Quantcast
Channel: KI Media - Khmer Intelligence
Viewing all 40045 articles
Browse latest View live

Overpass plans need work, says City Hall

$
0
0
Kong Meta, The Phnom Penh Post
Thu, 8 September 2016

City Hall has returned the latest blueprint for a proposed second Kbal Thnal overpass to developer Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation (OCIC) for revisions after finding an initial plan failed to adequately address congestion in the area.

“After examining the blueprint, we find it does not fully solve the problem of congestion,” Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Suy Serith said yesterday in the wake of a Tuesday meeting on the matter.

He added that he did not know how many families living in the area might be affected by the construction.

According to Serith, the overpass connecting to Hun Sen Boulevard will replace an existing petrol station at that area with a new roundabout.

“We know for sure the gasoline station will be affected . . . We don’t know how many families live along the road, but they will be affected too,” he said.

Serith added that it could take as many as five more meetings to come up with a solution that solves the area’s traffic issues while minimising the impacts resulted from the construction.

មន្ត្រី​បដិសេធ​ផ្តល់​ព័ត៌មាន​រឿង​បញ្ជូន​កំណត់​ហេតុ​ព្រំដែន​ ទៅ​វៀតណាម

$
0
0
អ្នក​តំណាងរាស្ត្រ អ៊ុំ សំអាន (ពាក់​មួក) ពេល​ទៅ​មើល​ព្រំដែន​ក្នុង​ខេត្ត​ស្វាយរៀង​កាលពី​ឆ្នាំ​មុន​​​។ រូបថត សហការី

ផាក់ ស៊ាងលី ភ្នំពេញ ​ប៉ុស្តិ៍​ Wed, 7 September 2016

រតនគិរីៈ ខណៈ​ដែល​វៀតណាម​នៅ​តែ​បន្ត​សាងសង់​ប៉ុស្តិ៍​របស់​ខ្លួន​នៅ​តំបន់ស​ក្នុង​ខេត្ត​រតនគិរី​មន្ត្រី​ជាន់​ខ្ពស់​​កម្ពុជា​បាន​បដិសេធ​​ធ្វើ​អត្ថាធិប្បាយ​រឿង​បញ្ជូន​កំណត់​ហេតុ​កិច្ចប្រជុំ​រួម​ពី​បញ្ហា​​ព្រំដែន​ដែល​មិន​​ចុះ​សម្រុង​គ្នា​ទៅ​ប្រទេស​វៀតណាម​។

ចាប់​តាំង​ពី​ខែ​កក្កដា​រហូត​មក​ទល់​នឹង​ពេល​នេះ​វៀតណាម​នៅ​តែ​បន្ត​សកម្មភាព​​សាងសង់​ប៉ុស្តិ៍​ព្រំដែន​ថ្មី​នៅ​លើ​ខ្សែ​បន្ទាត់​ព្រំដែន​ដែល​កម្ពុជា​​​ចាត់​ទុក​ថា​ជា​តំបន់ស​មិន​ទាន់​​បោះ​បង្គោល​ព្រំដែន​ក្នុង​ភូមិ​ឡំ ឃុំ​ប៉ក់ញ៉ៃ ស្រុក​អូរយ៉ាដាវ។

ភាគី​​កម្ពុជា​បាន​ស្នើ​ឲ្យ​វៀតណាម​បញ្ឈប់​ការ​សាងសង់​នេះ​ប៉ុន្តែ​​ភាគី​​វៀតណាម​​នៅ​តែ​បន្ត​ធ្វើ​ការ​សាងសង់​ដោយ​ថា​សំណង់​នោះ​គឺ​ស្ថិត​នៅ​លើ​ដែន​អធិបតេយ្យភាព​របស់​ខ្លួន​ទៅវិញ។

លោក ញ៉ែម សំអឿន ​អ្នក​នាំ​ពាក្យ​សាលា​ខេត្ត​រតនគិរី​បាន​មាន​​ប្រសាសន៍​បញ្ជាក់​កាលពី​ម្សិលមិញ​ថា៖ «រឿង​​សង់​ប៉ុស្តិ៍​នៅ​តែ​បន្ត​សង់​ដដែល​ហ្នឹង។ យើង​ឃាត់​​ចេះ​តែ​ឃាត់​ហើយ​តែ​នេះ​ជា​រឿង​ថ្នាក់​ជាតិ។ ខាង​ខេត្ត​យ៉ាឡាយ [ប្រទេស​វៀតណាម]។ យើង​បាន​ជជែក​គ្នា​ពី​រឿង​ហ្នឹង​ហើយ​តែ​គេ​ថា​ «រឿង​ហ្នឹង​ថ្នាក់​ជាតិ​គេ​បញ្ជា​មក​​»។

ទោះ​ជា​យ៉ាង​​ណា​លោក​ថា​ទំនាក់​​ទំនង​​រវាង​​អាជ្ញាធរ​ខេត្ត​រតនគិរី និង​ខេត្ត​យ៉ាឡាយ​ ប្រទេស​​វៀតណាម​មាន​ដំណើរការ​ជាធម្មតា។ ប៉ុន្តែ​កម្ពុជា​បាន​និង​កំពុង​តែ​បង្កើន​ការ​យក​ចិត្ត​ទុក​ដាក់​ឃ្លាំ​មើល​មិន​ឲ្យ​កើត​មាន​បាតុភាព​ផ្សេង​កើត​មាន​នៅ​តាម​បន្ទាត់​ព្រំដែន​ដូច​ករណី​លួច​ជីក​ស្រះ​ចំនួន ៩ និង​ការ​សាងសង់​ប៉ុស្តិ៍​ថ្មី​នោះ​ឡើយ​។

លោក​ ញ៉ែម សំអឿន ​បាន​ថ្លែង​ថា៖ «រឿង​បាតុភាព​ថ្មី​ដូចជា​​អត់​មាន​ទេ​តែ​គ្រាន់​តែ​ថា​រឿង​សង់ [ប៉ុស្តិ៍] នៅ​តែ​សង់​អ៊ីចឹង​​។ តែ​យើង​កាន់​តែ​រឹតបន្តឹង​ឃ្លាំ​មើល​​តាម​បណ្តោយ​ព្រំដែន​ទាំង​ហ្នឹង។ បើ​​មាន​បញ្ហា​អី​យើង​ត្រូវ​​រាយការណ៍​ជូន​ថ្នាក់​ជាតិ​ភ្លាម»​។

គណៈកម្មាធិការ​ព្រំដែន​កម្ពុជា និង​វៀតណាម​បាន​ជួប​​ប្រជុំ​គ្នា​អស់​រយៈពេល​មួយ​ថ្ងៃ​កន្លះ​កាលពី​ដើម​សប្តាហ៍​មុន​ក្នុង​រាជធានី​ភ្នំពេញ។ ប៉ុន្តែ​ភាគី​ទាំង​ពីរ​មិន​បាន​ឯកភាព​គ្នា​លើ​ការ​ចេញ​កំណត់ហេតុ​រួម​នៃ​កិច្ចប្រជុំ​នោះ​ទេ​ព្រោះ​ថា​កម្ពុជា​ប្រកាន់​ជំហរ​ប្រើប្រាស់​គោលការណ៍​ខ្សែ​ព្រំដែន​មិន​កែប្រែ​ខណៈ​ដែល​សមភាគី​វៀតណាម​ទាមទារ​ឲ្យ​ប្រើប្រាស់​សន្ធិ​សញ្ញា​ព្រំដែន​រដ្ឋ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៨៥ សន្ធិសញ្ញា​បំពេញ​បន្ថែម​ឆ្នាំ ២០០៥ ឬ​ក៏​អនុស្សរណៈ​យោគយល់​គ្នា​ឆ្នាំ ២០១១ ជាដើម។

