prasac.com.kh | info.pp@prasac.com.kh Koh Kong pagodas threatened May Titthara Koh Kong province PRAK Thon says he will give up every- thing to stop a Chinese company from destroying his pagoda in Koh Kong provinces Kiri Sakor district. Ill allow them to demolish my house, but I will not allow them to destroy the pagoda. Im satisfied if I die, because it is my religion, the vill- ager said over the weekend. The pagoda, which he said villagers built in Koh Sdech communes Prek Smach village in 1993, is threatened by a US$3.8 billion development by Union Development Co Ltd on two concessions that amount to more than 45,000 hectares in Botum Sakor and Kiri Sakor districts. The departure of some 700 volun- teer students on Friday, sent by Prime Minister Hun Sen to measure land across the country for villagers affect- ed by land disputes, has not alleviated the fears of Thon and his neighbours that they will soon be evicted because of this project. Thon is worried that despite a June 14 nationwide order by the prime minister for provincial governors to measure land for all villagers affected by economic land concessions, many will still be left without homes. I was happy when I heard the prime minister say that if it affected the site, the authorities had to cut land for the villagers, he said. But so far, Thon said, he had not seen any land measured for about 25 families of 190 in the area who are holding out and refusing to relocate despite threats from local authorities he says are trying to cheat them. The premier would be destroying himself if the order was not imple- mented, because villagers would lose confidence in him, he said. Even the monks abandoned the pagoda in May, he said, while the vil- lagers who did agree to leave found themselves relocated some 40 kilome- tres away. Venerable Thath Ny was the chief of Kiri Kongkear pagoda until authorities Don Weinland O IL PRODUCTION in Cam- bodia may not begin until 2016, or at least three years after the original l y appointed date, Chevron officials reportedly said at a Ministry of Envi- ronment meeting on Friday. Government officials yesterday confirmed the feasibility of the time frame. If Chevron Overseas Petroleum Cambodia gained approval for a production permit by the end of this year, it could embark on a 34-month process that would lead to drawing oil from Cambodias off- shore Block A in the Gulf of Thai- land, according to people who attended Fridays meeting. Details of the process were unavail- able yesterday, but would likely include internal investment deci- sions and agreements with the gov- ernment, Mam Sambath, director of Development Partnership in Action (DPA), said yesterday, citing informa- tion disclosed in the meeting. The Cambodia National Petroleum Authority said 2016 was a realistic year for oil extraction. If everything can come together smoothly, then 34 months would be a reasonable time for production. Two-thousand sixteen is not an unreasonable time frame, given the pace of the current situation, CNPA spokesman Diep Sareiviseth said yes- terday in an email. December 12, 2012 or 12-12-12 was originally designated as the starting date for production, but a government spokesman in January shot down hopes for extraction beginning that soon. Chevron said in an online statement in April that it hoped to gain approval for production by the end of the year. Steve Glick, president of Chevrons Cambodia operations, declined yes- terday to comment on a production date. He did, however, shed light on the status of Chevrons environmental impact assessments, or EIAs. The Post last week obtained an EIA for Chevrons production in the off- shore oil field. Although the document was the first to be seen by the public, Chevron aims for 2016 Continues page 7 Continues on page 4 People pray in front of a Buddha statue at the Kiri Kongkear pagoda, in Koh Kong province's Botum Sakor district. The pagoda, as well as the Prek Smach primary school, were ordered closed by local authorities to make way for a development being carried out by the Union Development group. heng chivoan MONDAY, JUlY 2, 2012 Successful People Read The Post 4000 RIElS I s s u e
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1 4 0 9 Serena soars at Wimbledon Prudential to set up shop in Cambodia SPoRT BaCK pAgE Accused secessionists to testify NaTIoNaL NEWS pAgE - 3 National 2 THE PHNOM PENH POST JUly 2, 2012 National Centre for Malaria Control, Parasitology and Entomology (CNM) Ministry of Health Request for Proposal (RFP) for the provision of Field implementation and data collection of the next Cambodia Malaria Survey (CMS2012) Grant No: CAM-607-G10-M Proposal No: SR/CNM/GFATM/R6/2012/003 1. The National Center for Malaria Control, Parasitology and Entomology as the Sub Recipient of GFATM (hereinafter called the SR/CNM) have received grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) in United States Dollars and allocated nancial resources towards the cost of implementation for the malaria programs. It is intended that part of the proceeds of this Grant will be applied to eligible payments under the contract for the Procurement of the provision of eld implementation and data collection of the next Cambodia Malaria Survey (CMS 2012) to be conducted as part of the GFATM Round 6 Grant. The SR/CNM now asks interested bidders to provide proposals for for the provision 2. of Field implementation and data collection of the next Cambodia Malaria Survey (CMS 2012) to be conducted as part of the GFATM Round 6 Grant. More details of the services are provided in the Terms of Reference (TOR). Interest bidders are encouraged to attend the Pre-bid meeting that will be held 3. on July 03, 2012 at 2:30pm in the meeting room of SR/CNM ofce. The Firms must obtain a copy of the Request for Proposals (that includes the 4. ToR) by registering in person with SR/CNM and Request for Proposals may be provided to interest bidders on the submission of a written application to SR/CNM at the address below during working hour (7:30-12:00 and 14:00- 17:30, Monday to Friday). Your offer comprising of technical proposal and nancial proposal, in separate 5. sealed envelopes, should reach the following address no later than 3:00PM on or before July 17, 2012. The technical proposals will be opened by Bid Evaluation Committee on July 17, 2012 at 3:30 pm in the presence of the bidders representative at the SR/CNM meeting room. Address for submission: 