Marcel LemondeMichael Karnavas, attorney for ex-Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary, said the motion was based on allegations that Marcel Lemonde told subordinates to favour evidence showing suspects' guilt over evidence of their innocence.
The tribunal was set up to bring to justice the leaders of the genocidal late 1970s Khmer Rouge regime.
Karnavas said Lemonde was "giving instructions to his investigators to game the process. In other words, to look primarily for evidence that supports the prosecution".
The lawyer said he submitted his complaint based on a statement made by the former head of Lemonde's intelligence and analysis team, Wayne Bastin, at an Australian police station on Thursday.
A copy of the statement obtained by AFP said Lemonde shocked subordinates in a meeting at his Phnom Penh home in August when he told them, "I would prefer that we find more inculpatory evidence than exculpatory evidence".
Under the Khmer Rouge court's regulations, investigating judges are required to be impartial while researching allegations made by prosecutors. Defence teams are not permitted to make their own investigations.
"How is it that (Lemonde) can remain in the position in light of what we know now?" Karnavas said, adding that such behaviour was "outrageous".
Speaking on Lemonde's behalf, tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen said he had no comment on the issue.
Lemonde is currently investigating the court's second case, against Ieng Sary and his wife, former minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith, as well as Khmer Rouge ideologue Nuon Chea and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan.
Heather Ryan, who monitors the court for the Open Society Justice Initiative, told AFP that the defence would probably need to demonstrate systemic bias for Lemonde to lose his job.
"An off the cuff remark made in private -- like what was quoted -- may not be significant," Ryan said.
Under the court's internal rules, Lemonde's previous work on investigations remains valid even if he is disqualified from the tribunal.
Lemonde also met controversy earlier this week when it was revealed he summoned six top government and legislative officials to testify against Khmer Rouge leaders, a move opposed by Prime Minister Hun Sen's administration.
Final arguments in the court's first trial of prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, known by the alias Duch, are scheduled for late next month.
But the tribunal, created in 2006 after several years of haggling between Cambodia and the UN, has faced accusations of political interference and allegations that local staff were forced to pay kickbacks for their jobs.
Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia's cities in a bid to forge a communist utopia between 1975-79, resulting in the deaths of up to two million people from starvation, overwork and torture.
During a speech given yesterday for the 30th anniversary of the National Bank of Cambodia, Hun Sen once again raised the issue of opposition leader Sam Rainsy calling the US to fire a missile on his house in 1998. “In 1998, H.E. Sam Rainsy called on the US to fire a missile to Tuol Krasaing, Takhmao city,” Hun Sen was quoted by The Cambodia Daily as saying. He also added: “Don’t be mistaken, the US missile fired into Cambodia, it will not be just Hun Sen who will die, and he called on the US to invade Cambodia… it is not a small thing for a Cambodian to call a foreigner to fire on our country and it is not a normal thing… It means that he called a foreigner to invade our country in order to shoot Hun Sen to death.” In his speech, Hun Sen also warned a man, whom he declined to name, who urged police and soldiers to “turn their weapons on the government.”
The Cambodia Daily also received an email clarification from opposition leader Sam Rainsy who indicated that Hun Xen was taking out of context the remarks he made in 1998, following the grenade attack on Sam Rainsy and peaceful protesters in front of the National Assembly. “At a public meeting a few days after the Aug 20, 1998, incident at the Interior Ministry, I said that terrorists in any country should not feel safe and happy because there will be no impunity for them. I was referring to the US reprisals against terrorist groups in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks [on US embassies] in East Africa… Therefore, what I said… was a warning to Cambodian leaders, especially Hun Sen, that they should stop supporting state terrorism,” The Cambodia Daily quoted Sam Rainsy’s email.
In regards to the unnamed man mentioned by Hun Sen, The Cambodia Daily reported that in 1998, Sam Rainsy called on government troops “to rise up together and turn your gun point to get Hun Sen to step down from his position.”
Hun Sen’s mention of the issues above comes at a time when opposition MPs are criticizing the draft criminal law during debates on the National Assembly floor. In his speech, Hun Sen stressed that the behavior he mentioned above should be changed, if there is anything, a talk should be initiated and the court system should be used. However, he said that when he uses the court, he is accused of dismissing rights. Hun Sen said that he did not use bullets or handcuffs, he only used the court system to sentence them (his opponents), while the latter called on others to fire on Cambodia and that these people have not been dealt with yet.
