Cambodia's corruptor-in-chief vows to fight corruption: Can he send himslef to jail?

Hun Sen speaks during a graduation ceremony Thursday at the National Institute of Education. (Photo by: Uy Nousereimony)

PM vows to fight corruption

Friday, 04 June 2010
Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

GOVERNMENT officials caught engaging in corrupt practices will be swiftly prosecuted under the Kingdom’s new Anticorruption Law, Prime Minister Hun Sen vowed Thursday.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony for students from the Royal School of Administration, the premier urged officials to stamp out corruption in all its forms, and called institutional graft “a dangerous disease”.

“I am optimistic that we still have the capacity to fight against this dangerous disease,” Hun Sen said. “Corruption will damage our institutions.”

But the premier also defended the Kingdom’s police, military and government institutions, saying that most officials do not engage in corruption.

“People who commit corruption, they do it secretly. But be aware that other people working with you will find some way to know about it,” he said.

Cambodia is regarded as one of the most corrupt nations in the region, according to Transparency International, which ranked the Kingdom 158th out of 180 countries in its 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index.

Observers have questioned whether the Anticorruption Law, passed earlier this year, will give officials enough tools to effectively and thoroughly combat graft.

Yong Kim Eng, president of the People’s Centre for Development and Peace, said he is concerned the new law lacks safeguards to protect whistle-blowers. Particularly troubling, he said, is an article outlining punishments of up to six months in jail or 10 million riels (US$2,386) in fines for complaints that lead to “useless inquiry”.

“This makes it a problem for the public to report about corrupt people,” Yong Kim Eng said.

It also remains to be seen whether the new Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) will be able to ensure witness confidentiality, he said, or whether the unit will be sufficiently independent – both politically and financially, since it falls under the auspices of the Council of Ministers – to carry out investigations.

After the law was passed in March, ACU officials acknowledged that extensive training would be required for those tasked with fighting graft.

Deputy Director Chhay Savuth said Thursday that the body was still in the process of “forming an internal structure”.

H1N1 Virus Claims Fifth Cambodian

A fifth person in Cambodia has died from the H1N1 virus, sometimes called swine flu, health authorities said Thursday.

The victim, a 20-year-old man from Phnom Penh, succumbed late last week after a stay at Calmette hospital, Sok Touch, director of the Ministry of Health’s communicable disease department, told reporters.

The total number of cases of the disease, which is considered a global epidemic, rose to 472, up from 444 cases last week.

The disease has spread across 13 provinces and cities so far: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kandal, Takeo, Kampong Speu, Battambang, Kampong Chnang, Svay Rieng, Kampong Cham, Mondolkiri, Kampot, Prey Veng and Banteay Meanchey.

The Ministry of Health will receive 300,000 doses of flu vaccine from the World Health Organization, to combat the spread of the virus at the end of this month, officials said.

Health experts continue to warn people to avoid crowded places if they have flu-like symptoms, including fever of 38 degrees Celsius, a sore throat, headaches, muscle aches and lethargy.

Only patients with severe cases of H1N1 will be hospitalized.

Duch Team at Odds in Final Remarks

The French defense attorney for Kaing Kek Iev told Khmer Rouge tribunal judges Thursday he was in disagreement with his Cambodian colleague over whether the court should drop two atrocity crimes charges against the former prison chief know better as Duch.

Instead, Francois Roux, in his final arguments to the UN-backed court, said he would rather see a prison sentence shortened for Duch, who is accused of killing more than 12,000 people as administrator for one of the Khmer Rouge’s most notorious prisons, Tuol Sleng.

International prosecutors have called for at least 40 years of imprisonment for war crimes, crimes against humanity, murder and torture.

Roux’s statement Thursday was at odds with arguments from Duch’s Cambodian attorney, Kar Savuth, who said Wednesday the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his client should be dropped.

Kar Savuth told the court the prison chief, now 67, had been trapped under a revolutionary hierarchy led by Pol Pot, security chief Son Sen and Nuon Chea. (Nuon Chea, the regime’s chief ideologue, is currently awaiting his own trial at the UN-backed court, along with three other senior leaders of the regime, under whom as many as 2 million Cambodians died in less than four years.)

“Duch did not commit crimes against humanity or war crimes,” Kar Savuth told the court. “Please, Trial Chamber, drop these charges.”

There were 195 other prison chiefs like Duch, he said.

“The disaster within and without [the Khmer Rouge cadre] was really the sole responsibility of the Cambodian communist party,” Duch told the court in his own concluding remarks. “I promise in any case in the future, I will do everything for the need of my people. Please the court, take this under consideration and decide on this matter.”

Prosecutors, meanwhile, have urged the court to hand down heavy punishment, due to the scale of the crimes.

“The crime for which he is being sentenced is a grave crime, which was against numerous people,” Cambodian prosecutor Chea Leang told the court Tuesday. “It is simply understood that nothing can replace the sentencing of him for a very long time in jail.”

Tuol Sleng prison, known to the Khmer Rouge as S-21, was the most serious of all the regime’s detention centers, and as its head, Duch intentionally tortured prisoners and sentenced them to inhumane deaths, she said.

The week brought to a close the first-ever trial for the hybrid tribunal, which has struggled since its inception in 2006 and is now facing a second, more complicated trial, for Noun Chea and other leaders.

The Trial Chamber will now begin consideration of a verdict in Duch’s case, though that decision is not expected until early 2010.

The eternal confrontation

Thrice upon a time … Sam Rainsy again lost his parliamentary immunity. Such a misfortune befell upon him twice earlier already since he earned his seat at the National Assembly. On Monday 16 November, 87 CPP, NRP and Funcinpec voted for the lifting of his parliamentary immunity. The reason for this lifting: the Svay Rieng authorities blamed the opposition leader of uprooting six posts representing the new border posts between Cambodia and Vietnam. Sam Rainsy acted in this manner because he believed that this new delimitation was perpetrated to the detriment of Cambodia. He was thus obliged to uproot these posts so that Cambodia would not lose a piece of its territory.

