Troops exit temple complex

Photo by: Tracey Shelton
Soldiers walk down the mountain near Preah Vihear temple last month. One brigade left the area this week following Hun Sen’s promise to reduce troop numbers around the disputed temple.

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 31 August 2009
Thet Sambath

Cambodia's Defence Ministry says government has halved deployed troops at Preah Vihear but warns that forces remain prepared for any future hostilities.

Troops stationed at the Preah Vihear temple complex near the Thai border completed their redeployment over the weekend, a Royal Cambodian Armed Forces commander told the Post on Sunday.

Srey Doek, commander of RCAF Division 3, said Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday met soldiers from Brigade 11 during their redeployment to their base in Kampot province.

"[Hun Sen] welcomed them as they travelled near Siem Reap and offered them each 50,000 riels [US$12], and the prime minister's wife offered them gifts of fruit," Srey Doek said.

Srey Doek said the money and fruit were given to nearly 1,000 RCAF soldiers as expressions of gratitude for their service at the front line, adding that troops from other brigades from Siem Reap as well as members of Hun Sen's personal bodyguard who were also redeployed over the weekend did not meet the prime minister.

Meanwhile, an official at the Defence Ministry said Sunday that forces at the border have now been halved.

"We have pulled out 50 percent of the troops from Preah Vihear temple," said ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat.

"This shows that the situation at the border is really getting better, and that both countries have a mutual understanding of peace," he added.

Hun Sen declared last week that the 13-month standoff with Thailand over the disputed Preah Vihear temple complex, which claimed more than seven lives and left hundreds homeless, had effectively ended following a bilateral withdrawal of troops announced during a meeting on August 24 between the head of RCAF, General Pol Saroeun, and his Thai counterpart, General Songkitti Jaggabatra of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.

Troops still on guard
Despite a thaw in relations, Cambodian military officials last week were quick to point out that troops would still be necessary to guard the integrity of the border and the sovereignty of the nation.

Defence Minister Tea Banh said some troops would remain at the border.

"We do not need too many soldiers there now. We are currently adjusting the numbers to achieve the right balance for the situation," Tea Banh said last week.

Chea Dara, RCAF deputy commander in chief, echoed this sentiment Sunday, saying the border's security remained a vital concern and downplaying the impact of the withdrawal on Cambodia's ability to secure its border with Thailand.

"It is not a problem for our soldiers to defend the nation, even as their numbers have been reduced by the withdrawal," he said Sunday. "We have kept enough of our troops in place."

He said if Thailand "shows a softer manner" Cambodia could cut troop numbers further. "However, if anything happened, our troop mobility would be very swift."

Thailand in June reignited the row over the temple when it asked World Heritage body UNESCO to reconsider its decision to formally list the temple in Cambodia.

Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads over the land around Preah Vihear temple for decades.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP

Honouring Granny Penh

Photo by: Sovan Philong

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 31 August 2009
Sovann Philong

A woman offers incense to a statue of Daun Penh [daun means grandmother] at Wat Phnom last week. In Khmer legend, this wealthy widow ordered the mountain and temple that sits atop of Wat Phnom to be built after she discovered four bronze and one stone Buddha statues inside a koki tree branch at the site. Believers regularly visit the shrine to pray for luck and offer food, cash and gifts.

Deadly drive

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 31 August 2009
Sam Rith

The number of fatalities resulting from traffic accidents in June increased by 35 percent over the same period last year, according to a recent report from the Cambodia's Road Crash and Victim Information System (RCVIS). The report, released last week, stated that there were 132 deaths out of 1,140 casualties. The data, provided by hospitals, health centres, private clincs and Traffic Police offices in all of the Kingdom's 24 provinces, also pointed to a possible decrease in overal helmet use by motorbike drivers, as only 136 motorbike drivers involved in accidents were wearing helmets. This marked a 13 percent decrease from May 2009.

Prek Leap businesses robbed at gunpoint

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 31 August 2009
Khouth Sophakchakrya

JEWELLERY vendors from Russey Keo district's Prek Leap market were robbed at gunpoint of gold, platinum and more than US$7,000 in cash, vendors said Sunday.

Kim Srun, 46, said that on Friday, six masked thieves accosted her and other jewellery vendors from Prek Leap market, located in in Prek Leap commune, Kean Khilang village. All told, five vendors at the market lost 1.2 kilograms of gold, 0.8 kilograms of platinum and $7,650, Kim Srun said.

"They hammered my jewellery box and stole about $2,500, as well as gold, platinum and about 1.2 kilograms of jewellery," she said.

Sok Sarann, a 37-year-old garment vendor at Prek Leap who witnessed the robbery, said that he and others at the market had little faith in police and market security, whom he said paid only lip service to their complaints.

Chey Soseila, Russey Keo district police chief, said the vendors had overstated the value of their goods, estimating that only 75 grams of gold and about $2,000 were lost, though police "still apologise to those who lost their property".

No suit against Chea Mony

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 31 August 2009
Meas Sokchea

MINISTER of Information Khieu Kanharith said Sunday that Prime Minister Hun Sen had ordered officials of the Cambodian People's Party to halt legal action against Chea Mony, brother of slain union leader Chea Vichea, after he blamed the government for his brother's killing.

The announcement during a Radio Free Asia broadcast reverses the government's position stated earlier this month that it had already begun legal action against Chea Mony.

Khieu Kanharith could not be reached for comment Sunday, but Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak confirmed the order, though he declined to provide any further details.

Chea Vichea, former head of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, was gunned down in 2004. Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were convicted of the crime the same year, but the Supreme Court ordered their provisional release in December 2008, citing contradictory evidence in their previous trial.

During a hearing on August 17, the Appeal Court announced a new investigation into the case and ruled that the two men were to remain free until a verdict was handed down.

Chea Mony said following the hearing that he remained convinced the government had been involved in his brother's killing - comments that prompted Khieu Kanharith to say initially that the government had no choice but to file a legal complaint.

Chea Mony on Sunday welcomed the U-turn. "I would like to congratulate the government, especially the prime minister, for reversing this decision, and again I would urge the courts to find the real killers and bring them to justice," he said.

"Hun Sen's decision is a good strategy because no one should be sued by the government for defamation or anything else. Our country has the rule of law and democracy, so we must find the truth."

Rights groups welcomed the government's climbdown on Sunday, describing it as a vital step towards restoring freedom of speech in Cambodia.

Ny Chakrya, of the rights group Adhoc, said: "I support this change of stance, which shows the government is capable of acting with maturity. Even if our politicians are criticised, they can respond with patience."

Am Sam Ath, head of an investigative team with the rights group Licadho, said the government had been wrong to take the words of a grieving man so literally.

"Chea Mony made his statement in the Appeal Court because he was upset that his brother was murdered five years ago and the real killers still haven't been found," he said. "If the government were to sue him for that, it would spell the end for freedom of expression."

The Appeal Court ordered further investigations into the 2004 killing of trade union leader Chea Vichea following requests from the defence lawyers of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, the two men accused of the killing.

"This case is still not clear, which requires us to conduct further investigations involving some police in relation to the [slaying]," presiding Judge Chuon Sunleng said after the two-hour hearing.

He ordered that suspects Born Samnang, 28, and Sok Sam Oeun, 41, remain free until the investigation is closed and a verdict handed down.

During the hearing, the two men again declared that they had not been involved in the killing, accusing the police who arrested them in 2004 of forcing them to confess to a crime they didn't commit.

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.