Five additional suspects in the uprooting of border stakes summoned by the Svay Rieng court this morning

Sam Rainsy wants to be tried by Hanoi rather than by the puppet court


Five individuals who were accused of involvement in the uprooting of border stakes along the Cambodian-Viet border were summoned to the Svay Rieng court to provide clarifications on Wednesday 23 December 2009.

Even though last week, the Svay Rieng court accused opposition leader Sam Rainsy and his accomplices of destroying public properties, racial discrimination, and ordered them to be detained, the individuals who are summoned by the court to show up this morning, indicated that they are not scared at all.

A woman who was summoned by the court said: “There is nothing to fear about, I did nothing wrong because the border post was planted right on top of my rice field … I want the court to summon me immediately.”

Nget Chandara, a representativeof the Adhoc human rights organization in Svay Rieng province, indicated that the 5 villagers summoned by the court for clarification this morning do not belong to any political party. However, they all lost their lands in the area where the border posts were planted.

Border post no. 185 that the Cambodian villagers from Koh Kban Kandal village, Samrong commune, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province, claimed that it was planted in the middle of their rice fields, were uprooted by opposition leader Sam Rainsy during a Kathen procession led to Wat Ang Romdenh pagoda on 25 October 2009.

Subsequently, a report indicated that border posts no. 184, 186 and 187 that are suspected of being planted inside Cambodian territories, were secretly removed by the Viet authority to erase proofs of Viet encroachments.

The uprooting of the border stakes by Sam Rainsy led to an angry outburst by Nguyen Tan Dung, the Yuon prime minister. He demanded that the Cambodian government takes appropriate measures against opposition leader Sam Rainsy and those who were involved.

SRP MP Son Chhay, the parliament opposition whip, led a group of SRP MPs to visit the actual border situation on 14 December 2009. Son Chhay told reporters that the planting of border posts led to the loss of large chunks of Cambodian territories to the hand of Hanoi.

On Monday, Sam Rainsy issued an email indicating that he is ready to clarify the Svay Rieng court on Monday [28 December] morning, however, Sam Rainsy said that the Svay Rieng court is merely a puppet of Hanoi.

Sam Rainsy said: “It’s useless and meaningless to defend yourself before a servant. You’d better address the master. Therefore, I am willing to show up and to be prosecuted in person in Hanoi because my trial is a political one first ordered by Vietnam’s government.”

In his statement, opposition leader Sam Rainsy also quoted the 04 November 2009 report published by the Voice of Vietnam whereby Nguyen Tan Dung, the Yuon PM, told Men Sam An, the visiting Cambodian deputy-PM, that: “Regarding acts and statements made by Sam Rainsy - President of the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), who recently uprooted six temporary poles for Marker 185 between Vietnam’s southern province of Long An and Cambodia’s Svay Rieng province – [Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung] proposed that the Cambodian government take due measures to deal with Rainsy’s acts of sabotage and not permit similar cases to occur, as they negatively affect the fine relations between the two nations.”

Meanwhile, Yim Sovann, SRP MP and party spokesman, indicated that the SRP is protesting the addition of more suspects into the lawsuit against Sam Rainsy. Yim Sovann added that Sam Rainsy takes responsibility for the incident, therefore there is no need to charge other individuals.

Cabinet Approves Draft Anti-Corruption Law

The Council of Ministers on Friday approved the long-awaited draft of an anti-corruption law, but critics worry they will have little chance to change it when it comes up for parliamentary debate.

The law will attempt to rein in the country’s endemic corruption, which starts with traffic police taking bribes from overloaded trucks and ends with senior ministers taking kickbacks for lucrative land and business dealings.

Cambodia ranks No. 158 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s corruption index, putting it ahead of only Burma and Laos in the region. The country loses as much as $500 million a year in revenue to corruption, according to US estimates.

“The anti-corruption law is a part of the reform program of the royal government, for good governance, strengthening the rule of law, sustainable development and poverty reduction,” according to a statement by the Council of Ministers issued Friday.

