'No Intention to Infect,' Cambodian Health Worker Says at HIV Outbreak Trial

Villagers infected with the HIV virus wait to receive assistance in Roka commune in western Cambodia's Battambang province, Jan. 5, 2015. RFA

An unlicensed health worker charged in Cambodia with causing a mass HIV infection by treating patients with reused needles said on Tuesday that he had always sterilized needles before using them and has no idea how the infection was spread.

“I had no intention of infecting my patients. I don’t know the reason for the infections,” Yem Chhrem told a panel of judges on the opening day of his five-day trial in northwestern Cambodia’s Battambang provincial court.

“I ask for justice from the court,” he said.

Yem Chhrem, whose actions may have caused the infection of more than 270 residents of Roka commune in Battambang, was questioned for more than eight hours on Tuesday on his medical credentials and experience in treating patients.

Security at the trial was tight, and reporters were blocked from bringing notebooks and cameras into the courtroom, sources said, adding that Yem Chhrem appeared frightened during the proceedings and only gave brief answers to the questions put to him by the court.

Speaking at his trial, Yem Chhrem said that in 1996 he had sometimes used the same needles to give injections, but had

Cambodian Villagers Demand Compensation For Expected Impact of China-Backed Dam

Water released from the dam at the Kamchay Hydroelectric Power Plant floods nearby houses and fields in southern Cambodia's Kampot province, Sept. 15, 2015.

(Photo courtesy of Licadho)

Villagers in northern Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province on Tuesday urged the government to suspend construction of a Chinese-backed dam until they are promised compensation for flooding they say will inundate area communities, forests and farmland if the project is allowed to proceed.

The villagers from Oddar Meanchey’s Chong Kal district told RFA’s Khmer Service that Chinese developer Sinohydro had recently transported various pieces of equipment to nearby Phnom Atoar to assist in building the Steung Sreng II dam and demanded authorities suspend construction.

If the government is unwilling to compensate them for the losses they expect to incur, authorities should develop a plan to mitigate the potential impact of flooding caused by the dam, said the residents of Sras Keo village, in Chong Kal’s Pong Ro commune.

Khiev Pich, one of the villagers demanding compensation from the government, told RFA that farmland belonging to him and nearly 100 other families would be destroyed by flooding when Sinohydro’s dam project is complete.

“Presently, [the company] is digging soil to build the dam in order to block the water,” he said.

“They are digging it in such a way that later the area will be flooded during the rainy season [which typically lasts from the end of May through the first half of October].”

According to Khiev Pich, the dam construction—which has already been under way for several months—is also damaging crops and farmland in the area, but repeated complaints from villagers have gone unaddressed.

While Chong Kal district authorities have acknowledged the dam will create flooding that will affect farmland and villages

Cambodia Raises Minimum Wage For Garment Workers But Unions Remain Unhappy

Cambodia's Minister of Labor Ith Samheng addresses the Labor Advisory Committee about a new minimum wage for garment factory workers in Phnom Penh, Oct. 8, 2015.

Cambodia said Thursday that it would raise the monthly minimum wage of garment workers to U.S. $140 next year, prompting a rebuke by some independent unions that had demanded $20 more for laborers in the Southeast Asian nation.

The Labor Advisory Committee (LAC) — the country’s wage-setting group comprised of 28 representatives from government, unions and employers — voted to approve $135 for the new minimum wage, while the government agreed to pay an extra $5 per person subsidy.

The new minimum wage, which is $12 more than the current one, takes effect in January for Cambodia’s 700,000 garment industry workers. Garment workers currently receive a minimum wage of $128 a month.

Some independent worker unions, however, said they are not satisfied with the nearly 9.4-percent increase.

Ath Thon, President of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union (C.CAWDU) said U.S. $140

Cambodian Village Chief Threatens Arrest For Complaints Over Illegal Logging

Villagers inspect felled trees in Lum Phat district, Cambodia, January 2014.

A village leader in eastern Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province has confiscated a petition from villagers seeking a halt to illegal logging on a nearby sacred mountain, threatening to have them arrested if they persist in their complaints, sources said.

