Better regulation necessary for port system: officials say

The Phnom Penh Post, August 20, 2008

Written by Kay Kimsong   

A rise in exports has sparked a free-for-all among the Kingdom’s state and private ports and officials warn that unregulated competition will hurt trade

A truck drives past shipping containers stacked at the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port Authority on Tuesday. (HENG CHIVOAN)

SOARING exports have led to what officials say is a chaotic and cutthroat system of private and public seaports that needs to be better regulated.

About 22 ports dot Cambodia’s rivers and seashores, with few rules governing competition, quality, logistics or safety.

The state-owned Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville ports, meant to be key trade hubs, complain that they cannot compete against smaller private facilities that have few standards and frequently engage in what they say is price-dumping to attract business.

“Ports are no longer competing fairly and must upgrade their services and management,” said Hei Bavy, director general of the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port.

“Some business people have created confusion by trying to adopt Cambodia’s ‘Open Skies’ policy to the Kingdom’s waterways,” he told the Post.

Open Skies deregulated flights for international carriers to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, greatly increasing business to these transport centres.

“But [Open Skies] didn’t authorise the unrestricted building of new airports. Any move towards an ‘open water’ policy in Cambodia should follow the same pattern,” Hei Bavy said.

“All private ports should function under the same set of rules. Singapore has many port terminals, but all of them operate under the Port Authority of Singapore. The same is true of Hong Kong. In Cambodia, it’s much different.” Officials say Cambodian law has failed to keep pace with changing trade patterns and rising exports, estimated at just over US$4 billion last year.

Lawmakers are expected later this month to debate legislation that exporters and port operators hope will bring some order to the export sector. The law is being made with help from Belgium and would include provisions to coordinate Cambodian and Vietnamese ports. “We have to put all port operators on track and every port, both private and state-owned, needs to compete based on proper regulations,” said Mom Sibon, secretary of state for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

“I think we need to control all ports to make sure they are operating fairly and according to the law,” he said.

But some private operations say they are concerned about increased government control over Cambodia’s ports. Greater port competition would improve services overall, they argue, while more scrutiny could eventually discourage trade.

“This is a free market. If there are no private ports to compete with state-owned ports, the price of services will not be competitive,” said So Nguon, co-chairman of the Government-Private Working Group on Electricity and Transportation.

“I would oppose any move to discourage the opening of new ports…. The more ports there are in operation, the better the competition and the more port users benefit.”

Wing Hour, the managing director of City Power Group Cooperation, the firm developing the $16 million Kampot Sea Port in Kampot province, said the company supports the ministry’s efforts towards comprehensive regulations, but this should not be an opportunity for tighter government control of private ports.

“The management and services must remain in the control of the private ports,” he said.

Cambodian gov’t touts organics to increase rice export

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) — Cambodian agriculture officials said that shifting to chemical-free fertilizers could triple farmers’ rice yields and produce more profitable crops at a time when the country’s rice exports are on the rise, local newspaper the Phnom Penh Post reported Thursday.

“Rice grown with natural fertilizers is easier to produce and more profitable than rice grown with chemical fertilizers,” Khem Chenda, director of the administrative affairs at the Ministry of Agriculture, was quoted as saying.

Farmers using chemical fertilizers pay about 35 U.S. dollars to70 U.S. dollars per 50kg bag, and their yields sell about 250 U.S. dollars per ton on the international market, Khem Chenda said.

But they face numerous health problems from prolonged exposure to chemicals, ranging from skin irritations to lung cancer, he added.

However, organic fertilizers will increase the quality and quantity of paddy yields and for a cheaper price, said Chan Vannak, general manager of the Bayon Heritage Holding Group.

Organics cost 27 U.S. dollars per 50kg bag and crops sell for 300 U.S. dollars per ton, Chan Vannak said.

The Bayon Heritage Holding Group imports organics from Japan for resale in Cambodia, he said, adding that he has already sold about 500 tons.

Editor: Gao

Cambodian gov’t mulls foreign ownership of buildings, offices

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) — The Cambodian government is mulling to allow foreigners to own condominiums and office buildings in order to prevent a possible downturn in property values and boost long-term investment, national media said Thursday.

At present in Cambodia, foreigners are prohibited from owning land or fixed assets such as buildings, apartments or office space.

