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 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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28 September 2004

Reservations about CPP and Funcinpec’s plan to share village chief positions (2)
Immediately after the formation of the new government on July 15, Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh suggested that the CPP and Funcinpec take up all village chief positions -- according to a 70-30 formula -- by excluding the Sam Rainsy Party from this first layer of local government. The international donor community has expressed reservations about such a scheme and starts to promote the idea that the allocation of some 13,000 village chief positions throughout the country should go by somehow the results of the 2002 commune council elections and the 2003 legislative elections. To underline the irrelevance of Ranariddh’s undemocratic suggestion, independent observers point to the situation in the capital city of Phnom Penh where, at the last elections, the opposition Sam Rainsy Party won a majority of the popular votes (50 percent) and a majority of seats at the National Assembly (6 out of 12).   

US Ambassador’s wife congratulates Hun Sen’s wife (1)
According to an article titled “US Ambassador’s wife commends the activities of the Cambodia Red Cross and the Bun Rany Hun Sen Development Center” in today’s edition of CPP mouthpiece Rasmei Kampuchea, Mrs. Myung Wook Ray, the Korean-born wife of US Ambassador to Cambodia Charles Ray, paid a visit to Mrs. Hun Sen at the Prime Minister's residence on September 27. Mrs. Ray reportedly congratulated Mrs. Hun Sen for her “achievements” at the head of the Cambodia Red Cross and the “development center” bearing her name. After listening to Mrs. Hun Sen’s explanations about natural disasters (flooding, drought) affecting Cambodia and the high level of unemployment here, Mrs. Ray praised Mrs. Hun Sen’s contribution to “poverty reduction”, which she promised to report to the “American people and donor countries”.
There was apparently not a word in the conversation between the two ladies about government corruption, which is elsewhere acknowledged as the main cause for deforestation leading to natural disasters, and also the main cause for the continuous drop in foreign investments leading to the government inability to reduce the high level of unemployment.
See original article at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/rasmei_koh/september_30/28_r2.pdf

25 September 2004

Depletion of fish stocks is cause for alarm (1)      "Le Cambodge au point mort": Click Opinion
Food security is increasingly a source of concern (KI, 8 January 2004: “Cambodia heading for famine”; KI, 23 May 2004: “Food shortage looming”). Over the last 12 months, the prices of rice and fish – the two main ingredients in ordinary Cambodians’ diet – have increased by 50 percent and 200 percent (threefold) respectively at a time when farmers’ revenues and employees’ salaries have shown practically no increase.
As reported in today’s edition of the pro-CPP Khmer-language newspaper Koh Santepheap (article titled: “Depletion of Fish Stocks) fish catches have decreased dramatically all over the country, which indicates a tragic depletion of fish stocks for the following reasons:
- Deforestation (flooded forest around the Tonle Sap is a natural habitat for fishes where, in the rainy season, they find shelter and feed and lay eggs).
- Rivers and lakes are getting shallower and shallower (as a result of accelerated soil erosion and river sedimentation due to deforestation).
- Illegal, anarchic and destructive fishing methods and practices.
- Government corruption allowing and encouraging illegal logging and fishing.
Deforestation and the destruction of fish stocks are, with land grabbing and diversion of international aid associated with corruption, the main causes for the worsening poverty of the Cambodian people as exposed by recent studies (KI, 6 February 2004: “ADB report shows worsening poverty”; KI, 2 May 2004: “World Bank confirms increase in poverty”; KI, 3 June 2004: “UNDP recognizes poverty has increased over the last ten years”).
See original press article at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/rasmei_koh/september_30/25_koh.PDF

24 September 2004

Cabinet to be streamlined (2)     Flowers for delivery in Cambodia: click Announcements
Due to pressure from international donors who want to see an effective implementation of reforms – including civil service and army reforms which imply a reduction in the number of State employees – the Cambodian government will be compelled to streamline the Cabinet and the bureaucracy immediately after the donor Consultative Group (CG) meeting in December. A portion of the some 300 newly appointed Secretaries of State and Under-Secretaries of State will quit their functions early next year.   

No Cambodian delegation to IPU meeting (2)     Buy a Cambodian Watch: click Announcements
After the conclusion of the last Asean Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) meeting in Phnom Penh last week – seen by many as "a disorganized, overpriced junket that achieved very little" – Cambodia will not be officially represented at the upcoming meeting of the much more serious Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) scheduled to take place in Geneva from September 28 to October 1.
National Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh has just decided – without giving any reason – that no Cambodian parliamentarians should attend the 111^th IPU Assembly (KI, 20 September 2004:  “Sam Rainsy in Geneva”).

23 September 2004

King elaborates on his abdication plan (1)    
King Norodom Sihanouk made public today a Royal Decree (in French) specifying the manner in which he wants people to address him after his abdication, which “will take place in a not distant future”.
See Royal Decree at http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%2004/septembre/2309txt3.htm

Funcinpec officials are forced to resort to corruption (2)    
According to the September 23 edition of the Khmer-language newspaper Koh Santepheap, Prince Norodom Ranariddh has ordered all government officials affiliated with Funcinpec to give monthly financial contributions to the royalist party. For instance, police officers must contribute every month up to three times the equivalent of their meager salaries: the only way for them to find that money will be to extort more bribes for the population.
Read original article at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/rasmei_koh/september_30/23_koh.pdf 

Ranariddh accuses Sam Rainsy of lèse-majesté (2)    
According to the September 22 edition of the Khmer-language newspaper Voice of Khmer Youth, Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh has accused opposition leader Sam Rainsy of lese-majesty following the latter’s allegation that the former has accepted to support CPP Prime Minister Hun Sen in exchange for – among other things – a promise from the ruling CPP that he (Ranariddh) will be appointed king when present King Norodom Sihanouk dies. Ranariddh has denied any intention to become king and accuses Sam Rainsy of “insulting” the Royal Family with his allegation about the royal succession. However, speaking about Ranariddh and other Princes involved in politics, King Sihanouk has repeatedly said: “Anyone who pretends that he doesn’t want to be king, is a liar.”
See Ranariddh’s statement at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/moneaksekar_youth/september_04/22_youth.pdf

22 September 2004 

UNDP fooled by Cambodian government about election preparations (2)
Practically no preparations whatsoever have been made as of today for the legally compulsory updating of voter lists that will take place from 1 to 18 October. In particular, no significant measures have been taken to inform potential voters about the operation. Nearly $1 million from international assistance will be spent under the supervision of the United Nations Development Programme for the first stage of this most dubious voter registration process aimed at preparing the forthcoming 2005 senatorial elections, 2007 commune council elections and 2008 legislative elections.

French insurance company reconsiders decision to invest in Cambodia (2)
It has been recently announced in the press that Macif, one of France's largest insurance companies, is going to invest 6 million US dollars in Cambodia by taking a stake in the financially troubled Indochine Insurance. However, there are local financial experts who are advising the French group to reconsider its decision because business conditions will be extremely difficult for a multinational company operating in a corruption-plagued country like Cambodia:
- All government decisions are based on bribes.
- For an insurance company, unsolvable problems will stem from the fact that anybody in this country can easily obtain – through bribes – fake documents to falsely “prove” their name, age, citizenship, occupation, address, etc, while police reports related to any incidents (road accidents, murders, robberies) can be – with bribes – written in a way so as to “show” anything but real facts.
- How can a serious insurance company operate in a lawless country where people, land and vehicles are not rigorously identified and where criminals can escape arrest and prosecution if they can pay the police and the judges? 

King postpones his return (1)
King Norodom Sihanouk, whose return to Cambodia has been tentatively scheduled for September 27, will have to stay in China until next month for “medical reasons”.     

20 September 2004

A visible and partisan Chinese aid (2)         
China has successfully managed to make her assistance to Cambodia very visible so as to reap immediate political benefits: for instance, she has financed the construction of the Senate building as well as new buildings in the National Assembly existing compound, and has announced she would finance the construction of a new compound for the Council of Ministers (or Office of the Prime Minister).
Chinese assistance to Cambodia is also overtly partisan with Beijing providing equipment and/or funds to the two ruling parties: before the 2003 parliamentary elections, China officially gave $1 million to the CPP and $1 million to Funcinpec. Since the beginning of this year Funcinpec has received financial assistance from China on a regular basis that helps the royalist party cover most of its functioning costs.

A failed decentralization process (2)         
Expectations related to the once much-lauded decentralization process have proved to be elusive. A few years ago, decentralization was supposed to promote democracy at the grassroots level and to foster economic development so as to reduce poverty. But since the February 2002 commune council elections, the decentralization process has been stalled, with no power whatsoever having been transferred to the elected commune councilors. All powers continue to lie in the hands of the CPP-controlled Central Administration whose chain of command includes the provincial authorities, the district authorities, and ultimately the village chiefs, who exert strong influence on villagers. The long-serving CPP-appointed village chiefs have not yet been democratically replaced with new ones, as required by the law on decentralization. Finally, decentralization will remain an empty word as long as local “governments” are not entitled to levy taxes and to have a say in the management of natural resources in their respective communes.  

Sam Rainsy in Geneva (2)           
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy will be attending an Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting in Geneva later this week. He has lodged a complaint with the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians relating to the exclusion of opposition parliamentarians from all the National Assembly commissions.

18 September 2004       

A unique opinion poll on political preferences (1)
In January 2004, an unprecedented "Survey of Political Attitudes" was conducted in Cambodia by a US-based professional firm (Ayres, McHenry & Associates). Only a few elements of the survey results have been made public so far. Full results are now available that show the divide between Cambodians related to questions such as: Who can best deal with poverty? Who can best fight against corruption? Who can best defend Cambodia’s territorial integrity?
See poll methodology and official results (40 pages) at www.cambodiapolitics.org/iri_survey/iri_doc.pdf

Tep Vong in Paris (2)             
Buddhist Supreme Patriarch Tep Vong has been in Paris, as a tourist, for about a week now. Knowing that the Cambodian community in France does not like him because of his notoriously poor moral standards and his overt affiliation with the CPP, he prefers to discretely stay in a private home in the suburb city of Bobigny and does not dare to set foot in any of the three Cambodian Wats (pagodas) in the Paris region: Créteil, Champs-sur-Marne, and Bagneux.

