US Boosts Cooperation with Cambodia

Written by DAP NEWS -- Thursday, 24 September 2009
(KHMER HOT NEWS)
The visit of Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh, also a Deputy Prime Minister, to the US for several days has borne fruit for both nations’ cooperation, with the US Government vowing to strengthen its relationship with the Cambodian Government.
Deputy Prime Minister Tea Banh is currently in Washington D.C. on a fourday visit aimed at strengthening cooperation and reinforcing the US’ commitment to a substantive, reform- linked security cooperation, according to a Wednesday press release from the US embassy in Phnom Penh.
“Secretary Gates stressed the commitment of the US to enhance Cambodia’s capabilities in peacekeeping, maritime security and coun- terterrorism,” said the press release. “The Secretary cited establishment of a Cambodian Defense Attaché office in Washington and the newly minted sister state program with Idao’s National Guard as positive developments in the bilateral relationship.”
In a separated meeting, Deputy Secretary Steinberg and Tea Banh discussed security cooperation between the US and Cambodia, highlighting Cambodia’s ongoing support for international peacekeeping operation and Cambodia’s commitment to host the 2010 Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) regional capstone exercise. GPOI is a US funded G-8 program to expand global capacity to train and equip 75,000 peacekeepers by 2010. They also discussed human rights and issues related to Cambodia’s role as an ASEAN member.
“Since 2004, the US has sought to strengthen and expand its bilateral defense relationship with Cambodia,” the statement said. “Our cooperation focuses on international peacekeeping, counterterrorism, counter narcotics, border and maritime security, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief operation, and defense sector reform. Our goals are to develop the capabilities of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) in these areas, while encouraging Cambodia’s commitment to the rule of law, transparency in governance, sustained democratic development, and respect for human rights.”
Since 2006, Cambodia has received approximately US$4.5 Million worth of equipment and technical assistance through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program. The US has also provided humanitarian assistance. Since 2005, the US Army, Navy, and Marine Corps have helped to build and republish schools and medical clinics throughout the country.
US military medics and dentists have also worked with their RCAF counterparts to provide free health care to some of the most isolated and impoverished communities in Cambodia.

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Deputy PM Clarifies Border Disputes

24 September 2009
(KHMER HOT NEWS)

The deputy prime minister for security affairs has clarified the border disputes between Thailand and Cambodia to the media.
In regards to border conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said both countries have granted concessions to foreign companies to explore petroleum and natural resources in a disputed area off the Gulf of Thailand.
However, he revealed that no companies have started their operations.
The deputy premier noted that the best solution is that both the Thai and Cambodian governments conclude border demarcation then work towards a joint development plan to utilize overlapping areas.
In response to the red-shirt group's accusation that the government did nothing to prevent Cambodia from constructing a road on the 4.6-square kilometer land adjacent to the Preah Vihear Temple, Suthep argued that the road was paved during the term of the Thaksin government.
He retorted that the red-shirt leaders should be careful of what they said as it could backfire on themselves.
Suthep went on to say that the road is not owned by Cambodia but is used by both Thai and Cambodian troops.
However, Suthep said the Thai government has already lodged a complaint with its counterpart. He said he is seeking to resume discussions on the issue with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen
The deputy prime minister added that Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya will further explain the issue once he returns from the UN and G20 meetings in the United States.

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CAMBODIA: Khmer Rouge Tribunal Ends Testimony at First Int'l Trial

By Sean Thomas
FIRST POSTED
SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
(KHMER HOT NEWS)

The large auditorium looks pleasant enough: almost sterile, like a modernist concert hall in a small Nordic country. You half expect a jazz trio to come onstage and take a bow before the 500 spectators.
But the bullet-proof glass, which shields the stage, gives the lie to that. This is no ordinary auditorium. All eyes in the audience are focused on one elderly Cambodian man, as he murmurs into his microphone.
"I am particularly sorry for the many children we smashed against trees, and so forth."
The man speaking these searing words is Comrade Duch, otherwise known as Kang Kek Iew. This former teacher was a senior apparatchik in the Khmer Rouge regime, from 1975-1979, when they slaughtered maybe 1.7m Cambodians, through execution, beating, torture and starvation, in their insane pursuit of an agrarian communist paradise.
Today's hearings have been a long time coming. Following the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime to a Vietnamese invasion, Duch fled ­ like many Khmer Rouge cadres ­ to rural Cambodia. For 20 years he criss-crossed the country, adopting a bogus identity. He was finally tracked down in 1999 by British photographer Nic Dunlop, who recognised the gaunt figure teaching maths in Samlaut as the notorious Duch, who once ran the Khmer Rouge torture garden at Tuol Sleng, and the killing fields of Cheong Ek.
Even then Duch nearly evaded justice. For 10 years Cambodian politicians, foreign governments and UN agencies have haggled over the precise terms of this tribunal. Some thought it would never happen. And yet here we are, in the Extraordinary Chambers of the Court of Cambodia, in a packed and specially modified courtroom on the far outskirts of Phnom Penh.
Unlike the other four Khmer Rouge leaders who are still awaiting arraignment, Duch has cooperated with the courts. He has pleaded guilty to the principal charge, that he organised the torment and murder of 15,000 people. He merely denies he did any of the killing himself.
Why has he confessed? Some say it is yet another ruse by the wily old communist, aimed at lessening an inevitably heavy sentence; others believe his remorse is genuine: ­ Duch became a fervent Christian years ago.
Certainly he looks sorrowful and drawn on this hot sunny morning in Phnom Penh. And he is not alone. I can hear stifled sobs across the auditorium. No doubt there are parents here, parents of those children who were "smashed to death against trees" by Duch's underlings.
Today's hearings are the last of the trial: a final chance for Duch to explain himself - if such a thing is possible. It is also a final chance for Cambodians to witness the Khmer Rouge being brought to justice: the other four members of the regime, still facing trial, are so old they might die before they reach court.
The summing-up in Duch's case is expected to take place in late November with sentencing early next year.
In the meantime, the defending lawyer asks Duch if he has anything to say. Duch quietly apologises to his victims. Then he claims that he had little choice in doing what he did. If he had refused to work at Tuol Sleng he would have been killed himself. The Khmer Rouge would not have allowed him to walk away.
He leans and whispers into the microphone. "The only exit was survival."
A few minutes later the court rises, and the prisoner is escorted below. As he steps down from the dock, I realise, with a shock, just how small he is. Duch is just a little old man, with a haggard face, who embodies the agony, grief and despair of an entire nation.

