asianews: 10/13/09

Is Cambodia's monarchy still relevant in the 21st century?

(Photo: AP)

Are Southeast Asia’s monarchies still relevant in the 21st century? In recent years, the demise of the 239-year old Shah dynasty in Nepal indicates that the institution could be highly vulnerable if it appeared antagonistic toward democracy.

In Southeast Asia, some monarchies have successfully entrenched their rule alongside democracy. Some are potentially becoming the target of annihilation. At present, four of 10 Southeast Asian nations endure various kinds of monarchy, ranging from absolute to constitutional and ceremonial.

The deeply respected King Bhumibol Adulyadej remains the world’s longest reigning monarch and the epicenter of the Thai political entity despite the political turmoil that has swept the country since the 2006 military coup that deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, allegedly at the hands of backers of the royalty. As the aging monarch grows more frail, there are concerns about how the succession to the throne will be handled.

In Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei has proven his resilience in upholding the legitimacy of his absolute reign in an era of surrounding democratic nation-states. Cambodia’s King Sihamoni, whose role is largely ceremonial, nonetheless plays a vital part in the construction of a Khmer national identity.

Malaysia has a system of elective monarchy. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the highest ranking office created by the Constitution of the federation of Malaysia. The current Agong is Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, the Sultan of Terengganu. As political turmoil has swept the country in the wake of 2008 elections that broke the ruling national coalition’s two-thirds hold on power in the national legislature, the United Malays National Organization, the biggest ethnic party in the national coalition, has attempted to use a perceived lack of respect for the royalty by opposition leaders to whip up Malay sentiment against the opposition.

Elsewhere in the world, monarchies have been perceived as a political anachronism in the face of the prevailing democratic institutions. In Southeast Asia, the vestiges of the bygone era ruled by kings and sultans have been able to survive the democratic era. But for how long?

Thailand’s prolonged crisis in which opposite factions have competed fiercely to strengthen their power position has further dragged the much-revered King deep into the political abyss. The Thai monarch could hardly escape being a casualty of the internal conflict simply because the political fault line was drawn on the growing resentment of the majority poor Thais who criticized the Bangkok elites for their despotic behavior. These elites have long claimed to represent the voice of the Thai monarchy.

The sultan of Brunei has so far demonstrated his ability to adjust to meet new challenges. He solidifies his legitimacy using the ideology of Melayu Islam Beraja, which allows for the significant role of Islam at the state level. But this process is exclusive and it is at risk of being rejected by Brunei’s non-Muslim population.

Indian scholar Sreeram Chaulia argues that the future of monarchies in Asia depends on the combination of their personal and political capabilities and how they transpire as a nonthreatening factor to democracy. They rely upon their ability to reinvent themselves at three levels: personal, national and international.

At a personal level, the monarchs more than ever need to exhibit their increased accountability, transparency and responsibility as they live side-by-side with a democratic regime. In Southeast Asia, the concept of divine kingship has remained highly sacred. The Thai and Cambodian kings are supposed to perform as Buddhist Dhammarajas, or virtual kings, so as to augment their charisma, and subsequently reverence, from their subordinates. Likewise, the sultans have been exercising their royal authority based on Islam.

The religious sanctity of the throne is indispensable for the existence of the monarchs. It unveils the close intertwining between kingship and religion, and if used wisely, it can enhance further the level of divinity of the monarchs. The abolition of the Nepalese absolute monarchy under the reign of Gyanendra Bikram Dev partly derived from the lack of his religious charisma and from the fact that he had come to the throne after his nephew, the crown prince, had murdered almost the entire royal family.

At a national level, the monarchy’s endurance is intricately related to its alliance with the military, as exemplified by the Thai military’s role in bringing down Thaksin and making sure the deposed prime minister’s Republican supporters didn’t come to power and bring him back.

Historically, the military was an obligatory defender of the royal institution. Past and present kings have sought to forge intimate alliances with armies. In fact, the military possesses a powerful mandate that often determines the lifespan of all kinds of regimes, be they monarchical, despotic or democratic. Central to the longevity of the monarchies is the loyalty of the military.

