A lot of swines leading the country, but no flu yet

‘Don’t Panic’ Over Swine Flu: Hun SenBy Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh29 April 2009
Prime Minister Hun Sen made a public call for calm over swine flu on Wednesday, but he encouraged families to outfit themselves with face masks, as more cases were reported around the globe.“I call on the Cambodian population, first of all, don’t panic,” Hun Sen said at Phnom Penh’s National Institute of Education, where he was delivering certificates to teachers. “Secondly, people should protect themselves; where we suspect the epidemic, we should be careful. If possible, all families, all people, should protect themselves with masks.”“The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health have not yet made a declaration about this, but we should be prepared for it,” Hun Sen said.

Long Beach woman helped create library in Cambodia

By Greg Mellen, Staff WriterLong Beach Press Telegram
LONG BEACH - One sign came when she couldn't enter the existing library because the floor was covered with six inches of rice that had been put there to dry during harvest season.Another was the selection of volumes, such as the organic chemistry textbooks, in English, that a well-meaning but obviously clueless charity donated to the rural school in the poor farming community.Still another was the abundance of books in French and English, but the paucity of books in Khmer.So, Peace Corps volunteer Emi Caitlin Ishigooka from Long Beach jumped at the opportunity to create a new library when approached with the idea by the director of the Cambodian school where she was teaching high school English.

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

28/4/2009AFP
The former Khmer Rouge prison chief told Cambodia’s war crimes trial yesterday how staff at his jail were killed for any minor mistakes they made while performing their jobs.Duch—whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav—apologised last month when his trial started, accepting blame for overseeing the extermination of around 15,000 people when he ran Tuol Sleng prison.He said yesterday that he would report to his superiors any minor mistakes by staff members at Tuol Sleng, also known as S-21. Regime leaders would then order the workers and their families killed, he said.

Mrs Mu Sochua agrees to stay in jail if she loses lawsuit against Mr. Hun Sen

Deum Ampil.Early last week, Mr. Mu Sochua had indicated she would lodge a lawsuit against Mr. Hun Sen in the Phnom Penh Court for defamation related to his speech against her in Kampot a few weeks previously. On Friday (24th April), Mr. Hun Sen had lodged a counter-suit against Mrs. Mu Sochua and had implied that the 90 members of parliament from the Cambodian People's Party had agreed to support the lifting of Mrs. Mu Sochua's parliamentary immunity.Regarding Mr. Hun Sen's counter-suit, Mrs Mu Sochua said: "I have received the information that the government's lawyers had lodged a counter-suit against me and they planned to lift my parliamentary immunity. But I am not afraid and I am not scared. I will not flee from Cambodia and I will not use my American citizenship. I'd rather stay in jail. I want the people to see (the injustices of) my case."On 4th of April 2009, Prime Minister Hun Sen made a public speech in Kampot, where Mrs Mu Sochua was the only female representing the province, by referring to "a woman member of parliament from Kampot who is a 'strongwoman' (cheung klang) and a trouble-maker."Mrs. Mu Sochua considers the speech to be offensive, insulting and defamatory against her because she is the only female MP from Kampot.Mr. Hun Sen was referring to Mr. Mu Sochua's altercation with an army general who was a member of Mr. Hun Sen's party during an election campaign in 2008. During the altercation, Mr. Mu Sochua had lost a button from her blouse. Mr. Mu Sochua said that during the altercation, the general had twisted her hand which caused the button of her blouse to loosen showing her bra. She sued the general for misdemeanor, but the case hasn't been resolved yet.Deum Ampil news had just reported that at 8:30 AM on Monday 27 April 2009, Mrs. Mu Sochua had officially lodged her lawsuit against prime minister Hun Sen in the Phnom Penh Court.

Japan suspends financing of major bridge

The $70-million Neak Loeung Bridge on the Mekong River will not be completed in 2010 as originally scheduled. No works has started yet for the construction of this major bridge on National Road # 1 from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. Japan, which has accepted to finance the project, now refuses to make any disbursement as long as the Cambodian government is unable to reach an agreement with local residents who must be evicted. The agreement is related to financial compensation to be given to those villagers whose homes must be removed because located on the construction site. Corrupt government officials are used to evicting villagers without proper compensation, the former stealing allowances earmarked for the latter.

Freedom of expression and assembly seriously undermined

Cambodian Center for Human Rights
Joint Media Release by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) andthe Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)Phnom Penh, 22 April 2009For Immediate Release
Joint submission for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Cambodia’s Human Rights record - Freedom of expression and assembly seriously undermined
The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) are pleased to announce that a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - coordinated by the Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC) and assisted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) - has made a joint submission on freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva, for inclusion in its summary of stakeholder information for the purposes of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Cambodia’s Human Rights record.The submission shows that the last four years have seen freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia seriously undermined, with opinion restricted, parliamentarians silenced, the media controlled, access to information blocked, and assembly and public demonstration prevented. The Royal Government of Cambodia has breached its international and constitutional human rights obligations, and has relied on national legislation which itself breaches these obligations.In order to improve this situation, the coalition of NGOs urges the Government to properly respect freedom of expression and assembly and to implement a series of recommendations, including:
i. Ratify the First Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to enable Cambodians to submit complaints to the Human Rights Committee relating to violations of their freedom to expression and assembly, and other human rights.
ii. Invite the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression to visit and assess the situation in Cambodia, and to make recommendations.
iii. Work with other ASEAN member states to create an ASEAN Human Rights body in 2009.
iv. Establish an independent National Human Rights Commission in 2009, in keeping with the Paris Principles.
v. Publicly endorse the Johannesburg Principles and work with NGOs to formulate a freedom of expression and assembly strategy as part of a wider human rights action plan.
vi. Decriminalize disinformation and defamation in the course of reforming the criminal law.
vii. Invite experts including the international NGO Article 19 and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to assess and recommend amendments to the 1995 Press Law and 1991 Law on Demonstrations. Implement these newly amended laws.The coalition of NGOs includes: Advocacy and Policy Institution (API); Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC); Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC); Cambodian Association for Protection for Journalists (CAPJ); Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR); Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM); Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights (CCPCR); Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA); Cambodian Independent Civil Servants Association (CICA); Cambodian League for the Protection and Defence of Human Rights (LICADHO); Center for Social Development (CSD); Center for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR); Coalition of Cambodian Apparel W.D.U. (C-CAWDU); Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL); Community Legal Education Center (CLEC); Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC); Independent Democratic of Informal Economic Association (IDEA); International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH); Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Association (KKKHRA); Khmer Youth Association (KYA); Legal Aid of Cambodia (LAC); Neutral & Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Election in Cambodia (NECFEC); People Center for Development and Peace (PDP-Center); Project Against Domestic Violence (PADV); Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA); and Star Kampuchea.The full submission is available at www.cchrcambodia.org.

