THE Khmer Rouge tribunal announced the provisional conclusion of the judicial investigation in its second case on Thursday, setting a tentative timeline for the prosecution of the regime leaders currently awaiting trial.
UN court spokesman Lars Olsen said the co-investigating judges hoped to issue a closing order in Case 002 by September of this year, paving the way for a trial shortly afterwards.
“The earliest possible time for a trial, if there will be a trial, will be the end of this year,” Olsen said. He noted, though, that there is no guarantee that indictments will be issued in the case. With the conclusion of the investigation, all parties to the case now have 30 days to request further investigative actions. The co-investigating judges must then either carry out these requests or refuse them and explain their reasoning, with court parties given 30 days to appeal refusals.
Upon the conclusion of this appeals process, the co-investigating judges will then forward the case file to the prosecution, which then has 45 days to make a final submission. Following receipt of this submission, the judges will issue a closing order: either an indictment or a dismissal of the case.
Thursday’s announcement marked the provisional conclusion of a two-and-a-half year investigation of the former leaders of Democratic Kampuchea now in detention: Brother No 2 Nuon Chea, foreign minister Ieng Sary, head of state Khieu Samphan, social action minister Ieng Thirith and Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch.
Showing posts with label (khmer news) phnom penh post. Show all posts
Showing posts with label (khmer news) phnom penh post. Show all posts
Jan 17, 2010
Politics, economy put profits down: Thai Air
Carrier says Cambodian officials no longer booking flights
THAI Airways suffered a drop of about 15 percent on passenger loads and revenues last year on its Cambodia route, the carrier’s general manager in Phnom Penh said Thursday, blaming the economic crisis and fallout from the recent political spat between Prime Minister Hun Sen and his counterpart in Bangkok.
Narinthorn Purnagupta said the deterioration in diplomatic relations between the two countries has had a negative impact on Thailand’s national carrier – a trend that began with the closure of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport by political protesters in late 2008, adding that Cambodian government officials have stopped booking official flights on Thai Airways.
“Normally, we could say they would book with Thai [Airways],” Narinthorn said, adding that their names had not shown up on bookings recently.
Government officials denied Thursday there was any boycott of the carrier in place.
“We warmly welcome Thai products,” said Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan. Economic relations between the two countries, he said, “is normal”.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said that there is “freedom of choice” to select any airline on government visits abroad based on price, convenience and quality of service.
Thai Airways is the only non-point-to-point airline that flies between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, the main reason behind the airline’s decision to target long-haul passengers in a bid to expand operations in the Kingdom, Narinthorn said.
Thai Airways’ slump – which saw passenger loads average just below 65 percent on Cambodia routes in 2009 – was worse than the industry average.
Ministry of Tourism data showed air passenger numbers fell an annualised 11.6 percent for the first 11 months, but the whole year’s numbers were likely to have been improved – the base figure for the end of 2008 was low due to the onset of the global economic crisis, while November’s drop in air passengers was just 2.8 percent year on year.
The drop in Thai Airways cargo traffic was much sharper, said Narinthorn, as volumes fell between 50 and 60 percent.
“The garments have gone,” he said, referring to Cambodia’s main export product.
The situation had shown signs of improvements in the second half, he added.
Thai Airways fell about 13 percent below revenue targets for its Cambodia operations in 2009, Narinthorn said, although the airline has raised this figure for 2010.
“We believe this year will be much better,” he said, without giving an exact figure.
Cambodia’s GDP was expected to contract 1.5 percent last year, according to the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit’s January outlook, with the economy forecast to rebound with 3.3 percent growth this year.
Nevertheless, competition among airlines in the region is increasing.
A manager at Vietnam Airlines in Japan said Tuesday that Vietnam would aim to become the regional hub for travel to Cambodia and Laos.
Narinthorn said he was happy for Vietnam to challenge Thailand for the Cambodia market, but that regionally Thailand’s position was secure following extensive investment – particularly in Suvarnabhumi Airport – and because of the country’s location within Asia.
Thai Airways International Pcl aircraft sit parked at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International airport in November. The closure of the airport due to protests at the end of 2008 is still hurting the airline, said Thai Airways General Manager for Cambodia Narinthorn Purnagupta. BLOOMBERG
Normally, we coUld say [the government] would book with Thai."
Narinthorn Purnagupta said the deterioration in diplomatic relations between the two countries has had a negative impact on Thailand’s national carrier – a trend that began with the closure of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport by political protesters in late 2008, adding that Cambodian government officials have stopped booking official flights on Thai Airways.
“Normally, we could say they would book with Thai [Airways],” Narinthorn said, adding that their names had not shown up on bookings recently.
Government officials denied Thursday there was any boycott of the carrier in place.
“We warmly welcome Thai products,” said Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan. Economic relations between the two countries, he said, “is normal”.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said that there is “freedom of choice” to select any airline on government visits abroad based on price, convenience and quality of service.
Thai Airways is the only non-point-to-point airline that flies between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, the main reason behind the airline’s decision to target long-haul passengers in a bid to expand operations in the Kingdom, Narinthorn said.
Thai Airways’ slump – which saw passenger loads average just below 65 percent on Cambodia routes in 2009 – was worse than the industry average.
Ministry of Tourism data showed air passenger numbers fell an annualised 11.6 percent for the first 11 months, but the whole year’s numbers were likely to have been improved – the base figure for the end of 2008 was low due to the onset of the global economic crisis, while November’s drop in air passengers was just 2.8 percent year on year.
The drop in Thai Airways cargo traffic was much sharper, said Narinthorn, as volumes fell between 50 and 60 percent.
