A Change of Guard

សូមស្តាប់វិទ្យុសង្គ្រោះជាតិ Please read more Khmer news and listen to CNRP Radio at National Rescue Party. សូមស្តាប់វីទ្យុខ្មែរប៉ុស្តិ៍/Khmer Post Radio.
Follow Khmerization on Facebook/តាមដានខ្មែរូបនីយកម្មតាម Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/khmerization.khmerican

Thursday 28 February 2013

Government official accused the opposition of inciting border problems with Vietnam after the opposition leader visited the border due to complaints of encroachments by Vietnam រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ចោទ​មន្ត្រី​បក្ស​ប្រឆាំង​ថា​ញុះញង់​បញ្ហា​ព្រំដែន​ខ្មែរ-វៀតណាម

មន្ត្រី​នាំ​ពាក្យ​ទីស្ដីការ​គណៈរដ្ឋមន្ត្រី លោក ផៃ ស៊ីផាន កាល​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ពុធ បាន​ចោទ​ប្រកាន់​សមាជិក​ព្រឹទ្ធសភា និង​ជា​ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស សម រង្ស៊ី លោក គង់ គាំ ថា​កំពុង​ញុះញង់ បង្ក​បញ្ហា​ព្រំដែន​កម្ពុជា និង​វៀតណាម ឲ្យ​កើត​មាន​ឡើង​វិញ។
ដោយ យន់ សាមៀន
2013-02-28 Listen to the audio at RFA Service
ផៃ ស៊ីផាន ៣០៥
អ្នក​នាំ​ពាក្យ​ទីស្ដីការ​គណៈរដ្ឋមន្ត្រី និង​ជា​អនុ​ប្រធាន​នៃ​ក្រុម​ការងារ​អន្តរ​ក្រសួង លោក ផៃ ស៊ីផាន ផ្ដល់​បទសម្ភាសន៍​ដល់​អ្នក​កាសែត នា​រាជធានី​ភ្នំពេញ កាល​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​១៤ ខែ​កក្កដា ឆ្នាំ​២០១១។
RFA/Sok Serey
ការ​ចោទ​ប្រកាន់​នេះ ធ្វើ​ឡើង​បន្ទាប់​ពី​លោក គង់ គាំ បាន​ទៅ​ពិនិត្យ​ព្រំដែន​នៅ​ស្រុក​ស្វាយជ្រំ ខេត្ត​ស្វាយរៀង ប៉ុន្តែ​ត្រូវ​បាន​អាជ្ញាធរ​វៀតណាម រារាំង​លោក​មិន​ឲ្យ​ទៅ​ពិនិត្យ​តំបន់​ដែល​ពលរដ្ឋ​ខ្មែរ​ចោទ​ថា ប្រទេស​វៀតណាម បាន​យក​ទឹកដី​ខ្មែរ ធ្វើ​ជា​ទឹកដី​របស់​វៀតណាម នោះ។ លោក គង់ គាំ បាន​ឲ្យ​ដឹង​ថា ពលរដ្ឋ​រស់នៅ​ច្រក​ព្រំដែន​ក្រសាំងជ្រំ ស្នើសុំ​ឲ្យ​លោក​ទៅ​ពិនិត្យ​តំបន់​ព្រំដែន​ដែល​ពលរដ្ឋ​អះអាង​ថា កម្ពុជា បាត់​បង់​ទឹក​ដី​ប្រហែល​មួយ​គីឡូម៉ែត្រ។


លោក ផៃ ស៊ីផាន មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា រដ្ឋាភិបាល​នឹង​ចុះ​ទៅ​ពិនិត្យ​តំបន់​ព្រំដែន​ដែល​ពលរដ្ឋ​ចោទ​ថា កំពុង​មាន​បញ្ហា​នោះ ប្រសិន​បើ​លោក គង់ គាំ ដាក់​ពាក្យ​បណ្ដឹង។ ទោះ​បី​ជា​យ៉ាង​ក៏ដោយ លោក ផៃ ស៊ីផាន បាន​រិះគន់​ថា សមាជិក​ព្រឹទ្ធសភា​គណបក្ស សម រង្ស៊ី មិន​ត្រូវ​ព្យាយាម​ដោះស្រាយ​បញ្ហា​ព្រំដែន​ដោយ​ផ្ទាល់​ខ្លួន​ឡើយ។ លោក​ថា បញ្ហា​ព្រំដែន​ជា​បញ្ហា​អន្តរជាតិ ត្រូវ​ដោះស្រាយ​ដោយ​គណៈកម្មាធិការ​ព្រំដែន​នៃ​ប្រទេស​ទាំង​ពីរ។


ទោះ​ជា​យ៉ាង​ណា​ក្តី លោក គង់ គាំ បញ្ជាក់​ថា លោក​គ្មាន​ជំនឿ​ថា​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​នឹង​ដោះស្រាយ​បញ្ហា​ព្រំដែន​នៅ​ជាប់​នឹង​ ប្រទេស​វៀតណាម បាន​ឡើយ៕
កំណត់ចំណាំចំពោះអ្នកបញ្ចូលមតិនៅក្នុងអត្ថបទនេះ៖ ដើម្បី​រក្សា​សេចក្ដី​ថ្លៃថ្នូរ យើង​ខ្ញុំ​នឹង​ផ្សាយ​តែ​មតិ​ណា ដែល​មិន​ជេរ​ប្រមាថ​ដល់​អ្នក​ដទៃ​ប៉ុណ្ណោះ។

Rong Chhun's biography, achievements and his social works ជីវប្រវត្តិ ស្នាដៃ និង​សកម្មភាព​បម្រើ​សង្គម​របស់​លោក រ៉ុង ឈុន