Tribunal Breakdown Puts Onus on Donors: UN

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer Original report from Washington23 April 2009
The failure between UN and Cambodian negotiators to find a method to address corruption at the Khmer Rouge tribunal will mean funding decisions are left up to donors, a senior UN official told VOA Khmer.The breakdown, after four months of talks, over whether complainants had a real choice to submit complaints, has put further funding for the cash-strapped Cambodian side of the court on uncertain ground.The UN has argued that anonymity is essential to ensure allegations come to light. The Cambodian side has said complainants should be named, to ensure fairness and legitimacy.

Fearful Monk Seeks Refuge in Thailand

Tim Sakhorn (L) during his questioning by Vietnamese policeBy Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer Original report from Washington22 April 2009

[Editor’s note: Tim Sakhorn, a former monk of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom ethnic group of southern Vietnam, who ran a pagoda in Takeo province, is now in Thailand, seeking political asylum from persecution in Vietnam. He was defrocked in Cambodia in 2007 and allegedly forcibly turned over to Vietnamese authorities, who put him in prison for a year. Allowed to visit Cambodia earlier this month, to attend a funeral ceremony for his mother, he fled the country. He spoke to VOA Khmer by phone from Thailand.] Q. What was the reason you made your escape from Cambodia to Thailand?A. I was very afraid the Cambodian government would send me back to Vietnam.Q. What is your present situation in Thailand?A. I’m still really scared.Q. Because you’ve seen someone following you, or intimidating you, or what?A. I haven’t seen anyone following me yet, but I have to be careful with my personal security.

29 arrested for anti-Thai riots at Kamrieng International Checkpoint

Scenes of Khmer youths throwing stones at the Thai people and Thai border guards.Reported by Khmerization29 people were arrested and temporarily detained on 16th of April for anti-Thai riots at Kamrieng International Checkpoint in Battambang province, reports Koh Santepheap.The riots occurred after 4 Cambodians were brutally beaten by 40 Thai people at Laem Market on the Thai side of the border on 13th April, 2009.Rioters said that they came to the aid of the 4 beaten Cambodians but the Thai border guards stopped them. They requested to go to bring back the badly injured 4 Cambodians to the Cambodian side of the border but the Thai guards refused. They then asked the Cambodian border police to intervene to stop the beatings, but the Cambodian guards refused, says Koh Santepheap.According to sources, up 1,000 Khmer people took part in the riots against the Thai brutality at the Kamrieng International Checkpoint. During the riots, the Cambodian rioters threw stones over the fence breaking windows of the Thai border post. They then burnt Thai flag and the picture of the Thai king which led the Thai border guards to fire many rounds of ammunitions.

EC to provide $5.11 mln for Cambodia to maintain food security

April 21, 2009 Source: Xinhua
The European Community (EC) will provide some 5.11 million U.S. dollars for Cambodia to maintain food security for its disadvantaged people, said an EC press release received here on Tuesday.Non-governmental organizations for poverty and hunger reduction will use the fund to guarantee food supply for rural residents who are short of necessary livelihood, EC's country director Rafael Dochao Moreno said in the release."EC aims to help the most fragile people to survive the current global financial crisis," he added.According to the release, the grant will mainly benefit the people in provinces of Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear, Ratanakkiri and Mondolkiri.

"...we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want": Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan's China comments prompt backlash

Sun Apr 19, 2009
AP

HONG KONG - Action star Jackie Chan 's comments wondering whether Chinese people "need to be controlled" have drawn sharp rebuke in his native Hong Kong and in Taiwan .

Chan told a business forum in the southern Chinese province of Hainan that a free society may not be beneficial for China 's authoritarian mainland.

"I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not," Chan said Saturday. "I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want."

He went on to say that freedoms in Hong Kong and Taiwan made those societies "chaotic."

Thaksin traveled to Cambodia in his private jet: News report

Thaksin running out of hiding places April 19, 2009 The Electric News (Singapore)
AS former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra travels around the world, international police are preparing arrest warrants against him, reported The Age.These moves come after the Thai government revoked his passport, accusing him of inciting the protests that disrupted the Asean summit in Pattaya last weekend and later caused chaos in Bangkok.He made frequent video and telephone speeches to his supporters as they disrupted the summit and then rampaged through the streets of Bangkok.On Tuesday, the Thai government issued the latest arrest warrant against Thaksin, accusing him of inciting people to break the law in last week's violence.The next day, the Nicaraguan government said it issued a passport to Thaksin in January, naming him an 'ambassador on a special mission' to bring investment to the country.Despite facing corruption charges, Thaksin has travelled to Australia, China, Hong Kong, Dubai and Cambodia in his private jet.At these locations, he has frequently given interviews that have fuelled the conflict that has bitterly divided Thailand since 2006.A spokesman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told The Age that it 'understands that an arrest warrant has been issued' for Thaksin, but declined to comment on the Thai legal system and political process, or any future requests by Thaksin to visit the country.But Thaksin may soon not have many places to hide.Long before Tuesday's warrant, the Thai government asked Interpol to arrest Thaksin once it had found out his whereabouts.The international police agency has issued a 'red' notice on Thaksin, reported The Nation. The notice is recognised in various countries and serves as a legal basis for his arrest and extradition.The Thai government is also working towards extraditing Thaksin from China and has begun similar talks with Hong Kong and Dubai, where Thaksin is believed to be hiding.It may only be a matter of time before he has to return home to face the music himself.

