Cambodian FM to meet U.S. Secretary of State in Thailand

Hor Nam Hong, Cambodia's deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, will meet with the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a meeting in Thailand, an official said on Thursday.

According to the schedule, Hor Nam Hong will meet his U.S. counterpart Hillary Clinton but it is not a bilateral talk because the meeting will be conducted in group with officials from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, Khoy Khong, spokesman and undersecretary of state for Foreign Ministry, said.

The meeting, scheduled on July 23, will be focused on the education field, environment and public health, Khoy Khong added. But the meeting will expand to other fields for cooperation.

Hor Namhong will lead a delegation to attend the 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) and 16th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Phuket, Thailand which will take place on July 17 to 23.

The themes for discussions at those meeting will cover a wide range of issues, such as politics, economy, trade, and terrorism, according to ASEAN sources.

ASEAN comprises of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

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Trendy health problems get donors' precedence in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Ask any foreign medical officer what has been accomplished here in the last few years, and he will most likely say: We defeated HIV/AIDS in Cambodia!

Prodded and funded by foreign governments and private groups, Cambodia has reduced the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the general population from more than 3 percent to just under 1 percent - a major public-health victory.

But that accomplishment masks a darker truth that afflicts poor populations in Cambodia and most of the developing world. Health policy in this country is determined by the priority or caprice of officials in Geneva, Washington or Berlin - not Phnom Penh. That has given this country a health policy that appears patently absurd.

"Everybody talks about AIDS," complained Dr. Sin Somuny, executive director of Medicam, an umbrella group representing 117 health-care providers here. "It affects 0.09 percent of the population. Well, diabetes now affects 10 percent of the population. But no one talks about that. Funding for diabetes is 25 to 30 times less."

That makes no sense. How can it be?

International donors "want to give money to the big thing of the moment," acknowledged Dr. Michael O'Leary, director of the World Health Organization office here. "Right now it's influenza," better known as swine, or bird, flu. Beat Richner, a Swiss doctor who runs five children's hospitals across the country, puts a positively uncharitable spin on that analysis.

"They care about bird flu because a bird may fly to California," he told me. "But a mosquito flies only 120 meters." Hence, the dearth of funding here for malaria or dengue fever, two mosquito-borne illnesses. "Two years ago 22,000 children in this country had dengue fever. But did the W.H.O. care? No. They cared about bird flu." Nine people here have contracted that.

"Infectious diseases, infectious diseases," Dr. Sin Somuny said, shaking his head. "If you care about the lives of the people, it should not just be infectious diseases."

"You know, beggars can't be choosers," said Dr. Paul Weelen, another W.H.O. official here. "Donors set the agenda for what is done in these countries. Where there's no money, not much is happening."

Cambodia spends almost $200 million a year on health-care services for its 13.4 million citizens. Foreign donors and charities provide about 40 percent of that, giving them out-sized influence over health policy. (Per capita, most western states spend almost 1,000 times more.)

A few years ago, Cambodia's health ministry told international donors that it had an urgent priority: to establish a primary health-care system - doctors, hospitals and health clinics to serve citizens nationwide. The Khmer Rouge killed all the doctors and destroyed the health-care facilities during their reign 30 year ago. In Western Cambodia, fighting ended only 10 years ago.

The donors were largely unresponsive. They had their own priorities. So, largely with its own money, Cambodia built dozens of hospitals and health clinics. I visited several. Signs and stickers show that international aid groups did provide some equipment and infrastructure. But these are Cambodian operations, as they should be. Still, the hospitals are so underfunded that it's a wonder they can do anything at all. Nurses are poorly trained, underpaid, overworked - and, as a result, often indolent. Doctors might earn $200 a month, so they sometimes demand under-the-table payments before they will treat patients.

In Battambang hospital one day this month, relatives held up patients' IV bottles, tied to bamboo poles or crooked sticks. Patients lay on straw mats they had brought from home, laid on top of wood slats in rusty white-enamel bed frames. Ten miserable patients lay unattended in the emergency room. The nurses' station was empty, but a green door at one end was cracked. Inside three women lounged on beds, snacking on bananas and rice cakes. I knocked.

"Just a minute!" one of them shouted as she jumped out of the bed and frantically pulled on her white nurse's coat. The other two also grabbed for their uniforms, shoved the bananas and rice cakes under the bed, then burst out of the room and bustled down the hall, looking as if they intended to see to their patients.

In private hospitals, adequately paid and supervised, Cambodian doctors and nurses provide superb care.

