relations between Thailand and Cambodia will return to normal shortly. However, he said the government will not send Thai envoys to Phnom Penh until the Cambodian government reviews its position.

The prime minister said the government is stepping up its efforts to arrange for Simarak na Nakhon Phanom to visit her son Sivarak Chutipong, a Cambodia Air Traffic Services engineer who is being held in a Cambodian prison on charges of spying.

Deputy permanent secretary for justice Thawee Sodsong said he and Suvana Suwannajuta, the director-general of the Liberties and Rights Protection Department, will travel to Cambodia on Monday to visit Mr Sivarak.

Mr Thawee said he will arrange for Mr Sivarak's family members to visit him.

Acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said it will take 10 days for Cambodia to consider whether to grant him bail.

Meanwhile, Democrat Party deputy leader Kraisak Choonhavan has said executives of the English Premier League soccer club Manchester City are planning to expose the failings of Thaksin, its former owner.

Mr Kraisak said the football club had been unhappy with Thaksin's style of running the club, including superstitious practices he brought to the club and his efforts to meddle with the management of the football team. Thaksin bought City in July 2007, 10 months after he was ousted in a military coup. He sold the club to an investment group from the United Arab Emirates in September 2008.

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[Accused Thai Spy] Engineer is a 'political victim': Thailand's Matichon

Saturday, November 21, 2009
Bangkok Post

Sivarak Chutipong, 31, the Thai engineer arrested in Cambodia on a spying charge, is being used as a pawn in the diplomatic dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, argues a Matichon newspaper writer.

Sivarak worked for Cambodia Air Traffic Services, a subsidiary of Thailand's Samart Telecom.

He was arrested last week on a spying charge, after he allegedly transmitted the flight schedule of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Cambodia's premier Hun Sen to Thailand.

The newspaper argues the engineer was a victim of the conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia concerning Hun Sen's appointment of Thaksin as economic adviser.

If Sivarak is found guilty by a Cambodian court, he could be jailed for 7-10 years and/or fined 50,000-250,000 baht.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Thaksin's flight schedule was not secret information and Thailand already knew Thaksin's likely flight movements.

Suthep argued that Cambodian authorities may have misunderstood the intention of the government, which never intended to inflict any harm.

Yet the Matichon writer was not satisfied with explanations offered by the Thai Foreign Ministry and Samart Telecom in defence of Sivarak.

The government, the writer said, should protect Sivarak's honour and tell international observers that Cambodia's allegations are trumped up.

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Vietnamese economy poses no threat to Thailand

Vietnam said it would put in a high-speed train, similar to the bullet train in Japan, running from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. The news excited Thai readers but most did not realise that work on the railway won’t start until 2036, or nearly 30 years into the future.

Hanoi ensures existence of political stability and cheap labour

21/11/2009
Kamol Hengkietisak
Bangkok Post

The Vietnamese economy poses no immediate threat to Thailand, which has healthy investments in that country, says the Thai ambassador in Hanoi.

Pisanu Chanvitan says Thailand's economy is still far more advanced than Vietnam's.

However, the ambassador told Thai Rath newspaper, Vietnam has certain advantages including political stability, thanks to its one-party rule and cheap labour.

Last year, Vietnam's economy grew 3%.

Mr Pisanu said that medical advances in Vietnam lag far behind Thailand. For difficult cases, well-to-do patients still travel to Thailand for treatment because Vietnam's health care expertise is lacking.

Nor was Thailand's status as the world's top rice exporter under threat from Vietnam.

Mr Pisanu said Vietnam exported about 5 million tonnes of rice last year while Thailand exported 8-9 million tonnes.

Thai rice is more expensive because of its higher quality especially the world famous Hom Mali, while Vietnam exports cheaper varieties.

Vietnam can face typhoons several times a year, causing extensive damage to rice fields.

Vietnam's rice cultivation area is similar to Thailand's, but Vietnam has a growing population. As its population grows, Vietnam will probably export less rice.

Vietnam's rulers like to talk about their plans for the economy, but sometimes these projects can be many years off.

Vietnam said it would put in a high-speed train, similar to the bullet train in Japan, running from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.

The news excited Thai readers but most did not realise that work on the railway won't start until 2036, or nearly 30 years into the future.

In 1990, Vietnam began to open the country to foreign direct investment, creating special industrial zones and expanding the economic zone in Ho Chi Minh City.

Thailand is ranked 9th among foreign investors in Vietnam. Investment is concentrated in agri-business, cement, real estate, and motorcycle parts.

Mr Pisanu said Thailand exported more than 10,000 tonnes of fruit to Vietnam last year, including longan, mangosteen, durian and mango.

Food processing including canned fish is another bright prospect for Thai exporters. Several Thai canneries have set up operations in Vietnam and are doing good business.

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Thai, Cambodian military leaders to meet

BANGKOK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Thai and Cambodian military leaders will meet next week amid growing tensions over Phnom Penh's appointment of a fugitive former Thai premier as an adviser.

The Thai-Cambodia Joint Border Committee will have a two-day meeting starting Nov. 27 at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Pattaya, according to a report in the Bangkok Post newspaper.

"It will be a ministerial level defense meeting to discuss border security and military cooperation," a Thai defense ministry spokesman said. Defense Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwon would use his ties with Cambodian military leaders to help ease the current tension between the two countries, the spokesman said.

The meeting is important because it could avoid spontaneous armed clashes by patrols in the Preah Vihear mountains, around 300 miles north of Bangkok. The two armies have been facing each other for months over a disputed area surrounding an 11th-century Hindu temple. The international court of justice ruled in 1962 that the temple was on Cambodian land. But the only access to the mountaintop building is on the Thai side, which Thai troops sealed off last summer.

A military clash is precisely what both countries, whose ambassadors were recalled this month over the Thaksin affair, are hoping to avoid.

But political tensions moved up a notch Thursday when Cambodian police and aviation experts took over the offices of the Thai-owned firm Cambodia Air Traffic Services. CATS is a subsidiary of Bangkok's Samart Corporation which has a 32-year contract to run air traffic control operations.

The Cambodian authorities now in charge of the services also banned the firm's nine Thai employees from entering the building.

The takeover comes after Cambodian police arrested a Thai national working at CATS on spy allegations. Siwarak Chotipong, 31, is being held in Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh. He is alleged to have passed on the flight schedule of the former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his visit to Cambodia last week, according to a report in the newspaper Phnom Penh News.

The newspaper article quoted a representative for Cambodia's ruling Council of Ministers saying the takeover of CATS was "temporary" and done "to ensure national security and public safety." The financial operations of the company would not be affected.

Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser was covered widely in the country's media this month, including a television interview with Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thaksin. Hun has called Thaksin a friend of Cambodia.

Thailand has formerly requested the extradition of Thaksin, 60, who was ousted from power in a military coup in 2006. He returned in 2007 and the following year received a two-year jail sentence for conflict of interest in high-level business dealings. He fled the country, leaving an estimated $2 billion in frozen assets. He has since lived mostly in the United Kingdom.

Cambodia has refused to hand him over because, they say, his trial was political and not criminal, meaning they are not bound to extradite him under any bilateral treaty.

Analysts are saying that the issue of his return is, in fact, more political than just a case of evading prison. Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, 45, is a member of the Democrat Party and heads a large coalition government that fears Thaksin could pose a credible election threat if he returns to the country. Thaksin, as a former police officer, could call in favors among senior policemen and also some military leaders in any election, possibly next year.

Many of Thaksin's supporters are in the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship Party that has demonstrated for Thaksin to receive a royal pardon from the ailing but much revered Thai king.

For his part, Thaksin has reportedly used his Twitter site to vent his anger at the Abhisit government and his opponents within Thailand, the Bangkok Post reported.

"Everything you guys do is right, but whatever we do is wrong. So how can we live together? How long can peace last?" He went on to say he did not believe how long it would be before his supporters' "patience will snap," the article stated.

The Bangkok Post has also reported that Thailand's Foreign Ministry has lodged a complaint with the ambassador of Dubai. Ministry officials said Thaksin is using Dubai as a base for political activities Thailand's government.

The Cambodian Ministry of the Interior has also this week ordered its officials to encrypt as much as possible government information and sensitive documents that it is sending over the Internet. The government fear is that more data, such as happened with Thaksin's fight details, could be siphoned off by spies, the Phnom Penh News report said.

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[Accused Thai spy] Siwarak to apply for bail next week

November 21, 2009
THE NATION

Siwarak Chotipong, the Thai national being held in Cambodia for allegedly trying to obtain ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's flight plan, will seek bail next week.Ads by Google

A delegation from the Thai Justice Ministry will also visit Phnom Penh on Monday, to provide him with legal assistance.

A Cambodian court will take a week to decide whether to grant bail so he can be free during his trial, said a Thai Foreign Ministry source.

Justice Ministry deputy permanent secretary Thawee Sodsong will lead the delegation to see Siwarak and will spend a few days there to provide him with the necessary assistance.

Cambodian human-rights lawyer Kav Soupha is heading the legal team defending Siwarak.

The 31-year-old engineer was arrested last week and charged under Article 19 of the Archives Act of 2005 for threatening national security. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

The Phnom Penh Post quoted Soupha as saying the leaking of Thaksin's flight schedule could not be constituted a threat to Cambodia's national security.

Cambodian officials allege Siwarak was asked to steal the flight schedule by Kamrob Palawatwichai, first secretary of the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh.

Kamrob was expelled last week, and Thailand retaliated by expelling the first secretary of the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok.

Opposition Pheu Thai Party MP Jatuporn Promphan has claimed Cambodia has a recording of a phone conversation in which Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya instructed Kamrob to seek Thaksin's flight information.

Cambodian authorities have rejected the claim, saying they had not taped any phone conversations.

Thaksin, who has been appointed as an adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, was in Cambodia last week to give a lecture on economic-development strategy and met Pheu Thai and red-shirt supporters.

Angered by Thaksin's visit, the Thai government has been reviewing economic assistance to Cambodia, along with a maritime deal. Diplomatic retaliation in recent weeks has worsened bilateral relations that were already tense from the border conflict centring on Preah Vihear Temple.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday said Thaksin could help mend the sour relations by resigning from his position as Hun Sen's adviser.

"I'm not asking Thaksin to resign, but I believe he must, in order to end the conflict. Or Cambodia should revoke his appointment; that would help," he told reporters. "Diplomatic ties will improve once Thaksin quits his advisory role."

He said he appreciated Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh's gesture of coming out to deny the condoning of wiretapping.

"I thank Tea Banh for clarifying the issue. Otherwise, the international community would have remained suspicious of Cambodia," he said.

Tea Banh on Thursday said the government did not listen in on phone conversations and denied the existence of a taped telephone conversation purportedly implicating Siwarak in spying.

Meanwhile, Thailand's Second Army Region yesterday decided to postpone indefinitely a friendly football match with Cambodia's Fourth Army Region. The match was due to take place today and tomorrow at Ban Phumsrol School in Si Sa Ket province.

The Cambodian side notified the Thai side that they were not ready.

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Cambodia pulls out of military sports meet

Lt General Kanit Saphithak, commander of Thailand’s First Army Area, left, wearing a beret, and General Sok Pheap, a deputy chief of Cambodia’s joint supreme command, right, wearing a cap, shake hands during a goodwill ceremony on the Thai-Cambodia Friendship

November 21, 2009
The Nation

A sporting event between Thai and Cambodian military personnel scheduled over the weekend has been postponed indefinitely due to the growing tensions between the two countries. The postponement was initiated by Cambodian authorities, without stating any reasons, said Prawat Ratthairom, a deputy provincial governor of Si Sa Ket, the venue of the event.

He said the provincial authorities were just informed of the postponement by the Thai military.

A series of sports competitions between Thailand's Second Army Area and Cambodia's Fourth Military Precinct, both of which are responsible for duties along each country's borders, were scheduled to be held today and tomorrow at Phumi Srol School in Cambodia's Kanthararak district.

Meanwhile, a Cambodian immigrant worker was axed to death by a Thai worker in a drunken brawl in Chon Buri's Sri Racha district over the detention of a Thai national by Cambodian authorities for alleged spying.

The victim, known only as Tiang, was allegedly attacked by Silchai Namnont, local police said, citing Kraisorn Namnont, the suspect's brother. The three men, all helpers in a local rubber plantation, were drinking late on Thursday and started quarrelling over the detention of the Thai in Cambodia and other diplomatic strains in ties between the two countries.

Nong Kham police said a hunt was on for Silchai but his brother, Kraisorn, was in custody. Police were still questioning him, as they were suspicious that he also took part in the murder.

In Sa Kaew, a goodwill cerฌemony was held by Thai and Cambodian military personnel in Aranyaprathet district yesterday. Highranking commanders of both sides met in the middle of the Thai-Cambodia Friendship Bridge and exchanged souvenirs and handshakes in a photo opportunity.

Lt General Kanit Saphithak, commander of Thailand's First Army Area, and General Sok Pheap, a deputy chief of Cambodia's joint supreme command, were the highest ranking officers from both sides participating in the ceremony. They met without prior appointment while making inspection visits at their local Army units, after local forces on both sides managed to get them to meet each other.

Aranyaprathet border checkpoint and Khlong Luek border town are still open to visits by Cambodians while Thai nationals still visit casinos across the border and Cambodian vendors still enter Thailand and do their businesses at Rong Klue market despite a drop in the number of Thai shoppers.

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Cambodia confirms takeover of air traffic company

2009-11-20
By SOPHENG CHEANG
Associated Press

The Cambodian government on Friday confirmed its temporary takeover of management of the country's air traffic control company after one of its Thai employees was arrested last week on a spying charge.

The move complicates a diplomatic row between Thailand and Cambodia over Phnom Penh's recent welcome to former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a fugitive from Thai justice.

Tekreth Samrach, a deputy minister of the Council of Ministers, said the government took the action against Thai-owned Cambodia Traffic Air Services _ CATS _ for the sake of national security and flight safety. Nine Thai employees of the firm were also banned from the workplace, he added.

A CATS employee, Siwarak Chutipong, was arrested last week for allegedly passing secret information about Thaksin's flight schedule to the Thai Embassy. Thaksin is a fugitive on a Thai corruption charge.

Cambodia this month named Thaksin an adviser on economic affairs. The appointment, and a subsequent visit by Thaksin, set off a diplomatic imbroglio in which the two countries recalled their ambassadors. A Thai court last year sentenced Thaksin in absentia to two years in prison for violating a conflict of interest law, but he fled into exile before the verdict.

Relations were strained further when Cambodia rejected a formal request from Bangkok to extradite Thaksin. The situation worsened when Cambodia expelled a Thai diplomat and arrested Sirawak.

"We need to secure the national security of our country and our leaders' safety. This is a national security concern _ very important," Tekreth Samrach said at a press briefing, adding that the measures against CATS were only temporary.

He said the takeover was implemented about a week ago and legal experts are now studying how long it should last, or whether the government should end the concession for air traffic control held by the Thai company Samart.

The nine Thai employees have not been fired, he said, but only asked not to come into the CATS office.

Kao Sopha, a Cambodian lawyer for the detained Thai man, said separately that he would submit an application Monday to have his client released on bail.

He said that Siwarak was in good health when he went to see him Friday morning at Prey Sar prison, but that he strongly desires to be released.

It is not clear when Siwarak might face trial. Cambodian officials say he is still under investigation.

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Coming in off the streets

Cambodian children study in a classroom at one of the M’Lop Tapang organisation’s schools in Sihanoukville. Photography by: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP

Poverty and the legacy of civil war has had a corrosive effect on family life in Cambodia, leaving many children homeless and vulnerable. But children's support projects offer hope of a better future

Saturday, November 21, 2009
By Cynara Vetch
The Guardian

Srey Mom recalls: "My father burnt the house down one evening, and after that me and my brother slept in the forest. I was so scared I couldn't sleep and he would cry all night because he was hungry." Srey Mom's father was a violent alcoholic, unable to pay the rent, and her mother, who was addicted to gambling, attempted suicide many times. With her family left homeless and hungry, Srey Mom joined almost 2,000 working children who spend their days and nights on the streets and beaches of Sihanoukville, Cambodia's growing resort town.

Over 36% of Cambodians live below the poverty line and families have been drawn to Sihanoukville by the economic promise of a growing tourist trade and work in the country's only deep-water port. In reality, the average income of a family of four living in the town's slums is $2 a day. With families who are unable or unwilling to support them, children work on the town's streets, beaches and slums both day and night, and are vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse, and discrimination.

It was cases such as Srey Mom's that persuaded the director and co-founder of M'Lop Tapang, Eve Sao Sarin, to help set up the organisation with his partner Maggie Eno back in 2004. M'Lop Tapang is one of six small organisations in Asia partnered by the NGO International Childcare Trust.

"We believed we had to commit to these children, find them a safe place and learn their needs. We also wanted to resolve issues within their families. There are many problems in their homes due to poverty, domestic violence and drug abuse," Sarin explains.

M'Lop Tapang offers a chance for street children to get an education and to change behaviour such as drug abuse and crime, but without the support of their families this is very difficult. As a result the organisation collaborates with the children to deal with their issues at home, setting up services such as alcoholics' counselling and vocational training for their relatives.

Srey Mom has managed to rebuild her home and family with the help of M'Lop Tapang. Srey Mom's father is surprisingly candid. "I drank rice wine so I could forget," he says. "When I was drunk no one else mattered, that is why I could beat my wife and burn my home." He was introduced to an alcoholics' counselling course and is now a skilled builder, earning a stable wage. Similar efforts to build up communities through dedicated social work have been very successful, with every street-living or working child in the town using M'Lop Tapang's services, albeit to varying degrees.

