Let's deal with this calmly

The last time Thai and Cambodian forces fought their worst sporadic battle over the disputed area surrounding the ancient Hindu temple of Preah Vihear, or Khao Phra Viharn as it is called in Thailand, was in October 2008. Several clashes were reported and both sides suffered death and injury among their men. Although further skirmishes occurred in the years following, they were deemed minor and insignificant. From bangkok post The hostilities are believed to stem from Cambodia's unilateral effort to have the ancient temple registered as a World Heritage Site by Unesco, which it succeeded in doing, and also from the Cambodian government's appointment of Thailand's deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as its special economic adviser. Only...

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Thai Nationalists Begin Bangkok Protest Over Cambodia Dispute

VOA News Photo: Reuters A supporter of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) gestures during a rally outside the Government House in Bangkok, 25 Jan 2011 Thai nationalists have begun what they call an indefinite protest in Bangkok to urge the government to take a tougher line in its border dispute with Cambodia.At least 2,000 supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy, also known as Yellow Shirts, gathered Tuesday on a major Bangkok street near Government House and set up an encampment with a stage, tents and other facilities.A Yellow Shirt leader, Chamlong Srimuang, said PAD members and their allies will remain at the site until...

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Military muscle forces Cambodia's hand

It was essentially an exercise in "sabre-rattling", but the military's show of strength near the Cambodian border in Si Sa Ket province this week involved a complex set of military and political manoeuvring. Abhisit: Supported show of strength The intriguing part of this mission was to make Cambodia remove a stone tablet declaring ownership of the disputed border area around Preah Vihear temple. For reasons that might have more substance than has been revealed, the Cambodians quickly acquiesced and smashed the tablet that had been erected on the orders of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. A high-level source said the show of force to pressure Cambodia to remove the tablet, erected in front of Kaew Sikha Khiri Sawara temple, received the...

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Restrictions lifted on man convicted of sex crimes abroad

Orville Mader, convicted of sex crimes against young boys in Asia, tries to block photographers from taking his picture after making an appearance in provincial court in Abbortsford, B.C. Monday, December 3, 2007. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Jonathan Hayward)VANCOUVER — A man convicted in absentia of sex crimes against children in Cambodia has been allowed unrestricted freedom in Canada, even though the Crown expressed concerns when he was arrested that he was a danger to children. While a judge granted a restraining order against Orville Mader meant to protect children back in 2007, that order has been allowed to lapse. Now, it's unclear whether the man who has not been charged with offences is Canada will be free to travel to other countries....

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Desperately seeking a sense of balance

Neth Pheaktra: Has ‘‘never exaggerated the news’’ 18/01/2011Bangkok PostThe media has been a factor in Thai-Cambodian relations since they became strained in 2008 whenthe dispute over the Preah Vihear temple resurfaced. The coverage in Thailand and Cambodia of sensitive incidents, including the recent arrest of seven Thais oncharges of trespassing on Cambodianterritory, could improve or damage relations between the neighbouring countries. ANUCHA CHAROENPO spoke to Neth Pheaktra, managing editor of the Khmer-language edition of the Phnom Penh Post newspaper, on its reporting policy.What's your newspaper's policy on reporting the arrest of the seven Thais and other issues that could affect Thai-Cambodian relations? This is a crucial story for...

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Boeung Kak Lake outrage!

A Cambodian woman holds her baby during a protest near the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh January 17, 2011. About 60 residents of Boeung Kak Lake appealed to the Chinese embassy for help in getting fair compensation from a Chinese firm involved in a real estate development at the lake. The protesters were representatives of at least 2,000 remaining families, who are facing eviction from the lake, a local rights group said. REUTERS/Samrang Pring Cambodian women react during a protest near the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh January 17, 2011. About 60 residents of Boeung Kak Lake appealed to the Chinese embassy for help in getting fair compensation from a Chinese firm involved in a real estate development at the lake. The protesters were representatives...

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Obama readies new focus on education

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is putting education overhaul at the forefront of his agenda as he prepares for his State of the Union address and adjusts to the new reality of a divided government. But trouble signs are already emerging. Despite a bipartisan consensus in favor of more flexibility for students and teachers, political pressures from the coming 2012 presidential campaign and disputes over timing, money and scope loom over a debate affecting millions — the overdue renewal of the nation's governing education law, known as No Child Left Behind.For all the talk in Washington that education might offer the best chance for the White House to work with Republicans, any consensus could swiftly evaporate in the capital's pitiless...

