Posts Tagged ‘Cambodia’
CNRP Told to Fix Errors In Election Application
Registration for the July 28 national election closed yesterday, with eight parties confirmed to have fielded candidates for the National Assembly’s fifth mandate, the National Election Committee (NEC) announced.
At a meeting held at NEC headquarters, NEC Secretary-General Tep Nytha said that from a total of eight applicants, five parties have been registered and three others are either in the review stage or need to make changes to their application forms.
“The NEC sent back the CNRP [Cambodia National Rescue Party] candidate list today to have them correct some mistakes,” Mr. Nytha said, explaining that there had been errors in the sex and date of birth of certain candidates. “They have five days to review it.”
The ruling CPP, which has a firm grip of the 123-member legislative body, will go up against Funcinpec, the CNRP, the Khmer Nationality Party, the Alliance League for Democracy, the Khmer Poverty Party, the Khmer Development and Economy Party and the Republican Democracy Party.
CNRP lawmaker Yen Ponharith said a total of nine candidates had errors in their application and that the CNRP would correct the mistakes before the cut off date.
Government Turns to Sonando to Criticize Opposition
កូនស្រីលោកហ៊ុនសែន
ឪចោរ ឲ្យកូនជាអាចារ្យ ទៅមិនរួចទេ តាម ពុទ្ធ សាសនា
In July, Mam Sonando, the outspoken political critic and owner of the independent Beehive radio station, was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison for allegedly having encouraged an armed uprising against the government in rural Kratie province.
–News Analysis
Less than 10 months later and just two months after he was released from Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh, Mr. Sonando’s political commentaries are now being rebroadcast by state-controlled radio stations and disseminated by the government to media outlets as a means to undermine the political opposition ahead of July’s national election.
So why has the government’s recent enemy No. 1, become its ally?
In the past week, two audio segments aired by Bayon radio, which is owned by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s daughter Hun Mana, have contained commentaries made by Mr. Sonando in the run-up to the 2008 national election.
In those segments taken from old broadcasts on his Beehive radio, Mr. Sonando’s criticisms of the opposition SRP and Human Rights Party—which have since merged to become the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)—are spliced between recordings of the party’s respective leaders, Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha, also taking swipes at each other during the 2008 national election campaign.
“The opposition’s policy is to disrupt democracy,” Mr. Sonando says in one dated commentary now being rebroadcast by pro-government media outlets.
“If they cannot eat rice, they want to break the pot,” he continued, using a colloquialism to describe the opposition’s tactic of attacking the country’s democratic institutions if it sees that it cannot win the election.
Although Mr. Sonando was sentenced in October to 20 years in jail for crimes related to an alleged insurrection—a case that human rights groups say was trumped up by the government—it appears the same government is now using Mr. Sonando for its own political ends.
While Mr. Sonando could never be accused of being a supporter of Prime Minister Hun Sen, he also has little time for the current leaders or tactics of the country’s political opposition.
Speaking by phone from Paris, where he said he is raising funds to help Cambodia’s poor, Mr. Sonando said Tuesday that he remains frustrated by the opposition party.
“For four mandates, the opposition party has not been successful in pushing the government to implement the rule of law. The opposition has to protest until the government changes what it has done to break the law or violate people’s rights,” said Mr. Sonando, adding that simply speaking out in the media or on the floor of the National Assembly was not enough to compel the CPP to change its ways.
“Opposition leaders must not be afraid of being jailed or beaten,” Mr. Sonando added.
Since 2009, Mr. Rainsy, who is president of the CNRP, has been in self-imposed exile to avoid an 11-year jail sentence for crimes including incitement and disinformation, which he claims are politically motivated.
Mr. Sonando also said that he was disappointed that threats by the CNRP to boycott the national election on the grounds of a lack of reform inside the National Election Committee (NEC) never materialized.
“The opposition party demanded that the government reform the NEC and told the public that if the NEC doesn’t change they would not join the election, but now they have joined the NEC. So now they support the elections,” he said.
Independent political analyst Chea Vannath said the government is likely distributing the recording featuring Mr. Sonando in order to influence the political convictions of the rural Cambodians he is already popular with.
“I think that Mam Sonando has his own constituency—people who listen to him. So by [broadcasting his critiques of the opposition], what they [the government] are trying to do is use different people who have influence in the society against each other,” she said.
