Cabinet Approves Draft Anti-Corruption Law
Dec 11, 2009By Chun Sakada and Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Washington and Phnom Penh
11 December 2009
The Council of Ministers on Friday approved the long-awaited draft of an anti-corruption law, but critics worry they will have little chance to change it when it comes up for parliamentary debate.
The law will attempt to rein in the country’s endemic corruption, which starts with traffic police taking bribes from overloaded trucks and ends with senior ministers taking kickbacks for lucrative land and business dealings.
Cambodia ranks No. 158 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s corruption index, putting it ahead of only Burma and Laos in the region. The country loses as much as $500 million a year in revenue to corruption, according to US estimates.
“The anti-corruption law is a part of the reform program of the royal government, for good governance, strengthening the rule of law, sustainable development and poverty reduction,” according to a statement by the Council of Ministers issued Friday.
The three main strategies in the law, the statement said, are education and prevention; curbing corrupt acts through legal measures; and “participation and support from the public.”
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Friday the law would establish an independent anti-corruption council. It also requires the declaration of assets by parliamentarians, government officials, military personnel, police, judges, prosecutors and court clerks. The draft law provides a jail provision from 1 month to 15 years.
“If the anti-corruption law comes into effect, corruption in Cambodia will be reduced more than in the past,” Mam Sitha, president of the Cambodian Independent Anti-Corruption Committee, a non-governmental organization, said Friday. “Even though we don’t know the effectiveness of the law, it’s better that we have the law.”
The draft law was initially proposed in 1994 and has since been amended with inputs from non-governmental organizations, government critics and donors. The draft reached the National Assembly floor in 2003 but was sent back for improvements. It has since been with the administration.
“What the government wants is a law that is effective, promotes the rule of law and has no discrimination in delivering public services,” Phay Siphan said Thursday. “The law will ensure that there is no abuse of power or of public confidence.”
The draft, which was not disclosed publicly Friday, is expected to reach the National Assembly for debate next week.
Opposition lawmakers doubt they will have a chance to contribute to the debate over the law. In the past, some laws have passed without a single word changed, and opposition lawmakers worry they will not have enough time to study the new draft.
“Corruption in Cambodia is systematic, existing from the bottom to the top,” Kem Sokha, president of the opposition-aligned Human Rights party, said. “It does not happen by chance as in other countries, or in Cambodia’s past. We have to start cleaning it from the top first, and if the court dares not prosecute leaders, the anti-corruption law will only be a tool to prosecute low-ranking officers and those whom the powerful don’t support.”
Yim Sovann, spokesman for the leading opposition Sam Rainsy Party, suggested that recommendations from civil society, which include setting up an independent anti-corruption body, should be included. Access to information should be mandated, he said.
“If we cannot have access to information in public and government institutions, especially involving corrupt officials in the government, we cannot effectively fight corruption...and the law we are making now will become just a blank paper,” Yim Sovann said.
Donors, who provide hundreds of millions of dollars to government coffers each year, have pushed hard for anti-corruption legislation, threatening strict conditions on aid or to spend their money on other countries in need.
Meanwhile, local organizations argue that corruption hinders the rule of law. And it remains to be seen how effectively the new law will be in curbing corruption.
“Victory depends on the law and what is in it,” said Chea Vannath, a political analyst and former head of the Center for Social Development. “If the law focuses on prevention, education, and awareness promotion, the implementation will be based on that.”
A law that focuses on legalities and punishment will be hard to enforce, and less fruitful, she said. “It is difficult to hunt down a perpetrator and punish him. It takes lots of time and money, but the result is small.”
read more “Cabinet Approves Draft Anti-Corruption Law”
Washington and Phnom Penh
11 December 2009
The Council of Ministers on Friday approved the long-awaited draft of an anti-corruption law, but critics worry they will have little chance to change it when it comes up for parliamentary debate.
The law will attempt to rein in the country’s endemic corruption, which starts with traffic police taking bribes from overloaded trucks and ends with senior ministers taking kickbacks for lucrative land and business dealings.
Cambodia ranks No. 158 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s corruption index, putting it ahead of only Burma and Laos in the region. The country loses as much as $500 million a year in revenue to corruption, according to US estimates.
“The anti-corruption law is a part of the reform program of the royal government, for good governance, strengthening the rule of law, sustainable development and poverty reduction,” according to a statement by the Council of Ministers issued Friday.
The three main strategies in the law, the statement said, are education and prevention; curbing corrupt acts through legal measures; and “participation and support from the public.”
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Friday the law would establish an independent anti-corruption council. It also requires the declaration of assets by parliamentarians, government officials, military personnel, police, judges, prosecutors and court clerks. The draft law provides a jail provision from 1 month to 15 years.
“If the anti-corruption law comes into effect, corruption in Cambodia will be reduced more than in the past,” Mam Sitha, president of the Cambodian Independent Anti-Corruption Committee, a non-governmental organization, said Friday. “Even though we don’t know the effectiveness of the law, it’s better that we have the law.”
The draft law was initially proposed in 1994 and has since been amended with inputs from non-governmental organizations, government critics and donors. The draft reached the National Assembly floor in 2003 but was sent back for improvements. It has since been with the administration.
“What the government wants is a law that is effective, promotes the rule of law and has no discrimination in delivering public services,” Phay Siphan said Thursday. “The law will ensure that there is no abuse of power or of public confidence.”
The draft, which was not disclosed publicly Friday, is expected to reach the National Assembly for debate next week.
Opposition lawmakers doubt they will have a chance to contribute to the debate over the law. In the past, some laws have passed without a single word changed, and opposition lawmakers worry they will not have enough time to study the new draft.
“Corruption in Cambodia is systematic, existing from the bottom to the top,” Kem Sokha, president of the opposition-aligned Human Rights party, said. “It does not happen by chance as in other countries, or in Cambodia’s past. We have to start cleaning it from the top first, and if the court dares not prosecute leaders, the anti-corruption law will only be a tool to prosecute low-ranking officers and those whom the powerful don’t support.”
Yim Sovann, spokesman for the leading opposition Sam Rainsy Party, suggested that recommendations from civil society, which include setting up an independent anti-corruption body, should be included. Access to information should be mandated, he said.
“If we cannot have access to information in public and government institutions, especially involving corrupt officials in the government, we cannot effectively fight corruption...and the law we are making now will become just a blank paper,” Yim Sovann said.
Donors, who provide hundreds of millions of dollars to government coffers each year, have pushed hard for anti-corruption legislation, threatening strict conditions on aid or to spend their money on other countries in need.
Meanwhile, local organizations argue that corruption hinders the rule of law. And it remains to be seen how effectively the new law will be in curbing corruption.
“Victory depends on the law and what is in it,” said Chea Vannath, a political analyst and former head of the Center for Social Development. “If the law focuses on prevention, education, and awareness promotion, the implementation will be based on that.”
A law that focuses on legalities and punishment will be hard to enforce, and less fruitful, she said. “It is difficult to hunt down a perpetrator and punish him. It takes lots of time and money, but the result is small.”
Thaksin may come back to Cambodia
Thaksin to visit Asian countries
12/12/2009
Bangkok Post
Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said in his Twitter page on Saturday morning that he plans to visit leaders of three Asian countries next week.
“This trip will take about seven or eight days” Thaksin said but did not give any details on the name of countries he would visit.
There was a report that Thaksin might also visit Cambodia to meet with Sivarak Chutiphong, the Thai engineer who received a royal pardon from King Narodom Sihamoni on Thursday after being sentenced to seven years in jail for spying by a Cambodia court.
Thaksin’s close associate Noppadon Pattama was reached for confirmation of the new trip to Cambodia of Thaksin but he said he had no knowledge about it.
read more “Thaksin may come back to Cambodia”
12/12/2009
Bangkok Post
Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said in his Twitter page on Saturday morning that he plans to visit leaders of three Asian countries next week.
“This trip will take about seven or eight days” Thaksin said but did not give any details on the name of countries he would visit.
There was a report that Thaksin might also visit Cambodia to meet with Sivarak Chutiphong, the Thai engineer who received a royal pardon from King Narodom Sihamoni on Thursday after being sentenced to seven years in jail for spying by a Cambodia court.
Thaksin’s close associate Noppadon Pattama was reached for confirmation of the new trip to Cambodia of Thaksin but he said he had no knowledge about it.
Critical Tribunal Components Now Being Tested
By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
11 December 2009
Events of recent weeks have called into question what observers say are the necessary components for success at the Khmer Rouge tribunal: independence of the court and the full cooperation of the government.
The UN-backed court has stumbled over the issue of five additional indictments, while six government officials within the ruling Cambodian People’s Party have refused to appear as summoned by an investigating judge.
