Cambodian businessman plans airport for slated tourism island

Wed, 29 Jul 2009
Author : DPA

Phnom Penh - A Cambodian developer plans to build a new airport on the country's largest island, which was leased to his company by the government in 2008, local media reported Wednesday. Kith Meng, chairman of Royal Group, told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper that bulldozers had been sent to the 7,800-hectare island to clear forest for a runway, but he declined to provide more details on the development.

He said the company also plans to construct electricity and water facilities for the island, which has been earmarked as a potential tourist destination.

Kith Meng said he recently travelled to the island with a dozen other potential investors, including casino owner Phu Kok An, who is also a senator for the ruling Cambodian People's Party.

READ MORE - Cambodian businessman plans airport for slated tourism island

Dried-fish entrepreneur scales back amid slump

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN

Workers fillet fish at Chanthou Dried Fish Enterprises, preparing them for the next stage of production: the drying process.

The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Soeun Say

WHEN he was studying as an undergraduate at business school, Sen Nith wanted nothing more than to be an entrepreneur.

"I dreamed of becoming a manufacturer, producing something made in Cambodia," he says. "And now my dreams have come true - my business is a success."

But it took a lot of hard work to build up Chanthou Dried Fish Enterprises, a business that buys wet fish, sun-dries and smokes them, then packages and sells them.

Like most businessmen, Sen Nith started small. He was careful to research the market meticulously, spending two years working at his in-laws' dried-fish business and another doing his own research.

He then invested US$30,000 of his own money in 1996, setting up in Phnom Penh's Stung Meanchey district with three employees.

One employee would buy the fish from fishermen on the Tonle Sap river, two would work the production line, and Sen Nith would do marketing and sales.

He now has 10 staff and pays them $45 to 65 a month plus accommodation, food and health care.

Sen Nith admits he knew very little about running a business when he started. He knows a lot more now, including just how hard and time-consuming the drying process is.

"The difficulty comes in ensuring the finished product is good quality, has a good taste, and has a long shelf life," he explains. "We still lack the technical knowledge about drying fish so that it keeps for more than a few months. So we must do more research."

He worries that demand for dried fish will not increase without the ability to keep the product safe for more than the current limit of one year when refrigerated. And he is concerned that many Cambodian people tend to prefer the imported versions to his Khmer product.

Despite those difficulties he has clients across the country - from Phnom Penh to Ratanakkiri, Kampong Cham to Kampong Chhnang. He says wealthier people enjoy dried fish as a health snack, as do Cambodian-Americans visiting the Kingdom, and other Khmers from countries such as Canada, France and Australia.

"My products are sold in shops, restaurants and local markets, with most of my clients belonging to the upper and middle classes," he says. "The lower classes tend not to buy because it is too expensive."

So how does it work? Sen Nith says his factory can process up to 600 kilograms of raw fish daily. That generates around 250 kilograms of dried fish, which sells for around 30,000 riels ($7.50) a kilogram.

His suppliers are fish farmers around the country, including from as far afield as Siem Reap.

But his customers were hit hard by the global economic crisis, which has caused business to halve since late 2008.

"In 2007 and 2008 my business was running well," he says. "I was earning at least $2,000 a month net profit. These days I earn around $800 to $1,000."

He has considered exporting, but says the time is not yet right.

"I'm unable to export dried fish at this stage because I want to improve my sales to customers here," he says. "But I would like to start exporting in say five years' time."

In the meantime his strategy for dealing with the competition is to work hard on improving the product's taste, its quality and his firm's customer service.

Sen Nith echoes the call of other SMEs by calling on the government to cut interest rates and the cost of electricity. Cutting the former would allow him to afford a loan to fund expansion when the economy picks up.

"Interest rates locally are very high. They need to come down so that SMEs have the chance to grow their businesses," says Sen Nith.

"Lower taxes and interest rates will provide SMEs with the chance to produce more and to take our products to the international market."

READ MORE - Dried-fish entrepreneur scales back amid slump

Relocated evictees decry site

The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Christopher Shay and May Thittara

Intl AIDS groups express concern.

RESIDENTS of the Tuol Sambo relocation site, who currently live in rooms smaller than those required for emergency refugee camps, complain of stifling heat, a lack of drinking water and walls so thin that gangsters have been able to cut through them with knives.

Each 3.5-metre-by-4.5-metre room houses an entire family, and every family has at least one member with HIV/AIDS.

