Thai monkey-cops?

Santisuk, a five-year-old pig-tailed macaque monkey, wears a police shirt as he rides atop a patrol vehicle in Saiburi district in Yala province, Thailand. Picture: REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

The monkey, who was found injured, has now been adopted by local policemen. Picture: REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

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Labels: Thailand | Weird News

Court orders Mu Sochua to appear June 2

(Photo: AP)

Friday, 14 May 2010
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

THE Supreme Court has summoned opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua to appear for a hearing on June 2, when it will make a final ruling on a defamation charge brought against her by Prime Minister Hun Sen, according to a citation issued by Chhoun Chantha, the court’s deputy general prosecutor.

In August 2009, Phnom Penh Municipal Court found Mu Sochua guilty of defamation and ordered her to pay 16.5 million riels (around US$3,975) in fines and compensation to Hun Sen, a verdict that was upheld by the Court of Appeal in October.

Mu Sochua said Thursday that she hoped the court would make a fair ruling in the case, but repeated her earlier declaration that she will refuse to pay the fine if the court upholds her guilty verdict.

“I still have hope, even though that hope is small, but I have hope for all those people who want the court system to be balanced,” she said.

“If I lose the case, it means that the court did not consider that, and it would show that [the court] has not given me justice, because I am a victim.”

She added: “My case is not about one individual, it is related to all women.”

Ky Tech, the government lawyer representing the prime minister, said he hoped the court would provide justice for his client, and warned that any ruling made by the court would be enforced by law.

“If any party loses the case and the court orders them to do something, he must follow. If anyone is sentenced to jail, he must be jailed. If anyone is ordered to pay money, he must pay money,” Ky Tech said.

“If [Mu Sochua] does not follow it, the court will take legal action.”

Hun Sen accused Mu Sochua of defamation after the outspoken lawmaker filed her own lawsuit against him, alleging that he defamed her during a speech he made in Kampot province in April 2009.

Mu Sochua’s own lawsuit was thrown out by the Court of Appeal in October.

Chhoun Chantha could not be reached for comment Thursday.

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Labels: Hun Xen's travesty of justice | Ky Tech | Mu Sochua vs Hun Sen | SRP MP

Viet pigs banned in Svay Rieng

Pigs at a farm in Kampong Speu province on Thursday. Imports of pigs from Vietnam have been banned in Svay Rieng province. (Photo by: Uy Nousereimony)

Svay Rieng bans VN pig imports

Friday, 14 May 2010
David Boyle and Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

THE provincial governor of Svay Rieng province has banned all imports of pork and live pigs from Vietnam, fearing they carry serious diseases that could severely damage the local pig industry through contamination, as well as negatively harm the health of consumers.

Svay Rieng provincial Governor Chheang Am issued a statement on May 4 instructing all relevant authorities, including those operating border checkpoints, to “immediately cease all imports of pork and live pigs” from Vietnam, in order to prevent a potential “epidemic” of various diseases.

“Agriculture officials reported that there are pig diseases occurring in neighbouring countries, so the authority decided to ban their pigs until the situation is better,” he said.

Thursday, and added that outbreaks of two diseases – foot-and-mouth disease and porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome (PRRD) – had recently been detected in Vietnam.

Sek Vanny, deputy director of the Drug and Food Office at the Svay Rieng Health Department, said the ban had been imposed in part because Vietnamese pig-raisers had been deliberately and illegally dumping diseased pigs on the Cambodian market at cheap prices to get rid of the animals.

“If we cannot stop them, they will still import [the diseased pigs], which will transmit the disease to local pigs. And when people eat it, it will affect their health,” he said.

He added that, because the diseased Vietnamese pigs are relatively cheap, Cambodian villagers would continue to buy them unless all corridors through which they are illegally imported were blocked.

Nguyen Chi Dzung, a counsellor from the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh, said Thursday that he had heard no information of any disease outbreak in Tay Ninh, the Vietnamese province that borders Svay Rieng, but confirmed that such outbreaks had occurred in the past.

“In Vietnam, it’s [happened] many times – in the north, in the middle and the south,” he said. He later pointed to Vietnamese media reports on recent “epidemics” of foot-and-mouth-disease and PRRD, or blue ear, in north and south Vietnam, respectively.

He said it was well within the rights of local officials to ban Vietnamese pigs they consider contaminated by disease, though he said the ban should be lifted “when the situation no longer exists”.

This is not the first time disease-ridden pigs from neighbouring countries have allegedly been dumped on the Cambodian market, according to Curtis Hundley, chief of party at the USAID’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) economic development project, which helps develop local agriculture.

“This is the same thing that happened in 2007, and they were importing hundreds, if not thousands of pigs a day. At that time they had blue ear, gastrointestinal and foot-and-mouth,” he said.

The 2007 outbreak occurred in Vietnam and Thailand, countries that export major quantities of pigs into Cambodia, and prompted Prime Minister Hun Sen to ban all imports of pigs from both countries for a period of eight months, a move that was applauded by the Cambodian Pig Raisers Association.

Srun Pov, the deputy president of the association, said Wednesday that about 600 Vietnamese pigs, many of them carrying diseases, were being illegally smuggled into Cambodia every day, and called for a nationwide ban.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VONG SOKHENG

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Labels: Ban of pigs and porks from neighboring countries | Foot and mouth disease

More tea money went into the pocket of Hun Xen's corrupt regime?

Extracting the dollar figures

Friday, 14 May 2010
Steve Finch
The Phnom Penh Post

COMPANIES involved in Cambodia’s extractive industries have revealed further information about controversial payments to the government, as more detailed revenue figures showed the state received more than 9 billion riels (US$2.25 million) from the sector last year.

Following an announcement by Australian miner BHP Billiton that it was conducting an internal investigation of possible graft violations widely believe to have taken place in Cambodia, the French energy giant Total responded this week to revelations made by Prime Minister Hun Sen last month that it had paid $28 million as part of a deal for offshore Area III in October.

The figure appeared to contradict an official disclosure by a Ministry of Economy and Finance official in March that showed payments of $26 million were paid in January, but Total spokeswoman Phenelope Semavoine said by email Tuesday that the additional $2 million “will be made at a later date”.

She added that Total would co-manage a social fund programme for education and health in the Kingdom, without giving further details.

Total’s response comes on the heels of a report indicating that the government received $1.45 million from the mining sector and $800,000 from the oil and gas industry last year, the first year the government has made public official payments from the extractives industries.

Although the government still has not published complete 2009 revenues from the sector as part of TOFE (state financial operations notice) on the Finance Ministry website, the Post obtained a presentation from last month’s Oxfam America conference that showed the full-year payments.

Chevron spokesman Gareth Johnstone declined to comment Thursday on whether the US firm had made similar payments to the state as part of its involvement in offshore Block A, citing “contractual arrangements” and “commercially confidential information”.

Southern Gold, which is exploring for minerals in western Cambodia, said late Wednesday it had not made any payments to the government as part of its concession agreements.

“We have good relationship[s] with our joint-venture partners and have regular audits, doubled when we consider our JV partners audits and checks,” Cambodia representative Grant Thomas said by email.

“We at Southern Gold do not pay those types of payments [or] fees.”