Investigating judges are examining the tribunal’s second case, of leaders Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith, following a wrap-up last month of the atrocity crimes trial for Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch.
“If the Cambodian government refuses to cooperate with the court, the UN side will have no other choice than to withdraw from the trial, or lose face and credibility,” said Peter Maguire, author of the 2005 book, “Facing Death in Cambodia.”
“There are limits to the Cambodian government’s patience and willingness to cooperate,” he said, and the tribunal “is testing them.”
Investigating judge Marcel Lemonde has issued summonses to six leaders: Senate President Chea Sim, who is also president of the CPP; National Assembly President Heng Samrin, the honorary president of the party; Finance Minister Keat Chhon; Foreign Minister Hor Namhong; and two CPP senators, Sim Ka and Ouk Bun Chhoeun.
None has complied with the court order, which calls them to be witnesses in the upcoming case, No. 002.
Ouk Bun Chhoeun declined to be interviewed for this story, while the other five witnesses could not be reached for comment. Spokesmen have said in the past their appearance could create bias in the court, as they had fought the Khmer Rouge after its ouster, in 1979.
The office of the investigating judges is also grappling with the question of five more indictments, with a list of suspects handed up by a UN prosecutor earlier this year that prompted a decision split along national and international lines within the court’s pre-trial judges.
Three international judges overruled two Cambodia judges to send the indictments to investigating judges, after Cambodian prosecutor Chea Leang moved to block the motion of her counterpart, Robert Petit, who has since left the court.
In her arguments, Chea Leang echoed concerns stated by Prime Minister Hun Sen: that further indictments could destabilize the country.
Hun Sen, helped end fighting with the Khmer Rouge in the 1990s with promises of amnesty, has not relented in his public arguments against more indictments. Last week, he warned the public to “evaluate this matter.”
“Don’t just play one corner, which is death,” he said. “And if 100,000 and 200,000 people die again because of war, who will call the Khmer Rouge, calling people out of the jungle again? I am old. When I called our brothers to come out of the jungle, I was not even 50 years old. Now I’m almost 60. There is no person to call them out any more.”
To indict more cadre, “calling them out and playing like this,” he said, was dangerous.
“Hey, some of the senior leaders, try them,” he said. “That’s not the issue. But to come and threaten.... Sooner or later they will arrest you. Then it’s fear. No way. I’m sorry to tell you that I would rather let the court fail than allow the country to have war.”
Large questions now loom over the five indictments. Without the cooperation of the government—and the police—how can they be arrested? Is Cambodian investigating judge You Bunleang participating in the investigation? And if he doesn’t, how can it proceed?
These are questions of cooperation, highlighting the delicate nature of the court’s establishment, which only happened after years of wrangling between the UN and Cambodia.
Long Panhavuth, a project officer for the Open Society Justice Initiative, a US-based monitor of the tribunal, said the court should be able to function for its own benefit, in accordance with laws and agreements, including arrests, investigation and prosecution.
Having signed on for the court, the Cambodian government must now step back and let the judges decide what is best, he said.
“So if the government…says to witnesses that they should not testify, then the government’s credibility is involved and won’t be clean,” he said.
On the other hand, judges must decide how necessary any given witness is, he said.
Given Hun Sen’s open remarks against further indictments, and the refusal his party members to cooperate with the investigation, OSJI reported in November that political interference was hurting the court’s credibility.
OSJI’s executive director, James Goldstone, told VOA Khmer recently the UN and the donors will have to soon address the issue. The lack of full government cooperation, he said, “would be a very bad signal and a very bad indication of the court’s independence.”
Defense teams, meanwhile, have seized on events, claiming that the court’s proceedings—and fair trials for their clients—have been jeopardized.
Nuon Chea’s lawyers have argued that Hun Sen’s speeches are threats to potential witnesses for the defense, requesting the court to officially investigate.
Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said Hun Sen’s speeches were expressions of the prime minister’s opinion, but they did not mean the court’s judges couldn’t do their jobs.
“They need to respect what is the official legal procedure of the Khmer Rouge court,” he said. “They can’t do wrong from that.”
Not all will be persuaded by that logic.
Chanly Kuch, who has watched the trial from his home in Maryland, said he so far thought the UN would bring the court to international standards, but he called Hun Sen’s public warnings a political issue.
“I also want to know, where are the Khmer Rouge that [Hun Sen] has said will break out in war at the calling of five more [indictments],” he said. “We want to see. And we want to know, who is the Khmer Rouge? And where are they? And if we know that they still exist, why don’t we arrest them all and try them additionally?”
There are other questions as to how far UN and Cambodian cooperation will carry the court.
“I understand that the UN repeatedly believes in the government, that the government has the intention to make this succeed,” said OSJI’s Long Panhavuth. “With such a stand on political goodwill, the UN can negotiate with the government and make this succeed, because both the UN and the government have the same common direction.”
Peter Taksoe-Jensen, UN Assistant Secretary-General for legal affairs, who has traveled back and forth from Cambodia negotiating over the tribunal, said cooperation has improved.
“I just visited Cambodia a couple weeks ago, and my impression is that there has been very, very significant improvement” in cooperation, Taksoe-Jensen said by phone from New York. “It is running very, very smoothly now in the court.”
The question of six CPP witnesses will have to be decided within the Cambodian government, he said, adding that atrocity crimes courts in Yugoslavia and Rwanda dealt with the same questions.
As to the five further indictments, Taksoe-Jensen said he expected the case, No. 003, to continue. “I also expect that the Cambodian government will full cooperate in that.”
Spokesman Phay Siphan said the two sides were cooperating to strengthen administration of the court, to ensure “transparency and effectiveness of the work.”
However, Maguire, the author, was critical of the UN’s efforts—and autonomy.
During the Untac period of the 1990s, “even when the UN had thousands of soldiers in Cambodia, their leadership did not have the political will to use them effectively,” he said. “Today, the UN are paper tigers without teeth and claws, and totally dependent on the Cambodian government to carry out their orders.”
Yap Kim Tung, president of the US-based group Cambodian-Americans for Human Rights and Democracy, said the UN may go soft on Cambodia in order to see the court move forward, to see leaders go to trial before they die.
That, he said, has some value.
“The Cambodian court seems to give no justice, and people mostly know it,” he said. “So if there is participation of an international team that gives more value to the courts, and there is confidence that this court will try and give more justice than the local courts, that’s what Cambodia is trying, and that’s why people believe in this court’s value.”
read more “Critical Tribunal Components Now Being Tested”
Original report from Washington
11 December 2009
Events of recent weeks have called into question what observers say are the necessary components for success at the Khmer Rouge tribunal: independence of the court and the full cooperation of the government.
The UN-backed court has stumbled over the issue of five additional indictments, while six government officials within the ruling Cambodian People’s Party have refused to appear as summoned by an investigating judge.
Investigating judges are examining the tribunal’s second case, of leaders Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith, following a wrap-up last month of the atrocity crimes trial for Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch.
“If the Cambodian government refuses to cooperate with the court, the UN side will have no other choice than to withdraw from the trial, or lose face and credibility,” said Peter Maguire, author of the 2005 book, “Facing Death in Cambodia.”
“There are limits to the Cambodian government’s patience and willingness to cooperate,” he said, and the tribunal “is testing them.”
Investigating judge Marcel Lemonde has issued summonses to six leaders: Senate President Chea Sim, who is also president of the CPP; National Assembly President Heng Samrin, the honorary president of the party; Finance Minister Keat Chhon; Foreign Minister Hor Namhong; and two CPP senators, Sim Ka and Ouk Bun Chhoeun.
None has complied with the court order, which calls them to be witnesses in the upcoming case, No. 002.
Ouk Bun Chhoeun declined to be interviewed for this story, while the other five witnesses could not be reached for comment. Spokesmen have said in the past their appearance could create bias in the court, as they had fought the Khmer Rouge after its ouster, in 1979.
The office of the investigating judges is also grappling with the question of five more indictments, with a list of suspects handed up by a UN prosecutor earlier this year that prompted a decision split along national and international lines within the court’s pre-trial judges.
Three international judges overruled two Cambodia judges to send the indictments to investigating judges, after Cambodian prosecutor Chea Leang moved to block the motion of her counterpart, Robert Petit, who has since left the court.
In her arguments, Chea Leang echoed concerns stated by Prime Minister Hun Sen: that further indictments could destabilize the country.
Hun Sen, helped end fighting with the Khmer Rouge in the 1990s with promises of amnesty, has not relented in his public arguments against more indictments. Last week, he warned the public to “evaluate this matter.”
“Don’t just play one corner, which is death,” he said. “And if 100,000 and 200,000 people die again because of war, who will call the Khmer Rouge, calling people out of the jungle again? I am old. When I called our brothers to come out of the jungle, I was not even 50 years old. Now I’m almost 60. There is no person to call them out any more.”
