UN to Launch Labor Rights Contest For Garment Workers

Thursday, 24 December 2009 04:21 DAP-NEWS

(CAAI News Media)

Garment workers in Cambodia will have to know their rights to compete in a radio contest being launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO), with the winners to be announced on International Labour Day in May next year, the press release from the UN obtained on Wednesday said.

“The competition is organized by the ILO’s ‘Better Factories Cambodia’ project which, with support from the Govern-ment of Cambodia, monitors and strives to improve the conditions in Cambodian garment factories. “The basis of a sound industrial relation system, which is a key ingredient of healthy and sustained economic growth, is set in a wide understanding of the labour law and the institutions that implement it,” said Catherine Vaillancourt-Laflamme, Training Specialist for Better Factories Cambodia.

“With this garment workers’ competition, Better Factories Cambodia wants to increase the knowledge that Cambo- dian workers have of the labour law, while promoting the importance, for workers, workers representatives and employers, of respecting the national legal framework, especially in times of economic hardship,” she added.

The competition is open for free to all current and former garment workers who apply before the January 22 deadline. Twelve finalists will be selected to debate with one another in front of a panel of judges during a live radio broadcast on February 20.

The three winners will be announced on the International Labour Day, observed on May 1 2010. Cash prizes will be awarded to the first, second, and third-place winners.

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No Thai troop withdrawal from contested Si Sa Ket border zone: PM Abhisit

via CAAI

BANGKOK, Dec 1 - Thai troops stationed at the Thai-Cambodian border in Si Sa Ket province will not be withdrawn when Cambodia reopens the border gate to the 11th century Preah Vihear temple this weekend, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Wednesday.

Mr Abhisit said the number of soldiers stationed at the border will remain the same and as he has clearly stated that troop withdrawal is impossible if Cambodian communities, markets and temples remain in the disputed 4.6 sq km area.

Initial reports that some Khmer communities and markets had already moved from the area, but their temples have not yet been relocated, he said, adding that the Thai authorities were to verify the report.

If the problem of the establishment of Cambodian-populated communities, markets and temples remain unsolved, Thai soldiers would stay there until Cambodia has clearly shown that they abide by the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2000 on border demarcation, he said.

"The military may consider adjustment of troops, but no withdrawal," he said.

Mr Abhisit said the move out by Cambodian communities and markets was considered a good step but the temple still there and further talks must be conducted as previous talks have proved helpful in solving problems.

The Thai premier said the government would strictly observe the ruling of the International Court of Justice and wanted all parties to observe the 2000 MoU.

Signed during the Democrat-led administration under the prime minister Chuan Leekpai, the MoU established ground rules for discussing land boundaries between the two countries. It means that neither country is allowed to use disputed territories until border demarcation is finished.

Thailand and Cambodia have been at loggerheads over Preah Vihear since the World Heritage Committee added it to the World Heritage List of 2008. The listing has nothing to do with the boundaries, but Thailand feared Cambodia would use the disputed areas adjacent to the temple as a buffer zone, particularly the 4.6 square metre area which is claimed by both countries.

Since the conflict started, there has been a military standoff, on and off, along the two countries' border and several military clashes recorded limited casualties on both sides.

The International Court of Justice on June 15, 1962 ruled in favour of the Cambodians, saying Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia.

However, relations between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai prime minister Abhisit appear to have improved in recent months following a series of meetings held on the sidelines of international and regional summits.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Monday quoting Cambodian general Chea Tara, deputy commander-in-chief who oversees troop operations at the 11th century Preah Vihear site as saying that Khmer and Thai troops were working "on a good solution to resolve the problems along the border" and he hoped that the gate will be open very soon.

