Mostly Cambodia News

Obama: US Determined to Act on Climate Change

2009-09-22T23:30:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama told a special U.N. summit on climate change the United States understands the gravity of the problem and is determined to act. The U.N. meeting, which brought together about 100 world leaders, is aimed at advancing lagging negotiations in advance of a critical conference on global warming at year's end in Copenhagen.

The summit speech was the U.S. president's first address to the world body and he used the message to reassure delegates that the United States, which shunned the 1997 Kyoto climate pact, is determined to make the successor Copenhagen process a success.

Mr. Obama provided no new proposals. But he said the United States and other developed economies, which caused much of the damage to the world climate over the last century, have a responsibility to lead.

He said the fast-growing developing nations, which will produce almost all the growth in global carbon emissions in the decades ahead, must do their part as well.

With the world economy mired in recession, Mr. Obama said there should be no illusion that producing the sweeping changes needed for success at Copenhagen will be easy.

"But I am here today to say that difficulty is no excuse for complacency," the president said. "Unease is no excuse for inaction. And we must not allow the perfect to become the enemy of progress. Each of is must do what we can to grow our economies without endangering our planet, and we must do it together. We must seize the opportunity to make Copenhagen a significant step forward in the global fight against climate change."

United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon(R)addresses United Nations Climate Change Summit, 22 Sep 2009
United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon(R)addresses United Nations Climate Change Summit, 22 Sep 2009
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the meeting with an appeal to accelerate the lagging pace of pre-Copenhagen negotiations. He said that failure to reach broad agreement in the Danish capital in December would be morally inexcusable, economically-short sighted and politically unwise.

But perhaps the most forceful appeal for action came from President Mohamed Nasheed, of the Indian Ocean's Maldives islands, large parts of which are little more than a meter above sea level and which stand to be swamped by rising waters if global warming is not checked.

Mr. Nasheed said he and his countrymen are frustrated over international gatherings that feature verbal pledges for climate change action, but afterwards the delegates drift away, empathy for the plight of the Maldives fades, and there is return to business-as-usual.

"If things go business-as-usual, we will not live, we will die," he said. "Our country will not exist. We cannot come out from Copenhagen as failures. We cannot make Copenhagen a pact for suicide. We have to succeed and we have to make a deal in Copenhagen."

Negotiators hope the Copenhagen meeting will produce specific limits for overall emissions by developed countries, and specific goals for cuts in the rate of growth of carbon output by the developing nations.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, whose country, like the United States accounts for one-fifth of all world greenhouse gas pollution, announced a set of specific emissions curbs.

"We will endeavor to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by a notable margin by 2020 from the 2005 level," he said. "Second, we will vigorously develop renewable energy and nuclear energy. We will endeavor to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 15 percent by 2020."

New Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama reaffirmed his campaign pledge for Japan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.

Environmental activists hope momentum from Tuesday's one-day climate summit will spur climate treaty negotiators who convene again next week in Bangkok.

Police Enforced Family Burial

2009-09-22T23:07:00.000-07:00

The father of an ethnic Uyghur man in northwest China says police turned out in force.

HONG KONG—Police in China’s remote Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region surrounded the home of an ethnic Uyghur man who died in police custody and forced the family to bury him without an inquiry into how he died, the man’s father said.

The burial on Sunday ended a tense standoff between police in remote Lengger [in Chinese, Langan] village and the family of Shohret Tursun, 31, whose badly bruised and disfigured body was released to his relatives on Saturday.

On Saturday, one villager said eight trucks of soldiers and two other armed vehicles had surrounded Tursun’s family home in Lengger [in Chinese, Langan] village in Qorghas [in Chinese, Huocheng] county, Ili prefecture—after the family refused to bury him as instructed without an inquiry.

“We locked the door of the room where we keep the body, but the police officers broke the lock,” Tursun’s father, Tursun Ishan, said in an interview. “There were too many…”

“There were police officers waiting in front of our door. From the cemetery to the house, it was full of police officers on the street. Since yesterday, there were police officers on each and every corner of the city. They wouldn't let people from other neighborhoods join the funeral.”

“My two daughters were trying to prevent the police officers from entering, but the police were very harsh with them. We were forced to bury [the body],” Ishan said.

“They told me that he had a heart attack. But it was a lie. It is a lie. My son never had a medical problem in his life,” Ishan said.

“His body was full of wounds and bruises—his legs, belly, and back were covered with wounds and scars. His chest was full of bruises.”

Police continued to surround the family home and the cemetery shortly after midnight Tuesday, he said.

Ethnic rioting

Tursun, a member of the Uyghur ethnic minority and the father of a two-year-old, was among some 40 men from Qorghas detained around the time of deadly protests July 5 in the regional capital, Urumqi, villagers said.

The protests by Uyghurs, a largely Muslim Turkic people, followed alleged official mishandling of earlier ethnic clashes in far-away Guangdong province.

The July 5 protest sparked days of deadly rioting in Urumqi, pitting Uyghurs against majority Han Chinese and ending with a death toll of almost 200, by the government’s tally.

