Combodia-Post

Grilled food stall in Vientiane that sells aqua-cultured Tilapia fish (Photo: VOA - D Schearf)Vientiane 11 January 2010Daniel SchearfVoice of America
Plans to build a series of hydropower dams on the Mekong River could threaten already endangered species in the waterway.The Mekong River is the lifeblood of Southeast Asia, with the largest inland fisheries in the world.About 40 million people depend to some degree on the fisheries, worth about $2.5 billion a year.But fisheries experts say plans by Cambodia, Laos and Thailand to build hydropower dams on the Mekong would block fish migration, threatening already endangered species.Environmental activists say plans by Laos to build a dam in the Don Sahong area near the Cambodian border could doom the nearly extinct Irrawaddy dolphin.Soung Ma earns money taking tourists for a rare glimpse of the dolphins. "Local people normally work in dolphin tourism. Everyone has a small boat and can pick up tourists and get money from tourists every day or every month depending on the season," Ma said.The Mekong River Commission works to manage river resources among Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.Jeremy Bird heads the commission and says balancing the pros and cons of hydropower dams is the biggest challenge facing the Mekong basin. "We're talking about the livelihoods of millions of people but we're also talking about a huge potential resource of hydropower which can not only provide foreign revenues to the countries, but can those revenues can then be used to finance other development programs and help countries meet their targets on poverty alleviation and millenium development goals," Bird said.Some dams on rivers feeding the Mekong have disrupted fish populations.Fishermen may have to turn to aquaculture like this tilapia farm in Vientiane to make up for the lost wild catch.Suchart Ingthamjitr, a program officer at the MRC's fishery program, says fish farms help meet demand. "The price of wild fish is higher than cultured fish. But, the problem of wild fish is seasonality," Ingthamjitr said. "Yeah, you can catch and have the wild fish depend on the time of year. But, for tilapia all year round you can buy it in the market."As the sun sets on the Mekong, fishermen try their luck.Environmental and fisheries experts say damming the Mekong will change some of their traditional ways.

12/01/2010Wassana NanuamBangkok Post
The armed forces have defended the involvement of South Korea in the Cobra Gold military exercises for the first time this year.Gen Ratchakrit Kanchanawat, the joint chief of staff of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, said the exercises were designed for peace-keeping purposes and had nothing to do with the "balance of global power".South Korea, which will send 411 soldiers with their own weapons, has been given permission to play an active part in the annual Cobra Gold exercises with the backing of co-hosts Thailand and the US, Gen Ratchakrit said yesterday.South Korea had been an observer at the exercises for many years and shared similar military doctrines with Thailand and the US, so their participation was welcomed, he said."Don't be concerned about the balance of global or regional powers because of the inclusion of South Korea," he said. "Our aim is to hold a military exercise, keep peace and promote humanitarian aid."Korea is the sixth country to take part in Cobra Gold, launched in 1982, joining Thailand, the US, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore. Under a Thai-US agreement, up to 10 countries could become involved in the exercises.An army source said the US took an active role in backing Korea's participation after reports of joint military cooperation between North Korea and Burma.It could be the first step for South Korea to have a more active role in Southeast Asia, the source said.More than 11,600 soldiers, mostly from the US with 6,217 troops, will gather in provinces such as Rayong, Phetchaburi and Lop Buri from Feb 1 to 11.Meanwhile, the US is also planning joint exercises with Cambodia, but Thai military officials are unconcerned even though Thailand has been at odds with its neighbour on overlapping boundaries."We understand the US. It is a drill for peace-keeping," Gen Ratchakrit said.

January 12, 2010The Nation
The Supreme Court today is holding its second-last hearing in the Bt76-billion assets case against convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders has scheduled sessions for today and Friday before ruling on whether the assets should be devolved to the state.Due to testify today are representatives from the Stock Exchange of Thailand, National Telecommunications Commission, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry and Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).Former ICT minister Sitthichai Pokaiudom and TDRI researcher Somkiart Tangkijvanit will be among the witnesses today.

Officials Argue Two Sides of Divisive DayBy Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer Washington11 January 2010
A senior Cambodian People’s Party official defended the government’s celebrating of the contentious Jan. 7 holiday on Thursday, claiming it was a day of victory and arguing against criticism that the day merely marks the beginning of an occupation.Vietnamese forces ousted the Khmer Rouge from Phnom Penh on Jan. 7, 1979, beginning a decade-long occupation that saw years of civil war between government forces and the guerrillas.CPP lawmaker Cheam Yiep said the day was one the ruling party was thankful for, because it augured peace and led to victories in future general elections for the party. The day marked one of survival for Cambodia, he said by phone Thursday,as a guest on “Hello VOA.”However, a second guest on the show, Thach Setha, a senior member of the Sam Rainsy Party, who joined in the Phnom Penh studio, said the day marked only a change from one communist regime to another.Were the Vietnamese intentions benevolent, the country would have done more before 1979, he said. The Vietnamese retained an embassy until 1977, he said, when Phnom Penh was “a ghost city,” and waited until the Cambodians were nearly “extinguished,” before bringing in troops two years later.“So Cambodia suffered by others’ politics,” he said. “They killed us to become ghosts, and then they rose up, wanting us to thank them. So Cambodia, please, understand this history.

Left to right: Joseph Cao (R-LA), Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) and Mike Honda (D-CA) (Photo: Sok Serey, RFA)By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh07 January 2010
Prime Minister Hun Sen and three US congressmen discussed an extension of trade relations between the two countries on Thursday, while raising the possibility of debt reduction.The congressmen—Eni Faleomavaega, a Democrat from American Samoa; Mike Honda, a Democratic from California; and Joseph Cao, a Republican from Louisiana—met with Hun Sen, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, Finance Minister Keat Chhon and Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh“We did touch on the issue of debt obligations, also on questions of trade and tariffs in trying to bring Cambodia’s trade and economic needs [and] better status especially in trade with the United States,” Faleomavaega told reporters at Phnom Penh International Airport Thursday afternoon.The US delegation is scheduled to travel to Laos, having already visited Vietnam. The tour will conclude in Japan.Cambodia owes the US more than $300 million from the Lon Nol period, a debt Cambodian officials maintain should be erased. Faleomavaega said he told Hun Sen he would take the matter to discuss with other US lawmakers.Debt forgiveness could help Cambodia, he said. Faleomavaega said he wanted to play a role in bettering the relationship between Cambodia and the US.Eang Sophaleth, an adviser to Hun Sen, told reporters the premier had thanked the men for continued economic support from the US and was happy to promote a relationship between the two countries.

By Chun Sakada, VOA KhmerOriginal report from Phnom Penh11 January 2010
Local authorities and military commanders joined a weekly meeting of ministers Friday through video conferencing in Phnom Penh that officials say will strengthen communication between central government and outlying authorities.Governors, council chiefs and other officials from 24 municipalities and provinces joined in discussions at the weekly Council of Ministers meeting, along with six commanders from military zones, in what Prime Minister Hun Sen called a historic moment.The meeting was meant to “speed up” human resources development in technology to provincial and city governors and others, according to a statement from the Council of Ministers. Yim Sovann, a spokesman for the Sam Rainsy Party, said the opposition supported the measure, “to help promote the prevention of corruption, deforestation, road reparation, project development and the protection of people’s security and safety.”However, while an effort to strengthen its effectiveness through technology was positive, he said, “the government should additionally increase its willingness to respect and fairly implement the law.”Land-grabbing and other “injustices” continue to plague the populace, he said.Ny Chakrya, a lead investigator for the rights group Adhoc, said the video conferencing would provide an element of transparency to the government, while “providing urgent information to local government’s to fulfill their work and to agree on the goals of the government.”The video conferencing could be shown on television networks for people to watch, he said, “because people sometimes want to know what the cabinet decides and whether the local government fully implements the decisions of the cabinet.”

Monday, 11 January 2010Meas SokcheaThe Phnom Penh Post
Observers will want to know whether or not the trial will give justice.SVAY Rieng provincial court has summoned opposition leader Sam Rainsy and five villagers to appear in court on January 27 to face charges stemming from the removal of wooden markers near the border with Vietnam.Choung Choungy, Sam Rainsy’s lawyer, said Sunday that he received a court summons signed by court prosecutor Keo Thea on Friday and would appear to defend his client, who is currently overseas.“I maintain my stance that this story is not a criminal case, and that [Sam Rainsy] is not wrong because he did what he did as a representative of the people,” he said.“This is not a criminal case, but a political story.”Sam Rainsy has been charged with racial incitement and purposely destroying border-demarcation poles after a Buddhist ceremony in Svay Rieng province’s Chantrea district on October 25. Villagers claimed the markers were placed in their fields by Vietnamese authorities, prompting opposition concerns that Cambodian authorities are turning a blind eye to border encroachments.A warrant was issued for Sam Rainsy’s arrest after he failed to appear in court on December 28 for questioning in relation to the incident.Five local villagers – Meas Srey, 39, Prom Chea, 41, Prak Koeun, 38, Prak Chea, 28, and Neang Phally, 39 – were also charged with destroying the border markers and have been summoned to appear in court on the same day.Two of those named, Meas Srey and Prom Chea, have been detained by local authorities, and the other three remain on the run after failing to appear in court last month.Nget Nara, provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc, said the trial of Sam Rainsy and the villagers would draw the attention of many national and international human rights observers.“This story is very important because it is related to the border issue and the lifting of Sam Rainsy’s [parliamentary] immunity. Observers will want to know whether or not the trial will give justice to Sam Rainsy and those people,” he said.Judge Koam Chhean, who is handling the case, could not be reached on Sunday.