Many of Sihanoukville's social problems can be attributed to Cambodia's recent history. From 1970 to 1975 Cambodia was immersed in a costly civil war, which displaced nearly half the population and killed more than 1 million people. In 1975 the communist movement, the Khmer Rouge, seized power and set about creating a peasant revolution. The majority of the population was forcibly moved to the countryside; healthcare and money were banned and those with an education were executed. In 1979 the regime was toppled, but the war continued and much of the population was displaced. Finally, democratic elections took place in 1993.

For Sarin, the community is "like the basket that breaks. No one trusts each other any more." Children under the age of 18 make up more than 50% of the country's population and Sarin believes that many are still affected by the past.

"Children suffer indirectly from the war, most of their parents lost beloveds, they are depressed and frightened, and Cambodian culture doesn't encourage any show of weakness. They deal with these problems with gambling, drinking and violence."

Vannthy is a social worker with M'Lop Tapang, co-ordinating a network of former street children, who now work in their communities. He is adamant that "young people are the ones that change things. They come up with solutions I would never have thought of." This network has built homes for evicted families, cleared the slums of rubbish and set up awareness programmes on issues such as drug abuse. Its members have also painted and repaired beds at the town hospital and volunteered to teach the English they have learnt at M'Lop Tapang. The Youth Volunteering Network also includes middle-class youth who attend community college and university. These youths volunteer their time at M'Lop Tapang, educate their families and peers on issues such as environment, poverty and social work and encourage social responsibility. The most dedicated volunteers are provided with the opportunity of employment at M'Lop Tapang.

While decades of violence and conflict have affected communities in Cambodia, they have also had an impact on the country's institutions and infrastructure. Andrew Mace is the British ambassador to Cambodia and he has seen weaknesses in the police force and other parts of the public sector. "It is a historical problem," he explains. "The whole of government was essentially destroyed. For example they lost the whole of the judiciary in that period and having lost them it takes a long time to get back that capacity." As a result a new structure of law enforcement was hurriedly created and in some cases recruits were given inadequate training.

Another problem is lack of funding. Social issues receive less attention from international donors than topical concerns such as health and education. Vou Savin, a welfare officer for the Ministry of Social Affairs, is the only government social worker responsible for over 130,000 people living in Sihanoukville and the surrounding countryside. He admits that there is a limit to what he can achieve "Our job is to help vulnerable people, but we have so little money in our department that we need to partner with other organisations."

People coming in from the outside exploit these vulnerabilities to prey on children. Paedophiles see the country as a "safe destination." However, the government is alert to these unwelcome visitors and has forged strong relationships with the NGO community. One such example is Action Pour Les Enfants, an investigation agency working against sex offenders in Cambodia, which has trained up the local police force in areas such as interrogation techniques and forensic evidence. Efforts have also been made to educate law enforcement officials on children's rights and protection against child abuse.

M'Lop Tapang is teaching the children themselves to be aware of the dangers on the streets and to protect one another. They have already trained 40 street children in how to recognise suspicious behaviour and what to do if they see cases of abuse or discrimination. This network then filters the information back to other children. They also act as a safety net for children who are new to the streets. M'Lop Tapang has established a ChildSafe network in Sihanoukville, training local restaurants, bars, hotels and taxi owners to recognise signs and cases of child abuse and report them to its 24-hour ChildSafe hotline.

For Srey Mom, street living is now a thing of the past. She sits calmly surrounded by her family in their small stilted house and although the torrential monsoon rain beats against the tin roof, they remain leak free. She has a stable income working as a manager at the local M'Lop Tapang shop and is a testament to what a street child in Cambodia can achieve.

*Some names have been changed

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"Som Niyeay Phorng!" Op-Ed by Angkor Borei News

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"Kom Som Tos Ké!" a Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea

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Thai PM: Thai-Cambodian relationship now stable

BANGKOK, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Thai-Cambodian relationship is currently stable and is not expected to deteriorate, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Friday.

Thailand and Cambodia have downgraded their diplomatic relations due to conflict over an appointment of Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic advisor to Cambodia's government and Prime Minister Hun Sen on Nov.4.

A day after the appointment of the ousted former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the Cambodian government announced recall of its ambassador to Thailand in a move to respond to the Thai government's recall of its ambassador to Cambodia.

"The Thai-Cambodian relationship is now stable," Thai News Agency quoted Abhisit as saying.

Also, both sides are ready to discuss as there will be a meeting of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), said Abhisit.

The JBC meeting will be co-chaired by Thai Defense Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan and Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh, he said.

Thaksin was ousted by the military coup in September 2006, in accusation of corruption, and has been kept in exile since then.

He returned to Thailand in February 2008 to face corruption charges, but he later fled into exile again and was convicted in absentia.

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“To the east, we do not have any problems (sic!)”: Blind Phay Siphan

Sam Rainsy slams VN incursions

Friday, 20 November 2009
Uong Ratana
The Phnom Penh Post

PRIME Minister Hun Sen is currently playing a “dangerous game” with the Cambodian nation by understating the threat posed by Vietnamese territorial encroachments, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said.

In a self-styled “message to the Cambodian people” released on Thursday, the Sam Rainsy Party president said the government is playing up the threat posed by Thailand but ignoring problems on its eastern border.

Sam Rainsy said the potential loss of 5 square kilometres of land in disputes with Thailand was dwarfed by the loss of “thousands” of square kilometres to Vietnamese incursions.

“This is an ongoing painful process that Mr Hun Sen does not want us to look at,” he said.

The message came just days after the National Assembly stripped Sam Rainsy of his parliamentary immunity over an October 25 incident in which he helped uproot six wooden posts marking the border with Vietnam in Svay Rieng province.

Phay Siphan, spokesman of the Council of Ministers, dismissed the allegations, saying Sam Rainsy was speaking from emotion rather than fact.

“To the east, we do not have any problems,” he said.

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Journalist seeks help

Originally Posted at South Asia Mail

I am a freelance journalist from the US, looking for human rights-related story ideas in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. I plan to spend 3-6 months (probably from January 2010 onward) traveling and reporting in these countries for US-based publications. I plan to work in print, still photography and video.

I am 30 years old, and have been working in journalism for about the past seven years. I've won a number of awards for my reporting, including the National Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism from the University of Oregon and the Weltner Hero Award for Courage in Journalism from the Georgia First Amendment Foundation. In the past year and a half, I've begun reporting from South Asia with trips to India, Pakistan and Nepal. I've lived in India for the past six months, and am back in the States planning my next trip.

Any leads, ideas, contacts, etc, etc, etc, welcome: joeldelliott@gmail.com

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Ecstasy factories destroyed in Cambodian rainforests

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 20, 2009 (Xinhua) -- Ten ecstasy laboratories operated by local drug cartels were destroyed Wednesday in one of Cambodia's most impenetrable and remote jungle areas in the country's southwest Cardamom Mountains, according to a statement released Friday by Wildlife Alliance.

The raid was carried out by an anti-drug task force led by Wildlife Alliance and in close cooperation with forest rangers from Cambodia's armed services and Ministry of Environment.

"At least 35 tons of safrole oil, a main ingredient used in the methamphetamine production of ecstasy, could have been used to make over five million ecstasy pills with a street value of over 100 million U.S. dollars," according to local officials.

Wildlife Alliance-sponsored ranger team from Cambodia's Ministry of Environment and managed by Fauna and Flora International, came across the ecstasy labs several months ago during a routine foot patrol through Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary, 200 miles northwest of Phnom Penh.

Wildlife Alliance Technical Advisor and former French Legionnaire, Eduard Lefter, who planned the complex and dangerous raid with Cambodian Forest Rangers, commented on the operation, saying "The mission was very difficult to organize and the conditions extremely tough. The mountain terrain and dense forest made a helicopter insertion virtually impossible, so we went in by foot."

According to Lefter, the team spent 12 days in the jungle battling leeches and the resulting wound infections, as well as skirting landmines which made forward progress extremely difficult. By the end of the mission much of Lefter's ranger teams were suffering from dehydration from dwindling water supplies.

The teams also carried explosive ordnance in the form of landmines, provided by the Cambodian Military, to destroy the ecstasy labs and safrole distillation equipment.

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Lights, camera, genocide!

A new TV show is rapidly extending the reach of the Khmer Rouge war crimes court to Cambodian households.

November 20, 2009
By Brendan Brady — Special to GlobalPost

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — When the former Khmer Rouge prison chief, Kaing Ghek Eav, first took the stand eight months ago, most Cambodians had scarce knowledge of the tribunal that was trying him.

The notorious man — known best by his revolutionary name, Duch — stands accused of crimes against humanity for the medieval torture of 14,000 people at a secret prison code-named S-21 during the Khmer Rouge's reign from 1975 to 1979.

At first, 85 percent of Cambodians “had little or no knowledge” of the U.N.-backed trial that was 30 years in the making, according to a University of California at Berkeley’s Human Rights Center survey.

Outreach has stepped up considerably since the opening of testimony, though. Perhaps no development has been more effective in disseminating the often-baffling work of the tribunal than a new weekly television program. In a country of 14 million, where 85 percent of people live in rural areas, some 2 million Cambodians are tuning in to “Duch on Trial.”

Every Monday afternoon, along with fellow Cambodian journalist, Ung Chan Sophea, host Neth Pheaktra provides a sober summary and analysis of court testimony and the legal framework in which it is heard. Local analysts weigh in on the use of legal strategies by the lawyers and Duch.

“My relatives tell me, ‘You look so serious on TV,'” said Neth, whose program launched in April with British and U.S. funding. “We’re discussing the death of millions of compatriots, including many of my relatives, so it’s not a time to smile.”

The show plays clips of court testimony, including ghastly stories of men and women being bludgeoned, water-boarded and electrocuted before their execution, and of their babies being smashed against trees.

In total, an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died from overwork, starvation and murder under the Khmer Rouge’s maniacal vision to transform the country into an agrarian utopia. For the some 5 million Cambodians who survived Khmer Rouge rule, the regime’s brutality remains deeply entrenched in their psyche.

Today, not even half the country's more than 14 million people are over 20 years old, which means they never lived under the regime. Their ignorance of firsthand atrocities has been compounded by the fact that, until this year, Khmer Rouge history wasn’t taught in schools. Many current government officials are former Khmer Rouge cadres and the subject matter remains highly controversial.

Unlike some other international war crimes courts, the Khmer Rouge tribunal hasn't had community-based truth and reconciliation committees to extend its reach to the population.

The hosts of "Duch on Trial" explain how the court is run by Cambodian and international judges, lawyers and staff. How subordinates and prisoners who were under Duch’s control and are still alive today provided testimony, and how the maximum penalty for the five elderly former leaders in detention is to live out their few remaining years in prison.

For many viewers, such plain talk concentrated into engaging 24-minute episodes lets them grasp the court’s work for the first time.

“Part of the reason for the show’s popularity is that before there was a big lack of communication about the tribunal,” said Neth. “So we’re trying to help fix that.”

The challenge, said Matthew Robinson, the show’s British producer and head of Khmer Mekong Films, “is how to cram into less than half an hour the highlights of a week’s worth of the trial that a group of not legally-sophisticated people can relate to.”

Previously, the bulk of outreach for the tribunal had been shouldered by a handful of NGOs, such as the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), the leading custodian of primary documents on the Khmer Rouge.

Through this non-profit group, 10,000 rural Cambodians have been bussed into Phnom Penh to attend the tribunal and 300,000 textbooks about the Khmer Rouge have been distributed to high school classrooms across the country.

The group also makes regular trips to the countryside, assisting people in filling out paperwork to file evidence to the tribunal of crimes they witnessed under the regime’s rule and, perhaps more importantly, helping people simply gain closure by gathering details on the fate of loved ones.

For a man whose sister was tortured and executed at S-21, where Duch presided, DC-Cam recently tracked down the order of execution signed by Duch. The man’s reason for filing with the court: “So that she is remembered,” he wrote.

“The Khmer Rouge left the entire country shattered,” said DC-Cam director Youk Chhang. “We’re trying to help people connect the broken pieces, and without people’s involvement the court is meaningless.”

The court’s own outreach has also been reinvigorated. Since June, hearings that were previously attended by scant crowds of a couple dozen people began to see audiences numbering in the hundreds.

Reach Sambath, whose takeover of public affairs at the court coincided with this boom, attributed some part of the rising numbers to the nature of dialogue in the courtroom. The stories of real witnesses caught the attention of lay people, who found the early procedural hearings hard to follow.

“The testimony was very emotional,” said Reach. “Duch cried. Then the witnesses cried. Then the audience cried. And then I cried. Seeing this is part of the healing process.”

Reach also initiated announcements about the court on local radio stations — a move that had his office inundated with phone calls asking how to attend.

“Before it was difficult for people to have trust in the court,” he says. “But if seeing is believing, then coming to the court in person has people feeling that justice is being provided.”

While such emotionally charged moments provided the catharsis the tribunal wanted to stage, in a country where some 90 percent of the population regularly views television — despite enormous poverty — the tube has proven the most efficient channel for engaging people in the war crimes court.

“It’s easy and interesting to learn about the tribunal this way,” said 51-year-old No Min, who lives in a remote village in the province of Kampong Cham where road access is limited and newspapers are scarce. “I’ve learned more about the [court’s] process and it seems fair.”

“I tell the younger kids in the village to come watch the show with me so they can learn about an important part of history that is easy to want to forget.”

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UNPO Speaks About Indigenous Issues at the European Parliament

Friday, 20 November 2009
UNPO

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) was invited to speak at a Hearing on Cambodia facilitated by Human Rights Without Frontiers at the European Parliament on 17 November 2009.

The Hearing was chaired by Niccolò Rinaldi (Vice President of ALDE group) and moderated by Edward McMillan-Scott (VP European Parliament) alongside Willy Fautre (Director of Human Rights Without Frontiers). The panels were composed of representatives from the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (Ms Maggie Murphy, Program Coordinator), Cambodian Government (H.E. Ambassador Mr. Rudi Veestraeten), the United Nations (Prof. Surya P. Subedi, UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia), the European Commission (Mr. Seamus Gillespie, Head of Unit), the Center for Development Research and Cooperation (Dr. Prof. Tazeen Murshid), Amnesty International (Susi Dennison, Executive Director), International Trade Union Confederation (June Sorensen), The Cambodian Association for Human Rights (Mr. Thun Saray, President and former political prisoner) and Human Rights Watch (Brad Adams, Asia Director).

Forced evictions, labor rights, judiciary issues, the role of the EU in Cambodia, as well as political and institutional factors impacting on human rights in Cambodia were among the list of issues discussed during the hearing. Panelists shared valuable information on several topics to describe the current status of human rights in Cambodia.

Susi Dennison, Executive Officer of Amnesty International explained how the ongoing violence against women subsequently leading to forced evictions can be traced back to their lack of civil and political rights.

On the other hand, Mr Thun Saray, former political prisoner and President of the Cambodian Association for Human Rights raised deep concerns about the failure of Cambodia’s justice system to provide a political environment that would safeguard fundamental human rights of both Cambodians and its defenders in the country.

The international community is aware of Cambodia’s ratification of 7 out of 8 labour rights laws. However, June Sorensen of the International Trade Union Confederation stressed that the majority of Cambodia’s workforce remains completely unaware of labour rights making it difficult for trade unions to operate in Cambodia.

Mr. Seamus Gillespie, Head of Unit of the European Commission recognized that Cambodia has entered the process of recovery. However whilst the country has achieved some level of stability, as the elections in 2008 showcased, international standards on electoral processes have not been followed. Furthermore, not all violations against human rights in Cambodia are accurately reported especially those committed during the dictatorship. Mr Brad Adams, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, stressed this issue saying that crimes committed in the past should not be forgotten by simply concentrating on the recent ones.

Maggie Murphy, Program Coordinator of UNPO, spoke on four major issues of great concern to the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom and the Montagnards: land rights claims and subsequent forced relocation, religious persecution, violence and torture and forced repatriation.

Ms Murphy reiterated that these issues should be primarily addressed by acknowledging the indigenous status of both the Khmer Kampuchea Krom people and the Montagnards. The unfortunate fact is that Cambodia can sign and ratify all international declarations and agreements pertaining to indigenous peoples but unless the people of Khmer Krom and the Montagnards are acknowledged as such, every declaration is meaningless. Thus, the first step in effecting significant changes to the lives of the marginalized peoples of Khmer Krom and Montagnards is to give them the status of indigenous peoples and then ensure that constant international pressure is applied to Cambodian authorities to ensure that they abide by these international agreements.

UNPO suggests a more active role for EU in Cambodia

There are significant political and institutional factors that impede the forceful repatriation of Khmer and Montagnard refugees from Cambodia to Vietnam. UNPO hopes that the EU will put pressure on Cambodia to sign and ratify the ILO Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, with the aim of respecting the traditions of indigenous peoples in relation to the use of their ancestral lands.

Lack of Political Will

In contrast to the presentations by the majority of panelists, the Ambassador of Cambodia strongly affirmed that the concept of “freedom of expression in Cambodia is very strange” and further elaborated that “freedom of expression is in place”. He contended that this is especially true in the areas of civil and political rights. However, whilst sufficient mechanisms are in place to adequately guarantee the rights of minorities and indigenous groups, the implementation has been severely lacking. Issues addressed in the hearing can only be tackled if the Cambodian government demonstrates a strong sense of political will to ensure that the human rights of the aforementioned groups are safeguarded.