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Labels: BHP Billiton | Briberies | French oil company | Mining companies | Total

Clash in Bangkok on Friday 14 May 2010

Thai soldiers fire rubber bullets into the crowd of anti-government protesters hurling rocks, Friday, May 14, 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand. Protestors inthe Thai capital were holding their ground Friday, as initial government moves overnight to blockade them showed no results, but instead set off sporadic violence that left one man dead and a high profile Red shirt militant in critical condition from a gun shot to the head. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
Anti-government demonstrators watch Thai soldiers from behind their makeshift barricades Friday, May 14, 2010, in Bangkok, Thailand. Anti-government protestersset fire to a police bus down the street from Japanese and U.S. embassies in central Bangkok after troops fired tear gas Friday in a burst of new violence after nightlong clashes left one person dead. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
Thai soldiers move on anti-government protestors and others during an operation to secure an area near Lumpini Park in downtown bangkok, Thailand, Friday,May 14, 2010. Troops fired bullets and tear gas at anti-government protesters rioting near the U.S. and Japanese embassies as an army push to clear the streets sparked bloody clashes and turned central Bangkok into a virtual war zone. (AP Photo/Wason Waintchakorn)

An anti-government demonstrator takes off his clothes against Thai soldiers in downtown Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 14, 2010. Troops fired bullets and tear gas at anti-government protesters rioting near the U.S. and Japanese embassies as army push to clear the streets sparked bloody clashes and turned central Bangkok into a virtual war zone. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
An anti-government demonstrator takes off his clothes against Thai soldiers in downtown bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 14, 2010. Troops fired bullets andtear gas at anti-government protesters rioting near the U.S. and Japanese embassies as army push to clear the streets sparked bloody clashes and turned central Bangkok into a virtual war zone. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

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Labels: Clash with soldiers | Red Shirts demo | Thailand political unrest

"Sophoan-pheap Battambang" a Poem in Khmer by Sék Serei

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Deadly clashes erupt in Bangkok

Friday, May 14, 2010
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

At least five people have been killed and 46 others injured after clashes erupted in the Thai capital as security forces attempted to seal off an anti-government protest camp.

Explosions and gunfire were heard in Bangkok's business district on Friday as the so-called red shirts battled with troops using tear gas and rubber bullets.

The army said it was not planning to crack down on the main protest site in the central Rajprasong business district, but was attempting to seal off the camp, cut the protesters' supplies and limit the size of the crowd inside.

"We will allow protesters to leave the area today," Sansern Kaewkamnerd, an army spokesman, said.

Al Jazeera's Aela Callan, reporting from Bangkok, said that the fighting was intensifying.

"As night has fallen, we have seen some more intense firing taking place," she said.

"We are still hearing alot of gunfire coming from the area. Its very hard to say whether the gunfire is coming from the redshirts side as well as the soliders."

Callan said that the clashes had spread to just outside the demonstration area as protesters had left the area to get reinforcements.

'Civil war'

Nattawut Saikuar, a red shirt leader, called on the army to pull back and said that Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Thai prime minister, had "already started civil war".

Thaksin Shinwatra, the exiled former prime minister who is closely linked to the red shirts, echoed that call, saying that the government's actions were a "grave infringement of human rights".

The army had moved on a red shirts at a checkpoint set up outside the main camp on Friday after a series of violent clashes left at least one person dead and nine injured overnight.

Military vehicles and a bus were reportedly set on fire as the red shirts attempted to halt the troops.

The protesters had gathered outside the Suan Lum night market to stop soldiers from advancing towards the main site.

Electricity has been cut off to that part of the capital in an apparent attempt to force the protesters out and sections of the city's elevated rail system were closed, including at Sukhumvit Road, a key tourist area.

"Bangkok is under a state of emergency," Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay, reporting from the protest site, said.

"So things are stepping up and the government is trying to increase pressure on the red shirts.

"There is still a hardcore of protest leaders there who are staying put."

The military has said that snipers could be deployed to the area and armoured vehicles may also be used around the site to prevent more people joining the protesters.

Renegade general killed

Clashes erupted late on Thursday after a suspended army general allied with the red shirt movement was left in a coma after being shot in the head.

Witnesses said the shooting was apparently carried out by a sniper, but it was not clear exactly who was behind the attack.

Panitan Wattanaygorn, the acting Thai government spokesman, told Al Jazeera that soldiers were not involved.

"Our operation is to secure the outer areas of the demonstrations. We will investigate as the red shirts have problems with their own leaders. Our officer was killed in a similar way in the last week," Panitan said.

But Phongthep Thepkanjana, a red shirt ally and former minister of justice, told Al Jazeera: "I don't think anybody can accept that because there was information that the government has snipers deployed close to the demonstration site. He was shot from a long distance."

The former army general was speaking to a group of journalists as he was shot inside the barricades.

"He is one of the more hardline of the red shirt group and had been criticised for being too radical," Al Jazeera's Callan said.

"It is hard to say what exact effect this will have on the protesters but it will certainly bring down morale as he is one of their fighters, but he is not one of the rank and file, one of the core leadership group. He is not making decisions so it is more a symbolic loss.

Street rallies have been held since March 12 in an attempt to bring a disolution of parliament and fresh elections.

'Illegitimate government'

The red shirts have called the government illegitimate as it came to power in a 2008 parliamentary vote.

This followed a controversial court ruling that ousted elected allies of Thaksin, who was himself unseated in a 2006 coup and remains closely linked to the red shirts.

Abhisit on Thursday held up a plan to hold early elections in November as deomonstrators refused to clear from the city centre.

The red shirts have said that they will not leave until Suthep Thaungsuban, the deputy prime minister, is charged for his alleged role in a deadly crackdown on protesters on April 10.

Demonstrations have often brought parts of central Bangkok to a standstill for long-periods and have included clashes with police that have about 30 people dead and more than 1,000 injured.

The red shirts initially called for immediate elections but agreed to a reconciliation deal this month in which Abhisit offered to dissolve parliament in the second half of September and hold polls on November 14.

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Labels: Bangkok | Clash with soldiers | Red Shirts demo | Thailand political unrest

Thai troops advance on red shirt protest checkpoint

Fri May 14, 2010
Jason Szep and Ambika Ahuja

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets toward protesters on Friday following overnight fighting that killed one and wounded 11, including a rogue general, as a two-month political crisis deepened.

A foreign journalist was shot during the afternoon skirmishes, a Reuters witness said. No other details were immediately available.

The protesters had gathered outside the famous Suan Lum night market to stop soldiers from sealing off roads around their main fortified encampment in Bangkok's commercial heart.

They set fire to a bus, motorbike and tires as they retreated, and soldiers took control of an intersection leading to a road lined with hotels, the U.S. ambassador's home and several embassies, which were closed and evacuated.

Troops fired rubber bullets into Lumphini Park in central Bangkok after gunshots were heard near an encampment that anti-government protesters have occupied the past five weeks, Thailand television said.

Soldiers used tear gas and water cannon before dawn at the Nana intersection, packed with shops and racy go-go bars. Skirmishes flared in other parts of the city as the protesters remained defiant, vowing to fight to the death.

"They are tightening a noose on us but we will fight to the end, brothers and sisters," a protest leader, Nattawut Saikua, told a cheering crowd of about 10,000 at the main protest site.

Despite repeated warnings, troops had yet to seal all roads leading to the area of luxury hotels and ritzy department stores occupied by protesters for nearly six weeks, raising questions over whether the government will end the protests soon.

"An operation to seal off the area has just begun. It will take time. We are doing it in a way that does not cause heavy casualties but tightens the protest area," said government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn.

The crisis, in which 30 people have been killed since April and more than 1,400 wounded, has paralyzed parts of Bangkok and sparked Thailand's deadliest political violence in 18 years, decimating tourism and pushing away foreign portfolio investors.

The flare up in violence sent ripples through financial markets and prompted investors to buy government bonds, considered a safe-haven asset, and sell stocks. The yield on five-year government bonds, which moves inversely to the price, dropped to a nine-month low. Stocks fell 1.2 percent.

Five-year credit default swaps, used to hedge against debt default but also to speculate on country risk, jumped by more than 30 basis points to 142 basis points.

"The city is pretty much shut off right now. Everyone is on edge and tensions are just very high," said Kiatkong Decho, a strategist with stockbroker CIMB Securities in Bangkok.

"At this point, I think there are not many options left for Abhisit but to forcibly remove the protesters."

Foreign investors have sold $584 million in Thai shares in the past six sessions, cutting their net buying so far this year to $607.6 million in an emerging market seen at the start of the year as one of Asia's most promising.

CRACKDOWN

The latest violence followed tough security measures imposed on Thursday evening to reclaim Bangkok's commercial district after the collapse of a reconciliation plan proposed last week by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Abhisit is under enormous pressure to end the protests, which began with festive rallies on March 12 and descended into violence that is stoking concerns over the outlook of Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.

The shooting and a security cordon marked the start of a violent crackdown in which the Thai government stands a good chance of clearing the streets, the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy said.