“The garments have gone,” he said, referring to Cambodia’s main export product.
The situation had shown signs of improvements in the second half, he added.
Thai Airways fell about 13 percent below revenue targets for its Cambodia operations in 2009, Narinthorn said, although the airline has raised this figure for 2010.
“We believe this year will be much better,” he said, without giving an exact figure.
Cambodia’s GDP was expected to contract 1.5 percent last year, according to the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit’s January outlook, with the economy forecast to rebound with 3.3 percent growth this year.
Nevertheless, competition among airlines in the region is increasing.
A manager at Vietnam Airlines in Japan said Tuesday that Vietnam would aim to become the regional hub for travel to Cambodia and Laos.
Narinthorn said he was happy for Vietnam to challenge Thailand for the Cambodia market, but that regionally Thailand’s position was secure following extensive investment – particularly in Suvarnabhumi Airport – and because of the country’s location within Asia.
Ministers meet over pay cuts
SENIOR government ministers met on Thursday to discuss for the first time a recent decision to terminate salary supplement programmes for civil servants, as NGOs and development partners continue to await consultations on a move they say may significantly impact social services in the Kingdom.
In accordance with a sub-decree that went into effect on January 1, pay incentives and salary supplements funded by both donors and the government are no longer permitted. Under such programmes, development organisations had been bolstering the often meagre incomes of civil servants in a range of sectors.
“We had a meeting this morning, and there were many issues that we needed to consider and collect ideas about before we submit information to Prime Minister Hun Sen to hear his opinion,” Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith said.
The meeting was held at the Council for the Development of Cambodia.
On December 17, the UN, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the British and Australian ambassadors wrote to Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon, requesting a meeting to discuss “how to mitigate the potential adverse impacts” of the supplements decision. Following Thursday’s meeting, government officials were tight-lipped about what sort of engagement may occur over the next few weeks.
“It was an internal consultation of the government, and I cannot speak out much about the issue. Prime Minister Hun Sen will examine the results of the meeting,” said Prak Sokhon, a secretary of state at the Council of Ministers who presided over the gathering. “We may have another meeting in order to find a way for coordination with our development partners and NGOs.”
Prak Sokhon said the purpose of the meeting was “to review what the impact would be from the termination of the incentive programmes”.
Many in the development community say they have been caught off-guard by the supplement termination, which was announced by Keat Chhon in a letter to the World Bank less than one month before it went into effect.
The UN’s Office of the Resident Coordinator said Thursday that it had received no response to its request for a meeting with the government, but called discussion about the supplement termination “essential in order to clarify the overall and specific sector impacts and agree on a process for moving forward”.
Chan Theary, executive director of the Reproductive and Child Health Alliance, said dialogue is urgently needed “to overcome this ad hoc sub-decree”.
The announcement, she said, came “too soon for us to be prepared about what will be the next step. There was not enough information”.
Im Samrithy, executive director of the NGO Education Partnership, called for greater transparency from the government regarding the supplement issue.
“The information should be released to the NGOs and to the development partners,” he said, calling such disclosure necessary so that “NGOs can comment and NGOs can be ready for the implementation”.
Development partners and NGOs say the termination of salary supplements could lead to a rise in absenteeism and possible corruption among government workers as they are forced to seek income from other sources to make up for their losses. Khieu Kanharith said Thursday, however, that supplement programmes were not sustainable in the long term.
“If we do not cut the supplement programmes, there will be a big burden on the government in the future,” he said, adding: “Donors will not help us forever, and when they cut [funding] we will encounter many problems.”
Shoe factory protesters turn up heat
Photo by: Pha Lina
Workers at the Tage shoe factory in Choam Chao district set tyres on fire on Thursday to protest the recent sacking of three union leaders.WORKERS from the Tage shoe factory in Choam Chao district on Thursday set fire to tyres after being excluded from a meeting between the factory owner and a district official held to help end an employee walkout over the firing of three union leaders.
Factory employees said that they were angry about being prevented from attending the meeting between the factory owner and a Meanchey district deputy governor that they had previously received permission to participate in.
“We didn’t get anything from the meeting this morning because we weren’t allowed in, and after the meeting they returned to their offices without telling us anything,” said Khin Sakhorn, a Tage factory employee. Company officials were unavailable for comment on Thursday.
One of the three union leaders whose dismissal led to the factory protest last week said demonstrators had ignited the tyres to convince the owner to begin negotiating directly with workers.
Photo by: Sovan Philong
Worker Seng Savuth addresses the crowd during protests outside the Tage shoe factory on Wednesday.“Today we burned the tyres to threaten him and try to force him to come and negotiate with us, but staff that remain loyal to the factory owner put the fires out and threw rubbish at us. Luckily nobody was injured,” said 25-year-old Svay Phorn Sipha.
Workers charged earlier this week that the factory had violated numerous articles of Cambodia’s Labour Law and fired the three union leaders because they wanted to establish a new union that better served the interests of the workers.
Workers also threatened to take their protest to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Takhmao home.
“We will not go back to work if the factory owner does not back down and negotiate with us. We have not stopped the protest, and we will continue to protest every day,” said Sem Vuthy, 24.
Chhum Veasna, president of the Cambodian Federation of Workers, said Thursday that direct negotiations were essential to ending the protest.
“The factory owner should back down and talk face to face with the workers because they just want their three union leaders to be allowed to return to work,” he said.
Koy Tepdaravuth, director of the Labour Disputes Department at the Ministry of Labour, said Thursday that the failure of both sides to resolve the matter would lead to government arbitration.