Cambodia's New War

Apr 17, 2009By Katrin RedfernThe Daily Beast
The Nobel-nominated opposition leader of Southeast Asia’s saddest, bloodiest country has brought a message for Hillary Clinton: Our democracy needs your help.Cambodia is at war again. This time, the battles surround who will control resources—land, timber, fisheries, oil—with a corrupt elite taking over the nation’s emerging export economy, while international donors turn a blind eye and 14 million Cambodians suffer.“Cambodia is a democracy on paper but in reality a dictatorship. Our party activists are murdered because they fight for justice—life is still cheap in Cambodia.”A new American president, many Cambodians hope, might change all that. Sochua Mu, an opposition leader and founder of the women's movement in Cambodia, recently returned to the U.S., lobbying Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to take a firmer line on democracy and human rights in her long-suffering country. “I needed to see the people in the new administration to urge them to re-assess U.S. foreign policy,” says Sochua in an interview with The Daily Beast. “Cambodia is a democracy on paper but in reality a dictatorship. Our party activists are murdered because they fight for justice—life is still cheap in Cambodia. Human trafficking, drug trafficking, land grabbing, and forced evictions are all carried out under the nose of the government.”Sochua Mu’s story is uniquely Cambodian. Forced to flee for her life at 18 in the early 1970s as the Vietnam War spilled over the border, she left behind her parents, who vanished, as did one-quarter of the country’s population during the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror. Sochua wound up in America, won a scholarship to the University of California at Berkeley, and worked as a counselor and translator for the Cambodian refugees who began to trickle over. She eventually became a U.S. citizen.During the 1980s, she returned to Southeast Asia, organizing schooling for children and social services for women in the refugee camps set up by the U.N. on the border between Thailand and Cambodia. In 1989, she was finally allowed to re-enter her homeland, “a country in ruins.” “I would take my young children on walks in streets where I learned to bike, where I wandered with my childhood friends, where I went to school, all the years of joy, of happiness, of deep feelings of comfort came back to me,” she says. “I came back to help rebuild a nation. The war and genocide also changed my people. They have lost their sense of trust for each other, they have become hard inside and desperate for just daily survival.”Sochua started the first women’s organization in Cambodia, Khemera, designed to help poor urban women earn a better living. She campaigned to include women’s rights and concerns into the country’s new constitution, drafted in 1993, and became involved in efforts to rescue girls caught in Cambodia’s thriving sex trade. In 1998, Sochua ran for election and won a seat in parliament, taking over the women’s affairs ministry, which had previously been run by men. In a country that considers women inferior, Sochua mobilized 25,000 female candidates to run for commune elections in 2002. It was a first for Cambodia, and 900 of them were elected.She negotiated an agreement with Thailand that allowed Cambodian women trafficked as sex workers to return to their home country instead of being jailed. She pioneered the use of TV commercials to spread the word about trafficking to vulnerable populations. Her work in Cambodia also supports campaigns to end domestic violence and the spread of HIV/AIDS, as well as women’s workplace conditions. In 2005, she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her work against sex trafficking of women.Her position in high government put her in direct conflict with Cambodia’s long-ruling prime minister, Hun Sen. Rather than participate in the corruption she saw around her, Sochua Mu renounced the leadership and joined the primary opposition party in parliament. Last week, Sochua announced that she is considering legal action against the prime minister for allegedly using derogatory and threatening language against her in a speech he made last month during a visit to her parliamentary district. The speech, widely reported on Cambodian TV and other media, warned villagers not to seek help from members of the opposition party, but to approach the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, and allegedly referred to Sochua using a Khmer term cheung kland—a gangster or unruly person, which has an especially insulting connation for women.Her most frequent public disagreement with Hun Sen surrounds what she sees as a failure to prevent people in her district from suffering loss of property and livelihoods at the hands of powerful investors, often with the backing of local authorities and the military. Most Cambodians still depend on small-scale agriculture, forest exploitation, and fishing for their livelihoods but, because of the country’s turbulent recent history, land ownership is generally undocumented and often contested. As a result, it is easy for the powerful to acquire land to develop. More than 150,000 Cambodians, according to Sochua, were victims of forced evictions and land-grabbing in 2007 alone. Studies have estimated that such concessions cover as much as one-third of the entire area of Cambodia.“It is now common practice for powerful corporations and government officials to utilize armed forces to push citizens off their rightfully and legally held land,” says Sochua. “These evictions are often violent, with soldiers wielding guns, tear gas and Tasers and burning houses to the ground, while citizens are beaten, maimed and arrested.”Cambodia's economy relies on three principal sources of income: tourism, agriculture, and textiles. The United States is the largest overseas market for the latter. As former U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli put it, "Levi Strauss or the Gap could destroy this country on a whim."George W. Bush's policy, as Sochua saw it, focused on military and security-centered aid. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. provided Cambodia $54 million last year and $700 million total since the agency opened an office in the country in 1992. Other international donors, meanwhile, have done little better in holding the Cambodian government accountable on human rights, preferring “closed-door diplomacy,” as she calls it, to public criticism. “This practice has yielded next to no reforms,” she says, “and donors continue to be satisfied with token actions taken by the government to give a façade to democracy and social justice.”Even that oversight is at risk. Chevron discovered oil offshore several years ago, and the Cambodian government says it hopes to begin pumping oil in 2011. The IMF estimated last year that the country could earn as much as $1.7 billion from oil within 10 years of the date that pumping begins—a big deal for this poor country, which relies on donors for half of its annual budget, but also more money that won’t carry any accountability.Some aid agencies have called for a moratorium on aid until basic governance and transparency frameworks are in place. Sochua says that won’t happen until there’s a new regime. “That can only happen when we have a real election that is free and fair,” she says. “The West should insist on that, otherwise all the aid they have poured into Cambodia will not work”.Katrin Redfern is a writer and editor at The Indypendent in New York City.

Riots cost [Thailand] tourism industry B100bn [$2.8 billion]

17/04/2009
By CHADAMAS CHINMANEEVONG AND CHATRUDEE THEPARAT
Bangkok Post



Eight tourism groups have forecast that the Songkran political unrest will cost the industry about 100 billion baht in losses, and could cut tourist arrivals by two million this year.

