US cancels Cambodia trucks [-No more toys for the authoritarian regime?]

WASHINGTON - THE United States on Thursday stopped a shipment of military trucks to Cambodia as punishment after it sent Uighur asylum-seekers back to China in defiance of international appeals.

Cambodia in December deported the 20 Uighurs, members of a largely Muslim minority group in western China, even though they were seeking UN refugee status and said they would face torture if returned.

The United States, which had warned against the deportation, said it was calling off a shipment of 200 trucks and trailers under a programme by which the United States provides surplus military supplies to other countries.

'They failed to heed not only our call that they step up to their international obligations but specific obligations they have as a country,' State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.

'We said there would be consequences, and this is a step in that direction,' he said.

'This is something that I think is important to Cambodia,' he said of the trucks. But the assistance pales in comparison to aid from Beijing. China, which had put heavy pressure on Cambodia to hand over the Uighurs, signed off on one billion dollars in assistance days after the deportation, although Beijing denied there was a link.

Heng Soy's personal reply to an irate reader

While posting an article about Chumteav Dr. Bun Rany Hun Xen being bestowed another honorary doctorate degree from the Sylla U., one irate reader posted:

"Very nice manipulative pictorial juxtaposition, KI! Kudos! It's funny how people like you expect things in Cambodia to be perfect. Look at America, richest nation, but still has million of people living under the poverty line. There is more to be done for Cambodia but if you decide to be a dumb fudge and expect things to be 100 percent right you are definitely a lunatic, especially considering the nothing you've done and any solution to the problem.

Pointing out a problem doesn't make you a hero. Solving it does. So, are you gonna keep being a all-talk that bitches about the problem or are you gonna do something to help solve the problem?"

The following is Heng Soy's personal reply to this burning matter:

Dear Sir/Madam,

It was a delight for me to read your comment. However, with all due respect, if posting juxtaposed photos is considered “very manipulative”, then what do you qualify someone who is putting words in my mouth? Political distortion? False accusation? Deliberate manipulation? To my knowledge, nobody in their right mind could expect a country to be perfect, and as you rightly pointed so, there are indeed people living below the poverty line in the US of A. But, the question is: how many of these poor American citizens are being savagely evicted out of their lands/houses as in the case of Cambodian citizens?

I thank you for pointing out that I should do something to help solve the problem in Cambodia. I would gladly do so, but would Mr. Hun Xen and his government freely allow me to do so? If you don’t believe me, just look at the case of Mr. Sam Rainsy: for pointing a problem of potential encroachment by Vietnam on Cambodian territories, he was accused of being a traitor instead. Where else in the world have you seen such travesty of justice? Shouldn’t the government check it out, or, at least, bring in independent experts to verify the case? In fact, the government could not even reveal where the exact location of our border is. To cite another case, when Cambodian troops stationed along the Thai border complained about food shortage, and when opposition MPs attempted to help solve the problem by bringing in foods to the soldiers, do you remember what they were told by the CPP-obeying army commanders: these MPs are not allowed to enter the area because they are opposition MPs.

Furthermore, to refresh your memory, Mr. Hun Xen himself indicated that he will continue to occupy power in Cambodia for so many years to come, and even hopefully until he reaches the ripe age of 90-year-old. Now, do you still think there is still room left for me to provide my humble help?

If solving problems make someone a hero, I was wondering what had our heroic government officials solved so far to earn their honorific title of “Samdachs”? Why is corruption still rampant? Why does deforestation still persist? Why forced evictions/land-grabbing still remain? Why don’t we know where our borders are? Why couldn’t the Cambodian people freely express their opinion? Why is poverty still persistent? Oh, I forgot: we just get out of destruction ... never mind the fact that this destruction took place some 30 years ago and that billions of dollars in foreign aid were poured into Cambodia since then.

Last but not least, in my humble opinion, before I can provide my help, shouldn't I be able to speak out what my help solution would consist of? So, in your opinion, is it still too much for me to ask to express my opinion freely first?

Nevertheless, what really puzzle "people like me" the most is the fact that "people like you" tell "people like me" to help "people like you", but for "people like me" to even start helping "people like you", we need to know what your problems are. Now, since "people like you" never want to tell what your problems are, somebody else has to point out your problems, don't you agree? ... Wait didn't you say I am part of those who point out the problems? Now, what do you want me to do first? Pointing out your problems first or helping you solve your problems first, or both?

Yours sincerely,
Heng Soy

Authorities confiscate SRP MP Son Chhay’s land

SRP MP Son Chhay

Military police cordoned off the area to protect the officials who came to confiscate SRP MP Son Chay’s land in Siem Reap city on 01 April 2010 (Photo: Hang Savyouth, RFA)

01 April 2010
By Hang Savyouth Radio Free Asia Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy Click here to read the article in Khmer

The joint authority forces came to confiscate the 3-hectare land belonging to SRP MP Son Chhay in Siem Reap province, as ordered by the Supreme Court.