Tursun was detained July 6 in Urumqi. He was transferred to Ili on July 18 and Qorghas on July 23, he father said.

"If I had bribed the police officers, my son would probably be released," he said. "I considered selling my land to save my child, but his wife and mother were afraid a bribe would make him look guilty."

"Another boy in the same prison cell with my son was released after his family paid 30,000" yuan, or about U.S. $4,400, he said.

About 10 days ago, relatives said, Tursun—along with Pazilat Akbar, Rabigul, Eli Hesenjan, and more than 35 others—were transferred from Urumqi to the Qorghas county jail.

Uyghurs say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness despite China's ambitious plans to develop its vast northwestern frontier.

Xinjiang is a strategically crucial vast desert territory that borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

The region has abundant oil reserves and is China's largest natural gas-producing region.

Original reporting by Shohret Hoshur for RFA’s Uyghur service. Translation from the Uyghur by Zubeyre Shemshidin. Uyghur service director: Dolkun Kamberi. Written and produced for the Web in English by Sarah Jackson-Han.

Obama Addresses Clinton Global Initiative

2009-09-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on leaders from all sorts of backgrounds to come together to tackle worldwide problems. Mr. Obama says it is time for a new spirit of partnership.

The comments came in a rather philosophical address to the Clinton Global Initiative. It is a forum set up by former President Bill Clinton to encourage leaders from government, business, academia and other fields to join forces to deal with global challenges.

President Obama left no doubt he believes in their cause.

"If you want to bring about change in the world, you can't just be an advocate of somebody else doing it," said President Obama. "You can't just preach lofty goals and wait for somebody else to act. You have to step up. You have to serve."

He said groups like the Clinton Global Initiative are making a difference around the world by working with business to cut dangerous emissions, empowering entrepreneurs with micro-loans, and giving hope to some of the world's poorest children.

"That is the meaning of service," said Mr. Obama. "That is the difference we can make when we remember our common humanity, when we embrace our common responsibilities, when we recognize our common destiny."

President Obama lavished praise on his Democratic Party predecessor at the White House. He said the Clinton Global Initiative has had an impact on more than 200 million people in more than 150 countries.

Mr. Obama said such a contribution is always welcome, but more so now.

"As hard as it may be to sustain in these economic times, your commitments have never been more needed, they have never been more inspiring," he said.

The Clinton Global Initiative also heard from the prime ministers of Turkey, Australia and the Netherlands, and the presidents of Argentina and Chile. The heads of two major international firms - Walmart and Coca-Cola - also took part in the group's annual meeting in New York City.

Noodles Hot in North Korea

2009-09-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

A budget food item in South Korea is now a prized gourmet item across the border.

SEOUL—North Koreans are consuming increasing quantities of brand-name instant noodles, and the three-minute fast food packages are among the hottest gifts at this year's traditional harvest festival, or Chuseok.

Top brand on the menu for harvest gifts this year is Shin Ramyun, made by South Korean food manufacturer Nong Shim in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang.

"North and South Koreans are one people, and that is why people in the North like the spicy, but refreshing taste of Shin Ramyun, a product rooted in the tradition of Korean cuisine," said Jang Jae Ku, director of public affairs at Nong Shim’s headquarters in Seoul.

Jang said Nong Shim had sold somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 boxes of Shenyang-made Shin Ramyun in the isolated Stalinist state during 2008, with 20 packs of instant noodles per box.

He said that one box of instant noodles changes hands in North Korea for around 30,000 North Korean won (U.S. $9.00), a steep price for ordinary citizens in the communist North.

"In North Korea it is only the high-ranking government officials and military officers who can afford to give and receive boxes of Shin Ramyun as a present," Seoul-based North Korean defector Lee Nakyung said.

"I was in the military, and that is why I had an opportunity to taste instant noodles while in North Korea," she said.

Special gift

In South Korea, where individual buyers consume around 85 bowls of ramen noodles annually, twice as much as their Japanese counterparts, the humble instant noodle was also once prized as a harvest-time gift.

Instant ramen noodles were first manufactured in South Korea in 1963, during the post-war era in which food was less plentiful and diverse than today.

In the 1960s and 70s, ramen noodles produced by South Korean foodstuff manufacturer Samyang were a popular gift generally sent to friends or older people on major Korean holidays like Lunar New Year and Chuseok.

Now, the North also produces a home-grown variety of ramen instant noodles, known as "Curly Noodles."

In the 1980s, these instant noodles were part of the standard rations distributed to the entire population of North Korea.

Instant noodles were also sent in balloon packages flown across the border by the South Korean authorities to the North until the late 1990s.

Kang Woo Sung, a North Korean defector who arrived in South Korea in 2008, remembers having tasted South Korean instant noodles while living in the North.

"When I was serving in the [North Korean] Army, I saw a balloon landing on a mountainside. Out of curiosity, I went there and found ramen," he said.

"We were told not to eat South Korean instant noodles, because the South Koreans had supposedly used toxic ingredients. But I didn’t believe it," he said.