The three main strategies in the law, the statement said, are education and prevention; curbing corrupt acts through legal measures; and “participation and support from the public.”

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Friday the law would establish an independent anti-corruption council. It also requires the declaration of assets by parliamentarians, government officials, military personnel, police, judges, prosecutors and court clerks. The draft law provides a jail provision from 1 month to 15 years.

“If the anti-corruption law comes into effect, corruption in Cambodia will be reduced more than in the past,” Mam Sitha, president of the Cambodian Independent Anti-Corruption Committee, a non-governmental organization, said Friday. “Even though we don’t know the effectiveness of the law, it’s better that we have the law.”

The draft law was initially proposed in 1994 and has since been amended with inputs from non-governmental organizations, government critics and donors. The draft reached the National Assembly floor in 2003 but was sent back for improvements. It has since been with the administration.

“What the government wants is a law that is effective, promotes the rule of law and has no discrimination in delivering public services,” Phay Siphan said Thursday. “The law will ensure that there is no abuse of power or of public confidence.”

The draft, which was not disclosed publicly Friday, is expected to reach the National Assembly for debate next week.

Opposition lawmakers doubt they will have a chance to contribute to the debate over the law. In the past, some laws have passed without a single word changed, and opposition lawmakers worry they will not have enough time to study the new draft.

“Corruption in Cambodia is systematic, existing from the bottom to the top,” Kem Sokha, president of the opposition-aligned Human Rights party, said. “It does not happen by chance as in other countries, or in Cambodia’s past. We have to start cleaning it from the top first, and if the court dares not prosecute leaders, the anti-corruption law will only be a tool to prosecute low-ranking officers and those whom the powerful don’t support.”

Yim Sovann, spokesman for the leading opposition Sam Rainsy Party, suggested that recommendations from civil society, which include setting up an independent anti-corruption body, should be included. Access to information should be mandated, he said.

“If we cannot have access to information in public and government institutions, especially involving corrupt officials in the government, we cannot effectively fight corruption...and the law we are making now will become just a blank paper,” Yim Sovann said.

Donors, who provide hundreds of millions of dollars to government coffers each year, have pushed hard for anti-corruption legislation, threatening strict conditions on aid or to spend their money on other countries in need.

Meanwhile, local organizations argue that corruption hinders the rule of law. And it remains to be seen how effectively the new law will be in curbing corruption.

“Victory depends on the law and what is in it,” said Chea Vannath, a political analyst and former head of the Center for Social Development. “If the law focuses on prevention, education, and awareness promotion, the implementation will be based on that.”

A law that focuses on legalities and punishment will be hard to enforce, and less fruitful, she said. “It is difficult to hunt down a perpetrator and punish him. It takes lots of time and money, but the result is small.”

Cambodian king pardons convicted Thai spy

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni Friday pardoned a Thai man jailed for seven years for spying on fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a Cambodian government spokesman said.

Siwarak Chothipong, 31, an employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, will be released from prison Monday to his family and a delegation from Thailand's opposition Puea Thai party, spokesman Khieu Kanharith said.

"The king just signed it this morning," Khieu Kanharith told AFP, adding that the royal pardon was issued after Prime Minister Hun Sen requested it Thursday.

"This morning Hun Sen said that if the man wants to continue working in Cambodia, he is welcome," Khieu Kanharith added.

Siwarak's arrest in Phnom Penh last month deepened a diplomatic crisis over Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser and its refusal to extradite the ousted premier to Thailand.

During his trial Tuesday, Siwarak denied stealing any documents and stated that although he had informed the Thai embassy's first secretary by telephone of a flight arrival, he had not been aware that Thaksin was on board.

Thaksin was toppled in a coup in 2006 and is living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, but has continued to stir up protests in his homeland.