On Thursday morning, a joint authority force, including military cops, regular cops and more than 100 demolition workers, came to put into application the order issued by the Supreme Court. They dismantled 3 huts belonging to people guarding the land and they also confiscated a 3-hectare plot located inside the Apsara authority zone, located in Slor Kram commune, Siem Reap city. The land belongs to SRP MP Son Chhay.

Mr. Son Chhay, who was not present at the incident location, said on Thursday afternoon that he opposes the court decision to confiscate his land. He claimed that this confiscation is not done to serve the public interest, but to lease the land to a private company to build a hotel instead. He also indicated that there is no law that allows the authority to confiscate people’s land to lease to private business interests.

Son Chhay said: “This is a robbery through the use of the court system. They confiscate the land in violation of the land law, they used armed forces [for the confiscation]. This is a savage act that is contrary to the stipulations of the law. This is not affecting just me, but even people who own small plots of land fall victim to so many of such cases.”

Sok Keo Bandit, the deputy prosecutor of the Siem Reap provincial court, said that the 3-hectare plot of land belonging to Son Chhay was confiscated and considered as public property owned by the state and it will be handed over the Apsara authority to manage.

Sok Keo Bandit claimed: “The application of the sentence this morning is based on the Supreme Court’s order. The latter decided to [revoke] H.E. Son Chhay’s occupation rights and turn it into a state public property, i.e., it will be placed under the management of the Apsara authority.”

Pal Chandara, the government lawyer involved in this case, refused to comment on the court decision, however, he claimed that he found out the Mr. Son Chhay does not have sufficient documents to claim the ownership of this land.

Pal Chandara said: “Whether it’s right or wrong, it all depends on the Supreme Court’s decisions. However, to me, H.E. Son Chhay does not have any document. In the past, H.E. Son Chhay told a number of radio stations and news media, that he has the private right or an ownership title, or that his [ownership] was recognized by the ministry of Finance, the Apsara authority, of the commune or district chiefs. This, he is lying, he does not have them, he only has a letter asking to occupy the land.”

Son Chhay said that he purchased the 3-hectare land in 1995, but that now there is a dispute with the Apsara authority. In the past, government officials used to offer to pay him $0.50 per square-meter, including the price of trees, i.e., he could have received $19,000, but he refused to accept the offer.

Son Chhay said that he does not accept the Supreme Court’s decision, and that he is consulting with national and international lawyers to find a way to continue his protest.

Crocodile-teary Chumteav Doctor?

Chumteav Dr Bun Rany Hun Xen claimed during the ceremony to bestow an education honorary doctorate from Sylla U: “The mother’s tears, tears from the wife separated from her husband, tears of Cambodian women are my tears" (Photo: DAP news)
Now, the question is: "Where was the crocodile-teary first lady when these Cambodian women and children were crying their lung out when they were evicted by police force working for the regime of the Chumteav Dr's husband?"
Also: "Where were the crocodile-teary Chumteav Dr when these cops working her husband's regime beat up peaceful Khmer Krom monks?"

Cambodia’s first lady received an honorary doctorate from South Korean U.

01 April 2010
DAP news
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

Phnom Penh – In the afternoon of 01 April 2010, Chumteav Dr. Bun Rany Hun Xen, president of the Cambodian Red Cross and first lady of Cambodia, received an honorary doctorate in education from the famous Sylla University in South Korea. Present during the handing of the honorary doctorate to the Chumteav Dr was her husband, the Samdach Akkok Moha Sena Batt Dey Dek Cho Hun Xen, the prime minister of Cambodia, as well as numerous other government officials, army and police commanders. The event took place at the Chaktokmouk conference center.

The Sylla U., which decided to bestow the honorary doctorate to the Chumteav Dr, counts 17,000 students and 400 employees. The university occupies a plot of 30-hectare in Busan, South Korea.

Chung Hong Sub, dean of the Sylla U., said during the ceremony that the Chumteav Dr is a powerful leader in Cambodia who spent effort for the cause of safety for families in Cambodia, as well as all over the world. He added that, under the leadership of the Chumteav Dr, the Cambodian Red Cross has progressed so much and that it now counts 120,000 members –100,000 of whom are volunteer youths – and 24 branch offices all over the country. The dean added: “As the first lady of the kingdom, the Chumteav always think about the hardship of the RCAF, the members of whom dedicated their lives and time in the forest to preserve the territorial safety and integrity, and the Chumteav always visited, paid attention, supported and encouraged the RCAF force as well.”

