Cambodian, Thai leaders pledge to resolve border dispute

By Puy Kea
HUA HIN, Thailand , Feb. 27 KYODO -- Top leaders of Cambodia and Thailand reaffirmed Friday their intent to solve a seven-month-old border dispute but set no deadline. After a half-hour meeting in Thailand 's Hua Hin resort with his Thai counterpart, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told Kyodo News that the two countries agreed to use all existing mechanisms to solve the border problem peacefully. The premier did not mention a time frame for finding a solution, but suggested it was good and fruitful discussion. It was the first time for Hun Sen to meet with Abhisit since the latter came to power last year. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 14th ASEAN summit.
In a separate statement, Abhisit said both countries had agreed to set up a panel of technical experts to work on the overlapping maritime border, particularly, in the disputed oil and gas area.
“Out understanding has been improved a lot recently and we are looking into possibilities to start our energy cooperation,” he told reporters.
The territorial dispute between the two countries stems partly from the use of different border maps, and the military standoff began soon after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in July last year. The area near the temple was the scene of a tense standoff between Cambodian and Thai armed forces. The situation, however, has eased but the military presence remains. The Cambodian government insists that Thai troops have deployed on Cambodian soil, while Thailand says its troops are only in a disputed zone. Since the border issue erupted last year, many rounds of talks at different levels including defense and foreign ministerial levels have been held but a concrete agreement or solution has proved elusive. Hun Sen said the two countries will use the memorandum of understanding made in 2000 as a basis for resolving the conflict. Hun Sen is on a three-day official working visit to Thailand during which he is attending the 14th summit of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. ASEAN groups Brunei , Cambodia , Indonesia , Laos , Malaysia , Myanmar , the Philippines , Singapore , Thailand and Vietnam .

KyodoFebruary 27, 2009

ASEAN agrees on using military assets for disaster relief

By Puy Kea
PATTAYA, Thailand , Feb. 26 KYODO

Defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed Thursday to use military assets and capacities in humanitarian and disaster relief as well as in non-traditional security threats.

Thai Defense Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwon, who chaired the meeting, said such use of military assets will not be commenced until a new task force is formed.

Gen. Prawit told reporters shortly after the meeting that the agreement on the matter was necessary so as to ensure security in the Asia-Pacific, especially in the ASEAN region. In the meeting, the defense ministers focused on the establishment of a special force to provide humanitarian assistance for member countries which are affected by natural disasters.

The participants also exchanged ideas on expanding security operations with countries outside ASEAN, but in the Asia-Pacific Rim region. Moving forward on the matter, the defense ministers signed three concept papers including the ASEAN Defense Establishments and Civil Society Organizations Cooperation on Non-Traditional Security to counter new security threats.

According to one of the concept papers seen by Kyodo News, military personnel deployed in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations will not carry weapons while performing official duties, unless otherwise agreed. The defense ministers cited experiences gained from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Cyclone Nargis that struck Myanmar last year and the recent earthquake in China as motivations for the use of military assets and capacities. The meeting, however, did not touch on the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia nor the issue of Myanmar migrants, according to officials.

According to a security source, the border and illegal migrant issues were excluded from agendas, since the defense ministers decided to resolve those problems via bilateral cooperation. The meeting was held ahead of the 14th ASEAN summit, to be held in the beach resort of Hua Hin from Friday to Sunday. ASEAN groups Brunei , Cambodia , Indonesia , Laos , Malaysia , Myanmar , Philippines , Singapore , Thailand and Vietnam .

KyodoFebruary 26, 2009

Cambodia, Thailand affirm commitments to solve border issue

PHNOM PENH , Jan. 26 KYODO
Cambodia and Thailand reaffirmed Monday to solve their six-month-old border conflict peacefully and amicably, without setting a deadline.

After a one-and-a-half-hour meeting in Phnom Penh with his Thai counterpart, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters that border issues are often complicated and not easily solved, thus time and patience are needed.

However, he warned that Cambodia still reserves the right to seek the intervention of a third party such as the international court if bilateral negotiations fail. Echoing the remarks, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said he hopes the similar culture and tradition enjoyed by the two countries plus commitments taken by the new Thai government will help resolve the problems. Hor Namhong said both governments had scheduled a meeting of a joint border committee for Feb. 2-4, followed by a defense ministerial-level meeting on Feb. 6 on redeployment of troops at Keo Sikhakiri Svara Pagoda and the area near Cambodia 's ancient Preah Vihear temple.

