19 August 2009
By Sok Serey
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Phnom Penh city police is conducting an urgent investigation on Wednesday 19 August, to search for the suspects involved in the distribution of leaflets scorning Hun Xen and his government, and they also accused 07 January as the date of Vietnamese aggression into Cambodia.

Touch Naroth, Phnom Penh police commissioner, told RFA on Wednesday 19 August that his force is currently conducting its search, but the identity of the suspects is still unknown. He added: “I am conducting the search, if I can find them, I will send them to the court for prosecution. The population can see with their own eyes, they will not believe in a group of biased people who falsify the truth in this manner.”

Touch Naroth indicated that there were several bundles of leaflets that people have found and turned them over to the police. These leaflets were discovered at 4AM in Daun Penh district. Touch Naroth also indicated that these leaflets bear a picture of Hun Xen and they labeled him as a dictatorial leader of Cambodia, as well as a bought out puppet of Vietnam.

Among the many writings in the leaflets, the following claim was also included: “I am proud to be born as a Khmer child, i.e. the descendant of the builders of Angkor. I remember Cambodia’s glorious past when she was known all over the world, but now, she has been dissolved because of the current dictatorial government. Corruption and Hanoi’s aggression on 07 January 1979 was claimed by Vietnam that it came to liberate Cambodian children and liberate the Cambodian people.”

The Ministry of Interior plans to sue Chea Mony for providing false testimony to the court

21 August 2009
Kampuchea Thmei newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

The ministry of Interior (MoI) plans to sue Chea Mony, President of the Free Trade Union of Workers in the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC), for providing false testimony to the court.

Khieu Sopheak, MoI spokesman, told Kampuchea Thmei over the phone in the afternoon of 20 August 2009 that the MoI reserves the right to sue Chea Mony because he provided false testimony and he used the court hearing as a platform to spread disinformation. The event took place during Chea Mony’s presence at the court hearing held on 17 August 2009, and [his statements] could lead to confusion.

Khieu Sopheak said that: “(1) We consider that he truly provided false testimony to the court, (2) he used the court hearing platform to spread disinformation to all those present in the hearing, including national and international reporters. Therefore the MoI reserves the right to sue him in court for his action.”

Regarding this lawsuit against Chea Mony, Khieu Sopheak did not yet confirm its exact timing.

Chea Mony is the president of the FTUWKC and the younger brother of Chea Vichea who was murdered in 2004. Kampuchea Thmei could not yet reach him over the phone in the afternoon of 20 August to obtain his comment.

On 17 August 2009, the Appeal court held a hearing on the murder case of Chea Vichea, the former FTUWKC president who was murdered near Wat Langka Pagoda in 2004. During the hearing, Chea Mony publicly declared to the court, as the suing party, that the government was behind the murder of his brother.

His declaration was met by a strong reaction from the judge and the prosecutor, and Chea Mony’s words were recorded in the court proceedings.

Following the murder of Chea Vichea, two men were arrested and accused of involvement in the murder. However, recently, the Supreme court decided to released the alleged killers on bail because of insufficient evidence. On 17 August, the two accused men were granted full freedom and the Appeal court also ordered a new investigation into this murder case.

After the Appeal court’s order to re-investigate the case, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) in Cambodia and ILO issued a joint statement welcoming the re-investigation order for the murder.

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
21 August 2009

High-ranking Thai military commanders are slated to meet their Cambodian counterparts later this month, in an effort to address the longstanding border dispute near Preah Vihear temple and an emerging maritime dispute, officials said Friday.

Already high military tensions escalated this week, when Thailand protested Cambodia’s push for further oil exploration in the Gulf of Thailand, especially near Kuth island. Thailand said this was an encroachment of its maritime borders, a claim Cambodia denies. Both sides have had soldiers entrenched near the Preah Vihear border for more than a year.

Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatra, supreme commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, and his deputies, Adm. Apichart Pengsritong and Air Chief Marshal Bureerat Ratanavanich, will be accompanied by some 87 Thai military officials to visit Cambodia Aug. 24.

A CLINIC has been accused of attempted infanticide after medical staff mistakenly declared - on two separate occasions - that a premature baby had died.

The error was discovered by the newborn's father and grandmother, who went to check on the "body" only to discover, each time, that the child was still breathing.

Speaking to the Post on Wednesday, the boy's father said he took his wife, who was six months pregnant, to Soriya Clinic in Phnom Penh's Phsar Thmei 1 commune on Monday when she complained of abdominal pains.