A sex worker in Phnom Penh. Credit: UNAIDS/S. NooraniAnd yet, how I ended up doing a bit of business with a Cambodian prostitute.
It was not my intention to pay for the services of a prostitute in Cambodia. But it was the least I could do. My dalliance with that young woman at dawn was spontaneous, infinitely relieving and wholly chaste. It capped, for me, a vicarious romp through the Southeast Asian nation's booming sex industry, a first-hand look at the desperation born out of decades of corruption and suffering.
Hardship and human trafficking
Cambodia can be a very grim place. It was carpet bombed by the United States during the Vietnam War, followed by genocide led by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge from 1975-1979. The latter atrocity killed nearly 2 million Cambodians -- nearly a quarter of the population. Today about half of the population of 14 million is under 20 years old.
The last three decades have seen Cambodia claw its way back to some sort of normalcy. Transparency International still ranks it as one of the world's most corrupt nations, but that hasn't kept the tourists out. With the magnificent Angkor Wat complex of temples in the north and miles of pristine beaches in the south, Cambodia has seen an increasing number of visitors in the past 10 years as tourism has become a pillar of the country's meager economy.
But economic development and the growth in tourism have brought along with them a marked increase in human trafficking. The UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) cites the rise in tourism and an imbalance in urban-rural development in the past decade as contributing factors to human trafficking. With few jobs in the countryside and a young population earning barely US$1.50 a day, desperate families may sell their children to traffickers, who promise employment opportunities in well-travelled urban areas such as Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.
Many of those trafficked are women and children who end up selling sex in brothels, beer gardens and karaoke bars in these cities. But just because someone is a prostitute does not mean she is a victim of trafficking. The exact numbers are difficult to pin down, but a U.N. official told me that of the 20,000-30,000 prostitutes working in Cambodia, probably about 10 per cent consider themselves trafficked. That number likely does not include women who were tricked or fell into prostitution through other circumstances, however.
Sex tourist magnet
Nevertheless, the industry thrives. Patrick Stayton, the Cambodia field office director of International Justice Mission (IJM), a faith-based human-rights agency, says the quick-cash nature of prostitution has made it a generally accepted part of the culture in Cambodia. As a result, the country has become an attractive destination for so-called "sex tourists" -- those who travel abroad to fulfill their carnal needs.
And with such low overhead to start selling sex, Stayton says, supply can easily keep up with demand: "For a brothel, you just need someplace with a roof over it and a ratty old mattress. I mean, the guys that come in to support this kind of thing, they're not looking for five-star hotels. They'll do it basically anywhere."
Though it's the Caucasian sex tourists who stand out, the majority of johns in Cambodia are Asian. Unlike Westerners, who usually travel alone and find what they're looking for on the streets, beaches and in expat bars, Stayton says, tourists from China, Japan or Korea tend to travel in groups, visiting entertainment establishments like karaoke bars and massage parlors on pre-arranged tours, "because that's more their style."
'Boom-boom' for sale
The southwestern city of Sihanoukville -- with large chunks of land and even several islands owned by foreigners -- is a top destination for tourists of all kinds, but especially sex tourists. I was unaware of its notoriety when I boarded the bus in Phnom Penh with a friend to spend a few days there.
Sihanoukville, a sister city to Seattle, is home to Cambodia's lone international port and sits on a peninsula jutting into the Gulf of Thailand. In 2005, the New York Times called it the "next Phuket".
We had been in town less than ten minutes before an enterprising young man driving us to our hotel in his tuk-tuk (a motorised rickshaw) asked if we were interested in some "boom-boom," the not-so-secret code word for paid-for sex. It would be the first of countless offers we would decline.
Lawless law enforcement
Prostitution is technically illegal in Cambodia. It was criminalised last year with the passage of the Law on the Suppression of Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, a move widely seen as an attempt by the Cambodian government to win favour with the U.S. State Department, which duly removed Cambodia from its annual human-trafficking watch list shortly after the law's passage.
The law itself is ambiguous at best and may even do more harm than good. The prostitutes and victims of trafficking -- those whom the law is supposedly intended to help -- reportedly are, in practice, the targets of widespread and often violent crackdowns, as police have no means or real motivation to distinguish between trafficked and non-trafficked sex workers. A recent article in The Economist cited reports of women and children who were beaten and raped while in detention following a crackdown, and suggested the crackdowns were negatively impacting progress made in fighting HIV/AIDS in Cambodia.