The area around Preah Vihear temple, which was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in July last year, was the scene of a tense standoff between Cambodian and Thai armed forces in recent months. The Cambodian government insists that Thai troops have deployed on Cambodian soil, while Thailand says its troops are only in a disputed zone.

According to military sources based at Preah Vihear temple, there remain about a dozen Thai soldiers at Keo Sikhakiri Svara Pagoda. The territorial dispute stems partly from the use of different border maps. Kasit is on a two-day visit to Cambodia , his first since he came to office last month. He is to return to Thailand later Monday.

KyodoJanuary 26, 2009

Brother No. 2 ordered all prisoners killed, says defense lawyer

By Puy Kea PHNOM PENH ,
Feb. 18 KYODO
A defense lawyer for a notorious Khmer Rouge-era prison jailer charged Wednesday that Nuon Chea, known as Brother No. 2, ordered all prisoners killed four days before the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia toppled Jan. 7, 1979.

Kar Savuth, a Cambodian co-lawyer for Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, 66, said on the last day of an initial hearing against his client that ''S-21 received an order from Nuon Chea on 3 January 1979 to kill all prisoners, including children.'' The lawyer, however, did not say how many were killed on the order of Nuon Chea that day or the following days.

It is the first time the accused, through his lawyer, revealed to the public that Nuon Chea, now also being detained at U.N.-backed court facilities, was one of the top Khmer Rouge leaders responsible for the deaths of the prisoners. Duch was the chief at Tuol Sleng Prison in central Phnom Penh , codenamed S-21, from 1976 to 1979. He is blamed for the deaths of between 13,000 and 16,000 prisoners.

During the one-and-a-half day initial hearing, Duch appeared in the courtroom but was not allowed to give any statement because the hearing is designed for the five judges, including three Cambodians, to consider motions from the two sides, the case profile, legal and procedural issues and to finalize the scheduling of witness and experts to be heard at a full trial at a date yet to be set.

Duch is one of the five Khmer Rouge figures being at a detention center of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, a special tribunal set up with U.N. blessing and the participation of two foreign judges. The Khmer Rouge are blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians in the late 1970s. Concluding the last day of the hearing, Nil Nonn, president of the Trial Chamber, said decisions resulting from the hearing will be handed down soon, but no specific date was given.

But Helen Jarvis, chief of the ECCC public affairs section, said she expected the decisions to be announced in one to two weeks. By then, the exact date for Duch's full trial should be set. On Tuesday, a defense lawyer said Duch will ask for forgiveness from the victims, likely during the trial. In a separate statement Wednesday, defense lawyers rejected a co-prosecutor appeal to incorporate two new films taken by a Vietnamese military cameraman that aimed to impose further blame on their client. The defense lawyers argued the films were fabricated by Vietnam , with ''political motivation.''

They pointed out eight parts of the films are contradictory to fact, including using the designation ''Tuol Sleng Prison'' instead of ''S-21'' as used by the Khmer Rouge at least until Jan. 7, 1979. The motion will be decided by the five judges of the Trial Chamber.

KyodoFebruary 18, 2009

Vietnamese cameraman, Khmer Rouge victim reunite ahead of trial

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Feb. 16 KYODO
A former Vietnamese military cameraman who was the first outsider to document the horrors of a Khmer Rouge prison and torture center after the regime fell in 1979 was reunited over the weekend with one of four child survivors. Ho Van Tay, 76, who arrived in Cambodia on Saturday ahead of a pre-trial hearing for the former prison chief, met Sunday with survivor Norng Chan Phal, 39, for the first time in three decades. Appearing with Tay at a press conference, Norng Chan Phal said he was happy to meet with the man who had helped him and his younger brother leave Tuol Sleng prison in central Phnom Penh after the invading Vietnamese army took it over while capturing the city.

Both said they would both attend Tuesday's initial hearing for 66-year-old Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, who allegedly oversaw the deaths of between 13,000 to 16,000 Cambodians while the prison was under his command from 1976 to 1979, historians say. Duch is the first of five detained Khmer Rouge figures to be tried by the U.N.-backed tribunal for their roles in the regime that is blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979.

When asked about his onetime tormentor, Norng Chan Phal said, ''It's a right time for Duch to be on trial because he was a direct killer of many Cambodians in Tuol Sleng prison.'' He said Khmer Rouge soldiers took him, his mother and his younger brother to the prison, a former schoolhouse located in the center of the city, several months after his father was first taken there in 1978. Neither parent survived. Norng Chan Phal and his younger brother were among five child survivors. One of them, however, died of malnutrition shortly after the prison was liberated.