Regarding the seeming contradiction of promoting the views of a man who was convicted of leading an insurrection against the government less than a year earlier, Ms. Vannath said that for the CPP-controlled government “the ends justify the means.”
“The target is not to promote Mam Sonando, the target is to counterbalance the influence of the opposition party,” she said.
Ek Tha, spokesman for the Council of Minister’s Press and Quick Reaction Unit, which has been distributing the audio segments of Mr. Sonando, declined to comment Tuesday, as did Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan.
Satya Rak, the Bayon radio presenter who has produced and broadcast three audio recordings portraying opposition infighting over the past two weeks, said that he chose to include the commentary of Mr. Sonando because it encapsulates what he said is the struggle for power within the opposition.
“I put in Mr. Sonando’s comments in the audio segment because I think what Sonando said about the character and behavior of Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha is true,” he said. “Mr. Sonando had said that the opposition party could not be strong when they fight within their party,” he added.
In March, following international and national outcry, the Court of Appeal overturned Mr. Sonando’s conviction on insurrection and incitement charges, cut his 20 years sentence to just five years and then promptly suspended that sentence too, ordering his immediate release.
Mr. Sonando was also imprisoned for three months in October, 2005, after he was arrested for defaming Mr. Hun Sen by airing interviews highly critical of the government’s border agreement with Vietnam, in which an interviewee accused the government of selling swaths of the country to Vietnam.
“Mam Sonando has been quite popular since he was put in jail, so any political party would gain a lot of advantage by having him on their side, or by having him criticize another political party,” said Moeun Chhean Nariddh, the director of the Cambodian Institute for Media Studies. “He has reached out to grassroots level people…. He has become in a sense the voice of the voiceless many.”
India to provide Cambodia indelible ink for upcoming poll
PHNOM PENH, May 10 (Xinhua) — India will provide 40,000 bottles of indelible ink to the National Election Committee (NEC) of Cambodia that will be used in the general election on July 28, a NEC’s statement said Friday.
The ink, which costs about 830,000 U.S. dollars, will be airlifted to Cambodia in mid-June, said the statement, citing Indian Ambassador to Cambodia Dinesk K. Patnaik.
NEC’s secretary general Tep Nytha said the NEC has already issued a letter of appreciation to the government of India for the donation. He said the indelible ink will be used to mark voters’ fingers and it will be unable to be washed off for 7 to 15 days.
The country is scheduled to hold a general election for the 123- seat parliament on July 28. Some 9.67 million Cambodians are eligible to cast their ballots in the upcoming election, said the NEC.
Tep Nytha said as of Friday, 6 political parties have registered with the NEC to run in the upcoming election, adding that the exact number will be released next Monday, which is the deadline of the registration for political parties.
Analysts project that the ruling Cambodian People’s Party of Prime Minister Hun Sen will dominantly win the forthcoming election.
Hun Sen, 61, has been in power for 28 years and vowed to stay in the office until he is 74.
Cambodia hails U.S. museum to return ancient Khmer artifacts
NY Museum returned artifacts to Kambujia
PHNOM PENH, May 10 (Xinhua) — Cambodian deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Sok An admired the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York for its recent decision to repatriate two 10th century stone statues to Cambodia, according to a statement from the government on Friday.
“We’d like to take this solemn occasion to express our sincere thanks and profound gratitude to the Met in New York, which has taken such a laudable decision to return these priceless ancient Khmer artifacts, which represents part of the soul of the nation,” he said in the statement issued by the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Council of Ministers. “We also thank the U.S. government for its support in this endeavor.”
Following talks between both sides, the Met decided to return the two statues, which are known as “Kneeling Attendants” and were illicitly removed from Prasat Chen in Koh Ker temple at the time of Cambodia’s civil war in the 1970s, the statement said.
In its press release on May 3, the Met quoted its director Thomas P. Campbell as saying, “The museum is committed to applying rigorous provenance standards not only to new acquisitions, but to the study of works long in its collections in an ongoing effort to learn as much as possible about ownership history.”
“This is a case in which additional information… has led the museum to consider facts that were not known at the time of the acquisition and to take the action…” Thomas said. “In returning the statues, the museum is acting to strengthen the good relationship it has long maintained with scholarly institutions and colleagues in Cambodia and to foster and celebrate continued cooperation and dialogue between us.”
