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Cambodian Government to Allow Freehold for Foreigners, I won't hold my Breath
Saturday 28 November 2009Yet again there is a report that legislation to allow foreigners to buy property in Cambodia freehold is about to become law, according to a new report in the New York Times.
During the last boom Cambodia property became very popular with investors from all around the world, and rightly so; people were buying property and selling 6 months later for a 12% profit, 12 months later for a 24% profit on a regular basis. During this time a report that the government was coming closer to allowing foreigners to buy freehold would make the news at regular intervals -- we all waited and waited but it never came.
I was interviewed by a journalist from the Phnom Penh Post round about October 2007, and he asked me if I thought the law would go ahead, depending on who was elected (elections were coming up). I said, at the moment the government doesn't need to change the law, because the economy and property market are doing well, but I see prices levelling off in the next 6 months, at which point the government of the day may reconsider the law.
I was right about prices levelling off; little did I know that this would be followed by Cambodia and many other nations falling prey to the global downturn. Now that Cambodia has suffered quite badly, it is entirely possible that the government may make it easier for foreigners to buy property, as an incentive to choose the country and hopefully cash-in on the rising investment levels seen in other Asian nations.
At the moment foreigners can only buy Cambodian property by setting up a company with a Cambodian senior partner. If they don't want to go that route then they must buy on leasehold, though some developers are giving 99 year leasehold tenures which is full ownership according to some judicial systems.
At this stage however, it is unlikely that changing the law would have a major impact on Cambodian property investment -- certainly nowhere near the effect it would have had during the boom. The international real estate investment landscape has changed; currently the best opportunities lie in established markets, where below market opportunities abound. Established markets are also currently the favourites because of the reduced appetite for risk among private investors.
That said, Cambodia will always be one of the top emerging markets for property investment in my opinion. Before the downturn the economy was growing at a blistering pace of 10-11% per year, based on massive growth in the industrial and services sectors, with construction and real estate also generating significant revenues. This economic growth continued to increase the affluence of Cambodians, and property values and rents continued to grow.
Cambodia has also been left with a number of unique traits from the brutal Khmer Rouge rule:
* Most of male population is under 25; a young vibrant workforce
* Both commercial and private property sectors are relatively new, so pricing is still finding its grounding
* A determination among the entire population to drive the nation forward and to reach their full potential.
These traits made it very popular for retail and commercial investment, on top of the astonishing economic growth. It is likely that Cambodia will regain its popularity with property investors once the economy can return to growth, and the massive bargains start to dry up in established markets. If the new law is improved it will no doubt increase the fervour of this boost.
read more “Cambodian Government to Allow Freehold for Foreigners, I won't hold my Breath”
During the last boom Cambodia property became very popular with investors from all around the world, and rightly so; people were buying property and selling 6 months later for a 12% profit, 12 months later for a 24% profit on a regular basis. During this time a report that the government was coming closer to allowing foreigners to buy freehold would make the news at regular intervals -- we all waited and waited but it never came.
I was interviewed by a journalist from the Phnom Penh Post round about October 2007, and he asked me if I thought the law would go ahead, depending on who was elected (elections were coming up). I said, at the moment the government doesn't need to change the law, because the economy and property market are doing well, but I see prices levelling off in the next 6 months, at which point the government of the day may reconsider the law.
I was right about prices levelling off; little did I know that this would be followed by Cambodia and many other nations falling prey to the global downturn. Now that Cambodia has suffered quite badly, it is entirely possible that the government may make it easier for foreigners to buy property, as an incentive to choose the country and hopefully cash-in on the rising investment levels seen in other Asian nations.
At the moment foreigners can only buy Cambodian property by setting up a company with a Cambodian senior partner. If they don't want to go that route then they must buy on leasehold, though some developers are giving 99 year leasehold tenures which is full ownership according to some judicial systems.
At this stage however, it is unlikely that changing the law would have a major impact on Cambodian property investment -- certainly nowhere near the effect it would have had during the boom. The international real estate investment landscape has changed; currently the best opportunities lie in established markets, where below market opportunities abound. Established markets are also currently the favourites because of the reduced appetite for risk among private investors.
That said, Cambodia will always be one of the top emerging markets for property investment in my opinion. Before the downturn the economy was growing at a blistering pace of 10-11% per year, based on massive growth in the industrial and services sectors, with construction and real estate also generating significant revenues. This economic growth continued to increase the affluence of Cambodians, and property values and rents continued to grow.
Cambodia has also been left with a number of unique traits from the brutal Khmer Rouge rule:
* Most of male population is under 25; a young vibrant workforce
* Both commercial and private property sectors are relatively new, so pricing is still finding its grounding
* A determination among the entire population to drive the nation forward and to reach their full potential.
These traits made it very popular for retail and commercial investment, on top of the astonishing economic growth. It is likely that Cambodia will regain its popularity with property investors once the economy can return to growth, and the massive bargains start to dry up in established markets. If the new law is improved it will no doubt increase the fervour of this boost.
Cambodia B1.4bn loan still on[- Will Hun Xen still accept Thai charity?]
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday Cambodia's decision to scrap a 1.4 billion baht loan from Thailand to subsidise a road improvement project was the result of a misunderstanding.
He was responding to a news report which quoted Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong as saying Phnom Penh decided to cancel the loan.
Mr Abhisit said Cambodia thought Thailand terminated the loan so it sent a letter to inform the government that it would cancel the loan.
He said talks were under way to correct the mix-up. "Cambodia thought we had cancelled [the loan], so they sent a letter to cancel it," Mr Abhisit said.
"In fact, the cabinet hasn't made a decision on the loan scheme."
The 1.4 billion baht loan to upgrade a road from Surin to Siem Reap was discussed by the cabinet after the recent diplomatic spat erupted.
However, the termination of such an international agreement requires approval from parliament to take effect.
Thai-Cambodian ties turned sour when Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser.
Relations took a turn for the worse when Cambodia rejected Thailand's request for extradition of Thaksin to serve a two-year jail sentence and Thailand responded by threatening to review agreements and projects including the loan in question.
Mr Abhisit yesterday brushed aside former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai's suggestion that the government initiate talks with Phnom Penh to normalise the ties. He said the results of the meeting of the Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee (GBC), which concluded on Friday, were satisfactory.
Thani Thongpakdi, deputy spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, said yesterday the ministry received Cambodia's letter to terminate the loan deal. He declined to say if Phnom Penh's latest move was suggesting bilateral ties were further strained.
He said it was a normal practice for governments to review and if necessary cancel loan deals.
Meanwhile, the GBC meeting and the meeting between detained Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong and his mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, was seen as a good sign for bilateral relations.
Mr Sivarak, official of the Cambodian Air Traffic Services, was arrested on Nov 12 for allegedly stealing flight information concerning Thaksin. It took two weeks before his mother was allowed to visit him at prison.
His bail request is pending a court review.
Mr Sivarak is scheduled to appear in court for a first hearing on Dec 8.
read more “Cambodia B1.4bn loan still on[- Will Hun Xen still accept Thai charity?]”
He was responding to a news report which quoted Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong as saying Phnom Penh decided to cancel the loan.
Mr Abhisit said Cambodia thought Thailand terminated the loan so it sent a letter to inform the government that it would cancel the loan.
He said talks were under way to correct the mix-up. "Cambodia thought we had cancelled [the loan], so they sent a letter to cancel it," Mr Abhisit said.
"In fact, the cabinet hasn't made a decision on the loan scheme."
The 1.4 billion baht loan to upgrade a road from Surin to Siem Reap was discussed by the cabinet after the recent diplomatic spat erupted.
However, the termination of such an international agreement requires approval from parliament to take effect.
Thai-Cambodian ties turned sour when Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser.
Relations took a turn for the worse when Cambodia rejected Thailand's request for extradition of Thaksin to serve a two-year jail sentence and Thailand responded by threatening to review agreements and projects including the loan in question.
Mr Abhisit yesterday brushed aside former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai's suggestion that the government initiate talks with Phnom Penh to normalise the ties. He said the results of the meeting of the Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee (GBC), which concluded on Friday, were satisfactory.
Thani Thongpakdi, deputy spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, said yesterday the ministry received Cambodia's letter to terminate the loan deal. He declined to say if Phnom Penh's latest move was suggesting bilateral ties were further strained.
He said it was a normal practice for governments to review and if necessary cancel loan deals.
Meanwhile, the GBC meeting and the meeting between detained Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong and his mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, was seen as a good sign for bilateral relations.
Mr Sivarak, official of the Cambodian Air Traffic Services, was arrested on Nov 12 for allegedly stealing flight information concerning Thaksin. It took two weeks before his mother was allowed to visit him at prison.
His bail request is pending a court review.
Mr Sivarak is scheduled to appear in court for a first hearing on Dec 8.
Hang tough if Hun Sen gets rough
LEGAL-EYED: Kao SouphaKao Soupha is a lawyer who is well used to government pressure.
The 37-year-old Cambodian believes that if a lawyer is afraid of the state, then many innocent people will have no chance to defend themselves.
For this reason he decided to represent jailed Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong.
Mr Sivarak, 31, an employee of Thai-owned Cambodia Air Traffic Services, was arrested on Nov 12 on charges of leaking information concerning the flight plan of Thaksin Shinawatra as he travelled to Cambodia.
Mr Sivarak is being held at Prey Sar prison, pending a bail consideration and first hearing on Dec 8.
"I see he [Mr Sivarak] has a good chance of being freed as I believe he did not really steal the flight records," Mr Soupha said.
Mr Soupha admits his client was in a position to know of all the flights in an out of Cambodia but that Thaksin's flight plan was not a secretive matter.
Had Mr Sivarak "spied", he would not have left Cambodia and travelled to Laos on Nov 6 and returned to Cambodia on Nov 9, says Mr Soupha.
He acknowledged the arrest of Mr Sivarak was a headlining issue between the two countries, but it was not a complicated case because as far as he knew there was not much evidence supporting the plaintiff side.
Mr Soupha also believes the arrest of Mr Sivarak was politically motivated and the case should be resolved by the two governments.
"They are playing a game and Mr Sivarak is, unfortunately, in the middle," he said.
According to Cambodian law, if Mr Sivarak is found guilty of spying he faces a jail term of between seven and 15 years.
Mr Soupha specialises in providing legal counselling for Cambodian and foreign people. Most of his cases are concerned with human rights violations and alleged unfair treatment by the Cambodian government.
He often deals with the Thai community in Phnom Penh and is regularly contacted by the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh.
Abhisit's action: A lesson of political civility to the opposition for Hun Xen?
PM thanks red shirts for postponement of rally
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Sunday thanked the red-shirt leaders for postponing the rally, and thus easing the situation before the celebrations of His Majesty the King's birthday.
"I would like to thank all sides for making the situation better. Earlier, the people were worried about the political rally," Abhisit said during his weekly TV programme.
Opposition distributes 50,000 leaflets about border dispute
Opposition activists were and are distributing Sam Rainsy's message attacking PM Hun Xen's government for causing the loss of Cambodian territories to the benefit of Vietnam. At the same time, SRP MPs are asking the government to make available to the public documents regarding the legal aspects of the border resolutions with Vietnam.
Numerous SRP activists in the entire country are currently distributing leaflets about the border problems to Cambodians. The SRP leaflets contain the message issued by Mr. Sam Rainsy to the people of Cambodia, dated 19 November 2009. The content of the message blames Hun Xen's government for leading a dangerous policy involving border problems. In the same message, Sam Rainsy also accused Hun Xen of turning the public attention to the western border with Thailand while ignoring the danger along the eastern border with Vietnam.
Yim Sovann, SRP MP and SRP spokesman, indicated today that his party plans to distribute 50,000 copies of Sam Rainsy's message to Cambodians at various places all along the country. According to Yim Sovann, the goal of this distribution is to inform the people about the border problems [and the loss of Cambodian territories] to the benefit of neighboring countries.
At the same time, SRP MP Son Chhay wrote a letter to PM Hun Xen asking the government to issue documents about the legal aspects taken by the government to resolve border disputes with Vietnam. Son Chhay's letter was forwarded by Heng Samrin to the government on Thursday, but so far there is no answer from the government yet.
Government officials could not be contacted to comment in this issue as of today, however, reports have indicated that the authorities have prevented and arrested a number of leaflet distributors and brought them in for education so that they stop taking such action again. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy was accused by the top three leaders of the ruling party (Xen, Xim and Xamrin) of instigating problem for political gain, and of disturbing the government work in its resolution of problems with Thailand.
The determination of the opposition party to distribute these leaflets is a new issue that increases further political tension in the country. The opposition's action takes place after Sam Rainsy's political immunity was lifted at the beginning of November.