Chumteav Dr Bun Rany Hun Xen said during the ceremony: “My words of thanks to the Sylla U. are words that truly came out of a front in which I fought in my life, ever since my youth. There is no hardship suffered by Cambodian women and Cambodian people that I did not know about.” She added: “The mother’s tears, tears from the wife separated from her husband, tears of Cambodian women are my tears. The soldiers’ hardship, the suffering of the victims are my own hardship and suffering.”

The Chumteav Dr went on to say that the people’s wish to get out of poverty, to have a decent life in a clean society that is just, indiscriminate, equal, and where human rights is respected, where the law is respected, where there is no vices – such as women, alcohol, gambling, etc… - they are also her personal wishes.

It should be noted that in the past, the Chumteav Dr received the freedom forum cup from leaders of the Asian Pacific region for her involvement in AIADS and HIV, and she also received the development cup for development for her tireless leadership to expand universal services and making it happen to all the people, in particular, to prevent the transmission of rice (?) to babies, and for the protection of people with HIV and AIDS [KI-Media note: Does anybody know anything what these award cups are?]

Foreigner Property Law Debated

(Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
01 April 2010

The National Assembly Thursday began discussing a new law that allows foreigners for the first time to own apartments and other residential property—above the ground floor.

Officials say they hope the law will draw more foreign investment, but opposition lawmakers Thursday said the law needed clarifying.

“We are very worried on some points in the draft law affecting our national sovereignty and interest,” Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian Son Chhay said.

One section in the law seems to allow foreigners property rights within 30 kilometers of the national border, he said, but the same article allows for buildings in special economic zones and other areas while giving the government the opportunity to grant foreign rights.

“This is a point that stirs up doubt and worry,” he said.

The Council of Ministers drafted the law in December, in a move to improve private ownership right, increase investment and make doing business in Cambodia easier. It allows for the ownership of apartments from the second story and a larger stake in residential property for foreigners.

“Our real estate market will have more progress after the law comes out,” Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yiep said. “This law is very important to encourage foreigners to invest and to fulfill their duties as investors.”

Land Minister Im Chhun Lim told lawmakers Thursday the law would “boost economic growth” and provide employment in construction. With a better property market, Cambodians will learn more technical skills, he said.

Sung Bonna, head of the National Valuers Association and owner of his own real estate group, said realtors had been waiting for the law “for a long time.”

“In this law there are mostly no negative points,” he said.

The law could invigorate the real estate market, which has languished in recent years, he said.

“This law cannot make higher prices for real estate or land,” he said. “It will just recover the activities of buying and selling, because it provides confidence to investors.”

Little Benefit From Regional Corridors: Report

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
01 April 2010

Cambodia has not benefited as much as it could have from its entry into the Greater Mekong Subregion six years ago, a report has found.

Inclusion in the region’s economic corridors was to have boosted the Cambodian economy, but a report from the Cambodia Development Resource Institute says the country has not taken advantage of the benefits.

Both the government and the private sector maintain a low awareness of the value of regional integration, while few financial or human resources have been put in place, the annual development report says.

There is little technical assistance or information sharing and weak national consultation. And authority is concentrated into too few “overstretched” ministries and agencies. Meanwhile, some institutions responsible for integrating Cambodia into the region take in informal fees and are resistant to change.

Competition in the private sector has also prevented cooperation across borders, the report says.

Ros Silva, deputy secretary general of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said the challenges derive from Cambodia’s new participation in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

“It is new work, so our understanding of the issue is limited,” he said. “We face a shortage of knowledge and adequate information-sharing, partly because the relevant people implementing the work haven’t focused much on the GMS’s public relations work.”

Government ministries have begun solving problems in customs and administration on the border and improving the infrastructure that will allow Cambodia to benefit from the flow of trade.

With assistance from the Asian Development Bank, Mekong countries Burma, Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam have agree to turn three corridors into economic hubs.

This includes among them a north-south corridor, an east-west corridor and, most important for Cambodia, a southern corridor that links the country to Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

In the last decade, Cambodia has made progress in socio-economic development, experts say, which led it to become one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, at least through 2007.

Trade between Cambodia and other Asean countries climbed from $1.8 billion in 2007 to $2.2 billion in 2008, though much of that was through imports. Cambodian exports for the period were $121 million, giving Cambodia one of the largest trade imbalances in the region.

Ngoun Meng Tech, director general of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, said he hoped the southern corridor, which links 21 Cambodian provinces four provinces in Vietnam and six each in Laos and Thailand, might help.

“We can trade our products easily, tax free and over short distances,” he said. “So the cost of transportation will be reduced, which benefits us.”

Between 1992 and 2008, the ADB has provided more than $11 billion in loans to the six Mekong countries to improve infrastructure, and the each country will have to improve transportation facilities, tourism, hydropower and disease control by a deadline of 2020.

However, CDRI said different policies and regulations between the countries remain highly problematic, a situation that won’t be resolved without political will and a commitment to fair and effective cross-border trade.