2004 accident

South Korean instant noodles entered North Korea on a large scale in the aftermath of the April 2004 Ryongchon railway disaster in North Korea, when a flammable cargo exploded at a railway station, killing or injuring as many as 3,000 people.

South Korean press reports said at the time that most South Korean humanitarian assistance groups that sent emergency supplies in the wake of the explosion included about 420,000 packs of instant noodles in their shipments to the North.

North Korean women who visited South Korea in 2002 and 2003 as cheerleaders at international sporting events hosted by the cities of Pusan and Taegu also told North Koreans about the taste of South Korean instant noodles upon their return to the North.

"Throughout their stay in South Korea, these [North Korean] young women had instant noodles and chicken as a late night snack. They absolutely loved it, and told people in North Korea about it," Lee Nakyung recalled.

Ramen noodles have also become popular in the South Korean-invested Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea, and in the Mount Kumgang Resort area.

North Korean defectors continue to enjoy the instant noodles in South Korea, according to Kang Woo Sung.

"Instant noodles are so easy to prepare—even a man can easily do it," he said.

"All it takes after coming back late from school is boiling some water and then mixing the noodle soup, and ... one is all done with dinner for the night."

Original reporting in Korean by S.W. Park. Korean service director: Insop Han. Translated by Grigore Scarlatoiu. Written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.

Afghanistan Assessment Sparks Renewed Debate

2009-09-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, announces a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, 27 Mar 2009

The publication Monday of a secret assessment by the new U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan has sparked a fresh round of debate about what the coalition strategy should be and how many troops are needed to implement it.
President Barack Obama, accompanied by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, announces a new comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, at the White House in Washington, 27 Mar 2009
President Barack Obama, accompanied by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, announces a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, 27 Mar 2009

President Barack Obama laid out his strategy for Afghanistan in March. He said the main goal must be to prevent the country from again becoming a base for terrorist attacks on the United States as it was in 2001, which he said requires preventing the Taliban from returning to power. And he added this:

"For six years Afghanistan has been denied the resources it demands because of the war in Iraq. Now we must make a commitment that can accomplish our goals," he said.

Now, the president's new commander in Afghanistan has presented his resource requirements. In a secret assessment published by The Washington Post Monday, General Stanley McChrystal says he needs more forces and, without them, the effort faces possible failure. The general has not made a specific troop request, but experts say he could ask for as many as 40,000, maybe more, on top of the doubling of U.S. troop strength to 68,000 in the past year.

After seeing the general's grim assessment, President Obama told American television networks over the weekend he is in the process of reviewing his own six-month-old strategy, and he questioned whether supporting the Afghan government, building its security forces and securing key provinces, is the right approach. All that is in General McChrystal's plan.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, 17 Sep 2009
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, 17 Sep 2009
Last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates appealed for patience as the administration works through the issue.

"Frankly I believe that the president deserves the right to absorb the assessment himself and have his questions and my questions and others' questions relating to the assessment answered," Gates said.

In addition, officials now say General McChrystal's assessment is just one part of a broader Afghanistan strategy review by the administration, its second since the president took office in January.

The president's apparent hesitation to approve the military plan to implement the strategy he announced in March leaves many analysts confused. In editorials, The Washington Post called the review "startling," and the USA Today newspaper said there is "a yawning need for clarity" and warned against trying to use half-measures to achieve important goals.

Analyst Thomas Donnelly at the conservative American Enterprise Institute says President Obama should accept the
Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal (file photo)
Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal (file photo)
recommendations, and then convince the American public to go along. Public opinion polls indicate growing skepticism among Americans.

"Well they certainly will be doubtful of it unless President Obama makes a strong argument. A year ago, he was campaigning for the presidency on the presumption that Iraq was a big mistake and we needed to focus on Afghanistan. No wonder that with an uncertain voice coming out of the White House, Americans will have their doubts," Donnelly said.

On the other side of the political spectrum, Jonathan Morganstein of the progressive Third Way research organization, also endorses the McChrystal assessment, and says the president should accept the general's recommendations.

"I don't think anything there was a surprise. What the assessment says is, basically, things are catastrophically bad in Afghanistan, which is, I'd say, objectively true, but that things are not unsalvageable, that we can turn this around as long as we stay dedicated to the appropriate strategy and fully resource that strategy. Everything that General McChrystal has laid out makes sense to me," Morganstein said.

Morganstein, who is also an officer in the Marine Corps Reserves, says U.S. troops are now experienced at fighting insurgents, on the battlefield and among the local population. He says American forces will be able to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan - as they made significant gains against insurgents in Iraq - if the president sends enough troops and other resources to do the job.

But for Mr. Obama, the decision is not that easy. Just a few months ago, he approved the latest increase of more than 20,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, allowing for more aggressive operations against Taliban strongholds. The result has been some progress on the ground, but also a sharp increase in U.S. casualties, with more than 200 American troops killed in just the last three months. In all, this year's toll of 364 is 25 percent of all the U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan since the war began.

Secretary Gates has indicated that casualties weigh heavily on him, along with the strategic importance of these decisions.