On the other hand, the CPP is of a different opinion on the event. For the ruling party, the SRP chief had once again showed that his activism only resulted in damages.

The border issue is sensitive, as well as complicated for Cambodia. Going from the Angkorian splendor to a tiny kingdom that it is right now can explain the suspicion that the Cambodian people have on this issue, and thereby Sam Rainsy’s attitude.

Nevertheless, this chapter shows once more the complete absence of dialogue between the CPP and the opposition party. The two camps are not making any effort to understand one another, nor are they finding a middle ground. The SRP does not give much credit to the government for resolving the border issues with Vietnam to the best interest of Cambodia. As a Cambodian saying goes: “Pure gold fears no fire,” literally, this means that if the government works appropriately on this issue, it has nothing to hide. If the parliament minority were to be convinced of the efficiency of the ruling party, then most likely, Sam Rainsy would not have to uproot these stakes in Svay Rieng.

The perpetual misunderstanding between the CPP and the SRP explains the fact that the former is doing whatever it wants because of its prevailing position, whereas the latter can only resort to provocation to make itself heard. The confrontation is thus unavoidable and the law of the strongest prevails. The way things work does not lead to anything good and it only contributes to hurt the public image of the politicians in the eyes of the voters, as well as in the eyes of the international community.

Khmer Rouge prison chief readies for final arguments

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's war crimes court this week hears final arguments in the trial of the Khmer Rouge prison chief, with Duch expected to apologise for the regime's horrors in a bid to lessen his sentence.

Duch, 67, has repeatedly used the UN-backed court since hearings started in February to publicly ask forgiveness for overseeing the murders of around 15,000 people at the Tuol Sleng torture centre three decades ago.

The former maths teacher is one of five leaders of the brutal communist movement who have been detained by the court but is the only one to have admitted any guilt on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

A verdict in the trial, the first by the tribunal, is not expected until early 2010. Duch - whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav - faces a life sentence in prison because the court cannot impose the death penalty.

"This will be a very meaningful and significant week for the people of Cambodia and the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime who lost their loved ones," tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath told AFP.

"They have waited for so long. Finally peace will be coming close to them."

The Khmer Rouge, led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, emptied Cambodia's cities during its 1975-1979 rule, exiling millions to vast collective farms in a bid to take society back to "Year Zero" and forge a Marxist utopia.

Up to two million people were executed in the notorious "Killing Fields" or died from starvation and overwork before a Vietnamese-backed force toppled the regime. Pol Pot died in 1998.

The Khmer Rouge court was established in 2006 after nearly a decade of negotiations between the government and UN, and many more years of civil war in Cambodia following the fall of the regime.

Arguments this week are expected to be shown live on television across Cambodia, and the court said that thousands of people have inquired about coming to the tribunal to watch from behind bullet-proof glass.

Prosecutors have tried to portray Duch, who was captured in 1999, as a meticulous executioner who built up a huge archive of photos, confessions and other evidence documenting inmates' final terrible months.

But the trial's format has allowed Duch to comment on all testimony and repeatedly give his own version, portraying himself as a terrified bureaucrat who performed his duty out of fear leaders would kill him and his family.

"I tried to survive on a daily basis, and that's what happened. And yes, you can say I am a cowardly person," Duch told the court in September.

Duch, a born-again Christian, has rejected several allegations he personally tortured and executed prisoners, and also denied prosecution assertions he played a key role in the Khmer Rouge leadership.

"The civil law system gave Duch far more time speaking out loud in the court than any other player. That gave him a huge advantage over any of the other parties," said Heather Ryan, who monitors the court for the Open Society Justice Initiative.

His defence has indicated it hopes his contrite testimony will earn him a reduced sentence, pointing to a similar defence used by Hitler's main architect, Albert Speer, at the Nuremberg trials after World War II.

The tribunal itself has meanwhile faced continued controversy during the trial.

There have been claims that Cambodian staff paid kickbacks for their jobs, while Prime Minister Hun Sen has opposed pursuing more suspects on the grounds that it could destabilise the country.

The court has also been hit by the early departure of prosecutor Robert Petit, who cited family reasons for resigning in July, and claims investigating judge Marcel Lemonde prefers evidence biased against accused leaders.

The other Khmer Rouge members awaiting trial are "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, former head of state Khieu Samphan, ex-foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife Ieng Thirith, who was the minister of social affairs.

Most Cambodians have welcomed the idea that Duch at least partially confessed in the court, which is seen as the last hope to deal with Khmer Rouge crimes - but few are ready to forgive his past.

"Duch is like a piece of white paper - when it is stained with black ink, it cannot be totally cleaned," said Bou Meng, who is one of the handful who survived Tuol Sleng because his artistic skill was deemed useful to the regime.

SRP North America's condemnation of the lifting of Sam Rainsy's immunity ... Public demonstration planned for Nov. 28

To: PRESS MEDIA AND KHMER PUBLICS

From: Office of the SRP North America Secretariat

The Sam Rainsy Party of North America wish to inform the press and the public of its condemnation, in the strongest term possible, of the Cambodian authority and its rubber-stamp National Assembly for removing the immunity of H.E. Sam Rainsy, elected member of the parliament. By such act, H.E. Sam Rainsy, duly elected representative of the people, has been deprived of his rights and duties to serve his constituencies.

Here once again, the Cambodian National Assembly, under the CPP’s majority, has irresponsibly and abusively violated the trust of the people. In this case, it has shown very little regard for concerns of its citizens whose lands have been lost due to border encroachment activities. It called into question whose interests this government and the National Assembly are representing?