“Our duty is to encourage the workers and the factory owner to let us help settle their problem if they can’t find the resolution themselves. They still haven’t found a resolution, so I have passed this case to the Arbitration Council.”
Jan 12, 2010
Progress slow at eviction site
Photo by: Mark Grimsditch
Workers dismantle the Dey Krahorm community in a violent forced eviction last January. The company 7NG has been granted development rights for the site.THE developer 7NG Group said Monday that the main phase of its project on the site of the former Dey Krahorm community in Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmon district would not begin until at least 2011, sparking renewed accusations that last year’s controversial eviction of the community was executed for speculative rather than development purposes.
“All projects will start in 2011 and 2012, though I cannot fix a clear date,” Srey Chanthou, managing director of 7NG Group, said Monday.
The company has plans to build luxury apartments as well as office and retail space, according to a billboard recently posted outside the construction site. At the moment, the 3.6 hectares of land are undeveloped except for a new 7NG sales office.
7NG is currently evaluating the cost of the projects, Srey Chanthou said, adding that it hopes to attract capital from companies in Vietnam, South Korea and Belgium.
Lao Tip Seiha, director of the Department of Construction at the Ministry of Land Management, said Monday that his ministry had not yet received applications for approval from 7NG to construct the proposed projects at the Dey Krahorm site, adding that the company will also need to seek approval from local officials.
Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun said Monday that City Hall also had yet to receive any information, and Tonle Bassac commune chief Khat Narith said he had only received the application for 7NG’s sales office.
7NG gained access to the Dey Krahorm site in January of last year after about 400 families were violently evicted from their homes, which were then demolished by 7NG contract workers. In the aftermath of the eviction, the UN referred to the event as a “grave breach” of human rights.
“It is regrettable that the ongoing negotiations with the residents were abandoned, casting aside a valuable opportunity to reach a just and lawful solution to this long-standing dispute,” Raquel Rolnik, the UN’s special rapporteur for adequate housing, said in a statement at the time.
Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann said Monday that the public is seeing little benefit from the land concession as 7NG sits on it.
“Next time, the government has to look carefully before they give any project to the investor,” he said.
Cambodian Centre for Human Rights President Ou Virak said it was obvious at the time of the eviction that 7NG had no specific development projects in the offing, and was instead planning to hold the land for speculation. He said the company was likely waiting to take advantage of more favorable property values.
“Right now, for example, if they built flats, I’m not sure they could make money,” Ou Virak said, adding that even if 7NG did have a specific plan in mind last year, the underlying injustice of the eviction would be unchanged.
“It has nothing to do with whether they have a plan or not; it has to do with whether the people that live there have the right” to occupy the land, he said.
Jan 8, 2010
Govt marks liberation from KR
Sokheng and Sebastian Strangio
Opinions again divided over Vietnam’s role in toppling the Pol Pot regime in 1979.
Photo by: Dc-CAM
The extraordinary events of January 7, 1979, are celebrated by people in Siem Reap in the early 1980s in this file photo.THOUSANDS turned out on Thursday morning for celebrations marking the 31st anniversary of the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge regime, reigniting an annual debate about the meaning and legacy of the event.
During an official ceremony at the headquarters of the Cambodian People’s Party, party chairman Chea Sim paid tribute to the Vietnamese offensive that led the overthrew of Pol Pot in 1979.
“We celebrate the 31st anniversary of the great victory on January 7, 1979, which saved our nation and people from the genocidal disaster caused by the regime of Democratic Kampuchea,” he said in an address.
“At the same time, Cambodia forever carves in its heart [the] invaluable services of the voluntary army and people of Vietnam, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, for their effective and timely mannered response to the call of the people of Cambodia.”
Chea Sim also took the opportunity to laud the achievements of the Vietnamese-backed People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) – the forerunner to the CPP regime of today – and castigate those local and international forces that opposed it during the civil war of the 1980s.
“All of their actions have failed one after the other in face of the national forces in great solidarity, with support and assistance provided by friends from near and far,” he added.
But the implications of January 7 and the ensuing civil war between the Phnom Penh government and resistance groups camped on the Thai border continue to cast a long shadow over Cambodian politics. Some critics maintain that the liberation from Pol Pot merely ushered in a new form of domination from communist Vietnam.
Photo by: Sovan Philong
Prime Minister Hun Sen and senior officials from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party release doves to mark the anniversary of the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979.“Cambodian sovereignty has been transferred to Vietnam over the past 30 years,” said Yim Sovann, spokesman for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party. He said the party welcomed the fall of the Khmer Rouge, but that January 7 had brought with it a host of problems, including illegal Vietnamese immigration, political repression and the routine violation of Cambodian sovereignty.
Former resistance fighters, who opposed the PRK regime with international backing throughout the 1980s, agreed that the fall of the Khmer Rouge was no excuse for the problems that resulted from the Vietnamese presence.
“When we were in the jungle, we were against January 7. We were happy about the end of the Khmer Rouge, but our duty was to look to the future,” said Pol Ham, the former information minister of the Khmer People’s National Liberation Front, which opposed the PRK.
“The 7th of January brought the end of the Khmer Rouge regime, but the start of the Vietnamese presence in Cambodia.”
A day less divisive
Lu Laysreng, the deputy president of Funcinpec and a former resistance figure, proposed October 23, 1991 – the date of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords – as a more unifying national event.
“Some day, when democratic political parties are able to rule the country, we will have the ability to eliminate the January 7 [holiday] and replace it with October 23 … as an anniversary of reconciliation,” he said.
But others said that the overthrow of the “genocidal” Khmer Rouge – and preventing their return – justified the involvement of Vietnamese assistance and made January 7 a worthy celebration.
