Cambodia eyes nuclear plant for electricity

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Impoverished Cambodia hopes to build a nuclear power plant to meet its future energy needs and help offset its dependence on imported oil, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced Friday during the first meeting of his new Cabinet.

In outlining his new government’s vision, he said one of its priorities will be to expand electrical generation to power its small but growing economy. Increased housing and factory construction will generate more demand for electricity, he said.

Hun Sen offered no hint when Cambodia would actually have its first nuclear power plant, saying it is still “ a long distance away for us, but this is our goal.”

Building hydroelectricity and coal power plants will be the immediate priority for expanding electricity generation and reducing reliance on imported oil, Hun Sen said.

The government has identified 14 potential sites for hydropower plants and has granted contracts to Chinese companies to build several of them.

Electricity costs in Cambodia are among the highest in the world, and only about 15 percent of the country’s 14 million people are connected to the power grid, according to the World Bank.

Study: Mental health during pregnancy impacts child in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) — A strong correlation between mental health problems during pregnancy and low birth weight and stunted childhood development has been identified by a study aiming to raise the profile of maternal mental health in Cambodia, national media reported Friday.

The study, conducted by the Trans-cultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO), Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) and Cambodia Reproductive and Child Health Resource Centre (RACHA), focused on Pursat province and was largely based on interviews with 297 women, according to the Phnom Penh Post.

Among the sample study, symptoms of depression and anxiety were detected in 17.8 percent of pregnant women while 9.8 percent reported symptoms of anxiety only.

The risk factors identified by the study included poverty, unplanned pregnancy, history of abortion, loss of a child, illness or death of a family member, marital conflict and a history of mental health problems.

Currently, maternal mental health is of low priority amongst stakeholders in Cambodia, possibly due to a lack of research and understanding into the potential impact of poor maternal mental health on the general health and well-being of both mother and child, officials said.

Chan Theary, executive director of RACHA, said prioritizing mental health has long been neglected by both government and donor agencies in Cambodia.

“ Women’s mental health remains low on the agenda of planners and policymakers not only in Cambodia but generally in the developing world. This is an emerging public health challenge,” she said, adding that depression will be the second most common global disease by 2020.

Professor Ka Sunbaunat, psychiatrist and director of National Program for Mental Health, said mental health problems in pregnant mothers have profound effects on the health of the unborn child.

“ Mental health problems in mothers can cause children to have retardation, epilepsy or physical underdevelopment. Some of these problems are incurable,” he said.

Editor: Yao

Motorists report gouging by Phnom Penh tax officials

The Phnom Penh Post
Written by Hor Hab

Motorists say their annual fees have risen as much as 50 percent as collectors pad their pockets to defray office expense costs

OVERCHARGING for road fees by municipal tax collectors could be costing nearly US$300,000 this year, say motorists.
There were about 670,000 motorbike drivers nationwide in Cambodia last year, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

The government enforces two types of motorbike taxes. Drivers with motor sizes of 70cc or less pay 3,000 riels (US$0.75) per year, while those with motors greater than 70cc pay 4,500 riels.

But tax collection officials are charging motorists an additional 1,500 to 2,000 riels for official stickers to prove compliance with road taxes, say drivers.

“ I paid 5,000 riels for my 50cc Honda Cub instead of the 3,000 the government normally charges,” Phnom Penh resident Ing Virak, 29, told the Post this week.

Other motorists report similar experiences. Hean Ran, a 30-year-old moto taxi driver from Tuol Sangke, said tax collectors required him to pay an additional 1,500 riels this year.

“ I don’t know why they forced me to pay extra, but I paid it because I didn’t want to waste any more time there or risk being stopped by police later for not having a tax sticker,” he said.

One tax collector who declined to give his name said the additional charges were intended to cover administrative fees.
“ I charge extra to cover the cost of paper and writing for processing the tax,” the official said.

Motorists also complain that tax-collection procedures and documentation are unnecessarily complicated, while tax stickers have increasingly become a target for thieves.

Sek Borisoth, director of the anti-corruption group Pact, said motorists should be given proper documentation to prove they have paid taxes even if their stickers have been stolen.

Sim Eang, director of the Tax Department at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said the department has already announced new tax procedures through local media that will make compliance much easier for motorists.