The already weak industry will worsen and layoffs, particularly by hotels, will increase significantly to an estimated 50,000 by the second half of the year, according to Apichart Sankary, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents.

Foreign tourist arrivals, which were initially forecast at 14 million, the same as last year's total, will shrink to 12 million, industry sources said.

"Foreign tourists from Japan and China are very sensitive to political unrest and they won't come back to Thailand until they are confident, around the middle of next year," said Thai-Chinese Tourism Alliance Association president Sidivachr Cheewarattananaporn.

Some 10,000 Chinese tourists cancelled their trips to Thailand over the Songkran period.

Mr Apichart called on the government to rebuild the country's image by promoting reconciliation between the yellow-, red- and blue-shirted groups. Global tourism roadshows should then be conducted.

"Foreign communities won't trust us if we are unable to solve our internal conflict. We will waste time and money going to international roadshows if we don't solve that first," he added.

The request for an additional 15 billion baht in funds to help hoteliers should be approved quickly and four- and five-star hotels should have access to the government's low-cost loans, just as small hotels do, he said.

Currently, Bangkok hotel occupancy is around 30% and is as low as 5-10% at some properties.

The Federation of Thai Tourism Associations suggested the government issue bonds to raise funds.

Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa said the government must come up with measures to stimulate the tourism industry in the short term. They should include greater tax incentives to operators and more financial assistance.

The proposed measures' details would be studied by the Tourism Authority of Thailand as well as representatives from the tourism sector.

Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu said the government was ready to revise the 16.6-billion-baht in tourism investment projects between 2010 and 2012 in order to allocate more money for the industry.

"The tourism industry can generate income in the short-term, unlike exports and the investment sector," said Mr Korbsak. "Stimulating the tourism industry will be the best way to generate income to shore up the Thai economy in the short term."

According to Mr Chumpol, planned roadshows, which includes the Arabian Travel Mart from May 5-6 in Dubai, would remain unchanged. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will join the trip in order to build confidence in the Middle East market.

Thaksin warns of return to violence

Wednesday April 15 2009By Richard Spencer in BangkokDaily Telegraph (UK)
Thailand's former prime minister warned yesterday that violence would return to the streets of Bangkok if the authorities took a hard line against his supporters.Thaksin Shinawatra called for the release of the protest leaders after they gave themselves up when the army moved in to surround them.Arrest warrants have been issued for 14 more opposition leaders, including Thaksin, who went into self-imposed exile last year before a court convicted him of violating conflict of interest laws.Speaking from Dubai, Thaksin said the Thai government should seek "reconciliation" with its opponents, who wear red shirts in contrast to the yellow tops worn by government loyalists."They have to talk to the leaders not just arrest them and put them into jail," he said. "Violence begets violence. If they imprison the leaders there will be more violence."If you think you can use power to crush people you can't expect that they will just be silent."The last of the protesters, who had been besieging Government House for three weeks, gave up and left yesterday. They had been surrounded overnight by thousands of soldiers. Four of the leaders turned themselves in to police.Thaksin said he had not ordered the surrender but he had told the leaders to be careful and to "worry about life" after a day of violence on Monday when protesters clashed with soldiers across Bangkok.More than 120 people were reported injured and two were confirmed dead.Thaksin denied that the end to the demonstrations marked a personal defeat."I never fought," he said, insisting that he had been offering "moral support" to the demonstrators, not directing their activities.The claim is at odds with his explosive video addresses over the past three weeks to crowds in Bangkok, culminating in a call for a "revolution" at the weekend.Thaksin, whose main support is among the poor, incited the crowds by alleging that a conspiracy of elite interests overthrew his government in a military coup in 2006.

Red shirts run amok

12/04/2009Bangkok Post Reporters
Military and police forces were on alert Sunday night as the government stood firm behind its order for rioters to clear the streets or face harsher measures under a state of emergency.Armed soldiers supported by armoured personnel carriers and police in riot gear were deployed across the city on Sunday as members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship vowed to fight to the death to overthrow the Democrat-led government.The government declared a state of emergency over Bangkok and surrounding provinces after red shirt protesters went on a rampage, attacking senior government officials, bodyguards and police.The prime minister narrowly escaped himself after protesters stormed the Interior Ministry where he had just addressed the nation on television.Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva warned in his television address that the red shirts had crossed the line and this required a firm response."I want to tell protesters that you have no right to break the law or to restrict other people's rights," Mr Abhisit said. "Otherwise the government must implement further measures under the state of emergency."I ask the public to remain calm. I'm confident the government will restore normalcy to our country."Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban also appeared on television, telling soldiers and police to strictly enforce the law against the protesters."I am now in charge," he said. "I will take full responsibility for your actions in enforcing the law to restore peace."The trouble began when the demonstrators blocked traffic in front of the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek road and the Royal Thai Police Office on Rama I road to demand the release of a key UDD leader, Arisman Pongruangrong, who was arrested at his home yesterday morning.Bands of red shirt protesters, angered by the arrest, held rallies in several areas of the capital to demand his release.The government replied by declaring a state of emergency over Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani and Ayutthaya.About a thousand red shirts responded by surrounding the Interior Ministry in a bid to capture Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep who used the venue to make their televised announcements.The two narrowly escaped the protesters who stormed into the ministry compound and smashed the prime minister's limousine and other cars with wooden sticks and pavement slabs.They believed the leaders were in the vehicles The attack caused serious damage to the vehicles but the prime minister and Mr Suthep managed to slip out of the compound in a separate car unharmed.A gunshot was heard as the crowds were trying tried to stop the motorcade. The prime minister's limousine was able to get away but a station wagon belonging to his bodyguard was stopped and smashed.One of the prime minister's security guards and a police officer were assaulted and taken to the red shirts' demonstration site at Government House.A dozen other people including red shirt protesters were also injured in the brief clash.The prime minister's guard and the policeman were locked in a container close to the UDD stage at Government House before being given first aid and released.Also attacked and injured was the prime minister's secretary-general, Nibhon Phromphan.Mr Nibhon was taken to hospital after red shirt protesters chased his car as it was about to leave a parking building inside the Interior Ministry compound.They dragged him from the car and beat him. His driver was also injured.After leaving the Interior Ministry, Mr Abhisit was reached by a reporter on the telephone."I am safe and unhurt but my people were arrested," the prime minister said. "The gunshot was an accident ... a guard's gun was being snatched and it went off accidentally. We did not mean to fire at people."Despite the possibility the army and police might use force to disperse them, demonstrators continued to join the UDD rally at Government House and separate rallies at intersections throughout late yesterday.Some rioters seized at least two armoured personnel carriers from troops who were sent to guard public areas, while others seized public buses to set up road blockades.More road blocks were also reported at key intersections around the main rally ground as night fell, in open defiance of the government's order for the protesters to disperse.The demonstrators' spirits were kept high by UDD leaders' speeches and phone-in messages from former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.In one phone-in, Thaksin said he would return to Thailand if authorities dispersed his supporters using violence.Thaksin said he was closely monitoring the state of emergency."I will monitor the situation and if necessary I will return to Thailand and lead a long march of people. I will not allow them [authorities] to use force," Thaksin said.

