18-24 June Phnom Penh Post

Boeung Kak duo's release sparks hope Monday, 18 June 2012 Khouth Sophak Chakrya

Sao Saroeun, 71, (centre) speaks to reporters yesterday after being released from police custody on Friday.

Photograph: Meng Kimlong/Phnom Penh Post

One of the two Boeung Kak lake residents released on bail from Prey Sar prison on Friday is prepared to be a witness in the appeal trial of the 13 women convicted and sent to jail last month – but only if he is invited to be, he said yesterday.

Sao Sareoun, 71, and Ly Channary were released on the condition they report to police every two weeks and do not change their addresses.

Sao Sareoun, who was arrested outside the 13 women’s trial on May 24 as he tried to give evidence, said he was willing to testify in next Wednesday’s hearing at the Appeal Court, but did not want to find himself in more trouble by doing so.

“I will do this if their defence lawyer wants me to,” he said. “I want to request the court and all levels of the authorities to take pity on the 13 Boeung Kak women.”

The women were arrested at Boeung Kak on May 22 as protesters tried to rebuild a house on land cleared to make way for a $79 million development by Shukaku, a company headed

by CPP senator Lao Meng Khin.

They were charged two days later with disputing authority and trespassing, and were tried,

convicted and sentenced in three hours without a lawyer or any witnesses.

Sao Sareoun said he was arrested when he tried to give the court a document that showed some evictees had not received either a land title or compensation.

Ly Channary was also arrested outside the court, and the pair were charged with the same offences as the 13 women.

“I don’t understand why the authorities arrested me and accused me,” Sao Sareoun said.

During his imprisonment in Prey Sar’s Correctional Centre I, he spent time living with 19 other people in a room that was barely seven square metres in size, he said.

“It was tough. The other prisoners took pity on me, though, because of my age. They let me sleep,” Sao Sareoun said.

Harm Sunrith, the lawyer for the 13 Boeung Kak women, did not say whether he would call on Sao Sareoun to give evidence, adding that he had not yet been formally told of the women’s appeal date.

“But we hope, and believe, the Appeal Court will drop the case and release my 13 defendants,” he said.

Seng Sy Vutha, deputy director of the Appeal Court, said yesterday the women’s hearing would be held on June 27 at 8:30am.

“For the case of the 13 Boeung Kak women, our court pays attention very much,” Seng Sy Vutha said.

The Ministry of Justice wrote to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on May 31, asking it to reexamine the case against the women.

The case is also receiving global attention. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong at a meeting in Washington last week that the 13 women’s release would be “a sign of support for freedom of expression”.

Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit spokesman Ek Tha, who said after the trial on May 24 that the government had nothing to do with the court’s decision, declined to comment yesterday.

Am Sam Ath, technical adviser with the rights group Licadho, welcomed Ly Channary and Sao Sareoun’s release and encouraged the court to take it a step further and drop the charges against them.

Bo Chhorvy, a representative of the protesters in the Boeung Kak community, told the Post yesterday six of the 13 women prisoners who had been on a hunger strike had ended it with the release of Ly Channary and Sao Sareoun.

“They ate the beef and shellfish that I bought to give them, and they were smiling,” she said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Khouth Sophak Chakrya at sophakchakrya.khouth@phnompenhpost.com

Cambodia to cede two villages to Vietnam Monday, 18 June 2012 Meas Sokchea

National Assembly president Heng Samrin speaks during a meeting in Phnom Penh last year.

Photograph: Hong Menea/Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia would have to give two villages to Vietnam if it wanted to retain another two deemed the territory of the Kingdom’s eastern neighbour by the former French Indochina colonial administration, a government minister said yesterday.

Last year, the Cambodian government announced it was speeding up the process of demarcating its borders with Vietnam and Laos, which were renegotiated in 1985, six years after Vietnam ousted the Khmer Rouge.

Va Kimhong, senior minister in charge of the Cambodian Border Affairs Committee, said the government would have to compromise to keep Thlok Trach and Anlung Chrey villages, in Kampong Cham province’s Ponhea Krek district, as part of the border demarcation process.

“We have still kept both the villages the same, but we have an obligation to find any area in Kampong Cham province to give back to Vietnam,” he said. “That is what we call a compromise.”

Va Kimhong did not specify which villages would be given to Vietnam in exchange for retaining the territory, which includes Anlung Chrey, the home town of National Assembly president Heng Samrin.

But Sean Penh Se, president of the NGO alliance Cambodia Border Committee, said from France yesterday that any exchange would be unacceptable without consulting those who stood to lose land from such a deal.

“As I know, the map that France has kept [for us] has [Ponhea] Krek [district] belonging to the Khmer,” he said. “There has never been such an exchange, like an exchange of bread and oranges. [We] must have agreement from all people, because that land does not belong to Mr Va Kimhong and Mr Hun Sen.” Alleged Vietnamese encroachment on Cambodian territory stirs strong passions in the Kingdom and has been a pivotal issue in all of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party’s election campaigns.

Party president Sam Rainsy lives in self-imposed exile in France after receiving more than a decade in jail terms in Cambodia for pulling up a border demarcation post and publishing a Google map to support his claim of Vietnamese encroachment.

SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said yesterday the Vietnamese claim was based on an unacceptable 2005 supplementary treaty to the 1985 Treaty on Delimitation of National Boundaries between the two countries.

“I think Va Kimhong is very wrong. According to the names of the villages, they belong to Cambodia, and since the beginning, we did not agree with the additional treaty since 2005,” he said.

Ros Va, 71, and Chum Chin, 71, residents of Po Preuk village, which neighbours the two villages in question, said they believed the villages were inside Cambodian territory but had been used as hiding places by Vietnamese soldiers during the war with the US. “Those villages really are Khmer land. It is not confusion,” Ros Va said.

Heng Samrin could not be reached for comment yesterday, but senior Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yeap said the National Assembly president had lived in Anlung Chrey village for close to 80 years.

“I have gone [to Heng Samrin’s village] often; it is next to the border. Samdech Heng Samrin has already declared that since he was born. He has lived there since a long time ago,” Cheam Yeap said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Meas Sokchea at sokchea.meas@phnompenhpost.com

Khmer Rouge biopic set for overseas tour Monday, 18 June 2012 Roth Meas

A locally produced film based on the real-life story of a woman in the Khmer Rouge era is about to have a fresh set of overseas screenings.

Since it premiered in Cambodia two years ago, Lost Loves has been invited to screen at film festivals in Germany, Italy and Thailand.

It has also been slated for screenings at Malaysia’s Asian Film Festival in August, Illinois University in September and the Rome International Film Festival in October.

“We are proud that our movie has been recognised by international audiences,” Chhay Bora, the film’s director, says. “Now we are looking for funds to continue our film-making.”

Lost Loves is based on the story of Chhay Bora’s mother-in-law, Nun Sila. During the 1970s, she lost her father, her husband, and other relatives at the hands of the Khmer Rouge regime.

The movie was screened at many of Phnom Penh’s cinemas, and recently ended a fresh six-week run at the Cineplex.

“I’m now applying for a licence to screen Lost Loves to diplomats and government officials in Cambodia, so we can raise some funds to promote our film work,” Chhay Bora says.

He also plans to establish a film foundation to raise funds for young film-makers, after seeing the potential of aspirants to the craft while helping to judge the Chaktomuk short-film contest earlier this year.

MIME will no longer be silent on standards Monday, 18 June 2012 Rann Reuy

Official from the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy (MIME) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization signed an agreement last week to equip a laboratory at the Institute of Standards of Cambodia and to strengthen the capacity of officials, with US$500,000 donated by the Norwegian government.

The institute would play a role in banning the flow of foreign goods into Cambodia that did not meet national standards, Minister for MIME Suy Sem said.

Most of Cambodia’s products have yet to be tested by the institute.

As Cambodia tried to integrate with more mature members of the ASEAN community, establishing product quality standards was necessary as goods would begin to flow through the region without a customs tax in 2015, officials said.

Chan Sopha, vice-president of MIME’s Standard Institute, said the institute still lacked the budget to organise a meeting to review the many standard documents.

He said that so far, the institute had recognised 100 products, most of which were electric appliances, electronics, food products and controlling systems, as standardised.

“We have done little because there are tens of thousands of products to be reviewed, but we have just finished 100 more. The budget offered is small compared to that needed by the institute,” Chian Sopha said.

Suy Sem said the half-million dollars in aid, awarded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, was chiefly focused on equipping the institute’s laboratory and training officials to fortify quality evaluations.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rann Reuy at ruey.rann@phnompenhpost.com

Acid attack brings year’s victim tally to seven Tuesday, 19 June 2012 Mom Kunthear and Bridget Di Certo

On Sunday, a goldsmith in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district became the seventh recorded victim of an acid attack this year, shining a light on the effect of the Acid Law after six months in force, rights groups said yesterday.

