Is it fake?

I thought they were a myth but I was obviously myth-taken.



A friend got a $2 note as change. She kept it as a novelty. Regardless of the circulation of the notes in the US, it is very rare to see one in Cambodia!

Amnesty colonising?

A top adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen and head of the government's human rights committee Friday accused Amnesty International of colonialism, after the right group's sharp criticism of the government's rights record in 2006.

Amnesty released "State of the World's Human Rights 2007" earlier this week, in which it said rights abuses in Cambodia continue.

"I don't understand Amnesty International," Hun Sen adviser Om Yentieng said. "It wants to put colonial rule on Cambodia, and it seems like it is too much. It is about time this should stop, the urge to rule Cambodia. Please let Cambodia have its freedom for development, and don't bother it too much. (Source)

So the PM's adviser, Om Yentieng, is accusing Amnesty International of colonialism. Apart from the utter ridiculousness of the statement, it shows that he does not understand the concept. Om Yentieng it is impossible to be a coloniser without governing a sovereign state. Amnesty is an international NGO, not a sovereign state.

Since when does pointing out human rights abuses equate to colonialism. Cambodia needs more scrutiny. People and organisations in a position of authority must point out abuses and suggest solutions or Cambodia may not arrest its slide into a police state. Yash Ghai is here to get input from government for his report on abuses in Cambodia to the Human Rights Council. No government official will meet him and the PM declares that he will never meet him again.

Certain political entities commit human rights abuses with impunity in Cambodia and without Amnesty and the UN that would continue unchecked. The local Cambodian NGOs do fantastic work but international pressure is a fundamental element in combating both the abuses and the climate of impunity in which they flourish.

Magic water 2

Does swearing to die over Buddha water if you do not vote for the CPP at next election, constitute a violation of the election laws? It turns out that the magic water isn't so much magic as a death threat backed by thugs.

A villager from O village, Svay Sor commune, who is one among the many who drank oath water said that he was forced by his group chief to drink oath water, and he was very scared about this issue. “They call us in to drink (the oath water), they are concerned that we are not faithful, that we do not want to vote for them. They pour water in a cup, they put in a small statue of Buddha (in the cup), they told us to drink. We are concerned, but we don’t know what to do, so I drank…”

The commune and village authorities recognized that they did indeed call the villagers to come in and drink the oath water because there is a disparity between the number of people receiving gifts and the number of votes the CPP received during the recent commune election.

Prang Chheun, the Svay Sor commune chief, said that he was the one who came up with this idea, and he did not receive any order from anybody else. He said that this stems from the fact that the CPP have 1,800 adherents in the commune, however, during the April commune election, the CPP received 700 votes less than the number of (alleged) party members.

The actions of CPP violate the secret ballot. How can a voter choose a candidate independently, if they have drunk the magic water in front of witnesses? There would be a constant fear of discovery and/or denunciation. The CPP know how many people pledged loyalty through this charade and how many voted for them. Intimidation will uncover who accepted CPP gifts and voted for another candidate. Intimidation works almost as well as corruption - but with the two in sync the results are impressive

Intellectual stimulation

Calling all poetry, music and performance lovers ... Talkin' to a stranger is having an open mic night on Wednesday (30th May) at 8pm. More information here. Get your intellectual stimulation on!

UN Human Rights envoy to visit

The UN Human Rights envoy, Yash Ghai, is visiting Cambodia this week to discuss his recommendations to the Human Rights Council regarding the state of Human Rights in the country. His last visit caused quite the furore, with the PM's temper tantrum.

On a previous visit in March 2006, Ghai said too much power in Cambodia resided in one man, and the government was not committed to human rights.

Prime Minister Hun Sen responded by calling Ghai "deranged," demanding the envoy's sacking and claiming he would never meet with him, the BBC reported at the time. Hun Sen then called UN workers in Cambodia "long-term tourists.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has requested to meet with Ghai, in an effort to retain the UN's office for human rights in the country. (Source)

Despite the opposition, Ghai performs a vital task that must be allowed to continue. The PM is dictator of his own fiefdom but international diplomacy may be able to help arrest Cambodia's decline into a police state. International diplomacy requires information and Ghai can provide that. In addition, now that oil has been discovered in Cambodia, certain countries will take more interest in the internal affairs of another state, be it for good or ill.

