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The cost of dying

Issue NUMBER 1662

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friday, july 5, 2013

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Politics of sex reflected in funding Justine Drennan

“AT THIS point we’re basically running on a shoestring,” Dr Glenn Miles, a facilitator for antitrafficking NGO Love146 of his research on Cambodian transgender sex workers, said.

Miles’s team of mostly self-funded researchers spends a bare minimum on travel expenses, small gifts for interviewees and other necessities.

They are actively looking for donors to supplement the small budget Love146 offers, but so far it has been difficult.

“Generally, secular groups don’t want to touch it because they’re afraid of being seen as antigay, and faith-based groups don’t want to touch it because they’re afraid of being seen as progay,” Miles said.

He acknowledged that some Cambodian

Faith-based groups don’t want to touch it because they’re afraid of being seen as pro-gay groups working with LGBT issues – Men’s Health Cambodia and the Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance, among others – have attracted funding from major donors like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations.

But Miles argued that these organisations have been more appealing to donors because their focus on health matters such as HIV/AIDS prevention diffuses the political sensitivity surrounding sex and sexuality.

Jarrett Davis, Miles’s fellow researcher of biologically male transgender (“ladyboy”) sex workers, agreed: “It’s quite difficult to find funding for research that addresses males as whole people, who have emotions and vulnerabilities beyond just sexual health.”

Homosexuality, prostitution and that other key target of American social conservatism, abortion, have long been divisive issues, not just in the United States but also when it comes to distributing US funds abroad – especially in a country like Cambodia that receives so much aid.

Since President Barack Obama took office, US executive and court decisions have opened up more channels of support for what many would term sexual and reproductive rights, in Cambodia and elsewhere. But activists in these areas say political sensitivity often still hampers funding.

Continues on page 4

Young people ride motorbikes without helmets during a Cambodia National Rescue Party campaign rally in Phnom Penh yesterday.

hong menea

One issue they agree on Cheang Sokha and Shane Worrell

D

IVIDED the ruling and opposition parties stand on their visions for Cambodia, united they ride on another matter: flouting the Kingdom’s helmet laws during the election campaign.

In their quest to attract voters in the opening week of campaigning, hundreds of supporters and members of the Cambodian People’s Party and the Cambodia National Rescue Party have streamed – helmetless – through the streets on

Parties ignoring helmet law motorbikes. While spreading their message, they’ve mocked a law that can attract a fine and is designed to reduce the devastating number of fatalities on the Kingdom’s roads.

But police say they are powerless to intervene.

“If police strictly enforce the traffic law during campaigning, there will be lots of problems – conflict will occur,” Phnom Penh municipal police chief Choun Sovann told the

Post yesterday. “We will be accused of obstructing or disturbing rallies.”

Also of concern and just as illegal, Sovann said, was bad driving from young party ring-ins, which many officers had complained about.

“Some people joining the rallies have been laughing at police. When we ask why they are breaking the law by driving the wrong direction down the street,” he said, “they respond: ‘We’re going the opposite way because we’re the opposition’.”

Tep Nytha, secretary-general of the National Election Committee, said many of those rallying in the streets were of high school and university age, meaning some were not even eligible to vote.

“They have been driving motorbikes at night, disrupting traffic and public order,” he said. “I appeal for political parties to pay attention to this.”

In a statement signed by Governor Pa Socheatvong, Phnom Penh municipality also urged parties to Continues on page 2

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Church asked to be apolitical

Helmets, campaigns don’t mix Continued from page 1

Phak Seangly

control their campaigners and obey laws.

“Some motorbikes – driven by gangsters wearing political party T-shirts and caps – have been causing anarchy on the streets and provoking or causing violence with members of other parties,” the statement said.

CPP officials couldn’t be reached, but Ho Vann, a CNRP candidate for Phnom Penh, said the NEC was trying to interfere in campaigning, especially that being done by young people.

“It doesn’t matter whether it is young or old people rallying . . . In general, the NEC has not been fair. The main [campaigning] locations and public parks have been given to the ruling CPP,” he said.

As for conduct on the roads – including wearing helmets – Vann said it was up to the police to enforce the law.

The Post spoke to a number of young CNRP and CPP supporters near the National Assembly yesterday. Some said they were passionate political supporters, while one CPP supporter, 19, said she had

A

Cambodian People’s Party supporters ride motorbikes without helmets en route to a political rally on Preah Sihanouk Boulevard in Phnom Penh on Tuesday. hong menea

been paid $5 to come. On average, five people die on Cambodia’s roads every day – a figure that has doubled in the past six years.

The law states that only a motorbike driver must wear a helmet, but an amendment to the traffic law – which is awaiting ministerial approval – will force passengers to also protect their heads.

Ear Chariya, the road safety manager at NGO Handicap International, said the law as it was written didn’t make excep-

tions. “I would encourage the parties to tell their supporters to wear helmets and respect the law,” he said.

“Around 70 per cent of people who die in road accidents are motorbike users.”

In a televised speech about three months ago, Prime Minister Hun Sen himself urged all Cambodians to wear helmets to protect their lives.

“Most traffic accidents are caused by motorbikes. I appeal to all people to wear helmets,” he said. “Any time, anywhere,

you must wear helmets – both drivers and passengers.”

To one motodop sporting a brand-new CNRP cap in Phnom Penh this week, this message was of no concern.

Boastful, he pointed to the blue and gold logo that sat in place of a helmet on his head.

“Are you voting CNRP?” a reporter asked.

“Free,” he replied. Whether he was referring to the hat being a gift or the CNRP’s vision for the country remained unclear.

CHRISTIAN leader in Ratanakkiri’s Bakeo district has accused a district Ministry of Cults and Religion official of making members of his congregation thumbprint a contract forbidding them to proselytise or associate with any political parties before the election.

Community leader Rochom Nath, 32, said yesterday that the chief of the district cults and religion office, Moeng Ieng, convened more than 20 members of his 240-strong Christian enclave in Seung commune’s Yasom village on Wednesday to endorse the letter.

“The letter told us not to promote the Christian religion, and said we’re not allowed to have a connection with political parties, because [Ieng] is a member of the [Cambodian People’s Party],” Nath said, adding that Ieng had threatened to prevent Christians from gathering at the church where they have worshipped for more than four years if they didn’t thumbprint the document.

In the lead-up to the elections, he said, both CPP and Cambodia National Rescue

Party campaigners had swung by to try to sway the flock.

“I have promoted this religion in Ratanakkiri province since 2007, and this is the first time that I was coerced to stop, so I was afraid of being suspended, and gave my thumbprint like the others did,” he added.

Ieng, however, maintained that the letter did “not ban them from promoting whatsoever”.

It was simply an annually required collection of biographical information about church leaders and dissemination of directives from the Ministry of Cults and Religion, he said.

But the letter did urge Christians to heed their own teachings and not involve themselves with politics, he added.

According to Ieng, the congregation never asked permission to build its gathering place.

Nath, on the other hand, maintained that he had all the requisite ministry documents.

Yem Yodavan, director of the Ministry of Cult and Religion’s religious resolutions department, said that under the law, people “have right to follow any religion they like, and the religion needs to inform and ask permission before [building] or promoting itself.”

Ethnic minority villagers hold a meeting with human rights organisation ADHOC in Ratanakkiri province last year. photo supplied

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NEC to parties: play nice Meas Sokchea

T

HE NATIONAL Election Committee yesterday chided political parties for immature behaviour on the election trail, calling for them to be more civil with each other for the rest of the campaign.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, NEC vice-chairman Sin Chumbo said the first week of campaigning had seen rude, mocking and vitriolic outbursts between the parties and requested a more “mature” political attitude. He also called on party leaders to urge their supporters to make sure that no violence would be incited by discriminatory tactics, asking them instead to pursue peaceful methods of campaigning.

“The NEC would like to appeal again to political party activists to keep your maturity.

What the NEC has noted so far is not only observed [by us] but also international [organisations] who want our campaign to be peaceful,” he said.

He cited United Nations rights envoy Surya Subedi and European Union delegates, both of whom have appealed to political parties to remain respectful and maintain peace during the campaign.

National Election Committee officials speak about the current political climate during a press conference at the NEC headquarters in Phnom Penh yesterday. Sreng Meng Srun

The NEC also confirmed yesterday that provincial and commune election commissions had received 70 complaints in the first eight days of the campaign – mostly related to the disruption of rallies and the tearing down of election propaganda in 13 provinces.

The lion’s share of complaints were between the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and the Cambodia National Rescue Party, with 33 complaints already resolved, NEC Legal and

Announcement The Post would like to inform all of our customers that Ms. Nget Thach is no longer working for The Phnom Penh Post.

Please be advised to direct all your inquiries directly to Borom Chea, National Sales Director. Mobile: 012 763 481 or email at : borom.chea@phnompenhpost.com

Dispute Department director Keo Phalla, said.

Election monitor Comfrel also released a statement yesterday saying it had observed 61 violations since the campaign kicked off last Thursday.

The count included 16 cases of campaign procedure violations – mostly involving village chiefs joining CPP marches – and 13 cases of armed forces personnel taking part in rallies.

Comfrel also reported two cases of political party gift-

giving in Ratanakkiri that allegedly involved the CPP. “There has not been anyone seriously injured,” NEC secretary-general Tep Nytha said.

“This is something which the NEC has to pay close attention to and prevent before it occurs.”

Despite being chastised by the NEC, both parties yesterday sought to deflect the negative attention towards each other.

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann said that he welcomed the NEC’s appeal for political maturity, but said enforcement against the CPP would be impossible. “[CNRP] is a victim because the [CPP] blocks us almost everywhere. The ruling party is the abuser of the law,” he said.

Tith Sothea, a spokesman at the government’s Press and Quick Reaction Unit, said the CPP’s message had long been mature and claimed his party had never abused any other.

“But the opposition party has used rude words and insulted the [CPP],” he said. “We will leave it to the NEC to decide whether the CNRP has maturity or not.”

Hang Puthea, director of the election monitoring organisation NICFEC, said the major parties were both to blame.

National Sokha given chance to debate CPP on TV David Boyle

ACTING opposition leader Kem Sokha will have a rare chance to face off against a ruling party opponent in a nationally televised debate before the election.

The debate will be one of two broadcast on TVK on July 20 and 21 in a series organised by the US-funded National Democratic Institute that will include nine town hall-style debates with provincial candidates from almost all parties.

NDI resident coordinator Laura Thornton yesterday could not confirm which candidates would line up against Cambodia National Rescue Party deputy president Kem Sokha, but said he would be debating a member of the Cambodian People’s Party.

“I think some people were hoping it was going to be the Prime Minister [Hun Sen] but that is not the case,” she said.

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann confirmed yesterday Sokha would participate in the debate, which would be prerecorded.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said yesterday he did not know who the CPP would field, and Minister

of Information Khieu Kanharith said he was busy. While “100 per cent” of the questions in the provincial debates would come from the public, with each speaker given two minutes to respond, the format of the television debates was yet to be finalised, Thornton said.

In a statement yesterday, NDI said 88 per cent of those who listened to NDI-organised debates before the 2012 commune elections stated they changed their opinion about one or more parties or candidates as a result.

While this year’s debates will reach far more people through expanded coverage that now includes radio stations VAYO, 106.5, 95.5, 93.5, National Radio FM and Beehive, TV broadcasts remain restricted to one carrier.

“We put our terms of reference to every single station. We did have a lot of initial positive conversations with CTN earlier on. They were very excited early on, and one day they called and just said ‘we’re not going to do’, and no one else responded,” Thornton said. All television stations in Cambodia are affiliated with the CPP and consistently come under fire for failing to provide fair coverage of opposition parties.

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Politics around hot-button issues in Continued from page 1

Although Miles and Davis say the concerns of individual funders are the main sticking point, Cambodian organisations working in other sensitive areas face explicit US funding restrictions.

Until late last month, NGOs had to declare themselves opposed to prostitution in order to receive US funding for work against AIDS. Between 2003, when former US president George W Bush initiated the policy, and June 20, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that it violated free speech, USfunded NGOs could still offer health services to sex workers but had to condemn sex work. Organisations including the World Health Organization and UNAIDS argued the requirement alienated sex workers and some NGOs, therefore seriously affecting the fight against AIDS. While the overturn of the antiprostitution pledge may now allow more organisations in Cambodia to access funding, the US government’s anti-abortion funding policy has had an even longer impact on the Kingdom – one that continues.

Abortion funding’s ‘grey area’ Since 1973, the Helms Amendment has banned the US government from funding abortions “as a method of family planning” anywhere in the world.

In 1984 President Ronald Reagan doubled down with the Mexico City Policy, which banned the US from providing money to any overseas NGOs that offered abortions as a method of family planning – even if they used other sources of funding for the abortion-related part of their services.

In the years since, the Mexico City Policy’s fate has varied depending on the party of the US president in office. Bill Clinton repealed the policy, George W. Bush re-instituted it and Barack Obama repealed it again – all within days of taking office.

“Fortunately, when the Obama administration came in, we started getting [US] funding,” said Melissa Cockroft, technical support manager for Marie Stopes International (MSI) Cambodia, an organisation that was denied US funding before

2009 because it offered abortions.

Since 2011, MSI has received USAID grants for a range of nonabortion services, including family counselling, intrauterine device implants, medical training sessions for health centre staff and community outreach through village health representatives.

MSI now also uses USAID funding to give women information about where to access abortion as an option. But with the Helms Amendment against funding abortion itself still in place, some ambiguities remain as to what sorts of abortionrelated services NGOs can fund with US money, Cockroft said.

The Helms Amendment prohibits US funds from being “used to pay for the performance of abortion as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practise abortion.”

According to Cockroft: “There’s a grey area around the interpretation of ‘motivating and coercing’.”

In an attempt at clarification, the 1994 Leahy Amendment stated: “The term ‘motivate’, as it relates to family planning assistance, shall not be construed to prohibit the provision, consistent with the local law, of information or counselling about all pregnancy options.”

In the case of Cambodia, local law since 1997 has allowed medical – or chemically induced – abortions for up to nine weeks of pregnancy, and surgical abortions for up to 12 weeks.

Nevertheless, and despite the amendment not blocking funding for abortions for pregnancies from rape or for other reasons unrelated to family planning, the whole hazily worded policy may have made some groups cautious of supporting anything to do with abortion, Cockroft said.

Now, receiving USAID “opens up a whole range of other donors who may have been reluctant to provide support” for MSI, she said.

If USAID supported abortion services, “there would be more funding available and the chance to provide more services to women,” she said.

But she added that MSI has several other major sources of funding that do support abortion services, including the Australian Agency for

A nurse prepares surgical instruments in the abortion operating theatre at the Marie Stopes Center Chbar Ampov in June. MSI uses USAID fu Helms Amendment prohibits direct funding to the actual procedure. kara fox

International Development and the European Commission.

On the other hand, organisations more dependent on USAID funding still have little leeway to offer abortions, said Chan Theary, executive director of the Reproductive and Child Health Alliance (RACHA).

USAID has given RACHA $27.5 million in the past five years – about 80

per cent of the NGO’s total budget.

So the reason RACHA provides no abortion services is simple, Theary said: “Because of USAID.” RACHA has, however, offered post-abortion care and information on finding abortion services since 2004.

Meanwhile, the Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia (RHAC), another NGO that has long received USAID funding and therefore did not offer abortion services before 2009, began offering medical and surgical abortions in 2011 at its clinic in Kampot province, one of many RHAC locations across the country.

The majority of RHAC clinics are largely USAID-funded and do offer post-abortion counselling, but the Kampot clinic is the only one able to offer abortions because it is funded by the International Planned Parenthood Federation and not USAID, said Dr Noup Thear, the clinic’s manager.

Sexual stigma

Members of LGBT advocacy group Rainbow Community Kampuchea (RoCK) at a Pride event in Phnom Penh in May.

scott howes

It’s difficult to estimate the USAID abortion ban’s impact, because other factors like the stigma around pre-marital sex also put up barriers to women seeking safe abortions, and sometimes can push them toward more covert, less safe means, Cockroft said.

“I think that a big part of it is the lack of trained providers, lack of awareness that abortion’s legal, and still the stigma around abortion, both from the women and from providers, who can be reluc-

tant to provide abortion services.”

Conservative attitudes about sexuality on the part of both funders and Cambodian society aren’t just an impediment to safe abortion access. They also interfere with effectively fighting HIV/AIDs among the populations most at risk, including sex workers and men who have sex with men, activists say.

Srun Srorn, facilitator for LGBT advocacy group Rainbow Community Kampuchea (RoCK), agreed with researchers Miles and Davis that organisations with an LGBT health focus have received much more funding from sources like USAID than groups with a broader LGBT rights focus – at least until quite recently. And the US’s stance has been particularly significant because it is the biggest funder of HIV programs in Cambodia for men who have sex with men, or MSM, he said.

According to Srorn, these programs so far have been “not really successful, even though lots of big donors give big funds, because we see still that the next generation of MSM are likely to be [infected with HIV] because they are targets of gender-based violence and broader LGBT discrimination”. Health researchers like Joanna Busza have made similar points about discrimination hampering health work with sex workers.

The US has only just started to address these concerns, they say.

Busza wrote in 2006 that before the Bush administration began its anti-prostitution policy, initiatives like the USAID-funded Lotus Club

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in US leads to pressure on funding nificantly alter the manner in which [aid] is delivered”, because the policy still prohibits recipients from using USAID funds “to promote or advocate the legalisation or practice of prostitution or sex trafficking”.

Activists worry that this ambiguous phrase could have effects similar to the Helms Amendment’s “grey area”, meaning that even without the pledge requirement some organisations will see working with sex workers and taking US money as incompatible.

Another reason the ruling may not significantly alter funding is that the US exempted several major donors from the pledge – UN agencies, the Global Fund, the World Health Organization and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative – in 2004.

But by that point, Busza argued, the damage already was done for many smaller Cambodian organisations.

“These political pressures appear to be spreading to work with other marginalised groups such as injecting drug users and men who have sex with men,” she added.

From health to human rights

unding to provide women with information about where to access abortion as an option, but the

on the outskirts of Phnom Penh were having significant success giving sex workers health information through workshops that also addressed a range of social and economic concerns often suggested by sex workers themselves.

A review of the Lotus Club “highlighted sex workers’ appreciation of the non-judgmental approach and opportunities to socialise and to engage in activities unrelated to their work.”

But although studies clearly showed that working with sex workers reduced national HIV rates, Bush’s inauguration meant that under US policy “sex workers officially became ‘women in prostitution’ or ‘victims of trafficking’ requiring ‘rescue and rehabilitation’ instead of occupational safety.”

Bush’s 2003 Global AIDS Act committed an unprecedented $15 billion to fighting AIDS in poor countries over the next five years.

But it declared that “no funds . . . may be used to provide assistance to any group or organisation that does not have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking”.

In a more recent move that surprised some activists, Obama’s White House supported the act on the grounds that prostitution spreads infection – an argument that failed to convince the six US Supreme Court justices who voted against the policy in late June.

Though it’s not yet clear what the act’s overturn will mean for funding in Cambodia, activists say that while in place it significantly ob-

structed HIV work in the country.

As USAID implemented the policy, initiatives like the Lotus Club closed, and sex workers were “suddenly isolated . . . and excluded from this network of HIV and AIDS projects”, says a 2013 article in the Journal of the International AIDS Society.

The government said the pledge shouldn’t be “construed to preclude” organisations from offering health services for sex workers, such as condoms or STI testing. But like the Leahy Amendment aimed at softening the US stance on abortion funding, the clarification had little effect, according to a 2005 protest letter to president Bush signed by hundreds of organisations from around the world, including from Cambodia.

The letter noted that as a result of the policy, NGOs in Cambodia “discontinued plans to provide English language training classes for people working in the commercial sex sector for fear such programs would be interpreted as ‘promoting prostitution’.” Because English is “a means of accessing opportunities outside the sex sector”, the move actually hindered sex workers’ ability to find other work, it said.

US embassy spokesperson John Simmons said last week that USAID in Cambodia “is reviewing and revising its policies and practices so that they will be consistent with the Supreme Court’s ruling”.

He added, though, that “USAID in Cambodia does not believe the US Supreme Court’s decision will sig-

Finding de-stigmatising ways to target these most at-risk groups is essential in fighting HIV/AIDS in Cambodia, said Dr Mean Chhivon, director of Cambodia’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs (NCHADS).

HIV rates in the general Cambodian population fell from two per cent in 1998 to 0.7 per cent in 2012, but HIV rates among men who have sex with men were estimated above two per cent in 2010, and rates for sex workers were at 14 per cent in 2010 and 10 per cent in 2012, Chhivon said.

The latter rate also shows a major decrease from 1998, when 42.6 per cent of sex workers were infected, and NCHADS is having success overcoming concerns about stigma by spreading health information through entertainment worker networks, he said. But he added that around 10 per cent of the MSM population still is very closed off.

“How many ladyboys are there in Phnom Penh, or in Cambodia? It’s hard to know,” researcher Glenn Miles said. “This is the hard part of

doing research about sex – it’s all kind of covered up . . . These groups are vulnerable and they need our attention, but to be honest, many, many groups view only girls as vulnerable and boys as resilient.”

To make his point, Miles quoted a Cambodian proverb: “A girl is like a piece of cloth: if thrown in the dirt then she is soiled forever.

A boy is like a piece of gold: he can be washed off again and be good as new.”

This attitude shows up not only in Cambodian society but also among international donors, he said.

“I have spoken to people who really can’t see why time and energy should be invested in work with boys,” Miles has written. “The impression is that ‘they can look after themselves’.”

According to Srorn of RoCK, however, the US government under Obama is starting to realise that to connect with marginalised groups like these, even for health purposes, it needs to consider their human rights as well as health.

In June 2011, the UN Human Rights Council passed an equal rights resolution co-sponsored by the Obama government – the first UN resolution to focus solely on LGBT issues. That December, the US State Department established the Global Equity Fund for LGBT rights, and Obama stated that consideration of LGBT rights was critical in USAID funding decisions.

In April 2013, USAID launched the LGBT Global Development Partnership, which “promotes foreign assistance to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality in emerging markets and developing countries.