.. Meanwhile the CPP is leading its PR campaign to discredit the opposition
A SRP official recognized that opposition party members have defected to the CPP, however, he said that defection is a personal right for each party member. Prey Veng SRP MP Chea Poch made this declaration after about 100 SRP party members defected to the CPP branch office in Meanchey district, Phnom Penh city in the morning of Saturday 28 November. The defectors allegedly include Sam Rainsy's bodyguards who used to be faithful to him. The defectors condemned Sam Rainsy for not leading the party properly and he allegedly never thought about party members at all (sic!).
read more “.. Meanwhile the CPP is leading its PR campaign to discredit the opposition”
Hun Sen - Thaksin Shinawatra : A Political Game?
(Photo: Reuters)By Maya Mary Kong
Cambodian Perspectives Review - November 2009
About the author:The press covers these last few days Hun Sen's stunning declarations of support for Thaksin. He appeared as a defender of the latter, even offering him a post of economic advisor. At his arrival at the airport in Thailand for the summit of ASEAN, he continues by saying that Thaksin is a « political victim » and compares him with Aung San Suu Kyi, the key figure of democracy and Burmese opposition. He adds that his « concerns » are also humanitarian . While Cambodia risks of being in one big humanitarian misery due to the growing poverty of the Cambodian population.
Maya Mary Kong is a Ph.D candidate in political science, Canada. Born in 1985 from a Cambodia father and an Australian mother, I wish to express my gratitude to my parents for their love, support during all these years and for transmitting to me their love for Cambodia. A particular thank is also expressed to the worldwide Cambodian community for its help and strong encouragement. I also wish pay homage to Khmer people who have lost their life for the country, and all those who dedicate a part of their life to lead actions for Cambodia. And finally, a special thoughts for people who suffer and die because of the extreme poverty.
Hun Sen's attitude irritated not only Bangkok but also caused questions to many observers, why a Prime Minister - whose political party has ruled the country for thirty years without sharing real power within the National Assembly - worries about the democracy and the humanitarian issues in the neighbouring country, Thailand. While his CPP party - installed to power in Phnom Penh in January 1979 and supported by Viet-Nam until this day - did not cease, since its landslide victory in July 2008 with the legislative elections, Hun Sen strengthened his clamp to suffocate all opposition voice while keeping the vast majority of the Khmer population in an extreme poverty in order to control it for political purpose.
Obviously, these declarations - emanating from such a high ranking official of Phnom Penh regime where nothing can be decided without Hanoi agreement - are not certainly unplanned. These declarations are found to be a double political game of Hanoi which fits clearly in a renewed geopolitical context in order to push the Vietnamese expansionism even farther.
This is the thesis that we want to defend in this short present article. Its goal is to bring some of elements to reduce information asymmetry, which is systematically perpetrated to the Cambodian people. The consequences of such an asymmetry were dramtic as well as devastating for Cambodia.
Victims and public attendance at Duch's trial
Tuesday 24 November 2009
Bou Meng, right, a Cambodian survivor of the S-21 prison during the Khmer Rouge regime, arrives at the U.N.-backed tribunal court hall where Kaing Guek Eav, the prison's former chief, is being tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. Other people unidentified. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Chum Mey, center, a Cambodian survivor of the S-21 prison during the Khmer Rouge regime, walks in front of the U.N.-backed tribunal court hall while Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, the former chief of the Khmer Rouge's notorious prison, now known as Tuol Sleng genocide museum, is being tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Cambodian Buddhist nuns line up in front of the U.N.-backed tribunal court hall while Kaing Guek Eav, the former chief of the Khmer Rouge's notorious S-21 prison, is being tries for war crimes and crimes against humanity, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Cambodian students line up as Buddhist monks, left, arrive at the U.N.-backed tribunal court hall while Kaing Guek Eav, the former chief of the Khmer Rouge's notorious S-21 prison, is being tries for war crimes and crimes against humanity, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 11 December: Hun Xen’s date set for passage of anti-corruption law
NGOs demanding for an end to corruption (Photo: RFA)A declaration from the 20 November plenary meeting of the Council of Ministers indicated that PM Hun Xen had decided to set the 11 December Council of Ministers meeting to pass the anti-corruption draft law.
Sorn Chey, the founder of the Khmer Institute for National Development, considers Hun Xen’s decision to pass the anti-corruption draft law by the Council of Minister as another evolution step for this law that has been stalled for so many years already.
Sorn Chey said: “We hope that the recommendations made by the civil societies in the past will be included in the draft law, and we hope that this draft law will be ratified soon.”
Rong Chhun, President of the Cambodia Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA), welcome Hun Xen’s decision to raise this anti-corruption law for its passage by the Council of Ministers, in spite of the fact that, after its ratification, it is not yet known whether it will be efficient or not to handle the corruption issue.
Rong Chhun said: “The anti-corruption [draft] law takes more than a decade-long and it is still not out yet. What we want is for this law to be adopted soon, regardless of how its application will be!”
Yim Sovann, SRP MP and SRP spokesman, said that, as a MP, he will continue following the meaning of the draft law.
Recent report from Transparency International (TI) indicated that corruption in Cambodia has slightly improved over the year before, but it still remains at the bottom rank among very corrupt countries in the world.
Of the 180 countries evaluated by TI, Cambodia, Laos, Tajikistan and Central Africa all rank 158. Furthermore, Cambodia is only better than another country in Asia: Burma which ranks 178.
The anti-corruption law was prepared since 1994.
Opposition officials, civil society organizations and aid donors have insisted on many occasions for the government to introduce this law, and they are all anxiously waiting to see its adoption.
Duch 'should get 40 years'
PHNOM PENH - FORMER Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch should get 40 years in prison for his role in the hardline communist regime, a prosecutor told Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court on Wednesday.
'We submit... that the sentence to be submitted by this trial chamber should be 40 years in prison,' Bill Smith told judges in the prosecution's final arguments.
Duch - whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav - has apologised repeatedly and admitted responsibility for his actions under Pol Pot's brutal communist movement, which killed up to two million Cambodians in the 1970s.
read more “Duch 'should get 40 years'”
'We submit... that the sentence to be submitted by this trial chamber should be 40 years in prison,' Bill Smith told judges in the prosecution's final arguments.
Duch - whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav - has apologised repeatedly and admitted responsibility for his actions under Pol Pot's brutal communist movement, which killed up to two million Cambodians in the 1970s.
Cambodian court to rule on spy charges against Thai engineer on Dec 8
A Cambodian court is scheduled to deliver a ruling in the case against a Thai engineer, who was arrested on an espionage charge, on December 8, a senor Thai Justice Ministry official said Wednesday.
Thai News Agency quoted Thawee Sodsong, deputy permanent secretary for Justice, as saying that the court was scheduled to deliver a ruling on the case against Siwrak Chutipong on December 8.
Thawee arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport Wednesday morning after meeting the Cambodian justice minister and Siwarak in Phnom Penh, Thai News Agency said.
Thawee said the Cambodian justice minister promised to ensure that Siwarak would receive justice and he would make arrangement for Siwarak's mother to visit him in the prison.
Thawee said Siwarak was being detained in a 5 x 5 metre cell along with four other suspects.
read more “Cambodian court to rule on spy charges against Thai engineer on Dec 8”
Thai News Agency quoted Thawee Sodsong, deputy permanent secretary for Justice, as saying that the court was scheduled to deliver a ruling on the case against Siwrak Chutipong on December 8.
Thawee arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport Wednesday morning after meeting the Cambodian justice minister and Siwarak in Phnom Penh, Thai News Agency said.
Thawee said the Cambodian justice minister promised to ensure that Siwarak would receive justice and he would make arrangement for Siwarak's mother to visit him in the prison.
Thawee said Siwarak was being detained in a 5 x 5 metre cell along with four other suspects.
Prosecution calls for 40-year sentence for Duch in Khmer Rouge trial
Phnom Penh - The prosecution at Cambodia's war crimes tribunal called Wednesday for judges to hand down a 40-year jail term to Comrade Duch, the former commander of the Khmer Rouge's most notorious prison known as S-21. Co-prosecutor William Smith said Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, was the Khmer Rouge regime's "loyal and dedicated agent" in running S-21, where thousands of people were tortured and executed between 1975 and 1979, and must be punished accordingly.
Despite some cooperation by Duch and his limited acceptance of his responsibility, Smith said the loss and suffering of the victims and their families must be foremost in the judges' minds when considering their sentence.
The prosecution accepted that their proposed 45-year tariff ought to be reduced by five years for time already served by Duch in pre-trial detention.
Duch is 67, so the prosecution's jail demand would effectively translate to life in prison.
"The whole of humanity demands a just and proportionate response to the crimes [committed at S-21]," he said, adding that the court must remember that the lives and dreams of thousands murdered at S-21 had been stolen by Duch.
Sentencing in Duch's trial is due to take place early next year. There is no death penalty in Cambodia, and he faces a maximum punishment of life in prison.
Duch, who appeared in court in a lilac Ralph Lauren shirt and beige trousers, ran the infamous torture and execution centre known as S-21 in Phnom Penh where at least 15,000 people died between 1975-79. Very few inmates survived.
On Tuesday, the national co-prosecutor Chea Leang told the court that far from being the mere functionary he had tried to portray himself as, Duch was in fact the key intelligence operative for the Khmer Rouge as they sought out real and imaginary enemies of the revolution.
"He was the [Khmer Rouge's] trusted man to identify supposed plots against the revolution and to root out enemies," Chea Leang said.
Thousands of people were tortured and killed at S-21. Witnesses at the trial this year have told how some prisoners had their blood entirely drained, while others suffered simulated drowning, electrocution and beatings.
The defence and Duch himself are scheduled to address the court later Wednesday.
On Monday, lawyers for the civil parties, a collection of 90 people who are predominantly relatives of prisoners who were murdered at S-21, presented their closing arguments.
Duch has testified during the 72-day trial that he was simply following orders and had almost no power to help detainees sent to S-21.
Four senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders are currently in jail and awaiting trial.
The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 before being forced out of power by neighbouring Vietnam. Around 2 million people died of starvation and disease or were executed under the radical regime.
read more “Prosecution calls for 40-year sentence for Duch in Khmer Rouge trial”
Despite some cooperation by Duch and his limited acceptance of his responsibility, Smith said the loss and suffering of the victims and their families must be foremost in the judges' minds when considering their sentence.
The prosecution accepted that their proposed 45-year tariff ought to be reduced by five years for time already served by Duch in pre-trial detention.
Duch is 67, so the prosecution's jail demand would effectively translate to life in prison.
"The whole of humanity demands a just and proportionate response to the crimes [committed at S-21]," he said, adding that the court must remember that the lives and dreams of thousands murdered at S-21 had been stolen by Duch.
Sentencing in Duch's trial is due to take place early next year. There is no death penalty in Cambodia, and he faces a maximum punishment of life in prison.
Duch, who appeared in court in a lilac Ralph Lauren shirt and beige trousers, ran the infamous torture and execution centre known as S-21 in Phnom Penh where at least 15,000 people died between 1975-79. Very few inmates survived.
On Tuesday, the national co-prosecutor Chea Leang told the court that far from being the mere functionary he had tried to portray himself as, Duch was in fact the key intelligence operative for the Khmer Rouge as they sought out real and imaginary enemies of the revolution.
"He was the [Khmer Rouge's] trusted man to identify supposed plots against the revolution and to root out enemies," Chea Leang said.
Thousands of people were tortured and killed at S-21. Witnesses at the trial this year have told how some prisoners had their blood entirely drained, while others suffered simulated drowning, electrocution and beatings.
The defence and Duch himself are scheduled to address the court later Wednesday.
On Monday, lawyers for the civil parties, a collection of 90 people who are predominantly relatives of prisoners who were murdered at S-21, presented their closing arguments.
Duch has testified during the 72-day trial that he was simply following orders and had almost no power to help detainees sent to S-21.
Four senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders are currently in jail and awaiting trial.
The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 before being forced out of power by neighbouring Vietnam. Around 2 million people died of starvation and disease or were executed under the radical regime.
Desperate Thaksin may go for broke
With his assets seizure trial nearing its end, Thaksin Shinawatra may find himself a drowning man clutching desperately at every last straw.
A judgement against him will certainly quash the pardon-Thaksin petition that his supporters submitted in September, shutting down all avenues for him to escape legal punishment.
This has prompted speculation, or fears to be exact, that his red-shirted supporters could run amok before the court is scheduled to hand down the ruling.
Thaksin needs to protect his Bt76 billion assets, perhaps his last resources as far as the public knows, which have been frozen at the request of the Assets Examination Committee. As the court is expected to read its verdict in mid-December at the earliest, if Thaksin were to have any chance of survival he would need the royal pardon before then. But the pardon seems to be drifting in a long process.