Another murder and disembowelment

Another woman is murdered and disemboweled, her organs taken. There is no clear motive - her husband and neighbours claim that she had no enemies. Was she another convenient victim? Her husband claims she was raped before being murdered and her body was dumped in the river. The police have identified a suspect but he has since disappeared. They say an investigation is continuing. (Source)

The gender based violence in this country is shocking. It is normalised and thus elicits no outrage. In fact the comments under this article refer to plots by the Vietnamese rather than the rape, murder and disembowelment of a fellow citizen. Of course, there is a terrible racism towards Cambodian's eastern neighbours. The ultimate insult seems to be accusations of collaboration. The PM is often referred to as a nazi Viet Cong slave. None of the commenters appear to feel that it's worth mentioning that murder is outside the norm. Here it apparently is not.

A Cambodian at Cannes

Congratulations to Rithy Panh on winning the 2007 France-Culture prize for Cinema to honour his body of work at the Cannes film festival yesterday.

He's a Cambodian filmmaker whose family died in the Khmer Rouge work camps. His films focus on the aftermath of the genocide in Cambodia. They include Rice People, S-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine, and the Burnt Theatre.

Don't panic!

Celebrate Towel Day!

It's the day dedicated to the genius of Mr Douglas Adams. Carry a towel around with you today in whatever manner you fancy -

you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

Celebrate the author who gave the world such memorable quotes as

"Space," it says, "is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly hugely mindboggingly big it is. I mean you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space

We'll be saying a big hello to all intelligent life forms everywhere ... and to everyone else out there, the secret is to bang the rocks together, guys

If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now.

To summarise the summary: anyone capable of getting themselves made President should by no means be allowed to do the job.

My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fibre, and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes.

Here I am, brain the size of a planet and they ask me to take you down to the bridge. Call that job satisfaction? 'Cos I don't.

[Trillian] is one of the least benightedly unintelligent life forms it has been my profound lack of pleasure not to be able to avoid meeting.

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy also mentions alcohol. It says that the best drink in existence is the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. It says that the effect of a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.

I'll stop there but the whole thing is eminently quotable from the radio series to the TV series, the book and the movie. Do yourself a favour and jump aboard the Heart of Gold.

Intimidation via magic water

In Cambodia, you prove loyalty to the party by drinking "magic" water

A group of villagers living in the Svar Sor commune, Varin district, Siem Reap province, claimed that the population of many villages were rounded up by their CPP village chiefs and commune chiefs who forced them to drink “magic” oath water in order to prove their faithfulness to the CPP party in the commune.

“… they forced us to drink, they say whoever are faithful to them, they let them drink (the water), but those who are not, they let them go. I drank, we all drank, and we are drinking every day. In this village, several hundred people (drank)…”

Prang Chhoeun, the (CPP) Svay Sor commune chief, recognized that he organized this ritual, but that he only forced CPP party members to drink only, and he is not forcing anybody else to drink at all.

Prang Chhoeun said: “We organized this ritual because we want to know who among the villagers are faithful to our CPP, we don’t force anyone, we just conducted business as usual.”

Kul Panha, the executive director of Comfrel, said that according to the commune election law, and the general election law, it is stated that forcing of people to drink ‘magic’ oath water must be fined between 5 and 25 million riels ($1,250 to $6,250).(Source)

Of course it is not mentioned what happens if one drinks and they are not a CPP member or does it show its magic if you are faithful to party? It is not mentioned what makes the water magic or how the party official can tell the faithful from the terrified.

Sounds like intimidation tactics by CPP thugs. They run unchecked by the rule of law. It's against the law but I'd bet that they will never be prosecuted. A CPP General's son robbed a school yesterday with a grenade and is pretty much immune to prosecution. Utter lawlessness seems to be the name of the game.

Heat

The weather is so hot that my feet were in pain from walking barefoot from the changing rooms to the pool, today at lunchtime. It must have been a grand total of eight metres. The ground was scorching and I had forgotten my flipflops. The though of scorching tiles didn't occur to me. I normally swim before work when the heat is less stifling. And you know it's hot when getting in the water brings no relief. The water is the same - too hot.

Monday night I had to sleep without aircon due to technical issues. I opened the window and tried to sleep with the fan but it was too hot. I lay in bed sweating and wishing that the rainy season would come. It's always slightly cooler after a rainstorm before the steamy, humid heat hits.

Freedom of the press?

After the fracas last week, with the PM calling Radio Free Asia and their journalist, Keo Nimol, rude and insolent, the journalist has gone into hiding.

IFJ President Christopher Warren expressed surprise that the prime minister would challenge a journalist so personally and forcefully, simply for asking a straightforward question.

“It is unacceptable that the prime minister has so publicly shown such contempt and disrespect for a journalist and the role of media in a democratic society,” Warren said.

