Agreement forced, Loun Savath says Monday, 28 May 2012 May Titthara

The Venerable Loun Savath was detained by police, monks and unidentified plain-clothed men on Thursday in the capital after he took photos of protesting Boeung Kak lake villagers. Photograph: Meng Kimlong/Phnom Penh Post

Activist monk Loun Savath yesterday decried an “agreement” he thumbprinted in the presence of Supreme Patriarch Nun Nget on Thursday, claiming he was forced to comply under duress. Speaking from a safe place yesterday, the “multimedia monk” said a group, including the municipal chief monk and the minister of Cults and Religions, had threatened to defrock him if he did not agree to stay away from all protests. “Any forced agreement is not an agreement, because it is against my will,” Loun Savath said, adding he wanted the authorities to give such instructions through transparent legal proceedings. Loun Savath was violently forced into a car outside Phnom Penh municipal court on Thursday morning and detained at Wat Botum for about 10 hours, where many senior monks met with him, including the Supreme Patriarch. A video of his violent abduction has received almost 25,000 views on YouTube since Thursday.

Police and ministry officials barricaded Wat Botum and blocked entry for anyone who did not produce a pagoda residence card. The human rights award winner said while he was detained, he was surrounded by authorities and threatened with being defrocked unless he thumbprinted the agreement. The handwritten agreement, obtained by the Post yesterday, was attached to a letter addressed to the Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana from Phnom Penh municipal court signed by judge Duch Kim Sorn, who had ordered an investigation into Loun Savath’s activities on charges of incitement. However, Loun Savath said despite the potential legal action, he would never leave Cambodia or leave its problems behind. “I cannot open my eyes or ears without hearing the call for justice from the people,” he said. “If there are calls, I will continue to join in monitoring people’s activity and social activity.” Yesterday, Loun Savath uploaded his own video of his violent detention outside the municipal court. Wearing a special pair of glasses fitted with a video recorder, the monk filmed his entire arrest, including his transport to Wat Botum. A voice, outside of his view is recorded as saying: “Oh Venerable, you make it so difficult. If you make it easy, it’s finished. Let others do politics.”

To contact the reporter on this story: May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com

Boeung Kak 13 to appeal Monday, 28 May 2012 Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Shane Worrell

Boeung Kak lake villagers protest outside Prey Sar prison yesterday morning after 13 protesters were sentenced to prison after a three-hour trial last week. Photograph: Meng Kimlong/Phnom Penh Post

Thirteen Boeung Kak lake women who were sentenced to two and a half years in jail on Thursday following a lawyer-free trial that lasted just three hours will appeal their convictions, their distraught supporters said yesterday. As the reality of the trial, which rights groups have condemned as illegal, set in, families and friends of the women gathered at the home of imprisoned representative Tep Vanny in village 22, vowing to fight for the women’s freedom. Heng Tong, 62, the husband of jailed Heng Mom, said the women’s lawyer, Ham Sunrith, would meet with the 13 women at Prey Sar prison today. “They will urge him to file a complaint to the Appeal Court against the decision,” he said. Tep Vanny’s husband, Ou Kong, 35, said he would write to every NGO and embassy in Cambodia pleading for more action to secure the women’s freedom. “The judgment on my wife and other women in Boeung Kak was not legal,” he said. “Correct

procedures were not followed. The judge refused to bring important witnesses to the hearing, which is a right protected under the constitution.” The 13 women were arrested at Boeung Kak on Tuesday as they supported a family who was trying to rebuild their home on land from which they were evicted in 2010. They were taken to court on Thurday without having been charged and tried in about three hours – without lawyers. Two more Boeung Kak villagers, who were arrested outside the court on Thursday, were also being detained at Prey Sar yesterday, accused of masterminding last Tuesday’s demonstration. Eng Houy, 42, whose mother, Nget Khun, 72, was one of six to have part of her sentence suspended, said she was concerned about the conditions in Prey Sar. “I am very concerned about my mother’s health,” she said. “Our protesting will continue until we get resolution with justice and fairness,” she said. A Boeung Kak villager who did not wish to be named said she was caring for 2-year-old twin girls, whose adoptive mother was one of the 13 women imprisoned. The girls, whose birth parents had not been able to care for them, had spent the weekend crying and asking when their mother was coming back, the woman said. The two girls are not alone – children who travelled to Prey Sar prison with the Boeung Kak villagers on Saturday carried banners with the words: “Please release my mother. Do not let me become an orphan.” Their supporters also prayed at nearby Ang Metrie pagoda, where one woman shaved her head as she tried to invoke spirits to help free the women. Human rights group Adhoc criticised over the weekend what it said was hypocrisy. “It is particularly disturbing that the 13 Boeung Kak women received hefty prison terms for occupying the disputed land for merely three hours, when companies continue to flagrantly ignore the laws with no consequences,” it said in a statement. “Whereas companies continue to abuse the Land Law and Sub-Decree No. 146 on Economic Land Concessions – razing people’s land before official licence is granted, neglecting to carry out required impact assessments and disregarding calls for compensation – citizens who exert their right to peaceful protest are met with violence and judicial harassment.” Development firm Shukaku, which is headed by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Lao Meng Khin, was awarded Boeung Kak lake in 2007. Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua, who after the trial called on the international community to take a strong stance, yesterday criticised remarks by Kurt Campbell, assistant

secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs at the US State Department, who arrived in Cambodia late last week. Campbell said on Friday he was “thrilled” to be in Cambodia and told of his country’s “deep desire to have strong and deeper ties between our business communities in the United States and ASEAN”. Posting on her blog yesterday, Mu Sochua questioned whether trade was being put before human rights. “This statement by a high-ranking official of the State Department is an insult to human rights and in particular to women’s human rights,” she said. US Embassy spokesman Sean McIntosh, however, said Campbell’s comments had been taken out of context. “[Campbell] was here primarily to focus on ASEAN-driven issues. He was thrilled to be here for a senior officials meeting.” McIntosh said the US had been closely following the 13 women’s situation and was regularly raising issues including freedom of assembly and independent judiciary. “Boeung Kak ... is another example of a need to define property ownership more clearly. “We address human rights issues with Cambodia routinely. We are not ignoring this.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Khouth Sophak Chakrya at sophakchakrya.khouth@phnompenhpost.com Shane Worrell at shane.worrel@phnompenhpost.com

Finally there is some hope for freedom of expression

Monday, 28 May 2012 Roger Mitton

Unless the fickle finger of fate intervenes in a dastardly manner, tomorrow evening will witness a function in Bangkok that will bring great credit to Singapore and Thailand and will shame Vietnam. On the surface, the event is innocuous. Entitled “Prelude to the post-Lee Kuan Yew era”, it will take place at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand and will feature two Singaporean lawyers speaking about the recent history of their young nation. No big deal you might think, but you would be wrong. The FCCT’s first speaker, Tan Wah Piow, was president of the University of Singapore’s Students’ Union in the 1970s, and like most student activists the world over he was a bit of a sh*t stirrer. He gave histrionic speeches about the “class struggle” between the “labouring proletariat” and the “ruling class” – the kind of heady stuff many young folks, myself included, applauded at the time. But in those days, Singapore’s then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was at the peak of his power and at his most intransigent when it came to tolerating critics. So Tan was arrested for agitating workers, fostering strikes and other Bolshie nonsense of the sort that Lee himself had embraced two decades earlier when supporting strikers in the post office and on the docks. Swiftly convicted, Tan spent eight months in the clink and then fled into exile, eventually settling in London, where he became a practising lawyer and continued lobbying for a more open society in Singapore. In 1987, he was bizarrely accused by Lee of masterminding a Marxist conspiracy to overthrow the Singapore government. Twenty-four of Tan’s alleged co-conspirators were arrested, one of whom was another lawyer, Teo Soh Lung, who was also jailed. She will be the other speaker at the event tomorrow evening. So two of the most wanted people in modern Singapore’s history will be given a platform to expound their views on the rights and wrongs of their nation’s government. It is wonderful. It is more than wonderful, it is absolutely fabulous. As the blurb for the event

states, Tan and Teo will address the “theme of the abuse of law in a country which is democratic in theory but sacrifices its most democratic citizens to the whim of its rulers”. It adds that this abuse “began in Athens, the birthplace of democracy, and continues not only in Singapore but in Thailand and elsewhere”. Indeed it does, and nowhere else does it continue more than in Vietnam. And strange as it may seem, not long ago, two other speakers, with far less a provocative history than Tan and Teo, sought to give a similar talk to the FCCT about Vietnam’s abuse of democracy and human rights. However, Vo Van Ai, president of the Paris-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights, and his deputy, Penelope Faulkner, were prevented from doing that when Bangkok, under pressure from Hanoi, denied them entry. Ai had his visa, obtained a week earlier, revoked at the last minute, while Faulkner was dragged off a Bangkok-bound plane in Paris before she could depart. The Thai foreign ministry then had the affrontery to claim that it attached “great importance to the principles of freedom of expression and diversity of views”. However, it continued, the government’s long-standing position did not allow people “to use Thailand as a place to conduct activities detrimental to other countries”. So Ai and Faulkner could not tell the truth about the repression of pro-democracy activists in Vietnam – an issue over which the United States Congress has just issued a stern warning to Hanoi. But perhaps now, after allowing Tan and Teo to speak on this subject about Singapore, and after having also allowed pro-democracy advocates from Cambodia, Malaysia and Myanmar to do the same, things will change. Clearly there can no longer be grounds for denying peaceful advocates of freedom of expression and multi-party democracy in Vietnam to speak out ever again.

Contact our Regional Insider Roger Mitton at rogermitton@gmail.com

GE health initiative in Cambodia going good

Monday, 28 May 2012 Stuart Alan Becker

Moityeree Sinha, GE's general manager for global health. Photograph: Stuart Alan Becker/Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia is the biggest investment in Asia for General Electric’s Developing Health Globally (DHG) initiative, according to GE’s manager for global health Moityeree Sinha, who spoke on Thursday at an AmCham breakfast at the Hotel InterContinental. And so far, she says, it’s been money well spent. The sixth-largest firm in the United States with annual revenue of about US$150 billion, the global corporation employs 290,000 people. Since January 2009, working through the Ministry of Health, General Electric’s program has spent about $7 million on medical equipment, ultrasound machines, incubators and ventilators to upgrade Cambodia’s public health capability. Speaking on corporate social responsibility, Sinha, who earned a doctorate in physics from

the University of Cincinnati, said the biggest positive experience in Cambodia was dealing with the people, who were motivated, very easy to work with and wanted to do the right thing. “Some of the challenges have been skill-set levels. It has been more of a challenge in Cambodia, and we have to make sure the training programs have been tailored appropriately,” she said. Sinha said GE approached the health challenges facing Cambodia just as the company would its business. “We run the projects using the same type of metrics even if they are philanthropic projects, and we apply the same business rigor and accountability onto the philanthropic side,” she said. “We are in an increasingly resource scarce environment, which drives innovation in speed and scale, which is unprecedented in earlier decades.” Sinha said her team was free of any commercial pressures on the DHG initiative, which is being conducted across 14 developing countries and has spent $61 million so far. “There is never any conflict between the projects we work on and the commercial side,” she said. One of the problems in health care across the developing countries she’s familiar with, including Cambodia, is a shortage of equipment and management expertise to deal with trauma. “The lack of systems for dealing with trauma in health is one of the big problems,” she said. Sinha noted that in all countries, unless there was strong leadership, it was very hard to function and maintain systems. General Electric provides new equipment, including medical devices and also water filtration systems. “Cambodia has been an outstanding experience for us, so that’s why we are investing more. Cambodia stood out for us in needs and Cambodia has been a very positive story for us.” While they often supply General Electric equipment, Sinha said they also use other brands to get the needs met and try to find local “champions” who can maintain the equipment and find parts.