To indict more cadre, “calling them out and playing like this,” he said, was dangerous.
“Hey, some of the senior leaders, try them,” he said. “That’s not the issue. But to come and threaten.... Sooner or later they will arrest you. Then it’s fear. No way. I’m sorry to tell you that I would rather let the court fail than allow the country to have war.”
Large questions now loom over the five indictments. Without the cooperation of the government—and the police—how can they be arrested? Is Cambodian investigating judge You Bunleang participating in the investigation? And if he doesn’t, how can it proceed?
These are questions of cooperation, highlighting the delicate nature of the court’s establishment, which only happened after years of wrangling between the UN and Cambodia.
Long Panhavuth, a project officer for the Open Society Justice Initiative, a US-based monitor of the tribunal, said the court should be able to function for its own benefit, in accordance with laws and agreements, including arrests, investigation and prosecution.
Having signed on for the court, the Cambodian government must now step back and let the judges decide what is best, he said.
“So if the government…says to witnesses that they should not testify, then the government’s credibility is involved and won’t be clean,” he said.
On the other hand, judges must decide how necessary any given witness is, he said.
Given Hun Sen’s open remarks against further indictments, and the refusal his party members to cooperate with the investigation, OSJI reported in November that political interference was hurting the court’s credibility.
OSJI’s executive director, James Goldstone, told VOA Khmer recently the UN and the donors will have to soon address the issue. The lack of full government cooperation, he said, “would be a very bad signal and a very bad indication of the court’s independence.”
Defense teams, meanwhile, have seized on events, claiming that the court’s proceedings—and fair trials for their clients—have been jeopardized.
Nuon Chea’s lawyers have argued that Hun Sen’s speeches are threats to potential witnesses for the defense, requesting the court to officially investigate.
Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said Hun Sen’s speeches were expressions of the prime minister’s opinion, but they did not mean the court’s judges couldn’t do their jobs.
“They need to respect what is the official legal procedure of the Khmer Rouge court,” he said. “They can’t do wrong from that.”
Not all will be persuaded by that logic.
Chanly Kuch, who has watched the trial from his home in Maryland, said he so far thought the UN would bring the court to international standards, but he called Hun Sen’s public warnings a political issue.
“I also want to know, where are the Khmer Rouge that [Hun Sen] has said will break out in war at the calling of five more [indictments],” he said. “We want to see. And we want to know, who is the Khmer Rouge? And where are they? And if we know that they still exist, why don’t we arrest them all and try them additionally?”
There are other questions as to how far UN and Cambodian cooperation will carry the court.
“I understand that the UN repeatedly believes in the government, that the government has the intention to make this succeed,” said OSJI’s Long Panhavuth. “With such a stand on political goodwill, the UN can negotiate with the government and make this succeed, because both the UN and the government have the same common direction.”
Peter Taksoe-Jensen, UN Assistant Secretary-General for legal affairs, who has traveled back and forth from Cambodia negotiating over the tribunal, said cooperation has improved.
“I just visited Cambodia a couple weeks ago, and my impression is that there has been very, very significant improvement” in cooperation, Taksoe-Jensen said by phone from New York. “It is running very, very smoothly now in the court.”
The question of six CPP witnesses will have to be decided within the Cambodian government, he said, adding that atrocity crimes courts in Yugoslavia and Rwanda dealt with the same questions.
As to the five further indictments, Taksoe-Jensen said he expected the case, No. 003, to continue. “I also expect that the Cambodian government will full cooperate in that.”
Spokesman Phay Siphan said the two sides were cooperating to strengthen administration of the court, to ensure “transparency and effectiveness of the work.”
However, Maguire, the author, was critical of the UN’s efforts—and autonomy.
During the Untac period of the 1990s, “even when the UN had thousands of soldiers in Cambodia, their leadership did not have the political will to use them effectively,” he said. “Today, the UN are paper tigers without teeth and claws, and totally dependent on the Cambodian government to carry out their orders.”
Yap Kim Tung, president of the US-based group Cambodian-Americans for Human Rights and Democracy, said the UN may go soft on Cambodia in order to see the court move forward, to see leaders go to trial before they die.
That, he said, has some value.
“The Cambodian court seems to give no justice, and people mostly know it,” he said. “So if there is participation of an international team that gives more value to the courts, and there is confidence that this court will try and give more justice than the local courts, that’s what Cambodia is trying, and that’s why people believe in this court’s value.”
More Public Tribunal Information Needed: Expert
By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
11 December 2009
The Khmer Rouge tribunal must ensure it is giving clear information to the public, to avoid upsetting Cambodians who have waited years for justice, an official from the Documentation Center of Cambodia said Thursday.
“People have been waiting for the court to happen for 30 years, so when people hear unclear or inadequate information, it makes them irritated,” said Vathan Poeu Dara, deputy chief of the Documentation Center, which has spent years collecting evidence of Khmer Rouge atrocities. “So the court should give clear information to all the people.”
The public remains confused over the UN-backed court’s first trial, for Kaing Kek Iev, the prison chief better known as Duch, and other proceedings, he said.
Prosecutors have asked the court to sentence him to 40 years in prison, while in final arguments in November, defense lawyers were at odds, with international lawyers asking for a reduced sentence but Cambodian lawyers asking some charges against Duch be dropped.
The final week of the case might have caused some confusion, Vathan Poeu Dara said, even though judges have yet to make a ruling.
The Documentation Center, for its part, has provided many documents to court officials, while helping thousands of victims of the regime file complaints in the tribunal against Khmer Rouge leaders, he said.
read more “More Public Tribunal Information Needed: Expert”
Washington
11 December 2009
The Khmer Rouge tribunal must ensure it is giving clear information to the public, to avoid upsetting Cambodians who have waited years for justice, an official from the Documentation Center of Cambodia said Thursday.
“People have been waiting for the court to happen for 30 years, so when people hear unclear or inadequate information, it makes them irritated,” said Vathan Poeu Dara, deputy chief of the Documentation Center, which has spent years collecting evidence of Khmer Rouge atrocities. “So the court should give clear information to all the people.”
The public remains confused over the UN-backed court’s first trial, for Kaing Kek Iev, the prison chief better known as Duch, and other proceedings, he said.
Prosecutors have asked the court to sentence him to 40 years in prison, while in final arguments in November, defense lawyers were at odds, with international lawyers asking for a reduced sentence but Cambodian lawyers asking some charges against Duch be dropped.
The final week of the case might have caused some confusion, Vathan Poeu Dara said, even though judges have yet to make a ruling.
The Documentation Center, for its part, has provided many documents to court officials, while helping thousands of victims of the regime file complaints in the tribunal against Khmer Rouge leaders, he said.
Peace through reconciliation: Mere CPP political propaganda?
Asian politicians adopt Angkor Initiative for Stability, Peace and Prosperity in Asia
SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The two-day international seminar on "social market economy", which was joined by the representatives of Asian political parties, ended Friday with the adoption of the "Angkor Initiative for Stability, Peace and Prosperity, a Centrist Model for Asia."
The two-day seminar, co-chaired by Cambodia and Pakistan, were attended by the 16 representatives of the Asian political parties and top political figures of the ruling parties from Asia including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines.
This Angkor Initiative covered three components: economy, politics, and peace through reconciliation in post-conflict situation, according to the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Office of the Council of Ministers.
"This Initiative has particular relevance for Northeast Asia, Southwest Asia and Southeast Asia, which remain mired in internecine conflicts and tension," said the joint statement signed by the Co-chairmen of the International seminar and CDI (the Centrist Democrat International) -Asia Pacific Secretariat.
Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister, Member of the Standing Committee of the Cambodian People's Party and also Vice-President of CDI- Asia Pacific since 2006, said "social market economy is an emerging economic system in Asia widely embraced by prominent political figures."
"This presents a middle path for the future promotion of stability and prosperity since the social market economy connects with the society as a whole and aimed at promoting the well-being of all individuals," Sok An, also minister in charge of the Council of Ministers, said at the closing seminar.
"We have learned from the bitter lessons of the current global economic crisis. Its negative impact on the global economy and society will linger on for many years to come," he said.
"It is crucial for all leaders of Asian political parties to seek to better understand and consider the endorsement of the 'social market economy' concept, which has been widely discussed," said Sok An.
The Angkor Initiative agreed to establish a working group, which will implement this vision, prepares an agenda and plan of action for a CDI conference of all continents which will convene in Cambodia in July, 2010 to endorse, promote and implement this Initiative.
The two-day seminar focused on exchanging views and experiences on social market economy to find a suitable policy, which could be applied for their own national strategy.
read more “Peace through reconciliation: Mere CPP political propaganda?”
SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The two-day international seminar on "social market economy", which was joined by the representatives of Asian political parties, ended Friday with the adoption of the "Angkor Initiative for Stability, Peace and Prosperity, a Centrist Model for Asia."
The two-day seminar, co-chaired by Cambodia and Pakistan, were attended by the 16 representatives of the Asian political parties and top political figures of the ruling parties from Asia including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines.
This Angkor Initiative covered three components: economy, politics, and peace through reconciliation in post-conflict situation, according to the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Office of the Council of Ministers.
"This Initiative has particular relevance for Northeast Asia, Southwest Asia and Southeast Asia, which remain mired in internecine conflicts and tension," said the joint statement signed by the Co-chairmen of the International seminar and CDI (the Centrist Democrat International) -Asia Pacific Secretariat.
Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister, Member of the Standing Committee of the Cambodian People's Party and also Vice-President of CDI- Asia Pacific since 2006, said "social market economy is an emerging economic system in Asia widely embraced by prominent political figures."
"This presents a middle path for the future promotion of stability and prosperity since the social market economy connects with the society as a whole and aimed at promoting the well-being of all individuals," Sok An, also minister in charge of the Council of Ministers, said at the closing seminar.
"We have learned from the bitter lessons of the current global economic crisis. Its negative impact on the global economy and society will linger on for many years to come," he said.
"It is crucial for all leaders of Asian political parties to seek to better understand and consider the endorsement of the 'social market economy' concept, which has been widely discussed," said Sok An.
The Angkor Initiative agreed to establish a working group, which will implement this vision, prepares an agenda and plan of action for a CDI conference of all continents which will convene in Cambodia in July, 2010 to endorse, promote and implement this Initiative.
The two-day seminar focused on exchanging views and experiences on social market economy to find a suitable policy, which could be applied for their own national strategy.
Thai PM welcomes Cambodian king's royal pardon for Thai engineer
[Abhisit] reaffirmed that Thailand is still a good neighbour and will not interfere in Cambodia's internal affairs.
BANGKOK, Dec 11 (TNA) - Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Friday said that the royal pardon granted by Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni to a Thai engineer convicted of spying is good news, while at the same time reasserting that the diplomatic rift between Thailand and Cambodia was not caused by Thailand.
The Thai premier commented after Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith confirmed that King Sihamoni on Friday pardoned Siwarak Chutipong who was sentenced seven years in a Cambodian jail on charges of espionage, and will be released on Monday.
Mr Siwarak, an employee of Cambodia Air Traffic Service (CATS) was arrested, tried, sentenced to seven years jail term and fined Bt100,000 (US$3,000) for releasing the flight details of fugitive ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra when he visited Phnom Penh last month on his first trip there after being appointed economic adviser to the Cambodian government.
Mr Abhisit said that it is good that Mr Siwarak's case is finally ending. The most important thing is that the Thai national is being freed.
The Thai premier said he does not think that the issue will be magnified for political reasons, as Mr Siwarak has always insisted that the information he had shared was not a secret.
Mr Abhisit said it is the consideration of the Cambodian court that releasing the flight information affected Mr Thaksin’s security, but said he is unworried about explaining the matter to the international community.
"I think we can see the cause and origin of what has happened recently and that other countries understand well that the Thai government has done nothing to affect the situation," said the Thai premier. "Some people want this issue to be politicised.
“I think that most Thai people understand the situation,” Mr Abhisit said. “We did not intensify the matter.”
He reaffirmed that Thailand is still a good neighbour and will not interfere in Cambodia's internal affairs.
When asked whether there will be negative impact on the Thai government as Mr Siwarak confessed and pledged guilty to the case, Mr Abhisit reasserted that the Thai government had not involved with the case as the flight schedule should not be considered secret information.
He said that in Thailand, all flights which will fly over Thai skies also must be informed to the Thai authorities, adding that he believes anyone looking through the whole saga might notice some irregularities.
The Thai premier reiterated that Thailand has not started the current diplomatic row with its neighbour and Mr Siwarak is not the cause of the problem.
Mr Abhisit however said his government is keeping seeking extradition of ex-premier Thaksin. If Thailand receives information that he is revisiting Cambodia, extradition requests would be made to Cambodia. If he flies over Thai skies, Thai authorities must also try to arrest him.
Mr Thaksin was ousted by bloodless coup in September 2006 and was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail for corruption and fraud in a Bangkok land purchase scandal in July 2008.
Mr Thaksin's visit to Phnom Penh last month fueled already existing tensions between the two neighbouring countries. The Thai and Cambodian ambassadors were recalled respectively, while Cambodia rejected Thailand's request to extradite the ousted premier to the kingdom.
read more “Thai PM welcomes Cambodian king's royal pardon for Thai engineer”
BANGKOK, Dec 11 (TNA) - Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Friday said that the royal pardon granted by Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni to a Thai engineer convicted of spying is good news, while at the same time reasserting that the diplomatic rift between Thailand and Cambodia was not caused by Thailand.
The Thai premier commented after Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith confirmed that King Sihamoni on Friday pardoned Siwarak Chutipong who was sentenced seven years in a Cambodian jail on charges of espionage, and will be released on Monday.
Mr Siwarak, an employee of Cambodia Air Traffic Service (CATS) was arrested, tried, sentenced to seven years jail term and fined Bt100,000 (US$3,000) for releasing the flight details of fugitive ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra when he visited Phnom Penh last month on his first trip there after being appointed economic adviser to the Cambodian government.
Mr Abhisit said that it is good that Mr Siwarak's case is finally ending. The most important thing is that the Thai national is being freed.
The Thai premier said he does not think that the issue will be magnified for political reasons, as Mr Siwarak has always insisted that the information he had shared was not a secret.
Mr Abhisit said it is the consideration of the Cambodian court that releasing the flight information affected Mr Thaksin’s security, but said he is unworried about explaining the matter to the international community.
"I think we can see the cause and origin of what has happened recently and that other countries understand well that the Thai government has done nothing to affect the situation," said the Thai premier. "Some people want this issue to be politicised.
“I think that most Thai people understand the situation,” Mr Abhisit said. “We did not intensify the matter.”
He reaffirmed that Thailand is still a good neighbour and will not interfere in Cambodia's internal affairs.
When asked whether there will be negative impact on the Thai government as Mr Siwarak confessed and pledged guilty to the case, Mr Abhisit reasserted that the Thai government had not involved with the case as the flight schedule should not be considered secret information.
He said that in Thailand, all flights which will fly over Thai skies also must be informed to the Thai authorities, adding that he believes anyone looking through the whole saga might notice some irregularities.
The Thai premier reiterated that Thailand has not started the current diplomatic row with its neighbour and Mr Siwarak is not the cause of the problem.
Mr Abhisit however said his government is keeping seeking extradition of ex-premier Thaksin. If Thailand receives information that he is revisiting Cambodia, extradition requests would be made to Cambodia. If he flies over Thai skies, Thai authorities must also try to arrest him.
Mr Thaksin was ousted by bloodless coup in September 2006 and was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail for corruption and fraud in a Bangkok land purchase scandal in July 2008.
Mr Thaksin's visit to Phnom Penh last month fueled already existing tensions between the two neighbouring countries. The Thai and Cambodian ambassadors were recalled respectively, while Cambodia rejected Thailand's request to extradite the ousted premier to the kingdom.
Khmer Rouge victims seek new voice
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Victims of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia are seeking a new voice in the U.N. tribunal dealing with alleged atrocities of their day, observers say.
Five former Khmer Rouge leaders were charged with crimes against humanity are being tried in Phnom Penh.
Victims were allowed to take part in the first trial but they complained the court showed little interest in their testimony. They want more input as the second trial is about to begin, the BBC said.
The Khmer Rouge was a Maoist regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, founded and led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998. It abolished religion, schools and currency in a bid to create an agrarian utopia.
read more “Khmer Rouge victims seek new voice”
Five former Khmer Rouge leaders were charged with crimes against humanity are being tried in Phnom Penh.
Victims were allowed to take part in the first trial but they complained the court showed little interest in their testimony. They want more input as the second trial is about to begin, the BBC said.
The Khmer Rouge was a Maoist regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, founded and led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998. It abolished religion, schools and currency in a bid to create an agrarian utopia.
Thai spy pardoned in Cambodia
December 11, 2009
By Sopheng Cheang
Associated Press Writer
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—Cambodia's king pardoned a Thai man Friday who had been sentenced to seven years in prison for spying on Thailand's fugitive ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a case that soured relations between the neighbors.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Thai national Siwarak Chothipong would be released from prison Monday following his pardon by King Norodom Sihamoni.