Ms Murphy concluded by explaining that many similar recommendations were made by states and NGOs as Vietnam recently underwent examination under the UPR process. On 24 September the review ended with Vietnam rejecting 45 of the Human Rights Council’s recommendations, which demonstrated a lack of commitment to securing fundamental human rights. UNPO hopes that Cambodia will be more receptive to the UPR process, and that they will facilitate it, rather than obstruct it through rejections and rebuttals. Political will is fundamental to guaranteeing the improvement of the human rights situation in Cambodia.

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39th ASEAN bankers' council meeting held in Cambodia

November 20, 2009
Xinhua

Senior officials from ASEAN nations' national and private banks gathered here on Friday to attend the 39th ASEAN banking council meeting.

The annual bankers' meeting focused on how to speed up the process of the integration of ASEAN financial services by 2015, and discussed on the cooperation in finance, investment, education and ASEAN inter-regional relations.

"The close cooperation among ASEAN banks will certainly help to speed up the process of the integration of ASEAN financial services by 2015," Neav Chanthana, deputy governor of the Central National Bank of Cambodia, said in her keynote address at the two-day meeting.

"Due to increasing regional integration, the banking industry and banking supervisors share a number of convergent priorities," She stressed, adding that "I am rather optimistic that rational dialog based on responsible and knowledgeable positions, between people acting professionally, is always a source of progress in the banking industry to support economic growth," she added.

As a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Cambodia enjoyed double digit economic growth over the past decade. In 2009, however, Cambodia is severely hit by the global financial crisis through the real sector, namely garments, construction, and tourism which had been the driving forces of Cambodian economy.

Neav Chanthana said that national bank of Cambodia will carefully follow the international developments and consider implementation in a progressive manner and in line with domestic market developments and priorities.

Phung Kheav Se, chairman of Association of Banks in Cambodia, said at the meeting that "Our close association with the ASEAN organization and with its member countries has been of enormous benefit to Cambodia in many respects economic, social and political."

According to a report from Association of Banks in Cambodia, Cambodia has six specialized banks and commercial banks and 20 microfinance institutions as its members.

Founded in 1967, the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asia Nations) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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Tensions in and on Thailand's borders

November 20, 2009
By Frank G. Anderson
Column: Thai Traditions
UPI Asia Online

Nakhonratchasima, Thailand — “Thaksin’s the obstacle. He’s uprooting our relations with Cambodia,” Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vajjajiva said in response to media inquiries about the two kingdoms’ recent rocky diplomatic road, news reports said Friday.

Abhisit may have something there. It was during the administration of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra that the now infamous dispute over the Phrea Vihear temple on the two countries’ border first boiled over into a tit-for-tat diplomat expulsion and a one-on-one word-for-word accusation contest began.

It is rumored, given no small amount of circumstantial evidence, that Thaksin had traded Thai sovereignty by, in part, obtaining oil concessions that benefitted himself while surrendering part of Thailand’s territory to Cambodia in a less-than-transparent Phreah Vihear quid pro quo. Both Cambodia and Thaksin deny any such oil deal was made, but experts are sifting through trails to establish conclusive connections. It won’t be an easy task.

Meanwhile the Thai government, responding to deep concerns in both countries about a possible border war, has stated that it has no plans to close the border – as it did recently with Malaysia in one area because of terrorism and drug threats.

As well, Thai officials, including the governors of Buriram and Sisaket provinces, which border Cambodia, have been busy shuttling back and forth to reassure locals and senior officials that things are normal and there is nothing to worry about. Sisaket’s governor Raphee Phongbuphakij told residents in the area he was confident that a coming athletic competition between Thailand and Cambodia “will restore close relationships between the people of our two nations and lead to further increase in friendly ties.”

His words were echoed by the Thai Army Region 2 commander in the area, Lt. Gen. Thowee Walit Jarasamrit, who told the public and media in an interview, “In general everything along the border is quiet … everything is peaceful and normal, and there is still close understanding between (our) two countries.”

He neglected to mention, however, that some 4.6 kilometers of Thai territory that was accessible to Thais in the past is now blocked off and occupied by Cambodian civilian settlers and military.

The Thai military’s silence is reputed to be one of the main reasons that relationships continue to be cited at least as friendly; to wit, that it has refused to act to first protect Thai territory, and then to recover it.

Thai opposition voices, including those indignant ones among the People’s Alliance for Democracy, have added fuel to the fire by suggesting that Thailand’s army has been unduly awarded with a massive budget over the years but failed to perform its duty – primarily, to protect the nation – in letting Cambodia take over Thai land.

Such nationalist sentiment is appreciated by Thailand’s powers-that-be – but so too are the vested interests that powerful political and commercial kingpins have in the economies of both countries. Even with national security at stake, closets are full of skeletons and the ones who know where they are have been lining their pockets over time with unrecorded deals that often don’t respect national interests. It’s an old game in Thailand and hardly one to be dropped anytime soon.

Thailand, as part of the ASEAN monolith, is playing a much bigger game than finding fault with a former prime minister or squabbling about sovereignty. That game is a greater Southeast Asia community that is fully independent of Western shackles and that can run its own destiny.

Recent ASEAN meetings in Thailand and in countries in the region have been designed to cement greater unity and cooperation in a broad range of areas, including those ubiquitous human rights issues. The great game afoot is as divergent as the gap between the poor and the rich.

For ASEAN leaders, the game is officially to seek solidarity, independence and closer cooperation among the players. For the people living in ASEAN countries, however, the game means being further exposed to a well-organized and well-armed authoritarian style of rule that obfuscates the line between human rights and national security, always sacrificing one in favor of the other. That is, constantly sacrificing human and civil rights in favor of the interests of the state.

That kind of game can have only one eventual outcome: a police state. That in itself brings on another eventual outcome, revolution and bloodshed caused by a frustrated public and amalgam of intellectuals and activists who have had enough of state control.

In the case of Thailand, the state has domestically asserted itself in a dangerous, seemingly laissez-faire fashion that speaks of democracy while implementing the tools of totalitarian rule, based on an illusion and dogma.
--
(Frank G. Anderson is the Thailand representative of American Citizens Abroad. He was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer to Thailand from 1965-67, working in community development. A freelance writer and founder of northeast Thailand's first local English language newspaper, the Korat Post – www.thekoratpost.com – he has spent over eight years in Thailand "embedded" with the local media. He has an MBA in information management and an associate degree in construction technology.)

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Thailand to request bail for Thai engineer detained in Cambodia

BANGKOK, Nov 20 (TNA) - Thailand will ask to post bail for the Thai engineer detained on spy charges in Cambodia within one or two days to free him on a temporary basis, according to the Thai Foreign Minister's Secretary Chawanon Intarakomalsut.

Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS) employee Siwarak Chutipong, 31, was arrested in Phnom Penh on spying charges last week when he was discovered releasing Thaksin Shinawatra’s flight schedule to a Thai embassy official in Phnom Penh.

Mr Chawanon said the Thai authorities had approached Kao Sopha, a Cambodian lawyer with experience in human rights protection, to be Siwarak's lawyer. Kao Sopha had met Mr Siwarak and is collecting information and evidence to write a request to provide bail for the engineer within one to two days to release him temporarily.

The representatives of Samart Corporation, CATS parent company, met Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to give information which could be useful to support Thailand’s belief that Siwarak has done nothing illegal, he said.

CATS is wholly-owned by the Samart Corporation and received a concession from the Cambodian government to supply aeronautical radio and air traffic control services to Cambodia.

The Foreign Ministry legal experts were studying the two countries’ Investment Protection Agreement to find options to help Samart Corporation, he said, adding that Mr Kasit had affirmed that the ministry would extend full help as it did not want the problem to be escalated to affect other people and other Thai companies invested in Cambodia.

Thani Thongphakdi, deputy director-general of the Foreign Affairs Ministry's Department of Information, told reporters that the lawyer was preparing the document for seeking bail but the date to submit the request had not been set. However, it could be early next week, he said.

After submitting the request, Cambodia is expected to take 10 days to consider whether to allow the bail.

In a related development, Thai Defence Ministry spokesman Col Thanatip Sawangsaeng said Thailand would host the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (JBC) extraordinary session November 26-27 at Pattaya in the eastern province of Chonburi.

The Thai and Cambodian defence ministers would head their delegations to the meeting, he said.

It was expected that the meeting would discuss the border situation, and military cooperation, said the spokesman.

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The solution's simple, says Suthep

20/11/2009
Bangkok Post

If former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra resigns or is replaced as economic adviser to the Cambodian government, the diplomatic row between Thailand and Phnom Penh will cool down, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Friday.

“This does not mean that I am asking the Cambodian government to do this. They would not do it. But I think this is the easiest way to ease tension between the two countries,” said Mr Suthep.

The deputy premier said he thought Thaksin traveled to Cambodia quite often because he wants to use the neighbouring country as his political base. It was easier to meet his political supporters there.

Mr Suthep thanksed Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Gen Tea Banh for coming forwardand denying that his government has an audio recording of Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ordering the Thail embassy’s first secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai to obtain Thaksin's flight schedule, as claimed by Puea Thai party list MP Jatuporn Promphan.

Earlier in the day, Gen Tea Banh was reported as saying the Cambodian government has no secret audio recording as claimed by Mr Jatuporn.

“I think the person who exposed this case has an ill-intention or a hidden agenda. The person might want to incite war between the two countries and then put the blame on Cambodia,” Gen Tea Banh said in an interview published in the Thai-language Kom Chad Luek newspaper

The Cambodian defence minister said that military relations between Thailand and Cambodia remain intact.

He refused to comment on the arrest of Sivarak Chutiphong, a Thai employed by Cambodia Air Traffic Services who has been charged with spying. He said the case is still being investigated according to Cambodian legal procedure.

Meanwhile, the Thai-Cambodia Joint Border Committee (JBC) will meet on Nov 27 at 28 at the Dusit Thani hotel in Pattaya, defence ministry spokesman Col Thanathip Saengsawang said.

“It will be a ministerial level defence meeting to discuss border security and military cooperation,” Col Thanathip said.

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon would use his ties with Cambodian military leaders to help ease the current tension between the two countries, he said.

The spokesman said that military relations between the two countries remain intact despite the diplomatic row between Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

The Defence Ministry hopes to help settle the dispute between the two governments and at the same time to strengthen ties and trust on both sides, Col Thanathip said.

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"Heang Mork Léng Château de Sans-Souci" a Poem in Khmer by Yim Guechsè

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Thai-Cambodia JBC meeting next week

20/11/2009
Bangkok Post

The Thai-Cambodia Joint Border Committee (JBC) will meet on Nov 27 at 28 at the Dusit Thani hotel in Pattaya, defence ministry spokesman Col Thanathip Saengsawang said on Friday.

“It will be a ministerial level defence meeting to discuss border security and military cooperation,” Col Thanathip said.

Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon would use his ties with Cambodian military leaders to help ease the current tension between the two countries.

The spokesman said that military relations between the two countries remain intact despite the diplomatic row between Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

The Defence Ministry hopes to help settle the dispute between the two governments and at the same time to strengthen ties and trust on both sides, Col Thanathip said.

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Sam Rainsy Trapped for Helping other Nation: Soy Sopheap

Look who is helping people from another nation?
... and look, who is embracing a Thai criminal?

Op-Ed By Sokheoun Pang
Originally posted at http://sokheounpang.wordpress.com

This is a shame for such a publication of Soy Sopheap´s news published today which accused MP Sam Rainsy like an opportunist and a fake nationalist.

I just think if Soy Sopheap doesn´t go to the border and ask the people who live there directly, he should have paid his attention and listened to what the people who live there along the border have talked which published on RFA or VOA or other media.

It is even more dangerous for Cambodia if he just published it blindly and biasly for his personal gain without considering the invasion of Youn on Cambodia as priority. He should take into account about the nature of the border demarcation between Cambodia and Youn because Cambodia is always at the disadvantage when Hun Sen is still a ruler who has to pay a big gratitute to Youn Hanoi as his installer or master and by using the unconstitutional treaties of 1979-1982, 1983, and 1985, as well as the newly signed 2005-supplemental treaty (documents related to all treaties can be found here), signed under the Youn control as a tool for negotiation.

I wonder what is Soy Sopheap going explain about these treaties and the lost of Koh Tral and the 3000o square kilometers historical sea water as a result of these treaties? For the knowledge, I think Soy Sopheap can read Mr. Bora Touch´s explaination here and here.

Actually, the act of MP Sam Rainsy should be admired and the government should cooperate with him in solving the issues. He should not be punished and accused of trying to sabotage Hun Sen government by helping the Abhisit of Thailand, because he is clearly stated in his reaction to the Abhisit´s govrnment about his would-be-oppointment that he would never serve any country which is at odd with his country. With this, the Cambodian leaders should not behave so selfish against MP Sam Rainsy and act like a real puppet towards Youn government.

On the other hand, if Hun Sen is really a good leader and loves the country he should not push our country to war and conflict by allowing the west to invade our nation at will either. He can stop it by rejecting the cheap bilateral talk and pushing it for the intervention from UN or Asean basing on only 1904 and 1907 Siamese-French treaties, the 1962 verdict, and the 1991 Paris Peace Accord.

In contrast, it seems that MP Sam Rainsy is not trapped by his genuine act, instead it shows that Hun Sen, his cronies, and his mouthpiece servant like Soy Sopheap are being revealed as a true slave or puppet to Youn Hanoi. Openly, they dare bark with the west, but they act like a puppet or slave to the east.

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Missionary to speak on Khmer Rouge experiences

Dareth Ly and his wife, Thida, are Assembly of God missionaries to their native Cambodia. From left are Dareth, Thida, Sophie, 15, Sabrina, 11, and Saidah, 4. Dareth will speak at Crossroads Church Sunday, Nov. 22. Submitted Photo

November 20 2009
By Molly Miron
The Bemidji Pioneer (Minnesota, USA)

Dareth Ly spent his childhood in Cambodia under the deadly 1975-1979 rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

His father was among the 1.5 to 2.5 million people who died directly on the Killings Fields or from starvation and disease.

His mother survived, but they were separated when he was 7 in 1975. He was sent to a child labor camp, and she was sent to an adult labor camp.

When the Vietnamese army liberated the camps in 1979, he walked to Thailand and was put in a refugee camp.

“They didn’t know what to do with us, so they asked different countries to take us,” Ly said in a telephone interview from his Eagan, Minn., home.

He was sent to St. Paul when he was 11 and grew up in a foster home.

“I didn’t speak a word of English,” he said.

He said he had no idea where he was going at the time, but he knew it had to be better than where he was.

Now, with his wife, Thida, he is an Assembly of God missionary to Cambodia. Ly will be the featured speaker Sunday, Nov. 22, at Crossroads Church. Ly will share his story during both the morning worship service at 10:30 a.m. and the Missions Banquet at 5:30 p.m. The Missions Banquet will also feature a potluck, ethnic dinner and a question-and-answer time with Ly. Crossroads Pastor John Hubert and the congregation invite the public to attend.

Ly said he returned to Cambodia and found his mother in 1992. He said she is still living in her home country. He then returned to Cambodia as a missionary in 1996 and began working in an orphanage and starting churches and schools in rural Cambodia. He and his wife have built schools, provided school meals for students, as well as school supplies and uniforms.

“We basically go back and offer the people in that country – who have suffered so much – hope,” Ly said.

He said the Assembly of God as a denomination focuses on mission outreach and is a fast-growing church worldwide. He said he and his wife and daughters, Thida, Saidah and Sabrina, plan to return to Cambodia next summer. Meanwhile, he travels to churches to present the message of what God is doing and raise funds for the mission.

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The Thaksin Card

Alternatives Watch – 20xi09
Op-Ed by Ung Bun Ang

After conquering his local opponents, prime minister Hun Sen must content himself with escalating the border dispute into a major international clash that absolutely antagonises Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. His trump card is deposed Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra whom he has appointed as his economic adviser.

Hun Sen appears totally committed to Thaksin, eventhough he has not disclosed his main objective. He pushes so hard for Thaksin, whom he treats as an eternal friend, to be back in power in Bangkok. He openly goads the Thai prime minister into elections: “If Abhisit is so sure of himself, then he should call an election... What are you afraid of? Is it that you are afraid you will not be the prime minister?” He virtually calls the Abhitsit government a thief when he refers to the fact that it cajoles sixteen of Thaksin’s allies in parliament to form the current government. “You claim other people's property as your own. How can we respect that?” asks Hun Sen.

However, Cambodia – not Hun Sen – may just end up missing out. The adviser seems assuring when saying he sees a lot of synergy between Cambodia and Thailand. “What is good for you will also be good for my country,” claims Thaksin. This possibly means a joint-administration of Preah Vihear and other grey areas along the border is the best option for both countries. This implication is consistent with the fact that it was Thaksin’s ally Samak government that sent Thai troops to Preah Vihear in July 2008, and that the first armed clash occurred in October 2008 when Thaksin’s brother-in-law and close ally Somchai Wongsawath was the Thai prime minister. Thus, either Thaksin supports his allies’ blatant aggression, or his influence over them is insignificant. Either way, Cambodia is unlikely to benefit from the prime minister’s eternal friend.

Cambodia is not a Thaksin’s priority. In his claimed effort to reduce Cambodian poverty, the adviser promises to attract foreign investments. Nevertheless, while accepting and appreciating his appointment, Thaksin confesses, “it's not going to be fun like working to help Thai people out of poverty”. Cambodia is pushed to the back seat.