ការ​តស៊ូ​តវ៉ា​ដើម្បី​ផល​ប្រយោជន៍​គ្រូ​បង្រៀន និង​កម្មករ គឺ​ជា​ទិស​ដៅ​សកម្មភាព​ដែល​លោក រ៉ុង ឈុន ប្រធាន​សមាគម​គ្រូ​បង្រៀន​កម្ពុជា​ឯករាជ្យ​បាន​ប្រកាន់​យក ក្នុង​ការ​បម្រើ​សង្គម និង​ប្រទេស​ជាតិ។
ដោយ កែវ និមល 2013-02-28 RFA Service
រ៉ុង ឈុន បំភ្លឺ​នៅ​តុលការ​ខេត្ត​កណ្ដាល ៣០៥
លោក រ៉ុង ឈុន ផ្តល់​បទ​សម្ភាសន៍​ដល់​អ្នក​យក​ព័ត៌មាន នៅ​មុខ​តុលាការ​ខេត្ត​កណ្ដាល បន្ទាប់​ពី​ចូល​បំភ្លឺ​រួច កាល​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី២៧ ខែ​កញ្ញា ឆ្នាំ​២០១២។
RFA/Vann Vicha
លោក រ៉ុង ឈុន បាន​ឲ្យ​ដឹង​ថា ដោយ​សារ​ការ​តវ៉ា​ដើម្បី​ផល​ប្រយោជន៍​គ្រូ​បង្រៀន និង​កម្មករ​នេះ ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​លោក​រៀន​បាន​មេ​រៀន​ជាច្រើន​ពី​ជីវិត ហើយ​បាន​មើល​ឃើញ​យ៉ាង​ច្បាស់​អំពី​តម្លៃ​នៃ​ការ​តស៊ូ​ធ្វើ​ការងារ។
រ៉ុង ឈុន គឺ​ជា​ឈ្មោះ​គ្រូ​បង្រៀន​មួយ​រូប ដែល​អ្នក​សារព័ត៌មាន​ទាំង​ជាតិ និង​អន្តរជាតិ អ្នក​នយោបាយ មន្ត្រី​សង្គម​ស៊ីវិល គ្រូ​បង្រៀន មន្ត្រី​អង្គការ​សិទ្ធិ​មនុស្ស អ្នក​ច្បាប់ កម្មករ​រោងចក្រ​កាត់​ដេរ​ជាច្រើន​នាក់​បាន​ស្គាល់ និង​ដឹង​ពី​សកម្មភាព​តាម​ការ​ផ្សាយ​ព័ត៌មាន​នានា។
គិត​មក​ត្រឹម​ឆ្នាំ​២០១៣ នេះ លោក រ៉ុង ឈុន មាន​អាយុ​ជាង ៤០​ឆ្នាំ។ លោក​មាន​សក់​រួញ​អង្គាដី និង​មាន​សម្ដី​និយាយ​មួយៗ ច្បាស់ៗ។ លោក​មាន​ស្រុក​កំណើត​នៅ​ភូមិ​ចុងកោះតូច ឃុំ​តាលន់ ស្រុក​ស្អាង ខេត្ត​កណ្ដាល។ លោក​បាន​រៀន​ចប់​មហាវិទ្យាល័យ និង​ជា​មន្ត្រី​ក្រសួង​អប់រំ យុវជន និង​កីឡា និង​ជា​គ្រូ​បង្ហាត់​មុខ​វិជ្ជា​គណិតវិទ្យា។
ក្នុង​ពេល​ជួប​សម្ភាសន៍​ជាមួយ​អ្នក​យក​ព័ត៌មាន​វិទ្យុ​អាស៊ីសេរី លោក រ៉ុង ឈុន បាន​រៀបរាប់​ឲ្យ​ដឹង​ថា លោក​ចាប់​ផ្ដើម​សកម្មភាព​បម្រើ​សង្គម ចូល​រួម​តវ៉ា​ជា​សាធារណៈ​ជាមួយ​គ្រូ​បង្រៀន និង​កម្មករ​រោងចក្រ​កាត់​ដេរ នៅ​ក្នុង​ឆ្នាំ​១៩៩៦ ដោយ​លោក​មើល​ឃើញ​ថា កម្មករ​រោងចក្រ​កាត់​ដេរ​បាន​ទទួល​ប្រាក់​បៀវត្សរ៍​ទាប​ពេក មិន​គ្រប់​សម្រាប់​ចំណាយ​ក្នុង​ជីវភាព​រស់នៅ​ឲ្យ​បាន​សមរម្យ​ឡើយ នៅ​ក្នុង​ពេល​ដែល​ថៅកែ​រោងចក្រ​បាន​ទទួល​ប្រាក់​ចំណេញ​ជាច្រើន​ពី​ការ​ខិតខំ ​ធ្វើ​ការ​របស់​កម្មករ​រោងចក្រ​កាត់​ដេរ​ទាំង​អស់​នោះ។

[Chhouk Bandith] Getting his day in court

Last Updated on 28 February 2013 
Phnom Penh Post
By May Titthara

130228 01
Former Bavet town governor Chhouk Bandith, a suspect in a multiple-shooting case, leaves the Appeal Court in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post
Sitting directly opposite the three women he has been accused of shooting at a protest last year, former Bavet town governor Chhouk Bandith smiled as he finally appeared in court yesterday, 10 months after he was first charged with the crime that has drawn so much unwanted attention to Cambodia.
Bandith has kept a low profile since the three garment workers were shot in front of thousands at a protest outside the Kaoway Sports shoe factory in the town he then governed, and few expected him to actually appear at the Appeal Court yesterday.
Just under two months ago, it seemed Bandith would never see the inside of a courtroom when the Svay Rieng Provincial Court dropped its charge of causing “unintentional injury”. But an Appeal Court prosecutor later called for a re-investigation amid public outrage.
After deftly slipping past a press pack all but undetected, Bandith discreetly took his place yesterday and prepared to testify at what had been billed as  an open session of court.
But the media, rights groups, a  monitor for the United Nations and industry observers were quickly ushered out of the court before a single word of testimony was uttered, leaving it up to those inside to recount the proceedings.
Keo Near, 19, one of the three victims who was shot during the protest in Svay Rieng province, said after a five-hour hearing that Bandith had maintained he merely fired his gun into the air during the proceedings.
She said Bandith claimed he had no intention to shoot the workers but that his gun had misfired while workers scuffled with him and police.

ACU to act on Telecom claims

Last Updated on 28 February 2013 
Phnom Penh Post
By Meas Sokchea

130228 03
Anti-Corruption Unit head Om Yentieng (front, left) and Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun (front, right) attend a meeting yesterday in Phnom Penh. Photograph: Hong Menea/Phnom Penh Post
The president of the group responsible for rooting out government graft said yesterday that his investigators will look into allegations of corruption filed by state-owned Telecom Cambodia (TC) employees against the director-general of the company, Lao Saroeun.
Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) President Om Yentieng told reporters after the meeting with TC staff members at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications that the ACU will meet with complainants next week and, if there is legitimacy to the allegations, summon Saroeun to hear his side of the story the following week.
“If we see that this issue is not serious enough to reach a criminal case, [TC] could resolve it in an administrative way. But if it is complete enough to send to the court, we will send it to the court,” Yentieng said. “And when [we] have received the proof, we will ask Mr Lao Saroeun to make clarifications, clarifications by letter or by inviting him to the unit to defend himself.”
Yentieng encouraged the employees to complain openly to the unit involved in Saroeun’s case, guaranteeing safety for all of them and even promising to provide bodyguards or police to guard the homes of anyone who felt endangered.

Newspaper editor and partner face three years in jail [Whoever dare to complain against Om Yintieng's ACU will go to jail. For sure this is a crackdown on journalists who dare to find out the truth] រឿងក្តីចោទតុលាការ ថាពុករលួយ៖ ជាប់គុកចាងហ្វាងកាសែត និងគូកនម្នាក់

Give our kids a better deal
Phai Bunthoeurn (left) and Hong Sakhorn, Newspaper editor (white Shirt)
 
PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) -- Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Thursday a newspaper editor and his partner to three years in prison and a six million riel fine for forgery and defamation.

The Anti-Corruption Unit arrested Ponleu Samki's editor in chief Hong Sakhorn, also known as Hong Chamroeun, and Phai Bunthoeurn last year.

Hong Sakhorn was accused of extorting $70,000 from the children of a man for whom he was working. Phai Bunthoeurn was found to have made a fake complaint against anti-corruption unit officers.

ភ្នំពេញ: លោក​ ហង្ស ចំរើន ហៅ​ ហង្ស សា​ខន អាយុ​ ៤៧​ឆ្នាំ ជា​ចាងហ្វាង​កាសែត ពន្លឺ​សាមគ្គី និងលោក ​ផៃ ប៊ុនធឿន អាយុ​ ៤៧​ឆ្នាំ ជា​ពាណិជ្ជករ ដែល​ត្រូវ​អង្គភាព​ប្រឆាំង​អំពើពុក​រលួយ ​​ឃាត់ខ្លួន ​កាលពី​ឆ្នាំមុន​នោះ បាន​ត្រូវចៅក្រម ​តុលាការ​សាលាដំបូង​រាជធានី​ភ្នំពេញ សម្រេច​ដាក់ពន្ធនាគារ​ក្នុង​ម្នាក់ៗ ​៣​ឆ្នាំ និងពិន័យ​ជា​ប្រាក់ ​៦ ​លាន​រៀល​។

Cambodian exports to Malaysia almost double in 2012

PHNOM PENH, 28 February 2013 (The Cambodia Herald) -- Cambodia's exports to Malaysia almost doubled from $55.5 million a year earlier to $101 million in 2012, the Malaysian Embassy said.

Exports were led by crude rubber at $69.1 million followed by milled rice at $24.3 million, up sharply from $9.5 million in 2011 and only $0.4 million in 2010.

A statement released Wednesday said Malaysia had a "keen interest" in diversifying its sources of rice imports.

The embassy foresees "positive growth" in milled rice imports from Cambodia "subject to gradual development in quality and competitive pricing," it said.