"We need to understand that the decisions that the president faces on Afghanistan are some of the most important he may face in his presidency about how we go forward there. And this is a situation in which I think this decision process should not be rushed," Gates said.

The U.S. defense secretary has rejected suggestions for a more limited approach emphasizing air strikes over troops on the ground. But after eight years of war, amid rising casualties and wavering American public support, and with huge national security issues at stake, he says the administration needs to take its time and get the decisions right.

Clinton, Arias Urge Dialogue in Honduras After Zelaya's Return

2009-09-22T03:31:00.000-07:00

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias appealed for calm and dialogue in Honduras on Monday after the surprise return there of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Clinton met in New York with Mr. Arias, who has been trying to broker a peaceful resolution of the Honduran crisis.

The dramatic return of Mr. Zelaya dominated a previously-scheduled meeting on Honduras between Clinton and the Costa Rican leader, both of whom expressed hope that the latest turn of events does not lead to violence.

The left-leaning elected Honduran leader was arrested by the military and deported three months ago in a dispute over his efforts to stage a referendum that would have allowed him to remain in office beyond the end of his term, which ends in January.

Although officials in Tegucigalpa contend that Mr. Zelaya's ouster and replacement with interim President Roberto Micheletti was legal, the United States and other Organization of American States member countries say it was a coup d'etat, and the Obama administration has suspended most aid to Honduras.

At a photo session with Mr. Arias, a Nobel peace laureate tasked by the OAS with mediating the conflict, Clinton said it is imperative that Mr. Zelaya's return not lead to violence.

The Costa Rican president described the development as a moment of opportunity for Mr. Zelaya and his opponents to try to come to an agreement. And he said he is willing to go to the Honduran capital if both sides wished.

Later, at a briefing for reporters, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley said the United States had warned the deposed president not to try to return home in the absence of a negotiated settlement. But, he said, now that he has returned, the United States is urging all those involved to show restraint.

"The real issue is what happens now," said Crowley. "The Secretary made clear that given that this has taken place, now is the time for dialogue; now is the time for both sides to sign on to the San Jose accords and get on with the process of moving to a new government through the electoral process, and restoring democratic and constitutional order."

Crowley said the U.S. Ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens had spoken to Mr. Zelaya, who reportedly has taken refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa after his return under unexplained circumstances.

He said Clinton discussed the situation in a telephone call with Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and that U.S. officials have also been in contact with the interim Honduran administration.

The United States has strongly supported the Arias settlement plan - the San Jose accords - under which Mr. Zelaya would return to office to serve out the remainder of his term, while those involved in his ouster would receive amnesty.

But Mr. Micheletti's de facto government has refused to consider any deal that would allow Mr. Zelaya to return to power.

Earlier this month, the United States revoked travel visas for members of the interim government and warned that it might not recognize the results of the country's upcoming presidential election planned for November 29.

2009-09-22T03:29:00.000-07:00

U.S. President Barack Obama is hosting a joint meeting of the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in New York Tuesday in an effort to restart Middle East peace talks.

All sides have been careful not to raise hopes about the meeting, which will take place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Monday U.S. officials have "no grand expectations" about the possibility of a breakthrough.

Nir Hefetz, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says Mr. Netanyahu will not give in to U.S. and Palestinian demands for a stop to Israeli settlement construction.

At Tuesday's meeting, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to keep the settlement issue a key condition of resuming peace talks.

Palestinian leaders say building more Jewish homes on land Israel captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War threatens their efforts to create a viable state and stalls peace efforts.

Israel says some construction is necessary to accommodate the natural growth of Jewish families living in occupied East Jerusalem.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak was quoted by The New York Times newspaper Monday, saying he fears the Palestinians will miss an opportunity for peace.

He says the U.S. president has clearly pledged to use his political influence to make sure there is an independent Palestinian state, and to resolve core issues in two years. Barak called this an opportunity not to be missed.

Thai Air Commander To Visit After Violations

2009-09-11T23:58:00.000-07:00

Thailand’s chief air marshal, Itthaporn Subhawong, will come to Cambodia next week to meet high-ranking military commanders, following reports that Thai aircraft had crossed as deep as 30 kilometers into Cambodian territory.

The commander of Thailand’s air force will be accompanied by 30 senior officers when he visits Sept. 14, defense officials said.

Thai fighter jets have reportedly flown into Cambodia three times over Pailin province recently, and a reconnaissance plane more than 10 times in the area near Preah Vihear temple, where a military standoff is underway between the neighbors. Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned he could order such flights shot down.
Nevertheless, Cambodian military officials said Itthaporn’s visit would be one of cooperation.

“This visit is very important for the Cambodian and Thai air forces to exchange their experiences with each other and to strengthen their cooperation,” said Chhum Socheath, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense.

Itthaporn is expected to meet with Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh, Pol Saroeun, commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, and Sin Samnang, commander of Cambodia’s air force.

The delegations “may raise the problem of Thai jet fighters violating Cambodian airspace,” Chhum Socheath said.

Thailand has written official apologies for the violations, claiming they were due to the presence of dark clouds over the border.