Ethnic Lao residents of Cambodia who moved two years ago from border areas to the province’s Lum Phat district are now being helped by local police and other authorities to clear land on Phnom Kunthy mountain near Patang village for their own use, villagers told RFA’s Khmer Service on Friday.

And though villagers prepared a petition this week asking provincial authorities to help stop the encroachment, their village chief seized the document on Thursday, refusing to pass it on, one resident said.

"The village chief [also] threatened us,” village representative Hon Luch said, adding, “If we file the complaint again, he will order police to arrest us.”

Speaking to RFA, village chief Pheng Maing confirmed that he had confiscated the villagers’ petition, saying that they

Cambodian Opposition Slams Foreign Minister Over Claims of Coup Plot

Hor Namhong speaks to reporters on the sidelines of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, April 15

Cambodia’s political opposition party on Monday slammed the country’s top diplomat for accusing its leaders of plotting to overthrow the government, while a commentator warned that such allegations could damage the “culture of dialogue” between parties in the Southeast Asian nation.

On Oct. 10, foreign minister Hor Namhong told a gathering of soldiers in southeastern Cambodia’s Tbong Khmum province that the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) had been planning to “topple the government.”

He said the CNRP had begun plotting to “seize power” by organizing a popular revolt after losing elections to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) in 2013, referring to a series of protests the opposition led following the polls.

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann on Monday hit back at Hor Namhong, saying his party had no intention of leading a violent movement to overthrow the government and that the 2013 demonstrations were held to demand a vote recount, amid widespread allegations that the polls were neither free nor fair.


“In a democratic world, elections are held to change leadership in a government,” he told RFA’s Khmer Service, adding

បុណ្យភ្ជុំបិណ្ឌ ( Pchum Ben ; Ancestors' Day" )

បុណ្យ ​បិណ្ឌភ្ជុំ ជាពិធីបុណ្យមួយ ក្នុងចំណោមពិធីបុណ្យធំៗដទៃទៀតនៃ ព្រះរាជពិធីទា្វរទសមាស ប្រជារាស្រ្តទូទាំង ព្រះ​រាជា​ណាចក្រ​កម្ពុជា​តាំង​ពី​បុរាណ​រៀង​មក​ (ពុំដឹងពីពេលណាច្បាស់លាស់) តែងតែមាន ប្រារព្ធពិធីនេះ​មិនដែល​អាក់ខាន​ឡើយ គឺចាប់ពីថៃ្ង ១រោច ខែភទ្របទ រហូតដល់ថៃ្ងទី ១៥រោច មាន​រយៈ​ពេល ១៥ថៃ្ង ដែលយើងហៅថាបិណ្ឌ1, បិណ្ឌ2 … និងថៃ្ងបញ្ចប់ គឺជា ថៃ្ង “ភ្ជុំបិណ្ឌ” ។ បុណ្យ​ភ្ជុំបិណ្ឌ ត្រូវបានធ្វើឡើងតាមបែប​ព្រះពុទ្ធសាសនា។​ ជា​រៀងរាល់​ឆ្នាំ​ នៅ​ពេល​ដល់​ថ្ងៃ​ខែ​ដែល​ត្រូវ​ប្រារព្ធ​ពិធី​បុណ្យ​ភ្ជុំបិណ្ឌ​ គ្រប់​បងប្អូន​កូន​ចៅ​ សាច់​ញាតិ​សន្ដាន​ទាំងអស់​ ទោះ​នៅ​ទី​ជិត​ ឬ​ទី​ឆ្ងាយ​ តែង​តែ​ធ្វើ​ដំណើរ​ទៅ​ជួប​ជុំ​គ្នា​ ជា​ពិសេស​ឪពុក​ម្ដាយ​ ដើម្បី​រៀបចំ​ម្ហូប​អាហារ​ បាយ​សម្ល​ ចង្ហាន់​យក​ទៅ​ប្រគេន​ព្រះសង្ឃ​ដែល​គង់​នៅ​វត្ត​អារាម។​ ពាក្យថា “ភ្ជុំបិណ្ឌ” មកពីពាក្យ “ភ្ជុំ” រួមគ្នាជាមួយពាក្យ “បិណ្ឌ” ដែលមានន័យថា :

Bunong Seek to Oust Mondulkiri Provincial Governor

Bunong children in a remote village, in Krang Tes, in Pech Chreada district, which is located near the protected forest in Mondulkiri province, March 10th, 2015. (Nov Povleakhena/VOA Khmer)

More than 800 indigenous people in Mondulkiri province are seeking to oust the provincial governor, who is accused of violating the rights of the ethnic minority.