Moreover, future monarchies need to work closely with fundamental political parties which represent dominant groups in society and are not necessarily royalists. Meanwhile, they are obliged to avoid being seen as the patrons of minority privilege, as this would further separate the throne from the majority middle to lower classes: if the majority’s voice is heard, the king’s position is safe.

All these guides to longevity of the monarchies in Southeast Asia do not automatically offer a rosy picture for their future. New factors emerge periodically to challenge the integrity of their rule. Using illegitimate weapons, such as manipulating the legal system to fight against such challenges, may prove counterproductive.

The monarchical system has been around for thousands of years. The ultimate key to the survival of the monarchical institution, therefore, rests on the way in which it acts and reacts in a complementary manner to the rising desire of the people for democracy.
Pavin Chachavalpongpun is a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

The Freedom Awards: Celebrating Anti-Slavery Heroes

An angry brothel owner gouged out Pross Long's eye with a stick. Sina's tender support is helping her regain her self esteem.
"I was dead, and now I have a new life," Pross says.
"I can go to school. And my parents love me. I’m very happy,
very excited. I never expected that."
(Click here to read Sina's story)

How can something so disturbing, so dark, look so ordinary to the untrained eye? They could be young girls hanging out on a warm evening anywhere. But they're not -- they are sex slaves in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. My guide knew this better than anyone. Until a few years ago, she was one of them.

Twelve years ago, Sina Vann was forced to have sex with 20 to 30 men a night. Tonight, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are presenting her with an award for her heroism in freeing others from sex slavery.

Incredibly, after escaping the hell of daily serial rape, Sina chose to go back and confront human traffickers like the one who enslaved her and fed his greed with her life. She told me, "If I didn't service customers I would be locked in the dungeon. They would tie my hands and tie my feet. And they would splash water over me, and they would shock me. When I was shocked, I felt like my spirit just left me."

Sina continues to go back to this underworld nearly every day, often risking her own life, to help women and girls out of sex slavery and into lives of self-sufficiency and purpose.

Sina was showing me around the brothels as we shot her story. The footage will be seen for the first time tonight at the 2009 Freedom Awards where Free the Slaves honors the Harriet Tubmans and Frederick Douglasses of today.

She is joined by Veero from Pakistan, who escaped slavery and went on to help bring 700 more slaves to freedom.

We're also honoring two young people through the Anne Templeton Zimmerman Fellowship, Alexis Weiss and Betsy Bramon, who are promising new leaders in the anti-slavery movement.

The awards honor freedom, not slavery, and we're ready to celebrate. Jason Mraz, Camilla Belle, Emmitt Smith, Isabel Allende, Ambassador Lou C. deBaca, Pam Omidyar and Maurice Greene will be there. You're invited. Watch it streaming live here at 7 p.m. PST.

Cambodia's Family of Operetta Generals [Operetta: A short amusing opera]

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen greets the honour guard as he arrives to attend the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Brigade 70 on the outskirts of Phnom Penh October 13, 2009. The brigade which cracks down on terrorism has more than 600 armed combatants including the prime minister's body guards, an emergency unit and a military unit to assist fighters when needed. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) poses with his son Hun Manet during the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Brigade 70 on the outskirts of Phnom Penh October 13, 2009. The brigade which cracks down on terrorism has more than 600 armed combatants including the prime minister's body guards, an emergency unit and a military unit to assist fighters when needed. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Four-golden-star General Hun Xen oversees the 15th anniversary of Brigade B-70, his private army

(All Photos: DAP news)

Source: Cambodia's Family Trees, Global Witness

Brigade 70 and the Bodyguard Unit – a Private Army for the Prime Minister

Brigade 70 is a special unit of 2,000 soldiers headquartered in Cham Chao on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Its commander is Major General Mao Sophan. It acts as a reserve force for Hun Sen’s 4,000 strong Bodyguard Unit and Mao Sophan takes his orders from Bodyguard Unit chief Lieutenant General Hing Bun Heang. Hing Bun Heang’s commanding officer is General Kun Kim,294 one of four deputy commanders-in-chief of the RCAF and Hun Sen’s chief of cabinet.258 In January 2007 Hun Sen promoted Kun Kim to four star General, the most senior rank in the Cambodian armed forces.