TeliaSonera to pay $484 million for Nepal, Cambodia firms

LONDON (MarketWatch) — TeliaSonera said it’s paying 3.2 billion Swedish krona ($484 million) to buy a 51% stake in an investment company that holds 80% of Spice Nepal, the country’s second-largest mobile operator, and all of Cambodia’s Applifone. TeliaSonera is buying the stake from Kazakhstan investment firm Visor Group, which will retain a 49% holding. TeliaSonera already holds majority control of mobile operators in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Moldova and has stakes in firms in Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus and Afghanistan.

Sultan congratulates Cambodia’s PM

His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday consented to send a congratulatory message to Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, on his re-appointment as the Prime Minister of Cambodia.

In the message, His Majesty extended his warmest congratulations to Hun Sen upon his re-appointment.

His Majesty also looked forward to continue working with the Cambodian Prime Minister to develop the warm friendship and close cooperation shared between the people of Brunei and Cambodia.

In ending his message, His Majesty conveyed his warmest regards and best wishes to Hun Sen for his new term in office.

Source: www.brunei-online.com

New Thai PM plans visit to Cambodia next month

Thailand’s new prime minister plans to visit neighbouring Cambodia next month, premier Hun Sen said Friday, amid a simmering border dispute between the two countries.

Hun Sen said the visit was planned for October 13, but did not say whether he and premier Somchai Wongsawat would discuss the spat over land near ancient temples along their border that led to a weeks-long military standoff.

“ If there is no change, there might be a visit by the new Thai prime minister to Cambodia next month,” Hun Sen announced during the first meeting of his new government’s cabinet.

A Thai foreign ministry spokesman confirmed discussions were being held about a future visit but said no date had yet been fixed.

Source: The Standard

Oxnard man faces 210-year sentence for sexually abusing Cambodian girls

Six of the seven girls who were drugged, beaten and raped at his Phnom Penh compound were brought to the U.S. to speak at his sentencing hearing. Former ambassador urges maximum penalty.

By Scott Glover, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

The young girl stood at the podium in a cavernous federal courtroom in downtown Los Angeles, 8,000 miles and a world away from her native Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

A prosecutor offered her a wooden footstool to stand on so she could better see the judge, but the girl declined.

She eyed the defendant, a retired U.S. Marine captain who had done unspeakable things to her and six other girls. He was seated just a few feet away with a smirk on his face.

The girl, 14, rocked back and forth, seeming to summon the courage to speak, and then, in a voice so faint it could barely be heard, she did.

“ I don’t want any other children to be like us,” she told U.S. District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer through a translator. “ Please don’t allow this to happen again.”

The girl spoke during a sentencing hearing for Michael Joseph Pepe, 53, of Oxnard. Pepe was convicted in May of having sex with seven Cambodian girls age 9 to 12. He faces a maximum sentence of 210 years in federal prison.

Pepe was working as a teacher in Cambodia when he hired a prostitute to procure the children from their families, according to testimony in the three-week trial. The victims, six of whom were flown to the United States to testify, said Pepe drugged, bound, beat and raped them in his compound in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital. In addition to the victims’ testimony, prosecutors showed jurors restraints, sedatives and homemade child pornography seized by Cambodian National Police during a raid of Pepe’s residence in 2006.

Cambodian police began investigating Pepe after receiving complaints of suspected child sexual abuse in the house where he lived. U.S. authorities later joined the investigation at the request of their Cambodian counterparts.

All of the victims were in court Thursday, but it took some coaxing from Fischer to get them to speak.

“ I don’t want you to be afraid,” the judge told the girls, one of whom clutched a fluffy pink teddy bear. “ This is a safe place.”

Then, one after another, they got up and said a few words. Some stole nervous glances at Pepe as they spoke.

“ What he did to me, it’s very painful,” said one girl in a striped dress. Another, with long black hair and a sweet voice, told the judge: “ I just want to say thank you that you helped me find justice.”

Social workers who are helping to care for the girls in Cambodia told Fischer the youngsters probably would be traumatized for the rest of their lives, particularly in a culture in which victims of sexual abuse are stigmatized.

“ The culture that they live in considers these children as refuse now,” said Don Brewster, who runs a mission in Cambodia that helpssexuallyabused children. “ They have a life sentence of overcoming what their culture thinks of them.”

After Brewster spoke, Fischer again addressed the girls.