The 25-year-old victim, Thol Polo, was burned across his entire face and doctors are attempting to save his vision after his 51-year-old nemesis, Tang You Hout, kicked a pot of acid used for treating gold into his face, police said.

“The suspected perpetrator had a gasoline store next to the victim and wanted the victim to move his shop, because he was afraid of having a fire caused in his shop,” Dangkor district police chief Loth Khim said.

He said the victim’s family had filed a complaint with police to have the suspect sentenced under the Acid Law and requested an as-yet-unspecified amount of compensation.

“We arrested the suspect, and he said he did not have the intention to kick the acid at the victim, but that he did it without considering [the consequences],” the police chief added.

He said the incident was the first acid attack in Dangkor district since the Acid Law was passed last December, “but [police] have not been trained about the Acid Law yet because the sub-decree [for implementation] has not been signed yet.”

Horng Lairapo, medical and legal manager at the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity, said the first six months of the Acid Law’s existence had been fraught with barriers to implementation and awareness.

“Everything is very slow.The only cases that have gone to court are still in court and, mostly, acid perpetrators are free to continue to threaten their victims,” he said.

Horng Lairapo said government authorities also needed to do more to control acid and educate the Kingdom’s citizens about the new law.

“Particularly, we are concerned about the lack of understating on rubber plantations,” Lairapo said, adding there needed to be “at least one hour, once a week for a year” of public education via radio or television.

Thol Polo will begin treatment in hospital today.

Boeung Kak protest continues on Queen Mother's birthday Tuesday, 19 June 2012 Khouth Sophak Chakrya

Boeung Kak villagers hold pictures of Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk during a protest yesterday. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

Supporters of 13 imprisoned Boeung Kak women took to the capital’s streets yesterday to call for their release, but the absence of one protester spoke of the toll the ordeal is taking on the women’s children.

Por Sokunkanha, the 11-year-old daughter of Tol Sreypov, one of the women jailed after a three-hour trial on May 24, spent yesterday in a clinic being treated for laryngitis, which her father said she had been diagnosed with after joining several protests.

“Because she wanted to see her mother set free, she has often missed school to march through the streets with other kids seeking an intervention to get their mothers freed from prison,” Por Kundara said.

The 11-year-old had spent a lot of time crying since her mother was arrested during a protest at Boeung Kak on May 22, he said.

“I have no time to take my three kids to meet their mother, and my heart breaks when my daughter asks me why I let her mother get arrested,” Por Kundara said.

Despite her laryngitis, Por Sokunkanha still wanted her voice to be heard yesterday.

“My mother and other residents in my village have done nothing wrong; they just wanted to protect their land and their houses,” she said. “I hope the Appeal Court will release my mother and others.”

About 150 others gathered outside the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh yesterday to make another call for intervention.

Villagers held pictures of Queen Mother Norodom Monineath, who celebrated her birthday yesterday.

The 13 were charged with disputing authority and trespassing on land awarded to Shukaku, a company headed by CPP senator Lao Meng Khin.

The women were tried, convicted and sentenced without a lawyer or any witnesses.

Their appeal will be heard next Wednesday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Buth Reaksmey Kongkea at reaksmeykongkea.buth@phnompenhpost.com

Cambodian 'sorcerers' damned to exile Tuesday, 19 June 2012 May Titthara and David Boyle

Villagers accused of sorcery sit at a house in Saleav village in Ratanakkiri province. Photograph: David Boyle/Phnom Penh Post

The women of Saleav village burst into hysterical, indignant laughter at the suggestion that they eat human flesh or uncooked meat, as they nurture their young – children condemned to grow up as exiles.

Tucked away in a remote area of Ratanakkiri’s Bakeo district, for more than two and a half decades, accused sorcerers have been banished to this barren outpost by various indigenous minority groups whose belief in the occult still thrives.

“I am so angry when they said that my village is a sorcerer village. I am not eating human, blood or uncooked meat; I am eating food just like other people do,” 17-year-old Ramas Voeun says, holding her baby in a krama.

Alternating between amusement and anger, the young ethnic Jarai mother says preposterous accusations were levelled against her family by the former neighbours who expelled them from Nhang village in Andong Meas distict, such as the assertion that they ate their own children.

“I would like to ask to everyone to stop saying that my village is a sorcerer village, because some people who are sorcerers have already been killed,” she says.

Brutal killings, including a case in which an alleged sorcerer was hacked to death by axewielding villagers, are not uncommon in Cambodia and have led authorities to take unusual actions in Ratanakkiri.

Some 20 families have been forced to relocate to Saleav village, and though many of them believe in black magic, they say they have been falsely accused and do not want their children to grow up with the stigma of coming from the sorcerer village.

About five years ago, 44-year-old Ra Chorm Veuch fled nearby Khoun village, fearing for her life after some villagers got sick then claimed she had subsequently appeared in their dreams. Her fate was sealed with the accusation that she had “red eyes”.

Now when she leaves Saleav village to go somewhere such as the market in the provincial capital of Banlung, her interactions with others are inevitably abrubt.

“When I ask something from people who live near the market, they always give it to me, because they’re afraid that if they did not give to me and I am angry, I will perform magic on them,” she says.

Nearby residents confirm there is a strong suspicion of those living in Saleav – and it’s not a prejudice confined to the older population.

Fourteen-year-old Sok Tim says he did not believe in sorcery until he went to visit his exiled neighbours and contracted diarrhoea.

“Other people said that maybe a sorcerer did it to me, and I had to buy a chicken to pray for the sorcerer, and when I did it in the evening, the next day when I woke up, I was better,” he said.

Others warn if you aggravate the sorcerers in Saleav village, you will find yourself vomiting until you die.

Jan Ovesen, an associate professor at Uppsala University in Sweden, has been completing a research project on poverty, sorcery and social capital in Cambodia with cultural anthropologist Ing-Britt Trankell since 2008.

He says sorcery needs to be understood not as a natural fact of life but a symbolic practice triggered by social contexts.

“Anthropologists have long recognised that sorcery accusations, worldwide, are basically a mechanism for social exclusion, triggered by envy, jealousy, fear, revenge or political power aspirations, or some combination of these,” he says.

The fact that beliefs that centre on practices such as casting spells, invoking spirits, chanting mantras, fashioning amulets and writing magic signs are found around the world makes them no more credible but attests to their deep-seated nature in human psychology, he says.

Ma Vichet, police chief of Ratanakkiri’s O’Yadav district, says his department’s research has revealed that most common source of accusation – sickness – comes from poor sanitation, drinking water that had not boiled and people not washing their hands.

But he still challenged villages to deploy their own traditional test – a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” ritual reminiscent of medieval European witch hunts in which the accuser and accused must dip their finger in molten lead and sustain no burns to prove innocence.

“But they could not do, so recently, there have not been as many cases as there were in the past,” he said, adding that no one particularly wants to get their fingers burned.

Another test they employ gives the accused a fighting chance – it tasks the alleged sorcerer to pinch the tips of an egg as hard as they can, and if it breaks, a feat of strength generally accepted to be beyond the limits of human strength, they will be found guilty.

Ramas Khvan, who was forced to move to Saleav village in 1996, said he passed both these test and another one in which the first person to run out of breath with their head under water was deemed guilty.

But he said it did not matter, because villages decided he had simply invoked magic to cheat.

“They still didn’t believe, so I had to ask the commune chief to live in that place that they opened for sorcerers,” he said.

He had good reason to move.

In 2001, three family members in Ratanakkiri, including a 7-year-old girl, were shackled and then drowned after being accused of sorcery, Pen Bonnar, provincial co-ordinator of the rights group Adhoc, says.

“What they did that time was very cruel, and the two people who were arrested by the court were only sentenced to six months,” he says.

His organisation has received 10 complaints since 2003 from villagers who received death threats after being accused of sorcery in Ratanakkiri, he adds.

The threats and violence are not just confined to the far northeast.

Other grizzly cases have included the fatal triple-stabbing of a man known only as Len in Kampong Thom province in 2001; the 2011 murder of Sieng Soeun, whose throat was slit in Kampong Speu province; and the hacking death of Mul Sophal, who was descended upon by axe-wielding villagers in the same province.

There are many more cases, and while belief in black magic is strongest among the heavily animistic indigenous ethnic minorities in Cambodia, the fear of ghosts and sorcerers has also strongly permeated into mainstream Buddhist culture.

Yet while Theravada Buddhism has developed as a hybridized, polytheistic religion incorporating Hindu gods and animistic beliefs, notions of black magic and sorcery have not gone unchallenged.

Ancient Cambodian fables from a collection known as the Gatiloke that were spread for centuries only by word of mouth, employ narratives in which magic is used to trick people out of their possessions or discriminate against them.

