‘Master Plan’ Drawn for Phnom Penh Public Transport System | The C...
1 of 1
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/master-plan-drawn-for-phnom-pen...
7/4/2013 3:03 PM
Report to US Congress Notes Concerns Over Cambodia-China Ties | Th...
1 of 1
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/report-to-us-congress-notes-concer...
7/4/2013 3:03 PM
Donors voice concerns on Lower Sesan | National | National
http://phnompenhpost.com/2013070466657/National/donors-voice-conc...
DONORS VOICE CONCERNS ON LOWER SESAN Last Updated on 04 July 2013 By Shane Worrell
Dam controversy Countries that fund the Mekong River Commission (MRC) have called on the government to redesign the controversial Lower Sesan 2 hydroelectric dam, a statement obtained yesterday says. The $781 million dam, to be built on Mekong tributaries in Stung Treng, has been criticised for its potential negative effects on fish and sediment flow and for likely relocating thousands of villagers. The MRC development partners – including the EU, the US and the World Bank – said they shared these concerns. “Given the potentially detrimental regional effects of the Lower Sesan 2 dam in its current design . . . development partners urge the [government] to reconsider the project’s design,” the statement says. Development partners also want more information on design changes to the Xayaburi dam. Ame Trandem, Southeast Asia program director for International Rivers, said it was time for the MRC to “ensure that the member countries heed to the concerns raised by its donors”.
1 of 1
7/4/2013 2:41 PM
Multiparty political forum tackles gender inequality | National | National
1 of 2
http://phnompenhpost.com/2013070466655/National/multiparty-political...
MULTIPARTY POLITICAL FORUM TACKLES GENDER INEQUALITY Last Updated on 04 July 2013 By Cheang Sokha
Women attend a panel on women in the workforce at the Sunway Hotel in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photograph: Hong Menea/Phnom Penh Post Political parties seeking National Assembly seats in the election later this month expounded on their strong commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of women and children at a roundtable discussion yesterday. Representatives of seven of the eight parties competing for seats – excluding the Khmer Economic Development Party – discussed matters pertinent to women and children like rape and violence. The discussion was organised by the Committee for Free and Fairs Election in Cambodia, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and UN Women. Funcipec representative Prak Chantha vowed not only to enforce current legal protections for women but to establish a quota of 30 per cent female representation at the national and local levels. On a similar note, Khmer Anti-Poverty Party president Daran Kravanh said women should represent half of all workers, especially in traditionally male-dominated fields. “It is something that we need to reform,” Kravanh said at the forum. “The party policy is to encourage women to work in the fields like men, 50 per cent.” Speaking for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, Chou Bun Eng, Secretary of State at Ministry of Interior, said the CPP has worked hard to promote equal opportunities for women. She posed that the CPP’s commitment to
7/4/2013 2:42 PM
Multiparty political forum tackles gender inequality | National | National
2 of 2
http://phnompenhpost.com/2013070466655/National/multiparty-political...
equality can be seen in their equal intolerance of law breakers. “The CPP never tolerates anyone who has committed an offence,” Bun Eng said. “Even if they are the government officials.” Yang Phaneth, a Prey Veng province candidate for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, said that while women outnumber men in the population, their representation in the National Assembly does not reflect that fact. “Women and children are more vulnerable, but there is no representative to help them,” Phaneth said.
7/4/2013 2:42 PM
Judge the judges, NGOs say | National | National
1 of 2
http://phnompenhpost.com/2013070566690/National/judge-the-judges-n...
JUDGE THE JUDGES, NGOS SAY Last Updated on 05 July 2013 By May Titthara
Boeung Kak activist Yorm Bopha, 29, leaves Phnom Penh’s Court of Appeal in June. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post For too long the rich and powerful have used the courts to intimidate those who thwart their agendas, a group of community and NGO representatives said at a press conference yesterday. At the conference in Phnom Penh members of the forest, land, fishery and trade union communities called on the National Assembly to put forth legislation that would hold judges and prosecutors accountable for alleged complicity in furthering business interests by prosecuting people who stood in the way. “I would appeal to the government to encourage the setup of a law on the management of judges and prosecutors as soon as possible,” Meng Bunroeun, community representative in Pursat province said. “[The National Assembly should] take immediate measures against court officials who do not fulfil their professional code of conduct.” People interfering with companies that are developing their land frequently receive writs to appear in court, Bunroeun said. About 500 human rights and land defenders have been threatened through the judicial system in the past five years, according to Theng Saroeun, Secretariate of Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community. In those arrests, people were accused of crimes such as incitement and fraud.
7/5/2013 1:33 PM
Judge the judges, NGOs say | National | National
2 of 2
http://phnompenhpost.com/2013070566690/National/judge-the-judges-n...
“Those charges are different from the facts; most court and law enforcement officials do not investigate thoroughly,” Saroeun argued. Judges and prosecutors who assist in misusing the courts currently face no consequences because no laws holding them accountable exist, said Chan Soveth, a senior investigator of rights group Adhoc. That lack of accountability decays the public’s confidence in the court system as officials in the system engage in nepotism, and bow to political parties and business interests. Soveth urged the National Assembly to set up such statutes to avoid convictions such as that of Boeung Kak activist Yorm Bopha, who, he said, was jailed after a shoddy investigation. But Sam Prachea Meanith, chief of cabinet at the Ministry of Justice, said the groups’ proposals would have no positive effect on Cambodia’s courts. “No one has the right to give orders to the prosecutors and judges,” Meanith said.
7/5/2013 1:33 PM