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong will attend a series of ASEAN meetings to be held in Da Nam, Vietnam, on Jan. 13 to 14, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.Foreign ministers from 10 member states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will discuss measures to move forward community building process and external relations, especially for the year 2010, according to the release.Hor Namhong will also attend the 4th Foreign Ministerial Meeting of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) due to be held from Jan. 16 to 17 in Tokyo, Japan.On the sideline of the meeting, Hor Namhong and Hugo Martinez, minister of foreign affairs of El Salvador, will sign the joint communique on establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
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1 comments:
Anonymous said...
Gov't needs to find ways to work together as a team. Life is not always about you or me, its about "us", if we keep on fighting, we will lose everything. All gov't need to focus on what else need to be done? avoid personal conflict at all cost! if khmer don't love khmer no one in the world will!. Alot of us who are living abroad have faced with all sort of challenges in their lives, like struggling with English as second language, racism and other intimidation like even you have completed a degree they would still favour their citizen over you which is normal because they love their people more than you. So, if you don't love each other you will allow other to abuse you. One other thing is no other place like home, so gov't need to act now and act fast to have a system in place to help the poor. Gov't need to focus on generating income from race, fish, oil, gold etc. It would be great if gov't build 1000s of factories around the country, each factory, e.g. specialised in different goods, like dried fish packaging factory etc and than sign a contract with buyers oversea etc. Don't let other nation buy cheap from you and then they will make millions of it while you earn almost nothing!!!!. Be smarter! People come first or else it will be like pol pot where he kept all the money in swiz and now all gone for nothing where all of these monies used to belong to the death. Now swis have it all. k. Intelligent

Police said thousands hiked up a mountain to Surayud's home but he was not in [Reuters]Monday, January 11, 2010 Al Jazeera
Thousands of Thai anti-government protesters have rallied against a royal adviser they blame for masterminding the 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin Shinawatra from office.Members of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) gathered outside the rural home of Surayud Chulanont located at Khao Yai Thiang, about 175km northeast of the capital Bangkok.Police said some 5,000 protesters hiked up a mountain to Surayud's home on Monday demanding he give up the house, which they say was illegally built in a state-run forest preserve.They also want him charged with trespassing on public land.Police Colonel Direk Plangdee said the protest was peaceful and there were no arrests, adding that Surayud was not home at that time.No intentionLast week, prosecutors agreed that Surayud was not the rightful owner of the plot of land, which he will have to return to the state.
"This area was meant to be allocated to the landless. What is this if not unlawful privilege?" - Jatuporn Phromphan, UDD protest leaderTanapit Moonprauk, a spokesman for the attorney-general's office, said prosecutors would not press charges against Surayud because he had not intended to break the law.Surayud sits on the Privy Council and the UDD says members of this body orchestrated the bloodless military coup that ousted Thaksin in September 2006.A former army chief, Surayud became interim prime minister one month later and served until elections in December 2007.Since the coup, supporters and opponents of Thaksin have repeatedly taken to the streets to spar over who has the right to rule the country, sometimes sparking violence.Double standardsThe UDD, which draws its support largely from the rural poor who helped Thaksin twice win election landslides, accuse Surayud and Thailand's powerful elite of hypocrisy."We want to tell the international community that a double standard exists in the country," Jatuporn Phromphan, a protest leader, told the rally.He said Surayud was able to escape charges "while ordinary people have been sued by the state for trespassing and encroaching on the forest reserve"."This area was meant to be allocated to the landless. What is this if not unlawful privilege?" added Jatuporn.The protest by the so-called "red shirts" is seen as a prelude to a bid later this month to bring down the embattled coalition government of Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Thai prime minister.Political crisisThe UDD has planned a prolonged anti-government rally while the pro-Thaksin Puea Thai party prepares for a censure debate, probably in February, to exploit cracks in Abhisit's coalition.It comes ahead of a court verdict on whether to confiscate $2.3bn of assets belonging to the Shinawatra family.Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a Thai political scientist, said it was unlikely Monday's demonstration or rallies later this month would succeed in toppling the government.He said Abhisit's best hope of easing Thailand's polarising five-year political crisis was to engage with the UDD, which he says cannot succeed "without powerful backers"."Yes, there is much hypocrisy and double standard. They can protest and cause rumblings, but it is unlikely to derail the government," Thitinan said."Right now, it appears the government is winning, but they would be making a mistake if they don't address [UDD] grievances, setting the stage for more frustration and anger."

Jan 12, 2010 By Sebastian StrangioAsia Times (Hong Kong)
PHNOM PENH - A day after Cambodian authorities spirited 20 ethnic Uighur asylum seekers out of the country on an unmarked charter flight, China's Vice President Xi Jinping touched down at Siem Reap International Airport. During his three-day visit in late December, the Chinese leader signed an unprecedented US$1.2 billion in economic aid agreements with the Phnom Penh government, while rights groups and Western governments howled condemnation over the sudden deportations.The deported Uighurs hailed from China's restive northwest Xinjiang province and were part of a group of 22 who had drifted into Cambodia with the aid of Christian missionary networks in November after braving the long and arduous overland journey from China. Uighur rights groups said that the group fled China after witnessing bloody clashes between Chinese security forces and Uighur demonstrators on July 5 in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital. Two of the group remain on the run. A Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Koy Kuong, said that the Uighurs - who had applied for political asylum through the local office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - were deported for breaching Cambodia's immigration laws. "We have not specifically targeted these people - we do this in general for all foreign nationals who enter Cambodia illegally," he said at the time.Despite the Cambodian denials, the nature and timing of the seemingly hurried deportations are a vivid illustration of the new bonds of patronage and political accommodation now linking Beijing and Phnom Penh. In recent years, China's global sales pitch - hefty amounts of economic aid disentangled from human rights or good governance conditions - has found a willing recipient in Phnom Penh."China respects the political decisions of Cambodia," said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in September, during a ceremony marking the construction of a $128 million Chinese-funded bridge. "[T]hey build bridges and roads and there are no complicated conditions," he added.The newly promised $1.2 billion in economic assistance comes in addition to the $880 million in loans and grants Cambodia has received from Beijing since 2006, including finance for the $280 million Kamchay hydropower dam in Kampot province and the monolithic $30 million Council of Ministers building in Phnom Penh, given as a "gift" from the Chinese government.The arrival of the Uighurs was an unprecedented test for Hun Sen's regime, forcing it to choose between acquiescing to the apparent demands of its top regional patron and its conflicting obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. To some international observers, China's intent to secure the deportation of the Uighurs from Cambodia was clear from the outset."China takes a very hard line on Uighurs who seek out shelter in other countries, as China does not admit that there are conditions in Xinjiang, where most Uighurs live, that can be oppressive and might cause Uighurs to flee the country," said Josh Kurlantzick, a fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington.The Uighur American Association, a US-based Uighur exile group, claims that in late 2001 and early 2002, Nepal forcibly returned at least two Uighurs to Chinese authorities in Xinjiang, one of whom was executed in 2003 despite having registered with the UNHCR office in Kathmandu. Kurlantzick said the Chinese government has pushed hard to have Uighurs sent back to China from Central Asia and protested aggressively against the transfer of Uighurs held by the US government at Guantanamo Bay to third countries.That includes a strong Chinese Foreign Ministry statement issued on Friday warning Switzerland against accepting Uighur detainees that Beijing says it considers terrorists and a threat to its national security.Overlooked obligationsRights activists and UNHCR officials have demonstrated increasing faith in Cambodia's willingness to abide by the Refugee Convention's protocols in processing asylum cases. In an article published by UNHCR in October 2008, Cambodia was hailed as an emerging "refugee model" for Southeast Asia.The article followed the signing of an agreement between UNHCR and the Cambodian government that month that began the transfer of all asylum cases - except ethnic Montagnards from Vietnam - to a new Cambodian Refugee Office housed at the Department of Immigration. The article described the change of location as "an important move - symbolic of this country's determination to take on new responsibilities in protecting refugees' human rights".The transfer of powers was completed by a government sub-decree signed by Hun Sen on December 17 - just two days before the Uighurs' deportation. Rights activists familiar with the case said that on the previous day, UNHCR vehicles were used to round up the 20 Uighurs and take them to a safe house under joint government-UNHCR administration. On the night of December 18, the Uighurs were then allegedly forced at gunpoint to board Cambodian police vehicles and flown out the following night to an unknown destination in China.Andrew Swan, a project coordinator at the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, described the deportation as a "bolt from the blue" that reversed an earlier apparent willingness to process fairly the Uighur asylum cases. "Prior to the extradition ... there were few indications that the Cambodian government would interfere in the cases of the 22 Uighurs," he said. "Our confidence has been proved tragically wrong, and I believe it will take many, many years for Cambodia to regain both its regional and its international stature."Denise Coughlan, director of Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS), which was involved with the Uighur cases, said she was "shocked" at the Cambodian government's actions after formally requesting UNHCR assistance to determine the status of the Uighur group and offering to provide a safe house while their applications were pending. "Like sheep going to the slaughter, the people went to the safe house clearly believing they were going to be protected," she said.The deportation also prompted a storm of diplomatic condemnation. A statement issued by acting US State Department spokesman Gordon Daguid on December 21 said the US "strongly opposed" the deportation, warning it would "affect Cambodia's relationship with the US and its international standing". Graham Watson, a British member of the European Parliament, issued a statement on January 7 decrying the deportation and calling for a fair accounting of the two Uighurs remaining in the country."Cambodia's sneaky decision to extradite 20 Uighurs to China is a disgrace," he said in the statement. "The Cambodian government should give a proper account of why it chose to act in this way."Yet it was perhaps unsurprising that Beijing's $1.2 billion economic aid carrot would trump Cambodia's loose legal obligations under the Refugee Convention. Meanwhile, criticism has also been directed at UNHCR's Cambodia-based office for putting so much trust in the government's claims.Sara Colm, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, said it was "astonishingly poor timing and a gross error in judgment" for the UNHCR to hand control of refugee-processing - and the Uighur cases in particular - to the Cambodian government. "The bottom line is that Cambodia flagrantly violated its obligations under the Refugee Convention, which ended tragically for the 20 Uighurs," she said.Following the deportation, Cambodian officials also vented their frustration at the UNHCR for putting them in a compromised position with the Uighurs. They openly derided UNHCR officials for dragging their feet in processing the asylum applications."[The] UNHCR is the laziest office in Cambodia," said government spokesman and Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith on December 21. "If they [granted refugee status] within a few days, those people would have been moved to other places, but they were slow and kept them for about a month." He also accused the agency of leaking the story to the press in order to "beat a drum" against the government, forcing it to begin investigations into the whereabouts of the 22 asylum seekers.Kitty McKinsey, the UNCHR's spokesperson in Asia, said that despite the "aberration" of the deportations, which she claims the UNHCR took extraordinary steps to prevent, the essence of the problem is that only states have the power to provide protection to asylum seekers. "We work very diligently and sincerely to assist the government and provide protection, but if a state has signed the Refugee Convention, it's up to the state itself to provide protection," she said.Sebastian Strangio is a reporter at the Phnom Penh Post in Cambodia.

