The announcement was made just days before Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping is expected to arrive in Cambodia for a two-day visit.

The Chinese Muslims from China’s restive Xinjiang province, the site of violent anti-Chinese protests in July, entered Cambodia last month and were given a “people of concern” status by the UN refugee agency before they and were taken to police custody for violating immigration law.

“They are not real refugees,” interior ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak told VOA Khmer by phone late Friday night. “They will have to leave Cambodia in no later than one week.”

Earlier reports said that twenty-two Uighurs, including three children, arrived in Cambodia overland, but in an interview with VOA on Friday spokesman for ministry of foreign affairs, Koy Kuong, said authorities are now taking control of only 20 and have no knowledge of two others.

Human rights groups fear that they will be mistreated if returned to China.

“We are concerned because there were earlier assurances given at the highest level to UNHCR that asylum seekers would be allowed to have their status determined through a fair procedure and that during that period they will be protected, but it seems that now this decision has been rescinded,” Christophe Pescoux, Cambodia’s representative of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told VOA Khmer by phone late Friday.

Pescoux said the UN is working to persuade Cambodia to “reconsider their decision”.

At least nine Uighurs have been executed for their role in violent demonstrations, which left as many as 200 people dead, China’s state media reported in November.

Source: VOA news

In interviews with VOA Khmer Thursday, Chams and Vietnamese alike said they expected the charges of genocide to help bring reconciliation to their communities.

The tribunal announced on Wednesday it would add genocide charges to the dockets of Nuon Chea and Ieng Sary, for the mass killings of Chams and Vietnamese.

(On Friday, judges announced they would also add the charge for Khieu Samphan, the former head of state. Ieng Thirith, a fourth leader in custody, has not yet had a hearing, but she is expected to face the same charge.)

Genocide is an intentional attempt to eradicate, in part or in whole, a minority ethnic or religious group. The tribunal is preparing a case against all four leaders of the regime, having finished the trial of Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch, the former administrator of Tuol Sleng prison.

Both Chams and Vietnamese were singled out by the Khmer Rouge. Between 100,000 and 400,000 Chams were killed as the regime rose to power, according to the Documentation Center of Cambodia.

An unknown number of Vietnamese were killed, especially in border skirmishes after the guerrillas rose to power, in April 1975. Hundreds of Vietnamese died at Tuol Sleng.

Tror Yeth, a 40-year-old teacher of Cham literature in the capital’s Russei Keo district, who lost six family members to the Khmer Rouge, said he was “very happy” with the added charge.

“It means justice will be found, and especially for Muslim victims,” he said as he stood at the door of his classroom, where a dozen students were learning to read.

Shutting down a table saw and tucking a pen behind his right ear, Van Cai, a carpenter in Chamkar Mon district, considered the news. An uncountable number of Cambodians and Vietnamese had died under the Khmer Rouge, he said.

“My aunts and my uncles, a total of four or five people, were killed in Tuol Sleng,” he said, his Khmer pitched with a Vietnamese accent. “[The Khmer Rouge] killed people. It is right to try them. We are waiting for the day when they will be tried.”

Source: VOA news

“The lens is the clear part of the eye that helps focus light or an image on the retina,” said Taing Tek Hong, a physician at the Borland-Groover clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., who was a guest on “Hello VOA.”

“In a normal eye, light passes through the transparent lens to the retina,” he said. “The lens must be clear for the retina to receive a sharp image. If the lens is cloudy from a cataract, the image you see will be blurred.”

The number of cases of blindness from cataracts accounts for a wide majority of cases, about 28,800 per year in Cambodia, he said.

Cataracts can be caused by a number of factors, including diabetes, family history, previous eye injury, exposure to sunlight and smoking. Some babies are born with congenital cataracts, often in both eyes.

Symptoms include clouded, blurred or dimmed vision, with vision impairment increasing after nightfall, he said. Eyes may become sensitive to light and glare, or a person may see halos around lights or need better light for reading. The color yellow may appear faded, or double vision can impair one eye.

A cataract can be detected in an eye examination by a specialist, using a variety of tests, the doctor said. An eye professional can also detect signs of “macular degeneration, glaucoma and other vision disorders,” he said.

Wearing sunglasses or a brimmed hat to block ultraviolet light from the sun can help prevent the condition. “If you smoke, stop,” Taing Tek Hong said.

“The only effective treatment for cataracts is surgery, which is recommended when cataracts begin to affect the quality of life or interfere with the ability to perform normal daily activities,” he said. “Cataract surgery is successful in about 95 percent of all cases, with improved vision.”

Source: VOA news

Sam Rainsy has been asked to appear on Dec. 28, according to a summons issued Wednesday and obtained by VOA Khmer.

Sam Rainsy, who has rejected the case as politically motivated, had his parliamentary immunity suspended by the National Assembly in November, paving the way for investigations into the allegations by provincial court officials.

“I issued a summons yesterday,” investigating judge Long Kesphirom told VOA Khmer Thursday. He declined to give more details.

