Sam Rainsy: Ho Vann must get back his parliamentary immunity automatically

30 September 2009
Source: Khmer Stapana newspaper
Reported in English by Khmerization
Click here to read the aritcle in Khmer

Legal experts and opposition politicians said that the Phnom Penh Court should, through Ministry of Justice, send a request to the National Assembly to reinstate Mr. Ho Vann's parliamentary immunity after it dropped all defamation charges against him.

Mr. Sam Rainsy, leader of the eponymous Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), said by a telephone interview that the SRP will not write a letter to the National Assembly to request for it to give back Mr. Ho Vann's immunity by saying that by laws Mr. Ho Vann should automatically get his immunity back after the court dropped all charges against him.

Mr. Ho Vann was sued by 22 military officers after he criticised their qualifications awarded by the Vietnamese Military Institute. On 22nd June, the National Assembly stripped him off his parliamentary immunity and he fled to the United States.

A week ago, the court dropped all charges against him after international pressures and after U.S Secretary of Defence Robert Gates raised the issue with Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh during their meeting in Washington DC a week ago.

I can beat Preah Vihear charges : Noppadon

October 1, 2009
The Nation

Noppadon Pattama was optimistic yesterday he would be cleared of criminal and impeachment charges relating to the wrongful signing of the Cambodian-Thai joint communique on Preah Vihear temple last year.

"So many past indictments by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) have been dismissed by the courts," he said.

The NACC ruled on Tuesday to prosecute him and former prime minister Samak Sundaravej on suspicion of a lapse of duty, under Article 157 of the Criminal Code. They were accused of pushing through the controversial joint communique which was subsequently rejected and voided by the Constitution Court as well as the Central Administrative Court.

Noppadon - who was foreign minister at the time - insisted the NACC was prejudiced by relying heavily on evidence supplied by his opponents and those in the anti-Thaksin camp.

The joint communique was not a treaty, as claimed by opponents. It was a first document in which Cambodia duly recognised the existence of the disputed area surrounding the temple, he said, denying the allegation about sanctioning the Cambodian claim to the Thai territory.

He said he was prepared to fight the legal battle in the Supreme Court and the impeachment proceedings in the Senate.

Noppadon said ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra gave him the moral support to clear his name. Samak, who is in hospital for cancer treatment, also gave him encouragement through an aide, he added.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the government would allow justice to run its course without interfering in the matter.

In his message posted on Twitter, Thaksin said the NACC had gone overboard in trying to fault Noppadon.

As part of the indictments, the NACC cited evidence from the National Security Council on the intentions of Noppadon and Samak relating to the joint communique. Based on the evidence, it concluded the two wanted to help Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen boost his popularity ahead of the polls.

The NACC expressed shock and dismay the two were willing to risk Thai territorial integrity for the political gain of a foreign leader.

Reacting to the evidence obtained by the NACC, NSC secretary general Thawil Pliensri said he remained sceptical Samak had actually instructed Noppadon to help Hun Sen.

"The story is beyond belief and I never heard Samak tell Noppadon to act in such manner," Thawil said, insisting he was at the NSC meeting on the temple issue.

He admitted, however, there was no taped record of what transpired between Samak and Noppadon.

Thawil's predecessor Lt General Surapol Phuenaiyaka was the key witness in the NACC inquiry.

Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Prompan said the NACC had been unfair in indicting Noppadon and Samak.

The two were not responsible for losing the Thai territory to Cambodia but Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his fellow Democrats were, Jatuporn claimed.

He insisted the two had tried to safeguard the Thai borders while Abhisit neglected to defend the disputed area in spite of a road constructed by Cambodia 250 metres inside Thai soil.

Victims of Khmer Rouge can offer testimony in Portland this weekend

September 30, 2009
By Gosia Wozniacka
The Oregonian

Khmer Rouge testimony

• What: The Cambodian Diaspora Victims' Participation Project
• When: Friday, 6 to 10 p.m., presentations about the project and the trials in Cambodia; Saturday and Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., staff will help survivors complete Victim Information Forms for submission to the courts.
• Where: Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), 10301 N.E .Glisan Street, Portland
• Online: www.cacoregon.org or www.renewkhmer.org

Oregon's Cambodian refugees who are survivors of Khmer Rouge killing fields can file testimony this weekend to be used in an international war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital.

The Cambodian Diaspora Victims' Participation Project in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia will hold workshops to educate Oregonians about the ongoing trials of senior Khmer Rouge leaders and help survivors document evidence for submission to the courts.

In 1970s, the Khmer Rouge killed an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians – nearly a quarter of the country's population –through overwork in labor camps, starvation, disease, and execution. Testimony concluded in September in the first trial of a Khmer Rouge leader. Four others are in custody awaiting trial.

Filing testimony allows survivors to seek justice and reconciliation, and provides closure, said Leakhena Nou, assistant professor in the Sociology Department at California State University, Long Beach. Nou, a Cambodian-American, is the founder of the Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia, which organized the Victims' Participation Project, along with New York University's Asian Pacific American Institute.

Nou and her team have already collected hundreds of chilling statements from Cambodian refugees at similar workshops in California, Virginia, and Maryland.

"It's a cathartic process," Nou said. "Some people have waited so long to tell their stories."

Helping survivors who live in the United States to file testimony is important, because many refugees cannot afford a lawyer or a flight to Cambodia, Nou said. The tribunal, a joint court created by the Cambodian government and the United Nations, allows Khmer Rouge victims to participate as witnesses, complainants and civil parties.

The participation project is conducted with the help of the UCLA School of Law's international justice clinic. Survivors' incentive to file testimony is mostly of a moral and symbolic nature, Nou said. But some survivors could be called to testify in person.

The Cambodian American Community of Oregon hopes survivors from Oregon and Washington will attend the workshops, said Mardine Mao, the group's president.

"We realize this process will be hard for most survivors," Mao said, "but it's about doing the right thing and opening up old wounds in order to heal properly. We have to send the message to the court system and to Cambodia that we Cambodians living abroad care about what happened and about the trial process."

Climate change to hit Asia’s poor, rural women most: ADB

New Delhi/Manila, September 30 (PTI): Poor people and rural women from developing nations in Asia will be among those most affected by climate change which poses fundamental threats to the region’s food and energy security, according to studies funded by the Asian Development Bank. The climate change is also expected to lead to increased migration of people within national boundaries, mainly into mega cities.

Attributing to three studies on agriculture, energy and migration, the ADB in a statement today said the impacts of rising temperatures in Asia would fall disproportionately on the region’s poor, and rural women from developing countries would be among the most affected groups.