More than five weeks after the first eviction, over 100 international rights and HIV/AIDS organisations joined with nearly 40 health experts on Monday to condemn the government's decision to evict more than 50 families from Borei Keila's HIV community in a process that ended Friday.

In the biggest expression of international concern over the eviction, the coalition of rights groups and AIDS campaigners described the site as a "de facto AIDS colony" in a letter sent to Prime Minister Hun Sen and Health Minister Mam Bunheng.

The letter calls for the government to improve conditions at the site as well as conduct a fair screening process to determine whether recently evicted families are eligible for on-site housing at Borei Keila.

Many residents said Tuesday they had lost hope of finding a regular source of income since being evicted from Borei Keila, located near Olympic Market in central Phnom Penh.

"I used to go to the market and sell fish. Now I can only stay home," said Lay An, a 68-year-old Tuol Sambo resident. "I need to pay 20,000 riels (US$4.77) to go to Phnom Penh and back, so I can't make a profit."

The relocation site currently has no source of clean water, say residents, who add they have started collecting rainwater to drink.

Resident Suon Davy, 42, said water jugs costing 1,200 riels were prohibitively expensive.

Kong Pisey, 52, said she could make 7,000 to 8,000 riels per day collecting garbage in Phnom Penh. In Tuol Sambo, however, she said she "can do nothing" except scavenge for small fish and crustaceans in nearby rice paddies.

The letter to the premier and health minister said international organisations and health experts were "deeply disturbed" by the conditions at Tuol Sambo, which, according to the letter, "pose serious health risks, particularly to people with compromised immune systems".

Suon Davy, who is HIV-positive, said living in poorly ventilated shelters without enough food had made her family more prone to illness. Her son just returned from the hospital this week, she said, adding that she constantly worries about her own health.

"The medicine cannot treat me," she said, "because when it gets hot, the pills break."

Sara Colm, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said "many people simply don't know about" the plight of Borei Keila residents.

"What seemed to be missing was an international expression of concern," she said in explaining the impetus for the letter, adding that she hoped it would push the government towards taking greater responsibility for evicted communities.

"There is no sense the government is taking control," Colm said.

Suon Davy said the authorities had visited Tuol Sambo only once, on the day the first residents were forcibly evicted to the site.

Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun defended the government's actions with respect to the community and said NGOs were partly to blame for conditions at the site.

"We have worked hard already to do everything for them, but some NGOs just panic," he said. "We invited some NGOs to have a meeting and asked them to pay $20 to $30 a month to help the HIV/AIDS residents. But they said they could not help because we have no plan. NGOs are good at criticising."

Mann Chhoeun vowed to give the community clean water and provide a health-care centre for the community.

Mam Bunheng declined to comment directly about the letter, saying in an interview, "We are good at managing to help people, and we have done this according to our ability."

READ MORE - Relocated evictees decry site

City tight-lipped on Koh Kor

The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Chhay Channyda and Katrin Redfern

ONE year after authorities closed a government-run rehabilitation centre following reports of widespread inmate abuse, municipal officials on Tuesday refused to rule out re-opening the facility, with one noting that it was undergoing "renovations".

Koh Kor rehabilitation centre, located on an island in the Bassac River, was emptied in June 2008 after reports that dozens of men, women and children held at the centre were being beaten or starved drew the attention of the UN and local NGOs.

At least two people detained at the centre died, including one boy who had attempted to swim to shore.

Before its closure, the centre housed beggars, the homeless and the mentally ill, groups of people that have also been included in a recent set of city sweeps that the rights group Licadho condemned on Sunday.

Sorn Sophal, director of the Phnom Penh Social Affairs Department, said Tuesday that he did not know the details of any plans to reopen the center because the building was currently "under renovation".

He said some of those who had been collected from the streets this year had been taken to Prey Speu rehabilitation centre in Choam Chao
district.

In an interview with the Post Tuesday, Chea Saroeun, Koh Kor's director, said the "renovations" mentioned by Sorn Sophal involved only a repainting of the building, adding that there was no set date for a reopening.

"[I do] not know when the centre will reopen again because there are a lot of reactions," he said.

He said that the centre had temporarily reopened two months ago to house 80 beggars and homeless people, but had closed after they requested to be housed in a different centre.

"We reopened for a short period to take in 80 people ... but they did not like living there, so we closed it," he said, adding that the people had gone back to their hometowns or had been passed on to "partner organisations".

Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema on Tuesday met with municipal authorities to further address the issue of "vagrants" in the city.

The governor declined to comment on whether Koh Kor would house people caught up in future sweeps.

Sorn Sophal said the municipality was still "in discussion about how to manage those people" and would not comment further.

'Deeply concerned': groups
Rights groups warned Tuesday that the reopening of Koh Kor would constitute a huge blow to human rights.

"We would be deeply concerned if the social affairs centre at Koh Kor is reopened," said Naly Pilorge, director of the rights group Licadho, which conducted the investigation that led to the centre's closure.

"The only logical reason to put a so-called 'rehabilitation' centre on an island is if it is in fact a detention center and the authorities wish to make it harder for people to escape from it," she added.

Joe Amon, director of the health and human rights division of Human Rights Watch, said the government should "investigate past abuses of torture, ill-treatment, rape and killings that occurred in social affairs centres and hold accountable those responsible".

READ MORE - City tight-lipped on Koh Kor

Duch responds to ex-staffer

Photo by: AFP
Sous Thy, who registered inmates at Tuol Sleng prison, testifies at the Khmer Rouge tribunal on Monday.

The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Cheang Sokha

After witness testimony, former S-21 chief says he is 'top criminal' solely responsible for atrocities committed at Tuol Sleng prison.

IN RESPONSE to witness testimony, former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, declared himself to be the "top criminal" responsible for atrocities committed at the secret detention facility.

"I am the top criminal responsible for all crimes committed at S-21, responsible for the lives lost at S-21," Duch said, adding that he was "committing myself firmly to be responsible solely before the law".

His statement came after the court heard further testimony from Sous Thy, 58, who said on Monday that he had been tasked with registering detainees as they arrived at the prison.

Sous Thy told the court on Tuesday that he felt regret for the people who were killed at the prison.

He also said that S-21 staff "disliked" working at the prison but obeyed orders out of fear.

"S-21 staff disliked their regime at the time, and that is the truth," Sous Thy said.

"What I did at S-21, it was under instructions from the upper echelons.... I needed to perform, and if I did not do it, I would be punished. I am really regretful and pitiful of those people who were arrested and killed."

Duch, who was called on to make observations on the witness's testimony, said Sous Thy's comments "reflected the truth", and that he admired the witness for bringing honesty to the chamber.

"I really appreciated his spirit of honesty to the chamber by speaking out the truth," he said.

Prisoners 'malnourished'
Speaking on the second day of his testimony, Sous Thy told the tribunal that the detainees at Tuol Sleng prison were starving and living in misery.

"When I would go to verify the list of prisoners inside the prison cell, I did not pay great attention to their condition, although I knew that they suffered a great deal because most of them were very thin and the majority of them were so skinny and malnourished," Sous Thy said.

"I may say there was not significant ventilation or air circulation inside the room," he added.

But Sous Thy said he had tried to focus primarily on his job, and that the bulk of his observations stemmed from the brief periods in which prisoners were herded from their cells into trucks for execution.

"I could only see that they were very weak," he said.

READ MORE - Duch responds to ex-staffer

SRP ponders next step in PM suit

Photo by: AFP
Mu Sochua (foreground) and Sam Rainsy before Mu Sochua’s Municipal Court trial on Friday.

The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Meas Sokchea and Sebastian Strangio

With the verdict in SRP lawmaker Mu Sochua's defamation case expected next week, the party appears divided over whether to engage the government in another round of legal tangles.

AS PHNOM Penh Municipal Court prepares to deliver the verdict in Prime Minister Hun Sen's defamation case against Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) lawmaker Mu Sochua, the opposition faces the dilemma of whether to keep up the fight in the event of a guilty verdict or concede defeat by paying any fines levied by the court.

While some SRP officials seem to regard the verdict, expected August 4, as a natural endpoint to Mu Sochua's legal tangle with Hun Sen, some observers say the party should maintain its opposition regardless of the outcome.

Human Rights Party (HRP) President Kem Sokha said Monday that opposition parties should continue to take strong stands even as they are pressured more and more during government crackdowns.

"We should not let ourselves get soft-hearted," he said.

"What we must do is stand on principle against corruption and human rights violations. For the rights violations against Mu Sochua, we should not cease. We must go on."