The Sam Rainsy Party of North America requests that His Majesty the King and King Father, our Father of Independence, to intervene in calling for immediate re-instatement of immunity to H.E. Sam Rainsy. Furthermore, to come to the calls for help of their people by help ensuring justice, freedoms and our Cambodia’s territorial integrity.

A peaceful public demonstration will be held on November 28, 2009 in Washington, DC, USA and Ottawa, Canada. Detail planning is process and will be sent out later shortly.

We urge all Khmer compatriots to take part in support of our territorial integrity and to show our concerns to all victims of land losses.

Phay Siphan admits that Hun Xen's regime is aiding and abetting a Thai criminal?

Cambodia caught between Thai internal politics, official

Cambodia has maintained neutrality in Thailand’s internal politics for not extraditing fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra as a way to avoid causing irritation from Thai “Red Shirt” and “Yellow Shirt” protestors, a government official said.

“When a criminal whom we wanted to arrest stayed in Thailand, did Thailand send the criminal back to us? They didn’t. But here we just exercise our rights to decision making and maintain a neutral role. If we extradite Thaksin back to Thailand, the Red Shirt group would be angry at us and if we don’t, the Yellow Shirt would, so that’s why the government [of Cambodia] must stand on a neutral ground,” Phay Siphan, a spokesman at the Council of Ministers, said as a guest on Hello VOA show Monday.

For further solution with Thailand Phay Siphan said Cambodia’s stance is to maintain peace, good relationship and good cooperation.

Cambodia has recently appointed Thaksin as an economic advisor, a move that Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said does not respect international principle on extradition.

The appointment and Cambodia’s refusal to extradite Thaksin have caused diplomatic tension between the two neighboring countries. Both have lower relations by recalling their respective ambassadors.

Villagers Oppose Coastal Backfill Plan and Leaflets are Seized

Authorities in the coastal Kampot province seized on Wednesday leaflets expressing opposition to a plan to backfill a seaside plot for development, activists said.

The measure was taken while residents in Boeung Touk commune were distributing the leaflets to passengers on National Road 3. Villagers said Cambodian government allowed the company Keo Chea Property and Development to backfill 200 hectares of Cambodian sea and that the backfilling destroys sea resources on which they are depending on.

“It will destroy crab population and fish sanctuary,” said Saing Pov, who publicly expressed opposition to the project.

Activists said some 500 households will be affected. The developer says the project will create up to 1,000 jobs.

“I would like to ask them to reconsider about this development. We have already studied on [environmental] impact from this investment that’s why the government grant us permission,” Keo Chea, president of the company, told VOA Khmer.

Opposition leader seeks international support on immunity

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is seeking international support a day after his parliamentary immunity was revoked in a dispute over border with Vietnam.

Cambodia’s National Assembly on Monday lift Sam Rainsy’s immunity to pave the way for court investigation into his involvement in uprooting six wooden demarcation posts in the eastern province of Svay Rieng last month.

“I will tell them [European Parliament] that the recent stripping of my immunity and those of other parliamentarians is a violation of the [Cambodia’s] constitution, democratic principles, and freedom of expression,” Sam Rainsy told VOA Khmer by phone from Brussels where he is scheduled to attend a parliament hearing.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said everything is done based on the rule of law.

Thai national arrested for espionage

A Thai national has been arrested and accused of espionage for allegedly stealing the flight schedule of fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, amid an ongoing row between Thailand and Cambodia over Thaksin’s appointment as government economics adviser, Phnom Penh police and court officials said.

Sok Phal, director of the Ministry of Interior’s Central Security Department, said 31-year-old Siwarak Chotipong, an employee at Cambodia Air Traffic Services Co., was arrested by officers from the Central Security Department at his office on Wednesday.

“He stole the special flight schedule of Mr. Thaksin and handed it to the first secretary of Thai Embassy,” Sok Phal said. “It is not his duty to do so. What he did was beyond his responsibility. He must face legal action.”

On Thursday, the Cambodian government expelled the first secretary at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, with Thailand responding in kind.

Cambodia Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong would not confirm whether the expulsion was related to the airport case.

“It’s a case of the court. It’s the court’s affair,” he said, adding that the Thai first secretary had “performed his role contrary to his position.”

Sok Phal, however, said the first secretary was directly involved and had been expelled as a result.

"He ordered the man to copy the schedule of Thaksin's return flight, and that's why he was expelled," Sok Phal said.

In Bangkok, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya forcefully rejected the espionage accusations.

"It's not true. It is a malicious and false claim," Kasit said. "Thaksin feels he must destroy Thailand and collaborate with Hun Sen."

Thaksin was deposed in a 2006 coup and self-exiled last year to avoid a jail term for corruption charges. Last week, Cambodia announced Thaksin’s official appointment as government economics adviser, prompting Thailand to withdraw its ambassador to Phnom Penh and Cambodia to reciprocate.

Phnom Penh court deputy prosecutor Sok Roeun said Sivarak is now in pre-trial detention at Prey Sar prison and is being charged under article 19 of the 2005 Law on Archives, which covers offenses related to matters of national defence, security or public order. If convicted, Sivarak faces a jail term of between seven and 15 years and a fine of between 5 and 25 million riels (US$1198-5990).
Police are now investigating whether more people were involved with the plot, Sok Phal said.

