Cambodia celebrates 20th anniversary of ex-King's return

The signing the Paris Peace Accords in 1991. R-L: Khieu Samphan, Ieng Mouly, Sihanouk, 4th person unidentified, Hun Sen and Hor Namhong.
Sihanouk, French FM Roland Dumas and Hun Sen.

Hun Sen signed the Paris Peace Accords.

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Sunday celebrated the 20th anniversary of ailing former retired King Norodom Sihanouk's return from exile and his 89-year-old birthday turning to 90 on Oct. 31.

The auspicious ceremony was held in front of the Royal Palace with the high presence from King Norodom Sihamoni, Sihanouk's son, Senate acting-President Prince Sisowath Chivan Monirak, President of the National Assembly Heng Samrin, Prime Minister Hun Sen, and foreign diplomatic corps.

In his first public appearance since his abdication in October 2004 in favour of his son Norodom Sihamoni, the former King was warmly greeted by throng of about 40,000 people from all walks of life.

Traditional dance has been performed to bless the former King with good health and longevity.

In his remarks, Sihanouk said he was very happy to have an honor to address to his beloved compatriots and highly appreciated Prime Minister Hun Sen for his tireless efforts and achievements to develop the country.

"Also, I admire the government of Cambodia and the parliament for their joint efforts to develop the nation," he said in a speech and live televised by the state-owned National Television of Cambodia.

The former King and Queen returned to Cambodia on November 14, 1991 from their exile in China's Beijing at the invitation of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, said Prime Minister Hun Sen in a speech during the celebration.

He said the celebration was to reflect the sincere hearts of Cambodian people towards the former King Norodom Sihanouk and Queen Norodom Monineath for their tireless efforts and achievements in national construction.

"We, all Cambodian people, wish the king father for good health and longevity in order to stay as a cold shadow for peace, political stability and prosperity of Cambodia and Cambodian people," he said.

Hun Sen said in the history of Cambodian Kings, there have never had any ex-kings who had as long life as the former King Norodom Sihanouk.

"In the past and in the future, the government of Cambodia vows to protect monarchic regime, constitutional law, full peace, political stability and national unification," he said.

During the celebrations, there is an exhibition displaying former King Norodom Sihanouk's royal crusades and achievements in his efforts to develop the nation.

Also, at the night of Oct. 30, there will be fireworks and concerts.
Editor: Yamei Wang

Big Buddha unearthed at Ta Prom

Thursday, 27 October 2011 12:02

Bridget Di Certo 

Phnom Penh Post

Photo by: Photo Supplied

A two-metre section of a Buddha statue unearthed this week sits on blocks at the Ta Prom temple, in Siem Reap province.

 

The largest Angkorian-era Buddha statue to be discovered since the Khmer Rouge regime ended was unearthed at Ta Prom temple last Friday, an official from the Indian embassy confirmed yesterday.

The Ta Prom temple, at the world-famous Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap, has been under restoration by a team of Indian Government-funded technical experts since 2004.

Indian Embassy First Secretary Saurav Ray said the Buddha statue, found in the Hall of Dancers at Ta Prom, was the “largest Buddha statue discovered so far in Cambodia since the Khmer Rouge era”.

“The statue is incomplete  – missing a large buddha head with a naga snake fan and part of the base,” he said, adding that the portion of the statue found was a massive two metres high.

“We have had 151 local people employed on the restoration work, and this is an amazing discovery,” Ray added.

Ta Prom temple is thought to have been built in the 12th or 13th century and was founded by King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university.

Like most temples at the Angkor Wat complex, Ta Prom was slowly strangled by the jungle after a decade of neglect during the Indochina war beginning in mid-1940s and later the civil conflict that engulfed the Kingdom from 1975 to 1998.

The Archaeological Survey of India first came to the temple in 1983 and conducted brief restoration work, before later returning in 2004 to begin a projected 10-year restor-ation effort of the impressive Angkorian structure.

UNESCO Culture Program specialist Philippe Delanghe said yesterday he had deployed a field officer to invest-igate the impressive find.

“It is a Buddha sitting on a Naga, and seems to be a very huge thing indeed,” he said.

“Such a big statue is quite a significant find – it looks at least as big as the famous Buddha at the Bayon temple.”

Restoration efforts by donor countries such as France and China, being conducted at many of the Angkor complex temples, have previously come under fire from natur-alists as being too aggressive.
However, UNESCO said that so far all restoration efforts had been received positively.

“The International Co-ord-ination Committee adhoc experts have very regularly been visiting the restoration sites and are very happy with the work that is being done,” Delanghe said.

Saurav Ray said Indian technical experts had received nothing but praise for their efforts from the Apsara Authority, the governing body of the Angkor complex.

“We are extremely happy with this very important find,” Ray said, adding that the technical experts were now conducting examination and analysis of the statue.

Representatives from the Apsara Authority declined to comment yesterday.

Gaddafi killed as Libya's revolt claims hometown

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi speaks during a ceremony in Tripoli in this June 12, 2010 file photo.
REUTERS/Ismail Zetouny

By Rania El Gamal and Tim Gaynor

SIRTE, Libya | Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:12am EDT

(Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi was killed on Thursday as Libya's new leaders declared they had overrun the last bastion of his long rule, sparking wild celebrations that eight months of war may finally be over.
Details of the death near Sirte of the fallen strongman were hazy but it was announced by several officials of the National Transitional Council (NTC) and backed up by a photograph of a bloodied face ringed by familiar, Gaddafi-style curly hair.
"He was killed in an attack by the fighters. There is footage of that," the NTC's information minister, Mahmoud Shammam, told Reuters.
Western powers, who have backed the rebellion which took the capital Tripoli two months ago, said they were still checking. NATO said its aircraft fired on a convoy near Sirte earlier, but would not confirm reports that Gaddafi had been a passenger.
Several NTC fighters in Sirte said they had seen Gaddafi shot dead, though their accounts varied.
With a final declaration of the country's "liberation" from 42 years of one-man rule apparently imminent, and crowds firing in the air and dancing in the streets of Tripoli and Benghazi, Libyan television said NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil was about to address the nation.
The two months since the fall of Tripoli have tested the nerves of the motley alliance of anti-Gaddafi forces and their Western and Arab backers, who had begun to question the ability of the NTC forces to root out diehard Gaddafi loyalists in Sirte and a couple of other towns.
Officials said some of Gaddafi's entourage had been killed in the same incident, while his son Mo'tassim and other aides were taken prisoner. Another son, Saif -- long the heir-apparent -- was believed by the NTC to be still at large, possibly in the immense southern deserts of the Libyan Sahara.
ARAB SPRING
The death of Gaddafi himself became perhaps the most dramatic development since the Arab Spring revolts that have unseated rulers in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt and threaten the grip on power of the leaders of Syria and Yemen.
"He (Gaddafi) was also hit in his head," NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta told Reuters. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died."
Mlegta told Reuters earlier that Gaddafi, who was in his late 60s, was captured and wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy which NATO warplanes attacked. He said he had been taken away by an ambulance.
An NTC fighter in Sirte said he had seen Gaddafi shot after he was cornered and captured in a tunnel near a roadway.
The capture of Sirte means Libya's ruling NTC should now begin the task of forging a new democratic system which it had said it would get under way after the city, Gaddafi's hometown rebuilt as a showpiece for his rule, had fallen.
As potentially vast revenues from oil and gas begin to roll in again, Libya's six million people, scattered in towns spread across wide deserts, face a major task in organizing a new system of government that can allocate resources across long-competing tribal, ethnic and regional divisions.
Gaddafi, wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of ordering the killing of civilians, was toppled by rebel forces on August 23, a week short of the 42nd anniversary of the military coup which brought him to power in 1969.
NTC fighters hoisted the red, black and green national flag above a large utilities building in the center of a newly-captured Sirte neighborhood and celebratory gunfire broke out among their ecstatic and relieved comrades.
Hundreds of NTC troops had surrounded the Mediterranean coastal town for weeks in a chaotic struggle that killed and wounded scores of the besieging forces and an unknown number of defenders.
NTC fighters said there were a large number of corpses inside the last redoubts of the Gaddafi troops. It was not immediately possible to verify that information.
(Writing by Jon Hemming, William Maclean and Alastair Macdonald; Editing by David Stamp)

U.S. President to Visit Cambodia for First Time Next Year

President Barack Obama (L) shakes with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during the latter's visit to Washington.

17th October, 2011
Xinhua Web Editor: yangyang66

Cambodia is expected to welcome the visit of the incumbent President of the United States for the first time in history next year when the country chairs ASEAN, officials said.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong, minister of foreign affairs, on Monday, visiting Ambassador of the United States to ASEAN David Carden said the U.S. congratulated Cambodia for hosting the ASEAN next year and said the U.S. was ready to assist Cambodia to chair the ASEAN successfully.

"The U.S. fully supports ASEAN to establish an ASEAN community by 2015," he said. "Our president will be given the opportunity to attend the ASEAN-U.S. Summit and related meetinghahas here next year."

Koy Kuong, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ASEAN-U.S. Summit will be held in late November, 2012 in Phnom Penh, and the U.S. presidential election will be held in early November 2012, so, probably, the incumbent U.S. President Barack Obama will take part in the summit as the new elected U.S. President in the next year's election will take office in December.

During the meeting, Hor Namhong asked the U.S. to accelerate its assistance to Lower Mekong countries including Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos under the framework of the Lower Mekong- U.S. cooperation on the sectors of environment, education, health and infrastructure.