Cambodia closed the gate after Thai protesters rallied near the ruins in June 2008, but, according to the French news agency, an official at the Preah Vihear authority, a government-run agency managing the temple, said there is a plan to open the gate on Sunday. (MCOT online news)

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Centrist’ Asian Parties Establish Peace Commission

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Mushahid Hussain Sayed of Pakistan, secretary-general of Centrist Democrats International Asia Pacific, right, confers with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, center left, during a signing ceremony in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, Wednesday. (Photo: AP)

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Wednesday, 01 December 2010

It will “promote an environment of peace, stability and security in Asia by initiating and supporting negotiation and dialogue in various hot spots in the region”

Political party representatives of nearly 40 Asian countries signed an accord in Phnom Penh Wednesday to establish a commission to deal with regional security and global stability issues.

The accord was the result of the fourth meeting of a grouping called Centrist Asia Pacific Democrats International. The CAPDI is part of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties, which is made up of 300 members.

The so-called CAPDI Peace Commission will “promote an environment of peace, stability and security in Asia by initiating and supporting negotiation and dialogue in various hot spots in the region,” said Mushahid Hussain Sayed, secretary-general of the Pakistan Muslim League and of ICAPP.

CAPDI, which includes political parties from China, North Korea, South Korea, Indonesia, Russia, claims to support a peaceful resolution of Iran’s nuclear build-up and disputes on the Korean peninsula, along with peace and stability in Afghanistan.

The group also aims to prevent violence and terrorism and rejects “extremist” politics.

The establishment of the Peace Commission comes amid growing tension between the two Koreas, growing international concern over Iran’s nuclear program and an ongoing US war in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said the Cambodian People’s Party wished to participate in CAPDI “to deal with problems in different countries as well as the region.”

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Bon Phkar and Memorial Service for Koh Pich Victims at the Canley Vale Khmer Temple (Wat Dhamma Samaki), Syndey

On 28 November 2010, during his visit to Sydney, Australia, opposition leader Sam Rainsy attended a Bon Phkar (Flower ceremony), as well as a Memorial Service for the victims of the Koh Pich Stampede at Wat Dhamma Samaki (Canley Vale Khmer Temple).

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cambodai new

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What a Prime Minister we have!

Yesterday Hoon Xen had clearly said that no one to be blamed and punished from stampede accident that occurred on Monday last week in the country. In other word, he blamed the crowd themselves for this tragedy.

With this, he proves us right that his tear is a crocodile tear.

Our people and country deserve to have a better PM. He is not worth to lead us and our nation for he is just a Hanoi´s slave.

I hope you will act like a real strong man and RESIGN Mr. Hoon Xen!

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CAAI Condolence messages

Dearest Compatriots,

We was saddened to learn about the tragic stampede that has occurred in Phnom Penh, causing great loss of life in the wake of what should have been a joyous celebration. On behalf of the Cambodian People in New Zealand, We would like to convey our deepest condolences to victims of stampede. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the families of those who have perished or been injured.

Please accept our deepest sympathies

CAAI's Team

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Cambodia stampede leaves hundreds dead

Cambodian Military Police move the bodies of the stampede victims to a truck in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 23, 2010. At least 339 people were killed in a stampede on Monday night as millions of Cambodians celebrated the annual water festival in the capital Phnom Penh, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on state TV early Tuesday. The accident took place on a bridge that connects the city with the Diamond Island which has became the center of celebrations. (Xinhua/Phearum)

A body is carried from an ambulance to a hospital in Phnom Penh November 23, 2010. REUTERS/ Chor Sokunthea

A stampede victim is carried to safety in Phnom Penh November 23, 2010. A stampede on a bridge in Cambodia's capital killed at least 339 people lateon Monday and wounded nearly as many after thousands panicked on the last day of a water festival, authorities and state media said.« Read less REUTERS/ Stringer

A stampede victim is carried to safety in Phnom Penh November 23, 2010. A stampede on a bridge in Cambodia's capital killed at least 339 people lateon Monday and wounded nearly as many after thousands panicked on the last day of a water festival, authorities and state media said.« Read less REUTERS/ Chor Sokunthea

Cambodian military police carry a body near a bridge in Phnom Penh. A stampede in the Cambodian capital has left more than 340 people dead and hundredsinjured after panic erupted at a water festival that had attracted millions of revellers.« Read less (AFP/File/Tang Chhin Sothy)