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Border snarl up as Cambodians demand truck payment

By The Nation
Published on September 25, 2009
(KHMER HOT NEWS)

With no explanation, Cambodian customs officials in Poi Pet have stopped allowing Thai trucks to pass beyond their boundary by just presenting a copy of the truckregistration book.
Customs officials there yesterday demanded that the drivers present the original truckregistration book and submit a security sum of US$5,000 (Bt167,750) each.
Although the procedures are in line with customs regulations, they have long been relaxed.
For years, trucks from Thai soil could move past the Poi Pet checkpoint by just presenting a copy of the truckregistration book.
When the procedures suddenly changed, more than 150 trucks got stuck in front of the Baan Klong Luek permanent checkpoint in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district on the Thai side.
The tailback stretched back as far as 500 meters since 9 am yesterday, paralysing traffic in nearby areas.
The trucks were supposed to deliver products to Cambodia.
"We have no way to find money to post the $5,000 security sum," a truck driver complained.
Cambodia-Thailand Border Coordination Office official Leem Tek of reportedly told the drivers that some Cambodian customs officials took the move because they were unhappy with Thai officials.
"They drove to Thailand but were asked to present some documents. Upset with the treatment, they have decided to stop being lenient with Thai trucks," Leem Tek said.
Asked why the Cambodian customs officials did not inform the truck drivers in advance, he refused to give any answer and retreated to the Cambodian side.
However, at 12.30pm, Cambodian customs officials agreed to let the trucks pass the Poi Pet checkpoint with just a copy of the truckregistration book for one day only.
Although the decision quickly eased traffic congestion in front of the Ban Klong Luek checkpoint yesterday, it raised concern among the drivers about what was to come the next day.

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New UN resolution aims at nuclear-free world

US President Barack Obama(R) greets UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon as he arrives to chair a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York. World powers Thursday adopted a landmark resolution seeking to rid the planet of nuclear arms at an unprecedented Security Council summit hosted by President Obama. (AFP/Emmanuel Dunand)












UNITED NATIONS – With President Barack Obama presiding over a historic session, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a U.S.-sponsored resolution Thursday committing all nations to work for a nuclear weapons-free world.
Russia, China and developing nations supported the measure, giving it global clout and strong political backing.
The resolution calls for stepped up efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote disarmament and "reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism." It calls for better security for nuclear weapons materials and underscores the Security Council's intention to take action if such material or nuclear weapons get into the hands of terrorists.
The resolution consolidated many elements previously endorsed individually in the Security Council or other international forums. But bringing them together in a single document, voted on by global leaders, should add political momentum to efforts to achieve these goals, particularly at important conferences next year on nuclear security and on strengthening the Nonproliferation Treaty.
It was only the fifth time the Security Council met at summit level since the U.N. was founded in 1945 and 14 of the 15 chairs around the council's horseshoe-shaped table were filled by presidents and prime ministers. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's name was on the U.N.-circulated list as attending but he was a no-show. Libya's U.N. ambassador spoke for his country.
The U.S. holds the rotating council presidency this month and Obama was the first American president to preside over a Security Council summit, gaveling the meeting into session and announcing that "the draft resolution has been adopted unanimously."
"The historic resolution we just adopted enshrines our shared commitment to a goal of a world without nuclear weapons," Obama said immediately after the vote. "And it brings Security Council agreement on a broad framework for action to reduce nuclear dangers as we work toward that goal."
Just one nuclear weapon set off in a major city — "be it New York or Moscow, Tokyo or Beijing, London or Paris" — could kill hundreds of thousands of people and cause major destruction, Obama said.
The council endorsed a global effort to "lock down all vulnerable nuclear materials within four years" and the president announced that the United States will host an April summit to advance compliance and assist all nations in achieving the goal.
The resolution does not mention any country by name but it reaffirms previous Security Council resolutions that imposed sanctions on Iran and North Korea for their nuclear activities. It does not call for any new sanctions.
The resolution "expresses particular concern at the current major challenges to the nonproliferation regime that the Security Council has acted upon."
"This is not about singling out an individual nation," Obama said. "International law is not an empty promise, and treaties must be enforced."
But Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy all identified North Korea, which has tested nuclear weapons, and Iran, suspected of harboring weapon plans, as obstacles to a safer world.
Sarkozy sharply criticized both countries for ignoring Security Council resolutions calling on them to cease such activities.
"We may all be threatened one day by a neighbor, by a neighbor endowing itself" with nuclear weapons, he said.
"What I believe is that if we have the courage to affirm and impose sanctions on those who violate resolutions of the Security Council we will be lending credibility to our commitment to a world with fewer nuclear weapons and ultimately with no nuclear weapons," Sarkozy said.
The British leader called on the council to consider "far tougher sanctions" against Iran.
Iran's U.N. Mission issued a statement calling allegations about its nuclear program "totally untrue and without any foundation," insisting it is pursuing nuclear power as an alternative source of energy "to supply its booming population and rapid development."
Iran called French claims "preposterous" and accused Britain of "deliberately and cynically" ignoring its legal commitments to take practical steps to eliminate nuclear weapons but did not mention the United States by name.
Diplomats from Iran are scheduled to hold talks on Oct. 1 with the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.
The Iranian statement reiterates the country's "readiness to engage in serious and constructive negotiations with interested parties, based on respect, justice, rights of nations and collective commitments, aimed at reaching a framework for cooperative relationships." But it said that to achieve success in future negotiations the six countries should abandon "futile and illegal demands of the past years" that include suspending Iran's enrichment program.
Obama said the resolution reflects the nuclear agenda he outlined in his April speech in Prague when he declared his commitment to "a world without nuclear weapons."
The president called in that speech for the slashing of U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, adoption of the treaty banning all nuclear tests, an international fuel bank to better safeguard nuclear material, and negotiations on a new treaty that "verifiably" ends the production of fissile materials for atomic weapons.
He also strongly backed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, or NPT, which requires signatory nations not to pursue nuclear weapons in exchange for a commitment by the five nuclear powers to move toward nuclear disarmament. States without nuclear weapons are guaranteed access to peaceful nuclear technology for electricity generation.
All those measures are included in the draft resolution.
The resolution suggests that the Security Council consider taking firmer actions in the case of a country withdrawing from the NPT — as North Korea did — and stresses that countries that pull out are responsible for all violations before withdrawal.
Iran in its statement reaffirmed its commitment to the NPT, saying it takes its responsibilities under the treaty "seriously."
In its opening paragraph, the resolution reaffirms the council's commitment "to seek a safer world for all and to create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons."
Obama warned Thursday against violations of the NPT saying, "We must demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise, and that treaties will be enforced."
But global differences remain.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that "our main shared goal is to untie the problem knots" among nations seeking nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament.
"This is complicated since the level of mistrust among nations remains too high, but it must be done," he said.
Chinese President Hu Jintao focused on a late addition to Thursday's resolution: a call for all nuclear-weapon states to commit to "no first use" of those weapons, and to not using them against non-nuclear states. China has long proclaimed such a policy, which the U.S. has never embraced.
"All nuclear-weapon states should make an unequivocal commitment of unconditionally not using or threatening to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states," Hu said.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon saluted the national leaders for joining in the unprecedented Security Council summit on nuclear arms.
"This is a historic moment, a moment offering a fresh start toward a new future," he said.
Among the invited guests were U.N. nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei, former U.S. Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry, media mogul Ted Turner, former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and Queen Noor of Jordan — all campaigners against nuclear weapons.
Nunn, a Georgia Democrat who heads the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington-based group designed to fight the global spread of nuclear materials, said the most important thing about the resolution "is the high-level visibility that will be taking place ... with world leaders gathering to remind both themselves and the world that we are at a nuclear tipping point."
As Obama left the Security Council chamber, he told the Associated Press: "It was an excellent day."