January 12, 2010The Nation
Since Cambodia was to propose the administration and conservation plan for Preah Vihear on February 1, PM Abhisit Vejjajiva should express Thailand's stance that Thailand has never agreed and joined in the plan making, an academic said Monday.ML Wanwipa Charoonroj of Thammasat University's Thai Studies Institute said the Cambodian plan would be submitted to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris to seek the World Heritage Committee approval in the 34th general meeting in Brazil's Brasilia City.She urged Abhisit to notify the World Heritage Center in Paris about the Administrative Court ruling that evoked the PM Samak Sundaravej's cabinet resolution on June 17, 2008 to assign former foreign minister Noppadol Pattama to sign a Thai-Cambodian statement over the matter.

January 11, 2010By ROGER COHENThe New York Times
BEIJING — A U.S. official here told me he was “getting a little nervous about 2010” when it comes to Chinese-American relations. I’d say there’s plenty of cause for that. I’m not optimistic about the world’s most important relationship in the short term.The Obama administration came in with a deeply held philosophical view about making the Chinese stakeholders, and partners, in an interconnected world. Human rights complaints were muted, the Dalai Lama put on hold, and President Obama swung into town in November with arms outstretched to the rising behemoth.The Chinese were polite enough, if less so at the Copenhagen climate talks a month later, but they’re not buying this touchy-feely interconnection thing. When you’re sitting on sums north of $2 trillion in reserves, riding three decades of near double-digit growth, and just trucked past the United States to become the world’s largest auto market, nationalism trumps globalism.Think of the headiest moments of U.S. expansion — the Gilded Age or the Roaring Twenties — to get some idea of Chinese swagger and possibility.It’s been a rough two months since that November visit. China has snubbed Obama.Top of Obama’s human rights list when he met President Hu Jintao was the case of Liu Xiaobo, the principal author of a pro-democracy manifesto. Liu’s since been sentenced, on Christmas Day, to 11 years in prison. Take that.Top of Obama’s nonproliferation list was Iran and the need for a united front on its nuclear program. China has since said “sanctions themselves are not an end” as the United States tries to harness support for them. Take that, too.Top of Obama’s trade list was the need for China to allow its currency, the renminbi, to appreciate rather than pegging it at an artificially low rate that spurs Chinese exports and, in effect, keeps jobs in Guangzhou as it kills them in Ohio. But a basic rule in China is that it looks inward before it looks outward. Its cheap-currency job-hoarding is about Chinese social stability, which is Job One for Hu and his cohorts, so there’s no sign of any movement.Take that, for good measure, Mr. President — and in a year with a U.S. mid-term election where disappearing jobs are going to haunt Obama and the Democrats.Then there was Copenhagen, of course, where Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s treatment of Obama left a bad taste in Washington; and the forced repatriation of Uighurs who’d fled to Cambodia from China, which infuriated Washington; and the execution of a U.K. citizen with mental problems, which dismayed Washington (and left British leaders seething). Well, you get the idea.“Things are much tougher than I thought possible a couple of months ago,” William McCahill, a former U.S. diplomat who heads a Beijing research company, told me. “With the mid-terms and the Chinese inching toward their succession in 2012, a period when hard-line positions get staked, you can expect the rhetoric to pitch up.”It already has. Since I arrived in China, newspapers have been awash in Chinese outrage at reports of the Obama administration’s approval of a sale by Lockheed Martin of advanced Patriot air defense missiles to Taiwan, the self-governing island that China views as a renegade province. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spoke of “severe consequences” from the sale, part of a $6.5 billion arms package for Taiwan approved under the Bush administration.I have a double reaction to this Taiwan arms contract. On the one hand, Obama’s been stiffed, the United States is obliged under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 to provide arms of a defensive nature to Taiwan, and China responds better to resolve than all that interconnected globe stuff. On the other, come on! Relations between Taipei and Beijing have never been as good, you’re never ever going to get a Chinese buy-in to real cooperation as long as it views Washington as meddling with its core strategic interests in this way, and “one country, three systems” looks a thousand times more likely to me within the next half-century than a Taiwan war that would shred Chinese stability.Of these reactions, the latter is stronger because Obama is accepting a core antagonism of interest in the Chinese relationship even as he’s talked up cooperation. Perhaps that’s inevitable between the world’s superpower and its ultimate likely successor; but the Taipei deal guarantees it.“The arms sales are stupid,” Chu Shulong, a political scientist often critical of the Chinese government, told me. “Yes, Taiwan and its democracy are important for your credibility in Asia, but what’s more important, that or the mainland? As long as America does this, it will be perceived as wanting to check China, divide China and challenge China’s fundamental national interests.”The painful condition of the United States and China is that they are codependent, through trade and debt, but antagonistic. As elsewhere, Obama has changed language but not reality. I see a 2010 of rising protectionism, suspended military dialogue, Iranian discord, human rights disappointments and wars of words.It could be worse. I don’t see outright confrontation now or any time. China wouldn’t risk its rise with that.

1/11/2010 Source: World Bank
Meas Sokhunthea, a shy 8th grade student at Preah An Kosa secondary school in Siem Reap town, has wanted to be a teacher since she was a little girl. “With the scholarship that I’ve been given and my mom’s strong support for my studies, I believe I will reach my goal,” she said.Sokhunthea is one of 36,000 lower-secondary and primary students who received scholarships through a component of the Education Sector Support Project (ESSP), which is financed by the World Bank in Cambodia. Under the program, students will receive scholarships ranging from US$45 to US$60 per year to support their study. Sokhunthea got US$45, which she used to buy her uniform, books, pen and her school bag. Sokhunthea thanks the program because it helps to reduce her mother’s financial burden of buying her school materials.Her schoolmate, Cheng Sopheap, who received US$60, said the money is helping him to concentrate on his studies. He said it makes him less worried about finding money to buy school materials. Sopheap has three brothers and a sister; all of them are in school. “If there is no support, I won’t be here because my parents are very poor,” he said.In a classroom at Borkeo secondary school in Borkeo district, around 25 km from Ratanakiri provincial town, another 9th grade scholarship recipient, Pov Theary, has been given a scholarship for grades 7, 8 and 9. Each school year she gets $60. Like most of other scholarship students, Theary uses the scholarship money to buy books, uniforms, and a bicycle, and the rest she gives to her mom for buying food for the family.Theary had been asked by her mom to quit school when she finished grade 6 because her family could not support her continuing schooling.

Relations between Thailand and Cambodia, plunged to a new low late last year when Phnom Penh appointed the fugitive billionaire Thaksin (above) as an economics guru. -- PHOTO: ReutersJan 11, 2010 AFP
PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA refused on Monday to revoke the appointment of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an adviser and said it was up to Bangkok to resolve the diplomatic row between the two countries.Relations between Thailand and Cambodia, which have fought a string of deadly gunbattles on their border, plunged to a new low late last year when Phnom Penh appointed the fugitive billionaire Thaksin as an economics guru.Both recalled their ambassadors in November and expelled senior diplomats, while diplomatic tensions soared further when Phnom Penh refused to extradite Thaksin during his first visit to Cambodia.'It (the appointment of Thaksin) is the sovereign right of Cambodia. Thailand has no right to interfere in this issue,' Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told AFP in an interview. 'The appointment was made by the king's royal decree, we cannot revoke as (Thai Foreign Minister) Kasit Piromya has demanded.''It is not a childish game.'Thailand's Kasit said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Monday that the two countries could not normalise relations until Cambodia revoked Thaksin's appointment.

January 11, 2010The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia's government on Monday returned management of the country's air traffic control company to its Thai owners, a small concession in a dispute over its overtures to ousted former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.Control of Cambodia Traffic Air Services, or CATS, was seized in November after Cambodia arrested a Thai employee, Siwarak Chutipong, on a spying charge. He allegedly stole the flight schedule of Thaksin -- who is a fugitive from Thai justice but who was visiting Cambodia as a VIP guest -- and gave it to a Thai diplomat.Other Thai employees of the company were barred from coming to its offices, but not otherwise penalized.Samart Corp., the parent firm of CATS, said Cambodia's Cabinet returned control of the company on Monday.In 2008, a Thai court sentenced Thaksin in absentia to two years in prison for violating a conflict of interest law, but he fled into exile before the verdict. He was ousted by a 2006 military coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power.In early November, Cambodia named Thaksin as an adviser to the government on economic affairs. The appointment, and a subsequent visit by Thaksin, set off a diplomatic imbroglio in which the two countries recalled their ambassadors. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thaksin had been unfairly convicted for political reasons.Siwarak was convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail by a Cambodian court but was pardoned soon afterward and allowed to leave for Thailand.The statement by Samart quoted its president, Watchai Vilailuck, as expressing appreciation for the handover and saying that it signaled "that Kingdom of Cambodia is open and fair to the foreign businesses and shall win investor's confidence in the long-term."It said that Samart in 2001 won a concession to operate CATS for 32 years.