China plans to offer $39.7 million in special aid to 3 SE Asian dictatorships: Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar

Chinese FM: China shows sincerity, responsibility, confidence in East Asian cooperation BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's attendance at the ASEAN-related summits has shown the Chinese government's sincerity, responsibility and confidence in facilitating the East Asian cooperation, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Saturday.The summits related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are an important cooperative mechanism in the region. All the participants hope the summits can reach consensus and yield a substantial outcome, he said.Leaders from East Asian countries have shown their confidence in and strong desire for cooperation in jointly tiding over the global financial crisis, despite the fact that the summits were postponed due to Thailand's political situation, Yang said. East Asian countries are facing severe impact of the international financial crisis that is still spreading and deepening, but these countries have a common desire to strengthen cooperation and tide over the difficulties, Yang said.China has always actively advocated and pushed forward the cooperation in East Asia, he emphasized.The ASEAN members had hoped China could play an important role at the summits in pushing forward the cooperation in East Asia, so that the countries could tide over the current difficulties, he said.Premier Wen had planned to make a three-point proposal at the summit for joint efforts to tackle the financial crisis and promote cooperation among East Asian nations, Yang said.Firstly, it's an urgent task to cooperate in addressing the global financial crisis, focus the efforts on resolving the most serious and pressing issues, and try to minimize the negative impact of the crisis as much as possible.Secondly, opportunities should be seized in face of the crisis to make the cooperation in various fields more substantial and vigorous, so as to push forward all-round regional integration.Thirdly, with an eye on the common long-term interests, firm support should be given to the integration process in East Asia so as to promote regional peace and prosperity.Premier Wen had also planned to announce a series of relevant measures at the summits, Yang said.China plans to establish a China-ASEAN investment cooperation fund totaling 10 billion U.S. dollars designed to promote infrastructure construction that will better connect China and the ASEAN nations, Yang said.Over the next three to five years, China plans to offer a credit of 15 billion dollars to ASEAN countries, including loans with preferential terms of 1.7 billion dollars in aid to cooperation projects between the two sides.China also plans to offer 270 million yuan (39.7 million dollars) in special aid to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to help those countries overcome difficulties amid crisis, and to inject 50 million dollars into the China-ASEAN Cooperation Fund. China plans to provide 300,000 tons of rice for the emergency East Asia rice reserve to strengthen food security in the region.China will also provide training for 1,000 agricultural technicians for the ASEAN nations in the upcoming three years, offer an extra 2,000 Chinese government scholarships and 200 Master's scholarships for public administration students from the developing member countries of the East Asia Summit over the next five years, and donate 900,000 dollars to the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Fund, Yang said.The premier had also intended to exchange views with other leaders on the multilateralization of the Chiang Mai Initiative, the construction of the Asian bond markets, expansion of foreign currency reserve pools, widening bilateral currency swap agreements, and efforts to promote the construction of the ASEAN Plus Three free trade zone.According to previous plans, after the summits, China would sign with ASEAN an investment agreement, which would mark the end of the negotiations on the free trade zone.The China-ASEAN free trade zone, if established in 2010 as planned, would further strengthen relations between China and ASEAN and exert a significant and far-reaching impact on promoting cooperation among East Asian nations, Yang said.He said that it is regrettable that delegates participating in the summits could not enter the venue after thousands of Thai anti-government protesters besieged the venue and blocked roads in Pattaya.Under such a circumstance, the Chinese delegation had shown no fears, waiting in patience and calm, with a hope for the situation to change for the better. Taking a responsible attitude, China has kept contact with Thailand, ASEAN, Japan and South Korea, Yang said.Premier Wen himself communicated and conducted coordination with leaders of relevant countries, making his best efforts even at the last minute, he said.When Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told Wen over the phone the Thai government's decision to postpone the summits, Wen said that as a friendly neighbor of Thailand and the rotating chairman of the three countries that also include Japan and South Korea, China understands the decision and hoped Thailand will maintain political stability, social harmony and economic growth.According to Yang, the Chinese premier also pledged China's unremitting efforts to push forward the China-Thailand friendly cooperation and China-ASEAN cooperation, as well as the cooperation between China-Japan-South Korea and ASEAN.Wen said that China's policies and measures on furthering bilateral exchanges and cooperation with ASEAN in various fields will not be affected by the postponement of the summits.The Chinese premier reiterated the above stance when meeting some ASEAN leaders at the airport before flying home, saying that as long as conditions are mature for the holding of the summits, China will actively participate in them, Yang said.Wen's sincerity and confidence moved the leaders and were highly appreciated, the Chinese foreign minister noted.Yang said China has genuine willingness, firm determination and concrete actions to boost the East Asian cooperation.Although the ASEAN summit and other related meetings were not held as scheduled, China will keep close contact and consultation with ASEAN and other related countries, and honestly implement the cooperation plans and measures that had been decided, Yang said.China is ready to stand together with East Asian countries in the face of difficulties and help each other to jointly confront the challenges, he said.China believes that after ups and downs, the East Asian cooperation will surely embrace a more prosperous future, Yang concluded.

