Draft of NGO Law Withheld

Cambodian authorities limit debate on a proposed law that would regulate civil groups.

Cambodia is expected to push ahead with a controversial law closely regulating nongovernmental organizations despite concerns by human rights groups that the legislation will severely restrict NGOs from operating freely within the country.

The Cambodian government has made amendments to a second draft of the law based on feedback from NGOs but has not made them public.

NGOs say they fear the third draft does not incorporate significant changes proposed in consultations with the government over the previous version of the law.

Beijing On Its Guard At Anniversary

The Chinese government is taking great pains to make sure its crackdown on Tiananmen activists is forgotten.

Twenty-two years on, Chinese authorities removed from the capital former political and military officials with first-hand knowledge of the 1989 military crackdown on Tiananmen Square protests.

Calls to the Beijing home of Bao Tong, former top Communist Party aide to late ousted premier Zhao Ziyang, went unanswered on Thursday.

Bao, who has been under house arrest since his release from a seven-year jail term in the wake of Zhao's fall, typically writes political essays marking "sensitive" anniversaries in the ruling Party's history, arguing for democratic change.

Uyghur in Chinese Custody?

Chinese officials accompany him as he is taken out of a detention center in Kazakhstan.

Chinese paramilitary police trucks drive through downtown Urumqi, July 9, 2009.

Kazakhstan is believed to have handed over to Chinese custody an ethnic Uyghur fighting deportation to Beijing after he spoke up about torture and death in Chinese jails.

Ershidin Israil, 38, was taken away from a detention center in Kazakhstan's largest city Almaty by Kazakh security officials and two Chinese police officers late on Monday, according to his lawyer,  Yuri Sergeivich Stukanov.

Municipal government officials said he would be “repatriated” to China.

The lawyer told the wife of Israil’s brother that  two Kazakh security guards, two Chinese officials and a Kazakh state prosecutor from Almaty accompanied Israil from the detention center to an unknown destination.

Huge Security Presence in Hohhot

 

Chinese security personnel at the Inner Mongolia Normal University campus in the regional capital Hohhot, May 31, 2011.

Chinese authorities have poured security personnel and armored vehicles into Inner Mongolia following region-wide protests over exploitation of grasslands and herders' rights.

"As I got on the train at Hohhot [the regional capital], the place looked like it was preparing for war," said a source in the region on Thursday. "There were special police everywhere wearing bulletproof vests."

Thailand's case to ICJ years in the making [... or it could be much sooner]

Senator for Phitsanulok Phikulkaew Krairiksh, who chairs the Senate committee on foreign affairs, has played a key role in finding a solution to the Thai-Cambodia border dispute.

She was involved in preparations to defend the country's position at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after Cambodia asked it to interpret its 1962 ruling on sovereignty over the disputed land near Preah Vihear temple.

The panel has studied the border conflict for some time although its work has gone unreported by the media.

Ms Phikulkaew discussed the panel's work with NAUVARAT SUKSAMRAN.

What has the panel done to help the Thai legal team which gave testimony to the International Court of Justice?

Ambassador [to the Hague] Virachai Plasai assessed the situation and believed the issue would eventually end up with the ICJ.

The ambassador came under political pressure and asked to be transferred to The Hague. That happened to be the right move as he helped to prepare the country's legal team.

It took more than two years to put together the legal team and gather all the necessary information, but we worked together quietly.

Why hasn't the panel tried harder to bring information to the public? People have been fed confusing information about Preah Vihear that raised fears that Thailand would lose territory.

We might have run into problems had details of our preparations and information to be presented to the court been released. The lawyers could have been lobbied [by the other side].

The government in 2003 supported Cambodia's unilateral bid to register the Preah Vihear temple as a world heritage site.

However, the cultural side of the issue must also be taken into account. People on both sides of the border have been crossing back and forth for a long time. They are so culturally related they are almost like family.

Nobody ever thought that we would one day have to be separated by fences. This is about civilisation and all sides learning to live together in harmony.

The Preah Vihear issue also concerns the internal affairs of both countries. It is a game to woo voters and to maintain the hold on power by politicians in Cambodia.

With Leaked Tape, New Woes for Opposition

 

Human Rights Party president Kem Sokha addresses journalists at the party's headquarter. (Photo: by Heng Reaksmey)

In a phone interview, Kem Sokha said the leaked tape was in fact an attempt to weaken his own party, although he did not elaborate.

