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June 07 - Regime in Cambodia funded by Britain

The British Government pays £13 million a year to support a "mafiosi" regime in Cambodia accused of plundering the country, a meeting of donors was told in June. Relatives of the prime minister, Hun Sen, have been involved in illegal logging, kidnapping and attempted murder, claimed the British organisation Global Witness. In 2007 the Department for International Development plans to spend £13 million in the country of 14 million people where 35 per cent live on less than 25p a day.
But many Cambodians say the foreign aid has made little difference to their lives. Large-scale deforestation robs local people of the resources they have relied on for years. Simon Taylor, the director of Global Witness, said: "Whenever they protest they tend to get murdered or shunted off." His report said: "Illegal logging in Cambodia not only fills the pockets of the political elite; it also funds the activities of a 6,000-strong private army controlled by Hun Sen." The report said the prime minister's bodyguard unit, known as Brigade 70, "runs a nationwide timber trafficking and smuggling service, catering to prominent tycoons." Hun Neng, the prime minister's brother, said yesterday: "If they [Global Witness] come to Cambodia, I will hit them until their heads are broken." The Cambodian embassy in London said the report was "unacceptable rubbish".

 

April 07 - Cambodia's rice yields highest in 10 years

Cambodia's rice yield in 2006 was 6.4 million tonnes, making it the highest yield in a decade for the impoverished country in a decade. Prime Minister Hun Sen told a government agriculture conference that the average yield per hectare was 2.4 tonnes of rice. He says this is the highest yield for 10 years, and says it shows considerable progress compared to the 1950s and 1960s, when yields per hectare were between 0.6 and 1.6 tons. The prime minister said the record harvest was the result of good weather conditions, no serious natural disasters, and efforts to rebuild irrigation systems.
In 2006, agriculture accounted for 30 percent of the country's gross domestic product. Analysts say more than a third of Cambodia's 14 million people live in poverty after decades of civil war and government mismanagement, but since 2000, economic growth has risen by around 9 per cent.

 

Nov 06 - oil discovery brings caution

The good news in this country of 14 million, where one-third of the people live on less than 50 cents a day, is that they've struck oil. But the bad news is that the discovery may make things even worse. Early analyses indicate that the income from crude and gas could quickly exceed the current gross domestic product. A rapid acquisition of wealth fuels fears that autocratic, repressive leaders could become even less responsive to the needs of their impoverished people.

 

May 05 - Mine blast kills 5 soldiers

A land mine killed five Cambodian soldiers and maimed another as they tried to remove it from an area being developed to build a hotel and casino resort. The surviving soldier lost a leg in the powerful blast in the northwestern province of Oddar Meanchey, where the explosion occurred.
An estimated 4 million to 6 million mines and other unexploded ordnance remain buried in Cambodia from more than three decades of armed conflict. Explosions maim or kill many Cambodians each year. Last month, 10 rice field workers were killed when their truck drove over an anti-tank mine. A similar accident left 13 villagers dead in November.

 

May 05 - May Day demonstrations quelled by massive police presence in Cambodia capital

A leading trade union leader was arrested Monday as thousands of police brought the capital to a virtual standstill during a government clampdown on unauthorized May Day demonstrations. The heavy police presence blocked all main roads into the city as police armed with riot shields and batons physically prevented protesters from marching. But after negotiations between Sam Rainsy and government authorities, several hundred protesters were allowed to march. Using fronds ripped from roadside trees to shield themselves from the unrelenting sun, the protesters cheered as trade union workers and Sam Rainsy made speeches through a megaphone. Khean Srey Mom, a 21-year-old garment worker, said she and many of her colleagues were protesting because they wanted salary increases and rights within the workplace. "Today, 1 May, is a very significant day for us to demand our rights from factory owners and from the government,'' she said. "Cambodia still lacks real democracy, there is no real respect for human rights. From what we have seen today, the Cambodian workers are still suppressed by the government.''

 

April 05 - Cambodia rejects US request for troops

Cambodia has turned down a US approach on sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. "We will not send our armed forces to Iraq because the issue there is not in the hands of the United Nations," Prime Minister Hun Sen told reporters. But even if the UN were in command, Cambodia would still not send troops to Iraq or Afghanistan, he said following a meeting last week with US Ambassador Joseph A Mussomeli, who asked him to consider sending troops.
"Every day we have seen people get killed and taken hostage" in Iraq, Hun Sen said. "So I will not let my people, who went through 30 years of suffering from war, see more horrible days of separation and suffering from the continued terrorist activities of decapitating hostages in Iraq."
Cambodia, heavily mined itself and still emerging from three decades of bloody civil war and the Khmer Rouge "Killing Fields" in which an estimated 1.7 million people died, is sending soldiers to Sudan to help clear mines.

