Going back to Cambodia

Khem Suong
Khem Suong’s family members pose for a picture in the village of Krang Baing, Cambodia. Pictured are (from left) Suong’s nephew and niece, Pat and Tong, and her parents, Yan and Suong. (Courtesy photo by Khem Suong)

Local woman starts nonprofit to aid her hometown

May 7, 2009
By Tim Simard
Observer staff (Williston, Vermont, USA)

After 33 years away from home, having survived war and genocide and started a new life in Vermont, Williston resident Khem Suong returned to Cambodia in November to reunite with her family in an emotional meeting.
Suong, who owns Khem’s Creative Sewing in Shelburne, didn’t know until last year if any of her family had survived the horrific regime of the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia’s ruling communist party in the 1970s. But by working with local Cambodian refugees and scouring through rough information, Suong discovered that her parents and other relatives still lived in the village where she barely remembers growing up.

“I had enough courage to go back and visit,” Suong said of her return to Cambodia. “It was the right time.”

Now, Suong is on a mission to help her native village, which suffers from extreme poverty and poor health conditions. By raising money for the Krang Baing Village Project, her nonprofit foundation named after her home village, Suong hopes to improve the lives of family and friends in Cambodia.

“After everything she’s been through, to be so loving and warm is amazing,” said longtime friend Maureen McLoughlin. “That’s why she’s so generous.”

A long journey

Violence came early in Suong’s life. Starting in 1975 and continuing through the decade, the Khmer Rouge ruled the southeast Asian country, murdering people who were considered politically subversive. While no exact figures have been established, it’s estimated the Khmer Rouge killed nearly 2 million Cambodians in the 1970s.

The government abducted Suong and her older sister from Krang Baing, placing them in a “reeducation” camp. But Suong and her sister quickly escaped. They spent three months hiking through jungle mountains with other escapees, attempting to survive disease and Khmer Rouge soldiers.

Suong eventually made it to the Thailand border, where she collapsed from malnutrition. She awoke days later in a Thai hospital, and to this day does not remember how she made it across the border. Most of her traveling party, including her sister, did not survive.

After four years in a refugee camp in Thailand, Suong arrived in Vermont thanks to a sponsor family that brought her to their home in Essex. Since the age of 14, Suong has lived in the Champlain Valley, starting a family and a successful business.

“I love sewing, that’s why I have a tailoring shop,” Suong said. “It’s a great business.”

In 2008, Suong discovered her parents and younger siblings were alive and well. She said her parents, who barely survived the Khmer Rouge themselves, believed she had died years ago. The reunion in November finally brought closure to Suong’s years of not knowing.

“At first, it was a like a dream thinking they were still alive,” Suong said. “I know it’s real now.”

Return to Cambodia

The Krang Baing Village Project got its start after Suong saw the conditions in which her family lived. The village had no running water and was ripe for disease. Residents routinely died from ailments that could easily be treated in the United States, she said.

Cambodia’s health care system is one of complete ruin and corruption, Suong added. Some doctors only treat patients after accepting bribes, she said.

“When people are sick, they just stay at home and die,” Suong said.

It’s what happened to her brother-in-law only a few months ago. Stricken with a kidney stone, he didn’t have the money to pay for a crucial blood transfusion and passed away, Suong said.

Tremendous poverty also hinders development in farming communities outside the cities. Most farmers make barely enough money to support their families, and never enough to climb out of debt. It’s a cycle that’s nearly impossibly to break, Suong explained.

Back in Vermont, Suong quickly went to work starting a nonprofit organization. With help from McLoughlin, Suong began soliciting donations and raising awareness.

Suong said 100 percent of any money raised would go to improving village conditions and purchasing tools to help in day-to-day farming life.

“I want to help them help themselves,” Suong said.

As part of helping Krang Baing, students at Williston Central School will help sponsor Suong’s village with fundraisers and classroom activities next year.

Suong hopes to soon return to her village and help her family break out of the poverty cycle.

“I want to help them in any way I can,” Suong said.

The Krang Baing Village Project’s first fundraiser will be on May 30 at a Jam For Sam event at Talent Skatepark in South Burlington. Jams for Sam are skateboard events and public fundraisers in honor of Sam Cohn, a local skateboarder who died a few years ago. All proceeds from the event will go to the village project.

For more information on the event and how to donate, call Khem Suong at Khem’s Creative Sewing at 985-5057.

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NEC: jailed councillors must vote

The NEC's Tep Nytha: ‘Detained councillors have the right to vote.' (Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON)

Thursday, 07 May 2009
Written by Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

Election organising body says two councillors are in jail, but the opposition says there are five.

THE National Election Committee has asked the Ministry of Justice to ensure that jailed commune councillors are allowed to vote in the May 17 election.

Tep Nytha, secretary general of the NEC, told the Post on Wednesday that he knew of at least two commune councillors currently in provincial prisons.

He said provincial authorities would be responsible for taking imprisoned members to and from polling stations.

"Members of the commune councils who have been detained still have the right to vote," Tep Nytha said. "If any members of the commune councils are missing on election day, that will affect the result since there are only a small number of voters."

The country's 11,353 commune councillors from four political parties - the ruling Cambodian People's Party, the Sam Rainsy Party, Funcinpec and the Norodom Ranariddh Party - will vote in the poll to elect members to provincial, district and municipal councils.

The vote is part of the government's decentralisation program and is meant to fill the gap in political representation between commune councils and parliament.

SRP says five in jail

Yim Sovann, an MP and spokesman for the SRP, told the Post that at least five SRP councillors were in prison.

"One is the SRP commune chief in Kampong Thom province," Yim Sovann said. "He was accused of kidnapping, but this is political intimidation to threaten our activists."

The commune chief, Tuot Saron, was arrested March 18 and charged as an accomplice in the alleged illegal detention of a party activist.

Tep Nytha said he had not received any complaints of political intimidation from the contesting parties since campaigning had started.

He said the two largest parties - the CPP and the SRP - were running active campaigns, but Funcinpec and the NRP - which have only 699 councillors between them - were gathering in small groups at those councils where they have members.

Prime Minister Hun Sen recently appealed to the police and local authorities across the Kingdom to cooperate with the NEC to ensure a sound political environment and a free and fair election.

The election monitoring NGO Comfrel has previously said it will boycott the election. It stated that because the poll is restricted to commune councillors, and since the public cannot take part in the vote, it would not reflect the will of the people.

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khmer new today

Cops confiscate illegal police and RCAF licence plates

Phnom Penh Traffic Police at the junction of Monireth and Mao Tse Tung boulevards, where they are confiscating licence plates. (Photo by: SOVANN PHILONG)

Wednesday, 06 May 2009
Written by Sam Rith and Robbie Corey-Boulet The Phnom Penh Post

Changing Plates

• 140 drivers with RCAF plates have registered to switch to civilian plates by Tuesday
• 60 drivers with police plates have also registered
• The applications should take about one week to process

Crackdown on unauthorised plates has led to a surge in applications for civilian plates at vehicle registration office.