Any government move to allow foreigners to own condominiums or office buildings would need to begin with Ministry of Land Management, a move that the ministry is indeed considering, English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily quoted a ministry official as saying on condition of anonymity.

“I think the government will de-restrict the property market. Once things start getting more competitive, once things start to slow down, people start to look at other places and the competition starts to get more competitive, they will need to start doing more things to attract more foreigners,” said Liam Bailey, head of international research for London-based realtor David Stanley Redfern (DSR), which has real estate business in Phnom Penh.

The real estate business in Phnom Penh and other major Cambodian cities have been booming in the past two or three years, but the market leveled off shortly before the general election in July this year due to the investors’ political calculation.

During this period, the price has stayed stable but the demand decreased, which propelled the government, property consultants and retailers to think of the next step to heat up the market.

Editor: Gao

HIV/AIDS rate expected to keep declining in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) — The number of Cambodians with HIV or AIDS has plummeted from the country’s all-time high in the late 1990s and experts expect its prevalence to continue dropping in the foreseeable future, national media said Wednesday.

“This is good news,” English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily quoted Mean Chhi Vun, director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs (NCHADS), as commenting on NCHADS’ latest report.

“As a program manager, I am very happy because this shows we have successfully slowed down or controlled the HIV epidemic through prevention, care and treatment,” he added.

Recent sample tests in 22 provinces and municipalities throughout Cambodia tell NCHADS that some 14 percent female sex workers are thought to have HIV/AIDS, as opposed to 43 percent in 1998, and 1.1 percent this year as opposed to 2.1 percent in 1998 among pregnant women.

Meanwhile, the infection rate of the disease is now kept under one percent in the kingdom, said the tests.

The decline can be attributed to increased condom use and high treatment rates, according to NCHADS officials.

The infection rate of HIV/AIDS in Cambodian once reached 3.3 percent at its peak in 1997. 

Editor: An

Patriotic consumers fuel demand for local noodles

The Phnom Penh Post – August 19, 2008

The Kingdom’s first domestically-made instant noodles find a ready market as customers boycott Thai goods in favour of Cambodian products…

Click here to read more…

SEZ operators form group, gaining bargaining power

The Phnom Penh Post – August 20, 2008

Written by Kay Kimsong and George Mcleod   

Cambodia Chamber of Commerce outraged as operators of the Kingdom’s Special Economic Zones strive for more independence, leverage with govt 

A labourer at work at the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone earlier this year. (KAY KIMSONG)

Operators of Cambodia’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) joined Tuesday to form the Kingdom’s first SEZ Association, giving them more power to deal directly with the government and potential investors, the group’s new president said.

“I think SEZ development in Cambodia will go very smoothly,” said Nang Sothy, who was chosen to lead the association after a meeting with the International Financial Corp.

The IFC, which is a wing of the World Bank group, has pressed for the association to be formed, industry sources say.

Nang Sothy said the association, which includes representatives from all of Cambodia’s 19 SEZs, will work with the government on drafting new legislation to govern SEZ operations, as well as lead promotional trips abroad.

The move, however, has outraged the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), which had previously managed the potentially lucrative SEZs, most of which have been inactive under the chamber’s stewardship.

The government has been granting SEZs in the hopes that they would attract more foreign investors to Cambodia and drive the Kingdom’s economic growth.

But only two of Cambodia’s 19 registered SEZs show signs of life, and local sources say most have been plagued by a lack of transparency in their operations.

“I don’t understand why they can’t use the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce to help them. We are here to help them if they have any problems,” said CCC Director General Nguon Meng Tech, accusing the IFC of interfering.

“I don’t see any specific reason for having a new association for SEZs,” he added. “[Prime Minister Hun Sen] authorised the CCC to deal with private companies and help them with any problems,” he added. 

An IFC spokesperson said the organisation’s role was limited to arranging Tuesday’s meeting at the request of the industry.
But industry sources say the IFC has also offered to help fund the SEZ Association’s administrative operations.

---

“I dont understand why they can’t use the CAMBODIA chamber of commerce. “

---

“If IFC wanted to support something, why didn’t the IFC directly support the CCC?” Nguon Meng Tech said.

Wing Hour, managing director of City Power Group Corp, which is developing the Kampot SEZ, said, however, that the association would allow the SEZs to work in chorus with one another and pool their various resources without being controlled by an outside group.