Cambodia must raise awareness of the corridor deal with the government and private sector and provide cross-border trade procedures, CDRI found. And the ADB needs to play a stronger role in improving cooperation among the six countries.

The study highlight the importance of Cambodia government to raise awareness among government and private sector and provide on-time solution for cross border trade procedure and ADB has to take more roles in strengthening cooperation among GMS countries.

“The [GMS’s corridor] development doesn’t go as fast as we expected because of political differences. So when we want a smooth cooperation, we have to come across many small challenges as well as to find ways to change those differences,” said Chantha Kim, spokesman of ADB.

Ros Silva said relevant ministries have finalized strategies to push more development at southern economic corridor and those strategies will be discussed at August ‘s GMS ministerial conference in Vietnam.

Cambodia's Geography - a book in Khmer by Sakou Samoth

Unofficial translation from French

Dear Friends,

On the occasion of the Khmer New Year, Year of the Tiger, Buddhist era 2554, the Angkor Wat magazine is greeting you with our best wishes.

May the New Year bring you happiness, health and prosperity. We also have the pleasure to present to you a book in Khmer titled “Cambodia’s Geography” which includes color maps and photos of Cambodia.

The current book, which is based on an earlier version of “Cambodia’s Geography” which was used as a high school textbook in Cambodia in the 70s, includes 8 chapters as follows:

1- Physical geography of Cambodia
2- Cambodia's climate
3- Cambodia’s natural resources
4- Political and administrative organization of Cambodia following the 1993 Constitution. Following the 22 December 2008 Royal Decree, Cambodia now counts 23 provinces and only one municipality (Phnom Penh).
5- The people of Cambodia:

• History of the Cambodian population
• 1998 Census
• 2008 Census

6- General elections in Cambodia: 1998, 2003, 2008

• Election results from 1946 to 2008

7- Cambodia’s continental shelf
8- Cambodia’s chronology from 1835 to 2010

• Khmer temples (Prasat) chronology
• List of Cambodian pagodas in Europe

The 160-page “Cambodia’s Geography” book in Khmer which includes color maps and pictures costs 15 euros.

Thank you,

Sakou Samoth
01 60 06 77 82
sakousamoth@aol.com

PS: A PDF version containing excerpts from the 8 chapters (about 20 pages of the 160 pages) is available by clicking here.
--------------
Chers amis,

A l’occasion du Nouvel an khmer, année du Tigre ère bouddhique 2554, le magazine d’Angkor Vat vous présente les meilleurs vœux les plus sincères.

Que la nouvelle année vous apporte de bonheur, de bonne santé et de prospérité.
Il a aussi le plaisir de mettre à votre disposition un livre en khmer «Géographie du Cambodge» illustré de cartes et photos en couleur du Cambodge.

Le livre dont les textes rédigés sur la base de la «Géographie du Cambodge», un programme de l’enseignement secondaire du Cambodge dans les années 70, comprend 8 chapitres:

I – Géographie physique du Cambodge
II- Climatologie du Cambodge
III- Aptitudes naturelles du Cambodge
IV- Organisation politique et administrative du Cambodge d’après la constitution 1993. D’après le décret royal du 22 décembre 2008, le Cambodge compte 23 provinces et une seule municipalité (Phnom Penh).
V- Peuplement du Cambodge :

• Histoire du peuplement
• Recensement de la population 1998
• Recensement de la population 2008

VI- Elections législatives du Cambodge : 1998, 2003, 2008

• Résultats des Scrutins nationaux de 1946 à 2008

VII- Plateau continental du Cambodge
VIII- Chronologie du Cambodge de 1835 à 2010.

• Chronologie des Temples/Prasats khmers
• Répertoire des Pagodes khmères en Europe.

Livre de Géographie du Cambodge en khmer illustré de cartes et photos en couleur de 160 pages coûte 15 euros.

Merci

SAKOU Samoth
01 60 06 77 82
sakousamoth@aol.com

Pj : un fichier de 8 chapitres (une vingtaine de pages/160 pages).

China’s Neo-Colonialism

Gene Zhang under a CC Licence

Thursday, 01 April 2010
Written by Walden Bello
Source: The New Internationalist

On 1 January 2010, the China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Free Trade Area went into effect. Touted as the world’s biggest Free Trade Area, CAFTA is billed as having 1.7 billion consumers, with a combined gross domestic product of $5.93 trillion and total trade of $1.3 trillion.

Under the agreement, trade between China and six ASEAN countries (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) has become duty-free for more than 7,000 products. By 2015, the newer ASEAN countries (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma) will join the zero-tariff arrangement.

The propaganda mills, especially in Beijing, have been trumpeting this new free trade deal as ‘bringing mutual benefits’ to China and ASEAN. A positive spin on CAFTA has also come from President of Philippines, Gloria Arroyo, who hailed the emergence of a ‘formidable regional grouping’ that would rival the US and the European Union.