No one expects the international community to pick up responsibility for funding and staffing Cambodia's hospitals. But if the foreign donors at work here and in dozens of other poor nations made an effort to direct their money to the nations' actual priorities, they might save millions of additional lives.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Joel Brinkley is a former Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent for The New York Times and now a professor of journalism at Stanford University. Readers may send him e-mail at: brinkley@foreign-matters.com

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City's poor unable to hold land

SEBASTIAN STRANGIO AND MAY TITTHARA
In a March 4 letter from the CLEC to World Bank Country Director Annette Dixon, a copy of which has been obtained by the Post, lawyers noted that Group 78 had received several "illegal" eviction notices and its applications for land title were rejected by city authorities.
The Phnom Penh Post
Activists say govt's titling scheme ignores its most vulnerable citizens. THE impending eviction of the city's Group 78 community is the latest example of the failure of a World Bank-funded land-titling programme intended to improve tenure security for the urban poor, housing rights activists say.

Since 2002, the World Bank has funded a large part of the government's $38.4 million Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP), which was designed to establish an "efficient and transparent land administration system" in Cambodia by 2007, according to an early project appraisal.

The project, which also receives funding from the German, Finnish and Canadian governments, was recently extended through the end of this year.

But rights groups say that for besieged urban communities such as Group 78, which faces eviction from its Bassac riverfront site Friday, LMAP's efforts have so far done little good.

Group 78 residents protest at Canadia Bank’s head office Wednesday as part of a last-ditch effort to avoid eviction.

"The ineffectiveness of LMAP in securing [the] land rights of the urban poor is laid bare in the case of Group 78," said Natalie Bugalski, a legal officer at the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions.

"Households had clear evidence of possession rights but were denied access to the titling programme," she said, adding that the dispute had yet to be resolved "in accordance with the law".

Man Vuthy, a legal coordinator at the Community Legal Education Centre (CLEC), which represents Group 78, said that if the World Bank does not take action after the eviction of Group 78 residents, LMAP will have "failed".

He said that World Bank officials had met several times with CLEC lawyers to discuss land issues, but that they had neglected poor urban communities involved in land disputes in an effort to maintain a stable relationship with the government.

"We know the World Bank works peacefully with the authorities, but this is the last chance for the community," he said.

"The mechanisms don't work well, and it is only the World Bank that can help them."

On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal upheld a Friday eviction deadline for Group 78 after lawyers attempted to halt an April 20 eviction notice.

The government says residents are illegally squatting on land belonging to the state and to Sour Srun Enterprises, a local developer.

But Group 78 claims ownership of its Tonle Bassac commune site under Article 30 of the Kingdom's 2001 Land Law, which allows individuals to claim title over land if they have been in peaceful possession of it for five years prior to 2001. Many residents claim they have lived at the site since the mid-1980s.

Some say the strength of the community's claim only underlines the failures of the LMAP program.

In a March 4 letter from the CLEC to World Bank Country Director Annette Dixon, a copy of which has been obtained by the Post, lawyers noted that Group 78 had received several "illegal" eviction notices and its applications for land title were rejected by city authorities.

The group 78 case is ... an important test case for the implementation of the lmap and the rule of law...


"The Group 78 case is therefore an important test case for the implementation of the LMAP and the rule of law in Cambodia," the letter stated.

On April 30, Dixon wrote to Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon to inform him that evictions could "damage the reputation of the Government as it moves to undertake important reforms in the land sector".

Dixon added: "We would suggest that a temporary moratorium on evictions be declared until such a legal and policy framework is in place, which would send a positive signal."

The LMAP project's appraisal document sets out contingencies to be followed regarding land dispute cases.

The document states the project "includes support for strengthening mechanisms of dispute resolution". It adds that the project would be "scaled back if [government] commitment to a fair process of dispute resolution is inadequate".

Housing rights activists say there has been a marked lack of progress on the ground.

David Pred, director of Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia (BAB), said that while LMAP set out to "improve tenure security" for urban and rural land-holders and "reduce land conflict and land-grabbing", the opposite trend was evident.

"We have witnessed a significant increase in land disputes, land-grabbing and forced evictions over the past seven years," he said.

He added: "We have observed that the communities in Phnom Penh who are most vulnerable to displacement, like the residents of Group 78 ...
have been denied access to the land titling and dispute resolution systems established by LMAP."