Judge alleged misconduct Monday, 28 May 2012 Bridget Di Certo

One day before co-investigating judges closed investigations into government-opposed Case 003, Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, gave evidence that suspects Meas Muth and Sou Met were among those most responsible for the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime, according to documents obtained by the Post yesterday. The document was a complaint against Cambodian Judge You Bunleng composed by now-resigned international reserve co-investigating Judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet, who filed it to the Supreme Council of Magistracy in early May. “[Kasper-Ansermet] refers this matter to the Supreme Council of Magistracy for consideration of the conduct of Judge You Bunleng by the Disciplinary Council for disciplinary action,” the complaint reads. “[Kasper-Ansermet] requests the Supreme Council of Magistracy to suspend Judge You Bunleng’s current duties as National Co-Investigating Judge of the Office of the Co-Investigating Judges, until such a time that his conduct is considered by the Disciplinary Council,” the Swiss national wrote. Kasper-Ansermet recounts a litany of acts by You Bunleng evidencing what he surmises as judicial misconduct in relation to cases 003 and 004. In June 2010, You Bunleng removed his signature from an order to begin investigations into Case 003 for a number of reasons including “the current context of Cambodian society as a whole and potential impacts that these measures might have on case file 002, which is being conducted with no difficulty”, the complaint alleges. You Bunleng refused to acknowledge Kasper-Ansermet’s authority at the tribunal, despite several protests by the UN and other international judges. You Bunleng’s persistence to block Kasper-Ansermet turned into instructions that were disseminated to national staff at the tribunal, according to Kasper-Ansermet. “It appears clearly that the behaviour of several national staff and their reluctance to collaborate in any way with Judge Kasper-Ansermet originates from the clear instructions on the part of Judge You,” Kasper-Ansermet wrote. “These instructions given not only to his staff but also to the Court Management Section, made any progress in relation to Case File 003 and Case File 004 virtually impossible, thus interfering with the Administration of Justice,” the Swiss judge added, saying that You Bunleng’s conduct was “unworthy of a representative of the judiciary”. Officials at the Justice Ministry have not responded to repeated requests by the Post to confirm receipt of the complaint.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bridget Di Certo at bridget.dicerto@phnompenhpost.com

Last of Mondulkiri commune gone Monday, 28 May 2012 May Titthara

Villagers of Rayum commune in Mondulkiri province’s Koh Nhek district were evicted from their homes, which were then destroyed last Friday to make way for alleged rubber plantations. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

Authorities in Mondulkiri province started tearing down the last of 195 houses claimed by villagers in Rayum commune at about 7am on Friday morning. Three hours later, not one was standing. Many villagers said they had no idea where they were going to live, and one man vowed to set up a tent for lack of any better options. Authorities, who surrounded the village for a week, said the villagers’ homes sat on land belonging to a Vietnamese rubber company. They had set a deadline for villagers to clear out by Friday or be forcibly cleared out. Joint forces including military police and soldiers had already burned more than 50 homes on Tuesday and Wednesday. Authorities said that villagers moved onto the land only after it was granted to three similarly named Vietnamese rubber companies.

However, official documents show that the 28,000 hectares were given to one company called Pacific Pearl Joint-Stock Company in 2011, a violation of legal limits on the size of economic land concessions. The joint forces used industrial logging saws to polish off the rest of the homes. The Vietnamese company representative, who identified himself only as Mr Thy, said that the company has a concession from the government, and villagers were essentially squatters. “Those villagers have no right to live on our land, and most of them are victims because they were cheated by a broker who sells company land to them at $1,000 per family.” Pa Pheakey, 45, said no one spoke to her before tearing down her house. Without a residence, she has to suspend plans for the future indefinitely. “I hope that I can find land for my daughter, who just married, but now everything is not coming true.” Nhoung Sameoun, 29, said that the reason villagers did not resist the operation was a fear of being arrested. “Today, I will set up a blue tent and live in it temporarily, because I don’t know where I can go.” Sok Sera, head of the joint committee and deputy chief of administration at Mondulkiri hall, said that he did not provide any compensation for those villagers because they are new migrants and they are living on company land.

To contact the reporter on this story: May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com

New charge, same verdict for activist Monday, 28 May 2012 Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a conviction against a staffer from the rights group Licadho for allegedly distributing leaflets insulting government leaders and the king, but changed the charge against him from disinformation to incitement. Leang Sokchouen was convicted in August 2010 for allegedly distributing political leaflets, a charge he has denied, by the Takeo provincial court and sentenced to two years in prison in a trial Licadho has decried for judicial misconduct. In July 2011, the appeal court upheld the sentence against him. On Friday, presiding Judge Khim Pon found that the trial had been valid and that Leang Sokchoeun should serve the remainder of his sentence, which he will have completed on Wednesday. Speaking after the trial, Leang Sokchoeun said he was innocent. “I did not commit the distribution of the leaflets against the Cambodian government as accused. I was a pure and innocent person,” he said. In a statement on Friday, Licadho alleged a raft of judicial improprieties in the case, including accusations that the original arrest warrant did not even have Leang Sokchoeun’s name on it, that no witnesses were called at the first trial and that the charge has been switched. “This switch, announced for the first time during the appeal court’s verdict, blatantly contradicts well-established principles of criminal law,” the statement reads.

To contact the reporter on this story: Buth Reaksmey Kongkea at reaksmeykongkea.buth@phnompenhpost.com

The potential of Cambodia Monday, 28 May 2012 Stuart Alan Becker

Whenever you build a structure, you always start with a plan that exists first as an idea and then makes its way to paper and then usually a model: and this is true of ships or skyscrapers. Then comes the construction process when you bring in materials and labour and your structure begins to take shape, like the Vattanac Tower here in Phnom Penh, designed in the shape of a dragon and soon to be covered in prefabricated glass panels, made in Shanghai. This was only an idea in somebody’s head not long ago and now it will certainly become a lasting icon that dominates the Phnom Penh skyline as the tallest building in Cambodia. Cambodia today, because of the traumatic past and young population, needs all kinds of such bold new ideas, ventures, commitments and innovations as a way of inventing a better future for the citizens here. The NGOs did an heroic job in the early 1990s when the population needed everything from clothing to shoes and water to drink. But now, the era of the NGO is drawing down, as it should, in favour of a real commercial culture that operates on a free market basis where businesses compete to provide goods and services to the population. This is wonderful for Cambodians because it means they get increasing choices, and competition promotes efficiency which translates into better prices. There’s a phrase in Khmer that comes from Buddhism that translates: you do good, you get good; you do bad, you get bad. That’s true and the truth bears repeating because it is easy to forget. If you take the possibility of new business from a position of problem-solving, all you have to do is look at the people around Cambodia and see what they need. They need better roads, more schools, hospitals, airports, hotels and something even more important that’s not physical. The difference between moving unhappily through life and really making it count, really realising your dreams comes down to your spirit. That good spirit is contagious and people can be energised by others who radiate an optimistic entrepreneurial spirit all around them. Cambodians need to be energised in the possibility of a common, interconnected vision of the country through a multitude of projects. Vattanac Tower is one such optimistic, visionary project and there are so many more that haven’t even been dreamed up yet. These are heady days for Cambodia. You can walk down a street, see a property with a “For Rent” sign, make the call, sign the lease and be in business the following week.

The population is very likely to reward that kind of risk-taking shown by Vattanac, and any company that articulates a bold vision of the future and has the courage to take the risk. They’re taking risks as any entrepreneur does. Cambodia at this moment is in a stage of rapid development and therefore is rich with opportunities. In this environment, fortune favours the brave. This “stage of the game” is what differentiates Cambodia from all other countries on Planet Earth. There’s no place like Cambodia for going to bed at night, dreaming of a new business and waking up the next day, looking around and noticing that the conditions are present to go out and make it happen. As long as you have a clear vision and enough money to pay wages, the world will yield to you. After a dinner on Friday night at Luu Meng’s Yi Sang restaurant at the tourist information center along the river, which was memorable and delicious, our party ended up at the Blue Pumpkin, upstairs along the riverside with its white décor and a menu with a variety of choices. Just as we sat down, a group of about 30 youngsters walked in, possibly from a school group. They all ordered ice-cream and blended fruit drinks and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere. They probably spent more than $100 altogether. I thought of Blue Pumpkin owner Arnaud Curtat as a young baker in France, dreaming of some day having his own outlet for his own fine baked goods: and here I was watching at least 30 youngsters come in, overwhelm the kitchen, and order everything on the menu. Curtat’s vision, years ago, of a clean, white space where people could enjoy good food and drinks not only came true, it worked and continues to work. Build it and they will come.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart Alan Becker at stuart.becker@gmail.com

Trust govt, PM tells protesters Monday, 28 May 2012 May Titthara and Meas Sokchea

Villagers in Kratie province block the road in January after four people in a group of villagers protesting against alleged land grabbing by the TTY company were shot. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

Prime Minister Hun Sen has told villagers they should not to protest in land disputes but rather seek help from authorities following a spate of violent crackdowns on demonstrations. The premier said protests affect public order and claimed they sometimes become violent in a statement signed last Tuesday and obtained by the Post yesterday. “In settling to divide land or land ownership to villagers, there is no other means to resolution than authorities to tackle [the problem],” the statement reads. Protesters must avoid “all forms of violence” and not employ disruptive actions such as blocking national roads, it continues. Conversely, rights groups and opposition parties last week issued a series of statements condemning government crackdowns of protests and the abuse of the legal system in favour of companies over villagers in land disputes. In what observers have said has been a sharp downturn in respect for human rights in Cambodia this year, a series of bloody crackdowns on land protesters have left an innocent

14-year old girl dead and several others injured by gunfire. On Thursday, 13 women involved in the Boeung Kak land eviction were sentenced to two and a half years in jail, while on the same day, activist monk Loun Sovath was manhandled into a car, detained and threatened with arrest if he refused to stop attending protests. In a statement on Friday, rights group Adhoc condemned the abuse of the land law to grant concessions on land already occupied by villagers. “It is particularly disturbing that the 13 Boeung Kak women received hefty prison terms for occupying the disputed land for merely three hours, when companies continue to flagrantly ignore the laws with no consequences.” The Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party both issued statements the same day condemning government-sanctioned violence in disputes. “[We] would like to request Supreme Council of Magistracy to have a look and punish judges and prosecutors who used power to convict people unjustly,” the SRP statement reads. Chan Soveth, an investigator for Adhoc, said yesterday the very reason people take to the streets is because they cannot expect help from Cambodia’s dysfunctional legal system.