POLICE on Tuesday continued removing unauthorised police and military licence plates from vehicles throughout the capital, but officers said they had not yet begun administering punishments specifically outlined in the law that prohibits civilians and low-ranking officials from using such plates.

Sar Leng, deputy director of the Ministry of Interior's Traffic Office, said the ministry on Monday received 25 police plates that had been removed from vehicles not authorised to bear them.Traffic Police officers have been tasked with removing police plates, while Military Police officers are in charge of removing RCAF plates.

National Police Chief Neth Savoeun wrote a letter in February to officers instructing them to begin enforcing in May a law already on the books that outlaws the use of unauthorised plates.

Article 91 of the Land Traffic Law, which went into effect in March 2007, gave the drivers of private vehicles bearing such plates one year to switch to private plates.

The law stipulates that violators face two to five years in prison and a fine of between 4 million riels and 10 million riels (US$970 and $2,424), but Phnom Penh Traffic Police Chief Tin Prasoeur said he did not know when officers would begin administering fines or making arrests. He said he would wait until he received approval "from the top" before taking those steps.

Rush to register

The onset of the crackdown on unauthorised plates has triggered a flood of applications this week at the capital's vehicle registration office, said Tat Sreng, its director. As of Tuesday morning, the owners of 140 cars bearing RCAF plates and 60 bearing police plates had visited the office to register for civilian plates, he said.

He said many of the registrants had been motivated to switch to civilian plates after Prime Minister Hun Sen gave a speech last week warning against the use of unauthorised plates.

Tat Sreng said the applications would in most cases take about one week to process.

Hun Sen said in his speech last week that vehicles bearing unauthorised police and military plates would "be included as property of the state".

The Land Traffic Law does not stipulate that vehicles with unauthorised plates will be confiscated.

Senior CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap referred to the threat of vehicle seizure as "a stick or a sharp sword to warn" violators.

Sar Leng said he did not believe it would be necessary for the government to seize cars, noting that the crackdown combined with Hun Sen's remarks had led many violators to take steps to comply with the law.

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SRP lawyer faces Bar inspection

Written by Meas Sokchea

Wednesday, 06 May 2009

From the Phnom Penh Post

Comment: in Cambodia, when you want to sue a powerful man like PM Hun Sen, not only you who may lose the case, but your lawyer will probably be disbarred and explicitly intimidated. We are so happy that the real skin of a dictator has gradually appeared to the world while the Cambodian public has stayed calm. The world is overwhelmingly paying attention to a Cambodian woman who dare to stand up to legally face with a dictator in order to seek justice for millions of the weak and the victims!

PM's defamation complaint could lead to disbarment.

Photo by: Sovann Philong
Mu Sochua at the press conference at which she announced plans to sue Hun Sen.

THE lawyer representing opposition MP Mu Sochua in her defamation case against Prime Minister Hun Sen could be banned from practising law if the Cambodian Bar Association rules that his comments at a recent press conference were defamatory to Hun Sen.

Hun Sen's lawyer, Ky Tech, told the Post that Kong Sam Onn would be sued as well if the Bar Association found he was at fault.

"I filed a complaint with the Bar Association on Monday," Ky Tech said. "If the Bar's disciplinary council finds he was at fault, he will be stripped of his licence to practise, and Mu Sochua will need to find another lawyer to take on her case."

Ky Tech said Kong Sam Onn was at fault because of statements he made when outlining his client's case at an April 23 press conference called by Mu Sochua, a lawmaker for the Sam Rainsy Party, to announce she would sue Hun Sen for defamation.

Mu Sochua's case stems from what she said are derogatory comments about an unnamed woman that were made by Hun Sen and broadcast nationally. Mu Sochua said those comments clearly referred to her.

The lawsuit resulted in a countersuit by Hun Sen, who claimed that Mu Sochua had defamed him by saying the comments he made referred to her.

Kong Sam Onn rejected the allegation that he had defamed Hun Sen. He told the Post that he had made no errors that would justify his expulsion from the Bar. His comments at the press conference simply outlined his client's case and were not defamatory, he said.

"If I have made a mistake, then it would be the first mistake and would not warrant ousting me from the Bar because I am not a dishonest man," he said. "I will be very sorry if I am ousted from my profession, but I am not strong enough to face them down."

Kong Sam Onn said all of his clients - Mu Sochua included - would need to find new lawyers if he were disbarred.

"Then I will become a simple person without a job, and I will have to look for another job to which I can devote my life," he said.

Mu Sochua told the Post on Tuesday that she would be very sorry to see her lawyer disbarred. She said the threats to her lawyer had been a heavy burden and meant he would likely be unable to defend her in court.

"So I would like to appeal to the Bar Association to consider this issue properly and in terms of the law, and I would like to call on all lawyers who have a conscience to seek justice under the law," she said.

"I will find another lawyer, but it is difficult for me to enjoy equal rights under the law."

The president of the Bar Association, Chiv Songhak, told the Post Tuesday that his organisation had received Ky Tech's complaint and said the issue was under inspection.

"We have already sent the complaint to the inspectorate, and they are working on the case," he said.

"The next step will be its consideration by the disciplinary council."

Potential punishment
Chiv Songhak said Kong Sam Onn could face three types of punishment: receiving a warning, having his licence suspended or being disbarred as a legal professional.

"But I can't say whether [Kong Sam Onn] has made a mistake or not," Chiv Songhak said, adding that it was for the disciplinary council to decide the case.

Heang Rithy, director of the Cambodian National Research Organisation, who also holds a doctorate in law, said Kong Sam Onn could be sued for alledgedly defamatory comments made at the press conference - if he, in fact, made any.

He said that defamation was only a minor offence under Bar Association rules, although the rules left it unclear whether defamation could lead to a member being expelled.

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Preah Vihear-Hun Xen Museum

Welcome to the Preah Vihear-Hun Xen Museum ... will Preah Vihear temple be renamed to Preah Vihear-Hun Xen temple next?

A view to the entrance of the new Preah Vihear-Hun Xen museum?

Cambodia Plans Preah Vihear Museum

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
06 May 2009

Cambodia plans to build a museum near the 11th-Century Preah Vihear temple, which has been designated as a Unesco World Heritage site and is at the center of a border conflict with Thailand.
Sous Yara, undersecretary of state for the Cabinet of Ministers, told VOA Khmer Tuesday that the purpose of the museum was to retain Cambodia’s cultural heritage.

“All Cambodians and foreigners can research and study at the museum,” he said, adding that the site would also attract tourists.

The museum, which will be named in honor of Prime Minister Hun Sen, will be located at Chom Ksan, in Preah Vihear province, on 9.5 hectares of land about 20 kilometers from the temple and will be built with money from donors, which must be done step by step, he said.