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong will attend a series of ASEAN meetings to be held in Da Nam, Vietnam, on Jan. 13 to 14, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.Foreign ministers from 10 member states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will discuss measures to move forward community building process and external relations, especially for the year 2010, according to the release.Hor Namhong will also attend the 4th Foreign Ministerial Meeting of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) due to be held from Jan. 16 to 17 in Tokyo, Japan.On the sideline of the meeting, Hor Namhong and Hugo Martinez, minister of foreign affairs of El Salvador, will sign the joint communique on establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
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Anonymous said...
Gov't needs to find ways to work together as a team. Life is not always about you or me, its about "us", if we keep on fighting, we will lose everything. All gov't need to focus on what else need to be done? avoid personal conflict at all cost! if khmer don't love khmer no one in the world will!. Alot of us who are living abroad have faced with all sort of challenges in their lives, like struggling with English as second language, racism and other intimidation like even you have completed a degree they would still favour their citizen over you which is normal because they love their people more than you. So, if you don't love each other you will allow other to abuse you. One other thing is no other place like home, so gov't need to act now and act fast to have a system in place to help the poor. Gov't need to focus on generating income from race, fish, oil, gold etc. It would be great if gov't build 1000s of factories around the country, each factory, e.g. specialised in different goods, like dried fish packaging factory etc and than sign a contract with buyers oversea etc. Don't let other nation buy cheap from you and then they will make millions of it while you earn almost nothing!!!!. Be smarter! People come first or else it will be like pol pot where he kept all the money in swiz and now all gone for nothing where all of these monies used to belong to the death. Now swis have it all. k. Intelligent

Jan 12, 2010 By Sebastian StrangioAsia Times (Hong Kong)
PHNOM PENH - A day after Cambodian authorities spirited 20 ethnic Uighur asylum seekers out of the country on an unmarked charter flight, China's Vice President Xi Jinping touched down at Siem Reap International Airport. During his three-day visit in late December, the Chinese leader signed an unprecedented US$1.2 billion in economic aid agreements with the Phnom Penh government, while rights groups and Western governments howled condemnation over the sudden deportations.The deported Uighurs hailed from China's restive northwest Xinjiang province and were part of a group of 22 who had drifted into Cambodia with the aid of Christian missionary networks in November after braving the long and arduous overland journey from China. Uighur rights groups said that the group fled China after witnessing bloody clashes between Chinese security forces and Uighur demonstrators on July 5 in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital. Two of the group remain on the run. A Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Koy Kuong, said that the Uighurs - who had applied for political asylum through the local office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - were deported for breaching Cambodia's immigration laws. "We have not specifically targeted these people - we do this in general for all foreign nationals who enter Cambodia illegally," he said at the time.Despite the Cambodian denials, the nature and timing of the seemingly hurried deportations are a vivid illustration of the new bonds of patronage and political accommodation now linking Beijing and Phnom Penh. In recent years, China's global sales pitch - hefty amounts of economic aid disentangled from human rights or good governance conditions - has found a willing recipient in Phnom Penh."China respects the political decisions of Cambodia," said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in September, during a ceremony marking the construction of a $128 million Chinese-funded bridge. "[T]hey build bridges and roads and there are no complicated conditions," he added.The newly promised $1.2 billion in economic assistance comes in addition to the $880 million in loans and grants Cambodia has received from Beijing since 2006, including finance for the $280 million Kamchay hydropower dam in Kampot province and the monolithic $30 million Council of Ministers building in Phnom Penh, given as a "gift" from the Chinese government.The arrival of the Uighurs was an unprecedented test for Hun Sen's regime, forcing it to choose between acquiescing to the apparent demands of its top regional patron and its conflicting obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. To some international observers, China's intent to secure the deportation of the Uighurs from Cambodia was clear from the outset."China takes a very hard line on Uighurs who seek out shelter in other countries, as China does not admit that there are conditions in Xinjiang, where most Uighurs live, that can be oppressive and might cause Uighurs to flee the country," said Josh Kurlantzick, a fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington.The Uighur American Association, a US-based Uighur exile group, claims that in late 2001 and early 2002, Nepal forcibly returned at least two Uighurs to Chinese authorities in Xinjiang, one of whom was executed in 2003 despite having registered with the UNHCR office in Kathmandu. Kurlantzick said the Chinese government has pushed hard to have Uighurs sent back to China from Central Asia and protested aggressively against the transfer of Uighurs held by the US government at Guantanamo Bay to third countries.That includes a strong Chinese Foreign Ministry statement issued on Friday warning Switzerland against accepting Uighur detainees that Beijing says it considers terrorists and a threat to its national security.Overlooked obligationsRights activists and UNHCR officials have demonstrated increasing faith in Cambodia's willingness to abide by the Refugee Convention's protocols in processing asylum cases. In an article published by UNHCR in October 2008, Cambodia was hailed as an emerging "refugee model" for Southeast Asia.The article followed the signing of an agreement between UNHCR and the Cambodian government that month that began the transfer of all asylum cases - except ethnic Montagnards from Vietnam - to a new Cambodian Refugee Office housed at the Department of Immigration. The article described the change of location as "an important move - symbolic of this country's determination to take on new responsibilities in protecting refugees' human rights".The transfer of powers was completed by a government sub-decree signed by Hun Sen on December 17 - just two days before the Uighurs' deportation. Rights activists familiar with the case said that on the previous day, UNHCR vehicles were used to round up the 20 Uighurs and take them to a safe house under joint government-UNHCR administration. On the night of December 18, the Uighurs were then allegedly forced at gunpoint to board Cambodian police vehicles and flown out the following night to an unknown destination in China.Andrew Swan, a project coordinator at the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, described the deportation as a "bolt from the blue" that reversed an earlier apparent willingness to process fairly the Uighur asylum cases. "Prior to the extradition ... there were few indications that the Cambodian government would interfere in the cases of the 22 Uighurs," he said. "Our confidence has been proved tragically wrong, and I believe it will take many, many years for Cambodia to regain both its regional and its international stature."Denise Coughlan, director of Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS), which was involved with the Uighur cases, said she was "shocked" at the Cambodian government's actions after formally requesting UNHCR assistance to determine the status of the Uighur group and offering to provide a safe house while their applications were pending. "Like sheep going to the slaughter, the people went to the safe house clearly believing they were going to be protected," she said.The deportation also prompted a storm of diplomatic condemnation. A statement issued by acting US State Department spokesman Gordon Daguid on December 21 said the US "strongly opposed" the deportation, warning it would "affect Cambodia's relationship with the US and its international standing". Graham Watson, a British member of the European Parliament, issued a statement on January 7 decrying the deportation and calling for a fair accounting of the two Uighurs remaining in the country."Cambodia's sneaky decision to extradite 20 Uighurs to China is a disgrace," he said in the statement. "The Cambodian government should give a proper account of why it chose to act in this way."Yet it was perhaps unsurprising that Beijing's $1.2 billion economic aid carrot would trump Cambodia's loose legal obligations under the Refugee Convention. Meanwhile, criticism has also been directed at UNHCR's Cambodia-based office for putting so much trust in the government's claims.Sara Colm, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, said it was "astonishingly poor timing and a gross error in judgment" for the UNHCR to hand control of refugee-processing - and the Uighur cases in particular - to the Cambodian government. "The bottom line is that Cambodia flagrantly violated its obligations under the Refugee Convention, which ended tragically for the 20 Uighurs," she said.Following the deportation, Cambodian officials also vented their frustration at the UNHCR for putting them in a compromised position with the Uighurs. They openly derided UNHCR officials for dragging their feet in processing the asylum applications."[The] UNHCR is the laziest office in Cambodia," said government spokesman and Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith on December 21. "If they [granted refugee status] within a few days, those people would have been moved to other places, but they were slow and kept them for about a month." He also accused the agency of leaking the story to the press in order to "beat a drum" against the government, forcing it to begin investigations into the whereabouts of the 22 asylum seekers.Kitty McKinsey, the UNCHR's spokesperson in Asia, said that despite the "aberration" of the deportations, which she claims the UNHCR took extraordinary steps to prevent, the essence of the problem is that only states have the power to provide protection to asylum seekers. "We work very diligently and sincerely to assist the government and provide protection, but if a state has signed the Refugee Convention, it's up to the state itself to provide protection," she said.Sebastian Strangio is a reporter at the Phnom Penh Post in Cambodia.