Advanced Bank of Asia loans MFI $2m Tuesday, 29 May 2012 May Kunmakara

The Advanced Bank of Asia (ABA) last week loaned PRASAC Microfinance Institution US$2 million to support the rapid growth of the microfinance loan industry. The agreement was made on May 23 between Sim Senacheert, CEO of PRASAC, and Askhat Azhikhanov, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of ABA Bank, according to the statement from PRASAC. The domestic loan was chosen to “diversify our funding sources” because of a large reliance on overseas capital which moves many of the jobs created away from the Kingdom Sim told the Post on Monday. The demand for microfinance loans is increasing, and PRASAC is finding the increased demand hard to meet, which is the driving reason behind the decision to get the loan, he said. Receiving loans from abroad takes time and the process is complicated compared to getting a domestic loan. The loan had a higher interest rate compared to a foreign fund, but it is “easy and fast” he said. So far about seven or eight Microfinance Institutions have received loans from local banks worth between US$30-$40 million. “It is still small, but it is a successful achievement for us” said Bun Mony, chairman of Cambodia’s Microfinance Association and CEO of Sathapana Microfinance Institution.

Sathapana Microfinance Institution has received $7 million from commercial banks since last year. “Now, I am negotiating with many other banks” said Bun Mony. PRASAC has been received loans from three local banks worth close to $14 million and now is in discussion with others, said Sim Senacheert. PRASAC’s total loan portfolio was more than $150 million as of December 2011 and there were 125,127 credit clients.

Boeung Kak takes case to Assembly Tuesday, 29 May 2012 Khouth Sophak Chakrya

Boeung Kak residents protest the continued detention of 15 people from their community. Thirteen of the activists were sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison at the conclusion of a controversial trial. Photograph: Vireak Mai/Phnom Penh Post

About 200 people, including activist monk Loun Savath, rallied outside the National Assembly in Phnom Penh yesterday in support of the 13 Boeung Kak women sentenced to prison in a three-hour trial last Thursday. Supporters of the women, including villagers, unions and human rights groups, called for the government to release the women as well as two more villagers, Ly Chanary and Sao Sareoun, the group’s only man, who were detained outside the women’s trial. Demonstrators, who had pieces of paper stuck to their shirts saying, “Land robber is free. Landowner is jailed”, joined hands yesterday to sing songs about losing their houses to make way for CPP senator Lao Meng Khin’s $79 million development at the Boeung Kak lake site. Yom Bopha, 32, a resident of village 22, said an assembly official had accepted a petition addressed to National Assembly President Heng Samring. “Our neighbours are victims,” she said. “We hope and believe the National Assembly will find justice for us.”

Award-winning human rights activist Loun Savath, who was himself detained outside the court on Thursday, joined yesterday’s demonstration a day after telling the Post that senior monks had forced him to sign an agreement not to protest. Ham Sunrith, defence lawyer for the 13 Boeung Kak women, said he had filed an appeal to the court. “I filed the appeal this afternoon,” he said. Sao Sareoun and Ly Chanary, who both live in village 1, were questioned in court immediately after the women’s trial and charged with the same offences. They remain in pre-trial detention in Prey Sar without a trial date. Their defence lawyer, Long Lun, was in Thailand yesterday when the Post called him and said he would push the court to proceed with a fair trial upon his return. Following Thursday’s three-hour trial, Phnom Penh municipal court sentenced the 13 women to two-and-a-half year’s in Prey Sar prison. They were arrested a week ago and accused of disputing authorities and occupying land owned by Shukaku, Lao Meng Khin’s development firm. Some of the women, including 72-year-old Nget Khun, had part of their sentences suspended and will serve either one or two years in prison. Sia Phearum, secretariat director of the Housing Rights Task Force, said the 14 female Boeung Kak villagers remained together in Prey Sar, while Sao Sareoun was being held in another part of the prison. The conditions in Prey Sar were “unlike any Western prison”, he said, before again condemning last week’s trial. “Civil society is disappointed and really concerned, because the court is not independent and does not protect the rights of the people,” he said. “There is just protection for the rich and powerful . . . We want to see enforcement of the rule of law.” Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana was not available for comment yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Khouth Sophak Chakrya at sophakchakrya.khouth@phnompenhpost.com

BuckHunger food charity facing the knife Tuesday, 29 May 2012 Calvin Yang

One of BuckHunger's young charges, enjoying a morning meal at the organisation's Russian Market premises in March. Photograph: Ruby Wright

An independent project which seeks to provide free food to Cambodian children every day, many of whom live on the streets, is in danger of starving itself out. BuckHunger, a private, non-profit organisation which has provided 32,000 free lunches to residents of the Russian Market since last December, suspended its daily meal programmes three weeks ago due to a lack of funds. “It was a crushing blow,” said Johnny Phillips, founder of BuckHunger. “I am a little disappointed in myself. It never dawned on me that I wouldn’t be able to sustain this cause.” In early May, Phillips and his staff turned away an estimated 250 children knocking on the door expecting a nutritious and filling hot meal. For many of them, this will be their only meal of the day. “Those kids are out there right now,” said Phillips, an American restaurateur by trade. “For them, it is more than disappointment alone, it is hunger.” According to him, some of the children have returned to the nearby rubbish dumps, not only in search of items which they can sell but also for scraps of leftover food.

“For a week after, I couldn’t face anyone,” said Phillips, who is still recovering from the setback. “I was so ashamed that I didn’t want to see anyone, not even my staff.” With 38 years of commercial food and beverage experience running white tablecloth restaurants in Oklahoma, California and Arkansas, Johnny was certain that his current venture would take off. He had even made plans for nine other soup kitchens to be established across Cambodia. “I’ve always been working for a profit and suffered a lot of headaches in the process. Making money was the only fun thing about it,” said Phillips, who founded The Chalkboard Restaurant in Oklahoma, an award-winning establishment throughout the 70’s and 80’s. “I wanted to do something lasting, to make a difference.” On several occasions early last year, Johnny was having dinner at a restaurant in Sihanoukville when he was approached by children begging to have the remains of his meal. “A kid came up to me asking to have the pork chop bone on my plate,” added Phillips, recalling an incident which took place last February. “It was humbling to see kids begging or searching the thrash for food. “There is so much need here in Cambodia. I felt that this was the right place to start something meaningful.” In September last year, he packed his bags and moved from Arkansas to Phnom Penh to establish BuckHunger with a staff of 20. On December 4th, BuckHunger opened its doors to four curious children from the neighbourhood. Within two weeks, there were at least 200 children coming in for a meal. “When I first started BuckHunger, people told me that this is a miracle and Phnom Penh needs a miracle like this,” the 64-year-old said. “But they don’t realise that with each passing day, it gets harder to run this place without any money coming in.” Unlike most NGOs, which are backed financially by established organisations and businesses, BuckHunger is managed by Johnny himself and is fully dependent on donations to keep its doors open to the hungry children of Phnom Penh. To date, Johnny has financed most of BuckHunger’s activities, which include the cost of renting the premises, purchasing ingredients and paying for utility fees. While he has managed to trim down expenses to the bare minimum, the restaurant costs approximately US$5,000 a month to operate. After pumping in $40,000 of his savings and with little success in generating a steady flow of contributions, BuckHunger’s future is in peril.

Donations fell to an unacceptable level in April, leaving Johnny no choice but to halt meals. “I ran out of trips to the ATM. It’s plain simple,” said Johnny, who is residing in Cambodia off his savings and social security. “It takes about $100 per day for the food alone but we require a steady stream of donations to continue our work.” Currently, the director of BuckHunger is looking into several fundraising activities to jumpstart the project again. Over the next few weeks, BuckHunger will be revealing a new website and a marketing video to raise awareness of the cause. Johnny is also considering the alternative of an NGO taking over the restaurant and picking up from where he has left off. “I have proved that there is a need here and someone can easily pull in and take over the business,” Johnny said. “They can change the name and do whatever they want, as long as the kids have something to eat everyday.” “For me, the hardest decision has already been made and that is suspending the daily meals. I have no idea whether these plans will bring in the money, but I know for sure that it would be such a joy to see hungry kids walk out of here with a full stomach.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Calvin Yang at ppp.lifestyle@gmail.com

Campaign abuses alleged Tuesday, 29 May 2012 Chhay Channyda and David Boyle

Supporters of the Cambodian People’s Party campaign in Phnom Penh earlier this month. Photograph: Vireak Mai/Phnom Penh Post

Officials legally obligated to not engage in political campaigning violated election regulations 200 times in a period of just under four months ending January 31, election monitoring group Comfrel alleges in a report released yesterday. Civil servants, police and military officials were found to have systematically violated the regulations, generally to the benefit of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, while state property had also been misused for political advantage. Though current legal provisions strictly prohibit state officials from party activities, “this practice is actively supported and encouraged by CPP in order to sustain and strengthen its political support”, the report found. It listed and dated incidents where high-ranking officials that included provincial and district governors, heads of government departments, court officials and senior military and police personnel had allegedly engaged in prohibited political activities. Comfrel executive director Koul Panha said yesterday that he hoped the findings would raise awareness about the legal provisions related to political activities that officials are obligated to follow.

