Archive for April 2011
Hun Sen warning Labour Day events
Happy Labour Day...Honey, Hun Sen seen pretentious in kissing his official wife in public-stocked photo
The document, signed by Hun Sen and dated April 12, warned union members and workers that they should avoid controversial labour activities during the annual holiday.
“Please take this day to organise events for culture, art and entertainment … and avoid doing activity that can be affected to the public order and society,” the statement read.
Hun Sen also participated in an International Labour Day celebration at Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Centre in Phnom Penh yesterday, an event that was closed to the press.
Vong Sovann, president of Cambodian Confederation of Trade Unions, said yesterday that the premier struck an enthusiastic tone at the celebration, attended by more than 2,000 workers, union members and students.
“Hun Sen encouraged workers by asking their employers to create a happy entertainment on Labour Day,” he said, adding that the premier said he admired garment factories that organised parties and events for workers. Von Sovann added that the premier also urged workers to find solutions to disputes through official lines.
“Workers have to find a resolution [to problems] through the Ministry of Labour’s Arbitration Council,” Vong Sovann quoted him as saying.
International Labour Day is set to see thousands of workers hit the streets of the capital. The Cambodian Labour Confederation has sent a permission letter sent to Phnom Penh Municipal Hall last week to allow up to 3,000 people to parade through the capital on Sunday. CLC president Ath Thorn asked to use Preah Sisowath for the event, according to the letter.
Sar Mora, president of the Cambodian Food Service Workers Federation, said yesterday that they had received a response letter from City Hall inviting them to discuss the request in a meeting later today.
“I don’t know yet whether they allow us to do it or not,” he said.
Last year, controversy hit Labour Day when police tried to ban a screening of a documentary about slain labour leader Chea Vichea, forcibly removing projector screens set up by organisers outside Wat Lanka in central Phnom Penh.
The film, called Who Killed Chea Vichea?, is set to be screened at Sam Rainsy Party headquarters this Sunday.
Thai (Sino)business people in Cambodia not affected by border clashes: minister
BANGKOK, April 30 (Xinhua) — The majority of Thai business people in Cambodia have not been affected by the Thai-Cambodian border clashes, according to the Thai Minister of Commerce, Thai National News Bureau report on Saturday.
Thai Minister of Commerce Pornthiva Nakasai said she had checked with the Thai commercial counselor of the Thai embassy in Cambodia and found that Thai business activities were carrying on normally despite a series of artillery exchanges at the Thai- Cambodian border.
According to the minister, most of the Thai businesses in Cambodia are located opposite the northeastern Thai provinces of Sa Kaeo and Trat while the clashes usually take place in Surin and Buri Ram provinces.
Nevertheless, Pornthiva said she has assigned the commercial counselor to monitor the situation very closely in order to make ready assistance for the private sector if it is requested.
The exchange of fires between Thai and Cambodian troops along the border in Surin province have restarted on April 22 and continued to Friday morning, according to local media.
At least 7 Thais were killed and more than 80 others were injured during the clashes.
Cambodia rejects arrangement for deployment of observers on disputed Cambodian-Thai border
PHNOM PENH, April 30 (Xinhua) — Cambodia has rejected arrangement for the deployment of Indonesian observers to the disputed border area near Preah Vihear temple because Thailand has proposed a location in Cambodian territory for observers on its side, Cambodian foreign minister Hor Namhong said Saturday.
The rejection was in response to the 5th modified terms of reference (TOR) submitted by Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa, current rotating ASEAN chair, on April 28, for Indonesian observers to be deployed in the disputed border areas in order to monitor ceasefire.
“Cambodia cannot accept the fifth revised TOR because Thailand has proposed four locations for the observers on its side, but one of the locations is in Cambodian territory at Svay Chhrum area, though Thailand uses a different name,” Hor Namhong said at Phnom Penh International Airport upon his return from submitting a request to the International Court of Justice for the interpretation of the Court’s judgment of 1962 on the case concerning the Preah Vihear temple.
He said that the Svay Chhrum area in Preah Vihear province is in Cambodian territory as far as 7 kilometers from the border line.
“I will reply to Marty that Cambodia cannot accept the fifth TOR,” he said.
Cambodia has proposed three locations — Ta Sem, Chak Chreng and Pram Makara — near Preah Vihear temple for the deployment of observers on its side.
The International Court of Justice awarded Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia in 1962.
The 11th century temple was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on July 7, 2008. But the dispute over the 4.6 square kilometers scrub next to the temple has sparked periodic border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand. The latest in a series of deadly clashes has killed over a dozen soldiers on both sides since April 22.
Cambodian, Thai troops break truce…
PHNOM PENH, April 30 (Xinhua) — Exchange of gunfire between Cambodian and Thai troops broke out again early Saturday in the disputed border area near the 13th century Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province, marking the ninth straight day of border clash, said a field military commander.
“The fighting started again this morning at around 4:00 a.m. at Ta Krabei temple, Thai soldiers launched the attack first,” Suos Sothea, deputy commander of the artillery unit, told Xinhua by telephone from the battle field.