Police said thousands hiked up a mountain to Surayud's home but he was not in [Reuters]Monday, January 11, 2010 Al Jazeera
Thousands of Thai anti-government protesters have rallied against a royal adviser they blame for masterminding the 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin Shinawatra from office.Members of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) gathered outside the rural home of Surayud Chulanont located at Khao Yai Thiang, about 175km northeast of the capital Bangkok.Police said some 5,000 protesters hiked up a mountain to Surayud's home on Monday demanding he give up the house, which they say was illegally built in a state-run forest preserve.They also want him charged with trespassing on public land.Police Colonel Direk Plangdee said the protest was peaceful and there were no arrests, adding that Surayud was not home at that time.No intentionLast week, prosecutors agreed that Surayud was not the rightful owner of the plot of land, which he will have to return to the state.
"This area was meant to be allocated to the landless. What is this if not unlawful privilege?" - Jatuporn Phromphan, UDD protest leaderTanapit Moonprauk, a spokesman for the attorney-general's office, said prosecutors would not press charges against Surayud because he had not intended to break the law.Surayud sits on the Privy Council and the UDD says members of this body orchestrated the bloodless military coup that ousted Thaksin in September 2006.A former army chief, Surayud became interim prime minister one month later and served until elections in December 2007.Since the coup, supporters and opponents of Thaksin have repeatedly taken to the streets to spar over who has the right to rule the country, sometimes sparking violence.Double standardsThe UDD, which draws its support largely from the rural poor who helped Thaksin twice win election landslides, accuse Surayud and Thailand's powerful elite of hypocrisy."We want to tell the international community that a double standard exists in the country," Jatuporn Phromphan, a protest leader, told the rally.He said Surayud was able to escape charges "while ordinary people have been sued by the state for trespassing and encroaching on the forest reserve"."This area was meant to be allocated to the landless. What is this if not unlawful privilege?" added Jatuporn.The protest by the so-called "red shirts" is seen as a prelude to a bid later this month to bring down the embattled coalition government of Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Thai prime minister.Political crisisThe UDD has planned a prolonged anti-government rally while the pro-Thaksin Puea Thai party prepares for a censure debate, probably in February, to exploit cracks in Abhisit's coalition.It comes ahead of a court verdict on whether to confiscate $2.3bn of assets belonging to the Shinawatra family.Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a Thai political scientist, said it was unlikely Monday's demonstration or rallies later this month would succeed in toppling the government.He said Abhisit's best hope of easing Thailand's polarising five-year political crisis was to engage with the UDD, which he says cannot succeed "without powerful backers"."Yes, there is much hypocrisy and double standard. They can protest and cause rumblings, but it is unlikely to derail the government," Thitinan said."Right now, it appears the government is winning, but they would be making a mistake if they don't address [UDD] grievances, setting the stage for more frustration and anger."

1/11/2010 Source: World Bank
Meas Sokhunthea, a shy 8th grade student at Preah An Kosa secondary school in Siem Reap town, has wanted to be a teacher since she was a little girl. “With the scholarship that I’ve been given and my mom’s strong support for my studies, I believe I will reach my goal,” she said.Sokhunthea is one of 36,000 lower-secondary and primary students who received scholarships through a component of the Education Sector Support Project (ESSP), which is financed by the World Bank in Cambodia. Under the program, students will receive scholarships ranging from US$45 to US$60 per year to support their study. Sokhunthea got US$45, which she used to buy her uniform, books, pen and her school bag. Sokhunthea thanks the program because it helps to reduce her mother’s financial burden of buying her school materials.Her schoolmate, Cheng Sopheap, who received US$60, said the money is helping him to concentrate on his studies. He said it makes him less worried about finding money to buy school materials. Sopheap has three brothers and a sister; all of them are in school. “If there is no support, I won’t be here because my parents are very poor,” he said.In a classroom at Borkeo secondary school in Borkeo district, around 25 km from Ratanakiri provincial town, another 9th grade scholarship recipient, Pov Theary, has been given a scholarship for grades 7, 8 and 9. Each school year she gets $60. Like most of other scholarship students, Theary uses the scholarship money to buy books, uniforms, and a bicycle, and the rest she gives to her mom for buying food for the family.Theary had been asked by her mom to quit school when she finished grade 6 because her family could not support her continuing schooling.

January 12, 2010The Nation
Since Cambodia was to propose the administration and conservation plan for Preah Vihear on February 1, PM Abhisit Vejjajiva should express Thailand's stance that Thailand has never agreed and joined in the plan making, an academic said Monday.ML Wanwipa Charoonroj of Thammasat University's Thai Studies Institute said the Cambodian plan would be submitted to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris to seek the World Heritage Committee approval in the 34th general meeting in Brazil's Brasilia City.She urged Abhisit to notify the World Heritage Center in Paris about the Administrative Court ruling that evoked the PM Samak Sundaravej's cabinet resolution on June 17, 2008 to assign former foreign minister Noppadol Pattama to sign a Thai-Cambodian statement over the matter.

January 11, 2010By ROGER COHENThe New York Times
BEIJING — A U.S. official here told me he was “getting a little nervous about 2010” when it comes to Chinese-American relations. I’d say there’s plenty of cause for that. I’m not optimistic about the world’s most important relationship in the short term.The Obama administration came in with a deeply held philosophical view about making the Chinese stakeholders, and partners, in an interconnected world. Human rights complaints were muted, the Dalai Lama put on hold, and President Obama swung into town in November with arms outstretched to the rising behemoth.The Chinese were polite enough, if less so at the Copenhagen climate talks a month later, but they’re not buying this touchy-feely interconnection thing. When you’re sitting on sums north of $2 trillion in reserves, riding three decades of near double-digit growth, and just trucked past the United States to become the world’s largest auto market, nationalism trumps globalism.Think of the headiest moments of U.S. expansion — the Gilded Age or the Roaring Twenties — to get some idea of Chinese swagger and possibility.It’s been a rough two months since that November visit. China has snubbed Obama.Top of Obama’s human rights list when he met President Hu Jintao was the case of Liu Xiaobo, the principal author of a pro-democracy manifesto. Liu’s since been sentenced, on Christmas Day, to 11 years in prison. Take that.Top of Obama’s nonproliferation list was Iran and the need for a united front on its nuclear program. China has since said “sanctions themselves are not an end” as the United States tries to harness support for them. Take that, too.Top of Obama’s trade list was the need for China to allow its currency, the renminbi, to appreciate rather than pegging it at an artificially low rate that spurs Chinese exports and, in effect, keeps jobs in Guangzhou as it kills them in Ohio. But a basic rule in China is that it looks inward before it looks outward. Its cheap-currency job-hoarding is about Chinese social stability, which is Job One for Hu and his cohorts, so there’s no sign of any movement.Take that, for good measure, Mr. President — and in a year with a U.S. mid-term election where disappearing jobs are going to haunt Obama and the Democrats.Then there was Copenhagen, of course, where Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s treatment of Obama left a bad taste in Washington; and the forced repatriation of Uighurs who’d fled to Cambodia from China, which infuriated Washington; and the execution of a U.K. citizen with mental problems, which dismayed Washington (and left British leaders seething). Well, you get the idea.“Things are much tougher than I thought possible a couple of months ago,” William McCahill, a former U.S. diplomat who heads a Beijing research company, told me. “With the mid-terms and the Chinese inching toward their succession in 2012, a period when hard-line positions get staked, you can expect the rhetoric to pitch up.”It already has. Since I arrived in China, newspapers have been awash in Chinese outrage at reports of the Obama administration’s approval of a sale by Lockheed Martin of advanced Patriot air defense missiles to Taiwan, the self-governing island that China views as a renegade province. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spoke of “severe consequences” from the sale, part of a $6.5 billion arms package for Taiwan approved under the Bush administration.I have a double reaction to this Taiwan arms contract. On the one hand, Obama’s been stiffed, the United States is obliged under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 to provide arms of a defensive nature to Taiwan, and China responds better to resolve than all that interconnected globe stuff. On the other, come on! Relations between Taipei and Beijing have never been as good, you’re never ever going to get a Chinese buy-in to real cooperation as long as it views Washington as meddling with its core strategic interests in this way, and “one country, three systems” looks a thousand times more likely to me within the next half-century than a Taiwan war that would shred Chinese stability.Of these reactions, the latter is stronger because Obama is accepting a core antagonism of interest in the Chinese relationship even as he’s talked up cooperation. Perhaps that’s inevitable between the world’s superpower and its ultimate likely successor; but the Taipei deal guarantees it.“The arms sales are stupid,” Chu Shulong, a political scientist often critical of the Chinese government, told me. “Yes, Taiwan and its democracy are important for your credibility in Asia, but what’s more important, that or the mainland? As long as America does this, it will be perceived as wanting to check China, divide China and challenge China’s fundamental national interests.”The painful condition of the United States and China is that they are codependent, through trade and debt, but antagonistic. As elsewhere, Obama has changed language but not reality. I see a 2010 of rising protectionism, suspended military dialogue, Iranian discord, human rights disappointments and wars of words.It could be worse. I don’t see outright confrontation now or any time. China wouldn’t risk its rise with that.

Relations between Thailand and Cambodia, plunged to a new low late last year when Phnom Penh appointed the fugitive billionaire Thaksin (above) as an economics guru. -- PHOTO: Reuters


Jan 11, 2010
AFP


PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA refused on Monday to revoke the appointment of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an adviser and said it was up to Bangkok to resolve the diplomatic row between the two countries.

Relations between Thailand and Cambodia, which have fought a string of deadly gunbattles on their border, plunged to a new low late last year when Phnom Penh appointed the fugitive billionaire Thaksin as an economics guru.

Both recalled their ambassadors in November and expelled senior diplomats, while diplomatic tensions soared further when Phnom Penh refused to extradite Thaksin during his first visit to Cambodia.

'It (the appointment of Thaksin) is the sovereign right of Cambodia. Thailand has no right to interfere in this issue,' Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told AFP in an interview. 'The appointment was made by the king's royal decree, we cannot revoke as (Thai Foreign Minister) Kasit Piromya has demanded.'

'It is not a childish game.'

Thailand's Kasit said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Monday that the two countries could not normalise relations until Cambodia revoked Thaksin's appointment.