The reality, however, is that most of the advantages will probably flow to China. At first glance, it seems like the bilateral relationship has been positive. After all, demand from a Chinese economy growing at a breakneck pace was a key factor in Southeast Asian growth beginning around 2003, after a period of low growth following the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis.

Counting on China

During the current international recession, ASEAN governments are counting on China, whose GDP in the fourth quarter of 2009 rose 10.7 per cent, to pull them out of the doldrums.

Yet the picture is more complex than that of a Chinese locomotive pulling the rest of East Asia along with it on a fast track to economic nirvana.

Low wages, many in Southeast Asia fear, have encouraged local and foreign manufacturers to phase out their operations in relatively high-wage Southeast Asia and move them to China. There appears to be some support for this. China’s devaluation of the yuan in 1994 had the effect of diverting some foreign direct investment (FDI) away from Southeast Asia.

The trend of ASEAN losing ground to China accelerated after the 1997 crisis. In 2000, FDI in ASEAN shrank to 10 per cent of all investment in developing Asia, down from 30 per cent in the mid-1990s. The decline continued in the rest of the decade, with the UN World Investment Report attributing the trend partly to ‘increased competition from China’.

Trade has been another, perhaps greater, area of concern. Massive smuggling of goods from China has disrupted practically all ASEAN economies. For instance, with some 70-80 per cent of shops selling smuggled Chinese shoes, the Vietnamese shoe industry has suffered badly.

Now there are fears that CAFTA will simply legalize smuggling and worsen the already negative effects of Chinese imports on ASEAN industry and agriculture.

For Chinese officials, the benefits to China of free trade with ASEAN are clear. The aim of the strategy, according to Chinese economist Angang Hu, is to more fully integrate China into the global economy as the ‘center of the world’s manufacturing industry’.

A central part of the plan was to open up ASEAN markets to Chinese manufactured products. In light of growing popularity of protectionist sentiments in the US and European Union, Southeast Asia, which absorbs only around 8 per cent of China’s exports, is seen as having tremendous potential to absorb more Chinese goods. China’s trade strategy is described by Hu as a ‘half-open model’ that is ‘open or free trade on the export side and protectionism on the import side’.

Worrying trends

Despite brave words from Arroyo and other ASEAN leaders, it is much less clear how their countries will benefit from the ASEAN-China relationship.

Certainly, the benefits will not come in labour-intensive manufacturing, where China enjoys an unbeatable edge by the constant downward pressure on wages exerted by migrants from a seemingly inexhaustible rural work force that makes an average of $285 a year. Certainly not in high tech, since even the US and Japan are scared of China’s remarkable ability to move very quickly into high-tech industries even as it consolidates its edge in labour-intensive production. Will agriculture in ASEAN be a net beneficiary? China is clearly super-competitive in a vast array of agricultural products, from temperate crops to semi-tropical produce and in agricultural processing.

Despite brave words from Arroyo and other ASEAN leaders, it is much less clear how their countries will benefit from the ASEAN-China relationship
Moreover, even if under CAFTA, ASEAN were to gain or retain competitiveness in some areas of manufacturing, agriculture and services, it is highly doubtful that China will depart from what Hu calls its ‘half-open’ model of international trade.

What about raw materials? Yes, of course, Indonesia and Malaysia have oil that is in scarce supply in China; Malaysia does have rubber and tin and the Philippines has palm oil and metals.

But a second look makes one wonder if the relationship with China is not reproducing the old colonial division of labour, whereby low-value-added natural resources and agricultural products were shipped to the centre while the Southeast Asian economies absorbed high-value added manufactures from Europe and the US.

These trends are likely to accelerate under CAFTA, but with a difference: China will beat out the country’s ASEAN neighbours in achieving control of the domestic market.

To sum up, the trade agreement is likely to disadvantage ASEAN. Even with the temporary exemptions of certain areas from full trade liberalization, ASEAN would be locked into a process where the only direction that barriers to super-competitive Chinese industrial and agricultural goods will go is downwards.
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Walden Bello is a member of the Philippines’ House of Representatives, president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition and senior analyst at Focus on the Global South.

IN (SACRED) MEMORY: Must Politics Obstruct Honoring the Dead?

First published in June 2007 in the Phnom Penh Post. May we be reminded of how precious is each life and do everything to preserve the sanctity of life. - thearyseng.com, temporarily from Boston/Manhattan.
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IN (SACRED) MEMORY: Must Politics Obstruct Honoring the Dead?

“To those who died, we remember, to those who survived, we hear you, to the next generations, we must never forget." - Elie Wiesel

Lest we forget

The above mentioned quote by famed Jewish holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel serves as a fresh reminder – not only for those who survived and experienced loss under the Khmer Rouge regime, but also for the new generation born in the aftermath of the tragedy – to remember, reflect, and understand.