6. Attention: Dr. Char Meng Chuor, CNM Director National Centre for Malaria Control, Parasitology and Entomology for Global to Fight AIDs, TB and Malaria (GFATM), #372, Monivong Blvd., Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tel/Fax: 023 223 442 Email: mengchuor@cnm.gov.kh; khengsim@cnm.gov.kh Late proposal submission will be rejected. Meas Sokchea FREE Trade Union president Chea Mony has announced that his union will leave the Cambodian Confederation of Unions and sever all ties with its long-time ally, the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association. In a letter to Minister of labour Vong Sauth, dated June 27 and obtained by the Post yesterday, Mony said the split from CITA, with which it formed the CCU in 2006, was due to policy differences. Recently, the activities of CCU has been contrary to the aims and targets of [FTU], which demands our workers interests are taken care of and stability is maintained in the textile industry, the let- ter states. Therefore, [FTU] would like to announce an end to its alliance with CITA and to say it is not under the roof of CCU anymore . . . [whose] actions from now on do not refect [FTU]. The government rejected CCUs application for formal trade-union accreditation last month because some of its members teachers unions are not covered under the 1997 labour law. CCU, which has been linked in the past to the Sam Rainsy Party, said it had been seek- ing formal recognition for only four of its seven unions that were covered by the law, which includes FTU. FTUs split from CITA and CCU also has a personal ele- ment to it Mony told the Post yesterday that part of the deci- sion came after CITA and CCU president Rong Chhun accused him on a number of occasions of being weak in his position, a charge Chhun denies. We have never accused [Mony of being weak], Chhun said yesterday. We just asked him to follow acceptable pro- cedures in his role. Chhun said he was extreme- ly disappointed with the FTUs decision to sever ties with his union and to leave CCU. I dont know why FTU is saying we are taking a con- trary stand to them, he said. CCU has not carried out ac- tivities for workers that can be considered contrary to FTUs objectives, Rong Chhun said. Mony said FTUs decision pro- vided an opportunity to reassess how it was serving its workers. Whats all the fuss about? T HE strange case of Monsieur Devillers has caused a lot of head- scratching and angst in placid Phnom Penh. One might wonder why. The man is franais, of course, and they are a cut above the rest of us le monde est nous and all that. But while the world may once have been theirs and Cambodia part of lempire; times change and they are not so formidable any more. So that cannot be the rea- son for the intense reverbera- tions about this case. Patrick Henri Devillers, 52, had, like many fugitives, been living peacefully with his par- amour in Cambodias capital for several years and no one had paid any attention to him. Nor did they pay much at- tention three months ago when word leaked out that he had once worked for Bo Xilai, a member of Chinas ruling Politburo. As well, Devillers had been involved in a close relationship perhaps just business, perhaps not with Bos vivacious wife, Gu Kailai. Hence, some imaginative souls surmised, perhaps he was complicit in last Novembers murder of Gus British business colleague, Neil Heywood. Even, heavens forbid, per- haps Devillers even knew where to fnd the dollops of money-laundered dosh that Bo, Gu and Heywood had al- legedly stashed away. In what has been tagged Chinas biggest political scan- dal in decades, Bo has now been deposed, Gu arrested, Heywood topped and Devil- lers holed up in Phnom Penh. It might seem like a juicy recipe for a luc Besson thriller starring Jean Reno, Michelle yeoh and Gary Old- man, except that in Cambo- dia such shenanigans seem almost pass. Here, we murder NGO lead- ers with abandon, toss acid in the faces of innocent young women, railroad families off their land and knock off meddlesome journalists and trade unionists with a bullet in the head. Cambodia is that sort of place. So should we get perturbed about money laun- dering in Chongqing, a Brit getting bumped off in Dalian and a French dandy being nabbed here? Give us a break. look at the people we already tolerate. Descendants of the Ro- manovs who struggle to pay their kids school fees, Mos- cow millionaires with a fetish for pre-teen girls, Belgian lotharios slicker on tax forms than Andy Dufresne, and even fugitive Thai prime ministers. Cambodias door has al- ways been open to outcasts and tempest-tossed wretch- es, fugitives from a cruel out- side world where prison and worse befall those who na- ively transgress. That is why Monsieur Dev- illers, under normal circum- stances, should be allowed to remain in this sanctuary and not suffer extradition. Indeed, there is lingering chagrin over his June 13 ar- rest at Romdeng restaurant on Street 174, which, as everyone knows, laudably employs for- mer street urchins as staff. We can hardly imagine the shock these youngsters expe- rienced when observing nice Monsieur Devillers being hauled away by Cambodian and Chinese cops. The poor man even had to leave his electric bicycle behind. Perhaps the Chinese have their reasons for this heavy- handed behaviour; as for the Cambodians, their reasons are the same as those that moti- vated them to return 20 Uigher refugees three years ago: lucre. Still, we must hope that Devillers will not be subject- ed to enhanced interrogation as would be the case if hed been a Muslim and it was the United States not China seek- ing his extradition. For remember, it has now been revealed that extraordi- nary rendition was used by the US to send suspects to a black site in neighbouring Thailand for torture. So it is not impos- sible that it also occurred here. That being so, perhaps Dev- illers might consider agreeing to return temporarily to Chi- na to answer questions. If he had nothing to do with Heywoods murder or the miss- ing millions, then hed be better off going back and clearing his name once and for all. The Frogs may croak, but let them mangez des madeleines while we ponder rather more serious matters. Remember Chut Wutty? Chea Vichea? Piseth Pelika? rogermitton@gmail.com Regional Insider Roger Mitton Free Trade Union breaks from ally Myriad migrants rescued in June Sen David NEARly 30 maids and fisher- men were