Mounting Foreign Concerns as 2013 Budget Plans Under Way
December 4th, 2012, VOA, Economics, Foreign Aid, News Source, Technical Assistance
WASHINGTON DC – Seven opposition lawmakers say they have found new ways to reduce the national debt and are requesting that the National Assembly’s finance committee meet with them before drafting the 2013 national budget.
The lawmakers, from the Sam Rainsy and Human Rights parties, say the proposed budget, of about $3.2 billion, can be decreased, especially the foreign debt that Cambodia continues to accrue. …
Sok Khemara
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/mounting-foreign-concerns-as-2013-budget-plans-under-way/1557676.html
Opposition Wants Debt Lowered in 2013 Budget
November 26th, 2012, The Cambodia Daily, Economics, Foreign Aid, News Source, Technical Assistance
The opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) has requested the National Assembly to reduce by 75 percent the amount of new debt the government is allowed to take on next year under the latest draft of the 2013 national budget.
Opposition lawmaker Son Chhay, who sent the request to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Friday, said that the level of public debt in Cambodia was already too high at roughly $10 billion, or 77 percent of last year’s gross domestic product (GDP). To bring the amount of financial debt down to a healthier level, the SRP said a maximum of $200 million should be taken on board next year, rather that the $800 million proposed in the draft budget. …
Philip Heijmans, P.1
www.cambodiadaily.com
Coalition of Cambodian NGOs calls for help with climate change
November 26th, 2012, The Phnom Penh Post, Climate Change, Disasters & Disaster Management, Environment & Natural Resources, Environmental change, Foreign Aid, News Source, Technical Assistance
As the latest UN climate change conference begins today in Doha, Qatar, a coalition of Cambodian NGOs is joining calls for developed countries to bear more of the burden of combating climate change.
Cambodia and other poor countries are unprepared to deal with rapid climate change on their own and should not have to do so, because developed countries are largely responsible for the problem, argues a position paper released yesterday by the Cambodia Climate Change Network and the NGO Forum of Cambodia. …
Justine Drennan
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012112659936/National-news/coalition-of-cambodian-ngos-calls-for-help-with-climate-change.html
Asean declaration allows Cambodia to flout human rights, warn campaigners
November 23rd, 2012, The Guardian, Environment & Natural Resources, Environmental change, Foreign Aid, International Relations, News Source, Technical Assistance, Timber/Wood
Human rights groups in Cambodia fear a new south-east Asian declaration of human rights could conversely offer the government in Phnom Penh a figleaf to clamp down on dissent. Cambodia signed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) human rights declaration on Sunday, two days before the arrival of the US president, Barack Obama, on his tour of the region. …
In Cambodia, recent alleged abuses include the fatal shooting by police of environmental activist Chut Wutty; the murder of Hang Serei Oudom, a journalist working on illegal logging stories; the killing of 14-year-old Heng Chanth allegedly by security forces during a forced eviction; the conviction in absentia of opposition leader Sam Rainsy; and the jailing of Beehive radio station owner Mam Sonando. …
Sam Campbell
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/nov/23/asean-declaration-cambodia-flout-human-rights
PM Hun Sen lavishes praise on China
November 23rd, 2012, Foreign Aid, Technical Assistance
In his first public speech following this week’s ASEAN summit, Prime Minister Hun Sen offered lavish praise for China’s financial largesse and congratulations for its newly appointed Communist Party heads. …
Speaking to thousands of villagers during a ceremony to inaugurate National Road 8 in Prey Veng linking Cambodia to Vietnam, Hun Sen said Chinese grants had led to substantial development.
The $107 million Prey Veng road, said Hun Sen, was built with an $83 million loan from the Chinese and would go far to helping improve the lives of rural Cambodians. …
Vong Sokheng
Cambodians wanted more from Obama
November 22nd, 2012, The Phnom Penh Post, Economics, Foreign Aid, International Relations, Land Tenure, News Source, Technical Assistance
He came, he said nothing, he left. Publicly at least, President Barack Obama, the first US head of state to visit the Kingdom, uttered not a single word to the Cambodian people, although many have noted that he was extremely pressed for time.
Cambodians, from the man on the street to some of its most public figures, yesterday expressed disappointment that they were unable to hear from the leader of the world’s mightiest superpower. Some rued a golden opportunity lost: for Obama to recount in his own words exactly what admonishments he made to Prime Minister Hun Sen about his government’s practices regarding human rights. …
David Boyle and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012112259890/National-news/cambodians-wanted-more-from-obama.html
ASEAN: more unity among members needed
November 21st, 2012, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, Foreign Investment, International Relations, Labor, News Source, Technical Assistance, Trade
Further comprehensive economic co-operation and expansion among ASEAN’s member states, East Asia and its development partners was imperative for managing risks and impacts from the fragile global economy, Prime Minister and ASEAN chairman Hun Sen said during the ASEAN Global Dialogue yesterday.