Such a scenario would arise on account of these groups dependence on subsistence crops, their limited access to resources, and their lack of decision-making power. “The food and energy security of every Asian is threatened by climate change, but it’s the poor - and especially poor women - who are most vulnerable and most likely to migrate as a consequence,” ADB Vice-President Ursula Schaefer Preuss said.

Over half of Asia’s total population lives below the $2 per day poverty line and these people are more depend on rain-fed agriculture and live in settlements that are highly exposed to climate variability and change. Noting that about 2.2 billion Asians rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, the statement said the sector is now threatened by falling crop yields caused by floods, droughts, erratic rainfall and other climate change impacts.

“Current climate models indicate food prices may increase sharply – rice prices by 29-37 per cent, maize by 58-97 per cent and wheat by 81-102 per cent – by 2050,” it added. Another study found that climate change-induced threats to Asia’s agriculture and energy would contribute significantly to migration within national boundaries.

As per the energy report, Asia’s access to affordable energy is facing rising threat due to demand-supply gaps, high reliance on traditional biomass fuels, and the high-energy intensity of the region’s economies, among others.

The statement noted that the region’s vast renewable energy potential could help in responding to this scenario, provided “policy and finance measures quickly scale-up proven technologies for the poor, including small hydro and solar power”.

The agriculture, energy and migration studies were produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); USA; The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India; and the University of Adelaide, Australia, respectively.

Long Beach Cambodians want to be counted

Sara Pol-Lim discusses a the census count during the Cambodian Complete Count committee s regular meeting in Long Beach on Tuesday. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)
Ron Sok puts pins a map showing where certain demographics are in a hard to count area during the Cambodian Complete Count committee s meeting on Tuesday. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)

09/30/2009
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)

LONG BEACH - On the day the U.S. Census released poverty numbers showing 21 percent of Asians in Long Beach lived at or below the poverty line, the Cambodian Complete Count Committee met determined to do something about it.

The bleak numbers underscored the importance of making sure the community is adequately represented.

Cambodians have typically been what's called an "underserved" community, in part because they, like many impoverished and ethnic communities, prefer anonymity.

Finding such invisible populations is a challenge, particularly in efforts such as the dicennial census, which ramps up in January.

This is important because the federal government distributes hundreds of billions of dollars each year to states and communities based on census numbers. Simply stated, the more people, the more money. The more money, the better the funding for programs, including those in so-called "underserved" communities.

Census monitoring and outreach groups estimate each uncounted person can cost a state between $1,000 to $2,000 per year in federal funds.

"We have been undercounted for the last three decades," says Sara Pol-Lim, executive director of the United Cambodian Community, talking about Cambodian refugees who began flooding into Long Beach in 1979 in the wake of the genocide in her home country.

The 2000 U.S. Census placed the Long Beach Cambodian population at about 17,000, second among Asians to Filipinos. Pol-Lim says that figure is grossly low.

Informal estimates from local groups put the number closer to 50,000, although many say that is high.

Wherever the truth lies, it's worth 10s of millions of dollars to the community annually.

In the 2000 Census, Pricewaterhouse Coopers estimated more than 500,000 people

in California were uncounted, including more than 175,000 in Los Angeles county.
Pol-Lim and the seven other members of the committee who met Tuesday want to change that.

"It's about challenging our community (to respond to the survey)," she said. "I've said before, it's our community to lose, or to gain."

In past counts, Cambodians were notorious for not responding due to difficulties with language and heightened fear of government and authority.

The key to Pol-Lim is finding a message that resonates within the community.

"If you trigger the right message," she said, "they're going to come up." That message would include family and respect.

As part of its outreach, the count committee is considering slogans such at "Stand up and be counted," "Respect yourself, be counted," "Count me in" and "Yes, we can in 2010."

The group also wants to be sure the messages translate well into Khmer.

Chan Hopson, of the Khmer Parents Association, wanted to make sure that youth were consulted and that the message reach them as well.

The group also began work on an asset allocation map, that looks at community services in Long Beach and where they are located, particularly within areas the census says were grossly undercounted.

"We need to look at who we're missing on the map," said Lian Cheun, program director of Khmer Girls in Action and the committee chair. "The next step will be to identify an action plan."

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291

Typhoon Ketsana kills 11 in Cambodia: official

People are seen transporting a motorcycle by using a boat down a flooded street as Typhoon Ketsana passed through the central Vietnamese city of Hue on September 29. The death toll from the typhoon in Vietnam rose to at least 38 on Wednesday, officials said, after 246 died when the storm struck the Philippines over the weekend. (AFP/Hoang Dinh Nam)

(Post by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Typhoon Ketsana has killed at least 11 people in northeastern and central Cambodia, police and government officials said Wednesday.

Nine were killed and 28 injured in central Cambodia while two died in the northeast overnight as the country was battered by the storm, officials said.

"At least nine people were crushed last night when their house fell down," said Chea Cheat, chief of the Red Cross office in central Kampong Thom province.

Chea Cheat added that at least 78 houses in his province were destroyed Tuesday evening and that heavy rain and rising floods were continuing.

International organisations and government officials in Cambodia said they were distributing tents and food to affected people while assessing damage across at least five of the country's provinces.

The death toll from Ketsana in Vietnam has risen to at least 38, officials said, after 246 died when the storm struck the Philippines over the weekend.

An official from the flood and storm control committee in the central Vietnam city of Danang said another 10 people were missing.

Typhoon kills nearly 50 in Vietnam, Cambodia

Residents travel by boat along a flooded alley in a village near the city of Hue as Typhoon Ketsana passes through central Vietnam. Typhoon Ketsana left a trail of destruction across Southeast Asia Wednesday, killing at least 49 people in Vietnam and Cambodia and churning towards Laos, officials said. (AFP/Hoang Dinh Nam)

by Tran Thi Minh Ha

(Post by CAAI News Media)

HOI AN, Vietnam (AFP) – Typhoon Ketsana left a trail of destruction across Southeast Asia Wednesday, killing at least 49 people in Vietnam and Cambodia and churning towards Laos, officials said.

Tens of thousands of people had fled their homes to escape flooding caused by Ketsana, which had already killed 246 when it struck the Philippines over the weekend as a weaker tropical storm. Related article: Philippines destruction

Floodwaters hit swathes of Vietnam including ancient UN World Heritage sites, and aid workers across the region were trying to evacuate stranded people and get supplies to other survivors.

The death toll in Vietnam rose overnight to at least 38 people with another 10 people missing, and could climb higher, said an official from the flood and storm control committee in the central Vietnam city of Danang.