ក្រោយ​ពេល​កិច្ចប្រជុំ​ដែល​ជាប់គាំង​នោះ​លោក​ទេសរដ្ឋមន្ត្រី វ៉ា គឹមហុង ប្រធាន​គណៈកម្មាធិការ​ទទួល​បន្ទុក​កិច្ចការ​ព្រំដែន​បាន​ថ្លែង​ប្រាប់​អ្នក​សារព័ត៌មាន​ថា​កំណត់​ហេតុ​ប្រជុំ​ខាង​ភាគី​កម្ពុជា​បាន​ធ្វើ​ចប់ និង​ប្រថាប់​ត្រា​រួច​ហើយ ហើយ​គ្រោង​នឹង​បញ្ជូន​កំណត់​ហេតុ​នោះ​ទៅ​ទីក្រុង​​ហាណូយ​ ប្រទេស​វៀតណាម​តាមរយៈ​ក្រសួង​ការបរទេស​របស់​កម្ពុជា​ដែរ។

ទោះ​​យ៉ាង​ណា ​លោក​ទេសរដ្ឋមន្រ្តី វ៉ា គឹមហុង ​​បាន​​បដិសេធ​បង្ហើប​ប្រាប់​​ភ្នំពេញ​ប៉ុស្តិ៍​ថា​តើ​កំណត់ហេតុ​ប្រជុំ​នោះ​ត្រូវ​បាន​ផ្ញើ​ទៅ​ប្រទេស​វៀតណាម ឬ​យ៉ាង​ណា​នោះ​ទេ។ លោក​ទេសរដ្ឋមន្ត្រី​បាន​ចាត់ទុក​ការ​សួរ​ដេញដោល​ពី​រឿ​នោះ​ថា​ជា​រឿង «​ចម្លែក» ​ទៅ​វិញ។

លោក​ ជុំ សុន្ទរី អ្នក​នាំពាក្យ​ក្រសួង​ការបរទេស​មិន​អាច​ទាក់ទង​សុំ​អត្ថាធិប្បាយ​បាន​ទេ​កាលពី​ម្សិលមិញ។

បញ្ហា​ព្រំដែន​កម្ពុជា វៀតណាម គឺជា​រឿង​ដែល​តែងតែ​មាន​ភាព​​រសើប​​យ៉ាង​ខ្លាំង​នៅក្នុង​សង្គម​កម្ពុជា ខណៈ​ដែល​​មាន​ឥស្សរជន​ជាច្រើន​បាន​ជាប់​ពន្ធនាគារ​ជា​បន្តបន្ទាប់​ដោយសារ​តែ​បញ្ចេញ​មតិ​ពី​បញ្ហា​ព្រំដែន​នេះ។​

បច្ចុប្បន្ន​ សមាជិក​ព្រឹទ្ធសភា​គណបក្ស​ប្រឆាំង​​ម្នាក់​គឺ​លោក​ ហុង សុខហួរ និង​តំណាង​រាស្ត្រ​គណបក្ស​ប្រឆាំង​ម្នាក់​គឺ​លោក អ៊ុំ សំអាន កំពុង​តែ​ជាប់​​ឃុំ​ក្នុង​ពន្ធនាគារ​ហើយ​មេបក្ស​ប្រឆាំង​លោក​ សម រង្ស៊ីដែល​​បាន​និរទេស​ខ្លួនឯង​​ទៅ​ក្រៅ​ប្រទេស​ក៏​កំពុង​ជាប់​បណ្តឹង​នៅ​តុលាការ​​ផង​ដែរ​​​​ដោយសារ​តែ​បាន​បញ្ចេញ​មតិ​ពាក់ព័ន្ធ​នឹង​បញ្ហា​ព្រំដែន​ដ៏ចម្រូង​ចម្រាស​នេះ។

លោក អ៊ុំ សំអាន តំណាងរាស្ត្រ​គណបក្ស​​សង្គ្រោះ​ជាតិ​មណ្ឌល​សៀមរាប​ដែល​កំពុង​តែ​ជាប់​​ឃុំ​ក្នុង​ពន្ធនាគារ​ព្រៃស​កាលពី​ថ្ងៃ​ចន្ទ​ម្សិលម៉្ងៃ​លោក និង​ក្រុម​មេធាវី​បាន​ដើរ​ចេញ​ពី​សវនាការ​នៅ​សាលា​​ដំបូង​រាជធានី​ភ្នំពេញ​ដោយ​​ចាត់​ទុក​ដំណើរការ​កាត់​ទោស​រូប​លោក​ដែល​ជា​អ្នក​តំណាងរាស្ត្រ​ដែល​នៅ​មាន​អភ័យ​​ឯកសិទ្ធិ​សភា​ថា​ជា​អំពើ​ខុស​ច្បាប់៕

Gov’t briefly suspends extractive firms’ work

$
0
0
Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Yesenia Amaro
The Phnom Penh Post, Thu, 8 September 2016

The Ministry of Mines and Energy this week suspended the licence of four companies – three open-pit operations in Kandal and a sand-dredging operation in Prey Veng – for one week for not complying with regulations.

Dith Tina, secretary of state for the ministry, said the licences were suspended on Tuesday and yesterday. Tina, who wasn’t able to provide the names for the companies in Kandal, said the companies’ trucks were found to be not properly covered as required under the Traffic Law, and as a result, the ministry issued an administrative punishment.

The sand-dredging company – Kong Kim Sroeun Company – was found to be dredging outside its boundaries because the buoys marking its area had drifted away, Tina said.

If the companies are still not complying after the suspension, the ministry will suspend the licences for another week. ‘”We are very committed to tackle the issue of those who don’t comply with regulations,” he said.

Kong Kim Sroeun, owner of the sand-dredging company, said he understood his mistake, but it wasn’t intentional.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights this month issued a briefing on the human rights impacts of sand dredging, recommending the government immediately place a moratorium on issuing new licences until further research on the long-term impacts is conducted.

“We hope that the government will receive the information and will take intervention” action, said CCHR’s Vann Sophath. Tina said he couldn’t comment on the report because he hadn’t read it yet.

