Sky no limit for Thai bullying

The military says Thai airforce jets have breached Cambodian airspace.

ARMY officials claim Thai military jets on Monday flew into Cambodian airspace over two key flashpoints along the border.

“Our troops have been standing by about 200 metres from Ta Krabey and this aircraft flew beyond them by a few hundred metres and circled around,” said Ho Bunthy, deputy commander of Border Military Unit 402, adding that Cambodian troops were not given permission to fire.

[...]

The aerial border breach was reportedly repeated around the same time over Ta Moan Thom temple, also without retaliatory shots fired.

Sihamoni pardons Ranariddh

Prince is expected to return to Cambodia on Sunday, in time to pray to his dead political career.

Perceptions of corruption

The latest report from Transparency International ranks Cambodia 166. That’s worse than last year, but not by much. Other rankings from the region include:

• China: 72
• Indonesia: 126
• Laos: 151
• Malaysia: 47
• Thailand: 80
• Vietnam: 121

Cambodia’s real estate crisis

This is, frankly, quite laughable.

According to the director of Visal Realty, the purchasing price per square meter is allegedly even decreasing in some neighbourhoods of the capital city: if the market doesn’t take off within a year, it’ll result in a crisis”, he says …

Doesn’t take off? Until a few weeks ago, property prices were up something like 150% in 18 months. If that’s not taking off, nothing is. Surely people didn’t think it was going to last like that forever?

More complaints of corruption at KRT

In a story today about government pushback on the latest UN graft review, KRT ethics monitor Helen Jarvis said that yet another complaint of impropriety was filed last week.

The government must be thanking its lucky incense sticks for such an incredible stroke of good fortune. Just days after announcing a special KRT ethics committee and already the government is presented with the opportunity to demonstrate to the world the seriousness with which it takes its graft-fighting responsibility.

The government will no doubt embrace this opportunity to once and for all clear its good name. Expect a quick, thorough and credible investigation.

New money

Cambodia will soon have a new 20,000 reil riel note, if not already.

ECCC: UN graft review complete

Over at The Tribunal Report, Elena says the UN investigation review of ECCC graft allegations is complete, and the findings have been turned over to the Royal Cambodian Government.

It’s probably safe to assume that during its review the UN found at least a few places where improvements could be made to strengthen the court’s defenses against graft, as well as offered some recommendations on how best to address those weaknesses. It’s now up to the Cambodian government to convince the UN that it is serious about tackling graft by implementing enough of those recommendations to make a difference. The penalty for non-compliance is no payola.

Funding earmarked for the court has been frozen while the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services has reviewed the allegations.

“The release of funds depends on the resolution of the current allegations and a joint decision by the donors to move forward,” a representative from UNDP wrote by email Thursday. “UNDP is working very closely with donors and other UN offices to determine options for the way forward.”

Almost nobody believes the government is as committed to reform as it is to getting its hands on that money. So something has to give. The question is whether it will be the government who raises its standards, or the United Nations and donors who lower theirs. Stay tuned.

Ice cream for sex

This is fascinating.

“If I sleep with a woman, I charge US$15 to $20. The whole night costs $40-$50,” [Soun] said. “Foreigners pay $40 per encounter or as much as $70 for the night.”

[...]

Women who want to purchase a male sex partner say, tov si karem key, or “Let’s go eat ice cream in a glass”, Soun said.

Men can use one of two phrases. Tov si karem charn means “Let’s go eat ice cream in a bowl”, and tov leng pteah ta sak bram means “Let’s go visit Sak Pram’s house”. Sak Pram translates to “five fingers”, Soun added.

Snowtime

The New York Times does 36 hours in Phnom Penh. Of course, anybody who knows Phnom Penh knows that everything in this town starts (and usually ends, too) with a drink. So as the first item of business, the New York Times recommends Snow’s place, Maxine’s, the best little bar in Southeast Asia.

What a rippa.

Street crime: down is the new up

The Phnom Penh Post yesterday ran a story about bag snatching, headlined Mind your bag: Street crime, robbery on the rise in the capital.