In The Story of Bhikkhu Sok, an ethnic Phnong villager travels down from the mountains to Sen Monorom in Mondulkiri province during a great famine to try and find food amongst the lowland strangers. When he returns, new cooking skills he has learned raise the suspicions of villagers, who later hack him and all but one of his family members to death with razors after a neighbour falls ill and they believe it is because the returnee was practising black magic.

The child who escapes eventually makes it to Kratie province, where he is adopted and successfully becomes a monk – a narrative that undermines both the Phnong belief in sorcery and the prejudices of lowland Khmers to indigenous minorities.

In Ratanakkiri, the occult beliefs are also under attack from another religious source, Christian proselytising, which has come to the rescue of 51-year-old Rocham Char, an accused sorcerer in O’Yadav district Somkul village who was threatened with murder and exile last year.

The now mostly Christian villagers say they have abandoned their suspicions of him and are happy for him to stay, although his accuser, Kloeun Nhieu, still maintains he is a black magic practitioner.

Back in Saleav village, 24-year-old Lam Ba Kamphoeun maintains a strong belief in the power of black magic but says the craft is inherited through lines of lineage that do not extend beyond a few old people in the community.

He says it is unfair that young people there are discriminated against, despite the fact that they could not become sorcerers even if they wanted to.

“For us, as the young generation, we do not follow the sorcerer’s anymore. We don’t want to be sorcerers,” he says.

To contact the reporters on this story: May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com David Boyle at david.boyle@phnompenhpost.com

Khmer Rouge scholar not needed Tuesday, 19 June 2012 Bridget Di Certo

Democratic Kampuchea scholar Ben Kiernan has proven himself an “uncooperative” witness whose body of work on the Khmer Rouge amounts to “little if any probative value”, frustrated judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal said in a memorandum dated June 13.

The Yale professor of history and director of the Ivy League college’s genocide studies program, originally told the court he was “too busy” to give testimony in its landmark Case 002 until sometime in 2013, and then only by videolink.

Kiernan, who built his international reputation and success upon his expertise on Democratic Kampuchea, had since been ignoring requests of the chamber to schedule his testimony at a more practicable time and in a more efficient way.

“In reality, the ECCC has few practical means at its disposal to compel the attendance of an uncooperative witness,” the judges said. “It follows from the Trial Chamber’s inability to call Professor Kiernan, that his conclusions can have little if any probative value in Case 002.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Bridget Di Certo at bridget.dicerto@phnompenhpost.com

Land order talks razed Tuesday, 19 June 2012 May Titthara

Villagers are blocked by officials from entering an area of Prey Lang forest in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district in March. Photograph: May Titthara/Phnom Penh Post

Authorities prevented Prey Lang forest advocates from disseminating information on Friday about Prime Minister Hun Sen’s sub-decree ordering provincial authorities to grant land to villagers affected by economic land and forest concessions, group representatives said yesterday.

Koem Sokhorn, a representative of the Prey Lang network, a group that seeks to protect the forest, said he didn’t know why authorities in Kratie’s Kampong Cham commune barred discussion of the prime minister’s address, in which he spoke of the importance of forests to local economies, and gave authorities six months to rule in favour of villagers in all forestrelated land disputes.

“I don’t know whether the village and commune chiefs know about the premier’s speech or not, but they banned us,” he said. “We wanted to discuss this because it is important for all of us who make a living on resin trees.”

According to Koem Sokhorn, authorities claimed the group hadn’t asked permission from the commune chief, but he said that he had informed authorities verbally beforehand.

Kampong Cham commune chief Chhit Norn maintained he had not been asked for permission, and was within his rights to shut down the meeting.

“If I am the commune chief, [and people don’t ask for my permission] I don’t know why there is a commune chief or village chief,” he said.

Theng Savoeun, a co-ordinator for the Coalition of Cambodia Farmers Community, said the Prey Lang network held similar meetings in six of the eight villages in the commune, but were barred from doing so in the last two.

“This action is contrary to what the constitution states, and freezes the villagers’ rights to expression,” he said.

According to Theng Savoeun, the group held the meetings to publicise Hun Sen’s latest sub-decree, and to discuss whether the affected communities should adhere to the new sub-decree, or to one issued earlier this year that named parts of Prey Lang a national forest while barring villagers from harvesting medicinal roots and vines there.

Chan Soveth, a senior investigator for human rights group Adhoc, said Chhit Norn had no reason to block the assembly, and village and commune authorities should have informed the villagers of the decree themselves.

To contact the reporter on this story: May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com

Swedes’ donation keeps Khmer Rouge court on track Tuesday, 19 June 2012 Bridget Di Certo

Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal was back in the black after the latest financial contribution from the government of Sweden, court officials said yesterday.

The Post had reported that the international side of the tribunal was headed into the red this month, which would have seriously affected its ability to function and pay salaries.

The court announced last week that Sweden had pledged about US$4 million for the 20122013 budget.

“With this latest donation, the court has operational capability without interruption until August,” legal affairs spokesman Lars Olsen said yesterday.

The court spent $141.1 million from its inception until 2011 and has set a budget of about $90 million for 2012 and 2013, but the international side has not secured enough financial support for this period yet.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bridget Di Certo at bridget.dicerto@phnompenhpost.com

Women slow to climb Cambodia's market Tuesday, 19 June 2012 Don Weinland

Hem Sothy, a 48-year-old shop owner, speaks to the Post yesterday in Phnom Penh. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

Women's economic roles in Cambodia have made slower progress than in many other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, World Bank economists said yesterday.

The region as a whole has seen tremendous gains in the way of gender equality during the past 20 years, but increasing wages and education for women should be a policy priority for Cambodia, according to the economists and a World Bank report issued yesterday.

The report identified gender equality as a contributor to higher productivity and income growth.

It also pointed to foreign direct investment into garment manufacturing as a driver for women’s employment, although the stability of that work was susceptible to external shock should demand for Cambodia’s largest gross domestic product generator decline.

Cambodian women earn US$0.75 to every dollar their male counterparts make, World Bank economist and lead author of the report Andrew Mason said yesterday during a web conference from Bangkok.

For every 100 men in secondary education in the Kingdom, 85 women attended class.

“She needs support – from agencies, ministries, organisations, from anywhere,” Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Association president Seng Takakneary said yesterday of her countrywomen.

“The woman is under the man here. This is a cultural and social aspect of Cambodia.”

Women’s attendance in secondary and higher education in neighbouring Thailand was significantly higher than men’s.

Although not comparable to men’s wages, women’s earnings in Thailand were higher than in Cambodia.

An influx of FDI has changed the female-employment landscape in Cambodia and many other export-reliant economies. In fact, Cambodia has the highest percentage of women in export-oriented firms in the region: more than 60 per cent compared to about 54 per cent in China and 42 per cent in Thailaind.

Cambodia’s garment sector, which exported about $3.3 billion last year, employs about 500,000 people.

Up to 95 per cent of garment makers are women, Mona Tep, executive director of the Cambodia Skills Development Center, said yesterday.

At training centres that train employees for mid-management positions, women dominate the classroom.

“The new trend is transferring knowledge to the workers. Those training for supervisor [positions] are more than 80 per cent women,” Mona Tep said, adding that garment factory employment was more stable than the work in the rice fields from which many women came.

Volatility in global markets, including the demand for garments, made factory employment somewhat unstable, the World Bank’s Mason said.

“This was seen very clearly during the economic crisis in 2009. An external-demand shock was felt throughout the region and this impacted women’s employment,” he said.

Female entrepreneurs outnumber their male counterparts in Cambodia, according to the Economic Census of Cambodia, issued in March by the National Institute of Statistics.

The census showed that 61 per cent of the country’s businesses were run by women, although 80 per cent of Cambodia’s businesses were one-to-two person operations.

Hem Sothy, a 48-year-old shop owner in Phnom Penh’s Cham Karmon district, said starting up a company was just as difficult for a man as is was for a woman. Household responsibilities, however, often made operating a business challenging.

“Of course we must take care of the family,” she said from a hammock in front of her shop.

“It’s really difficult because we must also cook and clean and take care of everything else at the same time.”

World Bank economist Reena Badiana noted as much during yesterday’s web conference.

Cambodia still has a high levels of unpaid family labour and informal labour.

“If women in the Asia-Pacific region were to work in the same sectors as men, output per worker could be 7 to 18 per cent higher,” according to the report.

“If societies allocate resources on the basis of one’s gender, as opposed to one’s skills and abilities, this allocation comes as a cost,” the report stated.

To contact the reporter on this story: Don Weinland at don.weinland@phnompenhpost.com

Aid worker website to combat isolation Wednesday, 20 June 2012 Anna Brown

Every one has bad days in the office, but when you’re based hundreds of miles from the nearest big town and thousands of miles from friends and family, how do you share your troubles and let off steam?