The conviction Tuesday in the capital of Phnom Penh followed Cambodia's decision last month to name Thaksin, a fugitive from justice in Thailand, as its special economic adviser. The appointment and Thaksin's subsequent visit to Cambodia angered the government in Bangkok and resulted in a recall of ambassadors from both sides.
Kanharith said Siwarak's formal release would take place during a visit to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen by the prisoner's mother and members of a Thai political party loyal to Thaksin.
Siwarak, an employee of the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, which manages flights in the country, was accused of stealing Thaksin's flight schedule before his Nov. 10 arrival and sending it to the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh. Thaksin stayed five days, getting red-carpet treatment as he talked to Cambodian economists.
Siwarak, 31, was arrested Nov. 12 and charged with stealing information that could impact national security.
Municipal Court Judge Ke Sakhan ruled that Thaksin's flight information was confidential and sharing it was a breach of security protocol for dignitaries.
Siwarak acknowledged earlier in court that he saw the flight schedule and passed the details on to Thai embassy First Secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai who was later expelled from the country. But he denied stealing the document.
Thaksin went into self-imposed exile last year before a Thai court found him guilty of violating a conflict of interest law and sentenced him to two years in prison. He had served as prime minister from 2001 to 2006, when he was ousted in a military coup after being accused of corruption and showing disrespect to the monarchy.
Thaksin's supporters and opponents have repeatedly taken to the streets since then to spar over who has the right to rule the country, sometimes sparking violence.
Thaksin's visit to Cambodia led to allegations he was trying to ignite a new political crisis from across the border.
Critics, including Thailand's government, have portrayed Thaksin as a traitor for accepting the Cambodian appointment and have lambasted Cambodia for hosting him while he is a fugitive. Relations have already been roiled by several deadly skirmishes over the past year and a half over land surrounding the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
read more “Thai spy pardoned in Cambodia”
By Sopheng Cheang
Associated Press Writer
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—Cambodia's king pardoned a Thai man Friday who had been sentenced to seven years in prison for spying on Thailand's fugitive ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a case that soured relations between the neighbors.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Thai national Siwarak Chothipong would be released from prison Monday following his pardon by King Norodom Sihamoni.
The conviction Tuesday in the capital of Phnom Penh followed Cambodia's decision last month to name Thaksin, a fugitive from justice in Thailand, as its special economic adviser. The appointment and Thaksin's subsequent visit to Cambodia angered the government in Bangkok and resulted in a recall of ambassadors from both sides.
Kanharith said Siwarak's formal release would take place during a visit to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen by the prisoner's mother and members of a Thai political party loyal to Thaksin.
Siwarak, an employee of the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, which manages flights in the country, was accused of stealing Thaksin's flight schedule before his Nov. 10 arrival and sending it to the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh. Thaksin stayed five days, getting red-carpet treatment as he talked to Cambodian economists.
Siwarak, 31, was arrested Nov. 12 and charged with stealing information that could impact national security.
Municipal Court Judge Ke Sakhan ruled that Thaksin's flight information was confidential and sharing it was a breach of security protocol for dignitaries.
Siwarak acknowledged earlier in court that he saw the flight schedule and passed the details on to Thai embassy First Secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai who was later expelled from the country. But he denied stealing the document.
Thaksin went into self-imposed exile last year before a Thai court found him guilty of violating a conflict of interest law and sentenced him to two years in prison. He had served as prime minister from 2001 to 2006, when he was ousted in a military coup after being accused of corruption and showing disrespect to the monarchy.
Thaksin's supporters and opponents have repeatedly taken to the streets since then to spar over who has the right to rule the country, sometimes sparking violence.
Thaksin's visit to Cambodia led to allegations he was trying to ignite a new political crisis from across the border.
Critics, including Thailand's government, have portrayed Thaksin as a traitor for accepting the Cambodian appointment and have lambasted Cambodia for hosting him while he is a fugitive. Relations have already been roiled by several deadly skirmishes over the past year and a half over land surrounding the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
Puea Thai asks Kasit, Kamrob to resign
11/12/2009
Onnucha Hutasingh
Bangkok Post
The opposition Puea Thai Party on Friday called for Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and Kamrob Palawatwichai, former first secretary to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, and accept responsibility for having caused Sivarak Chutipong's suffering in Cambodia.
The call was made in a letter submitted by party spokesman Prompong Nopparit. The letter was accepted by Seri Mutthatharn, deputy director of the General Affairs Division.
Sivarak was sentenced to seven years in jail and a fine of about 82,500 baht by a Cambodian court which found him guilty of supplying information on former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's flight schedule to the Thai government through Mr Kamrob.
Mr Prompong also accused the government to having impeded the Puea Thai Party's attempt to get a royal pardon for Sivarak. He said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his aides had continued to make remarks that might be construed as infringing on Cambodia's sovereignty.
Earlier today, he went to the Education Ministry to submit a leave request of Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, Sivarak's mother, to Education Minister Jurin Laksanavisit. Mrs Simarak said it was necessary for her to remain in Phnom Penh to prepare documents to petition for the royal pardon.
read more “Puea Thai asks Kasit, Kamrob to resign”
Onnucha Hutasingh
Bangkok Post
The opposition Puea Thai Party on Friday called for Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and Kamrob Palawatwichai, former first secretary to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, and accept responsibility for having caused Sivarak Chutipong's suffering in Cambodia.
The call was made in a letter submitted by party spokesman Prompong Nopparit. The letter was accepted by Seri Mutthatharn, deputy director of the General Affairs Division.
Sivarak was sentenced to seven years in jail and a fine of about 82,500 baht by a Cambodian court which found him guilty of supplying information on former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's flight schedule to the Thai government through Mr Kamrob.
Mr Prompong also accused the government to having impeded the Puea Thai Party's attempt to get a royal pardon for Sivarak. He said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his aides had continued to make remarks that might be construed as infringing on Cambodia's sovereignty.
Earlier today, he went to the Education Ministry to submit a leave request of Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, Sivarak's mother, to Education Minister Jurin Laksanavisit. Mrs Simarak said it was necessary for her to remain in Phnom Penh to prepare documents to petition for the royal pardon.
Cambodian king pardons convicted Thai spy
11 December 2009
AFP
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni Friday pardoned a Thai man jailed for seven years for spying on fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a Cambodian government spokesman said.
Siwarak Chothipong, 31, an employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, will be released from prison Monday to his family and a delegation from Thailand's opposition Puea Thai party, spokesman Khieu Kanharith said.
"The king just signed it this morning," Khieu Kanharith told AFP, adding that the royal pardon was issued after Prime Minister Hun Sen requested it Thursday.
"This morning Hun Sen said that if the man wants to continue working in Cambodia, he is welcome," Khieu Kanharith added.
Siwarak's arrest in Phnom Penh last month deepened a diplomatic crisis over Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser and its refusal to extradite the ousted premier to Thailand.
During his trial Tuesday, Siwarak denied stealing any documents and stated that although he had informed the Thai embassy's first secretary by telephone of a flight arrival, he had not been aware that Thaksin was on board.
Thaksin was toppled in a coup in 2006 and is living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, but has continued to stir up protests in his homeland.
read more “Cambodian king pardons convicted Thai spy”
AFP
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni Friday pardoned a Thai man jailed for seven years for spying on fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a Cambodian government spokesman said.
Siwarak Chothipong, 31, an employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, will be released from prison Monday to his family and a delegation from Thailand's opposition Puea Thai party, spokesman Khieu Kanharith said.
"The king just signed it this morning," Khieu Kanharith told AFP, adding that the royal pardon was issued after Prime Minister Hun Sen requested it Thursday.
"This morning Hun Sen said that if the man wants to continue working in Cambodia, he is welcome," Khieu Kanharith added.
Siwarak's arrest in Phnom Penh last month deepened a diplomatic crisis over Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser and its refusal to extradite the ousted premier to Thailand.
During his trial Tuesday, Siwarak denied stealing any documents and stated that although he had informed the Thai embassy's first secretary by telephone of a flight arrival, he had not been aware that Thaksin was on board.
Thaksin was toppled in a coup in 2006 and is living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, but has continued to stir up protests in his homeland.
Convicted Thai spy in Thaksin case pardoned by Cambodian king
Fri, 11 Dec 2009
DPA
Phnom Penh - Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni has pardoned a Thai man who was convicted earlier this week of spying. Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith, said Sivarak Chothipong would be released Monday.
Sivarak was arrested in mid-November after the authorities accused him of passing on flight details of Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra to a diplomat at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh.
"This is a humanitarian gesture," Khieu Kanharith told the German Press Agency dpa. "For us this gesture is not to please Thailand, but for humanitarian issues, and we know that the man executed the order [given] by Bangkok."