"But it will not end the polarization that has led to the current instability -- ensuring that the pressure from the red shirts will persist and that political volatility will remain a persistent problem for Thailand for the foreseeable future".

It is unclear who shot a renegade general who has been in charge of security for thousands of protesters occupying a 3 sq-km (1.2 sq-mile) stretch of central Bangkok since April 3.

Khattiya Sawasdipol, a suspended army specialist better known as "Seh Daeng" (Commander Red), was shot in the head, apparently by a sniper, while talking to reporters on Thursday evening.

He underwent brain surgery and remains in stable condition.

The shooting sparked half a dozen confrontations overnight between rock-throwing protesters and armed security forces on the outskirts of the protesters' barricaded encampment.

One protester was shot in the eye and died after a group of red shirts confronted soldiers armed with assault rifles next to a park in the Silom business district, witnesses said. Some protesters hurled rocks and troops fired in return.

By Friday morning, 11 people had been wounded, according to the Erawan Medical Center. The military brought in armored vehicles, shut down power in some areas at the protest site and cut some mobile phone services.

Khattiya had been branded a terrorist by the Thai government, which accused him of involvement in dozens of grenade attacks that have wounded more than 100 people.

But in recent days he was equally critical of other red shirt leaders, accusing them of embracing Abhisit's proposed "national reconciliation" which unraveled after protesters refused to leave the streets.

Most businesses and embassies in the area have evacuated staff and were closed for the day. Apartment complexes were mostly empty after the government warned it would shut down power and water supplies, and landlords urged tenants to leave.

(Additional reporting by Ploy Ten Kate, Chalathip Thirasoonthrakul and Damir Sagolj; Editing by Nick Macfie and Jeremy Laurence)

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Labels: Crackdown | Red Shirts demo | Thailand political unrest

Shot Thai general in coma

May 14, 2010
AFP

BANGKOK - THE renegade general fighting for his life after being shot in the head in Bangkok is a folk hero for the people of Thailand who has made it his mission to protect a sprawling protest site.

Major-General Khattiya Sawasdipol was unconscious in intensive care on Friday after being felled by a bullet as he gave an interview to journalists close next to the barricades of the Red Shirts' rally site.

Medics at the Bangkok hospital where he was being cared for said his chances of surviving were 'quite low'.

The army has denied shooting the fiery general, better known by his nickname 'Seh Daeng", but had warned it would be deploying snipers in the area as part of efforts to disperse the two-month-old protest.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has accused Seh Daeng of prolonging the street demonstrations and the 58-year-old had made no secret of the fact he opposed any reconciliation deal.

Seh Daeng, or 'Commander Red,' has been surrounded by knots of fans seeking his autograph and photo during his walks through the rally site, where vendors display his best-selling books about his jungle adventures.

The death toll from Thailand's worst political violence in nearly two decades, stood at 30 on Friday, with around 1,000 injured in a series of confrontations between the red-shirt movement and security forces.

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Labels: Red Shirts demo | Seh Daeng | Thailand political unrest

The Supreme Court summons Mrs. Mu Sochua

13 May 2010
By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Phnom Penh – The Supreme Court will hold a hearing at the beginning of next month in opposition MP Mu Sochua’s involvement in the defamation lawsuit case by Hun Xen. Mrs. Mu Sochua has very slim hope that the tribunal will ever provide justice for her in this last step of this lawsuit.

According to the summons issued last week by Chhuon Chantha, the deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court, it indicated that the Supreme Court will hold a hearing in the defamation lawsuit opposing opposition MP Mu Sochua to Hun Xen. The hearing will be held on 02 June.

This is the 2nd summons issued by the court, after the first one which was set on 07 April was delayed following the request made by Mrs. Mu Sochua as she was held outside the country during her mission.

Mrs. Mu Sochua said on Thursday that she just received the summons on Wednesday, and she claimed that she will show up in court on the day of the hearing.

Mrs. Mu Sochua said that the Supreme Court will provide justice for her. “I hope that the Supreme Court will reflect and take all the evidences into consideration to try this case. I have all the evidences, the court should consider and reflect on all these factors and all the evidences in order to provide a fair trial.”

Ky Tech, the government lawyer, said that this is the 2nd summons for Mrs. Mu Sochua, she can no longer avoid it, and the two parties will show up in front of the court.

“As for me, I believe that I have all the proofs. I hope that on that day, the Supreme Court will surely make the same decision as the lower courts.”

On 04 September 2009, the Phnom Penh municipal court ordered Mrs. Mu Sochua to pay a fine of 16.5 million riels ($4,125) after she was found guilty of defaming Hun Xen.

Ky Tech, the government lawyer, sued Mrs. Mu Sochua for defaming Hun Xen after she held a press conference on 23 April 2009. During the press conference, Mrs. Mu Sochua accused Hun Xen of looking down and affecting the honor of all Cambodian women.

On 04 April 2009, at Ta Ken commune, Kampot province, Hun Xen criticized a Cambodian opposition woman without naming her directly, saying: “In Kampot, there is a “Cheung Khlang” (lit. strong woman, i.e. thug) woman whom I need not reveal her name. About her strength, what she is strong at is about creating problems, inciting to create problem, even for the election campaign, she went to hug someone and she said that that person unbuttoned her blouse. She went to whine and sue, she is strong [at that]. This is what you call the thick face opposition, you hack them with a cleaver 20 or 100 times, and it wouldn’t cut them, whether they are men or women. However their chief is, the subordinates are the same.”

Mrs. Mu Sochua sent a complaint to the Phnom Penh municipal court through Kong Sam On, her lawyer, accusing Hun Xen of defaming her. However, the Phnom Penh municipal court dropped her lawsuit claiming that there was no sufficient proof.

On his part, Kong Sam On, Mrs. Mu Sochua’s defense lawyer, decided to drop her defense after he was sued by the government lawyer for violating his professional ethics.

Up to now, Mrs. Mu Sochua still does not have a defense lawyer because no lawyer agrees to defend her in this sensitive lawsuit case.

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Labels: Hun Xen's travesty of justice | Mu Sochua vs Hun Sen | SRP MP

Chea Mony to resign from his position as FTUWKC President

Chea Mony, FTUWKC President (Photo: DAP News)

14 May 2010
Dap news
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Phnom Penh – Chea Mony, the president of the Free Trade Union of Workers in the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC), said that he plans to resign from his position because of health problem. Chea Mony replaced Chea Vichea, his brother, since 2004 after the latter was killed by unknown assailants.

Chea Mony said that he has pulmonary problem that prevents him from continuing his union work. For the election of the new FTUWKC president to be held on 27 May, Chea Mony said that he supports the candidacy of Rong Chhun to continue his position.

Rong Chhun, President of the Cambodia Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA), said that he will present his candidacy to the position of FTUWKC President.

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Labels: Chea Mony | FTUWKC | Rong Chhun | Trade union

[Comrade] Kim Yong Nam Congratulates Cambodian King

Pyongyang, May 13 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK, Thursday sent a congratulatory message to Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia, on his 57th birthday.

Kim in the message wished the King good health and happiness and great success in his noble cause for prosperity of the country and expressed belief that the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between the DPRK and Cambodia would grow stronger.

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Labels: Birthday well-wishes | King Sihamoni | North Korea

Child labour in Cambodia

14 May 2010
Richard Welford
Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia

Hundreds of thousands of Cambodian children rely on the most dangerous forms of child labour to support themselves, yet the daunting goal of ending domestic child labour by 2016 may be within reach, according to a new plan to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. The document underlines the challenges Cambodia faces in stopping an estimated 300,000 children from working in occupations seen as among the most hazardous. But it also suggests Cambodia has made some initial strides. A global ILO report released this week urges countries and NGOs to refocus efforts to reduce child labour. By releasing its road map this week, Cambodia has already taken an initial step, says this report. Nevertheless, the ILO report warns that although child labour has continued to decline worldwide, the pace of this reduction has slowed. Roughly 215 million children remain trapped as child labourers, including 115 million in hazardous occupations.

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Labels: Child labor in Cambodia | ILO

Concerns software piracy deterring Cambodian investment

Friday, May 14, 2010
ABC Radio Australia

Microsoft's Cambodian country director says widespread software piracy is deterring foreign companies from working with the kingdom.