[Robbery victim] Cham Sopheany’s story is far from unique, as street crime, such as armed robberies and drive by bag snatchings, are on the rise  in Phnom Penh according to Chris Chipp, country manager of UK-based G4S Security Services, which provides security solutions to large international companies. “There has been an increase [in street crime] over the last six months or so,” he said. …

“It is very hard to gauge how bad bag snatching has gotten because … most people won’t report the crime,” he said.

Chipp says that crime rates in Cambodia are increasing “because people are feeling the pinch economically”.  He added that robberies in the street are also on the rise.

It’s hard to see how the boss of a local security firm, whose company stands to profit from news reports about increasing crime, could possibly be considered a reliable source on the subject of current crime rates. Whether it is or not, of course he’s going to say that crime is on the rise. What else would he say?

The chief of police, for one, offers a starkly different take.

Touch Naruth, Phnom Penh Municipal police chief, said the number of reported bag snatchings in the capital was declining. “Before, it happened every day, but now we only get one complaint in two or three days,” he said.

So bag snatching is on the rise or not? Judging by the headline, The Post thinks it’s the former. Although why a rent-a-cop is more credible than the chief of police remains a complete mystery.

Border disputes spread to Pursat

This is getting ridiculous.

Having flared up over the Unesco-listed Preah Vihear temple, the dispute raced through Oddar Meanchey’s Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Touch and Ta Krabey temples, and has now reached O’Plok Damrey in Veal Veng district, Pursat province, military officials say.

“Thai soldiers came to see our soldiers and told them to remove the fence along the border and withdraw our troops back inside Cambodia,” said Ek Sam On, deputy commander of Military Region 5, which covers Pursat, Pailin, Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces.

“Our soldiers are simply stationed along our border to protect it, we are not sure why the Thais have demanded that we withdraw from the area and remove the [10-year-old] border fence. It is an unreasonable request,” Ek Sam On added.

Such blatant provocation is just more evidence that Cambodia should make a bee line for the UN Security Council.

Strongman KOs UN human rights envoy

Yash Ghai calls it quits.

Barcamp is upon us

KhmerAk sends a friendly reminder that Barcamp is this weekend, Saturday September 20. Just don’t expect a bar — snacks and drinks, definitely, camp, maybe — but no bar, organizers say.

Year of Cambodian food off to a slow start

The NYT follows up on the latest in Big Apple cuisine.

IT looked as if 2008 might be a breakout year for Cambodian food after epicurious.com predicted in December that it would become the new Thai.

Yet here it is September, and we seem to have only two Cambodian restaurants in New York City: a relocated Cambodian Cuisine and a revived Kampuchea.

At $18 a plate for something called prahok, it seems unlikely that this “Cambodian food” thing is going to catch on here, either. But who knows?

US gives $1.8 million to KRT

VIA Elena: After months of questioning the ECCC’s ability to withstand the forces of graft, the United States today announced a hefty, 7-figure donation to the court, with intentions of more to come.

The United States on Tuesday pledged 1.8 million dollars to Cambodia’s cash-strapped Khmer Rouge court, making its first donation to the UN-backed genocide tribunal aimed at trying regime leaders.

“In the future fiscal years we hope to be able to continue to make contributions and probably increase their size,” visiting US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte told reporters at a press conference announcing the donation after he toured the notorious Khmer Rouge prison Tuol Sleng.

[...]

Negroponte said the US would be “active among donors to the tribunal to ensure that it continues to improve its management and address the issue of corruption.”

While it’s probably unwise to read too much into the gesture, it’s worth noting that Uncle Sam’s $1.8 million is not going to the Cambodian side of the court.

Thailand protests Cambodia

Cambodian troops have apparently wondered across the border into Thailand and “intruded” into a Thai temple. For some strange reason, Thailand is not happy about this.

Thailand protested to Cambodia on Tuesday over an intrusion of troops into the border area at the temple of Ta Kwai in Surin province. …

The memoire said some 70 Cambodian armed forces had intruded into the temple on September 6.

It was the second intrusion since some 30 Cambodian troops were seen earlier at the temple between August 3 and 6.

“These acts constituted a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Thailand,” the memoire said.

This all sounds just a bit too convenient. Thailand would have us believe that Cambodian soldiers illegally crossed into Thailand, violating Thai “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” and yet Thailand said nothing about it for more than a month. That seems unlikely. If it was a real problem, Thailand would have said something immediately, if not shot the Cambodian soldiers dead at the temple. But they didn’t do that.