"Although, the modernization of the sector is still ongoing, the result in terms of quality (is) already visible. However, more efforts need (to) be done to develop     (the) Cambodian rice sector to become more price competitive and sufficient in export production."

RACE Partners with Local Leaders to Create Aerospace Company in Cambodia [Is this for real, or is it a joke?]

The RACE organization is partnered with local business leaders in Cambodia to build Cambodian Aerospace Industries, Inc., the country’s first true aerospace company. This is the first of several technology/knowledge transfer programs RACE and its base of over 90 partners from the USA have planned for Cambodia.

Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia (PRWEB) February 28, 2013 -  The RACE nonprofit organization has partnered to build the Kingdom of Cambodia’s first true aerospace company. Unlike previous airlines, aircraft maintenance or manufacturing organizations created in the past, Cambodian Aerospace Industries, Inc., will be the first Cambodian company to be fully staffed by employees that are fully licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In order to achieve this, Cambodian Aerospace Industries, Inc. has partnered with RACE to donate millions in training programs, aircraft, simulators and other items needed to produce a world-class, professional accredited/certified aerospace training facility in Cambodia. As noted in several recent news articles and in press releases by Cambodia's Prime Minister, Hun Sen, the expansion of Cambodia’s aerospace sector is greatly needed to ensure the long-term stability and growth of tourism.
RACE and several local government leaders have been studying the infrastructural needs of Cambodia for the past eight months. Mr. Mao, a former Khmer Rouge refugee was one of the many RACE employees that returned to Cambodia for this deployment. “I wanted to be part of something where I could use the skills I learned in the USA to help make a difference back home [in Cambodia]," said Mr. Mao. Mr. Mao has spent over eight months traveling across Cambodia collecting data for RACE’s support planning. “The RACE team developed the plans for Cambodian Aerospace Industries, Inc. and several other companies months ago, while secretly tucked away in the Dara Airport Hotel in Phnom Penh”, said Mr. Fioto, CEO of RACE.

Not for Our Tragedy Alone

The genocide committed by Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime earns a place in Washington’s Holocaust Museum

By Joe Freeman| 
http://www.tabletmag.com
February 28, 2013
A foreign tourist looks at skulls of Khmer Rouge’s victims displayed in a memorial at the site of the former killing field at Choeung Ek in the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Feb. 2, 2012. (HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images)
Related Content

Remembrance Day

Building a memorial always brings fraught politics, especially on a hilltop in Rwanda

Deliberate Evil

In a new book, Daniel Goldhagen broadens the indictment he leveled in ‘Hitler’s Willing Executioners’
On a seasonably hot day last October, Michael Abramowitz, director of the committee on conscience at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, stood on a strip of flat land in central Cambodia, near the mass graves of a former prison and execution site in the province of Kampong Chhnang. Rice paddies stretched out in the distance. The rainy season was nearing its muggy end. The trip was the second Abramowitz had made from his office in Washington, D.C., in as many years, though this time a large group of museum board members and Cambodian experts on genocide accompanied him.
In Kampong Chhnang, Abramowitz spoke with survivors of the Khmer Rouge era and visited the site of a defunct airport built by the regime with forced labor. The group’s weeklong hopscotch through Cambodia also landed the visitors in the audience of the ongoing war crimes tribunal, where three aging former Khmer Rouge leaders are on trial, and took them to the can’t-miss features of this country’s genocide tourism trail: the high-school-turned-torture-center called Tuol Sleng prison, or S-21, in the center of Phnom Penh; and the infamous “killing fields” of Choeung Ek, about a 15-kilometer drive southwest of the capital. But the trip had a practical, not simply educational, aim. The museum’s delegation came here, to Cambodia, to gather background about the devastation wrought by the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to early 1979, a period when nearly 2 million people—about a quarter of the country’s total population at the time—were killed through starvation, overwork, and execution. For the first time in its 20-year history, the American museum was carrying out plans to add a display about the Cambodian nightmare to its story of the Holocaust.

CCHR Briefing Note on Freedom of Expression in Cambodia

Dear all,

Today, 28 February 2013, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights ("CCHR") is releasing the third in a series of four Briefing Notes. Each examines key issues related to human rights in Cambodia: political and electoral reform; judicial reform; freedom of expression; and land reform.

The attached Briefing Note - on freedom of expression - provides an overview of the situation of freedom of expression in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”) and suggests concrete recommendations for the adequate protection and promotion of the right. The crackdown on freedom of expression in Cambodia seriously threatens the progression, and even the survival, of the country’s fledgling democracy, as well as its lasting economic development. Considering the recent upsurge in severe restrictions on the right to freedom of expression in Cambodia, and with the July 2013 National Assembly Elections in sight, this Briefing Note recommends the following: 1) media should be free to report independently, and political debate encouraged, not punished; 2) the draft Cyber Law that proposes to restrict internet freedoms, especially freedom of expression, should be dropped; 3) aspects of existing legislation that threaten free expression must be amended or removed; and 4) judicial reform, including ensuring thorough education of legal professionals on up-to-date domestic and international laws, and punishment for corruption.

Please find the Briefing Note attached in Khmer and English.

For more information, please contact CCHR President Ou Virak via telephone at  +855 (0) 12 40 40 51  or e-mail at ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org or Senior Consultant Robert Finch via telephone at  +855 (0) 78 80 99 60  or e-mail at robert.finch@cchrcambodia.org.

Kind regards,
CCHR

Call for Flexibility in Cambodian Wage Talks

RFA Service 
27 February 2013
cambodia-labor-advisory-council-2-feb-2013-crop.jpg
Union representatives gather to discuss minimum wage for workers, Feb. 26, 2013.
RFA
The Cambodian government on Wednesday called on unions and employers to be flexible in their negotiations over an increase in the minimum wage for garment and footwear workers as the two sides remained poles apart following a second straight day of tense talks.

Ministry of Labor Under Secretary of State Sat Samouth urged the two parties to “soften their stances,” calling on the unions to lower their demand and representatives of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) to raise their offer for a fair compromise. 

At a press conference during a break in talks, he told reporters that the government is optimistic the parties could agree by April for an increase in the minimum wage from its current rate of U.S. $61 per month.

Union representatives had asked for the minimum wage to be doubled to U.S. $120 per month in negotiations on Tuesday, but reduced their bid to U.S. $100 on Wednesday, while GMAC representatives held fast on their offer of U.S. $72.

Tourists visiting Ta Moan and Ta Krabey Temples ទេសចរនៅ​ប្រាសាទ​តាមាន់

Tourists visiting Ta Moan and Ta Krabey Temples where heavy fighting between Cambodian and Thai troops in April 2011 that killed at least 10 soldiers from each side.

http://youtu.be/N4KTgct-4Zo

Border Market at Choup Koki village ផ្សារ​ព្រំដែន​ខ្មែរ-ថៃ​ជប់​គគីរ

http://youtu.be/X-db-bXnAb4

Details of Agreement for New Jet Still Elusive [Secrecy surrounding the purchase of Hun Sen's Air Force One]


Details on the government’s acquisition of a new private airliner remained elusive on Monday with officials saying that only Prime Minister Hun Sen and State Secretariat of Civil Aviation Secretary of State Mao Havanall are privy to the agreement to procure the 150-seat French-made Airbus A320.
CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap—who last week said the government had purchased the estimated $91.5 million plane, then quickly retracted his comments the following day saying the plane was on lease—on Monday said that only Mr. Hun Sen and Mr. Havanall knew the specifics of the deal.
“Samdech Hun Sen is the prime minister…and has the right to decide to lease it. I know that the Secretary of State of Civil Aviation [Mr. Havanall] is in charge of the plane,” Mr. Yeap said.
“They know the details,” he said.
“The prime minister appointed Excellency Havanall. He is going to sign that lease deal,” said Coun­cil of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan.
Mr. Siphan added that Mr. Havanall is the only official with intimate knowledge of the agreement, though he stressed that the Airbus, which made its inaugural flight on Thursday, was leased rather than purchased. “Only Havanall knows,” he said.
Mr. Havanall has not responded to requests for comment since Thursday.
Mr. Siphan said that during a Council of Ministers meeting on Friday, Mr. Hun Sen said the plane would be used exclusively by five individuals: the prime minister, Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly President Heng Samrin, King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath.
Mr. Siphan said that despite being unable to estimate the cost to the country of acquiring an Airbus exclusively for senior officials, he was confident that the deal, of which he could not provide details, would prove both “convenient” and “economical.”