Pily Wong says the sale of counterfeit computer software - which includes programs such as Windows and the Adobe Creative Suite - is considered prevalent throughout Cambodia.

A report from Washington-based Business Software Alliance and market researcher IDC says the value of unlicenced software worldwide has hit $US51.4 billion.

It says piracy rates increased 2 percent worldwide last year, from 41 percent to 43 percent.

Although Cambodia was not included in the report, Vietnam was reported to have an 85 per cent piracy rate, and Thailand a 75 per cent piracy rate.

Microsoft says continuing concerns over the poor enforcement of intellectual property rights has led many international software firms to avoid entering Cambodia.

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Labels: Microsoft | Piracy

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Quiz Show

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

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Labels: Hanoi PhDs | Hun Xen | Political Cartoon | Sacrava

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: General Seh Daeng

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

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Labels: Political Cartoon | Sacrava | Seh Daeng | Thailand political unrest

Vietnam, if you are a good neighbour to Cambodia, stop encroaching on our territories!

Cambodian ambassador says farewell

May, 14 2010
Viet Nam News

HA NOI — Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung spoke highly of outgoing Cambodian Ambassador Van Phon, and noted his contributions to foster relations between the two countries at a special goodbye meeting held yesterday in Ha Noi.

Dung said Viet Nam, together with Cambodian leaders and people, would make every effort to further develop relations between the two countries.

He also emphasised that Viet Nam would always be a good neighbour to Cambodia.

Ambassador Van Phon thanked the Vietnamese Government and Party for supporting him in his work in the country and asserted he would continue to contribute to the development of Viet Nam-Cambodia ties.

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Labels: Cambodia-Vietnam ties | Vietnamese influence in Cambodia

US and Cambodia mark 60 years of bilateral ties

May 14, 2010
ABC Radio Australia

The United States and Cambodia are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic ties this year. But it hasn't been six decades of smooth sailing. In the 1960's and 70's America's secret bombing of Cambodia was disastrously destabilising for the Kingdom. Then came the brutal years of the Khmer Rouge and diplomatic relations with the US weren't re-established until 1991. The last few years, however, have seen a deepening of ties between the two nations, with military aid resuming, humanitarian aid flowing, and oil and mineral investments looming.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane
Speakers: Ted Allegra, Charge d'Affaires US Embassy in Phnom Penh

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

ALLEGRA: Sixty years in any relationship is a long time and it's no different for the US-Cambodia relations and on the occasion of the 60th anniversary this year, I mean it's an appropriate time we believe to not only look back and to see where we began and how it developed through good and through difficult parts and just as importantly, to look to the future and see where the relationship can proceed.

COCHRANE: Let's look forward then. What are the key areas of interest from the American side in this bilateral relationship?

ALLEGRA: We've got a growing military-to-military relationship. Some of the things we are looking at the 60th anniversary commemoration to highlight are Cambodia's hosting the global peacekeeping initiative exercises this July which will attract over a thousand troops from 23 different nations and specifically, as Cambodia was a recipient of UN peacekeeping efforts for so many years, it is quite astonishing and quite complimentary that they actually can be a provider of peacekeeping troops around the world.

We also have the US hospital ship, Mercy, coming next month for a humanitarian mission and doctors, dentists and even veterinarians will be deployed throughout Cambodia to give basic health services and provide even emergency or serious health attention if needed. We've got in the economic dimension, we're looking to do robust commercial diplomacy, attracting the interest of America's investors and business people. All these writ large become the focus of some of our activity this summer, the focus for some of our events and really a defining moment to chart US-Cambodia relationship for the future.

COCHRANE: One of the things that has challenged that relationship recently has been the issue of the Quigurs that were deported from Cambodia to China. The US after that incident voiced its displeasure, condemned the actions of the Cambodian Government. How has that affected the diplomatic relationship?

ALLEGRA: Well, Washington issued a statement at the time of the event. We, of course, were disappointed in Cambodia's decision to do that. We engaged with the Cambodian Government before that happened and after it happened and perhaps we will continue to do so. The important thing to remember however though that as our relationship develops, it also matures, so one incident does not itself define our relationship that is as broad in scope and depth and breadth as I have just pointed out to you and that issue will not define the relationship in it of itself.

COCHRANE: The incident itself did highlight the other diplomatic players sometime after, in the case of the US, the response was consequences that were promised. It turned out to be the cancellation of an order of trucks in the military cooperation plan. Now, a short time afterwards, China donated trucks in a similar kind of manner. It's an interesting geo-political kind of play there. How would you describe China's role diplomatically in Cambodia?

ALLEGRA: First of all, that notion is one I think that is prompted more by journalists than diplomats.

COCHRANE: Which journalists?

ALLEGRA: The notion of a kind of diplomatic game on this one issue. But for our perspective it is not a game, it is not a competition. Our relationship with Cambodia is certainly based upon what we believe are to be mutual interest for both the United States and Cambodia. We are confident that our work and our diplomacy and our assistance reflects Cambodia's own desires and pronouncements for its futures and specifically relates to the prime minister's rectangular strategy for the future of Cambodia. We look to assist the government in its efforts to do just that and we think we have a broad range of things designed just for that purpose.

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Labels: US diplomacy | US military aid to Cambodia | US-Cambodia relationship

US, Cambodia celebrate 60 years of diplomatic ties

The US and Cambodia are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic ties this year. [Reuters]

Friday, May 14, 2010
Liam Cochrane, Phnom Penh
ABC Radio Australia

A senior United States diplomat in Cambodia says relations between the two countries have deepened in the past few years, with military aid resuming, humanitarian aid flowing, and oil and mineral investments looming.

The US and Cambodia are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic ties this year - a relationship which suffered through the secret bombings of the 1960s and 70s and the brutal years of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Ted Allegra, Charge d'Affaires US Embassy in Phnom Penh, has told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program the relationship between the two countries has matured since relations were restored in 1991.

"Sixty years in any relationship is a long time and it's no different for the US-Cambodia relations and on the occasion of the 60th anniversary this year, I mean it's an appropriate time we believe to not only look back and to see where we began and how it developed through good and through difficult parts and just as importantly, to look to the future and see where the relationship can proceed," he said.

However, relations between the two countries were challenged recently, with the US voicing its displeasure over a decision by Cambodia to deport a group of Uighurs to China.

Last December, Cambodia deported the 20 Uighurs even though they were seeking UN refugee status and said they would face torture if returned.

The United States, which had warned against the deportation, said it was calling off a shipment of 200 trucks and trailers - but within days of the expulsions, China had awarded Cambodia more than $US1 billion in economic aid.

Both countries denied any link to the Uighur expulsions..

Mr Allegra says Washington made its disappointment known over the deportations, but dismisses concerns the incident, and the subsequent reaction from Cambodia and China is part of a diplomatic game in the region.

"For our perspective it is not a game, it is not a competition," he said.

"Our relationship with Cambodia is certainly based upon what we believe are to be mutual interest for both the United States and Cambodia. We are confident that our work and our diplomacy and our assistance reflects Cambodia's own desires and pronouncements for its futures and specifically relates to the prime minister's rectangular strategy for the future of Cambodia."

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Labels: US diplomacy | US-Cambodia relationship

It's neither Ta Kwai nor Ta Wai, but Cambodia's Ta Krabey Temple!

The temple has long been known to locals as Ta Wai Krabey. NOPPARAT KINGKAEW

Well, that's just the Wai it is

14/05/2010
Nopparat Kingkaew
Bangkok Post

SURIN : A Hindu temple located in the disputed area along the Cambodian border near Surin, commonly referred to as Ta Kwai, should be called the Ta Wai temple, a local scholar says.

Boonrueang Khachama, an expert on Cambodian history at Surin Rajabhat University, said Ta Wai temple was named after the man who first discovered the sanctuary.

Mr Boonrueang said the temple has long been known to locals as Ta Wai, and a misunderstanding may have led to it being called Ta Kwai (water buffalo eyes).

During Wednesday's Lower House meeting, Maliwan Thanyasakulkit, the Puea Pandin Party MP for Surin, called on members of the media to refer to the temple correctly as Ta Wai out of respect for the man who discovered it.

