Cambodian PM’s wife prays at disputed Hindu temple

Reuters – August 1, 2008

By Chor Sokunthea

Bun Rany, wife of Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen, lights a candle during a Buddhism prayer ceremony for peace called Krong Pealy at Preah Vihaer temple compound atop Dang Reak mountain 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh August 01 , 2008. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia (Reuters) – The wife of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen led Buddhist monks and soldiers in prayers at a 900-year-old Hindu border temple on Friday amid a three-week military stand-off with Thailand.

With Thai troops and artillery dug in only meters away, Bun Rany thanked the soldiers, mostly battle-hardened ex-Khmer Rouge guerrillas, for resisting what Cambodia says is Thai encroachment on a disputed patch of land next to the ruins.

“The first lady called on the ancestral spirits to defend Preah Vihear and chase away the enemy,” Min Khin, chairman of the Southeast Asian nation’s Festival Committee, told reporters after the ceremony, shrouded in early morning mist.

Preah Vihear sits on top of a jungle-clad escarpment that forms a natural boundary between Thailand and Cambodia, and has been a bone of contention between the two countries for decades.

The International Court of Justice in the Hague awarded the site to Cambodia in 1962, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since, although it did not rule on ownership of the 1.8 square miles of scrub at the centre of the latest spat.

The trigger for the latest row came from Bangkok’s backing of Cambodia’s bid to have the temple listed as a World Heritage site, support that was seized on by nationalist street protesters bent on overthrowing the Thai government.

With a general election campaign underway in Cambodia at the time, it quickly escalated into a serious confrontation, with hundreds of troops and artillery sent to both sides of the border. In some places, the two sides are only a few yards apart.

Both foreign ministers vowed on Monday to resolve the stand-off peacefully and pull back troops, although nothing has changed on the ground, with Bangkok and Phnom Penh reluctant to redeploy in case they are painted as weak.

Bun Rany’s high-profile visit, flying in by helicopter and a heavily armed security detail, suggests her husband, a wily former Khmer Rouge soldier who won a landslide victory in Sunday’s election, is in no mood to compromise.

A group claiming Preah Vihear for Thailand described the ceremony as a black-magic ritual meant to bring bad luck, one newspaper reported.

Preah Vihear is not the only temple to have hit relations between the two countries.

In 2003, a nationalist mob torched the Thai embassy and several Thai businesses in Phnom Penh after erroneously reported comments from a Thai soap opera star that Cambodia’s famed Angkor Wat actually belonged to Thailand.

Cambodians pray for peace in temple standoff

Hindu – August 01, 2008

PREAH VIHEAR (AP): Buddhist monks and government officials held a peace vigil Friday at an ancient temple near disputed border land, lighting incense and praying in the shadow of armed troops from Cambodia and Thailand.

Mist hovered over the mountaintop Preah Vihear temple as some 1,000 people prayed for an end to the tense standoff that started July 15 and has fueled nationalist passions in both countries.

“We are gathering here to pray to the souls of our ancestors asking for peace,” said Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon, referring to Khmer kings who built the temple from the 9th to 11th centuries. “We also pray for success in our defense of our territory.”

Thailand and Cambodia both have long-standing claims to 1.8 square miles (4.6 square kilometers) of land near the temple. The dispute flared earlier this month when UNESCO approved Cambodia’s application to have the complex named a World Heritage site. Thailand’s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej had backed the bid, sparking anti-government demonstrations near the temple.

Both sides have stationed soldiers near the site.

About 800 troops from Cambodia and 400 from Thailand remain at a pagoda near the temple complex, despite a tentative agreement reached by foreign ministers Monday to redeploy them in an effort to ease tension.

“There is no order to redeploy our troops yet,” said Lt. Gen. Chea Saran, a Cambodian deputy commander of the army.

“As long as Thailand is not redeploying its troops, why should we?” he added.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has said his government was ready to go along with a proposed redeployment of Cambodian troops but will not act without Thailand taking the same step. Thailand’s government says the matter is being handled by the National Security Council.

Cambodian soldiers stood guard with weapons in their hands during Friday’s ceremony, which included 67 Buddhist monks who chanted blessings along the stone path leading to the temple.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded Preah Vihear and the land it occupies to Cambodia. The decision still rankles many Thais even though the temple is culturally Cambodian, sharing the Hindu-influenced style of the more famous Angkor complex.

