A misguided mission Paul Everingham Monday, 02 April 2012
Opinion In my humble opinion, flash-in-the-pan Judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet has been a bright, shining fool.
TWO FACES OF LAURENT KASPER-ANSERMET. THE INTERNATIONAL CO-INVESTIGATING JUDGE QUICKLY BECAME A CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE AT THE KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL. PHOTO BY REUTERS
So noble and courageous, as he cavalry-charged into the midst of the Khmer Rouge tribunal on his bold, white-man’s stallion of certainty and self-righteousness. This foray was reminiscent, in both its nature and its ultimate failure, of such holy crusades as the French “mission civilisatrice”, of the first bright-eyed US advisers striding into Vietnam circa 1963, or perhaps the current crop of Kansas missionaries in Koh Kong. It beggars belief that an intelligent person with any degree of sensitivity, understanding of history or personal humility would ever undertake the course of action that this judge chose. I am no expert on the current best practices of jurisprudence around the world, so perhaps somebody could advise me if there is any precedent for a judge to be criticising his wouldbe colleagues and commenting on cases he would soon be adjudicating in a series of 166 tweets – all of this within the context of one of the most complex, sensitive and important legal exercises undertaken in recent times. Kasper-Ansermet’s blinkered, black-letter-law justifications for riding roughshod over Cambodian (and, indeed, universal) courtesies and protocols were as ignorant in manner as they were counter-productive in outcome. Did he really believe he would advance the cause of good Cambodian legal practice, and the progression of the trials, by announcing to the world’s media that he would carry on his duties with a determined disregard for the majority stakeholders in this partnership the Cambodians?
Whatever the ethical rights and wrongs of his stance, the learned judge seemed to possess very little understanding of human nature, historical context or Cambodian sensitivities. His inexplicable strategy of in-your-face public confrontation was bound not only to fail but, if continued, to become a very real danger to the continued existence of the tribunal. The 33-year saga of establishing, and now holding, these trials is an extraordinary story of triumph over an incredibly complex mix of practical difficulties, political pressures and redraw human sensitivities. All of these factors are still present today. The robustness of the Cambodian people’s commitment to holding these trials, and the sustained skills, goodwill and dedication of a small band of national and international facilitators over three decades, should not hide the parallel and equally true reality that this tribunal is, and has been at every stage of its history, also very fragile. As has been the case at least half a dozen times before, the Khmer Rouge tribunal is approaching a very difficult stage – another apparent impasse. The resignation of Kasper-Ansermet has reduced the immediate threat of collapse, but some crucial issues remain. The particular “sticking point” on this occasion are the conflicting views, both inside the court and outside, on whether to proceed beyond Case 002. Scenarios such as this, including those involving political considerations, are not unexpected; they were widely discussed and documented during the tribunal’s formative process. It has long been accepted that the formulation, the establishment and even the ongoing conduct of these trials would be an evolving creative process. This fluid approach was validated, as experience has repeatedly demonstrated that even seemingly insurmountable difficulties could eventually be overcome with commitment, negotiation and diplomacy stage by stage. The Khmer Rouge tribunal is a unique legal structure and still a work in progress. The judges are, in effect, creating important new legal principles and practices “on the run” with many of their seemingly humdrum daily rulings. On another level, a lot of new ground will also be broken over the next few months as the various stakeholders make a series of crucial decisions about what comes next. These decisions, as always, as everywhere, will be based on a combination of human, political and practical factors as much as on matters of principle.
Personally, I believe that this searching for, and finding, new ways to actualise high principles of law and justice within the parameters of the cold, hard, real world, to be one of the many exciting and significant facets of this whole grand opera. Indeed, it would wonderful if there was more constructive public discussion centred on these and other more instructive topics – rather than, for example, the daily undermining of the court by some of the human-rights ideologues. As the tribunal approaches another climax/crisis, we are going to need yet another focused bout of creative thinking, constructive discourse and mutually agreed determination to see this through – not to mention great big dollops of humility and goodwill. (And money!) So if anybody is thinking of mounting up their noble steed, donning a white Stetson and charging off to emanate the dear, departed, good knight Kasper-Ansermet, please, please, please reconsider. The very last thing we need right now is another mythic hero. It is bridge-builders and hardcore realists who will be particularly required during the coming months.
ASEAN infrastructure fund on track for May May Kunmakara Monday, 02 April 2012
The region’s finance ministers on Friday set a May launch date for the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF), a financing project expected to lend as much as US$4 billion to member countries through 2020. Member countries signed a shareholder agreement for the AIF, with the intention of fully establishing the fund at a meeting to be held in Manila in May, Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon said at a press conference for the ASEAN Finance Ministers’ Meeting, held in Phnom Penh last week. “This will strongly demonstrate the strength, solidarity and consensus of ASEAN towards sustaining growth, facilitating the physical connectivity, and narrowing the infrastructure development gap in ASEAN,” he said, announcing the results of the meeting. The AIF was first announced last September as a partnership with the Asian Development Bank, with the aim of providing financing to ASEAN countries in need of infrastructure development, according to an ADB statement at the time. The fund was started with an initial equity contribution of $485.2 million, with $335.2 million coming from nine ASEAN members and the remaining $150 million provided by ADB, the statement said. ADB in its September statement said the Fund’s total lending commitment through 2020 was expected to be about $4 billion, leveraging more than $13 billion in infrastructure financing by the end of the decade. ASEAN countries would need about $60 billion a year over the next 10 years to meet infrastructure demand, the ADB said at the time. Speaking at the opening the ministers’ meeting, Prime Minister Hun Sen called for the mobilisation of all available resources to bolster the region’s intercountry connectivity. “It is important to ensure that the less-developed ASEAN members have appropriate access to new financing arrangements to meet their development needs and integration into the region,” he said. Meanwhile, Keat Chhon noted on Friday that the ministers had agreed to push forward with the so-called Chang Mai Initiative. To contact the reporter on this story: May Kunmakara at may.kunmakara@phnompenhpost.com
Cambodia’s railway veers off track Roger Mitton Monday, 02 April 2012
The stumblebum way that the scheme to regenerate Cambodia’s railway system has been handled could well form the basis for a movie starring The Three Stooges. Moe, Larry and Curly, the late and lamented originals, would be replaced by a new trio of comics called Toll, Royal and Frenchie. Of course, we jest; but really it is hard to keep a straight, if sad, face when contemplating the farcically mishandled endeavour. It has been like watching quicksand slowly swallow a fat man who keeps insisting he is fine and will soon be skipping a light fandango. Four years ago, amidst an air of optimism, the railroad restoration work was handed to a French company, Travaux du Sud-Ouest, or TSO; while a contract to operate the finished line was given to Toll Royal Railways. Therein lies one of the key causes of the resulting fiasco. Rail technicians, businessmen and diplomats endlessly note that it is normal practice for the company that reactivates the line to receive the right to run it for several years. The Cambodians, however, elbowed TSO aside and awarded a 30-year concession to operate the line to a joint venture between Australia’s Toll Holdings and Cambodia’s Royal Group. Royal’s head honcho, Kith Meng, is close to the Cambodian leadership and also holds Australian citizenship. The Frenchies lack such ties, and so, while miffed, agreed to accept just the regeneration job, and began work on the long-disused track from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville. This Southern Line was scheduled to be ready by August 1, 2010, later revised to May 30, 2011. It remains barely half-finished. Only the easiest section as far as Kampot has been rehabilitated – up to a point. According to independent observers, aspects of the work done on that section are substandard, if not dangerously defective. Instead of a level line, photographs show parts of the track looking as if they had been laid by a drunken man suffering from heat exposure.