អាជ្ញាធរ​ស្រុក​កោះធំ​រក​ឃើញ​អត្តសញ្ញាណប័ណ្ណ​មិន​ប្រក្រតី​ជិត​៥០​ប័ណ្ណ

$
0
0
អត្តសញ្ញាណប័ណ្ណ​សញ្ជាតិ​ខ្មែរ។ Photo: RFA

ដោយ អ៊ុង សេរីវុទ្ធ RFA 2016-09-07

អាជ្ញាធរ​ស្រុក​កោះធំ​រក​ឃើញ​អត្តសញ្ញាណប័ណ្ណ​ខ្មែរ​គំរូ​ថ្មី ដែល​មានភាព​មិន​ប្រក្រតី​ជិត​៥០​សន្លឹក ដែល​សង្ស័យ​ថា ម្ចាស់​អត្តសញ្ញាណប័ណ្ណ​នេះ មិន​មាន​សញ្ជាតិ​ខ្មែរ​ពិត​ប្រាកដ។

ច្បាប់កម្ពុជាពុំ​បាន​អនុញ្ញាត​ឲ្យ​ជន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​ មាន​សិទ្ធិ​កាន់​អត្តសញ្ញាណប័ណ្ណ​សញ្ជាតិ​ខ្មែរ​ឡើយ ល្គិក​ណា​​ជន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​​រូប​នោះ​​ ទទួល​បាន​សិទ្ធិ​រស់នៅ​កម្ពុជាស្រប​ច្បាប់ តាម​រយៈ​សញ្ជាតូបនីយកម្ម ដែល​ចេញ​ដោយ​ព្រះរាជក្រឹត្យ និង​ស្នើ​ដោយ​អនុក្រឹត្យ​របស់​រដ្ឋាភិបាល។

ក្រោយ​មាន​ការ​សង្ស័យ​លើ​ភាព​មិន​ប្រក្រតី ចំពោះ​អត្តសញ្ញាណប័ណ្ណ​ខ្មែរ​គំរូ​ថ្មី​ជិត​៥០​សន្លឹក អធិការ​នគរបាល​ស្រុក​កោះធំ លោក ឈឿន ប៊ុនឆន ថ្លែង​ប្រាប់​អាស៊ីសេរី​តាម​ទូរស័ព្ទ​នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​៧ កញ្ញា ថា លោក​បាន​ប្រគល់​អត្តសញ្ញាណប័ណ្ណ​ទាំង​នោះ ទៅ​ស្នងការ​ខេត្ត​កណ្ដាល ដើម្បី​បង្កើត​ក្រុម​អធិការ​កិច្ច​ចុះ​ពិនិត្យ​លើ​ភាព​មិន​ប្រក្រតី​នេះ​បន្ថែម​ទៀត មុន​នឹង​ប្រគល់​ទៅ​ម្ចាស់វិញ​។

លោក​បន្ត​ថា អត្តសញ្ញាណប័ណ្ណ​ដែល​សង្ស័យ​នេះ លោក​បាន​​ប្រមូល​មក​ពី​ឃុំ​ចំនួន​៣ ក្នុង​ស្រុក​កោះធំ នៃ​ខេត្ត​កណ្ដាល គឺ​ឃុំ​សំពៅពូន ឃុំ​ព្រែកជ្រៃ និង​ឃុំ​ពោធិ៍បាន គឺ​ធ្វើ​ឡើង​បន្ទាប់​ពី​លោក​ទទួល​បានពាក្យ​បណ្ដឹង​លើ​ទំព័រ​ហ្វេសប៊ុក (Facebook) ពី​ការ​យឺតយ៉ាវ​នៃ​ការ​ទទួល​អត្តសញ្ញាណប័ណ្ណ​នេះ។

ក្រោយ​ទទួល​បណ្ដឹង លោក​ក៏​ពិនិត្យ​ឈ្មោះ​ភ្លាម ដោយ​ឃើញ​ថា ប័ណ្ណ​ទាំង​អស់​នេះ លោក​បាន​ប្រគល់​ទៅ​ប៉ុស្តិ៍​ឃុំ​អស់​ហើយ តែ​មន្ត្រី​ប៉ុស្តិ៍​ស្ទាក់ស្ទើរ​ប្រគល់​ទៅ​ម្ចាស់​ប័ណ្ណ ហើយ​លោក​ចុះ​ស្រាវជ្រាវ​ទៅ ក៏​សង្ស័យ​ថា មិនមែន​ជា​ជនជាតិ​ខ្មែរ។ ប៉ុន្តែ​លោក​មិន​បញ្ជាក់​ថា ម្ចាស់​ប័ណ្ណ​ទាំង​នោះ​ជា ជនជាតិ​អ្វី​នោះ​ទេ។

អាស៊ីសេរី​មិន​អាច​ទាក់ទង​ស្នងការ​ខេត្ត​កណ្ដាល​លោក អ៊ាវ ចំរើន ដើម្បី​ឆ្លើយ​បំភ្លឺ​ពី​បញ្ហា​នេះ​បាន​ទេ នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​៧ កញ្ញា។

យោង​តាម​ច្បាប់​សញ្ជាតិ​ខ្មែរ ចែង​ថា រាល់​ជន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​​រស់​នៅ​កម្ពុជា ដែល​មាន​​សិទ្ធិ​កាន់​​អត្តសញ្ញាណប័ណ្ណ​ខ្មែរ​បាន លុះ​ត្រា​តែ​មាន​​លិខិត​បញ្ជាក់​ផ្លូវ​ការ ថា​ជា​ជន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​ស្រប​ច្បាប់ តាម​រយៈ​សញ្ជាតូបនីយកម្ម ដែល​ចេញ​ដោយ​ព្រះរាជក្រឹត្យ និង​ស្នើ​ដោយ​អនុក្រឹត្យ​របស់​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ជាដើម។

ចំពោះ​សញ្ជាតូបនីយកម្ម​នេះ គឺ​ជន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​នោះ ត្រូវ​មាន​លិខិត​បញ្ជាក់​ពី​អាជ្ញាធរ​​ឃុំ ឬ​ចៅ​សង្កាត់​ថា មាន​គំនិត​មារយាទ និង​សីលធម៌​ល្អ ពុំ​ធ្លាប់​មាន​ទោស​បទ​ព្រហ្មទណ្ឌ​ណា​មួយ មាន​លិខិត​បញ្ជាក់​ថា បាន​ស្នាក់​នៅ​កម្ពុជា​ជាប់​ចំនួន ៧​ឆ្នាំ ដោយ​គិត​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ដែល​បាន​ទទួល​ប័ណ្ណ​ស្នាក់នៅ​ដែល​ចេញ​ឲ្យ​ក្នុង​ក្របខ័ណ្ឌ នៃ​ច្បាប់​ស្ដីពី​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍ ចេះ​និយាយ ឬ​ចេះ​អក្សរ​ខ្មែរ និង​យល់​ដឹង​ប្រវត្តិសាស្ត្រ​ខ្មែរ​ខ្លះៗ រួម​នឹង​មាន​បញ្ញា និង​កាយសម្បទា​ដែល​មិន​នាំ​ឲ្យ​មាន​គ្រោះថ្នាក់ ឬ​នាំ​ឲ្យ​មាន​បន្ទុក​ដល់​ជាតិ​ជាដើម។