“Thai troops have fired small arms, rockets and artillery at our troops. We have also opened fire to defend our territory, but we have not used heavy weapons to fight back yet.”
It’s too early to report casualties, he said.
The fighting erupted again despite both sides reached ceasefire agreement after the conflict left eight Cambodian and seven Thai soldiers and one Thai civilian dead in the last eight days.
The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.
Cambodian Ministry of Defense said that Thai troops wanted to capture Ta Krabei temple and Ta Mon temple, 150 kilometers west of Preah Vihear temple which has been a flash point of border conflict between the two neighboring countries since it was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2008.
Cambodian, Thai battlefield commanders agree ceasefire again
PHNOM PENH, April 29 (Xinhua) — Cambodian and Thai battlefield commanders on Friday agreed to a ceasefire again after the earlier ceasefire was broken, according to the statement of Cambodian Ministry of Defense. The statement said that Neak Vong, deputy commander of Cambodian brigade 42 at Ta Moan temple, and Dul Yadeth, field commander of Thai border regiment, held talks at O’smach border checkpoint at Friday noon after the eighth day of armed clashes at early Friday morning.
“Both sides agreed again to three points: ceasefire, no troop mobility and talk every two days by phone or face-to-face,” it said. “This is the eighth time that both sides agreed to the ceasefire, but always failed to comply with it.”
Cambodian and Thai troops had exchanged gunfire for eight straight days from April 22 to 29 over disputed border areas at the 13th century Ta Moan and Ta Krabei temples, which lie 150 kilometers west of Preah Vihear Temple.
The fighting had killed eight Cambodian soldiers, seven Thai soldiers and one Thai civilian, and caused several dozens injured.
The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.
Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. But Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers (1.8 square miles) of scrub next to the temple. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had a border conflict, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.
45,200 Cambodian evacuees flee home due to clashes with Thailand
PHNOM PENH, April 29 (Xinhua) — The eighth day of armed clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops over disputed border areas had forced other 11,200 Cambodian people to flee homes, bringing the total number of evacuees to 45,200 by Friday evening, said a senior government official.
“Too many Cambodian evacuees have fled home in the latest rounds of fighting with Thailand,” Nhim Vanda, the first vice- president of the Cambodian National Committee for Disaster Management, told Xinhua by telephone on Friday. “We have never expected such great number of evacuees, so now our major concerns for them are clean water and sanitary facilities.”
During the fighting, the villagers living as far as 18 kilometers surrounding the fighting areas at the 11th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province have forced to flee for safe shelters.
The last day of armed clashes happened at Thursday night and lasted until 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning.
Cambodian and Thai troops had exchanged gunfire for eight straight days over disputed border areas at Ta Moan and Ta Krabei temples, which lie 150 kilometers west of Preah Vihear Temple.
The fighting had killed eight Cambodian soldiers, seven Thai soldiers and one Thai civilian, and caused several dozens injured.
The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.
Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. But Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers (1.8 square miles) of scrub next to the temple. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had a border conflict, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.
Border clashes end, 10 soldiers injured…press Col.Ot-Kwamkamnerd to hear lies
Bangkokpost—The exchange of fire between Thai and Cambodian troops along the border in Surin province which started early Friday night had stopped about 6.30am on Saturday, reports said.
A total of ten soldiers were injured in the fighting, 2 seriously. They all were admitted to Surin hospital and Veerawat Yothin military hospital, according to the reports.
The soldiers are;
1. Lt Kosit Songsaeng
2. Lt Veera Chaichaval
3. Serg 1st Class Boontien Srichan
4. Serg Pongsathorn Bangkaew
5. Pvt Krisada Promchak
6. Pvt Damrong Buakhao
7. Pvt Kraisorn Inchuay
8. Pvt Sarawut Chujamroon
9. Pvt Wanchai Bandith
10. Pvt Sumeth Panthong
Altogether 7 soldiers, one civilian were killed and 95 people and soldiers injured in the border clashes, which started last Friday, April 22.
Abhisit says govt ready for ICJ petition defence…and a new Coup
Bangkokpost—Cambodia’s request to the International Court of Justice for legal clarification to settle the border dispute around the Preah Vihear temple is not unexpected, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says.
Mr Abhisit added yesterday that he had prepared for Cambodia’s petition to the ICJ and the government is ready to present its defence if necessary.
A legal consultant has been hired to prepare its points in terms of legal aspects and facts.
Cambodia has asked the ICJ to interpret the court’s 1962 ruling, which awarded the ancient Hindu temple ruins to Cambodia
A statement issued by Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation yesterday said Phnom Penh felt it was necessary to have the interpretation “in order to peacefully and definitely settle the boundary problem between the two countries”.
Mr Abhisit did not comment on some critics’ remarks that Cambodia had picked a fight with Thailand as part of an orchestrated plan to find grounds for lodging the ICJ request.
Mr Abhisit said efforts to end the clashes would continue. However, Thailand would retaliate if Cambodia opened fire first.
Information Department director-general Thani Thongpakdi yesterday criticised Cambodia for overlooking Asean by filing its petition with the ICJ.
Mr Thani said Cambodia had no intention to solve the problem bilaterally and overlooked Asean, which had offered help to solve the conflict.