Thaksin may also have difficulty in sharing benefits, despite his sound rhetoric: “If the benefits are shared equally, surely the government can stay longer”. The fact that his own government did not last long means he failed the benefit sharing test; subsequent governments that were regarded as Thaksin’s proxies lasted even shorter. Unless he learns from the lesson, it will be doubtful how Cambodia can benefit from the wisdom. Furthermore, for a person like Thaksin who makes a fortune of two billion dollars in just four years from a telecommunication monopolistic structure secured through his connections and corruption, sharing benefits equally may just be hot air.

However, if the adviser does believe what he claims: “Everything depends on benefits”, Hun Sen can look forward to some substantial return for his titanic investment in Thaksin. Meanwhile, disappointment, if not disaster, likely awaits Cambodian people.

Ung Bun Ang

Quotable Quote:
“Benefits make a man a slave.” - Anonymous. Arabic proverb.

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Thai factory worker kills Cambodian colleague with an axe

Nov 20, 2009
DPA

Bangkok - A Thai labourer allegedly killed a Cambodian co-worker with an axe early Friday after a heated and inebriated argument over the two countries' deteriorating diplomatic relations, police said.

Thai national Sinchai Namnon, 44, was the chief suspect in the slaying of Cambodian national Dieng, 40, who died shortly after midnight from a gash in the head and a nearly severed arm. Both injuries were inflicted with an axe.

The two men were employees at the Srimaharacha rubber processing company in Sri Racha, Chonburi province, 60 kilometres south-east of Bangkok.

'They were drinking together and got in an argument about the Thai engineer who was arrested on spying charges in Cambodia last week,' Police Lieutenant Colonel Praphan Wangkanom said.

Sinchai had fled the scene by the time police arrived.

'We are still investigating whether there were others involved in the attack,' Praphan told the German Press Agency dpa.

Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong, an employee of the Cambodian Air Traffic Service (CATS), was arrested in in Phnom Penh on November 11.

The Cambodian government has accused Sivarak of passing on confidential information to the Thai embassy about the arrival of fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on November 10.

Sivarak's arrest was part of an escalating spat between the two neighbouring countries, triggered by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's decision to name Thaksin his personal adviser.

Thaksin, who was toppled in a 2006 coup, faces a two-year jail term in Thailand on an abuse-of-power charge and is the main political antagonist of the current Thai government.

Thailand recalled its ambassador from Phnom Penh following the official announcement of Thaksin's appointment and called for a review of all aid and economic agreements with Cambodia.

Cambodia also recalled its ambassador and expelled Thailand's second secretary on charges of recruiting Sivarak.

The spat is likely to harm both countries' economies.

Cambodia is a major market for Thai exports, while Thailand is a major source of employment for Cambodian labourers.

According to a report released Friday by the International Organization for Migration, some 148,420 Cambodians had obtained permission for 'temporary stay' in Thailand as labourers as of early September.

Another 6,130 Cambodians have been granted work permits, allowing them to work in the country year round.

Cambodians account for about 10 per cent of the one million-plus migrants working legally in Thailand. Thousands more work illegally in the kingdom.

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Sam Rainsy is in Rome Today

November 20, 2009

SAM RAINSY IS IN ROME TODAY

After his visit to the European Parliament in Brussels on November 17, SRP President Sam Rainsy arrived today in Rome for a three-day visit to attend the General Council of the Radical Party of Italy.

The Radical Party of Italy is the world’s only party that has a transnational nature as reflected by the fact that a large number of parliamentarians from several parties from several countries around the world have registered as its members. Its leading figure is Marco Pannella.

SRP Cabinet

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Sam Rainsy's message to the Cambodian People in Khmer (Updated)

Click here to read the message in a better resolution

Click on the message to zoom in

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"Cambodia never loses such a whole lot of land to Vietnam (sic!)" - sVar Kim Hong

sVar Kim Hong (President of the Cambodian border destruction commitee): Hey! Only the expert Svar Kim Hong never saw a loss of Khmer land! Don't tell me I'm blind!

Opposition Blames Hun Sen for Border Encroachment

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
19 November 2009

Cambodia has lost over 1,000 square kilometers to Vietnam within the past 30 years, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said in a statement issued Thursday.

Sam Rainsy also criticized Prime Minister Hun Sen’s foreign policy in handling border issues with its neighbouring countries, in which he said the premier tends to focus more on Thailand and neglect Vietnam.

“Vietnam has been, over the last 30 years, grabbing thousands of square kilometres of Khmer territories in Kep, Kampot, Takeo, Kandal, Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, Kampong Cham, Kratie, Mondolkiri and Ratanakiri provinces,” the statement asserted.

“This is an ongoing painful process that Mr. Hun Sen does not want us to look at,” it added.

Sam Rainsy is now in Europe mobilizing support after Cambodia’s National Assembly lift his immunity earlier this week to pave the way for court investigation into his involvement in uprooting six wooden demarcation posts in the eastern province of Svay Rieng last month.

Rong Chhun, president of Cambodia Teacher Association, alleged that Cambodia receives pressure from Vietnam on border issue.

Head of the government Border Committee Var Kim Hong, however, said that the accusation is baseless and exaggerated.

“I wonder where Sam Rainsy got this information from. Cambodia never loses such a whole lot of land to Vietnam,” he said.

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Khmer arrested to make way for land concession for Yuon company?

Seven Arrested in A Chronic Kampong Thom Land Dispute

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
19 November 2009

Local rights groups on Thursday asked Kampong Thom provincial authorities to stop making further arrests in a chronic land dispute which turned violence.

The group said four people have been arrested and authorities are hunting to arrest some 20 villagers more for burning the public and private properties.

Three other villagers were arrested a day earlier in the dispute.

“We suggest that the provincial authorities stop arresting more villagers who have now fled home for fear of arrest,” said Nhem Sarath, investigator for Adhoc.

Local human rights groups met with provincial police chief, provincial deputy governor and Santouk district governor to find a way to solve the land dispute.

“We have received positive results on the case and the provincial authorities have asked us to help provide social land concession to the villagers,” Nhoung Samoeun, coordinator for local human rights group Licadho, told VOA.

Authorities set a November 25 deadline.

“If the villagers follow our policy, we will try to end the criminal case. But if they don’t agree and use violence to destroy properties of our security forces and company, we will follow the law,” Kampong Thom police chief, Phan Sopheng, said.

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Fire Destroys over 200 Houses

CPP office being burnt down? (Photo: Khmer Sthapana)

By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
19 November 2009

More than 200 houses caught fire Thursday in a poor Cham Muslim community on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, officials said.

The fire, which started early in the day and lasted for several hours, was caused by a cooking-gas explosion, officials said. It was a fierce fire and a challenge to combat.

“The roads are too narrow to allow our trucks to get in,” said Net Vanthan, chief of Phnom Penh municipal fire brigade.

No casualties were immediately reported.

However, villagers blame fire department for not doing enough.

“The fire trucks arrived on time, but they just did nothing,” said a man on conditions of anonymity and whose house was burned down. “Two fire boats also arrived at a [nearby] river bank, but they just parked there.”

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First Cambodian American to run for US Congress

Sam Meas
Click here for Sam Meas for Congress website

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
19 November 2009

A Cambodian American who has put forward his candidacy for upcoming US House of Representatives elections is mobilizing support from Cambodian community in the States.

In a meeting in Maryland last weekend, 38-year-old Sam Meas, who will run on a Repulican platform for 5th district in Massachussets, was optimistic that votes from Cambodian Americans can put him through to the House. The town of Lowell is in the 5th district of Massachussets and is home to 30,000 Cambodians.

“I am here in Maryland to firstly announce my candidacy and that I am the first Cambodian who dares to run for the House of Represenatives,” Sam Meas told VOA Khmer in an interview. “Secondly, I need Cambodian community outside the constituency that I run for to fully support me. Though they cannot vote, they can provide financial support and tell their relatives there to vote for me.”

More than 20 people from Washington area attended the gathering to listen to Sam Meas’s political platform.

“I am greatly excited to see a Cambodian running for an office here, especially up to the Congressional level because this will benefit Cambodian community here and those in Cambodia,” president of the Cambodian Association for Democracy and Human Rights, Yap Kimtung, told VOA Khmer after listening to Sam Meas’s presentation. “I would like to appeal to all Cambodian-American to register and vote for him.”

Sam Meas sees that once he wins the election he will be focusing on tax reduction and immigration issues.

Some young Cambodians in the US face deportation for crimes they commit despite living here for more than 20 years.

“I want to work with the government to change the law requiring deportation of Cambodian children who have lived in the US for 20 or 25 years for petty crimes they committed and were deported just because their parents don’t have citizenship,” said Sam Meas.

Sam Meas might face internal challengers from the Republican Party before the party endorses its candidate for the elections set for November 2010. The House of Representatives seat in this Massachussets district has been held by the Democratic Party since 1975.

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First Miss Landmine Cambodia Crowned

Miss Battambang
Dos Sopheap
Age: 18
Hometown : Damnak Lourng Village, Svay Por District
Mine accident : 1996
Marital status: Single
Kids: None
Occupation: Student
Future ambition: Accountant for an NGO
Favorite color: Red

Clothes: American Appareil, $ 32
Shoe and accessories: Myff Design, $ 17
Location: The Quay Hotel, Phnom Penh
www.thequayhotel.com

Mine : PMA-2 anti-personnel, $ 10
Release: Pressure (8 kg or more)
Explosive: 100 g TNT
Producer: Former Yugoslavia

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
19 November 2009

Cambodians in Norway have selected the winner of the Miss Landmine for Cambodia after it was not allowed inside the country.

Eighteen-year-old Dos Sopheap of Battambang was crowned in absentia in a ceremony attended by more than 200 participants on Saturday last week at the South Norway Museum of Modern Arts in Kristiansan.

None of the 20 candidates were able to attend the event. The selection was based on photographs taken earlier in Cambodia.

“I am happy to know that I have been selected. Being a disabled person, I only got discriminated against, now I am so thrilled,” Dos Sopheap told VOA Khmer by phone on Monday.

Dos Sopheap, now a senior at a high school in Battambang province, lost her left leg to a landmine while escaping from a gun fighting in 1996.

The first runner up goes to Miss Takeo, 30-year-old Thou Chorn, and second runner-up Miss Kompong Cham, So Yeu, 35.

Cambodia’s government has banned the contest, organized by Norwegian landmine survivor advocates, saying it is a “mockery” to Cambodia’s disabled.

“Even though the government does not recognize our project it is time that the international demining organizations working in Cambodia step up and take a stance for the freedom of expression in Cambodia and recognize Sopheap as an ambassador for landmine survivors in Cambodia and find a way to use her talent,” said Morten Traavik, program leader of Miss Landmine Cambodia.

In her first message upon learning of the crowning, Dos Sopheap calls for more efforts to clear landmines from Cambodia.

“I would like to appeal to CMAC [Cambodian Mines Action Centre] to clear all landmines so that no more Cambodian people will fall victims. I would also like CMAC to warn villagers not to go into a place where there is a landmine sign," she said.

There are some 43,926 landmine survivors in Cambodia. The Cambodian Mines Action Centre says almost 200 people suffered from landmines in the first nine months of 2009, a slight decline compared to the same period last year.

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Massage Offers Blind Cambodians Way Out of Poverty

By Ker Yann, VOA Khmer
Video Editor: Manilene Ek
19 November 2009

Blind people in Cambodia face an uphill struggle. Discrimination against the blind is widespread and educational employment opportunities are few and far between. One way out of their predicament is working as a masseuse. "Seeing hands" massage shops in Cambodia offer employment and educational opportunities to the blind while at the same time offering visitors an ideal way to relax.

Cambodia has one of the largest rates of blind people in the world. There are about 144,000 blind people in the country representing 1.25 percent of the population according to the Association of the Blind.

Cambodia poor health care system means that common diseases like chicken pox and measles leave many people blind. Traffic accidents, and accidents with unexploded bombs left over from three decades of conflict, are other leading causes.

For the blind in Cambodia, educational and employment opportunities are few and far between.

Boun Mao, the Director of the Association of the Blind in Cambodia (ABC), lost his sight in 1993 when robbers threw acid in his face. He says that discrimination against the blind is widespread in Cambodia.

Boun Mao: "People here believe in Karma. They think that you are punished in this life for the bad things you did in a past life. Because of that there is a lot of discrimination against the blind in this society. There is even discrimination against the blind within the family.”

One of the few opportunities that blind people have to earn a living is as a masseur. About a dozen so-called "seeing-hands" massage shops have opened in Phnom Penh in recent years. Blind massage shops are run on a cooperative basis. About half of the profits go to salaries with the rest reinvested in the employees, teaching them life skills such as learning computers and reading brail. By offering the blind an opportunity to earn a living they are able to regain their independence and self respect .

Landmine survivor So Pary says that becoming a masseur changed his life.

So Pary: "I was blinded while I was planting rice and I hit a landmine with my hoe. After that my family picked on me a lot because I couldn't do any work. Something had to change and then this organisation taught me massage and now I'm happy because I can work again and help my family.”

Many customers say that blind masseuses are better because they have a better sense of touch. Harriet Pegden and Tony Rice from London, England enjoyed the experience.

Tony Rice: "Well I'd recommend a blind massage to anyone really. It's intense, accurate - they found a weak a weak spot I've got and it's a really good thing for people to come and do when they're in Cambodia.”

Harriet Pegden: "Because they're more sensitive with their hands because I suppose, being blind you spend most of your time feeling around the world and you have a more accurate kind of sense - they feel muscles more intensely.”

A massage at a "Seeing Hands" massage shop typically cost about $5 for one hour but with fewer tourists around these days, better deals are often available. So as well as good value for money, having a blind massage allows you to feel great while at the same time helping some of Cambodia’s most vulnerable people.

This report was provided by APTN.

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Abhisit confident CATS takeover won't worsen spat

20/11/2009
Bangkok Post

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says he is confident Cambodia's move to take over air traffic operations from a Thai firm will not worsen the bitter spat between the two countries.

The prime minister said there was no sign that what happened to Cambodia Air Traffic Service (CATS) would erode the confidence of other Thai businesses operating in the country.

The Cambodian government on Wednesday ordered all Thai officials of CATS to stop work. The order followed Phnom Penh's decision to charge Sivarak Chutipong, a CATS engineer, with spying by allegedly supplying the classified flight plan of convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to a Thai diplomat.

Executive vice chairman of Samart Corporation Plc Sirichai Rasameechan told the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday that a senior civil aviation official of the Cambodian government had taken over the operations.

"Samart Corporation Plc has been closely cooperating with the Thai government to help negotiate with the Cambodian government for the release of Mr Sivarak and resolve this incident," he said in a statement.

CATS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samart. It has a contract to provide air traffic control services in Cambodia for 32 years, from 2001 to 2033. Revenue from the Cambodian operation was about 800 million baht last year, about 5% of the group's consolidated revenues.

Despite Mr Abhisit's optimism, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya sent a strong message to Phnom Penh on the issue, saying Cambodia should respect the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement made with Thailand.

"The decision must be in tandem with the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. If it is not, then we need to find a way to take action," Mr Kasit said.

Mr Kasit also challenged the Puea Thai Party to reveal what it claimed was a secret tape recording of his conversation with the embassy in which he allegedly tried to obtain Thaksin's flight details.

Puea Thai MP Jatuporn Prompan claimed the Cambodian government had an audio clip of Mr Kasit.

"I am dying to listen to my voice. Does Mr Jatuporn work for Cambodia?" Mr Kasit asked reporters.

Mr Kasit said the ministry was waiting for confirmation from Cambodian authorities about when the detained Thai engineer could receive visitors.

The government plans to arrange for his mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, to travel to Prey Sar prison in the Cambodian capital to visit her son.

Mr Kasit rejected an offer by Puea Thai chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to help bring Mr Sivarak back home, saying it was not Gen Chavalit's responsibility. The government was taking care of it.

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U.N. says Cambodian troops to aid in Chad

N'DJAMENA, Chad, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The United Nations said Thursday 42 Cambodian troops have arrived in Chad to provide security and humanitarian help there and in the Central African Republic.

The United Nations said in a release that in addition to facilitating humanitarian aid in the African countries, the Cambodian troops will help protect civilians and help in the relocation of U.N. personnel and logistic assets.

The eastern portion of Chad is serving as a refuge for 160,000 displaced Chad residents and nearly 250,000 refugees from the Sudan's Darfur region.

A number of refugees also fled armed conflict in Darfur in the northern part of the Central African Republic.

The United Nations has been helping the refugees since 2005.

The international organization said equipment difficulties encountered by some participating countries have left the U.N. mission operating at 53 percent of its authorized strength, or 2,750 troops.

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Daughter Saves Mom From Rape

11/20/2009
ShortNews.com

In Battambang province, Cambodia, a woman was washing her cloths in the river when a man approached her quietly from behind, grabbed her and attempted to rape her.

The woman's daughter was nearby with some of her friends and they came running and fended off the rapist.

Police arrested the would-be rapist and the man claimed that he had attempted to rape the woman because he was drunk and feeling horny.

Source: www.phnompenhpost.com

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Suthep: Row will end if Thaksin quits

20/11/2009
Bangkok Post

If former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra resigns or is replaced as economic adviser to the Cambodian government, the diplomatic row between Thailand and Phnom Penh will cool down, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Friday.

“This does not mean that I am asking the Cambodian government to do this. They would not do it. But I think this is the easiest way to ease tension between the two countries,” said Mr Suthep.

The deputy premier said he thought Thaksin traveled to Cambodia quite often because he wants to use the neighbouring country as his political base. It was easier to meet his political supporters there.