US embassy spokesman Sean McIntosh said that, currently, USAID and the United Nations Development Program are conducting a joint analysis “together with grassroots LGBT organisations and community leaders throughout Asia to better understand the challenges faced by LGBT people across the continent.”

And last Wednesday, the US embassy in Phnom Penh held a roundtable discussion with both health and LGBT rights advocates on issues

facing the Cambodian LGBT community and ways around them.

“When the US embassy talks about human rights,” Srorn said, “lots of US donors [and] lots of NGOs included into USAID can become more effective.”

Still, Srorn is cautious about his grassroots advocacy group, RoCK, taking on additional donors.

With the growing interest in promoting LGBT rights, several major donors have approached Srorn since RoCK began organising LGBT events in 2009. But RoCK is mostly run by volunteers – people who care passionately about promoting LGBT rights in Cambodia – and Srorn wants to keep it that way.

“We don’t want to use funds to buy activists, because many times when people are given too much to attend meetings, they come for the money and don’t know how to transfer the knowledge to support people,” he said.

Some large potential donors have told Srorn that to receive their funding, RoCK, which currently is mainly funded by the “very flexible” American Jewish World Service, would have to register as a non-profit – something Srorn doesn’t want to do.

He wants his staff to focus on activism rather than on finances.

“The most important part is how we can build the staff’s abilities and network, because then funds can be used in the most sustainable way,” he said.

Sophal Ear, author of Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy, said that for organisations like RoCK, “I think the strategy is to keep that activist spirit alive and well while soliciting from partners who will support you in the long-term and whose policies won’t change.”

Finding such partners is more difficult when large donors like the US are subject to political swings, he suggested.

Although activists say that US funding for sexual and reproductive rights seems to be increasing, Sophal Ear warned: “We know that even in a democratic process, the rights of the minority can be trampled, as is constantly evidenced in Cambodia.”

A nurse practitioner explains family planning options to a patient during a counselling session at the Marie Stopes Center Chbar Ampov in Phnom Penh last week. Kara fox

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police blotter Fisherman likely nets jail time over beating

POLICE hooked a 26-year-old man in Kampong Cham on Tuesday for attacking his brother-in-law over a fishing net. Police said that on the day in question, the suspect came home in a huff, loudly asking who stole his fishing net, finally pointing the finger at his brother-in-law. He then set upon him with a nearby shovel, seriously injuring him. The furious fisherman attempted to flee but was apprehended after neighbours called the police.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

Burglar’s target proves an incredibly bad choice AN ALLEGED burglar was knocked out cold by a gang of vigilante villagers in the capital on Tuesday. According to police, a local resident came home to find that not only had his pad been tossed, but a pair of thieves were still on the premises. The man called out to neighbours as the two fled, and while one escaped, the other was not so lucky. The mob set upon the suspect, beating him until he passed out and police arrived.

The cops gently reminded residents that, even the though the man was an alleged thief, they weren’t allowed to beat him senseless. deum ampil

Judge the judges, NGOs say May Titthara

F

OR 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

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Boeung Kak activist Yorm Bopha, 29, leaves Phnom Penh’s Court of Appeal in June.

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.

“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

heng chivoan

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.

Crash proves giveaway for moto theft suspect

POLICE responding to a routine motorbike crash in the capital’s Daun Penh district scored a bonus collar on Tuesday when one of those involved in the accident turned out to be a suspect in a moto theft.

According to police, the suspect had boosted a motorbike and was in the process of making a speedy getaway when he collided with another moto, injuring one of its passengers. Cops who arrived on the scene arrested the man in what the moto’s owner called a lucky coincidence. koh santepheap

Helmet stop lifts skid lid on hapless drug dealer

IN OTHER coincidental collar news, police making a routine traffic stop apprehended an alleged drug dealer in Kampong Speu on Tuesday. Police said traffic cops had pulled over a motorist for driving without a helmet. When one of the three men on the moto dismounted, a small package of yama fell from his pocket. The other two sped away, but police grabbed the unlucky loner and found two more packets of drugs on him.

FEATHERS were flying when cops in Kampong Chhnang busted up a cockfighting ring on Tuesday. Police said neighbours had complained that the noisy clashing of cocks was disturbing their daily lives, so police rolled up to the match in force, arresting three spectators. According to police, the men were addicted to the deadly dance of cocks and had abandoned their jobs to lay wagers on the action. deum ampil Translated by Phak Seangly

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday sentenced former tycoon and Chea Sim adviser Tan Senghak to 18 months in prison and issued a five-million-riel ($1,250) fine in a breach of trust case involving a missing generator, said presiding judge Yeth Polin.

According to Polin, Senghak – who is also facing drug charges after being arrested in a meth raid on his villa – was charged after allegedly losing a $4,500 generator he had leased, which had been confiscated in another raid on a separate villa he had rented to a group of alleged Chinese criminals who engaged in a Voice over Internet Protocol scam.

During the raid, Polin said, the court had temporarily taken the generator but returned it. Months later, when it was time to return the generator to its owner, it had vanished.

Senghak said yesterday that he took issue with the decision and would take it “to the court of appeal soon”, adding that his family had already reimbursed the person who owned the generator.

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO REGIONAL DIRECTOR EAST ASIA REGIONAL OFFICE

Job Vacancies Marie Stopes International (MSI) is a market-focused results oriented social business that uses modern management and marketing techniques to provide quality family planning and reproductive health services in over 40 countries world-wide.

Oxfam America is an international relief & development organization with regional offices worldwide. Its mission is to find long-term solutions to global poverty & injustice. The East Asia Regional Office is currently seeking is currently seeking an effective & motivated individual to join the team as the Executive Assistant to the Regional Director.

SUMMARIZED PRIMARY REPSONSIBILITIES:

Marie Stopes International Cambodia (MSIC) was established in 1998 and currently operates seven reproductive health



clinics and outreach services in 18 provinces nationwide and distributes three social marketing products. MSIC is looking



for an innovative and forward thinking person to fill a number of key positions within the MSIC team based at Head Office, Phnom Penh.

Position:



The Finance Director is part of the Senior Management Team and provides strategic financial management and leadership to Marie Stopes International Cambodia (MSIC), ensuring appropriate systems, procedures and controls are in place to support the continued growth of the organization.



Professional degree in Accounting/Finance with a minimum of 10 years experience in financial management, reporting, and accounting; ACCA/CPA, MBA is plus INGO experience – desirable

Position:

Head of Team – Operations (01 position) The Head of Team - Operations is part of the Senior Management Team and provides strategic operational management and leadership to Marie Stopes International Cambodia (MSIC), ensuring appropriate systems, procedures and controls are in place to support the continued growth of the organization.

Requirements:

Position:

Requirements:



Finance Director (01 position)

Requirements:

kampuchea thmey

Cockfighting ring bust has the cops crowing

More legal trouble for ex-tycoon

Qualifications in procurement and logistics management or relevant filed with a minimum of 7 years experience in Operations Management these includes: procurement, stock, and inventory control, fleet management, security and information technology. INGO experience – desirable

    

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Business administration or Development studies. Bilingual (Khmer and English). Knowledge of Vietnamese or Laotian will be an additional advantage.

Experience and Core Competencies:



Head of Team – Program Development (01 position)



The Head of team – Program Development role is varied and offers the opportunity to be involved in internal strategy development, project design and monitoring, proposal and budget preparation, donor relations and internal capacity building and strengthening.



Demonstrated experience gained in international development, preferably for a multi-site international organization. This could include managing, implementing and/ or supporting development programs, preferably in the sexual and reproductive health field.

Significant expertise in all areas of new business development including strategy, forging partnerships, including negotiating teaming agreements, project design, log frame development, proposal written, budget development, managing donor and other partner. English fluency (spoken and written) required.

Qualified Expat Candidates are encouraged to apply.

This package for this position does not include international relocation and international assignee benefits.

Please visit http://www.mariestopes.org.kh/Career.html or contact our Human Resources Team for a detailed job description.

Interested and qualified candidates should send your application (CV and a cover letter), stating current and expected salary to Marie Stopes Head Office, Address: #12Eo, St. 41, (Village No.10), Sangkat Tonle Basac, Khan Chamkar Morn, Phnom Penh, Email: HRD@mariestopes.org.kh, Tel: 023 994 082/083.

MSIC is an equal opportunity employer and women are encouraged to apply.

Only short listed candidates will be contacted and the Closing Date is July 15th 2013 by 5:00pm.

A competitive salary scale will be offered to successful candidates.

Attend key meetings between the RD, OA staff, and/or external donors and allies. Take notes and prepare summaries and follow-up steps.

Support RD in his role on Regional Management Team and other EARO meetings.

Support RD’s participation in Oxfam International inter-affiliate working groups and teams. Coordinate with OI colleagues and prepare meeting materials.

As requested obtain critical information and research various topics, people and other information through the web or other resources.

Coordinate confidential Human Resources tasks for RD, including performance management processes.

Assist with recruitment and orientation of senior Program staff Attend strategic meetings of the Regional Management Team. Take minutes and create and post summaries for the members and the regional office.

Coordinate regular RMT meetings and co-organize off-site retreats.

Prepare agendas and/or briefing materials, and delegate logistics tasks when needed.

Represent the RD when requested in intra-office functional teams’ meetings.

Take a lead role in ensuring correct content on Oxfam America’s Intranet system (Padare).

     

Three years related work experience, preferably in an NGO or non-profit setting.

High degree of poise, judgment, discretion, and responsibility; ability to handle confidential information, ability to anticipate problems, and confidence to follow through.

The person must be able to operate with minimal supervision and to self-manage when RD and RMT is not available.

High proficiency in advanced administrative concepts, practices, and procedures. Ability to make sound independent decisions, judgment and use own initiative.

Ability to summarize and synthesize large amounts of information.

Excellent demonstrated written and verbal communication skills, including composing professional emails and writing for a variety of audiences. Ability to give and receive editorial feedback in a professional manner.

Must be able to meet deadlines and stay organized in a fast-paced environment.

Strong research and analytical skills; imagination and creativity to find information.

Able to anticipate periods of heavy workload or bottlenecks and be proactive in offering solutions.

THIS IS AN EXCITING CAREER OPPORTUNITY OFFERING MARKET COMPETITIVE REWARD. SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION by CLOSE OF BUSINESS 21 July 2013 Women & regional nationals are very strongly encouraged to apply. Potential applicants may request the full job description via eastasia@oxfamamerica.org.

Applications must be submitted by email including a CV & cover letter to eastasia@oxfamamerica.org

7

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

National

Lon Nol soldier tells PM bodyguard officer freed of accidental escape Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Justine Drennan

W

itness Sum Alat told the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday that people were eager to board trucks to Tuol Po Chrey, the alleged execution site of 2,000 to 3,000 people.

Alat, a former Lon Nol soldier, said Khmer Rouge officials told the 500 or so soldiers and civilians remaining

fit on the trucks, and some ran after, trying to climb on, and were pushed off.

“I was trying to get onto one of the trucks but I was not allowed to,” Alat said.

When the trucks did not return, Alat returned to his home village and three days later met two soldiers who had snuck away from the scene of mass killing, he said.

Many, many people wanted to go, so they rushed to board the truck . . . I was not allowed to in Pursat town a week after the Khmer Rouge victory that they would be received at Tuol Po Chrey by Angkar, the Khmer Rouge name for its administration.

“We wanted to meet Angkar, because we hoped that after we reconciled with each other, we would gather our strength to rebuild the country,” Alat said. “Many, many people wanted to go, so they rushed to board the truck.”

Fifty or so people could not

He learned he had been lucky not to board a truck.

“After I heard that news, I could not think of anything else. I did not even believe it,” he said.

But when he saw bulldozers heading to the area to bury the bodies, he said, he realised what the two soldiers had said was true.

Alat attributed initial optimism to “the feeling of being fed up in the war. All we wanted was peace”.

Before the trucks drove off, Khmer Rouge officials had held two meetings at the Pursat provincial hall where they “talked about reconciliation, country building, and lastly they spoke about placing trust in the reception with Angkar”, while Khmer Rouge soldiers guarded the doors, he said.

The meetings came after a week of transition, when some Lon Nol officials had kept their administrative roles, even as some Khmer Rouge soldiers fired at surrendered Lon Nol soldiers, Alat said.

Even earlier, a night just before Khmer Rouge victory, Lon Nol and Khmer Rouge soldiers met peacefully on a battlefield, he claimed.

“That evening, the two opposing sides greeted one another, and we danced later,” he said. “I did not dance, but my soldiers and my unit were both cheerful, because we knew that both sides [were] consolidated,” he said. “But by the morning, everything turned out to be completely different.”

No more ticket to bribe: ACU Mom Kunthear

MORE than a year after law came into effect designed to curb bribery that mandated police send traffic offenders to a department to pay tickets, officers are still collecting fines on the spot, the Anti-Corruption Unit said yesterday.

An announcement released by the ACU yesterday stated they had been receiving letters from drivers who were dismayed that traffic police had fined them without issuing receipts for their payments.

“It is corruption,” the announcement reads. “Regarding this case, ACU has ordered all traffic police to give receipts to drivers who abuse traffic laws.”

Kim Videth, deputy director of the Department of Public Order at the Ministry of Interior, said that although they did their best to keep traffic police from abusing the law, some individual officers still

A uniformed police officer receives money from a motorist in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district last year. hong menea

took money from drivers without giving them proper documentation for their payment.

“We have a group for monitoring the traffic police, and if we find out they are abusing the traffic law we will punish or fire them,” Videth said. “Two traffic police officials have been fired for making that mistake.”

Videth added that the ACU announcement could help them discipline those who ignored traffic laws, and encourage drivers who were asked to pay fines without receiving a receipt from the traffic police to report their case to the ministry for further investigation.

Thai arrested in data theft bust Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

MILITARY police yesterday arrested a 38-year-old man for alleged telecommunications data theft that resulted in a ministry losing hundreds of thousands of dollars per month, an official said.

Lieutenant Colonel Pou Davy, deputy commander of Phnom Penh municipal military police, said that Yoth Peth, from Thailand, was arrested at his rental house in the capital’s Chamkarmon district at about 3pm.

“He has stolen telecommunication data from Cambodia’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and set up joint sim cards comprising Cellcard, Metfone, Beeline and Smart Cards. It’s enabled people to receive or make calls overseas

without crossing the ministry’s data system,” Davy said.

The alleged theft had been costly for the government, he added. “His activities have caused the ministry to lose hundreds of thousands of US dollars every month.”

Police had investigated Peth’s activities for about two weeks before making an arrest and seizing telecommunications equipment, Davy said. “He’s still being questioned and detained at our municipal military police headquarters in Phnom Penh. He will be sent to Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday,” he said.

Chem Sangvar, general director of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication’s inspection department, could not be reached.

A FORMER member of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit along with a former military police officer were released yesterday after the Phnom Penh Municipal Court dropped attempted murder charges against them related to an alleged shooting last July.

Kor Vandy, court vice president and presiding judge, said that the charges against Second Lieutenant Ouk Sopharith, 34, then a serving member of Hun Sen’s elite bodyguard unit, and Sok Kong, 38, a former military police officer, were dropped due to a lack of evidence.

The men were accused of shooting a 25-year-old student from a motorbike after an argument broke out in a Chamkarmon district nightclub.

“Ouk Sopharith and Sok Kong were not found guilty as accused, and the court has decided to drop the charges against them and order for their immediate release,” Vandy said, adding that the victims have the right to appeal to a higher court.

According to the judge, the pair was arrested by Chamkarmon district military police in the early hours of July 13 last year, when police seized a pistol, six bullets and a motorbike.

They were not charged with

Bodyguard Ouk Sopharith, 34, (right) and former military policeman Sok Kong, 38, exit Phnom Penh’s Municipal Court yesterday. hong menea

illegal possession of a weapon, as Sopharith was licensed to carry one at the time.

“I am very pleased that the court has found truth and justice for me, and decided to drop the charges and release me. But I am [still] very disappointed . . . [because] I was arrested and jailed for over a year in prison,” Sopharith said yesterday.

Koam Vitou and his defence lawyer did not appear in court yesterday, and they could

not be reached for comment.

Vitou’s complaint said he was drinking and dancing with friends at Luxury World Night Club when they began arguing with another group.

After being ejected from the nightclub and driving home, Vitou claimed that two men with whom he had argued purposely collided with his motorbike and fired two shots, one of which hit him in the leg, before fleeing.

8

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

Business Indicative Exchange Rates as of 4/07/2013. Please contact ANZ Royal Global Markets on 023 999 910 for real time rates.

USD / KHR

EUR / USD

AUD / USD

NZD / USD

GBP / USD

USD /CNY

4,085

1.2992

0.9087

0.7771

1.5255

6.1269

USD / JPY

99.82

USD / HKD

7.7537

USD / SGD

USD / THB

1.2726

31.05

This week in biz Foreign investment increase by 73 per cent

AMID global economic fragility, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Cambodia grew a whopping 73 per cent in 2012 from the year before, according to the most recently released statistics from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The huge increase happened alongside a record-setting amount of money pouring into least developed countries.

Sihanoukville to get first-ever marina

RUSSIAN sailor Andrey Mantula plans to build what he is calling Cambodia’s first marina off the beaches of Preah Sihanouk province.

Mantula, who has lived in Cambodia for one year, is heading up the project. He expects construction to start on October 1 of this year. The marina, a dock for private boats and yachts, will have space for 20 berths.

Increased visits to the Preah Vihear temple

The Born Lea Market in Steung Treng province in May.

hong menea

Food prices up 1.6 pct in April May Kunmakara

C

AMBODIA saw a one per cent rise in inflation in April compared with the same month last year, according to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (NIS).

Sim Ly, an official at the NIS said there was a slight increase in food and beverage prices during that month, a time of celebration in Cambodia, when demand for food increases during the Khmer New Year.

“We have seen some prices of food,

fruit, vegetable and beverage products increase, but it was lower than it was in April last year ,” said Sim Ly, an official at NIS. Ly said the country’s inflationary rate is still low compared to other countries in the region.

The NIS’s data showed that the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 2.1 per cent – mainly due to to an increase of 1.6 per cent for the price of rice.

Fresh beef increased by 18 per cent, chicken went up by 4.1 per cent, and vegetables went up by 6.3 per cent.

The price of clothing and footwear increased by 3.7 per cent, while the price of gasoline decreased by 7.8 per cent.

Costs of Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance increased 2.8 per cent, and the price for recreation and culture, an umbrella category for entertainment, went up by five per cent.

Restaurant prices went up by 2.5 per cent.

The government projected the inflation rate to be within four per cent this year, more than the International

Monetary Fund’s rate of 3.1.

Cambodia’s economic growth is forecast at 7.2 per cent in 2013, picking up to 7.5 per cent next year as recovery in Europe and the United States takes hold, according to an April report from the Asian Development Bank.

The NIS has also said the stabilisation of the riel against the dollar in recent years has contributed slightly to the inflationary rate.

The central bank’s daily report yesterday showed that the exchange rate stood at 4,062 riel to the dollar.

AS tensions subside between Thailand and Cambodia over the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, site officials are welcoming a steady increase of international tourists. At 5,240, foreign visits are up 56 per cent in the first six months of the year, compared with the same period in 2012, when 3,359 made the trip, according to statistics from the Preah Vihear provincial tourism department.

Auto sales increase as supply chain stabilizes

THANKS to a more stable supply chain, sales of new cars in Cambodia have risen dramatically over the first six months of this year compared with the same period in 2012.

Kong Nuon, chairman of Toyota Cambodia, the largest car dealer in terms of market share, said that Toyota sales were up 50 per cent.

9

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

Business Markets Raffles Medical may buy care centres to tap into health spending Kenneth Foo and Jonathan Burgos

Raffles Medical Group Ltd, Singapore’s second-largest private medical-services provider, may seek acquisitions to capitalise on rising healthcare spending in Asia after expansion plans stalled.

The company will consider buying a small centre in Singapore offering specialised services if there are suitable opportunities, chief financial officer Lui Chong Chee said in a telephone interview from the city state. He declined to identify potential targets.

“There is still a tremendous amount of opportunities, whether in Singapore or China, for us to expand the provision of healthcare,” Lui said on July 2. “There is wealth in Asia, and demographics are looking good in terms of population growth plus the ageing population.”

Raffles Medical joins Religare Health Trust and IHH Healthcare Bhd, Asia’s biggest healthcare provider by market value, in tapping industry sales that’s forecast to almost triple within five years.

Hospital revenues in the Asia-Pacific region will climb to $1.09 trillion by 2017 from $377.9 billion last year, aided by rising incomes and prevalence of chronic diseases, according a June 5 report by Frost & Sullivan.

The company still hopes the Singapore government will approve plans first proposed three years ago to expand its flagship hospital in the citystate, Lui said. Raffles Medical is closer to getting approval for the project, which will boost the facility’s space by about a third from 300,000 square feet currently, he said, without specifying a time frame.

Lui declined to comment on the delay, as did Melissa Lee,

a spokeswoman at the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the government agency responsible for approving such projects.

Singapore authorities rejected the hospital operator’s proposal to convert part of a building near the city’s Orchard Road shopping belt into a medical centre, Raffles Medical said in March. It has since put up the property for sale.

Raffles Medical was also among companies that lost a bid for a hospital site in Hong Kong to IHH and NWS Holdings Ltd in March. IHH’s Parkway Holdings Pte operates the Gleneagles and Mount Elizabeth hospitals in Singapore, and beat Raffles Medical in another hospital site auction in the city five years ago.

Raffles Medical generates almost all of its earnings in Singapore, where it runs Raffles Hospital and 78 clinics, according to its website.

The company also has medical centres in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

“Taking a more aggressive approach in regional expansion is important in the medium to longer term phase as there is a limit to how much you can grow in Singapore eventually,” James Koh, an analyst at Maybank Kim Eng Holdings Ltd in Singapore, said by telephone yesterday.

