No' to GBC meeting in Indonesia

• Online news: Asia

The Thai top brass has decided not to attend the 8th Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) meeting which has been scheduled in Indonesia, insisting that any talks must be purely bilateral.

Army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Tuesday that he and other armed forces commanders had resolved not to attend the GBC meeting in Bogor proposed by Indonesia and agreed to by Cambodia.

Indonesia initially proposed that the meeting be held on Mar ch 24 and 25 but later postponed it to April 7 and 8.

"We won't go. We don't want the meeting to be held in a third country.

"Soldiers of the two countries are very close to each other. Talks should be between soldiers of the two countries only, and a third party should not be involved," Gen Prayuth said.

Army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha

The GBC is co-chaired by the defence ministers of the two countries.

Gen Prayuth also turned down Cambodia's proposal for the setting up of 15 checkpoints manned jointly by Thai and Cambodian soldiers in the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area, to accommodate observers from Indonedia.

He said this matter should be discussed at a meeting between soldiers of the two countries.

The situation along the border near the Preah Vihear temple was still normal and the two sides had been in contact, awaiting talks between military leaders, Gen Prayuth said.

A Defence Ministry source said Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon also decided not to go to the proposed GBC meeting in Indonesia.

Gen Prawit and Cambodian counterpart Gen Tea Banh as well as military leaders of the two countries enjoyed close ties, the source said.

The Thai defence minister planned to contact Gen Tea Banh to set a date for a bilateral meeting. However, he was not sure if Gen Tea Banh would agree, since Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had said he would not back a bilateral meeting, the source said.

According to the source, the meeting, if held, would be for the two sides to discuss the posting of Indonesian observers and deployment of troops in the disputed area.

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Strikes on Libya set to slow, stalemate feared

By Maria Golovnina and Michael Georgy

TRIPOLI | Mon Mar 21, 2011 11:00pm EDT

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Anti-aircraft fire rang out across Tripoli for a third night on Monday, but air attacks on Libya are likely to slow, a U.S. general said, as Washington holds back from being sucked into the Libyan civil war.

State television said several sites had come under attack in the capital. Western powers had no confirmation of fresh strikes in a U.N.-mandated campaign to target air defenses, enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians from Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

Rebels, who had been driven back toward their eastern Benghazi stronghold before the air attacks halted an advance by Gaddafi's forces, have so far done little to capitalize on the campaign -- raising fears the war could grind to a stalemate.

But Washington, wary of being drawn into another war after long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, has ruled out specific action to overthrow Gaddafi, though France said on Monday it hoped the Libyan government would collapse from within.

"My sense is that -- that unless something unusual or unexpected happens, we may see a decline in the frequency of attacks," General Carter Ham, who is leading U.S. forces in the Libyan operation, told reporters in Washington.

President Barack Obama, facing questions at home about the United States military getting bogged down in a third Muslim country, said Washington would cede control of the Libyan operation in days.

"We anticipate this transition to take place in a matter of days and not in a matter of weeks," Obama told a news conference during a visit to Chile.

He did not spell out which nation or organization would take charge, but Britain and France took a lead role in pushing for the intervention in Libya. The missile strikes have already been extensive enough to have destroyed much of Libya's air defenses.

Libyan state television reported that several sites in Tripoli had been subject to new attacks by what it called the "crusader enemy." "These attacks are not going to scare the Libyan people," said a state television broadcast.

Anti-aircraft gunfire rang out throughout the night and pro-Gaddafi slogans echoed around the city center. Cars sped through Tripoli streets honking wildly.

Al Jazeera television said radar installations at two air defense bases in eastern Libya had been hit. However, a French armed forces spokesman said France, which has been involved in strikes in the east, had no planes in the air at the time.

Meanwhile, residents in two besieged rebel-held cities in western Libya, Misrata and Zintan, said they had been attacked by Gaddafi's forces. Security analysts have said they believe government troops will try to force their way into civilian areas to escape attack from the air.

In Misrata, residents said people had gone out into the streets to try to stop Gaddafi's forces entering the city.

"When they gathered in the center, the Gaddafi forces started shooting at them with artillery and guns," said the resident, who gave his name as Saadoun. He said nine people were killed.

Zintan, near the Tunisian border, faced heavy shelling, two witnesses said, forcing residents to flee to mountain caves. Several houses were destroyed and a mosque minaret destroyed.

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Vietnam, Cambodia joint agricultural agreement

The joint-projects cover the areas of agricultural science and technology, quarantine, forestry and seafood. [Reuters]

Vietnam and Cambodia are planning to collaborate on more than 20 projects worth more than US$17 million.

Vietnamese officials say the joint projects, which will run until 2020, cover the areas of agricultural science and technology, quarantine, forestry and seafood.

There will be strengthened collaboration on controlling disease outbreaks along the countries' shared border as well as forest management and timber trading.

Vietnam has agreed to help fund an aquating breeding development project and to help build a seafood research institute in Kampot province.

Cambodia has agreed to a deal to grow rubber and industrial trees on its land.

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Fort Greene’s Cambodian Cuisine, Now on Wheels

By ZACHARY KUSSIN, CUNY J-School

Locals who recall the iconic Cambodian Cuisine sign in Fort Greene will be happy to find those words prominently written in green paint on the side of a new West Village food truck.

But around the exterior of the Cambodian Cuisine Torsu truck, the signs are less upbeat: “On the street looking to survive” is painted in red, and the mounted poster board explains why this is the case.

