A Change of Guard

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Tuesday 31 May 2011

World court began hearing Cambodia's complaint against Thailand


Sir Franklin Berman (left), Var Kimhong, Cambodia's Minister of State and Hor Namhong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation at a court hearing in The Hague, where where Cambodia lis asking the UN to order an immediate Thai troop withdrawal around the ancient temple of Preah Vihear, scene of heavy clashes earlier this year. (AFP/Valerie Kuypers)

Preah Vihear hearings commence

Tuesday, 31 May 2011
By Cheang Sokha
Phnom Penh Post

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong appeared before the International Court of Justice yesterday and asked the United Nations judicial body to order the withdrawal of Thai troops from areas around Preah Vihear temple during the first of two scheduled hearings in The Hague.

Hor Namhong’s demand follows deadly fighting along the Cambodian-Thai border in February near the 11th-century temple that left at least 10 soldiers dead and dozens injured on both sides.

“We will ask the court to swiftly provide the provisional measures to protect the peace and avoid an escalation of the armed conflict in the area,” Agence-France Presse quoted Hor Namhong as saying.

“Thailand is under obligation to withdraw any troops in the area around the temple,” he argued before a panel of 15 judges at the ICJ in the Netherlands.

The ICJ ruled in 1962 that sovereignty over Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia. Although judgments are final and are not subject to appeal, states can ask for reinterpretations of previous decisions.

Cambodia has taken that route in petitioning the court to reinterpret its 1962 decision to bear on territory adjacent to the temple that is also claimed by Thailand.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said the Thai delegation planned to argue that the court had no jurisdiction to rule on the borders of states in dispute, the Bangkok Post reported.

An ICJ official said earlier this month that a final decision in the case could take years, though the court may rule on questions of troop placements and other interim measures within weeks.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong declined to comment, saying that Hor Namhong would continue arguments today.

Talking commerce in Cambodia

Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Jeremy Mullins and May Kunmakara
Phnom Penh Post

SENIOR Minister and Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh sat down with The Post yesterday to discuss Cambodia’s business environment, the challenges of attracting foreign companies to Cambodia and the effect of the border conflict on commerce. Edited by Jeremy Mullins and May Kunmakara.

110531_9
Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh speaks to reporters from The Post yesterday in Phnom Penh. Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN
In your discussions with foreign businesses, what do you raise as Cambodia’s strong point? Why should foreign businesses come to Cambodia?
When foreign businessmen go to one country, they are looking for at least three key factors. One is political stability. We know that Cambodia has already ensured political stability.

The second one is macro-stability. And we do also have that, despite a little hiccup during the world economic crisis. But it affected everybody, not just Cambodia. This was an exception. But apart from this, the economy is in good shape.

The third key factor is providing a sound and predictable legal framework for the businesspeople.… That means international practices are implemented in Cambodia as well, so it’s not the law of the jungle for businessmen that come to Cambodia.

These are the three key factors, but for Cambodia we have been able to provide to businessmen one more key factor, which is access to foreign markets.

We are inviting them to come invest in to Cambodia to produce for export to European markets on a duty-free and quota-free basis. To Canada, it’s the same, to Australia, to Japan, to India, to China, to Korea, to many big, rich countries, and almost everything is duty free and quota free.

The other thing that is very important is we have a very open liberal trade regime.

On the flipside, what are the largest obstacles to locating and running a business in Cambodia? And what is being done to improve on these obstacles?
People first think Cambodia is only a small market. You have only 14 million, and next door you have 70 and 80 million people, and 200 million down south, and over 1 billion people up north.

The moment foreign investors come to the region, you try to attract them to come to Cambodia, they zip or zap to Vietnam or to Thailand because of the large domestic market. But you provide them with a different way to do business [in Cambodia].

A handicap for Cambodia is that infrastructure is not all [complete] right now. But you have seen through many years that the government has tried to put all the infrastructure in place.

We still have one handicap in the cost of electricity.… But there are hydropower sites we have started to build.

In not less than 10 years, a lot of power will be generated from Pursat, from Koh Kong, or from the northeast. So that means this is not a handicap anymore for Cambodia.

We have a trump card, which is our market access, which most of our neighbours don’t have.

Laos and Myanmar have advantages like Cambodia, they are also Least Developed Countries.

But Laos is a landlocked country.…And from Myanmar you can produce the same as you can in Cambodia, but the problem is market access.

In ASEAN, Cambodia is the only one country that can maximise its status as a Least Developed Country.

The need to diversify exports from too much reliance on a single industry is often discussed. In your view, is it happening? What can be done to encourage it and also close the trade gap?
First you have to understand that for Least Developed Countries such as Cambodia, when you have large markets next door it is very difficult.

The first type of industry that we can get here are those that can compete with neighbouring countries. ... Cambodia can provide cheaper labour, compared to Vietnam or Thailand.

So what type of industry uses cheaper labour? First, it’s the garments and footwear industry. So this is why you can see the garment and footwear industry coming and flourishing in Cambodia.

What about electronics and other things? People are always having the wrong perception about Cambodia. They think there are still a lot of illiterate people. We have done a lot in the education system. I think many things have improved.

If you want to invest in microchips, for example, it is does not mean that you need a lot of PhDs and engineers. You need maybe 10 or 20 people, but the rest are people who can only tighten the bolts and everything.

More products are being produced in Cambodia. Bicycles, for example. Before nobody thought we could produce bicycles – now we can. Motorcycles, the assembly line is here.

Now we also have Minebea from Japan, which produces very small motors. That is very important for computers for the hard disc, and this is now produced in Cambodia.

When you have this type of production coming into Cambodia, people start to wake up and say why not [set up] in Cambodia?

I think it’s going to go little by little. And the automotive industry is going to move in, once they realise there are lots of opportunities to produce in Cambodia for export.

What lessons did you take from the effects of the global financial crisis on Cambodia?
Well, the world crisis affected everybody. The lesson you have to learn is you have to try not to trust the big guys too much. The lesson is that you were always thinking the big guy would never fall down, and when they fell it [caused] really big damage to the small guys.

Can you discuss your decision to postpone the second Thai trade exhibition, which was originally going to be held in Phnom Penh earlier this month? Were you concerned it would cause an escalation of some sort?
The reason why I postponed the Thai Exhibition 2011 is because of some wrongdoings at the border.

While the tension is still there, the [Thai] army also intervened in preventing free-flow of goods, preventing some essential goods from coming to Cambodia.

For example, oil sometimes, iron, cement. They think Cambodia used these to build bunkers, or our troops use the gasoline.

At the same time, the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand also imposed new duties on products from Cambodia.

Of course, they put them in place for other countries as well, but they do not follow the rules of ASEAN. It affects the border trade.

The reason why I postponed this is not because of [problems] with selling across the border, but because we had also this army intervening in trade.

You have seen the policy of my Prime Minister is always confining the conflict to only military things, not in the economic field. So we still continue to promote trade.

They wanted to organise this exhibition right away at the time the Thai army are creating problems with our products at the border.

I feel it is not appropriate for us to try to promote Thai products at the time they are bullying us at the border.

We say okay, maybe it’s not the right time. You never know what the reaction of the Cambodian public would be; whether they would come and buy or they would come and create troubles with the exhibitors.

I say maybe it’s not safe for Thai exhibitors at this time. You cannot guarantee safety for them, too. Because you are stamping on my feet and you try and promote your products - it’s not fair.

In the trade sector we have already seen a reduction of two-way trade. I believe it could be [a drop of] around 20 percent at least, not because people fear the safety of the goods crossing the border. The problem is people fear their goods would not be sold in Cambodia, or would not be as popular as before in Cambodia.

Who is losing? You will see. We are only exporting $200 million, and we are importing $2 billion US dollars.

So they have to weigh the pros and cons. We want to use business to create a border of peace and cooperation with Thailand. But the problem is that domestic politics interfere with that type of behaviour.

Do you feel the fighting has affected the international business community’s view of Cambodia?
I don’t think so. First, international business sees Cambodia as being bullied by a bigger country. At the same time they have seen we have tried to confine the conflict to the border area only, so people can trade and do business and invest together.

For foreign businessmen, there is nothing that is going to change in Cambodia.

The macro-economy is going to be still here. Political stability is also here. A sound, predictable legal framework is also here. Market access is also here. The four key factors I mentioned earlier, they’re still here.

What effects will the Cambodia Securities Exchange have on business in Cambodia?
It will provide more capital for companies that are searching for capital that the bank cannot give.

We have to go step by step, steady step. I’m not very much in favour of the stock exchange, but I see it also as an important tool for the economy in the future.

But we have to go step by step, making sure that the securities exchange we are setting up is not going to be a time bomb for the Cambodian economy, but rather a paved road for people looking for capital. But you have to make sure the road is safe.

Heng Samrin flags pay dispute [Heng Samrin wants to challenge Hun Sen's authority?]

Tuesday, 31 May 2011
By Tep Nimol
110531_2
Photo by: Pha Lina
Garment workers formerly employed by the June Textile factory gather at the office of the local rights group Adhoc earlier this month to seek help after the factory burned down in March.
Phnom Penh Post

National Assembly President Heng Samrin has called on the Ministry of Labour to resolve a dispute over severance pay involving roughly 4,000 workers from the June Textile factory, which burned down in March.