“ Nothing that happened to you is your fault,” the judge said through a pair of translators who conveyed her message to the girls seated in the courtroom gallery. “ You are all very brave and strong to come here and testify.”

Pepe, who was dressed in white jail jumpsuit, did not speak during the hourlong hearing.

He is expected to be sentenced Nov. 4, after Fischer has had an opportunity to weigh the victims’ statements and other issues in the case, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Patricia A. Donahue, the lead prosecutor in the case.

Among the materials the judge probably will consider is a letter from the former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, Joseph A. Mussomeli, asking that she impose the maximum sentence.

Mussomeli, who stepped down from the post last month, wrote that corruption, lack of respect for the rule of law, and the trafficking of women and children “ have created a breeding ground where pedophiles can integrate into the expatriate community and prey on the weak and defenseless.”

He added: “ A well-publicized and strong sentence will send a clear and unequivocal signal that this illicit behavior will not be tolerated.”

Source: The Los Angeles Times

Sustainable development of Mekong hydropower

The Bangkok Post
JAMES BOND

The Mekong River Basin is nearly the size of France and Germany combined. It flows through six countries and its water and biodiversity resources are second only to the Amazon River Basin.

The region is so large, that the Lower Mekong River Basin – Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos – is home to about 60 million people, almost a third of the countries’ combined populations.

But who are these 60 million people living along the basin? Unfortunately, up to one-third of them are very poor, living on less than US$1 a day. Mainly rural farmers and fishermen and women, these people rely heavily on the resources that the river offers them, both fish and water. Any changes to this aquatic system can have an impact on their lives – whether floods, loss of fishery, impacts to their diet, income and more. So, while the basin has crucial aquatic resources that can offer tremendous benefits to people in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, changes to its flow and system can impact many of the people living along it.

This is why it is crucial to have wide stakeholder discussions around these issues, such as the dialogue being held in Laos from Sept 25 to 27, to discuss hydropower development and the role of the Mekong River Commission (MRC).

In order for any developments in the Lower Mekong River Basin to be developed sustainably, there are five considerations that I would suggest.

The first focuses on weighing benefits and impacts. For any management of the river basin to take place, careful considerations need to be taken. It is essential to establish what the impacts are, how extensive they are, who they impact, and what the ultimate benefits are. We cannot “ jump the gun” and say that any developments in the region would have a negative or a positive impact. We need to have information and facts to base any judgements on a solid analytical foundation. Unless careful studies and assessments are conducted, the full extent of the benefits and detriments of developments in the basin cannot be properly evaluated.

My second proposition focuses on the importance of keeping a regional perspective on the basin’s development and the political and economic issues at stake in all the Mekong countries. Any development project taking place in the basin cannot be considered in isolation. The studies that need to take place must take into consideration the effects any development will have on the whole lower river basin. Moreover, they also need to take into consideration the regional effects that the development can have, with the aim of ensuring that the benefits of the developments can be widely shared.

The third consideration is properly mitigating the impact on the environment and the people affected. While stakeholder participation and engagement is important throughout all the processes that I have mentioned, it is especially important when social and environmental impact is being managed. Communities need to have a say in this process, as well as civil society organisations and partners. Best practice programmes need to be implemented and this is when it is useful to tap the global and local knowledge that is available.

For example, Laos can draw on the lessons that have and are emerging from the Nam Theun 2 project. The preparation of NT2, with the numerous studies conducted and the at-length consultation processes, paved the way for more participatory, transparent and improved hydropower developments in Laos. These lessons can be evaluated and replicated in future projects so the best social and environmental programmes are put in place in order to effectively manage impact.

Fourth, a key player in all of these developments and considerations is the private sector. There is a need to attract responsible partners that can help the governments appropriately implement social and environmental programmes. While the lure of the construction may be foremost in developers’ minds, the importance of developing socially and environmentally sustainable and responsible hydropower projects must also be at the top of the priority list.

In order to bring all these elements together, my last consideration is the importance of the MRC. Sustainable hydropower developments in the Mekong Basin will not be possible unless there is an institution that can liaise and coordinate between the varying interests of all the countries. The MRC can add great value to the whole process of hydropower development, from enhancing the impact assessments that are done, leading the way on cumulative impact assessments, providing policy advice to the various countries, keeping in mind the regional considerations, disseminating information, sharing best practices, engaging stakeholders, ensuring transparency of processes, developing capacity and more. The MRC clearly needs to exercise its role of helping countries cooperate and promote sustainable development of its water as it takes forth its Hydropower Programme.