Meanwhile, Sok An, on behalf of the government of Cambodia, appealed to other museums and art collectors around the world to follow this example of returning plundered treasures to their rightful owners as part of the worldwide campaign for the protection of cultural heritage.
Siam says ready for final statement at ICJ
BANGKOK, April 19 (Xinhua) — Thailand is ready to present its final statement on the case related to disputed border area with Cambodia on Friday night (Bangkok time) to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Thai ambassador said on Friday.
Virachai Plasai, Thailand’s Ambassador to the Hague, the Netherlands and head of the Thai legal team, said that they are confident that in the second and final round of oral statement, Thailand could counter all arguments made by Cambodia, Thai News Agency reported.
Speaking to Thai media at a press briefing at the Hague, Virachai believed that the oral arguments will comprehensively and convincingly rebut Cambodia’s pleadings on Thursday.
Thailand’s first round of oral statement by Thailand took place on Wednesday. The second and final round oral statement by Thailand takes place Friday at 3 p.m. local time (8 p.m. Bangkok time).
The ICJ had accepted Cambodia’s request to reinterpret its 1962 ruling, which awarded ownership of the ancient hindu Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia but did not mention the disputed area immediately surrounding it.
The hearings on the border dispute are scheduled to be held from April 15 to 19 with both sides preparing to present their arguments. The ruling will not be delivered until October or November this year.
The general climate along the border near the temple has been normal so far.
Hun Sen warns internal war if opposition wins July’s polls
PHNOM PENH, April 19 (Xinhua) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen warned on Friday that there will be “an internal war” if the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) wins a general election on July 28.
The premier’s warning followed the announcement of the self- exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Wednesday that he will convict members of Cambodia’s current government accused of Khmer Rouge-era killings if his party wins the general election in July.
Via a video from the United States to about 200 supporters gathering at the Choeung Ek Killing Field to mark the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge on April 17, 1975, Sam Rainsy did not name those government members, but references to “ministers and deputy prime ministers” were consistent with his statement on April 17 last year, when he called for legal action against Prime Minister Hun Sen, Senate President Chea Sim and National Assembly President Heng Samrin.
“He (Sam Rainsy) has not come to power, but he dares to use insolent remarks, announcing to convict members of the current government, and Hun Sen,” the prime minister said during the inauguration of new achievements at a Buddhist pagoda in western Kampong Speu province.
“An internal war will definitely happen if he (Sam Rainsy) wins the election because no one will let the other arrest easily. There will be fighting back,” the premier said. “We have no wish to stage war, but they threaten to do war (with us) first.”
However, the premier said he did not believe that the opposition party could win in the forthcoming election.
“Based on previous results, the opposition party needs to seek at least another 3 million votes to win the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP),” he said.
On March 25, the premier predicted that his CPP would win at least two-thirds majority in the general election this July.
Hun Sen, 61, has been in power for 28 years and vowed to stay in the office until he is 90.
In the last election in 2008, the CPP won 90 seats out of the 123 parliamentary seats, while the Sam Rainsy Party won 26 seats, the Human Rights Party three seats, the Funcinpec Party two seats and the Norodom Ranariddh Party two seats.
Self-exiled Sam Rainsy is currently the leader of the CNRP, which was a merger between the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party.
Sam Rainsy, 63, fled the country in late 2009 before a Cambodian court sentenced him to 11 years in jail in absentia for two charges — removing border poles and publishing a false map of the border with Vietnam and accusing deputy prime minister and foreign minister Hor Namhong of being a member of the Democratic Kampuchea, or known as Khmer Rouge.
In November, the National Election Committee removed his name from the voter list for the July’s election on the grounds that he is a convicted criminal, meaning that he will be unable to participate in the upcoming election.
Cambodia’s bourse sees slow progress in 1st year of operations
PHNOM PENH, April 18 (Xinhua) — The Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) has seen slow progress in its first year of operations because there has been only one listed firm and public knowledge about the stock market remains low, officials said Thursday.
The CSX was officially launched trading on April 18 last year with only one listed enterprise, the state-owned Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA).