“We decided this morning to create an association because sometimes SEZs have been working alone and it has not been easy dealing with the government,” he told the Post.

“Now we will be able to discuss any problems we have with the government,” he added.

Mong Reththy, the president of Mong Reththy Group which operates its own SEZ, urged the association to treat all zone developers fairly.

All members should be able to share in the benefits of association membership, he said, warning against favouritism.

Eng Chhay Eang to give up position as SRP secretary general

The Phnom Penh Post – August 20, 2008

Written by Sebastian Strangio and Meas Sokchea   

The opposition stalwart will step aside for the second time in three years but only after the party’s election complaints have been resolved

OPPOSITION lawmaker Eng Chhay Eang plans to resign as secretary general of the Sam Rainsy Party, but only after the party’s complaints about the conduct of last month’s national election have been resolved, party officials say.

“Eng Chhay Eang has not decided to quit his position immediately, but after the resolution of the election complaints he plans to resign,” said SRP Senator Thach Setha, speaking on behalf of the secretary general.

Mu Sochua, SRP deputy secretary general, said the party had received no official notification of Eng Chhay Eang’s impending resignation.

“That is his own wish and his own decision,” she said Tuesday.

She added that the party was  currently entirely focused on gathering evidence that the ruling Cambodian People’s Party committed electoral fraud through the manipulation of voter lists  and the misuse of 10-18 forms during the election period.

This will be the second time Eng Chhay Eang has resigned the post of secretary general during his 13-year career with the party.

After occupying the post for six years, he resigned in late 2005, citing health issues and a problem with gambling.

He was reelected to the position in September 2007, drawing complaints from SRP-affiliated trade unions that his history of gambling would harm the party’s image in the run-up to the 2008 elections.

“This resignation is not related to gambling,” said Thach Setha, adding that Eng Chhay Eang was quitting because the heavy responsibilities of the position were becoming a burden.

Koul Panha, executive director of election monitor Comfrel, said he did not know the exact  reason for Eng Chhay Eang’s resignation.

But he said the party was now  looking to move forward after an election that saw large gains for the CPP.

“I think the SRP intends to establish a coalition and a new strategy for future elections, and they might need new people to work on that,” he said.

Road repairs at preah vihear suspended

The Phnom Penh Post – Wednesday, 20 August 2008

Written by Teth Sambath

Repair of the four-kilometre road leading uphill to the Preah Vihear temple has been suspended for five days due to rain, said Uch Vantha, a military engineer. “I got an order to repair the road to help ease traffic to the temple but the repair work, which began on July 25, has now been suspended,” he said. Chin Kong Hieng, general director of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said the contract to build the road from Tbeng Meanchey district, Preah Vihear province, to Preah Vihear temple has been awarded to a Chinese company.

Rights & Wrongs: China, U.N. Peacekeepers, Cambodia and More

Juliette Terzieff | Bio | 19 Aug 2008
World Politics Review Exclusive

CONTINUING CONCERNS ABOUT CHINESE HUMAN RIGHTS — The spectacular Olympic picture China has sought to paint for a world audience continues to be marred by human rights abuses, as media outlets, human rights groups and international diplomats put pressure on the Olympic host to ease controls on the Chinese people.

U.S. President George W. Bush made several public calls for China to end repression during his high-profile visit to Asia and the Games, including an appeal outside a Beijing church, where Bush told journalists “God is universal and God is love, and no state, man or woman should fear the influence of loving religion.”

Within hours of Bush’s remarks, reports began to surface of the dramatic escape from detention and flight into hiding by of one of China’s religious freedom advocates, Hua Huiqi. Security personnel nabbed Hua on Sunday, Aug. 10 as he attempted to make his way to the church where Bush and his entourage were celebrating mass. Later that evening, while his captors slept, Hua escaped from the makeshift detention center where he was being held and disappeared into hiding. Hua managed to get word of escape out through a few well-placed phone calls and emails.

Protests during the games have been minimal, thanks mostly to Beijing’s carefully crafted restrictions, which have made large-scale demonstrations impossible. Chinese authorities were extremely selective in issuing visas, forbidding entry to virtually anyone associated with rights groups that have a history of protests. They also announced the creation of official protest zones for the games just weeks before the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies, where would-be protesters could apply for permits to demonstrate. However, those foolish enough to actually apply have found themselves facing questioning and, in some cases, detention.