“I urge Prime Minister Hun Sen to publicly clarify his comments in a way that will leave no one in any doubt as to the Cambodian government’s commitment to the democratic process and the media's role in this – that is, promoting discussion and transparency for open democratic process,” he said. (Source)

Keo fears for his safety after the PM started making enquiries about real name, his background and political affiliations. He has good reason to fear. Those who oppose the CPP or make statements often have "accidents", that are of course completely unrelated to the statement. It's pure coincidence that the labour union leaders were victims of street crime.

It is possible that the PM wants to an example of Keo to keep other journalists from speaking out against his "democratic" government. Except that this is a completely trumped up situation. Keo asked a legitimate political question in a professional manner and now is in hiding, fearful for his life.

“The prime minister is only undermining the principles of democracy by attempting to discredit and silence those who question the power structures”, Warren said.

“In the name of press freedom and journalist safety in Cambodia, the prime minister must act to end the intimidation, or face the disapproval of the international community,” he said.

Yeah that's true, except that the PM doesn't care what the international community thinks of him. For him, Cambodia culture is superior to all others which means that he will accept aid for development but not a single suggestion on the means to strengthen the rule of law or end impunity. The fact that Keo could not write under his real name does not exactly paint a great picture of a free press in Cambodia.

Police state?

So after spending three nights in prison, for yelling at Ney Pena a CPP lawmaker, Mo Ravy was released. Herself and husband Hong Dara made a public apology for having a fiery verbal encounter with a government official.

The incident began after one of Ney Pena's employees tried to climb over the couple's house. They yelled at the labourer who had a ladder propped up against their house without permission and at Ney Pena for giving his permission.

Ney Pena called national police chief Hok Lundy (trafficker and battler of terrorism extraordinaire) and had the couple arrested. It seems he couldn't cope with a few insults.

He dropped his lawsuit with the following words

They have regrets. They didn't know who I was. They might have been confused. They read out an apology and I also advised them not to argue with their neighbors (sic) because we have had many years of war. (Source: Cambodia Daily)

Wow what a guy. He lets them off the heinous crime of yelling at the poor little defenceless lawmaker because they didn't realise who he was. They didn't realise that the should be bowing and scraping and letting his people on their property because he is a CPP lawmaker and has the might of the Cambodian national police force behind him. For a few insults he had them thrown in jail by the head of the national police. The message is clear - grovel or jail.

Just another indication of the emergence of a police state in Cambodia. It is truly shocking that the national police chief would arrest two people just to silence them. What happened to freedom of expression? Finally Ney Pena finishes with the guilt trip, equating argument with neighbours to the crimes of the Khmer Rouge. What is this country becoming?

Yet another explanation

According to [Yin Kim Sean, the secretary of state for the Ministry of Environment], the presence of large amount of excrements in the bottom of the fish cages cause a lack of oxygen and an increase of carbon dioxide concentration. Added to that are the first rains which “warmed up the earth” and increased the water temperature, this would have caused the death of the fishes. (Source)

So it's not poison even though a representative of the SKD winery confirmed that the factory dumped waste in the river. And it's not a naturally occurring chemical reaction in the water, now fifty tons of fish died in warmed excrement. I wonder what explanation tomorrow will bring.

Credit card

I went to the bank today intending to get a credit card. I am sick of wiring money to pay my regular credit card bill - it costs $35 to send any amount of money. I don't use credit cards much here much but they are useful for overseas and internet purchases.

My bank, which is a multinational monster, does not offer any credit card services to customers in Cambodia. I didn't believe the teller when he repeated over and over again that they really do not issue credit cards.

I've got to find an alternative to a fee of $35 per transactions and hopefully something will reveal itself.

Poison fish - the sequel

So apparently there is nothing to worry about! Radio Free Asia (the insolent radio station) has reported that a group of governmental experts reported that the 50 tons of fish did not die from pollutants but from a naturally occurring chemical reaction in the water.

Oh well that's OK then. Fifty tons of fish died from natural causes at the same time - that's completely plausible. It's good to trust the government when they give such logical explanations. If one was paranoid, one might conclude that some factory paid a large amount of money to make such allegations disappear. I'm sticking to turf for now.

Duch may go first

The defense lawyer for Kaing Khek Iev, known as Duch, expects his client to be the first ex-member of the Khmer Rouge to come before the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). (Source)

Khang Khek Ieu is infamous. He was known as Comrade Duch and was in charge of S21 prison from 1975-79. During that time, the best guess is that 20 000 people were exterminated under his orders, including the few foreigners who did not evacuate the country or who were captured in territorial waters.

