KHMER INTELLIGENCE

Khmer Intelligence (KI) is a non-government organisation whose objective is to collect sensitive information from non-easily accessible sources to help Khmer and foreign observers better follow and understand the situation in Cambodia. KI finds out what is behind the latest news and news to come. For security reasons KI must preserve anonymity for its informants. Information is classified according to five levels of reliability: Official or Semi-Official (1), Very Reliable (2), Reliable (3), Insistent/Credible Rumour (4), Rumour (5).
News compiled by KI are posted on www.khmerintelligence.org
For any further information, please contact samngat@khmerintelligence.org
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30 June 2005

Donors frustrated with lack of progress in reform implementation (2)
At today’s special meeting between international donors and Prime Minister Hun Sen to discuss fundamental reforms that the Cambodian government has committed itself to implementing since five to ten years ago, donor representatives were reportedly frustrated at the lack of progress in the implementation of three reforms considered as the most important and  the most urgent in order to put the country on the right track :
- Land reform
- Judiciary reform
- Anti-corruption reform.
Beyond empty words, the absence of any progress whatsoever in the above three areas has led to an increase in poverty and a deterioration in human development indicators over the last ten years in spite of a massive international assistance amounting to more than $5 billion.
Some donors now start to seriously doubt the sincerity of Hun Sen and his team, to realize that they have been fooled for so long, and to understand that the current regime – which is based on systemic corruption, plunder and impunity – is unwilling and unable to implement the above reforms because such reforms would undermine the very foundations of the regime and make it collapse. Actually, donors are trapped and many diplomats do not dare to report the truth to their respective governments.  

Serious presumptions against Hun Sen in grenade attack (2)
Successively on 12 January 2005 and 13 June 2005, the Cambodian court justified its decision to reject a complaint against Prime Minister Hun Sen in relation to the infamous 1997 grenade attack on the grounds that there are “no presumptions indicating that Mr. Hun Sen might have been involved in the premeditated murder on 30 March 1997.” (KI, 19 January 2005: “Cambodian tribunal clears Hun Sen of all charges in connection with deadly grenade attack”).
In fact, there are serious presumptions indicating such an involvement.
In today’s Cambodia Daily there is a report on the content of a DVD that has just been released (KI, 28 June 2005: “New evidence of government involvement in the 1997 grenade attack”): “[A prime suspect named] Chhay Vee, who allegedly threw the fourth and last grenade into the rally [in front of the National Assembly], says he was recruited for the attack by a friend who worked for Hing Bun Heang, the head of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s personal bodyguard unit.”
In the video footage, Chhay Vee specifies that on 26 March 1997 Hing Bun Heang in person gave him $1,000 and promised him more money once the “work” done. He went on saying that on 30 March 1997, at 8.00 a.m. (about half-an hour before the attack), at the compound of Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit behind Wat Botum, the same Hing Bun Heang handed a hand grenade to him (Chhay Vee) with the following encouragement: “You will not get the money until it explodes.”
Could Hing Bun Hean mastermind the attack on his own without Hun Sen being also involved? The following is an excerpt from an official 1999 “Staff Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations [of the] United States Senate”: “[The] report reaches the following conclusions:
1- Members of Hun Sen’s Bodyguard Force participated in the planning and execution of the March 30, 1997 attack.
2- Hun Sen, being only one of two people with authority over the Bodyguard Force, must have known and approved of the attack.”
See today’s corresponding press article at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/cambodia_daily/june_05/30_cd1.pdf

29 June 2005

Chea Sim supports Border Council chaired by Norodom Sihanouk (1)
In a speech yesterday on the occasion of the 54^th anniversary of the founding of the Cambodian People’s Party, CPP President Chea Sim declared his support for the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs (SNCBA) chaired by King-Father Norodom Sihanouk. In front of several thousands party supporters and in the presence of CPP Vice-President Hun Sen – who, as Prime Minister, has been maneuvering to weaken the SNCBA and marginalize the King-Father – he praised the work accomplished by the SNCBA at its first meeting in Beijing on 11-12 May 2005 and said he trusted the King-Father in leading the “mission to fully resolve border issues with neighboring countries.”
Contrary to a hitherto prevailing practice, Chea Sim didn't share the content of his speech with Hun Sen before pronouncing it in public yesterday.
See corresponding press article in French (Cambodge Soir) at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/cambodge_soir/june_05/29_cs1.pdf
See corresponding press article in Cambodian (Moneaksekar Khmer) at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/moneaksekar_youth/june_05/29_m2.pdf

Court refuses to deal with corruption lawsuit against Ranariddh (1)
In a 28 June 2005 decision issued by Deputy Prosecutor Nget Sarat, the Phnom Penh Municipality Court shelved the lawsuit filed by opposition leader Sam Rainsy against National Assembly President Norodom Ranariddh for corruption in relation to a $14-million scandal in the construction of the Assembly’s new premises (KI, 26 March 2005: “L’Express exposes Ranariddh’s corruption”). This latest judicial decision follows the Court's decisions on 12 January 2005 (Phnom Penh Municipality Court) and 13 June 2005 (Appeals Court) to reject a different lawsuit filed by Sam Rainsy against Prime Minister Hun Sen for murder in relation to a deadly terrorist act (KI, 28 June 2005: “New evidence of government involvement in the 1997 grenade attack”). Meanwhile, the Court continues to pursue lawsuits that both Hun Sen and Norodom Ranariddh have filed against Sam Rainsy for defamation. Cambodia's judiciary obviously shows double standard that bodes ill for the to-be-formed Khmer Rouge tribunal.
See English translation of L’Express's article elaborating on Ranariddh’s corruption at http://www.khmerintelligence.org/050620LExpress5.htm   

A Cambodian MP in Afghanistan (1)
Cambodian member of parliament Tioulong Saumura is currently in Afghanistan as part of an international team providing training on democracy to Afghan parliamentary candidates. The Washington-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) together with the UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) is training potential candidates competing for the Wolesi Jirga (the Lower House) and the Provincial Council elections, to be held concurrently on 18 September 2005.

28 June 2005

New evidence of government involvement in the 1997 grenade attack (2)
On 27 June 2005, a number of diplomats and journalists in Cambodia received a DVD produced from a previously unreleased videotape related to a deadly incident in Phnom Penh eight years ago. The document is titled “1997 Grenade Attack in front of the National Assembly – Discussion with Chhay Vee – Phnom Penh, 29 May 1998.” A prime suspect, “Chhay Vee elaborates on his involvement in the 30 March 1997 grenade attack after receiving instructions from Hing Bun Heang, Head of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Bodyguard Force. He launched one grenade (out of four) onto the crowd, and feared for his own security after the attack.”
The one-hour long recording casts new light on the role of government forces in the terrorist attack and also on a subsequent attempt to cover up this involvement. In June 1998, Chhay Vee made another testimony before FBI agents in Bangkok. But he was arrested by the police upon his return to Cambodia in July 1998, and was forced to recant on State-controlled television in November 1998. The corresponding CPP-produced document was broadcast again in February 2004 (KI, 7 February 2004: “Hun Sen’s panic reaction to possible revival of FBI investigation into grenade attack”).
The content of the newly released DVD just destroys all credibility to Chhay Vee’s forced recantation and new allegations as contained in the CPP-produced document. It shows Chhay Vee’s spontaneity and sincerity when he first recalled how he got involved in the plot and when he decided to speak out because he feared for his own life since all his comrades in crime had been eliminated.
Chhay Vee was last seen in November 1998 after his shaky appearance on television. The government declines to give any information on his whereabouts. He is certainly dead.
See photo of Chhay Vee at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/doc_30_march_1997/suspect.htm
See all previous KI news on the 1997 incident at http://www.khmerintelligence.org/050603GrenadeAttack1997.htm

25 June 2005

King-Father airs bitterness from Phnom Penh (1)
In at least three writings in French posted on his Web site since he came back to Cambodia on 22 June 2005, King-Father Norodom Sihanouk airs bitterness and dissatisfaction about the current situation in the country. The three writings, which we have translated into English and titled "I may die of unnatural death", "The Vietnamese have swallowed a large portion of our lands" and "The Supreme National Council is a joke", can be found at KING-FATHER'S MESSAGES IN ENGLISH

24 June 2005

Malaysia urges Cambodia to “compensate” logging company (1)
According to a 12 April 2005 document from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) co-presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen and National Assembly President Norodom Ranariddh, the Malaysian government is urging the Cambodian government to comply with a request from a Malaysian logging company named Samling Corporation Sdn/Bhd. Samling, which was the first foreign company to get logging concessions extending over more than one million hectares in 1995, has now ceased all operations in Cambodia after reaping extensive benefits from massive deforestation mainly in Kratie, Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kompong Speu and Koh Kong provinces. It is now claiming $18.9 million from the Cambodian government as “compensation for the cost of a 200-km road [it had built] from 1995 to 1997 [to transport logs from its concessions].”