Ketsana made landfall in Vietnam on Tuesday afternoon and weakened in the night to become a tropical depression which had reached the border of Laos early Wednesday, an official from the national storm centre in Hanoi told AFP.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Laos, a government spokesman there said, but Cambodian police and government officials said at least 11 had died in that country's northeastern and central regions.

"At least nine people were crushed last night when their houses fell down," said Chea Cheat, chief of the Red Cross office in central Kampong Thom province.

Chea Cheat added that at least 78 houses in his province were destroyed Tuesday evening and that heavy rain and rising floods were continuing.

International organisations and government officials in Cambodia said they were distributing tents and food while assessing damage across at least five of the country's provinces.

Central Vietnam bore the brunt of the typhoon's impact, with the country's flood and storm control committee saying that 168,585 people in six coastal provinces had been evacuated. Many areas were without power.

In Vietnam, the ancient town of Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage site close to the South China Sea, was flooded Wednesday morning, AFP reporters observed.

On Tuesday flooding hit parts of Danang as well as Hue, the former capital and another World Heritage site, where residents used small wooden and steel boats to move around.

State-run Vietnam News carried a front-page photograph of houses almost submerged by brown floodwaters in Kon Tum province. Flooding also struck 20,000 hectares (about 50,000 acres) of agricultural land, the storm committee said.

Military helicopters may join the rescue effort, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said late Tuesday.

"We will focus on rescuing those who are isolated," particularly in Kon Tum and Quang Ngai provinces, he said. "We have to immediately evacuate households on the banks of three rivers and areas that may suffer from landslides."

An update on the rescue effort was not immediately available Wednesday.

"We want the defence ministry to send armoured vehicles or trucks that can go in water to help people because we don't have enough boats," the chairman of the People's Committee in Kon Tum said Tuesday night.

"Several people are now sitting on the top of their house or on the top of trees. We cannot reach them."

Vietnam suffers annually from tropical storms and typhoons. At least 41 people died in September 2008 when Typhoon Hagupit struck the country's north.

Khmer youths get their teeth into fashion

Photo by: Tha Piseth

A smile revealing a ‘skyce’, a gem-like implant on a tooth

(Post by CAAI News Media)

Wednesday, 30 September 2009 15:00 Tha Piseth and Kounila Keo

As Phnom Penh is quickly becoming a material world, some material girls are putting extra style in their smile.

In the last couple of years, dental clinics in the capital have seen a rise in youths, mostly girls, requesting that a diamond-like white gem, called a skyce, be implanted in their teeth.

Upgrading your ivories with gold or gems has been popular in Europe and America for many years, and for girls like Him Sokunthea, the benefits are obvious.

“After I installed it, I feel happier. It makes me more popular and attractive,” says the 21-year-old language school student.

“Of course I follow Cambodian film stars and my friends. After I had it done, my relatives and friends came and asked me about it.”

The price of the procedure ranges from US$15 to $50, depending on the dentist, the procedure and the size of the stone. Some choose to have the stone glued on, a practice that is much cheaper but also more temporary, as the stone can easily come loose.

Tep Navy, executive director of Pachem dental clinic, says that there is no danger in implanting a skyce into a tooth, but that it will likely fall out after two or three years.

For those who desire would prefer a real diamond set in their teeth, the process is a bit more tricky.

As opposed to a skyce, which has a flat back that is easy to stick on your tooth, a diamond has a pointed tip that requires a deeper hole to be drilled into your dentures.

Chav Bun Heang, a post-graduate periodontal student the University of Health and Science, said that all of these procedures present a risk of permanent damage or rotting.

“The problem could happen if the dentist is not careful when they remove the diamond or skyce,” he said.

Others are not convinced that the risk is worth the extra sparkle in your smile.

“I don’t think people become handsome just because of a diamond tooth,” 19-year-old Ly Rathanak, a student at the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

“There are more factors to determine the beauty of one person.” But it still seems to some that beauty is in the teeth of the beholder.

Cool refreshment in our southern forests

Photo by: Prum Seila

A tourist walks a pathway at the Mangrove Forest Resort in Koh Kong on Cambodia’s south coast.

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I WORK IN THE CITY AND IT IS SO CROWDED; YET WHEN I COME HERE I FEEL SO FRESH AND REJUVENATED.

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(Post by CAAI News Media)

Wednesday, 30 September 2009 15:00 Lim Seang Heng and Prum Seila

Phnom Penh city dwellers are taking time out to explore the wilderness of Koh Kong.

The unforgettable landscape impresses before you even reach the town.

Tall, lush forests sigh under a light drizzle, while fluffy mist cools the air of Botum Sakor national park in Koh Kong province.

The scenery encountered on the approach makes light of the 5- to 6-hour bus journey from Phnom Penh; it is well worth the ride when your destination is Koh Kong.

Mangrove Forest Resort is one of the most popular tourism destinations in the province.

It is also relatively easy to access from the provincial capital, Koh Kong.

Travel just 7 kilometres out of town, and a sign on the left-hand side directs you towards the resort, another 30 minutes or so down a picturesque path to a new world of beautiful forest and a never-ending chorus of birdsong.

There is an entry fee, but at 3,000 riels (US$0.75) for Khmer residents and 5,000 riels for foreigners, it is nominal to say the least.

Plus, as you wander through the spectacular natural environment, you realise a ticket at five times the price would still represent good value for money.

While we walked among the mangroves, feverishly snapping away with our cameras, a feeling of intimacy with nature certainly engulfed us.

Crabs and fish were ubiquitous, while the plethora of birdlife provided a perfect theme song to our stroll in the forest.

We soon came across a stone bridge, which measures an impressive 666 metres.

At this juncture, we were given the option of continuing further into the wilds, or relaxing at a shelter custom-built for weary tourists.

While having lunch with his wife under the hut, a tourist from Phnom Penh, Hem Pov, 24, explained how, despite this being his second visit, he cannot get enough of the area.

“I work in the city and it is so crowded; yet when I come here I feel so fresh and rejuvenated.

“I always have a good time with my family,” he said, while feeding his son.

“Cambodia has plenty of forests, but few compare to this. When I come here with my boy, I enjoy teaching him to love nature and the environment.”

After an enjoyable lunch, we set off across the stone bridge and eventually reached a viaduct, which, we were told, is the main landmark of the forest for tourists.

We were also encouraged to climb a lookout in order to feast our eyes on a fascinating, panoramic view of the forest and the streams surrounding it.

All of this natural beauty passes before your eyes in something of a blur, and it can be difficult to give it the time it deserves, especially if you are on a short trip to the area.

Long Man, deputy chief of the resort, explained that, with this in mind, the community will soon be creating guesthouses and restaurants to encourage tourists to see more and stay longer.