She said she had discussed the matter with the Fine Arts Department after receiving complaints from locals about people referring to the temple by the wrong name.

Mrs Maliwan said the Cambodian media have begun referring to the temple as Ta Krabey in Khmer, the equivalent of the incorrect Thai name Ta Kwai.

Krabey translates as krabue or kwai in Thai, which means water buffalo in English, said Mr Boonrueng.

He said most names of ancient temples in Thailand and Cambodia were not the same as those given when they were built.

The temples were usually renamed after the people who discovered them, the name of the nearest village or a geographical landmark, he said.

The Ta Muean, Ta Muean Thom and Ta Muean Tod temples on the Dangrek mountain range, for example, were discovered by a man named Ta Miang. The temple names are believed to be distortions of Ta Miang.

The Ban Plaung temple, he said, was an example of a temple named after its surroundings. Plaung is the Khmer word for water chestnut and the temple is situated in an area full of water chestnut plants.

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Labels: Border dispute with Thailand | Ta Krabey temple

Sorlee, no Viet juice for Nam Vang: Xmer Authority

Electricity: Vietnam lacks juice

13 May 2010
By AC
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Mo Ly Yeah!
Click here to read the article in the language of Molière

The blackouts in Phnom Penh are due to deficit in electricity production in Vietnam.

The Cambodian authority explained that the rolling blackout which is currently taking place in Phnom Penh is due to the shortage of electricity production in Vietnam, as well as network maintenance operations which are also taking place in Vietnam.

The contract signed by Electricité du Cambodge (EdC) planned for 220 MW of electricity to be provided to Cambodia [by Vietnam]. However, Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) is only able to provide 100 MW because Vietnam has difficulties producing energy.

On the other hand, EdC could not compensate for the shortage of electricity because its hydroelectric production site in Kampong Speu is not functional due to lack of water. Besides private homeowners, garment factories are complaining about the drop in productivity.

In Phnom Penh, EdC counts 230,000 customers.

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Labels: Electricity shortage | Electricity shortage in Vietnam

Take your Cambodian dream girl back home with you! [-Commercialization of Cambodian women?]


Thursday 13 May 2010
By Frederic Amat
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Mo Ly Yeah!
Click here to read the article in the language of Molière

“The jerks dare to do anything, that’s what they are known for,” said the father in the French movie “Tontons flingueurs” (Crooks in Clover). However, in this case, one really needs to be very daring.

Following the false article published by a local news media [Koh Santepheap] offering a young woman for marriage for the modest sum of $1 million, now, it is about a real advertisement openly comparing Cambodian women to exotic souvenirs that the [foreign or expat?] men can now “take back home.” Thus, in addition to the local consumption [of these women] during the few short weeks of vacation under banana trees [because it’s a banana kingdom?], you can now discover new methods to bring these Cambodian women of your dream back home in your luggage [none the least?] !

When heard about this news in a bar somewhere late at night, such comparison would have shocked even the most machos of the misogynists. But, in this case, the news is spread on a half-page ad in a free English-language tourist guide which is distributed in Phnom Penh. The guide is also used a bible source by a handful of compulsive partygoers. “The” late night guide is aimed at men who prefer to spend their night of solitude in parlors known for sharpening their male libido [sex parlor or brothel in plain English]. The latest edition of this guide includes a hallucinating claim placed among traditional ads which usually give out details on the charms of identical bars whereby sardines are disguised as mermaids. However, this peculiar ad boasts the merits of a company which specializes in obtaining for Cambodian women (and women only please!) real visas allowing them to travel overseas. While very explicit, the ad is not placed there by chance because, after all, this guide is aimed towards single men who, preferably, like the ease of their encounters….

Four pictures are shown: the first one features a young woman who is all smile, she is happy because she just obtained her prize, a visa allowing her to leave for Europe. She is showing her passport with great pride, just like Marcel Pagnol’s father showing off his rock partridge birds [allusion to a French novel by Marcel Pagnol]. The second picture shows a handsome blond man next to a local damsel, both of them busy filling out forms. The other two photos show visas affixed on other passports, both belonging to pretty local ladies.

The large and bold letters in the ad read: “Get Visa…! Take her back home with you.”

One can almost imagine the more explicit question that would go like this: “Did you sample her? Does she fit your taste? Don’t leave her behind on the sidewalk. Take her home with you!” The ad does not mention if one can take back to one’s own “home sweet home” several of these delicacies. Since one took such a long journey, might as well take advantage of it… [sic!]

This type of society, where [paid] local services are provided for administrative steps needed for foreign consular offices, can be found in several countries in the region, starting with Thailand. However, there, the ad is addressed to everybody, men and women without distinction. Furthermore, the Thai ads would never refer to human beings as products that one can take back home.

In some countries, such as the US and those belonging to the Schengen Agreement [Europe], suspicions are raised when a visa application is filed for young women, especially when they declare that they are traveling on a tourist visa with a foreign man who is three times older than them. How then can a damsels? But, it is also true that the ad only claims that it “can help” to obtain the visa.

Short of being able to obtain a visa for the women of their dream, the [male] sex tourists can always take back home a full human size wooden Apsara statue that can be bought at the Russian market. For sure these statues are very cumbersome, but at least they do not talk back and they do not require any maintenance either. When you settle these Apsara statues on the mantle of your chimney at home, you can at least wait patiently until your next vacation in Cambodia, which hopefully by then, you would be able to successfully bring back a real one “home,” just like what the ad claims! The ad should have added also: “Hurry up! This is a limited time offer, not everyone will get one!”, shouldn’t it?

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Labels: Sex tourism | Weird News

Continued Dredging Threatens Coast: Watchdog

A Cambodian private ship dredges sand in the middle of Mekong river near Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Photo: AP)

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, D.C Thursday, 13 May 2010

“There is no evidence that basic environmental safeguards have been applied, with boats reportedly turning up and dredging sand, often in protected areas, with no local consultation.”

The watchdog Global Witness is warning in a new report that Cambodia continues to export millions of tons of dredged sand despite a government ban and the potential environmental risks.

The report, “Shifting Sand,” says Singapore’s demand for Cambodian sand is undermining environmental and governance efforts in the country and threatening the coastal environment, endangered species, fish stocks and local livelihoods.

Global Witness fingers two ruling Cambodian People’s Party senators, Mong Reththy and Ly Yong Phat, as having received sand extraction licenses “behind closed doors” and “gaining control of an industry worth millions of dollars.”

“Once again, we have not seen any revenue reaching the government’s account,” George Boden, a researcher for Global Witness, told VOA Khmer.

Global Witness has rankled the government on several occasions, reporting on a “kleptocratic elite” who are close to the prime minister and control lucrative trades in timber and other natural resources.

Ly Yong Phat could not be reached for comment.

Mong Reththy told VOA Khmer he had government permission to build a seaport in Koh Kong province, which required dredging. But he said he was not selling the dredged sand.

The report comes a year after a sand-dredging ban by Prime Minister Hun Sen, which Global Witness called a “mockery.”

“There is no evidence that basic environmental safeguards have been applied, with boats reportedly turning up and dredging sand, often in protected areas, with no local consultation,” the group said in a statement.

Boden said donors, who provide as much as half the government’s national budget, have failed to hold the elite to account for the loss of natural resource wealth that could lift the populace from poverty.

“Global Witness is calling on Cambodia’s donors to use a forthcoming meeting to lean on the Cambodian government more to ensure the money from the sale of natural resources reach government accounts and benefit ordinary Cambodian people,” he said.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan called the report an “attack” and said the policy of the government is that “any income must go to the national budget for development.”

He declined to comment on other aspects of the report.

Global Witness reported that at least 790,000 tons of sand from the coast are monthly shipped out, at a price of about $26 per ton, and that Singapore, the world’s largest importer of sand in 2008, has expanded its landmass with fill by 22 percent since the 1960s.

Global Witness said Singaporean demand for sand had created problems for the coastlines of Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, prior to Cambodia.

In a statement Monday, the Singapore National Development Ministry said, “We do not condone the illegal export or smuggling of sand or any extraction of sand that is in breach of the source countries’ laws and rules on environment protection.”