Government stops answering questions from opposition MPs (1)
Prime Minister Hun Sen declared earlier this month that the government would stop answering questions from opposition members of parliament if they continue to boycott National Assembly sessions. This would mean a suspension of article 96 of the Constitution that requires the government to answer any question from any parliamentarian within seven days. Besides, Assembly Speaker Norodom Ranariddh is pushing for an amendment to the Assembly internal rules so as to impose stiff sanctions, including pay cuts and possibly expulsion, on boycotting parliamentarians.
On 15 June 2005, opposition leader Sam Rainsy sent the following message to all SRP parliamentarians: “I suggest we continue to write and ask questions to the government as usual (...). Elected parliamentarians have at least three roles:
     1- Make laws. This implies attending meetings with their colleagues in Parliament.
     2- Scrutinize the action of the executive branch of government. Ensure effective law enforcement.
     3- Meet with, and defend the interests of, their constituents.
SRP parliamentarians continue to fully perform the above points 2 and 3. Our boycott concerns only point 1 where, in the present circumstances, we do not have the power to do or to change anything anyway. Our boycott, which expresses our protest against repressive measures against us since 3 February 2005, is a conscious political act pertaining to passive resistance or civil disobedience. It is a legitimate act in any peaceful fight from freedom and democracy.” 

23 June 2005

Vietnam applauds revamping of National Border Authority (1)
According to a 20 June 2005 wire from Vietnam’s official information agency AVI, the Hanoi government welcomes the revamping on 14 June 2005 of the National Authority on Border Affairs (NABA) presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen. The revamping of the much criticized NABA is the government's response to Princess Vacheara’s proposal to give more power to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk as President of the newly created Supreme National Council on Border Affairs (SNCBA) (KI, 15 May 2005: “New Royal Decree to give more power to ex-Monarch Norodom Sihanouk as Border Council President”). Actually, the revamped NABA makes the SNCBA an even more powerless body, in line with the CPP’s strategy inspired by Hanoi (KI, 20 June 2005: “Vietnam advises Hun Sen to oppose King-Father on border issue”).
See comments (in French) from Hanoi at AVI

22 June 2005

Three Majesties back in Cambodia (1)
King Norodom Sihamoni, King-Father Norodom Sihanouk and Queen-Mother Monineath Sihanouk came back from China this evening on a commercial flight (KI, 21 June 2005: “King, King-Father and Queen-Mother to return to Cambodia tomorrow”). Only a few Khmer dignitaries and foreign diplomats were at Phnom Penh international airport to welcome the three Majesties. Hun Sen, Ranariddh, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin were absent.

EU delegation visits Cheam Channy in prison (1)
Today, a European Union delegation made up of representatives from the four EU member countries having an embassy in Cambodia (United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland) and from the European Commission paid a visit to opposition parliamentarian Cheam Channy, who has been detained at the Phnom Penh military prison since 3 February 2005 (KI, 26 May 2005: “Hun Sen wants to do with Cheam Channy what he failed to achieve with Sok Yoeun”; KI, 11 May 2005: “Cheam Channy’s alleged accomplice Khom Piseth is in Norway”).
In a 10 March 2005 Resolution, the European Parliament “calls upon the government of Cambodia to immediately and unconditionally release Cheam Channy [Point 3].” (KI, 10 March 2005: “European Parliament adopts Resolution on Cambodia”; KI, 16 March 2005: “Unanimous support for Cambodian democracy at the European Parliament”).
See full text of the Resolution in English by clicking at European Parliament Resolution
Voir texte entier de la Résolution en français en cliquant à Résolution du Parlement Européen

21 June 2005

King, King-Father and Queen-Mother to return to Cambodia tomorrow (1)
King Norodom Sihamoni, King-Father Norodom Sihanouk and Queen-Mother Monineath Sihanouk will be back in Cambodia on 22 June 2005. For the first time, they will be traveling together on a commercial flight from Beijing to Phnom Penh.

Prince Ranariddh invents story for Hun Sen (2)
In one of his most recent speeches blasting the Royal Family, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Prince Ranariddh had told him (Hun Sen) that another prince – a royal also, but belonging to the Sisowath branch, by opposition to the Norodom branch – had told him (Ranariddh) that there would be an armed “rebellion” against the Hun Sen government if the Prime Minister did not give power to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk to solve the border issue in His capacity as President of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs.
Actually, Prince Ranariddh – who is currently in France to avoid seeing his father in Cambodia (KI, 16 June 2005: “Ranariddh blasts his father’s supporters before leaving Cambodia”) – invented the whole story since there is no prince whosoever (Sisowath or Norodom) who has ever said such a thing (about the possible “rebellion”) to him (Ranariddh) or to anybody else.
The Ranariddh-invented story is conveniently used by Hun Sen to
- divide the Royal Family,
- threaten the King-Father (KI, 18 June 2005: “Hun Sen seriously threatens the King-Father”), and
- bring to an end – by raising the terrifying prospect of a bloody repression involving “coffins” – any border investigation activity (with reporting to the King-Father) or any popular protest against any infringement on Cambodian territory or any other border-related activity that could challenge and destabilize the government (KI, 20 June 2005: “Vietnam advises Hun Sen to oppose King-Father on border issue”).    

20 June 2005

Vietnam advises Hun Sen to oppose King-Father on border issue (2)
It was on the “advice” of the Vietnamese government that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen recently adopted his strong position against any active involvement of King-Father Norodom Sihanouk in the border issue (KI, 18 June 2005: “Hun Sen seriously threatens the King-Father”). Vietnam knows that solving the border issue according to Norodom Sihanouk’s point of view would lead to the effective annulment of the controversial border treaties she signed in the 1980’s with her satellite named “People’s Republic of Kampuchea” under the nominal leadership of Hun Sen, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin. Hanoi fears the prospect of being denounced as an abusive neighbor annexing Cambodia’s territories, and has shown embarrassment at the King-Father’s nationalist approach to the border issue (KI, 18 May 2005: “Misleading statement by Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry”).
According to a wire from Vietnam’s official information agency AVI, “over 600 Vietnamese experts who have taken part in the Cambodian revolution” met on 18 June 2005 in Hanoi. The “experts” were congratulated by top Vietnamese Communist Party and government officials for having “saved the Cambodian people from genocide, which allowed them to revive and reconstruct their country as well as to successfully restore and maintain solidarity and friendship relations” with Vietnam. There is a possibility that the “experts” are being remobilized in preparation for another (more discrete and more subtle) form of intervention in Cambodia.
See the above news from Vietnam written in French at AVI   

19 June 2005

Ranariddh hesitantly decides to file defamation lawsuit against L’Express (1)
After a long period of hesitation (KI, 21 April 2005: “Ranariddh and the consequences of a lawsuit against L’Express”; KI, 12 May 2005: “Ranariddh decides not to sue L’Express”) and after waiting until nearly reaching the three-month legal deadline following the publication of the article in question on 28 March 2005, Prince Norodom Ranariddh finally decided last week to file a defamation lawsuit against the magazine L’Express before the French court. His lawyer will be François Zimmeray.
See L’Express’s article in French at L'Express
English translation at L'Express/English

18 June 2005

Hun Sen seriously threatens the King-Father (1)
In consecutive speeches over the last few days Prime Minister Hun Sen seriously threatened King-Father Norodom Sihanouk about the role of the different players in the resolution (or non-resolution) of the border issue. He implicitly accused the Retired Monarch of endorsing, if not leading, a plot against him with the objective of stripping him of his power as government head. He considered severe sanctions against the “plotters”.
Hun Sen apparently intents to dissolve the newly created Supreme National Council on Border Affairs (SNCBA) chaired by the King-Father. On 14 June 2005 he forced King Norodom Sihamoni – who left for China on 16 June – to sign a Royal Decree revamping a pre-existing government border committee (or “authority”) in such a way as to make the SNCBA irrelevant. Hun Sen seems to fear that an active involvement of the very popular King-Father in the resolution of the very touchy border issue, which would imply a re-adjustment of Cambodia’s relationship with Vietnam, would destabilize his regime.
See Royal Decree at Government Border Committee 

Wishing a happy birthday to Aung San Suu Kyi (1)
The Cambodia opposition, which has joined other Asian democratic forces to push for a democratic change in Burma (KI, 7 June 2005: “Cambodia's opposition helps restore democracy in Burma”), issued today a tribute to imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi on the occasion of her 60^th birthday. See OPINION

16 June 2005

Ranariddh blasts his father’s supporters before leaving Cambodia (2)
Prince Ranariddh this morning blasted “those who want to give more power to the King-Father by using the border issue as a pretext.” He apparently targeted Princess Vacheara, who at the recent Beijing meeting of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs submitted a proposal to give “adequate power” to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk in his capacity as President of the Council. Prince Ranariddh’s intervention came on the heels of Hun Sen’s accusations against “those who want to stage a coup d’état by taking power from the current government.” Ranariddh’s position doesn't surprise observers in light of his increasing subservience to Hun Sen (KI, 17 May 2005: “Latest developments on Border Council run counter to CPP’s strategy”; KI, 17 May 2005: “Hun Sen angry with Ranariddh about Border Council because of Vacheara”; KI, 25 May 2005: “Ranariddh sides with Hun Sen on border issue”; KI, 7 June 2005: Princess Vacheara may be removed from Border Council position). Ranariddh is about to leave Cambodia to holiday in France so as to avoid his father when the former King returns from China next week (see KI, 21 May 2005: “King-Father indirectly stresses the difference between his two most prominent sons”).