Reunion of the "eternal friends" ... after their one night of separation

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (R) hugs fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra upon Thaksin's arrival for an interview at Hun Sen's residence in Kamdal province, near the outskirts of Phnom Penh November 11, 2009. Cambodia refused a request from Thailand on Wednesday to extradite Thaksin, in a widening diplomatic row that threatens to worsen Thailand's political crisis. Cambodia's Foreign Ministry handed over a statement refusing to extradite the billionaire, ousted in a 2006 coup and later sentenced to two years in prison for graft, just seconds after officials from the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh submitted the request. REUTERS/Stringer
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (R) shakes hands with fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra at Hun Sen's residence in Kamdal province, near the outskirts of Phnom Penh November 11, 2009. Cambodia refused a request from Thailand on Wednesday to extradite Thaksin, in a widening diplomatic row that threatens to worsen Thailand's political crisis. Cambodia's Foreign Ministry handed over a statement refusing to extradite the billionaire, ousted in a 2006 coup and later sentenced to two years in prison for graft, just seconds after officials from the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh submitted the request. REUTERS/Stringer
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (R) meets with fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra for an interview at Hun Sen's residence in Kamdal province, near the outskirts of Phnom Penh November 11, 2009. Cambodia refused a request from Thailand on Wednesday to extradite Thaksin, in a widening diplomatic row that threatens to worsen Thailand's political crisis. Cambodia's Foreign Ministry handed over a statement refusing to extradite the billionaire, ousted in a 2006 coup and later sentenced to two years in prison for graft, just seconds after officials from the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh submitted the request. REUTERS/Stringer
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (R) sits beside fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra for an interview at Hun Sen's residence in Kamdal province, near the outskirts of Phnom Penh November 11, 2009. Cambodia refused a request from Thailand on Wednesday to extradite Thaksin, in a widening diplomatic row that threatens to worsen Thailand's political crisis. Cambodia's Foreign Ministry handed over a statement refusing to extradite the billionaire, ousted in a 2006 coup and later sentenced to two years in prison for graft, just seconds after officials from the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh submitted the request. REUTERS/Stringer

Rubbing salt on Thailand's wound?

Ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (R) speaks with Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen during their meeting in Phnom Penh November 10, 2009. Thaksin, wanted at home for a graft conviction, arrived in Cambodia on Tuesday to take up a job offer from the government that has set off a diplomatic row with Bangkok. Sen has made Thaksin an economic adviser to his government and offered him a home in his country. Thaksin is set to brief more than 300 Cambodian economic experts at the Ministry of Economy and Finance on November 12 in the capital. REUTERS/Stringer
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (left) greets former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra in Phnom Penh. Thaksin has arrived in Cambodia to start work as a government economic adviser, fuelling tensions between the two countries after a series of border clashes.(AFP/PM Office/File/Prime Minister Office)
Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (front 2nd R), former Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat (front R) and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (front C) pose with Hun Sen's extended family during their meeting at the latter's house in Phnom Penh November 10, 2009. Thaksin, wanted at home for a graft conviction, arrived in Cambodia on Tuesday to take up a job offer from the government that has set off a diplomatic row with Bangkok. Hun Sen has made Thaksin an economic adviser to his government and offered him a home in his country. Thaksin is set to brief more than 300 Cambodian economic experts at the Ministry of Economy and Finance on November 12 in the capital. Hun Sen's family includes (back R-L) Hun Sen's daughter-in-law Chay Lin, Hun Sen's son-in-law Dy Vichea and his wife Hun Mana, Hun Sen's son Hun Manet and his wife (unidentified), Hun Sen's son-in-law Sok Puthivuth and his wife Hun Maly and Hun Sen's son Hun Manith and his wife (unidentified). (Front L-R) Somchai's wife Yaowapa Wongsawasdi and Hun Sen's wife Bun Rany. REUTERS/Stringer
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, second right from the front row, and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, center, pose for photographs with other members of Hun Sen's family in his residence in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009. Thailand's fugitive ex-Prime Minister Thaksin arrived Tuesday in Phnom Penh following his appointment as economic adviser to the government, fueling tensions between the neighboring countries. (AP Photo/Lim Cheavutha)

Cadres face prospect of more arrests

'Sometimes [my children] ask me, “Who is the Khmer Rouge? Who did all this killing?” And when they do that, I clap my hands on my chest and say, “It’s me.”'
Meas Muth, former Khmer Rouge military division chairman, speaks at his expansive home in Samlot, Battambang. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)I have said again and again that I do not want to go to that court.'
Former Khmer Rouge Northwest Zone district chief Im Chem. (Photo by: Robbie Corey-Boulet)

Former Khmer Rouge describe complex attachment to regime and its legacy.

Oddar Meanchey and Battambang Provinces - At the age of 14, Out Moeun left her family home in Anlong Veng district, Oddar Meanchey province, to work for Khmer Rouge Central Committee member Chhit Choeun, alias Ta Mok.'

Though it was 1987, a full eight years after the regime fell from power, units of Khmer Rouge soldiers were still scattered throughout Cambodia, and she was one of many girls recruited to supply them with weapons. Every two weeks or so, she and seven other girls would rise before dawn and begin travelling, mostly on foot, to provinces as far afield as Kampong Cham and Kampong Chhnang. They each carried a case of AK-47s on their backs, along with one package containing food, clothing and a hammock.

Government and Vietnamese soldiers, from whom the girls had been instructed to hide, routinely accosted them. “I shot at those enemy troops more times than I know how to count,” Out Moeun, now 36, recalled in an interview at her roadside grocery stall less than a kilometre from Ta Mok’s old house. She was hit only once in those exchanges, sustaining a bullet wound she showed off readily: a deep purple scar on the right side of her belly.

Like many former cadres in Anlong Veng, a former Khmer Rouge stronghold, Out Moeun still speaks admiringly of the movement’s leaders, particularly Ta Mok, whom she described as “a good leader” and “a better man than Pol Pot”. She shed tears when discussing his arrest in 1999 and his 2006 death in pretrial detention at the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

This allegiance, however, has not translated into resentment towards the tribunal itself, which she credited with operating “according to the law”. Asked if she was concerned about international prosecutors’ ongoing push for more investigations, she said she was far too busy supporting her family to pay much attention to the tribunal and its work.

She added: “I don’t care about the court arresting more people, because the people they would arrest are not related to those of us at the lower levels. We don’t care.”