Im Vannarith, from Mitthapheap commune in Prampi Makara district, said his wife - whose name he did not want to give - gave birth to a son about two hours after arriving at the clinic. "About 30 minutes later, the owner of the clinic, Dr Hy Soryaphea, told my mother that my baby was dead," he said. "We were devastated."

While his wife was in recovery in a separate room at the clinic, Im Vannarith went to see his son, Im Samnang, and was shocked to see that the child's chest was still moving. "I saw my baby was still breathing, so I asked the doctor to send him to hospital," he said.

The boy was then placed in a car along with his father, grandmother and a nurse, who had been instructed by the doctor to take the child to Kantha Bopha Hospital, Im Vannarith said. Halfway to the hospital, however, the nurse instructed the car to turn around and return to the clinic, insisting the boy was dead.

"Back at the clinic, they put a terrycloth towel around my son and laid him out on a table in the operating room," Im Vannarith told the Post. "There was a black plastic bag right next to him, and I was afraid that was what they were going to put his body in." Shortly afterwards, the child's grandmother went to check on the body of her grandson - and found the boy was breathing again.

"I demanded again that he be taken to hospital," Im Vannarith said, "but the doctor told me again that my baby was dying and would be dead any minute. I was furious that she showed so little respect for his life." The doctor then agreed to send Im Samnang to the hospital, where the delay in admitting him had aggravated his condition, staff said.

Dr Beat Richner, director of Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital, where Im Samnang is still in intensive care, told the Post that the infant remains in a critical condition. "He only weighs 0.9 kilograms," he said. "It is possible to save a baby this small, but those first few hours were crucial. The child arrived at our hospital very late." Although Im Samnang is now receiving all treatment possible, he said, all they can do is hope.

Im Vannarith, who hasn't told his wife about the incident for fear of jeopardising her recovery, is now threatening legal action against the clinic. "I have taken my wife out of the clinic because I have lost all confidence in it," he said.

His lawyer, Kav Soupha, confirmed to the Post on Wednesday that he is preparing a case.

The clinic has denied any wrongdoing. Dr Hy Soryaphea was unavailable for comment, but Hy Nary, one of her assistants, confirmed that Im Samnang was born at the clinic. "We saw him stop breathing after he was born," she told the Post. "We tried to help him."

THE government and the UN announced on Wednesday an agreement to appoint an independent official to field corruption complaints at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, although a government spokesman said he could not provide details on how the so-called "independent counsellor" might go about resolving them.

A joint statement dated Tuesday said Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and Peter Taksoe-Jensen, the UN's assistant secretary general for legal affairs, reached the agreement after "detailed consultations" with donors.

The role of independent counsellor will be filled by Uth Chhorn, the current chairman of the National Audit Authority. Uth Chhorn declined to comment Wednesday evening, saying he would be in Thailand until early next week.

According to the joint statement, the agreement "represents a further step to help strengthen the human resources management in the entire [tribunal] administration, including anti-corruption measures, to ensure the requirements of due process of law".

The agreement comes more than two years after allegations first surfaced that court staffers had to kick back a percentage of their salaries to top tribunal officials. A fresh round of allegations in July prompted the UN to launch a graft review, the results of which have not been released.

Talks in April between UN and government officials failed to resolve the issue in part because the UN wanted Cambodian staffers to be able to approach international ethics monitors to report corruption complaints.

Donors have frozen funding to the Cambodian side of the court in response to the allegations, pushing it to near bankruptcy. A UN Development Programme spokesman said there had been no decision to unfreeze funds as of Wednesday.

The establishment of an independent counsellor was designed to ensure "full protection of staff on both sides of the [tribunal] against any possible retaliation for good-faith reporting of wrongdoing", according to the joint statement.

"In this context, the Independent Counsellor will be available to all staff to bring forward any concerns confidentially, and will be empowered to address such concerns," the statement reads.

At a press conference on Wednesday, however, Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said he could not comment on how Uth Chhorn would be "empowered" to resolve any complaints.

He told the Post Wednesday evening that he did not know whether Uth Chhorn would be able to deal with past complaints, or whether his mandate would only cover complaints going forward.

Phay Siphan also said he did not know when Uth Chhorn would begin work in his new role.