The brokerage is one of six recommending that investors buy Raffles Medical shares, while four suggest holding and one selling, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Net income rose more than 12-fold in the past decade to a record S$56.8 million ($45 million) in 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Profit may climb to S$62.7 million this year, according to the average of 10 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. BLOOMBERG

Homeliving Vacancy Homeliving is looking for both male and female candidates who are fluent in Chinese mandarin and English with more than 2 years experience in marketing to fulfill the following positions: > Mattress sale executives: 2 positions > Carpet sale executives: 2 positions > Bathroom accessories sale executives: 2 positions > Salewomen in store (2 positions) For more information, Address: No. 66, Mao TseToung Blvd. Phnom Penh.

Tel: 023 214 250 023 63 33 475 E-mail: info@homeliving.asia visithsem@yahoo.com

Rich Thais see wealth soar

T

HE net worth of Thailand’s 50 richest citizens totals $84 billion – 2.52 trillion baht, equivalent to one fourth of the nation’s GDP. The country’s lucrative tourism-related businesses and the bullrun at the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2012 helped push up the wealth of several of Thailand’s richest people, according to the latest issues of Forbes Asia and Forbes Thailand magazines.

Tourism is Thailand’s number one source of foreign exchange, and a growing part of the nation’s GDP, the article said. In 2012 more than 22 million tourists visited Thailand, up 16 per cent from 2011, and an all-time high for the country.

Among the tycoons from Thailand’s 50 richest who benefited from the growth in tourism was Vichai “King Power” Srivaddhanaprabha, whose duty-free airport stores and retail shops are bustling, with group sales up 35 per cent in 2012. He was the year’s top gainer, jumping to number 11 on the rich list from 37 in 2011, with wealth of $1.6 billion.

Other Thai tycoons who gained from tourism include Nijaporn Charanachitta and

A Thai worker walks in front of a large advertisement for a luxury condominium in Bangkok last year. AFP

Premchai Karnasuta (number 37 with $405 million), who have a stake in Onyx Hospitality, and William Heinecke (at 20 with $1 billion), the nation’s biggest hotel operator, who became a billionaire in May. Thailand’s richest also got a boost from the robust stock market, which reached a 19year high in May before sliding a bit, and is up 14 per cent from last August. Thai share sales, whether IPOs or secondary offerings, hit an alltime record in 2012.

One big beneficiary was transport tycoon Keeree Kanjanapas, whose BTS Group

Holdings led Asia’s largest IPO of the year through April. He also moved into the billionaire ranks for the first time.

On top of the list for the fourth straight year is Dhanin Chearavanont. The head of agribusiness Charoen Pokphand led the group on an acquisition spree; his CP All, the world’s third biggest operator of 7-Eleven stores, got approval to acquire discount retailer Siam Makro.

He also bought a 15 per cent controlling stake in Ping An Insurance in the biggestever foreign acquisition of a Chinese company. His wealth

jumped $3.6 billion to $12.6 billion this year.

Second is the Chirathivat family, known for Central department stores. They had a net worth of $12.3 billion, up 78 per cent from $6.9 billion in 2012, thanks to the strong gains in their stocks, including hotelier Central Plaza (up 140 per cent) and developer Central Pattana (up 85 per cent).

Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi holds his spot in third place with $10.6 billion, up 71 per cent from $6.2 billion previously. His Thai Beverage, the country’s largest brewer whose shares were up three-fourths in past year, paid $11 billion for control of Singapore’s beverage and property company Fraser & Neave. His private property arm, TCC Land, is the largest owner of Marriott Hotels in Asia-Pacific.

There are seven new faces on this year’s list including Siam Global House’s Witoon Suriyawanakul (at 27, $700 million); WHA’s Somyos & Jareeporn Anantaprayoon (at 33, $525 million); Samart’s Watchai Vilailuck (at 39, $370 million); Energy Absolute’s Somphote Ahunai (at 40, $330 million); and SPCG’s Wandee Khunchornyakong (at 43, $300 million). BANGKOK POST

10

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

Markets Business

Malaysian minister talks tourism cause we don’t know each other that well, we must make efforts to bring both countries closer.

How many times have you been to Cambodia?

Last year, nearly 120,000 Malaysian tourists visited Cambodia, up from about 100,000 in 2011. Looked at the other way, the exchange is not equal. Malaysia doesn’t top the list of Cambodian vacation spots. Though 50,000 Cambodians visited the country last year, many went for jobs or to seek medical services. In a recent interview, Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism and Culture, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, sat down with the Post’s Chhay Channyda in Kuala Lumpur to ask what ways officials can attract more visitors from the Kingdom.

You showed a presentation which went over the top twenty countries whose citizens visit Malaysia for tourism. Cambodia didn’t make the list. How will you attract more Cambodians?

We want tourists to come from all over the world. Obviously, countries that provide the highest number of tourists will be our neighbours: Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. There’s more of a distance from Cambodia, and you need to travel by plane. But that’s not so much the main problem. It’s likely that not all Cambodians know about Malaysia.

Many times. I’d say more times than you’ve been here. I love to see Cambodia. I’ve been to Siem Reap, to see Angkor Wat there. I’ve been to Phnom Penh, to Kampong Cham province. Many places.

What would you say about tourism development in Cambodia?

There is so much to see in Cambodia. Your capital still has got many traditional buildings. I think you must make sure that you conserve these. These are the other things that tourists want to see, not only now but also in the future.

Time to reflect: A visitor takes pictures of Malaysia’s landmark Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur in June.

We hope Cambodians will be more interested in Malaysia and they will come to our country. As I said, we want tourists to come from everywhere and we see that there is a small number of Cambodians coming.

What kinds of destinations and attractions do you want to highlight?

We want to show all of Malaysia, but there are certain states in Malaysia that have close historical links to Cambodia, especially in Kelantan state. Cham Muslims in Cambodia have links to Muslims in Kelantan. In fact, the religious book in Cambodia read by the Cham people, it’s actually in the Malay

How will Asean Economic Integration help tourism?

AFP

language. We do hope that with the close links between Cambodia and Kelantan, more Cambodians will come to Malaysia and to see the close links we have.

The ambassador here sees strong potential to promote good relations between Cambodia and Malaysia.

That’s the reason also. I think be-

What it means is that Asean citizens have better access to each other’s countries. In the area where there is a need, we can employ citizens from ASEAN countries to come to our countries to work and vice versa.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity

11

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

Business Private side can spark investment Rann Reuy

The government has called on private sector partnership for investment in Cambodia’s infrastructure; a move officials say will help funnel more foreign funds into the country.

Speaking at a seminar on Public Private Partnership (PPP), the Minister of Commerce, Cham Prasidh, conceded that help was needed to meet the demands of rapid growth.

“We also acknowledge that we are still short of capacity and financial resources to accelerate infrastructure development, thus private sector participation is crucial,” he said, adding that “better infrastructure can attract more investment”.

Professor Hidetoshi Nishimura, the Executive Director at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, said that PPP does not merely need to be a source of funding; it can be an opportunity to harness private sector innovation: “Even in the case that host governments can afford to develop infrastructure projects by their own budget, PPP is still an effective option to deliver better infrastructure,” he said.”

Rebound boosts Temasek Bhavan Jaipragas

S

INGAPORE state investment giant Temasek said yesterday the value of its global portfolio rose to a record high of Sg$215 billion (US$169 billion) in the year to March thanks to a rebound in stock markets.

The firm said in a statement its holdings jumped 8.6 per cent from the previous financial year, and are more than three times larger than at the height of the SARS scare 10 years ago.

Temasek, which has stakes in global names including Standard Chartered bank, Spanish energy giant Repsol and DBS bank, was boosted by an equities rebound last year as the US economy picked up and euro zone fears abated.

“Last year, there were some signs of recovery in the global economy. The severe disruptive risks from the global financial crisis subsided,” Temasek chairman S Dhanabalan said in a statement.

However, he warned “structural risks have not been completely resolved”.

“Despite the turmoil over the last decade, the Temasek portfolio value more than tripled from a trough of Sg$61 billion in March 2003, when the SARS

Chia Song Hwee, head of Temasek Investment Group, speaks to the media during a presentation in Singapore yesterday. AFP

epidemic hit Asia,” he added.

Temasek executive director Ho Ching said, however, that the value of the company’s portfolio would depend on the performance of global stocks each year.

“This means a lot more yearto-year volatility, as we have seen over the last 10 years,” she added.

The company said it invested Sg$20 billion in the financial year ending on March 31, with the bulk of the investments going into energy and resources firms. It said it di-

vested Sg$13 billion. However, financial services continue to make up a sizeable chunk of its portfolio, accounting for 31 per cent, including stakes in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s biggest lender by market capitalisation.

Temasek also said Asia remained the anchor of its investments, with the region accounting for 71 per cent of underlying assets.

Singapore accounts for 30 per cent of its total investments and China 23 per cent, while

exposure to North America and Europe was at 12 per cent.

Temasek, one of Singapore’s two sovereign wealth funds, said its three biggest holdings were in Singapore Telecom, China Construction Bank and Standard Chartered PLC. Stakes in the three firms make up 29 per cent of Temasek’s global portfolio.

Chia Song Hwee, head of Temasek’s investment Group, said at a news conference that while Temasek would continue to be anchored in Asia, it would seek new opportunities in North America and Europe despite the market uncertainty in both regions.

“North America continues to be the centre stage for innovation . . . and Europe has many good and steady companies and we stand ready to assess them,” he told reporters.

China’s current liquidity crisis would not affect the Chinese banks Temasek had stakes in as they were well capitalised, Chia said.

“We invest in banks as a proxy to their underlying economies. Our view of the economy in China at least over the next 15 to 20 years continues to be positive mainly because of the demography,” he added. AFP

Bilateral trade with China rises Hor Kimsay

TRADE volume between Cambodia and China was valued at $1.79 billion in the first four months this year, a 42 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the Chinese embassy in Cambodia.

In 2012, bilateral trade between the countries reached about $3 billion, a 16 per cent year-on-year increase.

Speaking at the promotion conference for the 114th Guangzhou Import and Export Fair in the Sofitel Hotel yesterday, Li Zhi Gong, a representative of the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia, said: “While both countries target to reach trade volume at $5 billion in 2017, more cooperation is needed to reach the goal.”

Of the 146,854 tonnes of rice Cambodia exported in the first five months of this year, 12,687 tonnes went to China.

Chen Chang Jiang, Chief Executive Officer at Bank of China in Cambodia, said that financial services in his bank have been increasing parallel to the increase in trade activity between the two countries.

12

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

Markets Business

Asian memory makers to cash in Miyoung Kim

ASIAN chipmakers are set to cash in on a major realignment in the volatile industry which is tilting the power balance their way at the expense of gadget makers such as Apple Inc, after years of cautious investment kept supply in check.

Manufacturers including Toshiba Corp and SK Hynix are poised to reap the rewards of soaring demand for cut-price tablets and smartphones in China, the world’s biggest smartphone market, and the emergence of Chinese mobile device makers such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. At the high end of the spectrum, demand for gadgets armed with ever greater memory capacity will fuel chip sales

ment nears saturation. China is driving the industry’s rapid shift to cheaper smartphones, helping chipmakers broaden their customer base from Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. The growth of Chinese smartphone makers such as Huawei, ZTE Corp and Lenovo Group Ltd is threatening to weaken the dominance of Apple and Samsung, playing into the chipmakers’ hands.

Some 70 per cent of China’s smartphone shipments are sold at 1,000 yuan ($160) or less, while 10 per cent are in the 1,000-3,000 yuan range. Super-cheap tablets costing less than $100 are also soaking up supply.

“Despite weakening demand from Apple, NAND prices have . . . firmed up, largely thanks to

Chipmakers are reaping the benefits of curtailed investment of recent years . . . when demand is exploding even if the market for relatively expensive handsets does not see the kind of rapid growth it has in the past.

All of this, combined with reduced investment since 2011, means the prices of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and NAND memory chips have started to rise, and chipmakers are enjoying the most bargaining power they have had in years.

“Chipmakers are reaping the benefits of curtailed investment of recent years just when demand is exploding,” said Hong Sung-ho, an analyst at I’M Investment & Securities.

Chipmakers had little bargaining power until early last year as Apple and Samsung were the sole major buyers of NAND chips used in mobile devices. The two global heavyweights, which focus on the high-end market, are now struggling with slowing growth as this most profitable seg-

strong demand growth from China,” said HMC Investment & Securities analyst Greg Nho. “The size of the Apple order was a big price-swing factor, but now demand from Chinese manufacturers is more than offsetting this volatility.”

Prices of DRAM chips, mainly used in computers, have leapt nearly 90 per cent so far this year even as PC sales have plummeted, while the market for NAND memory chips has tightened.

Outside of China, demand for NAND chips is increasing as consumers need more memory capacity to play high-quality video and music on up-market gadgets.

“In the old days, we only took a few photographs. Now we take videos as well, at potentially higher resolutions,” said Damian Thong, director of research at Macquarie Capital Securities in Tokyo. REUTERS

JOB TITLE : MERCHANDISER or SENIOR MERCHANDISER JOB LOCATION : PHNOM PENH JOB REQUIREMENT : - Candidate Must process at high school, or any field of diploma,

can write & communication in English.

- At least 1 years working experience in a similar capacity and

preferably in textile/garment manufacturing, 3years and above experience will may consider as senior position.

- Organized, proactive, mature and self motivated person.

- Proficient in Ms office such line excel/word sheet etc is an advantage JOB RESPONSIBLEBILTIES: - Company system maintains, data key-in, order inform tracking.

- Purchaser material from fabric to trims.

- Monitory approval, material movement & tracking production status. Work closely with respective sales/production controller.

- Prepare weekly report.

How to Apply Interested applicants please send the application form or submit CV to : Ghim Li (Cambodia) Pte Ltd National road No.4, Sangkat Kambol Khan Porsenchey, Phnom Penh E-mail : eefong.lim@ghimli.com, Tel : 012 890 011 Tel : +855 24 399986 (Cambodia), +607 663 1580 (Malaysia) Fax : +855 24 393838 (Cambodia), +607 663 4296 (Malaysia)

Women walk past shops with signboards written in Korean characters near the North Korean embassy in Beijing in March. reuters

China’s Korean choice Ju-min Park

W

HEN a delegation of North Korean officials visited the head of the Korean business association in China last year asking him to drum up investment in their impoverished country, Jin Rong-guo turned them away.

The 200-strong ethnic Korean business group has its eyes on a more inviting prize – South Korea.

“North Korea has lost credibility for investment. Korean Chinese businessmen always question if they can recoup their money,” said Jin, 51, whose office is in Beijing’s Korea Town, where South Korean franchise cafes and restaurants line the streets.

Some two million ethnic Koreans live in China. Many migrated to avoid Japanese imperial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910-1945. Others have crossed from North Korea in recent decades, seeking a better life as China’s economy boomed while the North’s stagnated and the country became more isolated because of its banned nuclear program.

North Korea had long been the main foreign investment and trade option for ethnic Koreans in China. But when China and South Korea established diplomatic ties in 1992, that gave them an alternative.

Annual trade between North Korea and China is $6 billion. By contrast, South Korean and Chinese trade was worth $215 billion last year, according to South Korean data.

“For the Joseonjok (ethnic Koreans in China), the North is a burden,” said Lee Jang-sub, an expert on the Korean diaspora at South Korea’s Chonnam National University.

Jin’s story shows how things have changed.

He worked for five years at an ethnic Korean-run company that sent Chinese corn, animal feed and sewing machines to North Korea in exchange for nylon up until 1990. When the Chinese government started demanding payment in hard currency, many of those companies, including Jin’s, went bankrupt.

Jin now does advertising for South Korean companies in China and organises cultural events for performers from Seoul.

On top of that, he has two sons studying at South Korean universities.

“Conglomerates like Samsung and LG treat us well. One of my friends recently got moved to a senior managing level at one of those companies,” said Jin, referring to two of the biggest corporate names in South Korea, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and LG Electronics.

Ethnic Koreans are also investing in the South.

While there is no data, ethnic Korean entrepreneurs are involved in a $300 million property project in Jeju, a tropical island popular with Chinese tourists.

Ethnic Koreans also do business in fashion, food and household items with their counterparts in the South.

Some 50 per cent of all Chinese small businesses in South Korea are run by ethnic Koreans, the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency said.

Meanwhile, South Korean companies have poured more than $40 billion into China.

Those growing ties were on display last week during a visit to China by South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who brought along a big delegation including executives from Samsung and Hyundai Motor Co.

When the North Korean officials came to his office, Jin didn’t tell them his association members were not interested.

Instead he pointed them to a Chinese partner who might have been willing to invest in a wig-making venture.

In the 1990s, ethnic Korean businessmen often met with North Korean officials. Now, they rarely bother.

Jin cited a number of reasons why his colleagues found it hard to do business with the North. These included having to do deals in cash and the country’s unpredictable politics.

“In big cities, we tell each other to avoid doing too much business (with the North),” said Jin, whose father was born in what is now South Korea and migrated to China to avoid forced labour by Japanese colonialists.

It was once common for members of Jin’s association to broker sales of North Korean jeans or oriental medicines to the South.

But when Seoul severed most economic ties in 2008 after a North Korean soldier shot dead a South Korean at a tourist resort in the North, that trade largely dried up.

The North also shut a factory park it ran with the South in April at the height of recent tensions on the peninsula.

Those moves, combined with the wariness of the Korean diaspora, has left the North almost totally dependent on Chinese firms for trade, who typically buy the country’s gold, coal and mineral resources, and on small Chinese traders along the 1,400km (875 mile) land border.

That has sparked some concern in South Korea and among ethnic Koreans in China that the North is becoming so dependent on China that if North-South relations ever improved, Chinese firms would have the market sown up. REUTERS

World’s first Firefox smartphone launches THE world’s first consumer sales of a smartphone powered by the Firefox operating system have launched in Spain.

The new phone, ZTE Open, went on sale on Tuesday at 69 euros ($90) and runs on a Firefox system developed by the Mozilla Foundation, which campaigns for open development of the online world.

Mozilla, a non-profit community of developers and users, enters as a minnow into a market dominated by the mighty duopoly of Apple and Google, whose iOS and Android programs are in 90 per

cent of smartphones. Mozilla joined with Spain’s Telefonica and Chinese handset maker ZTE to launch the new handset, which uses the internet as the platform for all its functions and applications.

“We believe that smartphones need to be more open and that the web is the platform for making this possible,” Telefonica Espana chief executive Luis Miguel Gilperez said in a statement. Telefonica said it planned to sell Firefox OS devices in other markets including Colombia and Venezuela in the “coming weeks”.

Mozilla chief operating officer Jay Sullivan predicted the new phone would stimulate a “new wave of innovation for the web”.

The ZTE Open has a 3.5-inch screen, 265 MB RAM, a 3.2 MP camera and comes with a 4GB microSD memory card. It has messaging, email, calendar, FM radio, camera, Nokia mapping and the Firefox browser.

First online reviews of the phone were mixed, though almost all admired the low price.

Online technology review site engadget.com said there was a “significant amount of lag” in

the user interface when scrolling web pages or navigating applications. But a reviewer on pcworld.com said he noticed no lag in a short test.

Telefonica said the ZTE Open was the first of a series of Firefox OS devices to be launched this year, noting support by other manufacturers including Alcatel OneTouch, LG, Huawei and Sony.

Mozilla, which aims to take third place behind Android and iOS, announced its plans for Firefox OS at a mobile telephone fair in Barcelona in February last year. AFP

13

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

Business

Brazil coffee sales increase Marvin G Perez and Isis Almeida

T

HE weakest Brazilian real in four years is accelerating coffee shipments from the biggest growing nation, adding to a glut that is cutting costs for Starbucks Corp and Kraft Foods Group Inc. First-half shipments were 20 per cent higher than a year earlier at 13.385 million bags, or 803,000 tonnes, the Brazilian Trade Ministry said on July 1.

The real’s 9.4 per cent retreat in the second quarter, the most among 24 major emerging-market currencies, increased revenue from dollar-denominated coffee sales and encouraged exporters to tap stockpiles that are the biggest since 2007.

Brazil is increasing competition among coffee sellers as

A worker sieves coffee beans at the Nova Cintra farm in Espirito Santo do Pinhal, Brazil, in May. bloomberg

farmers unload beans to clear storage space for the next harvest, judging that losses will be limited by translating dollar revenues into weaker reals.

With global output exceeding demand for a fourth year,

accelerating sales will drive prices down 11 per cent to $1.08 a pound by December 31, according to the median of 18 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

“The lower real will most

certainly help exports, making Brazil a much more aggressive seller,” said Rasmus Wolthers, a trader at Wolthers & Associates, a brokerage in Santos, Brazil. “There’s a lot of coffee in Brazil, and there isn’t enough space to store it all, so producers will have to sell. I expect to see much more aggressive sales offers.”

Colombia, the second-biggest grower of arabica beans, increased exports by 32 per cent in the first five months of the year after the peso weakened 7.1 per cent against the dollar, according to the nation’s Federation of Coffee Growers. Sales from Peru, the third-largest producer in South America, fell 31 per cent in the period as buyers turn to supplies from Brazil.

Arabica, the most-consumed coffee, tumbled 61 per cent on ICE Futures US in New

York since reaching a 14-year high in May 2011. Cheaper beans prompted JM Smucker Co to cut prices in February for Folgers, the top-selling US brand, and widened secondquarter profit margins at Starbucks coffee houses.

This year’s 16 per cent drop in futures to $1.214 compares with a 2.7 per cent retreat in the Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities. The MSCI All-Country World Index of equities rose 5.2 per cent, and the US Dollar Index advanced 4.4 per cent against a basket of six currencies. Treasuries lost 2.5 per cent, a Bank of America Corp index shows.