15 June 2005 

$20 million in damages have been paid to Thai companies (1)
As reported previously (KI, 7 May 2005: “A new attempt to stall the Khmer Rouge tribunal”), the Cambodian government has accepted to pay $50 million in damages to Thailand (government and private companies) following the anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh in 2003.
According to the minutes of the meeting in Phnom Penh on 1 April 2005 between Cambodian Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Nam Hong and his Thai counterpart Kantathi Suphamonghon:
- 17 Thai private companies have been claiming $34,403,927
- There is an agreement to pay them over $20,000,000
- 11 companies have already received $19,691,850 from the Cambodian government.
- The 6 other companies will soon receive an amount in excess of $1,000,000.
In the meantime, the Hun Sen government pretends it cannot afford to disburse some $13 million representing its previously agreed contribution to the Khmer Rouge tribunal.       

Cambodia moves closer to Zimbabwe (2)
In today’s news posted on www.cnn.com one can read: “Police have razed [thousands of] shacks and other [poorly built houses occupied by destitute people] in what [the government] calls an urban cleanup campaign – but what critics at home and abroad have decried as an assault on the poor. [Human rights groups] have called the mass evictions a crime against the poor. The charge is just the latest in years of allegations of widespread human rights abuse by [the country’s] authoritarian government. [The ruling party is accused] of rigging elections, repressing opponents and driving agriculture to the brink of collapse [with hundreds of thousands of farmers facing food shortage]. The opposition has its support base among the urban poor, and says [the cleanup] is aimed at forcing them to rural areas where the government can more easily control them. Thousands of people who apparently have nowhere else to go are living amid the ruins of their bulldozed homes. [A government spokesman] said Monday that people would be moved on to an "appropriate place," adding that there is "nobody in [this country] who does not have a rural home."”
The above news is related to Zimbabwe but it could very well apply to today’s Cambodia. See another comparison at KI, 22 May 2005: “Similarities between Togo and Cambodia”.

13 June 2005

Diversion of State revenue (1)
In spite of a boom in the telecommunication sector as reflected in the sharp increase in the number of mobile phones in use in the country, State revenue from Post and Telecommunication keeps decreasing over the last few years: $23.5 million in 2004 versus $30.3 million in 2002. This is another evidence of government corruption linked to a notorious lack of transparency (KI, 27 February 2005: “Corruption in the telephone sector”).
A similar remark has been made recently concerning revenue from forest exploitation, which keeps decreasing despite increased logging (KI, 4 June 2005: “Virtual disappearance of forest revenue despite acceleration in deforestation”).     
                                                                                             IMPLEMENTATION OF STATE BUDGET

Source: Ministry of Economy and Finance. Exchange rate: $1 = Riel 4,100.

Hun Sen to visit Europe in September on his way to New York (2)
Prime Minister Hun Sen will visit France and the UK in September before going to New York to attend the next General Assembly of the United Nations. A previously scheduled visit to the UK had been canceled (KI, 4 March 2005: “Hun Sen to visit the UK next June”).

12 June 2005

King-Father to return to Cambodia “in ten days” (1)
In a today’s message to the nation King-Father Norodom Sihanouk gives the following information:
1- He has completed the first stage of his chemotherapy after four consecutive weeks of treatment (KI, 9 June 2005: “King-Father in good health”). His Chinese doctors have prescribed a two-month rest before re-examining him and deciding whether it would be necessary to resume the treatment.
2- He intends to return to Cambodia “maybe in ten days” and stay there “more than a month” before flying back to China.
To read the original message in Khmer go to http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%202005/juin/textes/1206txt1.htm

09 June 2005 

Civil society to boycott senatorial elections (1)
According to a 7 June 2005 statement signed by representatives from 14 most prominent NGOs,  the civil society will boycott the next senatorial elections, which they label “meaningless” (KI, 21 January 2005: “A useless, costly and undemocratic Senate”; KI, 27 April 2005: “Senatorial elections to be held on 22 January 2006”; KI, 13 May 2005: “Possible amendment to law on senatorial elections”; KI, 22 May 2005: “Cambodia’s civil society reiterates its call for an overhaul of the “National” Election Committee”).

King-Father in good health (2)
Retired King Norodom Sihanouk, who is reportedly in the midst of an anti-cancer chemotherapy treatment in Beijing, is apparently in good health judging from the large number of (often hand-written) letters and messages he has been posting practically everyday, over the last few weeks, on his Web site www.norodomsihanouk.info 

Increasing number of Cambodian refugees in Scandinavia (continued) (2)
Among the most prominent cases reported in our previous news (KI, 4 June 2005: “Increasing number of Cambodian refugees in Scandinavia”), we should have added:
- Mr. Kong Bun Chhoeun (the author of a book on acid attack victim Tat Marina), his wife and their 4 children: Arrived in Norway in April 2005.
- Mr. Mok Roeun (a Funcinpec military officer who fled Cambodia in the wake of the 1997 coup d’état), his wife and their three children: Arrived in Denmark in 2003.
- Ms. Sam Mony (a SRP activist from Prey Veng province who fled Cambodia after the 1998 political repression), her husband and her son: Arrived in Denmark in 2003.
- Mr. Manith (a member of the Cambodian Students’ Movement for Democracy who fled Cambodia after the 1998 political repression): Arrived in Denmark in 2003.   

07 June 2005

Chinese logging company engaged in massive deforestation in Cambodia (1)
According to the pro-CPP newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea dated 5-6 June 2005 (article misleadingly titled: “Provincial governor of Mondolkiri fraudulently signed a 86,894-hectare land concession to a Chinese company in violation of land law procedures”), Prime Minister Hun Sen on 5 August 2004 personally approved two land concessions totaling 199,999 hectares in Mondolkiri province (North-East of Cambodia) to a China-based company named Wuzhishan LS Group, allowing the company to cut existing trees [of various tropical species] in the forest-covered areas and [hopefully later on] replace them with “pine trees”. The Chinese logging company has started to exploit its concessions by effectively cutting trees, confiscating local farmers’ lands and chasing the local inhabitants made up, in that region, essentially of ethnic minorities. Under the protection of some units of the “national” armed forces, the company is terrorizing the local people and destroying their homes and plantations. It is reportedly using herbicides and other chemicals that have caused the poisoning of streams and ponds and resulted in numerous cases of illness or death of humans and animals.
Wuzhishan LS Group is involved in massive deforestation in other parts of Cambodia, including Kompong Chhnang and Pursat provinces, where it is also violently clashing (especially in Pursat's Krakor district) with local farmers in its joint operation with Pheapimex Group owned by Ms. Phou (KI, 11 October 2003: “Ms. Phou, Cambodia’s richest lady”; KI, 15 June 2004: “Gold mines in Cambodia”).    
To read Rasmei Kampuchea’s article in Khmer go to http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/rasmei_05/june_05/5-6_r1.pdf

Cambodia's opposition helps restore democracy in Burma (1)
The “ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Democracy in Myanmar” (AIPMC) which is made up of Members of Parliament from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, met last week in Singapore to elaborate on ways and means to further promote democracy in Burma, starting with the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Parliamentarians in the AIPMC represent both ruling and opposition parties from all countries, except Cambodia which is represented only by the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.
Each country has formed their own national caucus and has hosted an AIPMC meeting, except Cambodia, which may be the next host, according to opposition lawmaker Son Chhay.
According to The Straits Times (Singapore) dated 3 June 2005, the “Asean MPs want their governments to take a firm stand against Myanmar and ensure its ruling junta keeps to the promise of democratic reform (...). Otherwise, Myanmar is not qualified to become Asean's chairman next year.”  However, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen continues to defend Myanmar's upcoming chairmanship on the grounds that democracy for each country is an “internal affair” (KI, 2 April 2005: “Potential split within ASEAN”).

Princess Vacheara may be removed from Border Council position (2)
An article in today’s pro-Funcinpec newspaper Voice of Khmer Youth hints at the possibility that Princess Norodom Vacheara, the long-time Funcinpec chairperson of the National Assembly’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, may be removed from her more recent position as a Vice-President of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs (KI, 25 April 2005: “King-Father Norodom Sihanouk to chair Supreme Border Council”). Such a removal would come as the result of pressure from Prime Minister Hun Sen on Funcinpec and National Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh (KI, 17 May 2005: “Hun Sen angry with Ranariddh about Border Council because of Vacheara”).