Eagles face Scorpions in final

Photo by: Luke Duggleby

The Siem Reap Globe Eagles (left) play against the Kampong Speu Global Giving Scorpions during their 2009 Cellcard National Volleyball League match July 25.

(Post by CAAI News Media)

Wednesday, 30 September 2009 15:00 Dan Riley

The Kampong Speu Global Giving Scorpions book a date with the formidable Siem Reap Globe Eagles to contest the league championship and a $3,000 prize.

THE Siem Reap Globe Eagles will face the Kampong Speu Global Giving Scorpions in the 2009 Cellcard National Volleyball League Grand Finals at 7pm Friday October 16. In the third-place playoff at the earlier time of 4pm, current league title holders Kampong Speu CTN Koupreys square up to six-times champions Phnom Penh ANZ Royal Dragons.

The top four teams are vying for one of the largest purses in Cambodian sports. The National League Champions will take home US$3,000, with runners-up pocketing $2,000, and third place grabbing a cool $1,000. Though the cash provides an adequate incentive, there is little doubt that provincial pride is what’s truly at stake.

After sensationally trouncing every other team in the league, Siem Reap Globe Eagles perched at the top of the table with an impeccable record of nine wins, losing just three sets on their storming flight to the finals.

Kampong Speu Global Giving Scorpions clinched second place, with losses coming only against Siem Reap and third-place team Kampong Speu CTN Koupreys. Third in last year’s competition, the Scorpions sealed their finals berth by the narrowest of margins over their hometown rivals, standing equal on games won but having lost one set fewer. The Scorpions dropped a set in a tight match against sixth placed Takeo ISPP Templestowe Falcons on Friday, but held on to ensure their place in the finals with a comprehensive 3-0 thrashing of Prey Veng Kingmaker Cobras later that day.

Current title holders Kampong Speu CTN Koupreys square up to six-times National League Champions Phnom Penh ANZ Royal Dragons for third-place spoils. The Dragons managed to halt their abrupt slide down the rankings on the last day of competition by defeating newcomers Kampong Cham Bartu Bulls and narrowly overcoming Kratie Nike Changemakers Dolphins.

The fourth-round fixtures held at the Olympic Stadium last Friday and Saturday once again witnessed some fierce competition, with Battambang MOSVY Tigers missing out on a playoff spot by two lost sets to Phnom Penh. Dragons coach Kim Horn is now planning a radical overhaul of his team through an injection of new young athletes into his ageing squad after their worst performance in years.

At the tail end of the table, Kratie Nike Changemakers Dolphins battled through a 5-set marathon against Phnom Penh to narrowly lose out 2-3, before being given a swift lesson in net work by the dominant Eagles to lose 0-3. However, victory over Kampong Cham, Prey Veng and Pailin over the course of the season leaves Kratie in a respectable seventh.

Close behind are newcomers and surprise of the year Kampong Cham Bartu Bulls, who genuinely impressed everyone with their team spirit, morale and love of the game. Led by national team spiker Sang Veasna, the Bulls have quickly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with, and even took a set off Phnom Penh on the final day of the season. Next year will see former national team player Pin Ty take the coaching reins in Kampong Cham, with Sang Veasna given the task of establishing a new team in Kandal province.

Prey Veng Kingmaker Cobras and Pailin Frechen Lions prop up the foot of the ladder, with 1-8 and 0-9 records respectively. Prey Veng could consider themselves unlucky after a number of very close matches, and they remain one of the most consistent and tightly knit teams in the league, hindered only by a distinct lack of height at the net with the departure of 6-foot Met Mean to Kratie.

It’s back to the drawing board for Pailin, though, who had their most disastrous season since joining the National League in 2006. Coach Khem Pheng Tong had no excuses for his underachieving side, once feared nationwide for their aggressive style of play. Expect a rejuvenated team to enter the court in 2010.

With the 2009 Cellcard WOVD Cambodia World Cup just around the corner in December, selection for the Cambodian National Team is dominating team talks, and national team coach Christian Zepp has the potential to pick a dream team with a real chance of grabbing the world No 1 position.

The CNVLD wishes to thank Cellcard and all the team sponsors in the 2009 Cellcard National Volleyball League, as well as R O Water and the volunteer team from DDD and ANZ Royal Bank, for helping this year’s national league reach its potential.

Interested parties are invited to Olympic Stadium on October 16 to see who will be crowned 2009 Cellcard National Volleyball League Champions. Entrance is free.

Kao Roomchang stays on top; Vung Noy escapes by decision

Photo by: Robert Starkweather

Kao Roomchang hangs on to first place in the lightweight tournament following a win Sunday over Song Saruth.

(Post by CAAI News Media)

Wednesday, 30 September 2009 15:00 Robert Starkweather

Vung Noy narrowly escaped a loss to underdog Nuon Mony Sunday in the CTN lightweight tournament while Kao Roomchang cruised past Song Saruth.

IN lightweight tournament action at CTN Sunday, first-place Kao Roomchang outpointed sixth-place Song Saruth, and fourth-place Vung Noy squeaked past last-place Nuon Mony.

The outcomes did not affect tournament rankings and, with two fights left, Kao Roomchang remains in first place with a record of 5-0. Van Chanvey stays in second place with a record of 4-1 (3 knockouts), while Long Sophy is third at 4-1 (1 knockout), and Vung Noi lies in fourth on 3-2 (2 knockouts).

The eight-man, round-robin tournament began July 19, and the winner, as determined by wins and knockouts, will earn a shot at the lightweight title against Commando 911 fighter Lao Sinath.

With the victory Sunday, Kao Roomchang moved a step closer towards clinching the first title shot of his short, two-year career. Turning in a playful yet workmanlike performance Sunday, he wowed the crowds with some flying kicks, easily doing enough to earn the victory.

“I can’t run with him,” Song Saruth said before the fight, with a quick shake of his head and a vague look of resignation despite producing a fine effort, landing hard kicks to the body and scoring with knees through all five rounds. He neutralized Kao Roomchang in the clinch and finished the fight with a spirited, final-round charge.

Still, it wasn’t nearly enough. Except for parts of the final round, Kao Roomchang stalked Song Saruth around the ring and dictated the pace of the fight. He landed a couple of clean elbows in the second, and twice landed flying front kicks to Song Saruth’s face in the fourth.

In the fifth round, as Song Saruth came charging, Kao Roomchang effortlessly raised his game, landing head-snapping punches and powerful kicks to the body to keep the fight out of reach.

Kao Roomchang faces Naem Chenda on October 1, and Long Sophy on October 28.

Photo by: Robert Starkweather

Nuon Mony, winless in five tournament fights, has struggled to find the offense necessary to earn a victory.

