Cambodia's U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal (click here) said Wednesday that it has secured a loan to pay the overdue salaries of its Cambodian staff, 140 of whom have been on strike since the start of the month.
Spokesman Neth Pheaktra said the U.N. had secured the $1.15 million loan
from international donors to cover unpaid salaries from June through
August.
He said he was optimistic the staff would agree to return to work at the
tribunal, which is tasked with seeking justice for atrocities committed
by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s....
...While the Khmer Rouge was in power, (click here) they set up policies that
disregarded human life and produced repression and massacres on a
massive scale. They turned the country into a huge detention center,
which later became a graveyard for nearly two million people, including
their own members and even some senior leaders.
In March 1970, Marshal Lon Nol, a Cambodian politician who had previously served as prime minister, and his pro-American associates staged a successful coup to depose Prince Sihanouk as head of state. At this time, the Khmer Rouge had gained members and was positioned to become a major player in the civil war due to its alliance with Sihanouk. Their army was led by Pol Pot, who was appointed CPK’s party secretary and leader in 1963. Pol Pot, born in Cambodia as Solath Sar, spent time in France and became a member of the French Communist Party. Upon returning to Cambodia in 1953, he joined a clandestine communist movement and began his rise up the ranks to become one of the world’s most infamous dictators....
The Rise of the Khmer Rouge
The Cambodian communist movement emerged from the country’s struggle against French colonization 1940s, and was influenced by the Vietnamese. Fueled by the first Indochina War in the 1950s, and during the next 20 years, the movement took roots and began to grow.In March 1970, Marshal Lon Nol, a Cambodian politician who had previously served as prime minister, and his pro-American associates staged a successful coup to depose Prince Sihanouk as head of state. At this time, the Khmer Rouge had gained members and was positioned to become a major player in the civil war due to its alliance with Sihanouk. Their army was led by Pol Pot, who was appointed CPK’s party secretary and leader in 1963. Pol Pot, born in Cambodia as Solath Sar, spent time in France and became a member of the French Communist Party. Upon returning to Cambodia in 1953, he joined a clandestine communist movement and began his rise up the ranks to become one of the world’s most infamous dictators....
8:05 PM Wednesday Sep 18, 2013
...He said the Cambodian-run section (click here) of the U.N.-backed tribunal still lacks an additional $1.8 million needed to fund its operations from September through the end of the year.
The tribunal is tasked with seeking justice for atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s, when an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died from starvation, disease, forced labor and executions.
This is Cambodia today after a recent election. It is important the tribunals go forward.
PHNOM PENH |
(Reuters) - His party (click here) is reeling from its worst-ever election result. His political
opponents have grown bold and vocal. His people are protesting on the
streets. So why is Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen smiling?The long-ruling autocrat emerged beaming from lengthy closed-door meetings this week with his old political foe, Sam Rainsy, who says Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) cheated its way to a narrow victory in a July 28 general election.
He has reason to be cheerful. Although lawmakers from Sam Rainsy's Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) are threatening to boycott the new session of parliament, due to begin on Monday, until an independent inquiry is held into electoral fraud, the recent political violence has left Hun Sen mostly unscathed.
Thousands of CNRP supporters dispersed on Tuesday after a three-day rally in a park in the capital, Phnom Penh, where one man was killed and several injured when police opened fire on stone-throwing protesters on Sunday night....
There is a bigger picture. The citizens wear the T-shirts to stave off the possibility of being jailed.
Cambodia's prime minister Hun Sen may be facing the biggest threat yet to his 28-year rule.
Anti-government protests in Cambodia have left at least one protester dead, and have prompted talks between prime minister Hun Sen and his rival, Sam Rainsy. The protestors accuse Hun Sen of rigging July’s elections to secure his majority. Hun Sen is one of the world’s longest serving leaders, having been in power for 28 years, and the Human Rights Watch has accused him of unlawfully detaining or killing political opponents and activists....
Khoun Theara, VOA Khmer
13 September 2013
PHNOM PENH — Although China has undergone (click here) an unprecedented economic slowdown, Chinese and Cambodian officials
believe it will not seriously affect Cambodia’s economy.