 

April 05 - 10 killed when truck hits anti-tank mine in Cambodia

Ten people were killed instantly when their truck hit an anti-tank mine as they were traveling to their one-time rice fields in northwestern Cambodia. The area of Oddar Meanchey province where the incident occurred Friday was heavily mined during the war between the central government and Khmer Rouge guerrillas in the 1980s. Those killed included seven farmers, one policeman, a soldier and a provincial civil servant. `They wanted to see their old rice fields which they abandoned since the late 1970s. They have enough land at their village but they wanted to plant rice on their former land because the land there is very good and they could get a high yield,'' the governor said.
An estimated 4-6 million land mines and other unexploded ordnance from more than three decades of armed conflict continue to maim or kill many Cambodians each year.

 

Mar 05 - Annan Nominates Seven Judges for Cambodia's Khmer Rouge Trials

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan nominated seven international judges to sit on special tribunals in Cambodia for the trials of leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime accused of genocide. Annan sent his list of nominations to the Cambodian government, which is setting up two special courts to hear the cases. The secretary general asked Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to choose five of the nominees to sit on the tribunals. No date has been set for the start of the trials.
Between five and 10 surviving Khmer Rouge leaders may face trials arising from their rule from 1975 until the regime was overthrown in 1979. The Khmer Rouge drove people out of Cambodia's cities to work at forced-labor collective farms as it attempted to impose a communist agrarian state. An estimated 1.7 million people died during its rule.
Cambodia will establish one court to conduct the trials and one to hear appeals. The UN General Assembly in May 2003 approved the plan to create tribunals within the national court structure of Cambodia that will contain international and Cambodian judges. A three-year budget for the trials is about $56.3 million, of which the UN will pay $43 million and $13 million is earmarked to come from the Cambodian government, the UN has said. The UN Security Council has agreed that the funding will come from voluntary contributions.
Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader, died in his jungle hideout in 1998. Seven Khmer Rouge officials still living were named in 2003 by the Washington-based Coalition for International Justice as the main leaders who should stand trial. They include Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary. Khieu Samphan, another Khmer Rouge official on the list, told Agence France-Presse in October 2004 he welcomed the establishment of the courts in order ``to clear my name.''

Mar 05 - Suicide advocate booted From Cambodia

The government has recently deported a California man who operated a Web site promoting Cambodia as a place for foreigners to commit suicide. Roger Graham, 57, was detained at his residence in Kampot province in southwestern Cambodia, said National Deputy Police Chief Gen. Sok Phal. "His Web site lured people in the world to come to commit suicide in Cambodia," Phal said. "Cambodia is not the place for foreigners to come to kill themselves." Em Chhoun, a Kampot police official, claimed Graham's Web site was responsible for the suicide of a British woman in the province last year. Graham, in previous interviews with The Associated Press, denied assisting the woman in her suicide. In November last year, Kampot provincial authorities sued him for defaming the province. Graham was summoned for questioning at the provincial court but never tried. Graham came to Cambodia in 2003 from Paradise, Calif., where he said he founded the Assisted Euthanasia Society of Paradise. In Kampot, he also ran an Internet cafe.

 

Mar 05 - Cambodia destroys more surplus weapons

The 46th Flame of Peace weapons destruction ceremony was held recently in Cambodia's Kratie province with more than 3,000 surplus weapons being destroyed. Cambodia has regularly been destroying surplus weapons that have either been confiscated as illegal weapons from the civilian population or declared surplus weapons by the Ministry of National Defense. So far, the total number of weapons destroyed in Cambodia since May 1999 will be almost 185,000. EU ASAC, the program of the European Union to assist Cambodia in small arms management, have given financial and technical assistance for the destruction of over 130,000 of these weapons.

Feb 05 - Cambodia to aid Sudan mine clearing

Cambodia is to send 130 soldiers to help clear landmines in war-torn Sudan. Major-General Sem Sovanny, a Cambodian army officer, said: "It is time for us to help others. We will save some lives in Sudan by clearing mines." As one of the world's most landmined countries, Cambodia has extensive experience in clearing mines. Since three decades of civil war ended in 1998, an estimated 1.6 million landmines have been destroyed in Cambodia. But millions remain and are responsible for hundreds of deaths and injuries every year. The most dangerous area is the K5 mine belt, a 400-500m swathe of land that stretches for 700km along the country’s northwestern border. Other random, overlapping areas of mines also exist – a legacy of the military practice of laying mines year after year as combatants retreated to safer ground after the rainy season.

