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Kem Sokha indicated that the Human Rights Party (HRP) and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) did not succeed on agreeing on the conditions for a “merger.”

The union of the two opposition parties that are represented at the National Assembly could not be approved as planned, Kem Sokha, HRP president, announced during a press conference held at his home on Tuesday 06 October.

“No results were found during eight negotiation sessions between the working groups from both parties,” Kem Sokha added while indicating that he wished to see a clear position from the SRP on this issue.

Yim Sovann, SRP spokesman, confirmed that the alliance between the two parties is a not a priority.

Since the 2008 general election, the SRP held 26 seats at the National Assembly and the HRP held 3. Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha, both former members of Funcinpec, left the royalist party in 1994 and 2002, respectively. Following the 2008 election, they called on the boycott of the inauguration session of the National Assembly. Since then, the two leaders have indicated their intention to “unite” or “merge” the two opposition parties.

The Stung Treng provincial authority indicated that almost 3,000 hectares of rice crops are flooded. The flood also affects 3 inhabited villages and communes along main rivers.

Loy Sophat, Stung Treng provincial governor, indicated on Monday 05 October that 95% of the flooded [rice crop fields] were completely destroyed and more than 300 families were evacuated to safety: “The flood is rising fast in the past few days….”

Rising water along the Sesan and Sre Pok rivers flooded numerous villages and communes along the rivers in Ratanakiri province. The flooding started on 28 September 2009, and it is taking place along 3 major rivers in Stung Treng province: the Sekong, Sesan and Mekong rivers. The flooding overcame houses where more 3,000 families are living in.

The Stung Treng authority said the up to 05 October, 81 villages located in 26 communes are flooded. Five districts are affected by flooding in the province of Strung Treng.

Pe Nou Korn, from Muong village, Siem Pang district, indicated that all roads are flooded and that water still continues to rise this Monday: “Due to the flood, the rice crops are all destroyed. Please help us the government!”

Sy Suon, the Siem Pang district governor, said that the authority has planned for the evacuation of people: “If they must be evacuated, we have the means to evacuate them to safe ground.”

The authority indicated that this year’s water rise is much quicker than usual, and people living the rivers, in particular in Ratanakiri, cannot take their belongings and animals out on time.

The authority and NGOs following up on this issue, indicated that the passage of the typhoon brought in a lot of rain to Cambodia and Vietnam, therefore, several Vietnamese hydro-electric dams had to open their gates to release the excess water.

Tep Bunnarith, director of the Stung Treng-based association for environment protection, said that the main cause of the flood is due to the release of water from Vietnamese hydro-electric dams.

Tep Bunnarith said: “The government must have a clear plan to evacuate people out so that they do not have to face this problem every year.”

Due to the flood, 3 people died in Ratanakiri province and a child was injured. Houses belonging to more than 7,000 families are flooded, and several hundreds of them fell down and were carried away by the water. 50% of the people are now homeless, 8,000 hectares of rice crop are flooded and numerous domestic animals (cows, pigs, chickens and ducks) were drowned, and numerous people’s belongings were also flooded. The extent of the damage is not known yet at this point. On Monday afternoon, Sekong villagers indicated that a farmer died due to flooding also. Nevertheless, there is no official number of deaths yet.

"CHINESE AID OFFERS AN ESCAPE HATCH FOR COUNTRIES UNDER PRESSURE FROM THE WEST..."

As the government accepts millions of Chinese aid and investment dollars, observers remain divided on whether Beijing’s meteoric rise will help or hinder the country over the long term.

AT a September 14 ceremony marking the construction of the US$128 million Cambodia-China Prek Kdam Friendship Bridge in Kandal province, Prime Minister Hun Sen hailed the recent growth in aid and investment from China, saying it was helping to strengthen the country’s “political independence”.

“China respects the political decisions of Cambodia,” he told his audience. “They are quiet, but at the same time they build bridges and roads, and there are no complicated conditions.”