In a letter dated Friday, Heng Samrin and Khoun Sudary, a parliamentarian and chairwoman of the National Assembly’s human rights committee, told Labour Minister Vong Soth that they had received a request from the workers to intervene in the case.

“The Committee of Human Rights of the National Assembly and Senate sends this case to the Minister to check, research and solve, and then, requests that he report the solution to the Committee, so that the Committee can reply to the requests of workers,” the letter says.

The company has offered workers severance payments of US$20 for every year they have worked at the factory, though roughly 1,000 workers are holding out for payments of $100 per year. Dave Welsh, country director for the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity, said last week that the case was set to be heard today by the Arbitration Council.

Khieu Savuth, deputy director of the department of labour disputes at the Ministry of Labour, said yesterday that the case was in the hands of the Council. Sok Lao, executive director of the Arbitration Council Foundation, said a decision in the dispute would likely be handed down in mid-June.

Preah Vihear Temple battle moves to international court


A view of the International Court of Justice in the The Hague as it waits to hear a request for interpretation of its 1962 judgement over Preah Viharn temple. AFP

Writer: Terry Fredrickson
Published: 31/05/2011
Bangkok Post

Thailand and Cambodia presented their cases to the International Court of Justice yesterday on a complaint by Cambodia over Preah Viharn.

Thailand, Cambodia put case for land rights

By HANIDA TANSUBHAPOL AND AFP

THE HAGUE : Thailand told the International Court of Justice yesterday Cambodia started the border fighting because it wanted to include Thai territory in its management plan for Preah Vihear temple.

Phnom Penh had never disputed Thailand's claim to land near the temple. But its stance changed after it succeeded in convincing UN's cultural body Unesco to list the temple as a World Heritage site in 2008, according to the Thai statement to the ICJ.

Thailand appeared in court in response to Phnom Penh's petition asking the ICJ to rule on whether the land surrounding the ancient Hindu temple belonged to Cambodia.

In the petition, Cambodia asked the court to order an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Thai troops from land surrounding the temple and to ban Thai military activity in the area.

Alain Pellet, an attorney representing Thailand, told the court that Thailand had accepted and duly complied with a 1962 ICJ judgement that the temple belonged to Cambodia. As a result, though, the court has no jurisdiction to judge on Cambodia's request.

Cambodia, meanwhile, had also accepted without protest the line drawn by Thailand demarcating the area that encompasses the Hindu temple compound following the 1962 court decision.

Cambodia started to challenge the perimeter limits of the temple only recently when it wanted to list the temple as a World Heritage site.

Moreover, Cambodia has also admitted that it had yet to demarcate the border – including the area where Preah Vihear temple is located – when it signed the memorandum of understanding with Thailand in 2000.

Speaking outside the courtroom, Thailand's caretaker Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Thailand had never questioned the court's 1962 ruling over Cambodia's ownership of the temple.

"We have never contested or disputed the court's decision on the temple," he told reporters.

He said Thailand's dispute was specifically over the 4.6-square-kilometre area surrounding the complex.

"That's different," Kasit said when asked about the disputed territory. "The court did not have jurisdiction to rule on that."

But he said Thailand's view "has been our position for the last 50 years."

"We do not understand why we had to come here," he said.

The 11th-century complex has been at the centre of an ongoing legal wrangle between Thailand and Cambodia – which took its southeastern Asian neighbour to the ICJ in 1958.

The UN court ruled in 1962 that the 900-year-old Khmer temple belonged to Cambodia, but both Phnom Penh and Bangkok claim ownership of the surrounding land.

Cambodia presented its statement to the court earlier in the day, asking it to order an immediate Thai troop withdrawal around the ancient temple of Preah Vihear.

You can read the full story here: http://bit.ly/itkzto.

Cambodia microfinance: it's not all about credit, savings matter too

Nobody is too poor to save, insists Care International, which supports community microfinance initiatives that offer safe and efficient ways to put money aside

  • guardian.co.uk,
  • MDG : Entrepreneurs in Cambodia
    Entrepreneurs at the Khum Chrey microfinance organisation's office, in Battambang province, Cambodia, who have been helped by Lendwithcare.org and the Cambodian Community Savings Federation. Photograph: Emilie Bailey/CARE

    Sarom Eng, 55, has five children. She perches on a wooden slatted bench in her village, Preytotung, in Battambang province, as she speaks about her business ventures. Family members, including her daughter and one of her five grandchildren, neighbours and animals mill around the garden that surrounds her small stilted wooden house as we talk. Lined up opposite the bench are huge plastic bags full of kapok fibres, which have been plucked from pods that hang from nearby ceiba trees, and are ready for sale.

    Eng has developed a good seasonal business, buying the pods from farmers who have the trees on their land, and selling the kapok to companies that make mattresses and pillows. It has been funded through loans she's taken out from the Khum Chrey community-based microfinance organisation (CBMIFO). She's on her third or fourth loan now – the most recent for 1.5m Cambodian riel, about $370. She employs neighbours and family to help pluck and bag the kapok, and she expects to get a 50% rate of return when she sells her goods. "I've never had a problem with paying the money back. I usually pay back before I need to."

    Read the full article and see more pictures at the Guardian here.

Thai-Cambodia border quiet as temple battle in international court


L-R: Sir Franklin Berman, Var Kimhong, Minister of State and Hor Namhong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation of the Kingdom of Cambodia, sit in on the case in The Hague. Cambodia launched a bitter legal battle before the UN's highest court, asking it to order an immediate Thai troop withdrawal around an ancient temple that saw clashes this year.
(AFP/ANP/Valerie Kuypers)

Monsters and critics
May 31, 2011,

Bangkok (DPA)- The Thai-Cambodia border region around a disputed 11th-century Hindu temple was quiet Tuesday as the two countries prepared for day two in court at The Hague to settle the contentious border issue, officials said.

Thai soldiers remain in the border region guarding Thai territory, Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Thanatip Hwangsaeng said Tuesday, adding that the area was peaceful and relations with the Cambodian military were good.

In April, Cambodia asked the International Court of Justice in The Hague to revisit its 1962 ruling that awarded Preah Vihear temple to Phnom Penh.

The court case started Monday with Thailand saying again that it honours that 1962 ruling, and that the temple itself is in Cambodia.

What is at issue is a 4.6-square-kilometre area near the complex that Thailand maintains was not included in the court's 1962 ruling.

That dispute goes back decades but Bangkok said it resurfaced after UNESCO in 2008 designated Preah Vihear a world heritage site, over Thai objections.

The temple has proved a flashpoint and sparked several clashes between the countries, most recently eight days of artillery and small arms skirmishes in April that killed 16 people, mainly soldiers, on both sides, and wounded around 60.

Both Thailand and Cambodia blamed each other for starting the fighting.

At The Hague on Monday Cambodia accused Thailand of 'deadly intrusions' into Cambodia and requested Thai troops to withdraw.

Thailand argued the border dispute did not fall under the court's jurisdiction because Thailand had complied with the 1962 ruling. It also says the 4.6-square-kilometre area is Thai territory and not part of the 1962 ruling.

Oral arguments were scheduled to continue Tuesday in The Hague.

Cambodian opposition leader to speak in Lowell Saturday


The Lowell Sun
Updated: 31th May, 2011

LOWELL -- A Cambodian opposition leader and two other members of parliament will be in Lowell Saturday to discuss ongoing human-rights abuses in Cambodia.

Sam Rainsy (pictured), leader of the Sam Rainsy Party and generally considered the main rival to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, will appear with fellow SRP legislators Tok Vanchan and Tioulong Sumura, Rainsy's wife, on Saturday, from 5 p.m. to midnight at the Sunny Da Restaurant, 450 Chelmsford St.

Rainsy, formerly a member of the Cambodian National Assembly, has most recently been living in self-imposed exile in Australia. In March, the Cambodian Supreme Court upheld Rainsy's conviction on charges of inciting racial discrimination and uprooting border markings with neighboring Vietnam.

Shortly after the court's ruling, the National Assembly released a statement revoking Rainsy's "rights, privileges and membership as member of parliament."

The conviction upheld by the Supreme Court carries with it a two-year prison sentence and, when combined with an unrelated 10-year sentence for publishing a false map of the border with Vietnam.

Since 2009, Rainsy has maintained he was leading demonstrations on the Cambodian-Vietnamese border to protest what he believes is Vietnamese encroachment on Cambodian land.

A Rainsy Party spokesman criticized the National Assembly decree as a political move by a parliament dominated by MPs from Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party. In the past, the Rainsy Party and the NGO Cambodian Center for Human Rights have asserted that Rainsy's convictions were an attempt to keep him from participating in Cambodia's 2013 national election.

Hun Sen, 59, has held power in Cambodia for a quarter-century and, according to some, has vowed to remain in power until he is 90 years old.

Rainsy plans to discuss those issues, as well as what he calls ongoing human-rights abuses in Cambodia, suppression of the Cambodian media and the future of the country.

For more information, email Chhan Touch at chhantouch@comcast.net.