The creators of whydev, an internet resource for aid and development staff, believe their new online peer coaching initiative will help tackle high burn-out rates among workers based abroad – staff who are often faced with the challenges of remote locations, highstress situations and unfamiliar cultures.

Weh Yeoh, the co-founder of whydev, says he first realised the potential of peer coaching when he was working in a remote part of China last year.

“It was very isolating, and I was frustrated that I had no one to bounce my ideas off,” he says.

“I made my own network when I set up the whydev website as a discussion forum, and now the idea is to create a short cut for other people who are in my situation.

“We want to do the hard work for them by putting them in touch with people who can relate to what they’re going through.”

When whydev floated the idea of a peer coaching service with users earlier this year, staff were astonished by the positive response and more than 300 expressions of interest.

Yeoh estimates there are 400,000 aid workers working internationally, and he believes the potential for the project is therefore huge.

Unlike a mentoring scheme, peer coaching is a horizontal relationship.

Participants in the service will be carefully matched, depending on their position and experience.

The role of coaches is not to advise, but to listen and collaborate, to provide support and share ideas.

Yeoh is concerned that aid and development workers are human beings who have needs that are not always recognised, and acted on, by their employers.

His worries are illustrated by the example of Carly Garonne, a whydev user who lives in Sre Ambel village, in Koh Kong province, and works with Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development and Morodok, a Cambodian NGO. As the only Westerner in her village, she sometimes feels isolated.

“I can speak to my family and friends about what I’m going through, but they cannot truly

understand on a personal and a professional level,” Garonne says. ”As this is my first assignment as an aid worker, straight from university, I have been placed in a position that requires a lot of decision-making on important tasks that sometimes I feel I need the guidance of someone who has more experience.

“This is not only for specific work-related tasks but also in dealing with cross-cultural communication issues that arise.”

Yeoh says some NGOs provide support and counselling, but more often than not it is a token effort.

He says the benefits of peer coaching will be wide-reaching: not only will the supportive relationships that are formed via Skype and email help alleviate the mental stresses of working in isolation, but the professional co-operation will lead to more efficient and effective work in the aid and development sector.

“Most people working in the aid and development field would say that the way forward is through more collaboration,” he says.

Yeoh believes that there are not sufficient links across NGO projects and organisations – a situation that results in work being duplicated and knowledge wasted.

In a sector that largely relies on donor funding, Yeoh believes that the peer coaching project will be a cost-effective, sustainable solution.

In June, whydev launched a crowd funding campaign, and within a month it had managed to raise almost half of its $10,000 target.

Yeoh and his colleagues will use that money to develop their website and build their database of users, pay a small salary to the three founders and administrators, and create an algorithm that will accurately match up whydev’s users.

Over the coming months, Yeoh and his team’s “labour of love” will take shape, but only time will tell if their project, financed with less than $US5000, will make an impact in an industry worth billions every year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Brown at ppp.lifestyle@gmail.com

Ex-Khmer Rouge cadre claims lying protected villagers Wednesday, 20 June 2012 Stuart White

Former Khmer Rouge commune chief Yun Kim broke into smiles throughout his testimony at the tribunal yesterday as he recounted how he had routinely disregarded harsh commands and lied to his superiors during the regime to protect those villagers under his authority.

He recounted concealing villagers’ ties to the Lon Nol regime, and one instance during a district meeting when a former primary school principal had been singled out as an antirevolutionary – a traitor to the regime.

“I told them [my superiors] that he . . . wouldn’t live long anyway,” the obliging 80-year-old said. “He survived for three decades after that.”

Yun Kim said that he was chastised by his superiors for failing to report enough enemies of the state.

“Personally, I found it difficult to report about the enemy situation, because I did not have any enemies to report about,” he said.

He also testified that he put an end to the culture of villagers accusing other villagers.

“I stopped everyone from reporting on one another, because after all, everyone would be killed, and it wouldn’t do anyone any good,” he said.

When asked if he feared for his life by going against the higher leadership’s directives, Yun Kim said that he didn’t consider his actions to be strictly insubordinate, it was just his way of doing a good job.

“In principle, as the commune committee, I had to listen to the orders rendered from the upper echelon, but I noted that if parts of the order were too harsh to be implemented, I would try to ease this burden,” he said. “Because the upper echelon was not the one who was close to the situation, as I was, so I was the one who would know whether things would work.”

Yun Kim also testified yesterday that the establishment of the communist regime’s cooperatives was carried out according to direct instructions from Nuon Chea, which he disseminated in a meeting with Kratie’s Autonomous Sector 505 commune chiefs in 1973, two years before the Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh.

“At the time, Nuon Chea called a meeting to give directions about the establishment of cooperatives . . . He said that we should not be too anxious to create the [stricter] cooperatives straightaway,” said Yun Kim.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart White at stuart.white@phnompenhpost.com

Fear accompanies summons over land disputes Wednesday, 20 June 2012 May Titthara

Kuch Veng speaks to a police officer outside the Ansar Chambak commune office in Pursat province’s Krakor district last year. Photograph: May Titthara/Phnom Penh Post

Less than a week after Prime Minister Hun Sen called for land to be returned to villagers embroiled in land disputes, a Pursat province villager has been summonsed by the court in a scenario many see as all too common in these disputes.

Kuch Veng, a representative of villagers in Krokor district was charged with incitement in late May for leading other villagers in a bid to stop Pheap Imex company from clearing their farm land, but only found out that he had been charged on Monday.

“I am afraid because I did not do anything wrong – I and other villagers just prevented the company from clearing rice fields and crops, because what the company did was wrong and they [authorities] accused me,” he said.

Kuch Veng pointed out that in all land disputes, it was only ever the villagers charged and hauled before the courts, while the powerful companies seemed to escape the court system completely.

“Related to the speech made by Prime Minister Hun Sen last week, we victims don’t believe

that it can be settled fairly. Even though we [villagers] have seen his words, the low-level officials do not follow at all,” he said. “[Hun Sen] promised that if he could not fight against illegal logging, he would behead himself, so I am interested in the prime minister’s words,” Kuch Veng added, saying that villagers embroiled in land disputes were too afraid to report abuse to low-level officials, because those officials were too corrupt.

Chen Sorn, another villager embroiled in a land dispute with the company in Kbal Trach commune, said that he felt fear after learning of the court charging Kuch Veng and summoning him to answer questions.

Or Ny, Pursat provincial court clerk, said that the court has issued a summons for Kuch Veng as soon as he was charged, but that he did not receive it because he was not at home. The clerk said the court would continue to seek the villager activist’s appearance.

Some 12,000 families are currently involved in land disputes on a Pheap Imex economic land concession that spans two provinces and more than 315,000 hectares.

In Pursat province, 8,200 families from 13 communes and 59 villages are disputing 13,116 hectares in the Krakor, Kravanh and Pursat city districts.

In Kampong Chhnang, 3,800 families in two districts – Boribo and Toek Pos – are battling over approximately 7,500 hectares.

Eighteen villagers received court summonses last year regarding complaints filed by Pheap Imex for incitement, destruction of property and the preventing of development.

Pursat provincial governor Khoy Sokha said he has formed a committee to begin discussions about how to obey Hun Sen’s instructions to award land to villagers in land disputes.

“We have done according to the prime minister’s recommendations and this is the first step.

So later, if villagers are getting upset, the authorities will cut the land from the company to hand over to the villagers,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com

Foreign investors rushing into Myanmar Wednesday, 20 June 2012 Anthony Galliano

Coca-Cola plans to return to Myanmar after a 60-year absence as a result of the US government’s decision to relax investment sanctions.

It originally entered Myanmar in 1927, but left in 1962 when the military seized control of the country.

Coke has a history of being the first to re-enter markets. Expelled from China in 1949, the company shipped 20,000 cases from Hong Kong in 1979 after full diplomatic relations were established.

Only North Korea and Cuba remain as countries where the company does not do business.

Coca-Cola’s re-entry is reflective of the swarm of foreign investors seeking to establish a presence in what is being called Asia’s last frontier market.

Myanmar’s transformation began in March, 2010 when Senior General Than Shwe, who led the junta for nearly two decades, ceded power to the current government, reasoning that he was ready for retirement.

In November 2010, peaceful but restrictive general elections were held, ultimately leading to now-president U Thein Sein assuming office in March, 2011 and the commencement of democratisation of the country.

The government then embarked on a series of political and economic reforms, among them lifting the house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, releasing political prisoners, instituting new labour laws that permitted unions, easing censorship, relaxing currency regulations, and allowing Suu Kyi’s party, the, National League for Democracy, to participate in the by-elections to fill vacant parliamentary seats. It won 43 of the 45 available seats.

The reforms have resulted in extremely positive consequences.