A misleading industrial peace (2)       
Industrial conflicts seem to be on the decrease in Cambodia, with the garment industry -- the country’s largest foreign currency earner -- reporting practically no more workers demonstrations and strikes. “Industrial peace” is crucial for Cambodia to continue to enjoy privileged access to markets in affluent countries (USA, EU) where consumers/customers tend to show increasing concern for the exploitation of workers in poor countries and tend to prefer “socially friendly” goods.
Over the last few months the Phnom Penh government has secured an apparent industrial peace largely by combining three action methods:
1- Assassination of prominent union leaders so as to behead and disorganize the growing workers movement. The latest victims were Chea Vichea who was killed in January 2004 (KI, 22 January 2004: “Unionist Chea Vichea shot dead this morning”; KI, 24 January 2004: “Chea Vichea killed exactly six months after receiving death threat”; KI, 01 March 2004: “Chea Vichea’s killers were murdered last month at Hun Sen’s house”) and Ros Sovannareth who was assassinated in May 2004 (KI, 7 May 2004: “Assassination of another union leader”).
2- Prohibition of any sort of popular demonstration, with the newly formed anti-riot police unit brutally repressing and immediately dispersing any street protests by factory workers, landless farmers, students, consumers protesting price hikes, etc.
3- Systematic breaking up of industrial strikes with the intervention of hooligans hired by the authorities or factory owners to attack, beat or intimidate striking workers.

Mrs Hun Sen suspected of being behind a plot to kill Touch Srey Nich (3)
Prime Minister’s wife and Cambodia Red Cross President Bun Rany Hun Sen was seen in Bangkok earlier this month, after being in Paris in August for a medical treatment. She was accompanied by Ms Phou (KI, 11 October 2003: “Ms Phou, Cambodia’s richest lady”), who had been also in Paris at the same time as Bun Rany. The two ladies are suspected of attempting to hire the Thai mafia to kill Touch Srey Nich in her Bangkok hospital bed (KI, 15 September 2004: “A plot to kill Touch Srey Nich in Bangkok”).
The successive assassination attempts on Touch Srey Nich are reminiscent of the assassination in 1999 of Piseth Pilika (KI, 3 November 2002: “Website to keep alive the memory of Piseth Pilika”), another beautiful and popular singer who was first wounded by unidentified gunmen in broad daylight on a busy street and subsequently died in a Phnom Penh hospital under mysterious circumstances (KI, 27 November 2002: “Bun Rany as decisive as her husband”). The late singer’s family, who are now living in France, and the French magazine L'Express (7 and 21 October 1999) claim to have evidence showing that Bun Rany killed Piseth Pilika out of jealousy (KI, 6 November 2002: “Cambodia’s bloody Red Cross”). More information at http://pisethpilika.free.fr

15 September 2004 

King’s assets estimated at $ 2.2 million (2)
On September 9, King Norodom Sihanouk took the initiative to declare his assets, which are made up of a house in Phnom Penh (estimated at $ 500,000), a residence in Siem Reap (estimated at $ 1,500,000), the balance of a bank account in France ($ 57,041) and the balance of a bank account in China ($ 131,479).
The King’s initiative and its timing are politically meaningful at a time when international donors are, ahead of the next Consultative Group meeting in Phnom Penh scheduled for December 7-8, pressing the Cambodian government to ensure the adoption without delay of an anti-corruption law. A key provision of such a law will expectedly spell out the obligation for the country’s leaders to declare their assets and to specify the origin of their wealth. The King has purportedly set an example of transparency.   

Sam Rainsy in Nepal (1)
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is in Kathmandu for three days attending a “Dialogue on State, Democracy and Monarchy: Experiences from Thailand, Cambodia, Scandinavian countries and Nepal” to be followed by a Conference on “People’s Sovereignty and Constitutional Monarchy in a Multiparty System”. The events are being organized by the Swedish-based Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).
The two kingdoms of Nepal and Cambodia present striking similarities: rampant corruption, dire poverty, massive unemployment, serious human rights abuses, increasing popular discontent. They are the first two “less advanced countries” to be admitted this year into the WTO, mainly as a public relations exercise. 

A plot to kill Touch Srey Nich in Bangkok (3)
The family of Touch Srey Nich, who escaped an assassination attempt last year (KI, 24 October 2003: "Rumors about the shooting of Touch Srey Nich") and has been since under intensive medical care in Bangkok, has expressed concern about a possible plot to kill the former singer once for all. They have moved her to a different place. Because the bed-ridden Touch Srey Nich has recovered her voice and her ability to communicate, she could make revelations that could prove embarrassing for some powerful people in Cambodia.

10 September 2004

From “Food for Work” to “Food for Votes” (3)
The recent rice fraud worth more than one million dollars may just be the tip of the iceberg relative to a long-time ongoing trick that officials from both the Cambodian government and the World Food Program are trying to cover up. Rice to support the WFP-sponsored “Food for Work” scheme (in which poor farmers participate in road construction or any other public works in exchange for rations of rice) has been – for many years – systematically diverted by the ruling CPP to buy votes from hungry farmers.    

Delay in the establishment of the Khmer Rouge tribunal (1)
For the reasons indicated previously (KI, 3 September 2004: “Hun Sen to receive chilly welcome at the UN”) Prime Minister Hun Sen has cancelled his trip to New York and his meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which reduces the hope for the establishment of a special tribunal (with UN participation) to prosecute former Khmer Rouge leaders in a reasonable period of time.

Imminent appointments of new ambassadors representing Cambodia (2)
- USA: Ek Sereywath (former ambassador to the Philippines).
- Germany: Eng Roland (currently ambassador to the USA).
- Japan: Keo Puth Rasmey (currently ambassador to Malaysia).
- Malaysia: Ok Socheat (former Funcinpec Member of Parliament).
- Philippines: Phi Thach (resigned from SRP in April 2003; joined Funcinpec in August 2004).

08 September 2004 

Funcinpec heading for crisis (2)
Because of mounting tensions associated with the ongoing potentially explosive infighting related to allocation of government positions [a limited number of positions have been sold or promised to a much larger number of contestants] Funcinpec President Norodom Ranariddh has been postponing decision deadlines since the formation of the new government on July 15. He has said he would allocate the [undersecretary of state, provincial governor and deputy governor, district head and deputy head] positions after his return from France in August and subsequently from China in September, but as of today thousands of contestants are still waiting with more and more impatience. Observers agree that the longer Ranariddh keeps contestants waiting the more violent their reaction will be when they realize they have been deceived (KI, 31 August 2004: “SRP infiltrates fake defectors into Funcinpec”; KI, 28 August 2004: “King condemns the use of public funds for partisan purpose”).

Heng Samrin not happy with Ranariddh (2)
The two CPP Vice-Presidents of the National Assembly, Heng Samrin and Nguon Nhel, have recently expressed discontent with the behavior of Assembly President Norodom Ranariddh, whom they reproach for spending large amounts of money or making far-reaching commitments without informing them. Ranariddh’s contested decisions include the construction of the new Assembly Building (KI, 7 September 2004: “Evidence of corruption at the National Assembly”), preparations for a forthcoming international conference (KI, 3 September 2004: “AIPO meeting in Phnom Penh will cost $1.2 million”), the recruitment of countless and expensive “advisers” (KI, 16 August 2004: “A 700-strong staff at the National Assembly”), and lavish travel expenses including personal allowances reaching $10,000 a day.
Hun Sen has personally intervened to convince Heng Samrin and Nguon Nhel not to openly attack Ranariddh on his princely and opaque management style.     

07 September 2004

Evidence of corruption at the National Assembly (2)
Regarding the inflated cost for the construction of the National Assembly’s new premises (KI, 16 August 2004: “Assembly officials share a $15-million commission”) there is a contract signed on 10 January 2003 between on the one hand, Prince Norodom Ranariddh (in his capacity as President of the National Assembly) and Cheam Yeap (in his capacity as Assembly’s Finance Commission President), and on the other hand, businessman Ly Chhuong who is the President of Ly Chhuong Construction and Import-Export Co. Ltd, which has been awarded the construction contract. The contract states the construction cost as amounting to US$ 26,673,350.
In a document dated 28 April 2003, an Australian-based company named Five Golden Stars P/L, which had been involved in the negotiation process, estimates the real construction cost at US$ 13 million.

Why a compulsory national service? (2)
On September 3, the Phnom Penh government adopted a draft law obligating every Cambodian male between the age of 18 years and 30 years to serve 18 months in the Army. Even though government officials say the Army needs to be modernized/reorganized with new and younger recruits, the real reasons behind the government decision are threefold:
1- Hide the increasing unemployment rate (currently up to 50 percent), especially among the young, given the fact that some 300,000 citizens annually reach the age of 18 years and start to look for jobs at a time when the number of jobs created does not exceed 30,000 a year because of a continuously weak economy.
2- Control the unemployed young men by confining them in military barracks so as to prevent them from taking part in any kind of street protest that would jeopardize political stability.
3- Collect bribes – given the rampant government corruption – from sons from relatively wealthy families who do not want to comply with their national service obligation (there will be numerous loopholes in the implementation of the law, as during the 1980’s).  

03 September 2004

Hun Sen upset by Ranariddh’s “revelations” (2)
Prince Norodom Ranariddh’s exaggerated statement according to which he has saved the country from a bloodshed by helping Hun Sen consolidate his power, has made the prime minister very angry and terribly embarrassed. As a matter of fact, Ranariddh implied that Hun Sen would have staged a bloody coup and killed many people – starting with Chea Sim, Sam Rainsy and Ranariddh himself – had he not been able to retain his top position because of the lingering political crisis from August 2003 to July 2004.
As a consequence of Ranariddh’s irresponsible statement, Hun Sen has changed his mind about promoting a long list of Funcinpec army officers.

AIPO meeting in Phnom Penh will cost $1.2 million (2)
The Asean Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) meeting that will place in Phnom Penh from 12 to 17 September 2004 will cost Cambodia US$ 1.2 million. Similar AIPO meetings in Singapore (2000), Thailand (2001), Vietnam (2002) and Indonesia (2003) cost those countries between $0.2 million and $0.7 million only. The inflated cost in Cambodia is due to an exceptionally high level of corruption.   

CPP downplays Khmer Rouge tribunal (1)
A front-page article in today’s CPP mouthpiece Rasmei Kampuchea seems to confirm previous indications (The Cambodia Daily, 2 September 2004: “Hun Sen to Give Speech Before UN) that the ruling CPP is trying to delay the establishment of a special tribunal – with international participation – to prosecute former Khmer Rouge leaders responsible for crimes against humanity committed from 1975 to 1979.
In the article titled “Pushing for discussion [and mutual understanding] is more important than prosecuting the Khmer Rouge to achieve [national] reconciliation in Cambodia”, an obscure British lecturer [Prof. Andrew Rigby from Coventry University] is quoted as suggesting that “the model of prosecution in the Western style might not be applicable to Cambodia.”

Hun Sen to receive chilly welcome at the UN (2)
Prime Minister Hun Sen is expected to be in New York from September 19 to meet with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and address the UN General Assembly. Observers believe he will receive a chilly welcome at the world body because his hunger for international legitimacy – which explains his untimely ambition to see Cambodia sit on the UN Security Council – seems to override his concern about respecting his commitment to set up a Khmer Rouge tribunal with the UN (KI, 2 September 2004: “Works at Assembly proceeding slowly because of lack of quorum”; KI, 3 September 2004: “CPP downplays Khmer Rouge tribunal”).
Many officials of the current Phnom Penh government served under the Khmer Rouge regime (KI, 19 October 2002: “Chea Sim and Heng Samrin might be prosecuted by a Khmer Rouge tribunal”; KI, 30 April 2004: “Hun Sen’s Khmer Rouge background”; KI, 7 May 2004: “Why Hun Sen defected to Vietnam in 1977”). Besides, China – where Hun Sen is currently paying an official visit – does not support the Khmer Rouge tribunal project because of her past association with the Pol Pot regime. 

