Tensions Ease?

Border stays tense, but armies back off

Thailand and Cambodia yesterday agreed to joint patrols and left the more serious issue of troop reductions to the next round of talks aimed at easing tensions at their disputed border.

The decision was reached in five hours of negotiations under the Regional Border Committee between Second Army commander Lt-Gen Wiboonsak Neeparn and Cambodian Fourth Army chif Gen Chea Mon at the tourist service centre on Pha Mor E Daeng in Si Sa Ket.

Both sides will resume talks in Siem Reap next Tuesday, said Supreme Commander Gen Songkitti Chakkabatr.

At this stage, both sides will keep their troops in the area and have joint patrols, Gen Songkitti added. But he cautioned that Thai soldiers were ready to protect the country if it was invaded.
Lt-Gen Wiboonsak said joint patrols would be introduced to "prevent this kind of incident from happening again".

"We did not make much progress. Troops on both sides will stay where they are," he said.

The fighting between the two countries on Wednesday at Phu Ma Khua and Pha Mor E Daeng came after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday gave Thailand an ultimatum to withdraw its soldiers from the disputed area. Thailand insists it is part of Thai territory.

Seven Thai troops were injured and two Cambodian soldiers died in the clashes.

Army deputy spokesman Col Werachon Sukondhapatipak said no Thai soldiers were captured as claimed by Cambodia. The soldiers in the pictures were stationed at Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda near the Preah Vihear temple.

Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh called the outcome "a good result". "We understood each other," he said. "We cannot patrol individually because it could lead to a misunderstanding."

The clashes caused concern at the United Nations and among the international community
In a statement, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the two countries to "exercise utmost restraint and expedite bilateral talks so that their differences can be resolved peacefully."

There are 1,000 Thais in Phnom Penh and about 500 in Siem Reap.
Thai ambassador to Cambodia Viraphand Vacharathit said about 600 Thais had returned to Thailand after the Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that Thais who did not need to stay in Cambodia should return to the kingdom.

Cambodian riot police were deployed in front of the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, which was set on fire by anti-Thai rioters in 2003.

Cambodian Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said undercover police were monitoring Thai businesses to ensure their safety.

"We're protecting all Thai businessmen and citizens in Cambodia in case our people get furious and do something wrong that would not benefit either side," Khieu Sopheak said.

The current stand-off first flared in July after Preah Vihear was awarded World Heritage status, angering some nationalist Thais who claim Thailand ownership of the site.

The situation quickly escalated into a military confrontation with up to 1,000 Cambodian and Thai troops facing off for six weeks, although both sides in August agreed to reduce troop numbers in the main disputed area.

Army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda yesterday confirmed Thai troops were ready to protect Thai soil. Air Force chief ACM Ithaporn Supawong said the air force would deploy aircraft to evacuate the remaining Thais in case of emergency.

Reinforcements

The tensions continue to build...

Troops clash on border

The army has brought in 500 reinforcements and heavy weapons and says it is ready for battle, while the Foreign Ministry claims it is prepared to take Cambodia to the United Nations and the International Court of Justice over sovereignty of the disputed border area near Preah Vihear temple.

The separate army and ministry warnings came after skirmishes yesterday in areas between Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district and Preah Vihear in Cambodia, which escalated border tensions.

Fighting broke out in the afternoon at two flash-points at Phu Ma Khua and Pha Mor E Daeng near the ancient Hindu temple.

Seven Thai troops were wounded while two Cambodian soldiers were killed and seven others injured, according to the army. Cambodia said it captured 10 Thai troops, a claim denied by Thai military officials.

Cambodian charge d'affaires to Bangkok Ouk Sophoin was summoned by permanent secretary for foreign affairs Virasakdi Futrakul and handed an "aide memoire" accusing Cambodia of initiating the clashes.

The fighting has prompted the ministry to urge Thais in Cambodia to leave the country. Thai Airways International has prepared large aircraft to evacuate all Thais in Cambodia if the situation worsens.

There are about 1,000 Thais in Phnom Penh and about 500 in Siem Reap, according to the ministry.

Second Army commander Lt-Gen Wibulsak Neepal said Cambodia fired first into Thai bases, prompting Thai troops to retaliate. He said his unit has adjusted operational plans and redeployed troops to handle any situation, noting the military is ready to retaliate against any further aggression.

But army spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd said army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda has ordered troops to be cautious about retaliation.

"In regards to military retaliation, the army chief has instructed the troops not to escalate any fighting. That means if Cambodia uses small weapons, we will not retaliate with artillery to avoid escalating the fighting," he said.