Prisoners were tortured with electric shocks, searing hot metal instruments and hanging, as well as through the use of various other devices. Although many prisoners died from this kind of abuse, killing them outright was discouraged, since the Khmer Rouge needed their confessions... Physical torture was combined with sleep deprivation and deliberate neglect of the prisoners. The torture implements are on display in the museum. The vast majority of prisoners were innocent of the charges against them and their confessions produced by torture

After the interrogation, the prisoner and his/her family were taken to the Choeung Ek extermination center, fifteen kilometers from Phnom Penh. There, they were killed by being battered with iron bars, pickaxes, machetes and many other makeshift weapons. Victims of the Khmer Rouge were seldom shot as bullets were viewed as too precious for this purpose. (Source)

After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, he escaped to Thailand. He travelled to China teaching Khmer and basically got on with his life. He converted to Christianity and even worked for aid agencies. He escaped discovery until an Irish photojournalist, Nic Dunlop, tracked him down:

I was talking to an amputee Khmer Rouge soldier when a short, wiry man appeared, wearing a white T-shirt emblazoned with the initials ARC (American Refugee Committee). Shaking my hand, he politely introduced himself in perfect English as Hang Pin. He was a born-again Christian who had been working for American aid organisations since 1997. He took a keen interest in my Leica, asking me how much it cost. Using this opportunity to photograph the people in the group, I caught him in the frame. Large ears, bad teeth, cropped hair-he had aged a little, but the likeness to the photograph tucked in my back pocket was unmistakeable. Hang Pin was Comrade Duch. (Source)

He is now awaiting trial. Everybody in Cambodia is waiting for the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. There are near constant delays and the accused are old and may not survive long enough to be tried.

Press and politics

So much for freedom of the press

Catching Hun Sen outside the National Assembly in Phnom Penh, RFA reporter Keo Nimuol asked whether the recent sacking of a Funcinpec tourism minister meant the end of coalition partnership between the ruling Cambodian People's Party and the royalists.

"I am telling you, I have seen RFA's face," Hun Sen said. "Your radio station is insolent, and the one who asks questions is insolent too. You see for yourself; why do you need to ask? Funcinpec's ministers, state secretaries, undersecretaries and deputy prime ministers are here. I am speaking here now so that Cambodian TV stations tell RFA, not only is RFA insolent, even the one who asks questions is insolent."

The word the prime minister used translates as insolent but has much stronger implications in Cambodia's hierarchic culture. (Source)

The reporter asked a valid political question that is not remotely insulting, leading, insolent or inflammatory. Due to X, will Y happen? These are questions that most politicians are asked every day in the developed world. All politicians have to speak off the cuff, with the exception of Dubya who is incapable of doing so. If a European politician had responded to simple question in such a manner, that person would offer to resign, be out next election or apologise profusely to the voting public.

That is perhaps one of the major problems in Cambodian politics. Those in power do not fulfill their role and accuse the press, when they point this fact out. If Cambodia is a democracy as it claims then the politicians are public servants, which means servants of the people. If you mess the voters around or speak disrespectfully to them then you are out next election. The PM does not fear that. He will be reelected. There is no question. After all Saddam Hussein was reelected. All it takes is a little manipulation!

Cambodia is rapidly becoming a one party state. The CPP are getting rid of the opposition in a softly softly manner. The leader of one of the parties, Prince Ranariddh can no longer enter the country but it was achieved through the appearance of corruption rather than overtly political means. The prince was first prime minister before being ousted in 1997 by Hun Sen. The only reason that he was in government with Hun Sen from 1993-97 was despite losing the election Hun Sen refused to cede power and they governed together.

However, that is not the only indication of the emergence of a one party state. The Funcinpec Minister for Tourism was sacked and a CPP man took his place. The official reason is that it is better for the Kingdom but no explanation of why it is better or the reasoning regarding the decision. CPP and Funcinpec are supposed to be in a coalition. In addition, there is the continuing assault on journalists' rights and the impunity that rages throughout the Kingdom. The PM is visiting the ruling junta in Myanmar but will give no indication of his purpose or explain his reasons for visiting a military dictatorship where the democratically elected leader has been under house arrest for 11 of the past 19 years.

The Cambodian future was bright for a time but now seems to be slipping into authoritarianism. The election in 2008 will be decisive, one way or another.