Cambodian police officials examine the bridge where at least 330 people died in a stampede in Phnom Penh. A stampede in the Cambodian capital has leftmore than 340 people dead and hundreds injured after panic erupted at a water festival that had attracted millions of revellers.« Read less (AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)

Cambodian victims lay on the ground with help from their relatives next to the suspended bridge in Phnom Penh. A stampede in the Cambodian capital hasleft more than 340 people dead and hundreds injured after panic erupted at a water festival that had attracted millions of revellers.« Read less (AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)

Victims of a stampede receive medical treatment at a hospital in Phnom Penh November 23, 2010. At least 180 people were killed in a stampede on a bridgeduring a water festival in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, the country's prime minister said on television on Tuesday. REUTERS/ Chor Sokunthea

Military police examine a bridge where a stampede took place in Phnom Penh November 23, 2010. At least 180 people were killed in the stampede on the bridgeduring a water festival in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, the country's prime minister said on television on Tuesday. REUTERS/ Chor Sokunthea

Military police look at a bridge where a stampede took place in Phnom Penh November 23, 2010. At least 180 people were killed in the stampede on the bridgeduring a water festival in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, the country's prime minister said on television on Tuesday. REUTERS/ Chor Sokunthea

An injured man is helped after a stampede in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of Cambodians celebrating a water festival by theriver in the Cambodian capital stampeded Monday night, killing more than a dozen and leaving the area littered with hundreds of injured. The panic was exacerbated as the crowd rushed to cross a bridge, and some fell into the water. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An injured visitor is carried by Cambodian police and another visitor after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrationsof the water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing many people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over the bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An injured Cambodian is carried by police officers and another visitor after a stampede in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands ofCambodians celebrating a water festival by the river in the Cambodian capital stampeded Monday night, killing more than a dozen and leaving the area littered with hundreds of injured. The panic was exacerbated as the crowd rushed to cross a bridge, and some fell into the water. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An injured visitor is carried by Cambodian police and another visitor after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrationsof the water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing many people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over the bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Injured visitors seek help after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrations of the water festival in Phnom Penh,Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing many people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over the bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Police officers and a fellow visitor assist an injured Cambodian after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrationsof the water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing many people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over the bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Injured Cambodian visitors are helped after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrations of the water festival in PhnomPenh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing many people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over the bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian police officer helps injured Cambodians after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrations of the waterfestival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing many people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over the bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An injured Cambodian is carried by visitors after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrations of the water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing many people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over the bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

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Former Khmer Rouge fighter haunted by his past

Former Khmer Rouge deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs Ieng Sary

By Suy Se (AFP)

PHNOM PENH — Stumbling across the photo of his twin brother who died more than three decades ago was the last thing former Khmer Rouge fighter Uch Sokhon expected on a visit to Cambodia's genocide museum.

"I feel shocked," the 53-year-old said, gently wiping the dusty glass frame holding a black-and-white image of his brother, immortalised at the age of 20. "But it was a long time ago."

The picture is one of hundreds of mugshots of condemned prisoners on display at Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh. Now a genocide museum, it was at the centre of the Khmer Rouge security apparatus between 1975 and 1979.

Some 15,000 inmates, including women and children, lost their lives and torture was routinely used to extract confessions from terrified prisoners at the facility, also known as S-21.

Sokhon and some 300 other people, mainly former Khmer Rouge supporters and fighters, recently travelled all night on buses from the northwestern Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin to tour the prison for the first time.

Pailin was one of the final refuges of the brutal regime, which was driven from power in 1979. Soldiers and officials fled to the remote region to re-group and try to battle the new government

The trip was organised by the UN-backed war crimes court -- which was set up in 2006 to bring ex-regime leaders to justice -- and aims to increase awareness among Cambodians about the ongoing trials.

Confronting victims as well as former soldiers and cadres with the jail and the court's work is a key part of bringing closure to the past, a court spokesman said.

"We believe it is easier for people to understand the mission of the tribunal when they see Tuol Sleng and the court with their own eyes," Lars Olsen said.