Starbucks, the largest coffeeshop chain, will report a 21 per cent gain in profit for its fiscal third-quarter that ended on June 30, according to the mean of 13 analyst estimates compiled

by Bloomberg. BLOOMBERG

Markets Thailand

Vietnam

Thai Set 50 Index, Jul 3 1100

Ho Chi Minh Stock Index, Jul 3 550

1025

500

950

450

875

400

800

350

969.00

South Korea

KOSPI Index, Jul 3 2100

487.22

Philippines

PSEI - Philippine Se Idx, Jul 3 7000

1975

6625

1850

6250

1725

5875

1600

5500

1,839.14

6,464.26

Singapore

Malaysia

FTSE Straits Times Index, Jul 3 4000

FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, Jul 3 1800

3500

1700

3000

1600

2500

1500

2000

1400

3,147.12

Hong Kong

1,771.34

China

Hang Seng Index, Jul 3 25000

CSI 300 Index, Jul 3 3000

23250

2750

21500

2500

19750

2250

18000

2000

20,468.67

Danone to cut its China baby formula FRENCH food group Danone became the second multinational group after Nestle yesterday to cut prices for baby formula in China.

Danone said its subsidiary Dumex would cut prices for baby formula in China, after the government there launched an investigation into alleged price-fixing by foreign firms.

Nestle unit Wyeth Nutrition

pledged late on Wednesday “immediately” to cut prices on some formula products by six to 20 per cent.

“In cooperation with the NDRC (China’s National Development and Reform Commission), Dumex is currently preparing a proposal to lower prices, details of which will be provided later,” a Danone spokeswoman said.

State media reported on Tuesday that the NDRC, China’s top economic planner, had launched a probe of foreign baby formula makers for high prices, which it claimed resulted from a monopoly-like situation.

A 2008 scandal involving tainted formula that killed six children and sickened more than 300,000 prompt-

ed domestic consumers to shun local brands and created huge demand for foreign products.

Baby formula is like milk, but has a higher nutrition content.

Other foreign companies being investigated include Mead Johnson Nutrition, Abbott Laboratories and Dutch firm Royal FrieslandCampina, state media said. AFP

Japan

Nikkei 225, Jul 3 14000

2,221.98

Taiwan

Taiwan Taiex Index, Jul 3 8500

13500

8000

13000

7500

12500

7000

12000

6500

7,893.72

14,018.93

Laos

Laos Composite Index, Jul 3 1500

Indonesia

Jakarta Composite Index, Jul 3 6000

1350

5500

1200

5000

1050

4500

900

4000

1,288.97

International

commodities

Cambodian commodities

Energy

(Base rate taken on January 1, 2012)

Commodity

Units

Price

Crude Oil (WTI)

USD/bbl.

100.74

Crude Oil (Brent)

India

USD/bbl.

NYMEX Natural Gas USD/MMBtu

105.01

Change % Change Time(ET)

-0.5 -0.75

-0.49% -0.71%

8:18:40 8:19:19

3.66

-0.03

-0.84%

8:18:47

RBOB Gasoline

USd/gal.

282.37

-1.45

-0.51%

8:18:55

NYMEX Heating Oil

USd/gal.

293.36

-1.76

-0.60%

8:19:09

ICE Gasoil

USD/MT

894.75

-5.5

-0.61%

8:19:55

Agriculture Commodity

Units

Price

Change

% Change

Time(ET)

CBOT Rough Rice

USD/cwt

15.17

-0.13

-0.85%

12:59:51

CME Lumber

USD/tbf

307.9

10

3.36%

17:00:00

Item Rice 1 Rice 2 Paddy Peanuts Maize 2 Cashew nut Pepper Beef Pork Mud Fish Chicken Duck

Unit

Base

R/Kg

2800

R/Kg

2200

R/Kg

1800

R/Kg

8000

R/Kg

2000

R/Kg

4000

R/Kg

40000

R/Kg

33000

R/Kg

17000

R/Kg

12000

R/Kg

18000

R/Kg

13000

BSE Sensex 30 Index, Jul 3 21000

Karachi 100 Index, Jul 3 23000

20000

22250

19000

21500

18000

20750

17000

20000

Construction equipment

Food -Cereals -Vegetables - Fruits Average 2760 2260 1840 8100 2080 4220 24000 33600 18200 12400 20800 13100

(%) -1.43 % 2.73 % 2.22 % 1.25 % 4.00 % 5.50 % -40.00 % 1.82 % 7.06 % 3.33 % 15.56 % 0.77 %

Item

Unit

Base

Average

(%)

Steel 12

R/Kg

3000

3100

3.33 %

Cement

R/Sac

19000

19500

2.63 %

Energy Item

Unit

Base

Average

(%)

Gasoline

R

5250

5300

0.95 %

Diesel

R

5100

5050

-0.98 %

Petroleum

R

5500

5500

0.00 %

Chi

86000

78000

-9.30 %

Baht

1200

1300

8.33 %

Gas Charcoal

4,581.93

Pakistan

19,410.84

Australia

21,966.96

New Zealand

S&P/ASX 200 Index, Jul 3 5500

NZX 50 Index, Jul 3 5000

5250

4750

5000

4500

4750

4250

4500

4,794.74

4000

4,458.95

14

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

World Muslim Brotherhood blows its chance to run government David Vujanovic Analysis

H

AVING waited for over 80 years, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood secured power when Mohamed Morsi was elected president, but it can only blame itself after being ousted just 12 months later, analysts say.

Opponents of Morsi accused him of failing the 2011 revolution that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak by concentrating power in the hands of his Muslim Brotherhood, while failing to deal with a spiralling economic crisis.

As the world debated whether the military move to end his rule on Wednesday amounted to a real coup, analysts agreed on one thing – Morsi and the Islamist movement brought about their own rapid decline by themselves.

Morsi and the Brotherhood “utterly failed in [the] past year . . . Egyptians asked for military coup [and] they got one,” tweeted Salman Shaikh, analyst at the Brookings Doha Center.

The Brotherhood, after first looking on from the sidelines, later joined the 18-day popular uprising inspired by the Arab Spring that forced out strongman Mubarak on February 11, 2011.

It then fielded a candidate for the country’s first democratic presidential election last year, with Morsi carrying its baton after the candidacy of the Brotherhood’s first-

Egypt’s chief justice Adly Mansour pauses during his swearing-in ceremony as Egypt’s interim president in the Supreme Constitutional Court in Cairo yesterday after president Mohamed Morsi was ousted. afp

choice, Khairat El-Shater, was rejected. Morsi came out on top in the election, bringing the Islamist movement out of the shadows after it had endured decades of bans and repeated crackdowns under Mubarak’s iron-fisted rule.

Analyst Nathan Brown said: “The Morsi presidency is without a doubt one of the most colossal failures in the Brotherhood’s history.”

Even allies of the Brotherhood criticised Morsi and the Islamist movement for they way they tried to run the country.

“The president procrastinated. His group . . . lost any real opportunities to build a nation-

al base that would have isolated the counter-revolution,” said Mohammed Mahsub, a senior leader of the Al-Wasat party.

“The guidance bureau of the Brotherhood bares responsibility for the downfall,” added Mahsub.

Founded in 1928, the Brotherhood had a stated aim of creating an “Islamic generation” as the foundation of a state ruled by sharia, or Islamic law.

Its long wait finally paid off at the 2012 presidential election, when Morsi defeated former air force chief Ahmed Shafiq in a run-off.

After taking the oath of office on June 30 last year, he slowly

began to impose himself on the political scene, eventually granting himself sweeping powers in November.

That move prompted prominent opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei to accuse him of usurping authority and becoming a “new pharoah” and saw the first protests against his rule.

A month later, he aggravated the situation by ramming through a controversial constitution drafted by a panel that was dominated by Islamists and boycotted by liberals and Christians.

Ultimately, however, Morsi and the Brotherhood squan-

dered their chance at the helm by failing to govern for all Egyptians, address the economic crisis and win over the trust of the powerful military.

“Yes, it is true that the Brotherhood did well in elections; but it was not able to govern fully and was still saddled with responsibility for Egypt’s insurmountable problems,” the analyst Brown wrote on the New Republic website.

“It is also undeniable that Morsi and the Brotherhood made almost every conceivable mistake . . . such as reaching too quickly for political power or failing to build coalitions with others.

“They alienated potential allies, ignored rising discontent, focused more on consolidating their rule than on using what tools they did have, used rhetoric that was tone deaf at best and threatening at worst,” wrote Brown.

US intelligence firm Stratfor said, however, that the military also played a major role in the downfall of Morsi and the Brotherhood.

“Morsi never really took control of the machinery of government, partly because he was politically weak, partly because the Muslim Brotherhood was not ready to govern, and partly because the military never quite let go,” it said in an analysis posted on its website.

In the end, “the military did not want to see chaos . . . the military distrusted the Muslim Brotherhood and was happy to see it forced out of office.” AFP

Nuclear safety will take a long time: regulator JAPAN’S nuclear regulator said yesterday that elevating safety culture to international standards will “take a long time”, days before new rules come into effect to avoid a repeat of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011.

An earthquake and tsunami killed nearly 20,000 people and triggered the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years when the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant was destroyed, leaking radiation.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority admitted that the awareness of the dangers related to working with nuclear

technology had been weak prior to the disaster and that it hoped new standards would force the companies to change their approach.

“The new regulations include extremely stringent requirements that the operators would not be able to endure if they don’t change their culture,” authority chairman Shunichi Tanaka told reporters.

“We will need a long time to change this culture, but day-to-day efforts to meet those tough standards will in the end lead to the improvement in the safety culture.”

Tokyo Electric Power Co, operator of the Fukushima plant that had three meltdowns, Kansai Electric Power Co and three other listed nuclear operators have said they will apply for restarts after the rules go into effect.

Tanaka declined to comment on whether he considered Tokyo Electric – still struggling to contain leaks and power cuts at its ravaged plant – fit to operate nuclear facilities. He added that whether the company will be given a green light would depend on the contents of its application.

Only two of Japan’s 50 reactors are run-

ning and the decision by the previous government to start them up last year was met with the biggest protests in decades and contributed to its defeat in polls in December.

According to an Asahi newspaper poll in June, 59 per cent of respondents were opposed to the new government’s plans to use nuclear power to help turn the economy around.

Without reactors running, the utilities have been forced to turn to fossil fuels instead, especially costly liquefied natural gas. REUTERS

Breast milk is best for China’s rich HUMAN breast milk has become a new luxury for China’s rich, with some firms offering wet nurse services, a report said, provoking outrage and disgust among web users yesterday.

Xinxinyu, a domestic staff agency in the booming city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, provided wet nurses for newborns, the sick and other adults who pay high prices for the milk’s fine nutrition, the Southern Metropolis Daily said.

“Adult [clients] can drink it directly through breastfeeding, or they can always drink it from a breast pump if they feel embarrassed,” the report quoted company owner Lin Jun as saying.

Wet nurses serving adults are paid around 16,000 yuan ($2,600) a month – more than four times the Chinese average – and those who were “healthy and good looking” could earn even more, the report said.

Traditional beliefs in some parts of China hold that human breast milk has the best and most easily digestible nutrition for people who are ill.

But the report sparked heated debate in the media and on Chinese social media, with most users condemning the service as unethical.

“This adds to China’s problem of treating women as consumer goods and the moral degradation of China’s rich,” said Cao Baoyin, a writer and regular commentator in various Chinese media, on his blog.

Xinxinyu has been ordered to suspend its operations and had its business licence revoked for multiple reasons including missing three years of annual checks, regulators in Shenzhen said yesterday, although the wet nurse service was not among the factors they cited.

Company officials could not be reached for comment.

There were nearly 140,000 postings on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter, on the topic by yesterday afternoon.

In an online poll, almost 90 per cent of participants voted against the service, saying it “violated ethical values”, a fraction over 10 per cent deemed it a “normal business practice”.

AFP

15

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

World

Garment factories fail visits O

NLY one in 10 garment factory buildings inspected by engineers from a top Bangladesh university were structurally sound, underlining the scale of safety problems for the world’s second-biggest clothes producer, the head engineer said yesterday.

Building owners rushed to request engineers to check their buildings in the wake of the collapse of the nine-storey garment factory building in April that killed 1,129 people, Bangladesh’s worst industrial disaster.

Six buildings, housing garment factories, have been cleared as structurally sound after being inspected by the country’s prestigious Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).

Structural flaws ranging from minor to severe were discovered at another 60 buildings near the capital Dhaka, including two that could collapse at any moment, head of BUET’s civil engineering department Mohammad Mujibur Rahman said.

“Of the 66, we found only six buildings to be perfect and without any noticeable dis-

Relatives of Bangladeshi workers who lost their lives in a garment factory disaster, gather with banners and placards in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on June 29. AFP

tress or deviation,” said Rahman, whose final report into the inspections will be handed to officials in coming days.

The team of engineers checked the foundations as well as the pillars and other support structures of buildings, and also inspected documents and plans.

He said his team had requested that two buildings, housing multiple garment

plants, be shut down immediately after cracks similar to those found at the Rana Plaza a day before it collapsed were discovered.

“We’ve also asked the owners of another four structures to conduct detailed structural analysis immediately, possibly by tomorrow, as they have major structural problems,” said Rahman, a professor who teaches civil

engineering at the university.

The collapse of the Rana Plaza highlighted appalling safety issues at Bangladesh’s 4,500 garment factories, whose workers churn out clothes for the world’s leading Western retailers.

Many of the buildings were thrown up quickly, sometimes without consulting engineers, to house factories for the garment industry, the mainstay

of the Bangladeshi economy, accounting for 80 per cent of the country’s $25 billion annual exports.

The 66 garment factories were among 102 buildings that the engineering team inspected, upon request, including banks and private businesses. Many did not have design plans, drawings or records of construction for the team to inspect.

About 40 per cent of the total buildings inspected “have significant cracks and distress” but do not impose any immediate danger, with more detailed analysis to be carried out in the next three months, he said.

“The rest, 60 per cent, have minor distress or deviations, that don’t have any structural significance,” he said.

A report on the inspections will be handed to the staterun development authority, which has the power to order improvements to the buildings or shut them down, he said.

The Bangladesh government has started its own major inspection drive, deploying dozens of teams to probe the factories in an effort to reassure worried retailers. AFP

Man dies of SARS-like virus in UK A MAN infected with a SARSlike respiratory illness has died in London, officials said.

The Qatari man, who was being treated in an intensive care unit at St Thomas’s hospital in central London, had contracted the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus – or Mers-CoV. Hospital officials said that the man, who was 49 when he was admitted, died after his condition deteriorated.

The patient, who was suffering from acute respiratory syndrome and renal failure, was admitted to an intensive care unit in Doha, Qatar, on September 7 last year. The man, who has not been named by officials, was transferred to the UK by air ambulance on 11 September. Before he became ill he had travelled to Saudi Arabia, officials said.

Despite doctors’ efforts to keep him alive, including connecting him to an artificial lung, he died last Friday.

A hospital spokeswoman said: “Guy’s and St Thomas’s can confirm the patient with severe respiratory illness due to novel coronavirus . . . died on Friday 28 June.” THE GUARDIAN

16

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

World

Female police official killed in Afghanistan GUNMEN yesterday shot dead one of the most high-profile female police officers in Afghanistan, underlining the threat to women who take on public roles in the country.

Lieutenant Islam Bibi was a well-known face of female advancement, but admitted to receiving regular death threats from people who disapproved of her career – including from her own brother.

“She was shot by unknown assailants when she was being driven to work by her son in the morning,” Helmand provincial government spokesman Omar Zwak said.

“She was badly wounded and taken to hospital, and later died in emergency care. Her son was also injured.”

Bibi, aged 37 and a mother of three, was seen as an example of how opportunities for women have improved in Afghanistan since the repressive Taliban regime was ousted in 2001.

She was the most senior female officer serving in Helmand, a hotbed of the Islamist insurgency that was launched against the US-backed Kabul government after the fall of the Taliban. AFP

Malaysia deports journalist T

HE activist sister-inlaw of former British prime minister Gordon Brown has said she was deported from a Malaysian state whose powerful leader is widely accused of massive corruption.

Clare Rewcastle Brown, an activist journalist who runs a website and radio station fiercely critical of Sarawak chief minister Taib Mahmud, said she was turned away at an airport in the state on Wednesday.

Sarawak-born Rewcastle Brown, who this year won an award from the International Press Institute for her work, said in a video statement on YouTube that she had flown to Sarawak’s capital Kuching to meet lawyers about a civil suit filed against her there.

She said the suit was brought by “a transnational corporation that is on the British and European stock exchanges”, and by powerful figures within Sarawak, but gave no further details.

She accused authorities of barring her so that she could not defend herself.

“The fact that I am being threatened with being turned away now by immigration shows exactly how this country

is being run for the benefit of the sort of people who are trying to sue me now,” she said.

Rewcastle Brown was believed headed back to Britain and could not be immediately reached.

The flap emerged just as Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was set to meet his British counterpart David Cameron on a visit to London yesterday.

Switzerland-based forestprotection group the Bruno Manser Fund called on Cameron to raise the matter personally with Najib.

“The Bruno Manser Fund calls on the British government to formally protest against the unacceptable banishment of Clare Rewcastle Brown from Malaysia,” it said in a statement.

A Sarawak immigration official confirmed the deportation, saying that Rewcastle Brown, who has broadcast the anti-Taib pirate signal of Radio Free Sarawak for three years, has been on a blacklist since 2011.

“The state government doesn’t really give any reason. If they don’t like this person, what can we say?” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Taib has dominated Sarawak – a vast state on Borneo island of 2.5 million people, rich jun-

Taib Mahmud (centre) arrives at the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak state, on May 21. afp

gle habitats and powerful rivers – as chief minister since 1981.

Activists and environmentalists have for years accused him and his family of enriching themselves while running Sarawak – one of Malaysia’s poorest states – like a private fief.

The public pushback gained momentum just before state elections in 2010, when Brown’s RFS broadcasts began.

Sarawak’s media have been

controlled for decades by Taib, but locals say RFS has opened an alternative.

But Sarawak officials have shown their irritation, accusing RFS of “poisoning” local minds and threatening to jam it.

Indigenous tribal groups have staged increasingly vocal protests against rapid depletion of Sarawak’s once-vast rainforests and the dislodging of thousands of natives from ancestral

lands to make way for hydroelectric projects.

The Bruno Manser Fund last year estimated Taib’s wealth at up to $15 billion, which would make him Malaysia’s richest person.

Malaysia’s anti-graft body launched a probe into the allegations against Taib but critics accuse it of dragging its feet since the investigations began in mid-2011. AFP

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Aid starting to trickle into Indonesia’s Aceh AID began to trickle in to devastated villages in Indonesia’s Aceh province on yesterday where thousands have been left homeless after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 30 people.

The 6.1-magnitude tremor sparked landslides, flattened buildings and injured hundreds in the natural disaster-prone province, where a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in 2004 claimed more than 170,000 lives.

The quake, which struck on Tuesday in Aceh’s mountainous interior, caused a mosque to collapse in one village, killing six children as they took part in a Koran reading session.

The Red Cross said that some 5,000 people have fled their homes and many are in desperate need of food, blankets and shelter.

Many villages in the worstaffected districts of Central Aceh and Bener Meriah had been cut off following the earthquake.

By yesterday many landslides blocking roads had been cleared and aid was beginning to arrive, said the national disaster agency.

“Today our priority is to put up tents for people who have

taken refuge. They are also in desperate need of blankets,” said agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

He said yesterday that 30 people were confirmed dead, another 12 were still missing and 275 had been injured.

More than 300 buildings have also been damaged, according to the agency.

Four trucks from the local branch of the Red Cross were on their way to the worst-hit areas, said Fauzi Husaini, an Aceh-based official from the aid group.

They were carrying hundreds of mats, tarpaulins, mosquito nets, and blankets as well as cooking equipment, clothes and toiletries, he said.

Aid was yet to reach the village of Bah, where search and rescue teams were using shovels to clear a landslide under which four victims were believed to be buried, said a reporter at the scene.

“It is now in the hands of God,” Maliki, the father of a 12-year-old boy believed to have been buried in the landslide, said.

“But I still want to see my son, whether he is alive or dead,” added Maliki, who gave only one name. AFP

Pakistan’s government ends a moratorium on carrying out executions PAKISTAN’S new government has ended a moratorium on executions, an official said yesterday as Amnesty International raised concerns about a “shocking and retrograde step”.

Under the previous government led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), no one except a soldier convicted by court martial was put to death since 2008.

But the PPP suffered a crushing defeat in historic elections on May 11, which swept to power the centre-right Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

A presidential order imposing a moratorium on the death penalty, issued in 2008, expired on 30 June.

In Pakistan all executions must be approved by the president. The PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari is due to step down in August and the parliament controlled by the PML-N will elect a new head of state.

“The new government has decided to deal with all cases of execution on merit,” said interior ministry spokesman Umer Hameed.

“The government has given clear instructions to see all such cases on a case-by-case basis and there will be no general amnesty for convicts waiting for execution,” he said.

London-based rights group Amnesty International on Wednesday called for an im-

mediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

“Any government green light to resume executions in Pakistan would be a shocking and retrograde step, putting thousands of people’s lives at risk,” said Polly Truscott, Amnesty's deputy Asia-Pacific director.

Amnesty estimates that Pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row, most of whom have exhausted the appeals process and could now be facing execution.

“The sheer number of people at risk makes the new government policy of turning back to the death penalty even more horrendous,” Truscott said.

The interior ministry spokesman said up to 450 convicts are awaiting execution and their cases will be examined.

The government will show sympathy towards convicts who fall into a “special category” such as women and the elderly, he said.

Pakistan’s crowded prisons lack basic facilities for inmates and the country normally deals harshly with prisoners.

It also suffers daily Islamist militant attacks blamed on extremists linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, as well as chronic crime in its big cities.

“Resuming executions would do nothing to tackle crime or militancy, but instead just perpetuate a cycle of violence,” Amnesty’s Truscott said. AFP

Homeless Indian people eat food at a feeding program for the poor in Hyderabad on March 17.

AFP

Food plan meets criticism

I

NDIA’S ruling party said yesterday a vast new food scheme for the poor was a “game-changer” to fight endemic malnutrition, but analysts expressed concern about the program’s implementation and cost.

The cabinet issued an executive order late on Wednesday introducing the National Food Security Bill, which was expected to be approved by the president late yesterday and enter into force well before elections next year.

The populist program – which the government says will add 230 billion rupees ($3.8 billion) per year to the country’s existing 900-billionrupee food subsidy bill – offers subsidised grains to an estimated 810 million people.