“[I want to] increase public awareness about that and among the civil servants, military and police. They should understand they are breaking the law, because sometimes they don’t understand,” he said. Many of these officials simply believed it was their duty to campaign on behalf of the CPP, without realising this was illegal, Koul Panha said. He added it was hard to know to what extent other parties might have benefited, because those supporting the CPP were the only ones that violated the election laws blatantly in this way. The Comfrel report, which also found that access to broadcast media was dominated by the CPP, contains a number of errors identifying the positions of people alleged to have violated Cambodian laws governing political conduct. Two-star police general Suon Phalla, director of the police professionalism school at the Police Academy of Cambodia and one of the officials accused in the report, denied that meeting CPP members before an election campaign was illegal. “[Comfrel’s] accusation is not right. Besides, I use my weekends, not working days to do political campaigns, and it’s not violating laws, there is no law to ban me,” he said, adding he did not use his title when campaigning. Comfrel does concede in the report that the 2012 National Election Committee regulation on Commune Council Elections contains a contradictory clause that allows officials to campaign outside of work hours. The secretary general of the NEC, Tep Nytha, confirmed that using state resources, including people, to campaign was illegal. “It violates election law,” he said. “In the case of using state buildings for political purpose, the commune election committee can warn them or if they do not listen, they will be fined from 5 to 10 million riels [US$1,236 to $2,472],” he said.

Chief's order dictate vote, villagers say Tuesday, 29 May 2012 May Titthara

Ethnic Krueng villagers sit on the steps of their home in Sre Chhouk village, Kbal Romea commune, in Stung Treng province's Sesan district. The village is home to five different indigenous groups. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

The streets of Phnom Penh are alive with the sounds of campaign music and political slogans this week, but in the remote areas of Stung Treng province, which are home to many of Cambodia’s ethnic minorities, it is eerily quiet. In villages of Sesan district, where minorities such as the Kouy, Pnorng, Prao and Laotian traditionally live off the land, the democratic spirit is hardly thriving. June 3 commune council elections are fast approaching, but almost everyone here – at least those who can speak Khmer – says when it comes to voting, they simply do what they are told. In Kbal Romeas commune’s Sre Sranok village, 45-year-old Prao ethnic villager Oeun Chantho, flashing coal black teeth, said she was too busy with farming to pay attention to the election. “The village chief told me not to be worried about this, and on the election day, I’ll just tick the party that I used to vote for. So that tick will be on the logo of the flower-scattering angel as before,” she said, referring to the insignia of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

She said she knew practically nothing about other parties that were running but had received clear instructions from the village chief to vote for the CPP. “Our chief gave us salt, sarongs and told us that we have to vote for who offer happiness to us, so that we know who offer us peace - only our village chief’s party,” she said. As her neighbour, 32-year-old Chan Tha, walked through the forest on her way to grow rice, her baby tied to her with a scarf, she shyly said that none of the surrounding minority villagers knew anything at all about the commune and district elections. “I have never missed an election, but when I voted, I followed the commune chief. When the day of the election arrived, the commune chief brought me a voting card, and I ticked what he told me,” she said. That man is 70-year-old CPP Kbal Romeas commune chief La Boeur, who said his constituency was made up of 181 indigenous families who were illiterate and had to be educated about the election. “We told their village chiefs to explain to them which parties the logos belong to, which number, so that they can select that logo when they go to vote,” he said. Though some villagers are familiar with logos other than the CPP, notably the candlelight of Cambodia’s main opposition force, the Sam Rainsy Party, few of them even know the name of these democratic alternatives. Kuy Chantha Lak, director of the provincial election committee, said the SRP and CPP were contesting in all 34 communes in Stung Treng, while Funcinpec had put up candidates in 20 and the Norodom Ranariddh Party was competing in 14. “We have shared election ballots to all the villagers, and the chief of the villages have advertised, and indigenous people in Kbal Romeas have become more aware about the election because they can speak good Khmer now,” he said. But Hou Sam Ol, provincial investigator for rights group Adhoc in Stung Treng, said most indigenous still understood almost nothing about the elections, a problem that needed to be addressed. “The provincial election committee should set up a program to educate those people to understand more about the parties,” he said. A total of 10 parties are competing in the commune elections, in which councilors are voted in through a proportional voting system that sees seats allocated on the basis of the number of votes received by each party. The councils, led by a chief, then serve the interests of the people and perform tasks delegated by the government, but they also appoint village chiefs and on a national level vote in the vast majority of Cambodia’s upper house, the Senate, which has no real legislative power.

A total of 11,353 seats were contested in 1,621 communes during the 2007 commune elections, 70 per cent of which were won by the CPP, according to the Cambodian Center for Human Rights. On May 9, the National Election Committee announced it had so far distributed 6,944,993 voting cards to 9,203,493 eligible voters. The commune elections were introduced in 2002 in an attempted to decentralise Cambodia’s political system. But none of that is of much interest to 36-year-old Phnong indigenous minority villager Te Chounh, who is content to follow his chief’s advice that the party with the angel is the one that can prevent war. “I have voted two times already and I don’t want to change the picture, because that picture makes me grow up, have a motorcycle, hospital and it is not hard like before,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com

Chut Wutty witness had eyes elsewhere Tuesday, 29 May 2012 May Titthara

A woman carries a photograph of slain environmental activist Chut Wutty at his funeral in Kandal province last month. Chut Wutty was gunned down in Koh Kong province on April 26 of this year. Photograph: Will Baxter/Phnom Penh Post

Another witness to the fatal shooting of prominent environmentalist Chut Wutty and military police officer In Rattana has said he did not see who shot the men after testifying in Koh Kong provincial court yesterday. Puom Ravin, a 37-year-old employee of the logging firm Timbergreen said he was looking the other way when heard gun shots at Veal Bei point in Modul Seima district’s Bak Klang commune on April 26, and then turned around to discover both men dead. “I don’t know who shot those two people dead,” he said, adding that it sounded like Chut Wutty’s leg then fell on the accelerator of the car he was inside of, causing the engine to rev,” he said. He added that, in total, there had been seven people at the crime scene who he later learned were Chut Wutty, In Rattana, a man only known as Chhorn, So Sopheap, Ran Borath and two journalists. “I saw two journalists run out from the car to jungle after I heard the shooting, and they came back about five minutes later,” he added.

According to the accounts of those journalists, Phorn Bopha and Olesia Plokhii, who were travelling with Chut Wutty at the time to investigate alleged illegal logging, the group repeatedly tried to push start the car before the shooting. But they have also said they did not see who shot who, leaving only the official police account, which changed several times after an early explanation that an aggrieved In Rattana shot himself twice with an AK-47 after killing Chut Wutty was widely ridiculed. The current official version of events is that In Rattana shot Chut Wutty and was then killed when security guard Ran Borath, who has been charged with unintentional murder, tried to disarm him. Ran Borath was an employee of the firm Timbergreen, which Chut Wutty had repeatedly accused of illegal logging. Witnesses Ek So Oeun, also an employee of Timbergreen, and Bou Orn, 28, whose background is unknown, received court summonses on May 17, Neang Boratino, Adhoc provincial coordinator in Koh Kong province, said yesterday. “The fact that the court questioned many people is good in order to find the real perpetrator that shot Chut Wutty,” he said. “However, we are worried that those witnesses did not give information to press charges so it’s difficult to find the real perpetrator.” Neang Boratino called on the court to summon the man known as Chhorn, who had been wearing a military uniform on the day of the incident.

To contact the reporter on this story: May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com

Eviction worry delays Phnom Penh mega project

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 Pi Xiaoqing and Don Weinland

A motorcyclist rides near a proposed US$1.6 billion development site in Russey Keo district, which the Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation will reportedly delay due to disputes with local residents. Photograph: Derek Stout/Phnom Penh Post

The developer of Phnom Penh’s US$1.6 billion Chroy Chungva City project has said ground would not be broken this year, raising questions about the future of the satellite city. Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation (OCIC) will delay the Chroy Chungva City project after what a local Chinese paper, The Phnom Penh Evening Post, said was “problems with residents living in the development area”. Insiders said the Malaysian property developer Sunway Bhd, the original developer, left the project about a year ago due to eviction and relocation disputes. Controversy surrounding satellite city projects in Cambodia have highlighted the challenges international property developers face in the country, experts said. Sunway likely sold the concession for Chroy Chungva City, located in Phnom Penh on the peninsula of the same name, after concerns over transparency and compensation for evictees, a source with knowledge of the deal said yesterday.

“Due to the complexities of dealing with relocation, many international developers are concerned with investing in big projects in Cambodia. Local companies are more willing to take this on,” the source said. “It's the same thing with Boeung Kak lake. Listed companies don't want to deal with this.” A satellite city project at the lake in north Phnom Penh has seen thousands of families evicted forcefully since 2007, attracting a host of international scrutiny. Last week, 13 women protesting at Boeung Kak were sentenced to two and a half years in prison after a three-hour trial, the Post reported. OCIC could not be reached for comment yesterday. Sunway declined to comment. Some locals living in the proposed Chroy Chungva City development zone said they were in the dark about the details of the plan. “We don't know if we have to leave or not. We don't know about the compensation,” Som Vannak, a resident of Chroy Chungva commune, said yesterday. “Before the election, the government doesn't want to get a reaction from the people about this.” Commune elections start on Sunday. A government notice concerning the project circulated in the commune about three months ago, Som Vannak said. The notice barred new construction in the area where OCIC planned to build the city, he said. Changes to government policy would be needed before international companies would feel comfortable investing in such large-scale projects, executive director at the Cambodia Institute for Cooperation and Peace Chheang Vannarith said yesterday. “It's a matter of trust between international companies and the government,” he said. “So far, this hasn't been satisfactory. More transparency and better compensation policy is needed to attract international developers to the country.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Pi Xiaoqing and Don Weinland at newsroom@phompenhpost.com With assistance from Peter Khim

Khmer Rouge court told of city’s evacuation

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 Bridget Di Certo

Khmer Rouge leaders Pol Pot (from left), Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Vorn Vet are seen in this undated file photo. Photograph: DC-CAM

Senior Khmer Rouge leader Son Sen’s younger brother took the stand at the tribunal yesterday and delivered his insights into a regime governed by secrecy and information control. Ny Kan said he was not completely certain what his brother’s role in the regime was, only attesting that he was “leading the army for a while”. “Secrecy was so high, discipline was so firm – I had to be given tasks from other people, I had no opportunity to choose them,” the now-adviser at the Ministry of National Defence said yesterday. Either loss of memory or loss of nerve dominated Ny Kan’s responses to prosecution questioning yesterday. He needed to be reminded several times about an interview he gave to former BBC correspondent Philip Short for his biography Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare. However, when asked if he felt any trepidation in his testimony, Ny Kan said: “I joined forces with the Cambodia People’s Party, so I do not feel pressure anymore. I am operating more

freely now.” The 69-year-old said he joined the revolution movement in the 1960s because he had the “necessary skills” – meaning he was literate. As a propaganda official during the time of Democratic Kampuchea, Ny Kan said he moved around a lot and was tasked with making banners for the evacuation of Phnom Penh in April 1975. He described the situation as “very chaotic”. “There were a lot of people in Phnom Penh before it was liberated, and people had to come out of their homes and flooded the roads,” he said of city dwellers evacuating the city by foot. The threat of aerial bombardment – the Communist Party of Kampuchea’s stated motivation for evacuating Phnom Penh – had everyone living in fear, Son Sen’s brother said. He recounted how Khmer Rouge forces had dug a network of trenches and tunnels under six-metre-high anthills along the abandoned railway between Phnom Penh and Battambang to try and protect themselves from aerial attacks he said were the responsibility of either forces loyal to Lon Nol or American B-52 bombers. At this time, “all the pagodas in the country” were destroyed by bombs from the B-52s and monks flocked to join the revolutionary forces, he said. After that, there were “no more pagodas where people could go and visit as religious believers”, he added. Throughout proceedings, a still-recovering Ieng Sary remained in the holding cells beneath the courtroom. Doctors last week said the former Khmer Rouge deputy prime minister’s heart condition is not expected to improve. Ny Kan’s testimony continues today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bridget Di Certo at bridget.dicerto@phnompenhpost.com