In the words of a former member of United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) staff, “The term bodyguard is a misnomer ... the Prime Minister’s bodyguard unit is a substantial military elite unit equipped with modern weaponry and many of its members have received special training abroad.” The Bodyguard Unit and Brigade 70 are central to Hun Sen’s strategy of cultivating special units to protect his interests from potential challengers inside and outside the CPP. The latent threat of violence is integral to the prime minister’s hold over the population as a whole, moreover. Hun Sen responds even to muted criticism by declaring that attempts to remove him will cause the country to fall back into conflict and instability. Cambodians take these threats extremely seriously. The fact that the prime minister has developed what is essentially a private army is surely one of the reasons why.

Hun Sen’s military capability is rarely commented on by the international community, despite the evident danger that it poses to democracy in Cambodia. It perpetuates a situation in which military units are controlled by individual politicians rather than the state; the same conditions that enabled Hun Sen to unseat his co-prime minister Norodom Ranariddh in a violent coup d’etat in July 1997. Human rights organisations accuse Hun Sen’s Bodyguard Unit of playing a leading role in mounting this coup.

Four-golden-star General Hun Xen oversees the 15th anniversary of Brigade B-70, his private army

(All Photos: DAP news)

Source: Cambodia's Family Trees, Global Witness

Brigade 70 and the Bodyguard Unit – a Private Army for the Prime Minister

Evictees fear arrest warrants [-land confiscated to give to CPP-Tycoon-Senator-Land-grabber Ly Yong Phat]

Villagers from Oddar Meanchey arrive at a Phnom Penh pagoda on Monday after fleeing their homes following a violent eviction from their village Friday. (Photo by: Sovan Philong)

VILLAGERS whose homes were bulldozed and then burned to the ground by armed officials in an ongoing land dispute in Oddar Meanchey province last week have fled to the capital for fear of being arrested on incitement charges, they said Monday, as Siem Reap officials confirmed that arrest warrants have been issued for three former residents.

Huy Chuy, the 45-year-old former chief of Kaun Kriel commune’s Bos village, said he was threatened with arrest at gunpoint by local officials a few days before Friday’s eviction.

“After successfully escaping from the authorities, I and other villagers decided to escape overnight to Phnom Penh, believing that the authorities would retaliate or attempt to arrest us again,” he said.

Siem Reap provincial prosecutor Ty Sovinpal confirmed Monday that the court issued warrants for the arrest of three villagers on charges, filed by Forestry Administration officials, of inciting unrest and disrupting the country’s development. “In fact, all villagers should be detained, but I issued an arrest warrant for only three masterminds,” he said.

A total of 214 families are battling Angkor Sugar Company, owned by Lee Yongphat, a senator with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, for rights to the disputed 1,500 hectares. Nearly 100 homes were dismantled and torched by armed police officers during the eviction Friday.

Witness Roeung Hav, 34, said 100 armed officials arrived at the village at around 9am with three tractors and several bulldozers ready to destroy homes. “I begged them to take my property out of my home first, but they ignored me,” she said, weeping.

“They started their bulldozing immediately, making me almost unable to take my children out. After bulldozing my home, they set fire to it, which is very cruel.”

The villagers were then transported to temporary shelter at Kork Khlork pagoda, about 3 kilometres away. There, the officials offered the families food, but only if they agreed to thumbprint documents accepting a piece of land measuring 30 metres by 50 metres and a 1-hectare rice paddy as compensation.

Another witness, 41-year-old Chrin Narin, said: “We were very hungry. The authorities brought sacks of rice, but they would not give it to us. They asked whether we were hungry. Then they told us that we could have rice only if each family gave their thumbprints.”

The number of villagers seeking refuge in the capital swelled to 15 on Monday, as representatives prepared to ask Prime Minister Hun Sen to intervene.

Am Sam Ath, an investigator with local rights group Licadho, condemned the eviction. “If the government provides thousands of hectares of commercial land concession to the company, it should also provide social land concessions to residents who need it for their livelihood.”