Cambodia, Thailand military standoff causes water pollution around Preah Vihear Temple

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) — The military standoff between Cambodia and Thailand around the Preah Vihear Temple has caused water pollution there, posing a hazard to monks and civilians living in the area, local newspaper the Cambodia Daily said Friday.

Pheng Nayim, a doctor at the Institute Pasteur du Cambodge in Phnom Penh, told the newspaper that she had tested water that allegedly came from three locations on the mountain and had concluded that the pollution levels were dangerously high.

“The water had an increased level of arsenic and was also polluted by the extra human waste as a result of more military and other people in the area,” Pheng Nayim was quoted as saying.

If the monks or the people living there use this water, it could cause them to get illnesses such as typhoid and dysentery, she added.

The Preah Vihear temple straddles the Cambodian-Thai border atop the Dangrek Mountain and was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7 by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee.

The area has become the focal point of a military standoff between Thai and Cambodian troops in recent weeks after the flare-up of a long-dormant territorial dispute.

Thai-Cambodia standoff persists

Al Jazeera – Friday, August 01, 2008
08:46 Mecca time, 05:46 GMT

Hundreds of Thai and Cambodian soldiers continue to be deployed around the temple [Reuters]

 The standoff around the disputed Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia has shown no signs of easing.

Thong Khon, the Cambodian tourism minister, said the 1,000 or so people had gathered “to pray to the souls of our ancestors asking for peace”, referring to Khmer kings who built the temple from the 9th to 11th centuries.

“We also pray for success in our defence of our territory,” he added.

Tej Bunnag, the Thai foreign minister, said on Thursday that his government did not have to move its troops because Cambodia had not shown any sign that it would withdraw its troops from the disputed area.

Since Cambodia had “not informed Thailand officially” when it would pull out its troops, it was not necessary for the Thai government to react, Tej said.

Cambodia and Thailand had agreed this week to pull back hundreds of troops from the disputed area to end the weeks-long standoff.

The agreement had come after 12 hours of talks between the foreign ministers from both countries, meeting in the northern Cambodian city of Siem Reap.

The move was to see the withdrawal of some 800 Cambodian and 400 Thai soldiers from the vicinity of Preah Vihear.

Disputed ownership

Cambodia and Thailand claim ownership to the territory surrounding the Khmer-era temple and the deployment of troops in the region had raised worries of a military confrontation.

Both sides had pledged to resolve the dispute “bilaterally and peacefully”.

Hor Namhong, the Cambodian foreign minister, said they had “agreed to ask our governments to redeploy the troops” with details to be discussed later.

But neither side had set any firm deadline for the troop withdrawal from area around the temple, or a date for the next meeting.

During Monday’s talks the two countries also proposed a series of steps to end the conflict including a scheme to remove landmines that litter the area so that the border can be properly demarcated.

Cambodian and Thai officials said the meeting was the first step in what is likely to be protracted negotiations to end a dispute that has simmered for decades.

A first round of talks in Bangkok failed last week after Thai and Cambodian defence ministers could not agree on which maps to use to demarcate the border.

Cambodia had sought help from the United Nations but suspended its request pending the outcome of talks with Thailand.

The current conflict focuses on an area about 5 sq km of scrubland surrounding the 11th century temple which was recently awarded World Heritage listing by Unesco, the UN cultural organisation. 

Monks and government officials prayed at the ancient temple on Friday in the shadow of armed troops from both sides as the soldiers continued their standoff from just a few metres apart. 

New Korean bank enters local market

The Phnom Penh Post – July 25, 2008

Written by Sovan Ngoun

The third Korean commercial bank to set up shop in Cambodia opened July 16, bringing the total number of commercial banks in the Kingdom to 22, according to National Bank of Cambodia governor Chea Chanto.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chea Chanto said that Booyoung Khmer Bank was being established at a time when the Cambodian banking sector was seeing rapid growth.

The new bank also reflected the growing confidence of Korean investors in Cambodia’s banking system, he said.

As the regulatory authority for the banking system, the National Bank supported free competition and reasonable access to credit for borrowers. It encouraged the entry into the market of bankers with entrepreneurial spirit and a high level of professional skills who were able to effectively raise and manage capital and provide credit to more effectively allocate capital resources, Chea Chanto said.