Opposition newspaper editor to be appointed under-secretary of state (2)
Keo Thea, editor of the opposition newspapers The Voice of Khmer Youth, will be soon appointed under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Information.

02 September 2004

Chea Vichea suspected that Hun Sen wanted to kill him (2)
The Prosecutor at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court received today the video tape of an interview in English, by an American journalist, of union leader Chea Vichea before he was gunned down on 22 January 2004. In the interview, Chea Vichea said that, after a death threat he had received in July 2003, a police officer told him to leave the country because a top-ranking government official – Chea Vichea understood it was Prime Minister Hun Sen – wanted to kill him.

Works at Assembly proceeding slowly because of lack of quorum (2)
After a yearlong deadlock the National Assembly has convened only three times since the new government was formed on July 15. The adoption of several laws – including the Khmer Rouge tribunal law – will have to be postponed with no parliamentary session scheduled from now until the end of September.
When the Cabinet meets on Fridays and when Prime Minister Hun Sen and/or National Assembly Speaker Norodom Ranariddh is/are abroad with their respective suites – like this week and next week – no parliamentary session can be held because of a lack of quorum without the participation of opposition parliamentarians, who have been excluded from Assembly commissions (KI, 12 August 2004: “SRP excluded from all parliamentary commissions”).
The presence of at least 87 parliamentarians (out of 123) is required at any session. Altogether the CPP and Funcinpec control 99 seats. Since many Assembly members also hold Cabinet positions and some MPs are occasionally sick or away from Phnom Penh, there are circumstances where the ruling coalition cannot gather 87 MPs without the support of the opposition (24 seats).

KI audience reached record level in August 2004 (1)
After 25 months of existence (KI, 11 August 2004: “Second anniversary of KI’s launch”) Khmer Intelligence continues to steadily expand its audience:
- Number of visits for KI website last month: 17,198.
- Number of “persons” (each with a specific IP address) who visited KI website last month: 5,501 (meaning each “person” visited KI website on average three times during the past month).
- Number of KI subscribers (KI, 17 August 2004: “KI discussion group”) as of 31 August 2004: 2,150.  Instead of anonymously visiting KI website, subscribers directly receive e-mails from KI on a regular basis.
- Main countries where visitors and subscribers reside: Cambodia, USA, France, Australia, Canada, Japan (more than 20 countries in total).

31 August 2004

SRP infiltrates fake defectors into Funcinpec (2)
Among those who are defecting from the Sam Rainsy Party to Funcinpec (KI, 28 August 2004: “King condemns the use of public funds for partisan purpose”; KI, 30 August 2004: “Pro-CPP newspaper criticizes allocation of government positions to defectors”) there is an increasing proportion of fake defectors whom the opposition party has assigned four tasks:
1- Collect information.
2- Create division among the real defectors by competing for positions reserved for defectors.
3- Exacerbate the internal divisions within the old guard of Funcinpec who are vying (and fighting each other) for a limited number of government positions.
4- Overload and sink the Funcinpec ship.

Another SRP member assassinated yesterday (1)
A member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party was assassinated in Koh Kong province on August 30, bringing to 11 the number of SRP supporters killed by unidentified gunmen since the beginning of 2004.  

King denounces illegal use of his name (2)
On August 25, at the SRP headquarters in Phnom Penh, members of the Steering Committee were presented a video cassette showing King Norodom Sihanouk and Queen Monineath Sihanouk granting an audience in Beijing to Sam Rainsy and his family. Among other things, the King said that he had never ordered Nhiek Bun Chhay to sign anything and that Nhiek Bun Chhay had never informed him about signing anything on his behalf (KI, 13 July 2004: “Hun Sen asks Nhiek Bun Chhay to sign promulgating decree”; KI, 13 July 2004: “Nhiek Bun Chhay cannot sign any law on behalf of the King”; KI, 8 August 2004: “King says constitutional amendment was illegally signed”).
On the 13 July 2004 promulgating decree signed by Nhiek Bun Chhay, there is – above the signature – the mention: “On behalf and by order of the King”.

30 August 2004

Cambodian police have no file on the 1997 grenade attack (2)
Following a lawsuit initiated by opposition leader Sam Rainsy who accuses Prime Minister Hun Sen of being the mastermind of a deadly grenade attack on an opposition-led rally in front of the National Assembly on 30 March 1997, the politically subservient Phnom Penh Municipal Court is in the process of clearing Hun Sen of all possible charges. During the judicial procedure, Sam Rainsy’s lawyer has learned that the Court has not been given any information by the Police because the Police have reportedly compiled no file whatsoever related to any investigation into the above-mentioned incident.    

Pro-CPP newspaper criticizes allocation of government positions to defectors (1)
In its today’s editorial, pro-CPP newspaper Koh Santepheap criticizes the allocation of government positions by Prince Ranariddh’s Funcinpec as a means to entice defectors from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (KI, 28 August 2004: “King condemns the use of public funds for partisan purpose”). The newspaper expresses the view that the country needs a new generation of leaders and, at a time when millions of ordinary citizens are jobless, government positions should no be allocated on the basis of political considerations or as part of a sterile political game.
See original text at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/rasmei_koh/august_31/30_koh1.pdf

28 August 2004

King condemns the use of public funds for partisan purpose (1)
In an annotation in the margin of an article in the August 24 edition of The Cambodia Daily titled “Funcinpec Claims Scores Leaving Opposition”, King Norodom Sihanouk criticizes the way Prince Ranariddh is trying to lure Sam Rainsy Party members by promising them government positions. The article quotes a Funcinpec official as declaring that a number of opposition members have decided to join Funcinpec while confirming Ranariddh’s intention to “grant each defector a position in the government.”
Commenting the refusal by Funcinpec officials to estimate the cost of paying government salaries to the defectors, the King wrote: “[They will be using the] people’s money and not the Party’s money.” He also made sarcastic remarks about the size of the current government, which already includes 7 deputy prime ministers, 15 senior ministers, 28 ministers, 135 secretaries of state and at least 146 undersecretaries of state (332 in total including the prime minister). “A world record”, the King wrote.

27 August 2004 

Bomb attacks in Phnom Penh (3)
Military Intelligence Head Mol Roeup and National Police Director Hok Lundy are planning a series of bomb attacks in Phnom Penh for next week. The attacks will reportedly take place when Prime Minister Hun Sen and National Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh are abroad for a conference in Beijing on September 3-5 followed by an official visit to China for Hun Sen, and will target the Vietnamese community. The government will accuse the Sam Rainsy Party of being behind those attacks, in an attempt to “legally” suppress the parliamentary opposition.

Hun Sen and Ranariddh to meet with the King in Beijing (2)
According to a CPP source in Phnom Penh, Prime Minister Hun Sen and Prince Ranariddh will meet with King Norodom Sihanouk in Beijing on September 4. Hun Sen, who will leave Phnom Penh this weekend, will spend his first two days in China with doctors for treatment of his artificial left eye. From September 3 to 5, he and Prince Ranariddh will attend a meeting in Beijing of about 90 Asian political parties.
According to a Funcinpec source in Phnom Penh, Prince Ranariddh, who will be with Hun Sen at the September 4 royal audience (KI, 22 August 2004: “Prince Ranariddh does not dare to meet the King without Hun Sen”), will be granted – upon a request he made on August 23 – another audience with the King on September 2, as head of the Funcinpec delegation to the Beijing meeting of Asian political parties.

24 August 2004
 
Lottery and betting companies collect $100 million a year from the poor (2)
As previously reported (KI, 13 June 2004: "Gambling makes Cambodians poorer and contributes to the increase in crime") lottery companies are thriving in Cambodia but they operate virtually without any control and, by exploiting the credulity of poor people, contribute to the country's increasing poverty. This analysis is confirmed by an August 19 article titled "Cambodia is the world's biggest place for lottery" published in the pro-CPP newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea.
According to the article, there are currently 6 foreign-controlled lottery companies operating in Cambodia under the brand names "Great Fortune", "Diamond Mountain", "Cambodian Lottery", "Varisan", "Camlot", and "Dreaming Animals". Altogether they organize up to 13 draws a day. At each draw a company can raise up to $15,000 from clients all over the country, meaning the 6 companies can raise up to $200,000 a day or $72 million a year.
Taking into account the transnational Vietnamese lottery, the popular football betting system "CamboSix" with a network of betting offices in many cities and the newly launched telephone-based betting system, Cambodians may spend up to $100 million a year on lotteries and betting systems (casinos not included). Cambodians from all walks of life, but mainly poor and ill-informed people, regularly buy lottery tickets, dreaming to win some prizes that would help them escape from their miserable life, not knowing that they are being cheated everyday in these unregulated and most unfair lotteries. Corrupt government officials at the Finance ministry and the Office of the Prime minister have granted operating licenses to lottery companies in exchange for bribes.
See Rasmei Kampuchea's article at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/rasmei_koh/august_31/19_r2.pdf

22 August 2004

Prince Ranariddh does not dare to meet the King without Hun Sen (2)
On August 20, Hun Sen and prince Ranariddh wrote a joint letter to King Norodom Sihanouk in Beijing asking for a joint audience for the two of them when they are together in China early next month. Because he has been siding with Hun Sen against his father (KI, 25 May 2004: “Hun Sen pushes prince Ranariddh to oppose his father the King”), Ranariddh seems to be embarrassed or afraid to meet with the King without Hun Sen being with him.
On two previous occasions Ranariddh had already co-signed letters with Hun Sen to confront the King:
- On May 12, they joined hands to turn down a King’s proposal (KI, 11 May 2004: “King invites party leaders to Pyongyang”; KI, 13 May 2004: “King’s stern reaction to Hun Sen and Ranariddh’s letter”).
- On July 15, immediately after being elected to their respective positions through the controversial “Package Vote” (KI, 29 June 2004: “A coup against the King”), they jointly wrote to the King requesting to visit the monarch in Pyongyang in order to present their fait accompli (KI, 16 July 2004: “King refuses to meet with Hun Sen and Ranariddh”). They chose to ignore the fact that the King had announced on July 6 his decision to abdicate the throne precisely to show his disapproval of the “Package Vote” and his refusal to continue to endorse the current regime.