Mr Suthep thanksed Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Gen Tea Banh for coming forwardand denying that his government has an audio recording of Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ordering the Thail embassy’s first secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai to obtain Thaksin's flight schedule, as claimed by Puea Thai party list MP Jatuporn Promphan.

Gen Tea Banh's rejection of the claim was made in an interview published in a Bangkok Thai-language newspaper today.

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Tea Banh: There is no secret tape

20/11/2009
Bangkok Post

The Cambodian government has no secret audio recording of Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ordering an official of Thai embassy in Phnom Penh to obtain the flight schedule of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, as claimed by a Puea Thai MP, Cambodian deputy prime minister and defence minister Gen Tea Banh, asserted on Friday.

“I think the person who exposed this case has an ill-intention or a hidden agenda. The person might want to incite war between the two countries and then put the blame on Cambodia,” Gen Tea Banh said in an interview published in the Thai-language Kom Chad Luek newspaper

The Cambodian defence minister said that military relations between Thailand and Cambodia remain intact.

He refused to comment on the arrest of Sivarak Chutiphong, a Thai employed by Cambodia Air Traffic Services who has been charged with spying. He said the case is still being investigated according to Cambodian legal procedure.

Puea Thai MP Jatuporn Prompan on Wednesday claimed that the Cambodian government had a recording of Mr Kasit instructing the Thai first secretary at the embassy to obtain Thaksin's flight plan. He did not say how he knew this.

Mr Kasit yesterday denied he had given such an order and challenged Mr Jatuporn to produce the secret tape.

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Silencing Opposition, A Threat to Cambodia Democracy: US Congressman

US Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) at the podium

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
18 November 2009

A US congressman warns that removing immunity of the Cambodia's main opposition leader is a threat to democracy the country has barely achieved.

"The lifting of parliamentary immunity from the head of the Sam Rainsy Party is just the latest troubling sign from Cambodia's fledgling Democracy," said Ed Royce (R-Calif.) in an e-mail response to VOA Khmer on Tuesday.

"Cambodia needs to embrace political pluralism in all of its forms, and the State's continued attempts to marginalize the political opposition are of great concern," he said.

The National Assembly stripped Sam Rainsy of his immunity on Monday in a session present only by parliamentarians from Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling party.

Sam Rainy has been charged with inciting a failed criminal act and misdemeanor when he led a team of villagers to uproot six wooden boundary markers in Svay Rieng province bordering Vietnam.

However, Sam Rainsy defends his act saying that he only helps people who brought to his attention a complaint about an encroachment of their rice field by Vietnamese authorities.

"If the US congress wishes to let the opposition do whatever they want, that's not the rule of law," said Phay Siphan, a spokesman at the Council of Ministers, adding that the removal of the immunity was merely to pave the way for a court investigation.

"If the court finds him not guilty, it is not a problem," he said.

Sam Rainsy is currently in Europe mobilizing political support from European parliament and international community.

Three opposition parliamentarians have had their immunity revoked this year for upsetting Prime Minister Hun Sen and senior government officials. Civil society in Cambodia notes that the government has lately taken the strongest action ever against opposition politicians and journalists through its non-independent court systems.

In October four US congressmen - Ed Royce (R-Calif), Frank Wolf (R-Va), Joseph Cao (R-LA), and Jim Moran (D-Va), proposed a Congressional resolution condemning Cambodia's wide-spread corruption, human trafficking, and violation of freedom of expression and human rights.

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Tea Banh slams red shirts

November 20, 2009
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee,
Veena Chanreung
The Nation, Kom Chad Luek

The Thai-Cambodian diplomatic row grew more complicated yesterday when Phnom Penh Defence Minister Tea Banh strongly criticised a Thai red-shirt leader for "making up" a story about a secret tape involving the Thai foreign minister. Tea Banh and Cambodia's Foreign Ministry yesterday rejected the claim by Jatuporn Promphan that Cambodian officials had taped a phone conversation between Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and a diplomat in Phnom Penh over former PM Thaksin Shinawatra's flight plan.

"I think the one who made claims about the tape just did it for kicks [or] probably had a hidden agenda of drumming things up to the point of war between the two countries," Tea Banh told Kom Chad Luek in a telephone interview. "This could make Cambodia end up being a scapegoat."

He said the armed forces of both countries had been on good terms and were in constant communication, sharing information.

Cambodia's Foreign Ministry also flatly denied existence of any secret tape.

"The Foreign Ministry of Cambodia is not aware of the interception of a telephone conversation between the Thai minister and the diplomat. We don't do such things," Cambodian foreign ministry spokesman Koy Kuong told The Nation in a telephone interview from Phnom Penh.

Jatuporn, an MP with the opposition Pheu Thai Party, claimed Cambodian authorities had recorded a phone conversation when Kasit ordered first secretary at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh Kamrob Palawatwichai to get details of Thaksin's flights.

Kasit challenged Jatuporn yesterday to make the audio recording public to prove the claim. "Is the job of opposition MPs tapping phones or serving Cambodia? If my voice is on a secret tape, I'm dying to hear it."

Jatuporn had dug in before the Cambodian denial. "Cambodia is waiting for a reaction from Thailand. I believe they will play it soon, so let's wait to hear it from there," he said yesterday. "Thai people and the world should know the truth."

Kasit insisted the conflict with Cambodia had erupted when Pheu Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh visited Phnom Penh last month and Cambodian premier Hun Sen later appointed Thaksin as his economic adviser.

However, Jatuporn's claims implied the high point of the conflict - the arrest of Thai engineer Siwarak Chotipong for alleged spying - stemmed from instructions from the Thai Foreign Ministry.

Siwarak, an engineer at Cambodia Air Traffic Service (CATS) was detained last week for obtaining details of Thaksin's flight plan and allegedly taking it to a Thai diplomat, who was subsequently expelled from Phnom Penh.

Siwarak is being detained in a Phnom Penh prison pending a trial, according to Cambodia's spokesman Koy Kuong, who said the Thai was being treated in accordance with Cambodian legal processes.

His trial will start soon, he said, but declined to give an exact date.

Cambodian authorities have taken temporary control of CATS, a subsidiary of the Thai company Samart Corp, barring Thai staff from doing their jobs.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday ordered the Foreign Ministry to seek ways to protect the Thai business concession.

Kasit said the aviation navigation business operated under Cambodian investment law and could not be nationalised easily.

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Over hundred houses fired in Phnom Penh

November 19, 2009
Xinhua

Over a hundred houses in Roeusey Keo district in Phnom Penh were fired on Thursday under strong wind season that was hitting Cambodia from the north direction to south.

"We have not known the cause of the fire yet and we did not know the amount of damage," Touch Naroath, Police chief of Phnom Penh told reporters at the scene, adding that "no casualty was caused yet."

"We are investigating the cause of fire," he said.

He also appealed to local people to be careful for their houses and property and should turn off the light and cooking gas when they left home.

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Thai PM: Gov't seeking ways to help Thai firm in Cambodia

November 19, 2009
Xinhua

The Thai Foreign Ministry has been instructed to help solve a problem at Cambodia Air Traffic Services Co Ltd (CATS) after the Cambodian government takes control of CATS, Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva said Thursday.

The Cambodian government has appointed a supervisor to oversee CATS, while Thai employees have not been allowed to continue working in the firm, Thai News Agency reported.

The Thai Foreign Ministry will look into agreements concerning investors' protection as CATS will consult with the ministry on how it can regain its own right, Abhisit said.

Cambodia Air Traffic Services Co Ltd is a wholly-owned unit of Thailand's Samart Corporation.

Abhisit said the Thai government has been working how to deal with Cambodia, which has claimed that the Cambodian government's action on CATS is concerned with security.

Having controlled CATS by the Cambodia government occurs after Siwarak Chothipong, a 31-year-old-Thai man, who worked as engineer at CATS, has been arrested from Nov. 11, according to the arrest warrant of prosecutor of Phnom Penh Municipality Court.

Cambodia has charged Siwarak of having had confidential information affecting Cambodia's national security, a senior Thai official said Wednesday.

According to a news report by the Khmer language newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea, Siwarak spied through copying the letters of flights of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Cambodia and Prime Minister Hun Sen from CATS -- Cambodia Air Traffic Services Co Ltd which has duties to control all flights in country and he sent those reports to Thailand.

Siwarak has been detained in a prison in Phnom Penh since last week as the Thai government is now in the process of seeking a release for him.

Thailand and Cambodia have downgraded their diplomatic relations due to conflict over an appointment of Thaksin as an economic advisor to Cambodia's government and Prime Minister Hun Sen on Nov.4.

A day after the appointment of Thaksin, the Cambodian government announced recall of its ambassador to Thailand in a move to respond to the Thai government's recall of its ambassador to Cambodia.

Thaksin was ousted by the military coup in September 2006, in accusation of corruption, and has been kept in exile since then.

He returned to Thailand in February 2008 to face corruption charges, but he later fled into exile again and was convicted in absentia.

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Thailand 'extending every effort' to help Thai detained in Cambodia

BANGKOK, Nov 19 (TNA) - The Thai government has extended every effort to help Thai engineer detained on espionage charges in Cambodia as close coordination carried out between legal officers at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh and his employer, affirmed Dr Panitan Wattanayakorn, deputy secretary-general to the prime minister.

Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS) employee Siwarak Chutipong, 31, was arrested in Phnom Penh on spying charges last week when he was discovered releasing Thaksin Shinawatra’s flight schedule to a Thai embassy official in Phnom Penh.

Dr Panitan, who is also acting government spokesman, told reporters that Thailand's agencies concerned had working together to help release Mr Siwarak.

As for the report that Cambodian soldiers raided the CATS office, Dr Panitan said he believed it was done under Cambodian legal procedures to find evidence to support the accusation.

He added that the incident was not serious to the extent that the Cambodian government would revoke the CATS contract.

CATS is wholly-owned by the Samart Corporation and received a concession from the Cambodian government to supply aeronautical radio and air traffic control services to Cambodia.

Asked whether convicted ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra posted gossip on twitter, a social networking website, that he would visit the Thai-Cambodian border, would cause more problem, Mr Panitan said the government did not want the relationship between Thailand and Cambodia to further deteriorated further.

However, the former premier would be arrested if he entered Thai soil and stayed at border line in the northeastern region, he said.

Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva affirmed that the government would care for Thai investors in Cambodia.

The control of CATS by Cambodian authorities and Thai employees were not allowed to enter the company was considered the Cambodian security measure as the Thai engineer's charge involved its national security, he said.

He had asked to Ministry of Foreign Affairs to see the agreement on investor protection and CATS planned to later consult with the ministry on how to protect its concession in Cambodia.

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Cambodia takes over Thailand-run company as row deepens

Thursday, 19 November 2009
BBC News

New turbulence has hit the Thai-Cambodian relationship

Cambodia has taken over the running of the country's Thai-owned air traffic control firm, in a deepening row between the two neighbouring countries.

Cambodia also barred all Thai employees from turning up for work and put a Cambodian national in temporary charge.

The move comes a day after a Thai engineer working for the firm in Phnom Penh was formally charged with spying.

It is said he passed on details of last week's flight to Cambodia by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Thaksin, who is wanted in Thailand to serve a jail sentence for corruption, spent five days in Cambodia in his new role as an economic adviser.

'Seizing firm'

On Thursday, the government in Phnom Penh appointed a senior Cambodian civil servant in temporary charge of Cambodia Air Traffic Services (Cats) - a Thai-owned and Thai-operated firm.

It also suspended all Thai nationals from performing their duties.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya urged Cambodia to respect bilateral deals, regulating the running of Cats.

"The ministry is waiting for reports from the Thai embassy and we will also have to get clarification from the Cambodian government. If it violates bilateral agreements, then we will find way to proceed," the minister told reporters.

"Cambodia is a market economy. Just seizing (a firm) would not seem right," he added.

Internal politics

Phnom Penh's move is said to be temporary pending the outcome of a legal case against a Thai engineer who works for the company, the BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok reports.

Siwarak Chothipong, 31, a Cats employee, was on Wednesday charged with spying.

He is currently under arrest, accused of passing the flight details of Mr Thaksin to a Thai diplomat.

Mr Thaksin's presence across the border infuriated the Thai government, which claims he should have been extradited to serve a two-year jail term.

The former Thai prime minister was ousted in a coup in 2006, and subsequently found guilty in absentia on conflict of interest charges.

Local newspaper reports in Thailand suggest the current Thai government and Mr Thaksin are now competing to offer help to the detained engineer and his family, our correspondent says.

Rachel Harvey adds that this is an indication that the row is as much about the internal politics of Thailand as it is about cross-border rivalries.

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ANALYSIS - Has Thaksin's Cambodian stunt backfired?

Thu Nov 19, 2009
By Martin Petty

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thaksin Shinawatra's provocative trip to neighbouring Cambodia last week has stirred up trouble back home in Thailand, but by triggering a nationalist row, the fugitive ex-premier may get more than he bargained for.

Polls show Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's popularity has climbed as a result of his measured response to Thaksin's taunts and his handling of Cambodia's refusal to extradite him to serve a two-year prison sentence for graft.

Some believe the wily billionaire may have badly miscalculated by getting into bed with old foe Cambodia, which could alienate some of his more moderate supporters.

"There's been no gain for Thaksin's popularity and by playing up this situation, this will make him unpopular, even among his supporters," said Thai political scientist Somjai Phagaphasvivat.

"The only way it would have worked is if Abhisit had overreacted, but he's responded carefully and logically and he will become more popular at Thaksin's expense."

The outrage at Thaksin's alliance with Cambodian premier Hun Sen and his meetings in Cambodia with political allies has come mostly from the anti-Thaksin media and the influential "yellow shirts", who staged a mass rally on Sunday to show their contempt, some even calling for the beheading of his henchmen.

Thaksin appears to have gained little from the stage-managed visit to Cambodia although it may be too soon to tell what effect it will have on his support base among the rural poor in the vote-rich north and northeast.

However, his ardent "red shirt" supporters have already declared they will continue to back him and plan to hold their first prolonged rally since April, when protests snowballed into Thailand's worst violence in 17 years.

INVESTORS CONCERNED

That episode caused huge embarrassment for Thailand, which saw its credit ratings downgraded amid concern over the endless cycle of political violence in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.

Some argue that Thaksin's supporters will stick with him because of what he represents rather than out of simple personal loyalty.

He may be a billionaire, but he has stood up to the old elites in the military, aristocracy and business sector, who they say acted undemocratically to sideline the former premier.

"The Thaksin loyalty is greater than the person -- it's what it all means and what he stands for," said David Streckfuss, a University of Wisconsin historian currently based in the Thaksin stronghold of Khon Khen.

"My impression is this won't backfire, because there's already too much momentum for something that is beyond Thaksin."

Tim Powdrill, an analyst for security consultancy Riskline ApS, said Thaksin's biggest fans were unlikely to see his appointment as Cambodia's economic tsar as unpatriotic, but moderate supporters could be swayed by the nationalism generated by the diplomatic spat.

"The deal doesn't seem likely to cost Thaksin his most loyal support. For them, perhaps, he seems one step closer to returning home and these supporters will surely like the idea of Thaksin thumbing his nose at his domestic enemies," he said.

"However, Thaksin does still risk finding himself on the wrong side of popular nationalism and his hardcore support alone won't be enough to support his ultimate goal of a return."

Regardless of who has gained the upper hand in recent weeks, there is little doubt the political stakes have been raised, with neither side in any mood to compromise and growing prospects of further instability.

"Thaksin is in exile and has nothing to lose. He can take drastic measures, even spark violent confrontation," said Somjai, the Thammasat University political scientist.

"Political tensions are now even more heightened and will remain this way for the foreseeable future."

(Editing by Alan Raybould and Ron Popeski)

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Hundreds of Cambodian Muslims homeless after fire

PHNOM PENH, Nov 19, 2009 (AFP) - Hundreds of ethnic Cham Muslims were made homeless Thursday by a fire that gutted a crowded neighbourhood in Cambodia's capital, police said.

The blaze broke out at 7:30 am (0030 GMT) among poorly-built wooden houses mostly inhabited by members of the Muslim minority, local police chief Som Bunny said, adding that the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

"At least 230 houses were completely burned down," he said, adding that authorities and firefighters took five hours to put out the flames.

There were no reports of injuries or deaths, authorities said.

Although large neighbourhood fires are increasingly rare in Phnom Penh, a series of suspicious blazes several years ago destroyed a number of slum areas, forcing tens of thousands to flee.

There are nearly 240,000 Cham Muslims in Cambodia, forming 1.6 percent of the population in the predominantly Buddhist country, according to a recent survey by the US-based Pew Research Centre.

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[Thai] PM: Cambodia, Jatuporn sharing info

19/11/2009
Bangkok Post

The Cambodian government and opposition Puea Thai Party MP Jatuporn Prompan could be sharing information, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Thursday.

United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) core member Jatuporn earlier claimed that he had an audio tape of Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ordering the Thai embassy's first secretary, Kamrob Palawatwichai, to find out Thaksin's flight schedule.

"I believe Mr Jatuporn and Cambodia have constantly been in contact. I hope the person behind this will regain a sense of conscience and won't trade off the country's interests to Cambodia," the prime minister said.

"If Thaksin crosses the border into Thailand through the Northeast, he must be face his punishment if the law is to be preserved."

He said the government had no intention of playing political games with the red-shirts, and he was confident the UDD's anti-government rallies would not turn violent.

"I believe the UDD's plan to topple the government by Dec 3 will not succeed, because people want peace," he said. "The government will evaluate the situation again before deciding whether to apply the Internal Security Act during the protests."