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Thai Court Hands Hefty Sentences to 16 Cambodians

A provincial court in Thailand sentenced 16 Cambodians to lengthy prison terms Wednesday, for illegally entry and illegal logging on Thai soil, officials said Thursday.
Cambodian officials say the accused had not crossed into Thailand before they were arrested by Ubon provincial authorities.
The provincial court sentenced 15 of the accused to nine-year prison terms and another to six years and two months, the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Cambodia and Thailand are in a protracted border dispute, and Cambodian officials have accused Thai authorities of killing one Cambodian boy after an arrest earlier this month.
The group sentenced Wednesday were arrested in late July and comprised people living near Preah Vihear temple, which is at the center of a border dispute that has left seven soldiers dead and has continued for more than a year.
Cambodian officials say the group was on Cambodian soil, searching for wild honey and valuable timber.
Cambodian officials now have one month to lodge an appeal, said Koy Kong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Our lawyers are preparing the documents for the appeal.”
Wednesday’s hearing was attended by two independent lawyers, the Cambodian consul for Sras Keo province and officials from Preah Vihear province.
Kouch Sonnary, chief of the An Ses border pass, who joined Preah Vihear officials at the hearing, said the Cambodians had denied cutting logs and said they did understand the laws of Thailand and were unaware they had crossed a borderline.
Ros Heng, Choam Ksant district governor in Preah Vihear called the sentencing “unjust.”
“Thai authorities must guard clear border points, and the arrest was not made in a clear border area,” he said.

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Cambodia National Holidays: Constitution’s Day – Thursday, 24.9.2009