saved from harsh con- ditions in Malaysia and South Africa in the second half of June and will be repatriated next month, thanks to interventions by the Cambodian government and the International Organisa- tion for Migration, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Of the 28, 12 were arrested in Malaysia when the broker that arranged for their emigration went out of business, invalidat- ing their work papers. They were found working illegally, and were detained by Malaysia immigration police, a Foreign Ministry press release said Friday. One maid was saved from mis- treatment and overwork at the hands of her employer, and has already been repatriated. Another is in a Malaysian hos- pital after contracting tubercu- losis. Ten more are at the Cam- bodian Embassy, where theyve been stuck since their employer refused to pay them upon com- pleting their contracts. Four fishermen are also await- ing repatriation in South Africa after escaping harsh working conditions on a boat owned by Giant Ocean International Fish- ery Co ltd. The Cambodian government . . . suggested [through the Thai government, which has an embassy there] that South Afri- ca take care of them and provide for their safety and shelter before cooperating with the IOM to repatriate them as soon as possible, the release states. lim Mony, deputy head of the womens section for the rights group Adhoc, stressed the diffi- culty of contacting workers abroad when their brokers go out of business, but lauded the governments efforts. It is a huge intervention and amount of help for only the month of June . . . but there are still a lot more victims abroad, she said. Free Trade Union president Chea Mony (left) speaks to reporters in Phnom Penh last year. heng chivoan National 3 THE PHNOM PENH POST JUly 2, 2012 Bridget Di Certo and Phak Seangly A NEW system of regional ap- peal courts is moving closer to reality as the Ministry of Justice attempts to resolve the bottle- neck of appeals in the justice system, offcials said yesterday. Currently, appellants can wait up to fve years or more to have their cases heard in the Kingdoms only appeal court, in Phnom Penh. Secretary of State Ith Rady said yesterday that the minis- try was drafting a law to have regional appeal courts serving three provinces each across Cambodia to try to ease the backlog of appellate cases. The draft has already been sent to the council ministers to be examined, he said, adding he could not predict when the draft law would be fnalised. Having the nations only ap- peal court situated in Phnom Penh also puts appellants from faraway provinces at a huge disadvantage, rights groups said yesterday. Cambodian Center for Hu- man Rights trial monitor Mon- ika Mang said there were mas- sive problems in the system of transporting people to appeals hearings in Phnom Penh. They spend lots of money on transportation to come from the province, and not just the one time. There will be sum- monses, the hearing, a verdict, she said, adding that appellants often had to foot the bill for this transport themselves. This is one of the key factors to why up to 69 per cent of cases at the Appeal Court are heard in absentia, groups have said. licadho has suggested the chronic lack of resources in prisons, including the vehicles, petrol and manpower neces- sary to bring detainees to their appeal hearings, directly con- tributes to this high rate. The in-country Offce of the High Commissioner of Human Rights pointed out at a recent criminal procedure workshop that a number of prisoners who were acquitted at frst in- stance are still in prison wait- ing for prosecutor appeals to be decided. Council of Ministers spokes- man Phay Siphan said he was away from his offce and could not confrm how close the draft law for regional appeal courts was to being passed. Regional courts of appeal on horizon Accused secessionists to testify May Titthara T WO more of the fve accused secession- ists from Kratie prov- inces Pro Ma village turned themselves in on Fri- day, Ministry of Interior off- cials said, just days after Hun Sen declared that he would drop charges against them if they testifed against the plots masterminds. Warrants for the fve were issued after hundreds of pol- ice and military police off- cers evicted some 200 families from Pro Ma village, shooting a 14-year-old girl dead in the process an operation the government described as an attempt to put down a seces- sionist plot allegedly led by Bun Ratha. Ratha and others have re- peatedly denied any such plot, saying they were just applying for land titles, and the government has since claimed that Ratha and the others were taking orders from someone else. General Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said that the two latest villagers whom he refused to identify for safety reasons had admitted that they had received orders from others. We let them go back to their [homes] after they con- fessed, he said. They will testify in court. One alleged accomplice turned himself in on June 26, and the only two to remain on the run are Bun Ratha and his father, Bun Chhorn. Chan Soveth, a senior in- vestigator for rights group Ad- hoc, called the governments decision to grant immunity in exchange for testimony a ploy to silence an opposition radio broadcaster that it ac- cuses of masterminding the alleged plot. Forcing these confessions by taking the villagers to be witnesses is how the pres- sure is applied on Mam Sam- nangdo, president of FM 105 radio, whom the government accuses of leading the alleged secessionist group Democrat- ic Association, he said. Am Sam Ath, a senior in- vestigator for human rights group licadho, said that he wondered what the villag- ers were confessing to if they were actually innocent, and that the matter was best left to the courts. Twenty-fve-year-old Bun Sithet, the younger brother of Bun Ratha, said that ac- cused secessionist Khat Sa- roeun told him that he had implicated Ratha in his con- fession. Nevertheless, Ratha and his father would not confess to a crime they de- nied committing. My brother will come back to the village if the prime minister says he is not guilty, he said. People are evicted from Pro Ma village, in Kratie provinces Chhlong district, in May. heng chivoan We let them go back to their [homes] after they confessed Continued from page 1 told him villagers had agreed to leave and invited him to temporarily stay at the Koh Sdach pagoda. I