Philippine female legislators denounce Hun Sen over slur

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Mu Sochua speaks to the press after being found guilty of defamation earlier this month.

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WE DENOUNCE THESE TACTICS OF INTIMIDATION, PERSECUTION AND REPRESSION....
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The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 31 August 2009
Meas Sokchea

Group calls the premier's defamation suit against Mu Sochua an act of chauvinism designed to stifle freedom of expression.

A women's party in the Philippines has joined the international call for the Cambodian government to halt its campaign of intimidation against opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, accusing Prime Minister Hun Sen of sexism.

Mu Sochua, an SRP parliamentarian, was convicted on August 4 of defaming Hun Sen and ordered to pay 8.5 million riels (US$2,028) in fines and 8 million riels ($1,909) in compensation. The charges stemmed from an April speech by Hun Sen in which he referred to an unnamed woman as a "cheung klang". The term means "strong legs" and is considered derogatory when used to describe women.

The speech prompted Mu Sochua to file a defamation suit, but Hun Sen denied that he had been referring to her and countersued her for defamation, pointing to an April 23 press conference in which she made her suit public. Mu Sochua's case was thrown out, whereas the premier was allowed to proceed with his.

The verdict, which Mu Sochua described as a "political game" that has cast Cambodia's judicial system "into darkness", met with widespread international condemnation.

Last week, the Gabriela Women's Party (GWP), which describes itself as the only all-female party in the Philippine House of Representatives, accused the prime minister of being a chauvinist.

"We strongly protest the discriminatory slur of the statements of the prime minister as anti-women and chauvinist," the statement reads. "Likewise, we deplore the alleged acts of repression as forms of attacks against the right to free expression, democracy and equality."

"We denounce these tactics of intimidation, persecution and repression, using the legal system against the administration's critics and members of the opposition party. We urge the Cambodian government to respect the rights of MP Mu Sochua as a woman leader and parliamentarian who is working for democracy, equality and justice."

The government was dismissive of the criticisms on Sunday. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan accused the party of knowing nothing about Cambodian politics.

"They have no right to make statements such as this because they don't know the facts of the situation in Cambodia," he said.

"A party in the Philippines probably knows the least about Mu Sochua's case."

A hearing on the dismissal of Mu Sochua's lawsuit against Prime Minister Hun Sen was postponed earlier this month because of her absence from court.

The lawmaker was summoned to appear in court on August 17 by Prosecutor General Ouk Savuth after she contested a Municipal Court decision in July rejecting her lawsuit against Hun Sen.

Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann said she requested the hearing be delayed because she was due to visit the United States for medical treatment.

The parliamentarian, who represents Kampot province, is scheduled to return from the US on September 20.

Ill workers back on job

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 31 August 2009
Mom Kunthear

SEVERAL dozen workers from Maurea Garment Corp in Russei Keo district who were taken to hospital Saturday after fainting at work have recovered and re-turned, an official said Sunday.

"Firefighters had come that day to teach them emergency procedures in the event of a factory fire," adding they sprayed simulated smoke, said Svay Pak commune Governor Hou Samon.

He added also that most of the workers were Muslims who were eating only one meal a day because of the Ramadan religious festival.

Garment workers say media were wrong about protest

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 31 August 2009
Mom Kunthear

Spokesman calls Deum Ampil and Kampuchea Thmey reports a 'trick' to undermine the unity and message of factory workers.

A representative for several thousand workers from the Sky High garment factory in the capital's Dangkor district said Sunday that demonstrators protesting earlier this month against low wages and poor working conditions did not target the head of a Cambodian trade union, as local press reports last week suggested.

Chan Dary, 29, a representative for workers at Sky High, said Sunday that reports published in two Khmer-language dailies - Deum Ampil and Kampuchea Thmey - incorrectly stated that workers had filed complaints against Yun Rithy, head of the Khmer Youth Federation of Trade Unions, for inciting them to protest.

"We have never complained about Yun Rithy. This is a fairy tale spread by the owner of the [Sky High] factory to defame us and to deter influential people, NGOs or other organisations from assisting us," Chan Dary said.