Nuon Mony denied

In the second match of the afternoon, Nuon Mony countered well and stayed elusive to frustrate Vung Noy, who struggled to cut off the ring and catch his opponent. But after five rounds, it was Nuon Mony who left discouraged.

“I though I won,” Nuon Mony said afterward.

Speaking in the changing area after the bout, Nuon Mony appeared the fresher fighter. “I’m not hurt,” he said, raising his arms to reveal a relatively unbattered body, as Vung Noy limped past to a nearby bench muttering “Oh, my leg hurts.”

The two fought back and forth for five rounds, and the fight could have easily gone either way. In the third round, Vung Noy landed a huge knee to the head, followed by a clean elbow, and he clearly appeared the stronger fighter.

But in trying to unload the power shots, Vung Noy often missed badly, ending up off-balance or on the canvas. As Vung Noy charged forward, Nuon Mony scored with counters and slipped away.

“I tried to catch him with elbows, I tried to land knees, but I couldn’t,” Vung Noi remarked afterward.

Nuon Mony remains winless in five tournament fights. Vung Noi faces Long Sophy on October 11.

Philippine death toll rises, as new storms brew

A girl rests on top of her belongings inside an evacuation center Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009 in suburban Quezon City, north of Manila, Philippines. Rescuers pulled more bodies from swollen rivers and debris-strewn streets Tuesday from massive flooding from Tropical Storm Ketsana in the northern Philippines, while two new storms brewing in the Pacific threatened to complicate relief efforts.(AP Photo/Pat Roque)

People view victims of massive flooding Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009 in suburban Quezon City, north of Manila, Philippines. Rescuers pulled more bodies from swollen rivers and debris-strewn streets Tuesday from massive flooding from Tropical Storm Ketsana in the northern Philippines, while two new storms brewing in the Pacific threatened to complicate relief efforts.(AP Photo/Pat Roque)

Gingery Comprendio stands between the coffins of her two daughters Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, in suburban Quezon City, north of Manila, Philippines. Her husband and son were also found dead during the flooding. Her two other kids are still missing. Rescuers pulled more bodies from swollen rivers and debris-strewn streets Tuesday from massive flooding from Tropical Storm Ketsana in the northern Philippines, while two new storms brewing in the Pacific threatened to complicate relief efforts. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)

People visit the coffins of flood victims in Manila on September 28. Hundreds of thousands of exhausted Philippine flood survivors endured squalor in schools, gymnasiums and other makeshift shelters as the death toll from the weekend disaster soared to 240.(AFP/Jay Directo)

A man paddles his family on an improvised float as floodwaters remain high in suburban Pasig, east of Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009. Rescuers pulled more bodies from swollen rivers and debris-strewn streets Tuesday from massive flooding from Tropical Storm Ketsana in the northern Philippines, while two new storms brewing in the Pacific threatened to complicate relief efforts. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

In this photo released by the Philippine Air Force, flooding victims scramble for relief supplies being airdropped by air force helicopter crewmen at San Mateo township, Rizal province, east of Manila, Philippines, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, three days after tropical storm Ketsana brought the worst flooding in metropolitan Manila in more than 40 years. Rescuers pulled more bodies from swollen rivers and debris-strewn streets Tuesday from massive flooding from Tropical Storm Ketsana while two new storms brewing in the Pacific threatened to complicate relief efforts. (AP Photo/Philippine Air Force, Rogel Vidallo)

By TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press Writer

(Post by CAAI News Media)

MANILA, Philippines – Rescuers pulled more bodies from swollen rivers and debris-strewn streets Tuesday to bring the death toll from massive flooding in the northern Philippines to 240, while two new storms brewing in the Pacific threatened to complicate relief efforts.

The homes of nearly 1.9 million people in the capital and surrounding areas were inundated by flooding unleashed when Tropical Storm Ketsana tore through the region over the weekend, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said Tuesday. Nearly 380,000 people have sought shelter in schools, churches and other evacuation centers.

Overwhelmed officials have called for international aid, warning they may not have sufficient resources to withstand two new storms forecasters have spotted east of the island nation in the Pacific Ocean. One could hit the northern Philippines later this week and the other early next week, although meteorologists say that could change.

Ketsana, which scythed across the northern Philippines on Saturday, dumped more than a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours, fueling the worst flooding to hit the country in more than 40 years.

Troops, police and volunteers have already rescued more than 12,359 people, but unconfirmed reports of more deaths abound, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said.

He told a news conference that help from foreign governments will ensure that the Philippine government can continue its relief work.

"We are trying our level best to provide basic necessities, but the potential for a more serious situation is there," Teodoro said. "We cannot wait for that to happen."

Authorities announced Tuesday that a dam in northern Bulacan province had to release water for the second time in days in order to prevent a spill and urged villagers downstream to expect rising water levels.

Even the country's communist guerrillas said they would hold off on assaults and help villagers recover from the storm.

The extent of devastation became clearer Monday as TV networks broadcast images of mud-covered communities, cars upended on city streets and reported huge numbers of villagers without drinking water, food and power.

In Manila's suburban Marikina city, a sofa hung from electric wires.

Since the storm struck, the government has declared a "state of calamity" in metropolitan Manila and 25 storm-hit provinces, allowing officials to use emergency funds for relief and rescue.

Resident Jeff Aquino said floodwaters rose to his home's third floor at the height of the storm.

Aquino, his wife, three young children and two nephews spent that night on their roof without food and water, mixing infant formula for his 2-year-old twins with the falling rain.

Rescuers pulled a mud-splattered body of a woman from the swollen Marikina river Monday. About eight hours later, police found three more bodies from the brownish waters.

The United States has donated $100,000 and deployed a military helicopter and five rubber boats manned by about 20 American soldiers from the country's south, where they have been providing counterterrorism training. The United Nations Children's Fund and the World Food Program have also provided food and other aid.

Civil society groups in Cambodia to form media defense network

29 September 2009
Source: SEAPA

Several civil society groups in Cambodia are planning to organize a media defense network that would provide legal aid to journalists, media reports said.

According to "The Cambodia Daily", Ou Virak, director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said on 28 September 2009 that their organization is teaming up with the Legal Aid of Cambodia, Cambodian Justice Initiative, Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists, and the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, in establishing a network of lawyers that would help defend journalists in court.

On 22 September, "The Cambodia Daily" editor-in-chief Kevin Doyle and reporter Neou Vannarin were each fined US$1,000 by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for defaming a group of military officers.

On the other hand, "Rasmei Kampuchea" and "Kampuchea Thmei Daily" issued apologies in July this year after the government filed charges against them.

In the same month, "The Moneaksika Khmer" was ordered shut down in return for the dropping of charges against its publisher, Sam Dith.