Both of the country’s opposition parties are now ensnared in a number of challenges as they prepare to face elections in the next two years, analysts said this week.

The Sam Rainsy Party’s leader is already in exile over a number of criminal charges he says are politically motivated.

And now the president of the minority opposition Human Rights Party, Kem Sokha, is facing a challenge to his credibility, after a recording was leaked to the media in which he appears to be colluding with Prime Minister Hun Sen to divide the opposition.

Kem Sokha has denied any collaboration with the ruling Cambodian People Party, but the allegations come amid a continued failure by both parties to unite.

Cambodia Lags on Land, Freedom of Speech Rights, Says UN Official

Surya Subedi, U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, speaks during a press conference in Phnom Penh, (file photo).

The United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia Surya Subedi wrapped up his fifth visit to Cambodia on Friday expressing concern about the lack of progress on land rights and freedom of speech in the country.

The main purpose of the visit - his fifth --was to assess how well parliament functions in upholding the rights of ordinary Cambodians.

On that score, he said that while human rights had improved in some areas, it had noticeably failed to do so in others such as land rights and freedom of speech.

US Seeks Cooperation With China as it Boosts Engagement in Southeast Asia

Cambodian Ambassador Hem Heng shakes hand with US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, (file photo).

A top State Department official says that as the United States works to deepen its engagement in Southeast Asia, working closely together with China is a key part of that effort.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell says that one of the the most important things that the United States is seeking to do this year, both at the ASEAN regional forum and the East Asia Summit, is show the United States deep commitment to working with China.

Professor Takes on Khmer Rouge Trauma in US

 

Nou Leakhena, a Cambodian-American sociologist and professor, spends much of her free time helping other Cambodians in the US.

When the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal stood up in 2006, it offered a chance for many Cambodians to seek some form of truth and justice that many hoped could help heal some of the trauma wrought by the regime.

In the US, much of that help has come from Nou Leakhena, a Cambodian-American sociologist and professor who spends much of her free time helping other Cambodians in the US take advantage of what healing the tribunal might offer.

Plucked From Garbage Scavenging, a Girl Makes Good

 

Today Chen Sokha, 16, is a student at a prestigious international school and has even been named one of Newsweek magazine’s top 150 women.

When Chen Sokha was a young girl, she found herself, through circumstance and bad luck, an orphan, and a scavenger at Phnom Penh’s notorious Stung Meanchey dump. Things went poorly from Day One.

“While I was scavenging on the side of the trash hill, a bulldozer pushed the trash down and the trash covered one of my legs,” she said in a recent interview, recalling the day years before. “I was so terrified that I tried to get out and run away, but one of my friends got covered up and killed there; I still remember the incident. ”

Those days are behind her now. Today Chen Sokha, 16, is a student at a prestigious international school and has even been named one of Newsweek magazine’s top 150 women. She’s an accomplished student and an aspiring dancer. She’s been featured in a documentary of inspiring girls around the world and has even met with US First Lady Michelle Obama.

Prosecutor Files Appeal Against Judges’ ‘Censure’

Andrew Cayley, British co-prosecutor to the U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal, greets the crowd during a meeting with local officials and residents in Pailin, (file photo).

International tribunal prosecutor Andrew Cayley has filed an official appeal against investigating judges at the UN-backed court, saying they were not within their right to order him to retract portions of a public statement about a controversial case.

Cambodia Complains to UN Amid New Clashes with Thailand

Cambodian soldiers carry their weapons near Preah Vihear temple along the border with Thailand February 6, 2011. Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged fire on a disputed stretch of their border on Sunday, witnesses said, the third flare-up in three days in an ancient feud over territory surrounding a 900-year-old Hindu temple.

The Cambodian government says part of an 11th-century Hindu temple has been damaged by cross-border artillery fire from the Thai army.

Cambodia Seeks Court Ruling on Dispute With Thailand

Cambodia has called on the International Court of Justice to review a 1962 judgment over a disputed ancient Hindu temple along the Thai border. The move follows renewed fighting that broke an hours-old ceasefire.

In a submission to the International Court of Justice, Cambodia calls for an interpretation a 50-year-old ruling that gave the 11th century temple to Cambodia.

Cambodian Foreign Affairs Spokesman Koy Kuong announced the move Friday in Phnom Penh.

Conflict and Controversy Overshadow Unity at ASEAN Summit

The prime ministers of Cambodia and Thailand exchanged heated words over their border conflict at the ASEAN summit and Burma received an endorsement in principle to head the organization in 2014, despite its poor human-rights record.   