Mr Thani said earlier Cambodia had informed Thailand it would bring the conflict to the ICJ if Joint Boundary Commission talks came to a halt.
The ICJ may consider in three weeks whether it will accept Cambodia’s petition, Mr Thani said. If it accepts, it will take up to two years before it reaches a ruling.
Broken ceasefire leaves trust in tatters:Hun Sen’s sincerity is doubted by (invader) military…it’s more like Bangkok elites not trustworthy,go ask Thaksin
Two Monkeys played with fire then accusing the neighbor for putting it out
The fighting prompted a joint press conference between the army, the government and the Foreign Ministry.
“Thailand is very disappointed about the clashes that show Cambodia’s insincerity despite the fact that the field troops of both sides had agreed to a ceasefire,” said acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn.
“The government insists on its stance that the ceasefire must be strictly observed before further talks are pursued. The prime minister has made it clear he is happy to hold a dialogue. But if the situation doesn’t improve, a dialogue will not be as useful as it is supposed to,” he said. Both sides agreed to a truce as of 12pm on Thursday after talks between the 2nd Army’s Lt Gen Thawatchai Samutsakhon and Lt Gen Chea Mon, chief of the Cambodian 4th Region Army, at a casino at the Chong Jom-O Samet checkpoint in Surin’s Kap Choeng district.
However around 9.30pm the same day, fighting with rifles and hand-grenades erupted and lasted for an hour. A second round of fighting reportedly took place at 2am yesterday and ended at 6am.
One Thai soldier was killed and four injured, increasing the total deaths on the Thai side to eight, including one civilian, after continuous clashes erupted on April 22.
Cambodia has reported that at least eight of its troops have been killed.
Gunfire was confirmed near Ta Kwai temple last night.
“Cambodian troops attacked first by firing rifles and throwing grenades at us,” army commander Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha said yesterday.
“We just responded to their attack with rifles but if it happens again we will have to retaliate further,” he said, adding the talks on Thursday were not some sort of commitment.
Gen Prayuth revealed that Cambodian military commanders had made contact following the fighting and agreed to uncover why the agreed ceasefire had been broken.
The army chief said that Cambodia intends to use the border skirmishes to internationalise the border disputes.
He added that bilateral talks are the preferable way to resolve the border conflict, but noted that if a third party has to be involved there is nothing he can do about it.
“I’m not sure if [Cambodian prime minister] Hun Sen has sincerity, I don’t know what he is thinking. We can’t change him,” said Gen Prayuth.
Army spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd said there could be a communication breakdown among Cambodian troops.
“If we look on the bright side, it might be a communication problem because the commander in charge of the area where the fighting erupts is not Lt Gen Chea Mon,” he said.
However, he added that a group of 10 military officers was dispatched early yesterday to discuss how to avoid further clashes.
Col Sansern insisted that further steps to negotiations were out of the question as long as the border fighting continued.
Second Army Region spokesman Prawit Hookaew said yesterday the incident was not an actual breach of the ceasefire agreement because the talks had been informal.
“It can’t guarantee there will be no more fighting. They wanted field commanders to make contact immediately when any clash erupted to contain the situation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cambodia has accused Thai troops of initiating the fighting.
The resumption of hostilities so soon after a peace deal demonstrated the “pointlessness of bilateral negotiations”, said the Cambodian government, which has continuously campaigned for a third party to be involved.
“Less than 12 hours [after the agreement] the Thai military again attacked, and fighting continued until the next morning,” it said.
A Thai government source at the border noted that the Thai military might have talked to the wrong people.
Lt Gen Chea Mon does not have “real” power over the troops in the combat areas, said the source.
The areas where the border skirmishes have taken place for the past week are under the jurisdiction of deputy army commander Gen Chim Janpua, according to the source.
Local villagers in Ban Nong Danna on Surin’s Phanom Dong Rak district said yesterday they heard the sound of sporadic gunfire throughout Thursday night. However they said there was no artillery shelling.
Chong Jom checkpoint in Surin’s Kap Choeng district remained closed yesterday and trading was limited.
New skirmishes on Thai-Cambodian border
A Thai invader holds his machine gun atop an army vehicle while patrolling near the Thai-Cambodian frontline in Surin province -- PHOTO: AP
The latest hostilities at two ancient temples on the disputed jungle frontier erupted just hours after Cambodia announced a second truce agreement in as many days, although Bangkok denied knowledge of a new deal.
‘Even though there is a recent ceasefire agreement… Thailand still breached it,’ Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters in Phnom Penh.
‘There were exchange of firing last night and this morning,’ he said. ‘It shows that we cannot trust our counterpart.’ Thai army sources also confirmed early morning clashes.
Thailand said Friday’s peace talks between commanders from both sides did not amount to a genuine breakthrough in a dispute that has left 16 people dead and displaced more than 85,000 civilians.
‘We actually have talked at local officers’ level which I hope will lead to a real ceasefire,’ said Thailand’s government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn. Seven Thai troops and eight Cambodian soldiers have died since the clashes began on April 22, and Bangkok has said a Thai civilian has also been killed.