The Cambodian Mine Action Committee, or CMAC, is now clearing the area of mines for construction of the facility, said Hang Soth, general director of the Preah Vihear national authority.

The land encircling the temple is hoped to become a belt of development, but in the meantime, around 700 families living in the area will have to be moved farther from the temple and its surroundings.from site http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2009/05/welcome-to-preah-vihear-hun-xen-museum.html

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Temple sparks border tensions

May 06. 2009
Jared Ferrie, Foreign Correspondent
The National (United Arab Emirates)

PREAH VIHEAR, CAMBODIA -- About 120,000 tourists used to walk over each year from Thailand to explore the ruins of this 11th-century Hindu temple, which lies just inside the Cambodian border. Today, coils of razor wire are strung across the wooden staircase that once formed the border crossing and now leads to a network of trenches and machine-gun nests.
The armed standoff between the two countries began after July 8 when the temple was awarded world heritage status, with Unesco, the UN body that helps to conserve mankind’s heritage, calling it “exceptional for the quality of its architecture”. The listing stoked nationalist emotions in both countries, and sparked a simmering border dispute that has occasionally turned deadly and stirred up fears of a wider conflict.

While political leaders from both sides have downplayed violent clashes, 10 months of talks have yielded no solution. And each country has been building up an increasingly stronger military presence around a disputed section of land near the temple.

Instead of camera-toting tourists, the border region is now crawling with troops, separated by as few as 10 metres at the closest point on the front lines. In October, one Thai and three Cambodian soldiers died in an exchange of gunfire. On April 3, three Thai soldiers were killed, and a Cambodian market at the foot of the temple burnt to the ground after being hit by a Thai rocket.

Thailand has moved tanks close by, along with special forces, according to local media reports. On the Cambodian side, four armoured vehicles were visible at a military base, where construction was taking place, within an hour’s drive of the conflict zone. Elite Cambodian units are also stationed at the temple. Soldiers said heavy artillery was positioned at the site, but journalists were not allowed to view the weapons.

Thong Krong, Cambodia’s tourism minister, said the drop in tourism at Preah Vihear represented a five per cent loss to the country’s total annual number of visitors. Day trippers used to cross from Thailand, because poor roads and transportation make the site hard to access from within Cambodia.

While noting that Thailand’s politicians are embroiled in a domestic political crisis, Mr Krong blamed the Thais for stalling negotiations. “We are ready to talk to the Thai side, but we call on the Thai side to talk.”

Chanida Chanyapate, an analyst at Focus on the Global South, a Bangkok-based research centre, suggested that Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, is using the dispute as a show of strength against Thailand, which is the region’s dominant economic power.

“I always assume that this is more from the Cambodian side,” Ms Chanyapate said.

“But Thailand instigated something as well when the government objected to Cambodia listing the temple as a heritage site.”

Thailand’s foreign minister at the time, Noppadon Pattama, signed off on Cambodia’s petition to Unesco, but opposition party members (who now control the government) accused him of giving away Thai territory. Mr Pattama was forced to resign over the incident.

Ms Chanyapate said the scandal had more to do with Thailand’s internal political struggles than any legitimate claim to the Preah Vihear temple, which previous Thai governments had agreed belonged to Cambodia.

Mr Pattama was a member of the party supporting Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s former prime minister who was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and now lives in exile. He had also been Thaksin’s personal lawyer.

“It was a personal attack on him,” Ms Chanyapate said.

Throughout the on-again-off-again negotiations, soldiers have been settling in around the area. At the front lines on the Cambodian side are many former Khmer Rouge fighters who were incorporated into the government army under a peace agreement in the late 1990s, which ended the civil war in which Khmer Rouge fighters held out against government forces after being ousted from power in 1979.

The region was a Khmer Rouge stronghold, and the last guerrillas to hold out against the government are said to have surrendered after taking refuge at the ruins of this temple.

Exquisitely carved figures and scripture dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva are still clearly visible in the stone walls of the temples, which are connected by staircases and wide walkways along an 800-metre climb. Set atop a lush, green escarpment that drops hundreds of metres to a seemingly endless jungle plain, its beauty rivals many of the world’s ancient wonders.

Some soldiers strode purposefully through the ruins with anti-tank guns draped across their shoulders; others relaxed in the shade of the temples, AK-47 assault rifles resting casually at their sides. The atmosphere seemed surprisingly tranquil for the site of an armed conflict.

As the afternoon light faded, the mood suddenly grew festive. The Cambodian prime minister’s personal comedy troupe – all members of his 4,000-strong bodyguard unit – had been dispatched on April 12 to visit the soldiers stationed at Preah Vihear.

When the comedy stars arrived a wave of excitement spread among the soldiers (the comedy group is famous throughout the country, often appearing on television). Soldiers rushed to get their pictures taken with the comedians against a backdrop of crumbling ruins.

Kor Oy, a member of the group, was stylish in her camouflage Capri trousers with gold sequins, a black T-shirt and sheer black leggings. She made her way elegantly up the long, stone walkway in matching black stiletto heels.

Brig Gen Prom Punleu, a high-level commander of the bodyguard unit who is stationed at Preah Vihear, walked out to greet the comedians wearing only a peach-coloured towel. Then he returned in uniform, and more photos ensued.

He was wearing the same towel that evening at his hut during a dinner of dried, salted fish – eaten with a chunk of watermelon – pork ribs, and bitter melon and fish soup.

On the wall, Brig Gen Punleu pointed to a map based on the 1962 decision by the International Court of Justice, which ruled that the Preah Vihear temple is inside Cambodia. Below that hung a map he said was produced by the Thais. It showed a different border, one that bulges into Cambodian territory to encompass the temple.

He accused Thai soldiers of making incursions into disputed land. “We said, ‘No coming in’. They fire at us and we fire back.”

Thai leaders have accused the Cambodians of instigating the April 3 clash.

That evening journalists were provided with hammocks and slept in a thatched hut along with several members of the bodyguard unit. Hom Hen said many fellow members of the unit had received training by US soldiers. He had been instructed in anti-terrorism techniques in Florida. He wore a “magic” band around his bicep to protect him from bullets.

At the foot of the hill, away from the breathtaking view at the bottom of the majestic stone pathway, are the front lines.

The Cambodians are dug in at the base of a ridge that widens into Eagle Field, a disputed 5 sq km patch of jungle littered with landmines that Cambodian officials say are left over from the civil war.

Thai soldiers are based at the top of the ridge about 30m away. Soldiers from each army can see each other through the trees. At the closest point, the troops are said to be separated by only 10m.

At the foot of the stone steps leading up to the temple lie the charred remains of a Cambodian market, which had long been resented by Thai nationalists, who claimed it was located in Thai territory. Cambodian officials said about 300 shops were destroyed, catching fire after a Thai rocket exploded. Mr Sen, Cambodia’s prime minister, has promised to rebuild the market.