A coherent explanation for the $143 million project’s missed deadlines and work problems has not been forthcoming because those involved have either dissembled shamefully, or have jumped ship or been sacked. Last month, long-rumoured reports became public that Melbourne-based Toll, or rather its Metro Bar-based local affiliate, was pulling out. TSO will likely follow. Apparently, the Chinese will take over and finish the project, although it may be a railroad no one wants to use. After all, the narrow gauge line to Sihanoukville was never going to be viable anyway, as railway experts and a senior minister told me back in 2009. Consider the choice facing a local textile manufacturer who has just filled a container with shirts for Marks & Spencer in the UK. He can take it to the railway station where it will sit until it is put on a train, which will then wait till it is loaded with other containers and then will chug down to Sihanoukville at the pace of a slow bicycle. Then it will be off-loaded at the port, and await the next feeder boat to Singapore. Alternatively, he can put his container on a company truck, take it straight down to Sihanoukville and put it right on the boat. It is a no brainer. What is perplexing is why the supervising consultant, Japan’s Nippon Koei, did not red card the project long ago. Perhaps it was because the Asian Development Bank, essentially Japan’s instrument for overseas aid, was its main financial backer. Along with AusAID, a secondary funder, the bank should explain why millions were given to the Cambodian government to pay TSO for its dilatory work. Given that the ADB has proposed funding similar projects in Myanmar, the debacle has important regional implications. Certainly, after what has happened here, well-known cronies in Yangon like Zaw Zaw, Saya Kyaung and Te Za will be slavering at the prospect of pocketing millions from the ADB’s benevolent laxity.
Hu pledges millions in aid Vong Sokheng and Shane Worrell Monday, 02 April 2012
A weekend meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Hun Sen concluded with millions in loans and aid agreed to and a clear message: neither nation is in a rush to deal with the prickly South China Sea dispute.
PRIME MINISTER HUN SEN (RIGHT) MEETS WITH CHINESE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO (LEFT) ON SATURDAY AT THE PEACE PALACE. HENG CHIVOAN
At the Saturday one on one, which included a vow to double bilateral trade by 2017, the Chinese president told Hun Sen that, while his nation favoured a declaration of conduct for the disputed sea, moving “too fast” would only serve to inflame regional tensions, Sry Thamrong, a spokesman for the premier, said.
Dodging dispute Both countries agreed that the South China Sea dispute, which involves four ASEAN member states and won’t officially be a part of the summit’s agenda, should not be “internationalised”, Sry Thamrong said. “[If it is raised], we would talk about the implementation of a DOC [Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea]. In principle, we want to keep resolving the issue within the framework of ASEAN,” he said, adding that Cambodia “cannot prohibit” a country from talking about the dispute at the summit. During the meeting, China pledged almost US$40 million in grants and more than $30 million in loans to Cambodia, while Hun Sen asked Hu Jintao for an annual loan of between $300 million and $500 million for infrastructure, irrigation and electricity, Sry Thamrong said.
Looming loans Other issues focused on by the “all-round cooperation partners” included trade, security, irrigation and tourism, Sry Thamrong said.
Another significant area of cooperation is China’s pledge of support for Cambodia’s candidacy as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2013-2014. The two leaders also agreed to target a doubling in bilateral trade to $5 billion by 2017, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said. Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay said he was concerned about the number of loans Cambodia was taking from China and how close the two countries were becoming. “It’s a move away from the neutrality that Cambodia is supposed to support as a country,” he said. “By giving so many loans to [us], China is able to control Cambodia’s policy.” The loans had not been benefiting the majority of Cambodians, Son Chhay said. “Cambodia has to move away from China and its influence over the country – the government has to take more caution and more serious thought before taking any more loans from China.”
Arguable alliance Son Chhay also questioned Cambodia’s decision to side with China on the South China Sea dispute. “You cannot ignore the requests made by the ASEAN states. Cambodia has to play the role as a representative of ASEAN, not a representative of China. ASEAN [members] want to deal with China in a collective way, not an individual way. Son Chhay said it benefited China and disadvantaged other ASEAN states to try to settle the sea dispute one on one. “China is powerful and is able to use its position to dominate any bilateral discussions with any individual members. “The way of solving this [dispute] should be done correctly . . . through ASEAN and China. “If it continues to kneel to China, Cambodia will no longer represent ASEAN in general.” The opposition party lawmaker said he had written to the Chinese president asking him to abandon “controversial environmental projects” funded by the Chinese government such as the “environmentally disastrous” hydro dam project in Koh Kong province.
'No strings attached' Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, also questioned the value of China’s support for Cambodia. “Sadly, China’s unstinting support and ‘no strings attached’ assistance continues to
undermine international efforts to press PM Hun Sen and his government to respect the international human rights standards and contributes to poor economic governance by countenancing crony projects and big land concessions to well-connected Chinese companies,� he said. Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit spokesman Ek Tha could not be reached for comment. In total, Hun Sen and Hu Jintao signed 10 co-operation agreements, including deals to widen national roads 6 and 44, build an irrigation project in Battambang province, construct Koh Tom Bridge in Kandal province and improve the special economic zone in Preah Sihanouk province. China has also pledged support for agricultural initiatives as Cambodia pushes to export a million tons of rice this year. Hu Jintao also met with King Norodom Sihamoni, Senate President Chea Sim and National Assembly President Heng Samring during his visit. To contact the reporters on this story: Vong Sokheng at vong.sokheng@phnompenhpost.com Shane Worrell at shane.worrell@phnompenhpost.com
Search on for new judges Kristin Lynch and Cheang Sokha Monday, 02 April 2012
Citing “serious” concerns with the work of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, the United Nations said on Friday that it is in the process of selecting two international co-investigating judges to replace the ones who have resigned from the court, and urged the Cambodian government to offer them its “full cooperation”. “Recent events at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia … have raised serious concerns about the ECCC judicial process in relation to Cases 003 and 004,” the statement, issued by the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, reads. Less than two weeks ago, reserve international Co-Investigating Judge Laurent KasperAnsermet resigned amid what he said was persistent stonewalling by the Cambodian court staff of his efforts to investigate government-opposed cases 003 and 004. And in October, Kasper-Ansermet’s predecessor, Siegfried Blunk, resigned citing government interference. “The circumstances that have given rise to these two resignations remain worrying,” Ban’s statement says. Although it does not provide a timeline for the selection of the new judges, the statement instructs the Cambodian government to “extend its full cooperation to the new judges”, adding that they should be “promptly appointed” by the Supreme Council of the Magistracy. The statement also takes the Council to task for its failure to appoint Kasper-Ansermet. “The Cambodian Supreme Council of the Magistracy did not appoint Judge KasperAnsermet as the international Co-Investigating Judge as it was required to do by the UN/Cambodia agreement,” the statement reads. The statement also defends Kasper-Ansermet’s “full legal authority” to conduct investigations into cases 003 and 004. That authority had been consistently invalidated by the Swiss judge’s Cambodian counterpart, You Bunleng. Reached yesterday, You Bunleng said he had no further comment about KasperAnsermet’s authority, and that he would “wait to work with” whomever the UN selects to replace Kasper-Ansermet. “The decision of approval of the new judge … is not my decision, it’s the decision of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy,” he added. Government officials refused to respond to the UN statement yesterday. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said “I have no business in this matter”, and referred all inquiries to Keo Remy, deputy president of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit, who hung up on a
reporter and did not answer repeated phone calls after. Information Minister Khieu Kanharith also hung up on a reporter and refused to answer subsequent calls. UN Special Expert to the Khmer Rouge tribunal David Scheffer did not respond to questions prior to press time. To contact the reporters on this story: Kristin Lynch at kristin.lynch@phnompenhpost.com Cheang Sokha at cheang.sokha@phnompenhpost.com
Thais will sit out NGO meet Shane Worrell and Khouth Sophak Chakrya Monday, 02 April 2012
Civil society groups from Thailand will boycott a meeting between NGOs and regional government representatives at this week’s ASEAN summit because their country’s delegate “does not represent Thai civil society”, a spokeswoman said yesterday.