The State Department's 2009 report, which placed Cambodia back onto the trafficking watch-list, says that despite numerous raids on brothels, police failed "to arrest, investigate or charge any large number of persons for human-trafficking offenses."
The report continues: "Corruption is pervasive in Cambodia and it is widely believed that many individuals, including police and judicial officials, are both directly and indirectly involved in trafficking. Some local police and government officials are known to extort money or accept bribes from brothel owners, sometimes on a daily basis, in order to allow the brothels to continue operating."
Exploited children
The price of boom-boom for a Caucasian in Sihanoukville starts at about US$5, but $25 can usually get you a partner for an entire night. Oral sex, or "yum-yum," costs between $3 and $5. Generous customers might give tips of 100 to 200 per cent.
It's not hard to spot the sex tourists in Sihanoukville. Often sitting at tables surrounded by scantily clad ladies, they'll try to make awkward conversation until their solicitor's vocabulary has been exhausted and then surreptitiously saunter off, either to a room in the back or somewhere otherwise unseen. Or you'll see them walking down the street usually towering over the petite woman or women at their side, maybe holding hands to give themselves the impression that this relationship is more pure than it actually is.
These are the johns that few of the NGOs or human-rights groups are concerned about. Though maybe a little sad, these sex tourists are merely taking advantage of a quasi-legitimate service being offered, and no one really complains about the money they bring in.
What groups like IJM and Action Pour Les Enfants are really concerned about is child-sex tourism. The poverty and lawlessness of Cambodia has created an environment relatively friendly to pedophiles, who can find victims as young as 6 if they look in the right places. Sihanoukville indeed has some of those places, though indications are that they are not as prevalent as they once were.
It's impossible to know exactly how many child prostitutes -- defined as under 15 by the 2008 Sexual Exploitation Law -- are currently working in Cambodia. And opinions differ as to how much the situation has improved. IJM's Stayton says "pedophiles have to be more careful these days, because they know they can’t walk around as freely as they have in the past," though he says opportunities for pedophiles have not necessarily decreased.
Education campaigns have helped. The Childsafe program of Friends International, a child-advocacy NGO, trains and certifies Cambodian tuk-tuk drivers to be more aware of the dangers children face. Other countries, including Canada, have laws banning their citizens from travelling abroad to have sex with minors. Canada has caught two such offenders since the law was strengthened in 2002 -- Vancouver man Donald Bakker, who pleaded guilty in 2005, and Kenneth Robert Klassen, who is facing 35 sex-tourism-related charges. Canada, however, has also been criticised for not enforcing its law strongly enough.
Taking the tour
My time in Sihanoukville did not bring me into contact with any pedophiles, as far as I know. But my friend and I were given a tour of the town by a couple of local expatriates who are well familiar with some of the seedy hot spots. The port, the point of entry for horny sailors, is Sihanoukville's cheapest and dirtiest red-light district and is located a few kilometres outside downtown. It's a dirt strip about 200 metres long, lined with shacks and huts with fluorescent red and blue lights dangling from the eaves and rows of catcalling women.
We rode our rented motorbikes from one end to the other, and the second we stopped to turn around we were swarmed by ladies desperate for work. One jumped on the back of my bike and said, "Let's go!" It was the beginning of the rainy season and most of the clientele had dried up, so two white guys in the middle of the night looked like hot commodities. They surely felt more than disappointment when we sped away.
Back in town, at a brothel in the Blue Mountain area, we sipped cans of Anchor Beer ("An-chore", not to be confused with Angkor, Sihanoukville's local brew) as a pleasant young lady kept us company, all but begging us to take her into one of the rooms in back, as cockroaches the size of my thumb scuttled across the dirt floor underfoot. She said she was Vietnamese, as were most of the girls at this place. Cambodia scores an unholy human-trafficking trifecta as a country of transit, origin and destination for victims. As many as 80 percent of the prostitutes trafficked to Cambodia are from Vietnam.
We gave our hostess a couple dollars for her time. She smiled, gave us each a hug and waved as we rode away.
Help in an emergency
On my last night in town we went down to Serendipity Beach (Ochheuteal Beach) to watch the sun rise. The beach is known for its ladyboys, but was mostly empty by the time we got there. I had a bus to catch at 7:45 AM and it was getting to be time to go. We gathered our things and mounted our motorbikes, but I was missing something... my keys! How they fell out of my pocket, I have no idea, but a full-scale search ensued, retracing steps and sifting through sand.