Health Fears for Jailed Monk

2009-09-11T21:33:00.001-07:00

A dissident leader among Burmese monks tries to uphold his monastic vows in prison.

BANGKOK—One of the most prominent leaders of Burma's monk-led protest movement is suffering from worsening health in jail, two years after the peaceful "Saffron Revolution" was suppressed in a military crackdown by the military government, his family said.

U Gambira, 27, was only 25 during the protests in September 2007 which began with marches to protest against rises in government-approved fuel prices.

He was arrested and tried in Kyimyindine court in Rangoon's Insein prison for leading the 2007 Saffron Revolution.

Former child soldier U Gambira, who is serving a 12-year sentence for "insulting religion" and "crimes against the peace," has stuck to his monk's vows while in Rangoon's Kalay Prison, where he was transferred last year.

His relatives said he had started suffering violent headaches after being given milk to drink ahead of his trial.

"When they brought him out to court and after he drank the milk he immediately started getting sick and vomited," a male relative of U Gambira's said.

"From that moment, his health started to fail. He would have headaches and have aches in his body ... and would not be able to think properly," he said.

"He was admitted to the prison hospital, and he was kept under an intense spotlight all night at the prison hospital and interrogated."

Taken from hiding

U Gambira—who became a novice monk at 12 and led the 2007 uprising—was arrested at a hiding place in Kyaukse, central Burma, in early November 2007, weeks after a violent crackdown on protesters left dozens dead and thousands in custody.

One of U Gambira’s close associates, Ashin Panna Siri, escaped from a Burmese prison camp and fled to India.

He described torture and backbreaking hard labor in custody.

Even monks handed only brief sentences for their roles in the 2007 uprising were sent to hard labor camps, a punishment usually reserved for those handed longer terms, he said.

U Gambira's sister, Ma Lwin Lwin, has now fled Burma for fear of further reprisals against a family with a long history of political dissent and four family members currently in jail.

"Of course I am concerned that U Gambira is having those headaches and cannot think properly," she said.

"I am worried. In the past I would cry when I have to talk about him."

"After our father had served three years in jail and when U Gambira was in the fifth standard, he had no inclination to continue at school and became despondent and joined the army," she recalled.

"He was about 10 years old."

Township organizer

Bought out of the military after his family tracked him down two years later, U Gambira later became a Buddhist monk, and is still trying to keep his vows in spite of prison life, he relatives said.

Ko Lu Maw Naing, a member of the Young Monks' Association of Central Burma, said that U Gambira's career as an opposition activist began in 2006, when he started to organize a number of monks' associations into a union in five townships in central Burma.

"He tried to organize the monks, and also contacted the politicians. He met with several of the political groups," he said. "It was in Ahlone, Sangyaung, Hlegu, Insein, and Htaukkyant [townships]."

"From these townships he selected representatives and formed the core of the monks’ union."

In February 2007, U Gambira began organizing monks to refuse to provide religious services to members of the military and their families.

"The monks’ union had actually issued a statement in 2006, when former 1988 student activist Min Ko Naing was arrested, demanding the release of [opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi] and Min Ko Naing and the start of national reconciliation," Ko Lu Maw Naing said.

"And that if those demands were not met, the monks would again start to refuse to provide religious services for the military and their families. At that time, the statement mention that this ultimatum would be carried out all across the country by all of the Burmese Buddhist monks," he added.

U Gambira was asked to leave his Buddhist monastery following that incident. He continued his activities from privately rented accommodation, his sister said.

"He rented a house and stayed with us," she said.

"We attended school, and U Gambira involved himself with those activities. The place was in remote ShwePyiTha district. We didn't have electricity. I told him that this wasn't right, but he was insistent."

Original reporting in Burmese by Khin May Zaw. Burmese service director: Nancy Shwe. Translated by Soe Thinn. Written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.

Monks' Movement 'Still Growing'

2009-09-11T21:29:00.001-07:00

Nearly two years after Burma's Saffron Revolution, an exiled leader of the monks' movement says their ranks are growing.
BANGKOK—Burma's Buddhist monks, who led the "Saffron Revolution" of September 2007, are better organized since the military crackdown that killed unknown numbers, with more prominent religious figures joining their movement, according to a key overseas activist.

U Awbasa, leader of the Thailand-based Exiled Burmese Buddhist Monks Association, fled Burma amid thousands of arrests in the crackdown on the 2007 monk-led protests.

He said Burma's revered Buddhist monks are still highly politically active despite the military crackdown.

"The monks’ movement within the country has become tighter, and the strength of the monks has also become greater," U Awbasa said.

"A lot of people who were not interested in the issue have now started taking interest."

He said the All Burma Monks’ Organization is still active inside the country.

"We know that its leadership comprises highly respected and experienced veteran monks," U Awbasa said.
"In the past some of the highly respected abbots were not involved, but now about 20 of those abbots have joined the movement."

He said the monks still have the potential to force political change in Burma.

"We can say that the movement is stronger. If another movement develops, the [military government] will not be able to stop it in any way," he said.

