Combodia-Post

'I am not interfering with the court. But it is not the court that stopped the war. Be careful - the court will create war, causing division of society again,' Hun Sen said. -- PHOTO: AP
PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIAN Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday denied interfering with the UN-backed Khmer Rouge court, but repeated warnings that pursuing more suspects from the 1970s regime could spark civil war.

'I am not interfering with the court. But it is not the court that stopped the war. Be careful - the court will create war, causing division of society again,' Hun Sen said in a speech in the capital Phnom Penh.

The premier made his remarks days after lawyers for a former Khmer Rouge leader demanded that investigators at the war crimes tribunal question Mr Hun Sen and government officials over alleged interference.

'Again and again, I see they want to question (more people). Be careful, this is the issue of death,' Mr Hun Sen said during a ceremony to mark the international day of disabled people.

He went on to repeat warnings that he would rather see the court fail than expand prosecutions beyond the five former Khmer Rouge leaders currently detained for their roles in the regime which killed up to two million people.

Final arguments in the court's first trial, of prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, concluded last week. The court plans to prosecute former Khmer Rouge ideologue Nuon Chea, head of state Khieu Samphan, foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife, minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith sometime in 2011.

Activists concerned group of 22 could be sent back to China

Twenty-two members of a Chinese ethnic group who participated in violent demonstrations against China last summer have surfaced in Cambodia, sparking concerns that Cambodia will ignore their requests for asylum and return them to China.

The 22 Uighurs, including three children, trickled into Cambodia over the past several weeks, according to Omar Kanat, vice president of the World Uyghur Congress, a group that advocates for the rights of Uighurs in China. He said that two additional Uighurs have been detained in neighboring Vietnam and that five others, who were known to have fled China into Vietnam, have disappeared.

Violent anti-China demonstrations led by Uighurs rocked Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region of northwest China, on July 5.

At least 200 people died in the bedlam that involved Uighurs attacking Han Chinese and then bands of Han Chinese retaliating against Uighurs. Last month, China's state-run media reported that nine Uighurs had been executed for taking part in the riots. Kanat and other sources said that seven of the men who fled to Cambodia were wanted by the Chinese.

The Chinese government blamed the unrest on Rebiya Kadeer, a Uighur businesswoman who had been jailed in China and then exiled to the United States after pressure from the Bush administration.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said that Beijing wanted the Uighurs to be returned to China and that only a "handful of Uighurs in China are engaged in national splitism, religious extremism and violent terrorism."

A State Department spokeswoman said it is department policy not to comment on asylum cases.

Uighurs constitute a mostly Muslim ethnic group that speaks a Turkic language. For years, Uighur separatists have conducted a sometimes violent campaign against China's rule of the resource-rich Xinjiang region.

Cambodia has a troubled history when it comes to refugee rights. Human Rights Watch criticized Cambodia in a report this year for sending asylum-seekers back to Vietnam.

"Cambodia is not a good place to be a refugee these days," said Sophie Richardson, advocacy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division

A student from Singapore serves porridge to Cambodian people




Singaporean students painting pictures at the child-care center
KOMPONG CHAM, Cambodia (UCAN) -- An exchange program which saw Singaporeans teaching English to Cambodian youths and feeding poor children at dumpsites was an eye-opener for all, say organizers and participants.

Sixteen students from Hwa Chong Institution, an independent school in Singapore, were in Kompong Cham Nov. 19-29 for a program organized by the institution, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) of Singapore and the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Cambodia.

The boys and girls, aged 16-19, stayed at a Church-run students' center. During the program, they played games with the 18 resident boys at the center, taught English to them and children in a government primary school, and fed children living at dumpsites.

They also decorated the classrooms and library of the government school, and painted pictures on the walls of a child-care center run by the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Only a few of the visitors were Christian.

Father Gerald Vogin, vicar general of Kompong Cham apostolic prefecture, said the visitors "showed us how they can help other people with their own hands and with their own money."

The Paris Foreign Missions priest also said it was a good opportunity for a cultural exchange -- it was a chance to motivate young Cambodians to learn foreign languages, and for the young Singaporeans to see how the lifestyle in Cambodia contrasts with that of their developed island-nation.

Sok Heang, 20, a resident at the students' center, said he was very happy to meet the Singaporeans, practice his English, and exchange ideas and experiences. He said he now feels more motivated to learn foreign languages so that he can communicate with people around the world.

The students' center provides accommodation to boys aged 15-22 years who study in public high schools.

Seventeen-year-old Singaporean Ning Yu said his team's visit to Cambodia was an eye-opening experience for all. He added that they resolved to continue doing social work back home by caring for elderly people and assisting the less fortunate.

The trip helped the students "to be thankful that their parents provide well for them," said Teo Ming Ern, one of three teachers who accompanied the Singaporean youngsters. "Here, they can see many children who don't have an education and live in poor conditions."