The public holidays of Cambodia as announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, designate 24 September is designated as “Constitution’s Day.”
At this occasion, access is made available to the text of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia, as presented on the website of the Embassy of Cambodia, Washington D.C., which points out: “It is not an official translation.” The following selections were made considering issues on which the Khmer press touched over the years. Still, the text presented here is much longer than a normal daily publication. While selecting sections of text, only full articles, or full paragraphs, have been omitted; all full sentences presented here, including wording and spelling, are kept as found in the source quoted.
CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA
PREAMBLE
WE, THE PEOPLE OF CAMBODIA, Having known a grand civilization of a prosperous, powerful, and glorious nation whose prestige radiates like a diamond,
Having endured sufferings and destructions and having experienced a tragic decline in the course of the two decades,
Having awakened, stood up with a resolute determination to strengthen the national unity, to preserve and defend Cambodia’s territory and its precious sovereignty and the prestige of Angkor civilization, and to restore Cambodia into an “Island of Peace” based on a multi-party liberal democratic regime with guaranteeing human rights and the respect of law, and responsible for the destiny of the nation always evolving toward progress, development, prosperity, and glory,
WITH THIS RESOLUTE WILL
We inscribe the following as the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia:
CHAPTER I: SOVEREIGNTY
Article 1: Cambodia is a Kingdom with a King who shall rule according to the Constitution and to the principles of liberal democracy and pluralism.
The Kingdom of Cambodia shall be independent, sovereign, peaceful, permanently neutral and non-aligned country.
Article 2: The territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia, shall absolutely not to be violated within its borders as defined in the 1/100,000 scale map made between the year 1933-1953 and internationally recognized between the years 1963 – 1969.
Article 3: The Kingdom of Cambodia is an indivisible state.
Article 4: The motto of the Kingdom of Cambodia is: “Nation, Religion, King”.
Article 5: The official language and script are Khmer.
Article 6: Phnom Penh is the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
CHAPTER II: THE KING
Article 7: The King of Cambodia shall reign but shall not govern.
The King shall be the Head of State for life. The King shall be inviolable.
Article 8: The King of Cambodia shall be a symbol of unity and eternity of the nation.
The King shall be guarantor of the national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the protector of rights and freedom for all citizens and the guarantor of international treaties.
Article 11: In the case that the King cannot perform His normal duties as Head of State owing to His serious illness as certified by doctors chosen by the President of the Senate, the President of the Assembly and the Prime Minister the President of the Senate shall perform the duties of Head of state as “Regent.”
In the case of the President of the Senate cannot perform his duties as the acting Head of State replacing the King as “Regent” when he is ill seriously as provided in the above paragraph the President of Assembly shall take them over.
In the case as stated in the above paragraph, other dignitaries as following hierarchy can perform Acting Head of State as Regent:
A. First Vice-President of the Senate
B. First Vice-President of the Assembly
C. Second Vice-Presiednt of the Senate
D. Second Vice-President of the Assembly
Article 12: In case of the death of the King, the President of the Senate shall take over the responsibility as Acting Head of State in the capacity of Regent of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
In the case that the President of the Senate cannot perform his duties of the acting Head of State as “Regent” in the place of the King on the death of the King the responsibilities of Head of State in the capacity of regent shall be exercised in conformity with the second and third paragraph of new Article 11.
Article 17: The provision as stated in the first clause of Article 7, “the King of Cambodia shall reign but shall not govern”, absolutely shall not be amended.
Article 20: The King shall grant an audience twice a month to the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers to hear their reports on the State of the Nation.
Article 21: Upon Proposals by the Council of Ministers, the King shall sign decrees (Kret) appointing, transferring or ending the mission of high civil and military officials, ambassadors and Envoys Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Upon proposals by the Supreme Council of Magistracy, the King shall sign decrees (Kret) appointing, transferring or removing judges.
Article 23: The King is the Supreme Commander of the Royal Khmer Armed Forces. The Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Khmer Armed Forces shall be appointed to command the Armed Forces.
Article 26: The King shall sign and ratify international treaties and conventions after a vote of approval by the National Assembly and the Senate.
Article 27: The King shall have the right to grant partial or complete amnesty.
Article 28: The King shall sign the law promulgating the Contstitution; laws adopted by the National Assembly and laws completely reviewed by the Senate and shall sign the Royal decree presented by the Council of Ministers.
Article 30: In the absence of the King, the President of the Senate shall assume the duties of acting Head of State.
In the case that the President of the Senate cannot perform his duties as the acting Head of State replacing the King due to his absence, the responsibilities as the Acting Head of State shall be exercised in conformity with second and third paragraph of new Article 11.
CHAPTER III: THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF KHMER CITIZENS
Article 31: The Kingdom of Cambodia shall recognize and respect human rights as stipulated in the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human rights, the covenants and conventions related to human rights, women’s and children’s rights.
Every Khmer citizens shall be equal before the law, enjoying the same rights, freedom and fulfilling the same obligations regardless of race, color, sex, language, religious belief, political tendency, birth origin, social status, wealth or other status. The exercise of personal rights and freedom by any individual shall not adversely affect the rights and freedom of others. The exercise of such rights and freedom shall be in accordance with the law.
Article 32: Every Khmer citizen shall have the right to life, personal freedom, and security.
There shall be no capital punishment.
Article 35: Khmer citizens of either sex shall have the right to participate actively in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the nation.
Any suggestions from the people shall be given full consideration by the organs of the State.
Article 36: Khmer citizens of either sex shall receive equal pay for equal work.
The work by housewives in the home shall have the same value as what they can receive when working outside the home.
Every Khmer citizen shall have the right to obtain social security and other social benefits as determined by law.
Khmer citizens of either sex shall have the right to form and to be member of trade unions.
Article 37: The right to strike and to non-violent demonstration shall be implemented in the framework of a law.
Article 38: The law guarantees there shall be no physical abuse against any individual.
The law shall protect life, honor, and dignity of the citizens.
The prosecution, arrest, or detention of any person shall not be done except in accordance with the law.
Coercion, physical ill-treatment or any other mistreatment that imposes additional punishment on a detainee or prisoner shall be prohibited. Persons who commit, participate or conspire in such acts shall be punished according to the law.
Confessions obtained by physical or mental force shall not be admissible as evidence of guilt.
Any case of doubt, it shall be resolved in favor of the accused.
The accused shall be considered innocent until the court has judged finally on the case.
Article 39: Khmer citizens shall have the right to denounce, make complaints or file claims against any breach of the law by state and social organs or by members of such organs committed during the course of their duties. The settlement of complaints and claims shall be the competence of the courts.
Article 40: The rights to privacy of residence, and to the secrecy of correspondence by mail, telegram, fax, telex and telephone shall be guaranteed.
Any search of the house, material and body shall be in accordance with the law.
Article 41: Khmer citizens shall have freedom of expression, press, publication and assembly. No one shall exercise this right to infringe upon the rights of others, to effect the good traditions of the society, to violate public law and order and national security.
Article 42: Khmer Citizens shall have the right to establish associations and political parties. These rights shall be determined by law.
Khmer citizens may take part in mass organizations for mutual benefit to protect national achievement and social order.
Article 43: Khmer citizens of either sex shall have the right to freedom of belief.
Freedom of religious belief and worship shall be guaranteed by the State on the condition that such freedom does not affect other religious beliefs or violate public order and security.
Buddhism shall be the religion of the State.
Article 44: The right to confiscate properties from any person shall be exercised only in the public interest as provided for under the law and shall require fair and just compensation in advance.
Article 45: All forms of discrimination against women shall be abolished.
The exploitation of women in employment shall be prohibited.
Men and women are equal in all fields especially with respectt to marriage and family matters.
Marriage shall be conducted according to conditions determined by law based on the principle of mutual consent between one husband and one wife.
Article 46: The commerce of human beings, exploitation by prostitution and obscenity which affect the reputation of women shall be prohibited.
A woman shall not lose her job because of pregnancy. Woman shall have the right to take maternity leave with full pay and with no loss of seniority or other social benefits.
The state and society shall provide opportunities to women, especially to those living in rural areas without adequate social support, so they can get employment, medical care, and send their children to school, and to have decent living conditions.
Article 47: Parents shall have the duty to take care of and educate their children to become good citizens.
Children shall have the duty to take good care of their elderly mother and father according to Khmer traditions.
Article 48: The State shall protect the rights of children as stipulated in the Convention on Children, in particular, the right to life, education, protection during wartime, and from economic or sexual exploitation.
The State shall protect children from acts that are injurious to their educational opportunities, health and welfare.
CHAPTER IV: ON POLICY
Article 51: The Kingdom of Cambodia adopts a policy of Liberal Democracy and Pluralism.
The Cambodian people are the masters of their own country.
All power belongs to the people. The people exercise these powers through the National Assembly, The Senate, the Royal Government and the Judiciary.
The legislative, executive, and judicial powers shall be sepatrate.
CHAPTER V: ECONOMY
Article 56: The Kingdom of Cambodia shall adopt the market economy system.
Article 58: State property notably comprises land, mineral resources, mountains, sea, underwater, continental shelf, coastline, airspace, islands, rivers, canals, streams, lakes, forests, natural resources, economic and cultural centers, bases for national defense and other facilities determined as State property.
The control, use and management of State properties shall be determined by law.
Article 59: The State shall protect the environment and balance of abundant natural resources and establish a precise plan of management of land, water, air, wind, geology, ecological system, mines, energy, petrol and gas, rocks and sand, gems, forests and forestry products, wildlife, fish and aquatic resources.
CHAPTER VI EDUCATION, CULTURE, SOCIAL AFFAIRS
Article 65: The State shall protect and upgrade citizens’ rights to quality education at all levels and shall take necessary steps for quality education to reach all citizens.
Article 71: The perimeter of the national heritage sites as well as heritage that has been classified as world heritage, shall be considered neutral zones where there shall be no military activity.
Article 72: The health of the people shall be guaranteed. The State shall give full consideration to disease prevention and medical treatment. Poor citizens shall receive free medical consultation in public hospitals, infirmaries and maternities.
Article 75: The State shall establish a social security system for workers and employees.
CHAPTER VII: THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Article 76: The National Assembly consists of at least 120 members.
The deputies shall be elected by a free, universal, equal, direct and secret ballot.
Khmer citizens able to stand for election shall be the Khmer ctitizens of either sex who have the right to vote, at least 25 years of age, and who have Khmer nationality at birth.
Article 77: The deputies in the National Assembly shall represent the entire Khmer people, not only Khmers from their constituencies.
Any imperative mandate shall be nullified.
Article 79: The National Assembly mandate shall be incompatible with the holding of any active public function and of any membership in other institutions provided for in the Constitution, except when the assembly member(s) is (are) required to serve in the Royal Government.
Article 80: The deputies shall enjoy parliamentary immunity.
No assembly member shall be prosecuted, detained or arrested because of opinions expressed during the exercise of his (her) duties.
The accusation, arrest, or detention of an assembly member shall be made only with the permission of the National Assembly or by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly between sessionst, except in case of flagrante delicto. In that case, the competent authority shall immediately report to the National Assembly or to the Standing Committee for decision.
In any case, detention or prosecution of a deputy shall be suspended by a 3/4 majority vote of the National Assembly members.
Article 88: The National Assembly sessions shall be held in public.
The National Assembly shall meet in closed session at the request of the Chairman or of at least 1/10 of its members, of the King or of the Prime Minister.
Article 90: The National Assembly is an organ which has legislative power, and performs its duties as provided for in the constitution and laws.
The National Assembly shall approve the national budget, State planning, loans, financial contracts, and the creation, modification and annulment of tax.
Article 91: The members of the Senate, the members of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister have the right to initiate legislation.
Article 93: Any law approved by the assembly and finally reviewed by the Senate and signed by the King for its promulgation shall go into effect in Phnom Penh ten days after its signing and throughout the country twenty days after its signing.
Article 96: The National Assembly shall establish one day each week for questions and answers. There shall be no vote during any session reserved for this purpose.
CHAPTER VIII: THE SENATE
Article 99: The Senate is a body that has legislative power and performs its duties as determined in the constitution and law.
Article 100: The king shall nominate two Senators.
The Assembly shall elect two Senators by majority Vote.
Others shall be universally elected.
Article 103: The mandate of senators shall be incompatible with the holding of any active public function, with the functions of members of the National Assembly, and of any membership in other institutions provided for in the constitution.
Article 104: The Senator shall enjoy parliamentary immunity.
Article 111: The Senate sessions shall be held in public.
CHAPTER IX: THE ASSEMBLY AND THE SENATE
Article 116: In the special case, the Assembly and the Senate can assemble as the congress to resolve the important issues of the nation.
CHAPTER X: THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT
Article 118: The Council of Ministers is the Royal Government of Cambodia.
The Council of Ministers shall be led by one Prime Minister assisted by Deputy Prime Ministers, and by State Ministers, Ministers, and State Secretaries as members.
Article 120: The functions of members of the Royal Government shall be incompatible with professional activities in trade or industry and with the holding of any position in the public service.
Article 122: Members of the Royal Government shall not use the orders, written or verbal, of anyone as grounds to exonerate themselves from their responsibility.
CHAPTER XI: THE JUDICIARY
Article 128: The Judicial power shall be an independent power.
The Judiciary shall guarantee and uphold impartiality and protect the rights and freedoms of the citizens.
Article 129: Only judges shall have the right to adjudicate. A judge shall fulfill this duty with strict respect for the laws, wholeheartedly, and conscientiously.
Article 130: Judicial power shall not be granted to the legislative or executive branches.
Article 131: Only the Department of Public Prosecution shall have the right to file criminal suits.
Article 132: The King shall be the guarantor of the independence of the Judiciary. The Supreme Council of the Magistracy shall assist the King in this matter.
Article 133: Judges shall not be dismissed. The Supreme Council of the Magistracy shall take disciplinary actions against any delinquent judges.
Article 134: The Supreme Council of the Magistracy shall be chaired by the King. The King may appoint a representative to chair the Supreme Council of the Magistracy.
The Supreme Council of Magistracy shall meet under the chairmanship of the President of the Supreme Court or the General Prosecutor of the Supreme Court to decide on disciplinary actionts against judges or prosecutors.
CHAPTER XII: THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL
Article 136: The Constitutional Council shall have the duty to safeguard respect of the constitution, interpret the Constitution and laws adopted by the National Assembly and reviewed completely by the Senate.
Article 137: The Constitutional Council shall consist of nine members with a nine-year mandate. 1/3 of the members of the Council shall be replaced every three years. 3 members shall be appointed by the tKing, 3 members by the National Assembly and 3 others by the Supreme Council of the Magistracy.
Article 141: Khmer Citizens shall have the right to appeal against the constitutionality of any law through their representative or President of National Assembly or member of the Senate or President of the Senate as mentioned in the above articles.
CHAPTER XIII: THE ADMINISTRATION
Article 145: The territory of the Kingdom of Cambodia shall be divided into provinces and municipalities.
CHAPTER XIV: THE NATIONAL CONGRESS
Article 147: The National Congress shall enable the people to be directly informed on various matters of national interests and to raise issues and requests for the State authority to solve.
Khmer citizens of both sexes shall have the right to participate in the National Congress.
Article 148: The National Congress shall meet once a year in early December at the convocation of the Prime Minister.
It shall proceed under the chairmanship of the King.
Article 149: The National Congress adopts recommendations the Senate the National Assembly and to the Executive branch for reflection.
The organization and operation of the National Congress should be determined by law.
CHAPTER XV: EFFECTS, REVISIONS AND AMENDMENTS OF THE CONSTITUTION
Article 150: This Constitution shall be the Supreme law of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Article 153: Revision or amendment affecting the system of liberal and pluralistic democracy and the regime of Constitutional Monarchy shall be prohibited.
CHAPTER XVI: TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
Article 154: This Constitution, after its adoption, shall be declared in full force immediately by the King of Cambodia.
Article 155: After the entry into force of this Constitution, the Constituent Assembly shall become the National Assembly.
Article 158: Laws and standard documents in Cambodia that safeguard State properties, rights, freedom and legal private properties and in conformity with the national interests, shall continue to be effective until altered or abrogated by new texts, except those provisions that are contrary to the spirit of this Constitution.
This Constitution was adopted by the Constitutional Assembly in Phnom Penh on 21 September 1993 at its 2nd Plenary session.
Phnom Penh, 21 September, 1993.
The President,
Signed: SON SAN
[[Revision statement]]
This Constitutional law was adopted by the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia on the 4th March, 1999 in its 2nd plenary meeting
Phnom Penh, 6 March 1999
National Assembly President
Norodom Ranariddh
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Activist runs organization to free Cambodian sex slaves