កាល​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​១៩ សីហា ក្រសួង​មហាផ្ទៃ​បាន​បង្ហាញ​ពី​តួលេខ​ជន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​រស់​នៅ​កម្ពុជា មាន​ជាង​១៦​ម៉ឺននាក់ ក្នុង​នោះ​ជន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​វៀតណាម​ជាង​៩៥​ភាគរយ ឬ​ស្មើ​នឹង​ប្រមាណ ១៦ម៉ឺន​នាក់ ខណៈ​ជន​អន្តរ​ប្រវេសន៍​វៀតណាម​រស់​នៅ​ស្រប​ច្បាប់​ក្នុង​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា មាន​ជាង​៣​ម៉ឺន​នាក់។

បន្ថែម​ពី​នេះ​ដែរ ក្រសួង​បញ្ជាក់​ថា រាល់​ជន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​ដែល​កាន់​អត្តសញ្ញាណ​ប័ណ្ណ​សញ្ជាតិ​ខ្មែរ​ទាំង​អស់ គឺ​ក្រសួង​នឹង​បដិសេធ​ចោល​ទាំង​ស្រុង រួម​នឹង​លិខិត​រដ្ឋបាល​នានា​ដែល​ពួកគេ​កាន់​ពី​តាំង​ពី​ជំនាន់​មុន​ៗ​ក្ដី។ ប៉ុន្តែ​ក្រសួង​ទុក​លទ្ធភាព​ឲ្យ​ពួកគេ បំពេញ​បែប​បទ​សុំ​ធ្វើ​ជា​ជន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​ជា​ថ្មី ឬ​ដាក់​ពាក្យ​សុំ​សញ្ជាតិ​ខ្មែរ​តាម​ច្បាប់​កំណត់​ដោយ​ស្ម័គ្រចិត្ត។

មាត្រា​១៩ នៃ​ច្បាប់​សញ្ជាតិ​ខ្មែរ​ចែង​ថា មាន​តែ​ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​ខ្មែរ​ទេ​ទើប​មាន​សិទ្ធិ​ទទួល និង​កាន់​កាប់​អត្តសញ្ញាណប័ណ្ណ​សញ្ជាតិ​ខ្មែរ និង​លិខិត​ឆ្លង​ដែន​នៃ​ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រ​កម្ពុជា។

មាត្រា​២០ នៃ​ច្បាប់​ដដែល ចែង​ថា ជន​បរទេស​ណា​ដែល​កាន់​កាប់ និង​ប្រើប្រាស់​អត្តសញ្ញាណប័ណ្ណ​សញ្ជាតិ​ខ្មែរ និង​លិខិត​ឆ្លង​ដែន​នៃ​ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រ​កម្ពុជា​ខុស​ច្បាប់ ត្រូវ​ផ្ដន្ទាទោស​ដាក់​ពន្ធនាគារ​ពី ៥​ឆ្នាំ​ដល់ ១០​ឆ្នាំ៕

Thai soldiers kill ‘logger’, injure second

$
0
0
Phak Seangly, The Phnom Penh Post
Thu, 8 September 2016

One Cambodian villager died and another was badly injured after they were shot by Thai soldiers on Tuesday while crossing illegally into Thailand from Oddar Meanchey province, local authorities said.

Six Cambodians were crossing the border with help from a broker to smuggle endangered rosewood, when Thai soldiers began firing at them, said Sao Buntheng, chief of Dan Tong village in Oddar Meanchey. Four of the smugglers escaped unharmed and made their way back home, but their two companions weren’t as lucky.

The dead man was identified as Ieth Oun, 31, from Anlong Veng district, while the injured man, identified as Dan Tong resident Hean Pol, 26, is still missing in the forest.

He was able to alert his wife to his plight by calling her on his mobile phone, Buntheng said. A search party of seven border soldiers and two villagers was dispatched to find him, but they have yet to return.

Touch Ra, deputy director of the Chaom Sagnam Cambodia-Thailand border checkpoint, said he heard about the case from villagers but has not received an official notice from Thai authorities.

GMAC targets 3 per cent bump for garment force

$
0
0
A garment worker performs final quality checks at a Phnom Penh factory in 2014. Vireak Mai Sen David and Cristina Maza

The Phnom Penh Post, Thu, 8 September 2016

Less than a week after unions unveiled their minimum wage goal for the coming year, the Kingdom’s factory owners have staked out their own – considerably lower – dollar figure for the coming negotiations.

The Garment Manufacturer’s Association in Cambodia (GMAC) yesterday submitted a letter to Minister of Labour Ith Sam Heng stating that workers in the garment and footwear industry should receive a minimum wage of $144.20 a month.

While the unions pointed to cost of living studies they said relied on government data in making their demand for $179.60, GMAC has pegged its proposal solely to the rate of inflation, which would not allow for an increase in real wages.

“We have only used the rate of inflation to calculate this number,” confirmed GMAC secretary-general Ken Loo, something he said reflected the struggling state of the sector.

The two proposals will serve as the jumping off point for tripartite negotiations between the government, labour unions and employer representatives that will determine the wage for 2017. Those meetings will begin over the weekend and last until January.

The $144.20 GMAC is proposing represents a 3 per cent increase from the current minimum wage of $140, in line with the inflation rate estimated by both the unions and GMAC.

“These days our garment sector is in a bad situation,” Loo wrote in the letter. “We worry about the decline in orders from buyers, in labour productivity, and in the export rates.”

Last month, GMAC’s operations manager Ly Tek Heng claimed rising wages had seen 70 factories shut down in Cambodia to that point in the year, a figure that was questioned by government figures and union leaders.

But labour experts say it’s problematic to factor in only inflation when wages are already low and many families rely on the minimum wage to survive.

“If the minimum wage were high enough, then it wouldn’t be so bad, but it’s not high enough", said William Conklin, country director at the labour advocacy NGO Solidarity Centre. “This is supposed to cover more than one person; it’s supposed to support families.”

Labour unions, meanwhile, appeared unconcerned with the number, which they say is just a starting point for negotiations.

“Every year, GMAC offers a low figure and claims that the situation is getting worse,” said Yang Sophorn, a representative of the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU). “But even if the factory closes, they always re-open it, and the minimum wage increases every year to ensure that workers can live.”

No suspects in grenade attack

$
0
0
Police investigate the scene of a grenade attack in Phnom Penh on Tuesday. Heng Chivoan

Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Mech Dara
The Phnom Penh Post, Thu, 8 September 2016

A day after a grenade exploded in the capital’s Boeung Keng Kang III commune, the Interior Ministry yesterday issued a statement calling the attack an attempt to affect Cambodia’s security, with police officials saying they had yet to identify the two suspects involved in the incident.

The grenade attack, which took place in Chamkarmon district just after 7:30pm on Tuesday, damaged four cars and left a small 3-inch crater on Street 163. The ministry’s statement said the explosion was aimed at putting the country’s security in a bad light among the international community.

“The Ministry of Interior deeply regrets the incident that injured innocent people and damaged property, and we firmly condemn this disgusting act,” the statement reads, adding that police officials were still searching for the suspects.

While initial reports on Tuesday said there were three injured, yesterday’s statement said there were four injured bystanders, with a police source confirming a fourth man was injured and took himself to Preah Kossamak Hospital for treatment.