Mark Grimsditch, a BAB legal adviser, said that just 38,502 out of a projected 198,000 titles had been distributed by LMAP in Phnom Penh since 2002.

He said a number of eligible cases - including communities facing eviction at Boeung Kak lake - had been adjudicated but fell "at the final hurdle" after being arbitrarily denied their title certificates.

Though she described supervision by LMAP's donors as "inadequate", Bugalski said most of the blame fell on local authorities.

"The primary responsibility to ensure tenure security and protect against forced evictions lies with the Cambodian government," she said.

Criticisms of LMAP came as Group 78 representatives met with World Bank officials Wednesday in a last-ditch attempt to delay their scheduled eviction by city authorities.

Earlier, they protested outside Canadia Bank, which they claimed is in charge of a plan to build a bridge over the Tonle Bassac. The bridge project prompted the city to claim portions of the community's land, where it plans to build a road.

But Rath Kumnith, a legal adviser to Canadia Bank, said the bank was only providing a loan to the project and was not directly involved in it.

The World Bank was contacted for comment Thursday but had not responded as of press time.

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Cambodia will defend its territories and will not lose 1 single mm –sic! – It shows that Hun Sen’s parrot Phay Siphan never travels to the Viet border

Phay Siphan, spokesman [and parrot] of the Council of Ministers, declared during a press conference held on 15 July 2009, on the occasion of the first anniversary of Thai troops invasion in Wat Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak Pagoda, that the Cambodian government led by Samdach Dek Cho Hun Sen is determined to protect Cambodia’s territorial integrity, and that not a single millimeter of land will be lost. Cambodia will strive to defend and preserve Preah Vihear temple which is a World Heritage site. On the other hand, Cambodia still maintains its stance of resolving the border dispute with Thailand through bilateral and peaceful means, based on the respect of sovereignty and based on the spirit of countries that have civilized culture. Phay Siphan indicated that the registration of the Preah Vihear temple by Cambodia was not the cause of Thailand’s aggression, but that this aggression is a long-term plan of Thailand on Cambodian territory. However, the presence of Thai troops on Cambodian lands since 15 July 2008 is solely due to the internal dispute in Thailand.

Phay Siphan, Hun Sen's parrot (Photo: DAP-news)

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Garment comp aims to take sector past cut-make-trim

Garment sector stakeholders launched a competition for workers Wednesday to promote the Made in Cambodia brand and highlight the importance of home-grown designs for the future of the country's largest export sector.

The second "I Am Precious" T-shirt and dress design competition was opened to the Kingdom's 300,000-plus garment workers as well as workers that have recently been laid off as a result of falling export orders in the wake of the global economic meltdown.

Launching the competition, Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training Secretary of State Prak Chantha said it was a special occasion for garment sector workers, especially women.

"This campaign will help workers be more self-confident, creative, skilled and knowledgeable," she said. "It's a good opportunity for garment factory workers to expose their skills and talents."

Troubled times
The garment sector was facing troubled times, she said. "We need to work together here in order to help Cambodia, Cambodian people and Cambodian society in this time of global economic crisis. This campaign is a mechanism to build trust and confidence in the quality of Cambodian garments during this time of economic crisis. If we can show people that Made in Cambodia garments are good quality, then money will flow into the country."

The ministry was teaming up with the International Labour Organisation's Better Factories Cambodia initiative, the Ministry of Women's Affairs, the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC), the Garment Industry Productivity Centre (GIPC), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), union groups and Precious Girl magazine to organise the competition.

Around 100,000 entry forms were being distributed to workers through Precious Girl magazine, and GIPC Director Tep Mona said she was expecting more entries than the 460 received in the inaugural 2007 competition, won by Maxlin factory worker Sem Sokny.

Sem Sokny said her employer, the Maxlin factory in Phnom Penh, had given her its full support and provided paid leave while she took part in the competition. "They were proud that one of their workers could win such a contest," she said.

In a video made during the inaugural competition, Sem Sokny jokingly suggested the outcome was never in doubt. "I deserved first place," she said. "My design is by far the best."

The competition is the central part of a wider campaign that will also provide information about career opportunities in the fashion industry, raise awareness about the wider garment sector supply chain, feature stories about successful young workers and managers, and provide a forum for discussion about the industry's future prospects.

UNDP Assistant Country Director Hin Wisal said the global financial crisis had led to a much more competitive global market and had had a severe impact on Cambodia's garment sector. "It's a long way from Wall Street to the main streets of Cambodia," he said. "But as Cambodia has become more integrated into the global economy, Cambodia has become more exposed."