(khmer hot news)
CENTRAL FLORIDA FUTURE http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/
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Share this article Published: Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Former slave Somaly Mam has made it her life’s work to end sex trafficking.
Opponents to her cause have burned her house, threatened her, kidnapped her children and raped her daughter.
“When I started this, I know I made my life dangerous. It’s not easy for me. A lot of people, they tell me that I’m crazy,” Mam said. “Well, I am crazy.”
About 200 people squeezed into the Cape Florida Ballroom Monday night to hear Mam speak about her experiences and her foundation’s efforts to end sex slavery. When seats filled up, students sat on the floor, stood along the back wall, and perched in from the hallway, watching through the doorways.
Mam is one of TIME magazine’s “World’s Most Influential People” for 2009 and a “CNN Hero.”
She became a slave as a child when a man who called himself her grandfather sold her into prostitution. She lived in a brothel with other Cambodian children and was raped and tortured daily, but after watching the murder of her best friend, she eventually escaped.
Since the opening of her shelter in Cambodia, 6,000 girls have been helped out of brothels. The girls call her mother.
“They are lovely,” Mam said.
Mam said it’s difficult to get girls out of the brothel because they are familiar with the routine of their life and don’t know who will love, help or give them a new life. Sometimes families don’t want their children back because of the shame, and they place blame on the children themselves for what happened. The government in Cambodia does nothing to help, Mam said.
In 2008, there was a global focus on establishing anti-trafficking laws in Cambodia, which had none, said Bill Livermore, executive director for the Somaly Mam Foundation.
“There was a major push on, ‘Well, you need to change your laws. That’ll solve everything,’” Livermore said. “Now we’ve come to realize that isn’t true until you can change society.”
Human trafficking is the second-largest organized crime, becoming a bigger business than drug trafficking, according to the Somaly Mam Foundation’s Web site.
Specific and consistent statistics about human trafficking are hard to calculate because of the nature of this worldwide crime. Of the 12.3 million adults and children in forced labor, an estimated 1.39 million people are victims of sexual servitude, according to the U.N.’s International Labor Organization.
As many as two million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade, according to the U.S. State Department.
This modern-day enslavement is not limited to foreign lands. It’s in the U.S., too.
“What is happening in our country is happening in your country,” Mam said.
Between 18,000 and 20,000 victims are trafficked into the U.S., according to U.S.
Department of Justice estimates listed on the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking Web site. A large percentage is trafficked into Florida because of seasonal agricultural immigrants.
Junior interdisciplinary women’s studies major Dominique Aulisio, who works with the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking, is starting a student organization called Student Labor Action Project.
“I think that people distance themselves from the problem,” said Aulisio. “I think we all do because a lot of times on the news it’s characterized as being a faraway country. But in reality, the traffickers are very organized, and they’re all over the world.”
Mam encouraged students to raise awareness and become active to end sex trafficking.
She thinks it’s possible within 10 years if everyone “activates” and fights.
“Fighting is not just sitting and talking, but you have to stand up and fight,” Mam said.
She said it is out of her capacity to accomplish the task alone.
“We need all of you,” Mam said.
She encouraged students to go on the foundation’s Web site and read about how to volunteer and learn more about what they do.
Senior Sally Griffin already had Mam’s book, The Road of Lost Innocence, and was excited to hear her speak. She wants to work and advocate against human trafficking. Her major is social work and minor is international studies for that reason, she said.
Griffin just got back from a trip to India with the organization International Justice Mission where she helped with a shelter, met girls who had been rescued from sex trafficking and saw the red-light district firsthand. She was first made aware of sex trafficking when someone from her church spoke about the issue.
“I didn’t know. Once I heard about it, it just kind of lit a fire in me,” Griffin said. “I don’t feel like I can just stand by knowing what I know.”