“In order to save the lives of Cambodian people [and prevent] the return of the Khmer Rouge regime, we needed Vietnamese soldiers to remain in the country to fight against the KR,” said Ros Chantraboth, a professor of political science and deputy director of the Royal Academy of Cambodia.
The country owed a debt of gratitude to the Vietnamese army and the National Front for the Salvation of Kampuchea, he said, referring to the resistance group established by Khmer Rouge defectors in Kratie province in December 1978.
But despite opposing the event in principle, Pol Ham added that both sides repeating the same statements year after year only detracted from the national challenges still remaining. “I don’t care about the celebration – if many people are happy about it I don’t mind,” he said. “We must look to the future of our country.… January 7 is history.”
Chea Sim warns KRT against 'ill intentions'
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A SENIOR government official has again warned the Khmer Rouge tribunal not to threaten national reconciliation and development, echoing earlier government concerns about additional prosecutions of former regime figures.
“We oppose any attempts to use the chamber for ill-intentions that would have an impact on peace, national reconciliation and development, which are our hard-won achievements,” said Chea Sim, president of the Cambodian People’s Party.
Speaking at an official ceremony marking the anniversary of the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979, Chea Sim pledged the party’s continued backing for the court.
The CPP would support the tribunal “in trying crimes committed by senior leaders of the Democratic Kampuchea regime”, he said.
Chea Sim’s comments were an apparent reference to disagreements between the government and the UN-backed court over whether to proceed with more prosecutions of former regime figures.
In October, the Office of the Co-Investigating Judges also summoned six senior government officials to testify in the upcoming trial of four former regime leaders. None has so far expressed any willingness to appear before the court.
In response to Chea Sim’s comments, tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen said the court was independent and makes its decisions “independently in accordance with the law”.
“We do not seek approval or advice from lawmakers or people from the executive branch in our work,” he said.
A SENIOR government official has again warned the Khmer Rouge tribunal not to threaten national reconciliation and development, echoing earlier government concerns about additional prosecutions of former regime figures.
“We oppose any attempts to use the chamber for ill-intentions that would have an impact on peace, national reconciliation and development, which are our hard-won achievements,” said Chea Sim, president of the Cambodian People’s Party.
Speaking at an official ceremony marking the anniversary of the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979, Chea Sim pledged the party’s continued backing for the court.
The CPP would support the tribunal “in trying crimes committed by senior leaders of the Democratic Kampuchea regime”, he said.
Chea Sim’s comments were an apparent reference to disagreements between the government and the UN-backed court over whether to proceed with more prosecutions of former regime figures.
In October, the Office of the Co-Investigating Judges also summoned six senior government officials to testify in the upcoming trial of four former regime leaders. None has so far expressed any willingness to appear before the court.
In response to Chea Sim’s comments, tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen said the court was independent and makes its decisions “independently in accordance with the law”.
“We do not seek approval or advice from lawmakers or people from the executive branch in our work,” he said.
KR Tribunal: Civil party increase for Case No 2
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KR Tribunal
The Khmer Rouge tribunal has so far approved 246 civil party applications for its second case, up from 93 for the case against Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, UN court spokesman Lars Olsen said Thursday. The tribunal had received 3,533 civil party applications along with 3,598 complaints as of the end of December. All applications are to be processed by the time co-investigating judges issue their closing order against Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Khieu Samphan and Ieng Thirith. The deadline for applications is two weeks after the investigation in the case concludes, which is expected to happen next week, Olsen said.
KR Tribunal
The Khmer Rouge tribunal has so far approved 246 civil party applications for its second case, up from 93 for the case against Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, UN court spokesman Lars Olsen said Thursday. The tribunal had received 3,533 civil party applications along with 3,598 complaints as of the end of December. All applications are to be processed by the time co-investigating judges issue their closing order against Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Khieu Samphan and Ieng Thirith. The deadline for applications is two weeks after the investigation in the case concludes, which is expected to happen next week, Olsen said.
SRP petitions King to drop Rainsy case
Friday, 08 January 2010 15:03 Meas Sokchea
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THE opposition Sam Rainsy Party has been collecting thumbprints for a petition calling on King Norodom Sihamoni and the National Assembly to urge the dropping of a criminal complaint against Sam Rainsy, who faces charges of destroying public property and racial incitement in connection with an October border protest in Svay Rieng province, SRP lawmaker Ho Vann said Thursday.
Ho Vann said the petition had more than 200,000 thumbprints, and that it would also be sent to King Father Norodom Sihanouk. He said he did not know when the petition would be finalised.
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THE opposition Sam Rainsy Party has been collecting thumbprints for a petition calling on King Norodom Sihamoni and the National Assembly to urge the dropping of a criminal complaint against Sam Rainsy, who faces charges of destroying public property and racial incitement in connection with an October border protest in Svay Rieng province, SRP lawmaker Ho Vann said Thursday.
Ho Vann said the petition had more than 200,000 thumbprints, and that it would also be sent to King Father Norodom Sihanouk. He said he did not know when the petition would be finalised.
NGOs slam supplement cuts
Termination of salary supplements could jeopardise aid projects, groups warn
DEVELOPMENT organisations on Wednesday offered scathing criticism of the government’s recent decision to terminate salary supplement programmes for civil servants, a move that could cost government workers at least US$4.5 million this year in the health sector alone.
At a meeting convened by the Cooperation Committee of Cambodia, more than 40 NGO leaders said the abrupt termination of the programmes could lead to a rise in absenteeism among civil servants tasked with staffing health centres and schools or administering other aid projects.
Under salary supplement programmes, development organisations had been bolstering salaries for civil servants in a range of sectors.