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Cambodia takes control of CATS

19/11/2009
Bangkok Post

Cambodia has taken control of Cambodian Air Traffic Services (CATS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Thailand's Samart Corporation, and appointed a senior Civil Aviation official as its temporary caretaker, Samart said in a statement on Thursday.

Cambodian authorities ejected all Thai employees from their offices at CATS on Wednesday after Phnom Penh filed formal charges against Siwarak Chutipong, a Thai engineer working for the air traffic control firm, accusing him of spying.

"The caretaker has prohibited Thai expatriates from performing their duties," Samart vice-chairman Sirichai Rasameechan said in a statement filed with the Stock Exchange of Thailand, where the company is listed.

CATS has a 32-year concession (2001-2033) to provide air traffic control services under a build, cooperate and transfer arrangement with the Cambodian government. Revenue from the operation this year contributed about 5 per cent of the group's earnings.

The deal was covered by an investment protection agreement between the two countries, he said. Samart was seeking the government's help to end the problem.

"Samart has been closely cooperating with the Thai government to help negotiations with the Cambodian government for the release of Mr Sivarak and to resolve this incident," the statement, which was issued in Thai, said.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya insisted that Cambodia must comply with the law in ejecting Thai nationals from their jobs at CATS, replacing them with Cambodians and seizing the company's equipment.

Kasit said any action against the company and its employees must be strictly according to the law and comply with Cambodia's own investment and internal affairs regulations.

"The ministry is waiting for reports from the Thai embassy and we will also have to get clarification from the Cambodian government. If it violates bilateral agreements, then we will find ways to proceed from there," he told reporters.

"Cambodia is a market economy," he added. "Just seizing [a company] would not seem right."

The Foreign Ministry had sent the Consular Affairs Department deputy director-general to see Mr Sivarak's mother in Nakhon Ratchasima. Mr Kasit said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had promised Mr Sivarak's mother that he would visit her detained son if possible.

The government had to wait for Cambodia's confirmation of a time for the meeting with Mr Sivarak. The ministry had also hired a lawyer to liaise with Samart about the problem.

"There are, however, no problems with Thai-Cambodian relations," he insisted.

Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, denied Puea Thai Party MP Jatuporn Promphan's claim that Mr Kasit had ordered the Thai embassy's first secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai to find out the flight schedule of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Chavanond challenged Mr Jatuporn to make public a copy of the tape he claimed to have of the conversation, and slammed Mr Jatuporn's statement as "nonsense".

He said the Foreign Ministry is providing assistance for Mr Sivarak and finding a lawyer to defend him.

The ministry this morning asked the Cambodian government to allow Mr Sivarak's mother to visit her son in Prey Sar prison.

The Thai engineer is accused of "stealing classified information affecting national security" by passing details of Thaksin's and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's flight plan to an official at the Thai embassy.

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Rice Shortage Scares: Would The Real Culprits Please Step Forward?

Thursday, November 19, 2009
By WILLIAM BOOT
The Irrawady News

BANGKOK — Alarms about a possible new Asian rice crisis on the back of last year’s “shortages” may be nothing more than scaremongering to keep prices up while a much more serious problem is developing almost unnoticed.

New shortage fears surfaced around the sidelines of an international rice conference in the Philippines last month and have been repeated since.

They have been based on reports of bad weather slashing crop volumes in India, the Philippines and Vietnam.

But the fact is that record quantities of rice are being hoarded by key producers Thailand, India and China.

Figures just published by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) show that India is sitting on up to 25 million tonnes and Thailand as much as 8 million tonnes, while China probably holds about 50 percent of the world’s rice stocks at any one time.

Even poor Burma claimed earlier this month to have 1 million tonnes surplus available for export.

These figures belie predictions that bad weather this year in India, the Philippines and Vietnam will cause a rice shortage that could spark regional shortages and rocketing prices.

The USA Rice federation says India could distort the market by buying between 1 million and 3.5 million tonnes next year, and storm damage in the Philippines will force that country to sharply increase its imports.

But the Philippines’ National Food Authority says for the moment the country has sufficient stock to avoid unplanned buying which could push up market prices.

Unfounded shortage scares in late 2007 and early 2008 caused panic buying and overreaction by governments and the market which sent prices climbing, triggering export curbs.

And contrary to claims that prices have never come back down since then, the IRRI says average rice prices in Asia are 60 percent lower today than their May 2008 panic rates.

However, last year’s major intervention in the market by several governments has led to state hoarding, says the IRRI.

“One of the undesirable outcomes of raising the [state] support level has been the diversion of rice away from the market to government warehouses,” says the Philippines-based IRRI in a new report.

A much bigger problem for future rice supply is declining crop yield. Although the amount of land being planted with rice is expanding, the production level per hectare is declining, says the IRRI.

“Irrespective of what happens to the market in the next few months, the fundamental problem for achieving global rice security, sagging yield growth, has yet to be addressed,” reports the IRRI in its latest issue of Rice Today.

“Over the past eight years, nearly half of the production increase has been attributed to area expansion rather than productivity growth,” it said.

These figures indicate that land under rice cultivation globally is at an all-time high, yet yield growth per hectare is declining while consumption rises 1.5 percent a year.

“With further area expansion less likely in the future, productivity growth must be ramped up if we want to feed the hundreds of millions of poor people,” said the IRRI.

Attempts to establish a form of rice cartel in Southeast Asia with the aim of managing the market and prices have so far failed, mainly because of the huge disparity in standards of production and costs between the countries that have expressed an interesting in joining—Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma.

A rice industry official in Thailand, who did not wanted to be named because of the sensitive nature of the subject, said Cambodia, Laos and Burma have little or no verifiable production information.

“They produce poor quality rice which sells at the bottom end of the market compared to Thailand’s quality crops,” he said.

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RI to Bridge Thailand-Cambodia Conflict

President Yudhoyono had a meeting with both leaders in the APEC meeting.

Kamis, 19 November 2009
Renne R.A Kawilarang, Harriska Farida Adiati

VIVAnews – The diplomatic conflict between Thailand and Cambodia in the last two weeks have interrupted the ASEAN’s integrity. Indonesia as one of the ASEAN members is prepared to help resolving the conflict between the two neighboring countries.

“The issues between the two countries are contradicting the integrity of ASEAN, which we want to develop between ASEAN member countries,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta on Thursday, Nov. 19. “Indonesia is ready to traverse the conflict solving between the two countries if needed,” he added.

Natalegawa also said that during the APEC meeting in Singapore last weekend, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had a meeting with the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

“We listened to both sides’ view of the problem,” he said. “We will discuss it further to see whether there will be a resolution for both.”

He said that communication between the two countries is needed and Indonesia can be a part of the communication process to manage the situation. Natalegawa added that ASEAN has yet to propose any solution upon this issue.

The tension between Cambodia and Thailand has risen since the Cambodian government threw out Thailand diplomats who were located in Phnom Penh on Thursday, Nov. 12. Thailand then made a similar gesture by expelling the Cambodian diplomats in Bangkok.
--
Translated by: Ariyantri E. Tarman

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Kasit: Banning Thai workers must be lawful

19/11/2009
Bangkok Post

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya insisted on Thursday that everything must be in line with the law after the Cambodian government prohibited Thai nationals from working at Cambodian Air Traffic Services (CATS), which is operated by Thailand's Samart Corporation.

The Cambodian government ordered the air traffic control company to ban Thai workers from performing their duties and replace them with Cambodian workers. All the company's tools and equipment were also seized.

The orders must be in accordance with Cambodia's investment and internal regulations, Mr Kasit said.

"As for Thailand, we'll have to wait for reports from the Thai Embassy to Phnom Pehn. We hope that we'll receive factual information from Cambodia and [Smart] company," he said. "If the orders do not follow the bilateral agreement of the two countries, we'll have to find other ways to continue."

The Foreign Ministry had sent Consular Affairs Department deputy director-general to meet with the mother of Thai engineer Siwarak Chothipong, who was arrested by the Cambodian government last week on spy charges.

Mr Kasit said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had promised Mr Siwarak's mother that he will visit her detained son.

He said the government had to wait for Cambodia's confirmation on the time of the meeting with the engineer, but the ministry had also hired a lawyer to discuss this problem with the company.

"There are no problems in the Thai-Cambodian relations," he added.

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SAMART Operates Businesses in Cambodia As Usual after Cambodian Govt Takes Temporary Control

19 November 2009
Thai-ASEAN News Network

A Thailand-based telecommunications firm, Samart Corporation, confirms its air traffic services business in Cambodia is operating as usual after the Cambodian government takes temporary control of the business.

It expects the problem of the company's arrested engineer will come to an end soon.

Managing Director of Samart Corporation Watchai Vilailuck revealed that Cambodia has decided to take temporary control of the company's subsidiary, Cambodia Air Traffic Services or CATS, after one of the firm's engineers, Siwarak Chutiphong, was arrested by Cambodian authorities on charges of spying.

Watchai said the company was gathering facts, and it has coordinated with the Thai government in contacting Cambodia to ease the situation concerning the legal charges against Siwarak as the matter is related to the national security.

Currently, CATS' operation is still running, but Thai employees are not allowed to perform their duties.

He supposed that cooperation from related parties will help the company from possible impacts to the business operation, and insisted the company had no involvement in the case.

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"Neak Tounh - Thnaut Yum" By Angkor Borei News

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ASEAN and the Cambodia-Thailand row

Thu, 11/19/2009
Huala Adolf , Bandung
Opinion
The Jakarta Post

The row between Cambodia and Thailand has been worsening recently. The decision of the Cambodia government to appoint former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra as its personal and economic advisor appears to be a clear case of interfering in Thai internal affairs.

The situation between the two countries is rather sensitive. Besides this row, the border dispute between the two countries is still fragile, while the long dispute over Preah Vihear Temple is still in limbo.

ASEAN has, for some time, been paying closer attention to the relationship between these countries. The recent call from ASEAN to both countries to end the row over the appointment of Thaksin has been met with reluctance from both countries. Given the scope of the dispute, this row is a test case for ASEAN.

ASEAN was set up to handle tension, disputes and conflicts in the region. Any conflict that emerges between or among members is solved by way of musyawarah mufakat, or negotiation and mutually agreed settlements, the terms recognized by all ASEAN leaders.

This step involves respecting the integrity and independence of each member country and strongly upholding the principle of non interference.

Over time, the way disputes have been resolved has gradually improved. This improvement, however, still reflects the spirit of musyawarah mufakat.

The present row is not only sensitive, but also somewhat political. The situation is heavily colored and is also exacerbated by other disputes, in particular the ongoing border dispute.

Since the row is political, it is therefore necessary to see whether the dispute settlement mecha-nism available under ASEAN is appropriate.

The use of legal mechanism, through negotiation or diplomacy, is therefore the best possible solution.

The regional conflicts taking place in most parts of the world have been successfully resolved by negotiation between concerned parties. The Latin American crisis in 2008 is an important example of the successful settlement of regional disputes.

The dispute between Columbia and Ecuador was negotiated in a summit hosted by the Dominican Republic.

What ASEAN could do to resolve the current dispute could be to not only call on the parties to end the conflict, but provide a concrete resolution, such as providing support or facilitating a meeting or summit between the two parties.

ASEAN's efforts, of course, will not succeed without the good faith of the parties and their genuine intention to end the crisis. Thailand on the other should refrain from using force or the threat of using force. On the other hand, Cambodia should take into account the sensitivity of the "Thaksin Shinawatra" issue in the eyes of the Thai people.

The writer is the lecturer in international law at the University of Padjadjaran's School of Law in Bandung.A

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Foreign Ministry Announces Progress in Thai Engineer Case

19 November 2009
Thai-ASEAN News Network

The Deputy Director-General of the information department at the Foreign Affairs Ministry gave an update on the case of a Thai engineer arrested by Cambodian authorities on charges of espionage.

Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Ministry's information department, Thani Thongpakdi, revealed that the ministry has received official notification from Cambodia of the charges, but details can not be revealed as the matter is now in court.

Thani said the Foreign Affairs Ministry is providing a Cambodian lawyer who is experienced in human rights issue for Siwarak, as Cambodia's law indicates that only Cambodian attorneys are allowed to represent a client in court.

Siwarak can choose whether he wants to use the Ministry's lawyer, or his personal lawyer.

Following news reports that opposition Pheu Thai Party chairman General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh would fly to Cambodia and bring Siwarak back to Thailand, Thani commented that the incident happened due convicted ex-premier prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's visit to Phnom Penh, and that whoever gives a hand to help Siwarak is doing good, but they must not make the story more complicated.

The Deputy Director-General added that the Deputy Director-General of the Consular Affairs Department visited Siwarak's family in Nakhon Ratchasima province to give moral support and will later take those with a ready passport to visit Siwarak in Phnom Penh, if they are allowed by Cambodian authorities.

Regarding Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Promphan's claim about an audio clip of a conversation of Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ordering the first secretary of the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh to send the ex-pm's flight plan to the Thai government, Thani said that the claim will have to be examined.

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[Thai] Govt dismisses Jatuporn's claim

19/11/2009
Bangkok Post

Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, on Thursday dismissed Puea Thai Party MP Jatuporn Prompan's claim that Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya had ordered Thai embassy's first secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai to seek the flight schedule of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Chavanond also challenged Mr Jatuporn to present the audio clip, which he claimed to be of Mr Kasit ordering Mr Kamrob to obtain Thaksin's flight schedule, to general public.

He slammed Mr Jatuporn's statement, saying that it is non-sense.

He also vowed that the Foreign Ministry is proceeding on providing assistance to Sivarak Chutipong, a Thai engineer working for the Cambodia Air Traffic Services who was accused of obtaining Thaksin's flight schedule and providing it to the Thai authorities.

He added that the ministry has contacted the Cambodian government this morning to seek the permission for Mr Sivarak's mother to visit her son in prison.

On reports that Cambodian authorities have expelled all Thai officials from their offices at CATS, Mr Chavanond said the government is trying to provide assistance to them.

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Only the Three Viet stooges have the privilege to make noise in Cambodia

By decree from the stooge on the right, only Cambodia's 3 Viet stooges have the privilege to use siren with their motorcades (Photo: AP)

Abuse of sirens causes loss of motorcade wailing privileges

Nov 19, 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has decreed that only he and two other senior politicians may use sirens to clear the streets for their motorcades, local media reported Thursday.

In a sub-decree promulgated Monday, the prime minister specifically banned the country's ten deputy prime ministers and other politicians from using sirens to allow easier passage through the capital's sometimes congested roads.

The director of the department for public order at the national police, Him Yan, told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper that the move followed abuses of siren privileges. He said those had caused public disorder and traffic jams in the capital.

'Deputy prime ministers cannot use the sirens now,' he told the paper.

Under the new legislation just three politicians may use sirens to move around the city: Prime Minister Hun Sen, the head of the Senate, and the head of the National Assembly.

Members of the royal family are still permitted to use sirens, as are the motorcades of visiting dignitaries with the rank of deputy minister or above.

The regulation does not affect emergency vehicles such as ambulances, police vehicles and fire trucks. The military is also exempt from the ruling.

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Cambodia takes reins of Thai-owned firm as row deepens

By Viparat Jantraprap

BANGKOK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - A diplomatic row between Cambodia and Thailand has moved into the skies after Phnom Penh took control of a Thai-operated air traffic control company at the centre of spying allegations.

The Cambodian government has appointed a senior Civil Aviation official as temporary caretaker for Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS), a wholly owned unit of Thailand's Samart Corporation Pcl, Samart said on Thursday.

All Thai expatriates at the company have been banned from performing their duties, it added.

The neighbouring countries are embroiled in a diplomatic row that began in October when Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen offered fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra a job as an economic adviser and a home just across the border. Thaksin, twice elected but deposed in a 2006 military coup and sentenced last year to two years in jail for graft, has been living in self-imposed exile, largely in Dubai. He spent five days in Cambodia last week, infuriating the Thai government.

A Thai engineer working for CATS has been accused of sending Thaksin's flight schedule to a Thai diplomat, who was expelled by Phnom Penh, and violating Cambodian national security laws.

Samart, 19 percent owned by Malaysian telecommunications firm Axiata Group (AXIA.KL), said on Thursday it was seeking support from the Thai government on negotiating with Cambodia for the release of the 31-year-old engineer, Siwarak Chutipongse.

"Samart has been closely cooperating with the Thai government to help negotiate with the Cambodian Government for the release of Mr. Siwarak and resolve this incident," it said in a statement to the stock exchange.

CATS provides air traffic control services with a 32-year concession (2001-2033) under a build, cooperate and transfer arrangement with the Cambodian government, with revenue from the operations this year contributing about 5 percent to the group.

The investment is covered by an investment protection agreement between the two countries, it said.

Thaksin's brief presence in Cambodia fired up passions on both sides of Thailand's political divide, drawing attention to a border where Thai and Cambodian troops have clashed in the past year and causing each country to recall its ambassador.

(Editing by Jason Szep)

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Asean needs to modify non-interference policy

Thursday, November 19, 2009
By Vannarith Chheang
The National (Papua New Guinea)

ASEAN is trying to realise the goal of an Asean community, similar to the one in Europe, by 2015 with the ultimate objective of living in peace and prosperity under a shared common identity.

Asean is regarded by many as the driving force in shaping regional architecture in the Asia-Pacific region, yet the alliance is currently held back by the fact that domestic politics and nationalism still overwhelm or dominate foreign policy and international relations in the region.

The Cambodia-Thailand border conflict is a case in point showcasing the alliance’s limitations.