Wasted youth: PM chides children of privilege [Did he chide his nephews too?]

Last Updated on 27 February 2013
Phnom Penh Post

By Meas Sokchea
 

Wasted youth
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday offered praise for poor students and condemnation for wealthy scions, who too often waste the ample opportunities handed to them.
“A few days ago, I heard that they chased to shoot each other. They have cars and they race, while the poor youths do not have even bicycle to ride,” Hun Sen said during a graduation speech at the National Institute of Education, referring to a story that appeared in local media about two rival gangs that chased one another in Range Rovers through the streets of Phnom Penh, opening fire as they did so.
“We are regretful for people who have opportunity and do not use their opportunity,” he added.
While Hun Sen’s children have avoided scandal, other relatives have not been as circumspect. At least two of his nephews have been arrested after allegedly firing shots at nightclubs – only to be quickly released.
Another nephew served 10 months on manslaughter charges for allegedly shooting two people to death after a drag race in the capital. The conviction was later overturned.

Former Singer Oum Kunthea run away from home អតីត តារាចម្រៀង យេ.! យេ.! អ៊ុំ គន្ធា រត់ចោលផ្ទះ ក្រោយលក់កង្ហារ លក់ពូកចាយអស់

www.dap-news.com
អតីតតារាចម្រៀង អ៊ុំ គន្ធា កាលនៅភាពហ៊ឺហា
www.dap-news.com
អតីតតារាចម្រៀង អ៊ុំ គន្ធា បច្ចុប្បន្ន
Wednesday, 27 February 2013 ដោយ ៖ ដើមអម្ពិល(DAP News): ID-014 
Please read her life story: Once a rising star, now a beggar.
 
ភ្នំពេញ ៖ យោងតាមប្រភពព័ត៌មាន ដែលទម្លាយចេញដោយក្រុមគ្រួសារ អតីត តារាចម្រៀងយេ.! យេ.! គឺអ្នកនាងអ៊ុំ គន្ធា ដែលមួយរយៈចុងក្រោយ នេះ ឆាកជីវិត របស់នាងជួបនៅព្យុះជីវិតបក់បោកស្ទើរតែ ទប់ខ្លួនមិននឹងនោះ ឥឡូវជីវិតទុរគតរបស់ នាង កាន់តែធ្លាក់ដុនដាបស្ទើរហៅលែងឮ ទៀតហើយ ដោយនាងបានរត់ចេញពីផ្ទះគ្មាន គោលដៅពិតប្រាកដ ហើយក៏មិនដឹងរសាត់ អណ្ដែតទៅដល់ទីណានោះដែរ បន្ទាប់ពីរូប នាងមាន ជម្លោះនៅក្នុងផ្ទៃគ្រួសារ ជាមួយ នឹងឪពុកម្ដាយបន្ថែមមួយជាន់ទៀតនោះ។
អ្នកស្រី ស៊ីនួន ដែលមានវ័យប្រមាណ ជិត៧០ឆ្នាំ ជាម្ដាយរបស់អ្នកនាងអ៊ុំ គន្ធា បានថ្លែងប្រាប់ភ្នាក់ងារដើមអម្ពិលតាមទូរ ស័ព្ទ នៅរសៀលថ្ងៃទី២៧ ខែកុម្ភៈម្សិលមិញ ខណៈដែលភ្នាក់ងារដើមអម្ពិល ធ្វើការទាក់ ទង ដើម្បីយកថវិកា ដែលសប្បុរសជនឧប ត្ថម្ភ យកទៅប្រគល់ជូននោះ ដោយម្ដាយ របស់អ្នកនាងអ៊ុំ គន្ធា អះអាងថា អ្នកនាង បានរត់ចាកចេញពីផ្ទះ អស់រយៈពេល៣-៤ ថ្ងៃមកហើយ ដោយមិនដឹងពីមូលហេតុថា នាងរត់ទៅទីណា នោះទេ ។
ម្ដាយបានបន្ដថា គន្ធាកូនស្រីរបស់គាត់ នាងមានការអាក់អន់ ចិត្ដ និងបង្ហាញពីកំហឹងខ្លះៗទៅលើឪពុក ម្ដាយ រហូតដល់ថ្នាក់រត់ចេញពីផ្ទះមិនដឹងជា ទៅដល់ទីណានោះទេ ធ្វើឱ្យរូបគាត់នឹងក្រុម គ្រួសារមានការព្រួយបារម្ភយ៉ាងខ្លាំង ព្រោះ ថាមកដល់ពេលនេះ សូម្បីតែតម្រុយថានាង រស់នៅផ្ទះមិត្ដ ភក្ដិ ឬរស់នៅជាមួយបងប្អូន ក៏គ្មានដំណឹងដែរ ។

Bobruisk Plant of Tractor Parts and Units starts shipping machines to Cambodia

MOGILEV, 27 February 2013 (BelTA) – The Bobruisk-based mechanical engineering company Bobruisk Plant of Tractor Parts and Units has shipped a batch of proprietary compact tractors Belarus 321 to Cambodia for the first time, representatives of the company’s sales department told BelTA.

In line with the contract, which was signed in early January 2013, the company shipped a total of eight Belarus 321 tractors in the first stage. Asked by partners and taking into account the delivery distance and the resulting costs, the company came up with a new scheme to load tractors. The scheme has halved transportation costs per vehicle. The solution will increase the competitive ability of Bobruisk-made machines on the markets of Cambodia, other Asian and African countries by reducing the prices the end customer pays.

The shipment of the Bobruisk-made tractors to Cambodia is a new step in expanding the sales area in Asia. In the last two years compact Belarus machines were shipped to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mongolia, and Malaysia. Several days before the tractors were shipped to Cambodia, Bobruisk Plant of Tractor Parts and Units shipped two tractors of the new model Belarus 320R with a set of mounted and trailed tools to Vietnam.

BelTA has been told that cooperation with the Cambodian partners has real grounds for further growth. The company is now busy getting ready to send the second batch of eight tractors to Cambodia.

Thailand, Cambodia Clash Over Illegal Logging

During border talks on Feb. 26, Cambodia claimed that Thai forces resorted to violence to prevent Cambodian loggers from illegally harvesting Siamese rosewood from Thailand, according to an article in the Bangkok Post today.

While these attacks are nothing new, the Phnom Penh Post  released figures from the Cambodian government claiming that 45 Cambodian loggers were shot and killed inside Thailand last year, three times the number killed in 2011 and five times the number shot dead in 2010. The Thai military denied the claims. Authorities in Thailand are also reported to have arrested 264 Cambodians for illegal logging offenses.

Environmental experts say China’s demand for the rosewood has nearly wiped out the species in Cambodia, according to the Bangkok Post. This demand means a crew of loggers can cross into Thailand for a few days and earn the equivalent of $200 to $1,000—a sum that encourages poor villagers to take the risk.

rosewood-pix-500x388.jpg

Felled Siamese rosewood tree. Photo from the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Wednesday 27 February 2013

Hearing for ex-governor over shooting to resume Thursday សាលាឧទ្ធរណ៍​បើក​សវនាការ​ករណី​លោក ឈូក បណ្ឌិត

Give our kids a better deal
Former Bavet governor Chhouk Bandith

PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) -- Former Bavet governor Chhouk Bandith appeared in the Court of Appeal Wednesday over the shooting of protesting workers in the border town last year.