CCTV footage widely circulated on the internet yesterday shows a grenade seemingly dropping from a passing moto, then exploding on the driver’s side of a white Lexus SUV as it passes seconds later.
The blast also damaged three other cars.

Maing Sokluch, chief of the capital’s military police anti-crime office, yesterday repeated police claims from late Tuesday night that authorities suspected “revenge” as the cause for the attack.

But National Police spokesman Kirth Chantharith yesterday said that, based on early clues, the ministry had ruled out that possibility. “It is not an intentional attempt to kill anyone,” Chatharith said. “This could be related to a group that wants to create a scene.”

While police continue to search for the perpetrators, the blast has left residents of the commune shaken. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a sportswear vendor said the explosion had “scared” him, adding that he heard the explosion and thought nothing of it untill he went out and saw damaged cars, shattered glass everywhere and the injured victims.

In the wake of the attack, police authorities in Kandal’s Muk Kampoul district yesterday set up a checkpoint on National Road 6A, bordering the capital’s Chroy Changvar district. The roadblock had two large barriers wrapped in barbed wire and more than a dozen military and provincial police officials. Police officer Ngon Phon said the checkpoint was new and intended to prevent crimes, drug transport and traffic incidents.

However, Provincial Governor Mao Phirun pointed directly to Tuesday’s grenade attack in saying that authorities had to prepare themselves for any eventuality.

“We want to avoid the incident like last night’s grenade explosion, therefore we need to be careful . . . so people have confidence in the government and authority. We are protecting Kandal province like they protect Phnom Penh, in order to avoid violence and terrorism,” he said.

Separately, officials in Kampong Cham’s Prey Chhor district incorrectly classified an attack on a house in Chrey Vien commune at about midnight on Tuesday as a grenade attack, said district police chief Kao Sea Horn. The small-scale explosion had resulted from the burning of three AK-47 shells in a small container.

“It was not a grenade explosion, because we found just three empty AK-47 bullets,” he said, adding that police were looking for a 55-year-old Khiev Phan.

Additional reporting by Bun Sengkong

Governor pushes for mosque road, offers consultation

$
0
0
People enter the grounds of the al-Serkal mosque in Phnom Penh yesterday, where city officials met with locals to discuss a controversial road project. Heng Chivoan

Niem Chheng and Erin Handley
The Phnom Penh Post, Thu, 8 September 2016

Phnom Penh’s governor yesterday made a prolonged pitch for development to the neighbours of a Boeung Kak mosque site – where a planned road sparked a recent legal feud – offering locals an olive branch in the form of community consultation, while also hinting that the road’s construction was a foregone conclusion.

Governor Pa Socheatvong articulated a four-point plan to install a drainage system, running water and electricity – along with the controversial road – for the broader Boeung Kak area, which has been a powder-keg for protests since the one-time lake was filled with sand and residents were forced from their homes in 2008.

But Socheatvong’s promise of public participation at the forum, held in the shadow of the Al-Serkal mosque, appeared to ring hollow, with City Hall spokesman Mean Chanyada admitting officials had already signed off on a map for the proposed road, which would cut into the mosque compound.

“Yes, we have a map . . . we already approved it,” he said. Chanyada, however, declined to make the map available to the Post, saying “other newspapers did not want it”.

Socheatvong yesterday extolled the virtues of developing the area and touted the benefits a road would bring. He urged the community to gather seven representatives to consult with City Hall on the matter, while also noting that it was Prime Minister Hun Sen’s desire to develop the area, and insinuated that the road would be built regardless.

“If you can compromise quickly, I will invest to develop this area to be better, and quickly. If there’s no compromise, it is hard to help,” Socheatvong said. “We want a compromise,” he continued, before adding: “We have to do so, to have traffic here.”

“Can you imagine how good it would be to have traffic here?” he asked the crowd. In other words, Socheatvong said, “If there is no road, there is no hope. If a place has roads, the price of real estate is also good. The bigger the road is, the higher the price of real estate.”

But it was real estate that, in part, gave rise to the controversy surrounding the road plan, sparking a defamation suit in May between prominent Cham Muslim leaders Othsman Hassan, secretary of state at the Ministry of Labour, and Ahmad Yahya, himself a secretary of state at the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Hassan successfully sued Yahya for 100 million riel (about $24,000) over comments he made about Hassan’s potential business interests in the road that were deemed defamatory by the court.

Yahya, who was present at the forum, did not rule out the development and welcomed the consultation with local Muslims, but also warned municipal officials they should listen to the community if they wanted to be re-elected.

“The question is whether the municipality will listen to the people or not,” he said. “The Islamic community doesn’t want to have the road through the main entrance. They just want it to go around like a curve.”

Views within the Cham Muslim community varied on the construction of a road that could cut into the mosque compound, although opinions were difficult to gauge given the reticence surrounding the road’s precise path.

One Muslim student, who lives adjacent to the mosque compound but declined to be named, said he had no problem with the road, provided an equal amount of land would be provided at the rear of the mosque compound as compensation.

But Cham resident Yok Kao, 70, who lives behind the mosque, said the road should not be built in order to maintain the worship centre’s atmosphere of reverence.

“It is a place for praying, not for dancing,” he said. “It is a quiet place and should stay quiet. People who support the road, they just want to have money.”

Lenders come out of the dark

$
0
0
Vehicles pass a TACA Microfinance branch in the capital’s Sen Sok district yesterday. Heng Chivoan

Hor Kimsay, The Phnom Penh Post
Thu, 8 September 2016

More than a year into a government-backed campaign to clamp down on unlicensed lenders, nearly 130 small lenders operating under the radar have come into the fold, officials said yesterday.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) launched a joint campaign in February 2015 to clamp down on unlicensed lenders who often masquerade as do-good NGOs or charities to dupe individuals into borrowing at exorbitant interest rates.

The lenders operate outside the purview of the central bank and have been accused of cheating borrowers and driving them deeper into debt.

Mey Vann, director of MEF’s financial industry department, said a joint committee found nearly 400 lenders operating without the required NBC licence. In the last 18 months, 322 unlicensed lenders had applied for a licence, while 129 of those applications had been approved by the central bank.

“Those who have enough qualifications are already registered,” he said. “The remaining unrecognised [lenders] are those that have not yet met our criteria.”Vann explained that lenders whose applications had been rejected still need to improve their management structure and professionalism, and increase their operating capital.

He claimed that informal lenders often provide short-term loans at double or triple the rate of registered financial institutions. When the crackdown was originally announced, officials said unlicensed operators would need to prove their case or face legal consequences.

“We are still considering if we should close the operations for those who don’t have enough qualifications,” Vann said.

“We cannot allow them to operate by claiming they are an NGO or a charity, when in fact they offer loans with very high interest rates.”

Um Sovannarin, deputy director of TACA Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) that obtained a licence from the central bank before the crackdown, said that becoming an official lender improved the company’s profile and gave it better access to industry information.

“Unlicensed lenders were hurting the reputation of legal lenders, like MFIs. So it is good that all of them must be formalised,” he said.

Hout Ieng Tong, president of Cambodian Microfinance Association (CMA), said the loan portfolio of unlicensed operators was just a small part of the total industry, but nevertheless needed to be regulated.