Funcinpec to announce defections from SRP (2)
This coming week Funcinpec will announce a series of defections from the opposition SRP as well as government positions (under-secretary of state, provincial deputy governor, district deputy governor) allocated to some of the defectors. In spite of the rewards promised, there will be few prominent defectors: 3 or 4 Steering Committee members (out of 90), less than 20 provincial and district leaders (out of several hundreds), no Permanent Committee members, and no National Assembly members.
Prime minister Hun Sen, who continues to intimidate the opposition with a tactic based on “stick” (KI, 6 August 2004: “Cheam Channy’s case reminiscent of Sok Yoeun’s”), has reportedly decided to create more government positions in order to help Funcinpec lure more SRP supporters with “carrots”.

21 August 2004

King says he still wishes to abdicate (1)
In an August 20 message to the nation King Norodom Sihanouk, who had on August 18 announced his return to Cambodia (KI, 19 August 2004: “King will be back by the end of next month”), said he had not changed his mind regarding his desire to abdicate. He confirmed KI’s analysis according to which “the timing of the announcement [of his return] seems to indicate that the monarch wants to show that his decision was not made under the pressure of any Cambodian politician”.

20 August 2004

Cambodia’s wrong development approach (2)
The appalling increase in poverty in Cambodia (KI, 3 June 2004: “UNDP recognizes poverty has increased over the last ten years”) has been largely and rightly attributed to systemic corruption and government inertia in the implementation of reforms. But the country’s poor economic performance may have another cause: the development policy as suggested by international experts may be inappropriate. The traditional approach that sets development priorities on the basis of “comparative advantages” (abundant natural resources and cheap labor in the case of Cambodia) should give way to a new approach based on “competitive advantages”, which implies coordinated efforts to promote an environment that supports rising productivity leading to increased competitiveness and greater prosperity. This new approach, which should lead to the development of new and various industries instead of prolonging Cambodia’s dependence on the timber and garment industries, is explained in a book titled “The Competitive Advantage of Nations” by Michael E. Porter (The Free Press - New York). Michael E. Porter is a former advisor to the late President Ronald Reagan and currently teaches at the Harvard Business School.

19 August 2004

King will be back by the end of next month (1)
In a yesterday's message to the nation King Norodom Sihanouk announced that he would return to live in Cambodia "without any condition" by the end of September 2004. The timing of the announcement seems to indicate that the monarch wants to show that his decision was not made under the pressure of any Cambodian politician. Hun Sen is scheduled to meet with the King in Beijing at the end of this month or early next month.

18 August 2004

Hun Sen to clash with Chea Sim on the control of the Military Police (2)
Next September or October, in an attempt to further weaken the pro-Chea Sim faction within the CPP, Prime Minister and CPP vice-president Hun Sen will try to change the chain of command of the Military Police or “Gendarmerie”. The Military Police (now headed by General Sao Sokha) is currently under the command of the Head of the Army’s General Staff, General Ker Kim Yan, a close friend to Interior minister Sar Kheng and CPP president Chea Sim. Hun Sen wants the Military Police to be placed instead under the command of Defense minister Tea Banh or some other top brass belonging to his faction.

Cham Prasidh trying to sell garment quotas worth $ 40 million (3)
Commerce minister Cham Prasidh is striving to discretely sell Cambodia’s garment quotas worth some US$ 40 million to garment manufacturers in China and Vietnam. These quotas represent the last portion of garment export quotas granted by the USA. The quota system will end at the end of this year. Because a significant portion of Cambodia’s quotas have been fraudulently sold to other countries since 1994, Cambodian workers have lost countless potential jobs (KI, 7 February 2004: “Revenue from garment quotas reaches a record high”).

You Hockry to be appointed Immigration minister (3)
Funcinpec president prince Norodom Ranariddh has promised former Interior co-minister You Hockry that he would be appointed Immigration minister. According to CPP and Funcinpec sources, the new ministry will be created before the end of this year as a spin-off from the Interior ministry.

Hun Neng to be appointed Phnom Penh governor (3)
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s eldest brother Hun Neng, currently Svay Rieng provincial governor, will replace Kep Chuktema as Phnom Penh Municipality governor in September or October this year. Kep Chuktema will take up the current position of Hun Neng. 

Kep Chuktema’s background (3)
Information about current Phnom Penh Municipality governor Kep Chuktema:
- Former deputy chief of Hun Sen’s bodyguards unit. He tried to kill CPP dissident Ung Phan in 1991. Seriously wounded, Ung Phan joined Funcinpec a few months later and was elected National Assembly member in 1993.
- Former deputy governor of Mondolkiri province.
- Former governor of Takeo province.
- Very close to National Police director Hok Lundy, who had been Svay Rieng provincial governor before Hun Neng. As Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema has been closely following Hok Lundy’s instructions to repress anti-government demonstrations. 

Svay Rieng governor: a strategic position (2)
The Svay Rieng provincial governor, who must be a staunch CPP supporter, must tactfully handle:
- Vietnam’s continuous encroachments on Cambodia’s territory.
- Large stretches of land along the border owned by CPP officials but leased to Vietnamese farmers.
- Smuggling activities, which are an important source of revenue for the CPP.
- Vietnamese immigrants, many of whom have been recently granted Cambodian citizenship. Besides, thousands of Vietnamese citizens living in Vietnam hold Cambodian citizenship and cross the border on election days to cast their ballots in Cambodia.     

17 August 2004

King has his opinion about government accusations against SRP (1)
In a hand-written August 15 text in French posted on his website King Norodom Sihanouk sarcastically wrote: “It would be a good thing if our current Royal Cambodian Government provides us with precise figures [about the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces]. But, maybe, [our political leaders prefer] not to divulge [any figures related to the total number of soldiers and the exact number of Generals] in August 2004. I fully understand the need to preserve our National Defense “secrets”, those very “secrets” that the SRP [through its Committee 14 which Prime Minister Hun Sen has accused of being a rebel force aiming to topple the new government] has unwisely tried to – partly – know.” (KI, 6 August 2004: “Cheam Channy’s case reminiscent of Sok Yoeun’s”).
See King's original text at http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%2004/aout/1508txt1.htm

Deforestation continues unabated (2)
Over the last few months local newspapers have been reporting large scale forestry crimes reflecting continuous deforestation involving corrupt government officials.
In its August 17 edition, CPP mouthpiece Rasmei Kampuchea published an article titled: “Forestry crimes in Krokor district [Pursat province] are on the increase.” In its August 16 edition, Koh Santepheap, another pro-CPP newspaper, published an article titled: “Illegal loggers operate like ants, days and nights [between Kompong Cham and Kratie provinces]”.

Railways privatization and land speculation (2)
According to Cambodge Soir dated August 6-7, the government is going to privatize the Royal Cambodian Railways, a State-controlled company in a derelict state. Under the cover of privatization, the main objective of corrupt government officials is to sell off plots of prime location land adjacent to railways stations and tracks in cities such as Phnom Penh and Poipet.
In Phnom Penh, large stretches of land along the track and the road from the Central Railways Station to the airport have been transferred without any transparency. In the border city of Poipet, the local railways station and the surrounding land belonging to the State have been sold off and turned into casinos, which led to the expulsion of thousands of people.       

KI discussion group (1)
Besides its website (KI, 11 August 2004: “Second anniversary of KI’s launch”) Khmer Intelligence manages a Cambodia-related discussion group that has registered 2,031 members as of today. It is a Yahoo announcement-only group (where only the moderator may post) intended to ensure that news compiled by KI directly and immediately get to the group members – sometimes even before being posted on the website. Some points of view from group members are posted on the website under the heading “Opinion”.
To subscribe to the group, just send an email (without having to write anything) to khmerintelligence-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

16 August 2004 

Gour to be paid a $5-million fee (2)
Prime Minister Hun Sen has agreed to pay French lawyer Claude Gour (KI, 19 December 2003: « “Package vote” is the brainchild of Frenchman Claude Gour » ) a fee amounting to US$ 5 million. Hun Sen is overseeing the hefty payment in Paris (KI, 12 August 2004: “Hun Sen arrived today in Paris”). 

Assembly officials share a $15-million commission (2)
National Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh (Funcinpec), former Assembly Secretary-General Kol Pheng (Funcinpec) and Assembly’s Finance Commission President Cheam Yeap (CPP) have shared a US$ 15-million commission given by the construction company that is currently building the new National Assembly compound next to the Naga Casino in Phnom Penh for a cost of $ 25 million. According to a competitor who was denied the contract because he refused to pay bribes, the real construction cost does not exceed $ 10 million. 

Inflated bills for Assembly roof renovation works (2)
Over the last five years the roof of the current National Assembly building has been renovated three times for a cost of $ 800,000 each time. According to construction professionals the real cost of each renovation did not exceed $ 200,000.

A 700-strong staff at the National Assembly (2)
From less than 200 at the end of 1998 the number of National Assembly employees (administrative staff on the State payroll) increased to 500 in July 2003 before reaching 700 in August 2004. These employees, who are supposed to assist 123 parliamentarians, have been recruited on the basis of political affiliation (CPP and Funcinpec). Most of them never come to work because there is no room for them to sit.

15 August 2004 

French judge may summon Hun Sen (2)
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen who arrived in Paris earlier this week on a private visit (KI, 12 August 2004: “Hun Sen arrived today in Paris”) may be summoned by the French Court in relation with an ongoing investigation into a deadly terrorist attack that took place in Phnom Penh seven years ago.
Following a legal action taken in 2000 by opposition leader Sam Rainsy, a French national, who accuses Hun Sen of being the mastermind of the grenade attack on a peaceful rally in front of the National Assembly on 30 March 1997, and given the fact that the attack was apparently intended to kill Sam Rainsy, French investigating judge Baudoin Thouvenot is gathering evidence including interrogating witnesses and suspects. Thouvenot has written to the Cambodian authorities asking for their cooperation but has received no answer so far. He may summon Hun Sen, whose bodyguards were reportedly involved in the attack.

Hun Sen’s versatile behavior (3)
In dealing with his partners, rivals or opponents Hun Sen skillfully resorts to intimidation and/or bribery. However, there is another – little known – facet of Hun Sen’s versatile behavior: supplication.
On two occasions this year, Hun Sen did something very surprising to outsiders: he knelt down in supplication once in front of Prince Norodom Ranariddh on March 15 begging for support for his candidacy for prime minister, and the second time in front of Chea Sim on July 27 begging the CPP president to attend a public show of unity on July 28.
Hun Sen is expected to kneel down again later this month in front of King Norodom Sihanouk in Beijing to implore the monarch to return to Cambodia and endorse his government as before. With this versatile behavior Hun Sen hopes he will be able to regain international legitimacy for his government without having to make any costly decision.        

IPU follows Cheam Channy’s case (2)
The CPP, with the assistance of Funcinpec, is trying to arrest SRP parliamentarian Cheam Channy on the basis of trumped-up charges (KI, 6 August 2004: “Cheam Channy’s case reminiscent of Sok Yoeun’s”). Cheam Channy has lodged a complaint with the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva and received an August 10 reply from IPU Secretary General Anders B. Johnsson: “I understand from your letter that unfounded accusations have been brought publicly by [Prime Minister Hun Sen] against you and other members of Committee 14. (...) The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians is indeed the competent mechanism to examine complaints of alleged violations of the human rights of individual parliamentarians.”
The Interior Ministry has reportedly sent to National Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh a formal request for the lifting of Cheam Channy’s parliamentary immunity.