"The U.S. plays a key role to help the four lower Mekong countries to develop connectivity. It is a part of ASEAN connectivity, " he said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

David Carden arrived here on Sunday for a four-day visit. During the stay, he will meet Cambodia's ministers of education, environment, and commerce, and also pay a courtesy call on the Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Video: Hurricane Irene to bring extensive storm surge in New York, New Jersy and Philadelphia

Video: Hurricane Irene to bring extensive storm surge

Residents, Tourists Seek Higher Ground

Irene causing traffic jams, gas shortages along coast       

NYC orders first-ever mandatory evacuations; mass transit to be hit across Northeast

Please go to the link NBC for VIDEO

NBC, msnbc.com and news services

updated 7 minutes ago2011-08-26T21:38:46

Top developments:

• 2.3 million under evacuation orders; 300,000 are in NYC
• NYC, N.J., Philadelphia to suspend mass transit service during part of weekend
• Storm begins to hit Carolinas; maximum winds weaken to 100 mph
• Obama to leave vacation island a day early due to Irene

NEW YORK -- With more coastal cities ordering evacuations ahead of Hurricane Irene, residents and tourists alike from North Carolina to New York City were moving toward higher ground.
Traffic jams as long as 20 miles were reported and some service stations in New Jersey and other areas had run out of gasoline, according to the Oil Price Information Service, which tracks supplies and prices. Gasoline demand jumped 20 percent to 40 percent in Mid-Atlantic states, the service said.

Evacuation orders covered 1 million people in New Jersey, 315,000 in Maryland, 300,000 in New York City, 300,000 in North Carolina, 200,000 in Virginia and 100,000 in Delaware.
"This is probably the largest number of people that have been threatened by a single hurricane in the United States," said Jay Baker, a geography professor at Florida State University.
New York, the nation's largest city, was among those announcing evacuations Friday.
"We've never done a mandatory evacuation before and we wouldn't be doing it now if we didn't think this storm had the potential to be very serious,'' Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in warning some 300,000 people living in low-lying areas.
Earlier Friday, President Barack Obama warned East Coast residents to prepare for the worst, saying all indications point to a "historic" storm.
"Don't wait, don't delay," the president said from his vacation on Martha's Vineyard, Mass., where many were already leaving ahead of Irene. Obama and his family had planned to leave the island on Saturday, but the White House on Friday said it had been moved up to Friday evening.
Video: Hurricane Irene to bring extensive storm surge
Irene not only is packing 100 mph winds, it is also massive: hurricane-force winds extend 90 miles from the center, and tropical-storm winds extend 290 miles. Up to 15 inches of rain could be dumped across the East Coast by the time she barrels through.
By 5 p.m. ET Friday, Irene remained a Category 2 storm with top winds near 100 mph — 15 mph less than overnight.
Little change in strength was expected by the time the heart of the storm reaches the North Carolina coast on Saturday morning and Irene should then drop to a Category 1 storm with winds around 80 mph as it moves into the Northeast.
Even as a Category 1 storm, Irene has the potential to cause billions of dollars in damage. At least 65 million people are in its projected track.

"One of my greatest nightmares was having a major hurricane go up the whole Northeast coast," said Max Mayfield, a former National Hurricane Center director. "This is going to be a real challenge."
Rain from Irene's outer bands began falling along the North and South Carolina coast early Friday. Swells and 6- to 9-foot waves were reported along the Outer Banks. Thousands had already lost power as the fringes of the storm began raking the shore and North Carolina was told to expect storm surges up to 11 feet.
Hurricane warnings extend along the North Carolina coast all the way up into New York City, Long Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
How to prepare, really, tips from a hurricane vet
Below is a look at impacts and preparations by region:
New York CityBloomberg ordered an evacuation by 5 p.m. Saturday for low-lying areas that include the Battery Park City complex on the southern end of Manhattan; Coney Island, famed for its boardwalk and amusement park; the beachfront community of the Rockaways; and other neighborhoods around the city.

Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said subways, buses and commuter trains in the city, on Long Island and in the northern suburbs will be suspended starting around noon Saturday.
Cuomo added that 1,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen would help over the weekend
The George Washington and Tappan Zee bridges, among others, were ordered shut if winds top 60 mph, as was the New York State Thruway.
Video: Bloomberg: 'Prepare for the worst, hope for the best'
Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials have said they can't run the transit system once sustained winds reach 39 mph, and they need an eight-hour lead time to shut it down.
Officials have entreated residents to take it upon themselves to get out early, but it remained unclear how many would heed the warnings that subways and buses might not be there for them if they waited.
A hurricane watch was in effect for New York City and Long Island for Sunday, with storm conditions possible Saturday night.

The MTA has never before halted its entire system — which carries about 5 million passengers on an average weekday — in advance of a storm, though the system was seriously hobbled by an August 2007 rainstorm that disabled or delayed every one of the city's subway lines.
Readers capture Hurricane Irene's approachOn Thursday, Bloomberg ordered nursing homes and five hospitals in low-lying areas evacuated beginning Friday and advised residents on the southern tip of Manhattan and on Brooklyn's Coney Island to start moving items upstairs.
"We do not have the manpower to go door-to-door and drag people out of their homes," he said. "Nobody's going to get fined. Nobody's going to go to jail. But if you don't follow this, people might die."
Apartment building managers emailed residents, telling them to close windows and expect power outages. Flyers were posted in building lobbies.
Forecasters said Irene passing near Manhattan could lead to a nightmare scenario: shattered glass falling from skyscrapers, flooded subways and seawater coursing through the streets.
Even if the winds aren't strong enough to damage buildings in a metropolis made largely of brick, concrete and steel, a lot of New York's subway system and other infrastructure is underground and subject to flooding in the event of an unusually strong storm surge or heavy rains.
Slideshow: Cartoonists poke at Irene (on this page)New York City's two airports also are close to the water and could be inundated, as could densely packed neighborhoods, if the storm pushes ocean water into the city's waterways.
In the low-lying Financial District surrounding Wall Street, the New York Fed was readying contingency plans but expected normal functioning of its open market operations on Monday, a spokesman said.
The city had a brush with a tropical storm, Hanna, in 2008 that dumped 3 inches of rain in Manhattan.
In the last 200 years, New York has seen only a few significant hurricanes. In 1821, a hurricane raised tides by 13 feet in an hour and flooded all of Manhattan south of Canal Street, the southernmost tip of the city. The area now includes Wall Street and the World Trade Center memorial.
Readers capture Hurricane Irene's approachNorth CarolinaTraffic was steady as people left the Outer Banks. Tourists were ordered to leave the barrier islands Thursday, though local officials estimated Friday that about half the residents on two of the islands have ignored evacuation orders.
As a result, officials ordered dozens of body bags.
"I anticipate we're going to have people floating on the streets, and I don't want to leave them lying there," said Richard Marlin, fire chief for one of the seven villages on Hatteras. "The Coast Guard will either be pulling people off their roofs like in Katrina or we'll be scraping them out of their yards."
In Nags Head, police officer Edward Mann cruised the streets in search of cars in driveways — a telltale sign some planned to stay behind. He warned those that authorities wouldn't be able to help holdouts, and that electricity and water could be out for days.
Price gougers put on noticeSome told Mann they're staying because they feel safe or because the storm won't be as bad as predicted. Mann, 25, said some have told him they've ridden out more storms than years he's been alive.
Bucky Domanski, 71, was among those who told Mann he wasn't leaving. The officer handed the retired salesman a piece of paper warning of the perils of staying behind. Domanski said he understood.
"I could be wrong, but everything meteorologists have predicted never pans out," Domanski said. "I don't know, maybe I've been lulled to sleep. But my gut tells me it's not going to be as bad as predicted. I hope I'm right."
Video: N.C. Gov.: Preparing for worst, praying for best As thousands fled beach towns, some farmers began early harvests to minimize any losses to Irene.
VirginiaAfter the Outer Banks, the next target for Irene was the Hampton Roads region of southeast Virginia, a jagged network of inlets and rivers that floods easily. Emergency officials have said the region is more threatened by storm surge, the high waves that accompany a storm, than wind.
Gas stations there were low on fuel Friday, and grocery stores scrambled to keep water and bread on the shelves.
Few people were left along the coast of Virginia Beach, where officials ordered the mandatory evacuation of the city's Sandbridge section.
Similar orders were issued for at least 10 other localities and some roads inland had backups 7-8 miles long.
MarylandThe beach community of Ocean City was taking no chances, ordering thousands of people to leave.
"This is not a time to get out the camera and sit on the beach and take pictures of the waves," said Gov. Martin O'Malley.
Washington, D.C.Irene forced the postponement of Sunday's planned dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall. While a direct strike on the nation's capital appeared slim, organizers said the forecasts of wind and heavy rain made it too dangerous to summon a throng they initially expected to number up to 250,000 strong.
Story: Are you in Irene's path? Share photos, if it's safe to do so New JerseyTransit trains will stop running at noon Saturday, Gov. Chris Christie said Friday.
Aiming to speed up evacuations, Christie also suspended tolls on all parts of the Garden State Parkway south of the Raritan River and the Atlantic City Expressway.
Summer resort towns were emptying as officials ordered mandatory evacuation of the popular tourist areas along the state's coastal barrier islands.
Story: Irene to bring outages, scattered shortages of gas
Hundreds of thousands of people were likely to be affected by the orders, which included evacuation of such heavily visited towns as Wildwood, Ocean City and Avalon, all in Cape May County where the summer tourist population is typically 750,000 people.
Traffic was jammed for some 20 miles on the Garden State Parkway, said Mike Durkin, who drove home to Jenkintown, Pa., from the Jersey shore.
"I think there is a lot of nervous energy," he said. "There are people who have been there for 30 years who always rode out the storms before. A neighbor told me he just wasn't going to take a chance on this one though," he added.
Video: Christie issues stern warning of Irene to N.J. residents All 11 of Atlantic City's casinos were ordered to close by noon Saturday, he added. The city's casinos have shut down only twice before, in 1985 for Hurricane Gloria and in 2006 because of a state government shutdown.
PhiladelphiaMass transit in the city and suburbs will be shut down early Sunday morning, officials said Friday.
Interactive: Hurricane facts, figures & preparation (on this page)ConnecticutGov. Daniel Malloy declared a state of emergency and warned there could be prolonged power outages if Irene dumps up to a foot of rain on already saturated ground.
He said emergency responders must be ready in event of any evacuations from heavily developed urban areas. "We are a much more urban state than we were in 1938," he said, referring to the year that the so-called "Long Island Express" hurricane killed 600 people and caused major damage with 17-foot storm surges and high winds.
At Mystic Seaport, a popular "living history" museum that depicts 19th century New England seacoast life, staff members were hauling parts of the collections to higher ground. The museum will be closed on Saturday and Sunday as staffers load up sandbags.
Story: Airlines begin canceling flights as Irene nears
BostonWhile some residents flocked to the supermarket for bottled water and nonperishable food, others rushed to the local hardware store.
"Our number of customers has tripled in the last day or two as people actually said 'wow, this thing is going to happen,'" said Jack Gurnon, owner of Charles Street Supply, a hardware store in Boston's wealthy Beacon Hill neighborhood.
Tape for windows, flashlights and batteries were flying off shelves, but Gurnon said people were worried about flooding and have been scooping up sump pumps, too.
Rhode IslandThe towns of Narragansett and South Kingstown on Friday announced mandatory evacuations for residents in flood-prone areas for no later than 10 a.m. Sunday.
FloridaWhile avoiding a direct hit, the state did see the first U.S. injuries from Irene when eight people were washed off a jetty in West Palm Beach on Thursday by a large wave churned up by the storm. All survived.
BahamasIrene exited the northernmost part of the archipelago by midday Friday.
The government said the storm knocked out communications to islands such as Eleuthera and Abaco and that only partial reports of damage were available.
No reports of deaths or injuries were received, but 70 homes on the southern island of Acklins were destroyed, 29 sustained major damage and 84 received minor damage.
The capital sustained relatively minor flooding and damage.
Insured losses in the Caribbean from Hurricane Irene will be between $500 million and $1.1 billion, risk assessor firm Air Worldwide said on Friday, adding that the Bahamas will account for more than 60 percent of the loss.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report