SRP spokesman Yim Sovann told the Post last Thursday that the party would settle the case by paying any fines levied against Mu Sochua, adding that, as the saying goes, prudence might be the better part of valour.

Mu Sochua had previously said she would rather go to jail than pay a fine, saying her incarceration would draw attention to oppression directed at many Cambodians.

"Mu Sochua's stance is different from the party," Yim Sovann said. "The SRP sees that the court is not independent or fair. Even if we continue our case to the top, it will lose."

In a recent interview in the online Asia Media Forum, SRP lawmaker Son Chhay said the party had no alternative but to "quiet down for a while" as the government crackdown continues.

Mu Sochua said Tuesday her stance on the issue remained the same, though she declined to elaborate.

"My stance has not changed," she said, adding, "The pursuit of justice is based on principles. Those principles cannot be negotiated."

She declined to comment on the payment of fines in advance of the verdict.

Political theatre
The SRP's candlelight vigil outside the Municipal Court before Mu Sochua's hearing Friday, an event attended by press and international observers, could be seen as an example of how Hun Sen's lawsuit might ultimately benefit the opposition. But it is unclear exactly how far the issue can be pushed before it will become a political - or personal - liability.

Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, said the party's stance should reflect what it is hoping to gain from the affair.

"If your intention is to fight the system and push for change as an advocate, you have to continue, you have to stick to a principle and not waver," he said.

"Unfortunately, there are some hardships associated with being courageous.... It will incur some painful sacrifices."

The SRP's apparent decision to wind down its fight echoes its reaction to a similar crackdown in 2005, when Sam Rainsy and lawmakers Cheam Channy and Chea Poch all faced lawsuits filed by government officials.

Cheam Channy, who was sentenced to seven years in jail on charges of attempting to form a private army, said Monday that the experience of his own case made him realise that fighting court battles was not worth the effort.

"I understand clearly that the Cambodian courts are under political pressure," he said.

He added that the current priority of the party was to help those in need rather than waging an unwinnable fight against senior officials.

Cheam Channy was released from prison in 2006 after securing a pardon from King Norodom Sihamoni.

Though many of Mu Sochua's supporters have argued that the court would likely deliver a guilty verdict because of political pressure, Hun Sen's lawyer Ky Tech dismissed the opposition's concerns about judicial independence, saying the court was operating in a transparent manner.

"Whether my case loses or wins, it will be just, since the court has conducted the case properly," he said.

Cambodian Defenders Project Executive Director Sok Sam Oeun, who noted that Mu Sochua did not speak very much during Friday's hearing, said the SRP decision on whether to continue its legal struggle should ultimately depend on the evidence it possesses.

"[Municipal Court] was the place for her to fight the strongest, but she did not speak very much," he said.

READ MORE - SRP ponders next step in PM suit

Human Impact on Critically Endangered Waterbird Beneficial

Human Impact on Critically Endangered Waterbird Beneficial
A white-shouldered ibis in Cambodia. Human impact on this critically endangered bird can be beneficial rather than destructive, and could even save it from extinction. (Credit: Hugh Wright)



ScienceDaily (July 26, 2009) — Human impact on one of the world's most threatened bird species can be beneficial rather than destructive - and could even save it from extinction - according to counterintuitive new findings by the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Published in the peer-reviewed journal Animal Conservation, the study by UEA conservation experts explores the exact reasons behind the decline of the critically endangered white-shouldered ibis.

The new study was carried out in Western Siem Pang Important Bird Area (IBA), northern Cambodia, where 160-200 of the birds survive – around half of the global population.

Working in partnership with BirdLife International, the researchers found that the ibis prefer to forage in open and accessible sites with low vegetation and bare soil. This is believed to be because it makes it easier to find prey, aids take-off and landing, and improves detection of approaching danger.

Traditional small-scale farming by local communities is therefore crucial to the ibis' survival because grazing livestock and burning of the forest understorey opens up these habitats making them suitable for the birds.

"Our findings show that this critically endangered species is largely dependent on the local farmers for their survival," said lead author Hugh Wright, of UEA's School of Environmental Sciences. "This is a fascinating outcome as we tend to assume that human activity always has a negative impact on the natural world."

Not all human influence is positive for the endangered ibis, however. Western Siem Pang - currently an unprotected site – is under imminent threat from large-scale development which would destroy the birds' habitats entirely, along with the local farming communities.