Court spokesperson Reach Sambath said Wednesday that tribunal officials would be "ready to welcome the independent counsellor at any time", adding that they believe the position will provide an effective mechanism for resolving corruption allegations.

Hun Sen says verdict against Mu Sochua a lesson to critics.

PRIME Minister Hun Sen has spoken out for the first time about his recent legal victory over opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, which he said should serve as a warning to anyone else who might consider suing him.

"If you want to play legal games, I will also play legal games," he said during a graduation ceremony at the Royal University of Law and Economics on Wednesday.

"If you play political games, I will also play political games. And if you play military games, I will also play military games."

Hun Sen said he would be able to silence all opposition voices "in only two hours" if he decided to use force rather than file complaints in court.

"You wouldn't be able to run," he said. "All of you would be arrested."

On August 4, Phnom Penh Municipal Court found Mu Sochua guilty of defamation and ordered her to pay 8.5 million riels (US$2,028) in fines and 8 million riels ($1,909) in compensation to the prime minister.

The case stemmed from a speech Hun Sen gave on April 4 in Kampot province. Mu Sochua, a Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian, said the premier made derogatory references to her in the speech and filed defamation charges against him.

Her case was thrown out, but Hun Sen's countersuit was allowed to proceed, resulting in last week's verdict.

The prime minister's legal attack - along with other defamation suits launched against the government's critics - drew sharp criticism from a number of groups, including the European Union, which said they represented a weakening of democracy in Cambodia.

"External groups, please listen closely," Hun Sen said during Wednesday's address.

"If you do not sue me, then I will not file a countersuit."

Hun Sen went on to criticise civil society groups as "servants" and "spokespeople" for opposition political parties.

Commenting on the current Cambodian People's Party majority in the National Assembly, which was further cemented during last year's elections, Hun Sen said he could continue serving as prime minister even if the CPP lost 10 seats in both the 2012 and 2017 elections. "So, all of you opposition groups, check your age," he said.

"However long you can live, I can accompany you to the end."

Strong reaction
Hun Sen's comments drew criticism from both opposition politicians and civil society actors. SRP lawmaker and spokesman Yim Sovann said it was inappropriate for the premier to talk about using the military against the opposition.

"If he wants to use the armed forces to fight a broader enemy, that is fine, but to fight opposition parties is not right," he said.

Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha said there were many issues - including poverty, land disputes and corruption - that could potentially bring down the CPP so long as elections were free and fair.

"Whether the CPP wins or loses depends on the election system," he said.

Yeng Virak, executive director of the Community Legal Education Centre, said Hun Sen's comments about civil society groups misrepresented their work in Cambodia.

"We have worked with everyone," he said. "We have worked with the ruling party more than the opposition party."

13 August 2009
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Noting the heroism of the Viet troops in 1979 that came to Cambodia to help liberate the Cambodian people from the genocidal Pol Pot regime, Hun Xen declared on Wednesday that Vietnam truly helped Cambodia, and the presence of Vietnam is not a new story. Hun Xen made this declaration during the distribution of diplomas to law students, he said that the presence of the Viet troops in 1979 was to save people’s lives, then the Viets returned back home and the proof to that is that Cambodian land still remains Cambodian. Hun Xen added that Vietnam’s entry into Cambodia is nothing new because during 1970-75, both the North and the South Vietnamese entered into Cambodia: the Thieu-Ky group and the US entered Cambodia, as well as the Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops also entered Cambodia, and he said that all this was because the US started the coup d’état in Cambodia. Regarding 07 January 1979, a date that some Cambodian politicians consider as the date of the Vietnamese aggression into Cambodia, Hun Xen said: “Some oppose 07 January, but let me ask them, if there were no 07 January, would there be today? We must tell the truth, you have to swear to your death, or to have lightning strike you. There’s no need to keep the Pol Pot regime for 30 years, we leave them another 2 years and all the Cambodian people would have died, if not from the killings, it would be from hunger. However, some are ungrateful and they say the 07 January was the day of Vietnamese aggression, but if we tell the truth, if Vietnam did not help Cambodia, who would?”
------------
KI-Media note: It took the international community’s effort more than one decade-long to dislodge the occupying Vietnamese out of Cambodia. Even with their declared departure, the Vietnamese left behind a large contingent of troops disguised as civilians in Cambodia.

By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
13 August 2009

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday appeared to mock opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, saying she made a mistake by suing him and forcing him to defend himself in a suit of his own.