លោក ហោ ណាំហុង​៖ ​លោក​មិន​មែន​ជា​អ្នក​គ្រប់គ្រង​គុក​បឹង​ត្របែក​ទេ ???

ដោយ តាំង សារ៉ាដា

RFA/Sok Serey

រដ្ឋមន្ត្រី​ក្រសួង​ការបរទេស និង​ជា​ឧបនាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រី លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ផ្ដល់​បទ​សម្ភាសន៍​អ្នក​សារព័ត៌មាន​នា​អាកាស​យានដ្ឋាន​អន្តរជាតិ​ភ្នំពេញ នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​១៧ ខែ​ធ្នូ ឆ្នាំ​២០១០។

2011-07-20  "ដើម្បីស្ដាប់សម្លេង ចុចត្រង់នេះ! "

មន្ត្រី​ជាន់​ខ្ពស់​នៃ​ក្រសួង​ការ​បរទេស​កម្ពុជា បាន​ច្រាន​ចោល​ចំពោះ​ការ​ចោទ​ប្រកាន់​នានា ទាក់ទង​នឹង​ការ​ទទួល​ខុស​ត្រូវ ឬ​ជា​អ្នក​មាន​អំណាច​ក្នុង​គុក​បឹង​ត្របែក​នៅ​សម័យ​ខ្មែរ​ក្រហម។