CCHR is pleased to announce the availability of our latest public forum's video clips now available on you. Please follow the following link. We will continue to add as clips become available.
http://www.youtube.com/user/cchrcambodiaThe public forum is organized by CCHR in Chi Kreng, Siem Riep, a site of violence land eviction and arrests of villagers. Chi Kreng has been mostly off limit to NGOs and people were prevented from speaking out. CCHR was able to organize the forum where all were invited to free speak with parliamentarians and authorities.

How Energy Grows on Jatropha Trees
By An Sithav & Sam CampbellEconomics Today
Cambodia remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels for electricity generation and transport, and with domestic sources of oil and gas not likely to be viable in the short term, biofuels are increasingly appealing.
Cambodia possesses domestic resources for the production of electricity from clean sources but making use of oil and gas reserves to fuel the growing demand from transport will take time, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) report "Status and Potential for the Development of Biofuel and Rural Renewable Energy Cambodia."
"Biofuel is one option for use in transport, and biofuel will remain a worthwhile option for a diversified energy supply even after the country's oil reserves become available," added the report. In the short-tomedium term, both the urban and rural electricity supply will continue to be dominated by oil-fired generators, making decentralized biofuel production for transport and electricity an attractive option.
A Poisonous Blessing
While most efforts are focused on the production of gasoline-like ethanol from food crops like corn or cassava, the production of so-called bio-diesel from Jatropha curas could be much more suitable for Cambodia. Well-known in provincial Cambodia as Lahong Kwong in Khmer, the perennial poisonous shrub has been grown in Cambodia for generations, mostly as a natural fence to deter hungry cattle. The plant, originating in Central America, has spread to Asia and Africa. It is highly resistant to aridity, can be planted on marginal land unable to support food crops, and can grow even in the desert.
Peter Bolster, chief technical advisor for GTZ in Cambodia, said that Jatropha must not compete with the cultivation of food. But, since the plant also grows on soil not suitable for normal agricultural usage, dormant or fallow land can be put into biofuel production.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has said that Cambodia has great potential to expand jatropha plantations because of the many economic land concessions in Ratanakiri, Monldikiri, Stung Treng, Kampot, Koh Kong, Kampong Speu and Kampong Chhnang, each with unused or underutilized land of from 30,000 ha to 315,000 ha.
Already-cleared forest areas, unused land, and forest areas that have been converted to agriculture can be planted with Jatropha, and should not create competition with other food crops.
A Seedy Business
Jatropha seeds contain 27-40 percent oil (with an average of around 35 percent) that can be processed to produce a high-quality biodiesel fuel, usable in a standard diesel engine.
Jatropha oil can also be used as a lubricant and for making high-quality soap, and the seed cake residues from oil extraction can be used as a high-grade fertilizer and industrial fuel.
According the 2008 World Bank report "Agriculture for Development," biofuel offer a potential source of renewable energy and possible large new market for agricultural producers. "With few alternative fuels for transport, Brazil, the EU, the US, and several other countries are actively supporting the production of liquid biofuels," said the report. "As a renewable energy source, biofuel could help mitigate climate change and reduce dependent on oil in the transportation sector and may also offer larger new markets for agricultural producer that could stimulate rural growth and farm incomes."
The countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), namely Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, are poised to embark on, or have already begun, biofuel development, said ADB report.
The main advantages of biofuels are a reduced dependence on foreign oil and consequent savings on energy expenditure that could instead be invested in other development activities. Biofuel production can thus boost a country’s energy security. A second advantage is the potential of biofuel production to promote rural development. Biofuels present an opportunity to diversify agriculture and, if properly planned, can attract investment and new technology to invigorate agriculture.
By introducing a 5 percent biofuel blend into retailed fuels from 2011 to 2015, and a 10 percent blend by 2020, more than 300,000 tons of imported fuel could be saved every year. At current yields, this goal would be achievable if Cambodia planted 200,000 ha of Jatropha, a move that would create around 200,000 new jobs.

Cambodia still lacks anything approaching a national power grid, with power supplies generated by 24 unconnected, isolated grids, one in each of the 24 provinces. The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME) has responsibility for 10 provinces and Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) runs operations in 14 provinces, including Phnom Penh. Generation relies mostly on imported diesel and 2 mini-hydro plants with an installed capacity of 13 MW, the report states.
In Cambodia, the price of electricity is much higher than neighboring countries, competing for the dubious honor of the world's most expensive supply.
"Many parts of the Cambodian countryside do not yet have electricity and this is hindering development," said Peter Bolster. Jatropha plantations owned by Cambodian farmers can generate energy locally for households without massive infrastructure investments, enabling a bottom up, 'grassroots' economic development, he claimed, not least since existing diesel generators can be used without modification.
Bun Haq, a Jathropha oil entrepreneur in Banteay Meanchey province, claimed it should be easy to understand why jatropha is a good crop. Every family can profit from growing Jatraopha, he said, because the 5-metre-tall plants can live for up to 70 years.
"I believe this experiment will work here. We are helping initiatives set up by communes that have no electricity yet," said Peter Bolster.
However, while Cambodian farmers traditionally extract Jatropha oil to burn for lighting, the growth of Jatropha plantations has been small-scale and sporadic. A recent interest in extracting the oil and marketing it on a commercial scale has attracted small-scale farmer entrepreneurs, the ADB report said, with farmers reporting that 1 ha of Jatropha yields about 2,500 kg of seeds with 25 percent oil content. Thus, an estimated total of 68,000 tons of Jatropha seeds are currently produced every year in Cambodia, with an annual yield potential of 17,000 tons of oil.
Efficient Processing
The plant’s fruits must be collected daily. Good timing is important: the majority of the fruit bunches must have turned from green to yellow, indicating that they are ripe and ready to be harvested. Unripe or overripe seeds result in reduced oil content.

Processing the fruits into fuel is surprisingly efficient, with little waste products. "Every level and stage has own financial benefits," said Dave Granger of of Biodiesel Cambodia, the first firm to commercially produce biodiesel in Cambodia.

Jatropha-derived biodiesel also has benefits over other veg biofuel feedstocks for the end consumer. "All biofuels have limitations as regards to the climates they can be used in," Granger explained. "Other types have high gel points [the temperature the liquid fuel turns into a gel], meaning colder countries are not an option. But Jatropha [derived biodiesel] gels in the negative temperatures," meaning any excess fuel can be exported.
Despite its advantages, Jatropha cultivation is not without hardships. An industry saturated with misinformation and confusion makes good advice for farmers hard to come by. Established opinions on Jatropha- derided as a worthless weed by many rural Khmers-combined with the bitter failure of other failed 'miracle crops', mean that convincing locals to start growing is not always easy, admitted Granger. A lack of technical skills and poor education can also lower yields, he said, and reliable markets closer to production centers are urgently needed.
Alexander Noack, an engineer, said that Cambodia's climate is ideal for the cultivation of Jatropha. "Here we do not have a cold winter like in Europe. The temperatures are constant and therefore very suitable for plant technology."
Jatropha has become a favorite response to biofuel criticism but experience cultivating Jatropha curcas as a crop is lacking, and agricultural techniques have yet to be established, said Chey Chong Siang, a researcher from the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. "A period of research and development will be needed to establish Jatropha curcas as a plantation crop that can be cultivated on a commercial basis. Regardless, many countries and companies are going ahead and injecting capital into the development of large-scale plantations, which is an alarming situation."
Experience with biofuel processing in Cambodia is project-based, meaning a not-for-prrofit ethos that can often result in delays and inefficiency.

A lack of interest from investors means that there have been so far no large-scale Jatropha operations in Cambodia, said Douglas Clayton, CEO of Leopard Capital. "Jatropha hasn't yet attracted the large scale plantations necessary to support a significant biofuels refinery. It's a chicken-and-egg problem," he told Economics Today.
While the development of Jatropha plantations in Cambodia has slowed during the downturn, there is interest in the sector, said David Foo, a biodiesel consultant. "We are waiting for next year to invest in growing Jatropha because the economic crisis currently affected our source of funding. Now, we are negotiating with the US for next year," he told Economics Today. He said that cultivation of Jatropha in Cambodia has increased moderately since last year.
Q & A with David Granger, Biodiesel Cambodia