If the fugitive ex-premier is found guilty in his Bt76-billion assets case, which is now before the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, his chances of staging a comeback to politics would be zero. The curtain would be drawn on him. The court won't allow an appeal unless the defendant can produce new evidence. A portion or even all of his assets will be confiscated depending on the court verdict.
Thaksin will also later face criminal charges for malfeasance and dereliction of duty in violation of Article 157. As he violated the law on many counts he may end up getting sentenced to dozens of years in prison.
On the other hand, if Thaksin is found not guilty in the assets case he may feel relieved. He will have only the two-year jail term for the Ratchadaphisek land purchase to serve. His other cases are still just in court.
Yellow-shirted protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul also once said he would not mind if Thaksin was granted a pardon after he surrendered and came back to Thailand.
As nobody, even the fugitive ex-premier, knows how the assets decision will turn out, Thaksin has no choice but to topple the Democrat-led government by all means before the court concludes the case to pave the way for his return.
Thaksin maybe realises that the court might reach a finding sooner rather than later, so he has no time to prolong his battle. He has to end the game sooner rather than later. After using neighbouring country Cambodia to attack Thailand, leading to a dispute between the two countries, the fugitive ex-premier is now blowing the whistle to his supporters to oust the government. That's why his red-shirted supporters moved their rally up.
The red shirts will now kick off their "showdown rally" on Saturday - a day earlier than planned - in a bid to "bring down" the government as soon as possible. The red-shirt leaders expect one million people to join the protest. They would disperse temporarily on December 2 to make way for ceremonies to mark His Majesty the King's birthday on December 5, and re-gather after that.
One week before the rally, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva got death threats from community radio stations in Chiang Mai, which is Thaksin's political base. Abhisit had scheduled to visit the province next Sunday.
During the Songkran mayhem, the premier almost lost his life when his car was attacked by red-shirted people at the Interior Ministry. Some fear that Thaksin's new battle may repeat history.
It would be no surprise if Thaksin sets off on a "kamikaze" mission and takes the country hostage as he has always done - putting his personal interest before the country's.
read more “Desperate Thaksin may go for broke”
A judgement against him will certainly quash the pardon-Thaksin petition that his supporters submitted in September, shutting down all avenues for him to escape legal punishment.
This has prompted speculation, or fears to be exact, that his red-shirted supporters could run amok before the court is scheduled to hand down the ruling.
Thaksin needs to protect his Bt76 billion assets, perhaps his last resources as far as the public knows, which have been frozen at the request of the Assets Examination Committee. As the court is expected to read its verdict in mid-December at the earliest, if Thaksin were to have any chance of survival he would need the royal pardon before then. But the pardon seems to be drifting in a long process.
If the fugitive ex-premier is found guilty in his Bt76-billion assets case, which is now before the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, his chances of staging a comeback to politics would be zero. The curtain would be drawn on him. The court won't allow an appeal unless the defendant can produce new evidence. A portion or even all of his assets will be confiscated depending on the court verdict.
Thaksin will also later face criminal charges for malfeasance and dereliction of duty in violation of Article 157. As he violated the law on many counts he may end up getting sentenced to dozens of years in prison.
On the other hand, if Thaksin is found not guilty in the assets case he may feel relieved. He will have only the two-year jail term for the Ratchadaphisek land purchase to serve. His other cases are still just in court.
Yellow-shirted protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul also once said he would not mind if Thaksin was granted a pardon after he surrendered and came back to Thailand.
As nobody, even the fugitive ex-premier, knows how the assets decision will turn out, Thaksin has no choice but to topple the Democrat-led government by all means before the court concludes the case to pave the way for his return.
Thaksin maybe realises that the court might reach a finding sooner rather than later, so he has no time to prolong his battle. He has to end the game sooner rather than later. After using neighbouring country Cambodia to attack Thailand, leading to a dispute between the two countries, the fugitive ex-premier is now blowing the whistle to his supporters to oust the government. That's why his red-shirted supporters moved their rally up.
The red shirts will now kick off their "showdown rally" on Saturday - a day earlier than planned - in a bid to "bring down" the government as soon as possible. The red-shirt leaders expect one million people to join the protest. They would disperse temporarily on December 2 to make way for ceremonies to mark His Majesty the King's birthday on December 5, and re-gather after that.
One week before the rally, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva got death threats from community radio stations in Chiang Mai, which is Thaksin's political base. Abhisit had scheduled to visit the province next Sunday.
During the Songkran mayhem, the premier almost lost his life when his car was attacked by red-shirted people at the Interior Ministry. Some fear that Thaksin's new battle may repeat history.
It would be no surprise if Thaksin sets off on a "kamikaze" mission and takes the country hostage as he has always done - putting his personal interest before the country's.
ASEAN: from defiance to accommodation
WHAT FORMER ASEAN heavyweight leaders Indonesian President Suharto, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed had in common was a passionate belief in the regional grouping and a readiness to defend the Asean identity and values. They did it with valour and stood firm against heavy criticism from non-Asean countries. In short: no kowtowing to external demands without a consensus.
During the first three decades, their unyielding leadership and attitude was the mantra guiding Asean from an obscure regional grouping to an international player. The 13-year Cambodian conflict, for instance, allowed Asean to show its mettle and patience. From 1979-1992, Asean diplomats and representatives roamed the world lobbying for votes at the annual UN deliberations and garnering support for their unwavering efforts to drive out foreign military occupation of Cambodia.
Their joint vision of a united Asean that could resist external pressure and meddling was well-known. At its inception, Asean was perceived as a pawn in the global power plays as part of the broader Cold War. The grouping has continued to show it has a mind of its own - sometimes much to the irritation of their Western allies and friends.
Burma's hard-headed approach throughout the 1990s was the bench mark of such resistance. Asean countered Western pressure not to admit the pariah state as an Asean member because of its horrible human rights violations and political oppression. Both Suharto and Mahathir strongly backed Burma's membership in Asean against growing international opposition. Burma subsequently joined Asean in 1997. They argued that as countries in the region, they were better placed to resolve their problems.
The days of Asean's defiance are gone. New body languages and rhetoric have quickly emerged within the region. Obviously, Asean has benefited by riding piggy-back on rising Asia. Several factors have contributed to these dramatic shifts both outside and inside Asean.
Last year's global economic and financial crisis caused by the West has pushed the role of Asian economies to the forefront in ameliorating the turmoil. The continued growing influence of China and India - both key dialogue partners of Asean - has further strengthened the grouping's international role and position.
Within the regional grouping, the transformation came last December when Asean adopted a charter and transformed itself into a rule-based organisation. Of course, the jury is still out on how effective the organisation can be in years to come as some Asean members have not yet complied with their new obligations and commitments. After 16 years of procrastination, the setting up of the Asean Intergovernment Commission for Human Rights in October indicates the grouping's willingness - in a slow and evolutionary manner - to accept international norms and standards.
At his meeting with Asean leaders two weeks ago in Singapore, US President Barack Obama even endorsed Asean centrality in future attempts to build a new regional architecture. Indeed, Washington's recognition of Asean as a driving force has an overall positive impact on the future US role in Asean and the Asian region as a whole. As a result, a new Asean is emerging that is no longer uptight and defensive.
Watching US-Asean leaders talking about cooperation and coexistence at regional and global levels, one could be optimistic that the grouping has taken a new mode - a willingness for closer cooperation with dialogue partners to resolve common challenges.
Such confidence and trust in Asean has taken more than three decades to evolve. When Asean initiated the dialogue partner system in 1977 it was purely for selfish reasons of augmenting its regional interest through increasing bargaining power, widening marketplace, as well as access to technological know-how and financial assistance.
In the previous two summits in Thailand, Asean as a whole responded and engaged much better with external players. It was more open to new ideas. The members were more willing to listen, as articulated by Prime Minister Abhist Vejjajiva, the Asean chair, to proposals made by Japan and Australia. Unlike past scepticism, Asean is welcoming new approaches that will strengthen its role. In the case of building a regional architecture, Asean is no longer adamantly insisting on the Asean+3 process.
But there is a worrying trend in intra-Asean relations. The Thai-Cambodian dispute, with personalised elements, has already rocked the cradle of Asean's cardinal principle of non-interference and good neighbourliness. Despite the appeal of "maximum restraint" to the conflicting parties and mediation efforts from Asean Secretary General, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, very few Asean members were ready to do so. As Surin put it, the appeal is part of what he described as "effective dynamics" inside Asean as a rule-based organisation.
Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo wrote to him expressing support while Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem has written to Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong calling for restraint.
Asean has a weak spot when it comes to resolving disputes among members. Within the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, Asean has a High Council for such a purpose but none has used it. They prefer international arbitration. Fortunately, no Asean members have gone to war against each other in the past 42 years. For the time being, Thailand and Cambodia have yet to climb down. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was briefed on the situation by Abhisit and Prime Minister Hun Sen in Singapore, has assigned Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to follow up on the development and determine if Indonesia, on behalf of Asean, can have a role. If the current Thai-Cambodian conflict and boiling nationalism continues unchecked and unresolved, it could lead to large-scale arms clashes that could tarnish Asean at the most pivotal time.
In the near future, Asean leaders must also show it is worthwhile for the dialogue partners to increase their engagements with their headquarters through their permanent offices. The US and China have already decided to open them by early next year. Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand and the EU would probably follow suit soon. Other two dozen countries, who already have their ambassadors accredited to Asean, would have to do the same later.
read more “ASEAN: from defiance to accommodation”
During the first three decades, their unyielding leadership and attitude was the mantra guiding Asean from an obscure regional grouping to an international player. The 13-year Cambodian conflict, for instance, allowed Asean to show its mettle and patience. From 1979-1992, Asean diplomats and representatives roamed the world lobbying for votes at the annual UN deliberations and garnering support for their unwavering efforts to drive out foreign military occupation of Cambodia.
Their joint vision of a united Asean that could resist external pressure and meddling was well-known. At its inception, Asean was perceived as a pawn in the global power plays as part of the broader Cold War. The grouping has continued to show it has a mind of its own - sometimes much to the irritation of their Western allies and friends.
Burma's hard-headed approach throughout the 1990s was the bench mark of such resistance. Asean countered Western pressure not to admit the pariah state as an Asean member because of its horrible human rights violations and political oppression. Both Suharto and Mahathir strongly backed Burma's membership in Asean against growing international opposition. Burma subsequently joined Asean in 1997. They argued that as countries in the region, they were better placed to resolve their problems.
The days of Asean's defiance are gone. New body languages and rhetoric have quickly emerged within the region. Obviously, Asean has benefited by riding piggy-back on rising Asia. Several factors have contributed to these dramatic shifts both outside and inside Asean.
Last year's global economic and financial crisis caused by the West has pushed the role of Asian economies to the forefront in ameliorating the turmoil. The continued growing influence of China and India - both key dialogue partners of Asean - has further strengthened the grouping's international role and position.
Within the regional grouping, the transformation came last December when Asean adopted a charter and transformed itself into a rule-based organisation. Of course, the jury is still out on how effective the organisation can be in years to come as some Asean members have not yet complied with their new obligations and commitments. After 16 years of procrastination, the setting up of the Asean Intergovernment Commission for Human Rights in October indicates the grouping's willingness - in a slow and evolutionary manner - to accept international norms and standards.
At his meeting with Asean leaders two weeks ago in Singapore, US President Barack Obama even endorsed Asean centrality in future attempts to build a new regional architecture. Indeed, Washington's recognition of Asean as a driving force has an overall positive impact on the future US role in Asean and the Asian region as a whole. As a result, a new Asean is emerging that is no longer uptight and defensive.
Watching US-Asean leaders talking about cooperation and coexistence at regional and global levels, one could be optimistic that the grouping has taken a new mode - a willingness for closer cooperation with dialogue partners to resolve common challenges.
Such confidence and trust in Asean has taken more than three decades to evolve. When Asean initiated the dialogue partner system in 1977 it was purely for selfish reasons of augmenting its regional interest through increasing bargaining power, widening marketplace, as well as access to technological know-how and financial assistance.
In the previous two summits in Thailand, Asean as a whole responded and engaged much better with external players. It was more open to new ideas. The members were more willing to listen, as articulated by Prime Minister Abhist Vejjajiva, the Asean chair, to proposals made by Japan and Australia. Unlike past scepticism, Asean is welcoming new approaches that will strengthen its role. In the case of building a regional architecture, Asean is no longer adamantly insisting on the Asean+3 process.
But there is a worrying trend in intra-Asean relations. The Thai-Cambodian dispute, with personalised elements, has already rocked the cradle of Asean's cardinal principle of non-interference and good neighbourliness. Despite the appeal of "maximum restraint" to the conflicting parties and mediation efforts from Asean Secretary General, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, very few Asean members were ready to do so. As Surin put it, the appeal is part of what he described as "effective dynamics" inside Asean as a rule-based organisation.
Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo wrote to him expressing support while Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem has written to Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong calling for restraint.
Asean has a weak spot when it comes to resolving disputes among members. Within the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, Asean has a High Council for such a purpose but none has used it. They prefer international arbitration. Fortunately, no Asean members have gone to war against each other in the past 42 years. For the time being, Thailand and Cambodia have yet to climb down. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was briefed on the situation by Abhisit and Prime Minister Hun Sen in Singapore, has assigned Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to follow up on the development and determine if Indonesia, on behalf of Asean, can have a role. If the current Thai-Cambodian conflict and boiling nationalism continues unchecked and unresolved, it could lead to large-scale arms clashes that could tarnish Asean at the most pivotal time.
In the near future, Asean leaders must also show it is worthwhile for the dialogue partners to increase their engagements with their headquarters through their permanent offices. The US and China have already decided to open them by early next year. Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand and the EU would probably follow suit soon. Other two dozen countries, who already have their ambassadors accredited to Asean, would have to do the same later.
Kasit misled the [Thai] nation on MOU with Cambodia
It was quite clear that there is not any clause or any wordings in the MoU that would allow the persons who were behind the original draft an edge in giving advice, which would be of special benefit to the Cambodia side over the Thai side in further negotiations. The next negotiation will be under full control of the new negotiators or the new government which would take control of the negotiation.
MATICHON NEWSPAPER, on November 16, published an article on Dr Kriangsak Kittichaiseri who was one of the members in the Thai team that negotiated the drafting of the Memorandum of Understanding between Thailand and Cambodia on Overlapping Maritime Boundaries.Both countries claim the areas, which are known to have a sizeable deposits of oil and natural gas.
The details of the MoU were also published alongside the article. Having read the article and the MoU, I blamed myself for being so na๏ve and listening to the words of our Minister of Foreign Affairs on this issue.
My misunderstanding started from the nationalistic emotion as a Thai. The appointment of Police Lt-Colonel Thaksin Shinawatra, who was sentenced for wrongdoing in some cases by a Thai court, to be personal adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, was deemed as insulting behaviour by the prime minister of Cambodia towards Thailand and its justice system.
I felt it was an adequate retaliation to protect the nation's dignity when, immediately after the appointment, the Thai government recalled the Thai ambassador. Later on, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kasit Piromya threatened to revoke the said MoU, with Minister Kasit saying that the revocation was necessary because the MoU was negotiated and signed during Thaksin's administration. It allowed Thaksin to know all the inside story and important clauses in this MoU.
Such comprehension would enable Thaksin to give advice to our disadvantage and directly impact the negotiations between Thailand and Cambodia under the framework of the MoU.
This story line was also disclosed by Dr Panithan Wattanayakorn, deputy secretary-general to the prime minister, which made it more believable. As a Thai who do not want to be taken advantage of by the Cambodian who insulted our dignity, I, of course, concurred that the move to revoke the MoU was intended to protect the interest of Thailand.
Later on, several eminent persons appeared and considerately gave warnings to the government on this matter with good rationale, which shook my original beliefs.
In the end, it was the article by Dr. Kriangsak that made the whole story become clear to me and I realised that I was completely taken in and fooled by Minister Kasit's story, which was a hoax.
It was quite clear that there is not any clause or any wordings in the MoU that would allow the persons who were behind the original draft an edge in giving advice, which would be of special benefit to the Cambodia side over the Thai side in further negotiations. The next negotiation will be under full control of the new negotiators or the new government which would take control of the negotiation.
The outcome of the negotiation in the joint development area with regard to who will be responsible for what, which party would be a developer, which job will be contracted out and to whom, and any commercial conditions, including the proportion of revenue sharing, totally depends on the new government. They would control the negotiation without being bound by any conditions mentioned or even thought of by the Thaksin government in the past.
The outcome of the negotiation in the area that was agreed to be split in various zones or blocs, which party would develop which zone and the percentage of revenue sharing also totally depends on the new government which controls the negotiation. No other person could, therefore, presume in advance using their privilege.
The MoU specified that in order to negotiate further, a joint committee on technical issues must be established, comprising both Thai and Cambodian members.
To my knowledge, such a committee has not yet been established and there is not any instruction or policy from the government to start the negotiation on this matter.
If we want to thwart any chance to make use of the oil and gas supply under the sea in the area that would benefit Cambodia, simply refraining from establishing the joint committee and from any further negotiation would be effective. Otherwise, if we are so troubled that Thaksin could give advice advantageous to Cambodia, we can simply avoid by not appointing the joint committee for further negotiation. I do not see any necessity to revoke this MoU by any means.
Countries which have a joint boundary and overlapping maritime area will be inseparable for thousands of years. A conflict that exists today could, one fine day, disappear. An opportunity to develop the natural resources in the overlapping area would still be ready to be exploited for mutual benefit if we do not allow emotion to take control of ourselves and lead to an unnecessary act of revocation.
However, what upset me most in this circumstance was the fact that our Minister of Foreign Affairs gave false information to the public. This time, it is the information related to the relation with foreign countries, which normally the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be especially careful and thoroughly cautious about. When our Minister of Foreign Affairs told an untrue story while our counterpart was aware of the fact, the integrity of the Thai government was at stake, not only in the eyes of our counterpart but also in the eyes of other countries in international arena who may well be aware of the content of this MoU.
I think it is still not too late for the government to change its stance on this issue. Do not be too confident that your proposal to revoke the said MoU will be approved by Parliament. MPs in many parties and even those in the Democrats do think of the national interest as the main objective. I do not want to see the government being changed when this proposal is voted down in the Parliament.
Sam Rainsy's clarification letter to The Phnom Penh Post
The article titled “Sam Rainsy slams VN incursions” in the November 20 edition of the Phnom Penh Post, did not reflect the main point I wanted to stress in my November 19 message to the Cambodian people.
When I said, "Prime Minister Hun Sen is currently playing a dangerous game” affecting Cambodia, I was referring not to his "understating the threat posed by Vietnamese territorial encroachments" as you wrote, but to the fact that he is playing with fire while handling Cambodia’s relations with Thailand.
My message reads, "Mr. Hun Sen is using a classical tactic to divert the Khmer people's attention [from other more serious problems] by exacerbating tensions [with Thailand]."
It concludes, "Cambodia should remain neutral in any internal dispute in any other country. Any spillover from the current tension or unrest in Thailand could be very detrimental to Cambodia, [which could be] set ablaze as past experiences have shown when we unnecessarily and unwisely took side in our neighbours' internal disputes."
read more “Sam Rainsy's clarification letter to The Phnom Penh Post”
When I said, "Prime Minister Hun Sen is currently playing a dangerous game” affecting Cambodia, I was referring not to his "understating the threat posed by Vietnamese territorial encroachments" as you wrote, but to the fact that he is playing with fire while handling Cambodia’s relations with Thailand.
My message reads, "Mr. Hun Sen is using a classical tactic to divert the Khmer people's attention [from other more serious problems] by exacerbating tensions [with Thailand]."
It concludes, "Cambodia should remain neutral in any internal dispute in any other country. Any spillover from the current tension or unrest in Thailand could be very detrimental to Cambodia, [which could be] set ablaze as past experiences have shown when we unnecessarily and unwisely took side in our neighbours' internal disputes."
Life under the Khmer Rouge
Between 1975 and 1979, the Khmer Rouge submitted Cambodia to a totalitarian regime that killed more than a million people.
How did the Khmer Rouge come to power?
In the 1960s, ‘Khmer Rouge’ was the name given to followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (the name given by the communists of Cambodia to the country). Following the military coup of 1970, they formed an alliance of convenience with the ousted prince. They then threw themselves into an insurgency, and, after five years of civil war, succeeded in capturing Phnom Penh and ousting the military.
What was their ideology?
Most of the movement’s leaders, including Pol Pot, studied for a time in France, where they were very influenced by the French Communist Party. But the Asian context – and the Vietnamese and Chinese examples – also contributed to the forging of their own ideological framework. As in Maoism, the Khmer Rouge made farmers their proletariat. They were also opposed to their Vietnamese neighbours, whom they considered arrogant intellectuals.
What kinds of policies were implemented during the Pol Pot regime?
When he came to power, Pol Pot declared it “Year Zero” for the Democratic Republic of Kampuchea. The Khmer Rouge completely isolated the country. Anyone suspected of being an “intellectual” was tortured and most often executed. Even wearing glasses was considered enough to warrant such treatment. This purging of Cambodian society gradually turned into a hunt for anyone suspected of opposition. In terms of economic policies, the Khmer Rouge abolished its currency and private property and went so far as to empty the cities and force the population into labour camps.
How many people were killed under this totalitarian regime?
According to estimates, between one and 2.5 million Cambodians -- out of 8 million -- died under the Khmer Rouge regime. The University of Hawaii performed a statistical calculation of the number of victims of Pol Pot’s regime. According to the study, 2,400,000 people died between 1970 and 1980. This estimate included deaths caused by famine.
How did the reign of the Khmer Rouge end?
In 1978, tensions between Vietnam and Cambodia turned into all-out war. On January 7, 1979 the Vietnamese captured Phnom Penh. The Khmer Rouge was forced to retreat west, where they continued an insurgency against the government until Pol Pot’s death in 1988. “Democratic Kampuchea” held on to its seat at the United Nations General Assembly until 1993.
read more “Life under the Khmer Rouge”
How did the Khmer Rouge come to power?
In the 1960s, ‘Khmer Rouge’ was the name given to followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (the name given by the communists of Cambodia to the country). Following the military coup of 1970, they formed an alliance of convenience with the ousted prince. They then threw themselves into an insurgency, and, after five years of civil war, succeeded in capturing Phnom Penh and ousting the military.
What was their ideology?
Most of the movement’s leaders, including Pol Pot, studied for a time in France, where they were very influenced by the French Communist Party. But the Asian context – and the Vietnamese and Chinese examples – also contributed to the forging of their own ideological framework. As in Maoism, the Khmer Rouge made farmers their proletariat. They were also opposed to their Vietnamese neighbours, whom they considered arrogant intellectuals.
What kinds of policies were implemented during the Pol Pot regime?
When he came to power, Pol Pot declared it “Year Zero” for the Democratic Republic of Kampuchea. The Khmer Rouge completely isolated the country. Anyone suspected of being an “intellectual” was tortured and most often executed. Even wearing glasses was considered enough to warrant such treatment. This purging of Cambodian society gradually turned into a hunt for anyone suspected of opposition. In terms of economic policies, the Khmer Rouge abolished its currency and private property and went so far as to empty the cities and force the population into labour camps.
How many people were killed under this totalitarian regime?
According to estimates, between one and 2.5 million Cambodians -- out of 8 million -- died under the Khmer Rouge regime. The University of Hawaii performed a statistical calculation of the number of victims of Pol Pot’s regime. According to the study, 2,400,000 people died between 1970 and 1980. This estimate included deaths caused by famine.
How did the reign of the Khmer Rouge end?
In 1978, tensions between Vietnam and Cambodia turned into all-out war. On January 7, 1979 the Vietnamese captured Phnom Penh. The Khmer Rouge was forced to retreat west, where they continued an insurgency against the government until Pol Pot’s death in 1988. “Democratic Kampuchea” held on to its seat at the United Nations General Assembly until 1993.
Taiwan to set up trade offices in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia
Taipei, Nov. 24 (CNA) Taiwan is planning to set up trade offices in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, which may signal a breakthrough in the country's bid to participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a ruling Kuomintang legislator said Tuesday.
At least one of the offices will be established by the end of the year, according to Justin Chou, a convener of the Legislative Yuan's Foreign and National Defense Committee.
Chou noted that Taiwan had difficulty setting up trade offices in these three countries in the past mainly because of China's obstruction.
However, as Taiwan's relations with China has improved significantly over the past year, ASEAN members are now more willing to develop economic and trade relations with Taiwan, he said.
This shows that it is not impossible for Taiwan to be included in ASEAN in the future, Chou said.
Also, he said, the signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China will encourage ASEAN members to forge free trade agreements (FTAs) with Taiwan. Singapore is likely to be the first ASEAN member to ink an FTA with Taiwan following the establishment of the ECFA, Chou said.
Economic integration between ASEAN and the East Asian economies of China, Japan and South Korea (ASEAN Ten Plus Three) is scheduled to be achieved in 2012.
For fear of being marginalized, Taiwan has been seeking to take part in the integration process and has put forth the concept of "ASEAN Ten Plus Four."
read more “Taiwan to set up trade offices in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia”
At least one of the offices will be established by the end of the year, according to Justin Chou, a convener of the Legislative Yuan's Foreign and National Defense Committee.