ការ​បដិសេធ​របស់​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ធ្វើ​ឡើង​នៅ​បន្ទាប់​ពី​មាន​ការ​បញ្ជាក់​ពី​ឯកសារ សាក្សី និង​សេចក្ដីរាយការណ៍​របស់​មន្ត្រី​ស្ថានទូត​សហរដ្ឋ​អាមេរិក​ប្រចាំ​នៅ​ កម្ពុជា ដែល​ថា មន្ត្រី​ការបរទេស​ខ្មែរ​មាន​ជាប់​ពាក់ព័ន្ធ​នឹង​ឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្ម​សម្លាប់​ បញ្ញវន្ត​ខ្មែរ ឬ​ក្រុម​អ្នក​ការ​ទូត​ខ្មែរ​ពី​បរទេស ដែល​ជាប់​ឃុំ​ក្នុង​គុក​បឹង​ត្របែក កាល​ពី​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៧៥ ដល់​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៧៩ នៃ​របប​កម្ពុជា​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ។
រដ្ឋមន្ត្រី​ក្រសួង​ការបរទេស​កម្ពុជា លោក ហោ ណាំហុង បាន​បដិសេធ​ថា លោក​មិន​មែន​ជា​អ្នក​គ្រប់គ្រង​គុក​បឹង​ត្របែក នៅ​សម័យ​ខ្មែរ​ក្រហម​នោះ​ទេ។ ផ្ទុយ​ទៅ​វិញ លោក​ថា លោក​ក៏​ជា​អ្នក​ទោស​ម្នាក់​ដែរ។
លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ថ្លែង​ប្រាប់​វិទ្យុ​អាស៊ី​សេរី តាម​ទូរស័ព្ទ​ពី​ប្រទេស​ហុល្លង់ កាល​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​អាទិត្យ​ថា ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​ជំទាស់ លោក សម រង្ស៊ី កន្លង​មក ក៏​ធ្លាប់​បាន​និយាយ​បរិហារកេរ្តិ៍​រូប​លោក​អំពី​បញ្ហា​នេះ​ដែរ ហើយ​តុលាការ​របស់​ប្រទេស​បារាំង​នៅ​តែ​លើកលែង​ទោស​ដល់​លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ដោយសារ​ហេតុផល​នយោបាយ។
លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ៖ «តុលាការ​បារាំង​កាត់​ប៉ុន្មាន​ដង​វា​គ្រប់​ហើយ។ ខ្ញុំ​ជា​អ្នក​ជាប់​ទោស​របស់​ខ្មែរ ក្រហម។ ខ្មែរក្រហម​ដែល​ចាត់​តាំង​គណៈកម្មការ​ហ្នឹង គឺ​គណៈកម្មការ​អ្នកទោស។ អត់​មាន​សិទ្ធិ​អំណាច​អី​ទេ។ ខ្ញុំ​មិន​ដែល​ស្គាល់​ខ្មែរក្រហម​យ៉ាង​ម៉េច​ផង ហើយ​តុលាការ​បារាំង​កាត់​ប៉ុន្មាន​ដង លើកលែង​តុលាការ​កំពូល​កាត់​ផ្សេងៗ វា​មិន​ជាក់ ព្រោះ​ថា សម រង្ស៊ី បាន​បរិហារ​កេរ្ត៍​ខ្ញុំ​ពិត​មែន បែរ​ទៅ​ជា​លើកលែង​ទោស​ឲ្យ​គាត់ ដោយសារ​គាត់​ជា​អ្នក​នយោបាយ»។
លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ដែល​កំពុង​រស់​នៅ​និរទេស​ក្នុង​ប្រទេស​បារាំង​មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា ការ​កាត់​សេចក្ដី​របស់​តុលាការ​កំពូល​បារាំង​ធ្វើ​ឡើង​ប្រកប​ដោយ​យុត្តិធម៌​ តាម​ការ​ផ្អែក​លើ​ភស្តុតាង និង​សាក្សី​គ្រប់គ្រាន់។
លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ៖ «តុលាការ​បារាំង​ដែល​ខ្ញុំ​ឈ្នះ​ក្ដី​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ហ្នឹង គឺ​ដោយសារ​តុលាការ បារាំង​ហ្នឹង​គេ​យល់​ឃើញ​ដោយ​មាន​ប្រភព​ជា​ច្រើន​ដូច​គ្នា ចោទ​ប្រកាន់​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ពី​រឿង​ដូច​គ្នា ហើយ​អ្វី​ដែល​គេ​អះអាង​នោះ​គួរ​ឲ្យ​ជឿ​បាន។ បើ​គ្មាន ​ពិត គ្មាន​មូលដ្ឋាន គេ​មិន​អនុញ្ញាត​អ្វី​ឲ្យ​យើង​ចេះ​តែ​និយាយ​បាន​ទេ»។
កាល​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី ២៧ ខែ​មេសា ឆ្នាំ ២០១១ តុលាការ​កំពូល​របស់​ប្រទេស​បារាំង បាន​ច្រាន​ចោល​សេចក្ដី​សម្រេច​របស់​សាលា​ដំបូង និង​សាលាឧទ្ធរណ៍ ដែល​បាន​សម្រេច​ឲ្យ​លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ចាញ់​ក្ដី​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ពី​បទ​បរិហារកេរ្តិ៍​ទាក់ទិន​នឹង​ការ​ចោទ​ប្រកាន់​ថា លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ជា​អតីត​ប្រធាន​គុក​បឹង​ត្របែក ក្នុង​របប​ខ្មែរក្រហម។ ប៉ុន្តែ តុលាការ​ក្រុង​ភ្នំពេញ កាល​ពី​ដើម​ឆ្នាំ ២០១១ បាន​កាត់​ទោស​លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ក្នុង​ករណី​ដូច​គ្នា​ឲ្យ​ជាប់​ពន្ធនាគារ​រយៈ​ពេល​ពីរ​ឆ្នាំ។
គេហទំព័រ វីគីលីគ (Wikileaks) កាល​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី ១១ ខែ​កក្កដា ឆ្នាំ ២០១១ បាន​ចេញ​ផ្សាយ​របាយការណ៍​របស់​លោក Alexander Arvizu អតីត​អនុប្រធាន​បេសកកម្ម​របស់​ស្ថានទូត​សហរដ្ឋ​អាមេរិក​នៅ​កម្ពុជា ដែល​កាល​ពី​ឆ្នាំ ២០០២ បាន​សរសេរ​ថា លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ជា​អតីត​ប្រធាន​គុក​បឹង ត្របែក​ក្នុង​របប​ខ្មែរ​ក្រហម។
ក្រសួង​ការ​បរទេស​កម្ពុជា កាល​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​១៤ ខែ​កក្កដា​ថ្មីៗ នេះ បាន​ចេញ​សេចក្ដី​ថ្លែងការណ៍​ថា លោក ហោ ណាំហុង រដ្ឋមន្ត្រី​ក្រសួង​ការបរទេស​កម្ពុជា​បាន​កោះហៅ លោក Jeff Daigle អនុប្រធាន​បេសកកម្ម និង​ជា​ភារធារី​នៃ​ស្ថានទូត​សហរដ្ឋ​អាមេរិក​ប្រចាំ​ក្នុង​ទីក្រុង​ភ្នំពេញ ដើម្បី​សំដែង​ការ​តវ៉ា​ជំទាស់​នឹង​របាយការណ៍​នោះ ហើយ​ទាមទារ​ឲ្យ​មាន​ការ​កែ​តម្រូវ។
សាក្សី​ដែល​បាន​ដឹង​អំពី​វត្តមាន​របស់​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង នៅ​គុក​បឹង​ត្របែក នៅ​កាល​ពី​សម័យ​ខ្មែរ​ក្រហម បាន​បញ្ជាក់​ថា ពួក​គេ​បាន​ដឹង និង​បាន​ឮ​ឈ្មោះ លោក ហោ ណាំហុង នៅ​ពេល​នោះ។
អតីត​បុគ្គលិក​របស់​វិទ្យុ​សំឡេង​សហរដ្ឋ​អាមេរិក លោកស្រី នៅ សារឹម ដែល​ជា​អតីត​ជន​រងគ្រោះ​ពី​គុក​បឹង​ត្របែក មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា គុក​បឹង​ត្របែក​នៅ​ពេល​នោះ មាន​មណ្ឌល​បី​កន្លែង។ មណ្ឌល​មួយ​សម្រាប់​ដាក់​ក្រុម​និស្សិត​ដែល​វិល​ត្រឡប់​ពី​បរទេស ហើយ​មណ្ឌល​មួយ​ទៀត​សម្រាប់​ដាក់​ក្រុម​មន្ត្រី​ការ​ទូត​ខ្មែរ​ពី​បរទេស។
លោកស្រី ដែល​ពេល​នោះ​ជា​និស្សិត​បញ្ចប់​អាហារូបករណ៍​ផ្នែក​ភាសា​បារាំង​ពី​ប្រទេស​ បារាំង បាន​ជាប់​ឃុំ​ក្នុង​មណ្ឌល​មួយ​ក្បែរ​មណ្ឌល​គ្រប់គ្រង​ដោយ​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង។
លោកស្រី​បន្ត​ថា ពេល​នោះ លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ជា​អ្នក​គ្រប់គ្រង​មណ្ឌល​ដែល​ឃុំឃាំង​ ក្រុម​មន្រ្តី​ការ​ទូត​ខ្មែរ​ពី​បរទេស​ក្នុង​មន្ទីរ​បឹង​ត្របែក ៖ «នៅ​បឹង​ត្របែក​ហ្នឹង​មាន​ខ្មែរក្រហម​ធំ​ខាង​លើ​គេ​ត្រួត​ហ្នឹង ឈ្មោះ សាវ៉ន ត្រួត​មន្ទីរ​ហ្នឹង​ណា៎ ចាស។ ហើយ​មន្ទីរ​ដែល​ពួក​គេ​ខ្ញុំ​នៅ​ហ្នឹង មិនមែន​ ហោ ណាំហុង ទេ។ លោក ហោ ណាំហុង គាត់​ជា​ប្រធាន​បឹង​ត្របែក​មួយ​ទៀត​ហ្នឹង ដើម្បី​ដើរ​ឲ្យ​ដល់​កន្លែង​របស់​គាត់ គឺ​ត្រូវ​ដើរ​ឆ្លង​កាត់​តាម​មន្ទីរ​ដែល​ខ្ញុំ​នៅ​ហ្នឹង​ចាស។ ដូច្នេះ គាត់​ជា​ប្រធាន​កន្លែង​ពួក​ទូត។ ពួក​ដែល​គេ​នៅ​ហ្នឹង​សុទ្ធ​តែ​ជា​ពួក​ទូត ហើយ​ពួក​ដែល​គេ​ចូល​ទៅ​ស្រុក​វិញ​ហ្នឹង ហើយ​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ជា​ប្រធាន​នៅ​ពេល​ហ្នឹង។ ក្រោយ​លោក​ណាៗ ទាំង​អស់»។
លោកស្រី​មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា សម្រាប់​មណ្ឌល​ដែល​អ្នកស្រី​ស្នាក់​នៅ លោកស្រី បាន​ឃើញ​មនុស្ស​ប្រមាណ​ជាង ១០ នាក់​ត្រូវ​បាន​គេ​ដឹក​ចេញ​យក​ទៅ​សម្លាប់ «មុន ​គេ​យក​មនុស្ស​ចេញ​គេ​ជេរ​យើង​ខ្លាំង​ណាស់។ រួច​ទៅ​បាន​គេ​ដឹក​មនុស្ស​ចេញ។ ខ្ញុំ​ដឹង​តែ​កន្លែង​ខ្ញុំ។ កន្លែង​ខ្ញុំ​យ៉ាង​ហោច​ជាង​ដប់​នាក់​ដែរ​ចាស៎។ អ្នក​ខ្លះ​ទៅ​ទាំង​គ្រួសារ​តែ​ម្ដង មាន​កូន ប្រពន្ធ​ទៅ​ជាមួយ។ យ៉ាង​ហោច​ហើយ​ជាង​ដប់​នាក់​ចាស៎»។
ចំណែក​សាក្សី​ដែល​នៅ​រស់​ពី​មន្ទីរ​ឃុំឃាំង​បឹង​ត្របែក​មួយ​រូប​ទៀត គឺ​លោក សេង ចាន់អន មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា លោក​ធ្លាប់​ឮ​ឈ្មោះ​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង នៅ​មន្ទីរ​បឹង​ត្របែក​នៅ​ពេល​នោះ។ ប៉ុន្តែ លោក​មិន​ជាប់​ក្នុង​មណ្ឌល ដែល​គ្រប់គ្រង​ដោយ​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង នោះ​ឡើយ។
លោក សេង ចាន់អន ៖ «នៅ​បឹង​ត្របែក​មាន​ជំរំ​បី។ ទី​មួយ ទី​ពីរ ទី​បី ហើយ​ខ្ញុំ​អត់​នៅ​ជាមួយ​គាត់​ទេ​បាទ។ ដូច្នេះ ខ្ញុំ​អត់​មាន​ស្គាល់​ការ​ដឹកនាំ​អី​របស់​គាត់​ទេ ពីព្រោះ​ខ្ញុំ​អត់​បាន​នៅ​ជាមួយ​គាត់ ហើយ​ក៏​អត់​បាន​នៅ​បឹង​ត្របែក​ហ្នឹង​ជាប់​លាប់​ដែរ។ ដូច្នេះ​គ្រាន់​តែ​ដឹង​តាម​មិត្តភ័ក្ដិ​អី​អ៊ីចឹង​ទេ ហើយ​ខ្ញុំ​អត់​ដឹង​ថា គាត់​ជា​ប្រធាន ឬ​ធ្វើ​សកម្មភាព​អី​ច្បាស់​លាស់​នោះ​ទេ»។
ផ្អែក​តាម​សៀវភៅ​ជាង ២០០ ទំព័រ បោះ​ពុម្ព​ក្នុង​ឆ្នាំ ២០០៣ ដែល​សរសេរ​ដោយ លោក អុង ថុង ហឿង អតីត​អ្នក​ទោស​នៅ​មន្ទីរ​ឃុំឃាំង​បឹង​ត្របែក កាល​ពី​សម័យ​ខ្មែរ​ក្រហម បាន​បញ្ជាក់​ថា គុក​បឹង​ត្របែក ត្រូវ​បាន​បែងចែក​ជា​មណ្ឌល​បី គឺ​មណ្ឌល ប-៣០ ប-៣១ និង ប-៣២ ដែល​មាន​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ជា​ប្រធាន​ក្រុម​អ្នកទោស ហើយ​ភរិយា​របស់​គាត់​ជា​ប្រធាន​ក្រុម​អ្នក​ទោស​ស្រី។ ចំណែក​កូន​ប្រុស​របស់​គាត់​ធ្វើ​ជា​ប្រធាន​ក្រុម​កុមារ។
មណ្ឌល ប-៣២ នេះ ជា​មណ្ឌល​ដែល​ឃុំឃាំង​ក្រុម​បញ្ញវន្ត មន្ត្រី​រាជការ ឬ​អតីត​មន្ត្រី​ទូត​មួយ​ចំនួន ដែល​មាន​វ័យ​ចំណាស់​បន្តិច។
សៀវភៅ​របស់​លោក អុង ថុង ហឿង ក៏​បាន​សរសេរ​ផង​ដែរ​ថា ប្រធាន​ក្រុម​អ្នកទោស​បឹង​ត្របែក​មាន​បុព្វសិទ្ធិ និង​មាន​អំណាច​ក្នុង​ការ​រាយការណ៍​អំពី​អ្នកទោស​ទាំង​អស់​ទៅ​ឲ្យ​ថ្នាក់​លើ​ របស់​ខ្មែរ​ក្រហម ដើម្បី​ធ្វើ​ការ​ពិចារណា​ក្នុង​ការ​យក​អ្នក​ទោស​ទៅ​សម្លាប់​ចោល​នៅ​វត្ត​ជើង ​ឯក ឬ​យក​ទៅ​ធ្វើ​ទារុណកម្ម​នៅ​គុក​ទួល​ស្លែង​ជា​ដើម។
ជុំវិញ​ការ​ប្រកែក​របស់​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ដែល​ថា មិន​មាន​ជាប់​ទាក់ទង​ក្នុង​ការ​គ្រប់គ្រង​មន្ទីរ​ឃុំឃាំង​បឹង​ត្របែក​កាល​ពី ​សម័យ​ខ្មែរ​ក្រហម​នោះ លោក​បណ្ឌិត ឡៅ ម៉ុងហៃ ដែល​ជា​អ្នក​វិភាគ​ឯករាជ្យ និង​ជា​អ្នក​ឃ្លាំ​មើល​ស្ថានការណ៍​នៅ​កម្ពុជា មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ខ្លាច​មាន​ឈ្មោះ​ជាប់​ជំពាក់​នៃ​ការ​ដឹកនាំ​របស់​របប​ខ្មែរ​ក្រហម។
លោក​បណ្ឌិត ឡៅ ម៉ុងហៃ ៖ «ហើយ​គឺ​គាត់​ខំ​ការពារ គឺ​នៅ​ពេល​ដែល​មាន​ដូច​ថា បញ្ហា​អំពី​តុលាការ​ខ្មែរក្រហម អាច​ធ្វើ​ការ​ចោទ​ប្រកាន់​ឯ​ទៀតៗ នៅ​មាន​ភាព​ចម្រូងចម្រាស​នៅ​ឡើយ។ វា​មិនទាន់​ដាច់​ស្រេច​ពី​រឿង​តុលាការ​ខ្មែរ​ក្រហម​ហ្នឹង។ បើ​តាម​ខ្ញុំ​យល់​គាត់​ខ្លាច​ជាប់​ខ្លួន​គាត់​ដែរ»។
កាល​ពី​ខែ​មិថុនា ឆ្នាំ ២០១០ ឧបនាយក​រដ្ឋមន្ត្រី និង​ជា​រដ្ឋមន្ត្រី​ក្រសួង​ការបរទេស​កម្ពុជា លោក ហោ ណាំហុង មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា លោក​គ្រាន់​តែ​ជា​អ្នក​ទទួល​បន្ទុក​ចាត់ចែង​ម្ហូបអាហារ​ក្នុង​គុក​បឹង​ ត្របែក​ប៉ុណ្ណោះ ហើយ​ថា អ្នក​ដែល​ទទួល​ខុសត្រូវ​ធំ​បំផុត​ឈ្មោះ សាវ៉ន។
លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ៖ «ខ្ញុំ​ជា​គណៈកម្មការ​អ្នក​ទោស ដោយសារ​អ្នកទោស​នៅ​បឹង​ត្របែក​នោះ ខ្មែរ​ក្រហម​បាន​ចាត់តាំង​គណៈកម្មការ ដើម្បី​រៀបចំ​ម្ហូប​អាហារ​ដោយ​ខ្លួន​ឯង រស់​បាន​យ៉ាង​ម៉េច​រស់​ទៅ។ ដូច្នេះ គ្រាន់តែ​ជា​អ្នក​ប្រតិបត្តិ​ដ៏​សាមញ្ញ ដែល​មាន​តួនាទី​ត្រឹមតែ​អនុវត្ត​ការងារ​កំណត់​ដោយ​ប្រធាន​មន្ទីរ​ឃុំឃាំង គឺ​អា សាវ៉ន ពេល​ខ្មែរក្រហម។ មេ​គេ​ឈ្មោះ អា សាវ៉ន»។
កាល​ពី​ដើម​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៩១ លោក ហោ ណាំហុង បាន​ប្ដឹង​សម្ដេច​មហា​វីរ​ក្សត្រ ព្រះ​បាទ នរោត្តម សីហនុ ទៅ​តុលាការ​ប្រទេស​បារាំង​ទាក់ទិន​នឹង​ការ​ចោទ​ប្រកាន់​រូប​លោក​ជាប់​ ពាក់ព័ន្ធ​នឹង​ការ​គ្រប់គ្រង​គុក​បឹង​ត្របែក ហើយ​ពេល​នោះ តុលាការ​បារាំង​បាន​សម្រេច​ឲ្យ​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ឈ្នះ​ក្ដី។
នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ២០០១ លោក ហោ ណាំហុង បាន​ប្ដឹង​លោក កៃ គឹមសុង អ្នក​យក​ព័ត៌មាន​កាសែត The Cambodia daily ពី​បទ​ផ្សាយ​ព័ត៌មាន​មិន​ពិត ដែល​បាន​ចុះ​ផ្សាយ​អំពី​តួនាទី និង​ការ​គ្រប់គ្រង​របស់​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ក្នុង​គុក​បឹង​ត្របែក​នៅ​សម័យ​ខ្មែរក្រហម។
តុលាការ​កម្ពុជា​តាំង​ពី​សាលាដំបូង​រហូត​ដល់​តុលាការ​កំពូល បាន​កាត់​ឲ្យ​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ឈ្នះ​ក្ដី ហើយ​តម្រូវ​ឲ្យ​លោក កៃ គឹមសុង សង​សំណង​ជំងឺ​ចិត្ត​ចំនួន ៣០ លាន​រៀល ស្មើ​នឹង ៧ ពាន់ ៥ រយ​ដុល្លារ​សហរដ្ឋ​អាមេរិក។
នៅ​ដើម​ឆ្នាំ ២០១០ លោក ហោ ណាំហុង បាន​ប្ដឹង​លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ទៅ​តុលាការ​ប្រទេស​បារាំង ពី​បទ​បរិហារកេរ្តិ៍​អំពី​សំណុំរឿង​ដដែល​នេះ និង​ទាមទារ​សំណង ចំនួន ១៤ ម៉ឺន​ដុល្លារ​សហរដ្ឋ​អាមេរិក។
នៅ​ក្នុង​កំឡុង​ឆ្នាំ ២០១០ ទាំង​សាលា​ដំបូង និង​សាលាឧទ្ធរណ៍​បារាំង បាន​កាត់​ឲ្យ​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ឈ្នះ​ក្ដី។ ប៉ុន្តែ នៅ​ខែ​មេសា ឆ្នាំ ២០១១ តុលាការ​កំពូល​របស់​បារាំង បាន​បដិសេធ​ចោល​សេចក្ដី​សម្រេច​របស់​សាលាដំបូង និង​សាលាឧទ្ធរណ៍ ហើយ​សម្រេច​ឲ្យ​លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ឈ្នះ​ក្ដី​លោក ហោ ណាំហុង ចំពោះ​ការ​ចោទ​ប្រកាន់​នោះ៕