Kath Navy, a former resident said she lost US$30,000 (Dh110,000) worth of investment when the karaoke bar located in her home burnt down. Like other residents, she fled when the battle began.

“If I was in my house I would be dead,” Ms Navy said.

Duth Phearon, a soldier, said he was buying a SIM card for his mobile phone when he heard machine-gun fire. The 19-year-old, with an AK-47 slung across his back and wearing a jumper marked ‘Versace’, said he rushed back to his position and started firing back.

During the April 3 battle, Cambodian commanders ordered troops not to fire their heaviest weapons, said Em Saren, who was manning a large anti-tank gun mounted on a tripod about halfway up the hill. The barrel was pointed directly at the wide, paved road across the ravine on the Thai side of the border.

But soldiers at the front lines exchanged rocket, machine-gun and mortar fire. Bullets hit 66 stones at the temple, according to an investigation by the national heritage police, and grenade shrapnel also damaged the ruins during October’s clash.

Sent Phay, a heritage police officer stationed at Preah Vihear, said an escalation in fighting could cause severe destruction to the ancient ruins. “I’m worried that there might be a tank shell or artillery that lands on the temple.”

Cambodian and Thai political leaders insisted the clashes were minor and expressed confidence in a negotiated settlement.

“It happened because of a misunderstanding. The incident will not affect our relations,” said the Thai prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, after meeting his Cambodian counterpart on April 10.

“I don’t call it a war … We are very sorry. We don’t want Cambodian or Thai soldiers to die,” said Hun Sen, Cambodia’s prime minister, during an April 4 speech.

But he previously threatened to turn the area into a “death zone” if Thai troops entered Cambodian territory.

Ms Chanyapate, of Focus on the Global South, said the current Thai government would gain nothing from provoking further hostilities.

“It’s really an insignificant piece of land and Thailand cannot claim the temple,” she said, adding that both sides needed to put domestic politics aside to settle the dispute.

In the meantime, many Cambodian soldiers seemed to be settled in for a long deployment, some even bringing their families to visit. Aside from the occasional skirmish with Thai troops, time passes slowly, according to one captain. On the condition of anonymity, he provided a description of the average day of a soldier on the front lines at Preah Vihear: eating, going to the toilet, sleeping and waiting.

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News from Cambodia

Forced evictions contravene human rights standards, UN expert tells Cambodia [... but Hun Sen couldn't care less]

Raquel Rolnik, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing

Source: UN News Centre

6 May 2009 – An independent United Nations human rights expert today expressed her extreme concern about the threatened eviction of nearly 100 families in Phnom Penh, and called on the Cambodian authorities to halt this practice pending a review of current policies.
Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, said she has observed “an increase in forced evictions through Cambodia accompanied by a systematic lack of due process” since she took up her post one year ago.

In a statement issued today, she said she has reminded the Cambodian authorities that “the pattern of evictions, affecting many of the poor, in the country – and the apparent lack of due process in that regard – suggests they may be tolerating, or even perpetrating, the forced evictions prohibited by international human rights standards.”

“Forced evictions constitute a grave breach of human rights. Large-scale evictions can only be carried out in exceptional circumstances and with full respect for the due process requirements set by international human rights standards,” she stated.

Ms. Rolnik expressed alarm in particular about the possible imminent eviction of the “Group 78” residents – between 66 to 86 families residing in Tonle Basak commune, in Phnom Penh’s Chamkar Mon district, who have been involved in a legal battle since 2004 over ownership of their land.

They “seem to have a strong case in claiming authorities should recognize their possession rights to the land being disputed and demanding just and fair compensation for the possible loss of their land,” said the Special Rapporteur.

She urged the competent authorities not to implement the “administrative measures” (which in the past have lead to forced evictions) threatened in the last notice transmitted to Group 78 residents, stressing that they are entitled to have full legal review of their ownership claims in accordance with Cambodian legislation.

“It is only on the basis of this review that negotiations must take place with the affected community, to ensure fair compensation and adequate alternatives if their relocation is necessary,” she stated.

Ms. Rolnik reiterated her call for a moratorium on all group evictions in Cambodia, especially when residents have pursued claims before administrative or judicial bodies, until the policies and actions of the authorities can be brought fully into line with international human rights obligations.

Like all UN Special Rapporteurs, Ms. Rolnik reports to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council in an independent and unpaid capacity.

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Hun Sen's niece convicted of fraud and property destructions

Reported by Khmerization

A woman who claimed to be a niece of Prime Minister Hun Sen has been convicted to 5 years and 8 months jail term on 27th April for fraud and property destructions, reports Khmer Sthapana newspaper.
Mrs. Leng Bunny, aged 45, claimed that she is a real niece of Prime Minister Hun Sen but said that she never used Prime Minister Hun Sen's name in her business dealings with others.

According to Khmer Sthapana, Mrs. Leng Bunny, her sister Leng Buntha, 48 and Mr. Chan Vuthy, 39, who is an editor of a local newspaper in Phnom Penh and 4 other people had originally been convicted of extortions but the sentences were later changed to fraud and property destructions.

Leng Bunny, Leng Buntha and their associates had been convicted in relations to land disputes between Mr. and Iev Em and Mrs. Ros Sarom versus Mr. Prak Sovann Ratanak and Mrs. Sourn Tevy who are the rightful owners of the lands. Mrs. Leng Bunny was said to have taken side with Mr. Iev Em against Mr. Prak Sovann Ratanak and had ordered the destructions of the lands in disputes in Sihanoukville. Mr. Prak claimed to have lived on the lands since 1990, says Khmer Sthapana.

In the disputes Mrs. Leng Bunny demanded Mr. Prak to pay $20,000 to Mr. Iev for occupying the lands since 1990. But during a rendezvous to deliver the money to Mrs. Leng Bunny, police surrounded the place and arrested Leng Bunny and her associates for extortions and property destructions.

Mrs. Leng Bunny, who claimed that she is the real niece of Prime Minister Hun Sen, and associates were sentenced to 5 years and 8 months imprisonment, but the group had lodged an appeal, report Khmer Sthapana.

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KRouge prison chief denies waterboarding

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — The former Khmer Rouge prison chief has denied he waterboarded or suffocated detainees as he detailed his torture techniques to Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes trial.

Duch -- whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav -- apologised at the start of his trial last month for the torture and extermination of 15,000 people who passed through the regime's Tuol Sleng prison, also known as S-21.
But he said he had not used the simulated drowning technique called waterboarding, and had not put plastic bags over prisoners' heads because of the danger they could suffocate to death.

"The kind of waterboarding technique was not employed and the plastic bag was also not a kind of technique," Duch said.

Duch said he discussed interrogation tactics with Khmer Rouge cadres soon after he began working at the prison.