12 August 2004 

Hun Sen arrived today in Paris (2)
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen arrived today in Paris. Even though no reason has been given for the private visit scheduled to last from one week to ten days, a CPP source says Hun Sen will seek medical treatment for a disease doctors in South-East Asia have been unable to cure.

CPP denies the right to abdicate to the King (1)
King Norodom Sihanouk’s decision to abdicate the throne may have far-reaching consequences (KI, 17 July 2004: “Hun Sen worried by King’s determination to abdicate”; KI, 4 August 2004: “Hun Sen pretends to ignore King’s intention to abdicate”; KI, 6 August 2004: “Political implications of the King’s decision not to return to Cambodia”).
In an August 4 text sent from Beijing, the King defended his right to abdicate but asked for assurances from the Cambodian parliament and government that he would not be accused of violating the Constitution. On August 10, Cambodge Soir published a letter by opposition leader Sam Rainsy defending the right of the King to abdicate. On August 11, a group of SRP parliamentarians wrote to the Constitutional Council asking for the supreme institution’s interpretation of the Constitution. Today, CPP mouthpiece Rasmei Kampuchea published an editorial saying the King has no right to abdicate.
- See King’s text at http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%2004/aout/0408txt4.htm   
- See Sam Rainsy’s letter at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/cambodge_soir/august_04/10_cs1.pdf
- See Rasmei Kampuchea’s editorial at http://www.cambodiapolitics.org/news/rasmei_koh/august_31/12_r.pdf

SRP excluded from all parliamentary commissions (1)
As previously announced (KI, 10 August 2004: “CPP and Funcinpec take all commission positions at the National Assembly”) the nine parliamentary commissions were formed today on the basis of a total exclusion of the opposition SRP, prompting an observer to make the following remark: “It is as if in the US Congress, Congressmen from the Republican Party (representing the current “Majority”) succeeded in excluding Congressmen from the Democratic Party (representing the current “Minority”) from all Senate and House Committees.”
In the same spirit, a Special Commission charged with the task of revising the National Assembly’s rules of procedure was also formed with no opposition member being represented (KI, 11 August 2004: “Concern about allocation of parliamentary commissions”).

European parliamentarians ask for suspension of cooperation agreements between the EU and Cambodia (1)
Members of the European Parliament Marco Panella and Emma Bonino have urged the European Commission to suspend the cooperation agreements between the European Union and Cambodia for not respecting the human rights clause. They “denounce the violation of the rights of Montagnard refugees [from Vietnam’s central highlands] to whom the Cambodian government doesn’t recognize the status of refugee”, and “the increasing antidemocratic drift of Cambodian institutions, [with Prime Minister Hun Sen threatening] to ban the Sam Rainsy Party, the only opposition voice in the whole country.”

Three European countries have suspended their assistance (2)
Over the past twelve months Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway have suspended their assistance to Cambodia. The official reason was the need to concentrate their aid on helping other poor countries where their assistance will have a bigger impact. In less diplomatic terms, the real reason is related to corruption and bad governance in Cambodia where the government is continuously postponing the implementation of reforms (KI, 3 June 2004: “UNDP recognizes poverty has increased over the last ten years”).

11 August 2004

Concern about allocation of parliamentary commissions (2)
The decision by the two ruling parties to exclude the opposition from all parliamentary commissions (KI, 10 August 2004: “CPP and Funcinpec take all commission positions at the National Assembly”) is causing concern on the part of the civil society, the diplomatic corps and all observers who make a distinction between “majority rule” and “majority dictatorship” and who understand that in any democracy the rights of the minority must be protected. Depriving the opposition of its legitimate rights in Parliament would be a serious setback for Cambodia’s democracy since the United Nations-organized elections in 1993 and would bode ill for any progress in the fight against corruption, good governance and poverty reduction (KI, 3 August 2004: “Hun Sen manages for the public to put the blame on Funcinpec for suppressing opposition’s rights”).    

Second anniversary of KI’s launch (1)
Khmer Intelligence was launched on 1^st August 2002. It has since continuously expanded its audience. Two years exactly after its launch KI website registered 208,285 visits (*). On a monthly basis, July 2004 saw a record number of visits: 16,524, or 533 per day on average. These visits were made during that month by 5,001 different “persons” or sites (**). As for visitors’ countries of origin (***), this information can be determined with certainty for about 30 percent only of the users, giving the following geographical breakdown:
- France (7.11 %).
- Australia (4.51 %).
- Cambodia (3.55 %).
- USA (3.54 %), including United States (with no further detail): 1.01 %; US Educational: 0.95 %; US Government: 0.81 %; US Military: 0.77 %.
- Canada (2.59 %).
- Japan (2.17 %).
- Non-Profit Organizations (1.61 %).
- Switzerland (0.88 %).
- New Zealand (0.60 %).
- Singapore (0.45 %).
- Germany (0.36 %).
- Thailand (0.31 %).
- Other countries (1.20 %): United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Indonesia, Italy, Sweden, East Timor, Norway, India, Mexico.
 

(*) Sites:  Each request made to the server comes from a unique 'site' (or person), which can be referenced by a name or ultimately, an IP address. The 'sites' number shows how many unique IP addresses made requests to the server during the reporting time period. This DOES NOT mean the number of unique individual users (real people) that visited, which is impossible to determine using just logs and the HTTP protocol (however, this number might be about as close as you will get).
 (**) Visits:  Whenever a request is made to the server from a given IP address (site), the amount of time since a previous request by the address is calculated (if any). If the time difference is greater than a pre-configured 'visit timeout' value (or has never made a request before), it is considered a 'new visit', and this total is incremented (both for the site, and the IP address).  The timeout value for our servers is 30 minutes, so if a user visits your site at 1:00 in the afternoon, and then returns at 3:00, two visits would be registered.
(***) Country: The country Statistics is shown in the form of a Pie Chart. This report displays in percentage the number of users from a particular country. This information is derived from the hostname of the visitor's computer when accessing your website.

10 August 2004

CPP and Funcinpec take all commission positions at the National Assembly (1)
At its yesterday’s meeting the National Assembly Standing Committee chaired by acting President Heng Samrin (CPP) confirmed, on the basis of “majority rule” as reflected in the composition of the newly formed 2-party government, the decision by the ruling CPP and its coalition partner Funcinpec to exclude the opposition SRP from all parliamentary commissions. In each of the 9 Assembly commissions made up of 7 members per commission, the CPP will appoint 4 members and Funcinpec 3. The CPP will hold the chairmanship of 5 commissions with the remaining 4 going to Funcinpec.
The Assembly is to meet again in plenary session on August 12 to approve the above allocation of parliamentary commission positions.
At the July 2003 legislative elections the CPP obtained 47 percent of the popular votes and 73 parliamentary seats, the SRP 22 percent of the votes and 24 seats, and Funcinpec 21 percent of the votes and 26 seats (KI, 12 August 2003: “A relative and questionable victory for the CPP”; KI, 19 August 2003: “A manipulated proportional representation system”).

Hun Sen uses different names to hide his money in foreign banks (3)
Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife Bun Rany have reportedly amassed not less than $1 billion over the last twenty years. They have opened bank accounts in Singapore, Australia, France and the USA under several different names including Hun Nal (Hun Sen’s original name at his birth) and Sam Bun Heang (Bun Rany’s original name at her birth).

8 August 2004

King says the promulgation of the recent constitutional amendment was fraudulent and illegal (1)
In a 25 July 2004 letter in French signed by Ruom Ritt (who is believed to be the nom de plume of King Norodom Sihanouk) and published in the latest edition of the King-sponsored Bulletin Mensuel de Documentation, the Monarch says that the “Addition to the Constitution” introducing the “Package Vote” and the “Vote By Raising Hands” was fraudulently and illegally promulgated by Nhiek Bun Chhay – who is referred to in the letter as the “number 4 acting Head of State” – “without prior consultation with the King” (KI, 13 July 2004: “Nhiek Bun Chhay cannot sign any law on behalf of the King”). The King blames Nhiek Bun Chhay for showing “impudence” by getting this “incredible” mention typed – next to his signature – in the “unconstitutional” Royal Decree: “By order of the King”.
The King’s opinion about political tricks performed recently by some Cambodian leaders is to further undermine the legitimacy of the newly formed Phnom Penh government. 

Hun Sen wants to visit the UK (3)
In search of international legitimacy following his controversial re-appointment as prime minister, Hun Sen has expressed the desire to make an official visit to the United Kingdom under the pretext of the inauguration of the new Cambodian embassy in London next December (KI, 13 June 2004: “Appointment of new ambassadors to the UK and the EU”). Similar requests by Hun Sen to be invited for official visits in Western countries, Australia and Japan have met negative responses.

7 August 2004 

Hun Sen to successively deal with three “enemies” (2)
CPP Vice-President and Prime Minister Hun Sen has devised a strategy to perpetuate his power by successively eliminating three persons who defy his power: Sam Rainsy, Chea Sim, and King Norodom Sihanouk. In order not to fight on several fronts at the same time Hun Sen has defined his targets in the following order:
1- Sam Rainsy is the first target because, as opposition leader, he is his declared “enemy”. All means will be used to achieve Hun Sen’s objective, from trumped-up charges leading to the prosecution and condemnation of SRP members by a complacent tribunal (KI, 6 August 2004: “Cheam Channy’s case reminiscent of Sok Yoeun’s”) to the physical elimination of opposition activists and leaders (the latest killing took place on August 3 with the assassination of SRP active member Lay Soeun in Pursat province).
2- CPP President Chea Sim and his supporters will come next. But for the next six months, while the first part of Hun Sen’s plan dealing with Sam Rainsy is being implemented, the unity of the ruling CPP must be preserved at least on the surface. The increasing tension associated with the elimination of the opposition will timely help ensure the required CPP’s unity and prevent Chea Sim from possibly joining hands with Sam Rainsy: Anybody in the CPP who entertains any kind of relation with the SRP will be considered a “traitor” and punished as such. Lately, Hun Sen has been striving to appease Chea Sim as evidenced by recent public shows of unity. Because of unexpected resistance he has postponed a plan to make Chea Sim “voluntarily” step down for “health reasons” (KI, 26 July 2004: “Chea Sim could be forced to resign next week”). After having dealt with Sam Rainsy before the end of this year, Hun Sen is expected to decisively turn and point his gun to Chea Sim forcing the current CPP President to effectively and definitively step down.
3- King Norodom Sihanouk, who has already been sidelined (KI, 13 May 2004: “CPP’s strategy and tactic”) will be completely neutralized and deprived of any serious possibility of action against Hun Sen once Sam Rainsy and Chea Sim are effectively eliminated. Hun Sen fears an alliance between King Norodom Sihanouk, Chea Sim and Sam Rainsy, whom he perceives as his most dangerous “enemies” because they can gather an overwhelming popular support against him. 