It all began in 2005, when a rent increase displaced Cambodian Cuisine’s owner, Jerry Ley, 56, from his much-beloved restaurant on South Elliot Place (in the space now occupied by the Smoke Joint) after 13 years of business, much to the distress of the restaurant’s devoted customers. That year, Mr. Ley relocated to a building on East 93rd Street in Manhattan.

But more problems accompanied him. A complicated three-year legal dispute between Mr. Ley, his contractors, and the new building’s landlord delayed the opening of his new restaurant until June 2008, and led to its premature closing that December.

“I worked so hard,” said Mr. Ley. “I don’t know what I did wrong, I don’t know what crime I committed.”

Mr. Ley came to America from Cambodia in July 1979 to escape the Khmer Rouge, he said. After three decades of working to create a better life for himself and for his family, Mr. Ley said, he is now struggling to get by. When he explained why, he began to cry.

“It’s too much to bear,” he said. “I cannot stand still — I need to feed my family.”

From Bridge and Tunnel Club The big green Cambodian Cuisine sign was a fixture in Fort Greene for 13 years.

Mr. Ley said he recently suffered yet another financial setback. His wife has been in and out of the hospital recently, and the bills have piled up. Mr. Ley said he had no other choice but to open his food truck last month. He enlisted the help of his son, Banney, 18, who helps take orders and package meals. Mr. Ley said he feels guilty that the truck takes his son away from his schoolwork. But Banney said he likes helping out.

Still, Mr. Ley has a following of loyal customers. Ian Head, a 10-year Fort Greene resident who ordered dinner from the truck on Tuesday, said he was delighted to hear of Mr. Ley’s mobile operation. He has missed stopping by Mr. Ley’s Fort Greene restaurant to pick up his favorite tofu and vegetable dishes.

“I was bummed…because I have my places I go to eat, and that was one of my places,” he said. “As soon as I heard about this, I was, like, ‘yes.’”

Mr. Ley’s Twitter feed makes it easy for Cambodian food lovers to track his location. But generally, Mr. Ley said, he tends to stay on the corner of West 4th Street and Laguardia Place.

Mr. Ley’s new menu is reduced from the one in his restaurant — there are only so many items he can make in his truck. But it still includes an impressive spread of 17 noodle, fish, chicken, and tofu platters. Appetizers cost $3.95 and main courses are $5.95. Standouts include his Num Pain Saach — a spicy hero sandwich dressed with lettuce, ham, pork, turkey, carrots and cucumber — and Chhar Kuey Teo Koke — a hearty noodle dish made with egg, chicken and vegetables, topped with garlic.

Mary Kidd, a five-year resident of Clinton Hill who had not heard of Cambodian Cuisine in Fort Greene, said she was happy to discover Mr. Ley’s truck after walking out of NYU’s library recently.

“Who doesn’t like a good food truck?” she said.

Financial struggles aside, Mr. Ley, said he opened up again for another reason — to reconnect with his customers.

“The public likes my performance,” he said. “This helps keep me going.”

For now, Mr. Ley has no plans to bring his truck to Fort Greene. It’s too soon, he said, to go back.

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Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra Celebrates Grand Opening March 29

Traditional Khmer music, Buddhist monks, Cambodia's deputy prime minister and apsaras will help announce the grand opening of one of Southeast Asia's most anticipated new hotels March 29 as the Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra makes its debut.

The hotel takes the stage in Phnom Penh as the first new five-star hotel to open in the capital in more than a decade. Its eight restaurants and bars, expansive meetings facilities, spa, sports club and executive lounge herald an emergence of sorts for a city that's seen more stasis than dynamism in recent years.

That, says the hotel's General Manager Didier Lamoot, is about to change.

"We're on the cusp of something here," said Lamoot. "Not only with respect to Phnom Penh as a destination, but how people travel, why they travel and when. The lines are blurring between leisure and business travel, and this hotel was built to accommodate new demands by today's guests."

Located on the banks of a canal, with panoramic views of both the Mekong River and the Bassac, the Sofitel defies easy identification as one kind of hotel or another. Its 45-meter swimming pool, ample pool decks and ambitious So Spa, a wellness concept that debuted in London last year, tempt the resort-minded.

Meanwhile, the hotel’s executive quarters, Club Millésime, and its 1,800 square-meter ballroom are lures to corporate business. Indeed, the hotel was put to the test during the recent ASEAN Travel Forum during a sit-down dinner for 1,200.

"I'm not sure where else in Southeast Asia you can accommodate as many people," said Lamoot. "Though we only started receiving guests in the middle of December, we now know what it's like to be fully booked. And it feels good."

The USD 50 million hotel development is third in a group that includes the Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra, where Lamoot served as general manager for five years, and the Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra. The Siem Reap (Angkor) property in particular has won international acclaim as one of the finest resorts in Southeast Asia.

The hotel's cityside front nestles against Phnom Penh's charming old French quarter, itself in the midst of a district-wide residential makeover. Within walking distance is the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Sisowath Quay, one of Southeast Asia's most accessible and attractive waterfront café scenes.

Accommodation ranges across seven classes, from 121 Superior rooms to 45 Luxury, 23 Junior Suites, 11 Prestige Suites and one Opera Suite. Wooden floors, glass-walled baths and classic appointments distinguish every option. More than 150 of the hotel's rooms overlook the Mekong.