The Sam Rainsy Party is The Only Hope When Hun Sen Capitalizes on Kem Sokha’s Duplicity

31 May 2011

THE SAM RAINSY PARTY IS THE ONLY HOPE
WHEN HUN SEN CAPITALIZES ON KEM SOKHA’S DUPLICITY

The recent leak of a secret conversation/deal between Hun Sen and Kem Sokha has the effect of a bomb on Cambodia’s political landscape.

The recorded conversation took place on 25 July 2007, meaning just three days after the creation of Kem Sokha’s Human Rights Party (HPR). In the conversation, Hun Sen and Kem Sokha precisely discussed the circumstances surrounding the creation of the HPR, which was made possible thanks to the support and assistance of Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).

Hun Sen and Kem Sokha clearly showed their common goal: the destruction of the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), the main opposition party that had unwaveringly been standing against the CPP. Hun Sen gave Kem Sokha advice and recommendations on how to achieve this goal or, at least, how to disturb and weaken the SRP. Kem Sokha profusely thanked Hun Sen for his support and welcomed Hun Sen’s advice and recommendations as “instructions” from the CPP Prime Minister.

A few years after concluding his deal with Hun Sen, meaning now, everybody can see Kem Sokha’s duplicity when he pretends he wants to form an alliance with the SRP against the CPP. How can he form an alliance with the SRP while the secret goal he shares with the CPP is to destroy the very same SRP?

Kem Sokha is not an honest man. He is not honest with the SRP and cannot be a loyal partner. But he is not honest even with his own supporters, those HRP members who wrongly believed that the HRP was formed to oppose the CPP and who would have never imagined that Kem Sokha would make a secret deal with the CPP against the SRP in order to serve his personal interest.

Kem Sokha’s duplicity does not allow the SRP to consider his HRP as a possible partner in any alliance. The HRP may perhaps form a shady alliance with Funcinpec or the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP). These three small parties with no principles have something in common: they all compete to serve in, and under, a treasonous government led by Hun Sen’s CPP.

As Cambodia’s second largest political party, the SRP remains the only credible alternative to the autocratic Hun Sen regime. It has always abided by its patriotic and democratic principles. It represents the only hope for a democratic change. This is why it has always borne the brunt of the CPP repression.

Just a few days before the leak of the secret deal between Hun Sen and Kem Sokha, Sam Rainsy published a statement reinstating his stance, “A Peaceful Way To Put An End To The Despised Hun Sen Regime.”

Therefore, the SRP will continue to grow on Cambodia’s political landscape as the main popular force to combat the repressive and regressive CPP. It will continue to relentlessly and determinedly fight for Cambodia’s national independence and territorial integrity, and for good governance and social justice.

SRP Cabinet

Cancel Prey Lang grants: SRP



Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Villagers, painted their faces as avatars, protest against land concessions the government has granted in Prey Lang forest during a demonstration at the Freedom Park in Phnom Penh last week.

The Phnom Penh Post
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
By Meas Sokchea

Opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmakers sent a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday requesting that he cancel all economic land concessions in Prey Lang forest following public outcry over the issue.

The letter, signed by nine parliamentarians, singles out a 6,044-hectare concession to Vietnamese-owned CRCK Rubber Development Co Ltd, but also calls on the premier to cancel the other concessions in the forest. The lawmakers also suggested that the government support listing Prey Lang as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Hun Sen approved a 70-year lease for CRCK in September 2009. In May last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries signed a contract with the company, and CRCK began clearing forest in order to make way for a rubber plantation early this year, according to reports from local residents.

In the letter, the SRP lawmakers cited signatures from 29,208 people from four provinces who requested their intervention in the matter.

“Those violations have resulted in losses to a very worthy natural resource to the area, including natural forest, fruit-productive forest, wild animals and all kinds of biodiversity,” the MPs wrote, adding that the economic and cultural interests of locals, especially members of the Kuy ethnic minority, have also been adversely affected.

The forest, which stretches for roughly 3,600-square kilometres between the Mekong and Stung Treng rivers across parts of four provinces – Kampong Thom, Kratie, Preah Vihear and Stung Treng– lacks state protection despite its rich biodiversity and value to local people.

The Prey Lang network, a local activist group, says more than 40,000 hectares in the forest have been granted for rubber plantations alone, while 27 exploration licences and related concessions have been handed to mining firms.

Chhun Chhorn, Kampong Thom provincial governor, defended the actions of CRCK yesterday, claiming that the concessions in Prey Lang would bring development to the area and suggesting that the SRP lawmakers were playing politics with the issue.

“It is their right, awarded by the government, to clear that land to plant rubber. They are not acting illegally,” he said.

Chhun Chorn said people have used the forest for hundreds of years but are still poor and will find a better living by working for rubber plantations and factories.

Mem Sotharavin, an SRP lawmaker from Kampong Thom province, said CRCK’s practice of importing labour from Vietnam undermined any development it may bring to the area.

“I support development, but it should avoid [negatively] affecting people,” he said. “People have not had jobs [from the concession] at all. If people have jobs as [Chhun Chhorn] said, it is no problem.”

SRP MPs requested that listing Prey Lang forest as a UNESCO World Heritage site


SRP MPs sent a letter to Hun Sen requesting that cancel all economic land concessions in Prey Lang forest and also suggested that the government support listing Prey Lang as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Here is the letter in Khmer at link: http://tinyurl.com/3efwxth

SRP Cabinet

Seven big movies shoot in Cambodia [Is Hollywood coming to Cambodia?]



Photo by: Ou Mom
Courses run by the Cambodian Film Commission have helped production crews hone their skills and improve their techniques.

Tuesday, 31 May 2011
By Ou Mom
Phnom Penh Post

Better technical training for film crews has led to an increase in the number of international film productions shooting in Cambodia, according to the director of the Cambodia Film Commission, Cheap Sovichea.

“Every year, we’ve had only one or two international film productions. But at the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, we’ve had seven big international film productions and many smaller productions from France, USA, and Italy contacting us to film in Cambodia,” said Cheap Sovichea.

“Because we have only a small local market for the film industry in Cambodia, the CFC is responsible for scouting potential Cambodian film locations, arranging authorisations and other coordination for foreign
film productions,” he said.

“We have also provided professional training courses and seminars about film to Cambodians who have worked with international film makers in the past to attract more international productions,” he added.

We spoke to several film crew members who felt they had benefited from CFC courses. Houn Pilot said he was just a simple worker before he joined a lighting crew on a film.

“I became really interested in this work and I’ve found out more about it from different international film makers, but they didn’t always have time to share their knowledge,” he said.

“But now we have had training at CFC, so I think it’s good that we have many Cambodian professional film workers to share experiences with each other,” Houn Pilot added.

Kim Sitha used to be a tour guide for English and Thai tourists in Siem Reap, but has since worked his way up through the ranks to become an assistant film director.
110531_17b

He’s been a member of CFC for three years, and recently took part in his first training course to brush up his skills. “Now it’s the low season for tourists, I have taken time to join in this seminar at CFC which will provide a lot of useful information for my job,” said the 40-year-old.

“I’ve learned a lot about the history of Cambodian temples and I accompanied some people who were filming a documentary, which is why I became interested in film,” said Kim Sitha.

“For example, sometimes guests asked me to guide them to where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider. And when we film large productions here, people are happy because they can sell their products, services, and so on,” he added.

The CFC has run courses for location managers, production coordinators, assistant directors, film producers, lighting and sound operators, costume designers and make-up artists. The CFC is a member of the Asian Film Commissions Network under the French Agency for Development and Ministry of Fine Arts.

Cambodia's coastline awarded as world most beautiful bay


PHNOM PENH, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Club of the World's Most Beautiful Bays has officially recognized Cambodia's coastal areas as its member, the minister of tourism, Thong Khon confirmed Tuesday.

The recognition was made after Cambodia's proposal in May last year.

"With the club's recognition, we have optimism that our clean and well-preserved beaches will attract more foreign tourists,"he said, adding"it will also be an impetus to encourage more investors to the areas."

Cambodia's coastline is stretching in the length of 450 km in four provinces of Koh Kong, Sihanoukville, Kampot and Kep.

It is the country's second most popular destination for tourists after Siem Reap's Angkor Wat temple, the world heritage site.

The club was established in March 1997, in Berlin, Germany. Including Cambodia, it has 27 countries as member with 33 bays to be recognized as the most beautiful bays in the world, said the minister.

According to the club's criteria, to be listed as the world's most beautiful bay, a bay must be under protection project with a wildlife and flora area. Also, it must be recognized by both local and regional level, and it must possess at least two features recognized by UNESCO in the cultural or natural assets categories.

Tourism industry is one of the main four pillars supporting Cambodian economy. In 2010, the sector received 2.5 million foreign tourists generating the total revenue of 1.75 billion U.S. dollars.
Editor: Mo Hong'e

Cambodia hopes to export 200,000 tons of rice in 2011

Video of the interview with a rice-exporting merchant.



By Khmerization
Source: RFA

The Cambodian government is confident that Cambodia can export up to 200,000 tons of rice this year after the EU has allowed tariff exemptions on rice exports from Cambodia to its markets.

Mr. Kong Putheara, director of department of Statistics and Commercial Information of Finance Ministry, said Cambodian rice is now very popular with European consumers. He said besides Europe, Cambodia has got orders from some Asian countries such as the populous countries of China, Malaysia and The Philippines which is the world's largest rice importer.

