Angkor Wat: The Show

Prince To Seek 'Unity' in Third Royal Party

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
09 September 2008

Prince Sisowath Thomico says he is seeking to keep royal family members politically relevant.

[Editor's note: With two fractured royalist parties coming out of the national election, Prince Sisowath Thomico, a cousin of King Norodom Sihamoni, says he has a plan to revive the royal name. With Norodom Ranariddh running his self-named party from exile, and Funcinpec winning only two seats in July's election, Prince Thomico has announced he wants to established a unifying party. He sat for an interview with VOA Khmer at his cabinet office at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.]

"I want to remind people of the royalist stance. Currently, the principle of the royalists is not interpreted clearly. That's why the voice of royalists has been disqualified and there is disunity among the royalists. Because there is no clear ideology, no clear theory, no clear principle, and no clear stance. Right now the royalist side has only individual principles, individual theories, and individual stances"

"My stance is that the royal family and the royalists can join in unity under the king and the government to show the national problem"

Q. You have a plan to set up a new political party, following the formation of a new government later this month. What is the main purpose of this party?

A. I have a plan to find a way not to disqualify the voice of the royalists. And I must set up a new party, but it is not clear how I can set up the new party.

Q. How will you set up the new party?

A. I want to remind people of the royalist stance. Currently, the principle of the royalists is not interpreted clearly. That's why the voice of royalists has been disqualified and there is disunity among the royalists. Because there is no clear ideology, no clear theory, no clear principle, and no clear stance. Right now the royalist side has only individual principles, individual theories, and individual stances.

Q. You set up the Sangkum Jatiniyum Front Party in 2006, but later you gave up on the party and joined the Norodom Ranariddh Party, and then Funcinpec. Why do you want a new party?

A. Because now Funcinpec and the Norodom Ranariddh Party have weakened, endangering the Cambodian royal family in politics. I recognize my political process failed in unifying the royalists. I also recognize I lost to [NRP Secretary-General] You Hockry and [Funcinpec Secretary-General] Nhiek Bunchhay, who are the leaders disunifying the royalists. I cannot let the royalists lose. I must find a way to put value to the royal family and royalists once again.

Q. How will your planned party help promote the honor and prestige of the royal family and the royalists in the Cambodian political arena?

A. When the Khmer royal family becomes the national symbol, especially in the political sense, and when the royal family serves the king to protect the national culture and works hard to show the big national problem. I hope to do so. I hope and believe all walks of Khmer citizens can unify together to protect the border, sovereignty and culture. My stance is that the royal family and the royalists can join in unity under the king and the government to show the national problem.

A Too Many "Play Safe Game"

Both parties have also confirmed they will proceed with their boycott of the swearing-in of the new National Assembly on September 24, but would join the Assembly the following day

Original and full story by Phnom Penh Post - Opposition-takes-vote-fight-abroad

What's a fascinate and careful planned strategy!

By accepting to take oath on the 25 September 2008 is to recognize the results of election so far then why bother to engineer the "Play Safe Game".

Mr. Sam Rainsy, Mr. Kem Sokha and elected members of SRP and HRP will proceed with their boycott of the swearing-in of the new National Assembly scheduled for 24 September 2008.

At the same time, to step up their opposition to the results of this year's election, Mr. Sam Rainsy and Mr. Kem Sokha decided to jet out last Wednesday on a crusade mission tour of Europe and USA in high hope to convince the foreigners [ I believe that foreigners will not sell themselves to the CPP if we take clear documents to show them] not to sell themselves to the CPP who is accused by SRP and HRP to engineer its landslide victory through the manipulation of voter lists prior to the July 27 poll.

On 2 September 2008, Mr. Sam Rainsy sent a letter to HRH King Norodom Sihamoni - informed his Majesty of his intention that his 26 delegates will refuse to take oath at the same time as the CPP elected representatives scheduled for 24 September 2008, however, want to take oath on the day after the parliamentary opening session [25 September 2008].

At the same time, Mr. Sam Rainsy has another plan on his sleeve, should the case refuse by his Majesty, Mr. Sam Rainsy and his delegates will go to a sacred place in front of the Royal Palace.

Here how this so called "play Safe Game" is being played at this very moment:-

1] Lobby the international community particular those who are signatories of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, is a prime and utmost motive for both Mr. Rainsy and Sokha's trip to Europe and USA, who are obliged under the agreement to assist Cambodia in election process and ensure that it shall be free and fair.

2] Mr. Sam Rainsy is well aware that his crusade would be an uphill battle due to the fact that EU has stated all along that election is failed short of key international standards and it's up to Cambodians whether or not to accept the results.

3] Mr. Sam Rainsy letter to HRH King Norodom Sihamoni is just to be on safe side than sorry should the crusade mission fail.

4] If His Majesty agreed upon Mr. Sam Rainsy's request [take oath the day after National Assembly's 1st session] then he has something to fall onto.

Politic shall not all about play safe game than feel sorry and put their supporters and followers in any kind of awkward position.

Politicians do really speak people's languages - the kind of languages that they think people want to hear but not necessarily reflect or match the great expectations of people who empowered the party want to see.

In the naked eye of million plus people who voted for the party [SRP & HRP], the dead-lock so far seemed to be a serious affairs Cambodia cannot tolerate any longer and desperately need to change for a better and greater democratic and transparent society but deep down it is a case of manipulation in which the followers and supporters of the party failed to see through.

By stepping their opposition to the results of this year's election is to show their supporters and followers, as well as Cambodia people; that SRP and HRP are deadly serious about any type of engineered manipulation for a landslide victory. This [action], of course; is indeed a good deed and in line with democratic principle.

By accepting to take oath on 25 September 2008, the day after the new National Assembly opening session, is said so far to recognize the election results however party is chosen to keep to themselves and not wanting to disclose to their followers and supporters. This [action] is nothing more than the party psychological and egoist game in getting the followers and supporters rally behind the party for now and hope that soon enough people will forget about it.

Word best describe for this particular scenario

What SRP & HRP Talk In Public and Do Behind The Closed Door Is Two Completely Different Affairs

New show to take audiences through history of Angkor Wat's 'discovery'

Courtesy of Phnom Penh Post : 4 September 2008
Written by Peter Olszewski
Thursday, 04 September 2008

Extravaganza to follow French explorer A.H. Mouhot on dreamlike journey through Khmer legends

Organisers are ready to top last year’s lavish Angkor Wat multimedia spectacular with a new production at the end of this year. IT'S been described as a cross between television historical-romance razzmatazz, mysticism and a traditional music-and-dance stage spectacular, and the promoters call it a "sensory odyssey through magnificent multimedia performances".

But whatever you call it, it was, in showbiz parlance, a smash hit when it debuted last year at Angkor Wat.

A new version of the show will run again during the coming peak tourism season. The lavish outdoor performance is called The Legend of Angkor Wat and subtitled "When History Comes to Life". It will run for six weeks, from December 5, 2008, to January 31, 2009, at an under-the-stars venue set up inside Angkor Wat itself. Performances will be held nightly except Sundays, Christmas Eve (December 24) and New Year's Eve (December 31).

While tickets are not cheap - $60 for standard and $80 for premium seats - sales through international agencies have already been brisk. In August more than 3,000 tickets were sold in Japan alone.

The outdoor venue has 100 VIP seats, 400 premium seats and 400 standards seats, and, if the season is sold out, the collective audience will total almost 50,000.

The show is organised by Siem Reap's Bayon CM Organizer Co Ltd, a joint venture with Bayon TV
General manager Ladda Patthanun Chaiprasert said the venture is put together with the cooperation of the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

All historic and cultural details of the show, the script and choreography were developed and supervised by Proeung Chhieng, vice rector and dean of the Faculty of Choreographic Arts, at Phnom Penh's Royal University of Fine Arts. A crew of over 120 helps stage the show which has a cast of 160.