"Khmer Machas Srok" editor and publisher Hang Chakra, meanwhile, was sentenced to a year's imprisonment.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy on 22 September lambasted PM Hun Sen's government for silencing critics. Rainsy, along with Duong Hak Sam Rithy, CAPJ vice president, spoke in a SEAPA-organized panel discussion in Bangkok on the media situation in Cambodia.

Virak admitted that forming such a group is challenging because there are not many lawyers keen on defending journalists in court and only a few are familiar with media laws.
------------
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (http://www.seapa.org) is a coalition of press freedom advocacy groups from Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Established in November 1998, it is the only regional network with the specific mandate of promoting and protecting press freedom throughout Southeast Asia. SEAPA is composed of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (Indonesia), the Jakarta-based Institute for the Study of the Free Flow of Information (ISAI), the Manila-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and the Thai Journalists Association. SEAPA also has partners in Malaysia, Cambodia, East Timor, and exiled Burmese media, and undertakes projects and programs for press freedom throughout the region.

Poor countries look to Cambodia as WTO model [-Chiedu Osakwe need a reality check!]

Tue Sep 29, 2009

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Trade representatives from some of the world's poorest countries met in Cambodia on Tuesday to look at what the country has gained from being a member of the World Trade Organisation, as aid donors urged them to join, too.

"Cambodia's WTO accession and its national development and poverty reduction strategies complement one another," Chiedu Osakwe, director of the WTO's Accession Division, told the meeting, which ends on Wednesday.

"The results are evident, all around us and impressive," he said of Cambodia's economic growth, which was over 10 percent a year until the global crisis. Its GDP per capita rose to $550 in 2007 from $390 in 2004 when it joined the WTO, he said.

Much of that was due to the success of its garment sector, which has benefited from access to overseas markets and is its biggest export earner.

Roy Mickey Joy, chief negotiator for Vanuatu's WTO accession, said his country began negotiating with the WTO in 1995 but suspended the talks in 2001 because of the conditions wanted by some bilateral partners and the demands of the WTO itself.

"Cambodia is sharing experiences and the lessons they went through to assist us to join the WTO," Joy told reporters.

"This round table, for us, is very timely and is very important, as we draw lessons from Cambodia on the process of accession to the WTO," Joy said.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the WTO, the European Commission, United Nations agencies and the World Bank. Among the countries represented were Afghanistan, Laos, Sudan and Liberia.

(Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Alan Raybould)

Hun Xen gloats on positive economic figures, but dismisses negative figures as "just a figure"

(Photo by: Heng Chivoan)

PM again dismisses 2009 GDP forecasts

Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Nguon Sovan
The Phnom Penh Post

PRIME Minister Hun Sen on Monday dismissed recent GDP growth forecasts by international organisations, urging the population to concentrate on work rather than predictions on the Kingdom’s economic output for 2009.

Speaking Monday at an inauguration ceremony for a new Ministry of Tourism building in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen again predicted that the agricultural sector would flourish this year.

“Whatever the forecast is – positive or negative – it is not important because it is just a figure,” he said.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) last week projected that the agricultural sector would be one of the few bright spots for the Kingdom’s economy, forecasting 5 percent year-on-year growth for 2009.

But ADB and the International Monetary Fund both lowered their predictions last week for Cambodian growth in 2009, to 1.5 percent and 2.75 percent contractions respectively.

In contrast, the London-based Economic Intelligence Unit, which has traditionally pitched its forecasts below the ADB in particular, this month revised upwards its prediction for the economy from -3 percent to -1.5 percent for this year. It cited signs of a global recovery for the improved forecast.

Nevertheless, Hun Sen said, such predictions remain meaningless to most of the population.

“The most important issue is the people’s living conditions.... If they have enough water and food, if there are people that are dying from starvation or not,” said Hun Sen, adding that most Cambodians had not shown any interest in GDP forecasts previously, even when the Kingdom experienced double-digit growth in recent years.

Earlier this year the government predicted GDP growth of about 6 percent for 2009, although some officials have since said that the economy would likely expand at around half this level.

First Thailand said it did not kill a Cambodian teenager, now they insist that they burnt him only after the teen was dead, can Thailand be trusted?

Thais say soldiers burned teen post-mortem

Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Thet Sambath
The Phnom Penh Post

Thai military officers have acknowledged their soldiers burned the body of a 16-year-old Cambodian boy suspected of illegal logging, but insist they only did so after he was dead, the deputy chief of the Thailand-Cambodia relations office at the Poipet border crossing said Monday.

Leu Chandara said the officers made the admission during a meeting last week, but Cambodian officials are not buying Thailand’s version of events. “We don’t believe them and we are going to conduct our own investigation,” he said. If the story were true, he added, it would raise questions about the soldiers’ motives for disposing of the body without first consulting the Cambodian government.

“They said they did not burn the teenager alive, but why did they dare to burn his body without informing Cambodian authorities?” he said. “What they are doing is trying to hide their bad actions.”

Officials in Oddar Meanchey province accused Thai officials of shooting Yon Rith and burning him alive on September 11, shortly after he was arrested and accused of illegally felling trees in Thai territory. Relatives claim he was lashed to an ox cart before soldiers set him alight. Marks on the cart prove he was alive at the time, they said.

Another Cambodian teenager, 18-year-old Mao Kleung, was also shot and severely wounded by Thai soldiers, but villagers managed to carry him to safety on Cambodian territory.

Like Leu Chandara, Yon Rith’s parents said the account from Thai military officials was dubious. “They are clearly just trying to hide the fact that their armed forces did a cruel thing,” said Nin Khom, Yon Rith’s mother.

Saing Yon, the father of the dead teenager, said: “I would request that the Cambodian government and international organisations find justice for my son and stop the Thai armed forces from committing cruel crimes against human beings in the future.”

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said he had instructed the Cambodian consulate in Thailand’s Sa Kaew province to investigate the case, but consulate officials were also busy with the case of 16 Cambodians accused of illegal logging along a disputed border area.

The group has been found guilty by a Thai court of illegal entry and destruction of forestry and has been sentenced to up to nine years in prison.

The Cambodian Foreign Ministry said last week it planned to appeal against the sentence.

Officials at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh could not be reached for comment Monday.

Thailand committed to solving border dispute with Cambodia by peaceful means: Thai spokesman

BANGKOK, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's acting government spokesman Panithan Wattanayagorn said Tuesday that his country has committed to solving the border dispute with Cambodia by peaceful means base on the bilateral framework.

The acting government spokesman's statement was made after news reports saying that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered his troops to shoot any trespassers in the disputed border area near the ancient Preah Vihear temple, Thai News Agency reported.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has not worried about the latest development at the Thai-Cambodian border as the two leaders earlier have agreed they will not let the border dispute affect the broader relations of the two countries, said Panithan.