In the hotel's majestic lobby, Le Bar whets the appetite for the myriad food and beverage opportunities beyond. The possibilities span a range of culinary traditions and styles. La Coupole features Indochinese and French cuisines. Do Forni is Italian. Fu Lu Zu is the Chinese restaurant. Hachi offers up Old World Japan. And Chocolat is a Belgian patisserie.

Show kitchens anchor several of the hotel's restaurants. Of course, the most dramatic shows at the Sofitel will take place in the hotel's ballroom, where a USD 2 million investment in audio-visual technology has equipped the facility for extravaganzas.

"Cabarets, orchestras, revues – we expect all manner of entertainment in this hotel," said Lamoot, the day after a command performance by a song-and-dance troupe from Pattaya, Thailand. "Next month, we'll host a wedding where the bride and groom drive right into the ballroom. We're set up to be that kind of a dramatic place."

In addition to celebrations, the hotel's recreational opportunities are munificent. The Phnom Penh property will serve as the first location in Southeast Asia to deliver Sofitel's So Spa, featuring French cosmetology, a restaurant-like menu of treatment options and a blending of private and public space. Five of the spa's 10 private treatment rooms are designed for involved Khmer and Thai treatments; the other five rooms, each an ample 30-square meters, are to be used for various beauty treatments.

In addition to two squash courts, the grounds feature four, floodlit tennis courts and two locales for workouts. So Fit is a haven for fitness and well-being exclusively for in-house guests. The Phokeethra Sports Club is a sophisticated gym for guests and local members alike. Likewise, the hotel's two pools - one in the hotel building itself and the other in the adjacent sports complex - cater exclusively to guests and to both guests and members, respectively.

On the 12th floor, Club Millésime caters to the hotel's executive guests in the first purpose-built facility of its kind in the region. The lounge's stunning views of the city and the river, and a combination of outdoor space and sophisticated décor, elevate this meeting space to great new heights.
* * * * *

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Sofitel is the only French luxury hotel brand with a presence on five continents with 120 addresses, in almost 40 countries (more than 30 000 rooms). Sofitel offers contemporary hotels and resorts adapted to today's more demanding and more versatile consumers who expect and appreciate beauty, quality and excellence. Whether situated in the heart of a major city like Paris, London, New York or Beijing, or nestled away in a country landscape in Morocco, Egypt, Fiji Islands or Thailand, each Sofitel property offers a genuine experience of the French "art de vivre".

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Botched World Bank project leads to evictions

Botched World Bank project leads to evictions

PHNOM PENH - The World Bank botched the handling of an ambitious multi-million-dollar land-titling project in Cambodia and has done little to protect thousands of people in a lakeside slum from eviction.

That is the finding of the World Bank's inspection panel, the financial institution's main accountability mechanism. Unfortunately the judgement came after local authorities issued final eviction notices to many of the remaining residents of Boeung Kak.

"The claims of the Boeung Kak lake community are serious," Roberto Lenton, the chair of the panel, said in a statement. "The issues raised involve fundamental questions of their land rights and tenure security. the panel found that the evictions took place in violation of the bank policy on involuntary resettlement and resulted in grave harm to the affected families and community."

In a series of reports and statements, the inspection panel ruled that a controversial bank-funded land-titling project failed to protect some 4,000 families living around Phnom Penh's Boeung Kak lake - a low-income community that had grown in the center of the capital following the collapse of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. In doing so, the bank broke many of its own regulations meant to ensure its program would not cause inadvertent harm to local populations.

Many people in this Southeast Asian country still lack basic legal titles to their land, a legacy of the Khmer Rouge, who outlawed private ownership. The bank funded the Land Management and Administration Project, or LMAP, as part of a plan to address Cambodia's lingering land problems.

LMAP has courted controversy by following the government's policy to not issue land titles to some 4,000 families around Boeung Kak lake. The government declared the land to be owned by the state, even though many of residents had lived there for years.

The government later leased the land to a developer. The Chinese-backed developer and local authorities have since told the residents that they must move to make way for a series of office towers and villas on the 133-hectare site.

The World Bank inspection panel ruled that the bank should have followed its safeguards - agreed to by the bank, donor governments and Cambodian authorities at the inception of the project - which would have allowed the residents to argue their cases for land titles. Instead, bank management ignored the residents' claims until it was too late.

"The harm the people have suffered as a result of the evictions and the following displacement. was evident to the panel team," the panel stated in its investigation report. "The panel found no record that bank management raised this issue with the government or project staff until 2009, when the situation had already deteriorated beyond repair."

LMAP managed to issue more than one million land titles to mostly rural residents throughout the country before the government abruptly cancelled the program in 2009, complaining the World Bank had demanded "too many conditions".

But the situation for the families in Boeung Kak shows how the project struggled with its primary goal: to help the government establish an "efficient and transparent" land administration system.

"The Boeung Kak case highlights the failure of LMAP to establish an equitable, transparent and rule-based process for titling decisions," said David Pred, executive director of the advocacy group Bridges Across Borders Cambodia. "In the end, like elsewhere in Cambodia, titling decisions have been made based on the interests and direction of the powerful rather than the rule of law."

In response to the panel report, World Bank management has accepted that LMAP failed to protect the Boeung Kak lake residents, but it says the project itself wasn't responsible for their evictions. For its part, the government has continued to insist that the lake residents are living illegally on state land, and that LMAP should never have covered the community.