With a flourishing economy and a new-found international confidence, China is on the rise in Southeast Asia, and Cambodia – a small but important corner of Beijing’s regional backyard – has been one of the key beneficiaries.

Last month, officials announced they were looking to secure $600 million in Chinese funds for infrastructure projects, including two bridges and the rehabilitation of National Road 8 linking Kratie and Mondulkiri provinces.

The announcement came on top of the $880 million in loans and grants received since 2006, including the $280 million Kamchay Dam in Kampot and the recently-completed $30 million Council of Ministers building.

Chinese embassy spokesman Qian Hai said Chinese investments in the Kingdom totalled about $4.5 billion, a success built on a policy of respecting Cambodia’s right to deal with its own affairs.

“We do not interfere in the internal affairs of Cambodia,” he said, adding that Phnom Penh has reciprocated by recognising Beijing’s One-China Policy, which advocates peaceful reunification between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. “We always respect each other’s sovereignty.”

Southeast Asian push
As in countries across the developing world, China’s global sales pitch – millions of dollars in aid and investment decoupled from the issue of human rights or democratic reform – has won it many friends in Phnom Penh.

Hun Sen’s remarks about Chinese “non-interference”, however, have opened up a fresh debate about the long-term effect of Chinese aid and investment to Cambodia, with observers remaining divided on whether China’s rising tide will uplift the country or scuttle its progress on human rights and reforms.

International analysts say China’s policies in Cambodia are only one aspect of its engagement with the region as a whole – a strategy based on re-establishing its traditional role as the “Middle Kingdom” in the region.

Carl Thayer, a professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Sydney, said China’s strategy of “non-interference” had won the country increasing influence in Southeast Asia, where it is seen as a shield against pressure from the United States and other Western countries.

“Chinese aid offers an escape hatch for countries under pressure from the West [that] promote human rights and democratic reform,” Thayer said.

Rights and wrongs
Inevitably, the rising Chinese influence has prompted concerns that funds could wean the government off Western aid “burdened” with human-rights and good-governance conditions – rolling back democratic reforms implemented since the early 1990s.

Joshua Kurlantzick, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington and the author of Charm Offensive: How China’s Soft Power is Transforming the World, said Chinese aid was likely to have a “corrosive” effect on good governance and human rights in Asia.

“Hun Sen knows how to play China off of the Western donor group, and China’s aid – even if not necessarily linked to any downgrading of human rights – could have the effect of a kind of race to the bottom on human rights,” he said.

Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at the US-based Human Rights Watch, agreed that unconditional Chinese aid to Cambodia could act as a “financial lifeline” that might otherwise be cut by Western donors.

She said, however, that Western nations often failed to work together effectively to set and enforce aid conditions in Cambodia, meaning that China’s growing presence was unlikely to have any long-term effect on human rights.

“The most important point – and key problem – is that the government in Phnom Penh ... seems determined to be extraordinarily abusive, regardless of whoever’s money is on offer,” she said by email.

The weight of history
Cambodia, like many Southeast Asian countries, has had a long and stormy relationship with Beijing.

Chinese leaders had a close friendship with then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk during the 1950s and 1960s, and offered Sihanouk asylum after he was overthrown by a republican coup in March 1970.

China’s staunch support for the Khmer Rouge regime soured the relationship for the remainder of the Cold War, leading Hun Sen to refer to China in a 1988 essay as “the root of everything that was evil” in Cambodia.

But as memories of Cambodia’s long civil war have faded, historical grievances have been replaced by more practical concerns.

After Hun Sen ousted then-first Prince Norodom Ranariddh in the factional fighting of July 1997, China was the first country to recognise his rule.

Balancing East and West
Despite a recent influx of Chinese yuan, there is no indication the government is ready to turn its
back on the West.

Chea Vannath, an independent political analyst based in Phnom Penh, said that growing Chinese influence would likely be used to counterbalance the influence of Western countries – a vital strategy for a country of Cambodia’s size.

“I think that what the government is trying to do is to diversify its aid.... It is eager to strike a balance,” she said.