Mu Sochua was fined for defamation earlier this month after she brought a suit against the premier for allegedly sexist remarks in a speech in April. Mu Sochua has vowed to appeal the decision.

“You were doing press conferences and filed a complaint against me, but now I’ve won the case in the municipal court,” Hun Sen said at a graduation speech in Phnom Penh, in apparent reference to Mu Sochua, who is the Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker for Kampot province.

“[They] said I sued a woman. Why can’t I?” Hun Sen said. “Can’t women make mistakes? [She] said she represents women; this type of woman can’t represent women; don’t make yourself so strong.”

Intermediate Khmer and Advanced Filipino Language Courses Coming to UCLA This Fall
The Southeast Asian language courses will be teleconferenced to UCLA from U.C. Berkeley as part of a foreign language initiative and distance-learning partnership.

8/12/2009
By Seth Villanueva for the UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies
UCLA International Institute (Los Angeles, California, USA)

SEEKING TO expand UCLA’s diverse language offerings as well as enable current language learners to progress in their proficiency, the Centers for Southeast Asian Studies at UC Berkeley and UCLA have arranged for two Southeast Asian languages, Khmer and Filipino, to be studied at the intermediate and advanced levels, respectively, via simultaneous teleconferencing technology. Both classes will begin on Thursday, September 24, and will run from M-Th at 3-4 pm for Filipino and 4-5:30 pm for Khmer. They will meet on a compressed schedule only when both UCLA and UCB are in session.

Both languages will be taught live at UC Berkeley and teleconferenced to UCLA, thus making new material available. Khmer (the language of Cambodia) has never been taught before at UCLA, and Advanced Filipino, while taught in the past, is not otherwise available as a regular course in 2009-10. This is not the first time that SEA language courses have been successfully teleconferenced between UC campuses. Introductory Filipino language courses have previously been teleconferenced very successfully from UCLA to UC Irvine. In 2009-10, several other languages are also included in the Distance Learning program including several African, Slavic, and Scandinavian languages.

August 13, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

A group of 300 Cambodian people affected by land grabs and evictions - and representing thousands more - gathered in Phnom Penh yesterday to tell the government of their concerns, and to call with a single voice on the government and donor nations to act to protect their land.

Presenter: Robert Carmichael in Phnom Penh
Speaker: Leng Simy, villager; Loun Sovath, monk; Soal Nak, Jarai villager

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

CARMICHAEL: It's hard being heard in Cambodia, particularly if - like 80 percent of Cambodians - you live in the countryside. It's harder still if you want to speak out against rich or powerful people trying to take your land. That's not something the government encourages, and the courts are seldom much help. That leaves few options. But this week in Phnom Penh a group of 300 Cambodians from 19 of the Kingdom's 24 provinces and municipalities joined up to petition the government, the prime minister, parliament and the national land dispute authority, to help them keep their land.

This is an agricultural society, and for rural Cambodians land is life. Organisers of the petitioning event say the amount of land under dispute for the 15,000 people they represent totals more than 700,000 hectares. It is commonly acknowledged by rights organisations that rising landlessness could prove the country's biggest challenge. In recent years Cambodia experienced a boom in land prices, and a similar rise in evictions, land grabs, and the granting of huge concessions to often-shadowy companies. That result works against the stated desire of government and donor nations to reduce poverty.

The government, ever wary of dissent, seems to have been taken off-guard by the petitioners. Authorities are trying to find out if civil society organisations were behind the collaborative effort. Whether or not there was help from civil society is beside the point. The voiceless rural people whose land is being taken from them - often with official collusion - got the chance to be heard. People from across the Kingdom stood up and told the media and each other of their experiences and fears.

Thursday, August 13, 2009
AFP

BANGKOK — Democratic Senator Jim Webb is due to meet Myanmar supremo Than Shwe later this week in the first-ever encounter between a senior US official and the junta strongman, Webb's office said Thursday.

The visit by Webb, who is close to US President Barack Obama, comes after the Than Shwe regime was assailed by international outrage for extending democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest for another 18 months.

"Later this week, US Senator Jim Webb is scheduled to meet with leaders at the highest levels of the national government in Burma (Myanmar), including Senior General Than Shwe," a statement from Webb's office said.