Development experts fear a reduction in public sector pay could lead to increased corruption, as civil servants look to maintain their present incomes.
A December 4 letter from Minister of Finance Keat Chhon said the programmes’ termination – the result of a sub-decree that went into effect January 1 – was “applicable to all donor-assisted as well as [government-] funded projects and programmes”.
Sharon Wilkinson, country director for Care International in Cambodia, said at the meeting that the sub-decree had caught NGOs completely by surprise.
“NGOs did not really start to comprehend that this sub-decree had come into effect until perhaps the early hours of Christmas,” she said, adding that the announcement had given them “no time to prepare for the implementation of this”.
Apart from slashing services to poor Cambodians, including the provision of antiretroviral therapy to HIV-positive patients, Wilkinson expressed concern that the termination of salary supplement schemes could set up “a parallel system” between NGOs and civil servants.
“If we are no longer allowed to support our government counterparts, it will be a true wedge between NGOs and the government, and we will be working in a parallel system, something we must not allow to happen,” she said.
In his December 4 letter, Keat Chhon justified the termination by saying that salary supplements could jeopardise attempts at broader civil-service reforms.
Wilkinson, who has worked in Cambodia for 11 years, said Wednesday that she was sceptical of that reasoning.
“The public-sector reform programme is an ongoing debate that for 11 years has not been solved,” she said.
Keat Chhon also said in the letter that incentive-based pay schemes could be seen as unfair, a claim that was echoed by Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith, who said last month that they could “cause bad feelings in the workplace and lead to declines in productivity”.
Belinda Mericourt, senior programme manager at Aus-AID, Australia’s foreign aid arm, said she was unconvinced by the argument that salary supplements were excessively “divisive”. “It can’t be any more divisive than patronage,” Mericourt said.
A December 18 letter from Keat Chhon to government officials that was distributed at the CCC meeting said the sub-decree had been drafted “per instruction of” Prime Minister Hun Sen. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Wednesday that the government’s “conservative” national budget had made salary supplements “unsustainable”.
“It’s sustainability we want,” he said, adding: “We have to depend on our own budget. We cannot depend on aid all the time.”
He also reiterated government concerns that salary supplements could “create an unjust environment in the workplace” before referring further questions to the Ministry of Economy, which could not be reached.
According to the December 18 letter, the government “will continue to jointly discuss with the development partners on the short-term strategy to be laid out urgently to ensure effectiveness of project implementation and to amend financing agreements affected by the termination”.
But Mericourt said at the Wednesday meeting that a request from development partners for a meeting with government officials – sent on December 17 and signed by bodies including the United Nations and the World Bank – had gone unanswered, adding that she did not expect a response before next week.
She said the government had provided little direction on how development organisations should adapt to the terms of the sub-decree, which many at the meeting described as unclear.
“There is apparent confusion and a lack of understanding of what this means,” she said, adding that there had been no word from officials regarding whether alternate forms of compensation – such as per diems – could be used in place of salary supplements.
Development partners have largely refrained from criticising the sub-decree. A statement issued Wednesday by the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator, for example, reads in part: “The UN in Cambodia will align with the Royal Government’s decision to terminate salary supplements. While we are aware of the potential short-term impacts of this decision, it is clear that restructuring civil service salaries represents an opportunity for the UN and development partners to work with the Government on salary reform.”
At the meeting Wednesday, however, Mericourt was more candid, at one point saying the move had the potential to become “a total disaster”.
“I think the emphasis has to be on the humanitarian impact, not on government politics,” she said.
Government officials and development organisations have been unable to put a dollar amount on the salary supplement programmes.
On Tuesday, Maxim Berdnikov, East Asia and the Pacific portfolio manager for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said active Cambodia grants included provisions for $381,500 in monthly salary supplements, making for a 12-month total of roughly $4.5 million. A Global Fund spokesman said the fund was in compliance with the sub-decree, meaning the salary supplements had been suspended.
Photo by: Sovan Philong
A nurse attends to a sick child at Treal Health Centre in Kampong Thom last year. The elimination of salary supplements is expected to affect healthcare workers.At a meeting convened by the Cooperation Committee of Cambodia, more than 40 NGO leaders said the abrupt termination of the programmes could lead to a rise in absenteeism among civil servants tasked with staffing health centres and schools or administering other aid projects.
Under salary supplement programmes, development organisations had been bolstering salaries for civil servants in a range of sectors.
Development experts fear a reduction in public sector pay could lead to increased corruption, as civil servants look to maintain their present incomes.
A December 4 letter from Minister of Finance Keat Chhon said the programmes’ termination – the result of a sub-decree that went into effect January 1 – was “applicable to all donor-assisted as well as [government-] funded projects and programmes”.
Sharon Wilkinson, country director for Care International in Cambodia, said at the meeting that the sub-decree had caught NGOs completely by surprise.
“NGOs did not really start to comprehend that this sub-decree had come into effect until perhaps the early hours of Christmas,” she said, adding that the announcement had given them “no time to prepare for the implementation of this”.
Apart from slashing services to poor Cambodians, including the provision of antiretroviral therapy to HIV-positive patients, Wilkinson expressed concern that the termination of salary supplement schemes could set up “a parallel system” between NGOs and civil servants.
“If we are no longer allowed to support our government counterparts, it will be a true wedge between NGOs and the government, and we will be working in a parallel system, something we must not allow to happen,” she said.
In his December 4 letter, Keat Chhon justified the termination by saying that salary supplements could jeopardise attempts at broader civil-service reforms.
Wilkinson, who has worked in Cambodia for 11 years, said Wednesday that she was sceptical of that reasoning.