First Witness Takes Stand

2009-04-09Radio Free Asia
A French scholar takes the stand in Cambodia, becoming the first witness in a landmark trial of ex-Khmer Rouge leaders.PHNOM PENH—A French scholar who was one of a few survivors of detention under Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge has become the first witness at a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal hearing evidence against the regime’s chief jailer and torturer.Francois Bizot, 69, an anthropologist, said he received relatively light treatment. He had been seized while researching Buddhism in the countryside on suspicion of working for the CIA.The U.N. tribunal has opened with a trial of Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, a former math teacher accused of supervising Tuol Sleng prison and sending thousands of people to their deaths in the so-called “Killing Fields” period when the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975-79.
"Terror was everywhere." - Francois BizotBizot spent three months at M-13, a secret jungle prison that Duch ran from 1971-75, while the Khmer Rouge was an insurgent faction fighting a U.S.-backed government. He later wrote a book about his detention titled The Gate.Bizot said he was never beaten and Duch spoke to him politely. He said he was required to write several statements of innocence and freed after a few months, making him one of only 10 who survived the jungle prison camp.“I can’t recall M-13 without recalling the terrifying atmosphere of fear and death, or how much this atmosphere was embodied in Duch. Terror was everywhere,” Bizot said.“When Duch came back from meetings with his superiors, it was impossible not to see his despondency...You have to understand that it was always about deciding when the executions would take place,” he told the court.Some sympathyHe acknowledged some sympathy for Duch, who has publicly apologized and sought forgiveness for his role in sending some 16,000 people to their deaths at the regime’s notorious Tuol Sleng prison.“I must come to terms with what’s in me with relation to a double reality, the reality of a man who was the force of a state institutional massive killing, and I cannot imagine being in his shoes today with so much horror left behind,” Bizot said.“On the other hand, the recollection I have today of a young man who committed his life to a cause and to a purpose that was based on the idea that it was not only legitimate, it was deserved,” he said. “I don’t know what I can make of it.”“Duch was a man who looked much like many friends of mine, a Marxist who was prepared to surrender his life for the revolution,” Bizot said.Crimes against humanityDuch faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, and premeditated murder. He faces life in jail at the court, which does not have the power to impose the death penalty.Up to 2 million people are thought to have died during the four years of Khmer Rouge government in the late 1970s.The trial continued as a third day of private talks aimed at setting up a corruption-monitoring mechanism at the court broke down on Wednesday night between U.N. Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Peter Taksoe-Jensen and Cambodian government officials.Defense attorneys and human rights groups say allegations that Cambodian staff at the court pay kickbacks to keep their jobs could derail the entire tribunal.Original reporting by RFA's Khmer service. Khmer service director: Kem Sos. Executive producer: Susan Lavery. Additional reporting by news agencies. Written and produced in English by Sarah Jackson-Han.

Pro-Thaksin protesters continue to block traffic in Thai capital

(Kyodo) - Thousands supporters of ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra continued to block traffic in Bangkok on Friday, despite government vows to take legal action against them. The protesters swarmed Victory Monument, one of Bangkok's busiest traffic points, and some main roads in Bangkok even though Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared Friday a national holiday to ease traffic turmoil in the capital. He also vowed to legal action against any act that "hurts national security."Abhisit rejected demands by the pro-Thaksin protesters for his resignation and insisted he will not dissolve the lower house for an election. On Thursday night, Abhisit met with military and police leaders and agreed they will use security forces to open traffic lanes, but no action has been taken yet.Thaksin told his supporters via video-link Thursday night to continue the protest until they topple the government. The ousted premier also suggested he may return to Thailand to lead the protests himself if the government uses force to end the demonstrations. The protesters have also declared they will try to obstruct this weekend's East Asia Summit in the beach resort Pattaya because the government has refused to meet their demands.According to local media, nearly 1,000 protesters arrived in Pattaya on Friday morning and prepared to demonstrate near the meeting venue, but with an estimated 5,000 police and soldiers in the city it is unclear if the protesters will be allowed to mount any viable action. The East Asian Summit and other meetings to be held in Pattaya on Friday through Sunday will be attended by leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations as well those of China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India. ASEAN comprises Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar.The Thaksin supporters want Abhisit to either resign or dissolve the lower house of parliament. Their demands also include the resignation of three members of the Privy Council that advises King Bhumibol Adulyadej, citing improper involvement in politics by the trio. The protesters have been holding mass demonstrations outside Government House since early this year and they have continued round-the-clock protests since March 26.Thaksin, now fugitive overseas, was ousted by a military coup in 2006 and his party was dissolved by a court order in 2007 after he was convicted of electoral fraud. The People Power Party, consisting mostly of Thaksin loyalists, won a post-coup general election in late 2007, but it too was dissolved by a court order, last December, after one of its executives was convicted of vote-buying. Abhisit, leader of the Democrat Party, came to power after some lawmakers from the defunct People Power Party joined the Democrats in voting him into office in the wake of massive anti-Thaksin protests that shut down Bangkok's two main airports for days and besieged government offices for months.