Chou noted that Taiwan had difficulty setting up trade offices in these three countries in the past mainly because of China's obstruction.
However, as Taiwan's relations with China has improved significantly over the past year, ASEAN members are now more willing to develop economic and trade relations with Taiwan, he said.
This shows that it is not impossible for Taiwan to be included in ASEAN in the future, Chou said.
Also, he said, the signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China will encourage ASEAN members to forge free trade agreements (FTAs) with Taiwan. Singapore is likely to be the first ASEAN member to ink an FTA with Taiwan following the establishment of the ECFA, Chou said.
Economic integration between ASEAN and the East Asian economies of China, Japan and South Korea (ASEAN Ten Plus Three) is scheduled to be achieved in 2012.
For fear of being marginalized, Taiwan has been seeking to take part in the integration process and has put forth the concept of "ASEAN Ten Plus Four."
Contrition all a sham, victims say
In this photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Kaing Guek Eav, the former chief of the Khmer Rouge's notorious S-21 prison, now known as Tuol Sleng genocide museum, is seen in the courtroom of the U.N.-backed tribunal, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. Also known as Duch, Kaing Guek Eav is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, murder and torture, and is the first of five defendants scheduled for long-delayed trials by the tribunal. (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia)
Civil party lawyers say Duch has habitually misled tribunal.
JUDGES should not be fooled by the partial confessions and feigned contrition Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, has employed in a bid to downplay the savage crimes he committed as Tuol Sleng prison commandant, civil party lawyers argued Monday during the first round of closing statements in the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s first case.
Four groups of lawyers representing 90 civil parties spent the day attacking claims that have been central to Duch’s defence strategy – that he had no choice but to follow the orders of top Khmer Rouge leaders, for example, and that he did not participate directly in interrogations, torture and executions.
“Your honours must objectively, we say, review the evidence to determine whether or not what has been accepted by the accused amounts to full disclosure and the full truth,” said lawyer Karim Khan.
Kong Pisey, a lawyer for Civil Parties Group 2, told the court that his clients viewed Duch’s repeated professions of remorse as contrived. “His attempts at forging remorse by crying, often around 4pm at the end of the hearing, can be described as crocodile tears. The civil parties felt that the tears were orchestrated and devoid of meaning.”
Lawyers also took issue with the more theatrical performances of Duch and his defence lawyers. Khan highlighted an exchange on September 16 in which international defence lawyer Francois Roux asked Duch whether civil parties could visit him in prison, and whether he would “open the door of your soul” to them. Duch responded that they could, and that he would.
“That kind of answer to that kind of question must be given either little probative value, or at the very least, it must be approached with the utmost caution,” Khan said.
Later, lawyer Philippe Canonne criticised references made by Duch and Roux to “The Death of the Wolf”, a poem by Alfred de Vigny that Duch has said helped him through his time as prison chief. Duch has highlighted, in particular, lines that read: “Shoulder your long and energetic task, / The way that Destiny sees fit to ask, / Then suffer and so die without complaint.”
Addressing Duch directly, Canonne questioned the relevance of the poem to the proceedings.
“We are not here in a trial dealing with elegancy,” he said. “We are not here in a literary discussion. I am speaking to you about the 12,000 people who died in Tuol Sleng.”
Trying ‘to bluff this court’
Khan said the clearest example of Duch’s refusal to come clean during the trial came on June 22, when he described instructions he provided for the torture of Khmer Rouge leader Ney Saran, alias Ya, in 1976.
In a letter dated October 1, 1976, Duch encouraged interrogator Tang Sin Hean, alias Pon, to step up the intensity of Ya’s torture sessions, writing: “Although it may lead to death, comrade is not acting against Angkar’s regulations.”
Duch told the court in June that the message had merely been a ploy to frighten Ya into confessing to crimes committed against the regime.
But Khan contested that assertion.
“This was not a strategy to bluff a detainee,” Khan said. “This is a strategy of the detainee to try to bluff this court.”
Khan also disputed Duch’s claim that to have had little control the operation of Tuol Sleng, calling it inconsistent with the defendant’s own testimony.
He referred to hearings in June, during which Duch described his ability to save artists from execution as well as his establishment of the killing fields at Cheoung Ek.
“He didn’t require consultation for these not-insignificant decisions. He did it under his own volition,” he said. “What happened to this autonomy?
Where did it dissolve? Where did it evaporate when it came to the interrogations, the torture and the killing of so many people?”
Kong Pisey called Duch’s cooperation with the court “neither sincere nor truthful”, highlighting, in particular, his responses to allegations of sexual violence at Tuol Sleng.
Though Duch acknowledged in June that a schoolteacher imprisoned at Tuol Sleng had been raped with a stick, he said he knew of no other such incidents.
Kong Pisey said Duch should be held “criminally liable for at least three rapes” that were mentioned during the hearings.
“The accused had sufficient reason to know that the male interrogators and guards who were deprived of a sexual life would be more likely to exploit the defenceless situation of the women prisoners,” he said.
Reparations
Several lawyers emphasised that their clients were not looking for revenge, and they elaborated on the types of reparations they were seeking as well as how they should be financed.
Kong Pisey said Duch’s self-described indigence was was no excuse for him to “sit back and relax”, and suggested that he instead spend his years in prison writing his autobiography, the proceeds of which could go towards reparations.
The four groups of civil party lawyers submitted a joint filing in September requesting, among other things, free medical care and the building of memorial pagodas as part of a reparations award. The Trial Chamber is likely to rule on reparations when it issues a verdict, which is expected early next year.
Family on mend after a close call
Chamroeun Theam has pleaded not guilty to operating under the influence and other charges. Police say he plowed his car into a mother and two children as they crossed a Lowell street. (David H. Brow/ Lowell Sun via Associated Press)Kin say DUI suspect survived Cambodia terror
LOWELL - A bruised and frightened 4-year-old boy sought comfort yesterday in the arms of his grandmother, who held him close 12 hours after an alleged drunk driver plowed into a double stroller carrying him and his younger sister as they were being pushed in a crosswalk.
The boy, Jonathan Dickie Jr., suffered the most serious injuries when his family was hit by the car, but he has been released from the hospital, as were his mother and sister.
“He could have been dead,’’ said the grandmother, Carol Dickie, as she held him outside her house in Lowell. “I am so glad that the Lord was watching over him. I believe someone up there pushed him out of the way and made sure nothing happened to him, because he could have been dead.’’
The mother, Nina Wilkin, 25, was crossing Fletcher Street about 5:30 p.m. on Sunday with Jonathan and his sister, Katelyn, 2. Two police officers, who were stopped at a red light, saw a car being driven by Chamroeun Theam plow into the family, authorities said.
The boy was knocked out of his stroller, and his mother and sister were knocked to the ground. All three were rushed to Lowell General Hospital.
With the help of a Cambodian interpreter, Theam pleaded not guilty to operating under the influence, second offense operating while under the influence, causing serious injury, and other charges. Judge Neil J. Walker set bail at $5,000 cash.
With tears in their eyes, two of Theam’s daughters and a daughter-in-law watched the court proceeding. Afterward, they spoke with reporters and said Theam has refused entreaties to get help for depression.
They said he grew up in Cambodia, survived the terror years of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, and remains haunted by that experience and often has nightmares.
“He needs help,’’ said Sochann Chea, his daughter-in-law. “He doesn’t want it.’’
Chea said the driver’s extended family is concerned for the health of the mother and her two children. Chea said Theam’s family - he has three sons and two daughters - does not want to see him driving any time soon.
“We don’t want anything like this to happen again,’’ Chea said. “We feel very bad, and we hope the family is OK.’’
In a report filed in court, Lowell police officers who witnessed the crash said Wilkin was in the crosswalk and was hurrying to get across Fletcher Street when the light turned green.
Although the family was still in the intersection, police said in the report, Theam accelerated and drove his Dodge Neon directly into them without slowing.
Police said the car struck Nina Wilkin, “throwing her into the air over the windshield, hitting the ground on the other side of the street.’’
The car struck the double stroller, police said, causing the boy to be “ejected out of the stroller and onto the Neon, bouncing off the Neon and onto the pavement.’’
Theam’s blood alcohol level was 0.26 according to the police report. The legal limit is 0.08. Police said he failed other sobriety tests. Citing him as an immediate threat to public safety, the Registry of Motor Vehicles revoked his license following the crash.
“He appeared to be completely unconcerned about what was going on around him,’’ Officer Neils Henry Christiansen wrote of Theam. “He sat in his motor vehicle talking to himself and yelling at no one in particular.’’
Theam was convicted of drunken driving in 1994 in Wisconsin, according to Lowell police. Details of that case were not immediately available.
He also has had two crashes and has been cited at least five times for driving violations since the 1994 drunken driving case, according to the Registry. He is due back in court Dec. 18.
Cambodia's Duch 'must be jailed'
Prosecutors in a UN-backed genocide trial in Cambodia have called for a lengthy jail term for a former Khmer Rouge official.
The defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, was a senior prison chief during the Khmer Rouge's brutal rule over Cambodia between 1975 and 1979.
He is accused of overseeing the torture and execution of about 16,000 men, women and children at the regime's the S-21 prison, housed in a former high school in the capital, Phnom Penh.
With the nine-month trial entering its final stages on Tuesday, prosecutors have begun wrapping up their case, labelling Duch "the personification of ruthless efficiency" and the "perfect candidate" to run the regime's main torture centre.
Duch has been charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder, and faces a maximum term of life in prison.
The tribunal does not have the power to impose the death penalty.
A verdict is expected early next year.
"It does not matter that others may not admit their guilt or fail to cooperate with authorities," prosecutor Chea Leang told the court.
"It is simply inconceivable that anything other than a lengthy sentence of imprisonment should be imposed on him."
'Unique role'
She said Duch held a unique, central role in the Khmer Rouge security apparatus and called on judges to reject defence suggestions he was a scapegoat for a regime which had a network of some 200 prisons across Cambodia.
Up to two million people died during the Khmer Rouge's four years in power, wiping out nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population through starvation, overwork and execution.
Since proceedings began in February, Duch, 67, has repeatedly asked for forgiveness, and also argued that he was not a leading figure in the regime saying that he acted out of fear for his own safety and that of his family.
Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in jungles of Cambodia.
The UN-backed court was established in 2006 to try leading members of the regime on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Duch case is its first trial.
But the tribunal has faced controversy over allegations of interference by the government and claims that Cambodian staff paid bribes for their positions at the court.
The joint trial of four other more senior Khmer Rouge leaders is expected to start in sometime after the verdict in the Duch case is handed down in the new year.
The court is also investigating whether to press charges against five other former Khmer Rouge cadres amid a dispute between international and Cambodian co-prosecutors over whether to pursue more suspects.
read more “Cambodia's Duch 'must be jailed'”
The defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, was a senior prison chief during the Khmer Rouge's brutal rule over Cambodia between 1975 and 1979.
He is accused of overseeing the torture and execution of about 16,000 men, women and children at the regime's the S-21 prison, housed in a former high school in the capital, Phnom Penh.
With the nine-month trial entering its final stages on Tuesday, prosecutors have begun wrapping up their case, labelling Duch "the personification of ruthless efficiency" and the "perfect candidate" to run the regime's main torture centre.
Duch has been charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder, and faces a maximum term of life in prison.
The tribunal does not have the power to impose the death penalty.
A verdict is expected early next year.
"It does not matter that others may not admit their guilt or fail to cooperate with authorities," prosecutor Chea Leang told the court.
"It is simply inconceivable that anything other than a lengthy sentence of imprisonment should be imposed on him."
'Unique role'
She said Duch held a unique, central role in the Khmer Rouge security apparatus and called on judges to reject defence suggestions he was a scapegoat for a regime which had a network of some 200 prisons across Cambodia.
Up to two million people died during the Khmer Rouge's four years in power, wiping out nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population through starvation, overwork and execution.
Since proceedings began in February, Duch, 67, has repeatedly asked for forgiveness, and also argued that he was not a leading figure in the regime saying that he acted out of fear for his own safety and that of his family.
Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in jungles of Cambodia.
The UN-backed court was established in 2006 to try leading members of the regime on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Duch case is its first trial.
But the tribunal has faced controversy over allegations of interference by the government and claims that Cambodian staff paid bribes for their positions at the court.
The joint trial of four other more senior Khmer Rouge leaders is expected to start in sometime after the verdict in the Duch case is handed down in the new year.
The court is also investigating whether to press charges against five other former Khmer Rouge cadres amid a dispute between international and Cambodian co-prosecutors over whether to pursue more suspects.
Bhutan steps lightly towards global village
Monday 23 November 2009
THOUGH sandwiched between emerging superpowers China and India, Bhutan is a country that has proceeded with extreme caution on the path to globalisation. Television and the Internet did not arrive until 1999, and traffic lights in the capital were removed after the public deemed them a nuisance. Tourism is limited to high-end tour groups in which individials pay upwards of US$200 per day, ensuring that the backpacking hordes that descend annually upon neighbouring India and Nepal do not trample Bhutan as well.