Prince Ranariddh sides with Hun Sen against his father (1)
While observers are watching the current political maneuvers in Cambodia (KI, 7 August 2004: « Hun Sen to successively deal with three “enemies” ») Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh has adopted a low profile by quietly staying in France for personal reasons for an indefinite period (KI, 3 August 2004: “Prince Ranariddh receiving extra cash”). By remaining silent while King Norodom Sihanouk has expressed his decision to abdicate the throne to protest what many observers call a constitutional coup, the Prince is siding with Hun Sen against his father the King.
In the deal they have recently concluded (KI, 13 March 2004: “Hun Sen will promise the throne to Prince Ranariddh”) Hun Sen has reportedly promised Prince Ranariddh that he would help him become the next King after the demise of his royal father in exchange for Funcinpec’s support for Hun Sen’s candidacy as Prime Minister. But the decision of King Norodom Sihanouk to give up the throne while he is still alive may jeopardize Ranariddh’s ambition because the royal succession issue will become more difficult to resolve.   

Prince Ranariddh hiding his money (3)
In order to prevent investigation by the French authorities into the source of the fortune he has recently amassed (KI, 3 August 2004: “Prince Ranariddh receiving extra cash”) Prince Norodom Ranariddh, a French national, has used different names in dealing with foreign banks and has set up shell companies with the assistance of relatives and friends such as Roland Eng (brother of Princess Marie Ranariddh), Xavier d'Abzac (husband of a sister of Princess Marie Ranariddh's), Kong Vibol (currently a Secretary of State at the Finance Ministry), Alain Dupuis (husband of Yary Meas, a cousin of Princess Marie Ranariddh's), Chanthol Sun (currently Minister of Public Woks, and a son-in-law of businessman Khao Chhuly, a close associate to infamous tycoon Theng Bunma), Gérard Maîtrepierre (a middleman in the French aeronautical industry who has helped Prince Ranariddh siphon off money from the now defunct national flag carrier Royal Air Cambodge).  

6 August 2004 

Political implications of the King’s decision not to return to Cambodia (2)
All parties are now assessing the political implications of King Norodom Sihanouk’s decision not to return to Cambodia before being allowed to abdicate. In his latest messages to the nation the King seems determined to give up the throne and makes it clear he will prolong his self-imposed exile until he is given assurances – e. g. in the form of a clarification of the Constitution – that he can legally and legitimately abdicate. The King’s decision definitely ushers Cambodia into unchartered waters.
The current Royal Cambodian Government formed in the wake of a controversial amendment to the Constitution – the “Package Vote” that has been disapproved by the King, criticized by independent legal experts and condemned by the civil society and the opposition – will see its legitimacy further undermined by the King’s decision to stop cooperating with the present regime.
The King’s decision could have far-reaching legal consequences because, following the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in 1991 when then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk played a central role, the 1993 Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia is centered around the person of the King described as the “symbol of the unity and continuity of the nation”, the “guarantor of Cambodia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity”, the “guarantor of Cambodia’s compliance with international treaties”, the “guarantor of the people’s rights and liberties”, the “guarantor of the independence of the Judiciary” (the King chairs the Supreme Council of Magistracy), the “supreme referee whose role is to ensure the regular functioning of the government”, the "supreme commander of the army", etc.
With the King being put aside, the Constitution is in fact largely suspended, leading Cambodia into an unprecedented situation.

Hun Sen’s attitude could lead to loss of government legitimacy (2)
Following the King’s decision to stay out of the country until his effective abdication to protest what many observers call a “constitutional coup” Prime Minister Hun Sen has resolutely adopted a confrontational attitude toward the Monarch. Instead of appeasing the King and trying to convince the King not to abdicate with a conciliatory plan to put things right, Hun Sen prefers to deny the right to decide for one’s own life to the King and to ignore his decision to abdicate (KI, 4 August 2004: “Hun Sen pretends to ignore King’s intention to abdicate”). The Prime Minister does not seem to realize that following his “constitutional coup” and his rejection of the King – who is a very popular monarch and the only Cambodian figure to enjoy unanimous respect on the part of the international community including many world leaders – it would be difficult for the current Cambodian government to preserve its international legitimacy and continue to benefit from a massive international assistance.  

Cheam Channy’s case reminiscent of Sok Yoeun’s (2)
As confirmed by The Cambodia Daily dated August 4 « The Military Court has charged an organizer of the opposition party’s “shadow ministry” of defense, or Committee No 14, with raising an illegal armed force (...). This week’s charges were pressed against Khom Piseth, a deputy to Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker and Committee No 14 chief Cheam Channy ».
The well-known “legal” procedure Prime Minister Hun Sen uses when attempting to eliminate prominent SRP opponents is the following:
1- Produce a suspect on the basis of evidence fabricated by the Military Intelligence Department led by General Mol Roeup.
2- Push the Military Court, which is known to be a political tool for the regime, to issue an arrest warrant.
3- Arrest the suspect and force him to make “confessions” implicating some higher ranking opposition members.
4- Get those more prominent SRP members arrested and force them to make another series of “confessions” implicating some of the top ranking opposition officials – the ultimate target being opposition leader Sam Rainsy.
For the ongoing accusation against the SRP, stages 1 and 2 of the procedure have been completed. It is reminiscent of Srun Vong Vannak’s case in 1996-1997 and Sok Yoeun’s in 1998-2004. For Srun Vong Vannak, the procedure stopped at stage 3 because the “suspect” bravely resisted all sorts of pressure to make false confessions. Regarding Sok Yoeun the procedure stopped at stage 2 after the “suspect” had fled to Thailand where he was detained until earlier this year pending a decision by the Thai Court regarding a request by the Hun Sen government to have Sok Yoeun extradited to Cambodia. Thanks to international pressure the request was rejected and Sok Yoeun and his family are now living in Finland.   

4 August 2004

Sam Rainsy suggests that the three parties strive together to avert King’s abdication (1)
As a reaction to King Norodom Sihanouk’s intention to abdicate SRP President Sam Rainsy yesterday wrote to CPP President Chea Sim and Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh suggesting that the three party presidents request an audience with the King -- currently in Beijing -- in order to listen to the monarch’s grievances and try to address them so as to prevent his abdication, which could create a “most serious political, institutional and national crisis”.
See original letters in Khmer and related statement in English at www.samrainsyparty.org

Hun Sen pretends to ignore King’s intention to abdicate (1)
In an apparent response to Sam Rainsy’s yesterday’s proposal Prime Minister Hun Sen declared today that he prefers to ignore the King’s intention to abdicate because “there is no provision in the Constitution dealing with abdication”, implicitly suggesting that the King has no right to abdicate. Actually Hun Sen is extremely nervous about a possible royal abdication, which would give the “future former King” Norodom Sihanouk more freedom and the possibility of becoming the soul of a new and overwhelming political movement (KI, 17 July 2004: “Hun Sen worried by King’s determination to abdicate”).

King wishes to have a successor who is “clean and gentle” (1)
King Norodom Sihanouk today wrote a letter to Sam Rainsy thanking him for his yesterday’s initiative but said he would not change his mind regarding his decision to abdicate. Referring to Sam Rainsy’s August 3 letter to Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the King said he wishes to have a successor who is “clean [non-corrupt] and gentle” and who will “strive to serve the country and the nation” so as to “make the people happy”. “Therefore, our country will run no risk of instability and will not face any crisis.”
See King’s original letter in Khmer at http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%2004/aout/0408txt3.htm

3 August 2004

Fear of arrest has subsided for opposition members (1)
Amid rumors of a possible arrest linked to an alleged plot to overthrow the government, opposition leader Sam Rainsy arrived in Phnom Penh yesterday without any incident. When asked whether he fears for his security, Sam Rainsy -- who attended the Democratic National Convention in Boston last week -- quoted a passage from John Kerry’s acceptance speech: “The future doesn’t belong to fear; it belongs to freedom.”   

Sam Rainsy denies Alliance presidency to Prince Ranariddh (1)
Upon his return to Phnom Penh yesterday SRP president Sam Rainsy declared he ceased to recognize Prince Norodom Ranariddh as president of the Alliance of Democrats because the latter “has betrayed the Alliance’s ideals”. However, according to Sam Rainsy, the Alliance continues to operate “at the grassroots level” with Funcinpec and SRP supporters continuing to cooperate for the “patriotic and democratic cause” in order to beat the CPP at the next elections (KI, 21 July 2004: “Alliance of Democrats still exists”).

Accelerating inflation (1)
Retail prices, especially for staples, have been sharply increasing over the past few months. Statistics published daily in the pro-CPP newspapers Koh Santepheap show the following price increases from January 1 to August 2, 2004:
- Beef: + 15%
- Chicken: + 18%
- Eggs: + 56%
- Fresh fish (trei ros): + 55%
- Fish paste (prohok): + 160%
During the same period of time most wages, salaries and revenues have shown no increase, which results in a drastic deterioration in the people’s living conditions. The increase in the prices of fresh fish and fish paste is particularly alarming since fish represents 70% of proteins in the ordinary Cambodian’s diet (KI, 23 May 2004: “Food shortage looming”).

Prince Ranariddh receiving extra cash (2)
In addition to the $30 million he received from Ly Yong Phat last June (KI, 6 July 2004: “Australian authorities investigate pro-CPP businessman Ly Yong Phat”) Prince Norodom Ranariddh has more recently received an additional $10 million from Ms Phou (KI, 11 October 2003: “Ms. Phou, Cambodia’s richest lady”) and another $10 million from another business tycoon named Ung Bun Heuv (whom Hun Sen has given the right to collect tolls for the use of National Road # 4) in exchange for Funcinpec’s cooperation with the CPP. Ranariddh is currently in France placing his money in different banks under different names.

Hun Sen manages for the public to put the blame on Funcinpec for suppressing opposition’s rights (2)
According to today’s Cambodia Daily “Prime Minister Hun Sen announced [yesterday] that he will allow the Sam Rainsy Party to join the National Assembly’s legislative commissions, an offer that could elevate the opposition party’s power within parliament. Hun Sen said his ruling CPP will not object to giving commission positions to the SRP, as long as Prince Norodom Ranariddh, president of Funcinpec and the Assembly, agrees to such a proposal (...). He said the opposition party would have to contact the prince directly.” Actually Hun Sen has given secret instructions to Ranariddh to eventually exclude the opposition from all commission positions, fearing SRP attacks denouncing government corruption and other abuses. Ranariddh is too happy to keep all the positions grabbed by Funcinpec for his followers but he doesn’t seem to realize that he will receive all the blame from the public for violating democratic principles regarding the rights of the minority in parliament.