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International Court of Justice's latest Decisions

Request for interpretation of the Judgment of 15 June 1962 in the case concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia v. Thailand) (Cambodia v. Thailand) - Order - Request for the Indication of Provisional Measures.  Please click here for full article.

Latest press releases "Case concerning theTemple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia v. Thailand)"

Request for interpretation of the Judgment of 15 June 1962 in the Case concerning theTemple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia v. Thailand) (Cambodia v. Thailand) - Request for the indication of provisional measures - The Court finds that both Parties must immediately withdraw their military personnel currently present in the provisional demilitarized zone defined by it, and refrain from any military presence within that zone and from any armed activity directed at that zone.  Please click here for full Press Release.

Clash between fed up villagers and cops in Kampong Speu

Source: Reuters // Reuters

PHNOM PENH, June 9 (Reuters) – At least 11 people were injured when armed police broke up a protest in Cambodia on Thursday by about 300 villagers resisting a court order to transfer farmland to a Taiwanese businessman, villagers and witnesses said.

The clash comes amid growing discontent over forced evictions in Cambodia that have outraged rights groups and foreign donors, who say the government is driving people off their land to benefit cronies in cahoots with foreign firms.

The bone of contention is a lack of title deeds in Cambodia, since most legal documents were destroyed during the ultra Maoist Khmer Rouge era in the late 1970s, when an estimated 1.7 million people were killed.

Four policemen were among those wounded when 200 officers with assault rifles and electric batons clashed with villagers carrying sticks and knives in Kampong Speu province, about 40 km from capital Phnom Penh.

“We never sold our land, we have owned the land from our ancestors, so why are the title deeds now in Chinese names?” Sun Bunchhuon, 42, a representative of the villagers told Reuters by telephone, adding three villagers had been shot and four beaten and shocked with electric batons.

The provincial police chief Keo Pisey and his deputy Som Bora declined to comment on the clashes.

Protests over land grabs are taking place regularly in Cambodia and Housing Rights Task Force, a group monitoring forced evictions, reported 30,000 Cambodians were moved off their land last year, up from 27,000 in 2009.

Chheng Sophors, a representative of local rights group Licado, witnessed the incident and said the government was making no effort to tackle the problem at national level.