Thousands protest
Workers are protesting against the factory, not Yun Rithy, Chan Dary said.

"We want the factory owner to agree to our conditions, which we feel are not difficult to implement. But they don't want to give in, so they they try instead to make us suffer," he said.

Sky High workers began their protest on August 24, with several hundred workers assembling in front of the factory. Last week, the number of protesters reached into the thousands.

Yun Rithy said Sunday he had no direct involvement with the protests and rejected claims that he influenced anyone to demonstrate.

"I don't know anything about it, and I have incited no one to do anything," he said. "I have only tried to help workers because we are an organisation that supports labour rights and benefits for workers, and in this I have done nothing wrong."

"These problems I cannot solve on my own. I can just investigate and urge [factory owners] to respect the labour law," he said.

Getting the story wrong
Keo Sarum, 27, a worker at Sky High, said local newspaper reports got the story wrong about the protests.

"We did not collect thumbprints for a complaint against Yun Rithy, as the newspapers said. This was a trick by the factory owner in an attempt to divide the workers," Keo Sarum said.

"I would like to ask the publishers of [Deum Ampil and Kampuchea Thmey] where they got their information. Before they write something about us, they should come talk to us," She said.

Approved investment figures from S'pore, Europe multiply

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Pedestrians walk past a Singapore Banking Corp branch Sunday in Phnom Penh.

Singapore builds Asian business empire

NEXT time you stay in a luxury resort, buy a loaf of bread or open a bank account in Asia, check the company's country of origin. Chances are you are dealing with a brand based in Singapore. With the global economy apparently on the mend, Singapore Inc is all set to reap the benefits of stepped-up spending by Asia's middle and upper classes. Singapore Airlines has long been an iconic brand, but newer names like resort and spa operator Banyan Tree have established themselves as top-tier players in the region. "If you don't globalise ... you eventually stagnate," the firm's founder and Executive Chairman Ho Kwon Ping said at a recent news conference. Other Singaporean companies are enjoying similar success throughout the region. OSIM, a maker of electronic massage chairs and other lifestyle products, such as air purifiers, has over 1,100 outlets spread across 28 countries and concentrated mainly in the region. Budget carrier Tiger Airways is also becoming a mainstay in the travel industry, having established a wide network across the Asia-Pacific region with flights to 19 destinations from Singapore. It is not to be mistaken for Singapore's Tiger Beer, now one of the most popular beverages in Southeast Asia. AFP

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 31 August 2009
Chun Sophal

Investment by city-state increases more than 300 percent up to end of July as traditional investors China and South Korea drastically reduce capital inflow.

DESPITE an 82 percent decrease in approved investments in the first seven months of this year, as reported by the Post last week, investments by fellow ASEAN member Singapore have risen more than three-fold to US$176.37 million, according to a recently released breakdown of the figures by the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).

In terms of Cambodian investment, Singapore has now closed the gap with Thailand, the largest ASEAN investor in the Kingdom. Neighbouring Thailand invested $178 million in the first seven months - more than Singapore by less than $2 million - having registered approved investments that totalled $15.33 million more than the city-state over the same period last year.

In the third week of this month, 21 companies from Singapore met with Cambodian officials in Phnom Penh to seek out investment opportunities.

"I believe that investment in Cambodia will enjoy better development in the future because now many investors are eyeing investment opportunities in the Kingdom," Yun Heng, deputy director of the Evaluation and Incentive Department of the Cambodia Investment Board, said Sunday.

The Singaporean companies were mainly planning to target tourism and agriculture, he added.

Lawrence Leow, deputy honourary secretary of the Singapore Business federation and chairman and CEO of Crescendas Group, told the Post during a visit to Cambodia on August 20 that his company would invest between $20 million to $30 million in the tourism sector.

Also this month, Singapore's HLH Agriculture Cambodia Ltd announced that it had invested $15 million to grow red corn in the Kingdom.

According to CDC data, agriculture and tourism remained the most promising sectors for outside investment.