“As a sovereign government, Cambodia needs aid from both sources.”

Regarding the possibility that Chinese aid could erode human rights, Chea Vannath said global winds were blowing in the opposite direction, promoting pluralism and transparency through international groupings such as ASEAN and the World Trade Organisation. Cambodia is a member of both bodies.

Kurlantzick also cited the increasing openness of Beijing’s aid and investments in Cambodia, saying that donors were “less in the dark” about Chinese money than previously, thus increasing the potential for future cooperation.

Thayer agreed that rumours of a drop in Western influence were exaggerated and said countries had little to gain from throwing their lot in exclusively with one side or the other.

“All the countries of Southeast Asia, to varying extent, have long adjusted to China’s rise and political influence,” he said.

“They do not want to be put in a position of having to choose between China and the United States.”

Thayer noted that the US is still Cambodia’s largest export market, and that President Barack Obama had encouraged trade with Cambodia as a means of recouping American prestige amid a region in which it has a troubled recent past.

Ultimately, Chea Vannath said, Chinese influence – dating back to the 11th century – is a permanent reality for Cambodia but one that, in combination with contributions from the US and Europe, stands to deliver long-term benefits for the Kingdom.

“Culturally and historically, on and off, good and bad, we’ll always have China with us,” she said.

Kasit, formerly a senior diplomat, made critical remarks about Hun Sen when he participated in a protest by the People's Alliance for Democracy last year, shortly before he became foreign minister.

MR Priyanandhana Rangsit, an appointed senator who is deputy chair of the Senate committee on foreign affairs, said yesterday it would be improper for Chalerm to act in such a way.

"It is really improper to attack someone with a matter of the past. It's not a good idea for ties between the two countries and between Kasit and Samdech Hun Sen," she said, referring to the Cambodian leader by his Cambodian title.

She said Kasit's status had changed and he was now the Thai foreign affairs minister and no longer an activist affiliated with the PAD.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said it appeared Chalerm was trying every way possible to get his political camp back into power and acting for their benefit. "That could cause damage to the country," he said.

But Suthep said he had no concern that Chalerm's move might threaten ties with Phnom Penh, as he believed the Cambodian leader had a good grasp of Thai politics.

"Prime Minister Hun Sen is a senior politician with a good understanding of politics. I don't think I need to call him [to explain about the matter]. But if I have time, I will call on him again to talk about bilateral ties. We must keep good ties with our neighbours," he said.

By JIM GOMEZ; Associated Press Writer

Published: 10/05/09

(Post by CAAI News Media)

MANILA, Philippines -- Typhoon Parma weakened into a tropical storm but lingered off the northern Philippine coast Monday, causing widespread flooding and landslides that have killed 16 in the country and churning up rough seas that sank a cargo ship off neighboring Taiwan.

The Taiwanese coast guard said 10 crew members of a Panamanian cargo ship are missing after the vessel sank in the Taiwan Strait near the Bashi channel, which separates the island from the Philippines.

Chief Philippine government forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said Parma headed northwest into the South China Sea after blowing across the country's north, which is still reeling from an earlier storm that killed almost 300 people. Parma was now almost still because Typhoon Melor, which blew into Philippine waters Monday from the west, was pulling it back toward the coast.

Parma can still roar back into the country and will continue to dump heavy rain, Cruz said. The storm was located 137 miles (220 kilometers) off northern Laoag city, packing winds of 65 mph (105 kph) and gusts of up to 84 mph (135 kph).

Typhoon Melor over the northern Pacific Ocean was pushing west, Cruz said. It was too far off the coast to affect the rain-soaked northern Philippines and was expected to blow toward southern Japan later this week, he said.

Parma hit the main island of Luzon on Saturday. Flooding and landslides over the weekend killed at least 16 people, but the capital, Manila - still awash in floodwaters from another storm barely a week earlier - was spared a new disaster.

In Taiwan, authorities had issued landslide and flash flooding warnings for eastern and southern areas in preparation, and evacuated 6,582 residents from vulnerable regions.

