Hun Xen's crony plans to build a new airport on Cambodia's largest island
Hun Xen's cronies: Kith Meng (L) and CPP Tycoon-Senator Kok An (R)DPA
Phnom Penh - A Cambodian developer plans to build a new airport on the country's largest island, which was leased to his company by the government in 2008, local media reported Wednesday. Kith Meng, chairman of Royal Group, told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper that bulldozers had been sent to the 7,800-hectare island to clear forest for a runway, but he declined to provide more details on the development.
He said the company also plans to construct electricity and water facilities for the island, which has been earmarked as a potential tourist destination.
Kith Meng said he recently travelled to the island with a dozen other potential investors, including casino owner Phu Kok An, who is also a senator for the ruling Cambodian People's Party.
Ministry of Defense spokesman rejects tense situation in the confrontation in Veal Entry and Phnom Trop
Thai troops maneuver along the border28 July 2009
By Sopheap
Khmer Sthabna
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
A report from an army official indicated that the situation along the Cambodian-Thai border is remaining still, however, both troops are constantly on alert in case an incident would occur.
The same source indicated that Thailand dug trenches, sent in armaments, tanks, troops and heavy artillery and posted them in the region located in front of Veal Entry (Eagle Field) and Phnom Trop hill on 28 July 2009, in the area where past armed clashes took place. However, the trenches are dug inside the Thai territory, only that these trenches are located right in front of Veal Entry and Phnom Trop zones.
The same source indicated that when Cambodian troops saw Thailand brought in tanks, armaments and troops and placed them in front of Veal Entry and Phnom trop, they have increased their vigilance in order to defend Cambodia’s territorial integrity.
The army official source claimed that the situation along the border is normal, and there is no tension.
Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Cambodian ministry of Defense, confirmed that he is currently in Preah Vihear province and there is no tension, the situation is not tense and there is no problem. He also said that he walked along the border and nothing happened.
Chhum Socheat rejected the fact that there is tension along the border, and he said that Thailand dug trenches inside its own territory, and Cambodia is not concerned about it, there is no tension.
The same source indicated that Thailand dug trenches, sent in armaments, tanks, troops and heavy artillery and posted them in the region located in front of Veal Entry (Eagle Field) and Phnom Trop hill on 28 July 2009, in the area where past armed clashes took place. However, the trenches are dug inside the Thai territory, only that these trenches are located right in front of Veal Entry and Phnom Trop zones.
The same source indicated that when Cambodian troops saw Thailand brought in tanks, armaments and troops and placed them in front of Veal Entry and Phnom trop, they have increased their vigilance in order to defend Cambodia’s territorial integrity.
The army official source claimed that the situation along the border is normal, and there is no tension.
Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Cambodian ministry of Defense, confirmed that he is currently in Preah Vihear province and there is no tension, the situation is not tense and there is no problem. He also said that he walked along the border and nothing happened.
Chhum Socheat rejected the fact that there is tension along the border, and he said that Thailand dug trenches inside its own territory, and Cambodia is not concerned about it, there is no tension.
Khmer rock revival seeks new audience
Chhom Nimol fronts the LA-based Khmer rock band Dengue FeverTuesday, 28 July 2009
By Sarah Cuddon
BBC News
Decades after Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge silenced the sound of Westernised music in Cambodia, the little-known 60s genre "Khmer rock" is finding new fans.
Khmer rock is the sound of the West meeting the East in the 1960s - a mixture of US surf guitar music, early rock and doo-wop mixed with Cambodian traditional instruments.
At the time, the music was virtually unknown outside Asia but its followers in the West are now burgeoning.
Music writer Nik Cohn is a new fan who stumbled across the sound by chance.
He said: "One night I was watching (the film) City of Ghosts, and there's an amazing moment when Matt Dillon jumps on a motorbike and rides through Phnom Penh and this incredible music comes on. An unbelievable voice.
"(I'd) not heard anything that good since Ronnie and Ronettes... and then I began to think about it musically."
Today, the sounds of the old Phnom Penh are being revived in the West by the Los Angeles-based band Dengue Fever, which is fronted by a Cambodian singer, Chhom Nimol, the daughter of musicians who played with the original Khmer rockers.