The question of how former cadres might respond to more arrests assumed greater urgency after the tribunal announced in September that it had opened the door to investigations beyond those of the five leaders currently detained. That decision overrode objections raised by national co-prosecutor Chea Leang, who had argued that, as a result of additional prosecutions, “ex-members and those who have allegiance to Khmer Rouge leaders may commit violent acts”. Five days after the announcement, Prime Minister Hun Sen echoed this warning in a speech, saying, “If you want a tribunal, but you don’t want to consider peace and reconciliation and war breaks out again, killing 200,000 or 300,000 people, who will be responsible?”

Contrary to these statements, interviews with former cadres in Anlong Veng and Samlot, another former stronghold in Battambang province, suggested a more complicated attachment to the regime and its legacy, one that would seem to preclude outright violence in response to an expanded dragnet. Like Out Moeun, most former cadres disavowed any personal stake in the fate of former regime leaders, though they also took obvious pride in the power those leaders once wielded – and in their own small contributions in support of that power.

San Roeun, a 56-year-old former soldier who now sells tickets to Ta Mok’s house, which has been transformed into a government-run tourism site, expressed concern about how more arrests might affect “the political situation”. But he ruled out the prospect of civil war, emphasising that he and others like him had little interest in the welfare of those who might be arrested.

“The reason I joined the Khmer Rouge was because I wanted to help King Sihanouk,” he said. “I never knew about Pol Pot. We wanted to fight Lon Nol.”

Reminiscing on his years in combat, he spoke at length of his performance on the battlefield, describing his ability not only to survive but to continue killing government troops during the 1980s.

“My son and daughter, they are in school now, and they are reading about the history of the Khmer Rouge killings,” he said, sitting in the booth from which he sells 50 tickets on a typical day. “Sometimes they ask me, ‘Who is the Khmer Rouge? Who did all this killing?’ And when they do that, I clap my hands on my chest and say, ‘It’s me. Your father is the Khmer Rouge.’”

Former military chairman speaks out

Among the few cadres who claimed that more arrests could in fact lead to civil war were Meas Muth, a former Khmer Rouge military division chairman, and Im Chem, a former Khmer Rouge district chief, who have been named by scholars and in the media, respectively, as possible suspects.

In an interview at his Samlot home, Meas Muth, who was listed as a possible suspect in a 2001 report by historian Stephen Heder and war crimes lawyer Brian Tittemore, said Hun Sen’s prediction of “200,000 or 300,000” deaths was sound.

“Hun Sen knows everything about his country, and he was thinking about its future. There could be civil war,” said the former secretary of Central Committee Division 164, which incorporated the Khmer Rouge navy. He added that his “supporters” would likely take part in the unrest, and that he had supporters “everywhere in Kampuchea”.

In their report, titled “Seven Candidates for Prosecution: Accountability for the Crimes of the Khmer Rouge”, Heder and Tittemore point to “compelling evidence” suggesting that Meas Muth was responsible for the execution of cadres under his command. That evidence includes 24 Tuol Sleng confessions signed by prisoners from his division.

Though Meas Muth denies having been informed of Khmer Rouge arrest, interrogation and execution policies, the report includes accounts of meetings during which they were apparently discussed. At a General Staff meeting he attended in 1976, for instance, Son Sen, the defence minister, instructed those present to “have an absolute standpoint about purging counterrevolutionary elements; don’t be half-baked”. The following month, Son Sen said at a similar meeting that the party should do “whatever needs to be done to make our army clean”. At that meeting, according to the report, Meas Muth said, “On this I would like to be in total agreement and unity with the party. Do whatever needs to be done not to allow the situation to get out of hand” and to prevent the strengthening of “no-good elements or enemies”.

Along with an overview of the evidence and its implications, the report includes a thumbnail sketch of a young Meas Muth, a broad-shouldered man in a plaid shirt with full, closed lips and a thick head of brown hair. For the interview in Samlot, the former commander, now 73, wore a light blue button-up half-sleeve shirt over a tank top. His lips, when opened, revealed stained, jagged teeth, and his considerably thinner hair had whitened.

As he talked, he smoked tobacco wrapped in tree leaves and spat into a dark blue pail that rested beside his chair. The shade of the pail matched exactly the stones embedded in the patterned tiles that covered the floor, one of the more eye-catching features of his sprawling home, which comprises three buildings and is surrounded by a 5-hectare orchard of coconut, mango and jackfruit trees. Another highlight is the staircase of the main building, an imposing spiral made of polished beng wood.

Completed in 2006, the house stands in marked contrast with the more modest, though comfortable, stilt constructions nearby, and has become a frequent gathering place for Meas Muth’s neighbours, many of whom are relatives, supporters or soldiers who fought under him. On the afternoon of the interview, neighbours stopped by periodically to discuss plans for the next day’s Kathen festival celebration to be held at the nearby Ta Sanh Chas pagoda, the construction of which Meas Muth has largely funded.

One family brought a guest who had never before been to the house. Upon entering, she complimented Meas Muth on the stones in the floor. Meas Muth looked down and said: “These stones, these are just simple stones. They are not high-quality.” The guest then walked to the staircase, put her arm on the banister and marvelled at the sheen of the wood. Meas Muth replied, “That’s made out of just simple wood. It is not a rare quality. It is just normal wood. Maybe you could find it anywhere.”

After 10 minutes of small-talk, the family left, and Meas Muth answered questions about the allegations laid out in the Heder and Tittemore report.

“Yes, I remember that man,” he said, referring to Heder, the principal author. “He spoke Khmer fluently, and then he just wrote blah blah. It wasn’t true. He just wrote what he heard, not what he saw.”

He said that, contrary to the report, he spent the regime years as a “simple leader” supervising workers in the Battambang rice fields.