He said the country must learn to compete by boosting productivity and lowering unit costs through better technology and training and by expanding the value chain. "For Cambodia, this means developing design capacity so that the country can export garments based on its own designs," he said. "We have to see this campaign as a mechanism to promote the industry and bring the attention of international buyers and the government."

GMAC external affairs manager Kaing Monika said the inaugural competition was aimed simply to promote the value of workers, but it was now seen as part of a larger effort to grow the Cambodian part of the value chain beyond cut, make, trim.

"If Cambodia is able to design things our own way, we can go out and find buyers rather than wait for them to come to us," he said.

He also hoped it would boost the "self image" of workers and by increasing awareness of their work, abilities and skills and encouraging them to realise their potential.

Photo by: NATHAN GREEN

Garment Industry Productivity Centre Director Tep Mona launches the I Am Precious competition while Labour Ministry Secretary of State Prak Chantha, GMAC External Affairs Manager Kaing Monika and the officer in charge of ILO Better Factories Cambodia, Catherine Vaillancourt-Laflamme, look on.

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If Cambodia is able to design things our own way we can go out and find buyers.

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Unlimited opportunities
"Employment opportunities in the garment industry are not limited to cutting and sewing," he said. This is an industry with a very complex supply chain where many challenging positions are available, and we are confident that Cambodian workers can ... propel this industry to the next level."

For the dress design portion of the competition, entrants must submit a design for a dress to be worn at a traditional Cambodian occasion or any special event by September 14. The 10 best designs will be made into dresses and presented at a runway fashion show in November, from which three winners will be selected by representatives of garment sector stakeholders.

Three winners will also be selected from 10 finalists for the T-shirt design portion of the competition, and it was hoped the winning designs could later be produced and sold in the stores of the collaborating brand.

Catherine Vaillancourt-Laflamme, training specialist and officer in charge of the Better Factories initiative, said the prizes were geared towards long-term self improvement. Finalists and their families would receive insurance coverage from GRET, access to WING's mobile banking system, plus credit, and take part in pattern making courses offered by the GIPC.

"The whole purpose of this campaign is to give hope and tell people that the garment sector in Cambodia will flourish again in the future," she said. "Prizes will promote hope, empowerment and the development of skills for the finalists and winners," she said.

GIPC Director Tep Mona said the prizes will be meaningful to the winners. "They are not just prizes, they are something they can bring along with them to empower themselves for the future."

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Siem Reap Airways still blacklisted

THE European Union says it has kept Siem Reap Airways on a blacklist that prevents airlines from landing at its airfields or flying into EU airspace.

In a statement released late Tuesday, the EU did not explain its decision to maintain its ban on the Cambodian airline - a ruling it first enacted in November - but said that any barred airline that felt it had later conformed with necessary safety standards "may request the commission to commence the procedure for its removal from the list".

The State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) said Wednesday that a team led by Director General Chea On was currently in place collating "technical documents" to be submitted to the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICOA) in a bid to have Siem Reap Airways removed from the blacklist.

"We will meet the standards of the ICOA," Mao Havannal, secretary of state for the SSCA said. "We will reopen [Siem Reap Airways]."

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Nautisco to commence exports in September

NAUTISCO'S seafood processing factory in Sihanoukville will begin exports in September, nine months later than originally scheduled, said factory president Sam Peou. He blamed the delay on technical issues and sub-contractors.

"The construction process has been slowed down," he told the Post by email, adding that construction is now in its final stage, with the first hire of 130 staff and workers due to start training on August 3.He said another 100 people would be added to the payroll once the first employees are fully trained.

"Hopefully we'll be able to export around mid-September," he said.

"The quality control management training process for workers can prove a challenge for the first one to two months, but once we have achieved the quality standard we anticipate, we'll export."

He said between 100 and 200 tonnes of shrimp would be sent monthly to Japan, Canada, the United States, Russia and Eastern Europe.

Sam Peou, a joint Cambodian-Canadian citizen, said supply of shrimp is a key concern.

"Raw material prices are one of the main factors in determining daily production outputs. Shortages of raw materials could be a result of processors not willing to pay higher prices for raw materials," he said.

"Therefore, we need to work with our supplier in order to be more cost-efficient and establish a win-win position for all sides."

He said raw unprocessed shrimp costs between US$1,500 and $4,500 a tonne depending on quality, and the processed product sells for between $10,000 and $25,000 a tonne depending on the size of the shrimps and whether or not they are cooked.