Most notably, Bhutan eschews gross domestic product (GDP) as an indicator of national well-being, subscribing instead to GNH – gross national happiness – a concept first articulated by King Jigme Singye Wangchuk in 1972.
It may have seemed peculiar, then, when a six-member delegation from Bhutan, a nation so careful about controlling international influences, arrived in Cambodia last week to meet with government officials and business leaders to learn about the Kingdom’s experience as a member of the World Trade Organisation. After 11 years as a WTO observer, however, the hermetic Himalayan nation is now hoping to secure full membership for itself and extend its international ties.
Sonam Wangchuk, a delegation member with the Bhutanese trade department (no relation to the royal family), said that although Bhutan is mindful of preserving its traditions, ascension to the WTO is a necessary and inevitable part of sustaining the nation’s well-being in the long term.
“For Bhutan, whether you join or not, you’re already impacted internationally with globalisation. You’re dealing with the international community,” he said.
Wangchuk explained that Bhutan hopes the WTO framework will provide the predictability desired by foreign investors to a country whose private sector has been described by observers as disorganised. It could also spur the sector’s development, an essential element of poverty alleviation for Bhutan, said Tom Maxwell, a professor at Australia’s University of New England and programme director of the school’s Bhutan Project.
Though Bhutan performs very well against other UN-termed least-developed countries (LDCs) in measures such as political transparency, public health and education, youth unemployment and rural poverty are pressing concerns.
“Urban drift is already occurring as students get educated, but the private sector has not taken up the challenge,” Maxwell said.
Learning from Cambodia
After meeting with officials from the government and the UN Development Programme on Wednesday and Thursday, the Bhutanese group took Friday to tour Cambodian small businesses that might serve as models for prospective Bhutanese exporters.
First up was the Cambodia Organic Agriculture Association (COrAA), where the delegation discussed plans to expand Bhutanese agriculture into the organic export market.
“Seventy percent of our people are still in subsistence farming, but we’ve made a lot of progress in cash crops,” said Sonam Wangdi, director general of Bhutan’s department of trade, citing his country’s cultivation of apples, oranges and potatoes.
“You’re small, you’re specialty – I’d target the high-end consumers,” Andrew McNaughton, the CEO of Mekong Rain Natural Foods, advised the group.
From COrAA it was on to the offices of Cambodian Craft Cooperation (CCC), which manages exports of silk and handicrafts. There, CCC executive director Seung Kimyonn discussed the challenges of ensuring quality control among small-scale producers and establishing reliable supply lines to developed world markets.
Looking ahead
Sonam Wangchuk praised Cambodia’s trade development, saying the government is “really gearing up” for an increase in and diversification of exports.
In Bhutan, the delivery of hydropower to India is the main source of export revenue. Although there is potential now for growth in agriculture and handicrafts, Wangchuk said that in the future, he hoped to see Bhutan develop an information service sector on the model of India, the destination for many outsourced Western IT jobs in recent years.
“That is a new phenomenon, but we feel like we have the advantage in that area because firstly our education system, the medium of instruction is English, and then in the West, when the West is sleeping we are awake, so the business can continue 24 hours,” he said.
Though Bhutan’s measured approach to globalisation and its reliance on gross national happiness have been oft-praised by Western commentators and academics, the country is not exempt from the problems of modernity. A refugee crisis that displaced tens of thousands of ethnic Nepalis in Bhutan during the early 1990s remains unresolved, and recent reports indicate that crime and drug use are on the rise.
Wangchuk said, however, that Bhutan recognises that resisting the tide of globalisation is an impossible endeavour.
“We have always been following, we call it our middle path,” he said. “Not too extreme – we are not saying development is not good, globalisation is not good – no. This is something which happens and which will happen. You just have to move along with that, but then you try to manage it in a way that is comfortable to you.”
FACTBOX: Khmer Rouge casts lingering shadow over Cambodia
(Reuters) - Closing arguments began on Monday in the trial of chief Khmer Rouge interrogator Duch, the first senior Pol Pot cadre to face a U.N.-backed "Killing Fields" tribunal in Cambodia.
Here are some facts about the Khmer Rouge and how Cambodia is dealing with its legacy:
THE KILLING FIELDS
- Pol Pot's ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge guerrillas launched a bloody agrarian revolution in 1975, five years after King Norodom Sihanouk was overthrown in a right-wing coup.
- An estimated 1.7 million people -- 21 percent of the population -- were executed or died of disease, starvation or overwork over the next four years in rural labor camps.
THE FALL OF THE KHMER ROUGE
- Vietnamese troops invaded in late 1978 and installed a communist government made up mostly of former Khmer Rouge cadres, including current Prime Minister Hun Sen. Hanoi withdrew in 1989.
- Fighting continued between the government and Khmer Rouge remnants between 1979 and 1991. Millions of Cambodians remained in refugee camps during the unrest.
SLOW ROAD TO JUSTICE
- A 1991 U.N.-brokered peace pact led to elections in 1993 and the restoration of Sihanouk as a constitutional monarch.
- In August 1999, two years after Cambodia asked the United Nations and the international community to help set up a Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal, the government said it wanted to maintain overall control of the court.
- The plan languished for years. Draft laws flew back and forth between Cambodia and the United Nations, and the tribunal's legitimacy was questioned in Cambodia.
CRUNCH TIME
- The United Nations gave the go-ahead for a $56.3 million, three-year trial in April 2005, but officials disagreed over the legalities of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the joint tribunal is known.
They finally agreed on the basic rules of the court in June 2007 and the first full trial, that of Duch, began in February 2009.
ON TRIAL:
- Five senior Khmer Rouge cadres have been arrested and charged variously with crimes against humanity and war crimes.
They are ex-president Khieu Samphan, former foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife Khieu Thirith, "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, and Duch, who ran Phnom Penh's "S-21" torture and interrogation center.
- Pol Pot, architect of the Khmer Rouge's "Year Zero" peasant revolution, was captured in 1997 and died in April 1998. The one-legged military chief Ta Mok died in 2006.
LIVING LEGACY:
- Thirty years after the regime fell, more than 20,000 ex-Khmer Rouge soldiers and workers are said to live freely in the country. - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen blasted the tribunal after an international co-prosecutor recommended five more suspects be investigated. Hun Sen said arresting more suspects could spark a civil war.
- While there is no evidence linking him to any atrocities, his government includes many former cadres.
read more “FACTBOX: Khmer Rouge casts lingering shadow over Cambodia”
Here are some facts about the Khmer Rouge and how Cambodia is dealing with its legacy:
THE KILLING FIELDS
- Pol Pot's ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge guerrillas launched a bloody agrarian revolution in 1975, five years after King Norodom Sihanouk was overthrown in a right-wing coup.
- An estimated 1.7 million people -- 21 percent of the population -- were executed or died of disease, starvation or overwork over the next four years in rural labor camps.
THE FALL OF THE KHMER ROUGE
- Vietnamese troops invaded in late 1978 and installed a communist government made up mostly of former Khmer Rouge cadres, including current Prime Minister Hun Sen. Hanoi withdrew in 1989.
- Fighting continued between the government and Khmer Rouge remnants between 1979 and 1991. Millions of Cambodians remained in refugee camps during the unrest.
SLOW ROAD TO JUSTICE
- A 1991 U.N.-brokered peace pact led to elections in 1993 and the restoration of Sihanouk as a constitutional monarch.
- In August 1999, two years after Cambodia asked the United Nations and the international community to help set up a Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal, the government said it wanted to maintain overall control of the court.
- The plan languished for years. Draft laws flew back and forth between Cambodia and the United Nations, and the tribunal's legitimacy was questioned in Cambodia.
CRUNCH TIME
- The United Nations gave the go-ahead for a $56.3 million, three-year trial in April 2005, but officials disagreed over the legalities of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the joint tribunal is known.
They finally agreed on the basic rules of the court in June 2007 and the first full trial, that of Duch, began in February 2009.
ON TRIAL:
- Five senior Khmer Rouge cadres have been arrested and charged variously with crimes against humanity and war crimes.
They are ex-president Khieu Samphan, former foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife Khieu Thirith, "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, and Duch, who ran Phnom Penh's "S-21" torture and interrogation center.
- Pol Pot, architect of the Khmer Rouge's "Year Zero" peasant revolution, was captured in 1997 and died in April 1998. The one-legged military chief Ta Mok died in 2006.
LIVING LEGACY:
- Thirty years after the regime fell, more than 20,000 ex-Khmer Rouge soldiers and workers are said to live freely in the country. - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen blasted the tribunal after an international co-prosecutor recommended five more suspects be investigated. Hun Sen said arresting more suspects could spark a civil war.
- While there is no evidence linking him to any atrocities, his government includes many former cadres.
Cambodia denies premier's daughter taking stake in air traffic firm
Phnom Penh - Cambodia rejected Monday a Thai media claim that the daughter of Prime Minister Hun Sen is to take a stake in a Thai firm at the centre of a spying row. A cabinet statement said the government's management of Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS), a Thai-owned air traffic control firm, is temporary.
However, the statement did not indicate how long the government's hold over CATS would last.
"The spokesman wishes to stress, once again, that the Royal Government of Cambodia appointed its officials to temporarily supervise and manage the company, only to protect the national security and safety for Cambodian leaders," it said.
A Thai employee of CATS was arrested November 12 for allegedly leaking the flight details of Thailand's fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his recent visit to Cambodia.
Thaksin was in Cambodia in his capacity as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government and as a personal adviser to Hun Sen.
The two appointments and Thaksin's visit sparked a diplomatic row that plunged relations between the neighbouring countries to their lowest level in years, as each government recalled its ambassador.
read more “Cambodia denies premier's daughter taking stake in air traffic firm”
However, the statement did not indicate how long the government's hold over CATS would last.
"The spokesman wishes to stress, once again, that the Royal Government of Cambodia appointed its officials to temporarily supervise and manage the company, only to protect the national security and safety for Cambodian leaders," it said.
A Thai employee of CATS was arrested November 12 for allegedly leaking the flight details of Thailand's fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his recent visit to Cambodia.
Thaksin was in Cambodia in his capacity as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government and as a personal adviser to Hun Sen.
The two appointments and Thaksin's visit sparked a diplomatic row that plunged relations between the neighbouring countries to their lowest level in years, as each government recalled its ambassador.
Alleged Thai spy files bail request in Cambodia: lawyer
PHNOM PENH — The lawyer for a Thai national held on charges of spying on fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra said he filed a bail request to a Cambodian court Monday.
Siwarak Chothipong, 31, an employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, was arrested on charges of supplying details of Thaksin's flight schedule to his country's embassy when the Thai tycoon visited Phnom Penh earlier this month.
His arrest deepened a diplomatic crisis between the neighbouring countries over Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser and its refusal to extradite the ousted prime minister to Bangkok.
"I filed the bail request with the court this morning, and we assured the court that Siwarak will not return to Thailand before his trial," his Cambodian attorney Kao Soupha said.
The lawyer said Siwarak had confessed to court officials that he leaked information about Thaksin's flight to a Thai diplomat.
"Siwarak said he reported the information because the Thai diplomat asked him for it," Kao Soupha said.
Siwarak informed the Thai official after Thaksin's private jet landed, and had not known the ex-premier was in the plane, he added.
But the lawyer told AFP that his client said the information was not secret and not stolen.
Cambodia expelled the first secretary of Thailand's embassy in Phnom Penh after alleging that Siwarak had passed information to the diplomat. Thailand reciprocated hours later.
Both countries earlier this month withdrew their respective ambassadors in the dispute over Thaksin's appointment.
All Thai air traffic control staff were last week suspended from the Thai-owned civil aviation company, which oversees Cambodian air space, after a Cambodian government official was appointed temporary caretaker of the firm.
Thaksin was toppled in a coup in 2006 and is living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, but he has stirred up protests in his homeland against the current Thai government over the past year.
Angered by his presence in Cambodia, Thailand put all talks and cooperation programmes with Cambodia on hold and tore up an oil and gas exploration deal signed during Thaksin's time in power.
Tensions were already high between the two countries following a series of deadly military clashes over disputed territory near an 11th century temple on their shared border.
read more “Alleged Thai spy files bail request in Cambodia: lawyer”
Siwarak Chothipong, 31, an employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, was arrested on charges of supplying details of Thaksin's flight schedule to his country's embassy when the Thai tycoon visited Phnom Penh earlier this month.
His arrest deepened a diplomatic crisis between the neighbouring countries over Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser and its refusal to extradite the ousted prime minister to Bangkok.