Officials at the Coast Guard Administration said three of 14 crew members onboard the Panamanian-registered Silver Sea are safe after the ship went down in heavy seas Sunday in the Taiwan Strait. It said one has been confirmed dead while 10 others are missing.

Parma spared Taiwan its full brunt Monday, veering off its southwestern coast.

Still, it brought very heavy rains. The Central Weather Bureau reported 29 inches (746 millimeters) of precipitation in the eastern county of Yilan since Sunday. That comes just weeks after a deadly typhoon hit southern Taiwan causing torrential rains and the island's worst flooding in decades.

Parma hit the Philippines just eight days after a Tropical Storm Ketsana inundated Manila and surrounding provinces, killing almost 300 people. Saturday's storm dropped more rain on the capital, slowing the cleanup and making conditions more miserable.

Still, classes in and around Manila were reopened Monday after a weeklong closure, except where schools were turned into evacuation centers.

At the Santa Elena High School in flood-hit Marikina city, east of Manila, muddied teachers and students turned up for class. They were still coming to terms with their ordeal.

"We were near tears because of the situation, especially over the past days when the students were texting us that they have lost their homes," said teacher Virma Mariano. "We have teachers who went through a near-death experience when they were being chased by the flood, they went from one roof to the other."

Army troops and firefighters shoveled mud off the school grounds. A sodden heap of damaged books lay outside the library, now a messy tangle of wooden furniture and soaked papers. Young students gazed as troops struggled to clean up their devastated school.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro toured flood-ruined farming regions in northern Bulacan province. He said it remained uncertain when the devastated regions can fully recover.

3 October 2009

BANGKOK, Oct 3 (TNA) – Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his diplomatic counterparts from Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar, and Vietnam, are meeting Saturday with newly-appointed Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada in the northwest Cambodian city of Siem Reap to review progress and set the direction for continued cooperation in regional development.

The Second Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is being chaired by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong and is being attended by Mr. Okada along with the foreign ministers of Lao, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.

On the sidelines of the Mekong meeting, Mr. Hor Namhong will also chair the Second Foreign Ministers’ Meeting regarding Emerald Triangle Cooperation between Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

Under the Second Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Japan, which has actively assisted the Mekong region countries, is expected to offer continued commitment to regional development with its vision to create an ‘East Asian Community’.

The meeting is aimed at improving regional infrastructure and human resources, as well as reducing poverty, and will pave the way for a leaders’ summit later this year.

In the afternoon, the foreign ministers of Cambodia, Laos and Thailand will meet under the Emerald Triangle Cooperation umbrella in which they are expected to commit to expanded cooperation in tourism, infrastructure and trade.

The Emerald Triangle Cooperation framework consists of the three neighbouring countries joining together to utilise the combined tourism resources of the sub-region for the mutual benefit of the participating countries. The strengths in the tourism industry of each member country will enhance the combined potential in this sector and promote tourism in the sub-region.

It will also help generate growth and reduce income disparity in the three countries and enhance the well being of people at the grassroots level.

Khmer choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro was given an award by the National Endowment for the Arts, after co-founding the Khmer Arts Academy in California.

The National Heritage Fellowship is the highest form of federal recognition for folk and traditional arts. Shapiro and 10 others were awarded this year.

“The reason why I think her award today is so important is that it gives her the ability to continue the art,” Laura Richardson, a Democratic congresswoman from California who joined the Sept. 22 ceremony, told VOA Khmer.

“Art is so powerful because art doesn’t judge men, women, boys, and girls,” she said. “It’s preserving our cultures. By being able to show the art, it teaches young people to respect their elders. It teaches young people something special that they have and that no one has. So, I am hoping by her continuing to teach the art, we can help more kids in learning, rather than being out in the streets doing something negative, and she has been doing it for a long time and we value her and love her in our community.”

Shapiro said she felt honored to be given the award, which includes a grant of $25,000.