It’s only now that Thailand needs to save face over Ta Krabey that the Thais suddenly remember past  Cambodian transgressions, and doth protest.

KRT credibility riding on new task force

This can’t really be true, can it?

All future graft allegations at the Khmer Rouge Trial will be kept secret until reviewed by a government body, according to a memorandum written by Deputy Prime Minister Sok An about anti-corruption measures at the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

[...]

Court spokeswoman and newly-appointed ethics monitor Helen Jarvis confirmed that this authority was a government body, the Royal Government of Cambodia KRT Task Force, assigned to manage complaints of graft.

That complaints will be kept secret makes sense, of course. Once made public, charges of corruption are not easily retracted, and tarnished reputations not easily restored. But putting the Cambodian government in charge of policing corruption? Did the U.N. really agree to that? If so, somebody made a mistake.

The Cambodian government is not what anybody would call free from the influences of corruption. Putting the government in charge of investigating graft at the ECCC is like putting Al Capone in charge of the tax office. If this is the move that’s suppose to restore confidence in the integrity of the court, it’s probably not going to work.

Unsmashing a pot

Allison revisits pot reconstruction.

Thailand occupies another Cambodian temple

Thailand appears determined to provoke a war with Cambodia.

More than 100 Thai soldiers seized control of the Kingdom’s Ta Krabey temple Wednesday evening and are refusing to leave, despite the best efforts of some 50 Cambodian soldiers who remain at the site, military commanders stationed at the border said.

Ho Bunthy, deputy commander of Border Military Unit 402, said that Cambodian soldiers – who have controlled the small temple for years – tried to defend the site by shooting in the air but that the Thai soldiers still marched in.

“They dared to enter because they know Cambodian soldiers got the orders not to use violence and shoot,” Ho Bunthy said.

Despite asinine SRP claims to the contrary, a military response here is a non-starter — not because Cambodia is “too weak,” as Yim Sovann rather idiotically implies, but because Cambodia clearly has too much to lose by getting involved in a military conflict.

Even without a bellicose Thai foreign policy, Cambodia already faces a rocky economic environment. Thailand’s internal problems are causing grief for the whole region. In Cambodia, the tourism sector has seen sharp declines in recent weeks. Border flareups — Preah Vihear, Ta Moen and now Ta Krabey — only exacerbate the problem. Tourism is not the only industry where declines are expected, either. The garment sector, the country’s other main source of foreign income, also faces tough times ahead, with decreasing work orders and ongoing labor problems. Then there’s inflation, which conservative estimates put at more than 20 percent per month.

All of that, however, while less than ideal, remains manageable.

A war, on the other hand, would likely plunge Cambodia headlong into an unmanageable economic catastrophe. A shooting war with Thailand would almost certainly eviscerate the Cambodian economy and erase the economic gains the country has made over the last 10 years. A booming tourism industry worth billions? Gone. Skyrocketing land prices? Bye-bye. A steady supply of foreign investors? Ditto.

It’s possible some of these things might happen anyway. War would make them worse by magnitudes, with the added bonus of getting a bunch of people dead.

Diplomacy is the only sane option.

On this front, the Cambodian government has been sufficiently patient. The time for forebearance is past. Cambodia should persue every diplomatic option avaliable to it, starting with the UN Security Council.

Just resting

Is EAS now resting, too? A look at their Cambodia page reveals Harper’s Dream (a good story, mind you) still as the top story. It’s been there for weeks. The What’s On listings are also out-of-date, which gives the site a rather unnaturally still-like appearance.

Ghosts

Saorla has a ghost. She probably just needs a chicken.

Jazzy

Jinja uncovers one of Phnom Penh’s many anomalies:

Where else on the planet would you find a jazz café (sans jazz) that’s actually a Korean-run karaoke joint fronted by the name of a non-canonical singer?

And now, thanks to Jinja’s post, there’s a WordPress tag for Carole King Jazz Club, under which resides a link to the planet’s first (and until this post hits the interwebs, only) blog post tagged “Carole King Jazz Club.” The Troubadour Tribune says, without a hint of irony:

The blog Webbed Feet, Web Log has found a karaoke café in Cambodia called the Carole King Jazz Club. Most likely no formal connection to Carole King exists.