05 June 2005 

King-Father asks about the size of Cambodia (1)
In a message dated 2 June 2005 King-Father Norodom Sihanouk wonders what is currently the actual size of Cambodia.
King-Father’s original message in French at http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%202005/juin/textes/0306txt1.htm
English translation at http://www.khmerintelligence.org/KingFatherEnglishVersion2.htm

Canadian MP intervenes in favor of Cambodia (1)
Mr. Stockwell Day, a prominent Canadian Member of Parliament, who is the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs from the Conservative Party of Canada, wrote last month to Canada’s Minister of International Cooperation, Ms. Aileen Carroll, regarding “the reported removal of parliamentary immunity for opposition party members Sam Rainsy, Cheam Channy and Chea Poch in Cambodia, as well as the subsequent arrest of Mr. Channy.”
In her reply earlier this week, the Minister assured Mr. Stockwell Day that “Foreign Affairs Canada is aware of these political developments in Cambodia and is following them closely. We continue to monitor the situation in Cambodia and to actively encourage the Cambodian government to demonstrate respect for democratic principles, including parliamentary immunity (...). Canada remains committed to supporting democracy in Cambodia (...). Canada also encourages long-term efforts to foster the democratic transformation of Cambodian institutions. The Canadian International Development Agency funds a variety of initiatives in support of good governance and democratic practice in Cambodia. In addition, the Canadian Embassy in Phnom Penh regularly raises the issue of the rule of law at meetings with Cambodian officials.”
Details at http://samrainsyparty.org/news/2005/june/050605_prominent_canadian.htm

04 June 2005

Virtual disappearance of forest revenue despite acceleration in deforestation  (1)
Official figures related to the implementation of the State Budget for 2004 show that forest revenue virtually disappeared last year – reaching only $ 0.4 million or 6% of the amount forecast in the 2004 Budget Law – despite an acceleration in deforestation with several logging companies (such as Pheapimex) being granted huge concessions and starting to cut trees in new areas. Forest revenue reached between $ 5 million to $ 10 million annually in the past few years before 2004, and between $ 10 million to $ 20 million in the 1990's.
Source: Ministry of Economy and Finance. Exchange rate: $1 = Riel 4,100.

Increasing number of Cambodian refugees in Scandinavia (2)
Over the last few years an increasing number of Cambodians have been resettled as political refugees in Scandinavian countries, especially Finland, Norway and Sweden. Among the most prominent cases:
- Mr. Sok Yoeun (an opposition Sam Rainsy Party regional leader accused by Prime Minister Hun Sen of being a “terrorist”): After five years in prison in Thailand, Mr. Sok Yoeun arrived in Finland in July 2004. He is now living near Helsinki with 33 members of his extended family including all his children and grand-children.
- Mr. Kong Bun Heang (a SRP activist accused by the Phnom Penh government of being one of Sok Yoeun’s accomplices), his wife and their 5 children: Arrived in Sweden in August 2000. Mr. Kong Bun Heang, who was arrested and tortured by the Cambodian police to make false confessions, died shortly after his arrival in Sweden possibly as a result of the torture he had endured. 
- Mr. Mong Davuth (a SRP activist also accused by the Phnom Penh government of being one of Sok Yoeun’s accomplices), his wife and their 3 children: Arrived in Sweden in August 2000.
- Ms. Chea Kimny (slain union leader Chea Vichea’s widow) and 5-year old daughter Chea Vicheata: Arrived in Finland in March 2004. Ms. Chea Kimny gave birth to another child shortly after her arrival in Finland.
- Ms. Roeun Yaran (slain union leader Ros Sovannareth’s widow) and 8-year old daughter Ros Sovanvatey: Arrived in Finland in May 2005.
- Heang Sean Family (the widow and 4 children of a slain SRP activist from Kompong Cham province): Arrived in Norway in May 2004.
- Phourng Phan Family (the widow and 3 children of another slain SRP activist also from Kompong Cham province): Arrived in Norway in July 2004.
- Mr. Khom Piseth (a SRP activist accused by the Phnom Penh government of being parliamentarian Cheam Channy’s main accomplice in an alleged attempt to create an “illegal army”), his wife and their 3 children: Arrived in Norway in May 2005, while Cheam Channy is currently in jail in Phnom Penh (KI, 26 May 2005: “Hun Sen wants to do with Cheam Channy what he failed to achieve with Sok Yoeun”).

03 June 2005

Lawsuit against Hun Sen at the Appeals court (1)
According to the pro-CPP newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea dated 28 May 2005 (article titled “The Appeals court will re-examine the decision [by the Phnom Penh Municipality court] to shelve the complaint lodged by Mr. Sam Rainsy against Samdech Hun Sen [in relation to the 1997 grenade attack]”), the Appeals court will hear Sam Rainsy’s lawyer on 13 June 2005 to decide on the lawsuit that the opposition leader has filed against the Prime Minister for “premeditated murder” in a terrorist attack resulting in the death of at least 16 people (KI, 31 January 2004: “Sam Rainsy sues Hun Sen”; KI, 19 January 2005: “Cambodian tribunal clears Hun Sen of all charges in connection with deadly grenade attack”).
Rasmei Kampuchea recalls the 12 January 2005 decision by the Prosecutor at the Phnom Penh Municipal court rejecting Sam Rainsy’s complaint and shelving the legal case on the grounds that there are “no presumptions indicating that Prime Minister Hun Sen might have been involved in any premeditated murder on 30 March 1997.”   
See corresponding press article in Khmer at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/rasmei_05/may_05/28_r1.pdf

Chhun Yasith’s arrest in the USA could lead to resumption of FBI investigation into the 1997 grenade attack (2)
The arrest on 2 June 2005 in the USA of Cambodian-born “terrorist ring leader” Chhun Yasith could lead to the resumption of the FBI investigation into a terrorist attack that took place in Cambodia in 1997 and which caused more casualties – including an American citizen – than all the attacks allegedly masterminded by Cambodian Freedom Fighters’ leader Chhun Yasith, who is also an American citizen.
Unlike the Cambodian government, the US Administration does not use double standards. Therefore, it could ask the Cambodian government to complete on the spot the pending FBI investigation into the deadly 1997 grenade attack that took place only three years before the only CFF attack using violence in Cambodia.
Contrary to assertions by the Cambodian court (see above), there are serious presumptions of Hun Sen’s involvement in the 1997 terrorist attack.
The following is an excerpt from a 29 June 1997 article from The Washington Post titled: “FBI Points Finger in Cambodian Attack - Leader's Bodyguards Blamed for Assault that Killed 20, Injured American”, by R. Jeffrey Smith: “In a classified report that could pose some awkward problems for U.S. policymakers, the FBI tentatively has pinned responsibility for the blasts, and the subsequent interference, on personal bodyguard forces employed by Hun Sen, one of Cambodia's two prime ministers, according to four U.S. government sources familiar with its contents.”
The following is an excerpt from an official 1999 “Staff Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations [of the] United States Senate”: “[The] report reaches the following conclusions:
1- Members of Hun Sen’s Bodyguard Force participated in the planning and execution of the March 30, 1997 attack.
2- Hun Sen, being only one of two people with authority over the Bodyguard Force, must have known and approved of the attack.”
See all previous KI news related to the 1997 incident at Grenade attack

Food shortage in areas surrounding Phnom Penh  (1)
According to the pro-CPP newspaper Koh Santepheap dated 2 June 2005 (article titled: “[Hungry] people in Oudong [district] dig for lotus roots [to boil] as a [poor] substitute for rice”), the unusually long and devastating drought in 2004-2005 has been causing severe food shortages in areas as near Phnom Penh as Oudong district, in Kompong Speu province, at about 50 km from the capital city. Hungry farmers have to leave their villages to look for jobs in other places including Thailand, while the elderly and children have to go dig roots or pick some other wild plants for survival.
See corresponding press article in Khmer at http://cambodiapolitics.org/news/koh_05/june_05/2_k1.pdf

02 June 2005

“Priority sectors” squeezed again in the implementation of State Budget in 2004 (1)
According to official figures from the Finance Ministry related to the implementation of the State Budget for 2004, the different Ministries undershot or overshot their spending (as allowed in the Budget Law) as follows:
I - Ministries representing the four “priority sectors”:
     - Education: $81.5 million (91.8% of Budget Law)
     - Health: $48.0 million (84.4%)
     - Agriculture: $9.6 million (80.8%)
     - Rural Development: $4.2 million (70.5%).
II- Ministries and institutions with a long record of overshooting:
      - Defense (Army): $67.9 million (97.7%)
      - Interior/Security (Police): $37.8 million (97.4%)
      - Council of Ministers (arbitrary spending by the Office of the Prime Minister): $20.5 million (143.0%)
      - Economy and Finance (arbitrary fund re-allocations): $8.9 million (109.7%)
      - National Assembly: $10.5 million (118.6%).
Exchange rate: $1 = Riel 4,000

A costly National Assembly (2)
Even though it could organize no more than 10 meetings in 2004 (because of a political deadlock and a chronic lack of quorum), Cambodia’s rubber-stamp Assembly cost the country more than $10 million last year, or twice the budget earmarked for the vital sector of rural development considered as key to poverty reduction (see figures above).
There are over a thousand false employees and advisers on the Assembly’s payroll, who have been recruited for political reasons (patronage system). Expenses other than salaries are also inflated (KI, 7 September 2004: “Evidence of corruption at the National Assembly”).             