Poison fish

Farm-raised fish in the Tonle Sap river ... were poisoned and almost 50-ton of them died during the night of 14 May, the fishes are still dying as of now. Fish farmers blamed the death of the fishes on the dumping of pollutants into the river by the SKD winery company located in Kilometer 6.

the dead fishes were taken to sell at the market while some others are frozen to later sale.

Reports indicated that along the Mekong and the Tonle Sap rivers, numerous factories are dumping pollutants into the rivers, these cause a serious pollution to the environment (Source)

Yes you read that right, the poisoned fish are being sent to the market to be sold. From there it will end up in the homes and restaurants of Phnom Penh. The report contains no details about the specific pollutants but something that kills 50 tons of fish cannot be great for anyone's health. Indeed the poison may effect humans too. Hospitals beware.

It really doesn't matter if there are laws on the sale of poisoned food. About two weeks ago a text did the rounds. A herd of cattle had died under mysterious circumstances and people were being warned not to eat beef. It comes to a point that you eat whatever you want regardless of rumours. If you get sick, well that's life. You go to the doctor and get some ciprofloxacin for the parasites or medevac'd to Bangkok. However, I think I'll give the fish a miss.

Grave robbing

Yesterday at Sre Liev village in Kampot province, villagers held a Buddhist ceremony

to repay gratitude for the jewelry they collected from a recent digging of a Khmer Rouge-era grave site, where their deceased compatriots have been buried. (Source)

Last week hundreds of villagers began to dig up and loot the graves of Khmer Rouge victims after some one had noticed a pair of earrings in the ground. A one hectare grave site was completely over turned. Having robbed everything possible from the graves, the villagers performed a ceremony to appease the spirits of the dead. Some pictures here.

Is is acceptable to desecrate graves due to poverty? No news source that covered the story has made a moral judgement one way or t'other. I dislike looting of this nature. Those people died a horrible and terrifying death. They are the same as the villagers except they didn't survive. Robbing their graves is wrong. On the other hand, the Khmer Rouge victims are dead and all their worldly possessions cannot benefit them now. Should they be used to alleviate the terrible poverty in rural Cambodia, although this would merely be a stopgap measure. Throwing money at a problem doesn't work.

One could argue either side but I say let the victims of the Khmer Rouge rest in peace.

The power of names

Names have power. It can be interpreted in a spiritual or practical manner. Spiritually an entity that can name you has power over you. Practically, if somebody knows your name, they can get your email address and phone numbers and annoy you constantly.

In Cambodia, a journalist received a death threat for using a general's name

On 2 May 2007, General Pol Sinuon threatened to shoot Chim Chenda, a reporter with local newspaper "Kampuchea Thmey", for addressing him by his name. (Source)

The general claimed later that he was kidding - death threats are hilarious dont'cha know, especially for such an offense. Obviously this has been taken very seriously by no one in government and everyone in reporters groups.

IFJ President Christopher Warren said the incident showed flagrant disregard for journalist safety.

"It is disgraceful that the general believes he can simply laugh off his violent threat to the life of Chenda," Warren said.

"Worse still is the fact that the government has not called for an investigation or public apology.

"Silence on this disturbing incident makes the Cambodian government complicit in the culture of violence against journalists and impunity for their attackers," he said. (Source)

It's not the first time, of course, that Cambodian journalists have been threatened and it is not the first time that the government does nothing or is complicit.

In September 2006, Soy Sopheap, a TV journalist with Cambodian Television Network (CTN), received a letter containing threats to kill him. It was allegedly sent by an anonymous military general who was unhappy with the news analyst for choosing to read reports criticising corrupt civil or military officers.

A month before that, newspaper editor You Saravuth was forced to flee the country after he received death threats for publishing an article that implicated Okhna (Lord) Hun To, a nephew of Hun Sen, in land grabbing. (Source)

Names may have power but to react with such implied violence in a culture of impunity demonstrates the depth of the lawlessness. The rights of every group that does not toe the party line precisely must be protected because there is always the possibility that someone will end up in a suitcase and a domestic dispute will be blamed.

Pity the PM

Pity the PM. He cannot go out and have noodles like everybody else. He cannot go shopping in Soriya or Lucky. It's no fun!

Others go to the Soriya market, the Lucky market, unlucky me only, I never get to go anywhere like others, if I were to go, wouldn’t there be a riot at the market? Therefore, all I can do is watch commercials [on TV]. Some people and a number of our government officials, they can go to the market, go out to eat noodles, drink coffee, as for me, when I want noodle, the time I get it, it’s already stale, what to do? [For me] to go to a hotel, it has to be a reception for guest. (Source)

Sounding like a petulant child, the PM moans about how hard it is to be him. It's hard to rule a country for 30 years and yet he plans to stay another 30 either as PM himself as he has indicated before or as the power behind the post as he is implying now. It's hard to keep your relatives happy without appointing them to political office.