We don’t need simple creditors who merely offer loans, he added.

“I am highly confident that the bank will demonstrate itself as a good operator that complies with rules and regulations while providing financial services, especially to small- and medium-sized enterprises that need long-term loans to expand their business activities,” Chea Chanto said.

“I do hope that the bank will bring real banking professionals to Cambodia to improve business operations, raise management skills, and efficiently allocate financial resources, while respecting the rule of fair competition and market discipline.”

“We wish to build financial credibility among Cambodians and business people in Cambodia,” said Booyoung chairman Lee Joong Keun, who said the launch of his bank grew out of the good ties between Cambodia and South Korea and the stable political situation in Cambodia.

To celebrate the grand opening, Lee announced that Booyoung Khmer Bank was donating 40,000 white boards worth $3 million to Cambodian schools and would provide $7.5 million for the construction of 300 primary school buildings around the Kingdom.  

“Booyoung Khmer Bank is the third commercial bank from South Korea after Camko Bank and Shinhan Khmer Bank to open since last year, and its total capital is 100 percent held by Korean shareholders,” said Chea Chanto.

Cambodian former king leaves for Beijing

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) — Cambodian retired king Norodom Sihanouk and his wife Monineath Sihanouk, accompanied by their son King Norodom Sihamoni, left here on Friday for Beijing for routine medical checkup and rest.

They were seen off at the Phnom Penh International Airport by Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly President Heng Samrin, Prime Minister Hun Sen, other government officials, royal family members and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Zhang Jinfeng.

During the stay in China, Sihanouk, his wife and Sihamoni are scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on August 8.

Sihamoni will return home in about two weeks, a royal palace official said at the airport, adding that Sihanouk and his wife will stay much longer.

The couple’s last trip to China for medical checkup was in April 2008.

The 85-year-old former king suffers from diabetes and has had colon cancer. He abdicated his throne to Sihamoni in October 2004.

A gentlemanly invasion

By James Pringle – International Herald Tribune

Thursday, July 31, 2008

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia:

The foxholes, minefields and straggling lines of muddy trenches with machine guns poking out make the scene near the 900-year-old Hindu temple here look more like an image from World War I than the latest flare-up of Indochinese conflict.

Still, this disputed no man’s land could never be the site of spontaneous soccer matches between enemies like those on the Western front – there’s room only for a game of ping-pong or perhaps badminton, if anyone felt inclined, which is unlikely.

The trenches manned by hundreds of Thai and Cambodian troops are from 3 to 25 yards apart. If shooting broke out on what the Thais wryly call the “samoraphum” or “battlefield” – a Sanskrit word also used in Khmer – there would be carnage. But today the mingling soldiers exchange cigarettes and snap images of one another with their mobile phone cameras, which they use to reassure their families at home.

Thailand and Cambodia both claim the 1.8 square miles of land surrounding the Preah Vihear temple, which has belonged to Cambodia since the International Court of Justice ruled in its favor in 1962, and the quarrel has raised nationalist heat in both countries. While both sides say they will refrain from hostilities, the propinquity of the forces spells real risk of mayhem if someone accidentally looses off a shot.

So far, there has been only one casualty – a Thai captain who lost a leg to a mine, probably planted in an earlier war against another invading army, Vietnam’s. Historically, Cambodia has long been plagued by land-grabbing from neighbors east and west.

The soldiers here are armed with an eclectic mix of weapons. Thais have state-of-the-art American rifles; the Cambodians are using the stuff of past conflicts, especially Chinese-made B40 rocket-launchers from the Vietnam War era. The B40s were unstable then, so what are they like now?

It is the wet season, and the rains lash down, soaking everything. “We are living like worms,” a Thai soldier says of life in his trench.

The Thai soldiers seem to go out of their way to be polite, almost as if they were embarrassed to have made an armed entry into Cambodian-held territory, whether or not it is disputed land. You could call it a gentlemanly invasion.

But the Cambodians have deployed former forces of the Khmer Rouge – war-hardened guerrillas who brought on the “Killing Fields” of the 1970s. They are now integrated into Cambodia’s armed forces, even though their onetime leaders currently face trial at a war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh.