Vietnam's Hegemony over Cambodia: Case of Tim Sakhorn

Supreme Patriarch Non Ngeth is just their tool and very uneducated monk who cannot comprehend the procedure of national constitution and international laws. But Cambodian government including Ministry of Foreign Affair and Ministry of Interior have to take this case into their consideration seriously.It is not about breaching individual rights of Cambodian citizenship but it is about breaching the government's integrity in protecting its sovereign bureaucrats and administration.The central accusation led to the defrocking of ex-Monk Tim Sakhorn is baseless. The accuse of creating division between Cambodia and Vietnam is groundless. Individual Tim Sakhorn cannot cause the division, but Vietnam chose this play to perform well to dominate Cambodia.This is truly political agenda set up by Vietnam to complicate the situation of Khmer Kampuchea Krom living in Cambodia, and the independent government of Hun Sen administration.Supreme Patriarch Non Ngeth with his both unknowing the real story of ex-Monk Tim Sakorn and the obligation to protect the CPP Communist Party, he can defrock Tim Sakhorn or express no sympathy to Tim Sakorn.In reality, case of Tim Sakhorn is not a normal case, it is not considerable individual case. Legal specialists will see the negligence and implementation of Cambodian government is the breaching of the Universal Rights Cambodia co-signed with the UN, and breaching the Cambodian Constitution of protecting its citizens from being extraditing or deporting. Cambodian people in the whole country have seen the case of Tim Sakhorn as intimidating to their safety, rights of citizenship, and the independence of their nation.More than this, as one of the independent state, Cambodia has obligation to protect its citizens from being accused or detained by foreigner though sometime they both have an agreement of exchange criminals, but it must be in the legal procedure. However, Tim Sakhorn was not relating to any crime. Accusation upon him is just a pity act Vietnam used as a tool to claim its domination and hegemony over Cambodia.Supreme Patriarch Non Ngeth is just their tool and very uneducated monk who cannot comprehend the procedure of national constitution and international laws. But Cambodian government including Ministry of Foreign Affair and Ministry of Interior have to take this case into their consideration seriously.It is not about breaching individual rights of Cambodian citizenship but it is about breaching the government's integrity in protecting its sovereign bureaucrats and administration.KY

Thai troops moving into the “white zone (No-man’s land)” in Chub Koki

Wednesday, April 8, 2009Everyday.com.khTranslated from Khmer by Socheata
Following the conclusion of the JBC meeting in Phnom Penh in the evening of 07 April, about 200 Thai black-clad soldiers were sent to enter West Chub Koki, Oddar Meanchey province. Thai soldiers spread their forces and dug trenches about 100 meters from where Cambodian troops are stationed. Local villagers from Chub Koki village reported that Thai soldiers have entered the “white zone (No man’s land)” and they dug trenches there to prepare for fighting. The location where the Thai soldiers have settled is about 150 meters from where the villagers live. The report added that North and West Chub Koki villagers fled their homes in fear of a clash like the one that recently took place in Preah Vihear temple.

Kasit ruffled by the refuge given ex-PM

Bangkok Post
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya says he is uneasy that certain governments have allowed Thaksin Shinawatra to use their countries to attack Thailand.Mr Kasit did not name them, but said yesterday Thai envoys in countries which do not have extradition treaties with Thailand had informed their host governments of the former prime minister's status and of how he had stirred up a political crisis at home.They include countries in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.Among the countries that do not have an extradition treaty with Thailand is the United Arab Emirates. Dubai in the UAE has been used by Thaksin as a base. Thaksin also has a Nicaraguan passport.The government is seeking to extradite the former premier to serve a two-year jail sentence for abuse of authority in the Ratchadaphisek land case.He would be treated the same as any other person who escapes charges and flees to another country, Mr Kasit said. Thaksin has made regular phone-ins from unknown locations to address red-shirt protesters outside Government House.Mr Kasit said authorities were verifying a report that the exiled leader was taking shelter in Cambodia. If this was confirmed, then the relationship between Bangkok and Phnom Penh would be at risk, he said.He was also upset at the long delay by the Council of State in considering the proposed revocation of Thaksin's ordinary passport.The matter was forwarded to the government's legal arm five months ago but the ministry has still not received a reply.The ministry could make a decision right away but needed advice from the Council of State to set a standard to be used for other cases, he said.Thaksin has challenged the government to strip him of his ordinary passport. His diplomatic "red" passport given to him when he was prime minister has been cancelled.Mr Kasit said he planned to raise the matter with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.Tomorrow the Foreign Ministry will hold a briefing with Bangkok-based diplomats to explain the continuing legal proceedings against Thaksin.The planned briefing follows Thaksin's stepped-up attacks against the government, Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda and two other privy councillors, Surayud Chulanont and Pichitr Kullavanijaya.Gen Prem and Gen Surayud have been accused by Thaksin of being involved in engineering the coup plot against him.

Tribunal Trials Not for Revenge: Official

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer Phnom Penh01 April 2009
As the Khmer Rouge tribunal goes through its first trial, for prison chief Duch, more light will be shed on the regime, educating people about the dark period in their history, a tribunal spokesman said Monday.“The trial is not for revenge,” said Reach Sambath, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”Duch, 66, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, is facing charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and murder, for his role as the head of Tuol Sleng and Prey Sar prisons and the Choeung Ek “killing fields,” where up to 16,000 Cambodians were executed and dumped into mass graves.Duch’s trial “will explain the real history of Cambodia,” Reach Sambath said. “It will allow the younger generation to understand what happened.”Callers from the audience had many questions about the trial and the history of the Khmer Rouge, including the exact death toll from the regime; researchers put it between 1.7 million and 3 million.“We expect that by the end of the mandate of the [tribunal] we can find out clearly the exact figure of the victims killed in the Khmer Rouge regime,” Reach Sambath said.The tribunal will hold trials for four other senior-most leaders, he said: ideologue Nuon Chea, head of state Khieu Samphan, foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife, foreign minister Ieng Thirith.That number could widen, however, if the Pre-Trial Chamber of the Khmer Rouge tribunal sides with recommendations from international prosecutor Robert Petit. His recommendation that the indictments be widened has been opposed by Cambodian prosecutor Chea Leang.“The controversy of more indictments proposed by the international co-prosecutor and rejected by his Cambodian counterpart is under consideration at the Pre-Trial Chamber,” Reach Sambath said.

Cambodian border village in ruins after clashes

Cambodian soldiers examine a burnt market near an ancient Hindu temple where Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged rifle and rocket fire in Preah Vihear province, 543 km (337 miles) north of Phnom Penh April 4, 2009. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Saturday a border clash with Thailand around a 900-year-old Hindu temple would not escalate into a more serious conflict. REUTERS/Chor SokuntheaApril 5, 2009 AFP
PREAH VIHEAR (Cambodia) - LIFTING out blackened jewellery and bottles of whiskey, Cambodian troops comb through the wreckage of a village destroyed in a bitter battle with neighbouring Thailand.Villagers have fled the area near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple since troops from both sides traded gun and rocket fire on Friday, leaving two Thai soldiers dead and another nine wounded.'Thai soldiers fired many rockets into the market so that it was burned down,' said Cambodian soldier Kim Chantha, 49, as he sat next to the smoldering site at the base of the temple, cradling his AK-47 rifle. 'We rushed to put out the fire when it first started on the thatched roof of a house, but we didn't have time because Thai soldiers kept firing machineguns and a lot of rockets toward the market,' he added.Many troops sifted through the scattered corrugated steel that remains of the gutted market and homes.Hundreds of villagers who lived here were evacuated to a school 20 kilometres away from the site.