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Cambodia condemns sentencing of its nationals by Thai court

24 Sep 2009 (khmer hotnews)
Phnom Penh - Cambodia plans to appeal a case in which lengthy sentences were handed down by a Thai court to a group of its nationals after they were convicted of logging and entering Thailand illegally, local media reported Thursday. The 16 men who are from adjacent provinces in north-west Cambodia were arrested on July 23 by Thai authorities. Fifteen of them were sentenced to nine years and three months each while the last was given six years and two months.
The Thai court in Ubon Ratchathani province has granted a one-month period to appeal.
The cabinet chief of Cambodia's Preah Vihear province told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper that the sentences were "revenge" by Thailand for the unresolved border dispute between the two kingdoms while Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said government lawyers would appeal the convictions.
"Let our lawyers do their work until the end [of the legal process]; then we will use another measure," Koy Kuong told the newspaper.
Defence lawyers had pleaded that the men were not engaged in logging and had not realized they had crossed into Thai territory.
Much of the 800-kilometre-long common border between the two nations has not yet been demarcated. Tensions have been high for the past year with several soldiers on both sides killed and injured in skirmishes around the Preah Vihear temple, an 11th-century structure that sits on the border between the two kingdoms.

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Cambodia to host Mekong-Japan foreign ministers meeting next week

September 24, 2009 (khmer hot news)
Cambodia will host the Second Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting next week to review progress and to set out future direction for cooperation in the region, according to a press release issued Wednesday by Cambodia's Foreign Ministry.
The press release said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Namhong will chair the meeting of foreign ministers from Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam from Oct. 2 to 3 in Siem Reap.
On the sidelines of the Mekong-Japan meeting, Hor Namhong will also chair the Second Foreign Minister's Meeting of the Emerald Triangle Cooperation between Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.
The ministers will review the progress of Japan-Mekong cooperation since "Japan-Mekong Region Partnership Program" was launched in 2007 and the First Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Tokyo in January 2008, and to set out the future direction of the cooperation in this mechanism.
Siem Reap is chosen as an alternative venue for many international meetings or conferences beside Cambodia's capital of Phnom Penh and coastal beach of Sihanoukville in southwestern Cambodia.