PETER OLSZEWSKI

Bayon CM Organizer general manager Ladda Patthanun Chaiprasert gets ready to put on a show. The show has a storyline that criss-crosses in time, centering on the adventures of 19th-century French philologist and explorer Alexandre Henri Mouhot who is mistakenly credited for "discovering" the Angkor complex. While other foreigners had been aware of its existence, Mouhot's visit and his evocative writings popularised the temples in the West, and the rest is, as they say, history.

The Legends show plays with that history, beginning with Mouhot's arrival at Angkor in 1860. He lapses into unconsciousness and, in his dream state, a beautiful Apsara woman guides him back in time to the legendary beginning of Khmer civilisation, with the marriage of the daughter of the king of the nagas.

Subsequent scenes take Mouhot through the King Suryavarman II era, and then it gets even more weird: an exploration of the creation of Apsaras.

Thailand Unique Style of International Relationship

Thailand is surely glad that its two small and immediate neighbours to the southeastern are "Cambodia and Laos" and not "Myanmar and Vietnam", otherwise would have to think really hard of the dire straight consequences if troops to be deployed in such a hostile manner.


The sad fact [deployment of military/stand-off at Preah Vihear] would never have happened and can be avoided completely had certain groups of Thai publics and politicians particularly the opposition reacted more appropriately to the temple's inscription as a World Heritage site, and could somehow, in their own term and manner, sort out their differences instead of politicizing the issue [Preah Vihear Temple] and dragged Cambodia into its own domestic problem.

1962
Thailand and Cambodia took their dispute over the temple's ownership to the International Court of Justice in 1962, when Thailand lost the case.

For 46 years, the world has known that the ancient temple belongs to Cambodia, as per a the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the temple was situated in territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia and that Thailand has no whatsoever right to the ancient archaeological site.

Negotiations

The world has known for 46 years that Preah Vihear Temple belongs to Cambodia, as per a the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled [Preah Vihear was situated in territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia and Thailand has no right to the ancient archaeological site].

Cambodia, however, with good faith and openness of her attention, sincerity and due respects for its immediate neighbour - Thailand, has entered into dialogue after dialogue, negotiation after negotiation for a good 7 years to teething out any differences on the enlist of Preah Vihear Temple as one of many World Heritage site of cultural significant before securing a joint-communique duly signed by both side: The former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama of Thailand and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An [Thailand, in the last minute ditch during the Vancouver session, tried to block Cambodia by demanding a joint-management which was also objected].

Just days after the successful enlisted of the ancient temple [only temple was enlisted by the areas along the temple remains to be dealt by Joint Border Commission], Thailand deployed its troops and tanks to the disputed areas. Since the stand-off, there were 3 high level meetings between the Defence and Foreign Ministers from both side, and the fourth was called off by Thailand just shortly before the scheduled meeting start without any prior warning.


There were not any fruitful conclusion however both side agreed on replying of troops, to defuse tensions along the border, seeing almost all their troops from the ancient temple site on 16 August after a fraught and a month-long stand-off, but there were reports that Thailand soldiers are still occupying the Ta Moan Thom temple, claimed by Thailand that their troops are stationed there for years, and disputed by Cambodia that the temple situated in its territory.


The Tidal Waves Behind the Incursion Into Cambodia

PAD started as an organization - the "Government Watch Dog", turned politic but failed to secure enough supports and votes for the top job during 2007 election [another democratic election since 2006 after the Military Junta rolled its tanks and mobilized its elite "Black Uniform Army" to the heart of Nation, Bangkok, overthrown the then its legitimate democratic elected government of Prime Minister Thakshin Sinawatra while he was abroad, addressing the UN assembly].

There's no One Size Fit All solution but the Drop in the Bucket surely created Tidal Waves

With brilliant idea of the mainstream mass media who have always sorted to exploit all issues as a hot news commodity to their advantage, PAD surely knows the time has arrived and shall make full use of them to seizing the momentum for its political gain.

The successful enlisted of Preah Vihear Temple as World Heritage site of cultural significant by the Cambodia is just an excuse for PAD to legitimise its policies and actions while their main intention so far is to get rid off the months old legitimate democratic elected government whose they thought is the figurehead of the former ousted legitimate government by the Junta.

Nationalism is indeed not out of fashion.

PAD has been heavily exploiting and stirring up the sentiment of Thai publics and angering nationalist who are still naively claim ownership of the ancient temple [after 46 years, they couldn't get over the fact that Preah Vihear Temple belongs to Cambodia].

PAD has been able to push the government to one corner and holding them at bay: seeing the sudden deploying of Thai military mights and muscles to its southeastern border "Preah Vihear Temple" instead of rolling tanks, armoured personal carriers and elite black uniform army to the heart of capital Bangkok as seen in 2006; intimidating its immediate small and friendly neighbour "Cambodia".

Thai Arm Force's New Toys
Thailand recent purchase US$600m worth of military hardware, consisted of six Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighters, one Saab 340 aircraft equipped with the Erieye AEW radar system and a command-and-control system to link the fighters with the Erieye system, are additional to the existing fleet, and that further defence procurement is speculated to include submarines and the delayed purchase of armoured personnel carriers (APCs) this year [2008].

[the Nation: Fighter Purchase - Heralding Thai Military Modernisation Programme? written by RSIS's Ron Matthews and Curie Maharani].

The overthrown of Thaksin has failed Thailand in securing the US F16 figthers, which was initiatted by the Thaksin government [Americans were banned on selling to countries where government was overthrown].

Thailand International Relationship Style

Thailand is surely know how to employ Military Mights and Muscles as the only Mean Of Getting Attentions from its small and friendly immediate neighbour

On July 15, the well equipped Thai armies with modernized military hardware and tanks, were deployed to the disputed areas followed by Cambodian armies were there to stand guard from any farther incursion and subsequently the built up of forces by both side in and around the disputed area and tension rose accordingly; following the announcement by UNESCO that it has listed the 11th century Preah Vihear Temple as one of the world's heritage site of cultural significant.

Thailand international relationship style in this particular instance, in the eyes of Cambodians, is indeed a hostile act rather than the new trend adopt by many countries around the world; where bilateral, open and honest dialogue as mean to resolve any differences

"Russia's Attack on Georgia, "That (the use of forceis simply not the way in which international relationship can be run in the 21st century". "This is equally valid in the case of the Thai-Cambodian territorial dispute over Preah Vihear Temple", said Mr. David Miliband Brittish Foreign Secretary. [the Nation" Thais and Cambodians must learn to be good neighbours].

I do agree with Mr. David Biliband that resort to military arm conflict and stand off as the only solution and tool to settle any dispute or differences is not really a wise option to conduct international relation in the 21st century. However, Thailand has chosen to act so.

The case here is not so complicated and is really showing the unique Thailand's style of international relationship in dealing with small country without taking into consideration that:-

1] Preah Vihear Temple is not belonged to or a break away or renegaded Thai province as seen in the restive south where Thai-Muslim engaged in all kind of undiscriminating attacks whether or not they are ordinary citizens, public servants or people from different religions.

2] There are any Thai citizen[s] who reside along the border, indeed in great danger as it happened in Georgie which was seen as the motive for Russia to engage in all out war to protect those citizens are said to hold Russian citizenship.

The sad fact [deployment of military/stand-off at Preah Vihear] would never have happened and can be avoided completely had certain groups of Thai publics and politicians particularly the opposition reacted more appropriately to the temple's inscription as a World Heritage site, and could somehow, in their own term and manner, sort out their differences instead of politicizing the issue [Preah Vihear Temple] and dragged its immediate neighbour into its own domestic problem.

Thailand is surely glad that its two small and immediate neighbours to the southeastern are "Cambodia and Laos" who are indeed less population and weak in terms of military mights and muscles to stand up to such intimidation or fence themselves in case of war.