Because of Asean’s well-known non-interference principle, its potential for conflict resolution in the region has not been utilised.

History has often found Cambodian and Thailand in rival positions, leading the states’ respective populations to demonise one another.

This legacy of nationalism and mistrust is at the root of present-day disagreements between the two countries.

Ex-Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was appointed as Cambodian economic adviser by prime minister Hun Sen last week.

This caused the temperature between the two neighbours to rise several notches and led to the ambassadors from each others’ country to be recalled last Nov 6.

Thaksin, who arrived in Phnom Penh last Wednesday, took the opportunity to aim a potshot at Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his government before giving a public lecture the following day to hundreds of Cambodian economists in his capacity as government economics adviser.

Because of his experience and expertise, it is possible that Thaksin’s advice could useful to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party as it formulates its economic policy.

I am concerned, however, about the implications of Thaksin’s appointment and his presence in Cambodia for Cambodian-Thai relations and, to a larger extent, regional security overall.

As a result of Thailand’s anger over Thaksin’s arrival, bilateral dialogue and negotiation between Thailand and Cambodia over the border issue will now likely come to a standstill, a fact portended by Thailand’s decision to revoke the memorandum of understanding on overlapping maritime boundaries agreed upon and signed by in 2001.

Economic relations between the two countries could be cut as well, which will significantly impact the livelihoods of poor merchants and others from both countries who live along the border.

Economically, this is a lose-lose situation.

How to solve this dispute?

At the 2008 Asean Summit, Cambodian foreign minister Hor Namhong asked Singapore, then the chair of Asean, to form a regional, inter-ministerial group to help find a peaceful solution to the bilateral dispute and prevent military confrontation from occurring.

Asean, however, encouraged Cambodian and Thailand to utilise a bilateral mechanism to solve their disagreements.

Unfortunately, bilateral dialogue has produced no result.

The mistrust between the two nations has now reached a point at which negotiations cannot move forward without intervention and mediation by a third party.

It is therefore necessary for Asean to take more assertive action and help broker a solution for the conflict.

The Asean principle of non-interference must be modified to meet this and other new challenges in the region. – Phnom Penh Post

* Vannarith Chheang is the executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace.

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Healthier fare fills Full Belly

11/18/2009
By Sandra Diamond Fox
Correspondent
Connecticut Post (USA)

Back in July, when a customer called Savuth In to congratulate him, he had no idea what the customer was talking about.

In soon learned that his deli -- The Full Belly Deli on Padanaram Road in Danbury -- had been selected as "best deli" in The News-Times 2009 Readers' Choice Awards.

"I hadn't even known there was a contest," said In, 31, of Danbury.

More than 500 readers participated in the first-ever Readers' Choice Awards, casting more than 20,000 votes in 145 categories.

One reason In said he believes customers are attracted to his deli is because it offers healthier fare.

"We don't serve fried foods like hot dogs, burgers or fries," he said.

The Full Belly Deli, which seats five, serves breakfast and lunch. The menu contains about 25 sandwiches -- including a chicken club, meatball wedge, reuben and turkey melt -- that cost about $6 each.

Customers also can create sandwiches, using any combination of meat, bread, vegetables or condiments they choose.

The deli carries 15 kinds of house and deli salads including spinach, tortellini, peppercorn chicken and pasta, and chef, which range from $1 to $7. Chicken soup and chili also are sold. Recently, the deli purchased a panini press, which serves hot and grilled sandwiches.

According to In, 60 to 75 customers frequent the deli each day, traveling from as far as Southbury and New Canaan. "We have one customer who, whenever she's in the area, orders five or six grilled chicken pesto sandwiches to take home with her to upstate Pennsylvania," he said.

"Everything always tastes fresh. It's food that's good for you," said Danbury resident Helena Abrantes, who orders lunch at the deli three times a week.

One of her favorite dishes is the grilled chicken spinach salad with apples and grapes.

Last year, In opened another Full Belly Deli on Federal Road in Brookfield, which is managed by his sister Savoeun, 33.

In's long-term goal is to franchise the deli and open stores in Norwalk, Stamford and Waterbury.

The deli has been in In's family since 2002, and was owned by his parents -- Chhem In and Noun Phoung -- until 2006, when In took it over.

In's parents immigrated to the United States from Cambodia in the early 1980s, and worked for years as assemblers in Danbury factories.

In 2002, after they were laid off, they used their savings from their years in the factory to purchase the deli. "They came here with nothing and were able to achieve the American dream," In said.

The Full Belly Deli, at 56 Padanaram Road in Danbury, and at 265 Federal Road in Brookfield, is open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Delivery and catering are available. Call 203-778-3354 in Danbury or 203-885-0255 in Brookfield, or visit www.thefullbellydeli.com.

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Cambodia appoints representative to oversee Thai firm

BANGKOK, Nov 19 (TNA) – The Cambodian government has appointed a supervisor to oversee Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS) and is not permitting Thai employees to perform their duties in the firm following an arrest of a Thai engineer for on espionage charges, according to Samart Corporation PCL.

Despite assurances that the company is and its employees are not spying on Cambodia, CATS itself, wholly-owned by the Samart Corporation, is coming under further pressure in the diplomatic standoff.

CATS employee Siwarak Chutipong, 31, was arrested in Phnom Penh on spying charges last week after he was discovered releasing Thaksin Shinawatra’s flight schedule to a Thai embassy official in Phnom Penh.

The self-exiled, convicted former Thai premier himself departed Cambodia last week, but remains at the centre of Thai-Cambodian relations

Samart Corporation president Wattanachai Wilailak said the company is examining facts on the matter and has asked the Thai government to liaise with its Cambodian counterpart to ease the situation.

However, Mr Wattanachai affirmed that CATS is open for business as usual.

Commenting on Mr Siwarak’s arrest, he said since the case is a national security for Cambodia, the company is liaising with the Foreign Ministry for fact-finding and negotiations with Phnom Penh.

“Now, all parties concerned are making an all-out effort to help Mr Siwarak, who is detained by Cambodian authorities. It is expected there will be good news soon,” he said.

Mr Wattanachai said the Samart Corporation had otherwise not been affected by the case, nor have other businesses the company conducts in Cambodia.

Samart subsidiary CATS runs a system installation business and provides air traffic control services in Cambodia under a 32-year concession from 2001 ending in 2033.

Thailand and Cambodia have an Investment Protection Agreement to oversee their mutual interests.

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Nazi defence provides model for Khmer Rouge cadre

Thursday, November 19, 2009
By Patrick Falby
AFP

PHNOM PENH — Hitler's chief architect Albert Speer is set to play a posthumous role this week when the trial of the main jailer for Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime hears final arguments from lawyers.

Speer escaped death at the Nuremberg trials after World War II by admitting responsibility for Nazi crimes and expressing remorse for using concentration camp inmates and prisoners of war for slave labour.

Similarly, Khmer Rouge cadre Duch is expected to repeat his expressions of remorse for the deaths of around 15,000 at the communist movement's main detention centre, a move his defence hope will spare him from life in prison.

Duch's defence has submitted as part of his case file the memoir by former Nuremberg prosecutor Henry King, "The Two Worlds of Albert Speer", in a bid to highlight similarities and show that Duch could one day foster reconciliation.

"Albert Speer also admitted before his judges his responsibility," French defence lawyer Francois Roux told AFP.

"He gave certain information to the prosecutor which helped in the search for truth and the Nuremberg tribunal took account of all that in its decision and accepted attenuating circumstances for Speer," Roux said.

"It is interesting to see that for Speer as for Duch, some people believe he hasn't told everything. Several books have been written posing questions about the sincerity of these admissions made at the end of his life.

"The similarity is interesting because whatever he could have said, the law -- and this is what interests me -- took into account his (Speer's) admissions and his cooperation, and condemned him to 20 years in jail instead of the death penalty which had been demanded for him."

After World War II Speer, who was also the German minister for war production, was the lone senior member of Adolf Hitler's leadership circle to cooperate with the historic Nuremberg war crimes tribunal.

Nuremberg prosecutor King, who visited Speer after his trial, wrote that the former Nazi who had once planned to build an imposing new capital for the Third Reich used the rest of his life to ponder his actions and seek redemption.

Sitting calmly in the dock, Duch has also largely cooperated at his own trial, explaining complicated documents and offering comments as officials traced how he oversaw Tuol Sleng prison with brutal efficiency.

Of the five former Khmer Rouge leaders currently being held in the purpose-built jail at Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court, Duch is the only one who has admitted guilt for abuses committed by the regime.

"Duch has been coached and has performed well in his apology," said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, which researches Khmer Rouge crimes.

Duch has also invited Khmer Rouge victims to visit him in jail.

But it is unclear if anyone will take up Duch's offer, and some say the comparison with Speer could backfire.

Like victims of Speer and the Nazis, many Cambodians say they do not believe Duch's apologies are genuine.

The former maths teacher has denied several allegations he personally tortured and killed Khmer Rouge prisoners, saying throughout proceedings that he feared for his life and his family, and acted under orders from superiors.

Likewise, Speer sought to distance himself from Hitler's policies.

"He (Speer) wasn't a total bloodless bureaucrat like he said," historian Peter Maguire, who has written books about Nuremberg and the Khmer Rouge, told AFP.

"There were some ridiculous verdicts and that was one of them. Speer should have gotten the death penalty," Maguire said.

After Duch, the court also plans to try former Khmer Rouge ideologue Nuon Chea, head of state Khieu Samphan, foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife, minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith.

Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia's cities in a bid to forge a communist utopia, resulting in the deaths of up to two million people from starvation, overwork and torture.

Duch will have to wait until his verdict, expected early next year, to find out whether the comparison with Speer has worked.

But his defence lawyer said that even larger issues were at stake.

"Can this man, who accepts that he committed crimes against humanity, come back today into humanity?" said Roux.

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ASEAN unity is a bulwark of sovereignty, says [Viet] Defence Minister

Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh.

19/11/2009
VietNamNet/VNE

VietNamNet Bridge – Minister of Defense Phung Quang Thanh talked with the media about the results of the recent ASEAN Defense Minister’s Meeting in Thailand and looked ahead to Vietnam’s pending chairmanship. “Maintaining ASEAN unity is critical to our defense,” he said.

Q: What do the ASEAN countries think regional security? [ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a ten nation grouping that includes Vietnam].

Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh: We Ministers of Defense met three times and agreed that the development of the ASEAN community should rest on three pillars: politics-security, economics and culture. The group’s regional security faces both traditional challenges (wars and armed conflicts) and non-traditional challenges that no single country can solve without the help of other member states and other friendly nations.

Anticipating its role as ASEAN’s chairman in 2010, Vietnam proposed that in regional security, the most important thing is to maintain a peaceful environment. For conflicts of sovereignty over sea areas and islands in the East Sea, it is essential to implement the ASEAN Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, and not to use force or threat of force to solve conflicts. Regional instability will affect the whole world because through this region passes the world’s second most important sea route. Some 150 to 200 ships transit it daily.

Vietnam emphasizes expanding non-traditional security cooperation, for example combating piracy (e.g., in the Malacca Straits), trafficking in persons, drug trafficking, search and rescue at sea, maneuvers, building the army and training.

Q: What do other ASEAN members think about traditional security?

Thanh: Traditional security covers wars, territorial and armed conflicts, conflicts over sovereignty, etc. Some ASEAN members have territorial conflicts, for example Thailand and Cambodia’s argument over the Preah Vihear temple site. The conflict in the East Sea involves five countries. Countries have to cooperate with each other and commit to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea that China signed with ASEAN, and refrain from using force or threats to use force or transgressing on the territory of others. They have to negotiate peacefully to solve ‘problems left by the history.’

Vietnam’s policy is reducing confrontation, strengthening cooperation. Vietnam won’t join any military alliance or any military organization. We don’t allow other countries to set up their military bases in Vietnam or use our territory against others.

Q: What are the ASEAN countries going to do about conflicts in the East Sea?

Thanh: Worries were expressed in sideline talks at the meeting, but our common viewpoint is that the current trend is toward peace and cooperation. Vietnam and its neighbors share the objective of developing both our economies and our defensive capability to preserve a peaceful, stable environment that serves economic development.

Building the unity of the ASEAN countries is the most important at present, a common view on defending the sovereignty of all our nations.

Q: How are the person-to-person relations among ASEAN defense officials?

Thanh: I think it is very important to build up personal relationships between Defense Ministers. We meet twice each year and we are very friendly with each other. This is a chance to discuss solutions and opportunities for cooperation, to enhance mutual understanding and to build mutual trust. Building personal ties also serves the common goal.

Besides ASEAN, Vietnam’s relationships with the Ministers of Defense of Russia, India, South Korea, Japan and the US are also very good. In mid-December, I will visit the US and France to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Q: Was naval cooperation in the bloc discussed at the meeting?

Thanh: Naval cooperation among ASEAN countries is excellent. We cooperate with Thailand and Cambodia on joint patrols of the sea lanes. Hotlines have been set up between Vietnam’s navy and the navies of Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

We’re going to emphasize cooperation with Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei in this field. Defense and naval cooperation will promote cooperation in other fields, especially in keeping peace and security in the sea.

Q: What’s the role of the navy in Vietnam’s defense strategy?

Thanh: Our plans to build up revolutionary, regular, seasoned and gradually modernized armed forces are public knowledge. Gradual modernization means that as our economy grows, the army will be step by step equipped to defend the country. Any nation that’s developing its economy also thinks about strengthening its army, but not about engaging in an arms race.

We give top priority to the navy and the air and air defense force and then to other services.

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The Khmer Border Problems - Op-Ed by Srey Sra'em

Click on the article in Khmer to zoom in

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Sam Rainsy's Interview on RFA following the lifting of his parliamentary immunity

Click here to listen to Part 1

Click here to listen to Part 2

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Chantrea district villagers support Sam Rainsy: RFA

Villagers in Chantrea district are determined to share Sam Rainsy's fate if he will be sent to jail. They are extremely saddened that Vietnam is allowed to take away their rice lands in this manner.

Click here to listen to the audio program in Khmer

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Sam Rainsy’s Message to the Cambodian People

November 19, 2009

SAM RAINSY’S MESSAGE TO THE CAMBODIAN PEOPLE

Prime Minister Hun Sen is currently playing a dangerous game for our country. He seems to have lost his senses while handling Cambodia’s relations with neighbouring countries.

Our present government foreign policy is totally biased when it comes to defending Cambodia’s territorial integrity. According to the prime minister the danger of Cambodia’s losing portions of her territory is looming on our western border with Thailand. But he forgets to say that this danger is already and actually materializing on a large scale on our eastern border with Vietnam.

Let’s compare:

• Thailand has only recently started to unfairly challenge the status of a portion of Khmer territory surrounding Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province that covers an area of less than five square kilometres.
• Vietnam has been, over the last 30 years, grabbing thousands of square kilometres of Khmer territories in Kep, Kampot, Takeo, Kandal, Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, Kampong Cham, Kratie, Mondolkiri and Ratanakiri provinces. This is an ongoing painful process that Mr. Hun Sen does not want us to look at. But we can’t help seeing the tears and hearing the cries of countless Khmer farmers who are losing their rice fields and other farmland to Vietnam as I have recently witnessed in Svay Rieng province.

Whereas there are no Thai immigrants in Cambodia, the continuous inflow of Vietnamese settlers into our country also reflects Vietnam’s expansionist policies which are facilitated by the Hun Sen government’s subservience to Hanoi.

His Majesty King Father Norodom Sihanouk has shown His concern for the situation in Cambodia’s provinces bordering Vietnam. Reacting to a report I submitted to Him earlier this month about Cambodian farmers losing their land because of border encroachments by the Vietnamese authorities in Svay Rieng province, the Retired King wrote to Prime Minister Hun Sen asking for an examination of the information and evidence I had exposed on the issue. As an insolent response to the King Father, the Hun Sen government reacted by undemocratically removing my parliamentary immunity in order to prosecute me because I dared raise a national issue that is embarrassing for the prime minister.

Mr. Hun Sen is using a classical tactic to divert the Khmer people’s attention from the real or the most serious danger, which in fact comes from our eastern side (Vietnam), by exacerbating tensions and creating unprecedented attention on our western side (Thailand).

By doing so, Mr. Hun Sen strives to:

For himself and his clan in Cambodia

• Secure a continuous support from powerful Vietnam in order to remain in power against all democratic trends.
• Create a nationalistic fervour against Thailand which would help the Cambodian people accept harsh and deteriorating living conditions due to the persistent economic crisis and the government’s corruption and incompetence.

For his protector Vietnam

• Boost trade with, and economic influence on, Cambodia.
• Establish a dominating control over Cambodia’s economy through growing investments from Vietnam, whose companies enjoy unique privileges in our country, while Thailand is being marginalized because of the current Khmer-Thai tension. The current situation is reminiscent of the anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh organized by Mr. Hun Sen’s thugs in January 2003.

From a historical and geopolitical perspective Thailand is Vietnam’s main rival in mainland Indochina. Therefore, weakening Thailand is in the long term interest of her rival. Vietnam’s expansionism could one day go beyond Cambodia and Laos, which are already more or less under the control of Hanoi. To weaken Thailand nothing is more effective than fanning the flames of internal divisions among the Thai people and supporting one fighting group against the other. Mr. Hun Sen is a well-placed tool or pawn that is being used by a third country in this Machiavellian game for the implementation of a dark scheme. Whoever associates himself with Mr. Hun Sen to knowingly or not knowingly support the implementation of such a dark scheme runs the risk of being a pawn’s pawn acting against his own country.