The three victims, 21-year-old Bun Chinda, 16-year-old Keo Nea and 23-year-old Nout Sakhorn also attended the hearing along with many human rights activists.

After questioning the former governor and two of the three victims, the court adjourned the hearing until Thursday.

Chhouk Bandith was first accused of unintentionally injuring the three workers from the Manhattan Special Economic Zone when he opened fire in February last year.

Svay Rieng Provincial Court dropped the charges in December, saying the court didn’t have enough evidence.

Cambodian soldiers stationed a long the Khmer-Thai borders said they will fight to the death to protect the borders កងទ័ព​ការពារ​ព្រំដែន​ខ្មែរ-ថៃ​ស្ម័គ្រ​ស្លាប់​ការពារ​ទឹកដី

កង​យោធពល​ខេមរភូមិន្ទ ប្រចាំ​ការ​នៅ​តំបន់​ព្រំដែន​កម្ពុជា-ថៃ បាន​បង្ហាញ​ទឹក​ចិត្ត​ក្លាហាន ពុះពារ​ការពារ​បូរណភាព​ទឹកដី មិន​ឲ្យ​កងទ័ព​ថៃ ឈ្លាន​ពាន​កម្ពុជា នោះ​ឡើយ។
ដោយ ដែន អយុធ្យា
2013-02-27 RFA Service
ទាហាន​ខ្មែរ ឧត្ដរមានជ័យ ៣០៥
១៥-មេសា-២០១១៖ កង​ទាហាន​ការពារ​ព្រំដែន​ខ្មែរ​នៅ​តំបន់​ថ្មដូន ក្នុង​ស្រុក​បន្ទាយអំពិល ខេត្ត​ឧត្តរមានជ័យ
RFA/Hang Savyouth
ការ​អះអាង​នេះ កើត​មាន​ជា​ថ្មី​បន្ទាប់​ពី​លោក​នាយក​រដ្ឋមន្ត្រី ហ៊ុន សែន បាន​អំពាវនាវ​ឲ្យ​កងទ័ព​ត្រៀម​ទប់ទល់​សភាពការណ៍​អាច​នឹង​កើត​មាន​នៅ​ខែ​មេសា ដែល​តុលាការ​យុត្តិធម៌​អន្តរជាតិ​ទីក្រុង​ឡាអេ បកស្រាយ​សាល​ក្រម​ឡើង​វិញ លើ​សំណុំ​រឿង​ប្រាសាទ​ព្រះវិហារ។
កង​កម្លាំង​សមរភូមិ​ជួរ​មុខ ឬ​ខ្សែ​ត្រៀម​ជួរ​មុខ​ព្រំដែន​កម្ពុជា-ថៃ ខេត្ត​ព្រះវិហារ និង​ខេត្ត​ឧត្តរមានជ័យ បាន​អះអាង​ថា នឹង​ត្រៀម​ប្រយុទ្ធ​ស្លាប់​រស់​ជាមួយ​កងទ័ព​ថៃ បើ​សិន​ថៃ ប្រើ​កម្លាំង​ទ័ព​ចូល​រំលោភ​ឈ្លាន​ពាន​កម្ពុជា តាម​ព្រំដែន​នោះ។
ពល​ទាហាន​មិន​បង្ហាញ​អត្តសញ្ញាណ ប្រចាំ​ការ​ម្តុំ​ច្រក​ទ្វារ​ជប់គគីរ ស្រុក​បន្ទាយអំពិល ខេត្ត​ឧត្តរមានជ័យ បាន​ឲ្យ​ដឹង​ថា សព្វថ្ងៃ​នេះ​ទោះ​បី​ស្ថានការណ៍​តាម​បន្ទាត់​ព្រំដែន​ស្ងប់ស្ងាត់ ក៏ប៉ុន្តែ​ពួក​គេ​មិន​គិត​ថា​ភាគី​ថៃ មាន​សន្តិភាព​ជាមួយ​កម្ពុជា ទេ៖ «ចរិត ​របស់​សៀម វា​ចង់​តែ​លួច​យក​ទឹកដី​ខ្មែរ ជា​រហូត វា​មិន​នៅ​ត្រង់​ណា​ឲ្យ​នៅ​ត្រង់​ហ្នឹង​ទេ។ បើ​យើង​ធ្វេសប្រហែស វា​រឹប​ចូល​យក​ហើយ។ តំបន់​ណា​ដែល​ស្ងាត់​ពី​ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ ឬ​កង​កម្លាំង​របស់​យើង វា​តែង​តែ​ខិត​ចូល​បន្តិច​ម្តងៗ ព្រោះ​ដឹង​ចរិត​វា​តាំង​ពី​ណា​ពី​ណី​មក​ហើយ។ ខ្មែរ​យើង​មិន​ដែល​បាន​ទៅ​លួច​ទឹកដី​ពី​វា​ទេ គឺ​យើង​មិន​ដែល​ទៅ​លួច​អី​ពី​វា​ទេ។ មាន​តែ​វា​ទេ តាំង​ពី​ដូនតា​យើង​មក»

Minister praises Boeung Kak fill-in [Minister Keat Chhon praised Shukaku Inc in "reducing poverty" for evicting 4,000 families from Boeung Kak Lake. Is this guy high on drug or what?]

Last Updated on 27 February 2013 
Phnom Penh Post

By Kim Yuthana and Shane Worrell

130227 03a
A view of the former Boeung Kak lake, now completely filled in with sand. Photograph: Vireak Mai/Phnom Penh Post
Shukaku Inc, the development firm that evicted more than 4,000 families to fill in Boeung Kak lake, has been praised for “reducing poverty” in a letter from Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon.
The letter, dated February 12 and signed by Chhon, who is also a deputy prime minister, sings the praises of tycoon Cheung Sopheap – who is referred to as Shukaku’s CEO and is the wife of owner Lao Meng Khin.
“We deeply and sincerely thank you for previously implementing your full payment and completing the sand-pumping of Boeung Kak lake,” Chhon’s letter, obtained yesterday, says.
“The Ministry of Economy and Finance strongly hopes – and is confident – you will continue to be a good example and co-operate closely with the government to continue to reduce residents’ poverty and contribute to national development.”
The government awarded a 99-year, $79 million contract to Shukaku in 2007 to develop Boeung Kak as a satellite city.
Since then, thousands of families have been evicted, the lake has been filled in, and protests – as well as arrests – have been common. Development, however, is yet to begin.
Boeung Kak villager Heng Mom, whose house was demolished by Shukaku, said the letter was designed to cause evictees more suffering.
“Their development doesn’t help to reduce poverty – they are making more poverty,” she said.

Deportee numbers dip in ’12 [The deportations of Khmericans has dropped significantly]

Last Updated on 27 February 2013 
Phnom Penh Post
By Joe Freeman

130227 02
After a record high in 2011, deportations of Cambodians from the US dropped 42 per cent last year, according to figures obtained yesterday.
In 2012, the Returnee Integration Support Center, an NGO that provides assistance to deported Cambodians, recorded 51 deportations. The year before, the centre fielded 88 − a spike that critics of the process attributed to a presidential administration attempting to look tough on immigration.
Since January, just two new deportees have arrived – a pair who came in just last week – bringing the total number forcibly flown to Cambodia to 388 since the government first signed a repatriation agreement with the US in March 2002 to deport non-citizens convicted of felony-level crimes.
Keo Sarith, a co-director of the support centre, said he could not explain the decrease, most of which occurred during the latter half of the year.
“We’re not sure about this,” he said. He speculated that the 2012 election of President Barack Obama may have slowed the rate temporarily, or that Cambodian authorities had their hands tied dealing with the funeral arrangements for King Father Norodom Sihanouk.
It can’t be attributed to the Obama administration’s pushing through of immigration reforms last year that applied to children of immigrants, because the reforms bypassed those convicted of crimes.