"There were two techniques. The normal beating technique and the electrocution technique with use of a telephone (line)... which was connected to an electric current to electrocute prisoners. That was true," Duch said.

The United States has been heavily criticised for using waterboarding to interrogate suspected Al-Qaeda prisoners, with many commentators citing it as a brutal method of the Khmer Rouge.

Duch is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder over the extermination of thousands of people between 1975 and 1979 at Tuol Sleng and the nearby "Killing Fields."

However, he has denied prosecutors' claims that he played a central role in the Khmer Rouge's iron-fisted rule, and maintains he never personally executed anyone.

He faces life in jail but the court does not have the power to impose the death penalty. Four other senior leaders from the regime are scheduled to be tried within the next year.

Many believe the UN-sponsored tribunal is the last chance to find justice for victims of the regime, which killed up to two million people through starvation, overwork, torture and execution.

The Khmer Rouge were ousted in 1979 by Hanoi-backed forces who discovered Tuol Sleng and established the facility as a museum to display the regime's crimes.

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KRouge prison chief denies waterboarding

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — The former Khmer Rouge prison chief has denied he waterboarded or suffocated detainees as he detailed his torture techniques to Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes trial.

Duch -- whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav -- apologised at the start of his trial last month for the torture and extermination of 15,000 people who passed through the regime's Tuol Sleng prison, also known as S-21.
But he said he had not used the simulated drowning technique called waterboarding, and had not put plastic bags over prisoners' heads because of the danger they could suffocate to death.

"The kind of waterboarding technique was not employed and the plastic bag was also not a kind of technique," Duch said.

Duch said he discussed interrogation tactics with Khmer Rouge cadres soon after he began working at the prison.

"There were two techniques. The normal beating technique and the electrocution technique with use of a telephone (line)... which was connected to an electric current to electrocute prisoners. That was true," Duch said.

The United States has been heavily criticised for using waterboarding to interrogate suspected Al-Qaeda prisoners, with many commentators citing it as a brutal method of the Khmer Rouge.

Duch is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder over the extermination of thousands of people between 1975 and 1979 at Tuol Sleng and the nearby "Killing Fields."

However, he has denied prosecutors' claims that he played a central role in the Khmer Rouge's iron-fisted rule, and maintains he never personally executed anyone.

He faces life in jail but the court does not have the power to impose the death penalty. Four other senior leaders from the regime are scheduled to be tried within the next year.

Many believe the UN-sponsored tribunal is the last chance to find justice for victims of the regime, which killed up to two million people through starvation, overwork, torture and execution.

The Khmer Rouge were ousted in 1979 by Hanoi-backed forces who discovered Tuol Sleng and established the facility as a museum to display the regime's crimes.

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30 years on, spotlight on Cambodia’s killing fields once more

New Delhi, April 29 (IANS) - The world sat up and took notice when Hollywood director Ronald Joffe captured bloodied images of Cambodia, ravaged by the dread Khmer Rouge militia in his 1981 screen masterpiece “The Killing Fields”.

Now, as a handful of Khmer Rouge leaders face a UN-backed trial 30 years after the fall of the regime, journalist Dan Rivers, the CNN correspondent in Bangkok, has revisited Cambodia’s dark years with his camera crew to re-capture the memories of horror and take stock of the ongoing trial, tainted with allegations of corruption.
His documentary “Killing Field: Long Road to Justice”, will be aired May 1 (at 8.30 a.m. in India).

“The reason why I wanted to explore the Khmer Rouge massacre once more was that the trial was on and after 30 years, I wanted to do an in-depth story. Quite a lot of people don’t know. Perhaps Cambodia is too remote and forgotten,” Rivers told IANS on phone from Hong Kong.

Rivers, in his movie, goes in quest of Ta Chan, the chief interrogator of the Khmer Rouge’s notorious S-21 prison camp. Ta Chan, in the documentary, is shown on a tour of Khmer Rouge jungle prison.

“There were at least 189 torture camps in Cambodia,” says Rivers.

As S-21 commandant Comrade Dutch and four of his Khmer Rouge colleagues currently face the UN-backed trial, Ta Chan continues to live in a remote Cambodian village.

Rivers tracks down the village and talks to Ta Chan’s family as the alleged former torture mastermind ducks the lens. The documentary chronicles details of the torture - that was part of S-21 daily regime. It resulted in 14,000 deaths.

“Many historians like to compare the Khmer Rouge atrocities with the Nazi holocaust. But the scale of killing in Cambodia was incredible. (Between you and me) A lot more people were killed than that officially registered,” Rivers said.

An estimate says the Khmer Rouge killed a greater proportion of its own people - over 1.7 million men, women and children - than any other regime in the 20th century.

Everyone in Cambodia, says Rivers, has a story to tell. “You can’t meet anybody who has not been touched by the violence. Pol Pot’s (the Khmer Rouge leader) legacy continued till the 1990s. The country is still in the process of recovery,” the journalist says.

Pol Pot died in 1998 just before he could be brought to justice.

One of the docu-feature’s most extraordinary moments is when a survivor of S-21 sees himself in an old footage shot on the day he was rescued.

“Nong Champal was nine years old in 1979 when he was rescued from a jungle camp. His mother was killed by the Khmer Rouge,” said Rivers. Even today, the 39-year-old breaks down as he recounts the horrors of the death camp.

Everyone wants Ta Chan to be prosecuted, says Rivers.

“But with the United Nations being forced to accept a hybrid court system with the Cambodian government, corruption is eating into the trial,” he says.

Rivers also probes the allegations of kickbacks at the Phnom Penh trial of Khmer Rouge leaders.

The costs of the proceedings are spiralling out control, according to him. “The trial budget would have swollen to more than $100 million by the end of this year.”

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Land dispute in Phnom Penh

28 April 2009
By Nhim Sophal
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Tola Ek
Click here to read the article in French

A group of about 50 people coming from the Reak Reay community were received by the boss of the Canadia Bank on Tuesday morning. The group was protesting in front of the bank headquarters. However, the meeting did not reach any agreement because Pung Kiev Se, director of the Canadia Bank, said that he couldn’t make any decision without prior approval of the administration council.
The construction site involved – known under the name of “Bassac Gardens” – is a real estate development project on a plot of land occupied by 222 families from the Reak reay community.

Currently, 54 families are still protesting. They demand for $30,000 in compensation before leaving the location, whereas the Canadia Bank was only willing to offer $20,000.

“We suggested to the [Bank] management to remove the fence built around the plot without authorization, and to continue to negotiate directly with the residents without resorting to the local authorities,” said Bunthat, one of the residents received by Pung Kiev Se.

The Canadia Bank management promised to think about the problem caused by the fence which disturbs the daily life of the residents. Am Sam Ath, an investigator for the Licadho human rights group, believes that the Reak Reay case is not that different from other land dispute cases, and he said that the residents will have a hard time protecting their land.