Thailand would have to think really hard of the dire straight consequences if troops to be deployed at "Myanmar and Vietnam's border" in such a hostile manner.

Border talks postponed

Courtesy of Straits Times - Singapore

PHNOM PENH - ANTI-government protests in Bangkok have caused the Thai military to postpone talks to discuss withdrawing troops from a disputed border area near an ancient temple, a Cambodian general said on Thursday.

Twenty soldiers from Cambodia and Thailand remain stationed at a small pagoda on a patch of disputed land near Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple, while 40 from both sides remain nearby.

Up to 1,000 Cambodian and Thai troops pulled back from the area in mid-August, suggesting that an end to the sometimes tense month-long military stand-off could be near.

But Cambodian and Thai military officials scheduled to meet Friday to discuss a further pullback of troops postponed their talks at the request of Thai officials, Cambodian General Neang Phat, a secretary of state at the defence ministry, told sources on Thursday.

The request was made Wednesday afternoon, just hours after a 30-member Thai delegation arrived in Siem Reap to prepare for the talks, he said.

'They requested the meeting be postponed and they returned to Thailand,' General Neang Phat said.

'They did not give any reasons. But we can know that it is because of their internal problems,' he added.

Thai officials were not immediately available to confirm the suspension of the talks.

Thousands of Thai protesters seized a television station and occupied the the main government compound in Bangkok this week in an attempt to force the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

Courts have ordered the protesters out of Government House and issued arrest warrants for nine of the movement's leaders, but the demonstrators remained defiant Thursday.

General Neang Phat said it was not clear when Thai and Cambodian military officials would resume the meeting to discuss troop withdrawals.

After talks last week between Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong, the two sides said a border committee would meet in October to step up efforts to draw the boundary around the temple.

Cambodia had asked the UN Security Council to consider the standoff that erupted in July, but Mr Hor Namhong said that request would likely be withdrawn.

Relations between the neighbours flared up last month after Preah Vihear was awarded world heritage status by the UN cultural body UNESCO, angering nationalists in Thailand who still claim ownership of the ancient Khmer temple.

On July 15, Cambodia arrested three Thai protesters for illegally crossing the border to try to reach the temple, sparking the deployment of troops from both sides on the tiny patch of disputed land near Preah Vihear.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia, but the surrounding land remains in dispute. -- AFP

Baby Born With Two Heads Has Police Protection Due To Crowds

Courtesy of Daily Telegraph

A BABY boy born with two heads has been placed under police protection because of the curiosity his birth has caused.

"Around 150,000 people gathered yesterday from different areas. It became tough for us to care for the baby,'' gynaecologist Mohamad Abdul Bari said.

The baby, named Kiron, was born by Caesarean section on Monday weighing 5.5 kilograms in Keshobpur, 135 kilometres from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

"He has one stomach and he is eating normally with his two mouths. He has one genital organ and a full set of limbs,'' said Dr Bari.

"He was born from one embryo but there was a developmental anomaly.''

The clinic had been unable to determine whether the baby had one or two sets of vital organs, Dr Bari said.

The baby's life was not in immediate danger but he and his mother, 22, had been moved to a larger hospital in nearby Jessore city because of the large crowds that had gathered at the clinic, he said.

"We called police to tackle the situation and they are guarding the hospital in Jessore as well,'' he said.

Many well-wishers had left money for the baby's family outside the hospital.

BANKING - KTB Seeks Presence In Sihanoukville

Bangkok Post
Garment, tourism businesses targeted

NAREERAT WIRIYAPONG

PHNOM PENH : State-owned Krung Thai Bank is looking to expand its presence in Cambodia by opening a new branch in the port town of Sihanoukville. Sihanoukville, about 230 kilometres southwest of Phnom Penh, is considered a strategic location for the new branch of KTB as it is the centre of logistics, trade and investment, as well as tourism, said Pisit Buranakitpinyo, general manager and vice-president of KTB's Phnom Penh branch.

The Thai bank, which has had a presence in Cambodia since 1994, currently operates two branches in the country _ one in Phnom Penh and a sub-branch in Siem Reap.

''The deep-sea port at Sihanoukville has created a big volume of business transactions including shipments of goods exported from Thailand, China and Vietnam,'' said Mr Pisit.

''At the same time, factories, mainly those in the garment industry, are operated there while beaches have led to developments of tourism businesses around the area.''

Garments are the biggest industry in Cambodia since it has enjoyed tariff privileges from exporting to the US market. Through the operations of roughly 300 factories, garments accounted for a major share of Cambodia's gross domestic product (GDP), noted Mr Pisit.

According to the Office of Commercial Affairs of the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, a cluster of 20 Chinese garment factories in Sihanoukville takes advantage of cheap labour and tariff privileges for exporting to the US.

Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), which operates in Cambodia under the name Cambodian Commercial Bank, has four branches at present including the one in Sihanoukville, Mr Pisit said.

According to Mr Pisit, Cambodia is currently the biggest overseas operation of KTB, which operates 200 branches locally. The bank has one branch each in Vientiane, Mumbai, Kunming, Singapore and Los Angeles. The two branches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City had been closed.

''Cambodia is one of the emerging markets that have high potential,'' he said, citing the country's double-digit growth rates seen over the past decade. ''But this year, the (Cambodian) economy is likely to expand below 10% due to high oil prices and the global economic slowdown.

''The government here has introduced aggressive economic measures, for example the establishment of a stock exchange by the end of next year. Laws and regulations have been adjusted to facilitate the plan,'' he added.

On the bank's performance, Mr Pisit said first-half results remained on target despite tensions over Thailand's border with Cambodia.

''So far, I think we are still on track to achieve the whole year's target,'' he said but decline to elaborate the figures.

KTB shares closed yesterday on the SET at 7.50 baht, up 10 satang, in trade worth 112.13 million baht.

Chinese Investment Pouring Into Thailand's Neighbours

The Nation: August 28, 2008 : Last updated 03:37 pm

China has been the beneficiary of huge foreign direct investment. But in recent years, the tables have turned, and China has becomes a prominent foreign investor in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Earlier this year, China's Commerce Ministry predicted foreign investment by Chinese enterprises would likely exceed US$20.9 billion (Bt707 billion) this year, up at least 30 per cent from last year, as Beijing continues to encourage Chinese companies to expand abroad.

China's direct foreign investment began to soar in 2005, when the figure jumped 123 per cent year on year to $12.3 billion. The Commerce Ministry's 11th five-year plan, which began last year, predicts aggregate direct foreign investment by Chinese companies will top $60 billion by 2010.

A considerable slice of that investment is going to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos - Thailand's neighbours - which are building their economies from scratch.

In Cambodia, China was the dominant foreign investor last year, with $763 million in investment approvals - nearly double its 2005 total. Russia was a distant second last year, with approvals totalling $278 million.

In Laos between 2001 and this past August, Chinese foreign direct investment in projects approved by the Lao Committee for Planning and Investment amounted to $1.1 billion, second only to Thailand's projects, worth $1.3 billion.

In Vietnam, Chinese investment skyrocketed from $66 million in 2005 to $312 million last year.

Chinese investment in Cambodia has been welcomed with open arms following a decades-long relationship. The Chinese government is pouring money into bridges and roads - it donated $6 million worth of steel bridges to Cambodia in 2001 - and has pledged military assistance in the form of new vessels for the country's dilapidated navy. Cambodia's revered former king, Norodom Sihanouk, spends months at a time in Beijing, and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao showed the value he placed on the relationship in April 2006, when he included Cambodia in a tour of New Zealand and Australia. China also agreed to waive outstanding loans to Cambodia five years ago.