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Two faces of Thailand

September 24, 2009 (khmer hot news)
Giles Ji Ungpakorn is a Thai academic and dissident who was targeted by the government for the supposed crime of "lese majesty"--essentially, "disloyalty" to Thailand's head of state, King Bhumibol. To avoid censorship and a possible prison sentence of 15 years, he fled to Britain earlier this year. Here, he analyzes the latest developments in Thailand, three years after a military coup.
ON SEPTEMBER 19 of this year--the third anniversary of the military coup that wrecked Thai democracy--two demonstrations took place. They sum up the two faces of Thailand.
One demonstration, by tens of thousands of Red Shirts in Bangkok, was organized in order to continue the demand for full democracy. It was a peaceful and friendly demonstration. Yet the military-backed Democrat Party government, headed by Abhisit Vejjajiva, declared a state of emergency and lined up thousands of police and soldiers to deal with the demonstrators.
Previously, back in April, Abhisit had urged soldiers to fire on the Red Shirts. Two people were subsequently killed and 70 injured by government soldiers.
The other demonstration was organized by People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) fascist thugs. The PAD are the Yellow Shirt royalists. The aim of this demonstration was to attack Cambodian villagers living and working at the ancient Kao Prawiharn temple inside Cambodia.
Since last year, the PAD has been trying to cause a war with Cambodia by whipping up extreme nationalism. The temple was built by the ancient Khmers and clearly belongs to Cambodia, both from a legal and historical point of view. On September 19, the PAD went to the border armed, as usual, with guns, bombs and clubs. They attacked the police and then a group of local villagers who were opposed to them. Local villagers on both sides of the border have traditionally held joint religious ceremonies together at the temple on this day. This has not happened since the PAD forced the closure of the temple last year.
Teptai Senpong, personal spokesman for Prime Minister Abhisit, earlier stated that there was no reason to declare a state of emergency in the border area, "as the PAD were defending Thai national interests." The present foreign minister is a PAD supporter who took part in the illegal occupation of the international airports last December. He is famed for being rude about the Cambodian government.
Suriyasai Takasila, PAD spokesperson, said that the PAD leadership would not turn its back on Wira Somkwamkit, the PAD leader who headed the violent raid on the border. Naturally, the PAD riot and its extreme nationalism was supported by ASTV. The government will not prosecute the PAD and their leaders for their illegal violence. They never have. At the same time, numerous Red Shirts are in jail or face prosecution.
Just like when the PAD took over the airports, they cared little for the impact on local people's employment and livelihood. They cared little if the sons of poor farmers, conscripted into the Thai army, were to die in any pointless shoot out with their brothers in the Cambodian army.
The progressive, peaceful and democratic face of Thai society is the Red Shirts. The violent, fascist and authoritarian face is the face of the Yellow Shirt conservative royalists who control the state, the army, the monarchy, the government and the media. The one thing they do not control is the hearts and minds of most Thai citizens.
Most Thais are waiting for the king to die. But that in itself will solve nothing, despite the fact that his son his universally hated and held in contempt. No real democracy can be built without dismissing the generals, the judges, the privy council, the royal family and the corrupt politicians.
Will the Red Shirts be up to this People's Revolution? Can it be an overwhelming movement of citizens in order to minimize bloodshed? These are the issues on many people's minds today.

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Belgian paedophile expelled from Cambodia

Wed, 23 Sep 2009
KHMER HOT NEWS

Phnom Penh - A Belgian man convicted twice for child sex offences was expelled from Cambodia seven weeks after a coalition of child protection organizations petitioned authorities to expel him, a media report said Wednesday. Philippe Dessart, 49, was put on a plane to Thailand last week, the Cambodia Daily newspaper reported.
"We had enough legal grounds," the national police spokesman told the newspaper. "We didn't decide to deport him to Belgium; we just decided that he should be out of our country. Wherever he went to, it was his right."
Dessart was released from a Cambodian jail in April having spent three years in prison for sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy. On his release, he sparked outrage from child protection organizations by marrying the boy's mother after moving into her home in western Cambodia.
Dessart was previously convicted of child sex offences in his native Belgium, serving time there in the 1990s for child rape and torture.
Dessart's lawyer said his client's deportation was an abuse of his rights.
"He was with his wife; police came to invite him to a commune police station telling him that the national commissioner orders you to be expelled," Dun Vibol told the newspaper. "[On arrival in Thailand Dessart] called me saying he's got nothing with him and said they don't respect the law in Cambodia."

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Belgian paedophile expelled from Cambodia

Submitted by Sahil Nagpal
Wed, 09/23/2009
Phnom Penh - A Belgian man convicted twice for child sex offences was expelled from Cambodia seven weeks after a coalition of child protection organizations petitioned authorities to expel him, a media report said Wednesday.
Philippe Dessart, 49, was put on a plane to Thailand last week, the Cambodia Daily newspaper reported.
"We had enough legal grounds," the national police spokesman told the newspaper. "We didn't decide to deport him to Belgium; we just decided that he should be out of our country. Wherever he went to, it was his right."
Dessart was released from a Cambodian jail in April having spent three years in prison for sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy. On his release, he sparked outrage from child protection organizations by marrying the boy's mother after moving into her home in western Cambodia.
Dessart was previously convicted of child sex offences in his native Belgium, serving time there in the 1990s for child rape and torture.
Dessart's lawyer said his client's deportation was an abuse of his rights.
"He was with his wife; police came to invite him to a commune police station telling him that the national commissioner orders you to be expelled," Dun Vibol told the newspaper. "[On arrival in Thailand Dessart] called me saying he's got nothing with him and said they don't respect the law in Cambodia." (dpa)

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Tea Banh pays US official visit

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates (right) welcomes Cambodian Defence Minister General Tea Banh on Monday at the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

Wednesday, 23 September 2009 15:03 Jacob Gold and Vong Sokheng
Meeting with the US defence secretary addresses greater military cooperation, though concerns linger about alleged rights violations by Cambodian soldiers.
CAMBODIAN Defence Minister Tea Banh met with US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates at the Pentagon in Washington during an official visit on Monday, Defence Ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat told the Post on Wednesday.
The agenda included improving military cooperation during humanitarian assistance scenarios and strengthening the capacity of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. The discussion also focused on regional security issues and cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
“We expect that the relationship between the RCAF and the US military will move close together after this high-level visit by the Cambodian defence delegation,” Chhum Socheat said.
The US has promised to sponsor Cambodia’s role in defence exercises scheduled for July 2010 and slated to involve more than 2,000 military personnel from countries across the Asia-Pacific region, he said.
Tea Banh is expected to arrive back in Cambodia today. The US embassy declined to comment further on the outcome of the meeting pending an official statement due to be released today.
US-Cambodian military relations have come under scrutiny from US congressmen following testimony by Human Rights Watch to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing in Washington earlier this month.
The NGO reported that since 2006 the US has provided training and material assistance totalling approximately US$4.5 million to Cambodian military units such as Prime Minister Hun Sen’s personal bodyguard unit, Brigade 70, Special Airborne Brigade 911 and Brigade 31 of the RCAF. Eight congressmen sent a letter last Friday to Gates inquiring about the connection between and US military aid and these units’ alleged human rights abuses, which the Cambodian military denied.
The meeting of the two nations’ defence chiefs comes ahead of a bilateral agreement, due to be signed by the US and Cambodia today, under which the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide Cambodia with US$7.79 million to help stimulate broader economic growth.
The additional funding will finance an expansion of USAID’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 2 and Business Enabling Environment programme, aimed at alleviating rural poverty by making family-owned businesses more productive, the organisation said in a statement released to the media on Tuesday. USAID expects to commit a total of $61.8 million in assistance to Cambodia this year.