Reports from Ministry of Commerce's CamControl indicates that in the first 4 months of this year, Cambodia had exported 42,669 tons of rice. This is a substantial increase from last year's exports, which had only exported 50,000 tons of rice for the whole year.

Cambodia hopes to export 1.5 millions tons of rice per year by 2015.

Please read a detailed report in Khmer below:

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មន្ត្រី​ខ្មែរ​រំពឹង​ថា កម្ពុជា​អាច​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ​បាន​២​សែន​តោន​ក្នុងឆ្នាំ ២០១១ នេះ
ដោយ វោហារ ជាតិ
2011-05-30

រដ្ឋាភិបាល​កម្ពុជា​បាន​ចាត់​ទុក​អង្ករ​ថា ជា​វត្ថុ​មានតម្លៃ​ដូច​មាស ឬ​ហៅ​ថា «មាស​ស» ​គឺ​ជា​ផលិតផល​ក្នុង​ស្រុក​មួយ​មាន​សក្ដានុពល​​អាច​នាំចេញ​លក់​លើ​ទី​ផ្សារ​អន្តរជាតិ​បាន ដូច​ផលិតផល​សំខាន់ៗ ផ្សេង​ទៀត ដូចជា វិស័យ​វាយនភណ្ឌ និង​ទេសចរណ៍​ជាដើម ដែល​អាច​រក​ប្រាក់​ចំណូល​ចូល​ថវិកា​ជាតិ​បន្ថែម។

RFA/Mom Sophon

១៧-ឧសភា-២០១១ ៖ គ្រាប់​អង្ករ​កំពុង​ហូរ​ចេញ​ពី​ទ​ម៉ាស៊ីន​កិន​ស្រូវ​ទំនើប​មួយ របស់​ក្រុមហ៊ុន បៃតង​កម្ពុជា​នៅ​ខេត្ត​បាត់ដំបង។

របាយការណ៍​ក្នុង​ពេល​ថ្មីៗ នេះ បាន​ឱ្យ​ដឹង​ថា សន្ទុះ​នៃ​ការ​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ​ទៅ​បរទេស​នៅ​ដើម​ឆ្នាំ ២០១១ បាន​កើន​ឡើង​ជាង​ឆ្នាំ ២០១០ គួរ​ឱ្យ​មាន​មោទនភាព។

ការ​អនុគ្រោះ​ពន្ធ​នាំ​អង្ករ​ពី​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា​ចូល​ទៅ​កាន់​ទីផ្សារ​សហគមន៍​អឺរ៉ុប (Europe) បាន​ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​ការ​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ​នៃ​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា បាន​ហក់​ឡើង​ខ្ពស់ ក្នុង​រយៈ​ពេល​ពីរ​ឆ្នាំ​ចុង​ក្រោយ​នេះ។

ប្រធាន​នាយកដ្ឋាន​ស្ថិតិ និង​ព័ត៌មាន​ពាណិជ្ជកម្ម ក្រសួង​ពាណិជ្ជកម្ម​កម្ពុជា លោក គង់ ពុទ្ធារ៉ា មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​​នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​៣០ ខែ​ឧសភា​​ថា ការ​មិន​យក​ពន្ធ​នាំចូល​អង្ករ​ពី​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា ដោយ​សហគមន៍​អឺរ៉ុប ចូល​ទៅ​លក់​នៅ​ទីផ្សារ​អឺរ៉ុប បាន​ធ្វើឲ្យ​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា​មាន​ឱកាស​ផ្សព្វផ្សាយ​ពាណិជ្ជកម្ម​អំពី​ផលិតផល​អង្ករ​ខ្មែរ នៅ​លើ​ទីផ្សារ​ពិភពលោក ដែល​ជា​ហេតុ​ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​ប្រទេស​ផ្សេងៗ ទៀត ចាប់​អារម្មណ៍​​ទិញ​អង្ករ​ខ្មែរ​កាន់​តែ​ច្រើន​ឡើង។ ក្នុង​នោះ ក៏​មាន​ប្រទេស​​មួយ​ចំនួន​នៅ​ក្នុង​តំបន់​អាស៊ី និង​ប្រទេស​ជា​សមាជិក​សមាគម​អាស៊ាន (Asian) ផង​ដែរ។

លោក គង់ ពុទ្ធារ៉ា ៖ «​ជា​លក្ខណៈ​មួយ​ដែល​ជំរុញ​ឲ្យ​អង្ករ​ខ្មែរ​យើង​មាន​ការ​នាំចេញ​ទៅ​លើ​ទីផ្សារ​អឺរ៉ុប​ច្រើន និង​មាន​ដៃ​គូ​ជា​ច្រើន​ទៀត ដែល​គេ​ចាប់​អារម្មណ៍​អង្ករ​របស់​យើង​ ដូច​ជា ហ្វីលីពីន (Philippines) ម៉ាឡេស៊ី (Malaysia) និង​ចិន (China) ជាដើម។ ទៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ក្រោយ​ទៅ​អង្ករ​របស់​យើង​រឹតតែ​ល្បីល្បាញ»។

របាយការណ៍​របស់​អគ្គ​នាយកដ្ឋាន​កម្ពុជា​ត្រួតពិនិត្យ​ទំនិញ​នីហរ័ណ​-​អាហរ័ណ និង​បង្ក្រាប​ការ​ក្លែង​បន្លំ ហៅ​កាត់​ថា កាំកុងត្រូល (Cam control) នៃ​ក្រសួង​ពាណិជ្ជកម្ម​ ដែល​វិទ្យុ​អាស៊ី​សេរី​ទទួល​បាន បង្ហាញ​តួលេខ​ថា កម្ពុជា​បាន​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ​ទៅ​ទីផ្សារ​អឺរ៉ុប និង​មួយ​ចំនួន​ទៀត​ទៅ​​ទីផ្សារ​អាស៊ី​កើន​ឡើង​​ដល់​ទៅ​​ជាង ៤ ម៉ឺន​​តោន (៤២,​៦៦៩​តោន) ក្នុង​រយៈ​ពេល​បួន​ខែ​ដំបូង ដើម​ឆ្នាំ ២០១១។ ចំនួន​នេះ គឺ​បាន​កើន​ឡើង​ខ្ពស់​បំផុត បើ​ប្រៀបធៀប​នឹង​តួលេខ​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ កាល​ពី​ឆ្នាំ​ទៅ​មិញ ដែល​មាន​ប្រហែល ៥ ម៉ឺន​តោន ក្នុង​រយៈពេល​នាំ​ចេញ​មួយ​ឆ្នាំ​ពេញ​ក្នុង​ឆ្នាំ​២០១០។ ក្នុង​នោះ​មាន​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ​ជិត​៤០​ក្រុមហ៊ុន បាន​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញទៅ​លក់​ប្រទេស​ជាង​២០ ក្នុង​​ទ្វីប​អឺរ៉ុប​និង​អាមេរិក និង​ប្រទេស​​ក្នុង​តំបន់​អាស៊ី​មួយ​ចំនួន ដែល​មាន​តម្លៃ​ទឹក​ប្រាក់ ​ថ្លៃ​ដើម​ចំនួន​ជាង ២៤ លាន​ដុល្លារ (២៤, ៤៣៧, ៩៥៩ ដុល្លារ)។

ដោយសារតែ​មិន​មាន​លទ្ធភាព​ផលិត​អង្ករ​នាំ​ចេញ​ទៅ​លក់​នៅ​ទីផ្សារ​បរទេស ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា​កន្លង​មក​​​បាន​លក់​ស្រូវ​ចេញ​ឲ្យ​ប្រទេស​ជិតខាង ដូចជា ប្រទេស​ថៃ និង​វៀតណាម ដែល​ជា​ប្រទេស​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ​នាំ​មុខ​គេ​នៅ​ក្នុង​តំបន់​ទៅ​លក់​នៅ​ទីផ្សារ​ពិភព​លោក ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា​ខាត​បង់​ប្រាក់​ចំណូល​យ៉ាង​ច្រើន។

កាល​ពី​ខែ​វិច្ឆិកា​ឆ្នាំ ២០០៩ សហគមន៍​អឺរ៉ុប​បាន​លុប​ពន្ធ​នាំ​ចូល​អង្ករ​ពី​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា​ទាំង​ស្រុង។ ការ​លើក​លែង​ពន្ធ​នេះ​ធ្វើ​ឡើង​ចំពោះ​ប្រទេស​ក្រីក្រ មាន​ជា​អាទិ មាន​ប្រទេស​ជិត​ខាង​កម្ពុជា ដូច​ជា​ប្រទេស​ឡាវ ភូមា​ជាដើម ក្នុង​បំណង​លើក​ស្ទួយ​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​និង​កាត់បន្ថយ​ប្រាក់​ចំណាយ បង្កើន​ប្រាក់​ចំណូល​ដល់​ប្រទេស​ក្រីក្រ ក្នុង​ទិស​ដៅ​ជួយ​កាត់​បន្ថយ​ភាព​ក្រីក្រ​របស់​ប្រជាជន​នៃ​ប្រទេស​ទាំង​នោះ​ ឲ្យ​មាន​ជីវភាព​ប្រសើរ​ឡើង។