Overall, ASEAN raised its investment into Cambodia from $139.61 million in the first seven months of 2008 to $471.23 million for this year up to the end of July.

Europe also dramatically increased its investment in the Kingdom, up from just $15.6 million in the first seven months of 2008 to $292.95 million during the same period this year. Having represented just 0.19 percent of Cambodia's total investment last year up to the end of July, in 2009, Europe accounted for 19.95 percent of total investment in the Kingdom up to the end of last month.

France increased its investment in Cambodia from just $6.24 million for the whole of last year to $49.68 million in the first seven months of 2009.

"I believe that investment in Cambodia will enjoy better development in the future," said Yun Heng, referring specifically to ASEAN and European investors, notably Singapore and France.

He added that European investors had been especially interested in the tourism sector.

However, the figures showed that Cambodia's traditional investors had largely walked away following the onset of the global economic crisis.

China, which made up nearly half of all investment in Cambodia in the first seven months of last year, decreased investment a staggering 93.34 percent from $3.89 billion to $258.98 million.

Similarly, South Korean investment in Cambodia fell over the same period 91.11 percent from $1.23 billion to $109.25 million.

Provincial officials to face bribery charges

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 31 August 2009
Chrann Chamroeun

Twelve officials are accused of taking bribes and illegally granting loggers access to a wildlife sanctuary in November 2006.

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court brought charges of bribery and destroying natural resources against 12 officials from provincial forestry and environmental offices at a hearing on Saturday.

The officials, from Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear provinces, were charged along with three smugglers in connection with an incident from November 2006. Forestry officials were accused in that incident of accepting bribes from smugglers who illegally logged in Preah Vihear's Boeung Per wildlife sanctuary, Phnom Penh deputy prosecutor Kry Sok Y said Sunday.

The officials are being charged under articles 97 and 98 of the Forestry Law and Article 22 of the Environmental Law.

Chan Madina, the judge presiding over the case, told the Post Sunday that she needed to "take time to consider the case", and was unwilling to offer a timetable for the verdict, which Kry Sok Y said would happen around the end of next month. If found guilty, the defendants could face up to 15 years in prison under the two charges.

Only six of the 12 officials facing charges were present at the hearing, with four rumoured to be in hiding, Kry Sok Y said. The six men present, none of whom are facing pre-trial detention, uniformly denied the allegations against them.

In November 2006, officials from the Ministry of Environment and the Forestry Administration filed a complaint against the provincial officials, accusing them of conspiring to grant access to smugglers in the preservation area. A raid on the smugglers at Boeung Per wildlife sanctuary netted a truck and logging equipment, though none of the officials involved were arrested at that time.

Accidents on roads increase for tourists

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 31 August 2009
Khoun Leakhana

GOVERNMENT officials held a meeting with local transportation companies earlier this month to standardise safety measures in response to a sharp increase in traffic accidents involving tourists, officials said Sunday.

According to a report released by the Traffic Police department on Friday, 299 tourists were involved in road accidents in Cambodia in the first half of 2009, compared with just 168 in the first half of 2008.

Uk Kimleik, national deputy police commissioner, said that on August 21 police and other officials held a meeting with 18 Phnom Penh transportation companies in which they discussed ways to improve traffic safety for tourists in the Kingdom.

The transportation companies agreed to adopt several specific measures to target this problem. "We made them promise to cooperate with us on a number of points, including limiting the speed of their vehicles to 40 kilometers per hour in cities and 90 kilometers per hour outside of town," Uk Kimleik said.

The companies also agreed that any drivers they employ will be properly licensed, and that the overloading of buses and other transport vehicles will be completely banned, he added.

Government officials voiced concern on Sunday that continuing declines in traffic safety could pose a serious threat to Cambodia's reputation as a travel destination.

"It is really very bad for our tourism sector when tourists die in road accidents here," said Sem Psnha Vuth, victim and road accident information controller. "Visitors who see road accidents will be shocked."

Documenting the forest in addition to the trees

Photo by: Photo Supplied
Logging on: Vandy Rattana hones his focus.