U Awbasa, who served for 14 years in the Burmese military from 1972-86, said the monks hadn't expected the soldiers to fire on unarmed, praying monks when they launched their campaign for change two years ago this week.

"At the time the Saffron protests took place, we monks were very concerned that the public would be adversely affected," he said.

"The other point was that we had not expected that they would shoot at us. We, the monks were doing nothing to adversely affect them. We were monks marching and recited prayers. We even requested the public not to participate, as they could face difficulties."

He said that public and civil organizations joined the movement late, on Sept. 27, after security forces attacked protesting monks near the Shwedagon Pagoda in the former capital, Rangoon.

Public drawn in
A monk speaks through a megaphone to a group of people in Rangoon, September 25, 2007. Photo credit: AFP
"When they started to violate the monks in this manner, the public couldn't be restrained from participating in the movement," U Awbasa said.

"The movement failed because the authorities systematically planned and plotted to crush it, not because of poor participation."

He said government forces and hired thugs staged military-style raids on monasteries on the night of Sept. 27, deliberately aiming their guns at the monks and shooting to kill.

"The cruelties they committed were so extreme that the monks decided that if they continued their movement the public would suffer, so we reduced our activities," U Awbasa said.

"If the public had participated in force, a lot more people would have been killed."

Original reporting in Burmese by Khin May Zaw. Burmese service director: Nancy Shwe. Translated by Soe Thinn. Written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.

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China's Anniversary Web Crackdown

2009-09-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

Internet cafes vow to 'self regulate' in advance of a politically sensitive anniversary.

HONG KONG—Controls over Chinese Internet users look set to intensify ahead of a sensitive political anniversary in October, with an announcement by Internet café owners that they will fully cooperate with government security measures.

Internet Café Associations in 30 major Chinese cities and provinces issued a statement titled “Self-regulating declaration on cleaning up the Internet café industry” Wednesday, vowing to abide by China’s laws and regulations concerning the Internet, official media reported.

The statement said Internet café owners would “cooperate with government efforts to close down illegal Internet cafes, to improve the quality of service in Internet cafes and voluntarily 'clean up' the industry.”

It also said the industry would work toward “putting an end to hidden security concerns.”

“Industry associations in China are semi-official organizations approved by the government, although they may have arisen from the private sector,” said He Qinglian, former editor of the Shenzhen Legal Daily newspaper.

“This communiqué has been issued under the aegis of the government.

Information control

Its aim is to control the flow of political information, especially now, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. They want to eradicate any voices of opposition and create an atmosphere of unified praise for the Communist Party,” she said.

According to Chen Jianying of the association “China Internet Cafes Online”, the industry is taking steps to self-regulate.

“There will be more concrete measures coming in the future,” Chen said.

“Through such an organization and such an announcement, everyone is able to share information, including some aspects of Internet café management,” he said.

Meanwhile, online reports in central China said authorities at the prestigious Hunan University are developing and testing new online public opinion surveillance software.

Officials at the university were unable to confirm the reports, but they said such a project seemed likely.

“A lot of departments in Hunan University would be likely to be working on such a project,” said an employee who answered the phone at the Hunan University Information Technology department. “I don’t know which department it is, though.”

'Negative reports'

One piece of public opinion monitoring software, made by Beijing-based Goonie, said in its promotional material that it could monitor news posted on Web sites, blogs, and forums, as well as currents of public opinion on the entire Internet.

“[Goonie] is able to distinguish intelligently between illegal information on the Internet and to help you crack down on pornography, fake and erroneous information,” the company said in a promotional statement on its Web site.

“It automatically detects negative reports, ‘hot’ news events, and forum discussions.”

Zhu Ruifeng, editor-in-chief of the anti-corruption Web site Supervision by the People, said his Web site is frequently targeted for closure or by hackers, because of negative reports about government officials.

“A lot of citizens and ordinary people are going to the forums and posting reports, and expressing opinions of great dissatisfaction with the government and complaints right now,” Zhu said.

“Our Web site deals with anti-corruption, and it is blocked [by the authorities] every day. When they can’t block it, they get hackers to attack it. When the hackers can’t bring it down, we get an immediate notice that it will be closed from the supervisory office,” he added.

Authorities in the Chinese capital are on high alert ahead of lavish official celebrations of the Chinese Communist Party's 60th anniversary in power on Oct. 1, and police have rounded up migrant workers and petitioners and put pressure on writers and intellectuals not to publish anything critical of the government during the holiday period.

Original reporting in Mandarin by Qiao Long. Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Translated and written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Additional translation by Chen Ping. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.

The Vietnamese Authority Threatens Using Armed Forces to against Khmer-Krom Farmers

2009-09-11T21:20:00.001-07:00

The Vietnamese Authority Threatens Using Armed Forces to against Khmer-Krom Farmers

Krobao (Tinh Bien) District, An Giang Province, Vietnam – On September 8, 2009, the Vietnamese authority summoned Khmer-Krom farmers to meet the Vietnamese authority representatives at three different temples: Sang Ke Douch temple, Om Pei Swai temple, and Pothi temple.