31 May 2005

King-Father addresses border issue with Thailand (1)
In a message dated 30 May 2005 and posted this morning on the royal Web site, King-Father Norodom Sihanouk denounces recent “annexations” of Cambodian territories by neighboring Thailand.
King-Father’s original message in French at http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%202005/mai/textes/3105txt1.htm
English translation at http://www.khmerintelligence.org/KingFatherEnglishVersion2.htm

French communist MP intervenes in favor of Cambodian opposition (1)
Following questions on the political situation in Cambodia that three French Members of Parliament from the Conservative group (UMP), the Liberal group (UDF) and the Socialist group (PS) have asked their Government (KI, 21 May 2005: “Three French MPs intervene in favor of Cambodia”), François Asensi, a National Assembly member from the Communist group (CR) on 22 May 2005 wrote the following letter to French Foreign Affairs Minister Michel Barnier:
“Since last year, deputies from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party have been excluded from parliamentary commissions. At the same time, leaders of that party have been stripped of their parliamentary immunity, and one of them, Cheam Channy, has been jailed.
Such measures have been condemned by national and international human rights organizations. The European Parliament, through a resolution adopted on 10 March 2005, asked for the release of Cheam Channy and the re-establishment of their parliamentary immunity to the three concerned deputies [Chea Poch, Cheam Channy and Sam Rainsy].
[Mr. François Asensi] therefore asks [Mr. Michel Barnier] how he considers, within the framework of bilateral relations with Cambodia, ensuring the respect for the democratic functioning of [state] institutions in that country.”
Original letter at François Asensi          

30 May 2005 

King-Father issues important messages (1)
Along with reports and concrete testimonies on violations of Cambodia’s territorial integrity, King-Father Norodom Sihanouk has recently issued important messages that could have far-reaching implications. The revered former Monarch points to the fact that the previous and current Cambodian governments (since 1979) have been giving away significant portions of Cambodia’s territory to neighboring countries (KI, 29 May 2005: “King-Father accuses Cambodian authorities of abandoning national territory”). In a most recent message published this morning on the royal Web site, the Father of the Nation accuses the current Phnom Penh government of making a “serious anti-Cambodia mistake” by engaging in border negotiations with neighboring countries, especially Vietnam, on a wrong and unacceptable basis. The King-Father calls for a different approach to the defense of Cambodia’s  territorial integrity, which is based on a verification on the spot –  “kilometer by kilometer” – of the legal borders as they were internationally recognized from 1963 to 1969. The theme of the defense of territorial integrity is mobilizing and uniting ordinary Cambodians of all political affiliations.
See King-Father’s original messages in French at http://norodomsihanouk.info/mes%202005/mai.htm
English translations at http://www.khmerintelligence.org/KingFatherEnglishVersion2.htm

29 May 2005

King-Father accuses Cambodian authorities of selling national territory (1)
In a today’s message from Beijing, King-Father Norodom Sihanouk denounces the  “white zones” along the border with Vietnam (a kind of no-man’s land in areas where there is allegedly no clear border delineation) as an “invention” by the neighboring country “imposed on [some] Khmers who are vassals” of that foreign country. According to the King-Father, those “white zones”, which “impudently and illegally violate Cambodia’s territorial integrity, are absolutely unacceptable.” They have been “purely and simply given/sold by the Cambodian authorities to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under the shameful disguise of areas whose ownership is still the object of discussions and negotiations”.   
See original royal message in French at http://norodomsihanouk.info/mes%202005/mai/textes/2905txt1.htm

26 May 2005

Hun Sen wants to do with Cheam Channy what he failed to achieve with Sok Yoeun (2)
Starting next month – with result expected before August –, the Cambodian police and military will increase moral and physical pressure on opposition parliamentarian Cheam Channy – who has been detained at the military prison since the lifting of his immunity on 3 February 2005 – so as to force him to confess that he did try to overthrow the government by setting up an “illegal army” and that opposition leader Sam Rainsy was also behind the plot.
This is not the first time that the Cambodian authorities try to implicate Sam Rainsy. In 1998, they first accused Sok Yoeun, an opposition activist, of attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Hun Sen, with a view to arresting more prominent officials of the opposition party, the ultimate target being Sam Rainsy (see KI, 6 August 2004: “Cheam Channy’s case reminiscent of Sok Yoeun’s”).
But Sok Yoeun fled the country in time to be temporarily detained in Thailand, and was finally – in spite of persistent efforts by the Hun Sen government to have him extradited to Cambodia – granted political asylum in Finland with his whole family.
Even though the Cambodian government succeeded, this time, in getting hold of Cheam Channy for a similar purpose as with Sok Yoeun, few independent observers, if any, would believe the government’s accusation. Cheam Channy’s alleged main assistant and accomplice Khom Piseth has just been granted political asylum in Norway with his whole family (see KI, 11 May 2005: “Cheam Channy’s alleged accomplice Khom Piseth is in Norway”).   

Ranariddh rejects Sam Rainsy’s proposal to “restore dialogue” (1)
According to a today’s statement from the Sam Rainsy Party, the opposition leader wrote last week to Funcinpec and National Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh proposing a meeting “any time, anywhere”, in order to “restore the dialogue” between the government and the parliamentary opposition, so as to achieve a “normalization of the situation” that would allow a “democratic functioning of state institutions.”
Concerning the judicial proceedings related to defamation lawsuits initiated by Prince Ranariddh and Prime Minister Hun Sen, which were “the pretext for the lifting of [my] parliamentary immunity”, Sam Rainsy suggested: “Either the court summons and prosecutes [me], or – if there are no grounds for prosecution – [my] parliamentary immunity should be re-established.” The statement specifies that “the court has [actually] done nothing since the theatrical removal of immunity on 3 February 2005 following an allegedly urgent request by the same court.”
Indirect response from Ranariddh through The Cambodia Daily dated 20 May 2005: “If he [Sam Rainsy] wants to meet me, he must come to Cambodia, but first he must go meet the court.”
Comment by the opposition party: Ranariddh’s “uncompromising and inconsistent response [regarding court proceedings]” shows that he “counts on the Hun Sen government and Cambodia’s subservient court to politically get rid of Sam Rainsy. But he seems to forget that, when he was at odds with Hun Sen in 1997, the same court sentenced him to 35 years in prison on politically-based charges. [Ranariddh then] escaped jail thanks only to the intervention of international friends of Cambodia and a pardon from King Norodom Sihanouk.”
See full statement at http://samrainsyparty.org/national_assembly/2005/may/050526_for_a_solution_to_cambodia....htm
French version at http://www.samrainsyparty.org/national_assembly/2005/may/050526_pour_mettre%20fin%20a%20la%20crise....htm

25 May 2005

Ranariddh sides with Hun Sen on border issue (1)
In a letter dated 17 May 2005 to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk reflecting a tortuous rhetoric, Prince Ranariddh definitely sides with the Hun Sen government after apparently facing a dilemma for a short time in relation to the issue of Cambodia’s territorial integrity (see KI, 17 May 2005: “Ranariddh torn between Hun Sen and his royal father”). In his letter, Ranariddh swears that he loves his country like anybody else, but when it comes to defining a practical approach to a possible solution to the border issue, he fully and unconditionally supports Prime Minister Hun Sen’s position as elaborated by Deputy Prime Minister Sok An at the 11-12 May 2005 meeting of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs that took place in Beijing under the chairmanship of the King-Father (see KI, 16 May 2005: “CPP’s strategy to tackle border issue”). He gives in writing “detailed explanations” to his royal father, but actually does nothing more than repeating the arguments already developed by Sok An.
From a tactical point of view, Hun Sen’s CPP is trying to make the Border Council a powerless body, isolate and marginalize the King-Father, and buy time by pushing for sterile and endless discussions on the “complex technical aspects” of the border issue, therefore hiding and avoiding the real problem which is directly related to the restoration of Cambodia’s independence and sovereignty.
See King-Father’s response to Ranariddh (dated 19 May 2005, in Khmer) at http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%202005/mai/textes/2105txt1.htm
With English translation at http://www.khmerintelligence.org/KingFatherEnglishVersion2.htm

24 May 2005 

Resolutions of the German Parliament (1)
We have just obtained an English translation of the two Cambodia-related resolutions adopted last month by the German Parliament  (KI, 3 May 2005: “Bundestag adopts resolutions on Cambodia”). The resolutions reflecting the views of Germany’s four main political parties are very similar, saying practically the same thing in their respective introductions: “Democracy always requires a parliamentary opposition that functions. The efforts made by the increasingly authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen to prevent the opposition from speaking up, should be met with sharp international protest.”
The ruling SPD and Green Party call on the President of the Cambodian National Assembly “to guarantee that the parliamentary rights of the Cambodian [opposition] deputies be fully re-established” and “to give the democratic opposition the opportunity to (...) actively collaborate within the National Assembly and its committees.” They also call on the German government “to continuously exert its pressure [on] the government of Cambodia [so that it] would fully guarantee the basic provisions of democracy.”
The opposition CDU and FDP “support the proposal by [former] King Norodom Sihanouk for a re-establishment of Cheam Channy's parliamentary immunity” and call on the German government “to increase the pressure on the Cambodian government, should the undermining of the democratic rights in Cambodia continue.”
See English translation of the resolutions at German Parliament

23 May 2005

Kampuchea Tela belongs to the Hun Sen family (1)
Cambodia’s largest gas distribution company Kampuchea Tela Limited is controlled by members of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s family. This appears in the company’s “Memorandum and Articles of Association” provided by the Ministry of Commerce.
According to the official document, the company’s starting capital as of 28 October 1999 amounts to 1 billion riels ($250,000) and is divided into 1,000 shares with a nominal value of 1 million riels ($250).
The main shareholders are:
- Mrs. Bun Sam Heang (Hun Sen’s wife; alias Bun Rany; ID card # 010001098): 220 shares (22% of the capital).
- Ms. Hun Mana (Hun Sen’s daughter; ID card # 010007778): 100 shares (10 % of the capital).
- The other shareholders (Chhun Aun, Tep Ngorn, Prak Chamroeun, Kim Chandy, Phou Thean, Nguon Leng) seem to be mainly straw men, as is the case for many CPP-affiliated companies including Canadia Bank.
As previously explained (KI, 26 November 2004: “IMF-suggested tax reform increases corruption and poverty”), Kampuchea Tela is essentially a tool for the ruling CPP in general and the Hun Sen family in particular to levy private taxes on the Cambodian people.