“The public-sector reform programme is an ongoing debate that for 11 years has not been solved,” she said.
Keat Chhon also said in the letter that incentive-based pay schemes could be seen as unfair, a claim that was echoed by Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith, who said last month that they could “cause bad feelings in the workplace and lead to declines in productivity”.
Belinda Mericourt, senior programme manager at Aus-AID, Australia’s foreign aid arm, said she was unconvinced by the argument that salary supplements were excessively “divisive”. “It can’t be any more divisive than patronage,” Mericourt said.
A December 18 letter from Keat Chhon to government officials that was distributed at the CCC meeting said the sub-decree had been drafted “per instruction of” Prime Minister Hun Sen. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Wednesday that the government’s “conservative” national budget had made salary supplements “unsustainable”.
“It’s sustainability we want,” he said, adding: “We have to depend on our own budget. We cannot depend on aid all the time.”
He also reiterated government concerns that salary supplements could “create an unjust environment in the workplace” before referring further questions to the Ministry of Economy, which could not be reached.
According to the December 18 letter, the government “will continue to jointly discuss with the development partners on the short-term strategy to be laid out urgently to ensure effectiveness of project implementation and to amend financing agreements affected by the termination”.
But Mericourt said at the Wednesday meeting that a request from development partners for a meeting with government officials – sent on December 17 and signed by bodies including the United Nations and the World Bank – had gone unanswered, adding that she did not expect a response before next week.
She said the government had provided little direction on how development organisations should adapt to the terms of the sub-decree, which many at the meeting described as unclear.
“There is apparent confusion and a lack of understanding of what this means,” she said, adding that there had been no word from officials regarding whether alternate forms of compensation – such as per diems – could be used in place of salary supplements.
Development partners have largely refrained from criticising the sub-decree. A statement issued Wednesday by the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator, for example, reads in part: “The UN in Cambodia will align with the Royal Government’s decision to terminate salary supplements. While we are aware of the potential short-term impacts of this decision, it is clear that restructuring civil service salaries represents an opportunity for the UN and development partners to work with the Government on salary reform.”
At the meeting Wednesday, however, Mericourt was more candid, at one point saying the move had the potential to become “a total disaster”.
“I think the emphasis has to be on the humanitarian impact, not on government politics,” she said.
Government officials and development organisations have been unable to put a dollar amount on the salary supplement programmes.
On Tuesday, Maxim Berdnikov, East Asia and the Pacific portfolio manager for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said active Cambodia grants included provisions for $381,500 in monthly salary supplements, making for a 12-month total of roughly $4.5 million. A Global Fund spokesman said the fund was in compliance with the sub-decree, meaning the salary supplements had been suspended.
Coercion used for land deal: villagers
A GROUP of 51 families from Popoak commune in Kampong Thom province’s Steung district say they were forced to thumbprint an unfair compensation agreement on Wednesday under pressure from commune authorities and representatives of the Vietnamese rubber company hoping to clear the area for a plantation.
“They made us agree to take only 5,000 riels (US$1.69) per cashew tree, which is unacceptable,” said village representative So Ley. “They told us that if we did not agree to their terms, they would simply clear the land without paying us.”
Villager Phorn Yi dismissed as a pretext the officials’ further claim that the cashew farms were planted illegally in a protected wildlife area.
“We’ve farmed here since 1999, and in all that time nobody told us it was a problem. Now that the authorities are helping this company, it’s suddenly illegal,” he said.
Popoak commune chief Sam Sang, however, said the villagers were aware of the land’s status when they began farming there.
“In1993, the area was made a wildlife preserve by Royal Decree. The villagers took over the land to plant cashews in 2002, so they should understand why their farms can only be considered temporary. They have no permanent right to this land.”
In November 2009, Cambodia signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnam Rubber Group, a consortium of 14 Vietnamese firms, granting them 100,000 hectares of land concessions. The company involved in the Popoak commune dispute, CKCRII, received a 7,300-hectare concession under the agreement.
“They made us agree to take only 5,000 riels (US$1.69) per cashew tree, which is unacceptable,” said village representative So Ley. “They told us that if we did not agree to their terms, they would simply clear the land without paying us.”
Villager Phorn Yi dismissed as a pretext the officials’ further claim that the cashew farms were planted illegally in a protected wildlife area.
“We’ve farmed here since 1999, and in all that time nobody told us it was a problem. Now that the authorities are helping this company, it’s suddenly illegal,” he said.
Popoak commune chief Sam Sang, however, said the villagers were aware of the land’s status when they began farming there.
“In1993, the area was made a wildlife preserve by Royal Decree. The villagers took over the land to plant cashews in 2002, so they should understand why their farms can only be considered temporary. They have no permanent right to this land.”
In November 2009, Cambodia signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnam Rubber Group, a consortium of 14 Vietnamese firms, granting them 100,000 hectares of land concessions. The company involved in the Popoak commune dispute, CKCRII, received a 7,300-hectare concession under the agreement.
Governor targets land NGOs
Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Residents of Phnom Penh’s Borei Keila community on Wednesday examine a board detailing the replacement homes that are due to be built for them – not without controversy – courtesy of City HallPHNOM Penh Governor Kep Chuktema blasted human rights organisations for their criticisms of the city’s housing and resettlement policies as he presided over the presentation of replacement housing at the Borei Keila community in Phnom Penh’s Prampi Makara district on Wednesday.“Human rights organisations have accused me, [Deputy Governor] Mann Chhoeun and city officials of evicting poor people. The facts do not bear out their accusations,” Kep Chuktema said during the ceremonial handing over of an onsite resettlement complex to 174 families at Borei KeilaThe building, constructed by Phanimex, a local company, was the fourth that City Hall has given to Borei Keila’s residents, he said, after three buildings were presented to 522 families in March 2007.While acknowledging that everything the city did was not perfect, the governor described the new Borei Keila buildings as “hotels for poor people”, adding that rights NGOs had criticised the municipality’s policies without acknowledging the pace of development in the city.