Khieu Kanharith said the order to release Sivarak came in response to a number of requests, including from Thaksin's Puea Thai party.
"On Monday [Prime Minister] Hun Sen will meet with [Sivarak's] mother and a delegation from the Puea Thai party, and he will be given to his family," he said.
At the time of his arrest Sivarak was employed by the company that handles Cambodia's air traffic, Cambodian Air Traffic Services.
"This morning Hun Sen said if he wants to stay and work in Cambodia he is welcome," Khieu Kanharith said, adding that he doubted the release order would be seen in a favourable light by Bangkok since it was in part in response to requests by the opposition Puea Thai party.
Sivarak was arrested during a surprise visit by Thaksin, who was appointed as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government and a personal adviser to Hun Sen.
The news of those appointments riled Bangkok, and relations between the two nations plunged to their lowest point in years. Thaksin has an outstanding jail term against him in Thailand, but Cambodia rejected an extradition request filed by Bangkok during Thaksin's visit.
In the diplomatic row surrounding the former Thai premier's visit, both nations recalled their ambassadors and expelled senior embassy staff. Neither ambassador has yet returned to their post.
read more “Convicted Thai spy in Thaksin case pardoned by Cambodian king”
DPA
Phnom Penh - Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni has pardoned a Thai man who was convicted earlier this week of spying. Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith, said Sivarak Chothipong would be released Monday.
Sivarak was arrested in mid-November after the authorities accused him of passing on flight details of Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra to a diplomat at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh.
"This is a humanitarian gesture," Khieu Kanharith told the German Press Agency dpa. "For us this gesture is not to please Thailand, but for humanitarian issues, and we know that the man executed the order [given] by Bangkok."
Khieu Kanharith said the order to release Sivarak came in response to a number of requests, including from Thaksin's Puea Thai party.
"On Monday [Prime Minister] Hun Sen will meet with [Sivarak's] mother and a delegation from the Puea Thai party, and he will be given to his family," he said.
At the time of his arrest Sivarak was employed by the company that handles Cambodia's air traffic, Cambodian Air Traffic Services.
"This morning Hun Sen said if he wants to stay and work in Cambodia he is welcome," Khieu Kanharith said, adding that he doubted the release order would be seen in a favourable light by Bangkok since it was in part in response to requests by the opposition Puea Thai party.
Sivarak was arrested during a surprise visit by Thaksin, who was appointed as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government and a personal adviser to Hun Sen.
The news of those appointments riled Bangkok, and relations between the two nations plunged to their lowest point in years. Thaksin has an outstanding jail term against him in Thailand, but Cambodia rejected an extradition request filed by Bangkok during Thaksin's visit.
In the diplomatic row surrounding the former Thai premier's visit, both nations recalled their ambassadors and expelled senior embassy staff. Neither ambassador has yet returned to their post.
Sivarak pardon plans hit snag
Puea Thai looks at new ways to submit request
11/12/2009
Aekarach Sattaburuth
Bangkok Post
"I wonder if Thaksin, Gen Chavalit and Hun Sen have more prominent roles than the Cambodian king." - Thai Democrat Party spokesman Thepthai Senpong
The Puea Thai Party has postponed its plans to seek a pardon for Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong and is considering other ways to approach Cambodian authorities.
Originally it had decided to send a team of lawyers to Phnom Penh on Monday to present letters to Cambodian officials pleading for a pardon for the Thai man convicted of spying and sentenced to seven years in jail.
But the plan was cancelled at the request of Sivarak's mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, who raised concerns about how long it would take. Mrs Simarak is a teacher and has not been granted leave of absence by the Education Ministry, Puea Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said.
It was then decided the letters appealing to Cambodian King Sihamoni via Prime Minister Hun Sen would be formally handed to the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok today.
But late last night, Puea Thai told the media via SMS it was cancelling the plan.
A Puea Thai source said there had been a coordination problem with the Cambodian representatives. He gave no explanation, saying only the request would have to be postponed.
Three copies of the letter were to have been handed over, one signed by party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, one by the party's MPs, and another by Mrs Simarak.
The engineer's mother has remained in Phnom Penh and was hoping to return home with her son if a pardon was granted, the source said.
Puea Thai lawyers will go to the Education Ministry today to submit a letter on behalf of Mrs Simarak, a teacher at Nakhon Ratchasima Technical College, seeking special leave to help her son.
Sivarak, a 31-year-old engineer with Thai-owned Cambodia Air Traffic Services, was sentenced on Tuesday to seven years in jail and fined 10 million riel (100,000 baht) for stealing information about former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's flight plans to Cambodia and giving them to a Thai diplomat based in Phnom Penh.
Mr Prompong said Mrs Simarak wanted Puea Thai to help her son because she believed the party had good relations with Cambodia.
"This is neither a publicity stunt nor a move to steal the show," Mr Prompong said.
He said Thaksin, as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government and a personal adviser to Hun Sen, had also spoken to the Cambodian leader in a bid to help Sivarak.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the government was ready to support any pardon attempt for Sivarak.
He said it was understandable that Sivarak's mother and his family members chose to opt for the best course of action to obtain his freedom.
Mr Abhisit did not reject speculation Sivarak could be given his freedom soon after the request was submitted.
"That's possible. This issue has long been speculated," he said. "Those who have followed the developments from the beginning should know the reasons behind them."
Democrat Party spokesman Thepthai Senpong said: "I'm surprised by Mrs Simarak's decision to help her son without asking for the Foreign Ministry's assistance, because this is not in line with international practice.
"I wonder if Thaksin, Gen Chavalit and Hun Sen have more prominent roles than the Cambodian king."
Noppadon Pattama, Thaksin's legal adviser, said he had discussed Sivarak's conviction with Thaksin and what steps should be taken to help him.
read more “Sivarak pardon plans hit snag”
11/12/2009
Aekarach Sattaburuth
Bangkok Post
"I wonder if Thaksin, Gen Chavalit and Hun Sen have more prominent roles than the Cambodian king." - Thai Democrat Party spokesman Thepthai Senpong
The Puea Thai Party has postponed its plans to seek a pardon for Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong and is considering other ways to approach Cambodian authorities.
Originally it had decided to send a team of lawyers to Phnom Penh on Monday to present letters to Cambodian officials pleading for a pardon for the Thai man convicted of spying and sentenced to seven years in jail.
But the plan was cancelled at the request of Sivarak's mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, who raised concerns about how long it would take. Mrs Simarak is a teacher and has not been granted leave of absence by the Education Ministry, Puea Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said.
It was then decided the letters appealing to Cambodian King Sihamoni via Prime Minister Hun Sen would be formally handed to the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok today.
But late last night, Puea Thai told the media via SMS it was cancelling the plan.
A Puea Thai source said there had been a coordination problem with the Cambodian representatives. He gave no explanation, saying only the request would have to be postponed.
Three copies of the letter were to have been handed over, one signed by party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, one by the party's MPs, and another by Mrs Simarak.
The engineer's mother has remained in Phnom Penh and was hoping to return home with her son if a pardon was granted, the source said.
Puea Thai lawyers will go to the Education Ministry today to submit a letter on behalf of Mrs Simarak, a teacher at Nakhon Ratchasima Technical College, seeking special leave to help her son.
Sivarak, a 31-year-old engineer with Thai-owned Cambodia Air Traffic Services, was sentenced on Tuesday to seven years in jail and fined 10 million riel (100,000 baht) for stealing information about former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's flight plans to Cambodia and giving them to a Thai diplomat based in Phnom Penh.
Mr Prompong said Mrs Simarak wanted Puea Thai to help her son because she believed the party had good relations with Cambodia.
"This is neither a publicity stunt nor a move to steal the show," Mr Prompong said.
He said Thaksin, as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government and a personal adviser to Hun Sen, had also spoken to the Cambodian leader in a bid to help Sivarak.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the government was ready to support any pardon attempt for Sivarak.
He said it was understandable that Sivarak's mother and his family members chose to opt for the best course of action to obtain his freedom.
Mr Abhisit did not reject speculation Sivarak could be given his freedom soon after the request was submitted.
"That's possible. This issue has long been speculated," he said. "Those who have followed the developments from the beginning should know the reasons behind them."
Democrat Party spokesman Thepthai Senpong said: "I'm surprised by Mrs Simarak's decision to help her son without asking for the Foreign Ministry's assistance, because this is not in line with international practice.
"I wonder if Thaksin, Gen Chavalit and Hun Sen have more prominent roles than the Cambodian king."
Noppadon Pattama, Thaksin's legal adviser, said he had discussed Sivarak's conviction with Thaksin and what steps should be taken to help him.