Hul Reaksmey, VOA Khmer 07 October 2015

PHNOM PENH—More than 800 indigenous people in Mondulkiri province are seeking to oust the provincial governor, who is accused of violating the rights of the ethnic minority.

Representatives of the ethnic group and human rights activists say that since Governor Eng Bun Heang came to power following the 2013 election, free speech has been curtailed and ancestral lands have been infringed upon by land concessions.

The demand for the governor to be ousted was made during an event to mark the 30th World Habitat Day in Phnom Penh on Monday, where anti-eviction campaigners from all over the country also gathered.

Kroeung Tola, 26, a representative of the 890 Bunong ethnic people who filed a complaint against the governor with the Ministry of Interior, National Assembly and seven other related institutions, told VOA Khmer that the basic universal rights of minority people had been repeatedly violated.

“Since His Excellency Eng Bun Heang came to power up till now, there have been many cases of ethnic minority rights violations,” he said.

“And there has been an increase in the offering of social land concessions and economic land concessions, which affects the people who live in the cultural land, such as the land for

Nine Vietnamese Montagnards Fear Deportation by Cambodian Authorities

Nine Vietnamese Montagnards who are seeking the protection of the United Nations refugee office in Cambodia’s capital said Monday that they fled their homeland last month because of political persecution, and expressed concern about possible deportation by Cambodian authorities.

The ethnic Montagnard Christians are currently in hiding in Phnom Penh, where they arrived on Sept. 28 from northeastern Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province. Cambodian government officials have refused to register their names for them to be considered for asylum.

One of the refugees, who declined to be named and spoke with tears in his eyes, told RFA’s Khmer Service that if Cambodian authorities deport the nine, they will face persecution in Vietnam.

“We can’t stay in Vietnam [because] the Vietnamese authorities will arrest us and torture us whenever we practice our religion,” he said.

He requested that the Cambodian government allow him to stay in the country.

Cambodian authorities maintain that the roughly 200 Montagnards who have crossed into the country from Vietnam’s Central Highlands since late last year are not political refugees, but

Cambodian PM hails China for development in defense sector

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) meets with Xu Dazhe, 

director of China's State Administration for Science, Technology 

and Industry for National Defense, in Phnom Penh Oct. 6, 

2015. (Xinhua/Sovannara

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday praised China for its strong development in science, technology and industry for national defense, a senior official said.

The prime minister expressed his appreciation during a meeting with Xu Dazhe, director of China's State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, at the Peace Palace in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, Eang Sophalleth, an aide to Hun Sen, told reporters after the meeting.

Hun Sen said cooperation in the defense sector between the two countries is essential for Cambodia to further enhance its national defense capacity.

For his part, Xu said China was pleased to share experience with Cambodia in the defense sector.

Cambodians March For End to Forced Evictions on World Habitat Day

Protesters carry cardboard cutouts of houses during a march to mark World 

Habitat Day in Phnom Penh, Oct. 5, 2015.

Around 1,500 protesters marked World Habitat Day on Monday by marching through Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh and calling on the government to put a stop to forced evictions in the Southeast Asian nation.

Evictees, monks, and activists joined the march to the National Assembly, or parliament, carrying cardboard cutouts of houses and shouting slogans, including “Cambodians need housing and land” and “We must have rights to live.”

Outside of the Assembly, protesters also spoke about land tenure insecurity, inadequate housing, and the lack of infrastructure necessary to ensure good living conditions for people living in settlements for the rural and urban poor.

After releasing a model house tied to balloons and delivering petitions to parliament, the protesters tried to proceed to City Hall, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Land Management, but were blocked by police and eventually dispersed.

Pao Ngoung, a protester from southwestern Cambodia’s Koh Kong province, told RFA’s Khmer Service she has been landless since becoming the victim of a forced eviction eight years ago, despite seeking intervention from the courts and other state institutions.