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Ieng Sary hospitalized at Calmette Hospital

29 April 2009
By Ung Chamroeun
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Tola Ek
Click here to read the article in French

According to Reach Sambath, the former KR minister of Foreign Affairs left his jail cell for a “routine exam.”

Ieng Sary was hospitalized at Calmette Hospital on Wednesday 29 April at 10AM, Reach Sambath, the ECCC public affair officer, announced on the sideline of Duch’s trial.

According to Reach Sambath, the former KR diplomatic chief must undergo a “routine medical exam.” He indicated that Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan would also be examined in the upcoming days, after authorization from the judge.

“Regarding Ieng Thirith [Ieng Sary’s wife who is also incarcerated at the ECCC], nothing has been decided yet, but there shouldn’t be any problem,” Reach Sambath added.

The health condition of Ieng Sary – who suffers from high blood pressure and whose blood was found in his urine on several occasions – is one of the main defense strategies used by his lawyers. The latter complained that they could not have access to their client when he is under medical care.

Last 26 February, Ieng Sary was not able to be present during his hearing, following 2 days of hospitalization at the Calmette Hospital.

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Translation spoils KRT debates

28 April 2009
By F.C.
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Tola Ek
Click here to read the article in French

Translation problems have again delayed the ECCC work on 28 April, meanwhile the tribunal tried to examine the implication of Duch in the Communist Party of Kampuchea, as well as his responsibilities within S-21.
After the lunch break, at the return to the hearing, problems in the translation to French annoyed François Roux. Duch’s defense lawyer told Nil Nonn, the chamber president: “Do you realize about the dramatic consequences on the statements made by the accused or the witnesses when the translations are completely inverted?” In fact, [during these translations], it was first heard that the tribunal would suspend its hearing between 01 and 15 June, then it was changed to 01 to 05 June, finally a correction was made and that there would be no suspension in the hearing.

Later in the afternoon, the written translations were in turn the main subject of the debates. Alex Bates, the international co-prosecutor, presented documents translated by his office, which under closed reading, were visibly different from the direct translations. Duch’s lawyer underscored the fact that the co-prosecutors version contained both in French and in English the term: “reduce the enemies to piece,” whereas the Khmer version indicated more soberly: “tracking them endlessly.”

François Roux was concerned about the possibility that these translations were made by DC-Cam, to which the international co-prosecutor denied. One of the lawyers of the civil parties, Swiss lawyer Alain Werner, also entered into the polemic by stating the fact that DC-Cam and the Tribunal have concluded an agreement, and as such, these translations should be considered as internal translations.

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Duch Blames Torture on Previous Regimes

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
28 April 2009

Jailed prison chief Duch told tribunal judges on Monday he had learned torture methods from the regimes that preceded the Khmer Rouge, as more details of his role emerged.

“I did not learn from anyone,” he told the court. “First of all, the Lon Nol regime taught me, and secondly, the French regime, which tortured members of the Vietnamese Labor Party.”
Duch said he did not learn torture methods from the US or China. The US backed the regime of Lon Nol in a coup against then-prince Norodom Sihanouk, in 1970, as China emerged as a primary supporter of the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge.

The 66-year-old Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, is accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and murder. His trial, the first of five jailed leaders by the UN-backed tribunal, has been in full swing since late March, but only in recent days has his testimony focused on Tuol Sleng prison.

Known the Khmer Rouge as S-21, the prison was the regime’s principal torture center, where more than 12,000 Cambodians were sent for confession and execution.

Duch said he was selected for promotion to direct the prison because of his experience and qualifications. He proved to be a better director than his predecessor, he said, but he did not like his duties, a fact he could not reveal this openly to his Khmer Rouge bosses.

The prison had two separate periods, Duch explained Tuesday, the period before he became director, and the one after.

In the first period, former Lon Nol government and military officials and civilian supporters were “cleaned,” he said. The prison’s second role, under his direction, was to purge those not loyal to the Khmer Rouge.

To that end, four groups were put in charge, comprised of key figures within the regime, who would then decide who would be arrested and sent to Tuol Sleng, where confessions were extracted under torture before they were executed.

Duch’s testimony Tuesday followed statements that even guards at the prison could be executed. The rules of the prison, he said Monday, had been established by “Vietnam.”

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As Losses Mount, Plans To Help Economy Emerge [-Where's that loud mouth PM who said that Cambodia will not be affected by the economic crisis?]

Kong Chandararoth, president of the Cambodian Institute of Economic Study and Development.

By VOA Khmer, Reporters
Reports from Phnom Penh & Washington
28 April 2009

Cambodia’s four main economic drivers have sustained multi-million dollar losses so far this year, despite insulation from the financial markets, a leading economist said Monday.
A report released by the International Labor Organization released Monday shows losses of $280 million in garments, $260 million in tourism, $180 million in agriculture and $45 million in construction.

Despite those losses, Cambodia remains somewhat insulated from the global financial crisis, said Kong Chandararoth, president of the Cambodian Institute of Economic Study and Development.

“Our country is not close to the financial market, so that does not have an impact as serious as other countries,” he said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”

Cambodia’s agriculture has also made the global financial downturn easier that industrialized countries, he said.

Organizations like the International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank have warned that Cambodia’s economy will shrink this year, thanks to the financial crisis.

However, Kong Chandararoth said such predictions were “too dark about Cambodia,” and he predicted economic growth around 5 percent for 2009.

Cambodia’s situation is further different from other countries, he said, because it does not have a stock exchange or other financial markets, which have been hard-hit by the collapse of the US financial market.

Meanwhile, the government has prepared a package to restore the economy, including tax exemptions, tourism promotion, and help for construction, agriculture, garment factories and other investments.

The government announced Tuesday it will release $25 million to the agriculture and garment sectors, in an effort to mitigate the effects of the global downturn.

The money—$18 million to agriculture and $7 million to garments—will be used to increase farm production and help train people who have lost their jobs thanks to the slowdown.

Government officials made the announcement during the semi-annual donors meeting on Tuesday.

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Cambodia Saves Rare Bears

By Ker Yann, VOA Khmer
Video Editor: Manilene Ek
27 April 2009

In China and Vietnam, thousands of bears are farmed for their bile, which many consider a potent traditional Chinese remedy. Scores of other bears are killed to make bear paw soup, which is considered to be a delicacy. Now, conservationists in Cambodia are rescuing as many bears as possible from animal traffickers in order to give them a better life.
Jodie Ellen spends her days playing with some of the most adorable bear cubs. Altogether, she helps look after over 100 infant and adult bears at this huge bear sanctuary, 40 km south of Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. The project is run by Free the Bears, an Australian-based NGO that rescues bears from illegal traffickers who supply bile farms in China and Vietnam. Other bears are sold for their meat. The group also takes in bears that are kept as pets and often neglected and abused. Ellen only has good things to say about these bears.