The band's guitarist Zac Holtzman loves the sound and stories of Phnom Penh's music scene.
"It was modern city, with lots of musicians. By day they played traditional stuff and by night they'd rock out.
"In general the Khmer culture is reserved, but this is the closest to stepping out and going crazy. We can really have fun here."
The country's former controversial ruler, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, was a big influence on the sound.
Despite presiding over an often corrupt and repressive regime, he was passionate and liberal about the arts, and encouraged the traditional court musicians to experiment with Western styles.
But influences also came directly from the US - as the American military presence in Vietnam increased, the American Forces Radio Network also became more well-known.
Flying studios operated by the US Navy spread the sound of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country music to Cambodia.
Phnom Penh's young musicians did not necessarily know who Jimi Hendrix, the Doors or the Beach Boys actually were, but they loved the sound and they started to imitate it.
"They just took the sound and re-channelled it through instruments equivalent to guitars… a primitive drum kit, and they certainly had bass guitar," Nik Cohn said.
The Khmer rock musicians did not have elaborate studios, and most of the songs were recorded live - often in one take - with any keyboards or guitars they could find, and incorporated traditional instruments.
For a decade, this experimental Khmer rock music transformed the nightlife of the capital, Phnom Penh.
But in 1975 the fanatically anti-Western Khmer Rouge marched in, led by Pol Pot, and the vibrant rock and roll scene was silenced.
Within four years, the Khmer Rouge killed an estimated two million Cambodians in the notorious killing fields, including many of the Khmer musicians.
Him Sophy was one of those sent to a labour camp.
"Ninety percent of the famous singers were killed. I saw the prisoners they took," he said.
Jon Swain, who was the Sunday Times war correspondent in South Vietnam and Cambodia at the time, said: "Educated people, musicians, people with glasses… a lot were taken to the killing fields… so the great singers disappeared."
All the local heroes the scene had produced - like Sin Sisamouth, who became known as "the King of Khmer music" - were wiped out, killed by the Khmer Rouge.
Cambodian musician and composer Sophy Him was a young music student in Phnom Penh and remembered him well.
"Sin Sisamouth would play (royal) court music, then rock music… improvisation from traditional and rock."
Guitarist Zac Holtzman said Sin Sisamouth was a songwriter who he initially thought "was like the Elvis of Cambodia", but then he found his lyrics were more like the "Bob Dylan of Cambodia".
Like almost all the Khmer rock artists, Ros Sereysothea came from a poor farming family.
She moved to Phnom Penh, where was heard singing by Prince Sihanouk, who later honoured her as "The Golden Voice of the Royal Capital".
It was her voice that Nik Cohn first heard on the soundtrack for film City Of Ghosts, and he said there was always "something tragic about her".
The music was wild and anarchic, but the lyrics often told a different story of teenage angst, death, betrayal and sorrow.
The translation to Ros Sereysothea's funky rock song "Have You Seen My Love" is: "I drink until I get drunk, but I can't seem to get drunk. The sky is all black, love has wings to fly."
It is this strange mix that appeals to fans like Nik Cohn. "It's the sound of innocence, teenagers and innocence, symbolising everything that was lost - and when you know that every one them was wiped out by the Khmer Rouge, many in hideous ways, it deepens the experience of listening to it."
Khmer Rock is adored in Cambodia. It survived on bootlegged cassette tapes and vintage vinyl kept hidden during the Communist years at enormous risk to the owners.
"The name of Sin Sisamouth is still there… after Khmer Rouge was overthrown, his songs came back on the radio.
"I remember hearing them again and they are still going on now," Jon Swain said.
And the old songs are winning new fans through reissues and compilations, a presence on the internet, and the new recordings by Dengue Fever.
Khmer Rock and the Killing Fields presented by Robin Denselow, is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Tuesday, 28 July, at 1330 BST.
Khmer rock is the sound of the West meeting the East in the 1960s - a mixture of US surf guitar music, early rock and doo-wop mixed with Cambodian traditional instruments.
At the time, the music was virtually unknown outside Asia but its followers in the West are now burgeoning.
Music writer Nik Cohn is a new fan who stumbled across the sound by chance.