“Violence over land issue has been getting worse and worse and there have been no solutions. People are always the victims of economic land concessions,” Chheng Sophors said.

In a recent visit, Surya Subedi, the United Nations special rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, expressed concern about crackdowns on protesters and legal action taken against land activists and people who made claims to disputed land.

He also urged foreign investors to be responsible in their business dealings in Cambodia. (Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Martin Petty and Miral Fahmy)

Cambodia-Thailand border dispute at UN court

A view of the International Court of Justice in the The Hague as it waits to hear a request for interpretation of its 1962 judgement over Preah Vihear temple. AFP

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — "Murderous armed incursions" by the Thai military around a historic temple in a disputed border region form a "grave threat" to regional peace and security, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told the U.N.'s highest court Monday.

Fighting between the two nations has cost some 20 lives, wounded dozens and sent tens of thousands fleeing since 2008, when the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple was given U.N. World Heritage status, overriding Thailand's objections.

Bas Czerwinski, Associated Press

Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong, right, Sir Franklin Berman, member of the English Bar, center, and Jean-Marc Sorel, Professor of International Law at the University of Paris, left, are seen at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, May 30, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia will face off at the United Nations' highest court Monday, in the latest move to settle a decades-old battle for control of a disputed border region that has erupted into deadly military clashes. Cambodia is asking the court to order Thailand to withdraw troops and halt military activity around a temple at the center of the dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors.

In a fresh attempt to settle a dispute that has simmered for decades between the Southeast Asian neighbors, Cambodia is asking the International Court of Justice for a new interpretation of its 1962 judgment that gave Cambodia control of the temple.

Hor Namhong said Thailand is basing its recent military action on an interpretation of the 1962 judgment that is "both erroneous and unacceptable."

Bas Czerwinski, Associated Press

Thailand's Ambassador to the Netherlands Virachai Plasai, left, Thailand's Director-General, Department of Treaties and Legal affairs, Ittiporn Boonpracong, center, and Thailand's Minister of Foreign Affairs Kasit Piromya, right, attend the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, May 30, 2011.

Thailand, he said, is using its reading of the ruling "to provide legal cover for armed incursions into Cambodian territory."

A high-level Thai delegation at the court, led by Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, refused to comment before entering the wood-panelled Great Hall of Justice. They were due to present their arguments to the 16-judge panel later Monday.

Monday's hearing was focused on Cambodia's request for the court to issue an emergency order to Thailand to withdraw its troops from the disputed region. The court could make a decision on the request within weeks, but will likely take years to settle the underlying border dispute.

Tensions along the border have been exacerbated in recent months in part by pressure from influential Thai nationalist groups that have protested in Bangkok, urging the government to take back disputed border territory. Hardcore nationalists insist a 1962 World Court ruling awarding the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia was unfair.

Bas Czerwinski, Associated Press 

Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong is seen at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, May 30, 2011.

The flare-up also comes as the Thai military raises its profile in domestic politics ahead of a general election scheduled for July 3.

"Thailand does not merely challenge Cambodia's sovereignty in this region, but is imposing its own interpretation by occupying this zone by murderous armed incursions," Hor Namhong said.

According to its World Heritage listing, the temple dedicated to Shiva "is exceptional for the quality of its architecture, which is adapted to the natural environment and the religious function of the temple, as well as for the exceptional quality of its carved stone ornamentation."

Talks mediated by Indonesia's president in early May between the two countries' prime ministers failed to hammer out a lasting cease-fire.

"The two armies confront one another on a daily basis and new Thai aggression could arise at any moment," Hor Namhong told the judges. "It is time for international law to speak loudly."

By Mike Corder, Associated Press 

Thailand hires 3 foreigners to fight case at ICJ

• Published: 31/05/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Thailand has hired three foreign legal advisers to help fight an International Court of Justice case filed by Cambodia.  The three attorneys are from Australia, Canada, and France. Considering the importance of the case, the Bangkok Post is providing an introduction to the lawyers.

Crawford: One of the top UK barristers

Prof James Crawford
Australia national

Mr Crawford is a professor of international law at the University of Cambridge, the United Kingdom. He is one of England's top international barristers and has worked on cases in several international courts, including the ICJ.

He represented Malaysia in a dispute with Singapore over the sovereignty of Pulau Batu Puteh island and in another dispute with Indonesia over the Ligitan-Sipadan islands.

McRae: Teaches law at Ottawa University

Prof Donald M. McRae
Canada/New Zealand national

Mr McRae currently holds the Hyman Soloway Chair in Business and Trade Law and teaches international law at the University of Ottawa.

Mr McRae has been a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration since 1988. He was elected to the United Nations' International Law Commission in 2006.

He was a counsel for Canada during an arbitration with France over the St Pierre and Miquelon maritime boundary dispute in l991 and 1992, was a legal adviser to New Zealand on maritime boundary issues from 2000 to 2005, and counsel to Suriname in a dispute with Guyana in 2006. 

Pellet: French expert on international law

Prof Alain Pellet
French national

Mr Pellet is an international law professor at Universite' Paris Ouest-Nanterre-La De'fense.

He is one of the most distinguished French experts on international law and has made a name for himself as the representative of several countries before the ICJ in the Hague.

He is one of the most active lawyers practising before the ICJ.

In addition, he serves in an advisory capacity to international organisations on issues concerning administration and international legislation. He has been a member of the UN's International Law Commission since 1990. He was the commission's chairman in 1997.

 

សមាជ​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច ​ជ្រើសតាំង​លោកញ៉ឹក​ ប៊ុនឆៃ ​ជាប្រធាន​ប្រតិបត្តិគណបក្ស​

កម្ពុជា - អត្ថបទចុះ​ផ្សាយ​នៅ​ថ្ងៃ សៅរ៍ 02 មេសា 2011 - ព័ត៌មានទើប​កែប្រើ​លើកចុងក្រោយ​ ថ្ងៃ សៅរ៍ 02 មេសា 2011

សមាជ​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច ​ជ្រើសតាំង​លោកញ៉ឹក​ ប៊ុនឆៃ ​ជាប្រធាន​ប្រតិបត្តិគណបក្ស​

គណបក្ស ​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច​​បាន​បើក​​អង្គ​សមាជ​​​នៅ​ព្រឹក​ថ្ងៃ​សៅរ៍​​ទី២​​ខែ​មេសា​​ឆ្នាំ២០១១​ © សុវណ្ណរ៉ា

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ដូច​ការ​គ្រោងទុក ​គណបក្ស ​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច ​បាន​បើក​អង្គ​សមាជ​របស់​ខ្លួន​នៅ​ព្រឹក​ថ្ងៃ​សៅរ៍​ទី២​ខែ​មេសា​នេះ​ដើម្បី​ បោះឆ្នោត​ជ្រើសតាំង​មេដឹកនាំ​សម្រាប់​អាណត្តិ​ថ្មី ​និង​បាន​កែ​សម្រួល​រចនា​សម្ពន្ធ័​គណបក្ស​មួយចំនួន។ ​លោក ​ញ៉ឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ ​ត្រូវ​បាន​ជ្រើសតាំង​ជា​ប្រធាន​ប្រតិបត្តិ​របស់​គណបក្ស។ ​ប្រធាន​ប្រតិបត្តិ​ដែល​ជា​អ្នក​ដឹកនាំ​សំខាន់​របស់​គណបក្ស។ ​រីឯ​លោក​ កែវ ពុធរស្មី ​អតីត​ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​ត្រូវ​បាន​ជ្រើស​រើស​ជា​មគ្គុទេសក៏ ​របស់​គណបក្ស​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច។​ អង្គ​សមាជ​នេះ​ក៏បាន​សម្រេច​គាំទ្រ​សមាសភាព​ក្រុមប្រឹក្សា​ជាតិ​ដែល​មាន​ សមាជិក​៣ពាន់​នាក់​និង​សមាជិក​គណៈនាយក​ចំនួន ​១២០​នាក់​ផង​ដែរ។ ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច​ដែលមានតែ២កៅអីក្នុង​រដ្ឋសភា​នៅតែ​ប្រកាស​ជំហរ​ធ្វើជា​ដៃគូ​ ជាមួយ​គណបក្ស​ប្រជាជន​កម្ពុជា។

សេចក្តីរាយការណ៍របស់​ ប៉ែន បូណា 02/04/2011 by ប៉ែន បូណា ស្តាប់ (02:24)