The statement said Singapore has not received official notice from Cambodia on a ban on sand exports.

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Labels: Ban of sand export | Global Witness | NEgative impact of sand dredging

Many Succumb to Diarrhea in Prolonged Heat

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Thursday, 13 May 2010

Health officials are now meeting with villagers to explain to them proper hygiene and food preparation.

Serious diarrhea pushed by a prolonged hot season has killed at least 35 villagers since March, including two who died in Kampong Cham province on Wednesday, officials said.

The most serious cases occurred in Ratanakkiri province, where 15 people died in just over two weeks in April. And since March, seven total have died in Kampong Cham province, five in Kratie, four in Battambang, and two each in Prey Veng and Kampong Chhnang, according to provincial health officials.

The officials say the villagers drank water or ate food infected with microbes exacerbated by high temperatures. Cambodia is undergoing a prolonged hot season, which began in late March and has continued into May, when little rain has fallen.

Typically, Cambodians expect rainfall sometime shortly after Khmer New Year, in mid-April.

Minister of Health Mam Bunheng is now urging provincial offices to monitor the development of diarrhea outbreaks, following Wednesday’s deaths in Kampong Cham.

In that case, two people died in a rural village called Trapeang Chua in Chamkar Leur district, near the border of central Kampong Thom province. In that village, 185 villagers alone have severe diarrhea, according to Yim Navy, deputy chief of the district health center.

Sok Touch, chief of the Ministry of Health’s infectious disease department, said he and other health officials took a delivery of serum and medicine to the area Thursday morning.

Health officials are now meeting with villagers to explain to them proper hygiene and food preparation. Health officials say people should urinate and defecate in proper toilets, keep their houses clean and be careful with cooking and cleaning water.

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Labels: Diarrhea outbreak | Increased heat | Kampong Cham | Poor rural hygiene

Tribunal Narrows Victim Participation

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Thursday, 13 May 2010

“These applicants claimed to be victims belonging to Khmer Krom or Vietnamese and claim to be victims of crimes committed in other sites than those currently being investigated by the judges. And they are not admissible in that respect.”

Khmer Rouge tribunal judges on Wednesday issued a broad decision on the role victim parties will play in upcoming trials for aging senior leaders of the regime, while at the same time making genocide charges unlikely for crimes against a group of Khmer Kampuchea Krom.

The tribunal allows “civil parties,” or victims of the regime, a measure of participation in trials.

But the Pre-Trial Chamber judges said Tuesday only civil parties who can demonstrate they were affected by crimes being reviewed in the scope of an upcoming case—and not under the Khmer Rouge in general—will be able to participate.

The tribunal is currently preparing an atrocity crimes trial for at least four jailed leaders: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith.

Known as Case No. 002, the trial will be the most complicated for the court yet, following the trial of Kaing Kek Iev, the torture chief better known as Duch, last year.

Tuesday’s decision was the result of a review by the Pre-Trial Chamber of appeals filed by 33 civil party applicants of the Vietnamese and Kampuchea Krom ethnic groups.

The judges upheld a previous court decision not to pursue genocide charges for crimes committed against the group, claiming the crimes alleged against them were not within the scope of Case No. 002.

The groups had alleged mass killings of Khmer Krom in the provinces of Pursat and Takeo and genocide against Vietnamese in Kampong Chhnang province.

“These applicants claimed to be victims belonging to Khmer Krom or Vietnamese and claim to be victims of crimes committed in other sites than those currently being investigated by the judges,” tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen said. “And they are not admissible in that respect.”

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Labels: Khmer Krom | KR crimes accountability | KR trials | KR Tribunal

Record production for 2010 rice crop?

May 13, 2010
By Elton Robinson
Farm Press Editorial Staff

Large crops are projected for most of Asia including record or near-record crops in Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

U.S. rice producers are expected to produce a record crop of 244 million hundredweight in 2010, based on the largest estimated acreage since 1999 and a projected near-record average rice yield of 7,202 pounds per acre, according to USDA’s May 11 Crop Production Report and World Supply and Demand Estimate.

If USDA projections hold true, the crop would be 11 percent larger than the 2009-10 crop and 5 percent above the previous record in 2004-05.

While world demand for rice remains very strong, production in other exporting countries is expected to be large as well, meaning export competition will be greater, USDA says.

U.S. 2010-11 rice use is projected at a record 245 million hundredweight, 2 percent above the year earlier. U.S. domestic and residual use is projected at a record 138 million hundredweight, 2 percent above 2009-10. Exports are projected at 107 million hundredweight. U.S. ending stocks in 2010-11 are projected at 51.4 million hundredweight, 69 percent above the previous year, and the largest stocks since 1985-86.

In March, USDA pegged rice planted area at 3.41 million acres, up 9 percent from 2009. Harvested area is estimated at 3.39 million acres. Imports for 2009-10 are projected at 22 million hundredweight, up 5 percent from the previous year.

The 2010-11 long-grain season-average farm price is projected at $10 to $11 per hundredweight compared to a revised $12.90 to $13.10 for the previous year. The combined medium- and short-grain price is projected at $14.50 to $15.50 per hundredweight, compared to $17.65 to $17.85 for the year earlier. The 2010-11 all rice price is projected at $11.15 to $12.15 per hundredweight, compared to $14.05 to $14.25 per hundredweight for 2009-10.

According to USDA, large domestic and global supplies and lower Asian prices will pressure U.S. prices this year. Global 2010-11 rice production is projected at a record 459.7 million tons, up 17.6 million or 4 percent from 2009-10. Large crops are projected for most of Asia including record or near-record crops in Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

In bullish news, world consumption and residual is projected at a record 453.4 million tons, up 10.9 million or 2 percent.

Global rice exports in 2010-11 are projected at 31.4 million tons, up 1.75 million tons or 6 percent from the previous year, and the largest since 2007-08. Exports are expected to increase from the previous year in the United States, Argentina, China, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Uruguay, and Vietnam. Global ending stocks are expected to increase 6.3 million tons or 7 percent to 96.6 million tons – the largest stocks since 2002-03. The stocks-to-use ratio for 2010-11 at 21.3 percent, is up from last year's 20.4 percent, and the highest since 2003-04.

USDA also reported that the source of the average milling yield used in the conversion of milled to rough rice in USDA reports has changed for the 2000-01 through 2010-11 marketing years. The average milling yield used, expressed as a percent, from the Farm Service Agency, is calculated from warehouse stored loan data for the different rice classes.

Previously, data supplied from the USA Rice Federation were used to calculate the average milling yield, data which are no longer available. The 2010-11 average milling yield at 68.86 percent is based on the average of the previous 5 years.

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Labels: Rice crop

Jackie Chan plans to shoot movie in Cambodia in 2012

Jackie Chan (Getty)

Jackie Chan plans turbo-charged slate

Eight films and two TV dramas in the works

May 13, 2010
By Gregg Kilday and David Morgan
Hollywood Reporters

CANNES -- With projects ranging from a martial arts film that reflects the spirit of his 1978 hit "Drunken Master" to movies designed to showcase rising talent like actress Lin Peng, Jackie Chan is embarking on an ambitious slate of films and TV shows that will play out over the next few years.

Chan will not be visiting the Croisette this year: He's assisting earthquake relief efforts in China and next month will be busy with promotional chores for "The Karate Kid," which Sony Pictures launches in the U.S. on June 11.

But his reps are busy here showing distributors the lineup of projects to be produced by Chan's JC Group China and his Jackie & JJ Prods.

The slate encompasses eight features and two TV dramas. Chan himself will star in four of the films and produce another four projects built around new filmmakers and stars.

First up for Chan himself is the martial arts film "Drunken Master 1945." Though neither a remake nor sequel to Chan's 1978 hit "Drunken Master," the new film is intended to capture the martial arts spirit that the earlier film also celebrated.

Mak Sui Fai, the co-writer and co-director of 2002's "Infernal Affairs," will helm the project, budgeted at $15 million, which is aiming to start shooting in February.

At the same time, Chan will be shepherding several other projects as producer.