It's estimated 1,600 families have already moved from the area, accepting a compensation package totaling $8,500 and which requires giving up any right to the land - far less, critics say, than the land is worth and not enough to start rebuilding their lives.

The remaining residents may soon follow. Earlier this month, authorities issued eviction letters to many of the households that stayed behind.

Along the dusty lanes that trace the edges of the lake, the signs of change are everywhere.

Many of the homes have been torn to the ground, leaving stark patches of floor tiles where buildings once stood.

"I've seen many families taking down their homes and moving," said Simoni Mao, who runs a shop a few lanes back from the eastern shore of the lake.

Mao says he came here in 1992 as his country was beginning to look past two decades of war. He says he bought the land from a local official at the time, long before the government had any major development plans for the area. "If I had known they were going to do this," he said, "I would never have bought land here."

In the meantime, the World Bank has acknowledged that there may be thousands more families facing eviction in areas where LMAP was supposed to be helping. As part of a review of its actions, bank management discovered more than 8,400 other households who could be at risk of eviction.

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Border vendors trade concern

Eav Sroh cuts fruit at a market stall in Aranyaprathet, Thailand, on the Thai-Cambodian border earlier this month. Some say trade has been steadily declining since violence erupted at Preah Vihear in February. Photo by: Cheang Sokha

Monday, 21 March 2011 15:01Cheang Sokha

Poipet, Banteay Meanchey province

OFFICIALS from Cambodia and Thailand say it is business as usual along their border despite the clashes that broke out in early February, but a month later many vendors in the area beg to differ.

Last month’s hostilities were just the latest in a series of clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops along the border near Preah Vihear temple.

Tensions in the area have been heightened since 2008, when UNESCO listed the 11th-century structure as a World Heritage site for Cambodia over Thai objections.

After the recent violence erupted, Prime Minister Hun Sen urged trade between Cambodia and Thailand to continue.

High-ranking officials from Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province and Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey province, west of Preah Vihear, recently told The Post that the fighting did not affect business between the two countries.

“The trading of goods is proceeding as usual. There is no sign of a drop” in business, said Winai Wittayanugool, vice governor of Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province.

He claimed that more than 10,000 Cambodians make their way into Thailand’s Rung Cloeur market everyday.

“Business operation is [as] usual, and there is not anything cutting off the relationship between the two countries,” he added.

Authorities in Sa Kaeo and Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey province have regularly contacted each other when anything has happened along the border to resolve the matter, he said.

His counterpart across the border, Banteay Meanchey Deputy Governor Chhum Vannarith, also said that the exchange of business and trade has not changed and local farmers from Cambodia are exporting rice, corn, cassava and fruit to Thailand.

“Before we were concerned that the border fights between the two countries will affect the people, but we have cooperated and talked to avoid disputes and the situation remains normal,” he said.

But that is not how some vendors see it. Sam Sary, whose wife sells clothes at Aranyaprathet’s Rung Cloeur market near the border at Poipet, said that business has been steadily declining since the fighting resumed in February. Thai businessmen have decreased both the amount of goods they import and export from Cambodia.

“It is difficult to make business here now. The selling is not so good,” he said.

“The people still fear more fighting, that it might erupt anytime.”

Another vendor, 21-year-old Phal Sreysal, who sells second-hand coats to Thailand, said that for almost a year orders have dropped to 2,000 to 3,000 coats a week from 5,000 to 6,000 a week.

“The Thais have dropped their buying recently,” he said.

“We now sometimes face difficulty with money transferring. Since we’ve have border problems, business has been quite difficult,” he said.

The big question for these vendors is whether the violence in Preah Vihear could eventually make its way to Banteay Meanchey, further hurting business.

One vendor, Sam Sary, seems to think not.

“I don’t think the fighting will spread out to this area as this is the international border gate,” he said.

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Real estate training school in the works

Monday, 21 March 2011 15:01 May Kunmakara

A TRAINING school for the real estate industry was set to open in Cambodia in order to improve professionalism in the sector, officials said.

Speaking to more than 300 real-estate agents, bankers and business people at a two-day real estate seminar at Sunway Hotel in Phnom Penh on Friday, President of the National Valuers Association Sung Bonna said he hoped the centre would open “this year”.

“The real estate sector is one of the key sectors [in] the development of country’s economy. I’ll try my best to set up the professional training school for the sector – we really need it at the moment,” he said.

“We will cooperate with Singapore to offer very professional skills [training] from [Singaporean] experts,” he said.

“Our purpose is to develop and to help the sector to be more professional and knowledgeable.

"Now, I feel that Cambodia needs more and more human resources for the improvement of the sector.”

The initiative, in particular the potential to improve property evaluation, was widely supported by the business community.

Dieter Billmeier, vice president and adviser to Canadia bank welcomed the initiative.

“It would help to introduce more professionalism into the sector for an upgrade of property assessment, evaluation, the quality of materials and construction. “

“It would definitely have a positive aspect for banks and financial institutions here in Cambodia, because it would increase the trust in outside judgment in the evaluation process for any property,” he said.

Last year about 15 percent of Canadia’s total loan portfolio were mortgage loans and about 9 percent were building and construction loans.

The bank aims to increase the percentage for both sectors combined by between 5 and 8 percent this year.

Sok Siphana, economic advisor to the Prime Minister, said during an opening speech that Cambodia needed to build capacity in real estate.