Jodie Ellen: "Bears are just an amazing species. They are intelligent, they have such personalities, and they're such a vital part of the ecological scheme of things. So every species is worth protecting, and bears are up there with that."

Every morning, Jodie, her husband Peter, and a team of volunteers head to the local market. They buy dozens of bananas and pineapples - enough to feed the bears at the sanctuary for one day. Volunteers work hard unloading the fruit and chopping it up for the bears to eat. They mop and scrub their cages, making sure the animals have clean and healthy places to stay. Although the work can be long and tiring, Australian volunteer, Janine Ferris, says she loves it.

Janine Ferris: "They can do whatever they want. They eat, they throw their bananas around, they do whatever, and I'm just there to clean up, and it just brings me enormous joy. It's really wonderful."

Srey Lek is a sun bear and was kept as a pet for 12 years. She developed a habit of scratching her belly with a metal pole. When the wound became infected, her owner was no longer able to take care of her and handed her over to Free the Bears. Vuthy Chon, a project manager, is taking extra special care of her.

Vuthy Chon: "The wound on her chest has been there for at least 4 or 5 months and during that time she never received proper treatment from a veterinarian. That is why the wound got bigger and now it may be hard to treat. We are treating her in this clinic with antibiotics and cleaning the wound with saline solution."

Some bears arrive at the sanctuary with serious injuries after being caught by hunters using snares. Others are found at traders' homes awaiting sale to the highest bidder.

Once at the sanctuary, bears are treated for any injuries and are slowly integrated into groups of animals of a similar age. Sun bears are found across Southeast Asia. Adults weigh between 45 to 60 kg and healthy bears can live into their late twenties. In Asia, they face increasing poaching, especially to make bear paw soup. Some people believe eating bear meat gives them extraordinary virility and strength.

Jodie feeds a sun bear known as Sai through a hole in this wooden box. The bear will soon be sent to France in this crate to be part of a breeding program. The goal is to help increase the size of the species' population outside of Asia in case the local population drops to more critical levels.

Jodie is training the bear to get used to staying inside the box for longer periods at a time, to make the long-distance flight as comfortable as possible for her.

It is impossible to know exactly how many bears are left in the wild in Asia. The group says there are 4,500 bears at bile farms in Vietnam and over 7,000 bears at roughly 200 bile farms in China.

Bear bile contains ursodeoxycholic acid, which is believed to reduce fever, protect the liver, improve eyesight, break down gallstones, and act as an anti-inflammatory. Although scientists have come up with synthetic bile that is equally effective, many people still seek the real thing, in spite of the harm that bile farming causes to these bears.

Bears are highly intelligent, so to keep the animals at the sanctuary on their toes and always learning new things. Although life in the wild would perhaps be ideal for the bears, until threats to the species subside, the sanctuary may be the next best thing for the animals.

Information for this report was provided by APTN.

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Death in Pailin: Finally the court is looking into the case

28 April 2009
By Ung Chansophea
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French

The Battambang deputy prosecutor summoned hospital staffs who left a pregnant woman to die on 15 March 2009 because she did not have the money to pay for the care.

Six Pailin hospital staffs are summoned on 19 May to present themselves to the Battambang tribunal in a case involving Van Yoeun.

Ang Neang, the deputy director of the Pailin hospital, who was on duty during the death, is among those who are summoned.
In the evening of 15 March, Mith Saron, a man who lost his right foot, drove Van Yoeun, his pregnant wife to the hospital because she suffered intense pain. Because he did not have the 100,000 riels ($25) that was requested from him, Mith Saron suffered the following sarcasm from the hospital staff: “How do you dare come to the hospital?”

Due to lack of medical care, Van Yoeun died at 5AM on that day.

While her husband did not want to bring this case to court, Koy Kanya, the Battambang deputy prosecutor, looked into the case and he sent out summons without giving any detail in the case involved.

“It must be about that pregnant woman,” said Chhorn Makara, the Adhoc NGO coordinator in Pailin. “Following the death of the patient, the police questioned the hospital staff and they had an order signed by Koy Kanya. If there was any consequence in this affair, it is normal that he [the prosecutor] looks into this case. He told me personally that it was a flagrante delicto case.”

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Khmer Rouge prison boss details regime purges [-Duch was a snitch?]

28/4/2009
AFP

The former Khmer Rouge prison chief told Cambodia’s war crimes trial yesterday how staff at his jail were killed for any minor mistakes they made while performing their jobs.

Duch—whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav—apologised last month when his trial started, accepting blame for overseeing the extermination of around 15,000 people when he ran Tuol Sleng prison.
He said yesterday that he would report to his superiors any minor mistakes by staff members at Tuol Sleng, also known as S-21. Regime leaders would then order the workers and their families killed, he said.

“The purges went on and only a few people were left. When the husband was smashed, the wife would end up the same,” he said. The communist regime used the term “smash” to refer to killing its enemies.

“The staff of S-21 was arrested by S-21. S-21 detained them, S-21 interrogated them with torture and finally they were smashed by S-21,” he added.

Duch, however, told the court young people who worked at the prison were not touched. The young were easier to train and transform from “gentle to cruel”, he said.

As Duch, 66, politely answered questions about the organisation of Tuol Sleng prison, he strongly denied he created a list of 10 ruthless orders that remains on display at the site, now a genocide museum.

“The discipline of security, which has 10 rules...was fabricated by the Vietnamese when they came in (and toppled the Khmer Rouge in 1979),” Duch told the court.
Duch said he first saw the list of orders last year, when investigators brought him to the prison in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to re-enact his crimes.

A large board displaying the list on how to behave during interrogations, which includes an order that prisoners cannot cry when flogged or subjected to electric shocks, is still posted in the main courtyard at Tuol Sleng.

The list also tells prisoners to sit still and wait for orders, answer questions immediately without waiting for time to reflect, and warns them of further lashes or electric shocks if they fail to comply.

Duch is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder for his role in the notorious 1975 to 1979 regime known for its “Killing Fields”.

However he has denied prosecutors’ claims that he played a central role in the Khmer Rouge’s iron-fisted rule, and maintains he never personally executed anyone.

He faces life in jail but the court does not have the power to impose the death penalty. Four other senior leaders from the regime are scheduled to be tried within the next year.

Many believe the UN-sponsored tribunal is the last chance to find justice for victims of the regime, which killed up to 2mn people through starvation, overwork, torture and execution. The Khmer Rouge were ousted by Hanoi-backed forces in 1979, who discovered Tuol Sleng and established the facility as a museum to display the regime’s crimes.

The tribunal was formed in 2006 after nearly a decade of wrangling between the UN and Cambodian government.

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[Thai] Govt using all means to corner Thaksin

April 28, 2009
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

Two passports confirmed, third might be Cambodian travel document

The government is taking every possible step to narrow the political space fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's has on the globe by using the Interpol and other diplomatic moves to corner him, a senior government official said yesterday.