Development prospects for Hun Sen Inc. (2)
Besides being the actual major shareholder of Kampuchea Tela and a number of other prominent companies, Mrs. Hun Sen is the President of the Cambodian Red Cross (see KI, 6 November 2002: “Cambodia’s bloody Red Cross”), whose most valuable assets in the form of properties have been recently sold off without any transparency (see KI, 3 March 2004: “Lame duck authorities intensify plunder”).
Besides being a shareholder of Kampuchea Tela, Ms. Hun Mana is the Director of the CPP-affiliated Bayon radio and television network and was the President of the short-lived First Cambodia Airlines, which unsuccessfully tried to make capital out of the Prime Minister’s controversial “Open Sky Policy”. According to today’s Cambodia Daily (“PM’s Daughter Gets Post”), she was appointed this month to the Board of the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia because, according to a government official, “Hun Mana’s company has a relationship with companies in South Korea.” (?)   

22 May 2005

A response from the Australian Foreign Minister (1)
In a 7 April 2005 letter to Member of Parliament Julia Irwin who had raised the issue of repressive measures against Cambodia’s opposition Sam Rainsy Party, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer responded in the following terms: “(...) I have received a number of representations concerning the suspension of parliamentary immunity of the Cambodian Opposition Leader and his two colleagues (...). Australia has attached importance to supporting Cambodia since the early 1990s in establishing a functioning democracy which operates under the rule of law (...). [We continue to encourage] the development of a strong representative parliamentary system. In respect to recent events, the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh has underlined to Cambodian authorities Australia’s views about the importance of an unfettered opposition to the effective operation of a democratic system (...).”
On 10 February 2005 the Australian Senate adopted a resolution calling on “the Australian Government to immediately make representations to the Cambodian Government to have parliamentary immunity reinstated [for the three opposition parliamentarians], and to ensure the safety of Mr [Sam] Rainsy and his colleagues and the release of Mr Cheam Channy without condition.” (KI, 15 February 2005: “Australian Senate adopts Resolution on Cambodia”). 

Similarities between Togo and Cambodia (2)
In its current turmoil, corruption-plagued and destitute Togo in Western Africa presents many similarities with Cambodia where the same political clan has been tightly controlling the country for decades and the opposition has been regularly protesting against electoral frauds.
As reported in the international press (Le Monde, 20 May 2005: « Gilchrist Olympio, chef de l’opposition togolaise en exil: “Nous voulons la constitution d’un gouvernement démocratique” » ; Le Monde, 21 May 2005: «  A Abuja, le dialogue entre le pouvoir et l’opposition togolais a échoué »), Togo’s opposition airs the same grievances as Cambodia’s opposition with regard to the organization of national elections in their respective countries:
- The election committee is totally controlled by the ruling party (possibly associated with a docile ally).
- All election complaints are rejected by the government-controlled election committee.
- No ballot recounting is allowed.
- No access for the opposition to the broadcast medias.
- Electoral tricks not seen by international observers such as manipulation of voter lists long before Voting Day, organized confusion and administrative harassment against potential voters suspected of sympathy for the opposition, temporary or permanent retention by government officials of minutes of the ballot counting sessions, allowing the possibility of falsifications, which goes hand in hand with the government refusal to allow any ballot recounting.           

Cambodia’s civil society reiterates its call for an overhaul of the “National” Election Committee (1)
As reported by the pro-CPP newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea dated 20 May 2005 in an article titled “Nine NGOs present a joint draft proposal with a view of taking part in the commune council elections in 2007”, Cambodia’s civil society reiterates its call for an overhaul – including a broadening of the composition – of the “National” Election Committee, which is now composed exclusively of representatives from the ruling parties.
See the article in Khmer at Rasmei Kampuchea

21 May 2005

King-Father indirectly stresses the difference between his two most prominent sons (1)
On 12 May 2005, King-Father Norodom Sihanouk and Queen-Mother Monineath Sihanouk wrote from Beijing to wish a happy birthday to King Norodom Sihamoni in Phnom Penh. In their letter in Khmer, they notably said: “Mum and Dad congratulate you for your not being corrupt (...). [We] are proud of you as our son”.
Even in messages that look trivial – such as the celebration of a birthday in his family – Norodom Sihanouk often manages to convey a politically meaningful point.
See the royal letter at http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%202005/mai/textes/1205txt2.htm 

Students are the first to respond to King-Father’s appeal (1)
Responding to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk’ recent appeal (KI, 15 May 2005: “King-Father appeals to the Cambodian people to directly report to him on border encroachments”), a self-proclaimed 43-member inspection team from the Students Movement for Democracy traveled last week from Phnom Penh to areas situated along the present border with Vietnam, in Snuol district, Kratie province. They interviewed local people – farmers and policemen – and were told that since 1979 the Vietnamese authorities in those areas have moved the border up to 17 km deep into Cambodian territory.
See today’s edition of The Voice of Khmer Youth at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/voice_of_khmer_youth/may_05/21_y.pdf

Three French MPs intervene in favor of Cambodia (1)
Over the last few days three French Members of Parliament from the three main political parties – National Assembly members Christine Boutin (UMP) and Francis Hillmayer (UDF), and Senator Richard Yung (PS) – have written to France’s Foreign Minister Michel Barnier to ask questions about the political situation in Cambodia and to urge the French government to help ensure the release from jail of Cambodian parliamentarian Cheam Channy, the restoration of their parliamentary immunity to three opposition parliamentarians including Sam Rainsy, and the respect for the right of the opposition to be included in parliamentary committees.
To know more about the intervention of the three French MPs in favor of Cambodia go to
Christine Boutin     Francis Hillmeyer     Richard Yung

20 May 2005

King-Father rejects a $10 million donation from Brunei (1)
On 18 May 2005, King-Father Norodom Sihanouk turned down a $10 million donation from the Brunei-based “Sultan Haji Fund For Development”. The King-Father has consistently reproached the current Cambodian government for indulging in corruption, mismanaging our national resources and shamefully turning Cambodia into a beggar nation.
See King-Farher’s rejection letter at http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%202005/mai/textes/1905txt3.htm

Border incident with Thailand : a diversion maneuver (2)
In the wake of the creation of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs, the ongoing border incident with Thailand around Preah Vihear temple was provoked by the Phnom Penh government as a diversion maneuver to distract public attention from the controversial border treaties signed with Vietnam in the 1980s, which have caused Cambodia to lose large portions of her territory and created increasing tension along Cambodia’s eastern border. The ongoing border incident with Thailand in the northern part of the country is reminiscent of the anti-Thai riots that the Cambodian government organized in Phnom Penh in 2003 in order to help increase Vietnamese influence over Cambodia to the detriment of Thai influence.

Cambodian opposition leader received by French Senate President (1)
On 18 May 2005, Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy was received in Paris by French Senate President Christian Poncelet, who is France’s second highest ranking State official.
See photo at www.samrainsyparty.org
See result of the meeting with another French Senator at Richard Yung

18 May 2005

Misleading statement by Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry (2)
On 12 May 2005, a statement by Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dzung specified that “Vietnam considers the establishment of the National Border Council as Cambodia's internal affair” and that “Vietnam strictly adheres to the border and territory agreements it signed with Cambodia on the basis of equality and mutual respect and in accordance with international laws and practices.”
What the Vietnamese spokesman referred to as “border and territory agreements [Vietnam] signed with Cambodia” are apparently the controversial 1982, 1983 and 1985 border treaties signed on behalf of Cambodia by the then-illegal People's Republic of Kampuchea. According to The Cambodia Daily dated 17 May 2005 (“City Residents Call for Stronger Border Council”), “the retired King [Norodom Sihanouk] has repeatedly stated he would not recognize any border agreements made between Vietnam and Cambodia during the 1980s – treaties which the two countries still consider binding.” 