“I had never heard about S-21, because I was not in Phnom Penh. I was here, in Samlot, so I just knew everything around me,” he said.

He acknowledged having attended the meetings mentioned in the report, including a General Staff meeting in September 1976 at which Tuol Sleng was represented by its third-ranking cadre. But he said he did not remember what was discussed. “I can’t remember because it’s been over 30 years already,” he said.

He said he would not be surprised if the court came to arrest him, though he argued that this would be a waste of everyone’s time, in no small part because, unlike Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, he would resist cooperating with any attempt to prosecute him. Not for him, apparently, the teary confessions, the claims of responsibility or the pleas for forgiveness that were the hallmarks of the Duch hearings.

“Duch is crazy, because he wants the tribunal to be the end of his life,” Meas Muth said. “For me, I will not cooperate. I want to have a life, like all other people.”

‘We must follow the leader’

Like Meas Muth, former Khmer Rouge district chief Im Chem, who in September was reported to be a suspect by the French newspaper Le Monde, said the threat of unrest was real.

In an interview at her home in Anlong Veng, where she lives with her husband and one of her two daughters, she said attempts to uncover the truth about old conflicts would inevitably give rise to new ones.

“If you want to recover it, it will become new,” she said. “People will go to protest in Phnom Penh to demand that the prime minister doesn’t arrest more people, because he said he wouldn’t. And if he allows it to happen anyway, civil war will happen again.”

The Northwest Zone district Im Chem headed, Preah Net Preah, was home to Trapaing Thmar Dam, the regime’s biggest irrigation project.

“Thousands and thousands of people were sent there to dig this water basin, which is even bigger than the baray at Angkor Wat,” Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), said in an email. Notorious for its brutal working conditions, the dam was included in a list of work sites falling under the scope of the investigation for the court’s second case that was made public last week. DC-Cam’s 2007 annual report describes Im Chem as “one of the overseers of the [dam’s] construction”.

Im Chem, now 67, repeated her claim that the dam was completed by the time she was transferred to Preah Net Preah, and she added that, as district chief, she had the authority only “to encourage people to work in the rice fields”.

Several former cadres and experts said Im Chem was too far down the chain of command to be a likely candidate for prosecution. “If she is one of the suspects, then the gates are wide open, since there are a number of former Khmer Rouge on her level who are still alive,” said Alex Hinton, author of Why Did They Kill?: Cambodia in the Shadow of Genocide.

For her part, Im Chem said she survived the regime by following Ta Mok from her native Takeo province to the northwest, adding that any crimes she might have committed were the result of having obeyed his orders. “We live in a society where we must follow the leader,” she said.

She denied being concerned about talk of more arrests, though she, too, said she would not cooperate with an investigation.

If the court were to detain her, she asked that she at least receive advanced notice. “If they want to take me to the court, they should alert me first, because sometimes I take naps, and it would take me by surprise if I were sleeping,” she said. “Plus, I have said again and again that I do not want to go to that court.”

‘Finish the job’

Though Meas Muth and Im Chem were largely alone in their descriptions of the threat of civil war, many low-level cadres shared their view that more arrests would do more harm than good, citing concerns that any resulting tension, even if it didn’t lead to violence, could compromise efforts to promote national reconciliation and economic development.

Those residents of Anlong Veng and Samlot who have no ties to the regime, however, for the most part encouraged the court to continue its pursuit of former leaders.

“The prime minister says he will not allow the court to arrest anyone else, but I don’t care,” said Long Thy, 49, who moved to Anlong Veng in 1999. “I want to see justice. If they can investigate even just one more leader, they should do it. It’s up to the court.”

Mao Sovannara, 41, a Royal Cambodian Armed Forces soldier who has been posted in Samlot since 2005, said it was the government’s responsibility to remedy any problems resulting from more arrests, not to air its views on whether they should be carried out in the first place.

In 1975, at the age of 7, the Battambang native was taken from his home and sent to a cooperative in Banteay Meanchey, a move that separated him from his parents, his brother and his sister. The conditions in the rice fields, he said, were “like torture”, and he never saw his parents and brother again.

Speaking outside the grocery stall they run in the Samlot market, both he and his sister, Mao Ravin, said they had gotten to know Meas Muth since moving there, and that they had no problem with him personally. “I do not discriminate against him,” Mao Ravin said. “He’s a good man now.”

But Mao Sovannara said his relationships with Meas Muth and other cadres had not altered his belief that the tribunal was necessary. “I’ve waited over 30 years to see justice, so the tribunal should be allowed to do its work,” he said. “The young generation will get important knowledge, and also a lesson: When you start something, you don’t stop in the middle. You finish the job.”

Thailand to submit Thaksin's extradition request Wednesday

Thai Embassy to Phnom Penh will submit extradition request for Cambodia to extradite Thaksin Shinawatra on Wednesday, an official said Tuesday.

The Thai Attorney General Office signed the official request and foward the document through the foreign ministry late Tuesday, a few hours after Thaksin landed in Phnom Penh to perform his job as an adivsor to Cambodian government.

..how ignorant you are ...even an idiot knows this fact ...cheap newspaper editorial ...your vulgar newspaper": H.E. You Aye's own diplomatic words

I am writing to you as a response to the editorial of your newspaper on October 25, concerning Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia. After reading your editorial, I must say that your newspaper has become a junky and vulgar newspaper. It has completely lost its value as a newspaper of a civilised country.

I wish to draw your attention to the following points, where your editorial committed the most serious mistakes which could not be forgiven:

First, what kind of a statement is it, when you said "You can take the man out of the jungle but you cannot take the jungle out of the man..." This is a great insult to our great leader, Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen. It is a gangster-like statement. By insulting a leader of a neighbouring country, you have become a tool for escalating tensions between the two countries..