I was growing more and more anxious; the bike rental place had our passports, and without the keys I had no way to return the bike. A couple of prostitutes and some unseemly men had appeared. My friend said, "You know, if you leave the bike here, it'll be gone in 10 minutes." I knew.
Sensing the emergency, the prostitutes kindly joined our search. Just as hopelessness was setting in and I prepared to give up, one of the girls exclaimed and held up a sandy set of keys... my keys! Sweet relief. I took the keys and pulled a crisp $5 bill out of my wallet and handed it to my savior. She blushed and declined at first, asking if I wouldn't rather go over there so she could earn it. She promptly changed her mind and took the money, and I was off.
And that's how I came to pay a prostitute -- money well spent. For the price of a blowjob, I was able to leave Sihanoukville and Cambodia with my passport, some knowledge, and my dignity.
Comrade Hor 5 Hong (Photo: AP)Cambodian minister stalls on genocide tribunal
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Cambodia's foreign minister says he first wants to check his schedule before deciding whether to testify at a tribunal for Khmer Rouge leaders accused of genocide. Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong is one of the six senior members of Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party summoned before the U.N.-backed court. All of them also exercised some authority during the Khmer Rouge reign of terror in the mid-1970s and appear reluctant to become involved with the tribunal. The tribunal is seeking justice for the estimated 1.7 million people who died in Cambodia from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition as a result of the communist Khmer Rouge's radical policies.
US President Barack Obama speaks after winning Nobel Peace Prize at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC. Americans greeted President Barack Obama's surprise winning of the Nobel Peace Prize Friday with joy and derision. (AFP/Jewel Samad)
OSLO – President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision designed to build momentum behind his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism.
Obama said he was surprised and deeply humbled by the honor, and planned to travel to Oslo to accept the prize.
"I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize," he said. "I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century."
Many observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking.
Some around the world objected to the choice of Obama, who still oversees wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has launched deadly counter-terror strikes in Pakistan and Somalia.
Obama said he was working to end the war in Iraq and "to confront a ruthless adversary that directly threatens the American people and our allies" in Afghanistan.
Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said their choice could be seen as an early vote of confidence in Obama intended to build global support for his policies. They lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen the U.S. role in combating climate change.
"Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics," the citation read, in part. "Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts."
Aagot Valle, a lawmaker for the Socialist Left party who joined the committee this year, said she hoped the selection would be viewed as "support and a commitment for Obama."
"And I hope it will be an inspiration for all those that work with nuclear disarmament and disarmament," she told The Associated Press in a rare interview. Members of the Nobel peace committee usually speak only through its chairman.
The peace prize was created partly to encourage ongoing peace efforts but Obama's efforts are at far earlier stages than past winners'. The Nobel committee acknowledged that they may not bear fruit at all.
"Some people say, and I understand it, isn't it premature? Too early? Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now," Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said. "It is now that we have the opportunity to respond — all of us."
In Europe and much of the world Obama is lionized for bringing the United States closer to mainstream global thinking on issues like climate change and multilateralism. A 25-nation poll of 27,000 people released in July by the Pew Global Attitudes Project found double-digit boosts to the percentage of people viewing the U.S. favorably in countries around the world. That indicator had plunged across the world under President George W. Bush.
At home, the picture is more complicated. Obama is often criticized as he attempts to carry out his agenda — drawing fire over a host of issues from government spending to health care to the conduct of the war in Afghanistan.
U.S. Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele contended that Obama won the prize as a result of his "star power" rather than meaningful accomplishments.
"The real question Americans are asking is, 'What has President Obama actually accomplished?'" Steele said.
Drawing criticism from some on the left, Obama has been slow to bring troops home from Iraq and the real end of the U.S. military presence there won't come until at least 2012.
In Afghanistan, he is seriously considering ramping up the number of U.S. troops on the ground and asking for help from others, too.
"I don't think Obama deserves this. I don't know who's making all these decisions. The prize should go to someone who has done something for peace and humanity," said Ahmad Shabir, 18-year-old student in Kabul. "Since he is the president, I don't see any change in U.S. strategy in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Obama has said that battling climate change is a priority. But the U.S. seems likely to head into crucial international negotiations set for Copenhagen in December with Obama-backed legislation still stalled in Congress.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who won the prize in 1984, said Obama's award shows great things are expected from him in the coming years.
"In a way, it's an award coming near the beginning of the first term of office of a relatively young president that anticipates an even greater contribution towards making our world a safer place for all," he said. "It is an award that speaks to the promise of President Obama's message of hope."