He said: "One night I was watching (the film) City of Ghosts, and there's an amazing moment when Matt Dillon jumps on a motorbike and rides through Phnom Penh and this incredible music comes on. An unbelievable voice.
"(I'd) not heard anything that good since Ronnie and Ronettes... and then I began to think about it musically."
Today, the sounds of the old Phnom Penh are being revived in the West by the Los Angeles-based band Dengue Fever, which is fronted by a Cambodian singer, Chhom Nimol, the daughter of musicians who played with the original Khmer rockers.
The band's guitarist Zac Holtzman loves the sound and stories of Phnom Penh's music scene.
"It was modern city, with lots of musicians. By day they played traditional stuff and by night they'd rock out.
"In general the Khmer culture is reserved, but this is the closest to stepping out and going crazy. We can really have fun here."
The country's former controversial ruler, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, was a big influence on the sound.
Despite presiding over an often corrupt and repressive regime, he was passionate and liberal about the arts, and encouraged the traditional court musicians to experiment with Western styles.
But influences also came directly from the US - as the American military presence in Vietnam increased, the American Forces Radio Network also became more well-known.
Flying studios operated by the US Navy spread the sound of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country music to Cambodia.
Phnom Penh's young musicians did not necessarily know who Jimi Hendrix, the Doors or the Beach Boys actually were, but they loved the sound and they started to imitate it.
"They just took the sound and re-channelled it through instruments equivalent to guitars… a primitive drum kit, and they certainly had bass guitar," Nik Cohn said.
The Khmer rock musicians did not have elaborate studios, and most of the songs were recorded live - often in one take - with any keyboards or guitars they could find, and incorporated traditional instruments.
For a decade, this experimental Khmer rock music transformed the nightlife of the capital, Phnom Penh.
But in 1975 the fanatically anti-Western Khmer Rouge marched in, led by Pol Pot, and the vibrant rock and roll scene was silenced.
Within four years, the Khmer Rouge killed an estimated two million Cambodians in the notorious killing fields, including many of the Khmer musicians.
Him Sophy was one of those sent to a labour camp.
"Ninety percent of the famous singers were killed. I saw the prisoners they took," he said.
Jon Swain, who was the Sunday Times war correspondent in South Vietnam and Cambodia at the time, said: "Educated people, musicians, people with glasses… a lot were taken to the killing fields… so the great singers disappeared."
All the local heroes the scene had produced - like Sin Sisamouth, who became known as "the King of Khmer music" - were wiped out, killed by the Khmer Rouge.
Cambodian musician and composer Sophy Him was a young music student in Phnom Penh and remembered him well.
"Sin Sisamouth would play (royal) court music, then rock music… improvisation from traditional and rock."
Guitarist Zac Holtzman said Sin Sisamouth was a songwriter who he initially thought "was like the Elvis of Cambodia", but then he found his lyrics were more like the "Bob Dylan of Cambodia".
"When you know that every one them was wiped out by the Khmer Rouge, many in hideous ways, it deepens the experience of listening to it" - Nik Cohn, music writerNo one quite knows what happened to the famous diva of the time, Ros Sereysothea, but it is believe she also died under Pol Pot.
Like almost all the Khmer rock artists, Ros Sereysothea came from a poor farming family.
She moved to Phnom Penh, where was heard singing by Prince Sihanouk, who later honoured her as "The Golden Voice of the Royal Capital".
It was her voice that Nik Cohn first heard on the soundtrack for film City Of Ghosts, and he said there was always "something tragic about her".
The music was wild and anarchic, but the lyrics often told a different story of teenage angst, death, betrayal and sorrow.
The translation to Ros Sereysothea's funky rock song "Have You Seen My Love" is: "I drink until I get drunk, but I can't seem to get drunk. The sky is all black, love has wings to fly."
It is this strange mix that appeals to fans like Nik Cohn. "It's the sound of innocence, teenagers and innocence, symbolising everything that was lost - and when you know that every one them was wiped out by the Khmer Rouge, many in hideous ways, it deepens the experience of listening to it."
Khmer Rock is adored in Cambodia. It survived on bootlegged cassette tapes and vintage vinyl kept hidden during the Communist years at enormous risk to the owners.