According to Landmine Monitor, Cambodia had spent $30 million on landmine destruction in 2004 alone. The Cambodian soldiers will now help Sudan’s anti-mine efforts. Due to the huge size of the African country, it is impossible to tell how many unexploded mines remain in the country. Mines were used extensively during the two-decade long conflict between the Sudanese government and the southern-based rebels, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), that was ended by a truce last year. The first Cambodian de-mining team should arrive in Sudan by the end of this month and the last by mid-April.

Figures from Landmine Monitor also showed that global mine casualties fell in 2005 but that 15-20,000 people are killed or maimed by landmines every year. Over 200,000 square kilometres of the word’s surface is believed to be contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance.

Feb 05 - Plight of Cambodia's Irrawaddy dolphins

Conservationists have warned that Cambodia's population of Irrawaddy dolphins could vanish within a decade unless strict enforcement is undertaken to protect the endangered species. So far this year 14 dolphins have died, and it was estimated earlier this month that only 80-100 are left in the Mekong River, which runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Illegal fishing nets were the cause of most dolphin deaths and authorities are conducting day-and-night patrols of the river to crack down on the problem. River pollution and disease could also have been factors in the recent deaths.

 

Feb 05 - Saudi government donation to assist hungry Cambodian students

The United Nations World Food Programme has welcomed a generous donation by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to WFP programmes in Cambodia. The money will primarily benefit students in Cambodia by providing them with meals in school and food to take home to their families. The cash donation worth US$ 440,000 will be used to purchase rice within Cambodia. Over 130,000 people are expected to benefit from the donation.

Food purchased through the donation will support school feeding for 100,000 students in Kampong Chhang and Kampong Cham provinces over the coming months. Girls in selected schools will be given rations to take home to their families, benefiting an additional 28,000 people. Additionally, the food will be used to support 1,600 families that are participating in Food-for-Work projects in Kampong Chhang province.

School feeding programmes, which aim to boost attendance and enable children to concentrate on their lessons, are particularly important in Cambodia. The country has recently made considerable progress in expanding basic education, but 55 percent of students do not complete primary school, and roughly 10 percent of boys and 16 percent of girls aged between 6 and 11 years don’t attend school because they work to support their families. The results of WFP’s work in this area have been positive: enrolment has increased by 8 percent over the last three years in schools with WFP school feeding programmes, which reached over 400,000 students in Cambodia last year.

Feb 05 - Thousands of Cambodians visit Vietnam for Tet

More than 20,000 Khmer ethnic people from Cambodia visited Vietnam Jan 28-Feb 1 for the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival. In recent years, Vietnam's traditional Tet festival has attracted many neighbouring Cambodians. Khmer Cambodians living along the borderline also celebrate Tet as Vietnamese and border gates are always open day and night to welcome them to Vietnam for Tet. Cambodia's Chaul Chnam Thmay (New Year) festival in April also attracts a lot of Vietnamese.

Jan 05 - US Court backs anti-sex tourism law

A US court has backed a law making it a crime for American citizens to pay for child sex abroad, rejecting an appeal by a man who challenged the government's authority to regulate his behaviour overseas. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals endorsed the law while rejecting the appeal from a 71-year-old Seattle man convicted of buying sex with two boys while in Cambodia on a business visa. The tourist sex ban is included in a US commerce law. The man estimated he had had sex with approximately 50 boys in Cambodia since he began traveling there in 1996, investigators reported. In his appeal, the man did not deny the acts only that Congress had exceeded its authority to regulate his behavior outside US borders.

 

Jan 05 - India helps Cambodia with temple restoration

The ancient Tra Prohm temple in Cambodia will be restored to its pristine glory, thanks to a new proposal envisaged by the Cambodian government involving Indian agencies. The Tra Prohm temple — which was constructed in 1139 — is situated in the Siemreap city of Cambodia. The temple is dedicated to Hindu gods and goddesses. The Cambodian government has engaged the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to do the restoration work on various idols, and the Forest Research Institute (FRI) to preserve the 250 ancient trees in the vicinity of the temple complex.

Sept 04 - Outbreak of bird flu

Cambodia has detected its first new outbreak of bird flu in chickens for months to become the sixth Asian nation to report a resurgence of the killer virus. Infected chickens were found at a family-run farm in a province near the capital where 4 500 birds have died or been culled. The lethal strain of the bird flu virus has been responsible for 28 human deaths in neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam during two waves of outbreaks this year.