PROTESTERS AT BOEUNG KAK LAKE MAKE THEIR CASE TO CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS ON SATURDAY. PHOTO BY MENG KIMLONG
Premrudee Daoroung, a representative of Thai civil society groups, said her country’s government had shown “complete disregard for meaningful engagement” by selecting a representative who had played no part in the independent Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum, which ran from Thursday to Saturday at the capital’s Lucky Star Hotel. “In past years ... civil society groups have faced similar problems of having our own government appoint their own people to meet with the leaders of the countries. The same thing has happened again – the government has appointed its own people to [meet] with the [ASEAN] leaders,” she said. “We condemn this undemocratic process, and we demand that the government of Thailand stop such interfering.” A Thai government representative did not respond to questions before deadline.
Push for censorship Meanwhile, civil society and human rights groups yesterday condemned a Friday decision to shut down workshops on topics including land eviction and Myanmar at the independent people’s forum. ACSC/APF steering committee member Thida Khus said the government had asked her committee to censor information before the forum, which attracted more than 1,000 people.
“During this preparation, they were asking us to remove the four workshops,” she said, adding that hotel management and police had pressured organisers to stop the workshops. The hotel’s owner could not be reached yesterday.
"Deeply concerning" Cambodian Center for Human Rights president Ou Virak said the incident was “deeply concerning”. “Civil society organisations have come to Phnom Penh in good faith to discuss issues affecting people across ASEAN and have now been prevented from speaking,” he said. “The Cambodian government is clearly more concerned with what its neighbours think than looking after its own people. The irony is that Friday’s events are a major embarrassment to Cambodia, when it could have set an example to the people.” Representatives from various ASEAN nations’ civil society visited Borei Keila and Boeung Kak lake over the weekend. Rena Herdiani, a delegate from Indonesia, said the representatives encouraged both sites’ residents to demonstrate without using violence. “We will suggest our government push the Cambodian government – the chair of ASEAN – to provide a prompt solution for all of you,” Rena Herdiani said.
Pressing authority Tep Vanny, a representative of the Boeung Kak community, gave the ASEAN representatives a letter urging them to press the authority to mark out the 12.44 hectares of land set aside for residents in August. Municipality police chief Touch Naroth, meanwhile, said his officers had not told the Lucky Star Hotel to shut down any of the workshops. “It is the right of the hotel to stop these meetings if they want,” he said. Government spokesmen could not be reached yesterday. To contact the reporters on this story: Shane Worrell at shane.worrell@phnompenhpost.com Khouth Sophak Chakrya at khouth.sophakchakrya@phnompenhpost.com
A library rebuilt book by book Mom Kunthear Tuesday, 03 April 2012
Ben Sarin’s face still darkens when he thinks of what the Khmer Rouge did to his beloved books.
The 76-year-old former chief of Phnom Penh’s Central Library estimates that 7 per cent of the country’s books were destroyed during the bloody five-year reign of Democratic Kampuchea. “The books were tossed out along the streets in Phnom Penh,” he said. “I saw clearly with my eyes, the Khmer Rouge soldiers tore the books apart and took some of them for making cigarettes. They tore out pictures of beautiful women from the pages to keep for themselves,” he said. “I felt bad, and I wanted to tell them not to do that, but I would have been killed if I stopped them. I did not let them know that I could read when they asked me what certain books meant; I just said I don’t know.” Five years later, he was the man entrusted with the pain-staking process of assembling a collection the nation could take pride in. Some people think working in a library is easy, he says. But Ben Sarin knows better. Following the Khmer Rouge’s expulsion from Phnom Penh, he was appointed as chief of the Central Library and tasked with restoring order to the building’s collection of Khmer, French, English, Russian and Vietnamese-language books. “There were only seven people working in the library during that time,” he said. “We had to know each of those languages fluently. I had to catalogue French languages, and the rest of the staff worked to catalogue the other languages,” Ben Sarin said.
He spent days wandering the streets of the capital, finding books that had been tossed out during the city’s forced evacuation, moving from house to house asking for contributions to the fledgling library. The Ministry of Education provided books donated by foreign charities, while books about Cambodia were sourced from such nations as Vietnam and Russia. “There were more than 80,000 books from five languages in my library. At the start, most of them were French language,” he said of the monumental organising task he faced, adding that English-language books now make up the majority of the catalogue. “To be a chief of library, we have to know how many books are in the library, what kind of books, their title, where they belong and their meaning, so it is easy for us to locate them for the readers,” he said. “The librarian needs to work hard and read more and more every day.” Ben Sarin was not only required to manage the library, but also respond to research requests and collect as many documents and books as possible for the library’s collection. A geography and history teacher before the Khmer Rouge, Ben Sarin eventually managed the Central Library for 19 years, during which he travelled to Vietnam and France to further his library training. Retired since 1999, he looks back at his time at the library with fondness and believes the work he did has lasting value. “Nowadays, the library is still important for poor students, readers and researchers,” he says. “The rich students can find what they need at the market or bookstores, or they can search on the internet. But I believe that no one, rich or poor, can study without relying on the library.” Ben Sarin admits to feeling disappointed with the Central Library’s current management, saying they seem careless, because many of the collection’s older books have been lost. “More than 10,000 books have been lost since I retired from my position, because the new managers allowed the readers to borrow books without returning them,” Ben Sarin said. “I don’t think it’s so important to have a big library. The most important thing is to keep the collection organised and in good condition. “That way, there will always be more and more books in the library as time goes on.” Ben Sarin, who has worked as a French translator at Go Translation for the past 12 years, still reads every day. Sitting in an iron chair behind the desk in his office, he smiles as he looks down at a French magazine. “I don’t even know whether I can stop reading anymore. I love books so very much.”
Duch: Nuon Chea ordered S-21 slaughter Kristin Lynch Tuesday, 03 April 2012
The 1979 Vietnamese invasion represented new hope for many Cambodians, but it equaled a death sentence for more than 500 remaining inmates at S-21 prison, Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, testified yesterday at the Khmer Rouge tribunal.