Khmer Rouge survivors feel justice denied
Chum Mey feels the survivors have been denied justiceFriday, 11 December 2009
BBC News
For the first time at an international criminal tribunal, victims of Cambodia's notorious Khmer Rouge regime have been represented as well as the defence and prosecutors.
But as the BBC's Guy De Launey reports from Phnom Penh, the survivors are not happy with the experience.
"I lost my family," says Chum Mey.
"They killed my children and my wife. Nobody had rights or freedom then. That's why now I want to find justice - for the victims and the younger generation."
Despite his horrific story, Chum Mey does not have the air of a man who went through hell.
Now a sprightly 78, he seems many years younger, chuckles easily and speaks eloquently about his unenviable life.
The former mechanic not only lost his family to the Khmer Rouge, he also suffered torture and beatings at the notorious S-21 detention centre in Phnom Penh.
At least 14,000 inmates passed through its tiny cells and torture chambers in the late 1970s; Chum Mey is one of only three confirmed, living survivors.
Even now, his life revolves around S-21.
The prison has become a genocide museum and Chum Mey can be found there most days, offering his services as a tourist guide in exchange for a few dollars.
Equal voice
Three decades have passed since the Khmer Rouge caused the deaths of as many as two million Cambodians.
But with the start of the long-awaited, and much-delayed, Khmer Rouge tribunal, Chum Mey thought he might find some belated justice.
"Is the personification of suffering shown every day too hard to bear?" - Silke Studzinsky, Civil party lawyerLike other survivors and the relatives of the victims, his hopes were raised by an innovation at the United Nations-backed special courts.
For the first time at an international criminal tribunal, victims - officially known as civil parties - would be given an equal voice alongside the prosecution and defence.
It raised the possibility of survivors confronting, and even questioning, their former tormentors in court.
Along with almost a hundred other people, Chum Mey was accepted as a civil party in the trial of the man who ran S-21, Kaing Guek Eav - alias Comrade Duch.
But their optimism at the start of court proceedings in March had turned to frustration and anger by the closing arguments in November.
The prosecution, defence and judges seemed, at best, ambivalent towards the civil parties.
Over the course of the trial a series of rulings whittled away at their rights to speak and question witnesses; their lawyers complained that little interest was shown in their testimony.
"They felt that the trial chamber was not very receptive to their sufferings," civil party lawyer Silke Studzinsky told the court in her closing statement.
"This left for them the impression that the trial chamber was rather uninterested in their stories," she said.
"They are still wondering why they were not treated with equal respect like all witnesses, experts and the accused. Is the personification of suffering shown every day too hard to bear?"
Perhaps the most infuriating factor for the civil parties was that while their rights to speak in court had been restricted, no such limitations appeared to apply to the defendant.
Day after the day they watched as Comrade Duch declaimed at length and quibbled with witnesses. For Chum Mey, it was hard to bear.
"When I raised questions to Duch, his lawyers objected," he said.
"Then the court did not allow my lawyers to ask questions. They seemed to ignore us. So at that point I felt like I did not have any rights to express my concerns, but Duch had the right to express himself."
Yawns and eye-rolling
The victims were not helped by the nature of their representation.
Various local and international lawyers worked with several different groups of victims - but there seemed to be little co-ordination among them.
Indeed, one international civil party lawyer conspicuously yawned and rolled his eyes while Silke Studzinsky delivered her closing statement.
Meanwhile, many civil parties appeared to have been poorly prepared for the rigours of cross-examination.
Some contradicted themselves during testimony and gave the impression of being unreliable witnesses.
"The Khmer Rouge Tribunal took the risk of allowing victims to become a party, and what we are seeing now is part of the administrative mess," says Theary Seng, who is a qualified lawyer as well as a civil party in the tribunal's forthcoming second trial.
"What we could not have envisioned as one of the problems was the grand-standing by the civil party lawyers. For some of them this was a way to build up their resume, to compete for status. That has been an embarrassing and shameful element of this."
The system will be completely overhauled for the second trial, which is not likely to start until 2011.
Instead of a gaggle of different lawyers, there will be one lead counsel for the civil parties - a mirror of the approach taken by the prosecution and defence.
The tribunal has also promised that victims will be given proper preparation before they testify.
But the changes have come too late for the civil parties in the trial of Duch.
Instead of gaining a sense of closure, some of them feel that they have been used as guinea pigs in a judicial experiment. Chum Mey believes the victims have been let down.
"We lost our voice," he says, "and there is no real justice for us."
PM: Thai Society Aware of Truth behind Thai Engineer's Case
11 December 2009
Thai-ASEAN News Network
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has insisted that the family of the Thai engineer being held in Cambodia can do whatever they think is best and the government will continue to offer assistance.
He also alluded that the case may have been planned by the Pheu Thai Party.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva talked about the Pheu Thai Party's call for all political parties to petition the Cambodian King for an amnesty for Sivalak Chutipong who was sentenced to seven years in prison by Cambodian court for stealing former prime minister Thaksin Shinnawatra's flight plan.
Abhisit says the case must abide by Cambodia's legal procedures, and Sivarak's family can do whatever they believe is best for him.
When asked about the intention of the Pheu Thai chairman, General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh regarding petitioning for the amnesty, Abhisit said the government understands the origin of the case.
However, the prime minister says the government's duty is to continue to assist Sivarak and his family. Meanwhile, he said justice and the country's interests will be protected.
Abhist has also claimed that the Pheu Thai Party is confident that Sivarak will be granted amnesty because this has already been expected.
He added that the people who have been following the case may have their own suspicion, but they should not speculate, because Sivarak's release is the priority.
With regard to claims by the opposition that the current administration will not be able to improve the relationship between Thailand and Cambodia, Abhisit responded that, in fact, there was no problem prior to General Chavalit's visit to Cambodia.
read more “PM: Thai Society Aware of Truth behind Thai Engineer's Case”
Thai-ASEAN News Network
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has insisted that the family of the Thai engineer being held in Cambodia can do whatever they think is best and the government will continue to offer assistance.
He also alluded that the case may have been planned by the Pheu Thai Party.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva talked about the Pheu Thai Party's call for all political parties to petition the Cambodian King for an amnesty for Sivalak Chutipong who was sentenced to seven years in prison by Cambodian court for stealing former prime minister Thaksin Shinnawatra's flight plan.
Abhisit says the case must abide by Cambodia's legal procedures, and Sivarak's family can do whatever they believe is best for him.
When asked about the intention of the Pheu Thai chairman, General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh regarding petitioning for the amnesty, Abhisit said the government understands the origin of the case.
However, the prime minister says the government's duty is to continue to assist Sivarak and his family. Meanwhile, he said justice and the country's interests will be protected.
Abhist has also claimed that the Pheu Thai Party is confident that Sivarak will be granted amnesty because this has already been expected.
He added that the people who have been following the case may have their own suspicion, but they should not speculate, because Sivarak's release is the priority.
With regard to claims by the opposition that the current administration will not be able to improve the relationship between Thailand and Cambodia, Abhisit responded that, in fact, there was no problem prior to General Chavalit's visit to Cambodia.
Sivarak can feel hard done by for being jailed for seven years
11/12/2009
Anucha Charoenpo
Bangkok Post
A Cambodian court's decision to jail a Thai engineer for seven years on spying charges is too harsh.
Two witnesses testified before the court on Tuesday that Sivarak Chutipong, a 31-year-old employee of Cambodian Air Traffic Services (CATS), asked them about flight information regarding a private plane.
At the Thai embassy's request, he passed on the details about the plane's movements, which prompted the spying charge.
Sivarak claimed the information was not official and he did not know when asked for the details that the plane belonged to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The court lacked solid evidence to substantiate the charges that Sivarak and first secretary at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, Kamrob Palawatwichai, conspired to obtain the information.
If the Cambodian government considered Thaksin's flight schedule secret, why did details of his movements leak to the media on such a regular basis?
And why did it allow Thai-owned contractor CATS access to the information given the fact it must be handled by Cambodia's security and intelligence agencies?
This was Sivarak's first scrape with the law in eight years of living and working in Cambodia. Are these factors not enough for the court to afford him leniency?
Instead, Sivarak was sentenced to seven years in jail and fined 10 million riel (100,000 baht).
He is a political victim of the souring of relations between Thailand and Cambodia which took place when Cambodia appointed Thaksin its economic adviser.
Sivarak was arrested by Cambodian authorities on Nov 12, two days after Thaksin arrived in Phnom Penh by private jet.
Some observers believe Sivarak will receive a royal pardon by Cambodian King Sihamoni.
They believe Sivarak's arrest was planned by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ally Thaksin to discredit the Democrat-led government in Bangkok.
Hun Sen will submit the request for a royal pardon to the Cambodian king. The Thai government is also seeking a pardon for Sivarak.