The forgotten Khmer Rouge victims Tuesday, 29 May 2012 Margot Wallström

People look at the skulls of Khmer Rouge victims in this file photo. Photograph: DC-Cam

More than 30 years ago, the world mourned the deaths of the nearly two million people who lost their lives in Cambodia under the reign of the Khmer Rouge regime, which renamed the country Democratic Kampuchea. The world acknowledged the State-sponsored torture, forced labour, starvation and executions that laid waste to Cambodia, marking one of the worst human tragedies in recorded history. The overwhelming presence of mass graves and the loss of an estimated full quarter of the population of the country, told the story of what had transpired in stark numerical terms. What remained untold, and what the world has not yet acknowledged, is the other calamity – that of widespread rape and other sexual crimes that took place under the Khmer Rouge, and were a central part of the range of atrocities perpetrated from January 1975 through to April 1979. What was once silenced is now coming to light, as mounting evidence points to an array of sexual violence committed as part of the genocidal regime – including mass rape, gang rape before execution, rape as a form of torture, and sexual mutilation.

With the creation in 2004 of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), a Cambodian/United Nations hybrid tribunal established under Cambodian law to bring senior leaders and those most responsible for atrocities committed in Democratic Kampuchea to trial, victims of the full range of sexual violence committed under the Khmer Rouge had reason to believe that their experiences of violation would be among those considered by the Court. Unfortunately, aside from the issue of forced marriage, crimes of sexual violence have only been marginally taken up by the ECCC, and experiences of sexual crimes have not been integrated into the court’s strategies, whether forensic, investigative, or prosecutorial. In short, the court has determined that, though rape did occur, it cannot be linked to the accused and so is not included in the charges. The court, which was created to give justice to survivors, is faced with a pool of victims without recourse to justice – and the accountability and acknowledgment it brings – for the crimes they experienced as part of the general atrocities. Unless the court finds a way to address this issue, it will be perceived as implicitly re-enforcing the silence about conflict-related sexual violence, and not providing a counterbalance to the impunity that has prevailed. Despite this, Cambodian women are beginning to speak up. Over five months ago, in early December 2011, we were present at a Cambodian Women’s Hearing on Sexual Violence under the Khmer Rouge, when witnesses and survivors, as well as experts, came together to give testimonies about the vast numbers of rapes which were perpetrated by members of the Khmer Rouge against countless women, and the reign of impunity as perpetrators went unpunished. The Hearing, which was convened in Phnom Penh by the Cambodian Defenders Project, gave survivors a public platform for the first time to demand justice. We heard many stories, among them the devastating testimony of one woman, who, beginning from age 18, suffered multiple rapes and gang rapes, and instead of sympathy and care, faced mockery and prejudice from her community. Distraught, she tried to commit suicide twice, and survived in dignity only by fleeing her village. Another testifier at the hearing reported that she was among 30 women targeted for execution, with each woman methodically raped before being killed. She was the only victim who survived. Experts asserted that the threat or experience of sexual violence was a daily reality for most women under the regime, that acts of sexual violence were seldom punished and implicitly endorsed by the “enemy policy” of the highest leadership, and that victim-survivors are still traumatized by the experience, and stigmatized by their communities.

After the Women’s Hearing I wrote to Prime Minister Hun Sen, and to the judges of the ECCC, to express my concern that survivors face obstacles in their quest for justice, whilst their perpetrators remain free. I echoed the recommendations from the Women’s Hearing, that these crimes must be given the full benefit of the court’s resources and attention, as afforded other crimes against humanity before the ECCC, and I called for the establishment of mechanisms for appropriate recognition and reparations for victims of sexual violence under the Khmer Rouge regime. It is imperative that these crimes do not remain “secret”, and it is critical that they are addressed formally and not stricken from the official historical record of the Khmer Rouge era. Until the voices and experiences of women are part of this process, this chapter of Cambodia’s history cannot be considered closed. The history of rape has been a history of denial, and it is unacceptable that it is the victim, and not the attacker, that is shamed and stigmatized. The scope of what can be prosecuted must be revisited by the ECCC, and if prosecution is not possible, other alternative mechanisms to acknowledge these crimes must be established, utilizing the expertise of the court. The government of Cambodia, which has an obligation to protect its citizens and to make an attempt to address ongoing injustices, must support survivors of sexual violence by addressing community stigma and lasting trauma and eliminating violence against women in present day Cambodia. I call on the government of Cambodia and the ECCC to use their full and independent capacities to honour their courage and acknowledge the sacrifices of the victims and survivors.

Margot Wallström is the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict

Villagers turn to leaflets in hope of intervention

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 Mom Kunthear

More than 200 villagers locked in a years-long land dispute with a sugar company owned by senator tycoon Ly Yong Phat lined national road 48 yesterday, distributing leaflets to motorists and threatening to block the road next month if their situation is not resolved. The villagers, who hailed from Chikor Leu commune in Koh Kong province’s Sre Ambel district, have been protesting against Ly Yong Phat’s Koh Kong Sugar Company since their violent eviction in 2006, when their land was bulldozed, and two villagers were reportedly wounded by gunfire from security forces. The villagers’ representative, An Hai Ya, said yesterday that the 220 families wrote the leaflet about their tribulations to alert the public to their situation. “That is the way to share their problem with everyone after they tried to protest many times to ask for resolution from the government, the company and the authorities,” he said, noting that villagers distributed more than 500 petitions. An Hai Ya said that villagers, who stood in the rain for hours, also told motorists about the loss of their rice fields, among other problems. “They don’t have work to do. More villagers leave home to find work at other places, their children go without school, and they threatened to block the road some time in June if they still cannot get any resolution,” he said The villagers have already blocked national road 48 once, but protester Seng Kao said that yesterday’s motorists were largely sympathetic to their situation. “Some passengers told me that we have to do this rather than keep quiet when powerful people abuse you or take your land,” he said. “If you do not protest or demand your land back, they will do the same to other weak people.” Neang Boratino, Koh Kong’s provincial Adhoc coordinator, said that distributing leaflets to raise awareness was a good change of strategy. “I think they are trying to find out the best protest strategy to request that authorities and the government give them a resolution,” he said. Koung Sunly, chief of Sre Ambel military police, said that military police and police officers attended the demonstration to keep order and direct traffic, but did not interfere with protesters.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mom Kunthear at kunthear.mom@phnompenhpost.com <div>Please enable JavaScript to post a new comment</div>

Boeung Kak women kept away from NGO, reporters

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 May Titthara and Shane Worrell

Imprisoned Boeung Kak lake villagers, some crying, motioned to human rights representatives and Post reporters through a chain-link fence at Prey Sar prison on Tuesday. Their efforts to talk to the visitors were futile, however, as two guards stopped anyone from approaching the 13 women sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison last Thursday, or Ly Chanary, who was arrested the same day. Rights group Licadho put on an International Children’s Day show in the courtyard of Prey Sar’s CC2 complex for about 300 imprisoned youths and eight children being raised behind bars, as a show of a different kind played out nearby. The two guards, dressed in unmarked grey clothing distinct from regular guards at Prey Sar, ordered those who ventured near the fence closest to the Boeung Kak women to move away. Licadho president Pung Chhiv Kek, who led a contingent of about 50 youths into Prey Sar for the event, spoke to prisoners up close through the fence, but when she began to move in the direction of the Boeung Kak prisoners, a guard told her to clear away. “In my long experience of going to Cambodian prisons, it was the first time I was prevented to see prisoners,” she told the Post. “They did this because they had orders coming from the upper stratum of the regime, which regards Boeung Kak lake as a sensitive question.” Licadho has condemned last week’s trial, which came two days after the 13 were arrested at a demonstration, and an hour after they were charged with disputing authority and illegally occupying land owned by Shukaku, CPP Senator Lao Meng Khin’s development firm. “[Today’s refusal] may also have been retaliation, since Licadho defended the rights of the prisoners and criticised the unfair trial in which they were convicted,” said Pung Chhiv Kek. One of the guards told Post reporters they would be ejected from the prison if they did not move from under a tree about 30 metres from where the Boeung Kak group stood. “I will throw you out of the prison if you are stubborn enough to stay here,” he said. The reporters were instructed to sit on the other side of the courtyard, just metres from other prisoners they were free to converse with. Prisoners with children inside Prey Sar were allowed into the courtyard to enjoy the event, but a request from Licadho to have the Boeung Kak women enter the yard was denied, Pung Chhiv Kek said.