Second, when you stated that the "...Cambodia premier thought he was still leading some Khmer Rouge faction ..." You are absolutely dead wrong. It was Samdech Techo Hun Sen, who struggled and brought the demise of the Khmer Rouge. Prime Minister Hun Sen could have done it much earlier, if a neighouring country had not given shelter to the Khmer Rouge. It was also Samdech Techo Hun Sen who brought the Khmer Rouge leaders to the Extraordinary Chamber of Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

Third, Prime Minister Hun Sen is very much a humble and gentleman leader, who is a virtuous and moral man, especially vis-a-vis his friend. By doing so, he does not interfere in the internal affairs of any country, and does not in any, engage in " ... rubbing more salt on open wounds". The politics should be solved by the Thais themselves.

Fourth, Prime Minister Hun Sen did not permit "... himself to be part of a cheap ploy by ... Thaksin to steal the spotlight from a major international event", as you have wrongly alleged. You need to better learn about Samdech Techo Hun Sen. He does not need to appear in the Thai media. He only wants to be clear to everyone on what he will do.

Fifth, Prime Minister Hun Sen does not need any attention or recognition at all during the 15th Asean Summit. He came to Hua Hin with good will and sincerity to contribute to making the Asean Summit and related meetings a great success. Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power for a long time now. Prime Minister Hun Sen was elected to power once again, with more than two-thirds of the votes, and with full backing of his own political party, the Cambodian People's Party (CPP).

Sixth, Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong rightly stated at the East Asian Summit in Hua Hin, on October 25, that the new members of Asean have been making great progress. And you said that the development of Cambodia "... would not count for much in terms of achievement in this day and age". Reading your editorial, most readers would think how ignorant you are. I think that you would not want to contradict the prime minister of Singapore.

Seventh, to state that "... Cambodia continues to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world" is to essentially engage in this politics of finger-pointing. One for Cambodia, three for ... For sure, Cambodia has less corruption than in its neighbouring country. Even an idiot knows this fact.

Eight, again, here is another dead wrong or manipulated fact of this cheap newspaper editorial. To be politically correct, it was Prime Minister Hun Sen who wanted the Khmer Rouge tribunal to be set up by signing the agreement with the United Nations, which brought the former Khmer Rogue leaders to trial under the current ECCC. And it was him who ordered the arrest of the Khmer Rouge leaders who are now put on trial.

Ninth, Prime Minister Hun Sen does not resent Asean at all, as he is being accused of by your vulgar newspaper. On the contrary, since joining Asean in April 1999, Cambodia, under the wise leadership of Samdech Techo Hun Sen, has made tremendous contributions to Asean. Everyone in Asean knows quite well the role and contributions of Cambodia to Asean.

Finally, by allowing His Excellency Thaksin to come into Cambodia, Samdech Techo Hun Sen only keeps his spirit of virtue and loyalty to his friend under any circumstances that his friend is in. But this is not only for His Excellency Thaksin, and is also not by "mutual admiration" and "twisted minds thinking alike", as you have falsely alleged.

King Father Norodom Sihanouk Reacts To Sam Rainsy’s Border Report

KING FATHER NORODOM SIHANOUK REACTS TO SAM RAINSY’S BORDER REPORT

On November 7, opposition leader Sam Rainsy wrote to His Majesty the King Father Norodom Sihanouk, who is currently in Beijing, to inform him about the situation along the border with Vietnam, especially in Svay Rieng province where Cambodian farmers are continuously losing their rice fields because of border encroachments by the Vietnamese authorities.

Nobody understands the current border delineation process, which totally lacks transparency. Wooden poles have been arbitrarily and forcibly planted on Cambodian farmers’ rice fields by the Vietnamese authorities to allegedly delineate a “white zone”, which in turn would determine a new border line that would run deep inside Cambodia’s territory.

With the moral support of their elected representatives, Cambodian villagers have pulled out some of those wooden poles to symbolically show their refusal to give up ancestral rice fields they have been cultivating since 1979 and to be deprived of their livelihoods.

His Majesty the King Father, who presided over the now-defunct Supreme National Council on Border Affairs, which Sam Rainsy was a member of, reacted to the opposition leader’s report by writing today (November 10) three letters to CPP and Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and Prime Minister Hun Sen, asking them to “examine” the information and evidence provided by Sam Rainsy.

Squabbling Harms Asean solidarity

Thailand and Cambodia must resolve their disputes for the sake of regional unity
The ongoing Thai-Cambodian quarrel is a good indication that the future of the Asean Community still has a long way to go. Just look at the way Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen chose to ignore the plea from the Thai government not to get involved with a Thai fugitive. This will be a case study in the history of the regional grouping, when a leader within Asean does not really understand the requirements of responsible diplomacy regarding sovereignty vis-a-vis the opposition movement in neighbouring countries.

How can Asean form a single community when an Asean leader does not understand where to push and where to draw back in the internal dynamics of a neighbour? In the future, Asean's integration could become more problematic because it will certainly involve sensitive issues such as the rule of law, human rights and good governance.

Looking at the future of Asean through the Thai-Cambodian conflict, there will not be much comfort for supporters of further Asean integration. Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power for the past 25 years, and has shown no sign of retiring.

No wonder Asean Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan expressed serious concern a few days ago over the Thai-Cambodian tensions. He urged both sides to exercise "maximum restraint". Somehow, his advice fell on deaf ears.

Neither side has stood down from its position, and this has already had a detrimental effect on border trade and people-to-people contact. Surin urged the respective foreign ministers to settle the bilateral dispute amicably and as soon as possible.

Surin was right in pointing out that the dispute could undermine the reputation of Asean ahead of the Apec meeting and Asean-US Summit to be held later this week in Singapore. So far, only the government of Singapore, the summit's host, has openly expressed concern over the situation. But the other Asean members have kept quiet. A few Asean members have contacted Thailand and asked for information.

