FBI Begins Probe of Journalist's July Murder

Phnom Penh police officials met with FBI agents on Wednesday to discuss how the US agency might help in an ongoing investigation into the murders of opposition journalist Khim Sambor and his son.

The two parties reviewed what the Cambodian police have discovered so far and how they will cooperate, said Hy Prou, deputy chief of Phnom Penh police.

"The main point of the meeting required research into how we should conduct the investigation and what we should do first," he said. "But this is a first step."

Khim Sambor, who wrote for the opposition Moneaksekar Khmer newspaper, was killed on July 11, just two weeks before national elections. At least nine other journalists have been killed in Cambodia since 1994, according to the rights group Licadho.

Two FBI agents arrived in Phnom Penh Sunday and will stay for as long as they are needed, US Embassy spokesman John Johnson said.

"They're here to assist in the investigation, depending on the needs of the Ministry of Interior and the Cambodian police that are investigating it," he said, declining to comment on the specifics of the investigation. "The FBI is here to assist in any way possible, and we certainly hope that through this cooperation that the perpetrator of this crime can be brought to justice."

Chan Soveth, an investigator for the rights group Adhoc, said Friday he had little confidence the FBI would be able to find the killer without performing an independent investigation.

"We want the FBI to research this case independently," he said. "If the FBI researches independently, we hope they will find the real killer. But if the FBI researches without independence, I have no hope they will find the real killers."

The FBI also investigated the 1997 grenade attack on a group of opposition supporters, he said, but the investigation yielded no results. In that attack, at least 16 people were killed and one American was injured.

"I don't want the FBI to investigate Khim Sambor's killing like they did in 1997," Chan Soveth said.

Dam Sith, the editor of Moneaksekar Khmer, who was jailed for a week ahead of elections, said he welcomed the collaboration between the FBI and the police.

"I wish to see the real facts and justice without falsehood," he said.

Khim Lenin, 30, the youngest brother of Khim Sambor, appealed to the FBI and the police to find "the real killers of my brother."

"I don't believe the previous report of the police, that the killing was involved with Khim Sambor's son," he said. "As I understand, his son was a good person and never committed any wrongdoings. The same for Khim Sambor."

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U.N. Pleased by New U.S. Support for Khmer Rouge Tribunal

Editor's Note: The Office of the Spokesman of the U.N. Secretary General on Friday sent by email the following reply to questions from VOA Khmer about this week's announcement regarding new U.S. support for the U.N. side of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal:

We are obviously very pleased with the decision of the United States to provide funds the ECCC (Extraordinary Chambers for the Cambodia Courts).

The US played a key role in the formation of the ECCC and has been an interested and active supporter of our work since the court offices first opened.

Coming forward now with these funds shows that they remain committed to seeing the mandate of the ECCC successfully completed.

The funds will obviously extend the working capital for the UN side of the court for some time, but more importantly we hope this will signal the first of many such announcements from the donor community.

It clearly shows that the hard work put in by the staff of the ECCC and by Mr. David Tolbert in revising and presenting the budget to the donor community has been successful.

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Officials Renew Efforts Against Digital Piracy

Producers of local films, such as "Snake Man," above, say they suffer from the sale of pirated versions of their movies.

Phnom Penh's video vendors are facing a new crackdown by authorities, who warn the sale of pirated copies CDs or DVDs will lead to jail or fines.

"We will not allow the illegal CDs and DVDs to be sold in Cambodian markets," said Kong Kang Dara, director of the cinema secretariat of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. "We must strengthen the Cambodian intellectual property law and promote the protection of intellectual property."

Kong Kang Dara is a member of a newly formed joint committee comprised of authorities from the ministries of Interior, Defense, Justice, Women's Affairs, and Culture. The committee met with more than 250 vendors Friday to warn them of the impending crackdown.

Under a national subdecree, vendors who are caught selling pirated material will first face a fine of $2.70 per illegal disc. Those who don't comply will face the courts, under an intellectual property law that allows for one year in jail and a fine of $5,250.

"We will use secret, strong and clear tactics to confiscate the illegal CDs and DVDs, because it is a necessary time to promote legal products and innovation," Kong Kang Dara said.

Leu Siv, a CD and DVD shop owner at Central Market, said she had heard the crackdown was coming and had stopped selling illegal copies for fear of facing fines. Asked whether the crackdown would hurt her business, she only laughed.

Lay Sokhok, chief of Sunday Production, which produces karaoke and music CDs and DVDs, welcomed the official crackdown.

His company loses at least $200,000 per year in sales due to pirated copies of his work in Cambodian markets, he said.