Minimum wage talks deadlock កិច្ចចរចា​តម្លើង​ប្រាក់ខែ​កម្មករ មិន​ត្រូវរ៉ូវ​គ្នា ថៅកែ​មិន​ព្រម​តម្លើង​បន្ថែម​

Last Updated on 27 February 2013 
Phnom Penh Post


By Shane Worrell and Mom Kunthear

130227 04
Workers make apparel at a Phnom Penh factory that supplies sportswear giant Adidas. Photograph: Will Baxter/Phnom Penh Post
Workers in the Kingdom’s lucrative garment and footwear industries appear close to a monthly minimum wage increase of at least $6, despite talks between trade unions, the factories’ association and the government ending in deadlock yesterday.
The three parties agreed in the early evening to adjourn closed-door talks until this afternoon, after unions stood firm in their demands for nearly double the minimum wage across the $4 billion export industries.
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU), said unions had dismissed a figure put forward by the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and would lobby again today for the minimum wage to be increased from $61 to $120.
“They said they can provide us with $72 per month. This meeting did not get anywhere, because they offered us too little. We can’t agree with it,” he said.
GMAC had failed to explain to unions the exact reason why – given the huge profits generated by the country’s 400-plus factories – a 100 per cent increase was out of the question, Chhun added.
“We demand $120,” he said, adding that it would bring workers in line with their counterparts in Thailand and Vietnam. “Seventy-two dollars is a long way from what we want.”

Trade with Vietnam grows [It's a one-way trade]

Last Updated on 27 February 2013 
Phnom Penh Post
By May Kunmakara
 

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and neighbouring Vietnam increased by more than 10 per cent last year on the previous year, according to data from the Vietnam Trade Office in Cambodia.
The data showed that total trade volume was $3.3 billion between January and the end of December, compared with $2.836 billion in the same period of 2011 – an increase of 17 per cent.
The figures reveal that Cambodia’s total exports to Vietnam rose by 13.19 per cent to $486 million in 2012, up from $430 million in 2011, while total imports from Vietnam increased by about 18 per cent from $2.4 billion to $2.8 billion.
Both governments pledged in June of last year to advance two-way trade, with the hope of ultimately reaching $5 billion in trade by 2015.
 “I do believe that, with the trend witnessed, we can reach the goal set by the two governments. In recent years, the two sides have been focusing on implementing effective measures to promote bilateral trade, especially in the facilitation of border trade,” Tran Tu, trade attache to the Vietnam Trade Office in Cambodia, said.

ASEAN-India Free Trade Area Part III: Cambodia, Brunei, Laos and the Philippines

Posted on  
By Alex Tangkilisan

Feb. 27 – In the third part of our ASEAN-India Free Trade Area analysis, we will examine trade trends and statistics from India to Cambodia, Brunei, Laos and the Philippines.
While the Philippines is part of the ASEAN six majors, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos are the three smallest economies in the region. Together, these four countries combine for a GDP of US$258.30 billion, a population of 115.85 million and exports to India amounting to US$1.33 billion (or, about 0.27 percent of India’s total imports).
Cambodia–India Trade
India-Cambodia relations picked up in 1981 when India officially recognized Cambodia’s new government and opened up an embassy in Phnom Penh. In contemporary times, there has been an effort to expand their cooperation through institutional capacity building, human resource development, infrastructure development and security and defense. Furthermore, India and Cambodia have enhanced bilateral cooperation through increased interactions at regional and international forums.
Positive relations were built upon during the first India-Cambodia Trade and Investment Business Forum, Exhibition and Buyer/Seller Meet in 2009, which sought to enhance economic engagement between the two countries. India extended duty free tariff preference schemes to Cambodia that same year. Indian businesspeople in Cambodia have also established an Indian Chamber of Commerce to promote bilateral trade and investment ties.
India and Cambodia ties were further bolstered in 2011 when they held the first round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC). These consultation were in regard to trade and bilateral cooperation, with a focus on policy, economy, security, education and vocational training, culture, IT and agriculture.
Brunei-India Trade
The discovery of oil in 1929 brought a substantial number of Indians seeking their fortune to Brunei. Bilateral diplomatic relations between India and Brunei, however, were not formally established until 1984.
In 2008, India-Brunei relations were enhanced in sectors ranging from agriculture and defense during the Sultan of Brunei’s visit to India. During his visit, five agreements were signed, such as the Bilateral Investment and Protection Agreement (BIPA) and the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Information and Communication Technology.
India also signed a free trade agreement (FTA) on goods with Brunei in 2010, which effectively slashed import duties on products ranging from seafood to chemicals and apparel. In return, Brunei also reduced import duties on various Indian goods.

ASEAN generated 1.51 million travellers to Cambodia in 2012

By Luc Citrinot 
http://www.traveldailynews.asia
27 February 2013, 

Over 40% of all the tourists coming into Cambodia are originated from another ASEAN country, according to statistics from Cambodia Ministry of Tourism.
PHNOM PENH - Cambodia received about 1.51 million visitors from its ASEAN member countries last year, up 37 percent year-on-year, according to the statistics of the tourism ministry released on Thursday.

The figure represented 42 percent of total foreign tourists to the country last year, the report said.

Among the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Vietnamese tourists to Cambodia topped the chart with its 763,100 citizens visited Cambodia last year, followed by Laos with 254,000 people came to the country.

Thailand came at third with 201,400 tourists, while Malaysia and the Philippines came at fourth and fifth with 116,800 tourists and 97,500 visitors respectively, it said.

In addition, last year, some 53,200 Singaporeans, 22,550 Indonesians, 4,750 Myanmar nationals, and 950 Brunei citizens had visited Cambodia.

Ang Kim Eang, president of Cambodia’s Association of Travel Agents, said Thursday that the growth of ASEAN visitors to Cambodia was thanks to connectivity between Cambodia and those ASEAN member states by either land or air.

[Thai] Police to replace troops on Cambodian border

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to replace border troops with police ahead of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) oral hearings on the two countries’ territorial dispute.
Please join us on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/bangkokpostlearning
Defence Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat (3rd right) discusses the border dispute with his Cambodian counterpart Gen Tea Banh (centre) at the Preah Vihear temple. WASSANA NANUAM

Sukumpol, Tea Banh agree on troop move

By Wassana Nanuam
Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to replace border troops with police ahead of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) oral hearings on the two countries’ territorial dispute.

Defence Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat yesterday said he reached the agreement with his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh during a visit to the Preah Vihear temple, at the centre of the dispute involving 4.6 sq km of border land.

ACM Sukumpol said the bilateral redeployment shows the ICJ that both countries can handle the conflict in an amicable fashion.

Gen Tea Banh said Cambodia will replace troops with border patrol police and will keep Thailand informed.

He said it will probably happen before the ICJ’s oral hearings, which are scheduled for April 15-19.

‘‘Both of us agreed to mutual redeployment,’’ ACM Sukumpol said.

Wage rise for Cambodian garment workers still a far cry

February 27, 2013 (Cambodia)

Mr. Ith Sam Heng (courtesy: RFA)
Mr. Ith Sam Heng (courtesy: RFA)

Wage rise for garment workers in Cambodia still seems to be a far cry as the representatives of the employers and workers of Cambodian garment units have failed to agree on the amount of wage rise.
At the wage negotiations being held under the guidance of Labor Advisory Council, the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) offered to increase the minimum wage by US$11 from the current US$ 61 per month to US$ 72 per month.
However, the US$ 11 amount was not acceptable to representatives of trade unions, who said the sum was too meager and demanded that the minimum wage be raised to US$ 120 per month.
Speaking to media, Mr. Ith Sam Heng, Cambodian Minister of Social Affairs, said the Government is creating a working group comprising of representatives of workers’ unions, employers and Government officials.
The working group would coordinate between the employers and the trade unions to reach an amicable solution at the earliest, the Minister said.