13 August 2009
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

"If you act as a pig, you shouldn't be scared of hot water" - Khmer saying

On Wednesday, Rong Chhun, President of the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA), called on Hun Xen, the government leader, to resign because the latter is afraid of criticisms. Rong Chhun indicated that, as a public figure, Hun Xen must accept constructive criticisms from the public. Rong Chhun told a pro-SRP newspaper that: “As a public official or a member of the government, one must accept criticisms from civil society, unions and the people, as well as from local and international reporters. And one must be open-minded, if one is afraid of criticisms from civil society, from newspapers, from international opinion, one should resign, one should resign from being a public figure because for a country that is firmly democratic, public figures must accept criticisms from civil society, from the population as well as from the national and international opinion. One should not crack down on freedom rights and on the freedom to participate in the national edification.”

13 August 2009
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

During a political speech, Hun Xen virulently attacked the past US government. Hun Xen even went on to ask: What the hell was the US coming to Cambodia for in the 70s? Hun Xen said that the US did come to die and Cambodia couldn’t even find all the remains of the US soldiers yet so far. Hun Sen also criticized the US foreign policy, saying that the US only thinks about its own interest only. In a speech given during the distribution of diplomas to law students on Wednesday, Hun Sen reminisced about the past US policy, saying: “The US only helped those who are useless, the US helped Lon Nol in Phnom Penh, and the latter was useless… Let me say the truth, those who were helped by the US, they do not live long, and there are many governments that were helped by the US, but they do not last. One should know that, at the end, the US only thinks about the US interest, and it does not care about the interest of its lackeys.” Hun Xen said that: “A number of Cambodian politicians are leaning toward the US, and for these politicians, for whatever reason, they always talk about the US, but they should not forget that the US only waits to be with you.”

2009-08-12
Radio Free Asia

Rights groups condemn an appeals court ruling against a newspaper editor who reported alleged corruption.

PHNOM PENH—A Cambodian appeals court has upheld the prison sentence of a newspaper editor and publisher jailed for "disinformation" after he ran articles alleging high-level government corruption, and his lawyer is vowing to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Hang Chakra, former editor-in-chief of Khmer Machas Srok, was sentenced to a year in jail on June 26 by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court and was fined 9 million riel (about U.S. $2,250).

He has been held in a cell with 50 other men at Phnom Penh's Prey Sar prison since his conviction. On Aug. 11, a three-judge appellate panel upheld the sentence.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The United Nations and Cambodia said Wednesday they will create an anti-corruption watchdog to oversee the so-called "killing fields" genocide tribunal.

The Cambodian tribunal, called the Extraordinary Chambers, was set up in 2003 to try senior leaders and others allegedly most responsible for serious violations of Cambodian and international law committed during Khmer Rouge rule from 1975 to 1979.

Designating an independent counselor "represents a further step to help strengthen the human resources management in the entire (tribunal) administration, including anti-corruption measures," said a joint statement issued in Phnom Penh by U.N Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Peter Taksoe-Jensen and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.

A THAI national was sent to Banteay Meanchey provincial court on Tuesday for insulting Angkor Wat temple and illegally entering Cambodia, provincial police said.

Thirty-nine-year-old Sorlavon Kamsorn was arrested on Sunday in Banteay Meanchey province's O'Chrov district after police discovered a cement representation of Angkor Wat that Kamsorn had placed outside a toilet, Banteay Meanchey provincial police Chief Hun Hean said Tuesday.

"He was arrested because he put the cement picture of Angkor Wat temple outside his toilet and stepped on it every day," Hun Hean said.

"He told us he put the picture there because he loves Angkor Wat, but if he loves Angkor Wat, why would he put a picture of it outside his toilet?"

Nuth Ly, O'Chrov district police chief, said villagers reported Kamsorn's odd lavatory decoration to local police, who subsequently arrested him and confiscated the picture as evidence.

Hun Hean suspected that Kamsorn's placement of the picture was part of a plot to sabotage Cambodia's archeological prestige.

"His action coincides with the visit of foreign experts to the conference about the conservation of Banteay Chhmar temple. That proves his malicious intentions," the police chief said.

Chuch Phoeung, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, said Tuesday that such insults would not be tolerated within the Kingdom's borders.

"These kinds of foreigners shall be punished according to the law. If they stay in Cambodia and they do something unacceptable, they must be prosecuted," he said. "I can't say how serious the punishment will be. That depends on the legal process."

We don't oppose development projects, but their implementation should benefit both companies and residents," Mom Sakim said, adding thatmany development projects near her community had infringed upon local farmland.