FORMER S-21 PRISON CHIEF KAING GUEK EAV, AKA DUCH, STANDS IN A DOCK AT THE KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL. PHOTO BY ECCC/ POOL
Under examination by deputy co-prosecutor William Smith, Duch, the former chief of the notorious S-21 interrogation centre, said Brother No 2 Nuon Chea “ordered the executions of the remaining prisoners of S-21” in January 1979, as the Khmer Rouge prepared to evacuate Phnom Penh in advance of the Vietnamese invasion. “And how many prisoners were there when he gave you that order?” Smith asked. “There were more than 100 prisoners, even over 500, I feel,” Duch responded, adding that the “mission [was] accomplished” within three days. Duch continued his incriminating testimony against his former superior later that afternoon, implicating the former deputy secretary in the executions and burnings of foreign nationals who had been captured off Cambodia’s coast in 1977. “After the interrogations, there would be a decision to smash – the smashing was to be conducted in a form of burning to ash,” Duch said. “I was following the order from Nuon Chea, and I implemented the order,” the prison chief added, explaining that the corpses of the captured foreigners, who had been first executed, were burned so as to remove evidence. “We needed to burn them entirely … to burn to their bones into ashes…so no one would be able to trace them.”
Duch also clarified statements he made on Thursday concerning the decision-making process within Democratic Kampuchea. On Thursday, he had said that most decisions to arrest individuals and send them to S-21 were made by the Standing Committee, but yesterday, Duch focused on the prominent role Nuon Chea and Pol Pot played in such decisions. “The decision to arrest was made by the Standing Committee in a broad sense, but in a more practical sense, it was Brother Pol [Pot] who made the decision, and in some cases, Brother Nuon [Chea] was the one who made such decisions,� Duch testified.
Hu gone with Boeung Kak petition hopes May Titthara Tuesday, 03 April 2012
Hu Jintao had already left the day before, but five Boeung Kak villagers were undeterred yesterday as they attempted to leave a petition for China’s president, only to be turned back by police.
BOEUNG KAK VILLAGERS PROTEST OUTSIDE THE CHINESE EMBASSY YESTERDAY. PHOTO BY HENG CHIVOAN
The quintet, whose petition requests that Hu intervene in their land dispute with the Cambodian government and local developer Skukaku, were greeted by some 50 police officers deployed around the Chinese Embassy. Villager representative Tep Vanny said that the police, who worked as security guards for the embassy, refused to accept the petition, claiming the embassy was not open due to the ASEAN summit. “We just wanted to ask the Chinese president to ask the government and the company to allow us to get an upgrade on the land size that the government had granted,” Tep Vanny said. The Chinese Embassy could not be reached for comment, but a notice on the wall of the embassy noted that the consular department would be closed from March 28 to April 4. The petition states that Boeung Kak villagers are suffering from fear and intimidation at the hands of government authorities, who are using the court system to pressure and violate their rights to freedom of expression. The letter adds: “We strongly believe that you have the capacity to urge a fair resolution of our land problems.” One Chamkar Morn district deputy who declined to provide his name attempted to negotiate with villagers and cited diplomatic immunity as a reason they cannot protest in front of
embassies. He added: “Villagers have the right to freedom of expression, but they cannot protest here. Our country is busy with the ASEAN meeting, and protesting here would affect the meeting’s proceedings.” To contact the reporter on this story: May Titthara at may.titthara@phnompenhpost.com
Photographers bear witness to Cambodia’s landmine legacy Deborah Seccombe and Sean Gleeson Tuesday, 03 April 2012
As part of international efforts to raise awareness around the impact of landmines, organisations working on the issue in Cambodia are turning to art, particularly photography, to illustrate the devastating legacy of unexploded ordnance that remain in the Kingdom even decades after the official end of armed conflict.
FATAL FOOTPRINTS WAS ON DISPLAY AT SOTHEAROS BOULEVARD UNTIL LAST WEEK. PHOTO BY SEAN GLEESON
SEAN SUTTON'S PHOTOGRAPHS EXPLORING THE ENDURING EFFECT OF LANDMINES IN RURAL CAMBODIA WILL BE ON DISPLAY THIS MONTH AT THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL. PHOTO BY SEAN SUTTON
This Wednesday, a photography exhibition titled Impact Clearing Cambodia’s Deadly Legacy will launch at InterContinental Hotel to coincide with the United Nations International Day for Mine Awareness. The show, co-presented by the Mine Advisory Group, features work by former international
press photographer Sean Sutton documenting 15 visits to the Kingdom. The shots reveal the scars, fears and in some cases, sheer determination of people living in and around impact zones, such as those in one village Sutton witnessed and photographed trying to make new rice fields in a known minefield. “People do that because they have no choice: use the minefield at risk of death or loss of limbs or go hungry,” said the photographer. “It’s as simple and tragic as that.” Any community growth and development is stunted by unearthed minefields, he said. “You can’t build schools, you can’t have peace, stability and prosperity, you can’t drill water wells. You can’t do anything … until you have cleared the landmines.” Sutton, who has photographed conflict and its wider impact in a number of other countries across the globe, said he tried to capture issues like these through his photographs, which he was asked to display as part of MAG’s work raising international awareness on the issue. MAG is not the only organisation using photography to call attention to the issue of landmines in Cambodia. Last week marked the closing of Fatal Footprint, a unique outdoor photo exhibition mounted on Sothearos Boulevard to commemorate Handicap International’s 30th anniversary of operation in the country. The pictures depicted ordinary people in Cambodia and Laos going about their daily business: tilling a field, eating dinner or lying in bed. Each of them wore a prosthetic limb after suffering an encounter with an unexploded ordnance. Attending Fatal Footprint’s closing at Meta House last week was John Rodsted, a photojournalist and part of a team that earned a 1997 Nobel peace prize for their work promoting an anti-landmine treaty. Rodsted didn’t pull his punches when discussing the continuing impact of unexploded ordnance on Cambodian society. In an economy dominated by agriculture, and a rush to seize up the country’s free land, the threat of dormant munitions left over from the Vietnam War and the Khmer Rouge still looms large, he said. “Think about how much it costs to bomb a country,” Rodsted beseeched his audience. “Think of how much it costs to build a plane, create the bomb, train a pilot. Multiply that figure by 200,000. Now think about how much money is available to clean up the mess. “In Cambodia, there is still the legacy of mines, still the legacy of unexploded ordnance from a war that ended 37 years ago and yet continues today. Quite simply, why should the children of this country still be suffering from a legacy left over from the ’70s?”
Handicap International’s Cambodian Director, Jeroen Stol, said the Sothearos Blvd exhibition was an ideal way of drawing attention to his organisation’s efforts in humanitarian mine action and safeguarding the rights of those who fall victim to unexploded ordnance. Funded by foreign aid agencies of Belgium, Spain, Austria and Australia, Handicap International has worked to train teachers in supporting amputees and provided healthcare support in the rural provinces where mine injuries are most common. Handicap International also took the opportunity last week to commend the work of Spain’s Agency for International Development Cooperation and the Cambodian Mine Action Centre. The organisations are two of many that conduct mine and ordnance clearing operations in Cambodia’s provinces. In 2010, the groups helped clear 5,500 mines from Kratie, Srav Vieng and Kampong Cham provinces in Cambodia’s east, rendering 2.6 million square kilometres of the country free from the threat of unexploded ordnance. As for the upcoming exhibit at the InterCon, Sean Sutton says that despite its emotive and somewhat depressing topic, the exhibition is not intended to stir feelings of doom and gloom. “I hope people can leave the exhibition with hope and the belief that together we can really make a difference. Anything we can do to raise awareness of this issue is important,” he said, adding that the art of photography was an incremental tool in addressing hard-hitting issues that can be difficult to talk about. “It is important to illustrate what the problem and impact is, as well as showing what has already been achieved.” Many of his photographs show MAG workers clearing landmines. “So much has been achieved in Cambodia. Many communities have been saved and the difference is amazing to see. However, there is a lot more to do and we must work together for a mine-free future.” Impact Clearing Cambodia’s Deadly Legacy runs from April 5 to 25 at The Insider Gallery, Intercontinental Hotel Phnom Penh 296 Mao Tse Toung Blvd, Phnom Penh. The exhibit is part of MAG’s Landmine Awareness Week of Action running from the March 28 to April 4. To contact the reporters on this story: Deborah Seccombe and Sean Gleeson at ppp.lifestyle@gmail.com
Railway evictees seek ADB aid Khouth Sophak Chakrya Tuesday, 03 April 2012
Families forced to move by the rehabilitation of the Phnom Penh stretch of the national railway petitioned the Asian Development Bank yesterday for help with their livelihoods.