“We want fair competition, so we want them to be official like us so that it will be easier for regulators to control the sector,” he said.

Cambodia’s microfinance sector continued to expand rapidly during the first half of the year, but there is also rising concern as borrowers – particularly drought-stricken provincial farmers – struggle to repay their loans.

According to a report by the CMA, 47 microfinance institutions (MFIs) – plus seven NGOs – posted outstanding loan values at $3.26 billion as of June, an increase of 34 per cent compared to the same time last year.

Meanwhile, total non-performing loans (NPLs) for MFIs increased to $43 million, equalling 1.3 per cent sector-wide compared to 0.6 per cent a year ago.

CHRAC ‘never requested bribe texts’

$
0
0
CHRAC secretary-general Suon Bunsak (centre), who announced his resignation on Tuesday, attends a compensation meeting earlier this year in Kampong Speu. Photo supplied

Jack Davies, The Phnom Penh Post
Thu, 8 September 2016

The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee’s investigation into allegations that recently resigned secretary-general Suon Bunsak attempted to solicit a bribe was conducted without attempting to obtain text messages central to the accusation.

The texts, obtained by the Post, show Bunsak demanding a $1,500 “incentive” from former CHRAC consultant Billy Tai in return for the promise of better working conditions.

Tai originally leaked the texts to CHRAC donor Norwegian People’s Aid in June. NPA country director Aksel Steen-Nilsen said in an email yesterday that he was “very surprised to hear now that they have not had access to them”.

Steen-Nilsen said he asked the steering committee to request that Tai provide copies of the messages, saying the NPA would provide them otherwise. But both Tai and Steen-Nilsen yesterday said they never received a request for the messages.

The man tasked with investigating the allegations, Yong Kim Eng, did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

Seemingly reversing on a statement earlier this week, Steen-Nilsen said NPA had not in fact resumed funding to CHRAC since suspending it on July 4. He said one of the reasons was that, “NPA has not accepted any evidence so far” that might exonerate Bunsak.

There are two conditions for resumption of funding, he said: the steering committee taking full control of day-to-day operations and a full audit.

“It’s a difficult time for us . . . I think maybe we cannot manage all these things,” acting CHRAC chair In Kea said, adding that Bunsak will continue to work for CHRAC for the next few months to manage the transition period. Bunsak could not be reached.

Innovative trial to put printed prosthetics in reach

$
0
0
Ouk Vy, 21, is fitted for the first 3D printed trans-tibial prosthetic socket in Cambodia at Exceed’s private clinic last week. Athena Zelandonii

Audrey Wilson, The Phnom Penh Post
Sat, 3 September 2016

In a waiting room in Stung Meanchey last week, 21-year-old Ouk Vy sat patiently as technicians fitted him with a small socket to connect his right leg – which was amputated at the knee last year after a traffic accident – to a new prosthetic limb.

Vy then stood and took a step forward, as he has many times before.

This new socket is different from others he has worn out: it is the first to be made from a scan and then manufactured from scratch in just a few hours in the only 3D-printing lab for below-the-knee (more technically, “trans-tibial”) prostheses in Cambodia. The lab began its first clinical trial last week, and Vy was first in line.

Many standard prostheses have a lifespan of only a few years – and just a few months for growing kids. That means a lot of re-fittings. At its core, the 3D-printing process mirrors that of being fitted for a normal prosthesis; it’s just easier – and, ideally, more comfortable for the patient.

Traditionally, a prosthetist – someone who makes prosthetic items (which are known in the trade as prostheses) – would wrap a limb at the stump to protect it; then make a plaster mould; then cut it off, fill it in, strip the bandage and wait for the plaster to dry. But with a 3D scanner, a digital replica of a limb can be made in just a half hour – and there’s no mess.

“That is the holy grail as a prosthetist,” says Ken McCrea, the Scot who oversees the project. “Getting exactly what you want. And it’s replicable.”

Ken McCrea. Athena Zelandonii
Moreover, that model then exists on a computer and can be digitally tweaked for particularities rather than with hand tools. Finally, an operator sends the data to the printer and within three to nine hours – depending on whether it’s a socket or something larger – a polypropylene copy appears.

The four-month clinical trial applies existing, relatively inexpensive technology in a new way to address a persistent problem: the demand for new prostheses in a country like Cambodia.

McCrea is the head of UK-based Exceed Social Enterprises, which is running the project here in partnership with Nia Technologies, a non-profit that has piloted two trials in Uganda.

During the trial, the patients must fit “precise criteria”: they must be aged between five and 25, and they must be able to walk and to communicate well. For now, the technicians are working with 50 clients for whom they are printing 30 sockets and 30 orthotic inserts.

The new 3D printing lab is part of a private clinic that opened in Stung Meanchey district last August under the aegis of Exceed, known locally as the Cambodia Trust. The organisation was established here in 1989 to provide a desperately needed – and cost-free – service to landmine victims, and it has since replicated its model in the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

And so the private clinic, where “some [prostheses] can run to $5,000 just for a foot”, McCrea says, funds the charitable one.“We’re basically doing the Robin Hood principle: robbing the rich to pay the poor,” he explains. “Those who can afford it buy something here, we make a little profit, and then we can use that money to feed back into the charity centre.”

The first 3-D printed socket was made at the private clinic last week.

The first 3-D printed socket was made at the private clinic last week. Athena Zelandonii

Sisary Kheng, Exceed’s country director, is a familiar face in every room at the public centre, which is located about a kilometre from the private clinic. The centre has many rooms: for fittings, for production and for learning. Also on site, and part of the Cambodia Trust, is the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics (CSPO), which has a three-year residential training program. Kheng has watched the Cambodia Trust grow from its beginnings, when 95 per cent of its patients were landmine victims.

Years of demining efforts mean Cambodia’s worst landmine days are behind it. Since the start of 2016, landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) killed 23 people, injured a further 23 and caused an additional 13 to lose limbs.

That’s fewer than the same period last year, continuing what has been a largely year-on-year decline in casualties. But there are still 8,995 surviving landmine victims in need of artificial limbs. Most are men and boys, and many come from poor backgrounds.

These days it is traffic accidents that are one of the primary causes of disability in Cambodia. Kheng says thousands more patients require braces or orthotics for support: kids with poliomyelitis, spina bifida or cerebral palsy.

The Cambodia Trust has more than 15,000 clients in its database, and its technicians make 3,500 prostheses per year between their clinics. (The organisation operates one more clinic in Preah Sihanouk province and another in Kampong Cham.)

Last week, a man waited patiently in the lobby of the Phnom Penh centre to be measured for a new limb. He lost his leg to a landmine in 1984; his most recent prosthesis was damaged in a motorbike accident last month.

Sisary Kheng points to a traditional plaster cast at the public centre. Athena Zelandonii

The most basic trans-tibial prosthesis would usually cost up to $182, but at the public centre, his was free. In an adjacent room, a six-year-old child with cerebral palsy – under the care of local NGO Pour un Sourire d’Enfant (PSE) – was fitted for a wheelchair.