Seng Sok Heng travelled to Phnom Penh from the northwestern province of Oddar Meanchey. He said he has participated in similar events in the past, but that this is the largest gathering of displaced landowners he has ever seen.

"Joining together to raise these concerns is a good method for us to inform our leaders about our problems," Seng Sok Heng said. "Every year, more and more people are facing land disputes. The impact on local communities continues to increase."

Am Sam Ath, monitor for the local rights group Licadho, said that land disputes are one the most pressing issues for poor Cambodians today, both rural and urban.
090812_03
Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Villagers petitioning against land disputes implore guards to allow them into the Ministry of Interior on Tuesday morning.

"The government needs to make a final ruling on these matters," Am Sam Ath said. "Individual disputes may get resolved, but overall, the cases just keep piling up."

Chan Tong Yves, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that before granting land concessions, the ministry studies the proposed
location, conducts environmental-impact assessments, and holds talks with local and community leaders.

"Normally, local villagers always claim that [land concessions] impact them negatively, while the company claims that nothing will happen," he said.

"There is no reason to believe that all villagers who live near these concessions are negatively impacted. We will have to go back and look at each case on an individual basis."

According to a ministry report from November 2008, some 65 companies had received government land grants comprising 895,176 hectares.

Seng Sok Heng estimated that about 100 people nationwide have been arrested in cases related to land disputes, and that one purpose of Tuesday's gathering was to urge the release of those prisoners.

The villagers plan to hold the press conference today to publicly express their concerns to the government.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009
AFP

PHNOM PENH — The Khmer Rouge's main jail chief told a war crimes court Wednesday he would like the "strictest level of punishment" -- even death by stoning -- for his crimes against the Cambodian people.

Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, is on trial for overseeing the torture and execution of about 15,000 people at Tuol Sleng detention centre in the late 1970s.

The 66-year-old told the UN-backed tribunal that the country "can condemn me to whatever the highest level of punishment is" after his likely conviction.

"If there is a Cambodian tradition -- like it existed in the past when people threw rocks at Christ to death -- Cambodian people can do that to me. I would accept it," said Duch, who converted Christianity in the 1990s.

Duch Would Accept Stoning for His Crimes

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
12 August 2009

The former chief of a notorious Khmer Rouge prison said on Wednesday he wished he could be stoned to death for his crimes, as people in the Bible had.

“If it were the Khmer culture, like after the death of Jesus Christ, of people throwing stones…I would accept if the Cambodian people did the same,” said Duch, a born-again Christian facing atrocity crimes charges for the deaths of 12,380 people.

His statement followed a claim for justice by Ou Thon, 64, who said she lost all four of her children and her husband to the Khmer Rouge, at the killing fields of Choeung Ek, which were administered by Duch.

Duch, 66, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, admitted it was the Cambodian people who suffered the most under the regime.

“I recognize my culpability,” he said.

CAMBODIAN CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

MEDIA ALERT

For immediate release – Phnom Penh, 12 August 2009

Public Forum on Human Rights and Development for villagers affected by public canal dispute with community leader

Parliamentarians, local authorities, organizations, community members and other stakeholders will participate in a Public Forum on “Human Rights and Development” in Takeo Province. The Public Forum will consider the ongoing dispute between community leaders and villagers taking place in Kompong Omphil Village, Borey Chular Sa Commune, Borey Chular Sa District, Takeo Province, that is currently adversely affecting the lives of several community

The conflict originated with the selling of a public canal which was dammed by the alleged purchaser for fishing purposes. Prior to the damming of the canal, the community relied on a bridge over the canal that connected the two parts of their village. Since the sale of the canal the community has been prevented from using the bridge and the fishermen have not been permitted to fish the water. Recently, ten community members were charged with “destroying private property” after removing the makeshift dam.

The Public Forum on Human Rights and Development will provide community members with the opportunity to voice their concerns, ask questions and express their opinions to parliamentarians, local authorities, national and international organizations as well other stakeholders who are concerned about the ongoing conflict and who desire a peaceful resolution.

The Public Forum will take place on August 14, 2009, from 8.a.m. to 11.30 a.m. in Kompong Omphil Village, Borey Chular Sa Commune, Borey Chular Sa District,

For Further information, please contact:
Mr. Chhim Savuth, Project Coordinator
Email: savuth@cchrcambodia.org
CCHR Web Site: www.cchrcambodia.org