Our remembrance encompasses a sense of reverence and contemplation for the sacredness of life and freedom. In the face of deep mourning and unimaginable loss, we recoil from ill-mannered blustering and crassness; these sentiments reflect disrespect for the significance of human life.

Too dearly loved to be forgotten

With this in mind, we Khmer should do all that we can to make sure that the Khmer Rouge Tribunal works in accordance to what is true, just, right and admirable, thus affirming all the values of life.

We must ensure that the tribunal is not manipulated by politics to become a charade of justice, thus perverting the memories of our loved ones – Papa Im, Maman Eat, Auntie Eap and her husband of one-month Veng; parents of Loung Ung, Dr. Im Francois and Reach Sambath; relatives of Chea Sophara, Roland Eng, Sok An; family of the King Father, Hun Sen and Sam Rainsy; and 1,700,000 others – who would otherwise have died in vain.

In this regard, we beseech once again the powers-that-be: please keep politics away from the KRT - for the dignity of my parents, your parents, your brothers, your sisters, our loved ones, and generally for our collective Khmer dignity.

Also, we beseech the powers-that-be: please de-commercialize the "killing fields" of Choeung Ek. The 30-year contract with Japanese-owned JC Royal Corporation to privatize this sacred ground is reprehensible and should be annulled. Please let the dead rest in peace.

The memory we hold of loved ones who have passed away is sacred. The memorial we erect in their honor is holy ground.

Easter Sunday 1997 Memorial

We, Khmer however, are in danger of ridiculing the memory of our dead, again.

On Easter Sunday morning 1997, four grenades ripped through a peaceful group of demonstrators in front of the National Assembly, killing 20 people and wounding 100 others. The demonstrators included garment workers, cyclo drivers, vendors, advocates of democracy, and political activists led by Sam Rainsy, demanding independence for the judiciary.

The first memorial, a stupa, was erected on 29 March 2000, the eve of the anniversary of the grenade attacks. Two days later, this stupa was found in a sewage-outlet on the banks of the Tonle Sap.

The following day, Sam Rainsy supporters retrieved the stupa memorial from the river and returned it to its original location outside the National Assembly.

On 30 April 2000, the stupa was destroyed on location, "pounded to rubble."

The stupa was rebuilt on May 16, some two weeks later, only to be taken and dumped over the Japanese Friendship Bridge later that night at 11 p.m.

The next day, the stupa was returned and re-erected for the fourth time. In the afternoon, it was "smashed by police who raced away with debris." Later that same afternoon, yet another stupa was erected, this time with victims' ashes and a Buddha statue placed inside.

On the evening of June 12, the stupa was destroyed by a bulldozer, injuring at least three people in the chaos. The injuries prompted the involvement of then US Ambassador Kent Wiedemann and a request to the King Father.

The municipality finally awarded permission to Sam Rainsy to build a new stupa, which was officially commemorated on 3 August 2000 and remains standing to this day.

De-politicize, de-commercialize memorials – they are holy grounds

I take pain to put into detailed chronology the efforts in establishing this stupa because the persistence and energy of those who fought to build it reflect deep respect and acknowledgement of the courage and sacrifices of the lives lost. Now, this stupa is under threat of removal to Wat Botum where it will be lost in the forest of other stupas.

Remembrance is commemoration. A memorial is designed to preserve the memory of a person, a place, an event, a moment.

The removal of this memorial to a new location will remove all traces of the event from the sight of the grenade attacks, and thus defeat the purpose of remembrance and a memorial. It will diminish the symbolic meaning of "honoring" those who died in the grenade attacks.

The stupa is not a war memorial; it should not be a political issue. The deceased were high school students, garment workers – simple ordinary citizens, not politicians – exercising their right to demand greater justice and democracy. Yes, the peaceful gatherers were led by Sam Rainsy, but their memories should not be politicized. Moreover, the place of the tragedy is sacred ground and should be treated as such in its remembrance.

The degree to which we value and treasure life is reflected in the way we remember our loved ones.

Whatever our political affiliation or inclination may be, we can join in the commemoration of these precious lives for their bravery and yearning for a better society. These are the values that all individuals and political parties – SRP, CPP, NRP or Funcinpec – should share and desire.

Hence, let us preserve this stupa in its present sacred ground.

Let us claim back the Choeung Ek killing fields for the dignity and honor of our loved ones who passed away.

Let us work to uphold the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to high standards of quality and integrity in hallowed remembrance of our parents, our siblings, our relatives and country men who presence we miss, memory we treasure, loving them always, forgetting them never.

Tribute inscribed on stupa those who died

"To the heroic demonstrators who lost their lives on 30 March 1997 for the cause of justice and democracy. The tragedy occurred 60 meters from this monument on the sidewalk of the park across from the National Assembly.”