Medical students come from across the globe to study at CSPO, which has a three-year residential training program. Last week saw students from Myanmar, Malawi, Samoa and Kiribati. Yet in its classrooms and production rooms, the Cambodia Trust’s centre still relies on traditional methods: setting a mould around a limb; adjusting it by hand; and wrapping hot plastic around it once it has set.

“The complete process maybe takes three days,” says Kheng. Watching the 3D-printing process at the private clinic nearby, it’s easy to imagine this time could be dramatically shortened. But that’s not likely to happen soon.

“3D printing isn’t particularly new, and scanning using electronic data capture for patients is not new either,” says McCrea. “But the two of them have really been successfully used together [in this project].”

And if the clinical trial proves the concept, perhaps the 3D-printing model – like the product itself – will one day be replicated in Cambodia Trust’s centres around the country.

‘Growing concern’ at UN over ‘rights crisis’

$
0
0
Prime Minister Hun Sen (center) talks to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (left) during the ASEAN-Australia Biennial Summit in Vientiane yesterday. Noel Celis/AFP

Vong Sokheng and Jack Davies, The Phnom Penh Post
Thu, 8 September 2016

Pressure was mounting inside the United Nations for a harder line to be taken with what is viewed as Cambodia’s deteriorating human rights and political situation even as Prime Minister Hun Sen met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Vientiane on Tuesday.

The UN spokesperson’s website said that the Paris Climate Change Agreement, Cambodia’s peacekeeping commitments and the Khmer Rouge tribunals were discussed, among other issues. The premier wrote on his Facebook page yesterday that he agreed at the meeting to have Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhun ratify the Paris Agreement on September 21.

Concurrent to the premier’s meeting with Ban, spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani issued a statement saying the OHCHR was “very concerned about the escalating atmosphere of intimidation” in Cambodia.

In an email yesterday, Shamdasani said the OHCHR is engaging with the government to seek the release of “people we believe have been detained in relation to their exercise of their human rights”.

“Unfortunately, the situation for political opponents, their supporters and civil society generally remains very tense,” she wrote.

Nicolas Agostini, Geneva-based representative to the UN for the International Federation for Human Rights, said in an email yesterday that the statement came at a time of “growing concern at the United Nations (both by states’ diplomats, UN staff, independent experts, and NGOs) over Cambodia’s human rights crisis”.

“The international community is realizing that Cambodia risks falling back into a cycle of human rights violations and political violence that will ultimately threaten the country’s stability,” Agostini wrote. “States are realizing that long-term stability cannot be guaranteed without respect for human rights and the rule of law, which includes free and fair elections.”

Agostini said concerns have already been voiced by Japan, the European Union, the US, Switzerland and a number of EU member states. He added, however, that China’s growing influence in Cambodia was inhibiting some countries from speaking out due to “geostrategic considerations”.

City will allow CNRP rally as gov’t assures Kem Sokha won’t be arrested

$
0
0
Officials from the opposition CNRP and Phnom Penh City Hall discuss plans for an upcoming rally at the municipality’s offices yesterday. Photo supplied

Meas Sokchea and Ananth Baliga
The Phnom Penh Post, Thu, 8 September 2016

City Hall yesterday gave the green light for a Friday rally outside CNRP headquarters set to coincide with the trial of Kem Sokha, while a second government official in as many days seemingly offered assurances that no attempt will be made to arrest the acting opposition leader.

The CNRP has asked party supporters and officials to congregate at its office on National Road 2 to act as “observers” as acting party president Kem Sokha is tried in absentia for refusing to appear for multiple court summonses.

City Hall spokesman Mean Chanyada said the party had the “political right” to conduct the rally, as long as they managed traffic and participants refrained from insulting King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen.

“If there is an insult, we would enforce our administrative measure and our legal measure,” he warned, adding that the party was responsible for any untoward behaviour.

Speaking to local media yesterday evening, Chanyada said that in addition to those conditions, the party had been warned not to link the rally to Sokha’s trial.

However, Morn Phalla, president of the party’s executive committee, said this condition was not conveyed to the CNRP during their meeting with city officials, and the party was only asked to ensure the smooth flow of traffic and refrain from using insults.

“We have invited them to come here and only listen to developments on the trial,” Phalla said, adding that 1,000 supporters were expected on Friday.

Party spokesman Yim Sovann added that there was no question of insulting anyone, given that the agenda for the rally was clear – to observe the criminal trial on Friday.

Ou Virak, founder of think tank Future Forum, said one of the reasons for the rally’s approval could be to avoid a repeat of Monday, when authorities barricaded National Road 2 to thwart CNRP lawmakers’ attempts to deliver petitions to embassies of signatories of the Peace Paris Agreement.

“But the main point is that Friday will not be eventful,” he said. “This is a high-profile case, and if I was the government, I would want to drag it out and keep the opposition on the back foot.”

National Police spokesman Kith Chantharith on Tuesday dismissed the possibility of a Sokha arrest, saying it would “not happen” as he would legally be allowed to mount an appeal of any verdict.

Chantharith’s assessment was backed up yesterday by Justice Ministry spokesman Kim Santepheap, who in a Facebook post cited articles 353 and 382 of the Criminal Procedures Code.

Those codes specify that the court does not have to issue an arrest warrant for sentences of less than a year and that a defendant is guaranteed one month to appeal the verdict, respectively.

Yesterday, New York-based Human Rights Watch asked the Cambodian government to drop the charges against Sokha, which it classified as a “pre-election campaign of persecution”.

“After his party’s poor showing in the last national elections, Prime Minister Hun Sen is using every trick in the book to neutralize the opposition before the 2018 elections,” said Brad Adams, the group’s Asia director.

Following Monday’s delivery of CNRP petitions to international embassies, Interior Minister Sar Kheng appealed to the same embassies via an open letter, saying the opposition was “destroying and putting Cambodia’s democracy at danger”.

“CNRP lawmakers are using their immunity as a tool to protect themselves when they violate laws and the constitution,” he wrote, on behalf of the CPP’s parliamentary committee.

“Kem Sokha was summoned to court many times, but he did not show up. If he is not wrong, as he and supporters believe, he must take responsibility,” the letter reads.

Ratana decries lack of UXO aid

$
0
0
Members of CMAC excavate unexploded cluster munitions in June after they were discovered in Kandal province. National police

Bun Sengkong and Andrew Nachemson
The Phnom Penh Post, Thu, 8 September 2016

A top Cambodian demining official slammed US President Barack Obama’s widely heralded pledge to increase demining aid to Laos on Tuesday, faulting the US for what he characterised as its “marginal assistance” to Cambodia’s demining efforts.

In a speech at the 2016 ASEAN Summit in Vientiane on Tuesday, Obama pledged $90 million in demining aid to Laos over the next three years, prompting Heng Ratana, director-general of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), to immediately take to social media to decry the aid package.

“This is very unfair and injustice for Cambodian people!” Ratana wrote in a status update, published late that same night.

Ratana claimed almost 3 million tonnes of bombs were dropped in Cambodia, killing 500,000 people. (The actual tally of US bombs and the casualties they caused is still disputed by historians.)

“However, Cambodia remains receiving a marginal assistance”, Ratana wrote.

The US military engaged in secret bombings of Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1973. Many bombs failed to detonate on impact, leaving the countryside of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam riddled with unexploded ordnance (UXO).