hope my pagoda will not be demolished after what Hun Sen said on June 14, he said. Lim Song, a representative of villagers in Botum Sakor districts Thma Sar commune, said that while he was aware the volunteer students had been dispatched, he would believe the land was being cut out for villagers when he saw it with his own eyes. I live frightened that I will lose my house and rice field. I will stop being scared and believe in Hun Sens speech when I see the mixed committee come to measure land and give a land title to me, he said. Just 27 of the 47 families in his commune had resisted pressure from the company to move out, and those that remained do not trust provin- cial authorities to implement the prime ministers order. The classrooms of the local school, Prek Smach primary, have been empty since May, and 14-year-old Sann Sok wants his teachers to come back. I dont know if I will have the chance to study again or not. I want to know how to read and write like other children, because I dont want the others to call me a stupid boy, he said. One of his teachers was Sorn Sovannara, who said he had no choice but to leave because the district education department would have removed his name from the education ministrys list of teachers if he resisted. What they did was more cru- el than the Pol Pot regime. It was only during Khmer Rouge that schools and pagodas were closed. I hope that my school will be opened again after the Prime Minister Hun Sen said about the old policy, new activity for the land system, he said. Deputy provincial governor Say Socheat said last week a special committee had been set up to investigate the dis- pute and that he had travelled to an affected community on June 25 to measure land. We cannot cut land from the company. We have to do a provincial report in order to ask advice from the prime minister, he said. The Union Development Co. Ltd project will lead to the eviction of 1,143 families in five communes from 1,500 homes earmarked f or destruction, according to rights group Adhoc. Two schools and three pago- das will be removed by the completion of the project, according to Adhoc. Koh Kong provincial governor Bun Leut said the fate of these families and buildings remained uncertain and that no volunteer students had been dispatched yet to Koh Kong in order to measure land. Related to the dispute between villagers and Union [Development Co Ltd], we have to have a meeting with our com- mittee first. I cannot say in advance, Bun Leut said. National 4 THE PHNOM PENH POST JULy 2, 2012 Land volunteers on way: premier Vong Sokheng P RIME Minister Hun Sen said yesterday 700 volunteers from the Cambodian Peoples Party had fanned out across eight provinces to measure properties and provide titles to villagers who have been displaced by land disputes. Speaking to about 10,000 vil- lagers in the Kroch Chhmar dis- trict of Kampong Cham prov- ince, the premier said that 700 out of a total 1,100 volunteer youth were already deployed at Kampong Cham, Kratie, Rat- tanakkiri, Mondulkiri, Kampot, Banteay Meanchey and Bat- tambang provinces in coopera- tion with local authorities. [Their] obligation this time is to resolve problems [villag- ers have been having while liv- ing] on the state land, including forestry concession, economic land concession and the state land where the villages were illegally occupied, said Hun Sen. I will hand over land cer- tifcates for the villagers after the process is done in order to ensure that villagers have legal rights to own the land. He also appealed to villagers to cooperate with each other in the demarcation process in order to facilitate a smoother back and forth with local au- thorities who will ultimately provide the legal documents. Im Chhun Lim, the Minister of Land Management told the volunteers at the end of last week that an estimated 350,000 families were living on about 1.2 million hectares of state land. The government has a clear policy, and it will resolve the problems for villagers so that they will have appropriate legal documents for the land, and furthermore, it will stop new encroachment on state land, Chhun Lim said. Hun Sen was in Kampong Cham to mark National Fish Day, which he and senior of- fcials did by releasing about 500,000 baby fsh and 100,000 baby lobsters into a reservoir in Kroch Chhmar district. On March 8 of this year, the premier announced the closure of 35 commercial fshing lots around the Tonle Sap Lake, cit- ing illegal over-fshing. This is the fnal fshery re- form and the number of fsh has been increasing after the closure of fsh lots, he said. Koh Kong pagodas threatened Sann Sok, a student, looks through discarded papers and books at the Prek Smach primary school, which closed in May. heng chivoan 5 THE PHNOM PENH POST JUly 2, 2012 National Bridget Di Certo BROTHER No 2 Nuon Cheas defence law- yers had exhibited a pattern of disregard for their duties at the Khmer Rouge tribunal amounting to professional mis- conduct, Trial Chamber judges said in a decision on Friday. The judges had compiled enough egregious examples of misconduct by Dutch lawyer Michiel Pestman and American lawyer Andrew Ianuzzi to refer to the bar associations in Am- sterdam and New york respec- tively for appropriate action. Both lawyers are now work- ing on the case from abroad. Particularly egregious acts include Ianuzzis reference to Dr Dre lyrics when fling a mo- tion for New Zealand Judge Silvia Cartwright to keep all her responses open and on the re- cord after she was caught by the team mouthing the words blah blah blah while they were mak- ing submissions. Ianuzzi yesterday told the Post that he looked forward to submitting my own version of events to my bar association in due course. I have a ready an- swer for each and every charge levelled by the Trial Chamber, he said by email. The bench hear- ing the case against Nuon Chea and his two fellow co-ac- cused also consid- ered the teams re- peated protests of government interference at the UN-backed tribunal to be part of the pattern of misconduct. [The team] seems to be try- ing to provoke high-profle members of the Cambodian government by linking them to the activities of the Democratic Kampuchea, judges said. The core position of Nuon Cheas defence is that govern- ment interference at the tri- bunal has destroyed any likeli- hood of a free and fair trial. Documentation Center of Cambodia legal adviser Anne Heindel said it was this