Then again there are certain advantages to being PM too. He's got first crack at the oil, 3G and kickbacks in addition to the usual corruption.

Pity the PM - the people would riot if he went to the market.

Poem

Perhaps it would not pass the muster of a literary critique, but it is hard hitting nonetheless.

To every man who never called himself a feminist

Sapient viruses?

He said that he got the illness from his wife, Chumteav Bun Rany, who also spread the disease to their grandchild. Hun Sen said that illness does not discriminate, and it does not know that Hun Sen is a high-ranking official”. (Source)

Disturbing words from the PM here. Two major points methinks. Firstly his wife "spread the disease". Oh yes, when explanations are too complex, the path of least resistance is to blame the woman. She diseased up the grandchild too just to make sure.

Secondly, from his words I get the feeling that the PM means the opposite. Certainly his phrasing indicates that he believes that an illness should skip him because he is such an important man. Well he is certainly self-important.

The illness does not know his rank. Yes PM this is normal. While viruses are living they have not achieved sapience. Where viruses capable of choice, I'm sure the rank of PM would have encouraged them to seek less connected prey for their evil, rapacious, diseased ways.

As amusing as sapient viruses are, I find the scientific ignorance appalling. One of the markers of a developing state is a lack of investment in science and technology. Perhaps after his encounter with the disrespectful viruses, the PM will reevaluate his appropriation of public money and invest it in Cambodia. Well one can dream regardless.

Save the planet

“We are on the edge of the greatest die-off humanity has ever seen,” said Lovelock. “We will be lucky if 20% of us survive what is coming. We should be scared stiff.”

Lovelock has delivered such warnings before, but this weekend they have a special resonance. Last week in Bangkok, Thailand, the world’s governments finalised this year’s third and final report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) setting out how humanity might save itself from the worst effects of climate change.

In it was a message of hope, albeit a faint one. The report set out a complex mix of political, economic and technological solutions. If they all worked, said the report, they could achieve huge cuts in the 25 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) released by humanity into the air each year, thus keeping global temperature rises below 3C. (Source)

Will the Earth resemble Mars in fifty years time? Will Earth be arid, empty, and lifeless? Is this fear mongering or the far sighted view of a realist?

Whatever arguments are put up in the denial camps, it is clear that our climate is changing dramatically. I notice it in Cambodia even from one year to another. Here everybody dreads April and May. Many people get out of the country for those months because it is so hot and sticky. You sweat wearing a minimum of clothing while surrounded by fans. Even a dip in the pool brings no relief because it is too hot and muggy.

However, this year April and May have so far been tolerable. It is uncomfortable at 34 degrees and 100 humidity but it is tolerable - a far cry from last years experience. It has been raining a couple of times a week. It didn't rain last year.

These changes are profound, sudden and worrying. What does this mean for the rainy season? Will we get a monsoon or a drought? The fortune tellers in Cambodia are predicting a bad harvest and whether one believes in that or not, change is coming. I have already mentioned the climate changes in Ireland last winter. And the changes in these two countries are just highlighted because of my observations.

Climate change is bringing disease, flooding and drought. Tropical diseases are finding their way into temperate zones. Will Europe have to deal with Malaria again? How about Dengue or Japanese Encephalitides?

Additional anticipated effects include sea level rise of 110 to 770 mm (0.36 to 2.5 feet) between 1990 and 2100,[40] repercussions to agriculture, possible slowing of the thermohaline circulation, reductions in the ozone layer, increased intensity and frequency of hurricanes and extreme weather events, lowering of ocean pH, and the spread of diseases such as malaria[41] and dengue fever.[42] One study predicts 18% to 35% of a sample of 1,103 animal and plant species would be extinct by 2050, based on future climate projections. (Source)

It is time to do something. Everybody can save the planet in their own way but governmental cooperation is necessary to really turn the tide. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report

report set out a complex mix of political, economic and technological solutions. If they all worked, said the report, they could achieve huge cuts in the 25 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) released by humanity into the air each year, thus keeping global temperature rises below 3C.