WHERE?
"WALKING THROUGH"
an exhibition of photography by Vandy Rattana can be seen through September at Baitong Cafe and SaSa Gallery, 7 St 360
(between Street 51 and Norodom Boulevard)
http://www.baitongcambodia.org/

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 31 August 2009
Lim Seng Haeng

Local fine-arts photographer Vandy Rattana hopes to harness a collective of local Khmer artists who are willing to work toward international standards.

VANDY Rattana, 29, is a successful photographer and one of the six founders of Stev Selapak, a Cambodian photographers' group created in early 2008. The group aims to promote world-class Cambodian photographers to an international audience.

(Disclosure: Vandy Rattana is a former Post staff photographer.)
Vandy Rattana has already represented Cambodian artists overseas, joining a contemporary art collective in Beijing called "The Long March", which recently invited contributors from each country on the historical Ho Chi Minh Trail for a collaborative creativity session.

Vandy Rattana says his love of photography could well be genetic because his father dedicated his whole life to art. Vandy Rattana realised his love for art at the age of six and has also been able to draw very well since childhood.

During this time, he also developed an appreciation for film, absorbing movies from Russia, Vietnam, India, China, America and Japan - but he preferred India's because of the artful compositions and framing. Indian movies also often portrayed pertinent family and social issues.

Since early 2005, Vandy Rattana has devoted his life and career to photography. His first photo exhibition, a treatise on interior spaces for a local art collective called Visual Arts Open (VAO), was titled "Looking In", which made him well-known locally.

At the end of the year, he will leave Cambodia to advance his studies in France. But before he leaves he will present his latest exhibition, "Walking Through", documenting the rubber plantations of Kompong Cham province in 2008 and 2009.

What inspired you to create this group?
I have seen that, in France or other Western countries, they create diverse groups or unions. And they really work well, so I think this group will contribute a lot to Cambodian photography.

If we have a group, our voices will be heard more widely, and we will have solidarity. We can help each other by giving advice or innovative ideas.
Logically, we can share knowledge among each other. We will screen our photos locally and, one day, when we are stronger, we can compete internationally. Khmers can be the best if they are willing.

What are the criteria to become a member?
Now we have six founding members - though more people will join soon.
We don't require much for membership, although you should be under 35 years of age, have a strong commitment and be ready to learn. You will not earn any money, but you will learn a lot about photography.

Do photographers need a lot of knowledge?
A good photographer needs to have a great deal of understanding, which requires a lot of reading and listening. Anyone can be my teacher; I listen to everyone, so I can learn from them.

Cambodians are not really socialised, and if they so socialise, they usually just meet to drink together. I mean socialising in terms of meeting someone to whom you can talk, share and learn from. You can learn from scholars - even celebrities, common folk or dumb people. Knowledge is borderless. You know this; others know that - so you have to keep learning, creating and sharpening your knowledge every day.

Recently I've started to love Japanese movies because they require a lot of critical thinking, and the endings are often unexpected. They work your brain better than simple, easily predictable movies.

So what are the main problems currently facing Cambodian photographers?
Cambodian photographers' lack of assignments - and they are not willing to work independently on their own. Some have worked for media agencies, and they can survive, for sure, but they do not gravitate towards creative work.

To be a photographer in Cambodia you have to be self-inspired and self-motivated or you will get lost because Cambodian people do not really welcome innovative ideas.

People call us crazy because we create new phenomena, regardless of whether it is art. So being a photographer is not really a ... nice profession. You need to try it first to be able to capture great things in life.

How can we improve?
We need more high-quality photography. There are still insufficient documentary photos showing the changes in our society and the culture.

Like I have done for each of my exhibitions, I need to spend a lot more time doing research and thinking topics though.

Recently, I have just photographed rubber trees, which could be my last exhibition in Cambodia. I spent an entire month observing and photographing the rubber trees in many places in Kampong Cham Province.

I slept with the local community in the rubber plantation and faced many obstacles just to get good and meaningful photographs.

You need to make an effort and to be positive about what you are doing.