Over the past nine months, China’s GDP grew slightly above 7 percent, its slowest pace in 13 years, and some economists expect poor performance for the remainder of 2013. But so far Cambodia, which relies heavily on Chinese investment, has not been adversely affected, officials said.....
The garment industry in Cambodia is reflective of other manufacturing in Third World countries. The working conditions ain't great, but, the money is the best in the neighborhood.
6 August 2013
Last updated at 17:28 ET
Her income helps to provide for her and her young daughter, and like many others in the factories, she also sends money to her family back home in the village - a trend that has helped boost rural incomes.
But ask Nun, or her friends, whether they would want their daughters to end up as factory workers in the garment industry and the answer is a vehement no....
Cambodia is seeking a thriving tourism industry, but, the political unrest shakes it's ability to achieve stability. The obstructions to success are obvious.
The demonstrators are non-violent, it is the Cambodian authoritarian police are causing the alarm by tourists. The Prime Minister really needs to retire, he is trying to hard to hang on to power for absolutely no reason at all. If anything he is preventing Cambodia from thriving.
There is some speculation there are investors for the nation's natural resources. It is very possible the Prime Minister will receive a 'finder's fee' for his cooperation in exploiting the nation's natural resources. The monies will never benefit the people though. The Prime Minister's power grab is most probably about personal wealth from mining and drilling and gems.
CNRP supporters carry luggage as tourists affected by city-wide road
blocks make their way through razor-wire barricades on Phnom Penh's
Tonle Bassac riverfront on Sunday. HENG CHIVOAN
Over the past nine months, China’s GDP grew slightly above 7 percent, its slowest pace in 13 years, and some economists expect poor performance for the remainder of 2013. But so far Cambodia, which relies heavily on Chinese investment, has not been adversely affected, officials said.....
The garment industry in Cambodia is reflective of other manufacturing in Third World countries. The working conditions ain't great, but, the money is the best in the neighborhood.
Nun Vanak is an excellent example (click here) of how Cambodia's garment manufacturing industry has helped to
change lives of hundreds of thousands of people in this country.
The 23-year-old is part of Cambodia's half-a-million-strong
workforce - mostly young women - that keeps these garment factories
running. Her income helps to provide for her and her young daughter, and like many others in the factories, she also sends money to her family back home in the village - a trend that has helped boost rural incomes.
But ask Nun, or her friends, whether they would want their daughters to end up as factory workers in the garment industry and the answer is a vehement no....
Cambodia is seeking a thriving tourism industry, but, the political unrest shakes it's ability to achieve stability. The obstructions to success are obvious.
The demonstrators are non-violent, it is the Cambodian authoritarian police are causing the alarm by tourists. The Prime Minister really needs to retire, he is trying to hard to hang on to power for absolutely no reason at all. If anything he is preventing Cambodia from thriving.
There is some speculation there are investors for the nation's natural resources. It is very possible the Prime Minister will receive a 'finder's fee' for his cooperation in exploiting the nation's natural resources. The monies will never benefit the people though. The Prime Minister's power grab is most probably about personal wealth from mining and drilling and gems.
Wed, 18 September 2013
Anne Renzenbrink and Laura Ma
In an apparent bid (click here) to reassure jittery visitors watching the
country’s political scene, the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents
(CATA) said in a statement yesterday that post-election tensions would
not harm tourists.
Addressing its members – tour operators and travel agencies – as well as national and international tourists, CATA first provides a vague summary of the July 28 election results, which awarded a victory to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
The statement then stresses the “massive non-violent demonstrations” by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, which wrapped up a three-day sit-in at Freedom Park yesterday. The CNRP has alleged voter fraud and demanded an investigation. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy and Prime Minister Hun Sen have since met for talks on how to end the stalemate....
Addressing its members – tour operators and travel agencies – as well as national and international tourists, CATA first provides a vague summary of the July 28 election results, which awarded a victory to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
The statement then stresses the “massive non-violent demonstrations” by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, which wrapped up a three-day sit-in at Freedom Park yesterday. The CNRP has alleged voter fraud and demanded an investigation. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy and Prime Minister Hun Sen have since met for talks on how to end the stalemate....