Following the by-election, the European Union and Australia suspended sanctions, prompting the US to restore diplomatic relations with Myanmar in January this year and subsequently loosen sanctions in May. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Myanmar in December, the first visit by a US secretary of state in more than 50 years, meeting separately with the president and Suu Kyi. Clinton recently said :“Today we say to American business: invest in Burma”, and President Obama nominated Derek J Mitchell to be the first American ambassador to Myanmar since 1990. The ASEAN members have approved Burma’s bid for ASEAN’s chair in 2014.

The most promising investment opportunities in Myanmar include agriculture, natural

resources, tourism, manufacturing, and importing products to the 55 million potential consumers who until now have been isolated from the outside world.

During British rule, Myanmar was the second-wealthiest country in Southeast Asia and the world’s largest exporter of rice. Rice production is estimated at well over 50 million tonnes, covering 60 per cent of the country’s total cultivated land area.

The country produces 90 per cent of the world’s rubies and is a large producer of other gems such as sapphires, pearls, and jade.

Myanmar’s recoverable crude oil reserves are estimated at 3.2 billion barrels. It has abundant natural-gas resources with proven recoverable reserves of 18.012 trillion cubic feet (TCF) out of 89.722 TCF’s estimated reserve of offshore and onshore gas.

Foreign investment comes primarily from China, Singapore, South Korea, India and Thailand, but that is set to change dramatically with the recent lifting of sanctions in the US and Europe.

With a great deal of attention shifting to Myanmar, Cambodia may garner less attention, and Myanmar is clearly competing for investment dollars.

Anthony Galliano is chief executive of Cambodian Investment Management. Contact Anthony at anthonygalliano@covenantim.com

Khmer Rouge court judge’s credentials challenged Wednesday, 20 June 2012 Bridget Di Certo

Despite multiple searches, requests to administrative officials and even the hiring of an investigator, Brother No 2 Nuon Chea’s defence team said yesterday they had found no evidence to support the bibliography of Khmer Rouge Trial Chamber president Nil Nonn published on the court website.

Emails by senior defence lawyer Michiel Pestman, leaked by pro-opposition website KIMedia yesterday, requested the Trial Chamber senior legal officer to provide specifics on Nil Nonn’s previous publications and his participation in politics.

“We were told that [Nil Nonn] was an active member of a [ruling Cambodian People’s Party] cell when he was at the Battambang court,” Pestman said by telephone.

“These are relevant facts that go to judicial independence, which would make a difference if this was a real court,” he added, pointing to precedent in other international tribunals for judges to be disqualified.

Nil Nonn has previously admitted to accepting bribes during his tenure at the Battambang Provincial Court in the early 2000s.

Pestman said it was also important to know whether Nil Nonn, who obtained his Bachelor of Law in Vietnam, was ever part of forces fighting the Khmer Rouge.

Tribunal legal affairs officer Lars Olsen said he would not clarify the academic qualifications of Nil Nonn because he was contacted after 4:30pm.

“If you called me during office hours, I would answer the question, but now I cannot,” Olsen said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bridget Di Certo at bridget.dicerto@phnompenhpost.com <div>Please enable JavaScript to post a new comment</div>

NGO backs Phnom Penh jam factory Wednesday, 20 June 2012 Anna Brown

L’Irrésistible staff members prepare fruit for the day’s batch of jam. Photograph: Vincent Page/Phnom Penh Post

There's no better start to the day than a big dollop of fruity jam on a slice of hot, buttery toast. What joy for Phnom Penh’s breakfast enthusiasts, then, that the city now boasts its own range of hand-made conserves in flavours that are distinctly Cambodian: mouthwatering watermelon, luscious pineapple and ginger, and sticky mango and pineapple.

If a better reason than the taste were needed to purchase L’Irrésistible Jam, there’s also the fact that it is produced by Action Handicap Cambodge, an NGO working with adults who have intellectual disabilities.

The project is managed by Frenchman Pierre Chetcuti, who has worked with intellectually disabled people in France for more than 30 years.

Last year, Chetcuti travelled to Cambodia to investigate the situation for people with intellectual disabilities and discovered there was little or no support or care.

He set up Action Handicap Cambodge in January to create vocational job opportunities for

adults with intellectual disabilities. Up and running for only six months, the NGO has already placed 30 adults in work at various factories and workshops around Phnom Penh, and its own jam factory began production last month.

The aim of Chetcuti’s organisation is to enable those it works with to “be just like an ordinary guy”.

He believes the sense of pride of his workers is derived from working hard, as well as the small wage each member of staff receives weekly, offers the chance to be independent and provides a meaningful opportunity to contribute to their families’ income.

Positive feedback from managers at the factories in which Action Cambodge Handicap colleagues have been placed has not surprised Chetcuti. He says they are delighted to work and want to prove themselves; they are trustworthy and enjoy simple tasks.

For those unsuited for work in a busy factory environment because of behavioural difficulties, the L’Irrésistible Jam workshop is the ideal alternative.

Here, Action Cambodge Handicap colleagues proudly handle the vegetable peeler and cast-iron pot and produce 30 kilograms of jam every day.

L’Irrésistible’s recipes were devised by Marie-Françoise, Chetcuti’s wife.

Making jams in Cambodia wasn’t as easy as recycling a tried-and-tested method from back home, as the fruit grown in this country’s hot climate has a much higher sugar content, meaning a lot of trial and error was needed to get the taste and consistency right.

L’Irrésistible Jam uses quality ingredients and aims for the highest quality. Chetcuti wants his colleagues to be proud of their fine product. He is also eyeing the hospitality market, and would love to see L’Irrésistible Jam served in Phnom Penh’s best hotels.

Considering the successes of Action Cambodge Handicap, it is surprising to learn that Chercuti intends to work himself out of a job.

He explains that his emphasis is on sustainability: “We’re trying to develop a new thing here. The idea is that in two years, this NGO will be run by local people . . . we are here to live with people, to work with them and then leave.

“We don’t want to help directly, but to show and share [our skills and knowledge].”

L’Irrésistible Jam is available at the Craft Peace Café, PSE Shop, Natural Garden, Jars of Clay, Le Terroir, Le Cyclo and the 1&1 Supermarket.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Brown at ppp.lifestyle@gmail.com

Factories still skimping: ILO Thursday, 21 June 2012 Shane Worrell and Mom Kunthear

Garment workers cram into the back of an open-air truck before being transported home at the end of a day’s work in Phnom Penh. Photograph: Will Baxter/Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia's garment exports exceeded US$1 billion during the first quarter of 2012, yet many factories are failing to pay workers proper maternity leave benefits or address issues of fainting, a labour report says.

The International Labour Organization-Better Factories Cambodia’s Twenty Eighth Synthesis Report on Working Conditions in Cambodia’s Garment Sector, released yesterday, profiles 136 of the 320 factories registered with Better Factories in the six months to April 30.

It found only 54 per cent of garment factories were paying women some or all of their maternity benefits – an 11 per cent drop from the previous six-month period and a 20 per cent fall in just a year.

Nearly all of Cambodia’s garment workers are women with an average age of 24, ILOBetter Factories chief technical adviser Jill Tucker said.

“The deterioration of compliance in this area is worrisome and must be addressed.”

Hundreds have collapsed in mass fainting incidents in the past year, but few factories have

made changes to prevent incidents occurring again, the report says.

This is something that concerns a Better Factories advisory committee, which includes representatives from the government, the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia and trade unions.

“We note with regret that there has been little significant improvement in compliance in areas related to the causes cited for group fainting such as heat levels, the availability of soap and water near factory toilets and limiting overtime work, with many of these areas still below 50 per cent in compliance,” a statement says.

Meas Sokhorn, deputy director of the Free Trade Union in Kampong Chhnang province, said garment workers remained concerned about fainting, especially after two mass faintings at the M&V factory in August.

“The environment in this factory is still not so good,” she said. “There is a smell of smoke, and unclean drinking water.

“Workers’ health is weak, so sometimes they cannot endure the clothes smell, the stuffiness and the lack of fresh air.”

The report says 30 under-age workers were detected in the monitored factories – the most since October 2006, almost one in five factories engaged in discrimination, and strikes had increased since an industry Memorandum of Understanding lapsed in October.

All 16 strikes in monitored factories had failed to adhere to at least one of the Labour Law

requirements, which came as no surprise to GMAC secretary-general Ken Loo. “That’s been the case for the last 10 reports. That’s what the unions do,” he said, adding that GMAC advised members to pay maternity leave benefits.

Dave Welsh, country director of the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, said the report presented only part of what was happening.

“There’s a more precise report that goes to the brands. The whole picture is even more troubling,” he said, adding GMAC didn’t want this information disclosed.