Cambodge Soir joins the fray

The Cambodge Soir goes English.

Saving Boeung Kak

Efforts to save Boeung Kak lake get a facelift: http://saveboeungkak.wordpress.com/

The blog has been around since February 2007, but as construction at the lake begins, efforts to mitigate the billion-dollar land-grab are also picking up.

CORRECTION: Nope. The blog is new. The news stories have been back dated.

UPDATE: Sign the online petition.

All that glitters

In a story about Phnom Penh’s embrace of capitalism, the IHT talks to people at Gold Tower 42, the capital’s maiden skyscraper project.

Nov Ratana, a sales manager for Yon Woo Cambodia, says 60 percent of the Gold Tower 42’s 360 residential units have been sold, many of them to foreigners, mainly Koreans and Chinese.

Sixty percent sold? Isn’t that the same thing GT42 said 6 months ago? Other interesting numbers:

Meanwhile, rental prices have increased 20 percent to 40 percent over the past year, [Bonna Realty Group General Manager Charles] Villar said. A large villa with five to seven bedrooms in a good location will rent for about $5,000 a month, while a two-bedroom place will average $1,300 to $1,500, depending on location.

$1,500 for a 2 bedroom? Seriously? Somebody’s getting ripped off.

KI Media is insane

Radio Australia reports on the recent results of the 2008 census, the first nationwide count since 1998. In the last decade population growth has averaged 1.54 percent, or about a quarter percentage point higher than the regional average of 1.3 percent. Over in Crazyville, that quarter point is yet more evidence of dead Ho Chi Minh commanding the great Vietnamese charge to conquer Cambodia and the world. It’s amazing that KI can lay off the Kool-aid long enough to write their headlines.

Pond scum

A Korean bio-fuel company started operations in Kandal province in July. Less than two months later, the nearby 325-hectare Samrong Lake is covered in green scum and its fish are dying.

Lee Dong Jun, executive director of MH Bio Energy, denied the allegation and complained about media coverage of villagers’ complaints.

[...]

“My business is a legal business and represents the future of Cambodia’s economy,” he said.

Sadly, he’s probably right.

Toul Sleng submitted to Unesco

Fresh from their victory for Preah Vihear, the Cambodian government now wants Unesco recognition for the Khmer Rouge’s notorious torture center, S-21.

The [S-21] archive contains over 5,000 photographs of the more than 15,000 prisoners, as well as biographical records of Khmer Rouge officials and inmates, torture instruments and written confessions, said a copy of the application to UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme.

“Undoubtedly crucial as evidence to be use in the forthcoming Khmer Rouge trial, the archive is also an essential part of Cambodia’s recent history,” it said.

“Its significance as a part of the Memory of the World stems from its testament to man’s inhumanity to man and its documentation of one of the most extreme examples of crimes against humanity in the 20th century with a major impact on world history,” it added.

Unesco explains:

Documentary heritage reflects the diversity of languages, peoples and cultures. It is the mirror of the world and its memory. But this memory is fragile. Every day, irreplaceable parts of this memory disappear for ever.

UNESCO has launched the Memory of the World Programme to guard against collective amnesia calling upon the preservation of the valuable archive holdings and library collections all over the world ensuring their wide dissemination.

A noble goal, no doubt.

Nuclear intentions

Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia have announced their respective intentions to seek nuclear power.

All ten ASEAN member countries have no objections to Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam developing nuclear power plants, ASEAN Technical Working Group on the Establishment of Nuclear Power Plants (TWGENPP ASEA) Ad Hoc committee chairman Prof Carunia Firdausy said here on Wednesday.

At least at this point, such nuclear ambitions are little more than opium-fueled fantasy, so Asean’s muted response is hardly surprising. Those countries may as well have announced their desire to develop a space program and put a man on Mars.

To say nothing of the proliferation issue, nuclear reactors take shiploads of cash. They are wildly expensive to build and no cheaper to operate. Not even first-world countries keep billions of cash on hand. That kind of money must be borrowed. And no sane banker is going to lend an unstable, third-world government that kind of cash on something as inherently risky as a nuclear reactor.

POSTSCRIPT: The Asia Times offers a slightly more sober analysis.