EVICTEES FROM A RAILWAY SITE IN THE CAPITAL DELIVER A PETITION TO THE ADB OFFICES YESTERDAY. PHOTO BY HENG CHIVOAN
About 50 people gathered outside the ADB’s office to submit a petition representing more than 160 families relocated to Por Senchey district’s Trapaing Anchang village. Addressed to ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda, it asks for his intervention in creating jobs, providing more compensation and developing infrastructure at the relocation site. The complaint adds to the woes of the US$143 million rehabilitation project that has been beset by delays and cries of inadequate compensation. Villager representative Ros Bopha, 33, said they had been relocated from Tuol Sangke and Kilometre 6 communes in Russei Keo district on March 6. Promises from the authorities and the ADB had led villagers to expect an improvement in living conditions, but this had not happened, she said. “Our living conditions are getting worse and worse, so a number of families have mortgaged their land certificates to build houses and to survive, as they are still unemployed,” she added. Sok Lang, 46, said she had lost her job as a porter in a food warehouse since the relocation site was too far away, and was now in danger of losing her property due to debt. Por Senchey district deputy governor Hem Narith, who supervised the filing of the petition along with 50 policemen, asked representatives to write to local authorities for help.
Eang Vuthy, Development Watch program manager at Bridges Across Borders Cambodia, said the NGO had alerted the ADB of Trapaing Anchang’s inadequacies in 2010, when it was about to be approved as a resettlement site. “The people [villagers] were living in the city; then they were resettled in the countryside 25 kilometres away. They will be losing jobs and access to public services,” he said. An ADB spokesperson said by email that it had received the petition and was reviewing “the issues raised in the complaint”. The government had selected relocation sites based on criteria agreed on with the ADB, added the spokesperson. The ADB’s resettlement plan for the Phnom Penh section, released on June 2010, states that “no large land was available around the affected area and the price of land in Phnom Penh urban area was too high around the affected areas”. It notes the site is “located at least 15km from the centre of the city” and was chosen due to the presence of nearby services and the availability and affordability of land. To contact the reporter on this story: Khouth Sophak Chakrya at khouth.sophakchakrya@phnompenhpost.com With assistance from Cassandra Yeap
Relocation deals unfair, say families Sen David Tuesday, 03 April 2012
More than 400 families in Kampong Cham province’s Chup commune had filed a complaint yesterday to local authorities over relocation orders issued last week, villagers said. Hom Hon, 55, a retired rubber plantation worker and former employee of Sopheak Nika Investment Group Company, said that on March 30, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the rubber company had given villagers 15 days to relocate to another village in the commune. Hom Hon, a resident of the area for 30 years, questioned the fairness of the compensation promised. “It is not equal. Some families got both houses and land. I do not get a house. I only got a plot of land,” he said, adding that he had been allocated a 10- x 20-metre plot of land and US$850 in compensation for his previous 30- x 50-metre plot. Oeun Khum, 51, another long-time resident, said her family lacked the time and funds to build a house on their new plot of land and were living in makeshift tents. Chup commune chief Lach Veng said Sopheak Nika Investment Group wanted residents – many of whom were their retired employees – to relocate in order to build housing for current workers. “The company wants current workers to stay here, so it has moved retired workers and residents to live at a different place. This makes it easier for the company to control its workers,” he said. More than 40 families had been given houses and land, Lach Veng said, but he dismissed complaints of a lack of transparency in land allocations, saying an evaluation committee set up by the agriculture ministry and the rubber company had compensated villagers according to the values of their properties. Residents had been relocated to an area where a village would be developed, he said, adding that the authorities planned to build wells and streets, and supply electricity. Chheng Nareth, deputy head of the provincial agriculture department, declined to comment on the complaints, confirming only that the land had been granted to Sopheak Nika Investment Group through a land concession. Sopheak Nika Investment Group representatives could not be reached for comment yesterday. To contact the reporter on this story: Sen David at sen.david@phnompenhpost.com
Water treatment JV plans $200 million investment Sieam Bunthy Tuesday, 03 April 2012
Cambodia's Heng Development Co Ltd, in co-operation with Thai and Chinese companies, plans to invest about US$200 million in a water-treatment project this year, according to the company’s general director. “I think investment in the project is a contribution to help our environment and society because of the increase in contaminated water flowing into bodies of water year after year,” Sieng Chanheng said yesterday. The company was at the first stage of the evaluation process and investment in the project would require at least $200 million, she said. Heng Development would own 30 per cent of the joint venture, Sieng Chanheng said. State-owned China CAMC Engineering would hold 50 per cent ownership and Thailand’s BIG International would own the remaining 20 per cent. The two foreign companies have been conducting research in Battambang, Kampong Cham and Kandal province, as well as in coastal areas.
Borei Keila evictees ‘will die’ without aid Mom Kunthear Wednesday, 04 April 2012
Borei Keila evictees sleeping under stairs at the site where their houses were bulldozed in January would die unless more aid organisations provided them with food, an NGO representative said yesterday. Amnesty International paid for the Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF) to deliver more than 1,200 kilograms of rice to Borei Keila yesterday to feed about 100 families. Neup Ly, community improvement officer at HRTF, condemned the families’ living conditions. “We see that they are not only lacking food, but they also do not have sufficient sanitation or medication because of their unsuitable living conditions,” Neup Ly said. “They sleep under the stairs and close to garbage cans,” he said. “We think that they will die if they don’t have help from organisation officials.” A Borei Keila resident, Sok Kheang, 42, said the families continued to live in squalor at the site. “We are living like animals. We don’t have enough food, and that’s why we need help from charities,” she said. “I am very happy to receive the rice today, even if it is not much, but it is vital for us to continue our lives and carry on protesting.” Sok Kheang also pledged to increase the intensity of the community’s protests. “We plan to hold a big protest after Khmer New Year, and we will keep doing it until we get our houses back. I am not afraid of someone arresting or killing me,” she said. Two weeks ago, the Borei Keila residents received 120 mosquito nets and hand sanitisers from NGOs Community Legal Education Center, Adhoc, Licadho and the HRTF. Many of the families’ houses were knocked down by development firm Phan Imex after they refused to be relocated to the outskirts of Phnom Penh or to Kandal province. Phan Imex agreed in 2004 to construct 10 buildings on two hectares of land at Borei Keila to house 1,776 families, in exchange for development rights to the remaining 2.6 hectares. The firm has constructed only eight buildings.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mom Kunthear at mom.kunthear@phnompenhpost.com
Duch: Two KR leaders were ‘Office’ mates Kristin Lynch Wednesday, 04 April 2012
Khieu Samphan was “in charge” of Pol Pot’s secretariat office, also known as “Office 870”, Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, testified yesterday at the Khmer Rouge tribunal.