“Because there is only one product in the stock market now, so the trading action is limited,” Ming Bankosal, Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia, which is the CSX’s regulator, told Xinhua over telephone. “I believe that the situation will be improving from this year as three or four enterprises are planned to list on the CSX this year.”
He said at the launching of the CSX, there were only 3,600 investors, but it was now up to 5,000 investors.
Ming Bankosal was optimistic about the market’s future, saying that for a long-term strategy, the stock market will hugely contribute to developing Cambodian economy.
“In my vision, the future of CSX will be bright as Cambodia holds the free market policy and foreign investors such as China, the United States, Japan, France, and the United Kingdom are confident in Cambodia’s political stability and economy, so more investors will come to Cambodia,” he said. “More investors will need more capitals, so the stock market will be one of their choices to mobilize capitals.”
Nguon Meng Tech, Director General of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, said that “public confidence” remains a major obstacle in developing the country’s stock market.
“In my point of view, the idea of the stock exchange is still new here, and it needs at least another three years to promote public awareness about the market,” he told Xinhua. “People are reluctant to invest their money in something that they have no knowledge about.”
Svay Hay, chairman of the broker Acleda Securities Plc, said the CSX is currently well-equipped with high technologies, laws and regulations, and market intermediaries.
“I think that the market has everything in place, but the challenges are no listing companies and poor knowledge among the public,” he told Xinhua. “The market sees slow progress in its first year of operations because there is only one issuer — the PPWSA — so the trading action is limited as investors have no option.”
The PPWSA sold 13 million shares in its first IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) in last April with a share going for 6,300 riel (1.57 U.S. dollars).
In May, the highest-priced stock was about 2.55 U.S. dollars a share, and then, it had gradually lowered to 1.55 U.S. dollars.
On Thursday, the PPWSA’s share price dropped by 4.91 percent to 6,200 riel (1.55 U.S. dollars) per share from 6,520 riel (1.63 U.S. dollars) in previous day. Thursday’s trading volume was only 100 shares worth 620,000 riel (155 U.S. dollars), according to data of the CSX.
Last week, the PPWSA allocated its first dividend to shareholders. According to the firm’s announcement, the dividend payout ratio was seven percent, with a total dividend of 2.4 billion riel (600,000 U.S. dollars), and the dividend per share is 27.7 riel (0.69 cent of U.S. dollar).
Low dividend allocation has discouraged some investors from the market.
Ming Bankosal agreed that the first dividend was very low, but defended that the firm has to keep some portions of the profit for business expansion.
“Normally, shareholders want to get much profit, but the company cannot allocate all the profit to the shareholders, it needs to keep some for business expansion, or it has no capital to expand the company’s business,” he said.
The CSX was initiated by the Korean Exchange in 2007. It is a joint venture between the government of Cambodia holding 55 percent of the stakes and the Korean Exchange owning the remaining 45 percent.
Cambodia’s 10 cities, provinces to get new governors: PM
PHNOM PENH, April 18 (Xinhua) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday that 10 cities and provinces out of the kingdom’ s 24 cities and provinces will get new governors as current governors get retired, sick and assigned to new work.
Speaking during the inauguration of a new administration building of Kampot province, the premier said eight governors got retired. They are the governors of the provinces of Siem Reap, Kampong Thom, Kampong Cham, Stung Treng, Kandal, Kampong Speu, Mondolkiri, and Phnom Penh Municipality.
The two other outgoing governors are the ill-governor of Oddar Meanchy province and the governor of Banteay Meanchey province, who will run as a lawmaker-candidate in the general election in July.
Hun Sen said he had requested to King Norodom Sihamoni for the replacement and the king had already approved the appointments of new governors.
He said the governor’s term is four years and the retired age is 60.
Siam netizen acclaim delegation at ICJ over border dispute with Cambodia
BANGKOK, April 18 (Xinhua) — As Thai delegation were presented oral arguments to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the disputed border area between Thailand and Cambodia at the Hague, the Netherlands, words of admiration by Thai netizen of the Thai team’s performance at the court were widely spread on social networking sites.
“Let’s give moral support to Virachai Plasai, head of legal team in the case,” read a message widely shared on Facebook by Thais.
Virachai, also Thailand’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, told the ICJ on Wednesday that Thailand spotted irregularities of map presented by Cambodia during its presentation of its statement on the case earlier on Monday. The map was different to the one attached in its petition to the court.