Khieu Samphan Requests Release

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh03 April 2009
Former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan requested his release from pre-trial detention on Friday, claiming he would not flee his own day in court and would spend his time farming.Khieu Samphan, who is 78 and was arrested in November 2007, is facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, as nominal head of the regime.Defense attorney Sa Sovan told the Pre-Trial Chamber of the tribunal that Khieu Samphan would not flee if released. Nor would he pressure witnesses or victims, nor “stir up social instability,” he said.“He wants to stay outside detention, to plant fruit trees and vegetables,” Sa Sovan said. “So I have repeatedly asked the Pre-Trial Chamber to release Khieu Samphan on bail and have asked for court measures [to keep him confined to certain areas].”Tribunal prosecutor Yet Chakrya told the court the detention was a “proper measure,” if only to protect Khieu Samphan’s safety.“If we release Khieu Samphan on bail, he will have revenge sought against him by victims,” he said.Khieu Samphan visited Phnom Penh in 1991 for the first time after the collapse of the Khmer Rouge. An angry mob of people surrounded his residence, and he was injured on the head as a result.Tuol Sleng prison survivor Bu Meng, now 69, said Khieu Samphan should be held in detention, along with four other leaders, including the chief of that prison, Duch, who saw the first days of a substantive trial on Monday.“Khieu Samphan cannot deny what he did in the Khmer Rouge regime, because he was the leader. I believe that if the court allows Khieu Samphan outside detention, it is very difficult [because] of revenge sought by victims.”At least 10 members of Khieu Samphan’s family were present for Friday’s hearing.“I’ve come here to know what the court accuses him of, and what the court is doing to find justice for him,” Khieu Samphan’s wife, So Socheath, told reporters after the hearing. “I want the court to show the evidence [linking him to] the killings. I want justice for the killings under the Khmer Rouge regime. Who gave the order for the killings? [Khieu Samphan] did not commit a crime, and I want the court to release him on bail.”

First part of historic Duch trial ends

Thursday Apr 02, 2009Maggie TaitNZPA
PHNOM PENH - The historic public trial of the man who ran Pol Pot's torture prison is to take a short break, after a dramatic opening three days in which Kaing Guek Eav apologised to his victims and the Cambodian people.The trial before a United Nations-backed tribunal is taking place before five judges, one of them New Zealand Justice Silvia Cartwright.Following Tuesday's dramatic apology by Eav, better known by his revolutionary name Duch, yesterday was anti-climatic. The auditorium, packed for two days, was less than half full.The trial will resume on Monday when the judges will say whether they agree to a defence request to release Duch into a safe house.Duch's French lawyer, Francois Roux, asked he be moved from the tribunal's specially built jail to a "safe house," as his rights had been violated by his 10-year detention without trial.Cambodian law prohibits "provisional detention" longer than three years, Roux said.After his 1999 arrest, Duch spent seven years in a Cambodian military prison, then nearly three years in the tribunal's jail.Another argument for moving him was that he shared his quarters with four other Khmer Rouge defendants, and he will be implicating some of them during his trial.Over the coming months witnesses will testify about what went on at Tuol Sleng or S21 torture centre, where an estimated 17,000 people were detained, tortured and executed.New Zealand Olympic rower Rob Hamill's brother Kerry was tortured at S21 before he was executed, after the yacht he and two others were sailing strayed into Cambodian waters in 1978.Mr Hamill has been accepted as a civil party, which means his lawyer can ask questions of witness and Duch on his behalf.Duch on Tuesday admitted the crimes that happened under his watch but qualified that by saying he was only acting under the orders of his superiors.Mr Hamill told NZPA on Tuesday that it was good Duch had admitted his guilt, but that had to be tempered by the ambition and willingness to do wrong he had shown by his acts."Did he ever consider the people he murdered that they, like him, had mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, or children?"He wanted to ask Duch what happened to his brother's remains.The trial is the first of senior leaders in the Khmer Rouge regime under which 1.7 million Cambodians died to be heard before the UN-backed dual international Cambodian Court.Duch faces charges including crimes against humanity, breaches of the Geneva Convention and violations of the Cambodian penal code including premeditated murder.Maggie Tait travelled to Cambodia with the assistance of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

Robert Petit casts doubt on Duch’s remorse

31 March 2009By A.L.G.Cambodge Soir HebdoTranslated from French by Tola EkClick here to read the article in French
The prosecutor reminded that the former S-21 official remained with the communist party of Kampuchea for another “13 years,” following the fall of the KR regime in January 1979.Following the initial declaration given by the prosecutor in the morning of Tuesday 31 March, Robert Petit, the Canadian co-prosecutor, questioned the sincerity of Duch’s remorse, while acknowledging that he collaborated with the court.“Was his feeling of remorse authentic?” Robert Petit asked in French. “It is indeed a good question to ask. Indeed, Duch asked for forgiveness on several occasions, directly during scene re-enactments or through his lawyers. But, did he apologized to the victims whom he ordered and supervised their torture?”Reminding the audience that Duch remained a member of the communist party of Kampuchea for another “13 years” following the fall of the regime, and that the KR had enough confidence in him to send him to teach Khmer in China for two more years, Robert Petit ended his speech by paying tribute to the victims: “Behind the statistics and the slogans, there are hidden names, families, hope. Maybe, the accused will finally be troubled by these sufferings, which in the past, left him unmoved.”Prior to this, Robert Petit once again asked that “as in all mass crime cases,” the charge of “joint criminal enterprise” be retained against Duch.At the end of the initial declaration by the prosecution, the session ended at about noon time. It was restarted at 1:30 PM to allow the defense to provide its reply.