These days, China's emphasis on Cambodia is increasingly looking beyond aid towards desperately needed investment. Chinese, and now Cambodian investors, are planting hectares of biofuel crops like jatropha, which Chinese industry devours insatiably. Recently, a Chinese company signed a deal to grow mulberries over a tract of land in southern Cambodia as a resource from which to supply raw silk to its factories and offered to build a factory to process the silk-worm cocoons in country.

In May, China's fifth-largest steelmaker, Wuhan Steel, announced it had joined the Anshan Iron and Steel Group, Shanghai's Baosteel Group and Beijing's Shougang Iron and Steel Group to explore for iron ore in Cambodia's remote northern province of Preah Vihear - on the border with Thailand.

Earlier this year, an investor was given the go-ahead for a $215-million hydroelectric plant in the coastal province of Koh Kong. Huot Pongan, Cambodia's under-secretary of state for industry, mines and energy, says the benefits outweigh the risks.

"We don't have enough electricity. China is developing that for us. We don't have the resources to build mines and harvest our resources. China does. And China has been here for a long time and will stay here for a long time," he says.

In Laos, besides investments in hydroelectric plants, Chinese companies are also investing in mining, rubber plantations, telecommunications, construction materials, hotels and restaurants. In August, Chinese investors opened the China Market near Vientiane Airport. It is now one of the biggest shopping malls in the capital. Chinese merchants man the stalls, and Chinese goods are on sale.

The huge increase in Chinese investments in mining and hydropower plants has led to a two-year moratorium on new concessions. Laos has handed out more than 140 mining concessions in recent years, many to Chinese enterprises looking for gold, copper, iron, potassium and bauxite.

For instance, Australia's Ord River Resources has joined China's Non-ferrous Metals International Mining to develop a 727-square-kilometre concession on the Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos into one of the world's largest bauxite mines, for the manufacture of aluminium. Such concessions are hard to secure in Laos without a Chinese partner.

"It's political," says Vinay Inthavong, a Lao entrepreneur and chairman of the Vico Group. "If the leadership wants to stay in power, they have to support China and Vietnam."

In Vietnam, Yang Dewei, 42, manager of a factory called United Motor Vietnam, explains: "Doing business here is pretty much the same as in China, except for the language difference."

For Chinese investors, Vietnam's economic climate has the advantage of familiarity: a fellow communist country implementing economic reforms, plus an emerging middle class eager to consume basic and luxury goods.

This explains why Chinese companies invested in 57 projects in Vietnam last year, up from 40 in 2005. At least 250 Chinese investment projects have been established in the last five years, says Vietnam's Planning and Investment Ministry.

China remains a relatively small investor in Vietnam, ranking 13th behind top investors South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan. But Vietnam has been a major location for China's outsourcing factories.

In 2005, the last year for which detailed figures are available, about 35 per cent of Chinese investment in Vietnam was in manufacturing, while in 2004 that sector represented 83 per cent of Chinese investments. The balance of investment - and the other pillar of China's move into Vietnam - reflects its priorities elsewhere in the world: natural resources.

Investment in projects like coal extraction and bauxite mining made up 44 per cent of Chinese investment in Vietnam in 2005, up from only 3 per cent the year before.

Still, for Chinese manufacturers like Yang Dewei, Vietnam's low wages, geographical proximity and cultural similarity make the country an attractive place to export factories.

"It's not exactly the same," he says. "For instance, in my home town of Chongqing, in southern China, the people eat spicy food, and I have a hard time finding good food here. But I am here for the business, and so far it's worth it."

//by Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Cambodia, Thai Border Talks Postponed Due To Bangkok Protests

The Nation: Thu, August 28, 2008 : Last updated 13:10 hours

By Deutsche Presse Agenture

Phnom Penh - Informal talks between Bangkok and Phnom Penh over disputed border areas were halted abruptly and scheduled formal talks postponed indefinitely amid political tension in Thailand, a Cambodian official said Thursday.


Defence Ministry Secretary of State Neang Phat said the Thai delegation arrived Wednesday in Siem Reap, 300 kilometres north of Phnom Penh, and the two sides had talked amicably before formal talks scheduled for Friday were abruptly cancelled.


"We had prepared all the documents," Phat said. "Then a call came and they asked for the meeting to be delayed. They didn't say why but we can assume. This is Thailand's business, not ours."


Phat was referring to the ongoing anti-government protests in Bangkok by the Thai opposition People's Alliance for Democracy movement, which escalated Tuesday.


Phat said no new date had been set for a resumption of joint talks over border areas around the newly listed UNESCO World Heritage site of Preah Vihear temple, as well as the Ta Moan temple complex 150 kilometres to its west.


Thailand maintains the sovereignty of the areas is disputed but Phnom Penh claims the territory belongs to Cambodia. Several rounds of bilateral talks so far have failed to break the impasse.


Cambodia closed the border to Thailand at Preah Vihear, north of Siem Reap, in June after Thai protesters gathered in the area, saying it feared trouble with Cambodian settlers.


On July 7 UNESCO granted the 11th-century hilltop Hindu temple World Heritage status over protests by Thailand. Thai troops moved into nearby areas a week later, severely straining relations between the neighbours.//dpa

First Property Expo Set For October

Courtesy of Phnom Penh Post

Written by Nguon Sovan and Hor Hab
Wednesday, 27 August 2008

Hopes are high event will spur interest in housing market

CAMBODIA'S booming real estate market is attracting record interest from property companies with the Kingdom's first-ever real estate expo scheduled for October.

Whale Event Management, a member of Whale Group, expects to be at full capacity when it kicks off the three-day exposition on October 3 at Phnom Penh's Mondial Center, said Sorn Sovattey, senior sales executive for Whale Event Management.

"We expect to have 31 real estate companies registering for the expo, because we have only 31 booths," Sorn Sovattey told the Post.

She said the expo will focus on city developers, realtors, property agents and property development consultants. It will also feature a growing field of designers, contractors and urban planners.

Luxury and high-end real estate developers are especially interested in the Kingdom, which has so far remained sheltered from the property market turmoil in Vietnam and stagnation in Thailand.

"The event is a good chance to gather all real estate companies together, which is easy for customers to see," she said. "It is a premium and high-class expo, which is expected to attract about 40,000 businesspeople, company bosses and customers."

Exhibitors can choose from five categories of booths: diamond, costing US$20,000 for three days, gold ($10,000), silver ($8,000), platinum ($6,000) and standard booths ($2,500).

"The real estate market is improving with a lot of satellite cities," Sorn Sovattey said. "After the 2008 election, the trend will go further."

Nhem Sothea, marketing manager of the Grand Phnom Penh International City, one of the capital's housing mega-projects, said the expo would give developers a chance to reach a wider audience.

"It is a good chance to display real estate products such as house styles, villas, business centers," he said Monday.

Others said the event would allow potential customers to get an overview of Phnom Penh's rapidly evolving housing market by talking directly with developers and real estate agents.

"Customers can see the styles of houses that they prefer and negotiate prices," said Mao Thora, an undersecretary at the Commerce Ministry.

But some realtors have complained that the expo fees are too high and that the event was not planned far enough in advance.

In Sitha, general manager of Sovannaphum Realty, told the Post that his company would visit the event, but not join as an exhibitor.

"My company focuses on land speculation and building development, but I don't have any interest displaying at the expo. We have [other] ways to promote our products, and the expo schedule is too early to arrange for it," he said.

Sung Bonna, president of Bonna Realty Group, said that the initiative is good for the Cambodian market, but timing and costs could curb participation.

"My company has not made a decision yet.... The price for exhibiting is also too high for Cambodia's standards," he said.

Sorn Sovattey acknowledged that it was too early to tell how successful Cambodia's inaugural property expo would be, said she hoped it would be a top draw for the market.

"It is too early, of course, but we hope all real estate companies can participate," she said.