He described the prize as a "wonderful recognition" of Obama's effort to reach out to the Arab world after years of hostility.
But Former Polish President Lech Walesa, who won the prize in 1983, questioned whether Obama deserved it now.
"So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is still at an early stage. He is only beginning to act," Walesa said.
Unlike the other Nobel Prizes, which are awarded by Swedish institutions, the peace prize is given out by a five-member committee elected by the Norwegian Parliament. Like the Parliament, the committee has a leftist slant, with three members elected by left-of-center parties. Jagland said the decision to honor Obama was unanimous.
The identity of the person who nominated Obama will not be made public unless that person steps forward. The Nobel committee received a record 205 nominations for this year's prize.
The award appeared to be at least partly a slap at Bush from a committee that harshly criticized Obama's predecessor for his largely unilateral military action in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
"Those who were in support of Bush in his belief in war solving problems, on rearmament, and that nuclear weapons play an important role ... probably won't be happy," said Valle, the Nobel Committee member.
Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to win the award: President Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 and President Woodrow Wilson was awarded the prize in 1919.
Wilson received the prize for his role in founding the League of Nations, the hopeful but ultimately failed precursor to the contemporary United Nations.
The Nobel committee chairman said after awarding the 2002 prize to former Democratic President Jimmy Carter, for his mediation in international conflicts, that it should be seen as a "kick in the leg" to the Bush administration's hard line in the buildup to the Iraq war.
Five years later, the committee honored Bush's adversary in the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore, for his campaign to raise awareness about global warming.
In July talks in Moscow, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed that their negotiators would work out a new limit on delivery vehicles for nuclear warheads of between 500 and 1,100. They also agreed that warhead limits would be reduced from the current range of 1,700-2,200 to as low as 1,500. The United States now has about 2,200 such warheads, compared to about 2,800 for the Russians.
But there has been no word on whether either side has started to act on the reductions.
Former Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, said Obama has already provided outstanding leadership in the effort to prevent nuclear proliferation.
"He has shown an unshakable commitment to diplomacy, mutual respect and dialogue as the best means of resolving conflicts," ElBaradei said.
Massimo Teodori, one of Italy's leading experts of U.S. history, said the Nobel decision was a clear rejection of the "unilateral, antagonistic politics" of Obama's predecessor, George Bush.
"The prize is well deserved after the Bush years, which had antagonized the rest of the world," Teodori said. "President Obama's policy of extending his hand has reconciled the United States with the international community."
Obama also has attempted to restart stalled talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, but just a day after Obama hosted the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in New York, Israeli officials boasted that they had fended off U.S. pressure to halt settlement construction. Moderate Palestinians said they felt undermined by Obama's failure to back up his demand for a freeze.
"I look forward to working closely with you in the years ahead to advance peace," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a message of congratulations to Obama.
In the Gaza Strip, leaders of the radical Hamas movement said they had heard Obama's speeches seeking better relations with the Islamic world but had not been moved.
"We are in need of actions, not sayings," Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said. "If there is no fundamental and true change in American policies toward the acknowledgment of the rights of the Palestinian people, I think this prize won't move us forward or backward."
Obama was to meet with his top advisers on the Afghan war on Friday to consider a request by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, to send as many as 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan as the U.S war there enters its ninth year.
Obama ordered 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan earlier this year and has continued the use of unmanned drones for attacks on militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a strategy devised by the Bush administration. The attacks often kill or injure civilians living in the area.
A Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan has condemned President Barack Obama's winning of the Nobel Peace Prize, saying the American president had only escalated the war by sending more troops.
Qari Yousef Ahmadi accused Obama "of having the blood of the Afghan people on his hands."
In his 1895 will, Alfred Nobel stipulated that the peace prize should go "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses."
Nominators for the prize include former laureates; current and former members of the committee and their staff; members of national governments and legislatures; university professors of law, theology, social sciences, history and philosophy; leaders of peace research and foreign affairs institutes; and members of international courts of law.
Obama will donate to charity the $1.4 million cash award that comes with the prize. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says it is likely that more than one charity will benefit.
The committee has taken a wide interpretation of Nobel's guidelines, expanding the prize beyond peace mediation to include efforts to combat poverty, disease and climate change.
Until seconds before the award, speculation had focused on a wide variety of candidates besides Obama: Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, a Colombian senator, a Chinese dissident and an Afghan woman's rights activist, among others.