170,000 Cambodian illegal workers in Thailand now registered (1)
Some 170,000 Cambodians working illegally in Thailand were part of a group of 1.2 million foreigners who have come forward to register recently with the authorities. By doing so they have taken advantage of the July 31, 2004 deadline for registration, which would give them legal status and some state benefits such as health care. From this point of view their living conditions are likely to be far better that those prevailing in Cambodia.      

29 July 2004

Hun Sen's police did not arrest any SRP member this morning (2)
Under Prime Minister Hun Sen's order the police came this morning to the Sam Rainsy Party headquarters in Phnom Penh to arrest alleged members of an opposition militant group accused of attempting to overthrow the government, but found nobody with names corresponding to the suspects the authorities were looking for. Some SRP members who had come to hide at the party headquarters reportedly left their temporary refuge last night.

NDI asks for the protection of opposition members (1)
The Washington-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) issued today an appeal calling for "urgent action to protect Cambodian political leaders". NDI is affiliated with the Democratic Party, which is currently holding its National Convention in Boston. Cambodian parliamentarians Sam Rainsy and Tioulong Saumura and former Minister of Women Affairs Mu Sochua have been attending the Boston Convention as guests of the NDI-sponsored International Leaders Forum. The NDI statement signed by Chairwoman Madeleine K. Albright [a former Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton] and President Kenneth Wollack, expresses "concern over threats made against the Sam Rainsy Party in Cambodia" by Prime Minister Hun Sen. It denounces "an attempt to stamp out one of the few alternatives to the ruling party" and the absence of "an independent judicial system that can professionally investigate allegations of wrongdoing and fairly protect the rights of its citizens". It calls on "all political leaders in Cambodia to respect a peaceful political process and to promote the full exercise of human rights", and on "members of the international community to monitor closely the events in Cambodia".
See original text at http://www.ndi.org/worldwide/asia/cambodia/statements/statement_rainsy_072804.asp

27 July 2004

King decides to indefinitely postpone his return (1)
In a 4-page message in Khmer sent today to the nation King Norodom Sihanouk announced that he had decided to indefinitely postpone his return because he is not happy with the current political situation in Cambodia. He confirmed his intention to abdicate and said he would do so when the Buddhist Supreme Patriarch(es) agree(s) to his decision. When such a “permission” is granted, he will return to Cambodia, effectively abdicate, and stay in the country with his “beloved people” until his death.
In a July 26 text hand-written in French and also posted on his Web site, the King deplored the recently adopted, controversial “Addition to the Constitution” introducing the “Package Vote” and the “Vote by Raising Hands”.

No foreign government or leader has congratulated Hun Sen (2)
Since the new Cambodian government was controversially formed on July 15, no foreign government or leader has sent any message of congratulations to re-elected Prime Minister Hun Sen, with only one exception from communist Vietnam’s leadership.

26 July 2004

Chea Sim could be forced to resign next week (3)
CPP President Chea Sim could be forced by the Hun Sen faction to resign from the ruling party’s chairmanship possibly next week. Health reasons would be put forward as the official reason for the resignation. Heng Samrin, now Honorary President, would be the new CPP President. However, Chea Sim will remain President of the Senate.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader warns Hun Sen (1)
In a floor statement on July 22, Senator Bill Frist, Majority Leader at the U.S. Senate, commented in the following terms the accusations and threats made recently by Hun Sen against the SRP: “[On July 18] Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen delivered nationally-televised speech accusing democratic opposition party leader Sam Rainsy and his fellow parliamentarians of organizing an armed insurgency to overthrow the government (...). These allegations appear designed to intimidate the democratic opposition. We should all be disturbed by rhetoric which appears designed to subvert democracy by threats and intimidation. The international community has a great interest in ensuring that Cambodia’s fragile progress towards democracy continues. Cambodia has paid too high a price under authoritarian rule in the past. We cannot and will not accept the use of fear as an instrument of the State. Cambodia has made commitments to the international community to respect human rights, preserve the rule of law, and uphold democracy. I call upon the international community to watch these events carefully.”

25 July 2004

Hun Sen plans to prevent the King from coming back to Cambodia (2)
Newly reelected Prime Minister Hun Sen is going to implement a plan to strengthen and perpetuate his power, which immediately consists in preventing King Norodom Sihanouk from coming back to Cambodia -- especially if the latter confirms his intention to abdicate -- and arresting opposition leader Sam Rainsy upon his return from the USA.

Hun Sen rejects King's advice (1)
On July 23 King Norodom Sihanouk wrote to Hun Sen asking him to stop the prosecution of a group of Sam Rainsy Party members accused of "organizing an army in order to overthrow the government". The King said in his letter that he did not believe the "small group" in question had the means of mounting such a plan, joining the opinion of independent observers who consider the government accusation as trumped-up charges intended to suppress the opposition. In his July 24 response to the King, Hun Sen said that, while granting "pardon to those who have already confessed their crimes", he would let the Court proceed with the prosecution of the "ring leaders".

Sam Rainsy meets with U.S. Congressmen (1)
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy on July 22 met with U.S. Senator John McCain and House Representatives Dana Rohrabacher and Steve Chabot. He also had discussions with the staff of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. The following day he met with officials from the State Department. Senator McCain issued on July 23 a statement warning Hun Sen to ensure the safety and respect the political rights of Cambodian opposition leaders.

23 July 2004

Hun Sen threatened to kill Chea Sim (2)
After Hok Lundy’s police forces had surrounded Chea Sim’s house in the early hours of July 13 under Hun Sen’s order, Army Head of Staff Ker Kim Yan – who is loyal to Chea Sim – ordered troops under his command to clear the area where is located Chea Sim’s house in Phnom Penh’s Chamcar Mon district so as to free the CPP president. But Ker Kim Yan had to cancel his order after Hun Sen threatened to kill Chea Sim if the army was effectively sent out to crack down on the police.
Chea Sim returned to Cambodia yesterday after a nine-day "exile" in Thailand, which allowed him to avoid signing a controversial "Addition to the Constitution" allowing Hun Sen to illegally stay in power.

21 July 2004 

King worried about possible coup (2)
Denying allegations that a coup d’état actually took place on July 13 when CPP President and acting Head of State Chea Sim was abruptly escorted out of the county by the police, a high ranking CPP official was quoted as saying in a recent article in The Cambodia Daily : “If there was a coup d’état, it would not be like this. There would be soldiers and guns and disorder”. In an annotation in the margin of the article King Norodom Sihanouk wrote today: “Could this happen to me one day in Cambodia?”
See original text at http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%2004/juillet/2107txt1.htm

No elected representative from the opposition has defected (2)
As of today, no elected representative from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party has defected to the government. Except former party-appointed Senator Ou Bun Long -- who is now one among the 135 recently appointed Secretaries of State in the new government, no prominent opposition figure has changed side. Funcinpec attempts to lure SRP officials with a number of Under-Secretary of State positions have apparently failed: the official list of 146 Under-Secretaries of State published today contains no SRP defector.

Alliance of Democrats still exists (2)  
Even though Funcinpec and the Sam Rainsy Party did not respect their commitments to “always stay together -- whether in or out of the government”, the Alliance of Democrats that the two parties forged in the wake of the July 2003 elections, has not been dissolved. Both Funcinpec and the SRP have their respective reasons for maintaining the fiction that the Alliance still exists.
- For Funcinpec, a formal dissolution of the Alliance would point to Prince Norodom Ranariddh’s “venality”, “duplicity” and “betrayal” as the cause for the collapse of an undertaking that has gained much popular support.
- For the SRP, maintaining and promoting the “concept” or “ideal” of an alliance between “all patriots and democrats opposed to the authoritarian and corrupt CPP” will supposedly encourage Funcinpec grassroots supporters who feel disgruntled about Prince Ranariddh’s subservience to Hun Sen to eventually vote for the opposition in 2008 as many did in 2003 and 1998.       

20 July 2004

Chea Sim still in Thailand (2)
CPP President Chea Sim, who was forced to leave Cambodia on July 13, is still in Thailand allegedly for medical reasons. He is expected to return to Cambodia in the next few days at a time when his fate and status in the near future remains uncertain. In spite of reassurances given by Hun Sen supporters trying to downplay internal divisions within the ruling former communist party, purges of pro-Chea Sim elements are likely to take place following the revealing July 13 incident.

Sam Rainsy to attend U.S. Democratic Party Convention (2)
After spending a few days in France opposition leader Sam Rainsy will be this week in the U.S.A. to meet with American officials and Cambodian supporters and attend the Democratic Party Convention in Boston on July 26-29. His ten-day visit will include stops in Washington D.C., Atlanta (Georgia), Jacksonville (Florida), Lowell (Massachusetts), Stockton and Long Beach (California). He is expected to be back in Cambodia on August 2.

NGOs have taken up most social functions traditionally performed by the State (2)
According to the World Bank, the Cambodian government spent only $ 38 million for the people’s welfare in 2003 while non government organizations and foreign donors disbursed about $ 500 million to alleviate the effects of poverty and provide a minimum of social services. Therefore, in all social areas, foreign NGOs have virtually replaced the Cambodian State whose leaders are too preoccupied with corruption and the exploitation of the country’s riches for their own benefit. This raises the question of how to respond to a corrupt government that takes its own people as hostage and blackmails the international community by saying: "Either you continue to help Cambodia -- and in the process, let us indulge in corruption -- or you will be held responsible for the death of the miserable Cambodian people deprived of any assistance."

19 July 2004

Price list for government positions (2)
Until the last day before the formation of the new government on July 15, many government positions on the Funcinpec quota were on sale at the following prices:
- Minister: $ 200,000.
- Secretary of State: $ 100,000.
- Under Secretary of State: $ 50,000.
With 12 minister or co-minister positions, 52 secretary of state positions and 54 under secretary of state positions to allocate on a more or less commercial basis, Prince Norodom Ranariddh and his entourage might have collected up to $ 10.3 million. This estimate has a margin of error of less than 10 percent.
Besides their lack of competence and work inefficiency once in office, the main problem with those government officials who have secured their positions through bribery is the necessity for them to recoup their “investment” by requiring bribes from the public they are supposed to serve, thus perpetuating and compounding the vicious circle of corruption.

18 July 2004

Hun Sen threatens to arrest Sam Rainsy (1)
In a public speech made this morning in Phnom Penh at a ceremony to inaugurate Prince Norodom Sirivudh as Co-Minister of Interior, Prime Minister Hun Sen accused the opposition SRP of secretly running an “illegal army on the model of the CFF” (Cambodian Freedom Fighters). He said that, on the basis of “serious evidence”, he planned to lift Sam Rainsy’s parliamentary immunity and arrest the opposition leader.