Thailand, Cambodia Agree To Tourism For Preah Vihear Once Military Tensions Ease

Courtesy of Phnom Penh Post
Written by Thet Sambath and Brendan Brady
Wednesday, 27 August 2008

Thai Prime Minister Samak met with Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh over the dispute, agreeing to restart tourism to the ancient site after troops leave the area

AFP

Tourists stroll through the ruins at Preah Vihear. Officials hope to draw in more visitors. THAILAND and Cambodia have agreed to cooperate to develop tourism at areas along the border once the military standoff is resolved, Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Monday.

The Thai premier made the statement in Bangkok after meeting with Cambodia's defence minister, Tea Banh, who is also a deputy prime minister.

"Territorial problems which cannot be resolved by now will be left for negotiations later," and a "middleman will be appointed to oversee promoting tourism with an aim to bring back tourists," Samak was quoted as saying by the Thai government news service, Thai News Agency (TNA).

He added that the temple cannot be opened to tourism until all military personnel have withdrawn, according to TNA.

Monday's agreement to promote tourism at Preah Vihear temple came after Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and his Thai counterpart, Tej Bunnag, failed in talks August 19 and 20 to reach a resolution on the border dispute.

The two sides agreed they would meet again in October pending a survey and demarcation of the area to be carried out by the Joint Border Commission.


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I never thought this area would become popular with tourists.

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On the Cambodian side, developing tourism at Preah Vihear could give a major boost for a corner of the country long notorious as the last region occupied by Khmer Rouge fighters.

Locals hopeful
The prospect of a tourism boom has enterprising Cambodians in the area licking their lips at the potential windfall.

Tep Savy, 43, an owner of a small guesthouse in Sa Em, about 25 kilometres from the base of the pitted mountain road to the temple, said her village had been an active battlefield between Khmer Rouge and Cambodian military forces since she moved there in 1979.

"I never thought this area would become popular with tourists. It's going to go from a war zone to a tourist boom town," she said.

She said that since the temple's World Heritage listing, her 12-room guesthouses, which before was lucky to see a guest every couple of days, is now regularly fully booked.

She said she planned to add more rooms but would wait for the temple standoff to cool down before making the investment.

Chim Phalla, from Komuoy village at the base of the Dangrek mountain range on which the temple sits, has "high hopes to earn a fortune" by quitting his job as a grocer and opening a restaurant to capitalise on the expected influx of tourist dollars.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon told the Post that the government would develop comprehensive plans to encourage the development of tourism infrastructure for Preah Vihear temple, including road access from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

The Unesco listing should also promote Preah Vihear's spot on multinational temple tours through Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, he added.

Infrastructure
Early this month, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered that the 80 km road connecting Anlong Veng town to Preah Vihear temple be paved as the dispute with Thailand has lent new significance to the ancient ruins of Preah Vihear temple.

The prime minister followed up last week, ordering the construction of a new 9km road from Prey Veng village in Oddar Meanchey province to Ta Moan Thom temple complex, also along the border with Thailand.

Thailand and Cambodia have been locked in a military standoff at the temples for six weeks.

Tensions have eased, but troops are still only yards apart in some disputed areas.

UN Expert Arrives As US Announces It Might Fund The ECCC

Courtesy of Phnom Penh Post
Written by Georgia Wilkins
Wednesday, 27 August 2008

David Tolbert is back in Cambodia, keeping an eye on the Extraordinary Chambers as the US mulls money for the financially troubled court

SPECIAL EXPERT
In April, the UN appointed American lawyer David Tolbert, former deputy prosecutor at the war crimes court for the former Yugoslavia, as “special expert” to the UN secretary general about the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). THE UN's financial expert to the Khmer Rouge tribunal has arrived in Cambodia on what UN officials are calling a "private" visit to meet with donors and ramp up fundraising efforts for the ECCC.

Tolbert, whose previous visits have been to boost donor confidence in the wake of mismanagement claims, began work Monday and is expected to stay a week, UN spokesman Peter Foster said.

Tolbert was hired by the UN secretary general in April to review the world body's operations at the joint tribunal. His arrival comes as the US announced that it was on the "threshold" of making a decision to fund the struggling tribunal.


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HE WILL BE MEETING WITH KEY PEOPLE FROM THE COURT [AND] THE LOCAL DONOR[S].

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"He will be meeting with key people from the court, the local donor community, and will look at donor contributions and the progress made by the court," Foster said.

He described the visit as "strictly technical", however, and said Tolbert was under no jurisdiction from the UN Development Program.

An appointment for the US?
Tolbert, who couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday, was appointed after Kao Kim Hourn, a secretary of state with the Foreign Ministry, told the UN in January that Washington wanted an advisory role in the tribunal and would consider helping fund the court if given the post.

Kao Kim Hourn later retracted his statement, but the US embassy said that they were likely to meet with Tolbert, although were not sure when.

"We expect there will be an opportunity to speak with the Secretary General's advisor about his activities and the importance to donors of ensuring that advancement of administrative reforms in the ECCC match the judicial progress observed to date," said embassy spokesman John Johnson in an email Tuesday.

Outgoing US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said Monday that he thought the corruption issue "will be resolved ... and ultimately [the tribunal] will get funding".

Allegations that Cambodian staff were kicking back a portion of their salaries to higher officials are being reviewed by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds have been frozen by the UNDP in the meantime.

The court has repeatedly faced bankruptcy and still faces a more than US$40 million shortfall.

Soldiers Stationed On Border Will Be Given Land, Prime Minister Says

Coutrtesy of Phnom Penh Post

Written by Thet Sambath
Wednesday, 27 August 2008

Govt announces new social land concession for troops in a bid to strengthen border security

HENG CHIVOAN

A Cambodian soldier in Preah Vihear. The government is to give military families land in a bid improve border security. PRIME Minister Hun Sen has called for land concessions to be given to soldiers serving along the Cambodia-Thai border in a move that is hoped to populate the Kingdom's frontier and strengthen it against incursions, the Council of Ministers said.

"Hun Sen's plan is to develop roads throughout the northwest and to provide for soldiers and their families serving in the region," said Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan. "He was a solider, so he understands the needs of soldiers and their family members."

The new plan follows announcements last week that military engineers will build new roads near the Preah Vihear and Ta Moan Thom temple complexes in response to a six-week standoff with Thailand over disputed border territory near the two temples.

San Vanna, deputy governor of Oddar Meanchey province, said the government has instructed him to prepare land for soldiers and their families near bases where they are currently stationed.

"We received orders to prepare land for the military," San Vanna said Monday. "The land is ready and we're working out the details."

Touch Ra, a soldier in Military Region 4 and deputy chief of Chom International Checkpoint, welcomed the plan.

"The prime minister's policy will be good for our soldiers and will encourage them to defend the border and our nation against Thailand," Touch Ra said. "It's an important step toward improving border security and the safety of the whole Kingdom."

A new strategy
Ke Kim Yan, commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, visited soldiers last week at Preah Vihear and Ta Moan Thom temples, as well as in Anlong Veng district to evaluate current plans for new roads along the border.

Opposition lawmaker Cheam Channy welcomed the land concession measure but warned that high-ranking officials could use the opportunity to seize the best real estate for themselves and leave rank-and-file troops with little.

"It's a good idea ... but commanders will take the best land for themselves, while our troops will be left with smaller plots," Cheam Channy said.

Chea Mon, commander of Military Region 4, said provincial authorities, and not the military, would administer the land concessions.

"I am in contact with provincial authorities regarding the concessions, but it is their responsibility to apportion land to military families," he said Monday. He added that he does not know how authorities will ultimately distribute the concessions.

A high-ranking official with the Ministry of the Interior, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press, said that he had received no instructions about the proposed concessions but that the government has plenty of land waiting to be distributed to landless people.