“It is important that I use this fellowship to support and continue to teach art at our Khmer Art Academy,” she said.

Shapiro began training in Khmer art form in 1981. Two years after moving to Long Beach in 2002, she co-founded Khmer Arts Academy in the hopes of preventing the loss of the art form in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge.

Barry Bergey, the NEA’s director for Folk and Traditional Arts, told VOA Khmer that in any year, the endowment gets 250 or so nominations. Only 10 or 11 are selected.

“Sophiline, of course, was recognized not only for her artistic skills and choreography, but for the fact that she teaches and makes such a commitment to the art form, and the panel recognized that,” Bergey said. “There’s no requirement in any way in terms of using the money, but we know these artists are committed to their traditions [and] that they are most likely to carry on what they are doing.

“That is what we want them to do, to continue just what they do, make art, teach about the art form and interact with the public,” he said. “Sophiline has done that both in the United States and in Cambodia, and that makes her special.

The Xa Mat-TrapeangPlong border gates are only the second pair of its kind in Tay Ninh province after the Moc Bai-Ba Vet border gates were opened on September 30, 2006.

The opening of seven pairs of border gates has accelerated both trade, transport and tourism services between the two countries.

By Chak Sopheap

Guest Commentary

Published: September 30, 2009

Niigata, Japan — In Cambodia Buddhism is the state religion, guaranteed by the Constitution, and about 95 percent of the people are Buddhists. However, in recent times, a gradual decline in moral standards among Buddhist monks and the political affiliations of some of their leaders have raised serious concerns.

The current Great Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia Tep Vong has been accused of favoritism toward the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. Some of his controversial orders include the February 2005 ban on the use of pagodas for public forums hosted by non-governmental organizations, particularly the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.

Instead of believing that public forums on human rights create chaos, Tep Vong should view them as a platform for people to voice their concerns and appeal to the government to look after their needs. Buddhism supports such a peaceful approach and nonviolent means to highlight problems and seek solutions.

Tep Vong usually makes speeches on political holidays – such as Liberation Day on Jan. 7, the day the former Khmer Rouge regime was toppled – to reaffirm his support to the ruling party. He rarely touches on issues such as moral standards or the role of monks in Cambodian society.

Several reports of monks having sex, watching pornographic materials and other social misconduct have largely gone unnoticed by the supreme patriarch. Recently a chief monk reportedly got drunk and beat some of his followers, who did not file a complaint out of fear for their safety.

Unlike the case of Tim Sakhorn – a monk who was charged with misconduct and defrocked in 2007 for allegedly destabilizing relations between Cambodia and Vietnam – the supreme patriarch has not reacted to the recent issue involving the drunken monk. This shows that the decision to defrock Sakhorn was politically motivated, and that the Buddhist leader is unconcerned about the decline of morality among the monks under his charge.

If such abuses continue, Buddhism will be less respected in the Cambodian community. This will affect other monks who devotedly follow and respect Buddhist principles. Besides, it would create a dangerous society if citizens were to lose faith in their religion, which contributes to people’s behavior and social conduct.

Buddhism has also played a significant role in national reconciliation and peace for survivors of the former dreaded Khmer Rouge regime. Cambodian people are likely to advise their children to apply Buddhist teachings as a way to solve conflicts in a peaceful manner and also to attain inner peace.

Therefore, the supreme patriarch and other monks need to maintain their gracious role and morality so that the religion is respected and valued. Monks should look back on their past roles in developing the community and the country.

Throughout history, pagodas and monks have contributed immensely to Cambodia’s cultural and educational sustainability, despite civil conflicts. However, their roles and contributions are diminishing in present times.

There are many issues like poverty reduction, corruption, social injustice, land disputes and social conflicts that confront Cambodia’s government as well as civil society. Monks should play a greater leadership role by introducing peaceful mechanisms to solve problems. This would go a long way toward helping Cambodians build a better society and future.

--

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

30 September 2009

Opened with cooperation from a wildlife conservation group and an artisan organization, the Rattan Association of Cambodia hopes to fill a gap in international demand for the material.