It has been pushed strongly by the head of the ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, who has insisted on honour-

ing a 2009 election pledge in spite of concerns about the impact on government finances and food prices.

“It is going to be a gamechanger in terms of poverty eradication,” senior Congress leader Tom Vadukkan said “If basic needs like hunger are not met, you can’t talk about [economic] development.”

Despite two decades of strong economic growth, India still struggles to feed its population adequately, with a major survey last year showing that 42 per cent of children under five were underweight.

The food measure, which will offer between three kilograms and seven kilos of subsidised grain per person, is also considered key to the Congress-led coalition’s fortunes in the national elections due in 2014.

“If it wins us votes, then that is an afterthought,” Vaduk-

kan, also a party spokesman, claimed. “Naturally anything good that you do gains you popularity.”

India’s opposition parties have rounded on the government for ramming through a controversial program without a parliamentary debate, but the executive order is only temporary and must be converted into law.

It will be introduced in the next session of parliament, due to start later in July or August.

Critics of the food programme say that India can illafford such a costly subsidy at a time of slowing economic growth and when credit ratings agencies are eyeing the country’s large deficit.

“India’s macroeconomic position does not provide the space to implement this policy,” said Sonal Varma, economist with Nomura Securities.

Indians classed as below the poverty line already receive subsidised kerosene, cooking gas, fertilisers or wheat through what is the world’s biggest public distribution system.

About 360 million people currently receive subsidised grains, according to official data, but the chaotic welfare programs are notoriously inefficient and riddled with corruption.

A study by the national Planning Commission in 2005 showed that an estimated that 58 per cent of grains purchased by the government failed to meet their intended targets.

Siddhartha Sanyal, chief India economist with Barclays Capital, said that implementation would be a “huge logistical problem, with coordination required from all states”. AFP

Philippine troops kill eight rebels PHILIPPINE troops yesterday killed eight communist rebels, two of them women, in the latest flare-up of violence since talks aiming to end one of Asia’s longest running insurgencies broke down.

Soldiers were deployed to a poor, remote farming village in the eastern province of Sorsogon after residents complained of “prolonged extortion, abuses and threats” by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, armed forces spokesman Major Ramon Zagala said.

“Heavy casualties were inflicted on the NPA, while no casualty or damage was incurred by the government

security forces,” Zagala said, adding that the clashes went on for about 35 minutes.

He said the bodies of eight NPA guerrillas were recovered, including two women, along with their rifles, grenade launchers and improvised bombs.

“The women were combatants for sure. They were found with high-powered rifles, with bandoliers packed with bullets around their bodies. They traded fire alongside the men,” he said.

The NPA has been fighting successive governments for 44 years in a rebellion that has claimed at least 30,000 lives.

The military estimates the rebels have about 4,000 fighters, down from a peak of roughly 26,000 in the 1980s.

He said the NPA recruited women as well as men from poor villages or universities, and they were trained to fight together. The military refers to the armed female rebels as “amazonas”.

President Benigno Aquino had been aiming to end the rebellion before his six-year term expires in 2016, but the government said in April that peace talks had collapsed.

The government blamed repeated demands by the NPA for comrades to be released

from jail, as well as frequent attacks, for the talks’ failure.

Communist rebels have launched more assaults since the government said the peace process had failed, killing at least 34 civilians, police officers and soldiers, according to an AFP tally.

Local brigade commander Colonel Jose Kakilala said his troops involved in yesterday’s fighting had responded to a distress call from the villagers.

“The prolonged extortion, abuses and threats of the NPA prompted the villagers to report them . . . and our soldiers responded to the call,” Kakilala said. AFP

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Japan gets into gear for decisive election C Kyoko Hasegawa

AMPAIGNING began yesterday in an election expected to strengthen Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s control over parliament, ushering in the stability he needs to fix Japan’s floundering economy.

Voters nationwide will go to the polls on July 21 to elect half of the 242 seats in the upper house of the legislature.

With approval ratings as high as 70 per cent, Abe is expected to romp home, bagging control of both chambers and not having to face a public vote for three years.

Supporters say he will use that political clout to force changes on cosseted and inefficient industries, like agriculture, and to cut a swathe through labour laws that businesses claim make it too difficult to hire and fire workers.

Detractors say he will abandon the economic project of his first six months and get back on his hobby horse – revising the constitution, boosting the military and re-assessing Japan’s wartime history.

“We will regain a strong economy that will boost reconstruction” from the earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster of 2011, Abe said as he kicked off his campaign yesterday morning at a railway station in Fukushima city, around 50 kilometres

from the crippled nuclear plant.

Banri Kaieda, leader of the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), began the day in Iwate, one of the prefectures hardest hit by the 2011 tsunami.

As of yesterday afternoon, 433 candidates were registered at the board of elections. The number of candidates was set to be confirmed after the 5:00 pm deadline.

For the first time in Japanese politics, internet election campaigns are allowed in the upper house vote, with candidates and parties permitted to post updates to their followers on Facebook and Twitter.

The opening months of the Abe administration have seen a blizzard of economic policies, starting with vast government spending programs and a flood of easy money from the printing presses of the central bank.

The drive – dubbed “Abenomics” – is intended to be completed with reforms that the prime minister hopes will make it easier to do business in Japan.

Details are scant at present, but Abe’s wish list includes lowered corporate taxes, special business zones in some big cities, more women in the workplace and Japan’s participation in a mooted free trade area encircling the Pacific Ocean.

Abe said Wednesday that he

would also liberalise the electricity market, in a move supporters hope will free the country from the stranglehold of massive monopolistic utilities that generate and supply power.

Opponents say the premier’s focus on the economy is a ruse designed to fool voters into giving him enough power to change Japan’s hallowed pacifist constitution.

They say with a majority in both houses, he will look to bolster the country’s already-well equipped armed forces and switch their role from that of “self defence force” to full-fledged military.

They point to visits by his ministers to Yasukuni shrine, the believed repository of the souls of around 2.5 million war dead – including 14 leading war criminals – and a place seen by Japan’s Asian neighbours as a symbol of Tokyo’s imperialist past.

No party currently controls the upper chamber, although the DPJ have been the largest single grouping over the last few years.

However, their drubbing in December’s general election when Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party swept to power, combined with vicious factional infighting has left them in disarray.

They and other challengers are struggling to find a coherent message to sell to voters, who have on the whole warmed to Abenomics and

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raises his fist as he speaks to voters at the start of campaigning for the July 21 upper house election in Fukushima yesterday. REUTERS

the green shoots of economic growth it has nurtured.

Their only trump card may be atomic power – all the main opposition parties have pledged to end nuclear generation sooner or later, while Abe

has said he wants reactors restarted once they pass new safety tests.

That will be the hardest sell and could prove his Achilles’ heel in a country still badly scarred by the disaster at Fukushima. AFP

South Korea proposes talks on joint industrial zone SOUTH Korea yesterday proposed fresh talks with North Korea aimed at re-opening a shuttered joint industrial zone at Kaesong, a government spokesman said.

The Unification Ministry sent a message to the North Korean government proposing that three officials from each side meet at the border truce village of Panmunjom on Saturday, spokesman Kim Hyung-seok said.

“The two sides would be able to discuss the issue of checking on facilities and equipment . . . and the issue of reopening the Kaesong industrial district,” Kim said.

The proposal came a day after North Korea restored a cross-border hotline and announced it would let the South’s businessmen and managers visit the zone to check on facilities.

Professor Kim Yong-hyun of Dongguk University said the North was likely to come to the table over Kaesong as it seeks to improve living standards of its impoverished population and attract foreign investment in special economic zones.

The Kaesong estate, where North Koreans work in Seoul-owned factories, was the most highprofile casualty of the months of elevated tensions that followed the North’s nuclear test in

February. Operations at the Seoul-invested industrial estate in the North came to a halt after Pyongyang banned entry by the South’s factory managers and other officials and pulled all North Korean workers out in April.

North Korea turned a deaf ear to a South Korean proposal for talks between government officials to discuss the reopening of the zone.

As tensions began easing last month, however, the North restored the hotline and suggested a high-level meeting to discuss not only Kaesong but other suspended inter-Korean economic and social exchanges.

But plans for the talks collapsed due to disputes over protocol and the hotline was switched off again.

The North’s turnaround on Wednesday came hours after dozens of South Korean firms threatened to withdraw from the zone, complaining they had fallen victim to political bickering between the two rivals.

Kaesong was established in 2004 as a rare symbol of cross-border cooperation between the two countries, with some 53,000 North Koreans working for 123 South Korean firms in recent months. AFP

Fallout far greater than admitted

An Earth-imaging satellite photo of the island of Bora Bora, in the French Polynesian territories in 2012. AFP

FRENCH nuclear tests in the South Pacific in the 1960s and 1970s were far more toxic than has been previously acknowledged and hit Polynesia with radioactive fallout, according to newly declassified documents.

The papers, seen by the French paper Le Parisien, reportedly reveal that plutonium fallout hit the whole of French Polynesia, a much broader area than France had previously admitted. Tahiti, the most populated island, was exposed to 500 times the maximum accepted levels of radiation. The impact spread as far as the tourist island, Bora Bora.

Thousands of veterans, families and civilians still fighting for compensation over health issues have insisted France now reveals the full truth about the notorious tests whose impact was kept secret for decades.

From 1960 to 1996, France carried out 210 nuclear tests, 17 in the Algerian Sahara and 193 in French Polynesia in the South Pacific, symbolised by the images of a mushroom cloud over the Mururoa atoll. For decades, France argued that the controlled explosions were clean.

Jacques Chirac, the French president, controversially resumed nuclear atoll explosions in the South Pacific shortly after being elected in 1995.

Le Parisien said the documents uncovered “one of the biggest secrets of the French army”. It said papers showed that in 1974 a test exposed Tahiti to 500 times the maximum allowed level of plutonium fallout.

Bruno Barillot, who has investigated the effects of the nuclear tests for the Polynesian government, complained of the high levels of thyroid cancers and

leukaemia in Polynesia. He said the documents revealed Tahiti had “literally been showered with plutonium for two days” during the Mururoa test; from the outset France knew the impact spread further than it publicly admitted. But of the 2,050 pages declassified, 114 remained blacked out.

Richard Oldham, a member of the Polynesia nuclear workers’ association Mururoa e Tatou, told Radio New Zealand International : “It’s the right for our future generations to know what has happened in this country.”

In 2006 a French medical research body found nuclear testing had caused an increase in cancer on the nearest inhabited islands. The French judiciary began investigating health implications. It was not until 2010 that France acknowledged that there could be a compensa-

tion process for veterans and civilians. But that is complex and limited to a small geographical area and certain ailments.

About 150,000 veterans and civilians worked on, or were present during, tests, including 127,000 in Polynesia. But of 800 dossiers, only 11 people have received compensation.

Troops who worked on the tests have described a staggering lack of precaution for workers. During the Mururoa tests in Polynesia in the late 1960s, one veteran described how he was stationed in shorts and a T-shirt on a boat only about 25 kilometres from the explosion before having to go immediately to the area of the mushroom cloud.

Others on different tests wore shorts and had no sunglasses; they were told simply to shield their eyes and turn their backs at the time of the test explosions. THE GUARDIAN

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Libya starting to face up to rape under Gaddafi regime Jessica Donati

T

HE young woman introduced as “The Revolutionary” was breaking a taboo in Libya by speaking out about how she and other women had been raped by Muammar Gaddafi’s men in the early months of the country’s uprising.

“They arrested me publicly at Nasser University,” she said, recalling how guards in Tripoli came for her and two other young women who expressed support for the revolution that led to Gaddafi's overthrow.

“They told me: ‘We are only going to take you away for questioning, and then we will bring you back’.”

Instead, the young woman said, a local official told the men: “Take these girls to Mutassim and enjoy them tonight.” Mutassim was one of Gaddafi’s sons and a military commander in the capital. He was later captured and killed.

The two unmarried women were taken away and never seen again.

The Revolutionary, who was married and pregnant, was taken to a prison near Tripoli, where she was stripped and raped. She miscarried in prison, she said.

The three victims’ crime had been to criticise Gaddafi in a video clip broadcast on an international television channel. Many people, male and female, were raped as punishment for opposing Gaddafi’s government, but The Revolutionary is one of the few who agreed to talk about her suffering.

In Libya, rape victims are often ostracised, and discussion of the crime remains taboo. There are small signs of change, with the government promising action to help victims, but the issue remains so sensitive that aid groups sometimes hide their efforts to help victims to avoid causing an outcry.

The Revolutionary, a woman in her 20s, spoke on condition of anonymity from behind a black veil, only her eyes showing. With the pain of recollection, her voice gradually rose to a shrill pitch.

“They [our captors] wanted to insult us and to take away our dignity,” she said. “The youngest girl there was 14, the oldest was my mother’s age. The women were stripped and subjected to all kinds of torture.”

The torture included electrocution, she told a conference session.

She gave her account at a hotel in Tripoli as part of an event earlier this year organised by the Libya Initiative, a project that brings together various

Libyan women with taped mouths take part in a silent march in support of the women who were raped during the recent war in Libya, in Tripoli in November 2011.

rights groups to promote healing and a just society in post-war Libya.

“Imagine how many women put up with this. It should be recognised,” she said. “But the country is not paying attention to any of these criminals. Maybe they are outside now, standing guard at checkpoints.”

Campaigners say it is important to acknowledge the crimes committed during Gaddafi’s 42-year rule and the revolution that led to his downfall in 2011. They say the painful process is “necessary for stability and the construction of a society based on truth, justice and democracy”.

Souad Wheidi, an activist creating an archive of the sex crimes committed during the revolution, stood next to The Revolutionary as she addressed the conference, comforting her when the girl broke down as she reached the end of her story.

The activist has campaigned for government action, and such efforts appear to be having an effect.

Shortly after the Tripoli meeting, the Libyan prime minister proposed a new law to recognise rape and the

Former deputy minister of social affairs Bahiya Kanoun is pictured in her office in Tripoli in May. REUTERS

need for resources to be allocated to victims as a matter of urgency.

“At last, it is a major victory,” said Wheidi, who is confident the law will be passed. “It will bring huge psychological relief after years of stupid injustice against the many people, both male and female, who have been touched by this reality.”

Facing up to rape The victims of rape during Libya’s uprising may number in the hundreds, according to the International Criminal Court, which has collected evidence that forces loyal to Gaddafi used rape as a weapon to spread fear among the opposition.

Of all the crimes committed during Gaddafi’s rule and the revolution, rape is perhaps the most difficult to address because so few are willing to testify about it.

There are good reasons for this – victims who speak out risk being shunned or even killed by their families. Human Rights Watch notes that, even after the war, a number of centres in Libya continue to provide havens for women “for no other reason than that they had been raped, and were then ostracised for ‘staining their family’s honour’”.

Victims are also reluctant to come forward because bringing a charge of rape to a Libyan court may be seen as an admission of having had unlawful sex. A rape claim can even result in the victim being prosecuted.

The prevailing, dismissive attitude to rape is reflected by a government ministry set up to support victims of the civil war – it has never offered any help to rape victims. The ministry said such aid was beyond its remit, which is to search for missing people and support families of those killed in the war.

The head of Libya’s human rights commission, congress member

Amina Al-Mghirbi, said a draft of a new law to help rape victims was “almost ready”. She added: “It will be approved as soon as possible and contain compensation for treatment as well as settlements.”

In the absence of government support, a number of local groups have pursued their own initiatives. One project is led by Bahiya Kanoun, who escaped from Libya during the revolution after she was branded an enemy of Gaddafi for feeding information from the wives of army men to rebels in the east of the country.

Kanoun began working in refugee camps set up in Tunisia, where thousands of other Libyans fled during the fighting. Kanoun’s training in psychology and her Libyan origin put her in the rare position of being able to help rape victims. Clinics at the camps started calling her in regularly.

One of the privileges Libya can afford – thanks to pumping 1.6 million barrels of oil a day – is to send thousands of students to university abroad on higher education scholarships or business courses. Kanoun wants the government to place rape victims in these existing sponsorship programs – without revealing what happened to them to anyone, including their families.

Part of the reason Kanoun, who comes from a prominent Libyan family, hopes to succeed is her credibility with the government. She briefly served as a deputy minister of social affairs before deciding she preferred to work independently.

To promote her ideas, Kanoun met Libya’s Minister of Higher Education with a colleague, Maria Nicoletta Giada, who is president of Ara Pacis Initiative, an organisation dedicated to conflict prevention and resolution that is backed by the Italian foreign ministry. Both women said the min-

reuters

ister’s response was encouraging.

But Giada cautioned that the road from promises to implementation on a significant scale would be long.

“We will have to see if his words translate into actions,” she said.

Overcoming tradition In Tripoli it is still difficult to offer social services to women, much less advertise them. Another group, Phoenix Libya, is experimenting with ways to protect women from violence under the guise of other forms of assistance.

It advertises economic support, like classes in English or marketing, and activities for children. But its underlying aim is to give help to women who either have been, or are, subject to abuse of one form or another without agitating their husbands or fathers –who may even be the perpetrators.

“It’s difficult to build trust. There’s no culture of speaking out,” said Ibtihat Nayed, one of the founders.

“We don’t advertise psychological or social support. We are trying to be discreet about that.”

Women’s rights groups say the attitudes of ordinary men are a greater obstacle to helping women than government inertia in a country where many women have to answer to male relatives.

Amnesty International, along with other international organisations involved in Libya during the eight-month civil war that ended Gaddafi’s 42-year rule, said it had not documented a single case of rape because victims would not speak out.

“We think [multiple rapes] might have happened but do not have any evidence,” said Amnesty International. “Everyone said, this happened, but not in our town. It was in the town next door.” REUTERS

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THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

World

South Africa backs legal market in rhino horn SOUTH Africa’s government is backing the legalisation of trade in rhino horns in an effort to stem poaching of the endangered animals.

“South Africa cannot continue to be held hostage by the syndicates slaughtering our rhinos,” Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa said on Wednesday in Pretoria. “The establishment of a well-regulated international trade” could help curb rhino poaching, she said.

At least 446 rhinos have been killed illegally in South Africa this year, with 280 slaughtered in Kruger National Park, a conservation area the size of Israel that borders Mozambique and where the army has been deployed, the Department of Environmental Affairs said in a June 26 statement. The rate of deaths this year is on course to exceed 2012’s record.

South Africa’s government has about 16,437 kilograms of stockpiled rhino horn, while 2,091 kilograms more is in private hands, Fundisile Mketeni, a deputy director-general in the department, told reporters.

The government favours a once-off sale of horn derived from rhino fatalities and doesn’t plan to dispose of horn from “illegal activities”, he said.

The animals’ horns sell for more than gold by weight in China and Vietnam, where they are believed by some to cure cancer and boost virility.

Members of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora will vote on final approval of the antipoaching plan in 2016. South Africa’s proposals have the backing of some members of the Southern African Development Community, a 15-nation trading bloc, Mketeni said.

President Barack Obama on July 1 set aside resources to help combat illegal wildlife trafficking, calling it an “international crisis that continues to escalate”.

Last year 668 rhinos were poached in South Africa, eight times the number in 2008, according to government statistics. Kruger, which has a 350-kilometre border with Mozambique, is where 72 per cent of the killings took place.

“Legalising the trade in rhino horn needs to be researched in detail, so the doubters and the advocates fully understand the possible consequences,” Cathy Dean, the London-based director of Save the Rhino International, said.

“The thing we all know is the current approach isn’t enough.

There are fears 900 to 1,000 rhinos could be killed in South Africa by the end of the year.

Tackling the problem needs a whole range of measures.”

South African and Mozambican authorities have agreed to rebuild a fence between the Kruger National Park and Mozambique to deter poachers after the residents of seven affected villages are relocated, Molewa said. BLOOMBERG

Rat extermination a record

Macaroni penguins in the colony of some 2.5 million breeding pairs on the island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic, in August 1999.

Karl Mathiesen

A

TEAM on South Georgia have successfully completed the world’s largest rodent eradication in an effort to rid the British territory of millions of rats and mice.

Against the backdrop of an approaching Antarctic winter between February and May, three helicopters encountered perilous flying conditions while peppering the southern Atlantic island with 183 tonnes of the poison Brodifacoum. The team of 25 baited an area of 580 square kilometres. The area targeted dwarfed the previous largest rodent eradication, on New Zealand’s Campbell Island, by five times.

The project director, Professor Tony Martin, said the team, managed by the Dundeebased South Georgia Heritage Trust, aimed to return the 167 kilometre-long island to the millions of seabirds wiped out by rats and mice introduced by 19th and 20th century whalers and sealers.

“South Georgia, before man came along, was probably the most important bird breeding island in the world. And it is no longer anything close to

that,” he said. Probably less than one per cent of the original population of burrowing seabirds remains, Martin said.

Many of the island’s animals remain unaffected by the rat population. Huge populations of seals and penguins attract thousands of cruise ship passengers every year.

However, Martin said, others, such as the endemic South Georgia pippit and South Georgia pintail, were clinging to existence “by their claws”. The storm petrel, Antarctic prion and cape petrel had been driven away from the vital breeding grounds.

Every breeding season a single rat would eat hundreds of seabird chicks.

He said that returning the island’s habitat to its natural inhabitants was an act of global significance and that islands like South Georgia were particularly vulnerable to introduced predators.

“What we are doing is allowing an island to go back to the way it was before man came along and screwed it up two and a half centuries ago. Invasive animals are really crucifying the world’s biodiversity.

“What you have to bear in mind is the ecosystem of South Georgia evolved in

the absence of any terrestrial mammals. So when man came along at the last second of the last hour in evolutionary terms, and introduced these little furry rodents that started to eat them, they were completely naive.”

The successful poison drops marked the second phase of a three-stage project.

The first stage, which was itself equal in scale to the Campbell Island elimination, took place in 2011. The South Georgia heritage trustee Howard Pearce said it appeared this phase had been successful, lending confidence to the ongoing efforts of the team.

“After two years of monitoring the work we did back in 2011, the first trial phase on South Georgia, we have found no sign of rodents in the areas we cleared then and we are now pretty confident that we were completely successful in eradicating rats from the area,” Pearce said.

