Duch was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Trial Chamber last month, receiving a commuted 19 years for his role as supervisor of Tuol Sleng prison.

But in their motion filed Wednesday, his defense said he qualified as “a witness of events during the period of Democratic Kampuchea” and deserving witness protection. Defense also cited reported errors by the Trial Chamber in determining his original non-commuted sentence of 35 years.

Tribunal legal affairs spokesman Lars Olsen said Wednesday it was not known how long the Supreme Court would need to make a determination, but “the scope of the appeal” probably meant no decision until November at the earliest.

The defense team’s appeal went counter to an appeal filed by court prosecutors, who said Duch should receive at least 40 years in jail.

Meanwhile, lawyers for a group of civil party complainants said yesterday they were appealing for five clients to be accepted as legitimate victims of Duch by the Trial Chamber.

During Duch’s verdict last month, the Trial Chamber excluded a total 24 civil party complainants as victims.

Source: VOA Khmer

Despite sweeping political changes in Cambodia over the past 50 years, the Chinese government has continued to focus its relationship on former king Norodom Sihanouk, according to author Sophie Richardson, who recently released a new book called “China, Cambodia, and the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence.”

While the Chinese government has cultivated a relationship with the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party, the former king has never been far from the picture, Richardson writes.

Chinese leaders have often “referred to Sihanouk, their fellow traveler of four decades, as a positive model for the CPP,” she writes.

In meetings in 1998 and 1999 between Chinese leaders and Hun Sen, China wanted strengthened unity and cooperation under Norodom Sihanouk’s leadership and a coalition government, Richardson says.

“In the case of Cambodia it was not simply a relationship of a state to a state that had to be maintained in its continuity, but also very much of a person and people,” Brantly Womack, a political professor, said at the recent launch of Richardson’s book in Washington. “Prince Sihanouk and his continuity in Cambodian politics was an essential factor in the story that Sophie tells, and it’s not just that China felt that Sihanouk was a reliable partner in a sense of being a client, it was that Sihanouk was a respected partner.”

Norodom Sihanouk was involved in Cambodian politics for more than half a century, honored, exiled, under house arrest and finally re-emergent as a political force, before he abdicated in 2004. Through it all, he maintained his relationship with China.

More broadly, Richardson concludes that China’s foreign policy principles here have been highly successful, even as “domestic policy choices…have helped China develop.”

China has now emerged as a major donor and investor in Cambodia. Hun Sen’s government has kept with the one-China policy espoused by Norodom Sihanouk, especially concerning Taiwan, which China considers a rogue province.

“We adhere to a one-China policy,” Hun Sen told a gathering of provincial governors in early August. “Taiwan is just a province of the People’s Republic of China. This is our position.”

However, some scholars see geopolitics and China’s long-term interests at work with its Cambodia development policies.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that [the Chinese] expect a certain amount of respect for those gifts, and they don’t want to have some of their policies exposed or opposed,” historian David Chandler told VOA Khmer.

Such policies could include China’s expansion into Southeast Asia or its support of the Khmer Rouge, he said. “They don’t want that brought out into the open.”

Scholar John Ciaorciary sees Cambodia’s position on the other side of Vietnam as attractive to Beijing, which has not always had a healthy relationship with Hanoi.

China has also exhibited a strategy of supporting whomever is in power, including Pol Pot, he said.

“I don’t think it’s because of any ideological affinity or inter-personal or cultural affinity,” he told VOA Khmer. “I think primarily because Cambodia provides a useful strategic and increasingly economic partner for China.”

Whatever its reasons, China is now playing a significant role in the region, both economically and politically.

Kurt Campbell, the US State Department’s of top official for East Asia, said the US welcomes China’s role as a large neighbor to many countries in Southeast Asia.

And while it’s “natural” for Cambodia to want a good relationship for China, he said, “we also believe that most Southeast Asian countries also want a good relationship with the United States. And we want to facilitate that.”

Source: VOA Khmer

Tensions flared between Thailand and Cambodia when former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is wanted in Bangkok on corruption charges, took a post as an economic advisor to the Phnom Penh government.