• Chet Duong Dara, medical doctor/journalist, 29
• Hann Muny, bodyguard, 32
• Yung Srey, female garment worker, 21
• Yos Siem, female garment worker, 36
• Sam Sarin, bicycle repairer, 50
• Ros Sir, high school boy, 13
• Sok Kheng, female student, 18
• Yoeun Yon, high school boy, 17
• Yung Sok Nov, female garment worker, 20
• Chea Nang, high school teacher (passerby), 28
• Nam Thy, motodop driver, 37
• Chanty Pheakdey, high school girl, 13
• Unknown others.

We honor your courage and will not forget you, for “remembrance is the only paradise out of which we cannot be driven away" (Jean Paul Richter)

Theary C. SENG, a member of the New York Bar Association, former director of Center for Social Development (March 2006—July 2009), founder and Board of the Center for Justice & Reconciliation (www.cjr-cambodia.org), founding adviser of the Association of Khmer Rouge Victims (www.akrvc.org), is currently writing her second book, under a grant, amidst her speaking engagements. For additional information, please visit Theary's website at thearyseng.com.

Hang Chakra could be freed soon

Hang Chakra (Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

31 March 2010
By I.N. and A.L.G.
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Alain de Veng
Click here to read the article in French

The Editor-in-chief of the Khmer Machas Srok newspaper should be among the group of prisoners who will be pardoned during the Cambodian New year. He already served more than 2/3 of his sentence.

Jailed since 26 July 2009, Hang Chakra could be freed soon, Heng Hak, the general director of the prison department, told Cambodge Soir on Wednesday 31 March.

“After receiving a letter from Hang Chakra’s family, the minister of Justice asked the prison department to provide a report on the situation of the prisoner and on his behavior in jail,” Heng Hak said.

“I wrote in favor of his freedom since he already served 2/3 of his jail sentence,” Heng Hak added.

The release proposal must be reviewed by the Phnom Penh municipal court, the minister of Justice, and the Council of Ministers before it will be signed by King Sihamoni.

“I don’t know how much time it will take, but a release is foreseeable at the Khmer New Year,” Hang Chakra said.

The Cambodian New Year celebration will take place on 14, 15 and 16 April.

Um Sarin, President of the Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists (CAPJ), is happy to hear the news. “Most likely, it will improve Cambodia’s image with the international opinion,” he said.

On 19 February of last year, the Reporters Without Border NGO called on Hun Xen to look into the jailing of Hang Chakra who was sentenced to one-year of jail time for reports accusing Sok An’s entourage of corruption

Khieu Kanharith, the minister of Information and spokesman for the government, indicated that he was personally in favor for the release of Hang Chakra and he noted that the case was complicated because it involved a “personal affair” between Sok An and Hang Chakra.

Yim Sovann, spokesman for the SRP in which the Khmer Machas Srok is leaning to, asked the justice system to also release people who were sentenced due to land disputes.

“After releasing Hang Chakra, the government must stop blocking the journalist’s freedom to speak and write,” Yim Sovann said.

Chan Saveth, a representative of the Adhoc human rights NGO, also asked the government not to use the judicial system to resolve “personal differences.”

On 26 July 2009, Hang Chakra was sentenced in absentia to one year of jail time and he was ordered to pay 1 million riels ($250) in fine after he was charged with “defamation” and “distribution of false information.” He was arrested on that same day in a rented house in Battambang

Aussie Rules catches on with Asians

HCM CITY — When Pangnha Chhiev first started playing Australian Rules football in Melbourne he knew his parents would forbid it.

So for the first month that he played, Chhiev packed a racquet in his bag and told his mum that he was going to play tennis. He could only hide it for a month as washing lines full of footy socks, shorts and jerseys raised his mum's suspicions.

Chhiev lived in Melbourne's south east near Springvale where the city's Vietnamese population concentrated. He was then in his last year of university and knew from past experience (he had requested to play football when he was only 10) that his parents did not approve of the dangerous sport.

Traditional Asians, both from Cambodia with some family ties in Viet Nam, Chhiev's parents also believed that their son's studies must come before any sporting interests.

Nearly ten years on, Chhiev is now captain of the only Asian Australian Rules Football team in Australia, the Southern Dragons. The team is mostly Vietnamese.

"There's some really passionate parents now. The parents have come around and accepted Australian culture and want their kids to get involved," said the 29-year-old, who was in Viet Nam last week with fellow team member John Hong to visit Hong's family.

"It's a big achievement in itself, because before the parents were always trying to protect us."

The Southern Dragons is made up of about 80 players mostly of Vietnamese descent, with about five players, including Chhiev, of Cambodian descent plus a smattering of different races including a couple of Australians. About half of the players were born in Viet Nam, but grew up in Australia.