Strikes had increased because the MoU had lapsed, Welsh added.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shane Worrell at shane.worrell@phnompenhpost.com Mom Kunthear at mom.kunthear@phnompenhpost.com

Film production tackles Cambodia's social issues Thursday, 21 June 2012 Roth Meas

Cambodian actors Kol Davy and Pream Nak, in a scene from the upcoming feature film Bewailing of Life.

Photograph: supplied

Important messages about big social issues are the focus of the new film Bewailing of Life, a feature-length production of the non-profit Fine Arts Association.

“We have produced many speaking plays and social spots to promote awareness of national and commune elections, as well as the decentralisation of the NEFEC, the nonprofit organisation working on elections,” said Pream Nak, the film’s screenwriter. “But this is the first time that we produced a movie to fight against current issues such as child abuse, discrimination, drug trafficking and fake medicine.”

The plot follows the heartbreaking life story of a street child named Veasna. As a boy, Veasna sleeps rough and is often beaten by the people who own the doorstep on which he sleeps at night.

Veasna’s luck turns when he is adopted by a generous family and is sent to school. He graduates and gets a job at a media company where he falls in love with a colleague named Tevy.

Pream Nak explains that his lead character’s good fortune doesn’t last for long though.

“Tevy’s father doesn’t like Veasna, because he knows that he is from a poor background.

So he plots to separate Veasna from his daughter by hiring a woman to pretend to be Veasna’s mistress.”

His reprehensible plan succeeds and Tevy leaves Veasna. As time goes on, Tevy marries a member of the Mafia, a drug trafficker, while Veasna suffers alone with a broken heart.

Although the woman who posed as Veasna’s mistress confesses her crime to Tevy, it is too late for the star-crossed lovers. Events have been put into motion that cannot be stopped, and the movie ends in tragedy.

Cambodian writers before 1970s would use the struggles and unhappiness of their characters as a metaphor for injustices in society. When they even killed the actors, it meant their society was full of exploitation.

The sad events that unfold through the film are more literal than symbolic.

“This story can happen in our real society today,” says Pream Nak, “Nowadays people who struggle hard in their life like Veasna don’t really survive. A man who is rich like Sambath is not really a good person.”

Two of Cambodia’s biggest stars are on the bill. Tevy is played by the celebrity actress Kol Davy and the police detective is played by Tep Rindaro. Pream Nak himself plays Veasna.

Despite the modern themes and big names, the movie still uses retro production techniques such as dubbing.

Pream Nak knows that Kol Davy has a good voice and he is a speaking theatre performer, but the screenwriter believes dubbing gives a better sense of romance.

To contact the reporter on this story: Roth Meas at roth.meas@phnompenhpost.com

No movement for Thailand, Malaysia in human trafficking report Thursday, 21 June 2012 David Boyle

Trafficked fishermen who were made to work in appalling conditions on Thai fishing boats are repatriated to Cambodia this month. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

Both Malaysia and Thailand, the major destination countries for Cambodian migrant workers, narrowly escaped being downgraded in the US’s annual Trafficking in Persons report, released yesterday, despite being found to have made no increased efforts to address the problem.

The report from the US State Department found that both countries would have been placed at the bottom of the TIP index, Tier 3, had they not been granted a waiver because they had submitted plans to meet minimum standards to eliminate human trafficking.

But no specific outlines of these plans were given and inquiries for more details from relevant embassies were not responded to yesterday.

Endemic police corruption, including the “the direct involvement in and facilitation of human trafficking by law enforcement officials” was one of a litany of criticisms levelled against the Thai government, which remained on the Tier 2 Watch List.

“The government has not shown evidence of increasing efforts to address human trafficking

compared to the previous year; therefore, Thailand is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for a third consecutive year,” the report states.

Despite conducting 1,000 inspections and searches of fishing boats – for which Cambodian and other migrant men have become a notorious source of slave labour – the Royal Thai Navy did not identify a single case of suspected trafficking Citing findings from the United Nations Inter Agency Project on Human Trafficking, the report states that 23,000 Cambodian trafficking victims are deported from Thailand every year, and separately concluded that 100 victims had been repatriated from fishing boats.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said that the “game” of which tier a country landed in was largely immaterial to the fundamental problem of the entrenched corruption in Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia that enabled trafficking.

“The real situation that is most worrisome is that you have these tie-ups between Cambodia and Thailand and Cambodia and Malaysia that ensure that the people who go through these recruitment centres do so with insurmountable debts.

“The central point is, I don’t see any systematic changes happening in the core factors that allow trafficking to continue.”

Malaysia, long favoured by Cambodian recruitment firms as a destination country for domestic workers until a temporary ban on sending them there was put in place by the government last year, was found to prosecute sex traffickers but often failed to acknowledge victims of labour trafficking.

“NGOs reported that police and Labor Department officials often failed to investigate complaints of confiscation of passports and travel documents or withholding of wages – especially involving domestic workers – as possible trafficking offences,” the report found.

Raja Saifful Ridzuwan, deputy chief of mission at the Malaysian embassy, said he would not be able to comment until tomorrow as he had yet to read the report.

But Muhammad Sha’Ani Bin Abdullah, commissioner at the independent Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, said the waiver was an opportunity for Malaysian officials and police to mend their ways.

“Police are not adequately equipped with the knowledge to handle trafficking victims. Often, they treat trafficking victims as criminals,” he said.

Cambodia, which remained at Tier 2, is making significant efforts to comply with minimum standards to eliminate human trafficking, according to the TIP report, but these are undermined by “endemic corruption at all levels.”

In particular, the pardoning of three pedophiles, among them notorious Russian sex offender Alexander Trofimov, had “undermined the credibility of Cambodian efforts to combat child sex tourism”.

Officials from the Cambodian Ministry of Interior and Department of Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection could not be reached for comment yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Boyle at david.boyle@phnompenhpost.com

Nuon Chea cut off at Khmer Rouge court Thursday, 21 June 2012 Joseph Freeman

Nuon Chea (centre), aka Brother No 2, sits through a hearing at the Khmer Rouge tribunal earlier this year. Photograph: ECCC/POOL

As the end of the two-day testimony of former Khmer Rouge commune and cooperative chief Yun Kim drew near, an unusual request made its way to Case 002 presiding Judge Nil Nonn.

Brother No 2 Nuon Chea, who can normally be seen sporting a blank facial expression and his trademark black shades, had made an uncharacteristic return to the courtroom instead of retiring to the holding cells after lunch.

He wanted to make a few comments.

“Mr Nuon Chea is very much a part of his own defence,” explained the octogenarian’s codefence counsel Andrew Ianuzzi after objections were raised. “I don’t see why this chamber would not be interested in hearing what he has to say.”

Ianuzzi made the request after the 80-year-old Yun Kim described food shortages and a kind of competition to produce vast quantities of rice in Kratie province under the regime Nuon Chea now stands trial for leading.

Judge Nil Nonn allowed the request as long as Nuon Chea put any questions for the

witness through the judge first.

But he didn’t have any questions.

Nuon Chea, whose counsel told the Post that he wanted to address the courtroom during Yun Kim’s testimony, launched into a statement that came close to explaining the evacuation of urban areas in 1975, but quickly veered into a vague appeal to the downtrodden.

“I’d like to make my statements to the poor people who have been oppressed, who have been persecuted and had their lives threatened by the rich, by the powerful, who are robbing their farmland,” he said.

The judge cut him off and called the statement irrelevant to the witness at hand.

Nuon Chea continued to speak. His microphone was cut off. He kept talking, and the translation stopped.

In protest, he asked to leave the courtroom.

“If I am not allowed to speak, then I will go to the holding cell,” he said, before being wheeled out of the courtroom.

Earlier in the day, Yum Kim revealed specific details about life under his leadership, which appeared to be lax compared to neighbouring communes.

Joining the movement in 1971, he saw its progress up until 1979, when the Vietnamese swarmed in and took over. When in charge he tried to save rice for the hungry, and he allowed travel, three to five days depending on the length of the trip.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joseph Freeman at joseph.freeman@phnompenhpost.com

Proof of residency required for Borei Keila evictees Thursday, 21 June 2012 Khouth Sophak Chakrya

The Phnom Penh municipal authority has called on Borei Keila residents evicted on January 3 to present official documents proving they are eligible for housing.

City Hall’s request came as part of a statement criticising NGOs and political parties that encouraged “poor” residents, who were not entitled to housing or compensation, to protest.

“The majority of the protesters are not Borei Keila residents . . . they do not have documents,” it reads. “City Hall has already granted housing to residents who have real documents, and only 31 police families and six civil families have not received housing.”

Pich Limkhoun, 54, a representative of 117 Borei Keila families who claim they have not been compensated, said they still wanted Suy Sophan, the owner of Phan Imex, to erect two more buildings at Borei Keila as it agreed to in 2004.