inher- ently confrontational de- fence strategy that had caused an ongoing struggle between the lawyers and judges. Their defence is that the court is riddled with political interference, and by bring- ing it up and being shut down consistently, they aim to prove that and they are allowed to pursue their defence, Hein- del said, adding it was up to the court to manage this. Nuon Cheas lawyers to face the bar abroad Teenager allegedly sex slave Mom Kunthear P OlICE have pulled a 15-year-old girl and her parents in for questioning over allegations the girl is being kept as a virtual sex slave in her familys home in Banteay Meanchey province, where her parents had chained her legs to a bench to prevent her from escaping, police said yesterday. The horrifc allegations, which are also being investi- gated by rights group Adhoc, were refuted by the girls par- ents, who claim their daugh- ter is simply being locked inside the house for her own well-being. Neighbour Khiev Bory told the Post yesterday he had vis- ited the girls family last week and saw that she had been re- strained in shackles. The girl told me that her parents forced her to work, to be a beggar and to have sex with foreign men since she was 13 years old, he said, adding that the girl had allegedly been shackled by her parents after her eighth attempt to fee and escape their abuse. Her story was reported in a local newspaper that quoted her as saying her parents had forced her to have sex with French and Thai nationals and they has also traffcked her to Thailands Sakeo province, where she was kept to work as a prostitute. Soum Chankea, provincial Adhoc coordinator, said yes- terday that Adhoc was investi- gating after receiving informa- tion from villagers and seeing the photos of the girl. The girls father, Nuth Meoun, yesterday denied the acts described by his daugh- ter, but admitted he was keeping her locked inside their house for her own secu- rity as she had been sneaking out at night to hang out with friends. We do not put the leg cuffs on her any more, we just lock her in the house and sleep with her every night, Meoun told the Post. She just accused us, but we parents are angels to look after our children, so why would we force our beloved child to be a whore? he asked angrily be- fore hanging up on a reporter. Um Sophal, Poipet town po- lice chief, said yesterday that his men are investigating the situation, but that he could confrm she was no longer chained up. We will keep investigating and watching the girls family, because we are afraid the par- ents might do something bad to the girl after [police] have left, he said. A 15-year-old girl chained to a concrete bench at her home in Banteay Meanchey province last week. photo supplied www.phnompenhpost.com check the post weBsite for BreAking news National 6 THE PHNOM PENH POST JUly 2, 2012 Gun-totting robbers nab two motos, one broken THREE men stole two motorcy- cles at gunpoint in Phnom Penhs Chamkarmon district on Friday. Police said the trio had first robbed a 43-year-old man of his motorcycle, but the bike broke down. Then they pointed the gun at another passing motorcyclist. Two of the suspects escaped on the stolen vehicle, and the third suspect, a 17-year-old high school student was arrested after the victims called for help. Police said no victims were injured and they were looking for the other suspects. nokoRwaT Cleaver-wielding bandits dodge justice THREE men tried to rob anoth- er trio in Phnom Penhs Por Sen Chey district on Friday, chopping one with a cleaver in the process. The three victims were riding a motorcycle when the three alleged robbers forced them to stop by bran- dishing the cleaver and asked for money. Two of the three victims managed to escape and seek help in nearby villag- es. Villagers came to catch one of the suspects, while the oth- ers escaped. The victim who left at the scene suffered head injuries and was sent to hospi- tal. The arrested suspect con- fessed to the crime. nokoRwaT Vendettas and cleavers plague the capital again a 39-YEaR-oLD taxi driver hacked his 33-year-old col- league with a cleaver on Tuesday at a taxi stop in Phnom Penhs Prampi Maka- ra district. The two both worked at the stop, vying for passengers. The suspect con- fessed that the two had had an argument over passengers a few days before. when the suspect saw his rival on Tues- day, he hacked the man with a cleaver. The victim was seri- ously injured and hospitalised, and police sent the suspect to court. koH SanTEPHEaP Pride-induced slash attack yields no injuries FoUR men chased and attempted to stab three oth- ers in Banteay Meancheys Poipet town. Police arrested a 27-year-old, who started the attack as he spotted the trio kicking his motorcycle. The four friends grabbed knives and chased the three, while police came to inter- vene. Police apprehended the chief offender, but everyone else escaped. no one was injured. koH SanTEPHEaP Robbers jungle hideout not so inconspicuous Two men stole a motorcycle and hid it in a forest, but a sol- dier spotted the bike, and the two men were arrested on Fri- day in Preah Sihanouks Prey nop district. Police said the two suspects, 23 and 24, stopped the victim on Tuesday, battered him with wooden sticks and forced him to sur- render his bike. The pair then escaped on the motorcycle and hid it in the forest. Both men confessed to the crime. koH SanTEPHEaP Translated by Phak Seangly Police bloTTer Rapid response A man braves rushing water to go fshing in the Siem Reap river in Siem Reap town. MEnG kIMLonG Tough decision on Devillers cheang Sokha T HE government had been torn between the demands of France and China when de- ciding the fate of detained Frenchman Patrick Devillers, an offcial said yesterday. Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, would not say whether Beijing had provided the government with evidence of Devillers all- eged crimes yet, but said he was concerned about what to do with the 52-year-old. I hope these two countries, both friends of Cambodia, will understand our diffculty, he told the Post. If we send him to China, France will not be happy; and if we give him to France, it will disappoint China. Devillers, who was detained on June 13 at Chinas request, has links to wanted Chinese politician Bo Xilai. It is still not clear exactly why Devillers was detained, but the government has the right to hold him for 60 days without charge. Minister of Information Kh- ieu Kanharith last week all- eged Patrick Devillers had held money for Gu Kailai, the wife of Bo Xilai. China has named her as a suspect in the murder of Brit- ish businessman Neil Hey- wood in November last year. Both Heywood and Devil- lers were known to be close to her. Devillers is alleged to have entered Bos inner circle while living in Dalian in the 1990s when Bo, who was mayor of the Chinese city, helped him to chase up an unpaid debt. A spokeswoman for the French embassy in Phnom Penh said yesterday she had no information about the case.