It plays in third division of the Southern Football League (SFL) in Melbourne, and was formed in late 2008 from a smaller suburban outfit, the Elgar Park Dragons, which both players were also members of.

SFL had actually approached the Elgar Park Dragons and asked them to join their league as they were trying to promote the sporting code across all cultures.

Hong and Chhiev said it had been a risk to join SFL, but it paid off.

"If we joined that league, we knew were going to get hurt," Hong said, explaining that some of the Dragon's players were as young as 16 and quite skinny.

"Its one thing to play in an amateur league and win half of our games, but its another thing to join a big league like SFL, where the players are much bigger and get beaten by 100 points every time we play," he said.

He said losing like that would have cost the club dearly in membership numbers, but gratefully it never happened.

What happened instead was – they played a 2007 season finalist in their first game of the SFL league last year and kept up with them for the first three quarters – only losing in the final quarter.

Congratulated

Over beers after the match, the other team congratulated the Southern Dragons, saying they had expected a walk-over but were surprised to find a tough, skilful opponent instead.

Hong and Chhiev said what the Dragons lack in they make up for in fitness, agility and passion.

They said their fear of the bigger players was worse than the players themselves – so once they had played in the SFL a few times the fear went away.

The Southern Dragon's headquarters are in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton, which has a large population of Vietnamese and neighbours Springvale, the centre of Vietnamese culture in the city.

Club captain Chhiev said his club aimed to make Asians, particularly Vietnamese, feel comfortable to join in the national sport. Team members were always bringing newcomers – giving the Southern Dragons one of SFL's biggest member lists.

"With Australian Rules footy, there's a lot of Asians around who love the game but wouldn't be comfortable going down to park to play."

"That's what the club is all about."

The pair, who played some footy with the local team in HCM City last week, said the Dragons players hang out all the time together. They are very close knit and passionate, so anyone from Springvale who wants to join the club would already know at least one other team member.

For the last six months the team has been trying to organise a trip to Viet Nam to play the Australian Rules Football club here, Viet Nam Swans.

They are planning to come in January. There would be irony in the contest that would speak volumes for the sport as a builder of multicultural communities: A team from Australia made up of players mostly of Vietnamese descent, coming to Sai Gon to play a team from Viet Nam made up of mostly white Australians.

China not necessarily a good teacher

China and Cambodia grow closer
In the past few years, China has become the largest foreign investor in Cambodia, with more than six billion US dollars (4.5 billion euros) approved since 2006. Beijing is also a generous donor, having granted around two billion dollars in aid over the same period.

China is the kind of friend Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen openly appreciates, since its money comes with no human rights or governance strings attached – unlike that of other donor countries, which gave hundreds of millions of dollars to the Cambodian government last year.

But as China and much-smaller Cambodia draw closer – at least financially – some are questioning what Phnom Penh might be getting into.

Good governance, transparency and environment at risk

Chea Vannath, an independent political analyst in Phnom Penh, pointed out good governance, transparency and the environment as being especially at risk.

When it comes to transparency and corruption, Cambodia sits near the bottom of Transparency International’s corruption index of 180 countries. China is 79th, around halfway up the ladder.

“Do we need China with that score to be our grade teacher for good governance? Cambodia needs good democratic governance and to have sustainable economic progress,” she said.

However, Cheang Vanarith, who heads a local research body called the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, thought that China’s influence was broadly positive.

“We need China in terms of socio-economic development in Cambodia. Chinese financial assistance – grants, loans – to Cambodia is playing a significant role in poverty reduction and building infrastructure.”

China providing cash for roads and dams

Cambodia emerged around 10 years ago from decades of civil strife with its infrastructure shattered. Donor money has helped to rebuild some of that. China is providing plenty of cash for roads and investment projects such as hydropower dams.

Its assistance is welcome, but the small-print of those infrastructure deals has come in for scrutiny – from the opposition, from civil society, even from the International Monetary Fund.

The opposition party says the deals for the dams – which are funded by China, and which will be built and operated by Chinese firms on a 30-year basis – are not transparent, and riddled with corruption.

China not necessarily a good teacher

For its part, the IMF is concerned that Phnom Penh’s blanket guarantee to buy all the power produced by the dams could prove unaffordable, and might even jeopardize the country’s fight against poverty.

Chea Vannath said that apart from its infrastructure needs, Cambodia also needed to continue rebuilding its institutions of democratic governance. She worried that China was not a good teacher when it came to human rights and governance.

“With the money come a lack of transparency and a lack of democratic governance – not just governance, but democratic governance – the participation of people in state affairs. That concerns us. Yes, it concerns me.”

It concerns others too. But those concerns were not voiced publicly by the Chinese or Cambodian officials, so one could perhaps assume they do not share them. Possibly their interests lie elsewhere.