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REFILE - ADDING DATE Contestants pose during the finals of a modelling competition in Phnom Penh October 9, 2009.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA FASHION)
A model walks down the runway during the finals of a modelling competition in Phnom Penh. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA FASHION)
A model wears a creation by Vietnamese fashion designer Kelly Bui, during Bui's 2009 Autumn-Summer collection entitled, ' My Fair Lady', in Hanoi, Vietnam, Friday, Oct. 9, 2009.(AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki)
Cham Prasidh’s bodyguards accused of violence
6 bodyguards protecting Cham Prasidh, the minister of Commerce, are accused of using violence and beating up one young man until he passed out, and seriously injuring two others.
A woman from Chak Chrouk village, Samrong Krom commune, Dangkao district, Phnom Penh city, indicated on 08 October that she is accusing a group of 6 Cham Prasidh’s bodyguards of beating up her children until one of them passed out and two others were seriously injured. However, the authority did not resolve this problem for her.
Korng Sikhem, the mother of the victims, indicated that 62 families in the village witnessed the scene on the spot, and they affixed their thumbprints on a complaint sent to the police chief in Samrong Krom commune and the commune chief. However, the pair did not resolve this case for her.
Korng Sikhem said: “There were a lot of them, they were all armed, they fired shots in the air, my son collected two bullet shells. Their shots sound like thunders, my son passed out on the ground, my daughter cried, hugged her brother and yelled, then the villagers helped fetch my son. We sent [copies of the] complaint to the commune and the police station. Each one of them told me: ‘If you are an egg, don’t knock on the rock’ and that I should be scared of them because I am very poor and I am in dire need.”
On Sunday 04 October, factory workers were disputing each others near Cham Prasidh’s house which is located near Korng Sikhem’s house also. At that time, her sons and her daughter went to look at the dispute, but when they returned back home, a group of [Cham Prasidh’s] bodyguards used violence on two of her children, one is 18-year-old and the other 20-year-old. They both passed out immediately, at that time, a 30-year-old niece of Korng Sikhem went to prevent the bodyguards from beating, but they instead turned and beat her also.
Touch Phoeun, the Samrong Krom commune chief, declined to comment on this case, and he told us to question the police chief instead.
Im Kak, the Samrong Krom station police chief, declined to clarify this case also, and he replied that he is only a minor official and he does not dare talk about this case. He directed us to talk to higher level officials.
On 08 October, RFA could not reach Cham Prasidh’s bodyguards who were accused of using violence by the villagers.
The Chak Chrouk deputy-village chief, who declined to provide his name, said that, on the day of incident, he, just like the other villagers, saw Cham Prasidh’s bodyguards using violence against Korng Sikhem’s sons and niece at about 6PM on 04 October. “They (Cham Pasidh’s bodyguards) beat them, and they also fired shots. People panicked and they came out to see, it was on a Sunday and there were a lot of factory workers and a lot of people like me who came to see. The bodyguards were chasing [the victims] and they yelled: ‘Thieves, thieves!’”
Korng Sikhem said that she did not want anything, she only wants the authority to provide justice according to the law, and that the guilty party pays for the hospital expenses for her sons who were seriously injured.
Chan Soveth, an investigator for the Adhoc human rights group, indicated that the authority should send this case to the higher levels so that it can be dealt with legally. He said that the bodyguards’ action constitutes a violation of human rights and the law, and the perpetrators, regardless of their ranks, must be sentenced according to the criminal law.
A woman from Chak Chrouk village, Samrong Krom commune, Dangkao district, Phnom Penh city, indicated on 08 October that she is accusing a group of 6 Cham Prasidh’s bodyguards of beating up her children until one of them passed out and two others were seriously injured. However, the authority did not resolve this problem for her.
Korng Sikhem, the mother of the victims, indicated that 62 families in the village witnessed the scene on the spot, and they affixed their thumbprints on a complaint sent to the police chief in Samrong Krom commune and the commune chief. However, the pair did not resolve this case for her.
Korng Sikhem said: “There were a lot of them, they were all armed, they fired shots in the air, my son collected two bullet shells. Their shots sound like thunders, my son passed out on the ground, my daughter cried, hugged her brother and yelled, then the villagers helped fetch my son. We sent [copies of the] complaint to the commune and the police station. Each one of them told me: ‘If you are an egg, don’t knock on the rock’ and that I should be scared of them because I am very poor and I am in dire need.”