No government backing
The government has already shot down the idea of encouraging the development of shrimp farms in its waters.

In an interview last September, fisheries department director Nao Thouk said the government has no plans to promote shrimp farming because the end result would be the destruction of mangrove forests to clear space for shrimp farms.

At the time Nao Thouk said daily shrimp catches from the sea total between five and ten tonnes. He said fewer than 100 families raise shrimp, and their harvests generate only around 100 tonnes in total annually.

Nautisco's $4 million plant is located on five hectares of land in O'tres commune in Preah Sihanouk province. It will have the capacity to process 30 tonnes of shrimp daily, the company said.


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Preah Sihanouk Intl Airport opening delayed, says SSCA

THE government has announced that the July 27 inaugural flight of the new national airline will not leave from the newly upgraded Preah Sihanouk International Airport, but will instead fly from Phnom Penh International Airport.

Mao Havannal, secretary of state at the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said the airport's French development company hopes to persuade French President Nicolas Sarkozy to attend the airport opening as a guest of honour later this year.

Cambodia Angkor Air's inaugural flight was meant to coincide with the official opening of Preah Sihanouk International Airport. Mao Havannal said the airport would officially open later this year but would be used in the meantime for between two and four daily flights between Phnom Penh or Siem Reap airports.

The inauguration of the new national carrier will now take place at Phnom Penh International Airport (above), the SSCA said.

"We have changed the opening schedule of Preah Sihanouk International Airport to November because the French development firm asked to suspend it in order to invite the French president or his representative to join the inauguration," he said.

He said the presence of the French president would be most welcome since the development company is French firm Societe Concessionaire de l'Aeroport.

However Koy Kuong, the undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he did not know whether Prime Minister Hun Sen had invited President Sarkozy to visit Cambodia. Hun Sen has just completed a five-day state trip to France.

The minister of tourism, Thong Khon, confirmed the switch, and said the inaugural flights would go from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.

"The new airport is fully developed and equipped with modern, high-tech facilities that meet international standards. Now we are just waiting for the official inauguration, but I am not sure when that will be," he said.

Thong Khon said the upgraded airport would benefit the tourism industry, as it would allow foreign visitors to access the coastal province easily from Siem Reap.

"Having our own domestic airline will mean visitors won't have to travel overland to get to Preah Sihanouk province," he said.

CAA is a joint venture between the Cambodian government and state-owned Vietnam Airlines. Cambodia owns a 51-percent stake in the company, and Vietnam owns the remainder.

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Exchange designs to be ready in November

THE architectural design for the Cambodian stock exchange will be finalised in November, a Ministry of Economy and Finance official said Wednesday.

World City Co Ltd of South Korea told the Post last week that designs had been rejected by the ministry after they were deemed not sufficiently Khmer.

Mey Vann, director of financial industry at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said Wednesday that the government is looking for a design that represents Khmer culture and international business.

"This is history for our country to build a stock market in Cambodia," he said.

The final design will be ready to start construction on schedule at the end of the rainy season, he added.

Duk-kon Kim, vice president of World City, agreed Wednesday that, overall, the US$6 million project remains on schedule.

"We have already discussed all this and we planned to begin construction ... by the end of the rainy season this year," he said, adding that he did not know when architectural plans would be completed.

"I think that the stock exchange will open on schedule; we just follow the government's comments [on this]," he said.

Kim previously told the Post that it would take eight months to complete construction and a further three months to test electronic equipment at the site at Camko City - on the outskirts of Phnom Penh - before the four-storey exchange building would be ready to go online.

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Vimpelcom in $303m bonds issue

VIMPELCOM, owner of Beeline, the newest entrant into Cambodia's increasingly crowded mobile-phone sector, announced late Tuesday it was issuing bonds totalling 10 billion Russian rubles (US$303 million).

In a statement on its Web site, Russia's second-largest mobile-phone operator said the issue "will be used for refinancing of VimpelCom's existing indebtedness denominated in foreign currency and the development of VimpelCom's core business".

The announcement comes after the company acknowledged Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg News that it was interested in acquiring Millicom International's Asian assets, which include a 58.4-percent stake in the Kingdom's market leader Mobitel.

Vimpelcom said it would pay 15.2 percent interest semi-annually on the bonds, which are due to mature on July 8, 2014.

Vimpelcom (NYSE: VIP) rose 5.8 percent to $10.58 on the New York Stock Exchange in Tuesday trading.


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