Former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, was the first to face justice at the UN-backed court.

In a landmark ruling in July, the tribunal sentenced him 30 years in jail, though the case is now under appeal.

Walking past the tiny cells that held some of the prisoners, including perhaps his own brother, and after inspecting the torture implements on display, Sokhon says he regrets his own past actions.

"I feel remorse and pain because I also used to be a fighter for Democratic Kampuchea (the Khmer Rouge)," said the teary-eyed civil servant.

Sokhon said he and his identical twin, Sokhan, both joined the hardline communist movement in 1971 aged just 15 because it was the only way to survive.

Dedicated fighters, they quickly rose through the ranks to become mid-level military commanders.

But the regime turned against Sokhan when he tried to help a relative who had caused a minor accident in February 1976.

Sokhon had left the keys in the ignition of a bulldozer he had been using to dig irrigation channels, when his cousin Thein decided to take it for a ride.

He accidentally turned the vehicle over -- an arrestable offence in the eyes of the Khmer Rouge.

Sokhon told his senior cadres his cousin was to blame for the incident, but when his twin heard the news he insisted on protecting their relative.

"I warned my brother not to help our cousin otherwise he would lose his position and be arrested," Sokhon said. "But he said he must help him.

"A few days later I was told that my brother was arrested... And I knew he had been sent to Tuol Sleng."

Despite his brother's detainment, Sokhon continued to fight for the Khmer Rouge -- even after Vietnamese forces ousted them from the capital in 1979.

He lost his right eye in 1989 when a grenade landed near him during a fight against government troops, and there are still more than 20 pieces of shrapnel lodged in his body.

After years of combat, Sokhon defected to the government in 1996 alongside the regime's foreign minister Ieng Sary. Two years later, the civil war ended.

"Now, I hate the regime very much. I am glad that the regime leaders are standing trial," he said.

Up to two million people died from starvation, overwork and execution during the four-year rule of the Khmer Rouge, led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, who died in 1998.

The four most senior surviving regime leaders -- including Ieng Sary -- are due to face trial next year for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for their part in Cambodia's "Killing Fields" era.

Cambodian and international prosecutors have disagreed on whether to pursue more suspects and Prime Minister Hun Sen told UN chief Ban Ki-moon last month that a third case was "not allowed" because it could spark renewed civil war.

Sokhon said his own personal journey to face the past was over.

"I don't want to remember. I want it to end here. But that does not mean I still support the Khmer Rouge," he said.

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Thailand Military Change of Guard – A New Era of Cooperation or Increasing Hostility

"Facing with these looming volatilities, it would be prudent for the Royal Government of Cambodia to remain cautious and adopt the “don’t provoke, don’t fear” policy vis-à-vis Thailand."

Friday, July 23, 2010
Op-Ed by Davan Long

For military observers and analysts, it is no surprised that this year Thailand democrat-led coalition government is in an unusual hurry to complete its annual military reshuffling, and that the Royal Government of Cambodia is closely watching this event due to its real potential to further severe the already-tense bilateral relationship between the two countries.

Usually each year in August/September, the commanders of Thai armed forces submit their reshuffle lists, which recommend the promotions and appointments of senior officers to key positions, to the Defence Minister through the defence permanent secretary. The Prime Minister and his cabinet will then review and finalize the list before sending it to the Privy Council for royal endorsement.

In a hasty move, Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon has instructed that this year’s military reshuffle lists be submitted to the defence permanent secretary, General Apichart Penkitti, no later than July 20. With this new deadline, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva would be able to forward the final list for royal blessing by the end of August, a month ahead of the usual schedule.

One plausible hypothesis for such a rush is that the Constitution Court, as requested by the Election Commission, may dissolve PM Abhisit Vejjajiva’s political party for allegedly violating Political Party Act in 2005 by receiving a 258 million bath donation through a third party, as well as for allegedly misusing 29 million baths of political development fund. PM Abhisit Vejjajiva is also facing possible impeachment proceedings over a string of other allegations under investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Agency.

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Khmer TV live

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