Tay, who is in Cambodia at the invitation of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a nongovernmental organization that documents Khmer Rouge atrocities, has offered to help it with its activities, including identification of victims.

In late December, the Vietnamese government donated to Cambodia archival footage, largely taken by Tay , that will be used as one of the key pieces of evidence in the trial of Duch. Duch, a former mathematics schoolteacher, has been indicted for his direct or indirect role in crimes against humanity, including murder, torture and enslavement, and other violations of domestic and international law. Tay spent seven years in Cambodia from 1979, making documentary films that reveal the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. He traveled with Vietnamese troops to various parts of the country to take the footage.

KyodoFebruary 16, 2009

Japan to provide another $21 mil. for Khmer Rouge trial

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Jan. 11 KYODO -- The Japanese government pledged Sunday to provide another $21 million to the U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal, brining its contributions since 2005 to $45.5 million. Announcement of the new pledge was made Sunday by Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone during a one-hour meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh .

Eang Sophalet, a spokesman for Hun Sen, told reporters after the meeting that the $21 million pledged will be used by the U.N. side of the court, not the Cambodian side. He added that Hun Sen was also seeking financial assistance for the Cambodian side and that the request will be considered by the Japanese government. Japan is the top financial contributor to the Khmer Rouge trial process. It provided $21.6 million to the U.N. side in 2005 and $2.95 million to the Cambodian side in 2008.

According to sources close to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the Cambodian side of the court needs an extra of $5.3 million for its work from April through the end of this year. Of the current five suspects, Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, who is accused of having a leadership role in the deaths of 14,000 people in Tuol Sleng prison during Khmer Rouge rule, is expected to be tried in the first quarter this year.

The four other former Khmer Rouge figures charged and detained at ECCC facilities are Nuon Chea, better known as Brother No. 2 in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy after leader Pol Pot; Khieu Samphan who was head of state; Ieng Sary who was the regime's foreign minister; and Ieng Sary's wife Ieng Thirith who was the social affairs minister.

The Khmer Rouge leadership is blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians during its rule.

Also, during his visit to Cambodia , Nakasone signed agreements providing Cambodia grants of up to 255 million yen for a dam project and infectious disease control. He also attended a ceremony to deliver three Japanese demining vehicles to Cambodia . Nakasone is to visit Laos later Sunday before returning to Japan on Monday. Before arriving in Cambodia on Saturday, Nakasone met with Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya in Bangkok .

KyodoJanuary 11, 2009

Cambodians debate Vietnam 's military presence 30 years later (FOCUS)

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Jan. 5 KYODO

Ahead of the 30th anniversary on Wednesday of the entry of Vietnamese forces into Cambodia to fight the Khmer Rogue, arguments still rage here over its historical significance.

Sam Rainsy, leader of his self-named opposition party, objects to the move by the ruling Cambodian People's Party of Prime Minister Hun Sen to signify the day as the second birthday for millions of Cambodians. Hun Sen and his party have been claiming that without Jan. 7, 1979, Cambodia would not have been able to achieve anything that it has achieved since and that they never forget the help from Vietnam .

But Sam Rainsy compared the day to what had happened to most Eastern and Central European countries after Stalin's Red Army invaded them to ''free'' them from the Nazis. ''When the Vietnamese communist army invaded Cambodia to 'free' us from the Khmer Rouge, we quickly realized that we were caught between Scylla and Charybdis,'' Sam Rainsy said. He said that without April 17, 1975, the date of the Khmer Rouge takeover and the beginning of the Cambodian genocide, there would have been no need for Jan. 7, 1979. And without the Vietnamese and Chinese communist intervention in the early 1970s to help the Khmer Rouge, the latter would not have been able to seize power and there would have been no April 17, 1975.

He said therefore April 17 and Jan. 7 are inextricably associated, calling them ''communist Frankensteins.'' ''Celebrating Jan. 7 without keeping in mind a broader historical perspective is playing into the hands of the current Phnom Penh regime whose only raison d'etre was to 'free' the Cambodian people from the Khmer Rouge with communist Vietnam 's decisive but not unselfish help,'' he said.