Border Council members break secrecy rule (1)
In spite of a secrecy rule forbidding members of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs from divulging any information related to the Council’s internal work, two Council members have recently given interviews to the press:
- In the pro-CPP newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea dated 17 May 2005, Princess Norodom Vacheara defended her position with regard to the necessity to give adequate power to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk to engage in negotiations with neighboring countries.
- In an interview with Voice of America broadcast on 16 May 2005 and reported in the pro-opposition newspaper Moneaksekar Khmer dated 18 May 2005, Sam Rainsy argued that, according to the 1991 Paris Agreements, border treaties concluded with Vietnam in 1982, 1983 and 1985 should be considered null and void.
See article in Rasmei Kampuchea at Vacheara
See article in Moneaksekar Khmer at Voice of America

Sam Rainsy met with Chinese officials (1)
While in Beijing last week to attend the first meeting of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs under the chairmanship of King-Father Norodom Sihanouk, opposition leader Sam Rainsy had contacts with Chinese officials. On 13 May 2005, he was received at the headquarters of the Communist Party of China by Li Jun, Director General at the International Department of the CPC.
See photo at www.samrainsyparty.org

17 May 2005

Latest developments on Border Council run counter to CPP’s strategy (2)
Reports in today’s newspapers in Phnom Penh show that:
1- The ordinary people in Cambodia want the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs led by King-Father Norodom Sihanouk to have more power, including the mandate to negotiate with neighboring countries (The Cambodia Daily: “City Residents Call for Stronger Border Council”).
2- The current Cambodian government is upset by the publication by the press of the demand made by Border Council Vice-President Princess Norodom Vacheara, a Funcinpec member, to give more power to Border Council President King-Father Norodom Sihanouk, whereas such a demand “should be kept secret” (Cambodge Soir: “Amendement du kret: un débat qui affaiblit le Cambodge, estime Khieu Kanharith”) [(Information Minister) Khieu Kanharith: The debate on an amendment to the decree (on the Border Council) weakens Cambodia].
The above two points definitely run counter to the CPP’s strategy as exposed yesterday (KI, 16 May 2005: “CPP’s strategy to tackle border issue”).
To read the above-mentioned press articles in English and French go to Council's power and secrecy

Hun Sen angry with Ranariddh about Border Council because of Vacheara (2)
Before the CPP and Funcinpec delegates left Phnom Penh to attend the Border Council meeting in Beijing last week, CPP Prime Minister Hun Sen insistently asked Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh to make sure that the two political parties in the coalition government “speak the same language” on the issue of Cambodia’s territorial integrity, especially before King-Father Norodom Sihanouk. He was upset to learn that Princess Norodom Vacheara had made a proposal in Beijing to give more power to the King-Father (KI, 15 May 2005: “New Royal Decree to give more power to ex-Monarch Norodom Sihanouk as Border Council President”), whereas his strategy has always been to isolate and marginalize the former King since long before the latter’s abdication last year. 

Ranariddh torn between Hun Sen and his royal father (2)
Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh is apparently torn between Hun Sen’s demand to isolate and marginalize King-Father Norodom Sihanouk – who is also the founder of Funcinpec – on the one hand, and his royal father’s complaint about his being powerless and his frustrating inability to help the country on the other hand.
At last week’s Beijing meeting of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs, the King-Father publicly acknowledged the message that Prince Ranariddh sent to him through Princess Vacheara saying that he (Ranariddh) will follow the King-Father’s instructions “on all points” related to the border issue in his capacity “not only as President of the National Assembly but also as a son respectful to his father”.

16 May 2005

CPP’s strategy to tackle border issue (2)
After the creation of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs, the ruling CPP is apparently following a strategy that has two main objectives :
1- With the (difficult to reach) consensus among all Cambodians as a prerequisite before starting to (re)negotiate border delineation with neighbouring countries, especially Vietnam: To buy time so as to maintain for as long as possible, and eventually to legalize, the controversial 1979, 1982, 1983 and 1985 friendship and border treaties signed between the (then-illegal) People’s Republic of Kampuchea and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
2- With the secrecy/confidentiality rule imposed on the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs: To prevent information related to territory losses incurred by Cambodia since 1979 from being too widely known by the public, and to protect the former communist CPP from public condemnation for its long political dependence on Vietnam and the resulting consequences for Cambodia.       

Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Nam Hong infers he will not comply with King-Father’s instructions (1)
In an article caustically titled “An appeal [from King-Father Norodom Sihanouk to ordinary Cambodians] to spy on [the situation] along the borders, collect information from [local] farmers and secretly report [to the King-Father]” published in today’s edition of the pro-CPP newspaper Koh Santepheap, Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Nam Hong is quoted as saying that as long as all Cambodian political leaders have not agreed on a common stance on the issue of Cambodia’s territorial integrity, the current Cambodian government will not engage in any border negotiation with any neighboring country. Hor Nam Hong specified that, at this stage, he would not even try to establish any contact with any foreign government to discuss border delineation.
Therefore, Hor Nam Hong implicitly rejects a recent demand by King-Father Norodom Sihanouk asking him to get in touch with the Lao, Thai and Vietnamese governments to discuss border issues with the ultimate involvement of the newly formed Supreme National Council on Border Affairs chaired by the King-Father.
Besides, reflecting the secrecy rule imposed on the Border Council, Hor Nam Hong said the search for national unity and the approach to reach a common stance among Cambodians on the border issue is an internal process that must be conducted behind closed doors and no information related to this process should leak out.
To read Koh Santepheap’s article in Khmer go to Hor Nam Hong

Rally in Paris to support the King-Father in the defense of Cambodia’s territorial integrity (1)
The respected Cambodia’s Border Committee led by Mr. Sean Pengsè – who attended last week’s meeting in Beijing of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs at the invitation of King-Father Norodom Sihanouk – calls for a large but peaceful public demonstration in Paris (at Place du Trocadéro) on Sunday, 22 May 2005 (at 2:00 pm) to “defend Cambodia’s territorial integrity under the leadership of the King-Father.” The Cambodian community in France is about 200,000 strong and is the largest Khmer diaspora group after the one in the USA.
See leaflet in Khmer and French at CFC

15 May 2005

King-Father appeals to the Cambodian people to directly report to him on border encroachments (1)
Only three days after the first meeting in Beijing of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs, King-Father Norodom Sihanouk appeals to the Cambodian people (“anonymous patriotic Compatriots”) to discretely travel to border areas, listen to the farmers living there and directly report to him on border encroachments by neighbouring countries.
See the Royal Message in Khmer at http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%202005/mai/textes/1505txt2.htm
Unofficial English translation at KING-FATHER'S MESSAGES IN ENGLISH

New Royal Decree to give more power to ex-Monarch Norodom Sihanouk as Border Council President (2)
At its first meeting in Beijing on 11-12 May 2005, the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs examined the possibility of giving more power to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk in his capacity as Council President. The issue was raised by Princess Norodom Vacheara who submitted a draft for a new Royal Decree on the role, the functioning and the powers of the Council. The rationale behind the draft is the fact that when the old Decree was issued on 27 April 2005 nobody had thought King-Father Norodom Sihanouk himself would be appointed as King Norodom Sihamoni’s Representative and Council President.
The main points of the draft are the following:

- Article 1: The Supreme National Council on Border Affairs is created in order to [better] defend and guarantee Cambodia’s territorial integrity in line with Article 2 of the Constitution.
- Article 2: The composition of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs is as follows:
                   1- King’s Representative: His Majesty King-Father Norodom Sihanouk as President.
                   2- Senate President’s representative: H.E. Chea Cheth as Vice-President.
                   3- National Assembly President’s representative: Princess Norodom Vacheara as Vice-President.
                   4- Prime Minister’s representative: H.E. Sok An as Member.
                   5- CPP representative: H.E. Say Chhum as Member.
                   6- Funcinpec representative: H.E. You Hockry as Member.
                   7- SRP representative: H.E. Sam Rainsy as Member.
- Article 3: The Supreme National Council on Border Affairs has the following role:
                    - To conduct studies and research on land and maritime border issues with neighbouring countries.
                    - To engage in negotiations with neighbouring countries in order to properly delineate land and maritime borders so as to prepare the ground for the conclusion of legal border treaties with those neighbouring countries, and to monitor the implementation of any border agreements.
                    - To observe on the spot the situation in areas situated along the borders.
                    - To regularly report to the King and the Royal Government on developments in the resolution of border issues with neighbouring countries.
- Article 4: Any meeting of the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs is convened following the President’s instructions.
- Article 5: Any decision by the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs, including the decision whether to make public any information related to border issues, is adopted according to the President’s instructions.
- Article 6: The Joint Committee on Border Issues [previously established by the Government and presided over by H.E. Var Kim Hong] will terminate its mandate and merge with the Supreme National Council on Border Affairs.

After it was loudly read by King-Father Norodom Sihanouk on the last day of the Beijing meeting, the draft received the support of Funcinpec and SRP representatives, while the CPP-affiliated members of the Council asked for a consultation with their top leaders in Phnom Penh.