Martin said that previously rare sightings of South Georgia pintails being followed by groups of ducklings were the best sign the first stage had secured the environment for native species.

He said the island’s unique topography made the project

REUTERS

possible. Even in summer, 75 per cent of the island is covered by ice and snow. Large glaciers cascade into the ocean, splitting the island’s habitable areas into smaller pockets. This meant that the project could treat each region in isolation.

However, Martin said, climate change had created a “race against time”. The island’s glaciers were receding at up to one metre a year, opening the already treated areas to re-infestation as the rats would use newly exposed shorelines to reclaim their territory.

Pearce said the completion of the second stage was “a fantastic achievement in very difficult circumstances”.

The team were exposed to the worst autumnal weather in a decade. This made flying extremely difficult and, on most days, impossible. Helicopter pilot George Phillips said he had “never, ever experienced conditions like it”.

As time went on and the weather looked set to defeat the project, the expedition doctor, Diedre Galbraith, said the team suffered the psychological stress of uncertainty and frustration. “As the months went by with no

work, day after day after day of monotony, it can be very detrimental to the whole team morale,” she said.

Martin said that he had private moments where he had given up hope of completing the baiting before winter drove them off the island. With days left to go, conditions cleared just enough for the team to complete the stage.

The third stage of the project is planned for 2015, subject to the South Georgia Heritage Trust raising an extra £2.5 million ($3,815,250). Unusually for a conservation project of this scale, the £7.5 million cost of the entire project has been funded largely privately through fundraising by the trust. Only a small proportion of the money was supplied by the British government.

If the rats are successfully eradicated from the entire island, Martin said, it would take an enormous effort to keep the island secure from re-infestation.

Cruise and supply ships are already banned from tying up to the island’s docks. Martin said that the greatest danger came from fishing boats becoming wrecked on the island’s storm-broken shore.

THE GUARDIAN

Patience pays off in elusive parrot search AN intrepid Australian bird-spotter has captured the best evidence in a century of a live “night parrot”, a rare creature that ranks among the world’s most enigmatic avian species, scientists said yesterday.

John Young, a naturalist photographer, presented photos and video of the small, yellowish-green parrot to experts at the Queensland Museum this week that government scientist Leo Joseph said “make it seem very clear that he’s found the bird”.

Researchers feared for decades that the nocturnal, desert-dwelling parrot was extinct, with no sightings between 1912 and 1979 and only a handful since, prompting the Smithsonian Magazine in 2012 to list it at number one among the world’s five most mys-

terious birds. The last live specimen was captured 100 years ago and though two dead birds have been found, in 1990 and 2006, no one has been able to offer definitive proof of a live sighting until now.

It is listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which lists the parrot as having been “rediscovered” in 2005, when two biologists spotted the elusive bird but were unable to photograph it or collect samples.

There are only about 50 to 250 night parrots in the wild, according to estimates cited by the IUCN. “No one’s been able to go that extra step and find a live one and find it repeatedly, that’s been one of the big stumbling blocks with night parrots,”

said Joseph, director of the Australian National Wildlife Collection at government science agency CSIRO. “It’s huge [news] in the ornithological world.”

Most of what is known about the species – called Pezoporus occidentalis – has been gleaned from 25 specimens, largely captured during the 1870s in South Australia’s Gawler Ranges. They are now scattered across the world’s institutions.

Joseph said it was a “genuinely rare” species that appeared to have dwindled in numbers because of grazing and feral animals towards the end of the 19th century.

“This aura of myth and intrigue grew up around it,” the scientist said. “We can’t progress any further until we find the birds and hang onto them.”

Young, who advertises himself as “The Wild Detective”, is keeping the nesting site in Queensland’s remote Lake Eyre basin a secret, refusing to share it even with CSIRO or hand over his recordings of its song.

He had invested “enormous amounts of time” in tracking the secretive bird and was now seeking private funding to continue his surveillance and conservation work, Joseph said.

Presenting his findings in Queensland on Wednesday, Young said that he would “rather go to jail than tell anyone where I found it”, according to media reports of his invitationonly talk.

“The last thing I want to see is hundreds of people out there with night lights,” he said. AFP

21

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

Opinion

www.phnompenhpost.com editorial personnel Publisher Ross Dunkley Editor-in-Chief Alan Parkhouse Managing Editor David Boyle Editor-in-Chief Post Khmer Kay Kimsong Managing Editor Post Khmer Sam Rith Chief of Staff Cheang Sokha Deputy Chief of Staff Chhay Channyda National News Editor Chad Williams Deputy National News Editor Abby Seiff Deputy News Editor Vong Sokheng Group Business Editor May Kunmakara Deputy Business Editor Joe Freeman Property Editor Rupert Winchester Foreign News Editor Dan Besant Sports Editor Dan Riley Pictorial Editor Kara Fox Lifestyle and 7Days Editor Poppy McPherson Deputy Head of Lifestyle Desk Pan Simala Special Projects Officer Stuart Alan Becker Chief sub-editor Michael Philips Sub-editors Joe Curtin, Daniel de Carteret, Justine Drennan, Rosa Ellen, Claire Knox, Kevin Ponniah, Anne Renzenbrink, Shane Worrell, Stuart White, Sean Teehan Reporters Meas Sokchea, Mom Kunthear, Khouth Sophak Chakrya, May Titthara, Khuon Leakhana, Ung Chamroeun, Sen David, Phak Seangly, Rann Reuy, Buth Reaksmey Kongkea, Chhim Sreyneang, Sieam Bunthy, Lieng Sarith Photographers Vireak Mai, Sreng Meng Srun, Heng Chivoan, Pha Lina, Hong Menea Regional Correspondent Roger Mitton Web Editor Leang Phannara Webmasters Seng Sovan, Uong Ratana, Horng Pengly Siem reap bureau

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Egypt’s ruinous intervention Comment Jonathan Steele

W

HETHER the Egyptian army’s actions yesterday and over the previous two days amount to a full-scale military coup can be debated.

But what is clear beyond doubt is that they amount to a ruinous intervention in the politics of a country that had breathed the air of democracy for the first time for decades.

An army that appeared to be retreating from politics after the departure of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 has stepped back into the arena again, first by issuing an ultimatum to an elected president to obey it or resign, and then by going through with its threat and laying out a road map that deposes him and suspends the constitution.

Rejecting the results of elections that were widely deemed to be free and fair and setting aside a country’s basic law is a step that no army should ever take.

The fact that the army’s move has been welcomed by many of the revolutionaries who first had the courage to go into the streets against Mubarak in 2011 is a desperate commentary on their political naivety and shortsightedness.

This is not to say that President Mohamed Morsi is blameless. The political charge sheet against him is long and detailed, the worst offence being his issuance last November of high-handed decrees to extend his powers.

But he quickly rescinded them after protests. During the latest turmoil on the streets, in spite of his defiant words about being ready to die, he again showed a willingness to compromise by offering to form a government of national unity and accelerate elections to a new parliament.

But to make him entirely responsible for the disappointments of the past two years is absurd. It was not he but the supreme administrative court that dissolved the people’s assembly, the lower house of parliament.

It is not he but the leaders of the opposition parties who produced a government that was largely dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Morsi invited them to join the cabinet but they refused.

It certainly isn’t the president who should be blamed for the failure of the Egyptian economy to provide enough jobs for tens of thousands of young people who are graduating every year, let alone for an older

Anti-Morsi protesters walk with their flags as they celebrate in Tahrir square after the announcement of the removal from office of Egypt’s deposed President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo. REUTERS

generation that is out of work.

Morsi went along with the International Monetary Fund’s plans for an end to subsidies on food and utility prices that would only create more austerity, but so did most of the established opposition leaders who are now clamouring for power.

As for the failure of the tourism sector to revive, the main reason for the chaos and instability that put off outsiders rests with the constant street provocations of demonstrators.

Much has rightly been made of the threat to Egyptian democracy that comes from the so-called deep state: the still entrenched bureaucracy made up of officials of Mubarak’s National Democratic party, elitist entrepreneurs who were his cronies, and an army

hierarchy that exploited state assets or profited from newly privatised industries and trading companies. Some accused Morsi of joining the ranks of this authoritarian elite. But the real charge was that he did too little to challenge them or their foot soldiers, a corrupt and brutal police force.

The irony of the events of the past few days is that those who are so energetically denouncing the president in Tahrir Square and the streets of other cities are falling into the trap made by the very elite they want to bring under control.

It is true that the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters are social conservatives who may pose a threat to some Egyptians’ civil rights. But the biggest and most immediate danger to the country

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is to the political rights that all Egyptians won with the overthrow of Mubarak.

The abolition of one-party rule, the right of all kinds of political groups to organise freely, the lifting of media censorship and the virtual curtailment of imprisonment for dissent are benefits that should not be abandoned lightly.

Those who believe that the military’s main objective is to preserve the new freedoms will soon be disappointed.

From Chile in 1973 to Pakistan in 1999 (and several times before that), long is the history of military takeovers that were welcomed in their first hours and days but regretted in the years of despair that followed.

For Egypt to follow in that tradition is a disaster. THE GUARDIAN

22

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 05 , 2013

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THE PHNOM PENH POST july 05​, 2013

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NEW CONDO FOR SELL 1Bed,1Kitchen,1Bath,1Living Room, $29,900, 2Beds, 2Baths, 1Kitchen, 1Living Room, $39,990, Payment: 2years, Rate: 0%, Near Russian Market. 015 62 39 53 / 085 43 29 99 (Eng), 016 22 06 22/ 012 68 05 86 (Chinese)

NEW VILLA FOR SELL 5 Bedrooms 6 Bathrooms 1 Kitchen 1 Living Room 2 Cars Park Price: USD 138900 Location: In front of Toek Thla Market H/P: 015 62 39 53 / 085 43 29 99 (English) : 016 22 06 22/ 012 68 05 86(Chinese) 24 HOURS SECURITY

NEW VILLA FOR RENT 5 Bedrooms 6 Bathrooms 1Kitchen 1 Living Room 2 Cars Park Price: USD 1000 per month Location: Next Basak River H/P: 015 62 39 53 / 085 43 29 99 : 016 22 06 22/ 012 68 05 86 (Chinese) 24 HOURS SECU

NEW VILLA FOR RENT Land: 20m x 30m 8 Bedrooms 10 Bathrooms 2 Kitchens 3 Living Rooms 4 Cars Park Price:$ 2000/ m Location: Near Russian Market H/P: 015 62 39 53 / 085 43 29 99 : 016 22 06 22/ 012 68 05 86 (Chinese)

24 HOURS SECURITY

24 HOURS SECURITY

20% OFF Tel: 012 96 66 05

EVENT Koniginnedag 2013 Phnom Penh -Locatie: terrein Celliers d`Asie # 62B street 432 (tussen str.163 en 167) -Tijd:16.00 - 19.00 -Entree 10 USD per volwassene (inclusief consumptiebonnen + oranje petje) - Kinderen en gezinnen aangesloten bij de Nederlandse school gratis entree.

PROPERTIES House for sale, near Olympic market 15 by 25 meters, 2 floors, 11 rooms Call 017 996 241 Apart for Sale (ARC003514) Centrally located in BPL, 7-unit service apartment, all furnishing, 4 floors & 24h guard, L-Size: 190m Price : $ 530,000,Tel: 097 6182 888 NO BLESS APARTMENT FOR SALE with lowet price. 12 floor with 3 bedroom. Tel: 012 840 069 Apartment for rent No.15, St.1126, ToulKok Tel:012 667875, Em:royalhomeplace@gmail.com

3Bedroom Apartment for Rent $1600/Month near Independent Monument, Open Living room 3Bedroom, 4Bath, Free Internet Western Kitchen, 1Car Parking Tel: 077 777 697/ 012 939 958

NEW FLAT (Eo) FOR SELL 2 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 1 Kitchen 1 Living Room 2 Cars Park Price: USD 44990 Location: St.371, Near PC Market H/P: 015 62 39 53 / 085 43 29 99 : 016 22 06 22/ 012 68 05 86 (Chinese) 24 HOURS SECURITY

Ultimate design swimming pool villa Area: Toul Kork, 5 beds, 7 baths Big swimming pool, Secure Cam, 3 floorModern furniture , Lot of light, Western Kitchen Price: 4000$/m Tel: 012 510 610

Penthouse 3 bedrooms near Russian Market 1 car park, Fully furnished modern, Western kitchen, very safe and quiet 24/7 h security guard, around 220sqm area Price: 1000$ / m, Tel: 012 510 610

Modern villa for rent in Basacc Garden City 4 beds, 5 baths, Nice interior design Big kitchen, big living rooms, 2 cars parking Very safe, 24/7h security guard, quiet Price: 2500$/m; Tel: 0122 510 610

Colonial villa, fully furnished in Toul Kork 3 bedrooms, 3bath, Western Kitchen Big yard, very safe, Near French Embassy Price: 1500$/m Tel: 012 510 610 www.cl-realty.com

Apartment 2 bedrooms, 2 baths 2mins walk to Independent Monument Fully furnished, western kitchen,Nice sitting balcony, many windows Price: 750$/ m, Tel: 012 510 610/ www.cl-realty.com

Penthouse on the forty floor, 2 beds Face to Independent monument is Park Very European design, Fully furnished Big open glass wall, fresh air comes inand light shine in from every corner Price: 800$/ m, Tel: 012 510 610

Big big villa with 8bedrooms 10 baths 2 big living rooms, good for OFFICE, 30 cars parking, Brand new building Location: Toul Kork, Price: 5000$ / m Tel: 012 510 610; www.cl-realty.com

Brand new service apartment with roof top swimming pool and gym, inclusive all utilities except electricity 1bed, 1bath, price: 750$, 3 beds price: 1400$, Area: Beoung Trabek Tel: 012 510 610.

Hidden villa for rent along quiet street 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, many trees, flowers western kitchen, fully furnished, 2 cars park Price: 1200$/m; Tel: 012 510 610 www.cl-realty.com

Rent: $4000 per month It`s a nice and furnished villa available for rent in BKK. It has 8 bedrooms & 8 baths, balcony & large terrace.

It has nice garden in the terrace of the roof. Tel: 017 45 70 70

Rent: $2000 per month furnished villa, 5beds with baths attached. a western kitchen, dining room & living room. It has large terrace & balcony. It’s located in a safe & quiet area of Tonle Bassac. Tel: 017 45 70 70

Rent: $2000 per month It is western small villa available for rent in BKK. It has 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, large living room, large yard and nice garden.

Tel: 017 45 70 70

education Swimming Pool Apartment for Ren: $850/M to $950/M Toul Tompoung or Russian Market Open Living room, 2Bedrooms 2Baths, Balcony, Free Internet Western Kitchen, 1Car Parking Tel: 077 777 697/ 012 939 958

Swimming Pool French villa in BKK1 Lots of trees and flowers, 5 bedrooms Renovating the whole house, fully furnished 2 floors, western kitchen, Price: 5000$/m Tel: 012 510 610; www.cl-realty.com

Town house in Bassacc Garden City 3 floors, 4 beds, 5 baths, furnished Western kitchen, safe for kids play outside big swimming pool and gym, Price: 1300$/m Tel: 012 510 610, www.cl-realty.com

Single floor house for rent in BKK1, 3 big beds with bath, big living room Big western kitchen, nice and lovely garden Some furniture, Big yard, Nice owner Price: 1900$/m; Tel: 012 510 610

Little house near Russian Market on street 420 Only 2 beds with baths, nice kitchen Medium size living room, fully furnished big garden with trees and flowers, small hut in the yard​. Price: 950$/m Tel: 012 510 610

Handy craft Western Apartment for Rent $600/M in 7Makara Area near German Embassy, 3rd Fl Open Living room 1Bed 1Bath, Free Internet, Cleaning Western Kitchen, 1Car Parking Tel: 077 777 697/ 012 939 958

3 bedrooms new renovated villa in Toul Kok New furniture and fully furnished Big yard, very safe with security 24/7H Near French Embassy and Wat Phnom Price: 1300$/ m, Tel: 012 510 610

Nice villa 5 bedrooms, Area: Beoung Trabek 2 floors, nice and modern furniture, 5 cars parking, Good for office or resident Price: 1400$/ m, Tel: 012 510 610 www.cl-realty.com

FOR SALE

Suzuki sidekick 1992 for sale Price: 3000 Tel: 077 718 965

BKK1 Area Apartment for Rent $550/M for 1Bed, 1Bath $600/M for 2Bed, 2Bath Living room, Big Balcony, Nice Kitchen, Free Internet, Security Tel: 077 777 697/ 012 939 958

Swimming pool on the roof top with gym apartment with lift, available 2 beds fully furnished, on street 57, Area: BKK1 Price: 1200$/ m; Tel: 012 510 610 / www.cl-realty.com

Western Apartment Located in BKKI Rent: $700/m for one bed 1 Living room, nice balcony Fully Furnished, Nice Kitchen More light, Motor Parking Contact Tel: 077 777 869

Swimming Pool apartment in BKK1, 2 beds, 2 baths, big gym big pool, services available in there 24/7h security guard, lift and big balcony Price: 1350$/m; Tel: 012 510 610 www.cl-realty.com 5 bedrooms Villa for Rent Located in Boeung Trabek. 1500/m 1 big Living room, big yard Some furniture. Nice Kitchen Big Space for Parking 4 cars. Very good for living and office Tel: 077 777 657 Basac Garden Villa For Rent 2000$/m. 3 bedrooms, Big living room and dining area Nice Garden and some trees Contact Tel: 077 777869 www.cl-realty.com

Khmer Craft Collection is designing the products which is converted from traditional lepironia mat to modern material or equipments. Our products such as handbag, boxes, hat, and office/home/hotel materials. The action is impact on living condition of farmers and it conserves culture and natural environment. All products are handmade.Tel: 012 666 400 / 077 777 949. Email: khmercraft. collection@yahoo.com

FOR SALE Swimming Pool Apartment for Rent: Located BKK1 Area Free Internet, Swim-Pool, Gym $900/Month, Western Style 1Living room, 1Bedroom, 1Bath Tel: 077 777 697/ 012 939 958

American Chinese International School (English - Chinese and Khmer) Pre-school, Kindergarten, Grade 1-2. Highly qualied teachers who are native speakers of English & Chinese.

Register now for 2013-2014 Classes start: August 26, 2013 #100 St. Pasteur (St.51 St.200) Tel: (855)23 214 825 (Khmer/English) (855)15 716 727 (Khmer) (855)89 23 00 12 (Chinese).

E-mail: ppapsacis@gmail.com Website: www.acis.edu.kh

salaGnþrCati Giusev:s EAST-WEST INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

EAST-WEST International School IGCSE (Cambridge) School WASC (USA) Candidate School Nursery – Grade 11 This year FULL DAY (7:30 AM - 2:30 PM) classes for 3 year olds and 4 year olds Qualified, experienced Native English Speaking Teachers.

Now Enrolling for 2013-2014 Classes start: September 02, 2013 H/P: 023 998 244 / 077 851 852 / 012 231 885 www.ewiscambodia.org

24

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

Travel PREAH SIHANOUK - SIEM REAP Flighs Days Dep Arrival K6 130 1-3-5 12:55 13:55

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT SCHEDULE FROM PHNOM PENH Flighs

Days

Dep

TO PHNOM PENH Arrival

PHNOM PENH - BANGKOK

Flighs

Days

Dep

Arrival

BANGKOK - PHNOM PENH

K6 720

Daily

12:05

01:10

K6 721

Daily

02:25

03:30

PG 938

Daily

06:40

08:15

PG 931

Daily

07:55

09:05

PG 932

Daily

09:55

11:10

TG 580

Daily

07:55

09:05

TG 581

Daily

10:05

11:10

PG 933

Daily

13:30

14:40

PG 934

Daily

15:30

16:40

FD 3616

Daily

15:15

16:20

FD 3617

Daily

17:05

18:15

PG 935

Daily

17:30

18:40

PG 936

Daily

19:30

20:40

TG 584

Daily

18:25

19:40

TG 585

Daily

20:40

21:45

PG 937

Daily

20:15

21:50

PHNOM PENH - BEIJING CZ 324

Daily

BEIJING - PHNOM PENH 08:00

16:05

CZ 323

Daily

14:30

20:50

PHNOM PENH - DOHA ( Via HCMC)

DOHA - PHNOM PENH ( Via HCMC)

QR 605

1.2..5.6

22:35

05:15+1

QR 604

1.2..5.6

08:00

21:00

QR 603

..34..7

15:50

22:25

QR 602

..3.4..7

01:25

14:20

PHNOM PENH - GUANGZHOU Daily

08:00

11:40

CZ 6059

2.4.7

12:00

13:45

CZ 6060

2.4.7

14:45

18:10

CZ 323

Daily

19:05

20:50

09:40

13:00

PHNOM PENH - HANOI Daily

17:30

20:35

VN 841

Daily

HO CHI MINH CITY - PHNOM PENH

VN 841

Daily

14:00

14:45

VN 920

Daily

15:50

16:30

VN 3856

Daily

19:20

20:05

VN 3857

Daily

18:00

18:45

PHNOM PENH - HONG KONG 1.2.4.7

11:25

15:05

KA 208

1.2.4.6.7 08:50

10:25

KA 207

6

11:45

22:25

KA 206

3.5.7

14:30

16:05

KA 209

1

18:30

22:05

KA 206

1

15:25

17:00

KA 209

3.5.7

17:25

21:00

KA 206

2

15:50

17:25

KA 205

2

19:00

22:35

PHNOM PENH - INCHEON Daily

23:40

06:40

KE 689

Daily

18:30

22:20

OZ 740

Daily

23:50

06:50

OZ 739

Daily

19:10

22:50

PHNOM PENH - KUALA LUMPUR

5J - CEBU Airways.

MH - Malaysia Airlines

2 Tuesday

AK - Air Asia

MI - SilkAir

3 Wednesday

BR - EVA Airways

OZ - Asiana Airlines

4 Thursday

CI - China Airlines

PG - Bangkok Airways

5 Friday

CZ - China Southern

QR - Qatar Airways

6 Saturday

FD - Thai Air Asia

QV - Lao Airlines

7 Sunday

FM - Shanghai Air

SQ - Singapore Airlines

K6- Cambodia Angkor Air

TG - Thai Airways | VN - Vietnam Airlines

This flight schedule information is updated about once a month. Further information, please contact direct to airline or a travel agent for flight schedule information.