But Mr. Thaksin has given up the post and the Thai foreign ministry says ambassadors will return to their posts in the two countries.  The foreign ministry also thanked Cambodia for its cooperation in “boosting bilateral relations.”

Mr. Thaksin was ousted in a coup in 2006 and has lived in exile since 2008.  He has close links with Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, and has business interests in Cambodia.

The Cambodian Foreign Ministry says Mr. Thaksin resigned his post for personal reasons.

His resignation and renewed diplomatic relations are important steps toward ending tensions said Hang Chhaya, the executive director of the Khmer Institute for Democracy in Phnom Penh.

“So this is a positive step, I think, by Mr. Thaksin resigning.  You can see how quickly the Thai government has sent the ambassador back to Phnom Penh and Cambodia also did the same,” he said.  “This is good in terms of the two counties can actually work together now that they have diplomatic relations back to normal.”

Hang Chhaya said diplomatic efforts, including those by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States and China, helped improve relations.

“So ASEAN in a sense act like a caretaker in this region and maybe to help to save face, because imagine if Thailand and Cambodia enter into a war.  That would be a disaster for them.”

Mr. Thaksin’s appointment to the Cambodian post led Thailand to withdraw support for agreements on overlapping maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand.

The Thaksin dispute aggravated friction over Cambodia’s management plan for a 900-year-old Khmer temple on the border. The Preah Vihear temple lies inside the Cambodian border on the top of a cliff.  But access to the complex is largely only available from the Thai side.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled the temple is Cambodian territory, but failed to determine ownership of an adjacent piece of land that Thailand controls.  Thailand was angered when Phnom Penh independently sought a World Heritage listing for the temple two years ago.

There have small military clashes around the temple since.  Talks about the dispute are expected in October.

Source: VOA Khmer

“We, the opposition party together with all the people, demand a justice system that is truly independent and does not act as a political tool,” Mu Sochua said as a guest on “Hello VOA” Monday.

Mu Sochua lost her final appeal to the Supreme Court in June. Her salary will now be garnished to repay approximately $4,000 in court fines and compensation to Hun Sen, who countersued her when she brought defamation charges against him last year.

Mu Sochua appealed to Cambodians to rally behind the opposition Sam Rainsy Party to demand that judges renounce membership from the central committee of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and to call for an active Supreme Council of Magistracy to oversee judges’ performance. She also called for sufficient lawyers to provide legal services to the people.

“This can only be done when the Sam Rainsy Party is elected and Mr. Sam Rainsy becomes prime minister,” she said. “We are determined to get this done.”

Source: VOA Khmer

“The progress of investment, trade and tourism is greatly increasing,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said. “This state visit also promotes the other sectors. When we speak of the bilateral friendship and cooperation between the two countries, we have to focus on all fields.”

Nguyen is expected to meet with King Norodom Sihamoni at the Royal Palace and hold talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and Senate President Chea Sim.

“The purpose of this visit is to promote the relationship between the two countries and promote trade and investment of the two countries,” Ngo Thi Hoa, deputy chief of mission for the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh, told VOA Khmer. “We want the government open for the Vietnamese investors to do business in Cambodia.”

Trade between the two countries has increased steadily over the past 10 years, from $146 million in 2001 to more than $1 billion in 2009. Trade for the first half of 2010 alone was $862 million, with Vietnamese exports accounting for about $728 million. Those export figures were a 34 percent rise from the same period last year, according to government figures.

Vietnamese investment here was $150 million for the first seven months of the year, in sectors ranging from telecommunications, banking and finance, air transport, agriculture, light industry, rubber, mining, energy and healthcare, according to the Council for the Development of Cambodia.

Nguyen will also attend the opening of a representative office for the Voice of Vietnam radio.

Source: VOA Khmer

“My client was only the minister of social affairs,” said Phat Povseang, who represents Ieng Thirith, the wife of foreign minister Ieng Sary, at the tribunal. Ieng Thirith did not have power or authority under the structure of the regime, he said.

Tribunal officials are now preparing for upcoming Case 002, which will try Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith for atrocity crimes, including genocide.