“If Borei Keila was kept like it was previously, what would it have been like?” he said.
“It is difficult to understand those who have ears but pretend to be deaf. Their eyes are bright, but they pretend to be blind,” he said.
Tuk-tuks for Tuol Sambo
Contrary to the criticisms of many human rights NGOs that the relocation in June and July of HIV-positive families from Borei Keila to Tuol Sambo on the outskirts of the city put them out of the reach of medical care, Kep Chuktema said authorities always cared for those residents once they reached the new sites.
He added that residents at Tuol Sambo had been provided with tuk-tuks to ferry them to hospital for vital treatments.
Som Sovann, the governor of Prampi Makara district, said that a total of 10 buildings were planned for the Borei Keila residents, on 4.6 hectares of land, and that the construction company would be completing two more in the near future.
He said that those who were eligible to receive land were divided into 4 categories, but warned that short-term renters or those who falsified documents were not eligible for on-site housing.
Resident Moul Davy, 35, who received a 4-by-9-metre house on the first floor of one of the new buildings, said that she was “happy” with the on-site development, but sad for those who have been relocated.
“The Borei Keila case is better. We have not been vacated to live on the outskirts. We are lucky.”
Although the municipality was promoting the development of the city, Sia Phearum, secretariat director of the Housing Rights Task Force, said Wednesday that urban evictions were “still a concerning issue for civil society” and said criticisms were not made without proof.
He said victims of eviction had complained to NGOs about their fears that they will lack basic services at relocation sites, which prompted them to provide recommendations for authorities.
“We admire the city’s development. But there are many challenges remaining for City Hall in dealing with poor people,” he said. “We do not want development only in the city centre.”
Jan 7, 2010
Siem Reap prison gets upgrade as part of UN-govt programme
INMATES at one of the country’s largest prisons have improved access to clean water following the installation of a rainwater harvesting system, authorities have said.
The new system at Siem Reap Prison, the Kingdom’s third largest with roughly 1,300 inmates, was introduced as part of a prison reform effort by the Cambodian government and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
“In some provincial prisons, insufficient and unclean water are major issues facing inmates,” said Heng Hak, director of prisons at the Ministry of Interior. “I hope that this innovative project … will help improve prisoners’ living conditions.”
Officials have credited the OHCHR-Cambodia prison reform programme with nearly doubling inmates’ daily food rations, from the equivalent of US$0.37 to $0.70 in each of the country’s 24 prisons.
“Siem Reap’s prison is one of the country’s largest,” said Mao Yin, provincial coordinator with rights group Adhoc. “Severe overcrowding, poor hygiene and unsafe drinking water from a lack of sanitation are the most critical issues that require our attention.”
The OHCHR-Cambodia collaboration has allowed UN officials to visit prisons across the country to gather confidential information from prisoners as part of an effort to ensure standards for how inmates are treated.
“It’s about human rights monitoring and at the same time working with the General Department of Prisons (GDP) to tackle the root causes of problems,” said Marie-Dominique Parent, the OHCHR’s officer in charge of the programme.
An OHCHR report released late last year praised its collaboration with the GDP, while noting that the prisons bureau suffered from a lack of funding that made it difficult to improve inmate conditions.
“The GDP is faced with a growing prison population, without a corresponding increase in the prison budget,” the report stated. Last month, a 16-year-old inmate died in Takhmao prison while another 20 fell seriously ill after a suspected outbreak of cholera.
The new system at Siem Reap Prison, the Kingdom’s third largest with roughly 1,300 inmates, was introduced as part of a prison reform effort by the Cambodian government and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
“In some provincial prisons, insufficient and unclean water are major issues facing inmates,” said Heng Hak, director of prisons at the Ministry of Interior. “I hope that this innovative project … will help improve prisoners’ living conditions.”
Officials have credited the OHCHR-Cambodia prison reform programme with nearly doubling inmates’ daily food rations, from the equivalent of US$0.37 to $0.70 in each of the country’s 24 prisons.
“Siem Reap’s prison is one of the country’s largest,” said Mao Yin, provincial coordinator with rights group Adhoc. “Severe overcrowding, poor hygiene and unsafe drinking water from a lack of sanitation are the most critical issues that require our attention.”
The OHCHR-Cambodia collaboration has allowed UN officials to visit prisons across the country to gather confidential information from prisoners as part of an effort to ensure standards for how inmates are treated.
“It’s about human rights monitoring and at the same time working with the General Department of Prisons (GDP) to tackle the root causes of problems,” said Marie-Dominique Parent, the OHCHR’s officer in charge of the programme.
An OHCHR report released late last year praised its collaboration with the GDP, while noting that the prisons bureau suffered from a lack of funding that made it difficult to improve inmate conditions.
“The GDP is faced with a growing prison population, without a corresponding increase in the prison budget,” the report stated. Last month, a 16-year-old inmate died in Takhmao prison while another 20 fell seriously ill after a suspected outbreak of cholera.
Jan 1, 2010
Opposition leader repudiates ‘political’ charges against him
Photo by: Heng Chivoan
THE Svay Rieng provincial court has issued an arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy in connection with an October incident in which he led local residents in a protest against alleged Vietnamese encroachment on Cambodian territory.