"We are working to provide land for landless people in Kratie and Kampong Cham provinces, as well as other provinces," the official said. "We want to make sure it's given to the right people, not just military families."

Other measures to better secure border areas are under consideration, according to government spokesman Khieu Kanharith, who responded to a story in the Bangkok Post on Monday about a possible "Berlin-style" wall along the border with Thailand.

In a press release, Khieu Kanharith said a wall had never been proposed but that concrete markers and barriers could be built to help stop smuggling and other cross-border criminal activity, but only in areas agreed to by both countries.

Anti-Corruption Law To Be Given To National Assembly Next Month

Courtesy of Phnom Penh Post

Written by Sebastian Strangio and Vong Sokheng
Wednesday, 27 August 2008

Civil society groups have expressed concern, saying prior drafts were toothless and law will have little impact on graft

HENG CHIVOAN Lawmakers at the National Assembly will receive a copy of the draft anti-corruption law next month.

WITH the National Assembly set to pass its long-awaited anti-corruption law next month, observers have questioned the likely effectiveness of the new legislation, saying it could do little to reduce Cambodia's rampant corruption.

In a press conference Sunday, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said the draft law will be given to the new CPP-dominated National Assembly shortly after its inauguration on September 24.

But civil society groups said the draft has been difficult to obtain and they are concerned it is based on the draft submitted in 2006, which fell short of international standards."We have not received a new draft from the government, and we do not know of any changes to the [2006] draft law," said Sek Borisoth, director of Pact Cambodia. He said the 2006 draft was a watered-down version of earlier versions, and that its lack of whistleblower protections would hamper its effectiveness. "The fight against corruption will not be successful if the law does not help protect witnesses and whistleblowers," he said.

when we received the draft in 2007, it had no meaning and no real standards.

Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Son Chhay said the SRP had also not received a draft from the government, and assumed the law to be the same that was formulated in 2006.

"I believe [it is the same], but we have not seen it," he said. "It shouldn't be a secret, it should be a public document."Son Chhay said the last draft lacked teeth, putting the responsibility for its enforcement into the hands of a council staffed by government officials.

"When we received the draft in 2007, it had no meaning and no real standards for fighting corruption," he said. "The government was planning to set up a Supreme Council with representatives from across the government.

But if you have representatives from all sections of government, how can you deal with government corruption?" Without amendments to the 2006 draft, he said, "corruption in Cambodia will remain the same.

"However, Song Lim Neou, secretary of state at the Council of Ministers, said the draft had taken other views into account. "The law has been completed and the opinions of civil society and other stakeholders have been included in the final draft." he said.

US Embassy spokesman John Johnson said corruption cost Cambodia millions of dollars each year, and welcomed the new legislation. "We are pleased to hear that the government has announced plans to proceed with the passage of this important law," he said by email.

"We have not had recent conversations with the government on the substance of the draft law, [but] we look forward to seeing a draft of the new law and working with the government in order to pass a version that meets international standards," he said.

Cambodia mulls allowing foreigners to buy property

Courtesy of The Economic Times [India]

PHNOM PENH: The Cambodian government is considering allowing foreign ownership of property such as apartments and office buildings to boost the country's economic growth, an official said on Wednesday. Under the current rules, foreign property investments can only be made through the name of a Cambodian national, and many are unwilling to risk losing their assets to unscrupulous local partners.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said the government is evaluating the policy to ensure that foreigners will be allowed to own buildings and apartments but not land.

"The important thing is that foreigners cannot own land... They can buy things above the ground only," Khieu Kanharith told. He said that the plan would attract more foreign investment and more skilled foreign workers to the impoverished nation.

"This policy will boost our economic growth," Khieu Kanharith added. The move comes after the private sector last year urged the government to allow foreign ownership of certain properties like apartments or factories, saying a liberalised real estate market would spur the economy. Cambodia's investment law was amended in 2005 to allow foreign ownership of buildings, but the legislation has yet to be implemented and the initiative has floundered. Despite current restrictions, billion-dollar skyscraper projects and sprawling satellite cities promising to radically alter Phnom Penh have bloomed over the past few years.

They are mainly backed by South Korean companies working through local partners. After decades of turmoil, Cambodia has emerged as a rising economy in the region - posting average 11 per cent growth over the past three years on the back of strong tourism and garment sectors. But officials warn that the country, which still relies on international aid for half of its annual budget, must diversify by seeking more varied foreign investments.

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US envoy urges Asean to take up temple issue

Courtesy of Bangkok Post

Phnom Penh (dpa) - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations could play a key role in resolving an ongoing border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, outgoing US ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli said at a press conference Monday.

Mussomeli, who is ending a three-year mission, said the US favoured a bilateral solution between the two neighbours over disputed territory on the northern Cambodian border.

"Cambodia and Thailand are neighbours and they will stay with each other forever," he told reporters. "Thailand needs Cambodia and Cambodia needs Thailand.

"But if bilateral negotiations fail, if after every effort you cannot find a solution, it is time to consider the option of the United Nations Security Council."

He also said one step that had been overlooked in the negotiation process which could help ensure the dispute was solved within Asian parameters was the 10-member Asean, of which both sides are members.

"That is one thing Asean could do to make itself really effective," he said.

Tensions arose last month shortly after UNESCO declared the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, around 300 kilometres from the capital, a World Heritage site over Thai objections.

Thailand sent troops into what it says is disputed territory near the temple and Cambodia says is sovereign territory.

At the end of July, Cambodia made fresh claims that Thai troops had also moved into the Ta Moan temple complex, 150 kilometres west, but Thailand disputed that, saying it had held the area for years.

Switzerland does not rule out talking to Osama bin Laden

GENEVA : Switzerland's foreign minister on Monday broke with the country's tradition of studiously discrete diplomacy by raising the possibility of direct talks with Osama bin Laden to tackle global terrorism.

Micheline Calmy-Rey, who has raised both eyebrows and hackles with her controversial style, told Swiss ambassadors gathered in the capital Bern that they needed to talk to "heavyweight political figures" on the world stage even if they are considered persona non grata by other powers.

"It is important to get away from a Manichean view of the world in black and white, where peoples and countries can only be allies or enemies," she said. If this view prevailed, Israel would never have held talks with the Palestinians, Nepal would never have talked to Maoist rebels - and the international community would have boycotted the Olympic Games in Beijing, she said. "So should we listen to these 'wise figures'? Or should we continue dialogue without discrimination - even sitting down at the same table as Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden?," she asked rhetorically.

Calmy-Rey told more than 170 Swiss ambassadors and consular officials meeting this week in Bern that she always favoured dialogue over sanctions and isolation. "The refusal of dialogue is always a sterile choice," she said, adding that for Switzerland, "the only force we have ever had is that of words." Switzerland does not have any list of banned organisations to which it will not talk, unlike other countries. "We talked to Hamas and Hezbollah and other Islamist organisations, we talked to the most diverse groups in Kosovo, because they clearly expressed the legitimate interests of the population," she said. "By doing this, we did not legitimise their methods, but pushed them towards ending violence," she added. Calmy-Rey said that groups as diverse as Hezbollah, the FARC guerrillas in Colombia, Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka and the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda are all "essential in the search for a resolution" of different conflicts worldwide. She stressed however that dialogue did not mean "accepting the unacceptable," and conceded that it could sometimes lead to tensions and "complex political blockages.

" Switzerland has played a high-profile role in negotiations with the FARC in Colombia which has caused strains in its relations with Bogota.

Colombian authorities began an inquiry earlier this month into the role of Swiss mediator Jean-Pierre Gontard, suspected by Bogota of handing over a 500,000-dollar (323,000-euro) ransom to the FARC in return for the release of two Novartis employees in 2001. Both Gontard and the Swiss foreign ministry deny the allegation.