"I filed the bail request with the court this morning, and we assured the court that Siwarak will not return to Thailand before his trial," his Cambodian attorney Kao Soupha said.
The lawyer said Siwarak had confessed to court officials that he leaked information about Thaksin's flight to a Thai diplomat.
"Siwarak said he reported the information because the Thai diplomat asked him for it," Kao Soupha said.
Siwarak informed the Thai official after Thaksin's private jet landed, and had not known the ex-premier was in the plane, he added.
But the lawyer told AFP that his client said the information was not secret and not stolen.
Cambodia expelled the first secretary of Thailand's embassy in Phnom Penh after alleging that Siwarak had passed information to the diplomat. Thailand reciprocated hours later.
Both countries earlier this month withdrew their respective ambassadors in the dispute over Thaksin's appointment.
All Thai air traffic control staff were last week suspended from the Thai-owned civil aviation company, which oversees Cambodian air space, after a Cambodian government official was appointed temporary caretaker of the firm.
Thaksin was toppled in a coup in 2006 and is living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, but he has stirred up protests in his homeland against the current Thai government over the past year.
Angered by his presence in Cambodia, Thailand put all talks and cooperation programmes with Cambodia on hold and tore up an oil and gas exploration deal signed during Thaksin's time in power.
Tensions were already high between the two countries following a series of deadly military clashes over disputed territory near an 11th century temple on their shared border.
Thailand denies access to Cambodian waters closed
Thai government on Monday said Cambodia has not blocked the entry of Thai fishing boats into its territorial waters, as earlier claimed by opposition Puea Thai Party chairman Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh.
Gen Chavalit, a former Thai premier, earlier said about one thousand of Thai trawlers and fishing boats were not allowed to enter the Cambodian waters to make their living after the Cambodian government ordered the closure of its territorial waters.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Monday denied Gen Chavalit's remarks, saying that the matter is untrue as concerned authorities has not verified that the news is true.
Panitan Wattanaykorn, acting government spokesman said he has verified the matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) and the Royal Thai Navy and has been reaffirmed that the waters were not closed as reported.
He reasoned that the Thai trawlers cannot enter Cambodian waters because their licences had expired and it will take time to renew the licence as the governor of Cambodia's Kong Island has just been changed.
"The prime minister has instructed concerned agencies to coordinate and facilitate the Thai fishing boats," said Mr Panitan. "I reaffirmed that the blocking of Thai trawlers into Cambodian waters has nothing to do with recent diplomatic spat of the two kingdoms as Thai boats with licences are still allowed to enter the areas."
Mr Panitan added that relations between Thailand and Cambodia have gradually improved. Indicating that Thailand’s assistant to the justice minister met with his Cambodian counterpart and received a warm welcome from the Cambodian deputy prime minister.
The spokesman, however, declined to comment on the latest news report that a daughter of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen planned to hold shares in Thai-owned Cambodia Traffic Air Services (CATS) after the Cambodian government temporarily took over management of the firm.
Dr Panitan said only that he was aware of the story from news reports, but that the Thai government has a clear stance not to comment on Cambodia's domestic affairs and has reiterated the stance with all spokespersons of the Thai ministries.
Diplomatic row between Thailand and Cambodia flared up when the Cambodian government appointed fugitive Thai former premier Thaksin Shinwatra as its economic adviser and personal adviser to Mr Hun Sen, while rejecting Thailand's extradition request regarding Mr Thaksin.
The ambassadors of the two countries were recalled, while Thailand terminated the joint memorandum of understanding (MoU) on maritime affairs which included shared access to undersea mineral resources.
Cambodia then arrested a Thai engineer working at CATS on spy charges after he was found releasing Mr Thaksin’s flight details and expelled the Thai first secretary to Phnom Penh.
read more “Thailand denies access to Cambodian waters closed”
Gen Chavalit, a former Thai premier, earlier said about one thousand of Thai trawlers and fishing boats were not allowed to enter the Cambodian waters to make their living after the Cambodian government ordered the closure of its territorial waters.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Monday denied Gen Chavalit's remarks, saying that the matter is untrue as concerned authorities has not verified that the news is true.
Panitan Wattanaykorn, acting government spokesman said he has verified the matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) and the Royal Thai Navy and has been reaffirmed that the waters were not closed as reported.
He reasoned that the Thai trawlers cannot enter Cambodian waters because their licences had expired and it will take time to renew the licence as the governor of Cambodia's Kong Island has just been changed.
"The prime minister has instructed concerned agencies to coordinate and facilitate the Thai fishing boats," said Mr Panitan. "I reaffirmed that the blocking of Thai trawlers into Cambodian waters has nothing to do with recent diplomatic spat of the two kingdoms as Thai boats with licences are still allowed to enter the areas."
Mr Panitan added that relations between Thailand and Cambodia have gradually improved. Indicating that Thailand’s assistant to the justice minister met with his Cambodian counterpart and received a warm welcome from the Cambodian deputy prime minister.
The spokesman, however, declined to comment on the latest news report that a daughter of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen planned to hold shares in Thai-owned Cambodia Traffic Air Services (CATS) after the Cambodian government temporarily took over management of the firm.
Dr Panitan said only that he was aware of the story from news reports, but that the Thai government has a clear stance not to comment on Cambodia's domestic affairs and has reiterated the stance with all spokespersons of the Thai ministries.
Diplomatic row between Thailand and Cambodia flared up when the Cambodian government appointed fugitive Thai former premier Thaksin Shinwatra as its economic adviser and personal adviser to Mr Hun Sen, while rejecting Thailand's extradition request regarding Mr Thaksin.
The ambassadors of the two countries were recalled, while Thailand terminated the joint memorandum of understanding (MoU) on maritime affairs which included shared access to undersea mineral resources.
Cambodia then arrested a Thai engineer working at CATS on spy charges after he was found releasing Mr Thaksin’s flight details and expelled the Thai first secretary to Phnom Penh.
No Farmland Lost to Vietnamese: Band of Lying Comrades
Click on the image above to zoom inNo Farmland Lost to Vietnamese: Ruling Party
Senior ruling party leaders have officially denied accusations by the opposition that Cambodian farmers have lost land to Vietnamese encroachment.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is facing criminal charges for allegedly inciting villagers to tear up border demarcation posts they said were a sign of encroachment in Svay Rieng province.
“There are no farmers who have lost their rice fields,” the leading members of the Cambodian People’s Party, including Prime Minister Hun Sen, said in a Nov. 16 statement to former king Norodom Sihanouk, who requested an inquiry earlier this month. “The combined [border] technical team is working to demarcate the border poles, but have not demarcated both sides with pillars yet, and neither side has banned their farmers from farming their rice fields.”
Sam Rainsy, who is abroad, could not be reached for comment Monday. He had his parliamentary immunity suspended by the National Assembly Nov. 16, following charges by Svay Rieng provincial authorities alleging incitement and the destruction of the boundary poles, in Chantrea district, in October.
However, Yim Sovann, a spokesman for the Sam Rainsy Party, said in a statement the party leader had told the former king the people were “suffering” and had lost their rice fields at border marker No. 185.
Neither side was allowing the other to lose soil, the statement said, adding that both sides had committed to ending land demarcation by the end of 2012.
“If we want to know the facts, we must help the victims meet the king or retired king to speak the facts,” Yim Sovann said.
The CPP statement was “not true,” he said.
Sam Rainsy wrote the retired king on Nov. 7, claiming villagers had lost dozens of hectares of rice fields to border encroachment and that some of them had pulled the border posts in what they saw as an injustice.
Film Star Jackie Chan on Arts, Culture, Peace
When film star and martial artist Jackie Chan visited Cambodia earlier this month, he brought a simple message: arts and culture are pathways to peace.
Chan spoke to 600 students and others at the University of Cambodia, focusing on a message of world peace, reminding participants that the world is a village, and that its residents should love one another despite race, complexion and social status.
“He encouraged the younger generation to build a culture of peace,” said Kao Kim Hourn, founder of the University of Cambodia, which conferred an honorary doctoral degree in humanities to Chan.
Chan, a celebrity who had his start in Chinese films after a childhood with little education, has become a role model for the young, sponsoring educational institutes and serving as a goodwill ambassador for Unicef and UNAIDS.
Speaking as part of the Asean “Bridges” program, Chan told students that the Earth is a tiny disc when viewed from the moon, a reminder of how small the place is.
“When he was young, he asked himself, as a human being who lives on Planet Earth, before he passed away, what could he leave for the younger generation,” said Eung Kim Muyly, a freshmen of international relations at the University of Cambodia. “We can take those words under consideration, and we will feel that we also want to do something proper for our Planet Earth and leave something valuable for our planet, as he is doing now.”
Asked about the ongoing row between Cambodian and Thailand, Chan told participants it was a matter to be settled among political leaders.
“If we know well the definition of peace, our people wouldn’t have had demonstrations to cause confrontations among both countries,” said Ky Vannaroath, a sophomore of computer science at the university. “If a person loves peace, if 100 people love peace, if everyone loves peace, then there’s no conflict. After I listened to him, I felt I must study hard. He talked about being broke when he was a student, but I have an opportunity and I therefore must study hard for my future as well as for the future of my country."
read more “Film Star Jackie Chan on Arts, Culture, Peace”
Chan spoke to 600 students and others at the University of Cambodia, focusing on a message of world peace, reminding participants that the world is a village, and that its residents should love one another despite race, complexion and social status.
“He encouraged the younger generation to build a culture of peace,” said Kao Kim Hourn, founder of the University of Cambodia, which conferred an honorary doctoral degree in humanities to Chan.
Chan, a celebrity who had his start in Chinese films after a childhood with little education, has become a role model for the young, sponsoring educational institutes and serving as a goodwill ambassador for Unicef and UNAIDS.
Speaking as part of the Asean “Bridges” program, Chan told students that the Earth is a tiny disc when viewed from the moon, a reminder of how small the place is.
“When he was young, he asked himself, as a human being who lives on Planet Earth, before he passed away, what could he leave for the younger generation,” said Eung Kim Muyly, a freshmen of international relations at the University of Cambodia. “We can take those words under consideration, and we will feel that we also want to do something proper for our Planet Earth and leave something valuable for our planet, as he is doing now.”
Asked about the ongoing row between Cambodian and Thailand, Chan told participants it was a matter to be settled among political leaders.
“If we know well the definition of peace, our people wouldn’t have had demonstrations to cause confrontations among both countries,” said Ky Vannaroath, a sophomore of computer science at the university. “If a person loves peace, if 100 people love peace, if everyone loves peace, then there’s no conflict. After I listened to him, I felt I must study hard. He talked about being broke when he was a student, but I have an opportunity and I therefore must study hard for my future as well as for the future of my country."
Nobel Laureate Inspires Cambodian Students
While animals may kill each other for food, humans are the only creatures to do so out of cruelty, Nobel laureate Aaron Ciechanover told an assembly of Cambodians earlier this month.
Ciechanover, who won the Noble Prize for chemistry in 2004, reminded 400 participants at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia that greed could drive human cruelty, something not found in other parts of the natural world.
Ciechanover was speaking as part of an Asean “Bridges” program organized by the International Peace Foundation, which is based in Vienna, Austria.
Ciechanover’s Nobel Prize came from the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation, a mechanism by which the cells of most living organisms cull unwanted proteins. He shared the prize with Avram Hershko and Irwin Rose and is seeking the cure for cancer.
Kem Oeun, deputy director-general for the Ministry of Education, who participated in the discussion, said the talk was a reminder that people must unite to build peace, but they must first know themselves.
“We are crueler than such animals as tigers, which kill other animals for food,” he said. “We kill each other for self gain.”
Ciechanover is a distinguished research professor at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa, where he was born. He received his doctorate in medicine in 1981 from the institute.
Om Romny, directory of the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, told VOA Khmer the institute was honored to have the laureate, whose talk was a rare opportunity for professors, scientists, students and other participants.
“It is crucial that we exchange our knowledge,” he said. “Particularly, we have learned from him because he is a Nobel laureate. So, we’ve learned from him about the way to conduct research, starting from where to where. That’s what we got from him.”
Someth Paradis, a professor at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, told VOA Khmer that the lecture was useful for students, professors, and researchers who participated.
“Our students were really interested in Ciechanover’s lecture, which was very encouraging and a driving force for our students,” he said. “I observed that they had pleasant facial expressions while listening to his lecture. They looked more determined in their studies and future research. I think our students want to attach themselves to Ciechanover’s research and wish to win the Nobel Prize, as he did.”
Phat Chan Vorleak, a senior studying food chemistry at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, said Ciechanover was a role model for her.