Two other buildings, one of which has been advertised as a motorcycle shop, have gone up where the final two housing blocks were to have been built.

“Almost all of their houses and property were demolished and damaged by Phan Imex, which was backed by the police,” Pich Limkhoun said.

Those who still had documents – some claim to have lost them during the eviction – would take them to the municipal offices this weekend, Pich Limkhoun said.

Meanwhile, family members of the 13 Boeung Kak women in Prey Sar prison defended NGOs after the city released a statement earlier in the week condemning them for contributing to the women’s imprisonment.

“Our land and houses do not belong to organisations or foreigners, so no one had persuaded us to protest,” resident Bo Chhorvy said.

Kiet Chhe, deputy chief of city administration, was not available for comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Khouth Sophak Chakrya at sophakchakrya.khouth@phnompenhpost.com <div>Please enable JavaScript to post a new comment</div>

Railway rehabilitation puts families in debt, desperation Wednesday, 20 June 2012 Shane Worrell and Khouth Sophak Chakrya

Workers at the Phnom Penh Railway Station in 2010. Photograph: Sovan Philong/Phnom Penh Post

Families relocated last year to make way for a national railway rehabilitation project have plunged into debt and are being kicked off their land by informal lenders, a Trapeang Anhchanh community representative said yesterday.

Ros Bopha said four families had been evicted at the site in Dangkor district on the capital’s outskirts, after failing to make repayments on loans they used to build on their land.

“Some of these people have had no money to pay the interest to their creditor for up to five months. So the creditors have built fences around their homes until they pay,” she said.

About 160 families were relocated to Trapeang Anhchanh in September to make way for the Rehabilitation of the Railway in Cambodia Project, which involves the government and is funded mainly by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

“We have asked ADB to support us . . . Do we have the money to save when we do not have enough to buy food?” Ros Bopha said.

Her story coincided with the release of Losing the Plot: Rapid Assessment of Household Debt in Trapeang Anhchanh, a report by NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT) that says families are earning far less than in their former villages, but it is not clear how many are in debt.

“Households did not receive advice regarding how they might attempt to construct their new homes within their limited compensation budgets,” the report states. “Households have surrendered original land receipts as collateral against the loans [and] the contracts stipulate that the lender is entitled to expropriate the borrower’s land if the borrower fails to make the agreed interest payments.”

One family’s monthly income had dropped from US$330 per month to just $16 and they had borrowed $1,650 to build a house.

Sok Hou, 47, told the Post she had borrowed $1,500 from an informal lender and could repay only $50 of the $70 monthly repayments.

“I’m worried about losing my home,” she said. Trapeang Anhchanh village four chief Chan Shyara, said he had tried to stop creditors from building fences around homes and some had agreed.

Ee Sarom, programs co-ordinator at STT, said the parties involved needed to provide debt relief.

“We call on the Cambodian government as well as ADB and AusAID to take measures to ensure no household relocated under the project loses their plot due to debt,” he said.

An ADB spokesperson said the bank was in discussion with the government about the reported debts.

“Under the Extended Income Restoration Program [EIRP], initial funds will be transferred within the month to the self-help groups that are ready to commence the program. The EIRP has a social safety net component which the relocated households can avail of in times of crisis and emergencies,” the spokesperson said.

An Australian embassy spokesman said it would provide a full response today.

Nhean Leng, president of a railway development impact inter-committee, could not be reached for comment.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shane Worrell at shane.worrell@phnompenhpost.com Khouth Sophak Chakrya at sophakchakrya.khouth@phnompenhpost.com

Royal pardons ‘undermined’ child sex abuse fight Thursday, 21 June 2012 David Boyle

The decision to pardon three pedophiles in December “undermined the credibility of Cambodian efforts to combat child sex tourism”, according to the US State Department’s 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report, released yesterday.

Russian national Alexander Trofimov, also known as Stanislav Molodyakov, German national Alexander Watrin and Dutch national Rene Paul Martin Aubel were granted royal pardons from pedophilia convictions by King Norodom Sihamoni.

Collectively, they had been convicted of committing sex crimes against 27 boys and girls.

“Three convicted foreign pedophiles – one of whom is also a sex-trafficking offender and one of whom was convicted in the largest child sex offender case in Cambodian history [Trofimov] – were pardoned and released early from prison,” the report states.

Ministry of Interior and Department of Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection officials could not be reached yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Boyle at david.boyle@phnompenhpost.com

Ruling party's ties with civil servants decried Thursday, 21 June 2012 Meas Sokchea

A man votes in nationwide commune elections in Phnom Penh earlier this month. Photograph: Meng Kimlong/Phnom Penh Post

The overtly visible pro-Cambodian Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Party stance of civil servants and military officials is one of the most widespread and worrying election irregularities, election monitoring organisation Comfrel said yesterday in its final report on the recent June 3 polls.

Comfrel board of directors chairman Thun Saray said that the involvement of civil servants and armed forces personnel in campaigning for the CPP, which scooped up 62 per cent of the commune council vote, has increased and this produced an unfair and nontransparent background to the elections. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The offering of gifts and money to voters by civil servants and authorities was systematically organised before the election campaign and Comfrel is indignant that, under the Law on Elections, this vote-buying has not been considered a crime,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Comfrel listed examples in which deputy commander-in-chief of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Meas Sophea and Preah Vihear provincial governor Om Mara led CPP member meetings on May 21.

On June 1, Kep provincial governor Has Sareth participated in CPP propagandising during the commune election campaign, according to Comfrel.

More than 3,000 cases of Election Law irregularities had been observed by Comfrel staff in 13 per cent of the 5,810 polling stations they monitored.

Thun Saray said that while no criminal irregularities had been observed at 87 per cent of polling stations, the pro-CPP presence of law enforcement and civil servants was worrying.

“Moreover, Comfrel found that local authorities were watching too closely and had influence on voters during voting, and these activities caused fear among voters, creating an unreality in the process of the election,” he said.

“But for this election, we have observed that there were some improvements, like no violence, no killing, so this is a very good thing,” Thun Saray added.

Yim Sovann, spokesman for Sam Rainsy Party who participated in the seminar, said these irregularities would never be cured until the structure of the National Election Committee was changed.

“If the NEC does not change, [we] still cannot solve the problem, because the NEC has been used as a tool of the ruling party to steal ballots for the ruling party,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Meas Sokchea at sokchea.meas@phnompenhpost.com

Cambodia eyes family-tree tourism Friday, 22 June 2012 Vannak Va

Cambodia is tapping the green tourism market with a tree-planting campaign that kicked off in Kratie provnce last week. Photograph: Vannak Va

Under the scorching sun, an English tourist wearing a pair of loose trousers and wet T-shirt plants a seedling in the fertile soil of Koh Trong, a small island in the middle of the Mekong River opposite Kratie provincial town.

While his dirty hands were covering the root of the sapling with black soil, 32-year-old Sam Roberts said with a broad smile: “I‟ve never planted a tree with my own hands before. This is the first time in my entire life.”

Roberts found out about the tree-planting campaign throught the tourist information centre in the town, while following his itinerary to view the province‟s symbol: the endangered Irawaddy dolphins. “I learned that we can help the local community raise money by planting trees. It was a memorable trip and my name will always remain next to the tree, perhaps it will grow quite tall when I visit next.”

Roberts was one of a few dozen tourists participating in the “one tourist, one tree” campaign launched by the Ministry of Tourism after a Green Tourism Meeting in Siem Reap two weeks ago. The nationwide campaign has since been advertised on TV and travel websites, encouraging tourists to help revive forests while enjoying their vacations.

The campaign also aims to encourage tourists to revisit Cambodia, and to bring family members and friends with them to see the growth of the tree they planted. More than 4,000 trees have been planted by local and international tourists since the campaign‟s launch on Koh Trong.

Ron Pheara, Kratie‟s tourism department director, puts its success down to close cooperation among tourist venues and businesses, NGOs and community residents.

“We‟ve been working with the Koh Trong tourism community to gather small trees for tourists who love the environment. To participate in the campaign, they pay US$5 for a seedling, small shovel and a piece of land to plant their own tree or a „family tree‟, as well as a wooden name plaque to put next to their seedling. After they plant it, people from the community will taking care of the tree. They will receive a photo of the growing progress of their tree with their name bearing on the wooden plaque by email in three or six months.”

Ron Pheara believes that the campaign attracts groups and families who are likely to return, resulting in more income flowing into the local community. Residents living near the newly planted trees also receive a fee from the tourists to take care of the trees. Farmer Chun Samean said helping tourists plant trees not only provides him with more income to run his farm, but also brings a more festive spirit to the island.