The foreign minister's style has sparked a high degree of criticism among domestic political opponents, who have accused her of jeopardising Switzerland's standing in the eyes of key allies.
The United States for example was fiercely critical of a visit by Calmy-Rey to Iran in March for the signing of an energy deal with Iran's state gas company, saying it sent the "wrong message" to Tehran. But Calmy-Rey said that Switzerland still enjoyed "good and constructive" relations with Washington. "Our strength is dialogue, promoting dialogue, and our capacity for taking reasonable risks," Calmy-Rey said. - AFP/de

US to fund Khmer Rouge trial Article from: Agence France-Presse

Article from: Agence France-Presse

From correspondents in Phnom Penh
August 25, 2008 08:13pm

THE United States will give its first donation to Cambodia's cash-strapped Khmer Rouge genocide trial as soon as the UN-backed court resolves corruption allegations, the US ambassador said today.

The tribunal faces a funding shortfall of more than $US40 million ($46.1 million). Officials travelled to New York in June to petition UN members for more funds.

"The United States government is right now on the threshold of making its decision to directly fund the tribunal,'' outgoing Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli told reporters at his farewell press conference at the US embassy.

"I think in Washington now everyone is very much looking forward to finding funding to help directly assist the tribunal if we can just work this last thing out,'' he said.

The Khmer Rouge tribunal this month launched a new ethics monitor to grapple with ongoing claims of corruption within the court after the UN Development Program made fresh allegations of kickbacks on the Cambodian side of the court, forcing international donors to withhold funding for July.

International backers have appeared hesitant to pledge more money to the process after earlier allegations of political interference and mismanagement, including that Cambodian staff paid money in exchange for their jobs.

But tribunal officials have said the allegations last year were "unspecific, unsourced and unsubstantiated.''

The court is preparing for its first trial against Kaing Guek Eav, who ran a notorious torture centre in Phnom Penh.

He is expected in the dock in October, once the court has dealt with the prosecution's appeal of his indictment, which it said failed to present a "full and truthful account'' of his crimes.

In all, five top Khmer Rouge leaders are now facing charges before the tribunal for crimes committed by the regime.

Up to two million people died of starvation, overwork and execution as the communist Khmer Rouge dismantled modern Cambodian society in a bid to forge an agrarian utopia during its 1975-1979 rule.

Jetstar plane slides in the wet

August 22, 2008, 5:55 pm

Jetstar passengers due to fly out of Cambodia were forced to spend another night in the south-east Asian country after the plane slid to the edge of a runway in wet weather as it arrived from Singapore.

The incident occurred on Thursday morning.

Tyres on the left-hand side of the plane were damaged and had to be replaced but none of the 144 passengers flying from Singapore on the A320 were injured, a Jetstar Asia spokesman said.

"The aircraft drifted to the edge of the runway but it was only for a short time and it quickly corrected as normal," he said.

Jetstar put passengers due to fly back to Singapore from Siem Reap-Angkor up in hotels for 24 hours while another flight was organised, the spokesman said.

Prosecutors want more charges against Khmer Rouge prison chief

Courtesy of ABC, Australia

Posted Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:50am AEST

Prosecutors at the UN-backed genocide tribunal in Cambodia are appealing to have additional charges lodged against Comrade Duch, the first of five Khmer Rouge defendants to front court.

The co-prosecutors of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia want Comrade Duch, also known as Kaing Guek Eav, to face murder and torture charges as allowed by Cambodian law.

As it currently stands, the co-investigating judges have sought only to charge him with crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Duch was head of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, where thousands of people were detained, tortured and killed in the 1970s under the orders of the Khmer Rouge government.

More than 1 million Cambodians died while the Khmer Rouge was in power from 1975 to 1979.
The outcome of this appeal should be known by the end of September.

The tribunal has been wracked with delays and budget.

The trial against Comrade Duch is expected to get underway in October.

Thai king world's wealthiest royal: Forbes

Courtesy of ABC, Australia.
Posted Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:37am AEST

Forbes magazine says Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the world's richest royal sovereign, with a fortune estimated at $US35 billion ($40 billion).

The magazine says oil-rich Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi is second, with $US23 billion.

King Bhumibol, 80 and, at 62 years on the throne the world's longest-serving head of state, pushed to the top of the richest royals list by virtue a greater transparency surrounding his fortune, Forbes said.

It said that the Crown Property Bureau, which manages most of his family's wealth, "granted unprecedented access this year, revealing vast landholdings, including 3,493 acres in Bangkok."
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was 12th on the list with $US650 million.

-AFP

US troops to pull out of Iraq by 2011: negotiator

Courtesy of ABC, Australia

Negotiators have finalised a deal which will see the complete withdrawal of US troops from Iraq by 2011, ending an eight-year occupation, the top Iraqi heading the team said.

Under the 27-point deal all US combat troops will be withdrawn from Iraqi cities by next June, negotiator Mohammed al-Haj Hammoud said.

The agreement has already been approved by US President George W Bush and now needs to be endorsed by Iraqi leaders, he added.

Iraq and the US had agreed to "withdraw the US troops from Iraq by end of 2011," Mr Hammoud said.

"The combat troops will withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 2009. Both the parties have agreed on this.

"The negotiators' job is done. Now it is up to the leaders."

The security pact will decide the future of US forces in Iraq once the present UN mandate, which provides the legal framework for the presence of foreign forces in Iraq, expires in December.

Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had agreed last November to formalise such an agreement by July 31.

The arrangement was delayed due to strong opposition from Iraqi leaders over key issues such as when US combat troops would withdraw from Iraq, how many bases Washington would retain and whether American troops would be immune from Iraqi laws.

Mr Hammoud said all issues had been addressed in the deal.

He added however that there was a possibility that US troops could leave before 2011 or remain beyond the target date.

"There is a provision that says the withdrawal could be done even before 2011 or extended beyond 2011 depending on the [security] situation," he said.

Mr Hammoud said that even if the withdrawal does take place by 2011, some US troops could remain "to train Iraqi security forces".

He said the issue of how many bases the US would retain in Iraq depended on the number of troops left behind for training purposes.

A number of committees would also look into offences committed by American troops in Iraq.
The immunity offered to American soldiers currently in Iraq had been one of the main sticking points in the negotiations which began in February.

In a surprise one-day visit to Iraq on Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the two countries were "very, very close" to finalising the agreement but had not yet clinched the deal.

On Thursday Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, however, went a step further and said the text of the deal was ready.

"We are very close, we have a text, but not the final agreement. Everything has been addressed," Mr Zebari said.

The deal has drawn sharp criticism from Iraq's political factions, especially from the anti-American group of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Dr Rice said that the US had been very "flexible" in the negotiations.

"The US has gone very far in this agreement, it is a very advanced agreement," she said.

Any deal would first have to be ratified by the Iraqi parliament and the veto-wielding presidency council.

The White House said on Thursday (local time) that US lawmakers would not be asked to approve the pact.

"It's not a treaty, so it would not require Senate ratification or anything like that," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters at Mr Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas.

With 144,000 American troops currently in Iraq, the issue is politically sensitive in Washington as the November US presidential election draws nearer.
- AFP

McCain stumbles over number of homes

Courtesy of ABC, Australia

Posted Fri Aug 22, 2008 10:37am AEST

Updated Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:15am AEST

"Now think about that. If you don't know how many houses you have, then it is not surprising that you might think the economy was fundamentally strong.

"But if you are like me and you've got one house, or you are like the millions of people who are struggling right now to keep up with their mortgage so they don't lose their home, you might have a different perspective."

For a man painting himself as an ordinary guy who knows how people are hurting because of the economic downturn, it was a giant stumble by the White House contender.

John McCain's presidential campaign is in damage control after he was unable to remember how many houses he and his wife own.

It comes just days after the Republican White House hopeful cracked a joke that being rich in the US meant earning at least $5 million.