“The clients, the markets need your professional opinion and skills,” he said.

President of Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers Lim Lan Yuan also supported the idea, pointing to Singapore’s experience in creating professional valuation services.

“I can see this kind of thing happening in Cambodia,” he said.

“Asia has a lot of potential ... we see it in China, India, and Vietnam. At the moment Cambodia is the next one. Cambodia is now an emerging country with increasing population and improving economy – in this sense there will be potential for real-estate investment.”

Sung Bonna hopes that full-time training courses would last for six months and would be recognised by the government.

“We also plan to [enable students to] study abroad during the course because we want them be more professional and comply with international standards,” he said.

Cambodia’s land values fell last year compared to 2009, according to the valuers association.

It estimated commercial and residential land prices averaged about US$2,000 to $4,000 per square metre for 2010, down from $2,500 to $4,500 per square metre for 2009.

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IKEA unveils gay ad in Italy

Swedish furniture giant IKEA has unveiled an ad featuring a gay couple in Italy.

The ad – which is not the first gay-friendly campaign the company has run – shows two men holding hands under the slogan: “We are open to all families.”

Below, text says: “With us you will feel at home. What we want to do is make life easier for everyone, every family, every couple, whoever they are.”

Italian newspaper Il Giornale, which is owned by prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, accused IKEA of “Swedish imperialism” and trying to be “provocative”.

Mr Berslusconi said this month that his government would never allow gay couples to marry or adopt children.

But the Queer Italy blog welcomed the ad, saying: “Nothing can be more indigestible for our bigots and homophobes who cannot bear to read the word family with the words same sex.

“We like this advert and we welcome it – maybe some others will follow on from this campaign and look forward progressively and modernly, instead of backwards to the Middle Ages.”

In the past, IKEA has had to withdraw gay-friendly adverts. Its first gay ad, in 1994, showed a gay male couple shopping for dining tables. It was pulled after the retailer received a bomb threat.

In 2008, Polish Catholics called for a boycott of IKEA because its catalogue featured gay couples. The store was accused of “promoting” homosexuality.

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Open licensing would help to cut corruption

Monday, 21 March 2011 15:00Steve FinchHits: 152

WHEN India conducted an auction for 3G wireless licences last year, generating close to US$15 billion in revenues for the country, the process marked a drastic improvement on licensing for 2G services that took place in 2008.

WHEN India conducted an auction for 3G wireless licences last year, generating close to US$15 billion in revenues for the country, the process marked a drastic improvement on licensing for 2G services that took place in 2008.

Although convoluted – the process required 183 rounds of bidding over 34 days – last year’s auction was considerably more transparent than the earlier 2G process in which the IT and Communications Minister A Raja is alleged to have dished out cheap licences to favoured businesses and individuals. He resigned last November and is under investigation for corruption.

In the wake of the 3G licensing scandal engulfing Deputy Prime Minister Nhek Bun Chhay and the manner in which many businesses licences are distributed here, Cambodia should take note.

The main difference between the two processes in India was that last year’s auction – a transparent process in which companies were required to openly stake their claim to a licence – replaced the notoriously opaque “first-come-first-served” transactions.

It is the latter system of licensing that unfortunately remains the norm in Cambodia.

And it’s a system responsible for the recent allegations against the Deputy Prime Minister, mismanagement in the telecoms sector, the possibility licence revenues are not reaching state coffers and the perpetuation of a culture of graft that threatens investment and undermines the economy.

If Prime Minister Hun Sen is to lead a serious effort to tackle corruption, a problem he acknowledged last week in identifying the need for a “well-regulated environment for business”, then there would be no better place to start than licensing procedures.

Licensing represents the front line of interaction between the state and the private sector, and is therefore highly prone to acts of corruption. And for a country like Cambodia, negative repercussions as a result are substantial and wide-ranging.

Cases in which licences are distributed for the personal gain of the issuer almost always result in lost revenues for the state, a situation Cambodia can ill-afford given the miniscule government budget.

India’s 2G scandal is likely to have cost the country about $7 billion in lost licence fees.

How much money has Cambodia lost in the past due to its own under-regulated and opaque licensing system?

Although senior politicians in Cambodia continue to congratulate themselves on passing recent anti-corruption legislation, measures such as this have thus far remained largely antidotal. They do not address the root cause of corruption before it can take place.

By switching to an open bidding process to allocate operating licences for sectors such as telecoms, mining and energy, Cambodia would eradicate the possibility for the kind of corruption related to licensing documented in major sectors of the economy.

Every time a licence is issued in this country in murky circumstances, a precedent for impropriety is laid for the business concerned and the cycle of graft begins again.

Cambodia could break this cycle without too much difficulty. Just ask India.

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Gunmen kill three in Battambang

District police officials are investigating three suspects in connection with the murder of three family members who were shot and killed at their house in Serei Meanchey commune in Battambang province’s Sampov Loun district early on Saturday morning.

Sampov Loun district police chief Pich Saren said yesterday that Kong Ki, 50, Oum Chet, 40, and their daughter, Kong Chany, 17, died instantly, and a second daughter, 9, was hit by a bullet that had first struck one of her family members and sent to the district hospital with severe injuries.

“We are investigating to arrest the suspects who killed three members in a family.”

“We suspect that it is a personal case between the victims and the suspects because the suspects did not take money or any property from the victims’ house.”

Pich Saren said that the suspects brought guns to the victims’ house and, after calling Kong Ki’s name, one suspect shot him twice as he came out of the house.