​ការ​អនុគ្រោះ​ពន្ធ​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចូល​ទៅ​ទីផ្សារ​អឺរ៉ុប​នេះ បាន​លើក​ទឹក​ចិត្ត​ឲ្យ​សហគ្រាស​ខ្នាត​តូច និង​មធ្យម​នៅ​កម្ពុជា បង្កើន​សមត្ថភាព​ផលិត​របស់​ខ្លួន​កាន់​តែ​ខ្លាំង​ឡើង។

ប្រធាន​ក្រុមហ៊ុន បៃតង​កម្ពុជា​ឧកញ៉ា ភូ ពុយ ដែល​ជា​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​មួយ បាន​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ​បាន​ប្រហែល​១៥០០ តោន នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ២០១១ នេះ ជា​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​មួយ​ក្នុង​ចំណោម​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​នាំចេញ​ដទៃ​ទៀត មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា ​ដោយ​កម្ពុជា​មាន​ទីផ្សារ​រឹងមាំ​ដូច្នេះ សហគ្រាស​រោង​ម៉ាស៊ីន​ស្រូវ​តូច​ធំ បាន​ប្រឹងប្រែង​ជំរុញ​ការ​ផលិត ដល់​កសិករ​តាម​មូលដ្ឋាន​ឲ្យ​បង្កើន​ការផលិត​ច្រើន​ដង​ក្នុង​មួយ​ឆ្នាំ បង្រៀន​កសិករ​ឲ្យ​ចេះ​រើស​ពូជ​ល្អ​ត្រូវ​ទីផ្សារ បាន​ទិន្នផល​ខ្ពស់។ ចំណែក​សហគ្រាស​រោង​ម៉ាស៊ីន​កិន​ស្រូវ​វិញ ក៏​ខំ​អភិវឌ្ឍន៍​ខ្លួន បង្កើន​ការ​កែច្នៃ​ផលិតផល​ឲ្យ​មាន​គុណភាព​ល្អ ស្រប​ទៅតាម​និយាម​អន្តរជាតិ​ដែល​ទី​ផ្សារ​ត្រូវការ។

ឧកញ៉ា ភូ ពុយ ៖ «កន្លង​មក​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​វិនិយោគ​សម្រាប់​រៀបចំ​ម៉ាស៊ីន​ទំនើប​នៅ​ក្នុង​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា​នេះ រយៈ​ពេល​បី​ឆ្នាំ​កន្លង​មក​នេះ បាន​ន័យ​ថា មាន​ការ​កើន​ឡើង។ រីក​ចម្រើន។ មួយ​ចំនួន​ទៀត​ម៉ាស៊ីន​ចាស់ៗ ដែល​គាត់​ធ្លាប់​កិន​បម្រើ​ឲ្យ​​ក្នុង​ស្រុក ដែល​ភាគ​ច្រើន ៩០%​នោះ ឥឡូវ​នេះ​គាត់​បាន​បន្ថែម​គ្រឿង គ្រឿង​ឧទាហរណ៍​ថា ដូច​ជា​គាត់​ខ្វះ​ខាត​គ្រឿង​រើស​ពណ៌ គ្រឿង​ប៉ូលៀ គ្រឿង​វេច​ខ្ចប់ ឥឡូវនេះ​គាត់​បន្ថែម​នៅ​ក្នុង​ម៉ាស៊ីន​ចាស់​របស់​គាត់​ អញ្ចឹង​គាត់​ក៏​អាច​ឈាន​ទៅ​រក​ការ​នាំចេញ​បាន​ដែរ ប៉ុន្តែ​គ្រាន់​តែ​ស្ថិត​ក្នុង​កម្រិត​មួយ​តូច​មិនទាន់​បាន​ធំ»។

រដ្ឋាភិបាល​កម្ពុជា​បាន​កំណត់​ផែន​ការ​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ​ឲ្យ​បាន ១ លាន​តោន នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ២០១៥។ នៅ​ក្នុង​ផែន​ការ​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ​រយៈ​ពេល​វែង ៥ ឆ្នាំ​នេះ រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ក៏​មាន​ផែន​ការ​នាំ​ចេញ​ប្រចាំ​ឆ្នាំ​ដែរ។ ជា​អាទិ​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ២០១១ នេះ បាន​កំណត់​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ​ឲ្យ​បាន ២ សែន​តោន ហើយ​នៅ ៤ ខែ​ដើម​ឆ្នាំ​នេះ កម្ពុជា​បាន​នាំ​ចេញ​អង្ករ​បាន ៥ ម៉ឺន​តោន​ហើយ។ នៅ​សល់ ១៥ ម៉ឺន​តោន​ទៀត​ទើប​គ្រប់​ផែន​ការ​ឆ្នាំ​២០១១។

ចំពោះ​ផែន​ការ​នេះ មាន​ដំណាង​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​មួយ​ចំនួន សម្ដែង​ការ​ព្រួយ​បារម្ភ​ខ្លាច​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​មិន​អាច​សម្រេច​ផែន​ការ​នេះ​បាន ដោយ​បាន​ចង្អុល​បង្ហាញ​អំពី​អវិជ្ជមាន​មួយ​ចំនួន ដូច​ជា បញ្ហា​ដឹក​ជញ្ជូន​នៅ​មាន​កម្រិត​ទាប បញ្ហា​តម្លៃ​ដែល​កម្ពុជា​លក់​​ថ្លៃ​ខ្ពស់​ជាង​ប្រទេស​ជិត​ខាង ខណៈ​ដែល​គុណភាព​អង្ករ​ខ្មែរ​ក៏​នៅ​ទាប ប្រៀបធៀប​ទៅ​នឹង​ដៃគូ​ប្រកួត​ប្រជែង។

ក៏​ប៉ុន្តែ ចំពោះ​លោក​ឧកញ៉ា គិម សាវុធ ប្រធាន​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​ខ្មែរ​ហ៊្វូដ (Khmer Food) ដែល​ជា​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​នាំ​ចេញ​អង្ករ​មួយ ក្នុង​ចំណោម​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​ជិត ៤០ ទៀត មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា ​កម្ពុជា​អាច​សម្រេច​ផែន​ការ​នេះ​បាន​ដោយ​ងាយ​ ព្រោះ​កម្ពុជា​បច្ចុប្បន្ន​ ផលិត​ស្រូវ​សល់​ច្រើន​ពី​ការ​ប្រើប្រាស់​ ហើយ​កម្ពុជា​ក៏​មាន​សមត្ថភាព​ផលិត​អង្ករ​​នាំ​ចេញ​មាន​គុណភាព​ល្អ​ដែរ។

ឧកញ៉ា គិម សាវុធ ៖ «ក្នុង​នោះ​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​ខ្មែរ​ហ៊្វូដ​ខ្ញុំ​ ខ្ញុំ​ថា ខ្ញុំ​នឹង​កំណត់​ទិស​ដៅ​ឲ្យ​បាន ២ ម៉ឺន​តោន យើង​យក ១០%។ ត្រឹម​ត្រីមាស​មួយ​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​ខ្ញុំ​នាំ​ចេញ​បាន ៤៧០០ តោន។ ហើយ​បើ​គិត​ដល់​ត្រឹម​ខែ​ទី ៤ បាន​សម្រេច​បាន ៦៦០០ តោន។ ខ្ញុំ​គិត​ថា ក្រុមហ៊ុន​ខ្ញុំ​អាច​សម្រេច​បាន ២ ម៉ឺន​តោន»។

ទោះ​ជា​យ៉ាង​ណា​ក្ដី ​ក្រុម​មន្ត្រី​រដ្ឋាភិបាល និង​តំណាង​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​មួយ​ចំនួន បាន​រៀបចំ​ផែនការ​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ​បន្ថែម​ដើម្បី​ឲ្យ​គ្រប់​ផែនការ​រយៈ​ពេល​នៅសល់​ចាប់​ពី​ពេលនេះ​រហូត​ដល់​ដាច់ឆ្នាំ ២០១១។

កាល​ខែ​វិច្ឆិកា ឆ្នាំ ២០១០ កន្លង​ទៅ តំណាង​រោងម៉ាស៊ីន​កិនស្រូវ ៩ រូប និង​តំណាង​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​ឯកជន​ពីរ​រូប​ រួម​ទាំង​តំណាង​មន្ត្រី​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​មក​ពី​ក្រសួង​ពាណិជ្ជកម្ម ៤ រូប បាន​ធ្វើ​ដំណើរ​ទៅ​ប្រទេស​អាល្លឺម៉ង់ (Germany) បារាំង (France) ហុល្លង់ (Netherlands) និង​ប៉ូឡូញ (Poland) ដើម្បី​ស្វែង​រក​ទីផ្សារ​លក់​អង្ករ​បន្ថែម។ នៅ​ក្នុង​ទស្សន​កិច្ច​រយៈពេល​ខ្លី​នោះ ក្រុម​មន្ត្រី​និង​អ្នក​ជំនួញ​ខ្មែរ​បាន​ជួប​ចរចា​ជាមួយ​មន្ត្រី និង​អ្នក​ជំនួញ​អឺរ៉ុប ហើយ​ពួក​គេ​បាន​ចាប់​អារម្មណ៍​លើ​អង្ករ​ខ្មែរ ដែល​ក្រុម​មន្ត្រី​ខ្មែរ​រំពឹង​ថា ឆ្នាំ ២០១១ នេះ កម្ពុជា​អាច​សម្រេច​ផែនការណ៍​នាំ​អង្ករ​ចេញ​បាន​ចំនួន ២ សែន​តោន តាម​ផែនការណ៍​ដោយ​ជោគជ័យ៕

HRP clarify the so-called 'secret phone conversation' between Kem Sokha and Prime Minister Hun sen


By Khmerization
Source: HRP Statement

The Human Rights Party (HRP) has issued a statement clarifying a recent leak of the so-called 'secret phone conversation' between its president, Mr. Kem Sokha, and Prime Minister Hun Sen on 25th July 2007 about the creation of the HRP.