On Sunday 04 October, factory workers were disputing each others near Cham Prasidh’s house which is located near Korng Sikhem’s house also. At that time, her sons and her daughter went to look at the dispute, but when they returned back home, a group of [Cham Prasidh’s] bodyguards used violence on two of her children, one is 18-year-old and the other 20-year-old. They both passed out immediately, at that time, a 30-year-old niece of Korng Sikhem went to prevent the bodyguards from beating, but they instead turned and beat her also.
Touch Phoeun, the Samrong Krom commune chief, declined to comment on this case, and he told us to question the police chief instead.
Im Kak, the Samrong Krom station police chief, declined to clarify this case also, and he replied that he is only a minor official and he does not dare talk about this case. He directed us to talk to higher level officials.
On 08 October, RFA could not reach Cham Prasidh’s bodyguards who were accused of using violence by the villagers.
The Chak Chrouk deputy-village chief, who declined to provide his name, said that, on the day of incident, he, just like the other villagers, saw Cham Prasidh’s bodyguards using violence against Korng Sikhem’s sons and niece at about 6PM on 04 October. “They (Cham Pasidh’s bodyguards) beat them, and they also fired shots. People panicked and they came out to see, it was on a Sunday and there were a lot of factory workers and a lot of people like me who came to see. The bodyguards were chasing [the victims] and they yelled: ‘Thieves, thieves!’”
Korng Sikhem said that she did not want anything, she only wants the authority to provide justice according to the law, and that the guilty party pays for the hospital expenses for her sons who were seriously injured.
Chan Soveth, an investigator for the Adhoc human rights group, indicated that the authority should send this case to the higher levels so that it can be dealt with legally. He said that the bodyguards’ action constitutes a violation of human rights and the law, and the perpetrators, regardless of their ranks, must be sentenced according to the criminal law.
ECONOMISTS and government officials are to meet in Siem Reap today for a conference on overcoming the financial and economic crises. The event, which ends Saturday, is to include a keynote address from Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon and will include group discussion sessions as delegates share ideas on the economic fallout that escalated since Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in September 2008. Held annually, this year’s conference will focus on current methods for market governance, an announcement for the event says. Delegates gathered Thursday evening for a welcome reception ahead of the two-day discussions.
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Friday, 09 October 2009 15:00 POST STAFF
Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN
TNT Express Worldwide (Cambodia) Country General Manager Sjaak de Klein says road transport stands to benefit from economic slowdown as firms look for cheaper substitute for air freight.
TNT Express Worldwide (Cambodia) Country General Manager Sjaak de Klein talks about the impact of the economic slowdown on the transport sector and TNT’s prospects for growth
We are lucky in that we have a diverse portfolio of customers, including mining, oil and telecoms. We also have imports by land and air as well as exports, while So Nguon obviously had a strong focus on connecting with the export shipping lane in Sihanoukville. Our Asia Road Network, which we extended into Cambodia this year, is also really starting to see some success because the crisis is encouraging people to look for a cheaper option than air freight. And it’s much faster than moving goods by sea from Bangkok through Sihanoukville, which can take up to 15 days. We drive overnight, so there is a tremendous opportunity for customers to get their goods shipped quickly. The garment slowdown has affected us because we import accessories and fabrics and export documents and garment samples, but we have not been as adversely affected as the freight forwarders that focus on exports of ready-made garments to the US.
What import sectors are proving resilient?
Consumer goods, especially consumer electronics and computers, are holding up as the middle class is rising and people have more spending power. There is also a lot of imports of baby stuff. The telecoms industry is very dynamic, and they are bringing in a lot of equipment to build towers. We are also seeing a pickup in garments, with many factories receiving new orders and showing interest in bringing in fabrics and accessories.
There was a Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) meeting in Phnom Penh recently where GMS ministers pledged to accelerate economic corridor development. Is enough being done in Cambodia?
Cambodia is lagging behind in GMS development, which is unfortunate as building a strong economic corridor will not only stimulate the economy but also provide jobs in the transport sector and increase economic productivity near those roads. Some countries are picking it up faster than others. For example, Laos realised very quickly that as a landlocked country they had to do something, much like Switzerland did in Europe. They got proper funding to build a bridge across the Mekong and built some extremely good roads across the southern part of Laos. They also have incentives for companies to register trucks there. In Cambodia, the government doesn’t have special incentives for the transport industry, which is a pity.
What incentives are needed?