It would involve much international cooperation when the current mentality seems to be "a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face" (Blackadder). Governments, be pragmatic. More climate change is coming and lifestyles and habits are going to have to change. US senator Obama acknowledges this:

The need to drastically change our energy policy is no longer a debatable proposition. It is not a question of whether, but how; not a question of if, but when. For the sake of our security, our economy, our jobs and our planet, the age of oil must end in our time. (Source)

Let's not kill the planet until space travel is more developed and we can escape our own mess. Governments, be responsible enough and adult enough to acknowledge your responsibility in the resolution of this crisis.

Anyone else feel like screaming into a void on this issue?

Evictions

Some 150 military police and police officers armed with guns, electric batons and tear gas were there to conduct an eviction raid on the disputed land which is home to over 110 families. No warning or official notice of the eviction had been given and a violent confrontation between police and villagers ensued. (Source: Licadho)

Not all evictions are as violent in Cambodia, but there are a lot of evictions. "Developers" want to build casinos, malls and tear down the slums to build new apartment blocks. The people who are living there are relocated to various place, mostly outside the city with no facilities.

The government says that it is necessary for economic development but some of the slum residents have been living there for sixteen years.

The major problem with relocation, aside from the appalling conditions, is that the sites are far from the cities, from the markets and from income earning opportunities. For many the cost of travelling into the city - $2- will exceed the $1.50 they can earn a day.

Human rights groups protest but the government pushes on. As always, it is a political issue and an economic one. The developers are in politicians' pockets.

Unbelievable

Quotes from Christian fundamentalists

Puncture

My motorbike got a puncture today, while I was having lunch. I find it most curious that my the tube of my bike got slit while stationary. This is not the first time it has happened. I freakishly got a puncture while spending the afternoon in the Pavillion. Is it time to take the stickers off my bike. The repair does not cost much but it is most inconvenient.

Is it the state of the roads, or an annoying foreigners thing? It is the third time in a month. Maybe I should vary my haunts.

World Press Freedom today

Perhaps in honour of a press day, perhaps not Freedom House, an American non profit organisation, has upgrade Cambodia's status from not free to partly free. The upgrading is based on the removal of prison sentences for the crime of defamation.

In law, defamation is the communication of a statement that makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may harm the reputation of an individual, business, product, group, government or nation.

Instead in Cambodia the crime of disinformation is being used to silence journalists. In 2006 seven journalists were changed with either defamation or disinformation.

Disinformation is the deliberate dissemination of false information. It may include the distribution of forged documents, manuscripts, and photographs, or propagation of malicious rumours and fabricated intelligence.

And then you have this from KI Media:

A leading rights group Wednesday demanded the closure of the Ministry of Information, calling it biased and a repressive obstacle to press freedom. In a statement issued ahead of World Press Freedom Day, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights accused the Information Ministry of bias toward the ruling party.

The ministry sought to repress opposition voices from the media and other aid agencies by denying them licenses, often without reason, to broadcast or print their views, the center said.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said he ran a neutral office that helps journalists find information. He said he regretted that the center did not clearly understand the work of the ministry.

Sure, of course it's all a misunderstanding. Of course they are objective, what possible motive is there for bias? Anyone working in the information business knows that objectivity is an impossible goal. All parties are caught up in personal agendas. "We not letting your side voice it's opinion but its not bia or censorship, it just is".

Most places that means that bias is acknowledged and treated as something to be overcome. Not so Cambodia. The Ministry of Information, in its infinite wisdom and Orwellian scariness treats its citizens as children - telling the world they do not understand but they will be educated. "We will give you your opinion".

Last week a news editor was murdered and stuffed in a suitcase. He published the "Voice of Khmer Krom" newspaper.

The autopsy showed that his killer used the 29-year-old journalist’s bicycle brake cables to strangle him with.

Reporters Without Borders called on the government, and particularly the Minister of the Interior Sar Kheng, to commit the necessary resources to an exhaustive investigation into the killing. “We believe it is important not to overlook the professional lead,” the worldwide press freedom organisation added.

Provincial police commissioner Kéo Pisei said the journalist’s body had been dumped in the valley three to four days before it was discovered. No clues had yet been found which could help identify any suspects. Police were not apparently giving priority to any particular lead. The body was returned to the family on the same evening and burial was expected to take place very shortly.

Pov Sam Ath was the founder and editor of Samleng Khmer Krom for which he obtained a publication licence from the information ministry in 2000. He had to renew it in January 2007, because the newspaper only appeared irregularly. Many of its articles focused on local news. (RSF)

The Khmer Krom live in Vietnam but are ethnic Cambodians. They were Cambodian up to 1949 but found themselves in Vietnam when the territory changed hands. They are persecuted by the Vietnamese government and are denied their rights to practice their religion. For more details see here. However Cambodia does not want to accept them.