Thaksin might be able to stay in Dubai, but United Arab Emirates will not allow him to use the gulf state as a launching PAD against the Thai government, said Vice Foreign Minister Panich Vikitsreth.
"The UAE government has told us that Thaksin could not use the country as his political base, but could return as an investor," Panich said in an interview yesterday.

The UAE and Thailand are preparing an extradition treaty, he said, adding that Abu Dhabi had already sent a draft for consideration.

Asked if the government was aware of the movements being made by some former executives of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party to meet Thaksin in Dubai, Panich said nobody could be barred from travelling abroad or meeting anybody.

"We don't know where they are going and for what purpose, but they have the right because they are only banned from politics, not travel," Panich explained.

Two weeks ago, the government told Interpol to blacklist Thaksin and arrest him if they can, he said.

Thai authorities have also sent arrest warrants against Thaksin to all concerned countries, he said.

In addition, the foreign ministry has informed all nations that have diplomatic relations with Thailand about Thaksin's movements and the government's concerns, he said.

Even though Thaksin's Thai passports, both diplomatic and ordinary, were revoked the former premier continues moving around with foreign travel documents. Reports have confirmed that Thaksin is holding a Nicaraguan passport and has been made special ambassador by President Daniel Ortega.

He was also said to have landed in Liberia last week with Montenegro passport and unconfirmed reports say he might also have a Cambodian passport. Since the foreign ministry has no clear information about Thaksin's Cambodian passport, it could not take any action on the issue, Panich said.

However, he added, Phnom Penh as already been told about the government's concerns over Thaksin's political movements. "We are being very careful with the matter because relations with Cambodia are very sensitive," he said.

However, Panich said, what passport Thaksin travels with is not important. He explained that as long as the former PM uses his own name, his appearance in any country would show up on Interpol's radar and he will be under surveillance in host countries.

The government is closely monitoring Jakrapob Penkair's movements, though his whereabouts are still unknown, Panich said. The Immigration Bureau has no records on Jakrapob's departure, he said.

Jakrapob, a former spokesman for Thaksin, was charged of lese majeste and freed on bail.

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“My life was for Angkar, so everything I did was to obey Angkar’s orders”: Nhem En

A visitor walks past the alleged Khmer Rouge list of rules at the prison that became known as the Tuol Sleng genocide museum in Phnom Penh. Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP

Cashing in on the killing fields

April 28. 2009
Jared Ferrie, Foreign Correspondent
The National (United Arab Emirates)

ANLONG VENG, CAMBODIA - As his former boss faces war crimes charges for running a Khmer Rouge torture centre, the prison’s chief photographer plans to capitalise on his country’s dark legacy.

Nhem En hopes to raise at least US$500,000 (Dh1.8million) by selling two cameras he used to photograph many of the estimated 17,000 prisoners before they were tortured and executed.

“All Khmer Rouge leaders and prisoners at S21 were photographed with these cameras, so the buyers can take them to exhibits around the world,” said Mr Nhem, who said he had “met everyone” in the Khmer Rouge leadership while taking their portraits.

Mr Nhem said he has other items, including the alleged footwear of the regime’s leader, Pol Pot, which he also plans to auction off.

He said he would use the profits to build a museum in Anlong Veng, the former Khmer Rouge stronghold where he is now district vice governor. Many of the regime’s former figures hold positions of power in the area, which fell to the government in April 1998, ending two decades of civil war.

Mr Nhem is banking on curiosity about the regime that plunged Cambodia into “year zero” in an attempt to create an agrarian utopia by executing intellectuals and eradicating traditional family structures, among other disastrous policies.

Two similar museums in the capital, Phnom Penh, are popular with tourists. One of them is the former S21 prison, where many of Mr Nhem’s chilling black and white images are displayed, the prisoners staring wide-eyed with terror into the camera.

The most significant site in Anlong Veng is the grave of Pol Pot, who died, reportedly of a heart attack, as government forces were closing in. His remains were hurriedly cremated and they now lie buried beneath a rusting sheet of corrugated metal.

Although he is widely reviled as the mastermind of a movement that killed as many as two million Cambodians, his final resting place regularly receives visitors who sometimes leave offerings and pray.

One of them, Phan Phary, laid a bunch of bananas at the grave and lit a few sticks of incense before making a short prayer.

“I know Pol Pot killed a lot of people and he was a bad man, but he was the leader here and people living here respect him,” she said. “They need to respect him to bring luck and happiness for their families.”

Him Chhay, who lives in a small wooden house adjacent to the site, said Pol Pot was cruel during the Khmer Rouge’s reign from 1975 to 1979, but by the time he took refuge in Anlong Veng as an ageing guerrilla fighter he had softened.

“It’s better to have a big museum for Pol Pot’s grave because at least he is a former leader of Cambodia,” he added.

Youk Chhang, who heads the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, which researches Khmer Rouge history, said it was not surprising that residents retain a conflicted affinity for Pol Pot.

He explained most were members of the Khmer Rouge who took refuge in the area, which was jungle at the time, where they continued to fight against the government.

“Pol Pot was the only person who took care of them, who gave them food to eat,” Mr Chhang said. “He’s a father, he’s an uncle. But he was the architect of the genocide of Cambodia.”

Mr Chhang said the brutal legacy of the Khmer Rouge has had a psychological effect on many who fought with the movement and have not yet been reintegrated into Cambodian society.

“They are in search of an identity. They are in search of themselves,” he said.

Mention of the UN-backed war crimes tribunal, which recently began trying the first of five former leaders of the regime, prompted ambivalent responses from some residents.

“I don’t listen to the radio; I don’t care about this. I’m very busy with no time to think about it,” said Chan Lay, a former Khmer Rouge fighter who lost his leg during the war and uses a prosthetic limb.

Another resident, Khieu Dum, said the tribunal “is no use for Cambodian people”. He is the son of Khieu Samphan, one of the regime’s top leaders, who is in prison awaiting trial.

“My father is innocent,” Mr Khieu said in an interview at the busy gas station he owns in the centre of town.

Mr Chhang, of the Documentation Centre, said he supports the idea of creating a museum in Anlong Veng because it would help people in the area understand and come to terms with their history. He was, however, sceptical of how Mr Nhem acquired the items, and he suggested the sandals in particular might be impossible to verify as authentic.

Mr Nhem insisted the items were real. He said he was given the cameras in 1976 to work as an official photographer at S21, the prison run by Kaing Guek Eav, who is now on trial and has confessed to ordering torture and executions.

As for his own role in the regime, Mr Nhem was unapologetic.

He said he realised later that the party’s leadership, known as Angkor, led the country into disaster. But he photographed the prisoners at S21 because it was his job and he was fully committed to the party.

“My life was for Angkar, so everything I did was to obey Angkar’s orders,” Mr Nhem said. “You can judge me as guilty or innocent.”

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