On 29th May, DAP News published the audio and transcript of a long telephone conversation between Prime Minister Hun Sen and the HRP president, Mr. Kem Sokha, discussing about the creation of the HRP. The conversation seem to be as normal conversation between two people about the politics of the nation. However, the conversation did make a direct attack on Mr. Sam Rainsy, president of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, about his leadership style. And it did enrage many of the HRP's critics who have long been suspected and accused the HRP and Mr. Kem Sokha of being a puppet of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian People's Party.

Here is an unofficial translation of the statement:

Press Release

Recently, there have been a release of the so-called "Leaked secret documents about the creation of the Human Rights Party". For this information, the HRP wish to confirm its stance as follow:

1. The HRP does not consider this information to be important that deserves attention because it is not a secret because the meeting (phone conversation) has not shown any details that that Mr. Kem Sokha has made any promises in exchange for anything from the prime minister.

2. The HRP is of the view that a conversation between a leader of one party to a leader of another party is a normal thing in a democratic society.

3. The HRP is of the view that the leaking of this document is a trick to divide the democratic forces that are seeking to to unite in order to change the present regime to ensure the national sovereignty, the people's liberty and raise the people's living standards.

4. The HRP firmly upholds the principles of non-violence, will never consider any Khmer as its enemy and firmly upholds the stance in the implementation the HRP's policies and its political programs by not becoming a puppet of any political parties.

Phnom Penh, 30th May 2011.

Cambodia launches legal fight at the world court against Thai aggression

Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong, right, Sir Franklin Berman, member of the English Bar, center, and Jean-MarcSorel, Professor of International Law at the University of Paris, left, are seen at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, May 30, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia will face off at the United Nations' highest court Monday, in the latest move to settle a decades-old battle for control of a disputed border region that has erupted into deadly military clashes. Cambodia is asking the court to order Thailand to withdraw troops and halt military activity around a temple at the center of the dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)
Thailand's Ambassador to the Netherlands Virachai Plasai, left, Thailand's Director-General, Department of Treaties and Legal affairs, Ittiporn Boonpracong,center, and Thailand's Minister of Foreign Affairs Kasit Piromya, right, attend the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, May 30, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia will face off at the United Nations' highest court Monday, in the latest move to settle a decades-old battle for control of a disputed border region that has erupted into deadly military clashes. Cambodia is asking the court to order Thailand to withdraw troops and halt military activity around a temple at the center of the dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)

By Jan Hennop,
Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Cambodia on Monday launched a bitter legal battle before the UN's highest court, asking it to order an immediate Thai troop withdrawal around the ancient temple of Preah Vihear, scene of heavy clashes earlier this year.

'We will ask the court to swiftly provide the provisional measures to protect the peace and avoid an escalation of the armed conflict in the area,' said Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong, who represents Cambodia.

'Cambodia is asking the court to implement measures to prevent further destruction of the temple and the area around it,' he told a 16-panel of judges before the International Court of Justice based in The Hague.

In February the UN appealed for a permanent ceasefire after 10 people were killed in fighting near Preah Vihear, but fresh clashes which broke out in April further west left 18 dead and prompted 85,000 civilians to flee.

The court ruled in 1962 that the temple itself belonged to Cambodia.

'Thailand is under obligation to withdraw any troops in the area around the temple,' the Cambodian representative said.

He said that although there had been clashes in the past, Thai aggression substantially increased after July 2008, when the UN's cultural body UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage site.

'It's time for the voice of international law to speak loudly,' Hor Namhong said, calling the ICJ 'the guarantor.'

That is why we brought this dispute here -- it has been going on too long,' he said.

Thailand was expected to make its first public submission later Monday.

Speaking outside the courtroom, Thailand's caretaker Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya denied Thailand ever questioned the court's 1962 ruling.

'We have never contested or disputed the court's decision on the temple,' he told reporters.

He said Thailand's dispute was specifically over the 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) area surrounding the complex.

'That's different,' Kasit said when asked about the disputed territory. 'The court did not have the jurisdiction to rule about that.'

But he said Thailand's view 'has been our position for the last 50 years.'

'We do not understand why we had to come here,' he said.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters in Bangkok that it was 'unncessary' for the court to consider Cambodia's petition.

'The request violates the previous ruling. ... We will fight based on the court's jurisdiction and facts. When Cambodia won the last case, the Thai government followed the ruling and has done so since 1962.'

The 11th-century complex has been at the centre of an ongoing legal wrangle between Thailand and Cambodia -- which took its southeastern Asian neighbour to the ICJ in 1958.

The UN court ruled in 1962 the 900-year-old Khmer temple belonged to Cambodia, but both Phnom Penh and Bangkok claim ownership of the surrounding area.

Cambodia last month asked the ICJ to explain that ruling, with the ICJ saying it would rule on a clarification at a later stage.

The ICJ has set down two days for public submissions after which judges will convene and give a ruling, said a source close to the court who asked not to be named. Two more hearings for submissions are also scheduled for Tuesday.
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Cambodia brings legal fight vs Thailand before UN's highest court
31-May-11, 2:17 AM | Jan Hennop, Agence France-Presse
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THE HAGUE - Cambodia on Monday launched a bitter legal battle before the UN's highest court, asking it to order an immediate Thai troop withdrawal around an ancient temple that saw clashes this year.

"We will ask the court to swiftly provide the provisional measures to protect the peace and avoid an escalation of the armed conflict in the area," said Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong, who represents Cambodia.

"Cambodia is asking the court to implement measures to prevent further destruction of the temple and the area around it," he told a 16-panel of judges before the International Court of Justice based in The Hague.

"Thailand is under obligation to withdraw any troops in the area around the temple," the Cambodian representative said.

In February, the UN appealed for a permanent ceasefire after 10 people were killed in fighting near Preah Vihear temple.

However, fresh clashes broke out in April further west, leaving 18 dead and prompting 85,000 civilians to flee.

Cambodia said though there had been clashes in the past, Thai aggression substantially increased after July 2008, when the UN's cultural body UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage site.

"It's time for the voice of international law to speak loudly," Hor Namhong said, calling the ICJ "the guarantor".

"That is why we brought this dispute here -- it has been going on too long," he said.

The court ruled in 1962 that the 900-year-old temple itself belonged to Cambodia but both Phnom Penh and Bangkok claim ownership of the surrounding area.

Thailand said in its submission on Monday that it did not dispute the ruling on the temple itself but it did question the court's jurisdiction to rule on the 4.6-square-kilometer (1.8-square-mile) patch of land around Preah Vihear.

Thai representatives said the 1962 judgment only related to the temple itself, and not the area around it.

"You do not have jurisdiction over the boundary as such... your jurisdiction is limited to what was actually decided in 1962," James Crawford, Cambridge professor of International Law, told the court.

"The court in 1962 made no decision as to the limitations of the frontier," added Crawford, who appeared as an advisor to the Thai case.

Thailand also said it resented the image of a larger nation forcing itself on a smaller one.

"This portrayal of Thailand is a big bad wolf bullying the lamb of Cambodia is totally wrong," said Virachai Plasai, Thailand's ambassador to the Netherlands.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters in Bangkok that it was "unnecessary" for the court to consider Cambodia's petition.

"The request violates the previous ruling. ... We will fight based on the court's jurisdiction and facts. When Cambodia won the last case, the Thai government followed the ruling and has done so since 1962."

The 11th-century complex has been at the centre of a long legal wrangle between Thailand and Cambodia -- which took its southeastern Asian neighbor to the ICJ in 1958.

Cambodia last month asked the ICJ to explain that ruling, with the ICJ saying it would rule on a clarification later.

The ICJ has set down two days for public submissions after which judges will convene and give a ruling, said a source close to the court who asked not to be named.

Two hearings for submissions are also scheduled for Tuesday.
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Cambodian Complains of Thai Aggression Before World Court

VOA News May 30, 2011

Cambodia's foreign minister has told the International Court of Justice in The Hague that Thai aggression is to blame for a recent series of deadly border clashes between the countries.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong urged judges in the Netherlands-based court on Monday to settle a territorial dispute over land around the ancient Preah Vihear temple, which led to clashes that killed at least 10 people in February. Another 18 died in fighting last month near another ancient temple complex about 150 kilometers farther west.

Hor Namhong is asking the court during the two-day hearing to rule that a 4.6-square-kilometer area around the temple is Cambodian territory. The same court ruled in 1962 that the temple itself is in Cambodia, but remained vague about the surrounding land.