Col Sansern said the fighting erupted about 2.30pm when Thai troops encountered Cambodian soldiers at Huay Ta Maria in Phu Ma Khua. The Cambodian soldiers were told to leave but they responded with small arms fire into a Thai base. Several kilometres away at Pha Mor E Daeng, Cambodian soldiers also fired into a Thai base.

Col Sansern said the fighting at both sites was brief.

Security around Ta Muan Thom temple and Ta Kwai temple in Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district was being stepped up with more than 500 troops and artillery from the sixth infantry division based in Ubon Ratchathani.

Cambodian Foreign Minster Hor Namhong said in Phnom Penh that "the gunfire between Cambodia and Thailand was in Cambodia's territory. Thai troops opened fire at our troops first".

"Cambodia strongly protests against these repeated and very serious armed provocations by Thailand which will lead to large-scale armed hostilities between the two countries," he said, adding a complaint would be lodged with the UN Security Council.

Hor Namhong rejected Thai figures of the casualties, saying two Cambodian soldiers were killed and two wounded.

Tension at the border rose after Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat returned from a visit to Phnom Penh on Monday during which he met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Hor Namhong.

Afterwards, Hun Sen gave Thailand an ultimatum to leave the disputed area that day.
Mr Virasakdi said during the talks with Mr Sompong, Hun Sen had demanded Thailand withdraw all troops from the 4.6-square-kilometre overlapping area. He threatened to take the case to the Security Council and the International Court of Justice on grounds that Thailand had invaded his country.

Mr Virasakdi dismissed the threat. "Don't think that we are scared. We are ready to defend our position. A team of international legal experts has been hired and is ready," he said after meeting with the Cambodian diplomat.

The army spokesman said the situation was under control as Thai and Cambodian commanders in the areas remained in contact and were expected to negotiate to resolve the conflict.
Hor Namhong said a scheduled meeting between the two countries on the border dispute would go ahead as planned today.

Second Hand Daylight

The Thais and Cambodians had a duffy. Let's hope the Kings step in to sort this out.

Gunfire at the border

Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat urged Thai nationals in Cambodia to leave for home immediately after a Wednesday afternoon military battle along the disputed border left two Cambodian soldiers dead.

"Thai businessmen who have no need to be in Cambodia now, please rush back to Thailand," Sompong told reporters.

"We have our evacuation plan ready," he added.

In the Northeast, officials told residents of the border to be ready to move out quickly in case hostilities resume and escalate.

Thai and Cambodian troops fired rockets and small arms at each other for about 10 minutes at the border of Kantalak district, Si Sa Ket province at around 2.30pm.

The incident reportedly occurred three kilometres from Phreah Vihear temple, and at the site of an Oct 3 clash which left two Thai soldiers and one Cambodian wounded. Thailand issued an official protest to the Cambodian government over that alleged border incursion.

Cambodian army commander Brig Gen Yim Pim said fighting had "paused" after the battle, as commanders tried to negotiate a cease-fire.

Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said the two countries' foreign ministers were talking. Both sides said they wanted a peaceful resolution. "Cambodia is a good neighbor. We will use peaceful means. If there is violence, we have to negotiate," he said.

Cambodia’s Preah Vihear governor Prieb Tan claimed that Thailand started shooting at the Cambodian army first. Thai army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd, meanwhile, claimed that Cambodian soldiers started the shooting first by firing about seven to eight shots onto the Thai soil so Thai soldiers had to defend themselves by firing them back using small weapons.

According to Col Sansern, four Thai army rangers were wounded while one Cambodian soldier was killed in the incident.

On Tuesday, Col Sansern reiterated that Thailand would not shoot first, but warned that Thai troops were ready if Cambodian forces encroach into Thailand. The Thai army is ready to confront any incident to protect the country’s sovereignty, he said.

Meanwhile, Thailand put air force fighter jets and C-130 transport planes on alert. The C-130s have been used in a previous operation to bring Thais back home from Phnom Penh.

Thai Khmer Tension

No retreat

Cambodia claimed on Tuesday that Thai soldiers pulled back from a tense border region, but Thai officials denied making any retreat. Thailand, officials vowed, would not be the first to resort to force along the frontier.

Cambodian army Gen Chea Mon told the Reuters news agency: "They (Thailand) pulled out from our land" shortly before the so-called Phnom Penh ultimatum at noon. "The situation seems to have returned to normal. Our troops are occupying the area where the Thai troops have pulled out."

Sheer nonsense, said Thai officials. "We are still there," Prime Minister and Defence Minister Somchai Wongsawat said after a meeting with Army chief Gen Anupong Paochinda and foreign ministry officials.

Also: "We will not be the side to use force first," he told a press conference. "We will try to use negotiations."