This week, ignoring criticism, the CPP celebrates the country's second-largest event marking the day as a liberation day from the genocidal regime with some 50,000 participants. It held the largest event in 1985 with some 70,000 participants. Just days before the event is to take place, a nongovernmental organization, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said it was concerned about people being forced to celebrate the anniversary. ''The people are being forced to pose with Cambodian flags outside their houses to show support for the ceremony,'' said Ou Virak, president of the CCHR. ''They force people to support them. This is a communist style like in North Korea . No democratic countries do this,'' he said.

But Information Minister Khieu Kanharith, a senior member of the CPP, said no one was being forced to take part and that the event was merely being staged in a disciplined manner. Khieu Kanharith said money spent by the CPP on the event will come entirely from the CPP's coffers. Bun Pov, a high school teacher, said some 5,000 students and 130 teachers from his school, one of six selected high schools in Phnom Penh, were chosen to take part in the event. He said each participant will be given 6,500 riels (about $1.6) and a CPP cap and T-shirt. Other critics, however, said Jan. 7 marks the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia .

''The Khmer People Committee for Freedom considers Jan. 7 the date of Vietnam 's invasion of Cambodia , the date of their plundering of Cambodian wealth, and their total occupation of Cambodian land,'' it said in a statement. It suggested that Oct. 23, 1991, the date of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords which brought national reconciliation, should instead be celebrated. But Khieu Kanharith argued that if there were no Jan. 7, 1979, there would not be Oct. 23, 1991, either. ''Jan. 7 doesn't belong exclusively to the CPP, but to all the Cambodian people,'' he added. Sorn Samnang, a Cambodian historian and president of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said that without Jan. 7, 1979, he would have been killed along with millions of other Cambodians.

He added that some 50,000 Vietnamese soldiers were killed or died during Vietnam 's 10-year presence in Cambodia , and billions of dollars were spent. Vietnamese troops came to Cambodia in 1979 and remained here until 1989.

KyodoJanuary 05, 2009

Co-prosecutors dispute charging more Khmer Rouge suspects

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Jan. 5 KYODO

The U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal released a statement Monday revealing disputes between Cambodian and international co-prosecutors over whether or not to charge more suspects beyond the five now being detained. According to the court, international co-prosecutor Robert Petit filed Dec. 1, 2008 a note concerning the appropriateness of opening new judicial investigations against additional suspects for crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge, while the Cambodian co-prosecutor filed a response last Monday objecting to the filing by her colleague.

On Dec. 1, 2008, the international co-prosecutor proposed filing two new Introductory Submissions and one Supplementary Submission, saying the crimes were committed, the crimes are within the jurisdiction of the Court, and those should be investigated by the Co-Investigating Judges. He said the charges would lead to a more comprehensive accounting of crimes that were committed under the Khmer Rouge's Democratic Kampuchea regime during 1975-79, according to the statement.

He added he did not believe that such prosecutions would endanger Cambodia 's peace and stability. But, Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang said investigations should not proceed on account of Cambodia 's past instability and the continued need for national reconciliation, the spirit of the agreement between the United Nations and Cambodia , the spirit of the law that established the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and the limited duration and budget of the ECCC.

She said the ECCC should instead prioritize the trials of the five suspects already detained. When asked how many new suspects being identified by the international co-prosecutor, Reach Sambath, spokesman for the ECCC, said he didn't know but an ECCC source suggested the number could be six. Of the current five suspects, Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, who is accused of having a leadership role in the deaths of 14,000 people in Tuol Sleng prison during Khmer Rouge rule, is expected to be tried in the first quarter of this year.

The four other former Khmer Rouge figures charged and detained at ECCC facilities are Nuon Chea, better known as Brother No. 2 in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy after leader Pol Pot; Khieu Samphan who was head of state; Ieng Sary who was the regime's foreign minister; and Ieng Sary's wife Ieng Thirith who was the social affairs minister. The Khmer Rouge leadership is blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians during its rule.