KANG GUEK EAV, ALIAS DUCH, PICTURED AT THE ECCC IN JULY 2010, WHERE HE WAS SENTENCED TO TO 35 YEARS IMPRISONMENT.PHOTO BY ECCC POOL
During examination by Trial Chamber Judge Jean-Marc Lavergne, the former S-21 prison chief said such a position afforded the former Democratic Kampuchea head of state with high-level access to information. “He was allowed to know important information. Pol Pot allowed him to know and help him remember the issues,” Duch said, adding that the two leaders were “close”. After 1975, Duch said this secretariat office was referred to as “Office 870”. “All documents were in the hands of Khieu Samphan” at Office 870, Duch continued. According to the indictment against the three co-accused – Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Nuon Chea – Office 870 was one of the two highest-level offices within the Communist Party of Kampuchea, tasked with supporting the Standing Committee on matters of policy. The indictment also says that Khieu Samphan has “categorically denied” ever being chairman. Duch has generally been reluctant to speak out against the former head of state, in stark contrast to the zealousness he typically reserves for co-accused Brother No 2 Nuon Chea. Last week, Duch said Khieu Samphan was “pure” and “clean” and that his role was only “symbolic and honorific”. And during testimony earlier in the day yesterday, Duch refused to answer when civil party lawyer Lyma Nguyen asked whether any S-21 prisoner confessions had been sent to Khieu
Samphan or Ieng Sary. “I’d like to refrain from answering this question,” Duch responded, despite willingly saying that such confessions were sent to Nuon Chea. The examination of the former S-21 prison chief continues today, starting with questions by Nuon Chea’s defence team. Toward the end of yesterday’s session, defence lawyer Michiel Pestman said that his client, Nuon Chea, wanted five minutes of today’s session to respond to Duch’s testimony, but the Trial Chamber did not issue a ruling before the court adjourned.
Royal lends voice to returnees Diana Montaño Wednesday, 04 April 2012
An eclectic mix of artists, NGO workers, former gang members and Cambodian royalty filled Java Café to capacity on Monday night for a dinner and awards ceremony aimed at raising awareness about the US government’s ongoing deportation of Cambodian refugees.
PRINCESS SOMA NORODOM HOSTED THE ‘CHAMPTIONS OF CHANGE, TOO’ GALA, SHARING HER OWN EXPERIENCE AS A REFUGEE IN THE US. PHOTO BY CHHIM SREYNEANG
Princess Soma Norodom, the niece of King Norodom Sihoni, was the night’s host. Norodom, who grew up in Long Beach, California, after her family fled to the US following the Khmer Rouge takeover, expressed her solidarity with those deported from the US. “I’m here because I am Cambodian-American. I know what it was like to be a refugee in the US,” said the Princess when asked why she felt compelled to speak on the issue. The majority of deportees arriving in Cambodia committed crimes in the past, often in their teens, which deemed them deportable, according to the local non-profit Returnee Integration Support Center. “People have to understand that when we were there, we were kids,” said Soma Norodom. “You go through this period of isolation, you go through an identity crisis, so you get into gangs, you drink, you do drugs ... That is how some of [the returnees] got into trouble.” The “Champions of Change, too” gala, billed as a black tie affair, was organized by Phnom Penh-based multimedia collaborative Studio Revolt to counter a “Champions of Change” dinner taking place at the White House later this week. Studio Revolt’s video My Asian Americana, which tells the story of Cambodian returnees or “Exiled Americans” and criticizes US deportation policies, was chosen as a finalist in a contest organised by the White House’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative.
However, it was excluded from the final winners’ list last month despite having garnered the most votes from online viewers, according to the filmmakers, who say the exclusion is a reflection of the Obama Administration’s avoidance of the issue. White House officials did not respond to requests for comment on the contest. Dinner was followed by an awards ceremony honouring My Asian Americana’s cast and crew, and by testimonies from returnees themselves. “It’s history repeating itself,” returnee Sokha Chhim told the crowd, “Our parents got sent to a country they never knew and had to start their lives there, and we’re getting sent back to a country we never knew, and have to start our lives here.” Despite the heavy political tone, the event was intimate and festive and included performances by Sokha Chhim, who is well known in Phnom Penh’s hip-hop scene as DJ Dolla, and spoken word poet Khosal Kiev, also a returnee. “You can feel the creativity in the air,” said Anida Yoeu Ali, My Asian Americana’s director, who took advantage of the opportunity to announce a new artistic endeavour for the coming year entitled “Generation Return”, which will feature work by artists belonging to the Cambodian diaspora. In attendance were about 30 returnees, as well as various members of Phnom Penh’s arts community, including representatives of Meta House, Romeet Gallery and Khmer Arts. Princess Soma Norodom’s cousins, Nikko and Bijou Sisowath, were also present. “Tonight we honoured My Asian Americana because the White House did not honour it even though it won the public vote,” said Soma Norodom. “We have to voice our opinion. The issue of deportations is a very big issue.” To contact the reporter on this story: Diana Montaño at ppp.lifestyle@gmail.com
Search on for new judges Kristin Lynch and Cheang Sokha Monday, 02 April 2012
Citing “serious” concerns with the work of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, the United Nations said on Friday that it is in the process of selecting two international co-investigating judges to replace the ones who have resigned from the court, and urged the Cambodian government to offer them its “full cooperation”. “Recent events at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia … have raised serious concerns about the ECCC judicial process in relation to Cases 003 and 004,” the statement, issued by the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, reads. Less than two weeks ago, reserve international Co-Investigating Judge Laurent KasperAnsermet resigned amid what he said was persistent stonewalling by the Cambodian court staff of his efforts to investigate government-opposed cases 003 and 004. And in October, Kasper-Ansermet’s predecessor, Siegfried Blunk, resigned citing government interference. “The circumstances that have given rise to these two resignations remain worrying,” Ban’s statement says. Although it does not provide a timeline for the selection of the new judges, the statement instructs the Cambodian government to “extend its full cooperation to the new judges”, adding that they should be “promptly appointed” by the Supreme Council of the Magistracy. The statement also takes the Council to task for its failure to appoint Kasper-Ansermet. “The Cambodian Supreme Council of the Magistracy did not appoint Judge KasperAnsermet as the international Co-Investigating Judge as it was required to do by the UN/Cambodia agreement,” the statement reads. The statement also defends Kasper-Ansermet’s “full legal authority” to conduct investigations into cases 003 and 004. That authority had been consistently invalidated by the Swiss judge’s Cambodian counterpart, You Bunleng. Reached yesterday, You Bunleng said he had no further comment about KasperAnsermet’s authority, and that he would “wait to work with” whomever the UN selects to replace Kasper-Ansermet. “The decision of approval of the new judge … is not my decision, it’s the decision of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy,” he added. Government officials refused to respond to the UN statement yesterday. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said “I have no business in this matter”, and referred all inquiries to Keo Remy, deputy president of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit, who hung up on a
reporter and did not answer repeated phone calls after. Information Minister Khieu Kanharith also hung up on a reporter and refused to answer subsequent calls. UN Special Expert to the Khmer Rouge tribunal David Scheffer did not respond to questions prior to press time.