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday shocked Thailand and foreign observers when he gave a deadline of noon on Tuesday to withdraw all its troops from an area adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple on the Thai-Cambodian border or face a "large-scale conflict."

Thai foreign ministry officials expressed surprise at Cambodia's claims that Thailand had already withdrawn its troops from the area, which has been the source of an increasingly volatile spat between the two countries since July.

"We were quite surprised by the withdrawal claim, because we think of this territory as being in Thailand, so why would we withdraw," said Thani Thongphakdi, a deputy spokesman for the foreign ministry.

In a statement issued earlier Tuesday, the foreign ministry also expressed "surprise" at Hun Sen's fighting words, noting that it went against the "sprit of neighbourliness" between fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

After his meeting with Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat in Phnom Penh on Monday, Hun Sen told reporters that he had warned the Thais to withdraw their troops from the disputed area around the Preah Vihear temple or face fighting.

"They must move tonight or tomorrow. If they don't ... there will be fighting," he said.
Cambodia has been pressing to have the border spat settled by a regional or international body, but Thailand has insisted it could be handled bilaterally.

Cambodia Drug Bust

Major Drug Discoveries Found in Cambodia

This meth lab recently discovered in Phnom Penh's Dangkor District is the largest ever discovered in Cambodia. Police at the scene confiscated laboratory machinery, $100,000 in counterfeit notes, guns and huge quantities of methamphetamines.

Police say the lab was used to manufacture and test new generations of increasingly potent illegal drugs.

Another so-called super-lab recently discovered in Kompong Speu province, west of Phnom Penh, was used to make the raw materials needed to produce methamphetamines.

Police say they discovered almost four tons of drug-producing chemicals, enough to make hundreds of thousands of pills.

Lars Pedersen is the head of the United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs in Cambodia. "This puts Cambodia in a higher league in terms of the drug problem. It's now clear that we have drug production taking place in Cambodia. The main drug, which is abused in the country -- and that goes through the country -- is metamphetamines."

The U.N. says 60 percent of the world's 25 million methamphetamine users are living in Asia. Eighty percent of those are under 26 years of age.

In the past, drug enforcement officials say traffickers used Cambodia solely as a transit point. Most drugs came down the Mekong River from Burma and Laos into Cambodia en route to Thailand and Vietnam. Some got shipped further to Australia, the U.S. and Europe.

Pedersen says that the recent discoveries of production facilities in Cambodia reflect a growing drug problem in the region. "It's part of a worsening trend in general in the region," he says. "But trafficking in Cambodia is also influenced -- trafficking and production for that matter -- is also influenced by the crackdowns in Thailand, by a tougher policy in Thailand and in China for that matter, also. So it's a matter for traffickers, producers, to find alternatives and this country is a very attractive alternative."

Robert Bruce is with GSM Consultancy and works with governments in the region to safely dispose of illegal drugs. He says that the Cambodian government and other partners deserve credit for acting quickly to try to contain the methamphetamine problem. "It's really unfortunate that Cambodia is being used as a production center but at the same time I think it's very good that the government is stepping in early, supported by donors and supported by other governments to take actions before it becomes more widespread."

Pedersen says methamphetamines made in Cambodia pose a threat to all countries. "We should not forget that it affects all of the rest of the world because drug production in the magnitude that we see here is not only intended for the Cambodian market, it is intended for the world market."

U.N. officials say that greater cooperation between law enforcement and government officials in the region is needed if the threat from illegal amphetamines is to be contained.

Brother Number 2 Under Arrest

Khmer Rouge's Nuon Chea Arrested, Facing Questioning By U.N. Tribunal

The man known as Brother Number 2, Nuon Chea, in Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge faced questioning on Wednesday by a war crimes tribunal. Cambodian court officials began interrogating the 82-year-old former leader at his rural village home on the Thai border. The Cambodian court set up to bring former leaders of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime is tasked to look into alleged crimes against humanity and had Chea transported via helicopter to the capital for official criminal processing.

According to an official statement, "Nuon Chea was brought before the office of the co-investigating judge of the ECCC in execution of the arrest warrant. An initial appearance will be held today during which he will be informed of the charges against him."

A court spokesperson said it should be clear by Wednesday evening if charges will be issued immediately to the defendant or whether authorities will place him in custody while they investigate.

Chea was once regaled as one of Pol Pot's top leaders his arrest is notable because of his alleged decision-making role in execution role. He is also believed to be one of the key architects in the execution policies of the 1975-1979 communist regime. The group is blamed in the deaths of over two million people.