17 July 2004 

Hun Sen worried by King’s determination to abdicate (2)
Hun Sen and -- to a lesser extent -- Prince Ranariddh are extremely worried by King Norodom Sihanouk’s determination to renounce the throne. Such a move would seriously jeopardize their power-sharing scheme that is being implemented following the widely criticized “package vote” by the National Assembly on July 15 (please click OPINION).
In a July 14 letter to former Constitutional Council member Say Bory, who had drawn his attention to “Cambodia sliding into disaster”, the King wrote: « I have no power and no means of redressing [the situation] or saving [our country]. (...) The only thing that I can do is to abdicate. But I don’t want to abdicate while I am abroad. After my abdication, I will not stay abroad since I want to stay with [my beloved people in Cambodia]. In August or September 2004 I will have to go through medical checkups and undergo medical treatment in Beijing, in the People’s Republic of China, because I have a number of [health] problems. »
To see the King’s original letter in Khmer, please click http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%2004/juillet/1507txt3.htm 

SRP official declines government position offered by Funcinpec (2)
Today SRP spokesman Ung Bun-Ang, a professional business consultant and a MBA graduate from Queensland/Australia University, declined an Under Secretary of State position at the Ministry of Information offered by Prince Ranariddh's Funcinpec in an attempt to entice defections from the SRP.

16 July 2004

(5:00 pm Phnom Penh time)

King refuses to meet with Hun Sen and Ranariddh (1)
On July 15 Hun Sen and Prince Ranariddh, immediately after being elected by the National Assembly to their respective positions, jointly wrote to King Norodom Sihanouk asking permission to visit the Monarch in Pyongyang in order to “inform” him about the latest developments in Cambodia.
Today the King responded to the two political leaders in the following terms:
“I ask you to kindly not come at this moment to meet with me outside our country because:
1- I have followed the political situation and all the problems in Cambodia, and am already aware of all aspects [of the situation]; therefore there is no need to inform me about anything.
2- Samdech Chea Sim is still facing serious problems.
3- I hope that my health problems will allow me to return to the Motherland [sometime] in the future.”
The original letter in Khmer is expected to be posted soon on the King’s Web site: http://www.norodomsihanouk.info/mes%2004/juillet.htm

Sam Rainsy holds a meeting in Paris (1)
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, on his way to the USA, will hold a meeting in Paris this coming Sunday, July 18, on the theme: "New deal in Cambodian politics : Respective positions of King Norodom Sihanouk, Chea Sim and Sam Rainsy versus the Hun Sen-Ranariddh duo".
For more information, please click ANNOUNCEMENTS

15 July 2004

(9:00 am Phnom Penh time)

Hun Sen threatens the King (2)
CPP candidate from prime minister Hun Sen has very recently threatened King Norodom Sihanouk by asserting that if the latter blocks the process based on the "package vote" aimed at his effective appointment as Prime Minister, he will prevent the King and the Queen from returning to Cambodia and he will proclaim Cambodia a Republic.
Royal Palace Minister Kong Sam Ol has been charged with delivering the warning message to the Monarch in Pyongyang.
In a Royal Decree issued yesterday (July 14) King Sihanouk designated Hun Sen as Cambodia's Prime Minister pending a vote of confidence by the National Assembly, which is to meet today at 9:00 am.

(8:00 am Phnom Penh time)

95 MPs will attend this morning's parliamentary session (2)
Thanks to the CPP's effort to find out the whereabouts of their National Assembly members who had gone into hiding and to convince them by all means to attend this morning's parliamentary session starting at 9:00 am, a total of 95 Members of Parliament will be present:
- 71 MPs from the CPP (will be absent: Chea Sim and Sim Ka, both of them being currently in Bangkok);
- 24 MPs from Funcinpec (will be absent: Norodom Vacheara and Khek Vandy, both of them being seriously ill in Paris and Phnom Penh respectively);
-  0 MP from the SRP (the opposition party is boycotting the session, which they consider illegal).
Therefore, with 95 MPs attending, the quorum (87) will be reached.
All CPP MPs have been warned that if they don't attend, they will be replaced with not-yet-declared-elected candidates on the CPP lists of candidates at the 2003 elections.
Subsequent note: Sim Ka managed, at the last minute, to also join the meeting, bringing the number of attending MPs to 96.

14 July 2004

(4:00 pm Phnom Penh time)

Prince Ranariddh not concerned by fall in popularity (2)
Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh does not feel concerned by the continuous fall in popularity for his "royalist" party because Hun Sen has assured him -- in a secret clause of their 30 June 2004 Cooperation Agreement -- that the CPP will help "arrange" (meaning "steal") votes for Funcinpec in all forthcoming elections so that Funcinpec will not disappear from Cambodia's political scene and remain a loyal partner to the CPP while indulging in corruption with total impunity.

(11:00 am Phnom Penh time)

Parliamentarians will be escorted by the police (2)
Parliamentarians today found in their letter box at the National Assembly an invitation to attend a special parliamentary session tomorrow (July 15) intended to simultaneously elect -- by a public show of hands -- the leadership of both the legislative and the executive branches of the government ("package vote").
Following hectic events in the last few days (refusal by the King to endorse the unconstitutional move; similar refusal by Acting Head of State and CPP President Chea Sim, who was forced to leave the country yesterday), many National Assembly members have gone into hiding. They include all the opposition SRP parliamentarians, but also a number of CPP parliamentarians loyal to Chea Sim.
Because of a probable lack of quorum (a minimum of 87 parliamentarians must attend for any session to be valid) the police has been required to find out the whereabouts of all parliamentarians present in the country and to escort them -- even against their will -- to the National Assembly. Tomorrow' s session will be closely monitored by political observers and human rights groups.

13 July 2004

(11:00 pm Phnom Penh time)

Nhiek Bun Chhay cannot sign any law on behalf of the King (2)
This morning Nhiek Bun Chhay signed the law on the "package vote" on behalf of the King. Actually he has no right to do so because:
1- The right to promulgate the concerned law was given by the King -- in writing -- to Chea Sim only in his capacity as Acting Head of State. The right to promulgate any law on behalf of the King is given
to the Acting Head of State on a personal basis (intuitu personae) and on a case by case basis.
2- In behaving as Acting Head of State, Nhiek Bun Chhay did not respect the hierarchy as specified in the Constitution (Article 11). To temporarily replace the King, there are successively -- in that order -- the President of the Senate (Chea Sim), the President of the National Assembly (not yet elected), the First Vice-President of the Senate (Sisowath Chivoan Monirak), the First Vice-President of the National Assembly (not yet elected), the Second Vice-President of the Senate (Nhiek Bun Chhay), the Second Vice-President of the National Assembly (not yet elected). This morning Nhiek Bun Chhay unduly jumped from number 5 to number 1 position.

(5:00 pm Phnom Penh time)

Chea Sim was forced to leave the country (2)
Chea Sim did not leave Phnom Penh this morning on his own accord. After he had refused until yesterday to endorse the controversial constitutional amendment on the "package vote", Hun Sen's henchmen wanted to send him into exile last night, but he negotiated to leave the country only this morning. He was accompanied in his trip to Thailand by National Police Director Hok Lundy and five other police officers. According to a reliable source Vietnam has recently sent into Cambodia about 500 intelligence officers.

Some 20 CPP National Assembly members have gone into hiding (2)
At least 20 CPP National Assembly members who support Chea Sim versus Hun Sen, went into hiding this morning. The National Assembly (N.A.) will therefore not be able to convene according to Hun Sen's plan due to a lack of quorum. At least 87 parliamentarians must attend any session.

(1:00 pm Phnom Penh time)

Chea Sim has left Cambodia (2)
Acting Head of State and CPP President Chea Sim left Cambodia this morning for Thailand for "medical treatment".

(11:30 am Phnom Penh time)

Hun Sen asks Nhiek Bun Chhay to sign promulgating decree (2)
Because Acting Head of State and CPP President Chea Sim refuses to endorse with his signature the constitutional provision on the "package vote", Hun Sen this morning asked Senate Second Vice-President Nhiek Bun Chhay (Funcinpec) -- and the latter accepted -- to sign the new law.
Like Senate President Chea Sim, Senate First Vice-President Sisowath Chivoan Monirak (Funcinpec) is apparently absent or unwilling to comply with Hun Sen's controversial scheme, which is supported only by Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh. 

(11:00 am Phnom Penh time)

Hun Sen trying to arrest Chea Sim (2)
Since early this morning, at around 1.00 am, hundreds of policemen have surrounded Chea Sim's house in Phnom Penh. Hun Sen is apparently trying to force Chea Sim to sign off on the controversial addition to the Constitution allowing the "package vote". Chea Sim, in his capacity as Acting Head of State, had very recently expressed his refusal to sign the promulgating decree, after having taken into account the opinion of King Norodom Sihanouk. Hun Sen is trying to arrest -- or at least intimidate -- Chea Sim in what looks like a coup within the CPP. Chea Sim had reportedly gone into hiding before his house was surrounded.

11 July 2004

King's refusal to sign constitutional amendment can have far-reaching consequences (2)
The King's refusal to sign the amendment to the Constitution allowing the "package vote" (KI, 10 July 2004: « King will not sign controversial constitutional amendment on "package vote" ») can have far-reaching consequences. In the past, there have been two similar cases: In 1994 when the King refused to sign the "Law Outlawing the Khmer Rouge", and in 1997 when the King refused to endorse the new government with Ung Huot as "First Prime Minister" following the July 5-6 coup d'état staged by Hun Sen. In both cases, Acting Head of State Chea Sim signed on behalf of the King, without any explicit opinion being issued by the Monarch.
This time, however, regarding the controversial constitutional amendment the King has expressed strong reservations, indicating that Chea Sim could "sign or not sign, according to his conscience", and explicitly giving the opinion that the decision should be made by the Cambodian people through a popular referendum.

10 July 2004

King will not sign controversial constitutional amendment on "package vote" (1)
In his today's response to Kem Sokha, Director of the Cambodia Center for Human Rights, who had requested him not to sign the recently adopted and much criticized amendment to the Constitution
allowing the "package vote" associated with a public show of hands by Members of Parliament (KI, 29 June 2004: "A coup against the King"), King Norodom Sihanouk said he would not sign -- meaning endorse -- the controversial constitutional provision. He specified he would give the right to Acting Head of State (and CPP President) Chea Sim "to sign or not to sign" the promulgating decree "according to his conscience". More importantly, the Monarch said that a popular referendum should be organized on this most serious issue.

8 July 2004

CPP's conflicting explanations (1)
The “additional provision to the Constitution” allowing the “package vote” (KI, 29 June 2004: “A coup against the King”) was quickly and unanimously adopted this morning by the 96 CPP and Funcinpec National Assembly members present without any discussion, by a public show of hands.
The CPP justified the absence of any debate preceding the vote by the fact that 75 year-old Chea Soth (CPP), the oldest Assembly member who presided over this morning's session, had no right to allow any debate to take place because he could not act like the to-be-elected official Speaker. This explanation derives from Article 2 of the Assembly Internal Rules.
But in order to claim conformity with Article 151 of the Const