In brief One window, one service for one queue an oFFICIaL from the Ministry of Interior said yesterday that Cambodians will have access to more than 30 government service offices by 2013. The so-called one window one service sites were created so citizens can carry out routine tasks, such as the registration of motorbike licence plates, without travelling great dist- ances or waiting many hours. The aim is to offer the people access to public ser vices the received services are ones delegated by relevant minis- tries, said Por Phak, Director of the Interior Min istrys Inter- national Relations Depart- ment. The offices, 17 of which have opened in 10 pro vinces since 2009, were made pos- sible by funding from the Cam- bodian government and the world Bank. CHHaY CHannYDa Son allegedly kills own father; siblings arrested Two men were charged in connection with the killing of their 47-year-old father on Sat urday, and police are sear- ching for a third son accused of committing the murder. Sokhom Ra, 26 and Sokhom Thida, 22, were charged by kratie Provincial Court on Sat urday with helping hide Sok hom Davy, who alleg edly re peat edly struck his fath er, Phlong Sokhom, with an axe, Lieutenant Colonel Huoth Lim heang, provincial chief of the serious crimes unit, said yesterday. The men in Snuol districts khsoem krao com- mune fell into an argument with their alcoholic father, who was prone to cursing them and their mother, on Friday, Limheang said. BUTH REakSMEY konGkEa 7 THE PHNOM PENH POST JUly 2, 2012 Business USD / JPY 79.26 USD / SGD 1.2786 USD /CNY 6.3609 USD / HKD 7.7581 USD / THB 31.87 AUD / USD 1.0043 NZD / USD 0.7872 EUR / USD 1.245 GBP / USD 1.5536 Indicative Exchange Rates as of 29/06/2012. Please contact ANZ Royal Global Markets on 023 999 910 for real time rates. USD / KHR 4,065 Chevron aims at oil production in 2016 Continued from page 1 Glick said the company had completed three EIAs, includ- ing reports on exploration. Weve been in Cambodia for 10 years . . . and Chevron has put forth two other EIAs dur- ing that time, he said, adding that the company had also completed two environment management programs con- cerning its operation. Civil-society groups such as DPA have long sought out the exploration EIAs, which Cam- bodian law requires. The EIA labelled impact on the environment and com- munities as low or insig- nificant. Even so, concerns remained on the report. DPAs Mam Sambath said potential impact on tourism and fishing communities needed deeper discussion. We worry fishermen will not be allowed to go nearby. They could be economically impacted, but this has not been discussed . . . Tourists visit islands near the produc- tion site. We dont know what the impact will be, he said. The field is 157 kilometres off Cambodias coast. Chevron drilled 18 explora- tory wells before announcing a commercial discovery in 2010. It has a 30 per cent stake in Block A, also known as the Apsara field. The production EIA, com- pleted in March, laid out Chev- rons development plans once production begins. It will build as many as 10 platforms in the 4,709-square- kilometre field over a period of nine years. Oil firms from China and Japan submitted exploratory EIAs late last year the first to be obtained by the public. Cars queue for petrol at a Caltex station in Phnom Penh last week. The 24 retail stations are Chevrons most visible mark on the country to date. pha lina Prudential to set up shop May Kunmakara and Gregory Pellechi
P RUDENTIAl plc, a fi nanci al -servi ces company from the United Kingdom, planned to invest US$7 mill- ion in Cambodias insurance industry, British ambassador Mark Gooding told Cambo- dias Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon during a meeting on Friday. Prudential, not to be con- fused with the Prudential Insurance Company of Amer- ica, will open an offce in the Kingdom but the ambassador could not confrm the ser- vices to be offered, or a time frame for the launch. Insiders encouraged Prud- entials move into the Cam- bodian marketplace, saying it would be a very good thing as more data would become available, enabling more acc- urate risk assessments and risk management. It will provide investors with access to the Cambo- dian market and increase the amount of market research available for Cambodia, said Chairman of the British Busi- ness Association of Cambodia (BBAC) Darren Conquest. Recently, the government ap- proved two life insurance com- panies Cambodia life Insur- ance which is a joint-venture between the government and foreign investors, and Manulife from Canada which opened last Thursday. Gooding said the British Em- bassy in Cambodia is prepar- ing an exchange visit between Cambodias insurance regula- tors and the UKs, in order to share experiences between both regulators and to support and encourage investors to come to Cambodia. Cambodia has six general insurance companies, which generate premiums of about $9.4 million, a year-on-year av- erage increase of 39 per cent in the frst quarter of the year. Chhay Ratanak, chairman of the General Insurance Associa- tion of Cambodia (GIAC), said that while neither of the two life insurance companies cur- rently operating in Cambodia are members of the GIAC, the association would hold a meet- ing this week with the compa- nies to discuss their inclusion in the organisation. Ratanak said, I think com- pared to ASEAN countries there are not many companies that provide insurance services or life insurance. He made no comment as to whether Cam- bodia would see more growth in the sector. He said that there has been a defnite increase in the number of insurance companies op- erating in Cambodia but said that before any more choose to enter the Kingdom they need to proper research the market to ensure that the market can handle another. The UK Trade and Invest- ment Offce re-opened in Cambodia on May 18 in