Pich Saren said the same suspect shot Oum Chet once when she came looking for her husband and shot their daughter Kong Chany once before shooting a motorbike parked in the house three times.

“There were seven people in the house, but the other four hid themselves under the bed,” Pich Saren said. “So the suspects did not see them.”

He added that the survivors did not recognise the suspects’ faces because it was dark and they were hiding.

Sun Tek Battambang provincial coordinator for the local rights group Licadho, said that this was the first murder case in Battambang province this year.

“We want to urge the police and officials to investigate to arrest the suspects as soon as possible for punishment through the law,” he said.

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Investigate pensions: PM

The Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation has requested further information as to why former government employees and the disabled have not been receiving benefits, following an order from Prime Minister Hun Sen Friday that the Anti-Corruption Unit investigate the issue.

Hem Bora, director of the national fund for veterans at the Ministry of Social Affairs, said yesterday that there were an estimated 94,000 retired government workers, including a large number from the ministries of Defence and Interior, on the government’s payroll.

“We have been assigned by the minister of social affairs [Ith Sam Heng] to make a clear report about the budget supporting the salary of retirees … and we will also try to find out a reason why we could not pay them,” he said.

Hun Sen asked the ACU to investigate the issue and the Council of Ministers to ensure former government employees and the disabled receive pensions regularly and on time during Friday’s Council of Minister’s meeting.

“[Hun Sen] suggested that the Anti-Corruption Unit has to investigate and take legal action to punish any official that impedes or affects the transparency of the national budget to support the disabled and retired officials,” said a Council of Ministers statement released Friday.

Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith said yesterday that Hun Sen ordered the investigation after receiving individual complaints and seeing local media reports.

Last week, three teachers filed a complaint to the Ministry of Social Affairs saying they had not received their pensions 14 months after retiring.

Rong Chhun, head of the Cambodian Independent Teacher’s Association, said the problem was widespread and linked to corruption.

Hem Bora said yesterday he was unsure of the cause of the problem.

“In some cases, there are new retirees who have been transferred [from other ministries] but have not been added to the list for payment before the budget package was approved.”

Hem Bora said officials had been punished or warned by the ministry for abusing the pension system in the past, but the issue may linger.

“Some officials have tried to take benefit from our retirement pensions by buying and selling, such as a veteran who died but whose name remained on the list to receive a monthly pension,” Hem Bora said.

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Posted in: ENGLISH

Officials prepare adoption law

Cambodian officials met last week with the United States Special Adviser for Children’s Issues as they prepare to implement a new law on international adoptions, an attempt to bring order to a process that has been plagued by allegations of corruption and human trafficking.

The Kingdom’s Law on Inter-Country Adoption, passed in December 2009, is set to be implemented next month, said Khoun Ranine, an undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Social Affairs. The law aims to bring Cambodia in line with the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption, which sets strict terms for who should be eligible for international adoptions and how those adoptions should be regulated.

Although Cambodia has already ratified the convention, countries including the US, Australia, France and Canada have effectively placed moratoriums on adopting children from Cambodia, citing concerns about the Kingdom’s ability to comply with the guidelines.

US Special Adviser Susan Jacobs met with government officials and local diplomats on Thursday and Friday of last week to discuss the implementation of the new law and its compliance with the Hague Convention, the US embassy said in a statement.

“The United States looks forward to working with the Cambodian government as it establishes a child welfare system and will review carefully the implementing regulations related to the new law on inter-country adoptions as they are issued,” the embassy said, adding that a date had not yet been set for the resumption of inter-country adoption with the Kingdom.

Under the new law, Khoun Ranine said, the Social Affairs Ministry will establish a body called the Inter-Country Adoption Administration that will regulate the adoption process and coordinate with foreign countries.

The ICAA will be responsible for arranging and approving adoptions, he added, matching prospective parents with Cambodian children. Local agencies facilitating international adoptions will be required to work through the body.

Questions remain, however, about whether the new legislation will be able to overcome the issues of “baby selling” and corruption that have dogged the Cambodian adoption process in the past.

“I have nothing against the parents who will love these children,” Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Ly Srey Vyna said. “However, these people will inadvertently enrich corruption in adoption, because the process in Cambodia is full of illicit activity.”

UNICEF country representative Richard Bridle said the government needed to make sure that it had the resources necessary to properly manage and monitor the adoption process. For orphaned children, he added, the government should “promote community-based alternative care and only use inter-country adoption when all local and national options are exhausted.”

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Posted in: ENGLISH

Sale of sacred hill sparks protest

VILLAGERS from 96 households in Takeo province’s Tram Kak district staged a non-violent protest to block a private company from destroying a protected sacred hill on Thursday, a representative of the group said yesterday.

Heng Try, A representative of Thmey village said employees belonging to an unknown businessman were repelled by the villagers when they attempted to clear Tuol Ang Yeay Pov hill using land clearing machinery and trucks.

“They want to destroy it to dig up artifacts [which] the villagers don’t want, the villagers want to keep it and build a Buddhist hall for worship,” Heng Try said.

Tuol Ang Yeay Pov hill, a 30 by 40 metre ancient site of worship dating back at least 800 years to the reign of king Jayavarman VII, is recognised as a protected site of worship and as state property by Tram Kak district’s cultural department, Heng Try said.