From Thailand, Preah Vihear is an easy drive along a tarred road. Although the border is now closed here, there is a small entry track that is kept open to bring in food prepared in Thailand for Thai troops.

On the Cambodian side, there’s a gruelling 12-hour haul over unpaved roads from Phnom Penh, then a steep, almost vertical uphill climb of two-and-a-half miles to the temple, built on an outcrop 1,600 feet up in the Dangrek Mountains. The view over Cambodia is now one of deforested jungle, almost bereft of wildlife.

When they are asked which country the territory around the temple belongs to, the oh-so-polite Thai soldiers shrug and say: “I don’t know,” or “It’s disputed,” or “it overlaps.” None of them said, “This is our land.” Then they invite a visitor to join in an imported meal.

Asked how the stalemate will all end, one Thai veteran points toward heaven and says: “Only the higher-ups know.”

The Thai soldiers seem to have an unspoken sense that they are pawns in a political game between the Thai government and its domestic opposition.

The Cambodians are more bitter: Many say that they have been invaded.

At a Buddhist pagoda – both Cambodians and Thais share the Theravada branch of the religion – the Cambodians pray for Thai defeat. “May the mosquitoes give them malaria so they all go home,” one one asks.

Cambodian tourists come with food for their country’s troops and pose in dramatic postures with loaded B40 rocket-launchers borrowed from the troops – even though an accidental discharge could ignite disaster.

The Cambodians don’t seem to realize that they too are pawns to posturing politicians: Hun Sen, the Cambodian strongman, used the temple standoff to gain support in the election last Sunday in which he has already claimed a major victory.

This will be borne out if the Thai-Cambodian confrontation suddenly ends – possibly in compromise – after official confirmation of Hun Sen’s victory. Otherwise, the confrontation will bog down in the cloying mud, with an ever-increasing risk of an escalation that no one wants.

James Pringle covered the Vietnam and Cambodian wars.

Stability, sort of

Jul 31st 2008 | PHNOM PENH
From The Economist print edition

After a dirty election, the prime minister tightens his grip

WHETHER Cambodia’s general election on July 27th was a success or a travesty depends on what you compare it with. A team of European Union observers said it fell well below international democratic standards. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters were excluded from the electoral register. There was widespread impersonation of voters, plus the usual vote-buying and glaring pro-government bias by broadcasters.

However, the election was also the least violent since the United Nations-sponsored one in 1993 that marked the end of decades of civil war. The victory of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and its leader, Hun Sen, means Cambodia is set for a further five years of corrupt and inept government but also, probably, of continued stability and rising prosperity.

Preliminary results suggest the CPP won around 90 seats (up from 73) in the 123-seat national assembly. The main opposition leader, Sam Rainsy, believes his party won around 27, up from 24 last time. The big losers were Cambodia’s once-powerful royalists. Divided and in disarray, the main royalist party, Funcinpec, shrank from 26 to perhaps just two seats; a splinter named after the exiled Prince Norodom Ranariddh did no better.

Though the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) wants the world to refuse to recognise the outcome, diplomats in Phnom Penh, the capital, believe the CPP has genuinely gained popularity thanks to Cambodia’s strong growth—10.3% last year, producing a boom in fancy office blocks and rural land prices. Mr Hun Sen also won some votes from his tough stance in an armed confrontation with Thailand over a patch of land near the ancient Preah Vihear temple, which a UN committee recently put on its “world heritage” list. The EU’s observers said that given the scale of the ruling party’s victory electoral fiddles seemed unlikely to have altered the outcome. 

Until fairly recently Mr Hun Sen’s critics had a tendency to die violent deaths. As he has felt surer of his position, politics has become more peaceful. Patronage and pilfering are rife and the justice system almost non-existent. But foreign donors fill many of the gaps—in particular, building lots of roads and other infrastructure. Roderick Brazier of the Asia Foundation, a think-tank, says the devolution of money and powers to local communes seems to be improving ordinary people’s lives, and the appearance of a few capable technocrats in central government may help more.

Tired and angry after the election, Mr Sam Rainsy remains defiant. The collapse of the royalist movement, he says, means that now, “we are the only serious alternative. It makes the political game clearer.” He argues that the SRP, hitherto an urban party, is gaining support in the countryside. But if he were to present a serious challenge, would Mr Hun Sen revert to his old brutal ways?