a bid to boost trade and investment between the two countries. According to the data from the Council for the Develop- ment of Cambodia, approved investment from the UK stood as number one in terms of For- eign Direct Investment in Cam- bodia, last year reaching more than $2 billion. Prudential is an internation- al fnancial services group with signifcant operations in Asia, the US and the UK, and is listed on the london, Hong Kong, Singapore and New york stock exchanges, according to its website, and serves more than 26 million customers and has 351 billion (US$550 billion) of assets under management. Keat Chhon said Cambodias government supported and encouraged all foreign inves- tors, including those from the UK, to ensure foreign investors continue to enter Cambodia. The government is focus- ing on the establishment of the anti-corruption law in an effort to eliminate unneces- sary expanses, which can ad- versely affect investment. Opinion 18 THE PHNOM PENH POST july 2, 2012 Successful People Read The Post FREE DELIVERY TO YOUR HOME OR OFFICE SUBSCRIPTION FORM PLEASE TICK THE SUBSCRIPTION OF YOUR CHOICE SUBSCRIBER NAME: ............................................................................. 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ThetitleThe PhnomPenhPost ineither Englishor Khmer languages, its associatedlogos or devices andthecontents of this publicationmay not bereproducedinwholeor inpart without the writtenconsent of Post MediaCoLtd. www.phnompenhpost.com www.phnompenhpost.com T HE ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) has posted a short video on its website about the resettlement impacts of the Cambodian railway rehabilitation project it is financing. Rattling off numerous improve- ments to peoples living conditions, the three-minute video portrays the resettlement process as a resound- ing success, benefiting poor Cam- bodian families who are now, or will be, better off than they were before the railway project came along. Although the soothing voice of the narrator fleetingly mentions that there have been a few criticisms and grievances, the Asian Development Banks country director for Cambo- dia quickly assures the audience that the ADB is working with the Cambodian government to ensure all the remaining grievances are addressed. This is a piece of propaganda that would make Goebbels blush. last month, as the ADB was busy working on this elaborate piece of public relations, the human-rights group licadho was making itself infi- nitely more useful by providing fami- lies affected by the railway project with emergency human-itarian aid. Many of the families now living at the remote Phnom Penh resettle- ment site are struggling under the weight of debilitating debt burdens and are simply no longer able to make ends meet. The bungled resettlement process has driven many of these families below Cambodias poverty line because of lost employment or drastically reduced income. Sovanna, a 46-year-old mother featured in Sahmakum Teang Tnauts new report, Losing the Plot, has seen her familys monthly income drop from $225 prior to resettlement to just $32 at the Phnom Penh relocation site in Trapeang Anch Chanh. like most of the affected families, Sovanna (not her real name) borr- owed money from an informal money lender to pay for the con- struction of her new house because the $750 she received in compensat- ion was not enough. She is now overdue on the repayments of $72 a month and may soon lose her plot of land to the creditor. Five families in Trapeang Anch Chanh have reported they have already lost their plots of land and have been left homeless as a result of the development project. These families are not alone in facing the debilitating effects of poorly executed resettlement in the name of development. In February, the international non-government organisation Bridges Across Borders released a report titled Derailed, which describes in detail the harm suff- ered by families who have been resettled because of the Cambodian railways project. This report documents repeated failures to comply with Asian Devel- opment Banks own safeguard poli- cies, resulting in a high risk of pro- longed impoverishment for affected people across the country. Although no doubt some families have enjoyed benefits from resettle- ment, there is no question that many others have been harmed. The Asian Development Bank is well aware of this. It has been cop- ied on complaints from hundreds of affected people, and its staff have attended numerous meetings dur- ing which community representat- ives have described in detail the extremely difficult conditions peo- ple are facing at resettlement sites. Relocated families have sent let- ters to the ADB asking for loans so they can feed their families. A long complaint, setting out a lit- any of policy violations and harm suffered as a result of the railway project, has been submitted to the ADBs internal accountability mech- anism by 150 affected families. Despite this mounting evidence, rather than acknowledging the re- settlement disaster and accepting some degree of responsibility for the damage done to peoples lives, the ADBs propaganda machine has kicked in at high voltage. This Potemkin village video is an appalling use of public funds to whitewash human-rights violations that have been inflicted on some of Cambodias poorest families by a grossly mismanaged development project financed by an institution with a professed mandate to fight poverty in Asia. Comment Natalie Bugalski Propaganda mill at full tilt A woman carries part of a door at a relocation site in Trapeang Anch Chanh village for evictees from areas that have been affected by Cambodias railway rehabilitation project. PHA LINA natalie bugalski is an associate of inclusive development international and a co-author of the derailed report. Roth Meas