"The Forestry Administration in Cambodia is supportive of a proposal to make the area a protected forest and we believe that this – along with the continuation of local farming methods practiced for generation after generation – will be crucial in saving this once common species from extinction," added Hugh.

With fewer than 500 individuals remaining, mainly in Cambodia, the white-shouldered ibis has undergone the most rapid decline of all South-East Asia's large waterbirds and is now the most threatened. Once common in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia, the precise causes behind the bird's continuing decline have until now been poorly understood, which has hindered conservation efforts.

This research was funded by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

READ MORE - Human Impact on Critically Endangered Waterbird Beneficial

Influences from abroad key to Khmer culture

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 27 July 2009
Dave Perkes

Dear Editor,

I read with some concern the comments from Prime Minister Hun Sen calling for Khmer artists to refrain from using "other countries' styles" in books, films and songs ("Hun Sen decries reliance on foreign styles in the arts", July 23, 2009).

I understand the wish for Khmer culture to be encouraged and preserved. No one wants Khmer culture to disappear. Outside influences from other parts of Asia have always enhanced Khmer culture. The Hindu culture of the ancient Khmer came from the Indian subcontinent. Over the centuries, Khmer culture has been influenced by China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and, more recently, Europe and America. This has spread both ways, with Khmer art influencing large parts of Southeast Asia and being widely known throughout the world.

Cambodia, like many places in the region, is a microcosm of world culture. Culture is the lifeblood of any nation, and it's the influences from abroad that have shaped it. Compared to neighbouring countries, the Cambodian government and people preserve their culture and heritage well.

But what is culture? I have been told by many Khmers that the loud music at parties and weddings is part of Cambodian culture, that karaoke, Khmer rock music and television soaps are the culture of today. Modern Khmer artists and photographers have been producing very exciting and creative work blending old and new.

It may not be to everyone's taste. But today's art and entertainment will become tomorrow's heritage. Diversity should be encouraged, not derided.

What happens in modern art today will not change the wonderful culture and art of the past.

Do we want a Cambodia that is vibrant, creative and fun? Or do we want people here to live in a museum?

Dave Perkes
Siem Reap

READ MORE - Influences from abroad key to Khmer culture

DanChurchAid: Cambodian women trapped in violent marriages

According to DanChurchAid Domestic violence occurs frequently in Cambodia. And a combination of customs and culture continue to prolong violence against women. This is the conclusion in a new report from the Danish NGO on domestic violence in Cambodia, where several Cambodian women are being interviewed for the report on domestic violence.

The aim of the report is to convey an idea of the perceptions of domestic violence and resolution of domestic violence at the community level. In interviewing over 300 people in five very different communities, impressions reflecting actual realities of the different kinds of domestic violence and resolution processes that exist in these communities are presented.

The report "Out of Court Resolutions of Violence against Women" has been written as a part of the project "Ending violence against Women". The campaign began in Cambodia in 2007. The project is supported by DanChurchAid over a period of three years.

READ MORE - DanChurchAid: Cambodian women trapped in violent marriages

Cambodia launches national airline

AFP - Monday, July 27PHNOM PENH (AFP) - - Cambodia launched its new national airline, Cambodia Angkor Air, in a ceremony Monday, giving the southeast Asian country its first flag carrier since a previous effort folded in 2001.

It is hoped the airline, a joint venture between the government and Vietnam Airlines, will encourage tourism and promote Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen said during the ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport.

Hun Sen urged airline officials to compete hard with other carriers to "make Cambodia Angkor Air successful and ensure national revenue".

The last national carrier, Royal Air Cambodge, folded in 2001 after running up losses of 30 million dollars.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said Cambodia Angkor Air, which has capitalization of 100 million dollars, will officially begin flights on Tuesday, travelling to tourist hub Siem Reap and Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City.

Sok An added that the airline was expected to boost his country's tourism sector, but "the government will be not responsible for any loss and debt".

After the opening ceremony Cambodian and Vietnamese officials flew to seaside resort Sihanoukville and Siem Reap, the gateway to the famed Angkor Wat temples.

Tourism is one of the only sources of foreign exchange for impoverished Cambodia, which is recovering from nearly three decades of conflict that ended in 1998.

The kingdom aims to lure three million tourists annually by 2010.

More than 20 foreign airlines, including Japan Airlines and Qatar Airways, currently operate direct flights to Cambodia.

READ MORE - Cambodia launches national airline