In their final submission for Case 002, tribunal prosecutors said the four should be tried under JCE, a complex legal theory that trial judges will have to consider.

Phat Povseang said JCE would put Ieng Thirith in the same category of other leaders, even if she had not shared the same responsibilities.

“Simply speaking, just as when we eat noodles at a restaurant, my client just ate a bowl of noodles,” he said. “The others ate bowls of noodles, ate dumplings, and drank coffee. How can they pay the same?”

Defense teams for the other leaders have not issued official comments on the prosecution’s JCE submission. Defense lawyers say they are now reviewing the final submission, but earlier this year defense teams failed to block a decision to consider JCE for Case 002.

JCE considers members of an organized groups and makes them individually responsible for crimes committed or planned by the group.

Son Arun, a defense lawyer for Nuon Chea, told VOA Khmer he disagreed with the use of JCE because of its complicated legal nature.

JCE will also likely mean testimony from Khmer Rogue subordinates, he said, which could put the Cambodian prosecution’s objections to further indictments in question.

“The use of JCE at trial will be disorderly, because while there is a trial, [defendants] will be blaming each other,” he said. “If if that happens, who knows, maybe there will need to be renewed investigations. Because JCE needs testimony from the top to the bottom.”

Source: VOA Khmer

Reinsurers mitigate some of the financial risk for an insurance company, essentially acting as an insurer for the firm’s policies.

“The only reason billion-dollar companies back little companies like us is because they believe our performance is sustainable. So we’ve obviously performed well over three years [since Infinity started] to be able to secure their support,” said David Carter, Infinity’s chief executive.

“Bringing Munich Re on gives us confidence because it would only get involved with a company where it sees good performance,” he added.

“It means we that have more confidence that if we have a big loss, we’re going to be able to recover those funds and pay the customer very quickly,”

Infinity Insurance, which falls under the Royal Group’s umbrella, said that securing Munich Re as a reinsurer was “necessary”, and that the firm had been seeking to do so for about six months.

It already boasts global player Swiss Re as its lead reinsurer, along with Everest Re Group, Korean Re and Asia Capital Reinsurance Group.

David Carter added: “Munich Re is rated AA- by Standard and Poor’s. It’s one of the highest-rated reinsurers in the world.

“You get more security with a better rating, which means that your overall security position is stronger.”

Nick Cochrane, Singapore-based operations director at reinsurance broker PWS East Asia, said yesterday that Infinity was a demonstrably strong company to be able to attract the top two reinsurers in the world.

“Not all companies can do that,” he said.

Cochrane said that reinsurers were looking for new markets to develop into, with Asian countries points of especial interest.

“The insurance penetration in Cambodia is very low indeed,” he added.

“However, you can [attract big firms] if you have progressive companies,” he said.

Source: The Phnom Penh Post

In a statement Wednesday, the Finance Ministry said the delay was due to technical issues and the global economic crisis.

“The postponement of the stock market is to adapt to the evolving situation of the global economic and financial situation, which shows some positive signs of recovery but is still fragile,” the statement said.

Last December, officials said Cambodia’s stock market would open by the end of this year after initially targeting it to begin operating in 2009. After receiving the approval from Prime Minister Hun Sen, the Cambodia stock exchange is expected to kick off in July 2011, the statement said.

The Cambodian economy is small and reliant on textiles, which account for nearly 80% of exports, and hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid. Foreign investment has been deterred by the country’s reputation for endemic corruption.

Neighboring Vietnam started its stock market in July 2000. Nearby Laos also is planning a stock exchange.

Hong Sok Hour, director general of the Cambodia Securities Exchange, said the delay was necessary because Cambodia needs everything to be in place before the opening.

“We want our bourse to be a good one when we open. That is why we need the infrastructure and human resources to be ready at the same time,” he said.

In December, Cambodia awarded a contract to a South Korean firm, World City Co. Ltd., to build the $6 million, four-story, 71,900-square foot stock market building in Phnom Penh’s planned financial district on the outskirts of the capital.

The finance minister announced plans in 2007 to launch a stock market, saying Cambodia needs to find new ways to attract international capital beyond international aid and bank loans. Soon after, lawmakers approved a securities law on issuance and trading of nongovernment securities to pave the way for the market.