“There exists different versions of this map, the lines on which cannot be transposed to the actual topography without causing further problems. Cambodia even altered the map Thailand presented in the original Case and submitted as its own evidence in the present case,” according to Thai Foreign Ministry’s press release clarifying the point presented in the court.
The argument about the irregularity of the map presented by Virachai had impressed many Thais as they see it a very strong argument against Cambodia. “You are the best, Virachai. You’ve done your best to protect our homeland,” a comment on Facebook read.
On Wednesday, Thai delegation was at the presentation of oral arguments to the International Court of Justice in the public hearings in the Case Concerning the Request for Interpretation of the Judgment of 15 June 1962 in the Case Concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia v. Thailand).
Apart from Virachai, the delegation of Thailand includes Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Phongtep Thepkanjana, and Minister of Defence Sukumpol Suwanatat.
The ICJ had accepted Cambodia’s request to reinterpret its 1962 ruling, which awarded ownership of the ancient hindu Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia but did not mention the disputed area immediately surrounding it.
The hearings on the border dispute are scheduled to be held from April 15 to 19 with both sides preparing to present their arguments. The ruling will not be delivered until October or November this year.
Also Cambodia on Monday said the right way to determine the temple’s “vicinity” is to follow the lines on a map of 1:200,000 scale called “Annex I map” which includes the disputed 4.6 square kilometers area. Thailand, however, argued that Cambodia saw nothing wrong with Thailand’s actions regarding the border line until 2007, when Phnom Penh wanted additional areas adjacent to the temple to be included in the inscription of Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage site.
“The disputed 4.6 square kilometres area was not at the core of the conflict in the previous case, and is larger than the area that Cambodia claimed in the original case, which was only 0.35 square kilometres,” stated the press release.
The historic temple was declared as a World Heritage site in 2008 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The enlisting in 2008 as the World Heritage site heated the border, resulted in several rounds of skirmish at the border.
Also on Wednesday, anti-Cambodia activists tried to raise the Thai flag in a disputed border area but were turned away by Thai authorities.
Leaders of the group, Preecha Iamsuphan and Veeraphan Malaiphan, believed to be affiliated with the nationalist People’s Alliance for Democracy, said the protesters wanted to fly the flag in the border area as a symbolic gesture to show the area belongs to Thailand.
The protesters later dispersed without any violence.
The general climate along the border near the temple has been normal so far.
Cambodian PM’s visit to China ends successfully with fruitful outcome: minister
Despot Ung Tek Huor (wanted to be PM) at Press Conference
PHNOM PENH, April 10 (Xinhua) — The visit of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to China came to an end successfully, bringing deeper and stronger ties and cooperation between the two countries, Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said Wednesday.
“It is a successful visit with a fruitful result,” Cham Prasidh told reporters at the Phnom Penh International Airport upon the premier’s return from China. “Through this visit, the bilateral relations and cooperation between Cambodia and China will be further enhanced and deepened for mutual interests.”
Hun Sen paid an official visit to China from April 6-10. During the visit, he attended the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2013 in Hainan Province and, on the sidelines of the forum, paid a courtesy call on Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Then, he held an official talk with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing.
Cham Prasidh said that after the talk, the two sides signed an action plan on the implementation of the China-Cambodia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation.
He said the two countries have moved from the relationship as a good neighbor, a good friend, a good partner to the level of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation in December 2010.
“This is the top level of relationship between two countries,” he said. “We expect that after the visit, the bilateral ties will be deeper and stronger.”
Besides, the government of China signed up to provide packages of grant aid and concessional loan to Cambodia for the development of infrastructure including roads, bridges and irrigation system, and for building a vocational school of agriculture.
The two sides also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on a five-million-ton oil refinery project among China Development Bank, China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation, China Perfect Machinery Industry Corporation and Cambodian Petrochemical Company with an investment of 1.67 billion U.S. dollars.
The oil refinery will be built in Cambodia.
“The assistance and investment from China is very important for Cambodia’s social and economic development,” Cham Prasidh said.
While in Beijing, Hun Sen also paid separate courtesy calls on Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), and former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
“In these meetings, Prime Minister Hun Sen reiterated Cambodia’ s staunch support to one-China policy and to all issues related to China’s core interests,” he added.