"The name of Sin Sisamouth is still there… after Khmer Rouge was overthrown, his songs came back on the radio.
"I remember hearing them again and they are still going on now," Jon Swain said.
And the old songs are winning new fans through reissues and compilations, a presence on the internet, and the new recordings by Dengue Fever.
Khmer Rock and the Killing Fields presented by Robin Denselow, is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Tuesday, 28 July, at 1330 BST.
Lawyers Say They Are ‘Free’ To Defend ... and NOT to Defend, depending on political pressure
Lawyers Say They Are ‘Free’ To Defend
By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
28 July 2009
Opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua faced the court over her defamation suit with the prime minister on Friday without a lawyer. After her first attorney quit—facing defamation charges himself—she was unable to find another, she said, due to “political pressure.”
Cambodian lawyers say they are free to represent the clients they want, but Mu Sochua’s case has underscored the entanglement of politics and the court that critics say stops the judiciary from being independent.
“There is no problem as long as the client approaches us,” said Cambodian attorney Poeung Thida. “We just pick up a client we feel we want to defend. If we don’t want it, we just don’t take the case. This is our free will.”
In Mu Sochua’s case, her first attorney, Kong Sam Onn, quit after he was countersued by Prime Minister Hun Sen and was put under investigation by the country’s bar association. His case was dropped after he apologized to Hun Sen. (Kong Sam Onn declined to comment, saying he left because of a “personal issue.”)
Mu Sochua defended herself with a brief statement to the court, in a case that is to be decided on Aug. 4.
Chiv Song Hak, president of the 647-member bar association, said lawyers in the country have “enough freedom” to make their own choices.
“The law does not restrict them to only representing this client and not the other,” he said. “Our code of conduct only states that a lawyer has the right to decline a client they don’t want to represent.”
Mu Sochua, a US-Cambodian citizen and deputy secretary-general for the Sam Rainsy Party, said she did not agree.
“How can a lawyer do his job if they still feel scared?” she asked. “They still feel that they will become a victim like my lawyer, Kong Sam Onn. I see that professional lawyers are vulnerable to political pressure.”
Mu Sochua had also sought legal counsel from the Cambodian Defenders Project, but the head of the organization, Sok Sam Oeun, said his group defends the poor.
“She has enough money to hire a lawyer,” he said of Mu Sochua. “And so far as I know, there are many lawyers in the Sam Rainsy Party. To say that there is no lawyer willing to represent her is unreasonable.”
Cambodian lawyers say they are free to represent the clients they want, but Mu Sochua’s case has underscored the entanglement of politics and the court that critics say stops the judiciary from being independent.
“There is no problem as long as the client approaches us,” said Cambodian attorney Poeung Thida. “We just pick up a client we feel we want to defend. If we don’t want it, we just don’t take the case. This is our free will.”
In Mu Sochua’s case, her first attorney, Kong Sam Onn, quit after he was countersued by Prime Minister Hun Sen and was put under investigation by the country’s bar association. His case was dropped after he apologized to Hun Sen. (Kong Sam Onn declined to comment, saying he left because of a “personal issue.”)
Mu Sochua defended herself with a brief statement to the court, in a case that is to be decided on Aug. 4.
Chiv Song Hak, president of the 647-member bar association, said lawyers in the country have “enough freedom” to make their own choices.
“The law does not restrict them to only representing this client and not the other,” he said. “Our code of conduct only states that a lawyer has the right to decline a client they don’t want to represent.”
Mu Sochua, a US-Cambodian citizen and deputy secretary-general for the Sam Rainsy Party, said she did not agree.
“How can a lawyer do his job if they still feel scared?” she asked. “They still feel that they will become a victim like my lawyer, Kong Sam Onn. I see that professional lawyers are vulnerable to political pressure.”
Mu Sochua had also sought legal counsel from the Cambodian Defenders Project, but the head of the organization, Sok Sam Oeun, said his group defends the poor.
“She has enough money to hire a lawyer,” he said of Mu Sochua. “And so far as I know, there are many lawyers in the Sam Rainsy Party. To say that there is no lawyer willing to represent her is unreasonable.”