If the two countries use forces to solve the border dispute, it will negatively affect the two neighboring countries and the ASEAN group, Panithan said.

In a related development, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said he plans to meet with Hun Sen, who will attend the forthcoming ASEAN Summit in Thailand, to discuss about the border dispute.

Thailand, which is the 2009 chairmanship of ASEAN, will host the 15th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits from Oct. 21-25 in central beach resort town Cha-am and Hua Hin.

Abhisit blames UNESCO for the worsening of the tensions between Thailand and Cambodia ... not because of Thai greed?

Abhisit hits back over dispute

Sep 29, 2009
AFP

BANGKOK - PRIME Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva hit out at his Cambodian counterpart on Tuesday for saying that Thai trespassers would be shot near a disputed temple on their border.

Cambodian premier Hun Sen said on Monday that he had ordered his troops to shoot anyone from neighbouring Thailand who crossed onto land around the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

Mr Hun Sen's comments came a little over a week after Thai protesters rallied near the ancient temple, the site of clashes that have killed seven soldiers since tensions flared last year.

'Whenever he gives interviews to the foreign media he always has this attitude where he wants to make headlines,' Mr Abhisit told reporters of his opposite number.

He said Mr Hun Sen wanted to 'retaliate' for the Thai protests on September 19. But he insisted that Thailand still wanted to find a 'peaceful' solution to the dispute over the temple through a joint border commission set up by the two countries.

Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads over the land around Preah Vihear for decades, but tensions spilled over into violence last July when the temple was granted UNESCO World Heritage status. The World Court ruled in 1962 that it belonged to Cambodia.

Mr Abhisit said he had raised the issue with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during the UN General Assembly in New York last week, saying that UNESCO had worsened tensions between Thailand and Cambodia.

He also sought to reassure protesters who rallied at the temple earlier this month and who accused the government of failing to defend its claims over the disputed 4.6 square kilometres of land around Preah Vihear.

'Thai people have nothing to worry about. We will assert our rights,' Mr Abhisit said.

Soldiers from Cambodia and Thailand continue to patrol the area, with the last gunbattle near the temple area in April leaving three people dead. The border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated, in part because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.

New book assesses tribunal

Photo by: Photo Supplied
A DC-Cam Peace and Justice walk, led by nuns, monks and Cham Muslim leaders, heads towards the Khmer Rouge tribunal.(Post in http://www.khmernz.blogspot.com/)
Monday, 28 September 2009 15:03 Robbie Corey-Boulet
DC-Cam effort addresses administration, challenges for survivor participation.
THE Khmer Rouge tribunal’s efforts to engage survivors have been hindered by a severe lack of resources, and administrative issues such as unresolved corruption complaints threaten to compromise progress in the courtroom, according to a new book from the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam).
The release of On Trial: The Khmer Rouge Accountability Process, scheduled for Saturday, roughly coincides with the third anniversary of the tribunal’s founding, initially with three-year mandate. In addition to topics such as the tribunal’s history and operations, the book includes chapters assessing its performance in three areas: rulings, administration and survivor-engagement.
The chapter on survivors, written by Sarah Thomas and Terith Chy, states that an under-resourced Victims’ Unit and ill-equipped civil party lawyers have detracted from survivors’ contributions to the proceedings.
The unit, they say, “has suffered greatly as a result of its late creation and the half-hearted support of donors”, making it necessary for outreach and other tasks to be delegated to NGOs and other intermediary organisations.
Though they note that the processing of complaints and civil party applications has been aided by the hiring of more data-entry clerks, more than 1,500 forms had not been processed as of late July, they say.
In an interview with the Post, Terith Chy, head of DC-Cam’s Victim Participation Project, said there was still a chance the forms could be useful in the shaping of the tribunal’s second case, but that “the window of possibility for this is … rapidly closing” as the investigation phase winds down.
Though they claim that the reliance on intermediary organisations “has been so extensive as to be overwhelming”, the authors argue that the unit should not try to take the lead on outreach.
“Having conducted outreach for almost two years, intermediary organisations possess far greater experience in the provision of victims’ rights education than the unit and have already secured the involvement of more survivors than the court may be able to handle,” they write.
The chapter goes on to describe civil party lawyers as inexperienced and outmatched by the prosecution and defence teams — a situation the authors say was inevitable, given that the tribunal does not fund civil party representation. In the trial of Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, pro bono lawyers recruited through intermediary organisations “lacked the resources necessary to match the other parties, including the necessary administrative, investigative and technological capabilities”, the authors say.
In addition to pushing for the appointment of court-recruited legal teams, the authors advocate stronger intervention by judges in the civil party process, which they say could have prevented many of the problems that arose during the Duch case.
In a separate chapter, John Hall, an associate professor at California’s Chapman University School of Law who has written extensively about the tribunal, writes that administrative issues “have risen to such a level that they threaten to damage the legitimacy and viability of the legal process”.
After detailing allegations of a kickback scheme on the Cambodian side of the tribunal, Hall criticises the “apparent lack of teeth” of the independent counsellor position, an anticorruption mechanism announced last month.
In an interview with the Post, he said it “seems highly unlikely” that Cambodian staff would be comfortable bringing their complaints to the counsellor, Uth Chhorn.
Hall also criticises the donor community for failing “to exert the full potential of its fiscal, moral and political leverage” in pushing for “more effective anticorruption mechanisms”.
(Editor’s note: Robbie Corey-Boulet was acknowledged for having provided comments during the preparation of Hall’s chapter on administrative issues.)