“I have made countless complaints and today I hope that when the government receives my petition they will resolve my case,” she said.

Am Sam Ath, senior investigator with local rights group Licadho, slammed police for blocking protesters who he said had hoped to “express their grievances, according to their rights.”

Potholes on a path to progress

Labourers work on a road project in Phnom Penh. Cambodia ranked low for its infrastructure quality, which includes roads, railways and electricity supply, in a recent report on global competitiveness.

Cambodia marginally improved its global competitive ranking this year, moving up five spots to place 90th out of 144 nations surveyed, with weak public institutions and lack of innovation continuing to affect its economic progress, according to a newly released World Economic Forum report.

The Global Competitiveness Report for 2015-2016 (GCR) had the Kingdom lagging behind most ASEAN member states, except Myanmar, which ranked 131. Bigger ASEAN economies such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, ranked in the top 50.

Cambodia’s overall ranking was dragged down by its lack of capacity to innovate and a poor score on business sophistication – a metric that assesses the value of business networks as well the quality of the individual firms.

While these factors would continue to plague Cambodia in the short term, using its strategic geographical location should help improve that, according to Hiroshi Suzuki, lead economist at the Business Research Institute for Cambodia.

“Using the improved connectivity among the region, which is an advantage for Cambodia, business sophistication would be improved,” he said.

Despite the Kingdom’s low competitiveness ranking, Suzuki said investors would instead base their investment decisions on the kind of industry they are looking to set up here, though there will be limitations when it comes to attracting heavy industry.

“Cambodia is one of the best candidates for labour-intensive parts manufacturing because it has the advantage of low labour cost and connectivity with neighbouring countries,” he added.

CNRP ‘can’t ignore’ new parties: Sokha

Cambodia National Rescue Party deputy president Kem Sokha yesterday acknowledged that the party faces an electoral threat from a string of recently established small political parties, as the opposition gathered yesterday to discuss priorities ahead of the 2017 and 2018 elections.

In front of some 150 lawmakers and provincial party officials at Phnom Penh’s Imperial Garden Villa & Hotel, Sokha said the opposition needed to be mindful of the new entrants, differing from past, more dismissive comments from the party.

“New parties will have no chance to win, but we can’t ignore [them]. They won’t win the seats, but they can take our votes,” Sokha said.

Four groups have entered the fray this year, including the Beehive Social Democratic Party, resurrected by long-time activist Mam Sonando; the Khmer National Party, founded by ex-CNRP member Lak Sopheap; the Grassroots Democratic Party, built out of the Khmer for Khmer advocacy group; and the Khmer Power Party, formed by dissident Sourn Serey Ratha.

The latter, which emerged from the Khmer People Power Movement, was recently legalised after previously being labelled a terrorist organisation by the government.

Analysts see the move as part of efforts by the government to split the opposition vote. However it wasn’t just external challenges canvassed at yesterday’s seminar.

‘Long-term’ key in garment worker wage negotiations

Garment worker unions are seeking a minimum wage of $168 per month. Kimberley Mccosker

In June, William Conklin was appointed country director of the NGO Solidarity Center, which works to build consensus and capacity among Cambodia’s unions, provides legal support for union leaders and is lobbying the government to institute a national minimum wage across all industries. With the country’s garment unions this week announcing they would seek an industry minimum $168 per month in this year’s annual wage negotiations – significantly more than the industry is willing to agree to – Audrey Wilson spoke to Conklin about the potential outcomes as well as the need for industry accountability

What do you see as an ideal figure for the settlement?
I don’t know if there’s an ideal figure, because workers are so reliant on overtime. They can earn more than $200 a month, but garment workers send a good chunk of their salary back to their families. Is that a basic need or not? You can debate that. But that is the condition of being a garment worker here. It was a large jump from $100 to $128 [last year]. Say this year they go up to 20 per cent or 30 per cent — which probably is unlikely — that, too, would be such a large jump that workers would never be able to negotiate anything beyond that amount. They’re still making up for lost time. Rather than just focusing on one number each year, a long-term strategy is really important. But if you are going to think about base numbers, they need to be high enough to take into account what it costs to live in Phnom Penh, and in industrial areas. If the number is too low for the unions, I think there will be a lot of discontent.