"It's such a relief -- even though Nuon Chea's indictment cannot bring back what we have lost," said top Cambodian genocide researcher Youk Chhang in an AFP report.

"It's ... a sense that something has been done."

Khmer Rouge Trials Update

As they used to say in those old Westerns... Hangings too good for him..

Khmer Rouge torture chief seeks bail

Duch, the chief Khmer Rouge inquisitor and the only person charged with atrocities by a joint Cambodian-United Nations tribunal so far, is seeking his release on bail, a court spokesman said on Wednesday.

Also known as Kang Kek Ieu, the head of Pol Pot's infamous S-21 interrogation centre in Phnom Penh, has been in the court's custody since he was charged last month with crimes against humanity.

Before that, the former schoolteacher and born-again Christian had been in a military prison since his arrest in 1999.

Trial spokesman Reach Sambath said the Cambodian and international judges serving jointly on the long-awaited tribunal would hold a hearing soon to decide whether to grant his request.

Despite progress in bringing charges against Duch, seen as a key witness, the $53 million trial continues to be plagued by allegations of interference by the Cambodian government, packed with former Khmer Rouge cadres.

In the latest spat, Prime Minister Hun Sen has been accused of trying to delay the process by appointing co-investigating judge You Bun Leng as head of the national appeals court.

U.N. rights officials said they were concerned at the appointment, although Hun Sen insisted there would be no need for You Bun Leng to give up his Khmer Rouge trial role and no delays.

An estimated 1.7 million people were executed or died of starvation, disease or forced labour under the Khmer Rouge's 1975-79 reign of terror.

UN Urges Cambodia to Reconsider Judge's Transfer

Excuse me but what was the UN doing when the Khmer Rouge were bashing babies heads against trees? Oh right. Nothing. As usual.

UN urges Cambodia to reconsider judge's transfer from genocide tribunal

The U.N. urged Cambodia to reconsider its decision to transfer a judge from the Khmer Rouge tribunal, saying the move could disrupt efforts to convene the long-awaited genocide trials, a spokesman said Wednesday.

You Bun Leng, one of two investigating judges at the U.N.-backed tribunal, was recently appointed by the Cambodian government to head the country's Appeals Court.

After numerous delays, he and Marcel Lemonde, the U.N.-appointed judge, only recently began investigations of former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of crimes against humanity, genocide and other atrocities that caused the deaths of some 1.7 million people in the late 1970s.

The world body has urged Cambodia "to consider keeping Judge You Bun Leng in his current function as co-investigative judge" of the tribunal, said Peter Foster, a U.N.-appointed tribunal spokesman, in a statement Wednesday.

He said the U.N. officially delivered a note of concern to the Cambodian permanent representative in New York last Thursday, and was now awaiting a response.

"Both sides are working on this issue to ensure that justice is moving forward," said Reach Sambath, a spokesman from the Cambodian side of the tribunal.

The tribunal was established last year following years of negotiations between Cambodia and the United Nations. Disagreements about tribunal rules kept the judges' investigations from starting until last month.

The judges have so far indicted one of five suspects. Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, headed the former Khmer Rouge S-21 prison. The other four have not been publicly named and still remain free in Cambodia.

S-21 or Tol Sang was a former school that the Khmer Rouge (Red Cambodians or Commie Bastards) used to "process" anyone who was considered an enemy of the revolution. This included children who had been trained in traditional Khmer dance and music. If this fellow IS the head of that place he deserves a slow and painful death.

Weapons in Cambodia? Really?

I bet this never gets mention in the snoozing West.

CAMBODIA: Weapons still flowing to Tamil Tiger rebels

A new report by the prestigious Jane's Intelligence Review in Britain has found Cambodia remains one of the main sources of weapons for Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels. The Tamil Tigers have been fighting for an independent homeland for nearly four decades, in a conflict that has so far claimed more than 60,000 lives. Cambodia's interior ministry has responded to the report, saying it's attempting to fully eradicate the illegal movement of weapons, huge caches of which remain in the country after decades of civil war.

But Mr. Tea Banh, chewing on a slice of Happy Pizza says "No way, Dude. I checked the weapons and they are all here"

Cambodia denies it was a source of weapons for Sri Lanka's Tigers
July 25, Colombo: Cambodia today denied a media report that Cambodia was a source of weapons for Sri Lanka's LTTE.

Cambodian Minister of Defense Tea Banh had said to the Cambodian media that the report is entirely groundless, and there is no authentic evidence to prove it.

“The weapons which belong to the Cambodian government are all in the country and nobody will export them to foreign countries,” a news report said quoting the Minister.

The Jane's Intelligence Review said that ‘Cambodia is one of the most significant single source of weapons for the insurgent group’.