He expressed hope that his students will now think twice about what they spend money on, as well as learn to relate with people of different cultures and backgrounds.

This is the fourth year that Hwa Chong Institution has organized such a program for its students. This year, besides Kompong Cham, another group of Hwa Chong students went to Siem Reap on a similar program.

This Sunday, an arts and crafts festival will feature demonstrations of traditional Cambodian techniques,

This Sunday, the Cambodian population of Long Beach will be on full display as an arts and crafts festival will feature dancers, local artists, traditional cooking demonstrations and much more in a celebration of this ancient culture.

The event will run from 10:00am-2:00pm this Sunday in the parking lot of the Mark Twain Library on 1325 E. Anaheim Street.

Long Beach is home to the largest concentration of Cambodian people in the country – some estimates are that Cambodians make up between 8-9% of the city’s population – and the stretch of Anaheim Street from Atlantic Avenue to Junipero Avenue is famously known as Cambodia Town.

An organization that represents that community called Cambodia Town, Inc. will host the event along with the office of Councilmember Dee Andrews, whose 6th District encompasses Cambodia Town. Andrews has been active in the community and assisted two local entrepreneurs in opening a shopping center in Cambodia Town this past July.

Detainee's mother met at airport by Sok An, the Cambodian deputy premier, thanks to Noppadon's connections in Phnom Penh

Mother of the detained Thai engineer received a warm welcome in Phnom Penh yesterday, with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An waiting for her at the airport.

This second visit, facilitated by opposition Pheu Thai Party, allowed Simarak na Nakhon Phanom to spend two hours with her son Sivarak Chutipong at the Prey Sor prison on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital. She was also allowed to give him basic necessities and food.

Sivarak was arrested on November 12 over charges of spying on ex-Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra, stealing his flight schedule and passing it on to a Thai diplomat who was later expelled from Cambodia.

Speaking via telephone from Phnom Penh, Simarak said she wanted to thank Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for allowing her to visit her son, as well as Sok An for meeting her at the airport and escorting her to the prison. She said the visit had been made very easy and had come as a surprise to Sivarak.

"My son is healthy," she said.

She also thanked Pheu Thai Party for facilitating her visit - former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama used his connections in Phnom Penh to help.

Simarak previously visited her son last Friday with the assistance of the Thai Foreign Ministry, but later she attacked the ministry for being too slow in getting Sivarak out of prison. She was in Cambodia for 12 hours last Friday for a one-and-a-half hour meeting with her son. This time though she was allowed to stay overnight in the capital and also go sightseeing before she takes a flight back today.

When asked about her relying on the opposition party, Simarak said she did not care that it had caused a political conflict because she was willing to do anything to save her son. "I have no hidden agenda, no politics, but will use every channel I can to see my son," she said.

Sivarak's arrest is believed to be part of the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, because he was arrested in connection with Thaksin, who was appointed by Hun Sen as an economic adviser.

Angered by Thaksin's appointment, Thailand downgraded diplomatic relations with Cambodia and reviewed many cooperation projects. The government has also blamed Thaksin for manipulating conflicts between the two countries.

Noppadon, meanwhile, said the government's moves against Cambodia could end up costing a lot, adding that Thaksin should not be blamed for the slump in foreign relations because he had suggested several times that Thailand reconcile with Cambodia.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya should also make clear whether the government wants to revoke the maritime deal with Cambodia, he said.

The Cabinet decided to terminate the 2001 memorandum of understanding on overlapping claims on the continental shelf but it needs to be approved by Parliament before Phnom Penh is notified.

"Just threatening to withdraw from the maritime deal is not appropriate. Instead, the government should make a clear decision and inform Phnom Penh in writing soon," Noppadon said.

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's domestic rubber prices rose 44 percent in the past year, according to a report published Thursday by Phnom Penh Post.

The Post quoted Ly Phalla, director general of Rubber Department as saying that the Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 variety was up to 2,435 U.S. dollars per ton at the end of last month from 1,686 U.S. dollars per ton a year earlier as global demand improved.

"There is high demand for rubber in the global vehicle industry, especially from China, while production (globally) has fallen," he was quoted as saying and added that the recent rise in crude oil prices on global markets has also pushed up rubber prices.

Prices have recovered specially in the past five months, he said, following an average price of just 1,500 U.S. dollars per ton in the first half.

"Our rubber price has soared on the Chinese market due to high demand while other (producing) countries like Malaysia, Indonesia...were affected by the storms and flooding which damaged production," he said.

The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) which Cambodia joined in September said that production among its 10 members fell 5.1 percent in the 12 months to September.

In 2008, ANRPC members produced over 9.13 million tons of natural rubber, but 2009 production is expected to be only 8.68 million tons.