សកម្មជន ​ក្បាល​ម៉ាស៊ីន​គណបក្ស ​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច ​ចំនួន​ប្រមាណ​ជា ​៣០០០​ នាក់​ដែល​បាន​ចូល​រួម​អង្គ​សមាជ​នៅ​ព្រឹក​មិញ​នេះ​បាន​បោះឆ្នោត​ជ្រើតាំង​ លោក ​ញ៉ឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ ​អតីត​អគ្គលេខាធិការ​គណបក្ស​ឱ្យ​ធ្វើ​ជា​ប្រធាន​ប្រតិបត្តិ​គណបក្ស ​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច ​សម្រាប់​អាណត្តិ​៥​ឆ្នាំ​ខាង​មុខ។ ប្រធាន​ប្រតិបត្តិ​គឺ​ជា​តំណែង​ដឹកនាំ​សំខាន់​ជាងគេ​នៅ​ក្នុង​គណបក្ស​នេះ។ ​ចំណែក​លោក​ កែវ ពុធរស្មី ​អតីត​ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​ ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច ​ត្រូវ​បាន​ជ្រើស​តាំង​ជា​មគ្គុទេសក៏​របស់​គណបក្ស​។
អង្គ​សមាជ​ដែល​បាន​ប្រារព្ធ​ធ្វើ​នៅ​ព្រឹក​ថ្ងៃទី២​មេសា​នេះ​នៅ​ឯ​ ទីស្នាក់ការ​ថ្មី​គណបក្ស ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច ​នៅ​ក្នុង​សង្កាត់​បាក់ខែង ​ខណ្ឌ​ឬស្សីកែវ ​ជាយ​រាជធានី​ភ្នំពេញ ​ក៏​បាន​គាំទ្រ​សមាសភាព​ក្រុមប្រឹក្សា​ជាតិ​របស់​គណបក្ស​សម្រាប់​អាណត្តិ​ ថ្មី​នេះ​ចំនួន​ ៣០០០ ​នាក់ ​និង​គាំទ្រ​សមាសភាព​សមាជិក​ពេញ​សិទ្ធិ​គណៈកម្មាធិការ​នាយក​ដែល​មាន​ចំនួន​ ១២០​នាក់ និង​សមាជិក​បម្រុង​៤៥​នាក់។
លោក​កែវ ពុធរស្មី ​បាន​ថ្លែង​បើក​អង្គសមាជ​ដោយ​អះអាង​ថា ​គណបក្ស ​ហ្វ៊ុនស៊ិនប៉ិច ​នឹង​មិន​សាប​សូន្យ​ឡើយ​ដោយសារ​តែ​គណបក្ស​នេះ បាន​ចូលរួម​ក្នុងការ​រំដោះជាតិ និង​កសាង​ជាតិ​ក្នុង​រយៈពេល​ជិត​៣​ទសវត្សរ៍​ចុងក្រោយ​នេះ​។ ម្យ៉ាងទៀត ​បើ​យោង​តាម​លោក ​កែវ​ ពុធរស្មី​ហ្វ៊ុន​ស៊ិនប៉ិច នៅ​តែ​រក្សា​គោលការណ៍​របស់​ខ្លួន​គឺ​ ជា​គណបក្ស ​សីហនុ​និយម​។

លោក​ កែវ ពុធរស្មី ​បន្តថា ​គណបក្ស​ហ្វ៊ុនស៊ិនប៉ិច​ ប្រកាន់​គោលការណ៍​ផ្សះផ្សា​បង្រួប​បង្រួម​ជាតិ ​និង​ចូល​រួម​ជាមួយ​គណបក្ស​ប្រជាជន​កម្ពុជា​ក្នុង​ការ​ដោះស្រាយ​បញ្ហា​ បូរណភាព​ទឹកដី​ដែល​ទទួល​រង​ការ​ឈ្លានពាន​ពី​ប្រទេស​ជិត​ខាង​។ លោក​បាន​លើក​យក​ប្រសាសន៍​របស់​លោក នាយក​រដ្ឋមន្ត្រី​ហ៊ុន សែន ​ដែល​អះអាង​ថា ​មាន​តែ​គណបក្ស​ប្រជាជន​កម្ពុជា ​និង​ហ្វ៊ុនស៊ិនប៉ិច ប៉ុណ្ណោះ​ដែល​រួម​គ្នា​កសាង​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ ​និង​របប​រាជា​និយម​ទី​២​នៅ​កម្ពុជា​។

សូមបញ្ជាក់​ថា ​នៅក្នុង​សមាជ​នោះ ​ក៏​មានតំណាង​គណបក្ស នរោត្តម រណឬទ្ធិ ដែលជាបងប្អូន​គូសត្រូវ​ចូលរួមផង​ដែរ​។​ ព្រះអង្គម្ចាស់ នរោត្តម​ រណឬទ្ធិ ក៏​បាន​ផ្ញើ​សារអប​អរសាទរ​ចំពោះ​អង្គសមាជ​នេះ​និងផ្តល់​ក្តីសង្ឃឹម​លើ​ការ​ បង្រួប​បង្រួម​គ្នា​នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ណាមួយ​។​ អង្គសមាជ​ថ្ងៃនេះ​​ក៏មាន​ការចូលរួម​ពី​មន្ត្រី​សំខាន់ៗ​របស់​ហ្វ៊ុនស៊ិនប៉ិច ​ដែល​ធ្លាប់​បែកបាក់​គ្នា​កន្លងទៅ ​មាន​ដូច​ជា​ លោក​ កែវ ពុធរស្មី ​លោក​ ញ៉ឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ ​លោក​ លឺ ឡាយស្រេង​ និង​ព្រះអង្គម្ចាស់​ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ​សិរីរត្ន័ ​ជាដើម។

អង្គសមាជ​ថ្ងៃនេះ​ក៏បាន​កើត​ឡើង​បន្ទាប់​ពី​មាន​កិច្ច​សម្រប​សម្រួល​ ផ្ទៃក្នុង​មួយ​រវាង​មន្ត្រី​គណបក្ស​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច​ក្រោយ​ពី​ពួកគេ​បាន​ ខ្វែង​គំនិត​គ្នា​យ៉ាង​ខ្លាំង​អំពី​កំណែ​ទម្រង់​ដែល​នាំ​ដល់​ការ​ផ្តល់​ អំណាច​សំខាន់​ឱ្យ​លោក ​ញ៉ឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ៕

Website carrying ancient Cambodian manuscripts launched

By Monica Kotwani
Channel News Asia
Posted: 30 March 2011
http://www.khmermanuscripts.org/

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Embassy in Cambodia, together with UNESCO, has launched a website, carrying contents of ancient Cambodian manuscripts.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Embassy has been supporting UNESCO, through a fund, for the last two years in its work to digitise the manuscripts.

The manuscripts, written on latania leaves, faced extinction in the 1990s.

They are Cambodia’s only written heritage available, apart from stone inscriptions, and an information source for researchers on the country’s religious and cultural practices and customs.

The website was launched on Wednesday evening at the French Cultural Centre in Phnom Penh.

-CNA/wk

Former sex slave speaks

A person’s past does not necessarily determine their future, Cambodian human rights activist Somaly Mam said in a lecture Friday afternoon in the State Farm Room of the Business and Aerospace Building.

As the keynote speaker for the annual Global Discourses in Women’s and Gender Studies conference, Mam discussed how she spent much of her early life as a sex slave but has dedicated the rest of it to helping others escape the abuse and illness she grew up with.

 

Mam said she was sold in slavery when she was a young teenager by a man posing as her grandfather. Even today, she said she does not know exactly how old she is or who her parents were. She also does not know her real name.

 

Her owner forced her to live in a snake and scorpion infested brothel with other young slaves, she said.

 

Even though she was beaten and starved, Mam said she did not consider running away at first because, in the brothel, she at least had people surrounding her. Outside, she said, she had no one.

 

It was only after the owner killed her best friend in front of her that she escaped.

 

Since then, Mam has made it her life’s work to help other girls escape from slavery and learn to move on with their lives.

 

In 2007, she established the Somaly Mam Foundation, a worldwide organization that has thus far helped more than 7,000 girls break the bonds of slavery.

 

“I teach them forgiveness,” Mam said. “Not to forgive them, but yourself – so you can be happy.”

 

Tina Johnson, director of the university’s Women’s and Gender Studies Program, said sex trafficking is a “very important issue in women’s studies.” Though males are also often victims of slavery, women and girls are more vulnerable to sex slavery, she said.

 

“She did not stop to think about the girls she left behind,” Johnson said. “She is a tower of strength.”

 

Mam, who has no formal education, said she admires the girls she helps. One is now attending law school, she said.

 

“I just have a heart,” Mam said. “They have brains. They’re my heroes.”

 

Worldwide, sex slavery is an annually $32 billion industry, Johnson said, adding that it is estimated four to five million people are living as slaves and two million of those are children.

 

Extreme poverty is one of the main reasons children are sold as slaves, Mam said.

 

Cambodia is divided between the “very rich and the very poor,” she said.

 

Clare Bratten, a professor of electronic media production, said this divide is not only found in Cambodia. People from “poor countries are being sent to rich countries,” she said.

 

Mam said more research is needed to determine other causes of sex slavery and better ways to combat it in a global setting.

 

“Life is love,” she said. “Love costs you nothing.”

 

By Kelsey Wells
Staff Writer

http://www.mtsusidelines.com/news/former-sex-slave-speaks-1.2126477

Thai Soldiers Fire Machine Guns, Throw Grenades into Cambodia

PREAH VIHEAR, CAMBODIA, FEB 16, 2011-Thai armies on Tuesday night fired at Cambodian troops at Preah Vihear border despite the UN Security Council insisted the two neighboring practice permanent cease fire at the conflict border.

A military source at Preah Vihear temple of Cambodia confirmed that hundreds of grenades and artillery were fired and threw into Cambodia territory, starting from 6:52pm, on Tuesday evening to 5:00am on Wednesday morning around Phnom Troab, near Preah Vihear temple

The source added that Cambodian soldiers remained calm, citing that they would fight back if Thai soldier across to Cambodia’s.

The official also told Deum Ampil Media Center that around 8:00pm on February 15th, Thai military commander telephoned Cambodian army commanders and accused Cambodia soldier moving under a barb fences into their territory.

However, Cambodia soldier has rejected, adding that they stood only in Cambodian territory.

The action of Thai soldiers are violating UNSC’s declaration because Thai soldier wanted Cambodian soldiers to reduce patience and fight back but Cambodians did not.

Ajahn Brahm to give talks on Feb 16, 17 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

The New Straits Times, Feb 8, 2011

Johor Baru, Malaysia -- BUDDHIST devotees should keep Feb 16 and 17 free as the Venerable Ajahn Brahmavamso Mahathera will be in Johor Baru.