I believe that these five considerations can help Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos think about developments in the Lower Mekong Basin in a more sustainable fashion. We must all ensure that any developments are truly for the benefit of these countries’ populations.

James Bond is Chief Operating Officer of the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. The above article is based on his speech, made yesterday, at the Mekong River Commission consultation on hydropower.

U.S. Supports Cambodia Tribunal

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The United States Department of State has announced that it intends to work with Congress to provide $1.8 million to Cambodia’s cash-strapped Khmer Rouge war crimes court.  If approved, it would be the first U.S. donation to the U.N.-backed genocide tribunal aimed at trying regime leaders.  The court faces a shortfall of $40 million.   Foreign donors have been reluctant to provide additional funds due to the allegations of graft and corruption by the court.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack says the Cambodian tribunal has taken important steps to clean up corruption:

“ While the court still has more to do, the ECCC [Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia] has made significant strides to overcome international concerns about corruption, mismanagement, and political influence, including adding a new international deputy administrator, strengthening management practices, and establishing procedures to deal with allegations of wrongdoing.”

“ Nonetheless,” said Mr. McCormack, “ the court must still take appropriate steps to address the current allegations and hold responsible those involved.”

Much is at stake for the Cambodian people.  The war crimes court is a means of long-delayed justice for those who suffered under the Khmer Rouge government.   The regime was responsible for the deaths of more than 1,700,000 Cambodians from torture, executions, starvation, and forced labor between 1975 and 1979.

The United States strongly supports bringing to justice senior leaders responsible for the atrocities committed under the Communist Khmer Rouge regime.

Virtually all of Cambodia’s 13 million people have relatives who perished under the Khmer Rouge. In order for the country to move forward, it is vital that Khmer Rouge leaders be held accountable for their crimes. Respect for the rule of law and the existence of institutions of justice are Cambodia’s best defense against future abuses and a fitting memorial to those who lost their lives or loved ones to the Khmer Rouge.

Cambodian king pardons half-brother

The Associated Press (via International Herald Tribune)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Prominent Cambodian politician Prince Norodom Ranariddh on Thursday was granted a pardon for his embezzlement conviction by his half-brother, King Norodom Sihamoni, paving the way for his return from exile.

Ranariddh, who is living in Malaysia, will come home Sunday to resume his political career, said Suth Dina, a spokesman for the party named after the prince.

The king signed a royal decree pardoning “ the convicted person named Norodom Ranariddh, who the court has sentenced to 18 months in prison.”

In July, a Supreme Court judge upheld a lower court’s ruling from last year that found Ranariddh guilty of breach of trust and sentenced him in absentia to 18 months in prison.

The lawsuit was filed by the prince’s former colleagues in the royalist Funcinpec party, which he once led.

The court also ordered him to pay US$150,000 in compensation to the party.

The Funcinpec party, which ousted Ranariddh as president in October 2006, sued the prince on a charge of embezzling some US$3.6 million from the sale of the party’s headquarters in August that year.

The prince now leads his own Norodom Ranariddh Party, which won two parliamentary seats in this year’s general election two months ago.

His party has said the court ruling was politically motivated. He had been living in exile, mostly in Malaysia, long before the court case was initiated against him.

The prince is “ happy” about the pardon, Ouk Phalla, Ranariddh’s consort, said by phone from Malaysia. She declined to elaborate.

It was not clear what prompted the pardon. But local media have recently reported about behind-the-scenes maneuvering between Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government and the prince’s party to end Ranariddh’s legal trouble.

The two politicians are known for having an on-again, off-again political relationship. They once served as co-prime ministers until Hun Sen staged a coup to unseat his rival.

When Ranariddh was still the leader of Funcinpec, Hun Sen encouraged the royalist party’s followers to get rid of the prince for his weak leadership.

Ranariddh fired back, accusing Hun Sen of poking his nose in his business.

The prince and King Sihamoni are sons of former king Norodom Sihanouk.

In a letter to Sihamoni on Thursday, Ranariddh thanked the king for granting him the royal pardon “ following intervention” from Hun Sen.

The prince, in a separate letter, also offered “ warm congratulations” to his Hun Sen after the country’s parliament endorsed him as the prime minister for another five years.