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PM optimistic detained Thais will be freed by Cambodia; urges army chief to be patient

BANGKOK, Jan 15 -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Saturday he is optimistic that all seven Thai detainees being held in Phnom Penh will be free on bail soon, yet urged army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha to both use restraint and speed up the process of resolving border problems with the neighbouring country amid slanders by the so-called Thailand Patriots Network (TPN) group.The group said that senior Thai military officers were somehow profiting from the border troubles and the slow action in helping the detainees. “I understand the army chief’s feeling," the prime minister said."I wish to ask him to be patient.”.On Friday, TPN activists rallied at Thailand's defense ministry, calling for the resignation of the prime minister, Foreign...

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Thailand Tries to Project Normality

But unresolved grievances likely to impede efforts to end civil conflict. Ryan Pierse / Getty Images (left); Vivek Prakash / Reuters-LandovFormer Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (left) and current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Following a year of violent antigovernment protest and military backlash in Bangkok, and with elections likely soon, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva appears eager to show that Thailand is on the mend. In late December, the government lifted the state of emergency that had been in place in the capital for more than eight months, and Abhisit then gave an optimistic end-of-year speech promising stability....

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No bail for 5 Thais in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Five Thai nationalists being held in a Cambodian jail were denied bail Friday but the government said they appealing the denial.The detained include Veera Somkwamkid, a coordinator for the Thai Patriots Network, and his secretary, the Bangkok Post reported. Thani Thongpakdi, a government spokesman in Bangkok, said lawyers for the five are appealing the decision.Panich Vikitsreth, a member of the Thai Parliament, and another detainee were released Thursday. The Phnom Penh municipal court set conditions including a reuirement that the two men remain in Cambodia until their cases are resolved.Supporters of the seven say they were kidnapped on the Thai side of the border as they investigated claims the Cambodians have been encroaching into Thailand. They...

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British man in Cambodia charged with sexual abuse of 4 teenage boys

By: The Associated PressPHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A British man in Cambodia has been charged with sexually abusing four teenage boys. Sok Keo Bandit, a prosecutor in Siem Reap province, says Robert Layland was charged Tuesday with paying to procure a child for prostitution and indecent acts with a minor. He alleges the 54-year-old Layland, who runs a souvenir shop in the province, had sex with four boys, ranging from 14 to 18 years old. He says the boys worked in Layland's shop. The anti-child sex group Action Pour Les Enfants says Layland was arrested Monday. Layland is in custody and was not available for comment. Cambodia has long been a magnet for foreign pedophiles, but in recent years has cracked down on offenders. ...

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3 generations of women murdered in new multiple killing in Cambodia

Phnom Penh - Three Cambodian women from the same family were killed in their home in the country's second multiple murder in as many days, local media reported Tuesday. Police said the three victims - 70-year-old Eng Ly, her daughter and her 20-year-old granddaughter - were killed early Monday in Siem Reap province in the country's north-west. The attackers slit their throats after raping the youngest woman, The Phnom Penh Post newspaper reported. The police chief of Siem Reap town said robbery was likely behind the killings. 'This is the cruellest murder I have seen since I became police chief over 10 years ago,' Thoeung Chantharith told the newspaper. 'We are working to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice,' he said. A vendor discovered the bodies in the early...

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Australian gunned down in Cambodia

Cambodian police said Monday they were investigating the killing of an Australian man shot dead at the weekend at a guesthouse in the capital Phnom Penh.Australian gunned down in CambodiaThe 44-year-old, who flew into Cambodia on Saturday evening, was shot in the chest in the guesthouse's reception area. He died in hospital the same day."He has a Cambodian fiancee. After he landed, he met with his fiancee and they went to a guesthouse where he was shot by two suspects," national police spokesman Kirt Chantharith told AFP, declining to give more details.Police refused to speculate on the motive for the killing. Officials at the Australian Embassy could not immediately be reached for comme...

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Top Glove to invest RM160mil in Cambodian rubber plantation

By DANNY YAPdanny@thestar.com.my KUALA LUMPUR: Top Glove Corp Bhd, the world's largest rubber glove manufacturer, is investing RM160mil in Cambodia to plant rubber trees to reduce its dependency on latex which is bought at market prices. Chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai said the company was targetting to obtain 20% of its latex requirement from the plantation over time. “We have about 8,000 ha of net plantable land for rubber trees,” he said at a briefing for analysts and reporters on Top Glove's first quarter results ended Nov 30, 2010 here yesterday. By owning its own rubber plantation, Top Glove would be able to mitigate the rising cost of buying latex at market prices in future. Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai (right) says the company...

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