Since February, nearly 30 people have been killed and thousands displaced in both Thailand and Cambodia because of ongoing military clashes between the two countries over a border area near a historic temple.

Sunday, the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia held separate news conferences after trading accusations earlier at the ASEAN Summit about which country is responsible for the conflict.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said it was Cambodia that began this conflict by stationing troops in the disputed area in violation of a bilateral agreement both signed in 2000, and he says they have prolonged the conflict by trying to get international organizations involved.

ASEAN Summit Highlights Economic Gains, Political Growing Pains

 

Leaders of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations began a two day summit in Jakarta Saturday. The organization has made progress in creating an economic trading block, but still faces great challenges in finding common ground on political and security matters.

All the ASEAN heads of state, with the exception of Singapore, are participating in the Jakarta summit. Singapore's prime minister stayed at home to await the results of the election there.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened the summit and endorsed ASEAN's recent efforts to mediate peace between two member states, Thailand and Cambodia, that have been fighting since February.

Officials Admit Dam Flaws

China has given the order for a massive release of water from the controversial Three Gorges Dam in a bid to ease the worst drought on Asia's biggest river in five decades.

Five billion cubic meters of water will be released downstream between now and June 10 for irrigation, drinking water, and the preservation of wildlife, officials said.

The drought is being blamed largely on a lack of recent rainfall in the Yangtze delta region, home to 400 million people and accounting for 40 percent of China's national economy.

Row Over Quake Babies' Schooling

Parents of children who were allowed a second child under China's draconian family planning rules following the death of their first in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake say the government has backed down on its promises of free schooling.

Local officials promised in the wake of the devastating quake three years ago that families who had lost their only child would receive free education for a second child until the age of 18, parents said on Tuesday.

"Lately we have been seeking out the government because our children are now of the age to enter kindergarten," said Sang Jun, a bereaved parent from Mianzhu county who has since had a second child.

"Now the government has started saying that it won't provide free education for them as it promised beforehand," Sang said.

Security Tight in Inner Mongolia

Tensions simmer as the region prepares for further ethnic protests.

China has imposed heavy security measures in major cities in the country's northern region of Inner Mongolia as ethnic Mongolians planned to step up protests over the destruction of their grasslands and erosion of culture.

On Sunday, hundreds of paramilitary policemen and police in riot gear sealed off streets and patrolled Xinhua Square in Hohhot, the region's capital. Parts of the region have been blocked off since Friday.

Authorities have also tightened security in the cities of Tongliao, Dongsheng, and Ulaanhad (in Chinese, Chifeng), where riot police were on red alert, according to the US-based Southern Mongolia Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC). 

Annual Forum at Ohio University Attracts Wider Audience

 

Dr. Chhany Sak-Humphry, a Cambodian language professor, talks about Khmer language teaching in Hawaii during the 3rd Annual Khmer Studies Forum at Ohio University on Friday, April 29, 2011. She is among the more than one hundred participants who have gathered for the two-day conference which has seen increased popularity.

After three years, Ohio University’s Khmer Studies Forum has evolved into a full-fledged conference. Last month, around 100 people gathered at the forum to discuss a variety of Cambodian topics, reflecting an increased interest compared to previous years.

Christine Su, assistant director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies​ at the university, told VOA Khmer the forum had grown into a two-day event, “and not only does it include Ohio University students, but also people interested in Khmer studies from all over the country.”

Court Upholds Charges Against Angkor Lighting Critic

The Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a guilty verdict for a man accused of disinformation, following public remarks critical of a lighting project at Angkor Wat, but reduced the charges against him.

Moeung Sonn, who has fled the country, is facing a two-year prison sentence following a suit brought by the government in 2009. He had disseminated public remarks claiming the Apsara Authority was potentially damaging Angkor Wat by installing a lighting system around the temple.

Apsara officials denied the lights, which have since been taken down, posed a threat to the temple.

Moeung Sonn’s original charge of disinformation was dropped to “insulting” the Cambodian people. His two-year sentence was upheld, but a fine against him was dropped from about $3,500 to less than $1,000.

Defense attorney Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, said he work with the defendant’s family to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Moeung Sonn’s wife, Yi Phally, 66, told reporters outside the court Wednesday her husband had only intended to protect the temples, not criticize the government. She also pointed out that the lights have since been taken down.