Sivarak's mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, has also asked Thaksin and Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to help broker negotiations with Hun Sen.
Mrs Simarak's actions are those of a concerned mother, not as part of a plot between Thaksin and Hun Sen.
She is worried that seeking help from the Thai government might actually set back her cause, as the two governments are still at odds over the Thaksin affair.
read more “Sivarak can feel hard done by for being jailed for seven years”
Anucha Charoenpo
Bangkok Post
A Cambodian court's decision to jail a Thai engineer for seven years on spying charges is too harsh.
Two witnesses testified before the court on Tuesday that Sivarak Chutipong, a 31-year-old employee of Cambodian Air Traffic Services (CATS), asked them about flight information regarding a private plane.
At the Thai embassy's request, he passed on the details about the plane's movements, which prompted the spying charge.
Sivarak claimed the information was not official and he did not know when asked for the details that the plane belonged to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The court lacked solid evidence to substantiate the charges that Sivarak and first secretary at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, Kamrob Palawatwichai, conspired to obtain the information.
If the Cambodian government considered Thaksin's flight schedule secret, why did details of his movements leak to the media on such a regular basis?
And why did it allow Thai-owned contractor CATS access to the information given the fact it must be handled by Cambodia's security and intelligence agencies?
This was Sivarak's first scrape with the law in eight years of living and working in Cambodia. Are these factors not enough for the court to afford him leniency?
Instead, Sivarak was sentenced to seven years in jail and fined 10 million riel (100,000 baht).
He is a political victim of the souring of relations between Thailand and Cambodia which took place when Cambodia appointed Thaksin its economic adviser.
Sivarak was arrested by Cambodian authorities on Nov 12, two days after Thaksin arrived in Phnom Penh by private jet.
Some observers believe Sivarak will receive a royal pardon by Cambodian King Sihamoni.
They believe Sivarak's arrest was planned by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ally Thaksin to discredit the Democrat-led government in Bangkok.
Hun Sen will submit the request for a royal pardon to the Cambodian king. The Thai government is also seeking a pardon for Sivarak.
Sivarak's mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, has also asked Thaksin and Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to help broker negotiations with Hun Sen.
Mrs Simarak's actions are those of a concerned mother, not as part of a plot between Thaksin and Hun Sen.
She is worried that seeking help from the Thai government might actually set back her cause, as the two governments are still at odds over the Thaksin affair.
Khmer Rouge victims seek new voice at UN tribunal
Cambodians attend the first trial of ex-Khmer Rouge man DuchFriday, 11 December 2009
By Guy Delauney
BBC News, Phnom Penh
Victims of the Khmer Rouge are holding a conference discussing the role they are playing at a UN-backed tribunal taking place in Cambodia.
Five former Khmer Rouge leaders have been charged with crimes against humanity.
A first trial ended with accusations the special courts had shown little interest in the victims' testimony.
This conference is a chance for victims to air their concerns to officials before a second case goes to trial.
As many as two million Cambodians died in the late 1970s because of Khmer Rouge policies.
'Civil parties'
The Khmer Rouge Tribunal seemed to offer survivors - and relatives of victims - a unique opportunity.
For the first time in an international criminal process, they would be given a voice in court proceedings.
The so-called "civil parties" would have a similar status to that of the prosecution or defence.
But the first trial brought a series of disappointments.
The civil parties' rights to speak or question witnesses were whittled away as the process moved on.
Their lawyers complained that the court showed little interest in the testimony of victims and their relatives.
And some civil parties contradicted themselves while giving evidence - which suggested a lack of proper preparation.
The experience left some feeling that they'd been guinea pigs in a judicial experiment - and a number boycotted the court.
This time the civil party system has already been streamlined in anticipation.
Tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen believes that should help to avoid a repeat of the first trial's frustrations.
He said: "There will be mainly one legal team representing the voice of the victim in the trial.
"But the most important thing will be that they will have a strong and consolidated voice in the trial.
"And there will be screening and better preparation for those victims who actually appear so they're not unprepared when they are testifying."
The Centre for Justice and Reconciliation has organised the conference.
It says the first trial caused a lot of frustration and nervousness - and that victims need more information about what it means to be a civil party at the tribunal.
Five former Khmer Rouge leaders have been charged with crimes against humanity.
A first trial ended with accusations the special courts had shown little interest in the victims' testimony.
This conference is a chance for victims to air their concerns to officials before a second case goes to trial.
As many as two million Cambodians died in the late 1970s because of Khmer Rouge policies.
'Civil parties'
The Khmer Rouge Tribunal seemed to offer survivors - and relatives of victims - a unique opportunity.
For the first time in an international criminal process, they would be given a voice in court proceedings.
The so-called "civil parties" would have a similar status to that of the prosecution or defence.
But the first trial brought a series of disappointments.
The civil parties' rights to speak or question witnesses were whittled away as the process moved on.
Their lawyers complained that the court showed little interest in the testimony of victims and their relatives.
And some civil parties contradicted themselves while giving evidence - which suggested a lack of proper preparation.
The experience left some feeling that they'd been guinea pigs in a judicial experiment - and a number boycotted the court.
This time the civil party system has already been streamlined in anticipation.
Tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen believes that should help to avoid a repeat of the first trial's frustrations.
He said: "There will be mainly one legal team representing the voice of the victim in the trial.
"But the most important thing will be that they will have a strong and consolidated voice in the trial.
"And there will be screening and better preparation for those victims who actually appear so they're not unprepared when they are testifying."
The Centre for Justice and Reconciliation has organised the conference.
It says the first trial caused a lot of frustration and nervousness - and that victims need more information about what it means to be a civil party at the tribunal.
Thai soldiers again accused of shooting dead Cambodian logger
Dec 11, 2009
DPA
Phnom Penh - Thai troops shot dead a Cambodian man who crossed into Thailand to fell trees illegally, local media reported Friday.
Phlok Lai, 55, is the third Cambodian national to be shot and killed by Thai troops in the past three months.
District police chief Keo Tann said another man in the group of 10 was seriously injured while a third is missing after the incident late Tuesday. The remaining seven made it back safely to Cambodia.
'The Thai officers at the border said they would find the missing man if we ordered people to refrain from going to Thailand to log illegally,' Keo Tann told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.
Earlier this month a Cambodian man was shot dead by Thai soldiers while illegally logging inside Thailand. In the most notorious case Thai soldiers were accused of shooting and then burning alive a 16-year-old Cambodian youth in September. Thailand denied the youth was burned alive.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong described the Thai soldiers' behaviour as 'very cruel.'
'In previous years the Thai military would just arrest our people who were illegally crossing the border and sentence them to jail,' he said. 'But now they are shooting our people.'
Earlier this week the Cambodian government warned its citizens living along the 800-kilometre long border, much of which has yet to be officially demarcated, to avoid crossing the border into Thailand.
The shootings come at a time of heightened tensions between the two nations. Both withdrew their ambassadors last month after Cambodia appointed Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an adviser to the Cambodian government.
Cambodia and Thailand also have a long-standing dispute over the land surrounding the ancient Preah Vihear temple in northern Cambodia. Over the past 18 months clashes between troops at Preah Vihear have cost the lives of at least seven soldiers.
read more “Thai soldiers again accused of shooting dead Cambodian logger”
DPA
Phnom Penh - Thai troops shot dead a Cambodian man who crossed into Thailand to fell trees illegally, local media reported Friday.
Phlok Lai, 55, is the third Cambodian national to be shot and killed by Thai troops in the past three months.
District police chief Keo Tann said another man in the group of 10 was seriously injured while a third is missing after the incident late Tuesday. The remaining seven made it back safely to Cambodia.
'The Thai officers at the border said they would find the missing man if we ordered people to refrain from going to Thailand to log illegally,' Keo Tann told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.
Earlier this month a Cambodian man was shot dead by Thai soldiers while illegally logging inside Thailand. In the most notorious case Thai soldiers were accused of shooting and then burning alive a 16-year-old Cambodian youth in September. Thailand denied the youth was burned alive.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong described the Thai soldiers' behaviour as 'very cruel.'
'In previous years the Thai military would just arrest our people who were illegally crossing the border and sentence them to jail,' he said. 'But now they are shooting our people.'
Earlier this week the Cambodian government warned its citizens living along the 800-kilometre long border, much of which has yet to be officially demarcated, to avoid crossing the border into Thailand.
The shootings come at a time of heightened tensions between the two nations. Both withdrew their ambassadors last month after Cambodia appointed Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an adviser to the Cambodian government.
Cambodia and Thailand also have a long-standing dispute over the land surrounding the ancient Preah Vihear temple in northern Cambodia. Over the past 18 months clashes between troops at Preah Vihear have cost the lives of at least seven soldiers.
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