Govt’s land policy failing most vulnerable: report

Photo by: Sovan Philong
Chab Bunleang, 49, who lives along rail lines in the north of Phnom Penh in a home she said she has owned for two decades, belongs to one of 23 households facing eviction. Three families have agreed to government compensation since last week.(Post in http://www.khmernz.blogspot.com/)
Monday, 28 September 2009 15:04 Sebastian Stragio and Meas Sokchea
VULNERABLE communities are still being subjected to land-tenure insecurity and forced displacement despite a seven-year, multimillion-dollar effort to reform the land sector, according to a report to be released today.
The report, produced by a coalition of local and international housing rights groups, says the donor-funded US$38.4 million Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP) has failed the country’s poor by “entrenching inequality”, signalling a potentially dark future for land rights in Cambodia.
LMAP was established in 2002 with funding from international donors including the World Bank with a goal of establishing an “efficient and transparent land administration system” within five years.
The 81-page report acknowledges that the project has notched up some significant achievements, including issuing legal titles for more than 1 million pieces of land nationwide, but it argues that sporadic successes have been overshadowed by an increase in forced evictions and the project’s failure to protect those most vulnerable to exploitation.
“Despite significant successes in some areas, LMAP is not improving tenure security for segments of Cambodian society that are most vulnerable to displacement,” the report states.
“Vulnerable groups that have legitimate claims to land are routinely and arbitrarily denied access to land-titling and dispute-resolution mechanisms, which undermines the project’s aim of reducing poverty and promoting social stability.”
A key defect identified by the report is the fact that LMAP’s land-titling system has excluded areas that are “likely to be disputed” or of “unclear status”, cutting tens of thousands of families off from access to land titles under the Kingdom’s 2001 Land Law.
The area around Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak lake, where more than 4,000 families have been unable to apply for land titles because the lake lies in a “development zone”, is cited as a key example. It also expresses concerns for the protection of indigenous land rights and argues that LMAP’s land-dispute resolution mechanism has failed to create a “fairly accessible, efficient and impartial” means of resolving conflicts.
“If the system continues to exclude vulnerable groups, the benefits of the programme will be overshadowed by the harms,” said David Pred, country director of international rights group Bridges Across Borders, which contributed to the report.
“The experience of LMAP has demonstrated that many of the intended benefits of titling do not materialise in the absence of the rule of law and functioning dispute-resolution mechanisms to protect people’s rights.”
Yeng Virak, executive director of the Community Legal Education Centre, said LMAP’s land-registration drive had made significant achievements, but that the project is restricted by the “rigidity” of its design and implementation.
Particularly, he said, the fact that LMAP’s land-titling programme is not carried out in at-risk areas means that many strong legal claims – including those from Phnom Penh’s
Boeung Kak, Group 78 and Dey Krahorm areas – had not been rewarded with land titles.
“[The] existing legal instruments are sufficient,” he said. “Their possession rights should be recognised and respected.”
Land Management Minister Im Chhun Lim could not be reached for comment Sunday, but Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun rejected the contents of the report, saying dispute-resolution mechanisms at district and provincial levels had been successfully enforced by governors.
“Both bodies have helped balance the work so that it is better and … responds to the people’s need more effectively. This is [an example of] good governance,” he told the Post.
Rights groups on Sunday expressed fears the successor programmes to LMAP – the Land Administration Sub-Sector Programme and Land Management Sub-Sector Programme – will do little to improve the situation.
“We hope to see both development partners and the government do a better job of fulfilling their responsibilities under the successor programmes,” said Natalie Bugalski, a legal officer from the Centre of Housing Rights and Evictions, which also contributed to the report.
Pred said the success of future programmes relied on more than the good intentions of one or two stakeholders.
“The most serious problems that we document in the report are beyond the capacity of LMAP and the Ministry of Land to address, and require better interministerial cooperation and political will that has so far been sorely lacking,” he said.

Govt’s land policy failing most vulnerable: report

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Chab Bunleang, 49, who lives along rail lines in the north of Phnom Penh in a home she said she has owned for two decades, belongs to one of 23 households facing eviction. Three families have agreed to government compensation since last week.

(Post in http://www.khmernz.blogspot.com/)

Monday, 28 September 2009 15:04 Sebastian Stragio and Meas Sokchea

VULNERABLE communities are still being subjected to land-tenure insecurity and forced displacement despite a seven-year, multimillion-dollar effort to reform the land sector, according to a report to be released today.

The report, produced by a coalition of local and international housing rights groups, says the donor-funded US$38.4 million Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP) has failed the country’s poor by “entrenching inequality”, signalling a potentially dark future for land rights in Cambodia.

LMAP was established in 2002 with funding from international donors including the World Bank with a goal of establishing an “efficient and transparent land administration system” within five years.

The 81-page report acknowledges that the project has notched up some significant achievements, including issuing legal titles for more than 1 million pieces of land nationwide, but it argues that sporadic successes have been overshadowed by an increase in forced evictions and the project’s failure to protect those most vulnerable to exploitation.

“Despite significant successes in some areas, LMAP is not improving tenure security for segments of Cambodian society that are most vulnerable to displacement,” the report states.

“Vulnerable groups that have legitimate claims to land are routinely and arbitrarily denied access to land-titling and dispute-resolution mechanisms, which undermines the project’s aim of reducing poverty and promoting social stability.”

A key defect identified by the report is the fact that LMAP’s land-titling system has excluded areas that are “likely to be disputed” or of “unclear status”, cutting tens of thousands of families off from access to land titles under the Kingdom’s 2001 Land Law.

The area around Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak lake, where more than 4,000 families have been unable to apply for land titles because the lake lies in a “development zone”, is cited as a key example. It also expresses concerns for the protection of indigenous land rights and argues that LMAP’s land-dispute resolution mechanism has failed to create a “fairly accessible, efficient and impartial” means of resolving conflicts.

“If the system continues to exclude vulnerable groups, the benefits of the programme will be overshadowed by the harms,” said David Pred, country director of international rights group Bridges Across Borders, which contributed to the report.

“The experience of LMAP has demonstrated that many of the intended benefits of titling do not materialise in the absence of the rule of law and functioning dispute-resolution mechanisms to protect people’s rights.”

Yeng Virak, executive director of the Community Legal Education Centre, said LMAP’s land-registration drive had made significant achievements, but that the project is restricted by the “rigidity” of its design and implementation.

Particularly, he said, the fact that LMAP’s land-titling programme is not carried out in at-risk areas means that many strong legal claims – including those from Phnom Penh’s

Boeung Kak, Group 78 and Dey Krahorm areas – had not been rewarded with land titles.

“[The] existing legal instruments are sufficient,” he said. “Their possession rights should be recognised and respected.”

Land Management Minister Im Chhun Lim could not be reached for comment Sunday, but Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun rejected the contents of the report, saying dispute-resolution mechanisms at district and provincial levels had been successfully enforced by governors.

“Both bodies have helped balance the work so that it is better and … responds to the people’s need more effectively. This is [an example of] good governance,” he told the Post.

Rights groups on Sunday expressed fears the successor programmes to LMAP – the Land Administration Sub-Sector Programme and Land Management Sub-Sector Programme – will do little to improve the situation.

“We hope to see both development partners and the government do a better job of fulfilling their responsibilities under the successor programmes,” said Natalie Bugalski, a legal officer from the Centre of Housing Rights and Evictions, which also contributed to the report.

Pred said the success of future programmes relied on more than the good intentions of one or two stakeholders.

“The most serious problems that we document in the report are beyond the capacity of LMAP and the Ministry of Land to address, and require better interministerial cooperation and political will that has so far been sorely lacking,” he said.