Bangkok officials say Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, backed by an international team of lawyers, will tell the court later Monday that Thailand has never questioned the 1962 ruling itself. But he is expected to argue that by agreeing in 2000 to establish a joint boundary committee, Cambodia has admitted that the border itself is unclear, and that the boundary committee should settle the issue rather than the court.

Cambodia is also asking the court to order an immediate withdrawal of Thai forces from land around the temple and to ban Thai military activity in the area. A ruling on that request could come within two to three weeks, while a final decision on the case is not expected until early next year.

Cambodia-Thailand border dispute at UN court


A general view of the start of proceedings at a court room at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, May 30, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia will face off at the United Nations' highest court Monday, in the latest move to settle a decades-old battle for control of a disputed border region that has erupted into deadly military clashes. Cambodia is asking the court to order Thailand to withdraw troops and halt military activity around a temple at the center of the dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski) (Bas Czerwinski)
May 30, 2011

(AP) THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)Thailand and Cambodia traded barbs Monday at the United Nations' highest court, accusing each other of launching illegal cross-border attacks around a historic temple in a disputed border region.

The competing claims came as Cambodia appealed to the International Court of Justice to order Thai troops away from Preah Vihear temple — Thailand responded by claiming the court has no jurisdiction to intervene.

Opening the hearing with an emotional speech, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong claimed Thai forces had mounted "murderous armed incursions" into Cambodian territory.

Thailand's ambassador to the Netherlands, Virachai Plasai, hit back by alleging that unprovoked Cambodian attacks on Thai territory amounted to "a blatant and deliberate violation of" the rules of war.

"This portrayal of Thailand as a big bad wolf bullying the lamb of Cambodia is totally wrong," Plasai said.

Fighting between the two nations has cost some 20 lives, wounded dozens and sent tens of thousands fleeing since 2008, when the 11th-century temple was given U.N. World Heritage status, overriding Thailand's objections.

In a fresh attempt to settle the dispute that has simmered for decades, Cambodia is asking the world court for a new interpretation of its 1962 judgment that gave it control of the temple.

But Thailand's lawyer James Crawford said the 16-judge panel has no jurisdiction to intervene now because Thailand accepts the 1962 ruling that the temple is on Cambodian territory. He said the border dispute is not part of the ruling.

He was responding to Hor Namhong's assertion that Thailand is using an erroneous reading of the 1962 ruling "to provide legal cover for armed incursions into Cambodian territory."

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said the two countries are still in talks to settle the border dispute.

"We do not understand why we have to come here when there is already an existing mechanism" for negotiating a border, Kasit told reporters outside the courtroom.

The court could rule on Cambodia's request for a Thai troop withdrawal order within weeks, but will likely take years to settle the underlying dispute if it accepts it has jurisdiction.

Tensions along the border have been exacerbated in recent months, in part by pressure from influential Thai nationalist groups that have protested in Bangkok, urging the government to take back disputed border territory. Hardcore nationalists insist a 1962 World Court ruling awarding the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia was unfair.

"Thailand does not merely challenge Cambodia's sovereignty in this region, but is imposing its own interpretation by occupying this zone by murderous armed incursions," Hor Namhong said.

The flare-up also comes as the Thai military raises its profile in domestic politics ahead of a general election scheduled for July 3.

According to its World Heritage listing, the temple dedicated to Shiva "is exceptional for the quality of its architecture, which is adapted to the natural environment and the religious function of the temple, as well as for the exceptional quality of its carved stone ornamentation."

Talks mediated by Indonesia's president in early May between the two countries' prime ministers failed to hammer out a lasting cease-fire.

"The two armies confront one another on a daily basis and new Thai aggression could arise at any moment," Hor Namhong told the judges. "It is time for international law to speak loudly."

[Cambodian] Illegal Immigrants Take Refuge In Pattaya As Beggars

The Pattaya Daily News
30th May, 2011

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Officers strongly encouraged Thai people and tourists to stop giving money to street beggars who are believed to be illegal immigrants from Cambodia

Pattaya is one of the most well-known tourist destinations in the world. It has also become a popular refuge among the neighbouring countries whose people illegally cross the border and live in Thailand working as labourers, fishermen or beggars.

On 6 May 2011, Police Lieutenant General Arun Prompan of Pattaya Tourist Police Department and the tourist police team arrested 37 immigrant beggars on Soi Buakao and Pattaya Sai 2.

Earlier this year, on 3 March, Police General Chusak Phanatamphon commanded Chonburi Immigration Police to arrest 50 illegal Cambodian migrants at major tourist sites.

A 40-year-old Cambodian migrant said she paid 10,000 Baht at Aranyaprathet border for a fake passport that permitted her entrance into Thailand.

In 2010, the operational centre against human trafficking called Mirror Foundation monitored the return of Cambodian beggars at Ojoro District, Bantia Meanchey Prefecture, Cambodia. The observational results show that the procedures and measures taken at these checking points were ineffective as evidently seen by the Cambodian beggars bringing their family over to Thailand to work in the same industry.

The primary entrance into Thailand is at Aranyaprathet border where private profitable agencies are set up to arrange illegal access for Cambodian immigrants via Aranyaprathet-Bangkok train route.

After the illegal workers and beggars have been swept off Bangkok streets, they migrated to new vicinity, in particular at commercial prefectures such as Samut Prakarn, Samut Sakhon, Nonthaburi, Chonburi and Chiang Mai.

According to Police Lieutenant General Benchaphon Rodsawas (Deputy Superintendent of Sakaew Immigration Bureau), there are three major access routes into Thailand, consisting of Ban Khlong Luek, Ban Nong Prue and Ban Ta Phraya checking points at Aranyaprathet border.

The inspection at the three check points is very thorough in accordance with stringent regulations, making it almost impossible for a fake passport holder to enter Thailand, General Benchaphon said.

However, a small number of illegal immigrants still enter Thailand because the greedy secret Thai agencies seek alternative routes to bring their Cambodian customers into Thailand in exchange for a high bribery fee, Benchaphon added.

The Sakaew Immigration Bureau has cooperated with officers and soldiers to inspect border checking points in hopes of intercepting illegal Cambodians entering Thailand.

Figures show that multiple successful arrests have been made since earlier this year including the 5,270 Cambodians captured in January; 4, 936 in February; 6,909 in March and 7,232 in April.

The Deputy Superintendent of Sakaew Immigration Bureau stated that every Thai resident has the responsibility to report to officers regarding any information related to illegal immigrants.

Anyone who is convicted of assisting an illegal Cambodian into Thailand would be imprisoned up to ten years and fined up to 100,000 Baht.

Pol. Col. Chusak Phanatamphon believed that the beggars, who pestered tourists along Pattaya beach, would damage the image of Thailand as the country is mistakenly perceived as being supportive of a human trafficking movement.

Col. Chusak strongly urged every good citizen to support the immigration department and report any relevant

information via these contact numbers:
Hotline 1300 at Prachabhodi Social Development Centre, Chonburi.
Immimgration Department: 038 -252751-4 or email TNCDC @ CHONBURIIMMIGRATION.COM.
Pattaya City Holine 1337.

[San Diego's] Red Tape Turns a Green Farm into an Eyesore




Ourn Lun (right) was evicted from the city-owned land where she'd grown food with other Cambodians for almost three decades. Hay Chay (left) established the farm with about a dozen other refugees in 1984.
Photo of the Day: Hay Chay

Posted: Monday, May 30, 201
The Voice of San Diego
by Adrian Florido
Read original article and see more pictures here.

For close to three decades, a group of mostly poor Cambodian refugees eked out a subsistence living by farming a parcel of land at the end of a southeastern San Diego cul-de-sac. The sprawling farm was impressive. Over the years the refugees had erected a fence, huts for resting and their own irrigation system.

But the land was owned by the city of San Diego, and the farmers didn't have the right to be there. Last year, the half dozen who remained were evicted.

In the 10 months since, what was once a rare expanse of productive green in a poor residential neighborhood has fallen into unsightly disrepair. The fences have folded in on themselves. The rare Southeast Asian crops that the aging farmers grew, like bitter melon and Cambodian green beans, have all died. A pile of old mattresses has been left at the farm. It has become a dumping ground and a blight.

In November I wrote about the bureaucratic complications that led to the farmers' eviction. The Neighborhood House Association, a social service nonprofit, leased the land from the city but never developed it. It was included in the nonprofit's lease for an adjacent piece of city property where the group has its facilities. For more than a quarter century the agency turned the other way as the refugees built their farm on the land, which became a gathering place for the Southeast Asian community and the locale for frequent communal meals whose ingredients were grown on site.

But last year the nonprofit's lease came up for renewal. The city's real estate division wanted the undeveloped land back. The nonprofit told the farmers to leave.

In the weeks to come, the San Diego City Council is expected to consider a zoning law change that would loosen restrictions on community gardens in residential neighborhoods citywide. That should, in theory, make re-starting the Cambodian farm a possibility. But even if the laws are changed, the refugees will still need to reach an agreement with the city of San Diego to use the land and reclaim the farm.

Jim Barwick, the city's real estate director, has said the city would be willing to work with the farmers if the legal structure was in place to do it.