B OOKS detailing what happened during the Khmer Rouge era have fnally reached young people living in the regimes fnal stronghold, An- long Veng. Last Friday, the Documen- tation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam), an NGO that fo- cuses on historical memory and education, distributed more than 1,000 copies of the book A History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979) to students of the Anlong Veng High School. Most of the students parents are former Khmer Rouge supporters. The book distribution also included the unveiling of an Anlong Veng genocide me- morial, the frst of its kind in the region. The monuments engraving reads: Learning about the history of Demo- cratic Kampuchea is to pre- vent genocide. Promotion of awareness and education of Khmer Rouge history is considered critical by DC-CAM for rec- onciliation between perpet- rators and victims. As I talked to people here, only a few of them disagreed with us. Most didnt mind us educating their children about Khmer Rouge history, says Dy Kamboly, the team leader of genocide education at DC-Cam and the author of A History of Democratic Kampuchea. We have hosted more than 20 similar events in other provinces, but we invited only students. Here, we had to invite older people so we could avoid confusion. Theam Song Hor, a history teacher at Anlong Veng High School, says that although the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports provides a textbook for use by his Grade 12 students, it is not as de- tailed as Dy Kambolys. The governments book has only one lesson about the 1975-1979 regime, Theam Song Hor says, and the min- istry requires him to teach his students the material for only a few hours. The book from the minis- try just tells the main points: how that regime happened, how many administration zones were divided, and who the permanent committees were between 1975 and 1979. So my students still dont know why they called the Anlong Veng district a Khmer Rouge stronghold. But Theam Song Hor has not been afraid to take the discussion with his students beyond the contents of the offcial government textbook. Before we started teaching Khmer Rouge history, we were told by DC-Cam to encour- age students to speak openly about the Khmer Rouge and to acknowledge the past, but never to teach them to hate their parents because of their background, he says. During the ceremony, Ton Sa Im, Under-Secretary of State of the Ministry of Edu- cation, Youth and Sports, ap- pealed to older people to tell their children about what had happened in the past, so our younger generation will learn from our experience. Yim Phanna, the governor of Anlong Veng district and a former Khmer Rouge soldier, encouraged residents to par- ticipate in the process of his- torical education. Even though war has fn- ished, and this place was re- formed and developed, regret still stays with us. It insists that we not let that regime happen again, he said. To prevent that regime happening again, we have to tell the past story broadly to the next generation. Ron Noun, a 19-year-old Grade 11 student at Anlong Veng High School, said his mother had told him that she had been a Khmer Rouge solider, but she had never revealed whether she wit- nessed killings. Maybe my mother was still young dur- ing the Khmer Rouge regime, so she didnt know much about what was happening, Ron Noun said. Anyway, I will read the book to fnd out more. 19 THE PHNOM PENH POST jULY 2, 2012 Lifestyle javas artist-in-residence displays surreal scenes Sean Gleeson IN the thick of a typical lunch rush upstairs at Tonle Bassacs java Caf, Anida Yoeu Ali takes a half-hour respite from a fran- tic week. At various points inside are the emerging signs of the rooms impending transforma- tion: bare mannequins, a smattering of test prints, and the frenzied air of creative ten- sion that always accompanies an impending deadline. Ali, the Cambodia-born, Chicago-raised co-founder of local arts collaborative Studio Revolt, is capping off her asso- ciation with the long-standing Phnom Penh creative hub with one of her most ambitious projects to date. Following a three-month stint as javaArts inaugural artist-in-residence, Ali tonight launches The Space Between Inside/Outside, a trove of lush panoramic photography, sculpture and installations. Underpinning the exhibition is a series of images by local photographer and regular Stu- dio Revolt collaborator Vinh Dao. Set against the ruins of Boeung Kak, dilapidated shop- fronts in Stung Meanchey and a pastoral field on the road to Takeo, each depicts Ali shroud- ed in a pair of flamboyant fab- rics that will also be used to gild the cafs walls for the duration of the exhibition. One particularly striking pic- ture shows the artist sitting on an incongruously oversized replica of the ubiquitous plas- tic stools of Cambodias street eateries, brandishing a ream of red fabric against a back- drop of wet-season greenery. A strong wind carries the fabric into the air and looks set to envelop the horizon. When she reviewed the shot, Ali realised she and her team had unwittingly recreated the aesthetic of the Naga serpent from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. As Ali had recently conclu- ded a Fulbright scholarship researching Cambodian crea- tion stories, it was a vindica- tion of her fondness for incor- porating sudden, spontaneous reactions to external elements in her work. I love performance because its very much about catching the moment within the bound- aries I create for the composi- tion, she says. Hearing my photographer react saying Yeah, yeah, thats cool, oh my God! that, to me, is a huge part of the process. This is a solo show, its my idea, my concepts, Im the instigator, conceiver and whatever else, but it takes a whole lot of people to make my ideas into reality. Thats part of the artistic joy, because everybody involved is invested. Ali, who plans to continue her endeavours in Phnom Penh indefinitely, says the contemporary art and per- formance scene emerging in Cambodia has been a rich font of inspiration for her work. Its almost like I was just sketching things in Chicago. The work I was doing was just tiny sketches to what is actu- ally realised here, Ali says. I feel like work is varied here. I enjoy more of the per- formance work and some of the installation work thats been done, and I feel like Im responding to the energy that drives the work here. The Space Between Inside/ Outside opens tonight at 6pm at java Caf and Gallery, #56 Sihanouk Blvd, Phnom Penh, and will run until August 5. JavaArts frst artist-in-residence, Anida Yoeu Ali, will display a striking series of photographs such as this one taken at Boeung Kak lake as part of her new exhibit opening tonight at Java Caf. PHOTO SUPPLIED History lesson in KR bastion Ton Sa Im, Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Education, presents students in Anlong Veng, the fnal Khmer Rouge stronghold, with copies of A History of Democratic Kampuchea. HOng MInEa