CAMBODIA SEEKS TO EXPAND GROWTH, BOOST RURAL INCOMES IN TONLE SAP BASIN

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (9 December 2009) – Cambodia will target sweeping new measures to boost incomes and livelihood opportunities for thousands of poor households in the Tonle Sap Basin region, in a bid to broaden the country’s economic base and address growing income disparities between urban and rural areas.


To aid the government’s goal, the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors approved a loan and grant totaling $30.7 million for the Tonle Sap Poverty Reduction and Smallholder Development Project. Two of ADB’s development partners in Cambodia, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the Government of Finland will also contribute a combined $19.1 million.

Cambodia’s economy has grown between 6%-10% in recent years, driven by the construction, garment and tourism industries. However, growth in the agriculture sector, which provides livelihoods for up to 85% of the population, has been uneven because of weak infrastructure, low productivity, a lack of access to markets and poorly developed rural financial services. The result is persistently high levels of rural poverty and food insecurity, with almost a third of rural households lacking sufficient food during each year.

The project will spur agricultural productivity and increase incomes for up to 2.5 million people in 630,000 households in the poor Tonle Sap Basin provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom and Siem Reap. It will fund new or upgraded infrastructure, which is likely to include small-scale waterworks for irrigation and flood control systems, and improved farm-to-market roads. In addition the project will help to establish commune-based livelihood improvement groups that will provide revolving funds to members to buy agricultural supplies such as seeds and fertilizers. Support will be given to build up the capabilities of microfinance institutions and rural service agencies, to train farmers in modern agriculture technologies, and to boost access to information through internet centers or e-kiosks that can be utilized by commune members.

“The project will deliver a broad range of benefits including increased crop productivity and output, improved post-harvest management, market access and prices, greater access to rural financial services, and increased knowledge of agriculture technologies, all of which will help raise living standards, boost incomes, and provide livelihood opportunities for poor households,” said Ian Makin, Senior Water Resources Management Specialist with ADB’s Southeast Asia Department.

It is also part of a broader ADB-led initiative to develop the Tonle Sap Basin, and complements the work of other development partners in the agriculture sector, including IFAD.

The project is strongly focused on providing grass roots support for individual communities, who will be fully involved in identifying priority investments that reflect their specific needs. It also includes a gender action plan to ensure women are able to participate fully and to benefit equitably from the project.

ADB’s funds from its concessional Asian Development Fund make up 55.5% of the total project cost of $55.3 million and include a loan equivalent to $3.4 million, and a grant of up to $27.3 million. The loan has a 32-year term, including a grace period of eight years, with interest charged at 1% per annum during the grace period and 1.5% for the rest of the term. IFAD’s loan and grant of up to $13.38 million, and Government of Finland’s grant of $5.75 million equivalent will be administered by ADB, with the Government of Cambodia providing $5.47 million to make up the balance of the total.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is the executing agency for the project, which is due for completion around August 2017.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2008, it approved $10.5 billion of loans, $811.4 million of grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $274.5 million.

Puea Thai asks Kasit, Kamrob to resign

The opposition Puea Thai Party on Friday called for Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and Kamrob Palawatwichai, former first secretary to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, and accept responsibility for having caused Sivarak Chutipong's suffering in Cambodia.

The call was made in a letter submitted by party spokesman Prompong Nopparit. The letter was accepted by Seri Mutthatharn, deputy director of the General Affairs Division.

Sivarak was sentenced to seven years in jail and a fine of about 82,500 baht by a Cambodian court which found him guilty of supplying information on former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's flight schedule to the Thai government through Mr Kamrob.

Mr Prompong also accused the government to having impeded the Puea Thai Party's attempt to get a royal pardon for Sivarak. He said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his aides had continued to make remarks that might be construed as infringing on Cambodia's sovereignty.

Earlier today, he went to the Education Ministry to submit a leave request of Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, Sivarak's mother, to Education Minister Jurin Laksanavisit. Mrs Simarak said it was necessary for her to remain in Phnom Penh to prepare documents to petition for the royal pardon.