Houses in Norway’s‘art-nouveau toytown’ Ålesund, home to the Sommerfesten music festival. afp

AIRLINES

KUALA LUMPUR - PHNOM PENH

AK 1473

Daily

08:35

11:20

AK 1474

Daily

15:15

16:00

MH 755

Daily

11:10

14:00

MH 754

Daily

09:30

10:20

MH 763

Daily

17:10

20:00

MH 762

Daily

3:20

4:10

20:05

06:05

PHNOM PENH- PARIS

PHNOM PENH - PARIS 20:05

06:05

PHNOM PENH - SHANGHAI 2.3.4.5.7

1 Monday

INCHEON - PHNOM PENH

KE 690

FM 833

KA - Dragon Air

HONG KONG - PHNOM PENH

KA 207

2

COLOUR CODE

2817 - 16 Tigerairways

HANOI - PHNOM PENH

PHNOM PENH - HO CHI MINH CITY

AF 273

AIRLINES CODE

GUANGZHOU - PHNOM PENH

CZ 324

VN 840

SIEM REAP - PREAH SIHANOUK Flighs Days Dep Arrival K6 131 1-3-5 11:20 12:20

19:50

AF 273

2

SHANGHAI - PHNOM PENH 23:05

FM 833

2.3.4.5.7 19:30

22:40

Air Asia (AK) Room T6, PP International Airport. Tel: 023 6666 555 Fax: 023 890 071 www.airasia.com

Cambodia Angkor Air (K6) PP Office, #90+92+94Eo, St.217, Sk.Orussey4, Kh. 7Makara, 023 881 178 /77718-333. Fax:+855 23-886-677 www.cambodiaangkorair.com E: mai@royalaviationexpert.com

Jetstar Asia (3K) PP: No. 333B Monivong Blvd.

Myanmar Airways International Tel: 023 220909.Siem Reap: No. 50,Sivatha Blvd.Tel: 063 964388 #90+92+94Eo, St. 217, www.jetstar.com Sk. Orussey4, Kh. 7 Makara, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

T:023 881 178 | F:023 886 677 www.maiair.com

Dragon Air (KA) #168, Monireth, PP Tel: 023 424 300 Fax: 023 424 304 www.dragonair.com/kh

Cebu Pacific (5J) Phnom Penh: No. 333B Monivong Blvd. Tel: 023 219161 Siem Reap: No. 50,Sivatha Blvd.

Tel: 063 965487 E-mail: cebuair@ptm-travel.com www.cebupacificair.com

Tiger airways G. floor, Regency square, Suare, Suite #68/79, St.205, Sk Chamkarmorn, PP Tel: (855) 95 969 888 (855) 23 5515 888/5525888 E: info@cambodiaairlines.net

SilkAir (MI) Regency C,Unit 2-4,Tumnorb Teuk, Chamkarmorn Phnom Penh Tel:023 988 629 www.silkair.com

PHNOM PENH - SINGAPORE

SINGAPORE - PHNOM PENH

MI 601

1.3.5.6.7

09:30 12:30

MI 602

1.3.5.6.7 07:40

08:40

MI 622

2.4

12:20

15:20

MI 622

2.4

08:40

11:25

3K 594

1.3.6

12:35

15:55

3K 593

1.3.6

10:40

11:50

3K 599

2.4.7

17:25

20:25

3K 591

5

18:45

20:00

3K 592

5

20:45

23:45

3K 591

5

18:45

20:00

MI 607

Daily

18:10

21:10

MI 608

Daily

16:20

17:15

2817

1.3

16:40

19:40

2816

1.3

15:00

15:50

2817

2.4.5

09:10

12:00

2816

2.4.5

07:20

08:10

2817

6

14:50

17:50

2816

6

13:00

14:00

2817

7

13:20

16:10

2816

7

11:30

12:30

09:10

11:35

PHNOM PENH SORYA BUS TRANSPORT SCHEDULE INTERNATIONAL ROUTES

TAIPEI - PHNOM PENH

PHNOM PENH -TAIPEI BR 266

Daily

12:45

17:05

PHNOM PENH - VIENTIANE

BR 265

Daily

VIENTIANE - PHNOM PENH

Qatar Airways No. 296 Blvd. Mao Tse Toung (St. 245), Ground floor, Intercontinental Hotel PP Tel: +23 42 40 12/13/14 www.qatarairways.com

VN 840

Daily

17:30

18:50

VN 841

Daily

11:30

13:00

PP-HO CHI MINH DEPATURE

HO CHI MINH-PP

QV 920

Daily

17:50

19:10

QV 921

Daily

11:45

13:15

6:45, 8:30, 11:45

6:45, 8:00,11:30

PP-BANGKOK

BANGKOK-PP

6:30

6:30

PP-PAKSE,VIENTIANE

PAKSE,VIENTIANE-PP

6:45

7:30

PHNOM PENH - YANGON 8M 404

3. 6

YANGON - PHNOM PENH 20:10

21:35

8M 403

3. 6

16:45

FROM SIEM REAP

TO SIEM REAP

SIEM REAP - BANGKOK Flighs Days Dep Arrival K6 700 Daily 12:50 2:00 PG 924 Daily 09:45 11:10 PG 906 Daily 13:15 14:40 PG 914 Daily 15:20 16:45 PG 908 Daily 18:50 20:15 PG 910 Daily 20:30 21:55 SIEM REAP - GUANGZHOU CZ 3054 2.4.6 11:25 15:35 CZ 3054 1.3.5.7 19:25 23:20 SIEM REAP -HANOI K6 850 Daily 06:50 08:30 VN 868 1.2.3.5.6 12:40 15:35 VN 842 Daily 18:05 19:45 VN 844 Daily 19:45 21:25 VN 800 Daily 21:00 22:40 SIEM REAP - HO CHI MINH CITY VN 3818 Daily 11:10 12:30 VN 826 Daily 13:30 14:40 VN 3820 Daily 17:45 18:45 VN 828 Daily 18:20 19:20 VN 3822 Daily 21:35 22:35 SIEM REAP - INCHEON KE 688 Daily 23:15 06:10 OZ 738 Daily 23:40 07:10 SIEM REAP - KUALA LUMPUR AK 281 Daily 08:35 11:35 MH 765 3.5.7 14:15 17:25 SIEM REAP - MANILA 5J 258 2.4.7 22:30 02:11 SIEM REAP - SINGAPORE MI 633 1, 6, 7 16:35 22:15 MI 622 2.4 10:40 15:20 MI 630 5 12:25 15:40 MI 615 7 12:45 16:05 MI 636 3, 2 18:30 21:35 MI 617 5 18:35 21:55 3K 599 2.4.7 15:50 20:25 SIEM REAP - VIENTIANE QV 522 2.4.5.7 10:05 13:00 SIEM REAP - YANGON 8M 402 1. 5 20:15 21:25

BANGKOK - SIEM REAP Flighs Days Dep K6 701 Daily 02:55 PG 903 Daily 08:00 PG 905 Daily 11:35 PG 913 Daily 13:35 PG 907 Daily 17:00 PG 909 Daily 18:45 GUANGZHOU - SIEM REAP CZ 3053 2.4.6 08:45 CZ 3053 1.3.5.7 16:35 HANOI - SIEM REAP K6 851 Daily 19:30 VN 843 Daily 15:25 VN 845 Daily 17:05 VN 845 Daily 17:45 VN 801 Daily 18:20 HO CHI MINH CITY - SIEM REAP VN 3809 Daily 09:15 VN 827 Daily 11:35 VN 3821 Daily 15:55 VN 829 Daily 16:20 VN 3823 Daily 19:45 INCHEON - SIEM REAP KE 687 Daily 18:30 OZ 737 Daily 19:20 KUALA LUMPUR - SIEM REAP AK 280 Daily 06:50 MH 764 3.5.7 12:10 MANILA - SIEM REAP 5J 257 2.4.7 19:45 SINGAPORE - SIEM REAP MI 633 1, 6, 7 14:35 MI 622 2.4 08:40 MI 616 7 10:40 MI 636 3, 2 13:55 MI 630 5 07:55 MI 618 5 16:35 3K599 2.4.7 13:50 VIENTIANE - SIEM REAP QV 512 2.4.5.7 06:30 YANGON - SIEM REAP 8M 401 1. 5 17:05

19:10

Arrival 04:05 09:00 12:45 14:35 18:10 19:55 10:30 18:30 21:15 17:10 18:50 19:30 20:00

10:35 12:35 16:55 17:40 20:45 22:15 22:40 07:50 13:15 21:30 15:45 09:50 11:50 17:40 11:35 17:45 15:05 09:25 19:15

DOMESTIC ROUTES PP-SIEM REAP SIEM REAP-PP 6:15, 7:00- 12:00, 13:00, 14:00 5:30, 6:30, 7:00, 9:30, 10:30,12:30, 13:30 PP -SIHANOUK SIHANOUK-PP 7:00 To 12:00, 13:00, 14:30, 16:30 7:10, 8:00, 10:30,12:15, 14:00,15:30,17:30 PP-BATTAMBANG BATTAMBANG-PP 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 5:30, 6:45, 7:45, 8:30, 9:30,10:30 PP-MONDULKIRI MONDULKIRI-PP 8:30 8:30 Further information, please contact: Tel: 023 210 359, Email:168@ppsoryatransport.com

REGULAR SHIPPING LINES SCHEDULES CALLING PORT ROTATION LINE RCL (12calls/moth)

CALLING SCHEDULES

FREEQUENCY ROTATION PORTS

1 Wed, 08:00 - Thu 16:00

1 Call/week

2 Thu, 14:00 - Fri 22:00

1 Call/week

3 Fri, 20:00 - Sat 23:59

1 Call/week

SIN-SHV-SGZ-SIN HKG-SHV-SGZ-HKG (HPH-TXGKEL) SIN-SHV-SGZ-SIN SGN-SHV-LZP-SGN - HKG-OSA-TYO-KOB - BUS-SGH-YAT-SGN - SIN-SHV-TPP-SIN

1 Th, 08:00 - 20:00

1 Call/week

2 Fri, 22:00- Sun 00:01

1 Call/week

SITC (BEN LINE (4 calls/onth)

Sun 09:00-23:00

1 Call/week

HCM-SHV-LZP-HCMNBO-SGH-OSA-KOBBUS-SGH-HGK-CHM

ITL (ACL) (4 calls/month) APL (4 calls/month) COTS (2 calls/month)

Sat 06:00 - Sun 08:00

1 Call/week

SGZ-SHV-SIN-SGZ

Fri, 08:00 - Sun, 06:00

1 call/week

SIN-SHV-SIN

MEARSK (MCC) (4 calls/moth)

Irregula

2 calls/month BBK-SHV-BKK-(LZP)

34 call/month BUS= Busan, Korea HKG= HongKong kao=Kaoshiung, Taiwan ROC Kob= Kebe, Japan KUN= Kuantan, Malaysia LZP= Leam Chabang, Thailand NBO= Ningbo, China OSA= Osaka, Japan SGN= Saigon, Vietnam

SGZ= Songkhla, Thailand SHV= Sihanoukville Port Cambodia SIN= Singapore TPP= TanjungPelapas, Malaysia TYO= Tokyo, Japan TXG= Taichung, Taiwan YAT= Yantian, China YOK= Yokohama, Japan

FLY DIRECT TO MYANMAR WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY YANGON - PHNOM PENH PHNOM PENH - YANGON FLY DIRECT TO SIEM REAP MONDAY & FRIDAY SIEM REAP - YANGON YANGON - SIEM REAP #90+92+94Eo, St. 217, Sk. Orussey4, Kh. 7 Makara, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Tel 023 881 178 | Fax 023 886 677 | www.maiair.com

Peace, love, elk: festival in Norway Rebecca Nicholson

T

HE tiny Sommerfesten music festival in Ålesund holds such utopian ideals that its motto – “Peace, Love and Understanding” – is delivered completely straight-faced. Normally such wide-eyed naivety would stoke the inner cynic in me, but there’s something about this place that makes me resist judgment, and I come away from the experience a little wide-eyed myself.

For a start, it’s beautiful. Ålesund itself is an art-nouveau toytown built between 1904 and 1907 after a fire destroyed the settlement, and the surrounding countryside is a breathtaking, film-set-perfect jumble of mountains and fjords. Sommerfesten takes place on Giske, a minuscule island roughly 15 minutes from the town. It’s been going since 2008 and has gained in popularity year by year. In 2011, 30,000 turned up and the founders restricted ticket sales to 20,000 last year, principally, it seems, to reduce the queues for the ladies’ loos. “This is a noncommercial festival,” insists cofounder and chief booker Ante Giskeødegård. “We’ve never made any money on it and we never will.”

For a festival that’s grown quickly and surely, it still feels small and local, and that is down to this determination to keep doing what they want to, rather than what makes the big bucks.

Instead of the usual festival rota of burger vans and greasy noodles, people are encouraged bring their own food (you get a sticker for doing so).

It’s not so much a giant packed lunch as a mass communal barbecue – whatever it is you decide to donate, to whatever value, is taken to a mysterious white marquee, from where it emerges as a bowl of salad, or marinaded and ready to chuck on to one of the many drums of hot coals. In addition to steak and sausages, I spotted elk, langoustines and a seemingly endless supply of

local salmon sashimi, plus cinnamon buns and home-baked cakes for desert. It’s hard to imagine, say, Reading and Leeds being able to pull this off, unless people were prepared to eat a communal casserole of lager, pot noodles and bacon butties.

Many attendees have been before, and it’s not just the punters who love it. When I visited last year, singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche was high up the bill. He grew up in Bergen, Norway’s second city, and moved to Brooklyn 10 years ago, but Sommerfesten makes him happy to be home.

“It’s becoming more and more of a thing,” he explains just before his set, as the winds off the north Atlantic whip up a brisk breeze. “And you hear about it mainly from fellow bands. If you say you’ve played at Sommerfesten, everyone has a specific story, experience of here. I have high expectations.”

Again, this is down to its hippy-like, village fete approach.

Lerche got to Alesund a few days earlier to make use of the founders’ studio, a picturesque building perched on the coastline. In fact, they often pay their artists this way, and Giskeødegård recalls Damien Rice refusing to accept his fee, simply because he’d enjoyed playing there so much.

Of course, this ethos, also its charm, means it’s unlikely that you’ll see Daft Punk lighting up the main (well, only) stage.

Many of the artists are folky, with a few bigger names – Lerche, and 2012’s headlining act Travis – and it’s similarly low-key for 2013, with Kaizers Orchestra, Pal Angelskar and Big Band on the bill. But this does throw up spectacular curiosities like Jahn Tiegan, who looks like Iggy Pop crossed with Lionel Blair, and is, according to my guide, “Norway’s Rolf Harris”. He pulls Mr Bean faces as he shouts through his bizarre back catalogue and it’s completely, brilliantly bonkers. The internet reveals that he’s entered the Eurovision song contest three times. Perhaps he’s ready for a fourth. the guardian

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THE PHNOM PENH POST JULY 5, 2013

In Germany, Vettel still searching for home win Mark Meadows

S

ebastian Vettel has never won his home German Grand Prix or a race in July, so this week’s trip to the Nurburgring was set to be challenging for the world champion even before last weekend’s tyre debacle.

The exploding Pirellis from the British Grand Prix have Formula One drivers on edge, but talk of a boycott in Germany has been played down with the Italian firm saying rear tyres will be made stronger in the short turnaround from Silverstone.

While five drivers including pole sitter Lewis Hamilton suffered blowouts last Sunday, championship leader Vettel’s retirement was due to a gearbox problem in the usually reliable Red Bull.

Adding to the pressure at the Nurburgring for the 26-year-old, celebrating his birthday on Wednesday, is Mercedes’ strong performance at Silverstone with Nico Rosberg taking victory and eager to impress again on his and his team’s home race.

Despite the odds seemingly being against him, Vettel is excited to be returning home.

“I’ve always had a lot of fun on this track. In 2009, I made it to the podium for the first time [at the Nurburgring] in Formula 1 and it was a fantastic experience thanks to the German fans,” he said in a statement as he discussed never winning in Germany.

“I don’t pay much attention to figures and statistics. It may be nice to look at statistics sometimes, but they only show what has happened in the past, not what is still to come.”

Vettel, champion the last three years, leads in the driver standings on 132 points from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso on 111 and Kimi Raikkonen on 98 in the Lotus.

Sport

Croc bites off tourist’s fingers on Mexico links A crocodile bit two fingers off a US tourist’s hand after the man apparently pretended to give food to the predator on a golf course in the Mexican resort of Cancun, authorities said on Wednesday. The 50year-old golfer was in stable condition in a Cancun hospital following Tuesday’s attack, said civil protection chief Felix Diaz Villalobos. Medics recovered one of the tourist’s fingers in the hope of reattaching it, he said. The victim was attacked after he ignored signs about the presence of crocodiles, Diaz said. “These animals are generally very peaceful,” he added. AFP

Market heats up for Hernandez jerseys

Red Bull Racing’s German driver Sebastian Vettel drives at the Nurburgring during the 2011 German Formula One Grand Prix.

Mercedes have moved up to second in the constructors’ championship, 48 points behind Red Bull after eight of 19 races.

The last race at the Nurburgring, which alternates with Hockenheim, was in 2011 when Hamilton took the chequered flag and Vettel came home in fourth.

The German can at least take solace from the fact Red Bull team mate Mark Webber sealed pole at the track two years ago.

Australian Webber will be racing in his final German Grand Prix before quitting F1 at the end of the season and he nearly never had the chance to race the Nurburgring again with the track in serious financial difficulty.

The race was almost handed to

Hockenheim before F1 commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone stepped in to make sure that it would take place.

Drivers thought last Sunday’s British Grand Prix was too dangerous with bits of exploding tyres narrowly missing their heads, reminding everyone of when Felipe Massa suffered life-threatening injuries when he was struck by debris in 2009.

In 2005, 14 drivers did not start the US Grand Prix after problems with their Michelin tyres.

Ecclestone does not expect the same to happen in Germany, with kerbs at Silverstone and the teams’ management of the tyres possibly contributing to the blowouts even if the Pirellis have been controversial all season due to quick degradation.

AFP

Pirelli risked angering drivers further by saying on Tuesday that the teams had mounted rear tyres the wrong way around and run them with low pressures.

“I don’t think [a boycott] will happen. I don’t think it’s something we need to address,” Ecclestone said.

The 82-year-old said he would be at the Nurburgring despite the possible threat of arrest because of allegations he bribed a German banker during the 2005-2006 sale of a stake in Formula One. Ecclestone denies wrongdoing and Munich prosecutors have not yet indicated if they intended to charge him.

Sunday’s race gets under way at 7pm Cambodian time. REUTERS

Fast but dangerous – the AC72 racing yacht

Team Emirates sail their AC-72 Racing Yacht near The Golden Gate Bridge during a training session for the America’s Cup competition in San Francisco on Tuesday. AFP

The four teams competing in the America’s Cup off San Francisco from this Sunday will be racing in AC72s – 22-metre wing-sail catamarans that are both demanding and potentially dangerous to sail.

On May 9, one of the three challengers to holders Oracle Team USA, Artemis, lost crew member Andrew Simpson during a training run.

The Swedish AC72 capsized and Simpson, a British double Olympic medallist, drowned after getting stuck under the overturned structure.

Eleven crew members – among the best in the world – are required to sail the speedsters, which are 22 metres long, 14 metres wide and weigh six tonnes.

The twin-hull vessels are distinctive with their towering 40-metre-high rigid wingsails and 260-square-metre main sails.

Likened to a cross between an aeroplane and sailing boat, they are capable of “flying” above the water at more than 40 knots (75 kilometres per

hour) on their L-shaped hydrofoils.

In doing so, the AC72s are free from virtually any hydrodynamic resistance and only touch the water with their keels and inverted T-shaped rudder blades.

The AC72s are designed by the best designers in the world and made of carbon fibre by renowned boat-builders and travel at three times wind speed.

In October 2012, the first AC72 of Cup “defender” Oracle also capsized in San Francisco during training. No one was injured but the boat was badly damaged.

A total of six AC72s have so far taken to the water: two belonging to Oracle and those of its challengers – two for Emirates Team New Zealand and one each for Luna Rossa (ITA) and Artemis (SWE).

Artemis is expected to launch a second boat in the coming weeks so it can take part in the Louis Vuitton Cup from this Sunday, which determines who takes on Oracle in the America’s Cup. AFP

The market for Aaron Hernandez American football jerseys has surged since the former New England Patriot tight end was arrested last week on charges he gunned down his friend executionstyle in an industrial park near his house. A pre-owned On Field NFL jersey bearing Hernandez’s old number 81 was on offer on Tuesday for $2,000 on eBay, while an autographed Hernandez number 81 jersey sold for $1,525 earlier this week, according to eBay’s auction history. REUTERS

Arashiro savours his moment in the sun

Japan’s sole representative at this year’s Tour de France, Yukiya Arashiro, lapped up the attention of the media and his supporters in Marseille on Wednesday after a prominent performance during the long fifth stage from Cagnes-surMer. The 28-year-old, who won the Japanese national road race title for the second time this year, was one of six riders who broke away early on and went on to open up a lead of more than 13min on the peloton. That gap was slowly whittled down before Arashiro was swallowed up by the pack with around seven kilometres remaining, before Mark Cavendish eventually triumphed in a sprint finish. AFP

Ginobili decides he will stay with San Antonio

The San Antonio Spurs have agreed on a two-year contract extension that will keep shooting guard Manu Ginobili with the NBA team for another two years, the Argentinian said on Wednesday. “Thrilled to announce that as I always hoped, I’m gonna stay with the @spurs for two more years,” Ginobili tweeted. The 35-year-old Ginobili hinted at retirement during the playoffs, which saw the Spurs make it all the way to the finals where they lost in seven games to the Miami Heat. AFP

Ben Smith signs deal with All Blacks team

In-form New Zealand back Ben Smith has signed a deal that will keep him with the All Blacks until 2017, the New Zealand Rugby Union said yesterday. Smith was one of the standout players in the All Blacks’ recent 3-0 series whitewash over France and the NZRU said retaining his services was a major coup. AFP

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THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

Sport

Women’s hockey squad granted Thai training

A 21-strong delegation of national women’s field hockey players and coaches will travel to Thailand for a one-month training course ahead of their appearance at the 1st Asian Challenge, which is to be held in Bangkok from September 1-8. According to Cambodian Hockey Federation vice president Kang Sothea, the squad will receive training from four coaches hailing from Australia, Thailand, Pakistan and South Korea. The September competition will feature national sides from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Pakistan and Myanmar, with Cambodia currently ranked the lowest of the six. Thai Hockey Federation President Chaiya Pak, who is also general secretary of the Asian Hockey Federation, has sponsored the Cambodians’ training course. YEUN PONLOK, TRANSLATED BY CHENG SERYRITH

China-Taiwan double act bridging the divide

China’s Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan have forged a tennis doubles partnership that bridges the divide between the two sides, saying sport can take the heat out of the toughest situations.