Pich Sokheurn, governor of Oddar Meanchey, denied any wrongdoing. “We only make villagers who built movable cottages or grabbed state land return to their legal lands,” he said. Lee Yongphat, chairman of Angkor Sugar, could not be reached for comment.

The Cambodian military take part in a parade to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Brigade 70

The Cambodian military take part in a parade to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Brigade 70, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh October 13, 2009. The brigade which cracks down on terrorism has more than 600 armed combatants including the prime minister's body guards, an emergency unit and a military unit to assist fighters when needed. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

The Cambodian military take part in a parade to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of Brigade 70, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh October 13, 2009. The brigade, which cracks down on terrorism, has more than 600 armed combatants, including the prime minister's body guards, an emergency unit and a military unit to assist fighters when needed. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

A member of the Cambodian military salutes from a tank during a parade to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Brigade 70, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh October 13, 2009. The brigade which cracks down on terrorism has more than 600 armed combatants including the prime minister's body guards, an emergency unit and a military unit to assist fighters when needed. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Body of missing toddler found in Auckland drain

POLICE IN New Zealand have confirmed that the body found in a drain last night is that of missing toddler Aisling Symes.

Aisling disappeared on Monday, October 5th, from her late grandparents’ house in the Auckland suburb of Henderson. She was watching her mother, Angela, fix a tap on a washing machine when she wandered away. Aisling’s father, Alan, is from Stradbally, Co Waterford. The family also has another daughter, five-year-old Caitlín.

Two-year-old Aisling’s body was found in a storm water drain at 5 Longburn Road, just metres from her grandparents’ home at number 7, and close to where she went missing a week earlier. The body was discovered after fire and police officers dug for two hours, using concrete cutters. It was removed at 1.30am local time (1.30pm Irish time).

Police have revealed that the drain was searched up to four times before Aisling was finally found. It was searched twice on the night she disappeared.

A police officer had climbed two metres (six feet) down into the drain and shone a torch up and down, calling Aisling’s name to no response. The officer estimated that he could see five metres either direction, said head of the investigation Insp Gary Davey.

Aisling’s father also looked in the drain that night, and it is reported that a search-and-rescue crew also searched the drain.

“I’m sure we would not have been able to save her on the night,” said Insp Davy.

“You need to bear in mind that she was found 36 metres from the manhole and a metre-and-a-half underground.

“I believe it is more likely than not she was there from the start and it is a case of misadventure,” Insp Davey said. However, police are still keeping an open mind about the possibility of foul play.

Insp Davey said it had been raining the night Aisling went missing, with water running fast down the drain.

“It would have been impossible for her to turn around if she was crawling.”

The police said the manhole cover of the drain was seen to be eight to 10 centimetres ajar after Aisling had gone missing.

“I’m personally deeply saddened with the discovery of Aisling’s body. I truly hoped we would be able to find her alive and bring her home for the family,” said the inspector.

He added that the police had put their heart and soul into the search for the toddler.

The Symes family is distraught.

A message on the Facebook internet page “Find Aisling”, set up by her family, thanked people for their support and asked them to pray for them, “as this is going to be the hardest time of our lives”.

“I am extremely devastated to have to report to you that Aisling’s body has been found in a drain near where she went missing,” the posting read.

“If even the smallest positive can come from this at least we know we did all we could, it was a national effort, and thank you all for that. It did bring us together as a country, and proved at least that we are a nation full of caring and compassionate people, who genuinely want to help those in need, thank you all for that.”

Telcos meeting due over tax

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Beeline announces its “Super Zero” tariff in Phnom Penh last month.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You have to be able to offer discounts if you want to sell something.

Companies in the Cambodian telecoms sector say recent government warning on tax remains ambiguous ahead of meeting on Friday with ministry officials

MOBILE-phone operators say they are due to meet with the telecoms minister Friday to discuss a ministry warning last month over pricing and interconnection policies that it said were destabilising the sector and eroding government revenues.

The meeting is expected to centre on tax implications in an inter-ministerial circular on measures to “prevent unfair competition in the telecommunications sector” that many operators have deemed unworkable.