Reached by phone in France, Sam Rainsy told VOA Khmer he had not been given a chance to defend himself, and that he was meeting with villagers as their parliamentary representative when they complained of Vietnamese incursion onto their land.

“But it was not so, and now the authorities have issued a complaint against me instead,” he said. “They can do whatever they want. I don’t care, because the court works for the powerful and the ruling party, and not for the national interest.”

The court case and suspension of his immunity have been criticized as a wider government effort to crack down on dissent, following the jailing of an opposition-aligned journalist earlier this year and a defamation suit brought against Mu Sochua, an SRP representative for Kampot province, by Prime Minister Hun Sen, in April.

Source: VOA news

“Don’t confuse them,” said Mam Sitha, president of the Cambodian Independent Anti-Corruption Committee.

“To fight against corruption is to fight against those who commit corruption,” she said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.” The issue can be confused as anti-government, she said, “because many of the corruptors work in the government.”

Last week, the Council of Ministers green-lighted a draft anti-corruption law that has been in the works for more than a decade and is anxiously awaited by donors and other organizations. The bill, which has nine chapters and 57 articles, is expected to be debated in the National Assembly soon.

Critics like Mam Sitha, however, worry the law will be difficult to enforce and is missing key components to stanch the country’s endemic corruption.

For example, a strong law should call for public—not secret—declarations of assets by public officials and must protect informants, she said.

A strong law will also have an independent corruption committee that is under the prime minister, not the Council of Ministers, Mam Sitha said, and should carry enough authority to dissuade political interference.

In the current climate, people are afraid to speak out on corruption, even if they witness it, and a newly passed criminal law has little to allay those fears, she said.

The criminal law, which was passed as a precursor to the anti-corruption law, upholds as criminal offenses both defamation and disinformation. Critics charge that both offenses have been used in punitive attacks on government critics, including journalists and opposition members.

Source: VOA news

“The war between the US and Afghanistan has lasted eight years already, but no result can be seen,” Mat Islamiyas, a university student in Phnom Penh, said at her dormitory Monday. “That is to say no terrorist leaders can be found. So the results of the war have been only losses. Those who will be killed are civilians.”

US President Barrack Obama announced earlier this month an increase of 30,000 troops in Afghanistan, the latest US attempt to defeat a Taliban insurgency that has proven its resilience in an eight-year war.

The increase would put the number of US soldiers at more than 100,000, in a war that began following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US by al Qaeda, which had sanctuaries in Afghanistan.

“Although Mr. Obama chose to send more troops in a bid to eliminate al Qaeda or the Taliban considered as terrorists, America will not win the war,” said Mot Harifin, a staff member of Muslim Aid Cambodia. “The addition would only make the Taliban in Afghanistan more active in their terrorist acts; thus this will affect the world as a whole.”

Sos Musin, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Cults and Religion, agreed.

“The sending of more American and NATO troops to Afghanistan will only cause more deaths and damage to people’s property,” he said. “So, in my opinion, it would be better if America could take on negotiations or seek other peaceful solutions.”

He added that the decision of more troops in Afghanistan should be left to Afghan people.

“I see it as nonsense, sending more troops,” said Asmat Yasya, a secretary of state for the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The US may be able to kill insurgents, he said, but that does not mean they will prevent terror attacks.

“It is better that America spends the money reserved for a military surge on building schools and hospitals for the Afghan people, so that they stop supporting the Taliban,” he said.

Source: VOA news

The film was selected out of 782 film documentaries in the World Cinema Documentary category and will compete with 11 other films at the prestigious festival, held each year in various towns in the state of Utah, including Sundance.

The category includes films from Brazil, France, Ireland, the Palestinian territories and others.

Sundance organizers describe the story: “A young journalist whose family was killed by the Khmer Rouge befriends the perpetrators of the Killing Fields genocide, evoking shocking revelations.”

The film was produced by Thet Sambath, a journalist for the English-language Phnom Penh Post, and Rob Lemkin, an experienced producer who has worked with the BBC and The History Channel.

The film also demonstrates the chain of command of the Khmer Rouge, connecting the way in which cadre passed down orders, “from the top to the bottom,” Lemkin said in a recent interview.

“This documentary explains clearly [about the regime], so that once it is out, Cambodian victims will understand why there were killings, lack of food to eat, and why people died,” Thet Sambath said. “At least 98 percent of the truth will be revealed if not 100 percent.”

The film comes at a time when the Khmer Rouge tribunal in Phnom Penh is preparing a case against senior leaders of the regime, including its chief ideologue, Nuon Chea, who Thet Sambath interviewed at length.

It is unclear whether “Enemies of the People” will be used as evidence in the court.

“It is up to judges to decide on any documentary to use in the court’s legal procedures,” tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said. “But in general we praise those who have the goodwill to produce a documentary film or a movie for younger generations or Cambodian people to use to garner more knowledge about Democratic Kampuchea.”

Following Sundance, the producers say they will focus on Cambodia.

“We really hope that this film can be released in Cambodia and that it can be an agent of positive change in Cambodia,” Lemkin said. “It can give confidence to those people to speak openly about what they were involved with, so that future generations in Cambodia will not be at a loss to understand what happened.”