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Regional grants target biodiversity

Wednesday, 23 September 2009 15:04 Irwin Loy
Cambodia to receive eight grants to help preserve river ecosystems and endangered fauna.
CAMBODIAN groups are among several organisations around the region slated to receive more than US$2 million in grants aimed at conserving threatened biodiversity.
The money will come from the Indochina-based section of the internationally funded Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), which calls the region one of the most threatened biodiversity hot spots in the world.
“Freshwater habitats are particularly threatened in Indochina, so we’re very happy to have already funded local organisations,” John Pilgrim, a manager with NGO Birdlife International, said in a press release. The NGO is responsible for implementing CEPF grants in the region.
The fund approved 19 grants out of 166 applications received from Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Of these, Cambodia received eight.
One of the grants, worth just under $20,000, will go to the local 3S Rivers Protection Network, which will use the funds to raise local awareness about the potential impact of dams on the Srepok, Sesan and Sekong rivers in northeastern Cambodia.
Other Cambodian grants are aimed at conserving threatened species in the country.
According to CEPF, only 5 percent of the region’s natural habitats remain in “relatively pristine condition”. The group sees poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation as closely linked, as a large portion of the rural population is dependent on natural resources.

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Court exonerates Ho Vann

Wednesday, 23 September 2009 15:04 Meas Sokchea and James O’toole
IN a surprise verdict, Phnom Penh Municipal Court acquitted Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) parliamentarian Ho Vann of defamation on Tuesday, but his co-defendants Neou Vannarin and Kevin Doyle of The Cambodia Daily newspaper were ordered to pay four million riels (US$1,000) each on related charges.
The charges stemmed from an April 2009 article published in the Daily in which Ho Vann was quoted as saying that academic degrees awarded to 22 officers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces by a Vietnamese military institute were “worthless”.
In a subsequent clarification statement, Ho Vann claimed that the article, written by Neou Vannarin, had misquoted him. At a Municipal Court hearing on September 9, however, Daily Editor in Chief Kevin Doyle maintained that Ho Vann had been quoted accurately.
Ho Vann and Neou Vannarin were not present for the verdict and were tried in absentia, though Doyle appeared, flipping through a copy of his newspaper as he waited for the proceedings to begin.
“After listening to the case, [the court] understood that Ho Vann said nothing wrong in the interview, but that Kevin Doyle and Neou Vannarin issued a defamatory story in their newspaper,” Municipal Court Judge Sin Visal said. Ho Vann’s clarification letter, the judge added, demonstrated that the SRP parliamentarian had been misquoted.
“The verdict is correct because Ho Vann did not say what was published in the newspaper,” said SRP parliamentarian Chea Poch, who attended the hearing. “Khmer people need to stop suing one another and concentrate on working together to develop the country.”
Observers from the civil society community expressed surprise at Ho Vann’s acquittal, which was greeted with smiles and handshakes by a number of spectators in the courtroom.
Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR) president Ou Virak cast the verdict against the spate of government lawsuits against opposition critics in the last few months, calling it “a little light in this darkness”. He speculated that the decision may have been influenced by next week’s meeting of the Cambodian Development Cooperation Forum, a gathering of Cambodian government officials and international donors.
The verdict against Kevin Doyle and Neou Vannarin was less encouraging, however. Pa Nguon Teang, the president of Voice of Democracy Radio, condemned the decision, saying that the judiciary’s acquiesence to political pressure “is an obstacle to freedom of the press in Cambodia”.
CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said that Ho Vann’s parliamentary immunity, which had been revoked pending a verdict in his case, could be restored with a two-thirds vote in the National Assembly. Local rights group Licadho said, however, that Ho Vann’s immunity should be automatically restored based on Cambodian law.

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PAD makes demands on Preah Vihear

Writer: BangkokPost.com
Published: 20/09/2009

The yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) called on the Cambodian government to quickly move its villagers and troops out of the disputed border area around Preah Vihear temple.

About 300 Thai soldiers at Preah Vihear national park in Si Sa Ket province allowed 33 PAD protesters led by Veera Somkwamkid to enter the site on Sunday.

After arriving at Mo I Daeng cliff in the national park, PAD core member Veera announced that the ancient temple and the areas around it are within Thailand's territory in reference to the border demarcation in 1904.

"Now, the Cambodian people have encroached on our country. The PAD would like the Cambodian government to quickly move its people and soldiers out of this area, or else Thai people will have to do their duty in protecting the country's sovereignty," Mr Veera said.

The Suranaree Task Force commander, Maj Gen Chavalit Choonhasarn, and a group of army officials were present when Mr Veera read the PAD's statement.

The PAD members later left the national park.

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Ex-reporter helps Cambodia face up to past

Sep. 21, 2009
Norimasa Tahara
Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent (Japan)

PHNOM PENH--Thirty years after the end of the Khmer Rouge regime that killed nearly 2 million people, a former Japanese news reporter has been appointed as a public relations officer at Cambodia's special war tribunal.

Yuko Maeda assumed the post at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, which was jointly set up by the United Nations and the Cambodian government to try former senior members of the regime led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998.

Since taking up the post, Maeda has been up to her ears dealing with media interviews.

"I believe that after these trials end, Cambodia at long last can become a normal country again," Maeda, 45, said.

After working as a reporter for The Kobe Shimbun, Maeda studied journalism at Michigan State University.

She first became interested in Cambodia in 1996, when she came across The Cambodia Daily, an English-language newspaper, while studying war and media coverage in Michigan. After graduating in 1997, Maeda became a reporter for the daily newspaper in 1998.

Maeda worked day in and day out reporting on how the country was rebuilding itself.

During this time, "I started feeling that I wanted to play a role in reconstructing a country," she recalled. This ambition inspired Maeda to go to Liberia in 2005 and work as a public relations officer for the U.N. mission in the African country.

When she returned to Phnom Penh, the skyline showed more high-rise buildings than before as the city showed definite signs of growth.

However, Maeda strongly believes the psychological scars of the Cambodian people have yet to heal.

"That's precisely why the special tribunal's role in helping to settle the past is so significant," Maeda said. "When I have time, I'd love to sit with a group of Cambodian people and listen to their stories about the Pol Pot era."

Maeda's spirit as a passionate reporter remains undimmed.

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