Meth Phai, deputy governor of Tram Kak district, confirmed the site was protected state property and said officials from the district culture department had investigated the site on Friday to make sure the businessman’s actions had not impacted on the site.

“No one has the right to clear the hill because it is the villagers’ collective land [and is] state property,” he said.

Srey Saroeun, deputy chief of Thmey village also confirmed the hill was protected state property under the jurisdiction of the district culture department.

Thursday’s wasn’t the first time a businessman had tried to profit from the sacred hill, Srey Saroeun said.

In March, 2009, the former chief of Thmey village, Ty Chhe, attempted to sell Tuol Ang Yeay Pov hill along with surrounding rice paddies to a private businessman, he said.

“Suddenly, villagers made a complaint, submitting a letter to the district authority [requesting] that they help intervene,” he said.

Srey Saroeun added that district authorities reacted by issuing a letter stating that the land was state property.

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Posted in: ENGLISH

Cambodia sets marriage age limit for foreign husbands

There has been a mixed reaction to the ruling in Cambodia

Continue reading the main story

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• Country profile: Cambodia
• Timeline: Cambodia

Cambodia has imposed a partial ban on foreign men marrying local women - would-be bridegrooms will now have to be less than 50 years old.

The government says it is trying to prevent exploitation - and promote true love and what it calls "honest marriages".

But there has been a mixed reaction to the ruling. The ban does not affect foreign women - or Cambodian men.

Some participants in mixed marriages have said the ban is discriminatory.

A traditional Cambodian wedding is hard to miss - there's usually a red and white marquee blocking off half the road in front of the bride's house, and loudspeakers blasting out anything from Khmer wedding music to the chants of Buddhist monks.

At the entrance to the marquee there will be a photo of the bride and groom. Occasionally one or other of them will be non-Cambodian - a situation that has become a little problematic.

"We've been married 10 years, we have children, we're doing very well," said Jim Gollogly, a British doctor who married his wife when he was in his 50s and she was in her 30s.

"I don't think she wants to get rid of me right at the moment. I think she's done well out of it and I've done well out of it. And I don't see why that should be banned."

Dr Gollogly's wife holds a passport from Thailand - so they would not have been affected by the new rules. But others will not be so fortunate.

"They probably think there are too many older guys coming along and picking up young Khmer girls," said Dr Gollogly.

"And they feel that it's a bit immoral or something. But the girls should be of legal, consenting age - and if they are of consenting age, 18 or above, they should be able to make their own decisions."

Discriminatory?

The authorities seem to have been motivated by aesthetic considerations as much as anything else.

A government spokesman said it did not look "fitting" to see a young Cambodian woman with a much older foreign man.

They have also ruled that younger foreign men must have an income of at least $2,500 (£1,539) a month to marry a local bride.

That is many times more than what the average Cambodian earns.

"It seems to me that if there's any law about anything it should be applied to everyone - not just foreigners," said Dr Gollogly.

"It seems there's a good Asian tradition that older guys marry younger girls - and I don't see why that should be a problem just for foreign men," he said.

But perhaps true love need not be thwarted.

There is no law against couples of any age or nationality getting married outside Cambodia.

They may just have to do without the traditional Khmer wedding they had been planning.

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Posted in: ENGLISH,international

Cambodia face the Maldives

The Maldives captain Ali Ashfaq answers questions during a press conference in Male yesterday ahead of tonight’s match. Photo by: Ung Chamroeun

Cambodia national team head coach Lee Tae Hoon watches his players stretch off during their last home training session on Thursday before departing for the Maldives and the AFC Challenge Cup. Photo by: Sreng Meng Srun

Male, The Maldives
After spending six hours at Kuala Lumpur International Airport before a flight of over four hours on Saturday, the 20 players and seven officials of the Cambodian national football team finally arrived in the Maldives ahead of their participation in group C of the AFC Challenge Cup.

Cambodia play their opening game against the hosts at 11pm tonight Cambodian time at the Rasmee Dhadu Stadium. The teams have previously met in 2001 for the preliminaries of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the finals of which were held in Korea and Japan.

The first leg in Male saw the Maldives crush the visitors 6-0 before drawing the return leg 1-1 in Phnom Penh. Striker Sam El Nasa and assistant coach Ieng Saknida are the only surviving members of that squad still involved with the current Cambodian national team.

On arrival in the Maldives, Cambodia’s head coach Lee Tae Hoon admitted he knew little of the history between the sides when questioned by local journalists, but remained confident of success in the tournament.

“Now we have a strong squad. We have changed a lot,” he said.

“So I believe that my players can do better than in the past, despite just a couple of days of preparation [due to the conclusion of the Hun Sen Cup the previous weekend].”

“Now we’ve climbed from 166th to 154th in the FIFA World rankings. It’s a good achievement for us,” he said.

Ouk Mich, Cambodia’s captain and goalkeeper, also noted their recent improvement. “We cannot compare to what happened last 10 years,” he said during a press conference in Male yesterday.

“I believe that we can take revenge on the home side.”

Despite having a population of under 400,000 Maldives are one of the best teams in South Asia, and were crowned champions of the 2008 South Asian Football Federation Cup after beating India 1-0 in the final. In 2009, they were runners-up in the same tournament as India gained revenge with a 3-1 victory after penalties.

They also drew 0-0 at home with South Korea in a 2006 World Cup qualifier played in 2004. Their newly appointed coach Andrés Cruciani played as a defender for the U20 Argentina national team in 1985 and coached Bangladesh from 2005 to 2007.