“It‟s an easy and happy job. I just bring seedlings and the wooden plaque to them and they plant by themselves. I also received some money as a gift from them when they ask me to take care of their trees while they‟re away,” he said.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation has said that responsible tourism is becoming increasingly popular. Thirty four per cent of tourists would choose to stay in the environmentally-friendly hotel even they cost more than other accomondations, and 55 per cent would carry their booking via travel agents that help benefit local communities and the environment, according to the organisation.

During the Green Tourism Meeting, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said that the ministry is encouraging responsible tourism and local businesses to use resources that can mitigate negative impacts on culture and the environment.

“The „one tourist, one tree‟ campaign will help protect the environment, and reduce climate change, global warming and other natural disasters,” he said. “It also can promote Cambodia as a green tourism destination. If one tourist plants a tree, he or she might bring the whole family and friends for the next visit, which will boost the number of tourists coming to Cambodia.”

The campaign‟s success hinges on collaboration among all those who have a stake in the industry, he said. “This campaign is not only being implemented in Kratie and Siem Reap provinces. Tourists can plant trees everywhere they go. The campaign is not only targetting international tourists. Cambodian people who love environment can also plant trees at the destinations they visit,” the minister said.

His ministry is working with a host of governmental agencies to raise the profile of the

campaign on National Tree day on July 9 in Seam Reap province with a public tree-planting event.

Cambodia's de-mining funds decline Friday, 22 June 2012 Vincent MacIsaac

The explosion that resulted after British Ambassador Mark Gooding detonated a heap of landmines in Battambang earlier this month. INSET: A few of the landmines that were detonated. Photograph: MAG

When British Ambassador Mark Gooding detonated a heap of landmines and unexploded ordinance in Battambang province earlier this month he helped refocus waning attention on the families and communities that remain trapped in poverty due to the landmines and other unexploded remnants of war that surround them.

Gooding was careful to note that the detonation was a “step” in the process of ridding Cambodia of landmines, which even the most optimistic experts say will take at least another eight years to complete.

The dramatic decline in causality numbers over the past decade has led some to believe that clearance is nearly complete, but a major reason for the decline is that village residents are better educated about where the landmines are. They are simply avoiding this land, which could be used for farming if cleared. Instead, many remain trapped in dire poverty.

As Gooding noted, clearance “helps communities establish sustainable livelihoods and will contribute to Cambodia’s long-term economic and social development.”

Still, funding for de-mining is declining. The Cambodia’s National Mine Action Strategy for 2010 to 2019 estimates the cost of making the country landmine free by 2020 at US$455

million, but last September Landmine Monitor reported that funding fell 27 per cent from 2009 to 2010. “If this trend continues it will be difficult to see completion with a reduced capacity,” warns Alistair Moir, country director of Mines Advisory Group.

Moir is calling on reporters to look more deeply into the issue. “Although casualty stories are of course a tragedy to those involved and so rightly reported, more thoughtful articles are of great use in order to better understand the less visible, more chronic implications of contamination, such as the stifling of crop production, infrastructure projects or house building,” he said.

Pointing to the example of Chisang village in Battambang province, Moir noted that it had “blossomed” following the clearance of 14 minefields around it. After clearance World Vision “then used their wider development expertise to build roads, a school and water pumps.

Farmers now had larger areas for crop production so enjoyed a surplus they could sell”.

Still, funding cuts have led to MAG shutting down its clearance operations in Eastern Cambodia, where as many as 26 million cluster munitions were dropped between 1965 and 1973 during the so-called secret bombing of Cambodia.

It’s time for those who dropped the bombs, as well as the many foreign governments who sparked and prolonged Cambodia’s civil conflict, to – at the very least – start paying the bill they owe for the disaster they created. Symbolic gestures are not enough.

To contact the reporter on this story: Vincent MacIsaac at vincent.macisaac@phnompenhpost.com

Hun Sen bound for bilateral conference in Vietnam Friday, 22 June 2012 May Kunmakara

Leaders of the Group of 20 nations gather for a photo at a summit in Los Cabos, Mexico this week.

Pictured are (from left to right): US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. Reuters

Prime Minister Hun Sen will lead officials and business leaders in a one-day-conference at the third Cambodia-Vietnam Trade and Investment Conference in Vietnamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kien Giang province on Sunday, in a bid to boost trade and investment between the two ASEAN neighbours.

The Prime Minister has just returned from the Group of 20 summit in Mexico.

Activists are warning that the government needs to set clearer mechanisms on investment from Vietnam to protect Cambodiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy and natural resources.

Cambodia and Vietnam reached agreements on deals worth $6 billion during the first such conference in 2009.

Activist Ouch Leng said the government should check land-concession agreements carefully before it made any deals with Vietnam.

Ouch Leng, land reform co-ordinator for the Cambodia Centre for Human Rights, said Vietnamese companies had a history of land concessions from the government that they used for mining, growing rubber and forestry.

“We lose a lot of benefit to the economy, and it also makes people lose their businesses or homes due to concessional land being offered to investors from China and Vietnam,” he said.

“The activities of investors are quite good on paper, but once they get their licence or permission from the government, they do what they want without caring.

“I don’t see the government using its authority to crack down on, or to do anything about, these companies, unless there is some bloodshed, but by then it’s a bit late.

“I suggest the government should set up clearer mechanisms for concessions.

“We say that companies come to exploit, or take the benefit from, the natural resources of our country while they just give around $2 or $5 to the government per hectare of land.”

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, the two countries’ prime ministers will witness the signing of a protocol on the amendment of the Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investment between the two countries on the same day.

Nguon Meng Tech, director-general of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), noted the good outcome from previous conferences, adding that the president of the CCC, Kith Meng, would lead more than 100 of the Kingdom’s leading businessmen from multiple business sectors.

“We got a lot of good outcomes from the conferences that have been held since 2009, so many investments from Vietnam across sectors to our country,” he said.

Tran Tu, trade attaché for the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh, said the conference was held every 18 months to two years in order to review the implementation of investment activities between the two countries.

“Since the first conference was held, the flow of capital from Vietnam into Cambodia has been increasing rapidly,” Tran Tru said.

To contact the reporter on this story: May Kunmakara at kunmakara.may@phnompenhpost.com

More blood donors needed for Cambodian children Friday, 22 June 2012 Claire Byrne

Last year Angkor Hospital for Children received more than 1,300 blood donations. Yet there still wasn’t enough.

Right now it’s high season for dengue fever, low season for tourists, and numbers of children requiring blood transfusions are on the rise.

Because of this, the hospital’s blood bank has issued an urgent appeal for donors. “This year there are increasing numbers for donation, but it is not enough,” explains Dr Sing Heng, the hospital’s heamatology doctor. “There are more patients that need blood.”

Dr Heng says that while patients with severe anaemia, glycaemia or leukemia require blood throughout the year, the need is even greater at the moment. “Blood transfusions are very important for all the patients who need the blood,” he says. “But we need a lot of blood donated this season for patients suffering dengue fever.”

With over 121,000 patient visits a year, 1,000 cases of dengue annually, as well as busy surgical and in-patient departments, the hospital says it requires 120 to 150 bags of blood each month.

For those who have donated in their home countries, the procedure is very similar. Donors are asked a few questions about their general health and medical history. A small blood sample will be taken to check the haemoglobin levels, and then blood pressure will be taken to ensure it’s safe to donate.

Then in a pain-free (well, mild discomfort at most) procedure, 350mls of blood is drawn. The entire donation only takes about 30 minutes and donors can leave with a thank you t-shirt, and some refreshments to give their blood sugar a boost.

Anyone in good general health is eligible to donate once they are over 18 and under 65.

Women need to be over 42 kg and men, over 45kg. As in other countries, donated blood is routinely tested for HIV, hepatitis and syphilis. The blood can then be stored for up to one month.

Dr Heng says that would-be donors need not worry about standards at the hospital. “We use standard hygiene procedures to collect the blood, from the facilities and the staff to the clean instruments and new needles.”

The hospital relies heavily on foreigners to donate blood, which is why when tourist numbers drop, so too do donations.

“Usually we get the blood from the tourist or the foreigner, the local people not so much,” Dr Heng explains. “Last year we had more than a thousand donations, but 70 to 80 per cent

were from foreigners.”

Dr Heng says that many eligible Cambodians are superstitious when it comes to blood donation, worrying that the loss of blood will make them weak and unable to work. “They believe that it will affect their health, they’ll feel tired, like they cannot do anything,” he explains. “But now I think the situation is getting better and more people understand that blood donation is important, that there’s no affect on their health and that they too can help people. This is why we need to do the campaigns, it’s important to educate the people.”

To donate at the blood bank at AHC: please check in at the AHC Friends Center first – Monday-Friday: 8am-4pm, or Saturday 8am-12pm. Laboratory staff availability may be limited due to lunch breaks fFrom 12pm-2pm. If you wish to come during these hours please phone ahead.

For more information, call into the Friends Centre at AHC, phone 063 963 409 ext: 7015.