While the situation is still under control along our western border, Cambodia should first try to address a number of humanitarian issues such as the fate of over 200,000 Khmer workers currently living in Thailand because unemployment in our country is a more and more acute economic and social problem that the Hun Sen government is unable to solve.

The political game Mr. Hun Sen is playing is definitely not in Cambodia’s interest. We should not allow him to go on jeopardizing our country’s security. Cambodia should remain neutral in any internal dispute in any other country. Any spillover from the current tension or unrest in Thailand could be very detrimental to Cambodia. Mr. Hun Sen’s miscalculation when throwing oil on fire in a neighbouring country will likely at best burn his fingers and at worst set Cambodia ablaze as past experiences have shown when we unnecessarily and unwisely took side in our neighbours’ internal disputes.

Sam Rainsy
Member of Parliament
Opposition leader

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Opposition leader seeks international support on immunity

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
17 November 2009

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is seeking international support a day after his parliamentary immunity was revoked in a dispute over border with Vietnam.

Cambodia’s National Assembly on Monday lift Sam Rainsy’s immunity to pave the way for court investigation into his involvement in uprooting six wooden demarcation posts in the eastern province of Svay Rieng last month.

“I will tell them [European Parliament] that the recent stripping of my immunity and those of other parliamentarians is a violation of the [Cambodia’s] constitution, democratic principles, and freedom of expression,” Sam Rainsy told VOA Khmer by phone from Brussels where he is scheduled to attend a parliament hearing.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said everything is done based on the rule of law.

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Land concession for Yuon company ... Land eviction for Khmer families: Bravo Hung Xen?!?!

Land Dispute in Kampong Thom Leads to Violence and Arrests

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 November 2009

Three villagers have been arrested in Kampong Thom province on Wednesday in a chronic land dispute and some others are being pursued by provincial authority, officials and villagers said.

“We are interrogating the three men for more arrests of those involved before sending the case to court,” Kampong Thom provincial police chief, Phan Sopheng, said.

More than 1,000 families live on the land that is now part of an 8,000-hectare land concession belonging to the Vietnamese Tin Bien company.

As a result of the dispute, some property belonging to the company, including two bulldozers, an excavator, and a generator, were burned when violence erupted Monday. Nine residents were also wounded.

Land disputes are on the rise in Cambodia. In 2008, a human rights group Adhoc documented 306 cases with 150 people arrested.

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Villagers Oppose Coastal Backfill Plan and Leaflets are Seized

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 November 2009

Authorities in the coastal Kampot province seized on Wednesday leaflets expressing opposition to a plan to backfill a seaside plot for development, activists said.

The measure was taken while residents in Boeung Touk commune were distributing the leaflets to passengers on National Road 3. Villagers said Cambodian government allowed the company Keo Chea Property and Development to backfill 200 hectares of Cambodian sea and that the backfilling destroys sea resources on which they are depending on.

“It will destroy crab population and fish sanctuary,” said Saing Pov, who publicly expressed opposition to the project.

Activists said some 500 households will be affected. The developer says the project will create up to 1,000 jobs.

“I would like to ask them to reconsider about this development. We have already studied on [environmental] impact from this investment that’s why the government grant us permission,” Keo Chea, president of the company, told VOA Khmer.

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Phay Siphan admits that Hun Xen's regime is aiding and abetting a Thai criminal?

Cambodia caught between Thai internal politics, official

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
17 November 2009

Cambodia has maintained neutrality in Thailand’s internal politics for not extraditing fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra as a way to avoid causing irritation from Thai “Red Shirt” and “Yellow Shirt” protestors, a government official said.

“When a criminal whom we wanted to arrest stayed in Thailand, did Thailand send the criminal back to us? They didn’t. But here we just exercise our rights to decision making and maintain a neutral role. If we extradite Thaksin back to Thailand, the Red Shirt group would be angry at us and if we don’t, the Yellow Shirt would, so that’s why the government [of Cambodia] must stand on a neutral ground,” Phay Siphan, a spokesman at the Council of Ministers, said as a guest on Hello VOA show Monday.

For further solution with Thailand Phay Siphan said Cambodia’s stance is to maintain peace, good relationship and good cooperation.

Cambodia has recently appointed Thaksin as an economic advisor, a move that Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said does not respect international principle on extradition.

The appointment and Cambodia’s refusal to extradite Thaksin have caused diplomatic tension between the two neighboring countries. Both have lower relations by recalling their respective ambassadors.

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Counterfeit Drugs Trouble Asia, officials say at Phnom Penh conference

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 November 2009

Five Asian countries began on Wednesday in Phnom Penh a three-day meeting to discuss regional fight against counterfeit drugs.

“Combating counterfeit drugs is very important for the region,” said Grégoire Chassaing, French internal security attaché. “The region is affected by both the production and consumption”.

The seminar, supported by French embassy, brought medical experts from Cambodia, China, Laos, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Cambodia’s health officials said because of poverty people need cheap drugs which subsequently lead to the import of counterfeit medicine.

WHO medical advisor William Mfuko said counterfeit medicine could be produced with lack of ingredients, which can cause resistance and death.

However, WHO says counterfeit drugs in Cambodia have declined from between 10 and 13 percent three years ago to 8 percent in 2009 because of international cooperation Cambodia has.

Experts from China and Laos recognized difficulty in fighting counterfeit drugs, but urged severe punishment on criminals.

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Thaksin works the mobile links for his benefit

November 19, 2009
By Kornchanok@nationgroup.com
The Nation

Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's short messages have been sent to his fans' mobile phones again after a short break.

Thaksin said: "Chai-yo! We can get connected to each other now after [the service] was cut. Tell your friends to press 4552601 and then send to register [to receive Thaksin's messages]" in the SMS sent early yesterday.

The number for registration is new, meaning Thaksin has changed his service provider to manage and get his messages out.

Last time, Thaksin's messages were sent for only two days and then the service became unavailable.

On November 2, he sent a well-wishing message to fans on Loy Kratong Day.

That was the second note sent after he started the new way of communicating with supporters the previous day.

He posted a message on Twitter three days later claiming the government was blocking his SMS notes.

PM's Office Minister Satit Wongnongtaey said the government did not block the service.

"The government has nothing to do with that. It is a contract between the operators and Thaksin. There's no need for the government to block it unless the content is illegal," he said.

But Thaksin posted another message again before he visited Cambodia that the government had threatened the SMS service provider to stop sending his messages. So, he would try a new technology to send SMS notes to supporters within the following week.

Thaksin started promoting his service last month. His fans were asked to send a short message to number 426425 to register for free notes to their mobile phones.

An industry source, who asked not to be named, said two of Thaksin's messages were sent to those who registered, but the third message from Thaksin was blocked by an operator.

The source said a government agency had contacted the operator and asked them to "cooperate" by not distributing his messages.

Although the contract between the service provider, who receives messages from Thaksin and passes them to receivers, has not ended, Thaksin learnt about the problem, and did not send any further notes.

TOT Plc president Varut Suvakorn said he had yet to check on the company's case. However, TOT had to comply with the law and could not provide information that might be a threat to national security or was morally offensive.

Another industry source, who asked not to be named, said the SMS operator who received messages from Thaksin's fans and passed them to the fugitive former PM was a different firm from the one distributing Thaksin's messages.

The company that receives messages from the public for Thaksin had not been contacted by the government.

However, it had suspended the service while waiting for the business contract to be "clarified".

The source also said it was unlikely Thaksin used a new technology to start the service again. But he had changed service providers to get the new messages sent.

According to the two sources, over 100,000 people registered to receive Thaksin's messages.

In the meantime, Thaksin's close aide Noppadon Pattama said Thaksin had been trying to build his ways to connect and keep in touch with supporters.

SMS was expected to be the most popular channel to link with supporters. Thaksin could also receive and sent personal messages in reply.

According to companies' reports, Advanced Info Service had 28.2 million subscribers at the end of September this year. Total Access Communication (DTAC) had 19.3 subscribers, while TrueMove had 15.2 million subscribers at the end of June. In total, there are at least 62.7 million mobile subscribers.

If the government really did block Thaksin's messages, one imagines he would not stop looking for new ways to try to maintain his support.

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Both sides 'scrambling to be the hero'

November 19, 2009
The Nation

The government and the Thaksin camp have been scrambling to play the hero amid speculation that the alleged Thai "spy" being detained in Cambodia might be released soon. The suspect's mother was said yesterday to be preparing to visit her son. She was being assisted by the government, but Thaksin's aide Noppadon Pattama claimed she also sought help from the fugitive ex-PM to get her boy home.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva confirmed that tension between the two countries had eased.

He said the Thai government was coordinating efforts to enable Simarak na Kakhon Panom to go to Phnom Penh and visit her son.

The woman had her passport issued at the Foreign Ministry's passport branch in Nakhon Ratchasima yesterday and could go to Cambodia immediately after getting the green light from the neighbouring country.

Siwarak was arrested last week and charged with stealing details of Thaksin's flight schedule during the ex-PM's controversial visit to Cambodia. The flight data was deemed confidential information detrimental to national security.

Phnom Penh detained Siwarak in a Phnom Penh prison but allowed him a first visit by consular officials on Tuesday.

Abhisit said the Thai government was ready to give the suspect legal assistance, as he had denied all the charges. However, the prime minister was optimistic the situation would continue to improve.

Asked if Thaksin was helping, Abhisit said: "I don't know what others are doing. I can only say that the government is doing its best to help the man and I believe the situation will get better."

He also denied knowledge about Siwarak's Phnom Penh workplace, Samart subsidiary Cambodia Air Traffic Services, which has faced an alleged clampdown.

He said the Foreign Ministry was checking reports the firm was having problems with Cambodian authorities.

But overall, Abhisit seemed upbeat. "It looks like what many initially feared were serious problems are not as serious as expected," he said.

Asked if Cambodia would pardon Siwarak to help Thaksin and Pheu Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh politically, Abhisit said a pardon in accordance with Cambodia's justice system was possible. "But I don't know anything about Chavalit [preparing to go to Cambodia and bringing Siwarak back to Thailand]."

Noppadon claimed Thaksin had contacted "senior people in Cambodia" after receiving the call for help from the suspect's mother.

"He can't interfere with Cambodia's justice system but he promised to help her out of humanitarian reasons. He has made some calls to senior people in Cambodia," he said.

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Samart builds Cambodian empire without Thaksin's help [-The sh_t hits the fan among Cambodia's corrupt officials?]

Sun Chanthol, a former Funcinpec minister, defected to join the CPP following Funcinpec's demise. He is now a minister without portfolio in Hun Xen's regime. What The Nation failed to mention is that Samart's Siam Cement plant is a joint venture with Cambodia's Khaou Chuly group and Khaou Chuly happens to be Sun Chanthol's father-in-law. (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

November 19, 2009
By Usanee Mongkolporn
The Nation

While rumours fly that Samart's ties with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen are close enough to fake the arrest of its employee, an investigation by The Nation tells a different story.

Samart embarked on expansion into the neighbouring country through Charoenrath Vilailuck's personal connection to Cambodian politician-cum-businessman Sun Chanthol.

Chanthol, a Harvard University graduate, was known for his business smarts. He was the public-works and transport minister until last year.

Charoenrath is the older brother of Watchai, CEO of Samart.

Through the connection with Charoenrath, Cambodia handed the company a concession for the nascent mobile-phone market, and Cambodia Samart Communications was born in 1992.

The following year, Cambodia Shinawatra was set up as a subsidiary of Shin Satellite to penetrate the mobile-phone market in the neighbouring country.

Telecom insiders recall Chanthol was a close aide to Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who was prime minister before Hun Sen took power.

"The connection led to the air-traffic-control concession going to Samart in 2001," a source said. "Samart indeed entered the country before Thaksin."

In that year, Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS) was formed to run the 22-year concession. Thaksin was present at the ceremony when Cambodia extended the concession from 15 years to 22.

Back then, Shin Corp, Thaksin's family business, faced troubles in expanding there when the mobile-phone concession was shortened.

From CATS, Samart moved to building a power plant to support the Siam Cement Group's new plant there.

The Vilailuck family also won a 99-year concession to open a museum in Siem Reap, but it has performed badly financially, because visitors tend to flock to a South Korean museum nearby.

This explains why Watchai was in the hot seat and cried for help when his business was tampered with by the Cambodian government. Without any political involvement now, he is seeking to further distance Samart from politics.

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Samart seeks Govt help

November 19, 2009
By Sirivush Toomgum
The Nation

Samart president Watchai Vilailuck is seeking the government's help now that Cambodia has decided to take temporary control of his firm's subsidiary, Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS).

In a phone interview, he said the company was gathering facts on the move and has been coordinating with influential figures in the Thai government. It is also asking the Cambodian government for help.

Though CATS is still in operation, none of its nine or 10 Thai employees is allowed on the premises.

"The company's office was set ablaze once in 2003. We don't know what will happen this time. Cambodia has said this is temporary, but they have not set a specific period. We need to continue negotiating and the Thai government must help restore the confidence of Thai businessmen overseas. I don't know how we can be political victims, when we have insisted all along that we have nothing to do with politics," he said.

Watchai also flatly denied that Samart might have set up the whole arrest and commotion to please former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"We're just investors and have never been involved in politics. We'll never have our firm - a listed one - get involved in politics. What benefit will we get from doing something that might severely affect our business? We have already informed the Thai government that we're being affected by politics. We're the victims here, it's not our fault," he added.

He said his firm had already tried to set up a meeting with high-ranking Cambodian government officials to clarify that it had nothing to do with the case of Siwarak Chotipong, but it has yet to be granted permission to meet them. Siwarak was arrested for allegedly providing the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh with details of Thaksin's itinerary.

CATS is protected by the Thailand-Cambodia investment-protection agreement, he said, adding that the Cambodian government could not terminate the concession as long as CATS does not violate the concession contract. Samart has already hired an international-law expert to look into the matter.

He added that he had no idea how long the problem would last, and that the company was waiting to see how the Thai government proceeded.

The Cambodian government has appointed a senior civil aviation official as a temporary caretaker to oversee the operations to ensure uninterrupted services over Cambodian air space.

CATS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Samart, providing air-traffic control services with a 32-year concession under a build, co-operate and transfer model with Cambodia.

Samart is 18.96 per cent owned by Axiata Group, a large Malaysian Telecom Group.

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Cambodia strains ties even more [-Hun Sen afraid that his flight path could be sent to Bangkok?]

All Thai staff banned from air traffic office

19/11/2009
Bangkok Post

Cambodia intensified the diplomatic spat with Thailand yesterday when authorities in Phnom Penh expelled all Thai officials from their offices at Cambodia Air Traffic Services.

The order by the Cambodian government came after Phnom Penh filed charges yesterday against Sivarak Chutipong, a Thai engineer working for CATS.

"Cambodia has charged him with stealing classified information affecting national security," said Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, the secretary to the foreign minister.

The Cambodian government ordered Thai nationals working for CATS to immediately leave the company and prohibited them from re-entering until the legal proceedings against Mr Sivarak are completed, Samart Corporation Plc president Watchai Wilailuck said.

CATS, a fully owned subsidiary of Bangkok-based Samart, has been granted a 32-year air traffic control concession.

The firm employs nine Thai officials at the Cambodian airport, all of them either in management or senior engineering positions. About 200 other staff members are Cambodians.

Mr Watchai was told Cambodian authorities would send their own people to operate the company.

"We need to follow Cambodia's order and are asking the Thai government to help negotiate with the Cambodian government to solve the problem because it is affecting a private business which has nothing to do with the state dispute," Mr Watchai said.

Thailand and Cambodia are signatories to the Investment Protection Agreement to protect each other's private businesses.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the Foreign Ministry has been ordered to look into the problem of CATS.

Mr Sivarak was arrested on Nov 12 for allegedly obtaining confidential information about the flight details of convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and supplying it to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh.

The Cambodian government also expelled the embassy's first secretary, Kamrob Palawatwichai and Thailand retaliated with the same measure.

The 31-year-old detainee and the Thai Foreign Ministry have denied the accusations.

Deputy ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said the ministry was helping to find Mr Sivarak a lawyer. Cambodian law requires his legal representative to be a Cambodian national.

"The Thai side still believes in Cambodia's judicial process and hopes Phnom Penh will be fair to Mr Sivarak," Mr Thani said.

Thaksin wrote in his Twitter page yesterday he had contacted Cambodian leaders to find ways to help the Thai engineer being detained at Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh.

"I've been in touch with them. They said they would investigate first and will treat him fairly," he said in his posting.

Mr Abhisit refused to comment on the assistance by Thaksin to help secure the release of the engineer and said the government's actions had been helping to improve the situation for Mr Sivarak.

But Mr Sivarak's mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, thanked Thaksin for his efforts to help secure the release of her son.

Deputy director-general of the Consular Affairs Department Madurapochana Ittarong was helping Mrs Simarak and Mr Sivarak's younger sister to obtain access to him in Phnom Penh.

Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh also offered to help in talks with the Cambodian government.

Mr Thani said Gen Chavalit's offer was welcome.

The latest conflict between the Thai and Cambodian governments started last month when Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen made Thaksin an economic adviser to himself and to his government. Thailand was offended when Hun Sen said Thaksin's corruption case was politically motivated and refused to hand him over to Bangkok.

The fugitive prime minister left the Cambodian capital for Dubai on Saturday.

Puea Thai MP Jatuporn Prompan yesterday claimed the Cambodian government had an audio clip of Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ordering Mr Kamrob to seek the flight schedule of the ousted prime minister.

But Mr Thani denied the claim.

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