His Democratic rival, Barack Obama, has been quick to exploit the blunders, as opinion polls show the economy is still the number one concern of American voters.

With the US economy teetering on the brink of recession and housing foreclosures skyrocketing, Senator McCain was asked by The Politico newspaper how many houses he and his wife Cindy own.

Unable to answer, Senator McCain deflected to the question to his advisers.

"I think, I'll have my staff get to you. I can't tell about that," he said.

The McCain campaign told The Politico that Senator McCain and his wife have "at least four" homes in three states - Arizona, California and Virginia.

It was a green light for Senator Obama to take a jab at Senator McCain's views on the US economy.

"So they asked his staff and he said at least four," Senator Obama said.

"Now think about that. If you don't know how many houses you have, then it is not surprising that you might think the economy was fundamentally strong.

"But if you are like me and you've got one house, or you are like the millions of people who are struggling right now to keep up with their mortgage so they don't lose their home, you might have a different perspective."

Senator Obama and his wife have one house, the family home in Chicago which they bought in 2005 for more than $US1.5 million.

A McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers has returned fire, quoted as saying "it's a frickin' mansion, he doesn't tell people that".

Senator McCain and his heiress wife Cindy actually have seven homes, plenty of fodder for a new Obama attack ad.

The ad paints McCain as out of touch with America's economic problems.

"Then again on the same day when asked how many houses he owns, McCain lost track. He couldn't remember," the ad says.

"Well, it is seven. Seven houses and here's one house America can't afford to let John McCain move into," it continues, showing the White House.

Senator McCain has not helped dispel this image.

At a weekend faith forum he made a careless comment when Pastor Rick Warren asked him to define the threshold for considering someone as rich.

"How about $5 million," he said, adding, "I'm sure that comment will be distorted".

The point is, both presidential candidates are far better off than most Americans.

Senator Obama earned $US4 million last year, mostly thanks to royalties from his two books, and Senator McCain's tax returns show he earned $US400,000.

His wife Cindy has not disclosed hers, but as the sole heiress to her father's beer distributorship she is worth an estimated $US100 million.

Based on a report by Kim Landers for AM, on August 22.

Cambodia's athletes seek a better playing field

By Rebecca ByerlyFor CNN


PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CNN) -- Without proper food, shoes, or support from his government, Hem Bunting, the Cambodian Olympic marathon competitor, prepared for the Olympics and hoped for international support in late July.

"It is hard to compete at an Olympic level when you do not get any support from the government," panted Bunting, 25, who had just run intervals on the bleachers of the dilapidated Olympic stadium in the capital.

A week before the four Cambodian athletes were scheduled to attend the opening of the Olympic Games, the President of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, Dr. Thong Kohn, appealed to all companies, suppliers, and donors for the $18,423 needed to send the four athletes and 10 supporters to the games in Beijing. The list included funds for shoes, Olympic uniforms, and pocket money.

A representative of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia said there was insufficient money for sports. Programs for sports would develop as education in the country improved.

"We need to improve and reform several sectors in Cambodia's education programs," explained Sambath Sothea, who is in charge of the Sports Marketing Program for the Cambodian Olympic Team.

"Part of this improvement should be in sports education, which is an important part of the personal development of young people who are the future of our nation. People have the tendency to forget Cambodia is a nation on the rise and need to give it some time to grow."

Once referred to as the Pearl of Asia, Cambodia's sports programs, economy, and infrastructure were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge reign, where it is estimated that 1.5 million people were killed between 1975 and 1979. The country has only now begun to emerge on the global market, with the country's first stock exchange scheduled to start in 2009.

Bunting believed the only way sports would develop was through private donors.

"If we could get sponsored, we could go somewhere with sports in Cambodia, but the government is not going to support us because they are busy with other things," said the runner, whose best marathon time of 2 hours 26 minutes, 28 seconds placed him second at the Sea Games, a competition held among South East Asian countries.

"I work really hard but do not even have the basic things I need, like nutritious food to eat or clothes for training." Bunting ran on the busy streets of the capital without proper running shoes until the American New Zealand Bank (ANZ) sponsored him.

Sothea believed the partnership between the public and private sector was critical for the development of sports in the country.

"The government needs to reform sports and give it a more reliable structure," said Sothea who earned his law degree in France. "The private sector will be responsible for making investments."

In wake of the recent elections held in the country, which ushered in relative peace and political stability, major investment companies have flocked to Cambodia. Some of these investors considered sports a potential investment opportunity.

"From supporting the training and finances of an Olympic athlete to building industrial parks and helping Cambodia become a leading rice exporter, we want to invest in areas that Cambodians take pride in," said Marvin Yeo, the co-founder of Frontier Investment Partners. Yeo's firm planned to devote over $250 million to an array of areas, which include real estate, infrastructure, manufacturing, and agriculture throughout the next decade.

Another investor was also hopeful about Cambodia's future.

"The next five years will be the time investment takes off in Cambodia and the country starts to put itself on the map," explained Douglas Clayton, founder of Leopard Capital, which manages a private equity fund that invests in Cambodia. "You will see a major change in the country, and things like sports, which have been overlooked because of the lack of government support, may start to receive some funding from the private sector."

From farming to development

The growing interest in sports is another indicator of the country's aptitude for development. Cambodia has begun to see a generation that has taken an avid interest in their educations and future careers.

"Development is good for Cambodia," said Bunting, whose village got electricity only two years ago. "I would not have gotten a good education if it had not been for the foreigners who came to my village and started a school."

Though his parents were poor, uneducated rice farmers, Bunting studied development at Cambodia University and wanted to work with foreign organizations in the remote areas of the country to improve education and infrastructure. His talent for running was first discovered when he competed in a national competition in Phnom Penh several years ago.

Bunting is part of the growing number of youths who are becoming more socially aware in Cambodia.

"The days of the Khmer Rouge are over now, and the youth in Cambodia face different challenges, like how to become socially conscious and have a voice in the development of their country," said Long Kat, 35, the director of Youth for Peace in Cambodia.

While 50 percent of the country's population is under 25, and young people between the ages of 18 and 30 comprise more than 50 percent of eligible voters, they have only recently begun to engage in politics and their communities.

"Cambodia is not competitive in sports, education, or most jobs right now because we don't have any competition and little opportunity in the country," said Bunting. "But I think with the right support this could change."

Bunting said education and employment are the greatest concerns of his generation.

Investment in education

While both of these areas are projected to improve, some individuals remain skeptical of the many flaws that remain in the system. Investors pour in, but some intellectuals' wonder what exactly is being done to improve the educational system and how this will impact the alarmingly high rate of unemployment.

"I lived in Cambodia for five years in the early 90's," exclaimed Clodagh O'Brian, who worked for an NGO in the capital at that time. "The city has transformed with buildings, paved roads, and soon skyscrapers. But, what has not changed that much are the schools. I would like to know how much investment is going back in to education."

Reports of corruption and bribes in schools are common, and children have limited opportunities in the current educational system. Education is one of the areas that Yeo and Clayton claim will improve as a result of the incoming investments.

"You will see growth in some sectors of education," said Clayton, who has worked in Asia over 20 years. "For example, as investors build more hotels in the country, others may start to invest in hotel management schools and language schools. Cambodia will gradually produce more skilled English-speaking workers."

Despite the difficulties posed by the poor infrastructure and the many challenges he faces, Bunting remained optimistic about Cambodia's future. "Being an athlete and just trying to live in Cambodia is not easy," sighed Bunting. "But, I think in several years, it could get better."

Sothea agreed.

"The important thing is not to win, but to take part," quoted Sambeth, who burrowed the philosophy from Baron Pierre De Cobertin, the President of the International Olympic Committee. "Instead of complaining about where Cambodia is we need to have a collective vision for where the country is going. Let's meet up again eight years from now and see where Cambodia and her athletes are