The circular, signed by Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon and Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun on September 29, was issued without passing through the Tax Policy Department at the Finance Ministry, the Post has learned. According to a source within the ministry, the circular was prepared at the highest level.

Operators and tax experts have privately expressed surprise at the speed with which the circular was prepared and the ambiguity of the wording, which they say does not appear to be based on either existing tax laws in the country or international tax practices.

The circular also required operators to abide by the ruling from the date it was signed. One operator said that even if the requirements in the circular were clear, and the proposed tax regime enforceable, it would have been impossible for companies to amend their calling plans, promotions and advertising campaigns so quickly.

According to interpretations of the circular by operators and tax experts, the finance ministry is considering taxing companies on minutes talked rather than revenues generated. The circular said that offers of “free calls” within networks or calls across networks at a price “lower than the one fixed by the state” robbed the government of tax revenues. It added that “a number of telecoms operators will certainly not escape the obligations to pay taxes and various other revenues at the end of each fiscal year”.

Serious ministry warning

Though operators consider the suggestions in the circular unworkable, one tax adviser, who requested anonymity, has warned operators that the ministry’s warning “should be taken seriously”.

In a tax pointer released last week, the adviser wrote that the circular raised some “interesting and worrying” questions of interpretation and application of the Cambodian tax law, particularly the reference to free and low-cost services.

“The legal basis is somewhat untested, but there are indeed provisions in Cambodian law that may pose some concern to taxpayers, particularly in VAT and Specific Tax,” the tax pointer said. “More importantly, it is not impossible that the [Ministry of Economy and Finance] would introduce minimum values or reference values as a basis for taxing certain services.”

The introduction of such a policy would rule out almost all promotional efforts, including SIM card giveaways, discounted handsets, free minutes and capped calling plans, meaning every operator in the country, with the possible exception of Hello, is likely to already be in violation.

Simon Perkins, chief executive officer at Telekom Malaysia International (Cambodia) Co, which operates the Hello brand, acknowledged that the circular could have been worded less ambiguously but said he was confident the company was in full compliance.

“There are no real tax implications because we abide by their guidelines,” he said, noting that the company had a set price for every minute talked.

“The idea is to keep the tariff rate simple and clear,” he said. “What you see is what you get.”

However, Smart Mobile CEO Thomas Hundt said the circular, as it was worded, would reduce the ability of operators to compete freely for customers.

“In Cambodia, you have to be able to offer discounts if you want to sell something,” he said.

Mobile-phone taxes worldwide are calculated on revenues, not minutes, he said, adding that it would be very difficult for the ministry to set a baseline for taxes on services rather than revenues.

7NG courts Korean investors

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON

A bulldozer moves ground Monday as labourers build what 7NG says will be a car park at the Dey Krahorm site in central Phnom Penh

CAMBODIAN property developer 7NG Group is in talks with potential South Korean investors to raise money for a commercial project on land at the centre of a major eviction controversy earlier this year.

7NG Managing Director Srey Chanthou did not name the investors considering jointly developing the 3.6-hectare Dey Krahorm site, located on prime real estate in Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmorn district, but said the project would be finalised next year.

“At the beginning of 2010, we will know clearly,” he said. “This is a big project; we need time to study more detail on this project.”

Construction work began at the site last week, but Srey Chanthou said workers were erecting a temporary car park to house the cars of 7NG staff, who work at a nearby office, until the final deal on the site goes through.

“We don’t know yet when we will start building or how much money we will use to invest in this business,” he added.

Tonle Bassac commune Chief Khat Narith said he did not know of any plans for the development of the land.

Kim Hyun-ki, a communications officer from the South Korean embassy in Jakarta, currently based at the embassy in Phnom Penh, said Korean officials based in the capital were not aware of a deal between 7NG and a Korean firm.

On January 24, more than 100 families were forcibly evicted from the Dey Krahorm site, an action Raquel Rolnik, the UN’s special rapporteur for adequate housing, described as a “grave breach” of human rights. At the time, 7NG Chairman Srey Sothea told the Post that the land would be used for a “modern commercial centre including hotels and supermarkets”

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