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By An SithavEconomics Today
Could you tell me briefly about Jatropha production in Cambodia? Which provinces have Jatropha production?
There is a Chinese company growing about 700ha in Kampong Speu, a Malaysian company growing about 60ha in Kampong Speu, (both of these companies have local Khmer partners). There is some local companies growing Jatropha in Battambong, Banteay Meanchey, and Pursat. There is also a Japanese company growing in Pursat and a Malaysian company doing contract farming in Banteay Meanchey. There are a coupe of other Japanese projects but I'm not sure where they are growing. I've also heard that MH- Biofuels (the ethanol people) have moved into Jatropha, but you'd need to contact them to confirm if this is true.
I estimate the national yearly production of Jatropha seed to be at about 300 tons of seed.
How is the market for Jatropha in Cambodia and elsewhere?
As a result of encouragement by MIME and other organizations, some local companies have joined early foreign investors as the first movers of growing Jatropha in Cambodia. These farms are now 2 to 3 years old and producing seed. Many of these first movers are now complaining of no market for their seeds, but in actually fact there is a market-it just doesn't offer the same high buying price as their own unrealistic expectations.
I am always looking for large volumes of seed to purchase, but every time I speak to current growers, they demand prices for their seed that just aren’t realistic—prices as high as US$6 per kilogram. When you take into account that it takes 4kg of seed to make 1 litre of oil, and that 1 litre of oil must compete with the cost of 1 litre of diesel fuel, it is clear that such high prices for buying of seed are not possible. The only time people will pay such a high amount for seed is if the seed is intended for use as planting material, and even then, the seed must qualify as being suitable by meeting certain quality standards and be of the correct genetic origin.
People seeking to buy commercial quantities of Jatropha seed so that they can extract the oil and make biodiesel are able to pay between CR 400-500 per kilogram of seed. This should be the standard market price for seeds in Cambodia. Now and again people establishing new plantations will buy a few hundred kilograms of seed and pay a much higher price per kg and this is giving sellers of large quantities of seed the wrong impression. They then seek to sell their many tons of seed at this same high price.
I think in another year or two, once more people have planted Jatropha and larger quantities of seed are available, the market price will stabilise to a more realistic and financially viable level of about CR500 per kilogram.
There are current buyers of Jatropha in Cambodia, though they are using the seeds either for plantations or for local crushing activities. The current national production of Jatropha is not sufficient to interest the international market. Anyone seeking to export Jatropha seed needs to have about 100 tons per shipment to make it economically feasible.
What constraints are there on the Jatropha industry in Cambodia?
I have observed the development of Jatropha in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. One thing that I observe is missing in Cambodia is the support of national research institutions. In both Thailand and Vietnam, there are agricultural universities and government institutions that are heavily involved in research and development of agriculture. They give enormous help to both local farmers and foreign investors when establishing and operating agricultural projects. They can provide scientific testing of soil and plants, give information on weather and soil types, and assistance in pest and disease management. If such support was readily available to farmers and companies in Cambodia, it would be of great benefit and would result in not only a higher participation rate, but higher economic output.
Talking about Jatropha production, do you think this crop is the potential crop to grow or not? why?
I strongly believe in the potential of Jatropha farming to provide an economic benefit to local farmers, as well as providing a locally-grown feedstock to drive the production of a national biofuel industry. Such an industry can decrease the countries current 100% reliance on foreign, imported oil and improve the efficiencies of many sectors of the national economy, such as industry, transport, and agriculture.
I have personal experience and, so, great confidence in the ability to grow Jatropha profitability on degraded soils that cannot otherwise be used productively. I also believe that Cambodia has a great deal of currently idle land that could be brought to economic use, bringing increases in employment and the contributing to the growth of supporting local industries in rural areas, where it is needed most.
Can Jatropha farming boost rural development? Does this development help the rural poor?
There are three models of Jatropha farming—plantation, contract farming, and local growers, all of which contribute to rural employment.
The first, a plantation model, is where a company obtains land and is responsible for all aspects of the farming. In this case they need to employ local farmers to work on the plantation. This contributes to a rise in local employment and in the cases of large plantations, can also encourage the reversal of urban migration by enabling family members who have moved to the cities to return to their rural homes to work. When plantations are established, they invariably drive the creation of many other smaller businesses that are required to support the needs of the local workforce, such as food growers, sellers, and distributors.
The second model, contract farming, is where a company will assist local farmers to grow on their own land by providing materials and monies needed to establish their Jatropha crop. This assistance is provided in exchange for the guaranteed sale of the seeds they grow at a certain price to the company. This also creates rural employment and economic activity, though greater responsibility is put upon the farmer to ensure he produces enough crop to achieve a financial benefit.
The third model of Jatropha farming is where a farmer is responsible for all costs of establishment and managing Jatropha on his own land. Although the farmer requires his own capital for this type of farming, he has more freedom where to sell his crop and more freedom in the price he can demand for it.
When the Jatropha that is produced from any of these forms of farming is used for the production of a locally produced biofuel, this often results in the availability of a lower-priced fuel for farmers to use. With a lower price for fuel, greater levels of mechanisation and increased productivity are achieved in local farming. It also means savings in households that depend on such fuel for power needs. All this means higher real incomes for rural areas.
How should government and stakeholders develop Jatropha farming in Cambodia?
I have observed that most current Jatropha operations are poorly established and managed, ignoring some of the basic technical requirements needed to produce high seed yields. These growers can never expect to achieve the high yields that will bring them the maximum financial benefit.
I would like to see the creation of an industry association to support growers by providing them with the most accurate technical information on the growing of Jatropha. If a farmer decides to get involved in growing Jatropha, he should be informed on the best way to do it, so he can be successful in achieving the highest yields.
It would be great to see Cambodia’s rural universities receive some substantial grants to research Jatropha and provide real support to local farmers and foreign investors seeking to grow Jatropha. It would also be great to have a government portal specifically for Jatropha where companies could easily access useful information from government departments such as weather data, soil data, and a database of local business and industries needed to establish Jatropha farms, all at no cost.

11 Jan 2010Everyday.com.khTranslated from Khmer by Komping Puoy
All 25 SRP MPs, as well as a number of SRP officials, plan to pay a visit to 2 villagers who are currently being jailed in Svay Rieng provincial prison for their involvement in the uprooting of border stakes in Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province. According to RFA, Yim Sovann, SRP MP and party spokesman, indicated that SRP MPs and party officials plan to visit Mrs. Meas Srey and Mr. Prum Chea who are currently being jailed in Svay Rieng. Yim Sovann added that this visit is planned for 19 January and it is undertaken to encourage these two villagers who are currently unjustly suffering in jail. The two villagers were arrested by the Svay Rieng provincial authority on 25 December of last year, they were charged with uprooting of stakes for border post #185, located in Koh Kban Kandal village, Samrong commune, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province.

11 Jan 2010Everyday.com.khTranslated from Khmer by Komping Puoy
Xok An, the vice-PM and minister of the Council of ministers, was granted an honorary PhD in political diplomacy by the South Korean Wu Suk University. The Korean university recognized and highly valued Xok An’s action and effort to serve the nation and the people, to strengthen international relationships with tenderness and wisdom through diplomacy. The diploma granting ceremony for Xok An was held in the evening of08 January 2010 at the office of the Council of ministers. Dr. Ra Jong Il, the rector of Wu Suk U said, during the ceremony, that vice-PM Xok An is a famous VIP for the Cambodian people. He is a famous diplomat who is filled up with wisdom and he received numerous successes in diplomacy.

ADB's whistleblower plans in graft crackdownMonday, January 11, 2010AFP
A survey released last year by Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) found that many of the developing Asian countries scored from 6.70 to 8.32 in a scale where zero is the least corrupt and 10 the most.Many of the poorest Asian countries like Cambodia and Laos were not even included in the survey.MANILA — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday unveiled new safeguards for whistleblowers in a crackdown on corruption.The Manila-based ADB, which offers multi-million-dollar loans and grants to developing countries, said it would protect the identities of workers and those outside the organisation worried about reprisals for reporting misconduct."ADB does not tolerate corruption in any form. By improving the information and protections available to whistleblowers and others who also provide evidence of misconduct, ADB is strengthening its ongoing efforts to combat fraud and corruption," said ADB anti-corruption chief Peter Pedersen."Individuals who come forward with information will receive protection from any retaliation due to their decision to report that information," the bank added.Contractors, consultants and project beneficiaries would be covered by the new policies, the ADB said.The ADB has been stepping up efforts to cut down on misuse of its funds and resources. In 2008, it sanctioned 41 firms and 38 individuals for corruption.The institution provided more than 11 billion dollars in loans and grants last year to Asian countries, many of which are rife with corruption.A survey released last year by Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) found that many of the developing Asian countries scored from 6.70 to 8.32 in a scale where zero is the least corrupt and 10 the most.Many of the poorest Asian countries like Cambodia and Laos were not even included in the survey.

Mon, 11 Jan 2010DPA
Phnom Penh - The opening court hearing against Cambodia's main opposition leader is set for January 27 over the destruction of border markers, national media reported Monday. Sam Rainsy, leader of the party that bears his name, is accused of destruction of property and racial incitement. The charges relate to an October incident in Svay Rieng province in southern Cambodia when six wooden posts marking the border with Vietnam were removed.The Sam Rainsy Party charged that Cambodian farmers' land rights in the area are not being respected in the border demarcation process currently under way.Sam Rainsy is out of the country. His lawyer Choung Chou Ngy told the Cambodia Daily newspaper, "I will go and join the trial on behalf of my client, [but] I do not know if he is coming or not," adding that his chances of winning the case were remote. The court has also issued arrest warrants for five farmers over the incident. Two are in pre-trial detention while the other three have fled. The charges carry jail terms of up to three years, meaning Sam Rainsy could lose his parliamentary position if convicted.The opposition leader was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in November over the incident in a vote that was boycotted by the opposition. His party insisted its leader has done nothing wrong and was simply standing up for impoverished farmers."[Farmers] are losing land because of these demarcation poles," party spokesman Yim Sovann said. "The people do not agree with that because they have only a few hectares of land to feed their families, and now they are losing everything."In late December, the Svay Rieng provincial court issued an arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy after he failed to appear for questioning over the incident, which riled Hanoi. The two nations are currently demarcating their 1,270-kilometre border in a process that was scheduled to be completed by 2012.Vietnam has significant interests in agribusiness, aviation, telecommunications and banking in Cambodia. In December, Hanoi signed an agreement with Phnom Penh that could result in investments worth billions of US dollars, including a deal to look for aluminium ore, known as bauxite, in Cambodia's border province of Mondolkiri.Three opposition parliamentarians were stripped of their parliamentary immunity in 2009 over various charges. Critics accused the ruling Cambodian People's Party of using the courts to move against its perceived opponents in politics, the media and civil society.