MPs' Letter to German Ambassador

Inline image 1
Inline image 2

Cambodia National Rescue Party to hold a press conference on 28 February 2013 at 9am at the CNRP Headquarter គណបក្សសង្រ្គោះជាតិ នឹងរៀបចំធ្វើសន្និសីទសារព័ត៌មាន នៅថ្ងៃទី២៨ ខែកុម្ភៈ ឆ្នាំ២០១៣

Inline image 1

Spectacular sculptures by Contemporary Cambodian artist go on view at Met Museum

Morning Glory, Cambodia, 2011. Rattan, bamboo, wire, plywood, steel bolts, 210 x 103 x 74 in. Lent by Tyler Rollins Fine Art. ©The Artist and Tyler Rollins Fine Art. 

NEW YORK, NY.- The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents ten works by the contemporary Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich (b. 1971). Drawn from U.S. public and private collections, Cambodian Rattan: The Sculptures of Sopheap Pich is part of the Museum’s contribution to the New York-wide Season of Cambodia, to be held in April-May 2013. The exhibition, which has been installed in three spaces in the Asian galleries, includes Buddha 2 (2009), an openwork construction of a Buddha torso, the lower half of which is unconstructed, allowing loose strands of rattan to hang freely. This work resonates strongly with Cambodia’s recent past: Cambodia is a deeply committed Theravada Buddhist society, whose faith was seriously challenged during the Khmer Rouge period, 1975-79. During these painful years, Buddhism was desecrated and officially discarded, allowing for an unraveling of Khmer society, a moment evoked in this work. Also on view is the artist’s recent work Morning Glory (2011), a spectacular large-scale construction with embedded memories of a time when much of the population was reduced to cooking the plant as a source of nourishment. A third work, Ratanakiri Valley Drip (2012), has more formal concerns, a lyrical study of horizon, vista, landscape, and earth, evoking the contemporary landscape of Cambodia.

US lawyer visits Cambodian temple in Sotheby's standoff


27 February 2013 
http://www.france24.com 
A Cambodian boy looks at the Prasat Chen temple in the Koh Ker area on May 14, 2012. For a year, an ancient Cambodian statue of a warrior has been at the center of a legal battle in New York in which US authorities back Cambodia's claim that the artwork was looted. A US lawyer has visited the temple as part of a legal bid to force auction house Sotheby's to forfeit the statue.
A Cambodian boy looks at the Prasat Chen temple in the Koh Ker area on May 14, 2012. For a year, an ancient Cambodian statue of a warrior has been at the center of a legal battle in New York in which US authorities back Cambodia's claim that the artwork was looted. A US lawyer has visited the temple as part of a legal bid to force auction house Sotheby's to forfeit the statue. 
AFP - A US lawyer visited a Cambodian temple Wednesday as part of a legal bid to force auction house Sotheby's to forfeit a 10th century Khmer statue so it can be returned to the country, officials said.
Assistant US Attorney Sharon Levin, who heads the asset forfeiture office, visited the northern Koh Ker temple to see the pedestal of the contested sandstone statue known as the Duryodhana, said government spokesman Ek Tha.
"She led a delegation to collect more data at the site in Koh Ker temple where the statue was looted," he told AFP, adding that Levin had also met officials working on the case since arriving in Phnom Penh on Sunday.
The ancient Cambodian statue of a warrior is at the centre of a legal battle in New York.
Cambodia claims the artwork was looted and US authorities filed a civil complaint last April against Sotheby's, blocking them from selling the item.
"Her visit will help build a stronger case that the statue belongs to Cambodia," Ek Tha added.
The US Attorney's office said in a statement last year that the Duryodhana statue was "stolen from the Prasat Chen temple at Koh Ker in Cambodia".

Cambodian silk industry on its last threads

A Cambodian woman weaves at her home on Koh Dach island in Phnom Penh. —Photo by AFP
A Cambodian woman weaves at her home on Koh Dach island in Phnom Penh. —Photo by AFP
PHNOM PENH (): In a small room in the Cambodian capital, laboratory technicians wearing latex gloves and flip-flops inspect hundreds of buzzing white silkworm moths before pairing them up to mate.
With its silk industry in rapid decline, Cambodia is pinning its hopes on moth matchmaking and disease control to save its precious silkworms and keep centuries-old traditions alive.
More than 30 years ago, the brutal Khmer Rouge regime all but eliminated silk farming and the sector has been slow to recover, lagging regional rivals that use modern technology to produce better quality silk.
Now the country’s silkworms are once again under threat, but from a different kind of enemy.
“Disease is killing more than 50 per cent of the silkworms,” said Mey Kalyan, director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Cambodian silk programme.
“Those that do survive are a third of the size compared to other regional producers,” Kalyan said.
“In a nutshell, the (silk) farmers have stopped doing it. The weavers have stopped weaving and the plantations have stopped growing mulberries needed to feed silkworms,” he added.
The amount of Cambodian land set aside for mulberry cultivation has plummeted from about 6,000 hectares in the 1940s to just 40 hectares today, Kalyan said.
Established by the FAO, the Silkworm Egg Production Center in Phnom Penh is part of a $475,000 rehabilitation project launched in September 2009.
Placed over several sheets of newspapers, the silkworm moths are each inspected by technicians who then couple them so that they can reproduce.
After four to six days, the female moths will be placed on a chemically treated sheet and isolated to lay their eggs, which are later sterilised and incubated.
Under the project, seven silk farms have also been opened across the country and training in silk production has been provided for those interested in the industry.
But after three years, funds from the FAO to run the egg production centre will run out in March and no one else seems interested to invest.
There is hope however.
Silkworms eating mulberry leafs at the Banteay Dek Silk station in Kandal province. —Photo by AFP
Silkworms eating mulberry leafs at the Banteay Dek Silk station in Kandal province. —Photo by AFP
After three years of work, the researchers discovered a high-yield silkworm hybrid that feeds exclusively on cassava, something which is abundant in Cambodia.
The breakthrough provided a rare glimmer of optimism for protecting a tradition which dates back to the 13th century.
The fine texture and quality of Cambodia’s “golden silk” has been sewn by local reelers and weavers into some of the finest quality garments in Southeast Asia, but the trade is slowly dwindling into extinction.
Silk yarn production has slowly declined in recent years, from five tons in 2009 to about four tons a year today.

Gen. Dien Del gave his all for Khmer

Feb. 26, 2013
http://www.guampdn.com
<B>Peang-Meth</B>
Peang-Meth

This article is a tribute to a distinguished field commander, Gen. Dien Del, of the Khmer Republic from 1970-1975 and of the Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces. Dien Del fought Vietnam's military occupation of Cambodia from 1979-1990.
Born in 1932 at Soc Trang, Kampuchea Krom, now southern Vietnam, Dien Del passed away in Phnom Penh on Feb. 13. His body was cremated on the 17th.
                                                        Gen. Dien Del

I knew Dien Del as a friend and a comrade-in-arms. We met in Cambodia when I took a semester out of graduate school to observe the situation in the field after the March 18, 1970, deposal of then Chief of State Prince Sihanouk. Dien Del was a lieutenant colonel.
We did not meet again until sometime after May 1975, in the United States. This time, Dien Del was a refugee. The Khmer Republic collapsed on April 17, after the U.S. withdrew from the region. Most government members declined the U.S. offer to be airlifted to safety -- including Republican leader Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak, who was executed by the Khmer Rouge.

Rising young star

A young rising star, Dien Del was a brigadier general commanding the 2nd Division in 1972, and was commander of the Territorial Forces and governor of Kandal Province from 1974 until April 16, 1975.
His and others' dreams to set up a rear base in northwestern Cambodia as the Khmer Rouge entered Cambodia's towns and cities were thwarted because of volatile conditions on the ground, and their helicopters landed them in Thailand.
At the end of May 1975, Dien Del, his wife, and two children, arrived as refugees in Alexandria, Va. I reconnected with him.
Two years later, in May 1977, he left the U.S. for France. There he and Khmer senior statesman Son Sann formed a committee for liberation of Cambodia. On Feb. 1, 1979, he left Paris for Bangkok, and subsequently made his way to the border region.
He persuaded 13 different armed groups to merge. On March 5, 1979, Dien Del proclaimed the Khmer People's National Armed Forces; he was named chief of general staff.