What the industry most urgently needs is incentives to bring in proper equipment instead of having all these local companies with secondhand trucks that are 10, 15, 20 years old. If you import a truck now, you pay a 40 percent import tariff, including duty, special tax and VAT. We would like to become a showpiece for the transport industry, but at the moment its is expensive to bring in a good fleet.
ASYCUDA (Automated SYstem for CUstoms Data) is being rolled out and TNT has introduced e-invoicing. What impact will electronic data interchange have on the sector?
ASYCUDA is only used at the port in Sihanoukville. They are still trying to roll it out at the international airport, but I have heard nothing about a rollout plan at land border crossings. But in general, we are embracing IT technology and like to exchange data with customs electronically. It will speed up our clearance processes as long as the government starts using electronic data interchange and applies risk management profiling to that data. For our express products, that’s important. Electronic data exchange also benefits our customers, and the bigger customers are definitely interested in that.
The economy is expected to contract this year and begin expanding again next. What’s your growth projection for TNT?
We haven’t really seen that contraction and are still growing year on year. And we are optimistic about the future. There is still an opportunity to develop a domestic network, and I am convinced that special economic zones (SEZs) will be successful in attracting new investments like Ajinomoto, which is setting up in the Phnom Penh SEZ. I’ve been here three years and I fell pretty comfortable about the buzz here. The economy has perhaps not been affected quite so much by the global economic crisis as believed because it is cash-based, and we still predict to grow our revenue by a substantial percenta
Photo by: Tha Piseth
A money changer exchanges foreign currency in Phnom Penh. Cambodia’s forex reserves have risen this year, beating analysts’ predictions of a
Prime Minister Hun Sen says National Bank of Cambodia, which celebrated 30 years in operation Thursday, has weathered the global financial crisis
PRIME Minister Hun Sen said Thursday that Cambodia continued to increase its foreign exchange reserves to the end of August reaching a near-record high of US$2.522 billion, while beating analysts’ forecasts of a sharp drop for 2009.
Speaking at the 30th anniversary ceremony for the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), which was re-established after the end of the Khmer Rouge regime, Hun Sen said forex reserves had climbed 21.48 percent so far this year.
“Despite Cambodia suffering from the global financial crisis, we have still been able to ensure international reserves,” the prime minister said during the event at Chaktomuk Theatre in Phnom Penh.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) data shows that reserves reached a record high of $2.594 billion in May after climbing steadily at the beginning of the year from $2.076 billion at the end of 2008, a figure quoted by Hun Sen Thursday.
“Today, the banking industry is growing both in scope and operations, attracting large foreign banks to open, and the amount of deposits and loans have consistently increased – this reflects confidence from the public in this industry,” he said, encouraging banks to list on the long-awaited Cambodian stock exchange.
The IMF’s country representative, John Nelmes, told the Australian Business Association of Cambodia in Phnom Penh last week that the Kingdom in August was allocated $108 million in Special Drawing Rights, an IMF international reserve asset. The NBC used the facility to increase forex reserves, Nelmes added.
The latest figures represent strong growth in forex reserves for 2009 contrary to forecasts made by international analysts, including the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) which as recently as June was predicting a steady decline this year to just over $2 billion by the end of December through to about $1.5 billion by the end of 2010. It based the assessment on falling foreign investment and repeated intervention by the government to strengthen the riel.
However, the EIU has since revised its forecast, predicting in September that forex reserves would reach $2.951 billion by year’s end with a slight decrease to $2.861 billion by the end of 2010. In its October outlook, the London-based organisation said reserves would climb again to $2.983 in 2011.
“But [the NBC’s] international reserves position remains precarious, and the [riel] has … resumed its depreciating trend,” the EIU said in its September outlook, referring to “heavy dollar selling” in August.
Following a consultation with the government last month, the IMF recommended in a statement that the government limit intervention in the riel rate – namely, selling US dollars for local currency, adding that such moves would limit volatility in the exchange rate.
This “would help protect international reserves, deepen the foreign exchange market, and allow the exchange rate to play a greater role in facilitating external adjustment”, the IMF statement said.
Meanwhile, in his speech Thursday, the prime minister rounded on international agencies, including the IMF, for what he termed an overly controlling approach to assistance to the Kingdom.
“It is said I was Vietnam’s puppet, but when Vietnam was in Cambodia, I was more independent,” he said referring to international agencies such as the World Bank and IMF.
“We welcome your assistance, but do not intervene or put pressure on us, or there is no need to help.”