Cambodia Blocks Outside Doctors From Treating Jailed Opposition Senator

SRP Senator Hong Sok Hour is taken to court in Phnom Penh, Aug. 16, 2015.

Cambodian authorities are refusing to allow doctors from the human rights group Licadho to visit a jailed opposition lawmaker held at Prey Sar prison in the capital Phnom Penh, claiming the facility already provides adequate care, sources said.

Their refusal constitutes a form of “discrimination” against Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) senator Hong Sok Hour, who was arrested in August after challenging Cambodia’s ruling party on its handling of a border dispute with neighboring Vietnam, the senator’s lawyer told RFA’s Khmer Service on Wednesday.

“This is nothing more than discrimination against an opposition party member,” the senator’s lawyer, Chhoung Chou Ngy, told RFA.

Chhoung Chou Ngy said that he had earlier asked the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to allow a Licadho doctor to visit his client, who suffers from a stomach ailment, but that the court had refused permission.

And though doctors from Licadho were allowed at that same time to provide medical care to other prisoners, they have now been banned from all contact with anyone held at Prey Sar, he said.

Questions over border

Hong Sok Hour was arrested by Cambodian police on Aug. 15 after Prime Minister Hun Sen accused him of treason for posting on Facebook a disputed diplomatic document relating to the country’s border with neighboring Vietnam.

He was then charged with forging a public document and with incitement to cause social unrest, and was sent to Prey Sar.

In an ongoing dispute with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP)—the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)—a merged political grouping that includes the SRP and is led by Sam Rainsy--contends that Vietnam has been

Cambodia Turns Away Montagnard Asylum-Seekers From Vietnam

The Montagnards are based in Vietnam's Central Highland provinces.

RFA

Cambodian authorities on Wednesday refused a request for asylum made by nine Vietnamese Montagnards who had traveled to Phnom Penh to ask for help, and whose presence in the country had previously gone unreported.

The nine arrived in the capital on Sept. 30, but were turned away by the Ministry of Interior, which refused to register their names, a U.N. rights officer posted to Cambodia told RFA’s Khmer Service on Thursday.

“OHCHR was alerted to the arrival of nine new asylum seekers yesterday requesting assistance,” Wan-Hea Lee, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) representative in Cambodia wrote in an e-mail.

“I understand that they were also refused registration by the Refugee Department, as have all others who crossed over this year,” she wrote.

The group, which had traveled to the capital from northeastern Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province, had earlier told local contacts they feared being returned to Vietnam, where they said they face political persecution, one Ratanakiri villager said.

“The Vietnamese authorities are cracking down just now,” the villager said, adding that another Montagnard, traveling alone, had entered Ratanakiri on Sept. 28.

“They are being persecuted. The Vietnamese authorities want to arrest some of them, and some of the others were just recently released.”

Chhay Thi, Ratanakiri provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, confirmed that the group had been present in the area for at least a week and said he had told U.N. representatives of their request for help.

Disputed status

Cambodian authorities maintain that the nearly 200 ethnic Montagnards who have crossed into Cambodia from

Cambodian Opposition Senator Sent Back to Prison as Trial Adjourns

A Cambodian court unexpectedly adjourned the trial on Friday of jailed opposition senator Hong Sok Hour, postponing the proceedings for five days and refusing his request to be released on bail due to ill health.

Authorities had previously barred doctors from the human rights group Licadho from visiting the lawmaker at Prey Sar Prison in the capital Phnom Penh, where he has been held since August after challenging Cambodia’s ruling party on its handling of a border dispute with neighboring Vietnam.

At  his trial, which was abruptly adjourned after only four hours on Friday, Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) senator Hong Sok Hour—who holds citizenship in both Cambodia and France—offered to hand over his passport and deposit 20 million riel  (U.S. $4,900) to secure his release on bail, but was turned down by the court.

Speaking on Friday to RFA’s Khmer Service, senior Licadho investigator Am Sam Ath voiced disappointment at the judge’s decision to postpone the trial and return Hong Sok Hour to prison.

“I am sad that the court didn’t allow him to be freed on bail,” Am Sam Ath said, adding, “Judging by the condition of his