The dialogue brought together the leaders and key officials of ASEAN and East Asia and development partners to exchange and seek ways to deal with issues facing the region, such as the global financial crisis, jobs, food, food security and climate change. …
May Kunmakara and Anne Renzenbrink
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012112159859/Business/asean-more-unity-among-members-needed.html
Asean Seeks To Downplay Row Over South China Sea
November 21st, 2012, VOA Khmer, Foreign Aid, International Relations, News Source, Technical Assistance
The president of the Philippines, a major Asean claimant to portions of the South China Sea, says the country wants the right to solve its problems on the world stage. But Asean leaders on Tuesday sought to downplay his remarks and said they did not signal a rift within the 10 Southeast Asian nations in the bloc.
Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of Asean, called the difference in remarks between Cambodian officials, who said Sunday Asean would not “internationalize” the issue, and the Philippines a “matter of interpretation.” …
Reporters
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/asean-seeks-to-downplay-row-over-south-china-sea/1549839.html
Riot Police Stop March on Last Day of Summits
November 21st, 2012, The Cambodia Daily, Disputed Land, Economic Land Concessions, Economics, Foreign Aid, International Relations, Land Tenure, News Source, Technical Assistance
A group of roughly 100 anti-eviction protestors were blocked by riot police yesterday from marching to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Peace Palace to appeal to U.S. President Barack Obama for help in reforming Cambodia’s land rights policy.
The protest, which took place at the Boeng Kak lake eviction site, drew to a close three straight days of small demonstrations by protesters hoping that the arrival of Mr. Obama would draw attention to their plight and encourage the government to stop land evictions. …
Aun Pheap, P.19
www.cambodiadaily.com
The Asian Development Bank marks 20 years in Cambodia
November 21st, 2012, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Construction, Foreign Aid, Foreign Investment, Infrastructure, News Source, Technical Assistance, Trade
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is marking 20 years of operations in Cambodia with the release of a book today celebrating its achievements in the Kingdom.
The 67-member ADB says that over 20 years it has given Cambodia $1.8 billion in loans, grants and technical assistance. …
Rupert Winchester
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012112159857/Business/the-asian-development-bank-marks-20-years-in-cambodia.html
Corruption targeted by $2.5 million program
November 21st, 2012, The Phnom Penh Post, Economics, Foreign Aid, News Source, Technical Assistance
Transparency International Cambodia is set to step up its presence in the Kingdom with the launch of a $2.5 million three-year program to monitor and record corruption. …
On a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean), Cambodia ranks 2.1, according to the organisation, and has been following a downward trend over the past few years. …
Bilateral Talks, and Their Two Interpretations
November 21st, 2012, The Cambodia Daily, Disputed Land, Economic Land Concessions, Foreign Aid, International Relations, Land Tenure, News Source, Technical Assistance
Two polarizing narratives emerged after the Monday night discussion between U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Hun Sen, with the U.S. claiming it had been “tense,” while Cambodia insisted the talks were cordial.
When it came to agenda, Mr. Obama put human rights, electoral and land issues firmly on the table. Mr. Hun Sen, on the other hand, served up a platter of responses, the main ingredient being that Mr. Obama had a right to say what he liked, but that the human rights situation in Cambodia has been overblown. …
Lauren Crothers, P.19
www.cambodiadaily.com
US-Asean Meeting Addresses Economic, Security Cooperation
November 20th, 2012, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, Foreign Investment, International Relations, News Source, Technical Assistance
At the U.S.-Asean meeting at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh yesterday, the U.S. and the 10 Asean member nations agreed to further their cooperation in all areas, including security to ensure peace in the region. …
Kate Bartlett and Eang Mengleng
www.cambodiadaily.com
Criticism Continues of Shortcomings in Asean Rights Declaration
November 20th, 2012, The Cambodia Daily, Foreign Aid, International Relations, News Source, Technical Assistance
Criticism continued yesterday of the Asean Human Rights Declaration, which was signed in Phnom Penh on Saturday after regional leaders decided to make last-minute revisions that were widely deemed as inadequate.