The Vietnamese Authority representatives told the Khmer-Krom farmers that they will continue their canal construction plan in An Cu commune, Krobao (Tinh Bien) district, Moth Chrouk (An Giang) province, which is a canal construction plan that the Khmer-Krom farmers have been peacefully protesting against it to demand the Vietnamese authority to stop digging canal on their rice fields without paying any compensation. The Vietnamese authority representatives also threatened the Khmer-Krom farmers that they will use armed forces to oppress the protesters if the Khmer-Krom farmers keep protesting.

On September 9, 2009, the Vietnamese Authority summoned three Khmer-Krom women (Neang Vann, Neang Ra, and another woman whose name is unknown) to intimidating and threatening them regarding to their participating in the peaceful protest against digging canal on their rice fields. In the same day, the Vietnamese authority sent two more digging machines to An Cu commune.

Instead of peaceful solving the issues with the Khmer-Krom farmers, the Vietnamese authority threatened that they will continue their construction plan on September 10, 2009.

In this regards, I urgently would like to:
Urge the Vietnamese government to stop threatening to use armed forces against the armless Khmer-Krom farmers.
Urge the Vietnamese government to find a peaceful solution to help Khmer-Krom Farmers to keep their rice fields to farm.
Urge the foreign Embassies and UN Human Rights Agencies in Vietnam to ask Vietnam to respect the land rights of the Indigenous Khmer-Krom farmers.
Thanks for your help in advance.

Respectfully Yours,
Thach Ngoc Thach

President of the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation

P.O.Box 193
Pennsauken, NJ 08110
Tel: 856-655-3838 / Fax:856-655-1503
Email: giap.tran@khmerkrom.org
www.khmerkrom.org / www.khmerkrom.net

Medical Students Protest Over Exams

2009-09-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
11 September 2009

More than 300 medical students from three universities gathered for a second day of peaceful protests Friday, claiming the medical school had prevented too many advancements among them.

The students came from the schools of dentistry, pharmacology and medicine, and some claimed they had been prevented from seeing recent exam scores.

“I want to know my score, how much I got,” said Sam Sokheng, a pharmacology student. “In the exam, there were leaked exam papers, to make luck for the rich students and nepotistic students.”

Another student, who asked not to be named, said they had been promised 700 students would advance, but only 500 made the cut-off.

School officials could not be reached for comment.

Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Teachers Association, said the school should re-issue exams to avoid accusations of fraud from students.

Ambassador Dismisses Rights Hearing as Biased

2009-09-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

Cambodia’s top representative to the United States dismissed as biased a hearing at the US House of Representatives Thursday that is looking into Cambodia’s human rights record.

“We already know that they only invited the opposition party and non-governmental organizations,” Ambassador Hem Heng said in an interview in Washington. “It means that this is a biased hearing.”

The House of Representative’s Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, co-chaired by Frank Wolf, a Republican from Virginia, and James McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, scheduled a hearing Thursday to address “a concerning trend in the Cambodian government’s overall human rights record.”

Invited were Mu Sochua, a Kampot National Assembly representative for the Sam Rainsy Party who recently lost a defamation suit to Prime Minister Hun Sen; Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho; and Moeun Tola, head of the Community Legal Education Center’s labor program.

“Normally, the hearing needs to have two sides or more,” Hem Heng said. “But this hearing has only one side participating. So the hearing is trending toward the opposition party.”

International and local observers say Cambodia has seen a decline in media and personal freedoms, with critics of the government facing lawsuits and other charges.

The Cambodian Embassy in Washington released a statement Wednesday saying human rights in Cambodia have been improving.

“We have thousands of civil societies, from of expression, and the unions are progressing,” Hem Heng said. “Among these, there are at least 11 international organizations. Besides those, there is the office of the High Commissioner of the United Nations for human rights.”

Ou Virak, head of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said by phone the rights situation in Cambodia has deteriorated over the past four years.

“In 2005, there were some arrests, some complaints, and then the situation was back to normal,” he said. “But in 2009, we see arrests and intimidation.”

Chan Soveth, a rights investigator for Adhoc, said political violence in Cambodia never meets justice.

“The culture of impunity in Cambodia from day to day is accumulating,” he said. “It is scary, and a serious concern.”

2009 Kan Ben celebration photos

2009-09-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

Cambodians holds plates with food and incenses to offer at a Buddhist temple during the the festival of the dead, early Friday, Sept. 11, 2009, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The festival, also known as the Pchum Ben festival, commemorates the spirits of the dead and almost every Cambodian takes part by visiting temples. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodians celebrate the the festival of the dead at a Buddhist temple early Friday, Sept. 11, 2009, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The festival, also known as the Pchum Ben festival, commemorates the spirits of the dead and almost every Cambodian takes part by visiting temples. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Hem Heng throws a tantrum and accuses TLHRC hearing as biased

2009-09-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

Ambassador Dismisses Rights Hearing as Biased

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
11 September 2009

Cambodia’s top representative to the United States dismissed as biased a hearing at the US House of Representatives Thursday that is looking into Cambodia’s human rights record.