“If we want to export, we need a large amount of rattan,” said Ou Ratanak, head of the World Wildlife Fund’s rattan project. “So the association can deal with it. Moreover, [members] can share their experiences regarding design and quality.”

The association would take care natural rattan is not destroyed and new rattan is grown for sustainable use. It would also provide knowledge and new experiences in technical assistance, trade, and international market searches.

More than 20 species of rattan grow naturally in Cambodia. The vine has a small leaf and sharp thorns and grows on mountainsides. Much of the country’s natural rattan, however, has been depleted for export to Vietnam and Thailand.

From 1998 to 2006, an estimated 3,000 tons of rattan were illegally exported to Vietnam, and another 12,000 tons to Thailand, according to the WWF.

In 2008, the WWF created a community project to protect rattan in Kampot province, with the project expanding into Preah Sihanouk, Koh Kong, Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear provinces. Prek Tnorth, in Kampot, is growing rattan on 25 hectares of land.

Rattan is used in the production of furniture popular in Europe, the US and Canada, with production and trade valued at $4 billion a year, Ou Ratanak said. Indonesia is responsible for 80 percent of world export; Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam also export rattan products.

Cambodia has yet to find an international market, and only 800 families in Kampot benefit from planting the vine and producing furniture from it for markets in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. The community harvests more than half a ton of rattan per month, producing around 50 table and chairs.

“The quality is still poor, lacking in design skill, and we always produce the same model,” said Men Sineoun, president of the Artisan Association of Cambodia, which is also supporting the project. “We have no skill in marketing and communication, and we have no skill in exporting.”

Tep Asnarith, a spokesman for the WWF, said rattan furniture producers in Cambodia don’t yet follow an environmental policy required by international buyers. However, it is hoped the new association can help ensure high-quality production and other competitive advantages.

Kun Thorn, president of Kun Bun Lang Furniture, said he believed the association can boost exports, and the WWF hopes to export half the rattan produced in Cambodia to Europe, the US and Japan by 2015.

Posted on 1 October 2009

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 632

http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

“Phnom Penh: Many organizations and associations cooperated to hold a workshop about a network of persons and institutions to provide legal protection for journalists, where also representatives from civil society, government officials, and legal experts attended.

“The director of the Department to Defend the Poor of the Cambodian Defenders Project, Mr. Yong Phanit, said during the workshop in the morning of 28 September 2009 that the freedom of the press in Cambodia is guaranteed by the Constitution, by the press law, and by other relevant laws. Looking at the press law, it provides many kinds of rights for the press, and it speaks also about the responsibility of the press. Those rights include the right to seek information and the right to receive all kinds of information, including information controlled by the Royal Government, except for information affecting national security and public order.

“Mr. Yong Phanit added that these rights are fully guaranteed, by law, for the press. Another right is the right to keep information sources confidential. This is an absolute right of journalists by which they can keep information about sources of information confidential. Also, journalists have the right to publish information without pre-checking. Thus, when they have received information, they can publish it as they want to without checking. He added that journalists have also the right to create organizations or associations.

“He went on to say that at the same time, the law requires the journalists to be responsible for what they publish. If journalists break the law, they have to take responsibility for it. Based on the press law, the courts have the right to fine them, and the courts can also order them to publish corrections later, or to pay compensation to victims. But practically, at present, the [UNTAC time] criminal law is sometimes used to prosecute journalists who have done something which is considered to relate to articles of that law [the UNTAC criminal law], while by law, if somebody is under the control of a special law, they must be treated according to that special law, if they have violated anything under this law. Besides this, they are under the general laws like everybody else.

“Presiding over the workshop, a secretary of state of Ministry of Information, Mr. Nov Sovathero, said that, looking at the whole situation, we see that some journalists who have been jailed or fined are mostly accused of disinformation and defamation, affecting other people’s reputation. When courts requested them to provide information or documents to prove their reporting, journalists always mention the right to keep their sources of information confidential, an argument that the courts cannot accept. This is the root of the problem, and the reason for what is happening with regard to journalists in their profession life at present.