Lawyer Choung Chou Ngy said he received the warrant Thursday afternoon, and that it had been issued after his client failed to appear in court on Monday for questioning – a move Sam Rainsy scorned, saying that there was no point in explaining himself to politically biased judges.
Dec 30, 2009
Misbehaving monks scolded at national religious congress
Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Monks chant as Senate President Chea Sim enters the stage at Chaktomuk Theatre in Phnom Penh on Tuesday to open the 18th National Monk Congress.WE KNOW THAT SOME MONKS HAVE COMMITTED SINS SUCH AS KILLING, RAPE...
SENATE President Chea Sim has called on Cambodia’s supreme patriarchs to reel in wayward monks following a spate of violent incidents this year involving religious figures.
“The role of monks is very important to educate the social morality of the people,” Chea Sim said in a speech before 800 monks and nuns at the 18th annual National Monk Congress, which opened Tuesday at Chaktomuk Theatre.
“But monks themselves must have a Buddhist’s morality to encourage the national religion.”
Chea Sim urged officials at the Ministry of Cults and Religions to “reinforce the good governance” of Buddhism to ensure peace in the Kingdom.
“The teachings of the Buddha are the light that will educate the people about morality and allow our country to develop peacefully,” Chea Sim said.
Dams, mines fouling water, say villagers in Stung Treng
Photo by: Daniel Lanctot
Villagers fish on the Srepok River in Stung Treng province. A report this week says dams and mining are polluting the river.SEVERAL thousand villagers living along the Sesan and Srepok rivers in Stung Treng province are facing a severe shortage of rice and clean water as a result of polluted runoff from hydropower dam developments and mine explorations, local representatives and environmental activists warned Tuesday.
“We think there are about 50,000 residents in the area, and many of them have already complained about the water becoming muddy, with red,
white and blue colours,” said Tek Vannara, programme manager for the Culture and Environment Preservation Association.
A report released by the Sesan-Srepok-Sekong (3S) Rivers Protection Network on Sunday attributed the water’s pollution to hydropower dams located on the upper reaches of the Sesan, both on the Vietnamese and Cambodian sides, and added that mining activities could also be responsible for the recent spike in pollution.
Minorities involved in more land fights
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THE number of land disputes involving ethnic minorities in the Kingdom doubled between 2008 and 2009, the Indigenous Rights Active Members (IRAM) rights group said this week, urging the government to protect minority communities from being taken advantage of in the land-concession process.
Oum Meang, deputy director of IRAM, said his organisation had recorded 14 land disputes involving minority groups this year, up from seven in 2008.
“Ethnic minority organisations want the government to register ethnic lands collectively in order to reduce land-grabbing,” he said Monday.
Oum Meang also said that the government has failed to monitor the effects of land concessions once they have been granted.
THE number of land disputes involving ethnic minorities in the Kingdom doubled between 2008 and 2009, the Indigenous Rights Active Members (IRAM) rights group said this week, urging the government to protect minority communities from being taken advantage of in the land-concession process.
Oum Meang, deputy director of IRAM, said his organisation had recorded 14 land disputes involving minority groups this year, up from seven in 2008.
“Ethnic minority organisations want the government to register ethnic lands collectively in order to reduce land-grabbing,” he said Monday.
Oum Meang also said that the government has failed to monitor the effects of land concessions once they have been granted.
Banteay Chhmar temple wins American preservation grant
Photo by: Roger Mitton
Efforts to preserve the Angkorian-era ruins of Banteay Chhmar temple in Banteay Meanchey province have received a substantial boost courtesy of a new grant from the US.Heritage Watch, the grant recipient, is a partner of the Global Heritage Fund, which launched restoration efforts in 2008 in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and several other NGOs.
In a press release, the AIA said: “With new road improvements, the site is expected to become a major tourist attraction for those travelling from Thailand to Cambodia’s major archaeological attraction, Angkor Wat,” making it essential to advance conservation efforts quickly, as well as to establish community-based enterprises that “protect the site, rather than destroy it”.
Conservationists also fear that the road improvements, particularly National Highway 6 linking Siem Reap with Poipet, will accelerate the looting of Banteay Chhmar. The temple’s proximity to Thailand means that antiquities can disappear undetected into the jungles across the border.
The Angkor-period temples have already lost a number of significant features, including six of the eight massive bas-reliefs depicting Buddhist divinity Avalokitesvara.
Nov 23, 2009
Bhutan steps lightly towards global village
THOUGH sandwiched between emerging superpowers China and India, Bhutan is a country that has proceeded with extreme caution on the path to globalisation. Television and the Internet did not arrive until 1999, and traffic lights in the capital were removed after the public deemed them a nuisance. Tourism is limited to high-end tour groups in which individials pay upwards of US$200 per day, ensuring that the backpacking hordes that descend annually upon neighbouring India and Nepal do not trample Bhutan as well.
Duch trial enters final arguments
Prosecution’s strength doubted as landmark KR trial nears end.
IN 1999, photographer Nic Dunlop was on a trip shooting mine-clearance operations in Battambang province when he happened upon the fugitive he had been chasing for more than a year.
At the time, the man was going by the name Hang Pin and working as the head of education in Samlot district, but Dunlop almost immediately recognised him as Tuol Sleng prison commandant Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch.
IN 1999, photographer Nic Dunlop was on a trip shooting mine-clearance operations in Battambang province when he happened upon the fugitive he had been chasing for more than a year.
At the time, the man was going by the name Hang Pin and working as the head of education in Samlot district, but Dunlop almost immediately recognised him as Tuol Sleng prison commandant Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch.
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