Duch’s recall on defensive Kristin Lynch Thursday, 05 April 2012
During five hours of heated cross-examination at the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday, Nuon Chea’s defence lawyer Michiel Pestman whittled away at the credibility of Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, attacking the veracity of the former S-21 prison chief’s testimony.
CONVICTED S-21 PRISON CHIEF KAING GUEK EAV, ALIAS DUCH, WAS ON THE STAND AGAIN YESTERDAY. PHOTO SUPPLIED
Over the past two weeks, Duch has identified Brother No 2 Nuon Chea as the key “decision-maker” in Democratic Kampuchea, the leader who received all S-21 prisoner confessions after 1977 and decided who was to be “smashed”, but Pestman yesterday attacked Duch’s testimony regarding this chain of command. In several instances, Pestman produced S-21 prisoner confessions that had been annotated by Son Sen, not Nuon Chea, at the end of 1977. Duch has testified that Nuon Chea replaced Son Sen as his superior after August 15, 1977, and from then on, all prisoner confessions were forwarded directly to Nuon Chea. “This document seems to suggest, like the other documents I showed you, that the [S-21 prisoner] confessions . . . went from you to Son Sen and from Son Sen to Pol Pot. Wouldn’t you agree?” Pestman asked Duch. “I can neither agree nor deny the observation made by counsel,” Duch responded. Pestman also produced an annotation to an S-21 confession that Duch testified last week was written by Nuon Chea. However, Pestman said that when Duch was shown this document by the investigating judges in Case 001 in 2007, Duch had identified the annotation as coming from Son Sen. When asked to explain the discrepancy, Duch said he was “confused” and “mistaken” in his 2007 testimony before the investigating judges. Pestman argued that Duch simply assumed it was Nuon Chea since the document was dated 1978.
“Did you change your statement when you realised the date of the document was in February 1978 and that you therefore assumed that it had to be [annotated by] Nuon Chea instead of Son Sen?” Pestman asked. “When I made the correction, I didn’t base it on the date of issuance. I based it on the [hand]writing,” Duch responded, to which Pestman attacked Duch’s lack of formal handwriting recognition expertise. In a similar situation involving the annotation to a prisoner confession made in October 1977, Duch similarly reneged on testimony he previously gave to investigating judges. “I think I made a mistake on this. I said it was written by Son Sen . . . however, having looked at this annotation again I think it could’ve been written by Brother Nuon so I am mixed up myself,” Duch said. At one point, Duch admitted to speculating about the author of annotations made to S-21 confessions. “I am [speculating]. Before the co-investigating judges I speculated and here I am doing this again,” he said.
Hun Sen: we won’t be bought Shane Worrell with additional reporting by Cheang Sokha Thursday, 05 April 2012
After a week of global media reports dissecting Cambodia’s relationship with China, Prime Minister Hun Sen had apparently had enough yesterday – lashing out at the media and analysts he termed “crazy” in what proved an unexpected conclusion to the 20th ASEAN Summit.
PRIME MINISTER HUN SEN DELIVERS A SPEECH TO THE ASEAN DELEGATES DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. PHOTO BY MENG KIMLONG
The premier spent a good part of the concluding press conference defending his government from claims that China was buying its support. “Cambodia is not [being] bought by anyone,” he said, referring to the millions of dollars in loans and aid Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged on Saturday. Hun Sen went on to praise China at length for “saving” the ASEAN economy in 1997 and showing generosity to Europe during the 2008 economic crisis, but insisted he had never felt pressure from Chinese leaders to “do this or do that”. That, of course, was precisely the suggestion of some analysts, who posited that last weekend’s visit by Hu had been made with the intention of enlisting Cambodia’s aid in squelching debate on the controversial South China Sea issue. Hun Sen said that, contrary to published reports, the South China Sea had always been on the summit’s agenda. “That is a serious misunderstanding. The South China Sea must always be in discussions until the completion of the Code of Conduct,” he said. And it wasn’t just journalists who had gotten it wrong, he said, saying a certain “bald-headed doctor”, believed to be a reference to independent analyst Dr Lao Mong Hay, a critic of the China-Cambodia relat-ionship, had also misread the situation.
“I regret the thinking of some political analysts, including the bald-headed doctor,” he said. “The Chinese president was not coming to talk about [the South China Sea]. Doctors, or [those who are] not doctors, should learn more information.” The prime minister also used his time in front of the assembled international press to criticise a letter he said opposition leader Sam Rainsy had sent to Hu encouraging China to resolve the South China Sea dispute individually with each country involved. It was “silly philosophy,” he said. Yim Sovann, a spokesman for Sam Rainsy, said ASEAN meetings were places to discuss important issues, not attack someone’s opinions. “We should not take our internal differences into ASEAN meetings,” he said. Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, said Hun Sen’s comments had given the world a glimpse of what the Cambodian government was like. “The international community is watching ASEAN, and in a way, they get to see the real government,” he said. “There are so many different things ASEAN needs to focus on. Diverting attention away from them to a personal attack is fairly unprofessional.” Dr Lao Mong Hay said Hun Sen, “as head of government”, had the right to make such comments. “I don’t assume it is me Hun Sen is referring to . . . there are other commentators,” he said.
‘New deal’ eyed for migrant workers Cassandra Yeap Thursday, 05 April 2012
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s call on Tuesday to strengthen cooperation among ASEAN members to protect the rights of migrant workers echoed recent comments by rights groups who say further protections are necessary as the 2015 deadline for an integrated economic community looms.
TWELVE MAIDS RETURN FROM MALAYSIA IN LATE FEBRUARY THIS YEAR AT THE PHNOM PENH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. PHOTO BY PHA LINA
As that deadline approaches, an increase in regional labour flows has been accompanied by a steady stream of reports regarding large-scale human trafficking from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia into Thailand, and the abuse of Cambodian and Indonesian maids in Malaysia. Sinapan Samydorai, president of NGO Think Centre and convener of a Singapore-based task force on ASEAN migrant workers, said a “new deal” is needed in which the rights of workers are enforced, laws and policies harmonised with international labour standards and social protections assured for workers and their families. “ASEAN aims to evolve into an integrated economic community by 2015, but the challenge is to draft and agree to a legally binding ASEAN Framework Instrument on the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers,” he added. Assistant director of the ASEAN Social Welfare, Women, Labour and Migrant Workers division Mega Irena said the development of just such an instrument was “ongoing”. At last year’s summit in Bali, leaders had tasked labour ministers to continue their work to implement the declaration, including a “phased approach in the development of the instrument, starting by focusing on issues which are comfortable to all ASEAN member states”, she said.
According to Irena, the 2007 Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of Migrant Workers “mandates ASEAN countries to promote fair and appropriate employment protection, payment of wages and adequate access to decent working and living conditions for migrant workers”. It states that the obligations of sending and receiving states, as well as the commitment of ASEAN member countries. Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Thailand receive more labour than they send, while the reverse is true for Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos, according to the findings of the 2011 ADBI-OECD Conference on Labour Migration. Bruno Maltoni, project coordinator at the International Organisation for Migration, said the declaration was a milestone. “It is quite interesting to see migration slowly becoming a key item in the ASEAN agenda,” he said. ASEAN would be increasingly involved as a regional body in supervising migration, he added. “A few years ago, the negotiations and bilateral agreements were mostly on a one-to-one basis; in the future, ASEAN will probably be more involved on regional frameworks in order to guarantee an improvement of the labour migration management,” he said. But other actors said ASEAN was moving too slowly to protect workers. Advocacy officer of the Cambodian Working Group for Domestic Workers Natalie Drolet called the declaration “just a piece of paper that has not been put into practice”, as a framework had not been adopted to implement protections for workers. This was a need that was becoming increasingly urgent as the establishment of the economic community would mean an increase in intra-regional migration, she said. The possibility of trafficking and labour exploitation in the absence of proper protections was another concern raised by rights groups. Samydorai said employment opportunities abroad were pushing governments to seek bilateral or regional agreements that would see more employed in neighbouring countries. But the high costs and complex policies involved for job-seekers often forced many to become undocumented migrant workers vulnerable to abuse, he added.