Beginning in August, Steve Woo will direct "The Break-Up Artist," a Chinese Mandarin-language romantic comedy about a young woman who runs an agency that helps couples break up. The $2 million project will star Lin, who walked the red carpet on opening night, and who plays the female lead in Chan's latest film "Little Big Soldier." The Chinese actress was first introduced to a worldwide audience when Zhang Yimou invited her to participate in the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Woo also directed the similarly titled 2009 English-language film, "The Break-Up Artist," starring Amanda Crew. But he doesn't consider the new version a remake, since he's adding new elements and lining up famous guest appearances for the film.

The other projects in which Chan plans to star are:

-- "Cambodia Landmine," an action/comedy/drama, to be directed by "Little Big Soldier's" Ding Sheng. The $25 million production is scheduled to shoot in Cambodia in February 2012.

-- "Tiger Mountain," a Mandarin-language action drama, to be directed by Tsui Siu Ming. Budgeted at $50 million and set to begin production in October 2012, the film will boast 3D special effects.

-- "Manhattan," a $55 million action suspenser in both Mandarin and English, which Chan will both star in and direct is slated for January 2013. It is filming in both China and the U.S.

"Jackie also wants to promote new directors," said Ramy Choi, director of acquisitions and distribution for Jackie Chan Theater International.

In addition to "Break-Up," Chan will produce a second film from Woo, the romance "Letter With No Return," set for an October shoot on a $2 million budget, and the suspense pic, "Magic Master," starring Ge You, for which a director is still being sought in anticipation of a February start.

Additionally, Chan's exhibition chain is expanding its footprint in China. Jackie Chan Theater already has opened 17 theaters and is looking to roll out as many as 65.

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Labels: Jackie Chan to visit Cambodia

In pursuit of the American Dream: Refugees risk life and family escaping from war-torn countries in order to carve out new lives in the United States

Sam Ung and wife, Kim, in Khao-I-Dang refugee camp in Thailand. Ung is now a successful restaurant owner in the International District. (Photo provided by Sam Ung)

13 May 2010
By Tiffany Ran
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Vol 29 No 20 | May 15 - May 21

After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Choy Vong had many things working against him. His father was the staff sergeant in the fifth infantry of the defeated South Vietnamese army. His brother worked for an American subcontractor company, and Vong’s own proficiency in the English language could get him pegged as a spy.

Their affiliations labeled them as traitors to a homeland that seemed to have turned against them.

When the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, Sam Ung’s family and all citizens residing in big cities were in­structed to leave. Civilians were shoved out of major cities. Houses and major businesses like Ung’s father’s restau­rant were abandoned. Confused civilians moved numbly through the streets herded by the threat of pointed rifles. They were not allowed to look back or they would be shot.

For Rebella, another day in school was interrupted by the news that the Burmese army was approaching.

Bur­mese soldiers used civilians as forced laborers. The labor­ers, called porters, were made to carry artillery and sup­plies to the front lines. Laborers were also used as shields and human minesweepers. Within a matter of minutes, the classroom was cleared out, and young people scat­tered toward the fields. Rebella hid in the fields for two to three days at a time, waiting for the soldiers to leave.

Finding an escape

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, approximately 3,157 refugees and asylees settled in Washington state in 2009. Rebella and her family were among the 60,193 refugees that were re­settled in America in 2008, a staggering jump from the numbers of previous years.

Rebella escaped to a refugee camp in Thailand with the help of villagers who knew the back roads in the jungle. She and her family stayed at the camp for 11 years. They were brought to Washington with the help of the United Nations Human Commissioner for Refu­gees (UNHCR).

Vong arrived at the Pulau Bidong refugee camp by boat. The camp was located on an uninhabited island near Malaysia. At the camp, Vong lived in a small shack with his siblings. More refugees showed up each day.

While at the camp, Vong acted as an interpreter for United Nation delegates. He was interviewed by a CBS reporter who gifted him with an English textbook. Once in America, Vong and his siblings were sponsored by Grace Lutheran Church in Port Townsend, Wash. Vong dove into his classes and worked a part-time job.

“[My father] believed in education. He frequently said, ‘Fear not for a job you cannot have. Fear for your lack of ability to do the job.’ Now, our family is strong with a good education and good jobs. We are very grate­ful to America,” said Vong, who eventually became a public school teacher, in honor of his father’s values.

After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, Ung and his fam­ily walked barefoot for two months to reach the Thai border. They were sent back to Cambodia the first time. The second time, they were shot at as they tried to cross the border, but they crossed successfully.

Ung stayed with his family in a camp in Thailand before settling in Seattle with his wife and daughter. He got a job as a busboy and later as a cook at a diner.

Life and death

International law defines refugees as those who have fled their country of nationality or residence due to a well-founded fear of persecution because of race, religion, na­tionality, membership in a particular social group, or po­litical opinion. They are also unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that nation.

“Our goals with the American Dream have a lot to do with being a refugee to the United States,” said Connie So, senior lecturer for Asian American and Pacific Islander American Studies at the University of Washington. “These people are trying to find sanctu­ary from the more oppressive conditions they’ve lived through elsewhere.”

“It was a very bad time because there was always fear for our safety, fear of being taken away at night. We were harassed and threatened to be sent to re-ed­ucation,” said Vong. “I did not know what to do. The new regime was pushing various families to become farmers in the jungles. My body was skinny and would not survive as a farmer.”

During his time at the commune, Ung and other ci­vilians were forced to do backbreaking labor. Ung had to walk 60 kilometers each day to his work site. He was separated from his family members.

“They had a rule: Never say no. [If] you don’t obey their order, that’s it, done deal. Never say no. [If] you say some­thing against them, they just take you out and kill you.”

“[In] 1975. I was 20 [years old] when that happened,” Ung continued. “It was really hard. We just don’t get used to life like that, you know. We were starving. When they give you food and allow you to eat, then you can eat. Otherwise, you get nothing.”

“When I was a porter, I was assigned to carry the motar shells,” said Rebella. “They were so heavy, but I didn’t dare complain. If you complain, they will yell at you. There was one person killed in front of me. He was a much older man, and he couldn’t carry as much as the younger people. He couldn’t do it anymore and eventually, they killed him. My friends also told me they witnessed other people getting killed because they couldn’t perform the work anymore.”

“I heard a lot of stories about girls,” Rebella continued, “es­pecially the pretty ones, getting raped. Because of that, I didn’t dare to sleep at night. Every time we came back from a forced la­bor trip, we were so skinny — malnourished, tired, and broken.”

A new life

“There are a lot of struggles,” said So regarding the pro­cess of resettlement. “There is a complete loss of status. There is depression. It’s just very difficult for many people to start all over.”

“You don’t know the language, you don’t know the people, and you don’t know the place,” said Ung. “At night, I would hear the sound of a fire engine and I would get scared. … [During] the first 15 years [after] I came to the States, every week, I had crazy dreams where I’m caught in a battle field. I remember a couple times where I was shaking. I wondered where I was, and I looked around to see my wife and kids. I realized I’m not there, I’m here.”

“When the dogs barked, we knew the soldiers were there, so we were gone. Sometimes when there are dogs barking here, I jump. When there are parties next door and I hear people yelling, I get tense because the army used to yell at us all the time,” said Rebella.

“Everyone should care about this because the ideal of what America means for refugees is that this is a place for freedom and a new start. So when we think about American ideals and the American Dream, everyone, whether we come from poor roots or not, embraces that as part of our American identity,” said So. “The whole American Dream goes back to western Europeans, and that has always been about refugees looking for refuge, a haven. The refugee story is the American story.”

Rebella still struggles with learning English. She stays at home with her children while her husband works. Both of her children were born in the refugee camp. Someday, she hopes to learn how to drive, an activity she associates with living the American Dream.

After working as a busboy and cooking in a diner for many years, Ung achieved his dream of starting his own restaurant, the Phnom Penh Noodle House in Seattle’s International Dis­trict. Ung’s father was among the few Cambodian-Chinese that were most known to help native Cambodians. Ung con­tinues his father’s legacy, running his restaurant as his father would have — participating in fundraisers, giving people breaks on food, and donating when he can.