To read the original draft in Khmer go to New Royal Decree

13 May 2005

Possible amendment to law on senatorial elections (2)
Cambodia’s civil society backed by an important segment of the international donor community is pushing for amendments to the draft law on senatorial elections (KI, 27 April 2005: “Senatorial elections to be held on 22 January 2006”; KI, 21 January 2005: “A useless, costly and undemocratic Senate”). According to the draft law published last month, only the current 123 National Assembly members (elected in 2003) and the some 13,000 commune councillors (elected in 2002) would take part in next year’s vote to elect 61 Senators for a six-year term.
Such an election in Cambodia’s present political context would be fundamentally undemocratic in that
1- It would not reflect dramatic changes in voter preferences from the 2002 elections to the 2003 elections, nor would it take into account other possible changes in public opinion from 2003 to 2006. The 2006 Senate would therefore be completely disconnected from the will of the people that would be expressed at that time through a general election open to all citizens. 
2- Only representatives from the three political parties represented now at the National Assembly are allowed to stand as candidates, thus unfairly excluding possible candidates from other parties and independent candidates from the civil society. This would only consolidate a cooptation formula countrywide that prevents an opening up of Cambodia’s political system and a regeneration of the country’s political elite.

A rudimentary opinion poll (3)
The results of a rudimentary opinion poll on Cambodia’s political leaders can be found at http://pub50.bravenet.com/vote/stats.php?usernum=4276111371

12 May 2005 

Ranariddh decides not to sue L’Express (2)
After weighing the pros and cons of a defamation lawsuit against L’Express (KI, 26 March 2005: “L’Express exposes Ranariddh’s corruption”; KI, 10 April 2005: “CPP warns Ranariddh against filing a lawsuit against L’Express”; KI, 13 April 2005: “Ranariddh accuses L’Express of repeating Sam Rainsy’s allegations; KI, 21 April 2005: “Ranariddh and the consequences of a lawsuit against L’Express”), Funcinpec and National Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh has finally decided not to sue the French magazine before the French court, knowing that he would lose his lawsuit given the irrefutable evidence of his corruption. Earlier this month, Ranariddh, who is a French national, sent his lawyer to ask L’Express to only publish an (unconvincing) denial to facts that are now widely known.
However, Ranariddh maintains his defamation lawsuit in Phnom Penh against opposition leader Sam Rainsy – who has exposed the same facts as L’Express – because he knows he can count on the Cambodian court, which is being used as a political tool to crackdown on the opposition.

11 May 2005

Cheam Channy’s alleged accomplice Khom Piseth is in Norway (2)
Khom Piseth, who is accused by the Cambodian authorities of attempting to create an illegal army under the orders of opposition parliamentarian Cheam Channy (KI, 6 August 2004: “Cheam Channy’s case reminiscent of Sok Yoeun’s”), arrived on 9 May 2005 in Norway with his wife and their three children. The fact that Khom Piseth and his whole family have been allowed to resettle in a third country as political refugees means that international organizations in charge of refugees believe that the Cambodian government’s allegations against Khom Piseth and Cheam Channy are politically motivated and that the concerned persons are innocent.
Sok Yoeun, another member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, who was wrongfully accused by the Cambodian authorities of trying to assassinate Prime Minister Hun Sen in 1998, has also been welcomed into a third country (Finland) where he is now living with his whole family.
As for Cheam Channy who was arrested on 3 February 2005 and is still detained at Phnom Penh’s military prison, he has to be tried at the latest on 3 August 2005 after a pre-trial detention period that cannot exceed 6 months.

08 May 2005

World Bank’s conclusions fully apply to Cambodia: good governance is a prerequisite for development (1)
Excerpts from an article in Le Monde (Paris) dated 8 May 2005 titled “Et si l'aide au développement du Sud passait par l'ingérence du Nord?”, which deals with conditionality that should be applied to aid given to less developed countries:
« The World Bank is publishing on 9 May its new report on “world governance”. It examines the cases of 209 countries in light of 352 criteria defined by the Bank itself but also 30 other organizations such as Columbia University, Freedom House foundation and PriceWaterhouseCoopers auditing firm. A huge statistical work has been done to measure as objectively as possible this “good governance”.
Project director Daniel Kaufmann spells out the report conclusion: “The improvement in living conditions is the result of a better governance, and not the other way round.”  Democracy [or more precisely what it entails in terms of good governance] should come first, not the economy.
[Western leaders such as French President Jacques] Chirac [are] wrong when [they want] to respect local cultures [i.e. condone certain habits or practices] and let Africa be governed according to African methods. One may of course come up with different arguments: China proves the contrary [of what is said above]. There are dictatorships that do well economically speaking. A distinction [however] should be made between very large countries and the others. For most of the less developed countries, from Bosnia to Mexico to Ghana to Peru, analyses made by the World Bank are crystal clear: good governance “leads to better living conditions and to a sharper reduction in poverty.” (...).
[Rich and democratic nations in the North] should “interfere” in underdeveloped countries [in the South] that are in crisis or prove to be “failed” states. An intervention is useful not only in case of war or following a tsunami; it could be beneficial, in time of peace, to economic and social development. To install democracy is the best of all aid policies. »
To read the original article in French go to OPINION

Cambodia’s current government continues to use Khmer Rouge methods (2)
“Pol Pot is not quite dead”, this is the title of an article by opposition leader Sam Rainsy published in Cambodge Soir (Phnom Penh) dated 26 April 2005. Excerpts:
« Certain aspects of today’s Cambodia are reminiscent of the Khmer Rouge regime, which was based on fear, hunger and ignorance. With only a difference in degree, the same ingredients continue to characterize the nature and the mode of functioning of the Phnom Penh regime in this year 2005.
First, with the lasting culture of impunity [and the perpetuation of political violence], fear paralyses citizens and silences potential criticisms. Second, in a country that remains one of the world’s poorest nations, hunger is still nagging or latent for a large segment of the population: it constitutes an essential means of controlling the population on the part of a government whose social policy comes down to the distribution of food in the form of “donations”. Finally, in a country that is eighty-five percent rural and where nearly two-thirds of the adult population are illiterate and the broadcast medias are tightly controlled by the government, the rationing of information [or the disinformation] and the limitations on the possibilities of reasoning and comparing contribute to infantilize the people, who are then made easier to subjugate. »
To read the original article in French go to OPINION

07 May 2005

Publication of Norodom Sihanouk’s memoirs (1)
King-Father Norodom Sihanouk’s official biographer Julio A. Jeldres has announced the publication of the first volume of the Retired Monarch’s memoirs in English.
For more information go to ANNOUNCEMENTS

A new attempt to stall the Khmer Rouge tribunal (2)
Shortly after the announcement by the United Nations last month that the international community has pledged sufficient funds to try former Khmer Rouge officials at a special tribunal in Cambodia, the Phnom Penh government – which had agreed to contribute $13 million out of a total cost of $56 million – declared a few days ago that finally it would not be able to pay its previously agreed share of the financial burden because “Cambodia is a poor country.”
At approximately the same time, The Cambodia Daily revealed that the Phnom Penh government had accepted to pay $50 million in damages to Thailand following the anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh in 2003. The money reportedly comes from a re-allocation of air traffic fees collected by the government.   

06 May 2005

Schedules of political leaders (2)
- Hun Sen: is leaving Phnom Penh for Tokyo next week to consult Japanese ophthalmologists and surgeons for his artificial eye and also to meet with Japanese government officials.
- Norodom Ranariddh: is vacationing in Indonesia with his new wife and his newly bought aircraft. After leaving China on 2 May he first went to Malaysia for pleasure before going to Indonesia.
- Sam Rainsy: is leaving Paris for Beijing next week to attend the first meeting, on 11 May, of the Supreme Border Council under the chairmanship of Retired Monarch Norodom Sihanouk.

King-Father’s statements in English (1)
M. Preuk, a close observer of Cambodian affairs, has been unofficially translating into English an increasing number of King-Father Norodom Sihanouk’s statements and letters originally written in Khmer or French and posted on the royal Web site. The English version of the King-Father's messages can be found at KING-FATHER'S MESSAGES IN ENGLISH

05 May 2005

Heng Samrin defeated Hun Sen in CPP internal contest (3)
The CPP Standing Committee met earlier this week to elect a possible successor to party president Chea Sim, whose health is rapidly declining. The winner of the contest was honorary president Heng Samrin who obtained only one more vote than vice-president Hun Sen.     

Political situation in Cambodia seen by L’Express (1)
The French magazine L’Express posted today on its Web site an interesting article on Cambodia entitled “Le retour du Roi-Père” [The King-Father’s comeback].
http://www.lexpress.fr/info/monde/dossier/cambodge/dossier.asp
For a faster access (Word file) go to L'Express

Norwegian lawmaker expresses concern for Cambodian opposition parliamentarians (1)
Norwegian lawmaker Karin Andersen, who was head of delegation for her country at the last Inter-Parliamentary Union conference in Manila in April 2005, wrote to the IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to express her concern for Cambodian parliamentarians who are victims of repressive measures.
See letter at Norwegian Parliament

04 May 2005

Incompetence or corruption at the World Bank? (1)
In a press release issued today, the respected environmental watchdog Global Witness welcomes the “decision by the World Bank to authorize an Inspection Panel investigation” of its forest management projects in Cambodia, which have contributed to an economic, social and environmental “fiasco” due to the uncontrolled activities of “mafia-style logging syndicates”. The statement stresses that “the Inspection Panel process provides the opportunity to hold the Bank to account for five years of blunders in Cambodia.”
To read the statement in English go to Global Witness/World Bank

Hun Sen’