The pairing, who play in the Wimbledon women’s doubles semi-finals today, say their partnership is all about firm friendship – and they leave the political stuff to others.

Peng and Hsieh, born four days apart in January 1986, have been mates since their junior days and won the first of their five tour titles together back in 2008. Their closeness has endured and the warmth between the 27-year-olds is obvious, with the pair constantly laughing and joking in each other’s company. They will play Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa AFP

Celtics opt for youth in naming Stevens coach

The rebuilding Boston Celtics on Wednesday named Brad Stevens as head coach, hoping his success at the helm at Butler University will translate to the NBA. The 36year-old Stevens spent the past six seasons as the head coach at Butler University and led the Bulldogs to the National Championship game in 2010 and 2011. His Butler teams never won fewer than 22 games in a season as he kept the university that boasts a total enrolment of just 4,500 contending in the fiercely competitive world of US collegiate basketball. AFP

TFC highly praised by ITF official HS Manjunath

T

he Tennis Federation of Cambodia’s junior initiatives and grassroots programs, particularly those run in six orphanages in two provinces, received high marks from Suresh Menon, the International Tennis Federation Development Officer for Asia, at the end of his three-day visit to the Kingdom.

“I was touched and impressed by these programs run so efficiently by the TFC and Cambodia should serve as a role model for others to follow,” Menon told the Post after he was taken around a tennis camp yesterday for underprivileged boys and girls in Phnom Penh by TFC’s technical director and national team head coach Braen Aneiros.

The Kuala Lumpur-based ITF official, who was last here nearly three years ago, also visited several schools involved in the Tennis 10s and other projects after meeting the national players and a team of TFC coaches

at the National Training Centre.

“The progress is amazing and what the Federation is doing here is incredible given its limited resources and manpower. I can see a very bright future for Cambodian tennis,” he said, while showering accolades for the country’s spectacular debut in the Davis Cup at Doha last year.

“We in ITF will continue to support Cambodia in every way possible.”

Menon expressed his willingness to back an idea that the coastal city of Kep be turned into the Kingdom’s second tennis centre.

“What I saw in Kep on Wednesday took my breath away. I had a chance to see the Tennis Academy of Kep and the orphanage where scores of boys and girls are learning tennis skills. It is a life changing experience that tennis is providing them.”

He also welcomed the idea of creating at least two more courts in Kep in addition to the only international standard court currently available and assured the TFC of the ITF’s fullest logistical backing.

ITF Development Officer for Asia, Suresh Menon, plays mini-tennis with kids at Don Bosco School yesterday. SRENG MENG SRUN

Coach Aneiros said: “A visit by such a high ranking ITF official who knows the region and Cambodia very well is encouraging. We are happy that he could see and assess first-hand the progress we have been making.”

TFC secretary-general Tep Rithivit noted that their relationship with Menon goes back a long way, nearly 12 years.

“Suresh has been part of us all along. With great pride and purpose we have embraced every thing that

Del Potro, Janowicz look to gatecrash final Hobbling Juan Martin del Potro and Polish trailblazer Jerzy Janowicz hope to derail the Wimbledon title dreams of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the world’s two best players, in today’s semi-finals.

Del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion, just about survived his quarter-final against David Ferrer when he strained his already heavily bandaged left knee in a sickening Centre Court tumble.

The giant Argentinian now tackles world number one and Australian Open champion Djokovic.

Janowicz, the first Polish man in the last-four of a major, takes on US Open and Olympic champion Murray, who is bidding to be the first

British man in 77 years to win Wimbledon.

Djokovic has an 8-3 winning record over Del Potro, but the Argentinian won their only other previous meeting on grass in the 2012 Olympics bronze medal play-off, which took place at Wimbledon.

Del Potro also won the pair’s last meeting in March, on hard court in the Indian Wells semi-finals.

But Djokovic, having escaped the shock exits suffered by the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at this year’s Wimbledon, believes that he can still play better.

“It’s the mindset I always try to have because that’s something that keeps me going every single day on the prac-

tice courts, day in, day out, trying to give my best and trying to always inspire myself to play better tennis,” he said.

“I know I have a quite complete game, but I still feel there is room for improvement.”

The Serb, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, will be playing in his 13th successive Grand Slam semi-final, 10 behind the record held by Federer.

At Wimbledon this year, he is chasing a seventh major.

Top seed Djokovic won’t be lulled into a false sense of security by the injury-cursed Del Potro’s latest problems.

The 24-year-old eighth seed is used to tackling physical problems.

In 2010, he played just three tournaments and saw his

ranking slip to 257 in the world after undergoing wrist surgery.

“He struggled with injuries in the last few years, but every time he comes back he comes back very strong because he just has this talent and qualities as a player,” said Djokovic.

Del Potro’s 2009 US Open win was the only time in the last 33 Grand Slams that the champion wasn’t called either Federer, Nadal, Djokovic or Murray.

Like Djokovic, Del Potro has reached the last-four – his first semi-final at Wimbledon – without dropping a set.

“I will need to be 110 per cent against Novak. He’s the number one. He’s a former champion.

It’s going to be a more difficult match for me,” Del Potro said.

Ovechkin is voted onto both NFL all-star teams

Washington Capital forward Alex Ovechkin was voted to the National Hockey League’s first and second allstar teams in two different positions, the league announced on Wednesday. The 27-yearold Russian forward made the first all-star team as a right winger and the second team as a left winger. Voting is conducted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association at the end of the regular season. AFP

the ITF has asked us to do. We have gone with their book every step of the way,” said the Secretary.

“We are happy to have Suresh with us so that he as a regional representative gets a clear picture of what is going on and ITF gets an even clearer picture from him.”

Before flying out to Kuala Lumpur yesterday evening Menon, in the company of Aneiros, visited Don Bosco School, where nearly 200 boys and girls are engaged in tennis training.

Jerzy Janowicz is the first man from Poland to make the semi-finals of a Grand Slam. He will play Britain’s Andy Murray today.

AFP

Second-seeded Murray, the runner-up to Federer in 2012, will be playing in his fifth consecutive Wimbledon semifinal, but he had to come from two sets to love down to beat Fernando Verdasco in the quarter-finals.

It will be his 13th major semi-final, equalling the national record set by Fred Perry, the last British man to win the title in 1936.

“It will be a very tough match. Janowicz has a big serve. He’s a big guy with a lot of power,” Murray said of his Polish opponent who has fired a tournament-leading 94 aces at Wimbledon this year.

They have a 1-1 record but Murray lost their last meeting at the Paris Masters in 2012 when Janowicz came through qualifying to reach the final.

“He also has pretty good touch. He likes to hit dropshots. He doesn’t just whack every single shot as hard as he can,” the Scot said.

Janowicz, the 24th seed, is this year’s rags-to-riches Wimbledon story.

When he once played the US Open, New Yorkers coughed up to buy him tennis shoes while, two years ago, when he was ranked at a lowly 221 in the world, he didn’t have the cash to buy a ticket to the Australian Open.

“I have had some troubles during my career. You practice and work for these kind of moments,” said Janowicz, who broke down in floods of tears on Wednesday when he defeated compatriot Lukasz Kubot. AFP

27

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

Football

United play it tough with Rooney over transfer talk Jamie Jackson

W

ayne Rooney will have to make a formal transfer request if he wants to leave Manchester United as the club continue to insist the striker is not for sale.

It is unclear whether the player and David Moyes were able to sit down on Wednesday to discuss his future, but United are relaxed about the issue and in no rush to resolve it. The new manager has no wish to sell Rooney, and the 27-year-old has two years remaining on his contract.

Rooney’s position is that, having aired his grievances to Moyes around a month ago, he now wants to hear how the Scot views his prospective role in the side. Last season Sir Alex Ferguson selected Rooney out of position, dropped him for key games, and questioned his fitness.

The forward may also want Moyes to publicly confirm that he did not make a formal transfer request towards the end of last season, as Ferguson has claimed.

Rooney’s former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, admits he misses life at Manchester United but has ruled out an imminent return to the club he left for Real Madrid in 2009.

Although the Portuguese forward, who also has two years remaining on his contract, has been linked with a move to United, and the English champions would be keen to resign him, Ronaldo says he is happy in Spain.

“I miss English football,” he said.

“For me it was [some] of the best years in my career when I was there in Manchester United. Everyone knows that it is a club that is still in my heart and I really, really miss. But now my life is in Spain. I am enjoying playing there, too.”

The 28-year-old did not, however, rule out a move back to United. “Part

WhilE their senior clubmates battle across town in the Metfone C-League tomorrow afternoon, Phnom Penh Crown Academy take on East Timor at 3:45pm at Old Stadium in the Frenz-FAM U15 ASEAN Champions Trophy.

The Cambodian boys lost 4-1 to the Timorese outfit away in Dili on June 25, and the visitors have since drawn and won in two home games, while Crown suffered a 3-0 defeat in Thailand. Crown are currently bottom of the six-team Group A, nursing a single point from their five games to date. East Timor are fourth on eight points. DAN RILEY

Leonardo ban extended after failed push appeal

Wayne Rooney (right) must ask to leave United, while Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo (left) will not return imminently to the club.

of my life is there, but in the future we never know. I am really, really happy in the Spanish league.”

Ronaldo has so far refused to discuss new terms with Real but it would require United to offer £60 million ($91.5 million) for the Spanish club to consider selling a player who has scored 146 goals in 135 appearances for them.

United will not find it easy to sign Leighton Baines after an initial £12 million bid was rejected, according to Everton’s new manager, Roberto Martinez.

“I think Leighton is more than a player, he is an icon,” Martinez said.

“He represents a lot about our football club and I am really, really excited about Leighton. This is a big season for him and for us as a club.

“When you are the left-back of this football club, and the level that he has been reaching over the last few years consistently, it shows me that he is the best left-back in the country. I can’t wait to start working with him.”

He continued: “Leighton is a phenomenal performer and has become a very consistent player for Everton.

Brazil back in FIFA top 10 Five-time world champions Brazil leapt back into the top 10 of the FIFA rankings after winning the Confederations Cup last month.

Brazil, who had plummeted to a record low 22nd and spent exactly one year outside the top 10, jumped to ninth after winning all five of their matches at the tournament which they hosted.

They were also helped by a 3-0 win over France in a warmup match.

Brazil’s low position had been

Crown lads face East Timor in home U15 leg

a combination of their lacklustre recent results and their lack of competitive internationals.

Before the Confederations Cup, Brazil, who qualify automatically for next year’s World Cup as hosts, had spent the past two years playing only friendlies, which earn fewer points under the complex calculation system.

Oceania champions Tahiti dropped 16 places, from 138th to 154th, after losing all three games and conceding 24 goals at the Confederations Cup.

The rankings continued to make embarrassing reading for Asia, whose highest-ranked team Japan have dropped to 37th place. Australia and South Korea are the only other two Asian confederation teams in the top 50.

Spain stayed top, despite losing 3-0 to Brazil in the Confederations Cup final, while Germany remained second and Colombia rose to third.

Bosnia (14th), Peru (19th), Albania (37th), Cape Verde (49th), Dominican Republic (90th),Tajikistan (106th) and Guam (176th) all achieved their highest-ever rankings.

FIFA World Rankings

Brazil’s Confederation Cup win lifted them to ninth in the world.

REUTERS

1. Spain (1) 2. Germany (2) 3. Colombia (7) 4. Argentina (3) 5. Netherlands (9) 6. Italy (8) 7. Portugal (6) 8. Croatia (4) 9. Brazil (22) 10. Belgium (12)

REUTERS

A lot of people get upset when other clubs show interest in their players but I feel it is compliment. Leighton is vital for our future and what we are going to achieve at the club.”

Moyes’s introduction as the new United manager will take place today.

Meanwhile, midfielder Ryan Giggs has been appointed player-coach at United, the club said yesterday.

Giggs, 39, signed a one-year extension to his playing contract in March and will combine his new duties with being a member of the first-team squad. THE GUARDIAN

Four sides shoot for Super 4 playoff spots Dan Riley

The race for the two remaining berths in the Super 4 playoffs goes down to the wire this weekend in the final round of Metfone C-League fixtures of the 2013 regular season.

Svay Rieng, Naga Corp, Kirivong Sok Sen Chey and Build Bright United are all with a shout at a spot in the postseason, which kicks off the following weekend.

Svay Rieng, formerly Preah Khan Reach, who have won the Hun Sen Cup twice but have never tasted league success, have arguably the easiest task as they require just a point from their match tomorrow against already relegated Asia Europe University. The tie will be played at Old Stadium from 3pm.

Over at Olympic Stadium at 4pm, Kirivong will go all out in their game against Phnom Penh Crown, who booked their playoff place last week,

with all three points needed to give the Takeo team a chance of a top four finish.

Tomorrow’s other match at 2pm at Olympic Stadium is a dead rubber between National Police and bottom club Senate Secretariat. While Senate will seek to add to their meager two points from the campaign, Police will attempt to consolidate their seventh position.

With a Cambodian People’s Party rally taking over Olympic Stadium on Sunday, the two concluding fixtures will now be played on Monday. Naga Corp face league leaders and reigning champions Boeung Ket Rubber Field at 2pm, before BBU clash with Ministry of National Defence at 4pm.

Two-time former winners Naga would beat both Kirivong and BBU to a Super 4 spot with a win on Monday as they currently stand a point above both of them, with Svay Rieng a further two ahead.

Paris St-Germain sporting director Leonardo’s suspension for pushing a match official has been extended to 13 months by the French soccer federation (FFF) after the club failed in its bid to have the original ban reduced. “The superior appeal commission has suspended Leonardo until June 30, 2014,” the FFF said in statement yesterday.

Television footage showed the Brazilian bumping into referee Alexandre Castro with his left shoulder in the Parc des Princes tunnel after PSG drew 1-1 with Valenciennes in a Ligue 1 encounter in May. The French champions, who were also handed a suspended three-point deduction, had appealed the initial nine-month ban imposed by the French League. REUTERS

Liverpool’s Shelvey signs for Swansea

Swansea City splashed out £5 million ($7.59 million) to prise hard-working midfielder Jonjo Shelvey away from Premier League rivals Liverpool on Wednesday.

The Welsh club said on their website (swanseacity.net) that Shelvey, who spent three years at Liverpool and made 32 appearances under Brendan Rodgers last season, had signed a four-year deal at the Liberty Stadium. His domestic and European form earned a first England cap as a secondhalf substitute in a World Cup qualifier against San Marino at Wembley last October.

REUTERS

weekend fixtures Anvaya League

at Mekong University Fields Sunday June 7 Anvaya Sporting Club v PSE 9am Tiger FC v KhmerDev 2:30pm Red Cowboys FC v Bassac FC 2:30pm PPIA v Victory FC – 4pm

Financial Challenge Cup

at Beeline Arena Sunday July 7

HwangDBS v KPMG – 8am Maruhan Japan v FTB 8:30am Wing v PWC – 9am Ernst & Young v Cam Ed 9:30am HwangDBS v Maruhan Japan – 10am KPMG v FTB – 10:30am Wing v Ernst & Young – 11am PWC v Cam Ed – 11:30am

28

THE PHNOM PENH POST july 5, 2013

Sport Koupreys look to knock spots off Leopards in two A5N ties H S Manjunath

had a month to train, but that is still not enough at this level. We only had two weeks of training last year and all we could do were drills.”

The Brunei national team, nicknamed the Leopards, have reportedly gone through conditioning training in the mornings, weight sessions in the afternoons and field work at nights over the last three weeks as part of a rigorous preparation.

Admission is free to the members of the public for both matches, according to the Cambodian Rugby Federation.

C

ambodian national rugby team the Kourpreys will host a double-header against Brunei today and Sunday at the Old Stadium in the 2013 HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division V international tournament, with both matches marked for a 3pm start.

The two sides met in the opener of the same event at the same venue last year when the Koupreys blew up a 15-0 lead and saw Brunei score a comeback 19-15 victory.

It could well make a good case for deja vu all over, but Koupreys coach Laurie Karatau strongly believes that his side can turn it around this time even though he had no part to play in that game.

“The members who played against Brunei last year realise that they let themselves down by not playing consistently for the full 80 minutes and letting Brunei come back,” Karatau told the Post.

“I have seen the video footage of the game and feel that one of the problems was lack of good leadership and lack of stamina and fitness.

We have worked these deficiencies this year.

“Brunei are going to be physically bigger and will try to dominate the game up front. We will counter this by getting down quicker to the breakdowns, gaining quick possession, strong defensive positioning, hard tackling and creating open spaces out wide,” added the coach.

Self belief had never been higher in the Cambodian camp with the coach reasserting the side’s positive attitude with encouraging words. “We now believe that our strengths will

Cambodian Squad

A Cambodian player gets pulled back by a Brunei player during their Asian 5 Nations Division V clash on June 26 last year.

cover whatever weaknesses we may have had in the past,” he said.

A strong competitive front row could count among the home side’s notable forte, while nimble-footed loose forwards Long Dy, Lavy Arashad and Matt Reese could also make a huge difference, according to Karatau.

The attacking potential of captain

Vanak Vireak at centre is a clear plus for the side to go with an exciting young fly half in Alexis Chevallier and fullback Nheb Rotha.

Meanwhile, Brunei’s Samoan coach Ben Bourne has gathered a strong squad of 24 and has been putting them through the paces in preparation for this tour.

Brunei captain Mohamed Azahar

SRENG MENG SRUN

Awg Timbang recently told the Brunei Times that their upcoming double clash would be an indication as to how well prepared the team were.

“Bourne has filled our time with morning, afternoon and evening training sessions,” Timbang was quoted as saying.

“Our training sessions all had proper training management and we’ve

Suasdey Chea – Front Row Kimseang Chro – Front Row Dara Uk – Front Row Richard Flanagan – Front Row Chhan Vanyuth – Flanker Ut Vuthy – Lock / Flanker Matt Rees – Flanker / Front Row Vong Long Dy – Flanker Chey Sophol – Lock / Front Row Julien Roumy – Lock Vannak Vong – Flanker Dan Wetherall – Lock / No 8 Lavy Arashad – Flanker / No 8 Luke Wilkie – Scrum Half Ratana Pich – Scrum Half Alexis Chevalier – Fly Half Vanak Vireak – Centre Daniel Parkes – Centre Hun Hean – Wing/ Centre Norn Vanara – Wing/ Fullback Nheb Rotha – Fullback Lav Yu Ra – Wing Chan Samedi – Center Sophea Phan – Lock/ Flanker Lach Sopera – Center/ Fly Half Khemrin Dul – Fullback/ Wing Coach: Laurie Karatau Manager: Jean-Baptise Suberbie

Wallabies’ Smith gets recall for crucial third Lions Test

Australian rugby team player Gearge Smith poses during a photo shoot in Sydney yesterday ahead of their Lions series decider tomorrow. AFP

Flanker George Smith will make a sensational return to Test rugby tomorrow after being named to start for Australia in the decisive third Test against the British and Irish Lions.

Smith retired from international rugby in 2010 after making 110 appearances for Australia – including all three Tests against the 2001 British Lions – and will win his 111th cap against the tourists at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium.

The 32-year-old’s surprise selection yesterday sees incumbent openside Michael Hooper dropped to the bench in the only change to the starting line-up from the side that beat the Lions 16-15 in Melbourne last weekend.

Liam Gill, the third openside in the squad, misses out – a

tough call on a player whose late line-out steal played a major role in Australia winning the second Test last weekend.

“The decision to go with George in no way reflects any dissatisfaction with the way either Michael or Liam have played,” coach Robbie Deans said in a news release.

“But it has been a tough series – the first two games have been rugged, especially at the breakdown, and we feel that the combination of experience and fresh legs that George brings is the right way to go for this week.

“His expertise in the contact zone, where timing, judgment and physicality is everything, is going to be critical.

“Being able to call on George allows us to lighten the load on

Michael while retaining the ability to inject him into what is sure to be a fast-paced and highly physical contest.”

Loose forward Ben McCalman is named on the bench as cover for blindside flanker and number eight in the only other addition to the squad.

Coach Robbie Deans has gambled on a 6-2 split in favour of the forwards on the bench with only back-up scrumhalf Nick Phipps and uncapped fullback Jesse Mogg to cover the backline.

Even with three backs on the bench in the 23-21 first Test defeat in Brisbane, the Wallabies were left short-handed after three backs went off injured with Hooper ending up playing in the centres.

Once one of the best open-

side flankers in the world, Smith stormed back into contention for this year’s Lions tour on the back of some brilliant performances for the ACT Brumbies.

He looked like being ruled out by a knee injury on the eve of the initial squad announcement but a remarkably quick recovery saw him called into the squad after the first Test defeat.

“He’s class, isn’t he?” Deans added.

“To have achieved what George has throughout his career, and return to play at the highest level, after such a long break, is a testament to the quality of the man, both as a person, and as a player.”

Tomorrow’s match kicks off at 5:05pm Cambodian time.

REUTERS