A woman who dedicated her life to help the victims of land grab ការ​តស៊ូ​របស់​យុវតី​ម្នាក់​ក្នុង​ការ​ជួយ​បញ្ហា​ដីធ្លី​ជូន​ពលរដ្ឋ

យុវតី​ម្នាក់​ដែល​ធ្វើ​ការងារ​ផ្នែក​លើក​ស្ទួយ​សិទ្ធិ​លំនៅឋាន អះអាង​ថា នាង​នៅ​តែ​តស៊ូ​បំពេញ​ការងារ​ជា​អ្នក​ការពារ​សិទ្ធិ​លំនៅឋាន ជូន​ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​ដែល​រង​នូវ​ការ​រំលោភ​បំពាន ឬ​បណ្ដេញ​ចេញ​ពី​លំនៅឋាន បើ​ទោះ​ជា​ប្រឈម​នឹង​គ្រោះ​ថ្នាក់​យ៉ាង​ណា​ក៏ដោយ។
 
ដោយ វណ្ណ វិចារ 2013-02-26 RFA
ឡុង គីមហៀង ៣០៥
២៥-កុម្ភៈ-២០១៣៖ កញ្ញា ឡុង គីមហៀង មន្ត្រី​ក្រុម​ការ​ងារ​ពិសេស​ការពារ​សិទ្ធិ​លំនៅឋាន ទទួល​បន្ទុក​ជា​អ្នក​តាម​ដាន ផ្សព្វផ្សាយ និង​ទាក់​ទង​ទៅ​ក្រុម​អ្នក​សារព័ត៌មាន​ជាតិ និង​អន្តរជាតិ។
RFA/Vann Vicha
ការ​អះអាង​នេះ​ស្រប​ពេល​ដែល​អ្នក​ធ្វើ​ការងារ​ផ្នែក​ការពារ​សិទ្ធិ​ មនុស្ស ការពារ​សិទ្ធិ​លំនៅឋាន សហជីព អ្នក​សារព័ត៌មាន​នៅ​កម្ពុជា មួយ​ចំនួន​តែង​ប្រឈម​នឹង​គ្រោះ​ថ្នាក់​ផ្សេងៗ ដូច​ជា​ការ​ប្ដឹង​ឡើង​តុលាការ ការ​រត់​ចោល​ស្រុក ការ​គំរាមកំហែង ការ​ធ្វើ​ឃាត ឬ​ជាប់​គុក​ជាដើម។
ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​នៅ​ទូទាំង​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា និង​លើ​ពិភពលោក បាន​ដឹង​នូវ​រឿងរ៉ាវ​រំលោភ​បំពាន​ដីធ្លី ការ​បណ្ដេញ​ពលរដ្ឋ​ចេញ​ពី​លំនៅឋាន ដូច​ជា​ស្ថានភាព​ពលរដ្ឋ​បឹងកក់ បុរីកីឡា សហគមន៍​បឹង​ឈូក តាម​រយៈ​ប្រព័ន្ធ​ផ្សព្វផ្សាយ​នានា មាន​កាសែត វិទ្យុ ទូរទស្សន៍ គេហទំព័រ ទាំង​ជាតិ និង​អន្តរជាតិ។ ប៉ុន្តែ ប្រិយមិត្ត​អ្នក​ស្តាប់ អាន និង​ទស្សនា មិន​បាន​ដឹង​ថា តើ​ហេតុ​អ្វី​បាន​ជា​ក្រុម​អ្នក​យក​ព័ត៌មាន​តាម​ទាន់​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​ឈូស​ឆាយ ​ផ្ទះ​សម្បែង ឬ​ករណី​រំលោភ​បំពាន​ដីធ្លី​នោះ​ទេ?
តាម​ការ​ពិត អ្នក​សារព័ត៌មាន​តាម​ទាន់​ហេតុការណ៍​ទាំង​នេះ ដោយ​សារ​ក្រុម​សហគមន៍​ទាំង​នោះ​មាន​សង្គម​ស៊ីវិល​ចុះ​ជាប់​ធ្វើ​ការ​ជាមួយ និង​ទាក់​ទង​ទៅ​ស្ថាប័ន​ផ្សព្វផ្សាយ​ព័ត៌មាន​នានា។ ក្នុង​ចំណោម​សង្គម​ស៊ីវិល​ចុះ​ជួយ​អន្តរាគមន៍​តាម​ដាន អង្កេត​ការណ៍​សកម្មភាព​រំលោភ​សិទ្ធិ​មនុស្ស ទំនាស់​ដីធ្លី ក៏​មាន​អង្គការ​មួយ​ឈ្មោះ ក្រុម​ការ​ងារ​ពិសេស​ការពារ​សិទ្ធិ​លំនៅឋាន ចុះ​ធ្វើ​ការងារ​ទាំង​នេះ​ដែរ។ អង្គការ​នេះ​មាន​មន្ត្រី​ព័ត៌មាន​ម្នាក់​ឈ្មោះ កញ្ញា ឡុង គីមហៀង ទទួល​បន្ទុក​ជា​អ្នក​តាម​ដាន ផ្សព្វផ្សាយ និង​ទាក់​ទង​ទៅ​ក្រុម​អ្នក​សារព័ត៌មាន​ជាតិ និង​អន្តរជាតិ ដើម្បី​ចុះ​យក​ព័ត៌មាន​មក​ធ្វើ​ការ​ផ្សព្វផ្សាយ។

Bird flu epidemic in Cambodia?

BIRD FLU BACK? Cambodia has recorded 30 human cases of H5N1 since 2003, with all but three of them proving fatal. File photo from WHO websiteBIRD FLU BACK? Cambodia has recorded 30 human cases of H5N1 since 2003, with all but three of them proving fatal. File photo from WHO website PHNOM PENH, Cambodia- A 35-year-old man has become Cambodia's eighth bird flu fatality this year, prompting concern about the spread of the virus in the country, a health official said Tuesday, February 26.
The latest victim, from the northeastern province of Kampong Cham, died on Monday night from the H5N1 virus in a Phnom Penh hospital, said Ly Sovann, deputy head of the health ministry's disease surveillance bureau.
He said the man had eaten two ducks which had previously died before he became sick earlier this month.
"We are really worried about the situation because in just two months we have nine cases of bird flu," Ly Sovann told AFP.
Eight of the nine people died, along with thousands of birds in the villages where the victims lived.
"There was a lot of dead poultry, but the people did not report to (officials). In the villages that I went to, almost all poultry had died," Ly Sovann said, adding it took up to a month for officials to be told of poultry deaths in some areas.
The health ministry has enhanced surveillance to try to detect and treat avian influenza cases in the early stages, he said.

Wide Gap Hampers Cambodian Wage Talks

cambodia-labor-advisory-council-1-feb-2013.jpg
Minister of Labor Vong Sauth (L) and Social Affairs Minister Ith Sam Heng (R) attend minimum wage talks, Feb. 26, 2013.
RFA
A higher minimum salary for Cambodia’s garment and footwear worker is still not within sight after talks broke down Tuesday between unions representing the workers and their employers, officials said.

The garment and footwear workers unions proposed to nearly double the current minimum monthly wage of U.S. $61 to U.S. $120, but the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) offered to increase it only to U.S. $72.

The large divide between the proposals by unions and the employers threaten to scuttle negotiations held by the Labor Advisory Council—which is comprised of government officials, union representatives, and employers.

Cambodian Minister of Social Affairs Ith Sam Heng told reporters after the meeting that the government would continue to guide talks between the two sides, which are due to meet again on Wednesday.

“We are creating a working group consisting of the unions, employers, and government officials to coordinate and reach a deal. I hope that within a few days we will find a solution,” he said.