“We already know that they only invited the opposition party and non-governmental organizations,” Ambassador Hem Heng said in an interview in Washington. “It means that this is a biased hearing.”

The House of Representative’s Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, co-chaired by Frank Wolf, a Republican from Virginia, and James McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, scheduled a hearing Thursday to address “a concerning trend in the Cambodian government’s overall human rights record.”

Invited were Mu Sochua, a Kampot National Assembly representative for the Sam Rainsy Party who recently lost a defamation suit to Prime Minister Hun Sen; Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho; and Moeun Tola, head of the Community Legal Education Center’s labor program.

“Normally, the hearing needs to have two sides or more,” Hem Heng said. “But this hearing has only one side participating. So the hearing is trending toward the opposition party.”

International and local observers say Cambodia has seen a decline in media and personal freedoms, with critics of the government facing lawsuits and other charges.

The Cambodian Embassy in Washington released a statement Wednesday saying human rights in Cambodia have been improving.

“We have thousands of civil societies, from of expression, and the unions are progressing,” Hem Heng said. “Among these, there are at least 11 international organizations. Besides those, there is the office of the High Commissioner of the United Nations for human rights.”

Ou Virak, head of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said by phone the rights situation in Cambodia has deteriorated over the past four years.

“In 2005, there were some arrests, some complaints, and then the situation was back to normal,” he said. “But in 2009, we see arrests and intimidation.”

Chan Soveth, a rights investigator for Adhoc, said political violence in Cambodia never meets justice.

“The culture of impunity in Cambodia from day to day is accumulating,” he said. “It is scary, and a serious concern.”

Jailed Journalist Seeks To Apologize

2009-09-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hang Chakra, who is facing a yearlong jail term for defamation charges, has said in a letter he would like to apologize to a senior minister implicated in corruption by his newspaper.

Editor of the Khmer Mchas Srok newspaper, Hang Chakra was sentenced in July and fined 9 million riel, about $2,250, after publishing reports on alleged corruption at the powerful Council of Ministers, which is headed by Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.

Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said officials had received the letter and would provide it to Sok An on Monday.

In the letter, according to Phay Siphan, Hang Chakra “accepted the mistake of disinformation and expressed his regret for improperly writing some text in his newspaper, affecting the honor of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.”

“He accepts his wrongdoing and requests a pardon,” Phay Siphan said.

Hang Chakra’s arrest and imprisonment came in July amid increasing concern the courts were used to punish government dissenters, after two opposition parliamentarians, Mu Sochua and Ho Vann, had their immunity stripped and another opposition journalist, Dam Sith, vowed to close his own newspaper rather than face similar charges.

Phay Siphan said Friday Hang Chakra should have apologized before his sentencing, because the government is interested in seeing information that follows a professional code of conduct.

Now, he said, “Prime Minister Hun Sen has the right to get Hang Chakra’s apology letter to request the king to pardon him.”

Journalist associations in August requested King Norodom Sihamoni pardon the jailed editor, with no result.

Former Rebel Leader ‘Won’t Go’ to Tribunal

2009-09-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

With further indictments at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal moving forward for five leaders of the regime, a likely suspect, Im Chaem, told VOA Khmer she will not go to the court if summoned.

Im Chaem, now 65, is well known to villagers as a Khmer Rouge district chief in Banteay Meanchey province. She is now a deputy commune chief in Anglong Veng district, the last of the 1990s Khmer Rouge strongholds.

“I absolutely will not go, because the charge is unacceptable, and even if I’m called to court, I will not go,” she told VOA Khmer by phone. Asked why she would refuse to cooperate with the court, she said she had “no faults” reason enough to go.

She said she was “relieved” to hear Prime Minister Hun Sen object to further indictments, following promises of amnesty to cadre in the waning days of the regime, which ultimately fought a losing battle with government forces led by today’s premier.

If new investigations are opened ‘just to prosecute without reason,’ it will unsettle former Khmer Rouge cadre, she said.

‘’If you challenge more, it makes everybody feel no peace,’’ Im Chaem told VOA Khmer.

In on-site interviews with VOA Khmer several months ago, villagers in Proneth Preah district said Im Chaem was feared in the region and had been in charge when a number of crimes were committed under the Khmer Rouge.

Im Chaem has denied any wrongdoing, saying people who were killed or went missing there did so before her arrival as chief in 1978.

However, Khmer Rouge scholars say she could be among a tier of the regime’s leaders to face indictments. The Pre-Trial Chamber have now allowed five indictment submissions from the prosecutors office to move to the investigating judges, despite warnings from Hun Sen and other Cambodian officials more arrests could lead to instability.

Knut Rosandhaug, a UN coordinator for the tribunal, told VOA Khmer in an e-mail “it is a clearly established international standard that courts do not seek approval or advice on their work from the executive branch.”

“I expect that the ECCC will comply with this internationally recognized standard and make its decisions independently,” he said, referring to the tribunal by its official initials, for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

The tribunal is currently trying its first Khmer Rouge suspect, the former prison chief known as Duch, and is holding four more: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, and Ieng Thirith.