Chheng Barang, 18, son of Boeung Kak prisoner Chheng Leap, said he had travelled to Prey Sar to visit his mother over the weekend, but a guard had refused him entry. “I miss my mother, and I want to see her,” he said. “I want her back home. She did not do anything wrong. Why has she been detained in prison? “When I am eating, I always think about my mother, because I don’t know if she has food,” he said. Jeff Vize, prison project consultant with Licadho, said prisoners in Prey Sar are often forced to buy their own food if they want proper nourishment. “Food is inadequate both in terms of quantity and nutritional value. There are [also] health dangers related to . . . water, medical care, fresh air and space,” he said, adding that CC2, for women and children, was filled to more than twice its capacity. As for visits, prisoners in Prey Sar are entitled to one family visit per week, Vize said. “Even for regular authorised visits, visitors generally pay something for the privilege,” he said. “There are roughly fixed amounts, which vary from prison to prison, but often the price depends on how wealthy you appear to be.” Meanwhile, a coalition of NGOs, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday calling for him to vacate the women’s convictions. “The trial failed to meet even the most rudimentary fair trial standards . . . The defence lawyers’ request for the case files was rejected, as was their request for time to prepare a defence,” the letter says. “They were also refused the right to call defence witnesses, though several were ready to testify just outside the court. These are all clear violations of not only international fair trial standards, but also Cambodia’s Code of Criminal Procedure.” Sao Sareoun, a Boeung Kak man arrested last Thursday, is also being held in Prey Sar. The Ministry of Justice could not be reached for comment yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com Shane Worrell at shane.worrell@phnompenhpost.com <div>Please enable JavaScript to post a new comment</div> 0 Response(s)

Farmers fear deal has strings Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Chhay Channyda

Villagers from Kampong Chhnang’s Lorpeang Village, pictured last year, have recently been granted permission to farm land that has been disputed since 2007 with the KDC company. Photograph: Derek Stout/Phnom Penh Post

Forty Kampong Chhnang villagers embroiled in a long-running land dispute with KDC International, a company owned by the wife of a senior CPP official, farmed contested land without interference on Monday, prompting some to wonder if they were being coaxed to vote for the ruling party in the coming commune elections. Villagers were confused as to why no one barred them from the land, which is claimed by KDC and its owner Chea Kheng, wife of CPP-affiliated Industry, Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem. However, village representative Reach Seima suspects the new accommodation is simply because “it’s time to vote”. “When we entered, the guard told us to bring more villagers to [farm] on this land,” he said. “We wondered is that a trick of the company? [The CPP] are good to us because they don’t want to lose votes.” The land has been in dispute since 2007, when KDC International bulldozed 145 hectares of farmland in Lorpeang village in Kampong Chhnang’s Ta Ches commune without

compensating local residents. In early May, the provincial court ruled against a villager who demanded 30 acres of land from KDC, despite the company failing to provide proof of ownership. According to Reach Seima, CPP commune chief Suos Siphay told Lorpeang villagers that he could resolve their dispute if re-elected. Villagers, he said, were unconvinced. “We will vote according to our will to change the old commune chief, and replace him,” Reach Siema said. Suos Siphay said he did not know the background of the Lorpeang land dispute because he was elected after it began, and denied promising villagers he could solve their land issues. ”I campaigned in that village to tell them I’d take care of all people’s problems,” he said. “But in this land dispute, I dared not to promise them because it’s in the court’s hands. If it wasn’t at court, I would intervene.” Sam Chankea, a provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, said that KDC’s motivations were political. “In the election period, the company is not serious or it would affect votes for its political party [CPP],” he said. KDC representatives could not be reached for comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chhay Channyda at channyda.chhay@phnompenhpost.com

KR evacuation plan dissected Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Bridget Di Certo

Khmer Rouge ambassador to the UN Thiounn Prasit gives a tour of the Kingdom to an unidentified foreign delegation. Photograph: DC-CAM

The forced evacuation of Cambodia’s city dwellers to the countryside was a plan doomed to failure, the brother of Khmer Rouge senior leader Son Sen revealed yesterday. Ny Kan, the younger brother of the man who masterminded Phnom Penh’s notorious S-21 prison, told the court that there were nationwide food shortages before the Khmer Rouge evacuated the urban centres and conceded that it would be very difficult for any of the co-operatives to achieve the target of two to three tonnes of produce per hectare. “The land condition would not allow farmers to do farming three times a year, because the land was not that fertile; and in addition, there was a water shortage as well,” said Ny Kan, who worked in the protocol department of the ministry of foreign affairs led by Case 002 co-accused Ieng Sary. “We had to encourage people to comply by the instructions, but it depended on the agriculture location that the majority could not achieve the target set,” he said, at one point adding “no matter what happened, there would never be enough food to feed all the people”. Part of his duties in the protocol section included greeting and guiding foreign delegations

and subsequently reporting about this visits to the “upper echelons”. Current Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh and Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon were also involved in greeting these foreign delegations and reporting back, he said. Ny Kan told the court that he and Keat Chhon, whose alias under the regime was “Muth”, drafted a report detailing a series of requests made by a visiting delegation of journalists and academics that included Elizabeth Becker and professor Macolm Caldwell, who was murdered during that visit. Ny Kan said the requests of that group – to visit work sites, border areas and political prisoners, among others were not “significantly entertained”. The now-adviser to the Ministry of National Defence was adamant and insistent on deflecting any insinuation that he was in a position of real responsibility or leadership and multiple times pointed out that he was merely an official in one sub-department of the protocol unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has been called the “ante-chamber of death”. He further testified that it was then-King Norodom Sihanouk’s call to join the revolution that motivated the masses to participate in the Khmer Rouge cause. Ny Kan continues his testimony today, when he will be questioned by defence counsel for Brother No 2 Nuon Chea.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bridget Di Certo at bridget.dicerto@phnompenhpost.com

Violent crackdowns decried Wednesday, 30 May 2012 May Titthara

Violent land evictions, unlawful prison sentences, shooting deaths and crackdowns on peaceful protests are all on a list of allegations a human rights group is voicing concerns about this week. The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee condemned the incidents in a statement released on Tuesday, calling on the government to conduct investigations and asking that protests aren’t met with force. “The committee has concerns over land disputes, as the government uses armed forces to protect private interests rather than that of the villagers. We would like to appeal to the government to stop using violence to quell peaceful demonstrations,” the statement reads. CHRAC specifically condemned what it said were armed forces defending the interests of companies without implementing effective legal procedures. It also accused the courts of holding unfair trials and passing down draconian sentences, citing the case of the 13 Boeung Kak villagers who on May 24 were given two and half years each after being arrested at a non-violent protest. Highlighted incidents in the statement include the May 16 shooting death of 14-year-old girl Heng Chantha in Kratie province, when a coalition of armed forces carried out an eviction order, and the April 26 slaying of environmentalist Chut Wutty, who was gunned down while attempting to document illegal logging. Sok Sam Oeun, the executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, said that these cases and others worried human rights workers. “I asked the court to work independently and to find justice for victims,” he said. National police spokesman Kiet Chantharith said that police must enforce the law if villagers break the law, but added that police never use violence against them. “Our police are so perfect that some police were wounded in heads because of the throngs of demonstrators,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com <div>Please enable JavaScript to post a new comment</div>

Waitress, rights worker see suits nixed Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Phak Seangly

Defamation and incitement suits filed, respectively, against a woman suing for sexual harassment and the rights worker who helped her were dropped by the Banteay Meanchey provincial court yesterday. A bizarre legal tangle emerged in November after waitress Hi Theavy accused Cambodian Mine Action Centre official Oum Socheath and his friend of groping her and using vulgar sexual innuendo in a complaint filed to provincial court. Oum Socheath counter-sued Hi Theavy for defaming him in radio interviews and filed a complaint against Soum Chankea, the Banteay Meanchey provincial coordinator of rights group Adhoc, alleging he used threats to coerce the young waitress into taking legal action. Soum Chankea said yesterday he had received letters from the provincial court signed on May 8 by deputy prosecutor Yin Sokuntheary that rejected the charges. “The decision is right because it showed that the court is not used to threaten human rights activist,” he said. “We made a gift and gave legal consultation – that is based on the association’s policy, not related to political intentions or threats,” he said. Hi Theavy could not be reached for comment. Oum Socheat has the right to appeal for the complaints to be reopened, which yesterday he said he would likely do. “If the dropping [of the complaint] is true, I will consider filing another complaint against the decision to drop them. It is unjust for me,” he said, a denied he was guilty of sexual harassment. Rights workers decried the suits at the time they were filed, saying that such complaints were widely abused and used to cow rights workers into silence. “We, as legal people and NGO workers in Cambodia, see this [use of incitement charges against rights workers] as an incorrect practice by authorities,” Community Legal Education Center program manger Huon Chundy told the Post at the time. The case gained public attention after a letter revealed Prime Minister Hun Sen’s younger brother, Hun San, had ask the prosecutor to drop investigations into Oum Socheat.

To contact the reporter on this story: Phak Seangly at seangly.phak@phnompenhpost.com

Borei Keila evictees will be given a lift back to vote

Thursday, 31 May 2012 May Titthara

A cart passes yesterday through a relocation site established in January for people evicted from the Borei Keila community. The relocation site is in Kandal province, about 40 kilometres outside Phnom Penh. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

Borei Keila evictees will have a chance to revisit the area they were forcibly evicted from this Sunday when authorities truck them back from the makeshift tents of their relocation site for a special purpose – to vote. Touch Khorn, a representative of the Borei Keila community villagers who were evicted from their homes in Phnom Penh in January, said yesterday that their one-time Veal Vong commune chief, ruling party member Keo Sakal, had agreed to provide two trucks for the ballot. “On June 3 at 6:00am, the trucks will go to take us to Phnom Penh,” he said. The 133 families that were evicted by private security forces hired by development firm Phan Imex will have to travel some 50 kilometres from their Srah Po village relocation site in Kandal province’s Punhea Ley district. Most are reluctant to divulge their political preferences, but despite the experience of seeing

their homes bulldozed, some maintain they will stick with the Cambodian People’s Party. San Sarom, 28, said he was willing to give Keo Sakal one more chance, but with a condition.

“I will try one more time to vote for the CPP, because I want to know if they will construct a brick house for me as they promised or not,” he said. Keo Vuthy, 52, said on Monday that although he had been forced out of the village, Keo Sakal had been good to him, often giving him sarongs. “I will go to vote for her, because she always helped me,” he said. But not everyone will be voting on Sunday: many are unregistered voters and either never had the necessary documents required to vote, such as identity cards and family books, or lost them in the upheaval of the eviction. Sitting in a narrow shack covered by blue tarp, 70-year-old Sin Vanny said she had lost her election card when she was forced to evacuate her house immediately during the eviction and could not get a new one because she had forgotten the code. “I want to vote for a commune chief, but I have no right,” she said. More pressing than elections for people here is the promise of land as compensation for

their lost property. Sin Vanny said the municipality told her they would not do this until after the election because they did not want to be accused of trying to attract votes. Providing free transport to constituencies, however, was perfectly above board unless the CPP gave the villagers money, National Election Committee secretary-general Tep Nytha said, adding that no one could be forced to vote. “In 2011, NEC didn’t deny any villagers [from] voting – they could not vote if they were not registered,” he said. Sitting on a bamboo bed in a zinc-roofed house without any walls other than some blue tarpaulins, Ban Thuon, 37, said she had been promised a voting card after losing her old one, but not before these elections. “I used to register at Veal Vong commune hall, but they did not do it for me, as they said that I did not have any documents, and they asked me to wait to do on September 1, 2012,” she said. “On behalf of Cambodia, I want to have my right to go to vote for a good leader, but now I have lost my right,” she said. In 2003, the government granted the company Phan Imex the right to develop 2.6 hectares of land at Borei Keila in exchange for building 10 buildings on two hectares of land. But the company constructed only eight of the promised buildings and built a motorcycle shop on the land set aside for one of the final two, causing great outrage amongst those now set to be displaced. On January 3, Borei Keila residents violently clashed with about 100 police, military police, security guards and Phan Imex employees as bulldozers moved into to destroy their homes. The following day, those who had lost their homes were packed into trucks and driven to two relocation sites.