Boeung Kak residents seek police vow Khouth Sophakchakrya Friday, 06 April 2012
Boeung Kak lake residents yesterday accused Phnom Penh municipal police officials of refusing to sign and seal a petition promising to guarantee security at the site following recent violence and theft in the area. Heng Mom, representing about 20 Boeung Kak protesters, said police had not “fulfilled their duty” to crack down on theft, which had led to them to gather at municipal police headquarters yesterday to file a petition to police chief Touch Naroth demanding action. Heng Mom, who said more than US$2,000, a passport and an identification card were stolen when her house was broken into in Village 22 in Daun Penh district on Monday, said police had rejected the petition. “I think it is discrimination against us,” she said. Resident Nget Khoun told the Post on Tuesday an unknown assailant had tried to strangle her daughter on March 27 as she was falling asleep, but escaped when she woke up. Police had initially accepted the petition about 9am yesterday, Heng Mom said, and villagers had been told to return home to await a response, but they had refused to leave without it being signed, sealed and sent to Touch Naroth. About midday, two police officers came outside to persuade the protesters to go home and promised they would pass the petition to the police chief, but the protesters persisted in their demands for it to be signed, Heng Mom said. Police eventually handed the petition back. When the protesters agreed to return home, they did so with a promise of more protests today – this time, at nat-ional police headquarters. The residents held a press conference on Tuesday, complaining that police were failing to protect them. They booted out three commune police officials and several village guards halfway through the press conference. Touch Naroth said yesterday that police had been given a petition, but he refused to comment further. To contact the reporter on this story: Khouth Sophak Chakrya at khouth.sophakchakrya@phnompenhpost.com
Duch challenged on recollection of dates Kristin Lynch Friday, 06 April 2012
Tension between Nuon Chea’s defence team and Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, simmered for the second day in a row yesterday at the Khmer Rouge tribunal as the defence continued in its attempts to undermine the credibility of the former S-21 prison chief. During his cross-examination of Duch, defence counsel Michiel Pestman raised doubts about Duch’s assertions that Brother No. 2 Nuon Chea became his immediate superior at S-21 after Duch’s previous boss, Son Sen, was transferred. During testimony in this case, Duch has repeatedly stated that the transfer of superiors occurred on August 15, 1977, but yesterday, Pestman produced multiple statements by Duch over the past 15 years that contradicted this, including testimony given in court two weeks ago, in which Duch said the transfer of power had occurred in August, 1978. “Duch, two days ago, I asked you whether it’s possible that you got the date wrong [about the transfer of power]. I asked you specifically, ‘Do you ever get that date wrong?’ and you said, ‘I’m never mistaken, I’m absolutely sure about that date.’ Do you remember saying that?” Pestman asked. “I still stand by my position that I’ve never been mistaken when it comes to that exact date, the 15th of August, 1977, when Nuon Chea was my superior,” Duch responded. “Can you then explain . . . why in 1999, you said [the date was] July, 1978; in 2002, you said it was the 15th of July, 1977; and here in court on the 20th of March, you said it was the 15th of August, 1978? How can you explain that you got the date wrong when you were absolutely sure?” Pestman asked. Duch had little retort, aside from calling for the tape recording used in one of the interviews Pestman had cited. Such inconsistencies, Pestman posited, indicated that “Son Sen remained Duch’s superior even after he departed, and at no time was Nuon Chea Duch’s superior”. Pestman culminated his three-hour exchange with Duch by calling the former prison chief a “liar” with a “tendency to shift responsibility” for actions on to others. “I put it to you that Nuon Chea was never in charge of S-21 or gave you any orders. Nuon Chea was simply the person you decided would take the blame and absolve you of responsibility,” he said. “You cannot accept responsibility for your own actions and, in fact, you are a liar.”
Duch challenged on recollection of dates Kristin Lynch Friday, 06 April 2012
Tension between Nuon Chea’s defence team and Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, simmered for the second day in a row yesterday at the Khmer Rouge tribunal as the defence continued in its attempts to undermine the credibility of the former S-21 prison chief. During his cross-examination of Duch, defence counsel Michiel Pestman raised doubts about Duch’s assertions that Brother No. 2 Nuon Chea became his immediate superior at S-21 after Duch’s previous boss, Son Sen, was transferred. During testimony in this case, Duch has repeatedly stated that the transfer of superiors occurred on August 15, 1977, but yesterday, Pestman produced multiple statements by Duch over the past 15 years that contradicted this, including testimony given in court two weeks ago, in which Duch said the transfer of power had occurred in August, 1978. “Duch, two days ago, I asked you whether it’s possible that you got the date wrong [about the transfer of power]. I asked you specifically, ‘Do you ever get that date wrong?’ and you said, ‘I’m never mistaken, I’m absolutely sure about that date.’ Do you remember saying that?” Pestman asked. “I still stand by my position that I’ve never been mistaken when it comes to that exact date, the 15th of August, 1977, when Nuon Chea was my superior,” Duch responded. “Can you then explain . . . why in 1999, you said [the date was] July, 1978; in 2002, you said it was the 15th of July, 1977; and here in court on the 20th of March, you said it was the 15th of August, 1978? How can you explain that you got the date wrong when you were absolutely sure?” Pestman asked. Duch had little retort, aside from calling for the tape recording used in one of the interviews Pestman had cited. Such inconsistencies, Pestman posited, indicated that “Son Sen remained Duch’s superior even after he departed, and at no time was Nuon Chea Duch’s superior”. Pestman culminated his three-hour exchange with Duch by calling the former prison chief a “liar” with a “tendency to shift responsibility” for actions on to others. “I put it to you that Nuon Chea was never in charge of S-21 or gave you any orders. Nuon Chea was simply the person you decided would take the blame and absolve you of responsibility,” he said. “You cannot accept responsibility for your own actions and, in fact, you are a liar.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Kristin Lynch at kristin.lynch@phnompenhpost.com
HIV dollars stretching far: study Mom Kunthear Friday, 06 April 2012
A dollar invested in aiding HIV patients was worth almost twice that to the people it was targeting with help, according to a new study by the NGO KHANA. The NGO’s research director, Heng Sopheap, said the “Social Return on Investment” study was the first in Cambodia to try to discover the effectiveness of support to the HIV community. “We want to know how much will be returned to society when we invest in the HIV Integrate Care and Prevention Program,” he said. “From our study we saw that if we invested $1, we generated $1.73 in social, health and economic benefits.” KHANA interviewed 2,000 HIV-positive people over two months in 2011 in Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Speu and Prey Veng provinces. Jean-Francois Cautain, head of the European Union delegation that supports KHANA’s HIV program, said in a statement that the study “helped build a stronger evidence-base to better understand the successes and challenges of HIV programs in Cambodia”. To contact the reporter on this story: Mom Kunthear at mom.kunthear@phnompenhpost.com