A few protesters — mainly from Students for a Free Tibet — have managed to stage small, highly public protests in Beijing and Hong Kong (where the equestrian events are being held), though all involved have been quickly arrested and deported. In one instance, a British reporter was detained and assaulted by security services while covering a small Tibet protest.

U.N. FINDS EVIDENCE OF D.R. CONGO SEXUAL ABUSE — An internal United Nations investigation into allegations of abuse by members of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reportedly found that at least 100 Indian peacekeepers were involved in the sexual abuse of young girls and boys over a period of several years.

While details of the investigation have not been made public, U.N. and DRC officials have indicated there is evidence the peacekeepers were running a prostitution ring. Indian and Pakistani peacekeepers are also accused of trafficking gold and weapons in the African country.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Indian authorities to investigate and punish the offending soldiers to the “maximum degree permitted under Indian law.” The U.N. does not have the power to punish soldiers serving as part of peacekeeping missions.

Indian authorities have not denied the investigation’s findings and have vowed disciplinary action once their own investigation is complete.

“In a whole range of African countries where there are factional fightings, there are paramilitaries operating all over and serious violations of human rights by everybody, the U.N. peacekeepers have also been tempted and fallen prey to this utterly unacceptable standard of behavior,” Retired Indian Maj. Gen. Dipankar Banerjee, now director of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, told Voice of America.

This is not the first time the U.N.’s Congo mission has been accused of human rights abuses. In 2004, U.N. peacekeepers and staff were accused of a host of abuses in a “sex-for-food” scandal that included incidents of rape, videotaping and distribution of sexual encounters with young girls, and coerced prostitution.

Peacekeepers and aid workers serving in other countries, including Burundi, Haiti, Sudan and the Ivory Coast, have also been accused of abusing the children they are supposed to be helping, according to a report released in May 2008 by Save the Children.

KHMER ROUGE TRIALS MOVE FORWARD AMID CONTROVERSY — Cambodia’s United Nations-backed genocide tribunal formally indicted its first defendant Aug. 12, paving the way for the long-awaited first trial of a Khmer Rouge official. But even as the court’s mission moved forward, the tribunal created an “ethics monitor” to investigate persistent corruption allegations that have endangered the tribunal’s future.

Sixty-six-year-old Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Dutch, faces charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes for offenses committed when he was chief of the notorious S-21 prison. Just over a dozen of the approximate 17,000 Cambodians that passed through the Khmer Rouge’s largest detention and torture center survived.

Cambodians have waited three decades for trials of the men and women responsible for mass atrocities during the Khmer Rouge’s disastrous 1975-1979 rule, when an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died from torture, starvation and disease. Five top Khmer Rouge leaders have been arrested in the last year and face indictments at the tribunal, though age and health may prevent some of them from ever standing trial.

International donors have been withholding payments to the tribunal since June due to corruption concerns, as the proceedings continue to run over budget and behind schedule. The tribunal is seeking an extra $87 million to continue operations through 2010.

BRITISH ANTI-TERROR LAWS CRITICIZED — Britain’s counterterrorism laws are infringing upon the right to free expression, the United Nations Human Rights Committee alleges in a new review.

The Human Rights Committee is “the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” by those states that are party to the covenant.

In a review of the United Kingdom’s compliance with the provisions of the covenant that was released in July, the U.N. body made observations about the human rights situation in Britain, noting three “positive aspects” and 24 “principle subjects of concern,” along with recommendations for addressing those concerns.

The British press particularly picked up on the committee’s recommendations with respect to Britain’s 2006 Terrorism Act.

“The Committee notes with concern that the offence of ‘encouragement of terrorism’ has been defined in section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006 in broad and vague terms,” the committee said. “In particular, a person can commit the offence even when he or she did not intend members of the public to be directly or indirectly encouraged by his or her statement to commit acts of terrorism, but where his or her statement was understood by some members of the public as encouragement to commit such acts.”

The committee recommends that Britain consider amending portions of the terrorism act relating to the “encouragement of terrorism” so that the application of these provisions do not “lead to a disproportionate interference with freedom of expression.”

Great Britain has enacted a series of tough anti-terrorism measures in the last three years that human rights groups have often criticized. Human rights groups have also criticized Britain for its participation in U.S. “extraordinary rendition” operations. With regard to the latter, the U.N. committee’s report recommends that the U.K. “investigate allegations related to transit through its territory of rendition flights and establish an inspection system to ensure that its airports are not used for such purposes.”