U.N. experts ans civil society groups criticized the lack of consultation in drawing up the declaration and said its wording would give regional government a means of circumventing international human rights law. …
Simon Lewis, P.16
www.cambodiadaily.com
Manila at odds with Hun Sen over sea rows
November 20th, 2012, The Nation, Economics, Foreign Aid, International Relations, News Source, Technical Assistance
Asean leaders yesterday failed again to form a common front towards geo-political disputes with China over the South China Sea as the Philippines vowed to continue shouting while Cambodia tried to contain discussions to the two immediate sides.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations hoped to show a solid stance on the South China Sea row as they hosted Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the antagonist, and US President Barack Obama, who wants some say in the matter for the sake of Washington’s strategic objectives. …
Asia News Network
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Manila-at-odds-with-Hun-Sen-over-sea-rows-30194671.html
Cambodian, U.S. leaders hold talks on old debt, human rights
November 20th, 2012, Xinhuanet News, Disputed Land, Economics, Foreign Aid, International Relations, Land Tenure, News Source, Technical Assistance
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and visiting U.S. President Barack Obama met here on Monday to discuss a number of issues including old debt, human rights, democracy and forced evictions in Cambodia, a senior Cambodian official said. …
Hun Sen also raised the issue of old debt of 162 million U.S. dollars that Cambodia owed the United States in the era of Lon Nol regime between 1970 and 1975, but to date, plus interests, the debt has amounted to more than 400 million U.S. dollars.
He said that Cambodia wanted to use a bilateral mechanism, not the Paris Club of creditors, to solve the problem. …
Editor: Mu Xuequan
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-11/20/c_123972558.htm
Obama Presses Hun Sen on Human Rights
November 20th, 2012, The Cambodia Daily, Disputed Land, Economic Land Concessions, Extractive Industries, Foreign Aid, International Relations, Land Tenure, Mining, News Source, Technical Assistance
U.S. President Barack Obama pressed Prime Minister Hun Sen on the government’s human rights record during a closed-door meeting between the two leaders in Phnom Penh yesterday, calling for fair elections and the release of all political prisoners.
In the first visit to Cambodia by a serving American president, U.S. deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Mr. Obama devoted his entire meeting with the prime minister to human rights issues, according to Reuters.
“In particular, I would say the need for them to move toward elections that are fair and free, the need for an independent election commission associated with those elections, the need to allow for the release of political prisoners and for opposition parties to be able to operate,” Mr. Rhodes said, referring to the discussion between the two leaders. …
Kuch Naren and Zsombor Peter
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/obama-presses-hun-sen-on-human-rights-record-6174/
China offers Cambodia $53 mln to develop water resources
November 19th, 2012, The Cambodia Herald, Business & Commercial Development, Disasters & Disaster Management, Economics, Environment & Natural Resources, Environmental change, Exports, Foreign Aid, Imports, International Relations, Lakes/Rivers, News Source, Technical Assistance, Trade
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged RMB 329 million ($53 million) in assistance to Cambodia on Sunday during a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen, a Cambodian official said.
Ieng Sophalet, an assistant to Hun Sen, told reporters that the grant would be used for water resource development. …
The Cambodia Herald
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=NzgzZjllMWIzNDFjMDllYjU2YjBiMzgwNDFlOTI2
NGOs ask ASEAN to address Xayaburi
November 19th, 2012, The Phnom Penh Post, Economics, Electricity, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Foreign Aid, Hydroelectricity, Lakes/Rivers, News Source, Technical Assistance, Water
Several groups are calling for the ASEAN summit to address the regional discord caused by the Xayaburi dam, which Laos began constructing earlier this month despite opposition downriver from neighbours Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as from conservation groups.
On Friday, the Rivers Coalition in Cambodia and the NGO Forum announced that they had sent letters to the prime ministers of Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand and to the ASEAN administration asking for a halt to the construction of the dam, which they say would negatively affect 60 million people. …
Obama to meet with Cambodia’s longtime ‘strongman’ amid rights concerns, but also growth
November 19th, 2012, Associated Press, The Washington Post, Economics, Foreign Aid, International Relations, News Source, Technical Assistance
President Barack Obama arrives in Cambodia on Monday having just won four more years in office, but that is nothing compared to his host, Hun Sen. The 60-year-old Cambodian prime minister has held power since Ronald Reagan was in the White House, and says he’s not stepping down until he is 90.
Hun Sen is known as one of Asia’s most Machiavellian politicians, with a knack for making sure his rivals end up in jail or in exile. A laudatory biography is subtitled “Strongman of Cambodia,” and some would say that’s putting it mildly.
Yet, through his country’s civil wars, a U.N. peace process and several elections, the one-time communist cadre has always managed to come out on top. Over the last decade, he has also overseen modest economic growth and stability in a country plagued by desperate poverty and nearly destroyed under the Khmer Rouge “killing fields” regime.
Obama is making the first visit ever by a U.S. president to Cambodia because it is hosting the annual East Asia Summit. But White House aides say the president will also raise human rights concerns in his meeting with Hun Sen. …
The Associated Press
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/obama-to-meet-with-cambodias-longtime-strongman-amid-rights-concerns-but-also-growth/2012/11/19/880d4542-320e-11e2-92f0-496af208bf23_story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/obama-to-meet-with-cambodias-longtime-strongman-amid-rights-concerns-but-also-growth/2012/11/19/880d4542-320e-11e2-92f0-496af208bf23_story.html