Phal Chourp, a leader of the Cambodian community who was a regular visitor to the farm before its demise, said she and local refugee assistance groups couldn't do much until the City Council has changed its zoning rules. If that happens, she said, she'll work to get the city's permission to use the land and invite the farmers to come back and return it to what it once was.

When I first reported about this story back in November, those farmers said they looked forward to that day. At the time, some of their crops were still producing. The farmers would arrive to hop the fence peppered with No Trespassing signs and harvest what they could.

They speak little English and since the farm closed some of them have depended on their children or food stamps to get by. One farmer, Ourn Lun, was given a small plot at a two-year-old City Heights community garden run by the International Rescue Committee, a local resettlement agency. But its yields, Ourn said, are meager in comparison to the old farm, whose soil was rich from many years of organic cultivation.

Samol Ye, another farmer, visited the garden several times a week just to be near it and cry. It reminded her of the rural Cambodian village she fled in the 1970s, after it was ravaged by war.

But visiting got to be too stressful, she said through an interpreter. It was so close yet still out of reach. So she stayed home instead, to "watch TV until I'm crazy."

Here's a Google image of what the farm used to look like, and some photos of what it looks like today:

Sam Hodgson contributed reporting.

Please contact Adrian Florido directly at adrian.florido@voiceofsandiego.org or at 619.325.0528 and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/adrianflorido.

World’s Most Cutthroat Cell Market?

A Cambodian shop selling mobile phone cellcards.

May 30, 2011
The Diplomat
By Steve Finch

Despite an average income of $650, Cambodians enjoy arguably the most competitive mobile market in the world. Still, the eight operators’ numbers don’t add up.

Ngo Menghorn is a typical student in Phnom Penh. Like many 23-year-olds in the Cambodian capital, he owns a motorbike, more than one mobile phone and goes through SIM cards like they’re going out of fashion.

‘I don’t remember how many SIMs I’ve used because I always change them out,’ he says, adding that he has probably brought at least 40 in his two years as a mobile user.

His preferred network Mobitel—currently number two by market share—sells SIM cards for less than the value of credit each provides. Mobitel sells SIMs for 5,500 riels each ($1.35) loaded with $6 in call credit amid fierce competition for customers. The catch is credit is only good for a week unless the user upgrades to a more expensive call plan.

‘It’s hard to contact me because I always change my SIM card,’ admits Menghorn, adding he has taken advantage of promotions on eight different Cambodian operators.

Emptying his pockets, three SIM cards fall out, not including the one in use in his pink Nokia handset. Menghorn’s mobile usage habits in a market of eight operators—this in a country with a population of 15 million people who have an average annual income of just $650, according to the World Bank—are typical.

‘(Before) when companies had promotions…they distributed SIMs for free,’ says Seng Bopha, whose family runs two mobile phone shops in central Phnom Penh. It’s a business model that attempts to attract customers with cheap tariffs in the hope they’ll stay loyal. And although many users stick to the same network used by friends and family members to take advantage of low in-network rates, constantly rotating SIMs, cost-conscious users like Menghorn switch between networks on an almost a weekly basis.

With so many operators competing just to stay alive, attractive promotions are never ending. Typical off-network rates outside of special offers range from $0.05 to $0.08 per minute, but call rates are meaningless because callers rarely pay them. Just over four years ago in-network calls cost $0.20 per minute in Cambodia prior to an influx of new operators in early 2009.

‘Most observers say Cambodia is the most competitive (mobile phone market) in the world,’ says Simon Perkins, CEO of Hello, a Cambodian subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur-based operator Axiata.

Only neighbouring Laos, with four operators and a population of six million, and Hong Kong with its six operators competing for nearly nine million people, come close to Cambodia in terms of mobile phone markets in the region, analysts say.

Although Posts and Telecommunications Minister So Khun claims 86 percent penetration in Cambodia based on the data submitted by the country’s operators, most industry observers agree there are anywhere between five and six million active users, more like about 37 percent usage. With so many SIMs floating around as operators remain motivated to inflate user statistics to attract buyers and mergers—and boost their share price in a bid to survive—Cambodia’s mobile numbers simply don’t add up.

Market leader Metfone—owned by Vietnamese military-run Viettel—reported 2.37 million users in October last year, but by the end of December this figure had jumped to 4.22 million. The firm’s public relations department in Phnom Penh didn’t respond to questions on its customer base.

‘The reporting of customer numbers in Cambodia is a problem, with some operators choosing to inflate their numbers to fuel their own rubbish,’ says Perkins, who estimated there are six million active users in the country.

The result of all this is a market losing millions of dollars every year where SIMs, market share and brand names struggle to gain relevance. Mfone, a local subsidiary of Thaicom, lost more than $13 million in Cambodia in 2010 amid ‘a price war and intense competition in the market.’ Beeline, owned by New York Stock Exchange-listed Vimplecom, has racked up losses in Southeast Asia for every quarter since launching in Cambodia in May 2009, its latest financial results showed. And Excell, the lowest-placed operator in Cambodia by users, was registering a market share of zero percent by the end of last year as the Telecoms Ministry calculated data to just one decimal place. Meanwhile, Perkins says average revenues per user (ARPU) have now fallen to $3 or less per month in Cambodia when the ‘nonsensical user numbers’ are factored in. India, considered to have among the lowest ARPU rates in Asia, registers about $7 for every user each month.

So just how did things get so bad for business in Cambodia’s mobile industry? After all, the country’s economy grew 6 percent in 2010, according to the International Monetary Fund, and is forecast to accelerate to about 6.5 percent GDP growth this year.

‘The government didn’t price spectrum,’ says one long-time observer of Cambodia’s mobile industry, requesting anonymity. Instead, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC) simply doled out operating licences as part of a closed, opaque process, he says, adding that this has left the government facing accusations of corruption.

In March, Deputy Prime Minister Nhek Bun Chhay acknowledged one of his advisers served as a paid representative of a company that transferred a 3G licence to a Hong Kong-based firm from which he had been accused of receiving bribes. His case has been brought to the attention of Cambodia’s new Anticorruption Unit.

‘The policy of the government is to increase usage and decrease the price of mobile phones,’ said Telecoms Minister So Khun in response to allegations of government corruption. ‘The procedures for bidding are different from one country to another.’

As operators search for solutions and users enjoy among the cheapest call rates on the planet, Cambodia’s mobile industry is now entering a critical shake-up. Two smaller firms, Smart Mobile and Star Cell, merged in January, bringing the number of operators down to eight. Meanwhile, So Khun says the government might in June finally pass a telecoms law that has been stuck in the drafting phase for about a decade amid disagreement within the government and with the private sector. The new legislation would establish a separate regulator and detail rules on mergers and acquisitions, which some operators complain have remained hazy for too long, stalling market consolidation.

‘(M&A) policy from MPTC is still unclear,’ says Thaicom’s Managing Director of International Business Atip Rithaporn.

Once the market does start to consolidate it’s anyone’s guess how many operators will survive. So Khun predicts ‘about six’ would be left, while the market observer previously mentioned suggested ‘two to three is the maximum long-term.’

With newly-merged Smart Mobile, Mfone, Hello and Beeline all claiming the number-three spot in the past year, and new 4G network Emaxx launching in 2012, the stakes in Cambodia’s feverishly competitive mobile phone market couldn’t be higher.

Steve Finch is a Phnom Penh-based freelance journalist. His articles have also appeared in The Washington Post, TIME.com, Foreign Policy, The Phnom Penh Post and The Bangkok Post.

Cambodia takes temple dispute to UN court

Phnom Penh demands world court censure Thailand over dispute that has left 18 people dead.

Al Jazeera
Last Modified: 30 May 2011

The dispute around the Preah Vihear temple has sparked violent clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops [AFP]

Cambodia has launched a bitter legal battle before the UN's highest court over an ancient Hindu temple that has been the scene of clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops.

Phnom Penh requested the International Court of Justice on Monday to issue an emergency order to Thailand to withdraw its troops from the disputed region around the Preah Vihear temple.

The Cambodians are also seeking clarification on a ruling The Hague-based court made in 1962, that asserted that the 800-year-old Khmer temple belongs to Cambodia.

The clashes around the temple, which have left at least 18 people dead and made thousands homeless, have arisen because both Phnom Penh and Bangkok claim ownership of the 4.6-square-kilometre surrounding area.

'Murderous armed incursions'

Hor Namhong, Cambodia's foreign minister, told a panel of 16 judges at the court that "murderous armed incursions" by the Thai military around the Preah Vihear temple are a "grave threat" to regional peace and security.

"Thailand is under obligation to withdraw any troops in the area around the temple," he said.

He said that Thailand was basing its military action around the temple on an "erroneous and unacceptable" interpretation of the court's 1962 judgement.

For its part, Bangkok says it does not dispute Cambodian ownership of the temple but that the 1962 judgement does not include the surrounding area.

"The court did not have the jurisdiction to rule about that," said Kasit Piromya, Thailand's caretaker foreign minister, outside the court room.

He said his nation is in talks with Cambodia to settle what Thailand sees as a border dispute.

"We do not understand why we have to come here when there is already an existing mechanism" for negotiating a border, Kasit told reporters outside the courtroom.