British lawmakers are due to consider further anti-terrorism measures later this year, including extending the limit on pretrial detentions without charge to 42 days and extending the amount of time access to a lawyer may be denied to suspects.

Juliette Terzieff is a journalist specializing in human rights. She pens Rights & Wrongs for World Politics Review every week.

Cambodia’s opposition has key role to play

United Press International, Asia, Hong Kong - August 20, 2008

Hong Kong, China — The ruling Cambodian People’s Party won a landslide victory in the country’s general election on July 27, claiming 90 out of 123 seats in the National Assembly, the lower house in the bicameral parliamentary system – although final results will not be announced till September.

This party almost wiped out its long-standing coalition partner, the Funcinpec party, which saw its seats reduced from 26 to two. Two newly formed parties, the Norodom Ranariddh Party and the Human Rights Party, took two and three seats respectively, while the opposition Sam Rainsy Party increased its seats from 24 to 26.

At first all four small parties rejected the results of the election, alleging it was “rigged” when names of legitimate voters were deleted from electoral rolls while illegitimate voters were allowed to vote. Apparently attracted by the winning party’s offer of government positions, Funcinpec soon changed its mind and accepted the election results.

Later on, the Norodom Ranariddh Party also changed its mind, apparently in exchange for the winning party’s support for a royal pardon for its leader, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who faces an 18-month jail sentence for breach of trust and who has been living in self-imposed exile abroad.

The other two parties, Sam Rainsy and Human Rights, have however continued to reject the election results and have filed complaints against election irregularities. They have also threatened to boycott the opening of the new Parliament.

Hun Sen, the incumbent prime minister and vice president of the winning Cambodian People’s Party, has angrily reacted to this threat and has warned that the seats of the boycotting parties would be taken away from them and given to other parties, although there are no constitutional provisions for such a measure.

In the midst of this post-election conflict, it has been announced that the King of Cambodia will act according to the country’s Constitution and summon all the lawmakers-elect to the first meeting of the new Parliament on Sept. 24. The Sam Rainsy Party has said that its lawmakers-elect will not be sworn in and take up their seats until its complaints have been properly addressed.

As is widely known, the winning party – the former communist party that has ruled Cambodia for over 20 years – has complete control over all of the country’s institutions from top to bottom, including the two adjudicating mechanisms for election irregularities, that is, the National Election Committee, which is also an election management board, and the Constitutional Council.

It is very unlikely that the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party will have their complaints addressed properly by these two institutions.

In the meantime the ruling Cambodian People’s Party seems set to prevent these two parties from playing any active role in the new Parliament, especially the Sam Rainsy Party whose leader, Sam Rainsy, has had continued acrimonious relations with Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is known as “the strongman of Cambodia.”

If the ruling party uses its overwhelming majority to forge ahead with the marginalization of the opposition, the Cambodian system of government will evolve into an elected dictatorship – all the more so when its judiciary, as is also well known, is under political control. With command over Parliament and control of all the country’s institutions, the ruling party can, as it has done before, enact any law and amend the Constitution to remove all obstacles to its rule.

This development is a break from the practice of the previous Parliament, in which the opposition Sam Rainsy Party had 24 seats and an important role as chair of two out of nine parliamentary committees. The new situation is not conducive to the development of the liberal democracy Cambodia has embraced in its Constitution.

With the absence of an opposition role, the new Parliament cannot be seen as representing the entire nation, only the majority of its citizens who voted for the Cambodian People’s Party. This Parliament will lose its status and role as one of the three branches of government.

Checks and balances between these three branches and the separation of powers will completely disappear. Cambodia will then become practically a one-party state, a development which is not friendly to democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

In order to avoid all these negative developments, Cambodia’s new Parliament should continue the practice of its predecessor. In order to represent the entire nation it must allow the opposition parties to be an integral part of the Parliament and assume the chairmanship of some of its nine committees, so the opposition can play an active role in the governance of the nation.

–

(Lao Mong Hay is a senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong. He was previously director of the Khmer Institute of Democracy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and a visiting professor at the University of Toronto in 2003. In 1997, he received an award from Human Rights Watch and the Nansen Medal in 2000 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.)