Mu Sochua’s immunity will not be affected by the law but it could be difficult for her to get it back
Mu Sochua speaking to a newspaper vendor (Photo: Jarred Ferrie, The National)29 July 2009
Rasmei Kampuchea
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
A high-ranking official from the National Election Committee (NEC) said in the afternoon of 28 July that, if the court finds Mrs. Mu Sochua guilty of defaming Hun Xen, this sentence will not affect her political rights once she pays off the fine imposed by the court. Nevertheless, political analysts said that, most likely, there is little chance for Mu Sochua to receive back her parliamentary immunity according to the law and the explanation provided by Cheam Yeap, the CPP chairman of the National Assembly (NA) finance committee and a member of the NA permanent committee.
Tep Nitha, NEC secretary-general, told Rasmei Kampuchea yesterday that: “In the event the court finds Mrs. Mu Sochua guilty in this defamation lawsuit case, her sentence will not affect her right to receive her immunity back.” Tep Nitha added: “This is a light sentence. It’s only a sentence with a fine. It is not a sentence with jail time.” According to Tep Nitha’s explanation, the law only prevents those who are sentenced to jail from voting. This means that people who are not sentenced to jail time, have the right to vote and to present their candidacy during the elections.
Cheam Yeap claimed that when Mrs. Mu Sochua will be done paying her fine, and the court will send a letter to the minister of Justice so that the latter informs the NA about the fine payment, then the NA will move according the rule to decide on Mrs. Mu Sochua’s immunity. However, he also claimed that: “It’s like the case of Mr. Sam Rainsy, whichever way it came in, it will go back out the same way.”
Political analysts said that if they comment on Cheam Yeap’s claim, Mrs. Mu Sochua will have great difficulty to get her immunity back without the support from CPP MPs. Mrs. Mu Sochua saw her immunity lifted with the vote of 2/3 of the MPs. Therefore, [based on Cheam Yeap’s claim that] whichever way the case came in, it will go back out the same way, then Mrs. Mu Sochua must find 2/3 of the 123 MPs’ vote to get her immunity back.
Hun Xen also issued a warning to CPP MPs ordering them to reject their support. Therefore, Mrs. Mu Sochua’s case is different from that of Sam Rainsy because the latter’s immunity was suspended by the NA’s permanent committee and it was re-instated back by the permanent committee.
As for Mrs. Mu Sochua, she claimed that she will go to court to listen to the announcement of her sentence on 04 August, she believes that a fine sentence should not lead to a [permanent] loss of her immunity.
Tep Nitha, NEC secretary-general, told Rasmei Kampuchea yesterday that: “In the event the court finds Mrs. Mu Sochua guilty in this defamation lawsuit case, her sentence will not affect her right to receive her immunity back.” Tep Nitha added: “This is a light sentence. It’s only a sentence with a fine. It is not a sentence with jail time.” According to Tep Nitha’s explanation, the law only prevents those who are sentenced to jail from voting. This means that people who are not sentenced to jail time, have the right to vote and to present their candidacy during the elections.
Cheam Yeap claimed that when Mrs. Mu Sochua will be done paying her fine, and the court will send a letter to the minister of Justice so that the latter informs the NA about the fine payment, then the NA will move according the rule to decide on Mrs. Mu Sochua’s immunity. However, he also claimed that: “It’s like the case of Mr. Sam Rainsy, whichever way it came in, it will go back out the same way.”
Political analysts said that if they comment on Cheam Yeap’s claim, Mrs. Mu Sochua will have great difficulty to get her immunity back without the support from CPP MPs. Mrs. Mu Sochua saw her immunity lifted with the vote of 2/3 of the MPs. Therefore, [based on Cheam Yeap’s claim that] whichever way the case came in, it will go back out the same way, then Mrs. Mu Sochua must find 2/3 of the 123 MPs’ vote to get her immunity back.
Hun Xen also issued a warning to CPP MPs ordering them to reject their support. Therefore, Mrs. Mu Sochua’s case is different from that of Sam Rainsy because the latter’s immunity was suspended by the NA’s permanent committee and it was re-instated back by the permanent committee.
As for Mrs. Mu Sochua, she claimed that she will go to court to listen to the announcement of her sentence on 04 August, she believes that a fine sentence should not lead to a [permanent] loss of her immunity.
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