Source: Associated Press

The bank, which also has subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Cambodia, said second-quarter net profit rose to 734.08 million ringgit ($227.6 million) up from 610.7 million a year ago.

The bank expects to meet its targeted loan growth rate of 15 percent for 2010 and said it sees satisfactory performance for the rest of the year.

“The Malaysian economy is expected to remain intact this year and we expect the Malaysian economy to grow by over 6 percent for 2010, that is exceeding the official forecast,” Managing Director Tay Ah Lek said at a press conference.

Malaysia’s first-quarter economic growth surged 10.1 percent from a year earlier, its fastest growth in a decade as the Southeast Asian economy emerged from the effects of the global credit crunch. [ID:nSGE64C02S]

Malaysian banks are expected to see strong earnings expansion this year helped by the country’s economic recovery and a boost in corporate activity. Top lender Maybank (MBBM.KL) and second-ranked CIMB (CIMB.KL), which are set to report quarterly earnings in August, posted record quarterly profits in May.

In tandem with the improved economic conditions in the country, the bank recorded an increase in total loans and advances of 10 billion ringgit, a 7.3 percent growth for the first half of 2010 or a 14.6 percent annualized growth rate, to reach 147.6 billion ringgit as at the end of June 2010, Chairman Teh Hong Piow said in a statement.

First half net profit rose to 1.4 billion ringgit, accounting for about 48 percent of consensus estimates for the full-year. Malaysian analysts generally do not provide quarterly earnings forecasts.

Analysts polled before the earnings release expected Public Bank to earn 2.9 billion ringgit in net profit for the full year, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares in Public Bank were up 0.83 percent to 12.2 ringgit by 0550 GMT. The stock has gained 8.7 percent so far this year, outperforming the wider market’s .KLSE 4.8 percent gain. (Editing by David Chance)

Source: Reuter

Dr. Hong said Giardiasis is caused by a microscopic parasite. The parasite found on surfaces or in soil, food, or water that has been contaminated with the feces from infected humans or animals. You can become infected after accidentally swallowing the parasite, by drinking water from contaminated sources (e.g., lakes, streams, or poorly monitored wells), eating uncooked food contaminated with giardia, swallowing recreational water contaminated with giardia includes water in swimming pools, water parks, fountains, lakes, river, ponds, or streams that can be contaminated with feces or sewage from humans or animals.

Cryptosporodiosis is a diarrheal disease caused by microscopic parasites known as “Crypto.” While this parasite can be transmitted in several different ways, water is a common method of transmission. Crypto lives in the intestine of infected humans or animals. You can become infected after accidentally swallowing the parasite. Crypto may be found in soil, food, water, or surfaces that have been contaminated with the feces from infected humans or animals. Contaminated water may include water that has not been boiled or filtered, as well as contaminated recreational water sources. Crypto parasites are found in every region of the US and throughout the world.

Dr. Hong said that hookworm is an intestinal parasite of humans that causes mild diarrhea and abdominal pain. Hookworm infections occur mostly in tropical and subtropical climates. You can become infected by direct contact with contaminated soil through walking barefoot. Children who play in dirt and often go barefoot are at high risk.

Dr. Hong said Strongyloidiasis or roundworm is found in tropical and subtropical areas. More frequently found in rural areas and lower socioeconomic groups. Schstosomiasis is a disease caused by parasitic worms. Infection occurs when your skin comes in contact with contaminated freshwater in which certain types of snails that carry schistosomes are living. It is found in the rivers, lakes, or ponds in the Kratie and Stung Treng provinces.

The schistosoma parasites can penetrate the skin of persons who are swimming, bathing, or washing in the contaminated water. Within several weeks, worms grow inside the blood vessels of the body and produce eggs. Some of these eggs travel to the bladder or intestines and are passed into the urine or stool.

Dr. Hong said that Amebiasis is caused by the parasite. It can affect anyone. It is more common in people who live in tropical areas with poor sanitations. Infected people do not always become sick.

Next month we will talk about symptom, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of intestinal parasites.

Source: VOA Khmer