“Mr. Nov Sovathero added that journalists are really free to select the information to be published for their readers – they have to decide carefully whether to publish or not to publish something. They have to consider whom a publication would affect, or whether or not it will affect them in turn, if the information they would publish is not true.

“The aim of the workshop was to identify those who could be involved to take the responsibility for establishing a press freedom network, to promote the support for affected journalists, and to allow everybody to identify areas of problems.”

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2059, 30.9.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:

By Pin Sisovann, VOA Khmer

Original report from Washington

30 September 2009

Cambodia needs an independent body to oversee police performance, a Hong Kong-based right group recommends, claiming the National Assembly’s traditional oversight duties are failing because the police and Assembly are stacked with ruling party members.

“In other countries, there are independent committees to oversee police performance,” said Lao Monghay, a researcher for the Asian Human Rights Commission. “If police officers abuse citizens, people can file complaints to the body. Right now there is a chance, because Cambodia is drafting a bill for police, in which such an independent body could be included.”

The National Assembly is “politically implicated” and “controlled by the ruling party,” he said, making an independent body more important.

Police have put out suggestion boxes in recent months, but critics say these have not been used. However, Lt. Gen. Keat Chantharith, a spokesman for the national police, said not many police mistakes had been reported because not many police abuse their positions.

After his appointment to national police chief last year, Gen. Neth Savoeun has worked to improve the image of Cambodian police, who are often criticized as corrupt or involved in the crimes they are supposed to fight.

Hotlines and suggestion boxes are fine but people are likely afraid to use the boxes properly, because it is 'only and internal measure', Lao Monghay said.

Nhuon Nhil, first deputy president of the National Assembly, said Cambodia law allows only the Assembly and its commissions to oversee national security and defense, including police.

“The law doesn’t authorize NGOs to do the work instead of the National Assembly commissions,” he said. “People didn’t vote for NGOs to do so.”

The Assembly can also gather ministers and other government leaders to solve complicated matters, he said.

Yim Sovann, a lawmaker for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said that in order to enforce security and gain the public’s participation, security work needs to be transparent and responsible.

“To get more inputs, transparency, I think human rights groups, NGOs that have watched government performance should be allowed to review these problems,” he said.

“The term ‘the secrecy of interior security, national security’ refers to absolute secrecy for the whole national security, war,” he said. “The term doesn’t refer to social order, abuses by police, human rights worker’s safety. These issues have nothing so confidential that civil society shouldn’t take part.”

He also pointed out that the National Assembly’s nine commissions are all controlled by the Cambodian People’s Party, which controls the executive branch, creating a demand for people to be allowed to oversee government through civil society.

“Experience proves that the commissions didn’t oversee the government of their own party effectively,” he said. They “indentify the problems only to ignore them.”

By Im Sothearith, VOA Khmer

Original report from Washington

30 September 2009

Khmer choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro was given an award by the National Endowment for the Arts, after co-founding the Khmer Arts Academy in California.

The National Heritage Fellowship is the highest form of federal recognition for folk and traditional arts. Shapiro and 10 others were awarded this year.

“The reason why I think her award today is so important is that it gives her the ability to continue the art,” Laura Richardson, a Democratic congresswoman from California who joined the Sept. 22 ceremony, told VOA Khmer.

“Art is so powerful because art doesn’t judge men, women, boys, and girls,” she said. “It’s preserving our cultures. By being able to show the art, it teaches young people to respect their elders. It teaches young people something special that they have and that no one has. So, I am hoping by her continuing to teach the art, we can help more kids in learning, rather than being out in the streets doing something negative, and she has been doing it for a long time and we value her and love her in our community.”

Shapiro said she felt honored to be given the award, which includes a grant of $25,000.

“It is important that I use this fellowship to support and continue to teach art at our Khmer Art Academy,” she said.