Source: VOA news

“The ministry noticed that from January through November 2009, garment and shoe factories, in total 93, have been closed,” Om Mean, secretary of state for the Ministry of Employment, told an annual conference for garment workers on Monday. More than 38,000 were originally put out of work by the closures, he said.

However, he estimated that job losses were now around 30,000, thanks to newly opened smaller factories replacing the larger, shuttered operations.

World Bank officials warn that the garment sector job losses will contribute to an increase in poverty, from 1 percent to 3 percent.

‘This is a grave impact,” said Qimiao Fan, World Bank’s Cambodia director. “So investors and workers must ensure the standard of work and competitiveness.”

Sok Lor, executive director of the Arbitration Council Foundation, said garment factories could be saved by increased commitment of government institutions, investors and workers to cooperate.

The garment sector is Cambodia ’s top export earner, reaching $2 billion in 2008. Om Mean said Monday the country now has 516 factories and nearly 360,000 workers.

To improve the sector, the government must settle questions faced by investors, said Ath Thun, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democrat Union. Those include high prices for water and electricity, poor infrastructure, corruption and low worker capacity, he said.

Source: VOA news

Unlike traditional Khmer wedding celebrations, in which sounds of wedding songs and musical instruments can be heard from the bride’s house, a Cham celebration contains no songs or music.

The reason is that Islamic law does not allow any romantic music, though the law allows sounds of Islamic prayers or reading of its holy book, the Koran, during the special occasion.

The Chams, descendents of the lost Champa empire in today’s Vietnam, are followers of Islam. The majority of them, estimated to be 500,000 in Cambodia, live along the Tonle Sap and the Mekong rivers.

The period following the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is the most popular.

A Cham wedding is generally observed for one and a half days. On the first day, two or three meals are served for guests who have been invited to the village free of charge. The attendees may contribute some money, food or gifts to the host family, if they wish.

The one festivity during the wedding is called “Kupol,” in Cham. Kupol is the negotiation between the groom and the bride’s father of a dowry and the handover of the bride to the groom.

After the regular noon prayer, the bride’s family decides on the time and venue for Kupol. The venue can be at the bride’s house, or at small mosques, “surav,” or large mosques, “masjid.”

During Kupol, the bride’s father declares among relatives from both sides, religious teachers, or “tuon,” or an imam to witness the amount of money he has demanded from the groom before handing over the bride—symbolically, as the bride cannot be present—to the groom.

“We say [in Cham] that we agree to give the bride to the groom with the presence of tuon, and the groom must accept her as his lawful wife and must be responsible [for her life],” said Man Mohd, 46, who saw his first daughter married on the outskirts of Phnom Penh last weekend.

“In return for the bride, I have to say to my father-in-law that I would agree to pay the demanded amount and accept the bride,” said the groom, Matt Roza, during his wedding celebration.

The groom has to make sure he answers correctly a few questions asked by the tuon or imam. The questions are about Islamic principles and marriage laws of Islam. If the groom answers the first question incorrectly, he is offered another chance, until he can make the correct answer.

“Kopul is all about Cham marriage,” said Mohd Farid Hosen, executive director of the Cambodian Muslim Intellectual Alliance.

“It is the determinant that the bride and the groom become man and wife lawfully, according to our Cham tradition,” he said.

Finally, the bride’s family has to arrange a feast for villagers the following morning, to conclude the celebration.

Source: VOA news

Defense lawyers for Ieng Sary, the regime’s foreign affairs minister, and Khieu Samphan, its head of state, had claimed Lemonde was biased in his pursuit of their client’s case.

Judges rejected the motion Wednesday.

“The request is not receivable,” the Pre-Trial Chamber said in its decision.

Meanwhile, investigating judges decided Tuesday they would pursue a line of “joint criminal enterprise” for four leaders of the regime.

Investigating judges are currently considering Case No. 2 of the UN-backed court, following the conclusion of the court’s first trial, of prison chief Kaing Kek Iev.

Joint criminal enterprise is a “liability mode” that seeks to prove crimes committed by one are the responsibility of others in a group, such as the Khmer Rouge leadership.

The Pre-Trial Chamber of the Khmer Rouge tribunal has ruled that investigating judge Marcel Lemonde cannot be dismissed, following a motion by defense attorneys for two jailed leaders of the regime claiming bias.

Defense lawyers for Ieng Sary, the regime’s foreign affairs minister, and Khieu Samphan, its head of state, had claimed Lemonde was biased in his pursuit of their client’s case.

Judges rejected the motion Wednesday.

“The request is not receivable,” the Pre-Trial Chamber said in its decision.

Meanwhile, investigating judges decided Tuesday they would pursue a line of “joint criminal enterprise” for four leaders of the regime.

Investigating judges are currently considering Case No. 2 of the UN-backed court, following the conclusion of the court’s first trial, of prison chief Kaing Kek Iev.

Joint criminal enterprise is a “liability mode” that seeks to prove crimes committed by one are the responsibility of others in a group, such as the Khmer Rouge leadership.

Source: VOA news