It is possible that in the next few days, ahead of the Singapore meetings, a mediator between Thailand and Cambodia could be appointed to find an acceptable way out for both sides. Surin has said that, as signatories to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, all Asean members are obliged to offer assistance to help fellow member countries settle bilateral disputes, even when the two conflicting parties cannot agree to refer their dispute to any regional body for dispute settlement.

If any Asean member takes such an initiative to help ease the Thai-Cambodian tension, it would mark a new chapter within the grouping's history. It would mean that Asean members are beginning to care about fellow members within the family, especially with two of them at each other's throats.

Since 1997, Asean has been trying to convince Burma to reform, but to no avail. However, any conflict among members is a matter of urgency that needs to be resolved quickly. In the next few days, we will find out if Asean's solidarity will be forever at risk.

Thaksin may be charged with lese majeste for statements construed to be against the Thai king

According to the Bangkok Post, deposed Thai ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra may be charged with lèse majesté (the Thai law that charges people with a crime against the royal family if they say anything against the King of Thailand or any other member of the royal family) for statements he allegedly made in a British newspaper interview. In an interview with the The Times, according to the Bangkok Post, it's claimed that Thaksin made statements calling for reform of the monarch and said that Thailand would have a future "shining" era when HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, the son of His Majesty the King, takes the throne. Thaksin himself denies he said this, saying the interview was a "complete distortion" of what he said.

Thailand is one of only a handful of countries that still charges people with lèse majesté. Thailand has very strict lèse majesté, with several people being put in jail in Thailand over the last two years for making statements against the royal family. Two years ago, a Swiss man, Oliver Jufer, who had lived in Thailand for many years was convicted of lèse majesté for spray painting photographs of the King while drunk. He was convicted and sentenced to serve 10 years in prison, but was subsequently pardoned by the King and then deported back to Switzerland.

In 2009, Harry Nicolaides, an Australian writer was arrested at Bangkok's international airport and charged with lèse majesté for a passage in a fiction book that was about a member of the royal family. He plead guilty and was sentenced to three years in jail, but was then pardoned by the King and released. Nicolaides is now back in Australia. Even a BBC journalist, Jonathan Head, was charged with lèse majesté with no decision having yet been made on that case.

For Thaksin to allegedly make statements about the royal family will cause more negativity against him in Thailand, as well as possibly serious legal problems.

Meanwhile, Thaksin is purportedly to be arriving in Cambodia on Thursday to begin his appointment as political adviser to the Cambodian government. On the charges of lèse majesté, the Thai Justice Minister will be deciding if charges are laid against him or not.

You can also read The Times interview with Thaksin Shinawatra here.

Canadian jailed for indecency with Cambodian sisters: judge

PHNOM PENH - A 68-year-old Canadian man has been jailed for a year for indecent acts with two Cambodian sisters aged 10 and 12, a judge said Thursday.

Daniel Lavigne, who has been in jail since his January arrest in the popular seaside resort of Sihanoukville, was also ordered to pay 500 dollars in fines after his conviction, judge Kim Eng told AFP.

"I sentenced him this morning to serve one year in jail for his indecent act against minor girls," the Sihanoukville court judge said.

Lavigne denied any wrongdoing and told police that he was the boyfriend of the girls' mother, Kim Eng added.

Dozens of foreigners have been jailed for child sex crimes or deported to face trial in their home countries since Cambodia launched an anti-paedophilia push in 2003 to try to shake off its reputation as a haven for sex predators.

Man Sam An, CVFA and the Imbalance of Power inside CPP

The odd is still the same, when Vietnam can put new one on the top, the rests and former top will become paralyzed or extinct.

How good method like this? Vietnam has used it very effectively. Vietnam will never lose benefit in utilizing Khmers fight with Khmers for power. Khmers who are paranoid in power will get the power when they can act as a real lackey to Vietnam.



Reading this article, I would like to say congratulation Man Sam An for your gut to abide by perspective and order of Vietnamese leaders regarding Sam Rainsy and the border poles.

As we can observe, Cambodia's history has repeated again and again. Who served best to Vietnamese interests, that person can exceed their position to the highest post promptly.

For instance, Pol Pot came to power because of his obey to Vietnamese top leaders in their campaign to overturn America and Lon Nol. When Pol Pot disengaged from Vietnam; Hun Sen, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin were the best candidates for Vietnam to overturn Pol Pot. Impressively, when Pen Sovann was not really their servant, Vietnam quickly installed younger Hun Sen to power inside the same party.

Now, Man Sam An who is listenable to Vietnam and she is also the president of Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Association (CVFA), if she can achieve this task of suing Sam Rainsy, she will be raised up high, or we can say she can be higher than Sar Keng who is the current highest deputy prime minister. Man Sam An has been running faster than brilliant Sok An and other prime minister deputies.

The odd is still the same, when Vietnam can put new one on the top, the rests and former top will become paralyzed or extinct.

How good method like this? Vietnam has used it very effectively. Vietnam will never lose benefit in utilizing Khmers fight with Khmers for power. Khmers who are paranoid in power will get the power when they can act as a real lackey to Vietnam.

In contradict, as we are Khmers, we can ask simple question that "how can Man Sam An worship Vietnam by jailing our same Khmer race accordingly?".

In reality, Vietnam just wants to test their tiny trick to lure Hun Sen into their trap. If just this poles of border, Vietnam can sue or jail Sam Rainsy, it explicitly shows about many previous treaties that Hun Sen, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin had severally signed with Vietnam.

Vietnamese leader is using this issue to sue Sam Rainsy in order to threaten those CPP's leaders not to get away from them under the prospect of laws.

Sam Rainsy has done nothing wrong, and I want to see Man Sam An realize the truth that finally she will become a victim because of her affinity towards Vietnamese leader in taming their own Khmer race. Pol Pot is a good example for Man Sam An

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