Captain and striker Ali Ashfaq is considered one of the best players to come from the Maldives, and is hailed as the playmaker of the team by Maldivian journalists. He spent one year with DPMM FC of Brunei before returning home in 2008 to join VB Sports Club, which have won the last two seasons of the domestic Dhivehi League.

The highly decorated player, nicknamed “Dhagandey” meaning Man of Steel, asserted that his team carried a significant home advantage over Cambodia. “Our team will play well because of our supporters,” he said yesterday.

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Posted in: ENGLISH,international

Bahrain and Iran expel diplomats

Authorities in Bahrain have been trying to control anti-government protests

Iran has expelled a Bahraini diplomat in a retaliatory move, amid an ongoing dispute linked to anti-government protests in Bahrain.

Earlier, Bahrain had expelled the Iranian charge d'affaires.

Tehran has criticised Bahrain's Sunni rulers for using troops from other Gulf states to help control mainly Shia protesters.

Bahrain has accused Iran, the main Shia power in the Gulf, of interference in its internal affairs.

Both countries withdrew their ambassadors earlier this week.

"After the illogical and incomprehensible actions of the Bahrain government, especially expelling one of our diplomats, as a reprisal the attache at Bahrain's embassy has been summoned and told that one of the embassy's diplomats must leave Iran," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.

Referring to the "legitimate demands of the population", he said that the "repression of peaceful protests and illogical actions only aggravate the crisis and deepen wounds".

On Wednesday, at least three people were killed when Bahraini authorities cleared a month-old protest camp from Pearl Roundabout in Manama.

In a brief protest in Manama on Sunday the main opposition group, Wafeq, appealed to the UN to protect them against violence, and to the US to help pressure troops from other Gulf states to leave Bahrain.

Opposition groups led by Wafeq said they would not hold talks with the government until troops were removed from the streets and prisoners released.

Bahrain's council of ministers said it regretted the "negative" response to an offer for dialogue from Crown Prince Sheikh Salman.

Some 1,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and a further 500 from the United Arab Emirates arrived in Bahrain on Monday at the invitation of the government.

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Posted in: ENGLISH,international

Cambodia calls for 15 border checkpoints Thais suspect ulterior motive in disputed area

• Newspaper section: News

The Cambodian military has proposed 15 joint border checkpoints be set up in the 4.6-square-kilometre area near Preah Vihear temple also claimed by Thailand, a military source said.

The idea has been floated to the Thai military through Indonesia, as the incumbent revolving chair of Asean, and the Thai Foreign Ministry, but details have yet to be discussed, the source said.

The proposed joint border checkpoints, which would be overseen by observers from Indonesia, did not include one at Keo Sikha Kiri Savara pagoda, a temple in the disputed area claimed by Cambodia, the source said.

Most of the proposed checkpoints would be located in areas supervised by Thai troops, including Phu Makhua mountain, the source said.

The source said the proposal would put Cambodia at an advantage and there could be an ulterior motive for the suggestion.

There are more Thai troops stationed in the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area than Cambodian soldiers.

Cambodian soldiers will push for the setting up of the checkpoints during a visit to the border area by Indonesia, the source said.

The details, however, will be thrashed out at a meeting of the Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee in Indonesia on April 7-8.

The meeting will be co-chaired by Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and his Cambodian counterpart, Tea Banh.

The proposal came after the Suranaree task force halted construction of a two-kilometre-long road stretching from Pha Mor I Dang cliff to the ancient Sa Trao reservoir and stairway of the Preah Vihear temple.

Thai soldiers had completed 70% of the road when border clashes on Feb 4 brought construction to a halt.

They resumed building the road on March 4, prompting Cambodian soldiers to send a letter protesting against the construction.

Cambodian soldiers last week threatened to open fire if Thai soldiers continued, so the roadworks were suspended, the source said.

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Posted in: ENGLISH

Hear about TEAR's work amongst the poor in Cambodia

Description:
Two of TEAR's international partners from TASK in Cambodia, Pauv and Chern, will be in Canberra on 22 March to share with us about their work in Phnom Penh slums bringing hope to people through a range of health and development projects (see www.task.org.kh for more details).

Pauv, the Executive Director of TASK, is an encouraging and inspiring speaker with a vision for his country. TASK seeks to empower the poor to take control of their own development, and build a better future.

TEAR Australia is a movement of Christians in Australia responding to the needs of poor communities around the world. Our motivation comes from our belief that God loves all people, and in Christ offers them the opportunity of a new life. We believe that God is just, and has particular care for the poor and those who suffer as victims of injustice.

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Posted in: ENGLISH

NTT Com launches internet services in Cambodia

NTT Communications Thailand has begun providing internet access in Cambodia. The launch follows the acquisition of a communication license in Cambodia in January. The company provides internet services to business customers in Phnom Penh and the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone through the NTT Communications Phnom Penh Office. The Digi-Path Premier access service, delivered via leased lines, connects directly to NTT Com's Tier-1 global backbone. Multilingual support is provided in Cambodian, English, and Japanese. Access is available in speeds of 512 Kbps, 1, 2 or 4 Mbps. Costs start at USD 150 for initial setup and USD 340 per month for the 512 Kbps service. NTT Communications Thailand also provides multinational companies in Cambodia with ICT solutions for network integration, system integration and managed security.

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Posted in: ENGLISH