Land’s ‘owner’ alleges violence Thursday, 31 May 2012 Khouth Sophak Chakrya

Touch Vanna, a former resident of the Boeung Chhouk community which was demolished in 2010, is seen at her former home before it was removed. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

Six residents of the Boeung Chhouk community in the capital’s Russei Keo district have been summonsed to court to answer charges they used violence against the supposed owner of their land – a person they claim never to have met. Khiev Chenda, 42, one of six who will appear in Phnom Penh municipal court today, said a police officer had delivered summonses to them in Kilometre 6 commune early this week, relating to their alleged treatment of a person named Tea Thoeun. “This name I have never heard or been aware of before,” she said. “I have never had a dispute or fought with others. I will appear at court and I believe the court will provide justice for us.” According to the summonses, Tea Thoeun owns the one hectare of land on which about 200 people live in wooden homes. Many residents claim they have rights to the land, having occupied it since 1991. The police officer’s visit wasn’t the first authorities have made to Boeung Chhouk in recent

years. The Tuol Sangke commune authority issued a notice in March 2009 ordering 30 families to dismantle and remove their houses because they were on “state land”, an order the villagers refused. In early 2010, district governor Khlaing Hout issued another notice, which claimed residents were living on land that belonged to Lao Tong Ngyg, whom villagers also claim never to have met. This notice suggested they vacate “voluntarily” or face “administrative measures” if they didn’t. About one hundred district and commune authority forces surrounded houses and removed six families from the site soon after. Villager Chhim Sophon said he had lived at Boeung Chhouk for 20 years but had never met Lao Tong Ngy or Tea Thoeun. “I don’t know what they want from innocent villagers in this area,” he said. Sok Khim, Kilometre 6 commune chief, supported the residents, whom he said had lived there more than 20 years. “I also don’t know Lao Tong Ngy or Tea Thoeun. Who are they? Why did not they complain when people settled here,” he said. Lao Tong Ngy and Tea Thoeun could not be reached for comment yesterday. <div>Please enable JavaScript to post a new comment</div>

Licadho staffer walks after two-year lockup Thursday, 31 May 2012 Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

The Kandal Provincial Court released a former Licadho staffer from prison yesterday after he had fully served his fiercely contested two-year sentence, court officials said. According to General Prosecutor Ouk Kimseth, Leang Sokchoeun, 30, a former messenger for Licadho, was released from Kandal Prison yesterday morning after serving two years on charges of disinformation and incitement to commit crimes – charges brought in trials that Licadho said offered no witness testimony and no credible evidence. “There was no real proof to show that he had committed the crime,” said Harm Sunrith, his defence lawyer. According to Harm Sunrith, Leang Sokchoeun’s arrest for distributing purportedly inflammatory leaflets in Takeo province was predicated on information provided by Thach Vannak, one of three men from Kampuchea Krom who were also arrested on the same charge. Leang Sokchoeun, who went through a lengthy appeals process, said that prison was a nightmare. “I lived in a small cell, and it was crowded with prisoners.” Consequences extended beyond the walls of prison. “My arrest and my jailing seriously affected my honour,” he said. “It also separated me from my family, it made me lose my job, lose my studies, and other opportunities.” He said that he would return to school next month. Dr Pung Chhiv Kek, Licadho’s president, said his old job will be waiting in Phnom Penh. “Although Leang Sokchoeun has been convicted by court, and was jailed for the period of two years in prison, we still consider him to be an innocent person, and a good person,” she said. After his ordeal, Leang Sokchoeun called on Hun Sen to take measures to improve Cambodia’s judiciary. “To prevent other innocent people from being wrongfully arrested or wrongfully convicted like me, I would like to appeal to Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, to strictly control and reform judicial systems in Cambodia.”

Witness backtracks at KRT Thursday, 31 May 2012 Kristin Lynch

Michiel Pestman, co-defence counsel for Nuon Chea, speaks to reporters in Phnom Penh in November last year. Photograph: Hong Menea/Phnom Penh Post

During the third day of Khmer Rouge tribunal testimony by Ny Kan, younger brother of Democratic Kampuchea senior leader Son Sen, defence teams attempted to attack his credibility by insinuating that he had based much of his previous answers on speculation and assumption. In his cross-examination of Ny Kan, Ieng Sary defence lawyer Ang Udom reviewed testimony the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs staffer had given before the Office of the Co-investigating Judges in 2007 regarding the decision to send former diplomats to the notorious S-21 prison, where an estimated 12,000 people met their death. At the time, Ny Kan, who defected from the Khmer Rouge to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party in the 1990s, said the decision to execute the diplomats was made “by the leadership”, namely Pol Pot, Ieng Sary, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan. “When the senior cadres attended or convened a meeting to decide on the matter, did you take part in the meeting?” Ang Udom asked. “I was a lower-level cadre, so I wasn’t in the authority to attend such meetings, because it was the meeting of the leadership,” Ny Kan replied.

After several attempts to intimate that Ny Kan was speculating were rebuffed by Trial Chamber President Nil Nonn on account of their leading nature, Ang Udom finally asked Ny Kan whether he was basing his responses to this subject on “reliable information”. “No I didn’t,” NyKan replied. The defence probed further. “You refer to the upper echelon decisions and arrests of diplomats … what kind of information did you obtain … to prove this?” Ang Udom asked. “I haven’t received any actual information on this,” Ny Kan replied. “I don’t know, I don’t know the framework in the leadership, I have no idea who attended which meetings.” Earlier in the day, sparks again flew between Nuon Chea defence lawyer Michiel Pestman and Trial Chamber President Nil Nonn when the latter, on several different occasions, denied attempts by Pestman to pursue certain lines of questioning, including the validity of the oath taken by the witness and regime responsibilities of current Foreign Minister Hor Namhong. “With regards to your comment about my stubbornness, I take that as a compliment,” Pestman at one point said.

Boeung Kak children’s tearful plea Friday, 01 June 2012 Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Shane Worrell

A young girl from the Boeung Kak lake community cries during a protest outside the Ministry of Justice in Phnom Penh yesterday. Protesters called for the release of 15 residents jailed last month. Photograph: Meng Kimlong/Phnom Penh Post

Children of imprisoned Boeung Kak lake women pleaded for their mothers’ release outside the Ministry of Justice yesterday. The demonstration, which included more than 200 Boeung Kak residents and activist monk Loun Savath, was held on the eve of International Children’s Day. It also coincided with more than 100 NGOs writing a letter to the World Bank asking it not to end its suspension of new loans to Cambodia. Children sang about their mothers, 13 of whom were convicted to two and a half years in prison on May 24 after a three-hour trial, and called for the government to “free the 15”, who also include two who were arrested the day of the trial. All 15 are in Prey Sar prison. Heng Sreyleak, 13, the daughter of Heng Mom, said the charges were “unjust”. “All they were doing was protesting for the 12.44 hectares of land promised to them by . . . Hun Sen,” she said.

The World Bank suspended all new loans to Cambodia last year, indicating it would not issue more until the government reached an agreement with Boeung Kak villagers. Hun Sen pledged 12.44 hectares of land to residents in August, but that land is yet to be marked and some families remain without titles. Amid fears the World Bank is set to lift its suspension, 116 organisations sent an open letter to the bank’s president, Robert Zoellick, and president-elect Jim Yong Kim yesterday. “Now is the wrong time to end the suspension,” the letter reads. “Doing so would not only risk undoing gains made, but would also send a dangerous message to the [government] in light of the spate of recent killings and unwarran-ted jailing of activists.” Demonstrators yesterday delivered a petition to Bun Yai Narin, director of the Ministry of Justice’s cabinet. “I feel pity on them when I see their little children crying and asking for their mothers,” he said. Activist monk Loun Savath, who was detained last Thursday and released after being “forced” to sign a document agreeing to stay away from protests, blessed the children. He told the Post he was not worried about being detained. “I worry about Cambodia. It is a dark situation right now relating to human rights,” Loun Savath said.

KR’s female victims were not forgotten Friday, 01 June 2012 Andrew Cayley QC

To the Editor,

Kiang Geuk Eav, alias Duch, who was prosecuted for rape as a crime against humanity at the Khmer Rouge tribunal. Photograph: ECCC POOL

I am writing in response to the letter from Margot Wallström published on May 29 [“Victims of Khmer Rouge Sexual Violence Still Seek Justice”], in the hope of clarifying certain aspects of the ECCC’s record with regard to prosecuting crimes of sexual violence perpetrated during the Khmer Rouge regime. Ms Wallström writes that “sexual crimes have not been integrated into the court’s strategies, whether forensic, investigative or prosecutorial”. This characterisation of prosecutorial policy at the ECCC could easily mislead readers into believing that the Office of Co-Prosecutors (OCP) has ignored gender-based crimes. That has never been the position of this office. During preliminary investigations, in 2006 and 2007, OCP investigators determined that rape and other crimes of sexual violence were perpetrated on a widespread basis during the DK regime. That is why my predecessor, Robert Petit, and my national counterpart, Chea Leang, included charges of rape and other forms of sexual violence as crimes against humanity in the Introductory Submission that they forwarded to the Office of Co-Investigating Judges in July 2007.

At trial in Case 001, Kaing Geuk Eav, alias Duch, was prosecuted for rape as a crime against humanity. The Trial Chamber found an act of rape had taken place at S21. The rape had been committed during an interrogation in which information was being extracted from the female victim. Because of the special circumstances of this rape, the Trial Chamber found Duch individually criminally responsible for the crime against of humanity of torture. On 3 February 2012 the Supreme Court Chamber upheld Duch’s conviction for torture in respect of this act of rape. In the Co-Prosecutor’s Final Submission to the Co-Investigating Judges in respect of Case 002 we stated: “Throughout the DK regime, thousands of civilians were the victims of rape and sexual violence sanctioned, perpetrated, approved or condoned by the authorities.” This submission covered not just forced marriage but also rapes committed at Security Centres and against Cham women. We requested that for all these acts the accused in Case 002 should be charged with rape as a crime against humanity. The Co-Investigating Judges did not accept all of our submissions and in their Closing Order, which charged the accused, found that official CPK policy was to prevent rape and punish perpetrators of this crime. That was not the factual position of the OCP, but our submission to charge those rapes which took place in DK Security Centres was rejected. The Co-Investigating Judges did find that rape had taken place in the context of forced marriage and charged that as the crime against humanity of rape. The closing order was subsequently appealed to the Pre-Trial Chamber. In this appeal the accused submitted that rape did not exist as a crime against humanity in 1975. The Co-Prosecutors argued against this but the Pre-Trial Chamber accepted the defence argument that rape was not a stand-alone crime against humanity in 1975. The Pre-Trial Chamber did find that the crime against humanity of “other inhumane acts” existed in 1975 and that the rape alleged in the Closing Order could constitute an inhumane act. Thus, in Case 002, the rape committed in forced marriages is now charged as the crime against humanity of “other inhumane acts” and the determination of alleged episodes of rape will eventually take place on this legal basis. While I take issue with the characterisation of OCP policy towards crimes of sexual violence, the wider message of Margot Wallström is an important one. Many women in this country go on suffering in silence as a result of serious sexual assault and violence that took place over thirty years ago. Shame and stigma surrounds them. They deserve compassion and they deserve justice. But the ECCC cannot meet all the needs of these victims. As Margot Wallström advocates, there must be serious consideration of alternative mechanisms to acknowledge crimes of sexual violence. The survivors must be supported. Individual and community trauma must be addressed and treated. And current acts of violence against women condemned and properly prosecuted before the domestic courts of this country.