“My father taught me to be kind to others and help the community around me because when you invest in someone else, you invest in yourself,” said Ung. “My parents had a [restaurant] space at the public market.

They let native Cam­bodians sell goods to those that came to the restaurant. Some of the people that my parents helped in turn helped us during the Khmer Rouge time.”

Rebella’s, Vong’s, and Ung’s and other refugees’ experi­ences will be featured in the upcoming Wing Luke Museum exhibit “A Refugee’s Journey of Survival and Hope.” The exhibit will feature photographs, multimedia, and personal stories from the past. However, their journey of survival and hope continues today.

“My journey as a refugee from Vietnam has a beginning, but it has not had an end yet,” said Vong in an oral interview with the Wing Luke Museum. “I have been in the United States for 30 years. There are always changes in life, but the refugees’ experi­ence as boat people will forever be etched in my memory.” ♦

Editor’s note: Rebella is a full name. Karens and many Burmese do not have last names. When Rebella applied to live in the Unit­ed States, her name was split up into Re (first name) and Bella (last name). She asked to be referred to as Rebella in this story.

“A Refugee’s Journey of Survival and Hope” runs May 14 to Dec. 12 at the Wing Luke Museum at 719 South King Street, Seattle. For more information, visit www.wingluke.org.

Tiffany Ran can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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Labels: Cambodian refugees to the US | Life in the US

Red Shirt leader after shooting

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Labels: Red Shirts demo | Seh Daeng | Thailand political unrest

Thailand puts 17 provinces under emergency decree

Friday, May 14, 2010
AP

BANGKOK — The Thai government has extended a state of emergency to cover 17 provinces to prevent rural protesters from joining a massive anti-government rally in the capital.

Thursday's measure added 15 new provinces to an emergency decree that had already applied to Bangkok and another nearby province.

The decree gives the army broad powers to deal with protesters and places restrictions on civil liberties.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn says the expanded emergency decree is intended to prevent "masses of people trying to come to Bangkok."

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BANGKOK (AP) — A renegade army general accused of leading a paramilitary force among Thailand's Red Shirt protesters was shot in the head Thursday as he spoke with foreign reporters on a street near a downtown Bangkok subway station.

A second person was shot in the head by soldiers in ensuing clashes that continued in the night, an Associated Press cameraman saw. At least three other people were injured.

Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdiphol was shot following a government warning it would shoot "terrorists" in its latest effort to end the two-month-long siege by thousands of Red Shirts. He is currently in hospital intensive care. The protesters, mostly rural poor, are occupying a 1-square-mile (3-square-kilometer) area in a posh neighborhood to pressure the prime minister to resign and call elections.

Dressed in military-style fatigues, Khattiya was being interviewed outside the Silom subway station at the edge of the protest zone when a bullet struck him in the head. The area is surrounded by tall office buildings, leading to suspicions the shot was fired by a sniper.

Khattiya, known by his nickname Seh Daeng, slumped to the ground and one person cradled his head for a while. Moments later, other people dragged him by the legs, his head sliding on the ground, leaving a trail of blood.

In an interview with the AP about 90 minutes before he was shot, Khattiya, 59, said he anticipated a military crackdown soon.

"It's either dusk or dawn when the troops will go in," he said. He was shot soon after night fell.

An aide who answered Khattiya's mobile phone described the injury as "severe." The AP called Khattiya's phone after several gunshots and explosions were heard late Thursday from the vicinity of the Red Shirt's redoubt in the upscale Rajprasong district.

The government's medical emergency center confirmed that Khattiya was shot in the head and admitted to the intensive care unit at a hospital. It said three people were injured, saying they couldn't confirm Thai media reports of more than 20 injuries.

It was not possible to verify the aide's claim that Khattiya was shot by a sniper. Calls to police and army spokesmen seeking comment were not answered.

Later in the evening, small clashes broke out between protesters and soldiers. At one point, hundreds of protesters threw rocks and firecrackers at the group of soldiers, and the soldiers responded with gunfire, AP cameraman Raul Gallego said.

He said one man was shot in the head. Soldiers opened fire again after an ambulance took away the man. His condition was not immediately clear.

The Red Shirts are demanding an immediate dissolution of Parliament. They believe Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's coalition government came to power illegitimately through manipulation of the courts and the backing of the powerful military.

Tens of thousands of them streamed into the capital on March 12 and occupied an area in the historic district of Bangkok. An army attempt to clear them on April 10 led to clashes that killed 25 people and wounded more than 800. Another four people were killed in related clashes in the following weeks.

Thursday's shooting will only deepen fears of more bloodshed.

Khattiya is a renegade army major general whom the government has labeled a "terrorist" and a mastermind behind some of the violence.

He bitterly opposed reconciling with the government and had recently become critical of Red Shirt leaders, some of whom had wanted to accept a government proposal to end Thailand's political crisis.

The firing came after the government said it will impose a military lockdown on the Rajprasong area to evict the protesters.

Khattiya, who helped construct the Red Shirt barricades of sharpened bamboo stakes and tires around the protest area, was accused of creating a paramilitary force among the anti-government protesters and had vowed to battle against the army if it should launch a crackdown.

In the AP interview, he accused Red Shirt leaders of taking government bribes to accept Abhisit's reconciliation plan to hold elections on Nov. 14. However, the plan was abandoned after the Red Shirts made new demands and refused to leave.

"The prime minister and the Red Shirts were on the verge of striking a deal but then I came in. Suddenly, I became an important person," he said.

"This time, the people's army will fight the army. There is no need to teach the people how to fight. There are no forms or plan of attack. You let them fight with their own strategies," he said.

Khattiya was suspended from the army in January and became a fugitive from justice last month when an arrest warrant was issued against him and two dozen others linked to the Red Shirts for their purported roles in the violence. Yet he has wandered freely through the protest zone, signing autographs just yards (meters) from security forces keeping watch over the protesters.

Earlier Thursday, an army spokesman, Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd, said security forces were preparing to impose a lockdown on the protest area where the Red Shirts have barricaded themselves in a posh area of shopping malls, hotels and upscale apartments.

Sansern said armored personnel carriers and snipers will surround the area. Power, public transport and mobile phone service in the area was also suspended.

Sansern said troops will use rubber bullets first but will not hesitate to use live ammunition in self-defense if attacked.

"In addition, another unit of ... sharpshooters will be on the lookout and will shoot terrorists who carry weapons," he said.

The Red Shirts see Abhisit's government as serving an elite insensitive to the plight of most Thais. The protesters include many supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a populist leader accused of corruption and abuse of power and ousted in a 2006 military coup.

Thaksin, a former telecommunications billionaire who fled overseas to avoid a corruption conviction, is widely believed to be helping to bankroll the protests. He claims to be a victim of political persecution.

Associated Press writers Jocelyn Gecker, Vijay Joshi and Grant Peck contributed to this report, with additional research by Warangkana Tempati.

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Labels: Red Shirts demo | State of emergency declaration | Thailand political unrest

US closes embassy in Thailand, 'very concerned' about violence

Friday, May 14, 2010
AFP

WASHINGTON — The United States Thursday closed its embassy in Bangkok and said it was "very concerned" about the violence between the Thai government and protesters there.

"We're very concerned, we're watching it (the violence) very closely," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters, adding the US embassy was closed to the public because it is near the trouble.

"It is closed and American citizens services will be available for emergencies only... Essential personnel right now are manning the embassy, but it's not open," Crowley said.

"We continue to encourage both sides that violence is not the route to resolve these issues. Ultimately, the government and the demonstrators have to get back together again and reach agreement on the path forward," he said.

"The government has to continue to have a dialogue with the demonstrators and they need to reach an agreement on a path forward," Crowley said.

"There are fundamental fissures within Thai society and the only way to resolve this and to develop a civil and inclusive society is through peaceful negotiation," he said when asked if there is a threat to democracy.

Thai "Red Shirt" protesters clashed with troops in the heart of the capital Thursday, leaving one dead and eight wounded.

The clashes came after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva shelved a plan for November elections and hopes faded for a resolution to a crippling two-month crisis that has sparked periodic violence, leaving 30 people dead and about 1,000 injured.

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Labels: Red Shirts demo | Thailand political unrest

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