Cambodia is facing a 2013 deadline from the World Trade Organization to eliminate the sale of pirated content.

Phnom Penh has more than 1,000 stalls that sell pirated versions of movies, karaoke and music, Kong Kang Dara said, but that number does not include mobile vendors who move from place to place boxes of pirated goods.

Authorities confiscate more than 10,000 illegal CDs and DVDs per year, he said.

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US Offers $1.8 Million in Tribunal Funding

US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte tours Tuol Sleng prison Tuesday with Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia.

The US is ready to commit $1.8 million to the UN side of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, a top US official said Tuesday, but he warned that the courts will have to continue to tackle corruption issues that have plagued them from the beginning.

The money would be US's first direct contribution to the tribunal, and the announcement came after a day of talks between the Cambodian government and US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who holds the second-highest position in the State Department.

"We expect to be active among donors to the tribunal to ensure that it continues to improve its management and address the issue of corruption," Negroponte said, adding that the US would have a voice in the proceedings and would "spare no effort" to ensure money was spent properly.

The US played an active role in the negotiating the hybrid tribunal with Cambodia and the United Nations, but officials had said until Tuesday they would not fund a substandard tribunal.

The tribunal has detained five former leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime, and is set for the first trial of any leader in 30 years, Tuol Sleng prison chief Duch.

But the tribunal has been hounded by allegations of mismanagement and corruption, and the Cambodian side has seen at least $300,000 in donor funding frozen, following fresh allegations of kickbacks in June.

Negroponte acknowledged there had been mismanagement in the courts, "but not to the level that justified withholding any contribution."

"I think there's generally a consensus that this is a good time to move forward," he said.

Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath welcomed the US contribution, saying that a US donation to the UN side will be the second from international donors, following a $750,000 contribution from the French earlier this year.

The tribunal needs $50 million added to its entire budget by the end of 2009 to continue its operations. Of that, the Cambodian side will need $10 million.

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Groups in Geneva to Lobby for UN Envoy

[Editor's note: Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho, recently traveled to Geneva, where the ninth annual meeting of the UN's Human Rights Council is considering whether to continue the mandate of a UN rights envoy to Cambodia. She spoke to VOA Khmer by phone from Geneva.]

Kek Galabru, president and founder of Licadho

Q. What is the aim of your trip?

A. I have come to Geneva with Adhoc president Thun Saray and four other Khmers, who live in the foreign countries and have helped facilitate our participation in the Human Rights Council annual meeting in Geneva. The Human Rights Council is opening a meeting from Sept. 8 until Sept. 23. In the meeting they will also bring the Cambodia issue to discussion, regarding the mandate of the UN representative on human rights in Cambodia. We civil society want to see the term of the UN representative to be continued in Cambodia. We don't want to see them cut this term out of Cambodia.

Q. Alongside the discussion about the term of the UN representative on human rights, what are the specific things that the meeting is focusing on?

A. In that meeting they are not only focusing on the Cambodian issue, but they are also talking about children and women's issues, as well as some other issues. But in that meeting, they have raised our Cambodian issue. We really want the term of the UN representative on human rights in Cambodia to be continued, as we know that the Cambodian government doesn't want this mandate to be continued. So our civil society strives hard to talk about it with the Human Rights Council members in order to lobby and negotiate with our Cambodian government so that the Cambodian government can allow the mandate to continue. Whether the UN representative on human rights can continue its mandate depends on the Cambodian government's permission.

Q. The Cambodian government plans to close the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in Cambodia. Is the Human Rights Council in Geneva reacting to this plan?

A. The permanent Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in Cambodia won't be discussed in this Geneva meeting. It could be discussed between our government and the United Nations, and should not be discussed at the Human Rights Council. The Human Rights Council is talking about the mandate of the UN Special Representative on Human Rights. We have received unofficial information that perhaps our government won't oppose this suggestion. But the UN secretary-general, he doesn’t want the UN Special Representative appointed by him anymore. So he wants to see the UN Special Rapporteur instead of a UN special representative. For the mandate, we really want to see that the position of the UN Rapporteur remains the same as the position of the UN Special Representative’s position, in coming into Cambodia to monitor the human rights situation and then reporting to the Cambodian government on how to change those institutions in order to respect human rights.

Q. If the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in Cambodia closes, what will be the affect to the civil society and the political situation?

A. We hope that the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in Cambodia won't close its door. If the government does not allow this office to continue its work, it will affect a lot to the Cambodia people because we still have a lot of human rights issue that so far haven't been solved completely. So we need more cooperation with the UN, we need more technical support and human resources support. So I think we still need more support from them.

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