Shapiro began training in Khmer art form in 1981. Two years after moving to Long Beach in 2002, she co-founded Khmer Arts Academy in the hopes of preventing the loss of the art form in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge.

Barry Bergey, the NEA’s director for Folk and Traditional Arts, told VOA Khmer that in any year, the endowment gets 250 or so nominations. Only 10 or 11 are selected.

“Sophiline, of course, was recognized not only for her artistic skills and choreography, but for the fact that she teaches and makes such a commitment to the art form, and the panel recognized that,” Bergey said. “There’s no requirement in any way in terms of using the money, but we know these artists are committed to their traditions [and] that they are most likely to carry on what they are doing.

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

30 September 2009

In the coming years, Cambodia will face some of the most expensive energy prices in the region and will suffer from a lack of energy that could hurt economic growth, US Ambassador Carol Rodley said Wednesday.

Rodley was speaking at a conference in Phnom Penh on energy development for the Greater Mekong sub-region, which ended Wednesday.

A number of energy companies, including General Electric and Chevron, as well as ConocoPhillips, AES, Schlumberger, Dupont and Rockwell Automation warn that Cambodia continues to suffer from the lack of energy resources and needs energy supplies for promoting economic growth.

“Energy prices here are amongst the highest in Asia, and connectivity is one of the lowest,” Rodely said.

The Greater Mekong subregion includes Burma, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam and the Chinese provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan.

“GMS energy infrastructure will require billions of dollars of investment if energy supply is to keep pace with energy demand,” Rodley said. “In the next decade, the demand for energy at national levels is expected to continue to rise between 7 percent and 16 percent per annum. The challenges facing the GMS in the energy sector are not unique: high economic growth of the region is driving the demand for energy, whereas almost 50 million people in the GMS lack access to electricity.”

Phalla Phan, undersecretary-general of the Supreme National Economic Council, recognized that energy prices in Cambodia are very high compared to its neighbors.

The average energy price in Cambodia is $0.16 per kilowatt-hour, but that price can rise as high as $0.90 per in rural areas.

“The government must rethink its energy policies to reduce energy price, just like its neighbors,” said Yim Sovann, spokesman for Sam Rainsy Party. “It affects our economic growth and the living of people, if the government does not reduce energy price.”

Ty Norin, head of the Electricite du Cambodge said the government has many plans to develop the energy sector and achieve the right price.

“We have a major goal to develop more than enough in an improved and effective energy sector compared to the past,” he said.

Rodley said the development of the energy sector in one country would benefit the development of all in the region, adding Cambodia “has ambitious plans to expand the country’s electrical production and connectivity.”

By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

30 September 2009

Illicit drug use has decreased over the past four years, officials said Tuesday, following crackdowns on manufacturing facilities inside the country.

“If our law enforcement agencies had not suppressed in time manufacturing locations, hundreds of thousands of people inside and outside Cambodia could have suffered,” Ke Kim Yan, head of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, said on Tuesday, opening an Asean conference on drugs.

The number of illicit drug users decreased from more than 7,000 in 2005 to nearly 6,000 last year, according to report released by the authority during the meeting.

In the first half of 2009, the authority investigated 140 drug-related cases, leading to 287 arrests and the confiscation of more than 70,000 methamphetamine tablets, more than 1,000 grams of methamphetamine called ice, and more than 10,000 liters of saffron-rich oils, which are used in methamphetamine production, the report says.

Despite these numbers, officials from non-governmental organizations working with drug addicts say the number of users is actually on the rise.

Chhoeung Reut, a coordinator for the group Korsang, which works with drug users, said there are between 50 to 100 new users every three months.

“Illicit drug use is increasing at the moment because of the availability of imported drugs such as ‘yama’ [methamphetamine pills], ice and heroine,” he said.

“These days, we also see between 10 and 20 new users every month, in addition to the more than 1,000 drug users we are working with,” said Pin Sokum, drug program coordinator at Friends, which works with street children addicted to drugs.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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