General Khieu Sopheak, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, claimed that for Khmer Kampuchea Krom, up to now, there is nothing to prove that they are Khmer citizens.

It is a very contentious issue in Cambodia today and has become more volatile in recent months because of the protests of the monks. Despite all this the Interior Ministry is claiming that the murder of the editor was personal and committed by his girlfriend's son. It is hardly the first time that random people have been selected to pay the piper to cover for politicians. Only time will tell if this is one of those times. Chances are that this story will be buried and there will be no resolution. The son of the victim's girlfriend will be condemned in a kangaroo court and will spent 10 years in prison.

That's how they do that here! Corruption with a smile. Certainly, without the shadow of a doubt, Cambodia's press is partly free.

Bodyguards or private army

Hun Sen, who usually moves around with an escort of thousands of bodyguards, suddenly said on Monday, 23 April, that he no longer wanted these bodyguards.

Hun Sen claimed that now Cambodia is at peace and has stability; therefore, he no longer needs bodyguards to protect him.

Hun Sen said that if there were any enemy sniper at all, the bullets would be fired at him, not at the bodyguards who would never use their bodies to shield him. More likely, these bodyguards might even run away faster than him. Hun Sen claimed that from now on, whenever he meets with the people there must be no bodyguards to be seen, for the country is now at peace.

There are about 2,000 Hun Sen's personal bodyguards at the Tuol Krasang barracks, also known as the Tiger's Lair

(Source KI Media)

So Hun Sen is getting rid of of his bodyguards. That will spare the national coffers $1.2 million annually, a sum of significance especially in a poverty stricken country.

What is interesting that bodyguard in this context does not mean a person who will take a bullet for he whom they protect. No. In this context, it means that the PM is disbanding his personal army. Indeed many believe that they are responsible for the grenade attack in 1997 which killed more than a dozen and wounded more than 100 people engaged in a peaceful march.

Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit, which by March 1997 had emerged as a private army of 1500 men, under the de facto control of Hun Sen’s lieutenant, Hing Bun Heang. It was members of Bodyguard Unit 2 who were stationed at the park on the day of the attack, the first time these well-armed special units had been seen at an opposition rally.

For these special units, nominally controlled by the Ministry of Defense, the strongest soldiers were handpicked from the ranks of the armed forces. Martial arts masters were brought to Hun Sen’s country headquarters, the “Tiger’s Lair,” and ordered to train the men in taekwondo to the brown belt level. They did not refuse.

I am a little sceptical as to why the PM is disbanding his private army. Can he be so sure in his position that he no longer needs a private army of 2000 men among them 100 high ranking generals? For one thing, the bodyguards may well be opposed to losing status. Could this prompt action from the army? Quien sabe?

Asking for it?

Three guys and two girls were having a drink on their balcony. An expat breaks into their house and proceeds to throw punches. He gave one of the girl a concussion when he punched her in the face. He broke a guy's nose and bruised up the others. There was no provocation.

The landlord came up to see what was going on and said to his tenants, the two girls, "it's your fault. You made him want to hit you".

They have since moved out.

1st May

Well 1st May is an auspicious day. It is significant in many cultures. In Irish tradition Lá Bealtaine or May Day marks the first day of summer and there are many traditions associated with it. Few are practised nowadays. As Yeats wrote, romantic Ireland's dead and gone. It's with O'Leary in the grave.

The other celebration today is International Labour Day. This celebration concerns many millions of workers all over the world. Marches are taking place to demonstrate solidarity or to protest conditions or attacks on union officals.

In Ireland, the unions are marching.

In Cambodia a call for justice has been issued. The statement has been endorsed by 242 groups in Cambodia and by 82 countries worldwide. It calls for a full investigation into the assassination of Chea Vichea, Ros Sovannareth and Hy Vuthy, all presidents, either local or national, of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC).

Hy Vuthy's assassination, which took place in February of this year, followed at least nine violent attacks on union leaders in 2006. No one has been brought to justice for these crimes.

Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun have been arrested, tried and imprisoned for the murder of Chea Vichea but they are scapegoats. International human rights organisations and even multinational corporations are calling for their release.

Cambodia is developing but to undermine the unions is to create a climate of fear. It does not help to imply that their murders and union activities are a coincidence. It reflects poorly on the situation when corporations such as Adidas are insisting on labour rights. Eighty percent of Cambodia's exports are garments from the factories located around Phnom Penh. The industry and rights of the workers must be protected if Cambodia wants to develop.