KyodoJanuary 05, 2009

Symbolic killer of Cambodia 's genocide to face trial 30 years later (FOCUS)

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Feb. 2 KYODO -- The notorious Khmer Rouge prison jailer commonly known as Duch goes to trial at a hybrid international court in the next two weeks in Cambodia for his role in the systematic genocide of Cambodians 30 years ago.
The U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal set Feb. 17 as a date for the initial hearing on Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch. He is one of five Khmer Rouge figures being detained at a detention center of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
Although Duch is considered a symbolic killer as he was in charge of the most prominent of many prisons established in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime, some Cambodians question why he will be the first to be tried.
The answer is simple -- Duch was the first one arrested in 1999 and has been detained at and investigated ever since.
He was transferred to the ECCC in 2007 and was charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The other four suspects were arrested and charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity only in late 2007.
They are Nuon Chea, better known as Brother No. 2 in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy after Pol Pot, Khieu Samphan, who was its head of state, Ieng Sary, who was foreign minister, and Ieng Sary's wife Ieng Thirith, who was social affairs minister.
Duch, 66, was chief of Tuol Sleng Prison in central Phnom Penh , code named S-21, from early 1976 through 1979.
Scholars and historians claim Duch was responsible for the deaths of more than 13,000 Cambodians while the prison was under his command.
Beyond the question ''Why Duch first?'' some also wonder why the court is going after someone who was not a senior Khmer Rouge leader.
''Duch's hearing will generate more questions than clarifications,'' said Chhang Youk, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a nonprofit organization that archives Khmer Rouge atrocities.
Some others, however, support the court's move, saying it is finally on track to long-awaited justice for the victims.
Chum Mey, one of only three surviving victims from Duch's time at the S-21 torture center, said he will be satisfied only once Duch and the other four are tried and convicted.
Chum Mey, 76, who was jailed and tortured for more than three months from late 1978 until the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed on Jan. 7, 1979, said he is ready to question Duch during the upcoming trial on why he committed the crimes and who was behind the orders.
Chum Mey said he had his toenails pulled out, was beaten ''uncountable'' times with rattan canes and subjected to electric shocks while in Tuol Sleng.
He added the tortures were designed to force confessions of spying for the U.S. or then Soviet Union intelligence services even though many prisoners did not even know those agencies existed.
The co-investigating judges of the ECCC have said that of the more than 13,000 men, women and children detained at Tuol Sleng prison only a handful are still alive.
The judges have also said Duch has ''recognized his responsibility.''
He has declared S-21 ''was run directly by the Central Committee,'' the judges have said.
Duch added he primarily dealt directly with Son Sen and ''Person J,'' both of whom he believed to be acting for the leadership.
Son Sen, minister of security in the Khmer Rouge regime, ''perished'' in 1997, apparently killed on the order of Pol Pot who accused Son Sen of being a traitor.
It is unclear to whom ''Person J'' refers, but some researchers suggest it could be Nuon Chea.
According to the judges, Duch has regularly expressed remorse for the victims and their families and also for the S-21 staff under his command.
''He stated that none of his personnel volunteered, or were proud of what they had done, but rather were terrorized and constantly in fear for their lives,'' the judges have said.
Pol Pot, believed the mastermind of the ''Killing Fields,'' denied until his death in 1998 he was responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million Cambodians under his rule from 1975 to 1979.
He claimed number of deaths was ''fabricated'' by ''outside enemies.''
Similar denials have come from the four Khmer Rouge leaders who are charged and detained at the ECCC facilities.
Duch, however, has said he spoke out in 1999 because ''it was impossible not to tell the truth about S-21'' after he had heard ''Pol Pot denied the existence S-21 and claimed it was an invention of the Vietnamese.''
Duch was arrested in May 1999, less than a month after he was found in Cambodia 's northwestern Battambang Province by an American journalist who and obtained a partial confession from him.
Duch said, ''I joined the Khmer Rouge in order to liberate my people and not to commit crimes,'' but ''from 1971 onwards, when I was forced to supervise M-13 (a security organ), I became both an actor in criminal acts and also a hostage of the regime.''
Duch also said that on Aug. 15, 1975, Son Sen called him to a meeting at the Phnom Penh Train Station to plan the establishment of S-21.
S-21 was unique in the network of security centers given its direct link to the Central Committee and its role in the detention and execution of cadres of the Communist Party of Kampuchea.
While millions of Cambodians still want to see justice, many also express disappointment that the three Khmer Rouge accused of being the architects of the brutal regime -- Pol Pot, Son Sen and Ta Mok, better known as ''Butcher'' -- are already dead.
Of the four remaining senior leaders, Ieng Sary, 85, and Nuon Chea, 83, are watched by doctors daily because their health is precarious, and Kheiu Samphan and Ieng Thirith are said to be frail.
The ECCC has not said when those four will be tried and some Cambodians fear only Duch will ever be prosecuted, the others dying before they are brought to trial.

KyodoFebruary 02, 2009