“His words encourage me as a student,” she said. “I feel we can do anything when we have a strong will, desire and determination. What I was interested in most is that he is from a small country, and he has tried very hard to study, and was able to continue his studies in the US, but he never gave up on his country. He brought what he studied back to help develop his country.”
read more “Nobel Laureate Inspires Cambodian Students”
Ciechanover, who won the Noble Prize for chemistry in 2004, reminded 400 participants at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia that greed could drive human cruelty, something not found in other parts of the natural world.
Ciechanover was speaking as part of an Asean “Bridges” program organized by the International Peace Foundation, which is based in Vienna, Austria.
Ciechanover’s Nobel Prize came from the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation, a mechanism by which the cells of most living organisms cull unwanted proteins. He shared the prize with Avram Hershko and Irwin Rose and is seeking the cure for cancer.
Kem Oeun, deputy director-general for the Ministry of Education, who participated in the discussion, said the talk was a reminder that people must unite to build peace, but they must first know themselves.
“We are crueler than such animals as tigers, which kill other animals for food,” he said. “We kill each other for self gain.”
Ciechanover is a distinguished research professor at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa, where he was born. He received his doctorate in medicine in 1981 from the institute.
Om Romny, directory of the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, told VOA Khmer the institute was honored to have the laureate, whose talk was a rare opportunity for professors, scientists, students and other participants.
“It is crucial that we exchange our knowledge,” he said. “Particularly, we have learned from him because he is a Nobel laureate. So, we’ve learned from him about the way to conduct research, starting from where to where. That’s what we got from him.”
Someth Paradis, a professor at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, told VOA Khmer that the lecture was useful for students, professors, and researchers who participated.
“Our students were really interested in Ciechanover’s lecture, which was very encouraging and a driving force for our students,” he said. “I observed that they had pleasant facial expressions while listening to his lecture. They looked more determined in their studies and future research. I think our students want to attach themselves to Ciechanover’s research and wish to win the Nobel Prize, as he did.”
Phat Chan Vorleak, a senior studying food chemistry at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, said Ciechanover was a role model for her.
“His words encourage me as a student,” she said. “I feel we can do anything when we have a strong will, desire and determination. What I was interested in most is that he is from a small country, and he has tried very hard to study, and was able to continue his studies in the US, but he never gave up on his country. He brought what he studied back to help develop his country.”
Victims Demand Reparation in Duch Case
Civil parties in the trial of Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch insisted on reparation for victims, as final arguments in the case got underway Monday.
Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, has admitted responsibility for the deaths of more than 12,000 people under his administration of Tuol Sleng prison, in the first trial of the UN-backed court.
Four lawyers for civil party teams addressed the court Monday, laying serious responsibility on Duch for atrocities committed against 12,380 prisoners under his control at the prison, known as S-21.
“You forgot the humanity of men and women and of those who were detained in Tuol Sleng,” said Martin Jacquin, civil party lawyer from Group 3.
Duch, 67, is charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and murder, though he has already accepted blame and apologized publicly.
Karim AA Khan, a civil party lawyer, said in his conclusion that Duch’s confession had not been “honest,” and the former math teacher and revolutionary was avoiding responsibility.
“The accused recognized some atrocities that he rejected at the beginning, so the confidence in him is in doubt,” said Silke Studzensky, a lawyer for Group 2.
“What the civil parties need is justice,” said Moch Sovannary, another civil party attorney. “They do not need other things, but justice which is interpreted by reparation.”
In her conclusion, she requested the tribunal set up a volunteer and independent fund for reparation; preserve evidence and the place of crimes; and build a signboard dedicated to victims.
read more “Victims Demand Reparation in Duch Case”
Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, has admitted responsibility for the deaths of more than 12,000 people under his administration of Tuol Sleng prison, in the first trial of the UN-backed court.
Four lawyers for civil party teams addressed the court Monday, laying serious responsibility on Duch for atrocities committed against 12,380 prisoners under his control at the prison, known as S-21.
“You forgot the humanity of men and women and of those who were detained in Tuol Sleng,” said Martin Jacquin, civil party lawyer from Group 3.
Duch, 67, is charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and murder, though he has already accepted blame and apologized publicly.
Karim AA Khan, a civil party lawyer, said in his conclusion that Duch’s confession had not been “honest,” and the former math teacher and revolutionary was avoiding responsibility.
“The accused recognized some atrocities that he rejected at the beginning, so the confidence in him is in doubt,” said Silke Studzensky, a lawyer for Group 2.
“What the civil parties need is justice,” said Moch Sovannary, another civil party attorney. “They do not need other things, but justice which is interpreted by reparation.”
In her conclusion, she requested the tribunal set up a volunteer and independent fund for reparation; preserve evidence and the place of crimes; and build a signboard dedicated to victims.
Kin says [Cambodian-American] driver accused of plowing into family 'depressed' November 23, 2009 By John R. Ellement Boston Globe Staff (Mass., USA)
LOWELL -- A bruised and frightened 4-year-old boy sought comfort today in the arms of his grandmother, who held him close 12 hours after an alleged drunk driver plowed into his stroller as he was pushed in a crosswalk.
The boy, Jonathan Dickie Jr., suffered the most serious injuries when his family was hit by the car, but he has been released from the hospital.
“He could have been dead. I am so glad that the Lord was watching over him,’’ said the grandmother, Carol Dickie, as she held him. “I believe someone up there pushed him out of the way and made sure nothing happened to him because he could have been dead.’’
The mother, Nina Wilkin, 25, was crossing Fletcher Street at about 5:30 p.m. on Sunday with Jonathan and his younger sister, Katelyn, 2. Two police officers, who were stopped at a red light, saw a car being driven by Chamroeun Theam plow into the family, authorities said.
The boy was knocked out of his stroller, and his mother and sister were knocked to the ground. All three were rushed to Lowell General Hospital and later released.
With the help of a Cambodian interpreter, Theam pleaded not guilty to operating under the influence, second offense operating while under the influence, and causing serious injury and other charges. Judge Neil J. Walker set bail at $5,000 cash.
With tears in their eyes, two of Theam's daughters and a daughter-in-law watched the court proceeding. Afterward, they spoke with reporters and said Theam has been depressed, but has refused their entreaties to get help.
They said that he grew up in Cambodia, survived the terror years in the 1970s of the Khmer Rouge and remains haunted by that experience and often has nightmares.
"He needs help,'' said Sochann Chea, his daughter-in-law. "He doesn't want it.''
Chea said the driver's extended family is concerned for the health of the mother and her two children. Chea said Theam's family -- he has three sons and two daughters -- does not want to see him behind the wheel again any time soon.
"We don't want anything like this to happen again.'' Chea said. "We feel very bad and we hope the family is okay.''
In a report filed in court, Lowell police officers who witnessed the crash said that Wilkin was in the crosswalk and was hurrying to get across Fletcher Street when the light turned green.
Although the family was still in the intersection, Theam allegedly accelerated and drove his Dodge Neon directly into them without slowing, police said in the report.
Police said the car struck Nina Wilkin, "throwing her into the air over the windshield, hitting the ground on the other side of the street.''
The car struck the double stroller, police said, causing the boy to be "ejected out of the stroller and onto the Neon, bouncing off the Neon and onto the pavement.''
Theam's blood alcohol level was .26, according to the police report. The legal limit is .08. Police said he also failed sobriety tests.
"He appeared to be completely unconcerned about what was going on around him,'' Officer Neils Henry Christiansen wrote of Theam. "He sat in his motor vehicle talking to himself and yelling at no one in in particular.''
Theam was convicted of drunk driving in 1994 in Wisconsin, according to Lowell Police. Details of that case were not immediately avaialble.
read more “Kin says [Cambodian-American] driver accused of plowing into family 'depressed' November 23, 2009 By John R. Ellement Boston Globe Staff (Mass., USA)”
The boy, Jonathan Dickie Jr., suffered the most serious injuries when his family was hit by the car, but he has been released from the hospital.
“He could have been dead. I am so glad that the Lord was watching over him,’’ said the grandmother, Carol Dickie, as she held him. “I believe someone up there pushed him out of the way and made sure nothing happened to him because he could have been dead.’’
The mother, Nina Wilkin, 25, was crossing Fletcher Street at about 5:30 p.m. on Sunday with Jonathan and his younger sister, Katelyn, 2. Two police officers, who were stopped at a red light, saw a car being driven by Chamroeun Theam plow into the family, authorities said.
The boy was knocked out of his stroller, and his mother and sister were knocked to the ground. All three were rushed to Lowell General Hospital and later released.
With the help of a Cambodian interpreter, Theam pleaded not guilty to operating under the influence, second offense operating while under the influence, and causing serious injury and other charges. Judge Neil J. Walker set bail at $5,000 cash.
With tears in their eyes, two of Theam's daughters and a daughter-in-law watched the court proceeding. Afterward, they spoke with reporters and said Theam has been depressed, but has refused their entreaties to get help.
They said that he grew up in Cambodia, survived the terror years in the 1970s of the Khmer Rouge and remains haunted by that experience and often has nightmares.
"He needs help,'' said Sochann Chea, his daughter-in-law. "He doesn't want it.''
Chea said the driver's extended family is concerned for the health of the mother and her two children. Chea said Theam's family -- he has three sons and two daughters -- does not want to see him behind the wheel again any time soon.
"We don't want anything like this to happen again.'' Chea said. "We feel very bad and we hope the family is okay.''
In a report filed in court, Lowell police officers who witnessed the crash said that Wilkin was in the crosswalk and was hurrying to get across Fletcher Street when the light turned green.
Although the family was still in the intersection, Theam allegedly accelerated and drove his Dodge Neon directly into them without slowing, police said in the report.
Police said the car struck Nina Wilkin, "throwing her into the air over the windshield, hitting the ground on the other side of the street.''
The car struck the double stroller, police said, causing the boy to be "ejected out of the stroller and onto the Neon, bouncing off the Neon and onto the pavement.''
Theam's blood alcohol level was .26, according to the police report. The legal limit is .08. Police said he also failed sobriety tests.
"He appeared to be completely unconcerned about what was going on around him,'' Officer Neils Henry Christiansen wrote of Theam. "He sat in his motor vehicle talking to himself and yelling at no one in in particular.''
Theam was convicted of drunk driving in 1994 in Wisconsin, according to Lowell Police. Details of that case were not immediately avaialble.
Cambodia flights recover
Air traffic between Thailand and Cambodia has returned to near-normal levels after plummeting at the height of the diplomatic spat earlier this month.
Bangkok-based carriers such as Thai Airways International (THAI) and Bangkok Airways saw bookings start to rebound last week.
Tension between the nations escalated rapidly after fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Cambodia on Nov 10 to take up his appointment as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government.
Bangkok Airways, which has the largest capacity between the two countries, saw Thais cancel flights to Siem Reap during the dispute. But there was a steady flow of foreign passengers, especially Europeans, said executives at the airline.
Bangkok Airways operates six daily flights to Siem Reap and three daily flights to Phnom Penh.
THAI, which has 14 flights a week between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, saw about 40% of reservations cancelled in the week after Thaksin's visit.
"We're almost back to normal now," said a senior THAI executive.
Bookings show no sign that they will drop in the near future, he said.
"I think that people appreciate that politics and economics are separate issues in the Thai-Cambodian case, so it looks like business as usual," he said.
But Thai AirAsia, which operates daily flights between the two capitals, said it was entirely unaffected by the souring of diplomatic ties.
Thai AirAsia chief executive Tassapon Bijleveld said nothing suggests that its load factor on the route will drop in the near future.
Bangkok has been a gateway to Cambodia, especially among long-haul international travellers, because of easy and frequent connections through Suvarnabhumi airport.
read more “Cambodia flights recover”
Bangkok-based carriers such as Thai Airways International (THAI) and Bangkok Airways saw bookings start to rebound last week.
Tension between the nations escalated rapidly after fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Cambodia on Nov 10 to take up his appointment as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government.
Bangkok Airways, which has the largest capacity between the two countries, saw Thais cancel flights to Siem Reap during the dispute. But there was a steady flow of foreign passengers, especially Europeans, said executives at the airline.
Bangkok Airways operates six daily flights to Siem Reap and three daily flights to Phnom Penh.
THAI, which has 14 flights a week between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, saw about 40% of reservations cancelled in the week after Thaksin's visit.
"We're almost back to normal now," said a senior THAI executive.
Bookings show no sign that they will drop in the near future, he said.
"I think that people appreciate that politics and economics are separate issues in the Thai-Cambodian case, so it looks like business as usual," he said.
But Thai AirAsia, which operates daily flights between the two capitals, said it was entirely unaffected by the souring of diplomatic ties.
Thai AirAsia chief executive Tassapon Bijleveld said nothing suggests that its load factor on the route will drop in the near future.
Bangkok has been a gateway to Cambodia, especially among long-haul international travellers, because of easy and frequent connections through Suvarnabhumi airport.
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