<< Venerable Ajahn Brahmavamso Mahathera will teach meditation techniques on Feb 17

Ajahn, who was born Peter Betts in London, will be at the Grand Bluewave Hotel at 8pm on Feb 16 to give a talk entitled Dif - ficulties are Unavoidable but Misery is Optional.

All are welcome and admission is free, as all costs are borne by members of the Metta Lodge Buddhist Centre Johor Baru.

On Feb 17, Ajahn will teach meditation techniques at the Metta Lodge. This will be followed by a talk entitled How do I Get Enlightened in this Life? at 8pm.

Due to space constraints, Metta Lodge can only accommodate 40 par ticipants.

Ajahn, a Theravada monk, is also the abbot of the Bodhinyana Monastery in Serpentine, Western Australia.

Coming from a working-class background, Ajahn won a scholarship to study theoretical physics at Cambridge University in the late 1960s, graduating with first-class honours.

After Cambridge, he taught in a high school for one year before going to Thailand to become a monk and train under Ajahn Chah, a monk renowned for his strict monastic discipline, simplicity of life and the practice of forest tradition.

Forest tradition involves using the remote wilderness and forest dwellings as training grounds for spiritual practice.

Ajahn was ordained in Bangkok when he was 23 years old. He subsequently spent nine years studying the forest tradition.

He is a sought-after dhamma teacher.

Ajahn dedicates his time and attention to the sick, those in prisons and people wanting to learn medi t at i o n .

Ajahn has written two books entitled Opening the Door of Your Hear t (formerly published as Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?) and Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond: A Meditator’s Handbook.

Ajahn’s Dhamma talks are available for free download in both digital audio and video format.

For details, call 019-779 6007 or 016-761 1666.

Source: Buddhist Channel

Cambodians, Thais point fingers over cross-border fight

Each side accused the other of starting the latest shelling. The dispute involves the location of a temple.

February 6, 2011

By SETH MYDANS

New York Times

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen asked the U.N. Security Council on Sunday to convene an urgent meeting to "stop Thailand's aggression" after a third day of cross-border shelling by both sides.

The Cambodian government said the shelling had damaged part of an 11th-century Hindu temple that is claimed by both nations and has been the focus of tension and periodic military clashes since 2008.

Each side accused the other of starting the latest fighting, which has claimed at least two lives and caused a number of injuries since it broke out Friday. No deaths were reported Sunday, but both sides said there were some injuries.

"Cambodians always open fire first," said Thai Army spokesman Col. Sansern Keowkamnderd. "We will cease fire when the Cambodians stop firing at us."

The Cambodian government also said Thai military aircraft had flown near the border, an escalation of previous encounters, but Sansern denied the report.

It was not clear how seriously the temple, Preah Vihear, had been damaged. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the temple was slightly damaged by shelling in the last serious clash a year ago.

"A wing of our Preah Vihear temple has collapsed as a direct result of the Thai artillery bombardment," a Cambodian military commander was quoted as saying in a press statement.

The statement also quoted the unidentified commander as saying the Thai side had used "gas shells" as it fired artillery rounds at Cambodian soldiers, but it did not elaborate.

The dispute involves conflicting century-old maps and a ruling in 1962 by the International Court of Justice awarding the temple to Cambodia. New tensions were set off in July 2008 when UNESCO named the temple a World Heritage site and also placed it inside Cambodia.

Tensions along the border have become entwined in Thailand's political disputes, with the faction known as the yellow shirts accusing the government of failing to defend Thai sovereignty. The issue has become a rallying cry in recent weeks for the yellow shirts, who have begun a new sit-in near the prime minister's office, where they staged a blockade for more than six months in 2008.

Bora Touch counters the Thai Foreign Ministry's statement on border dispute

By Bora Touch
Lawyer at the Supreme Court of State of New South Wales, Australia
Member of the Cambodian Bar Association
A founder and Board director of the Legal Aid of Cambodia

Below is my response to: "Thailand's Foreign Ministry statement concerning the Cambodian flag over Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda" published by The Nations, February 1, 2011. My comments begin with "Bora Touch" and the Thai Foreign Ministry's statement begins with "Thai FM"

Thai FM: The Foreign Ministry's statement concerning the Cambodian flag over Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda:

"With reference to the declaration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia dated January 28, 2011 regarding the issue of the flag of the Kingdom of Cambodia that is flying over the "Keo Sikha Kiri Svara" Pagoda, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand wishes to state the following:

1. According to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia on the Survey and Demarcation of Land Boundary of 2000, the 1904 and 1907 Treaties and "other documents relating to the application" of both treaties are the relevant legal documents to determine the boundary line. Thailand therefore does not accept the assertion by Cambodia that the 1:200,000 map is the basis for determining the boundary.

BORA TOUCH: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1962 ruled that the 1:200,000 map, or the Dangrek Section or Annex I Map as known in the ICJ proceeding, (and all of the 1:200,000 maps) is valid and forms part of the 1904 and 1907 Siam - France (Cambodia) delimitation treaties. The Memorandum of Understanding on the Survey and Demarcation of Land Boundary of 2000 stipulates:

Article 1: The survey and demarcation of the land boundary between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Thailand shall be jointly conducted in accordance with the following documents:

a) ... The Convention between France [Cambodia] and Siam [Thailand] modifying the stipulations of the Treaty of 3 October 1893, regarding the Territorial Boundaries and Other Arrangements, signed at Paris, 13 February 1904.

b) ... The Treaty between the His Majesty the King of Siam and the President of the Republic of France, singed at Bangkok, 23 March 1907 ... and the Protocol Concerning the Delimitation of Boundaries and Annexed to the Treaty of 23 march 1907; and

c) Maps which are the results of the demarcation works of the Commissions of the Delimitation of the Boundary of the Indochina [Cambodia] and Siam ... set up under the Covnention of 1904 and the Treaty of 1907 between France [Cambodia] and Siam [Thailand] and other documents relating to the application of the Convention of 1904 and the Treaty of 1907 between France[Cambodia] and Siam [Thaiand].

The Terms of Reference and Master Plan for the Joint Survey and Demarcation of Land Boundary between Cambodia and Thailand (TOR) of 23 March 2003 stipulates:

1.1.3. Maps which are the results of the Demarcation Works of the Commissions of Delimitation of boundary between Indochina [Cambodia] and Siam [Thailand].. sep up under the Convention of 1904 and the Treaty of 1907 between France [Cambodia] and Siam [Thailand] (theferafter referred to as "the maps of 1:200,000") and other documents relating to the application of the Convention of 1904 and the Treaty of 1907 between France [Cambodia] and Siam [Thailand].

Paragraph 10 of the Terms of Reference emphasises:

"This TOR is without prejudice to the legal value of the previous agreements between France and Siam concerning the delimitation of boundary, nor to the value of the Maps of the Commissions of the Delimitation of Boundary between Indochina [Cambodia] and Siam [Thailand] set up under the Convention of 13 February 1904 and the Treaty of 23 March 1907, reflecting the boundary line of Indochina and Siam"

Clearly the maps referred to are the 1:200,000 map(s) which, as mentioned above, the ICJ in 1962 ruled to be valid and forms part of the 1904 (and 1907) treaties. Thailand is therefore not in a position to assert that the 1:200,000 maps (one of which is known as Dangrek Section or Annex I map in which the PreahVihear Temple is situated) are not valid. There is no legal basis for such an assertion and to make such an assertion would amount to saying that, in contravention of the UN Charter, Thailand does not accept and will not enforce the Judgment of the ICJ.

Thai FM: 2. Cambodia also admitted in the aforementioned declaration that the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 1962 did not rule on the question of the boundary line between Thailand and Cambodia.

Bora Touch: Contrary to Thailand's assertion, in 1962 the ICJ ruled unambiguously that the 1:200,000 maps (the Dangrek Section or Annex I Map included) is valid and is a part of the 1904 and 1907 treaties. Since the ICJ accepted and ruled that the map(s), which is the result of the boundary demarcation of the French-Siamese Joint Commissions, is valid and a part the treaties, the ICJ decided that it was unnecessary to rule on the question of boundary because the matter was decided (the map was ruled to be valid). The question did not need an answer as it was determined by the map(s). As scholar Kieth Highet (1987) pointed out: "the Court held that since the location indicated in the map had been accepted, it was unncessary to examine the physical location of boundary as derived from the terms of the Treaty". The ICJ did rule on the boundary question by ruling that map was valid.

Thai FM: 3. Thailand maintains that the "Keo Sikha Kiri Svara" Pagoda is situated on Thai territory, and demands that Cambodia remove both the pagoda and the Cambodian flag flying over the pagoda. This is a reiteration of the many protests that Thailand has submitted to Cambodia regarding the activities carried out in the pagoda and the surrounding area, all of which constitute violations of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Thailand.

Bora Touch: According to the 1:200,000 map (or the Dangkrek Section or Annex I map), the Preah Vihear Temple and the 4.6 sq km parcel of land undisputedly are inside Cambodian territory. Thailand and Cambodia agree that the "Keo Sikha Kiri Svara" Pagoda is situated in the 4.6 sqkm parcel of land.

Thai FM: 4. The Ministry reaffirms Thailand's commitment to resolving all boundary issues with Cambodia in accordance with international law through peaceful means under the framework of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC). The determination of the boundary line in the area of the Temple of Phra Viharn [Preah Vihear Temple] is still subject to ongoing negotiation under the framework of the JBC."

Bora Touch: It is misleading for Thailand to say it applies international law in this regard. It obviously failed to perform the obligations as stipulated under the ICJ Judgment of 1962. It thus has violated article 94(1) of the UN Charter/. Cambodia complains to the UN Security Council for appropriate measures against Thailand: Art 94(2).