 

Aug 04 - HIV/AIDS media campaign

A multi-million dollar mass-media campaign including television dramas and radio shows aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS in Cambodia was launched in April. The 25-month BBC World Service Trust campaign is also using radio and TV commercials and radio phone-in programmes to highlight issues surrounding the spread of HIV in the kingdom as well as maternal and child health. The TV and radio broadcasts will be transmitted in 21 of Cambodia's 24 provinces, covering more than 90 percent of the population.

 

Jan 04 - Bird Flu Confirmed Reaches Cambodia

Cambodia has confirmed that the bird flu has broken out in the country. Cambodia is the sixth Asian country to be affected by the virus. With the aim of preventing the spread of this disease, the Ministry of Agriculture has taken measures to temporarily ban the transport, buying, and selling of birds, birds' eggs, fresh and frozen bird's meat, and products originating from domesticated and wild birds from countries affected by the bird flu. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is working closely with the Cambodian government to assess the situation and any additional need for outside assistance.

 

Apr 03 - Oman thrash Cambodia in Olympic football qualifiers

Four goals on each side of the break steered Oman to an emphatic 8-0 victory over Cambodia at the Sultan Qaboos Stadium, a huge Asian Olympic qualifiers First Round first-leg advantage that will more than come in useful for Oman when the reverse tie kicks off next Wednesday.

 

Mar 03 - Cambodia to lead mission to North Korea

Cambodia is planning to send a senior official to Pyongyang in a rare initiative to try to persuade foes North Korea and the United States to talk. A senior Asian official says the mission carries added urgency given fears in North Korea that it will become the next US target after Iraq.
Foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations agreed at a meeting in Malaysia this week on the need for an immediate attempt to soften the position of North Korea. Pyongyang says it will only discuss its nuclear ambitions with the United States.
ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong says the war in Iraq offers a window of opportunity to try to persuade Pyongyang to seek a peaceful settlement.

 

Mar 03 - Trial of Khmer Rouge moves a big step closer

The Cambodian government and United Nations have agreed to cooperate in conducting a genocide trial for surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge (KR), the brutal regime responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians between April 1975 and its overthrow in January 1979. The agreement will now be put to the UN General Assembly and Cambodian National Assembly for ratification. The agreement is testimony to the determination of the Cambodian government, which first asked for UN assistance in a trial of the KR in June 1997. If the UN quicly allocates funding, a panel of Cambodian and international judges could begin work next year.
UN participation is important, not only because of the admitted weaknesses of the Cambodian judicial system. Most Cambodians remember that right up until 1991, the defeated KR were maintained in Cambodia's UN seat by Western governments. Among other consequences, UN “humanitarian” aid to Cambodia ended up supporting KR guerillas in their camps along the Thai-Cambodian border. UN participation in a trial of the KR can therefore be seen as belated atonement for the UN's role in the 1980s.

 

Jan-Feb 03 - Terrified Thais flee riot-hit Cambodia

Military aircraft evacuated hundreds of frightened Thais from Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh after a night of riots in which the Thai embassy and businesses were torched. The Phnom Penh violence was sparked by reported remarks by a Thai actress that the ancient Angkor Wat temple, the national symbol depicted on Cambodia's flag, belonged to Thailand.
By mid-February, tensions had lessened considerably. Borders were reopened. The Cambodian government vowed to pay Thailand for the damage caused and to protect Thai nationals who returned. Thailand sent a chargé d’affaires to re-establish a diplomatic presence in Cambodia. But the causes and effects of the crisis were still being debated.

Dec 02 - Australians jailed for Cambodia child sex

Two Australians convicted of raping and sexually harassing six Cambodian girls aged between 12 and 14 have been sentenced to 10 and 20 years in jail, officials and their lawyers say. Cambodia, which has long had a reputation as a relative safe haven for paedophiles due to its lax and erratic judicial system, has recently been trying to clean up its act.

Cambodia dances to an ancient tune

Apsara dancing, which traces its roots back to primitive magic and Hindu influences from the first century AD, reached its zenith in the courts of the great kings who built Angkor Wat around 800 years ago. After years of gradual decline, the 20th century threw up its two greatest threats: the cultural nihilism of the Khmer Rouge and the corrosive influence of Western modernism said to be undermining traditions across all the developing world. Apsara has proved more than a match for both -- although its survival 30 years ago was touch and go.