11-01-2010Kavi ChongkittavornThe Nation (Thailand)
"The Thai-Cambodian diplomatic dispute, coupled with the deportation of 4,500 Hmong refugees at the end of last year, left a huge scar on Thai diplomacy. It made a mockery of the country's much professed human-rights oriented policy and standing"Entering its second year, Thailand's government under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will pay more attention to Thai diplomacy and strategic interests. His government's ultimate aim is to fit the country, individually and as an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member, into the regional and broader Asia-Pacific region in the next decade, especially within the current effort to build regional architectures.While political uncertainties and polarisation continue to haunt the government, Abhisit will have more time in coming months to focus on key foreign policy issues that would bring back investors' confidence and increase employment as well as public and private corporate social responsibility. Notably, no other Thai government in recent memory has put so much energy into ensuring the proper image of Thailand in the global stage as the Abhisit government.Last year, Thailand was in a big mess, resembling almost a failed state, confronted with a series of continuous political crises. Governing the country became a daily high-wire crisis management job, making long-term and strategic plans almost impossible. Worse still, the internal turmoil seriously impacted on the Thai chairmanship of Asean when the scheduled Pattaya Summit was postponed, further delaying declarations and overall cooperation.The threat of using force by the government's opponents also placed subsequent summit preparations constantly in a standby mode, turning into endless sources of bilateral bickering and ridicule between the host and the colleagues from Asean and dialogue partners.Given the do-or-die circumstance of the past 12 months, Abhisit and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya have done relatively well in coping with myriads of challenges from within and abroad. Their achievements could have been given greater value if not for the year-end negative developments. The Thai-Cambodian diplomatic dispute, coupled with the deportation of 4,500 Hmong refugees at the end of last year, left a huge scar on Thai diplomacy. It made a mockery of the country's much professed human-rights oriented policy and standing.Right after the government took power last January, the government was flabbergasted by the widespread reports of torture and forced repatriation at sea by the Thai authorities of the Rohingya asylum seekers from Burma.Despite continuous severe attacks and criticism from the international community, the Abhisit government managed to allay fear that they would not be pushed back without a proper screening process from UN-related and humanitarian organisations.Somehow, the Abhisit government was unable to do the same with the Hmong who have been living here for the past three decades. Again, the repatriation brought universal condemnation.Throughout the tumultuous Asean chairmanship, Thailand faced a huge dilemma - how could it speak for the conservative Asean, without undermining its own outward looking foreign policy objectives?At certain points, it was extremely difficult to distinguish the Thai and Asean policies as diplomatic parlance and activities got blurred, because the Asean chair must speak on behalf of the bloc as well as itself.The aborted joint Asean appeal asking for a pardon for Burma's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, last fall was a case in point. Kasit thought the time had come when Thailand and Asean must take a stronger stand on Burma-related issues, particularly on Suu Kyi's fate and push for a national reconciliation process.With flurries of diplomatic activity at the global level on Burma, Asean also needed to intensify engagement with its pariah member. Securing Suu Kyi's freedom and wishing for a democratic Burma - Thailand's longstanding wish-list - quickly crumbled when it took on the Asean initiative.With a long common border, Thailand has to shoulder all political, economic and social problems emanating from Burma's oppressive regime. Other Asean members did not care that much.Thailand's overwhelming support for the role of civil society groups in the Asean top-down decision making process was another good example. It was far too progressive and subsequently was blocked by most of the Asean members that have yet to recognise the work of non-government organisations in the region.At the forthcoming Asean summit under the chair of Vietnam, the interface between the Asean leaders and representatives from Asean-based civil society groups used in the previous two summits, will no longer apply. It is not compulsory for Asean leaders to meet up with people-oriented delegates. Earlier, Thailand's strong advocacy for more human rights protection in Asean was quickly neutralised by the strong Asean objection.No wonder, the government's nine-point comprehensive foreign policy announced on December 30, 2008 was unable to implement in totality. Thai diplomatic objectives, while seeking to promote universal norms and standards, are just not compatible with Asean thinking as they are considered too progressive.Looking back, the government succeeded only partially in pushing forward at least five diplomatic agenda: developing ties with neighboring countries; trying to make Asean a people-centred organisation;strengthening cooperation and strategic partnership with major powers; promoting the country's interaction with the global community in setting international standards on important transnational issues including human rights; promoting public awareness and understanding of global changes that affect Thailand so as to forge consensus in the formulation and conduct of foreign policy.The remaining four objectives - promoting close cooperation with Muslim countries; supporting entry to international agreements including ratifications; building the country's confidence and people-to-people understanding in the international community; protecting and promoting Thai interests overseas - will be the main focus of this year's diplomatic efforts.It was unfortunate that the Thai-Cambodian dispute received all the media attention and coverage, giving the impression of the government's obsession with Cambodia and its leadership links with fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra. Truth be told, Thailand's present relations with other neighbours including Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia are very good, marked by closer cooperation and concrete progress.Later this month, Abhisit will attend the 40th World Economic Forum at Davos, where he left his mark on global leaders last year.This time, he must be even more prudent in presenting his country's credentials because the world is watching and needs to be convinced that Thailand is led by a visionary, and is not a banana republic in the making, as generally perceived.

First published in September 2008 in The Phnom Penh Post as part of the Voice of Justice columns. One and one-half years since the publication of this article, Emma continues to flower into a beautiful little girl with personality, rhythm and grace - a product of great parenting, nurturing environment and opportunities. We owe our children and the new generation opportunities and a nurturing environment for them to realize their human potential.A nurturing environment to replace the current ugly environment -- of vulgarity, deceit, pettiness, women-hating, self-loathing and divisiveness -- does not come by without reflection and sacrifices from each of us wherever we may find ourselves, with a narrow or wide sphere of influence. And I cannot emphasize enough the need for each of us to READ, READ, READ and READ some more...this is a habit that should never leave us even if we're 90 years old as we should never stop learning and should be teachable at any age!
HABITS AND SACRIFICESMy niece, Emma, who is fifteen-months old and lives in Irvine, California, has been attending music class. It's impossible to know fully the impact that music will have on her life, but already her face lights up every time she hears music and moves and grooves to the tunes confidently, playfully, in perfect rhythm and style. In seeing Emma dance, I am reminded of Tiger Woods who as a toddler putted golf balls every day with his father and the excellence of the Olympians achieved through discipline and habits instilled at tender ages.The wisdom of millennia back continues to resonate: Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.The problem with habits is that the good ones require intentionality, discipline, patience and hard work while the bad ones come only too naturally.What are the admirable habits you as a parent, we as a society – intentionally, purposefully, sacrificially – are instilling in our children and young people? Alternatively, what are the dark habits you as a parent, we as a society are encouraging and permitting through carelessness, apathy and lack of vision?If we are wise and visionary, we must be intentional and purposeful in our living by forming life-enriching habits in ourselves and our children. We are a generation, post-Khmer Rouge, uniquely cast with an opportunity and a burden: Shall we squander the lessons of the past and let our parents and family die in vain?Or, shall we live sacrificially and meaningfully for change, for transformation – from violence to peace, hatred to love, vulgarity to decency, fear to courage, arrogance to humility, mediocrity to excellence, pettiness to largeness of heart, envy to praise, folly to wisdom, inanity to knowledge, vacillation to perseverance, apathy to passion, falsehood to truth, humiliation to dignity/nobility – in order that our children may move away from this present darkness to build a brighter future and join the world community of the 21st century?Shall we merely exist, or shall we LIVE and live passionately by giving the new generation strong shoulders to stand on, a firm foundation from which to build for globalized, 21st century living?The answer cannot be the current status quo. It must be the latter; we must live sacrificially; we must live intentionally and passionately with shrewd single-mindedness for peace, love, decency, courage, humility, excellence, generosity, nobility, wisdom, knowledge and truth -all these words we throw around as good and true.However, when I look around our society, I shudder at what I see and hear being instilled and formed in our young people. I see elementary school students bribing their way through schools, through their young life – encouraged and applauded by the parents and our leaders, very much comfortably at ease with corruption as a way of life.I see young children in my neighborhood scavenging for rubbish when they should be attending school, sniffing glue to numb their existence. I see a void of leadership at all levels of society, beginning with us as civic leaders. I see indecency and hear vulgarity from us, about us.What I do not see often enough is children reading, adults reading, parents parenting, leaders leading. What I hear is lip service to these values; what I do not see is the acting out of these values.These words of nobility, goodness, peace etc. are only words, empty rhetoric if they are not habitually, incrementally instilled and developed in each one of us. We cannot do otherwise; we cannot afford anything else. Phrases such as "proud to be born Khmer" ring hollow if we continue to cheat, kill and lie to and about each other.A long time ago, I learned that there is no short cut to life. In a bling-bling culture, where only the surface matters, where things are not what they seem, we are fooling ourselves to think we can exist as we are now and acquire good habits and virtues without discipline, without efforts, without education, without hard work, without opposition.We must know our history, world history. We must be better readers of the patterns of life spanning the years and events of these histories. If we are at all paying attention, we would know that anything of value and meaning must be paid for in real terms. We value dignity? Fight for it. Earn it. We value freedom? Fight for it. Earn it. Apartheid did not end in South Africa without decades of struggle, costing lives and 27 years of imprisonment for Nelson Mandela. Think Gandhi and his struggle for independence from British imperialism and what it cost him and his countrymen. Barack Obama is standing on the shoulders of giants who came before him and paved the way for his historic presidential candidacy; think Martin Luther King, Jr. and decades of the civil rights movement.What are the sacrifices we are making for our children? What are the habits we are intentionally living and imparting to prepare for a more prosperous present and future? What are the character-forming habits we would like to see more in ourselves and in future generations? What are we doing to actualize them from empty rhetoric?I agree with Dr. Mark Strom – my new favorite author – that the answer to these habits and sacrifices which allow us to "live well" is not magical but practical. I also agree with him on four little sayings as good reminders and a place to start: take care in little things; big door swing on little hinges; faithful in little things, faithful in big things; and leave people better than you found them.
And always, READ.Theary C. SENG, former director of Center for Social Development (March 2006—July 2009), founded the Center for Justice & Reconciliation (www.cjr-cambodia.org) and is currently writing her second book, under a grant, amidst her speaking engagements.