Yale professor and historian Ben Kiernan has estimated that closer to 500,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped in Cambodia, with about 50,000 to 150,000 Cambodians killed.

By comparison, Kiernan accepts the conventional estimate – reiterated by Obama on Tuesday – that over 2 million tonnes of bombs were dropped on Laos during that same period, making it the most heavily bombed country, per capita, in history.

However, this did little to assuage Ratana.

“They dropped on three countries but gave aid to two, and don’t give to one”, Ratana said in an interview yesterday. “We don’t have power, as the money is in their pocket, but we will tell about our need.”

A spokesman for the US Embassy in Cambodia, however, said that the US government is “one of the largest donors” to Cambodia in terms of demining aid, currently contributing $5.5 million in annual support.

“The United States has been working to address explosive remnants of war in Cambodia for more than 20 years and has invested well over $100 million to remove and safely dispose of landmines and unexploded ordnance”, spokesman Jay Raman said yesterday.

Ratana, however, declined to address the US’s decades of assistance. He also dismissed the notion that his remarks could have a negative impact on future funding.

“I think that US President Obama understands about the moral obligation, and he should provide justice,” he said.

The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, meanwhile, took a more diplomatic approach, congratulating Laos on the new deal and acknowledging the past assistance of the US government, while expressing hope to strengthen cooperation in the future.

Southeast Asia issues a non-rebuke to China

$
0
0
September 7, 2016

Vientiane, Laos (AP) — A summit of Southeast Asian countries issued a mild rebuke of China on Wednesday over its expansionist activities in the disputed South China Sea, and indirectly urged it to show restraint and not raise tensions.


In a victory for Beijing's diplomatic, economic and military clout, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations couldn't even get all of its 10 members to agree that China was responsible for building islands in the disputed and resource-rich sea.

A statement issued at the end of the ASEAN summit said in regard to the South China Sea, "We remain seriously concerned over recent and ongoing developments," without elaborating. It did not mention China by name.

The statement said the summit "took note of the concerns expressed by some leaders on the land reclamations and escalation of activities in the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region."


China has recently developed shoals and coral reefs into seven islands with massive land reclamation work. Some of the islands have airstrips capable of handling military aircraft.

The use of the phrase "some leaders" in the statement underscores the fundamental problem ASEAN has had in dealing with China — not all of its members are willing to scold it. Cambodia remains firmly in China's camp, as is Laos to a large extent, preventing any robust statement from the consensus-bound group.

The issue of ownership of territories in the South China Sea has come to dominate ASEAN summit meetings in recent years. China claims virtually the entire sea as its own, citing historical reasons. That has pitted it against the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, all members of ASEAN.

On July 12, an international arbitration tribunal ruled against China's claims, saying they were illegal. It also rebuked China for forcibly preventing Filipinos from fishing in their traditional areas.

Beijing has rejected the ruling and continued its activities. The ASEAN statement made no mention of the tribunal.

On Wednesday, the Philippine government released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at disputed Scarborough shoal in the South China Sea.

It was an apparent attempt to publicize its concerns before ASEAN leaders met with Chinese Premier Li Kequiang in the Laotian capital in a side summit.

The Philippines is concerned that China may plan to turn the shoal into another man-made island.

But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China has not done anything to alter the circumstances surrounding the shoal.

"What I can tell you is that the situation in waters near Huangyan Island remains unchanged and China hasn't made any new moves," Hua said in Beijing, using the shoal's Chinese name. "We should be highly alert against the mischief-making intentions of people who spread such groundless information in such situations."

New Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has taken a more conciliatory approach than his predecessor to rebuild relations with China, and has said he would not raise the long-simmering territorial dispute in an adversarial manner that might upset Beijing.

Relations were severely strained under Duterte's predecessor because of the conflict.

The U.S. military has also expressed concern over the possibility that China might turn Scarborough into another island, something that would give Beijing's forces greater control over a swath of the South China Sea used as a passageway to the Taiwan Strait.



ជនអន្តោប្រវេសន៍វៀតណាមកាន់តែច្រើនឡើង

$
0
0
Sam Rainsy | ០៧ កញ្ញា ២០១៦ / 07 September 2016

ជនអន្តោប្រវេសន៍វៀតណាមកាន់តែច្រើនឡើង កំពុងបន្តរស់នៅ និងប្រកបរបរនេសាទ នៅលើទឹកដីភូមិចុងកោះ សង្កាត់ផ្សារឆ្នាំង ក្រុងកំពង់ឆ្នាំង ខេត្តកំពង់ឆ្នាំង។

Man killed by Prey Veng mob

$
0
0
Police investigate a crime scene in Prey Veng province where a man was beaten to death by a mob after he allegedly attempted to rape a local woman. National Police

Kim Sarom, The Phnom Penh Post
Thu, 8 September 2016

Police in Prey Veng province say a man was beaten to death by a mob on Tuesday after he allegedly attempted to rape a 32-year old woman.

The body of Uong Tith, 22, was found with lacerations and head wounds in a paddy field in Mesang district’s Chres commune yesterday, according to provincial deputy police chief Poy Chivy, who added that forensic police concluded the killing blow had been landed by a blunt object.

“[We know] the man was beaten to death because his head was badly hacked and beaten. Now, we are investigating this case to find the suspects,” Chivy said.

Chivy said Tith was interrupted during his alleged rape attempt when the victim screamed, prompting her brother-in-law to rush to the house with a wooden stick. Chivy said district police told him the victim’s husband was away working in Thailand.

Tith allegedly repelled the brother-in-law, injuring him seriously enough for him to be sent to the district referral hospital. Tith then fled, unaware he was being followed by an angry mob, Chivy said.

Deputy commune chief Thek Samien said he had heard accounts that corroborated Chivy’s. “They told me that while those people were chasing the [alleged rapist], cattle herders also helped to surround him and joined the attack,” Samien said.

Such mob killings are not uncommon in Cambodia. Last month, a man was beaten to death in Prey Veng’s Peamro district by a group of men following an altercation sparked by his refusal to give them a cigarette.

Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand

Heng Thal Savuth

ជនអន្តោប្រវេសន៍វៀតណាម ចំណាយតែ ម្ភៃប្រាំម៉ឺនរៀល...

$
0
0
Sam Rainsy | ០៨ កញ្ញា ២០១៦ / 08 September 2016

ជនអន្តោប្រវេសន៍វៀតណាម ចំណាយតែ ២៥០,០០០៛(ម្ភៃប្រាំម៉ឺនរៀល)តែប៉ុណ្ណោះ អាចប្ដូរនូវប័ណ្ណរស់នៅអចិន្ដ្រៃយ៍នៅកម្ពុជាបាន។ លោក ង៉ោ គឹមជាង អ្នកតំណាងរាស្រ្តមណ្ឌល កំពង់ឆ្នាំង បានធ្វើបទសម្ភាសជាមួយជនអន្តោប្រវេសន៍វៀតណាម ដែលរស់នៅលើទឹកដីខេត្ត កំពង់ឆ្នាំង។

Viewing all 40045 articles
Browse latest View live


<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>