Yours sincerely, Andrew Cayley QC, International Co-Prosecutor, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

Long hair a luxury for evictees Friday, 01 June 2012 May Titthara

Kheng Chen (left), 48, who sold her hair to make some extra money, sits in a temporary shelter that she shares with her family at a relocation site for former Borei Keila residents in Kandal province. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

Kheng Chen had her hair cut in January and sold it to a broker for just under US$8. She isn’t happy with the close-cropped style because it makes her look older than her 48 years. But when Kheng Chen grows her hair back in a few months, she plans to sell it again. “Every woman loves hair, every woman wants to be beautiful,” she said. “But between beauty and having nothing to eat, which one do I need to choose?” Kheng Chen is not alone in her dilemma. She lives in the Borei Keila community of evictees in Kandal province. They are among 133 families that were evicted in January by private security forces hired by development firm Phan Imex. And now she is one of more than 30 women who have decided to exchange locks for bucks. Out of embarrassment, many wear scarves to cover up the tomboyish hairdos. The buying and reselling of natural hair is nothing new, but it is just catching on in Cambodia. The Phnom Penh-based company Arjuni is edging into a field typically dominated by India and China, according to a story about the business in The New York

Times this week. Janice Wilson, the owner of Arjuni, told the Times that Cambodian hair resembles the same product out of India, a major supplier. “Probably 99 per cent of the world’s hair comes from India. Nobody had thought of Cambodia,” Wilson told the Times. Wilson didn’t immediately return an email to Arjuni asking if the company sold hair from Borei Keila. The women did not mention the company when interviewed. At the relocation site in Kandal province’s Srah Po village, the temporary residents have been selling hair since January. Those interviewed said that the transaction is routine by now. Vietnamese brokers arrive on motorbikes and pull into the collection of blue tarp-covered huts that constitutes the village. They come around once or twice a month and canvass the site. The price, women interviewed said, depends on the length and consistency of hair. Saom Sokunthea, 42, got about $7 for hers. She needed the money to buy rice for her three children. Parting with her hair, however, stirred up painful memories. “If my husband was alive, he would not allow me to cut my hair, even if we died of starvation. Because he loved my hair so much,” she said. The Borei Keila evictees are making these transactions voluntarily. But Sia Phearum, with the Housing Rights Task Force, said that buyers aren’t looking at the bigger picture. “It’s really a shock to hear that, because they have nothing to sell,” he said. “People just want to get the benefit. They don’t care about social morals. They just care about the money.” He added that the problem is one more reminder that the government has an obligation to help these people. “Authorities should reconsider the evictions after thinking that if all the matters fell on their families, how would they feel?” Yoeun Soeun, 32, whose hair was sold three months ago, said she made a little more than $12. She attributes the higher-than-usual rate to her youth and the fact that she made frequent visits to the hair stylist. She removed her hat and ran a hand over a head of black hair. Then she put it back on. “No one wants to do this, but when struggling without any opportunities, what we should do? In my village almost all women become old grandmothers

Small parties scrambling to be heard Friday, 01 June 2012 Shane Worrell and Mom Kunthear

Sou Butra (left), deputy secretary-general of the Khmer Anti-Poverty Party, speaks to the Post. Photograph: Pha Lina/Phnom Penh Post

When resources for your commune election campaign consist of little more than a tuk-tuk, a few motorbikes and a lone megaphone blasting political messages, you can be forgiven for not having high hopes of victory. Pessimism, however, is something the Khmer Anti-Poverty Party (KAPP) has no place for – this small party has commune council seats to win in the capital’s Dangkor district this Sunday. “We do not want a big campaign anyway – we don’t think it is all that important,” Sou Butra, the party’s deputy secretary-general says, standing outside a wooden hut that for most of the year is merely a humble home to one of his candidates. The small group of people who surround Sou Butra are a combination of candidates and local children who have heard the sounds of a megaphone and rushed to see what is happening. Prek Kampus commune, on the rural outskirts of Phnom Penh, is usually even quieter than this.

Today, a megaphone is tied to a homemade tractor that sits like an unused see-saw as political messages and catchy tunes blast out. “We do only small campaigning, but we have clear policies to broadcast,” Sou Butra says. Many pundits predict the Cambodian People’s Party will storm to victory in Sunday’s commune election, but for the KAPP, the party with the third-least candidates, winning the ballot at a local level is vitally important. Victory could be a stepping stone to a bigger future for his party – a chance to graduate from also-ran to big player, Sou Butra says. “I believe and hope my party will win in the commune election. We will then aim for the national election in 2013,” he says. “We will reduce poverty, the civil servants will get a higher salary, and we will improve security for our people – we will bring a democracy like America’s to Cambodia.” In the short term, it’s a chance to bring change to residents of Prek Kampus. Nhem Savuth, one of the commune’s 10 candidates, says he chose the KAPP, which was founded in 2007, because he agrees with the policies it wants to bring to his CPP-controlled commune. “I have never been in an election before . . . and I really want to serve the villagers,” he says. But does he think he will beat the CPP? “I expect 100 per cent that I will win, because there are many villagers who support me and also the Khmer Anti-Poverty Party,” he says. Elsewhere in the country, candidates from small parties are facing similar battles. Oeurn Sambath, the Republican Democracy Party candidate for the Bos Sbov commune in Banteay Meanchey province, is running for the first time. His reasons for supporting the party are simple – it is led by a woman and he wants a woman to lead Cambodia. The Republican Democracy Party, which lists some of its priorities as health, women and children’s issues and reducing poverty, has candidates in nine communes, the second-lowest of the 10 registered parties. “I think I will win this election for my commune,” he says, adding he is standing for democracy, not himself. Mao Moeung, the Democratic Movement Party candidate for Troap commune in Kampong Cham, is similarly motivated by altruism, he says.

“I think I will win because there are many villagers who are satisfied with our policies,” he says. The Democratic Movement Party is fielding candidates in just one other commune. “I go along the road and come to each house and give my policy to them,” he says. Back in Prek Kampus commune, the KAPP candidates have also taken their show on the road. It’s not an extravagant campaign trail they tread in their tuk-tuks and on their motos – it’s quite literally a bumpy road. Anyone who travels it must be prepared for children, chickens and dogs to block their path. Sou Butra says the KAPP has taken its message to more than 70 per cent of voters, but is determined to reach more. One challenge seems to lie in winning trust – the kind that comes from familiarity. Less than 50 metres from the party’s commune headquarters, Hak Srey Vich, 22, is selling vegetables in front of her house. She tells the Post she has seen these candidates only once before and has little idea who they are or what they represent. “What does Khmer Anti-Poverty Party mean? I have never heard of this party. “I am not so interested in this party because it is new and it looks so small. And I cannot trust someone I’ve never known before,” she says. Down the road, resident Ken Sokea also hasn’t heard of the KAPP. “I know only two parties: Cambodian People’s Party and the Sam Rainsy Party,” he says. The small cavalcade of about 12 KAPP candidates and supporters make regular stops as the sound of music draws people from their homes. Candidates emerge from the tuk-tuk or get off their motorbikes and converse with villagers, even exchanging friendly banter with a Sam Rainsy Party rival. Fairly soon, though, it’s back on board. They’re determined to reach everyone – and tuk-tuks can only go so fast.

The state of the media in Cambodia Friday, 01 June 2012 Soma Norodom

Fish, I would like to thank chairman Da-vid Armstrong, CEO Chris Dawe, publisher Ross Dunkley, editors-in-chief Kay Kimsong and Alan Parkhouse, lifestyle editorial director Peter Olszewski, group business editor Stuart Alan Becker, lifestyle editor Diana Montaño and all the staff for a warm reception as the newest member of the Post. I’ve contemplated for months whether I wanted to work for the Post, and have made my decision to work for the number one newspaper in the country. As a former host of the PUC Radio Talk Show, on 90.0FM, I’ve interviewed more than 180 influential and successful people in all industry sectors addressing issues that affect this country. Once again, I have a platform to express my opinions, and this time it is in print, raising awareness about the social agenda in Cambodia. Every country has its problems, but since I have been living here, the problems of Cambodia have been affecting me. In my weekly column, I want to address these issues and come up with resolutions that could be a key factor in the country’s progress. Having lived here for almost two years (June 26 is my anniversary), I can’t see myself living anywhere else but Cambodia, the country where I was born. I hope to share ideas and experience with the younger generation, our future. The print media in Cambodia definitely needs improvement, and is unprofessional. I’m not saying all the media are bad (some, like AsiaLIFE Cambodia, The Southeast Asia Globe and The Advisor, are good). I’m talking about Khmer-lang-uage newspapers and gossip magazines, and specifically their use of grotesque photos of dead bodies. It’s enough to make you lose your appetite just viewing the photos. Now I know why other countries still view Cambodia as just Khmer Rouge and landmines. Rebuilding a country takes time, and our media sector is still learning and growing, says Glen Felgate, the former general manager of CTN. Led by the US and Europ-ean countries, the principle of a journalistic “code of ethics” is followed internationally. Mandatory courses such as Media Ethics and Standards teach students about taste, decency and acceptability. Shocking, distasteful photos should have no place in newspapers. Journalists should try working on the content of their articles, rather than focusing on gruesome photos that bring back horrific memories of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. In addition, you don’t need to publish the prime minister’s picture all the time. As I have

been told by an insider, the prime minister doesn’t like his photos being published. Publishing his photos all the time in your newspapers and magazines looks like you’re kissing his “ass”. If you want to be on his good side, buy him a real Cartier watch, not the imitation kind you can buy at the market. He would prefer this. So write the story with substance and with facts to back up your statements, as this is considered “profess-ional journalism”, and try to eliminate bloody photos of dead bodies. Substance in the content of an article is very important, and will earn you credibility and respect from your readers and peers, as well as from the international forum.