I stumbled upon this and I have smiled and smiled and smiled and smiled for so long my lips fell off (but they landed in one of the dogs' food bowls which made him smile and smile and smile).
Showing posts with label Cambodia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cambodia. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Cambodian tribunal - Hell thaws again
Not very long ago, we reported the nearly astonishing news that The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia had charged Nuon Chea with crimes against humanity, and that it appeared some Justice might actually be dispensed to surviving KR honchos.
Well, that may still be the case, but it's not going to be without some traditional Cambodian shenanigans going on.
The UN has issued a report which criticizes the tribunal for hiring unqualified staff, paying them too much, and accepting kickbacks from said unqualified appointments. The report goes on to recommend that the UN pull out of the proceedings unless changes are made.
In response, the Cambodians have called the audit an "unbalanced account" and its recommendations "out of proportion".
Sad, but typical...
Well, that may still be the case, but it's not going to be without some traditional Cambodian shenanigans going on.
The UN has issued a report which criticizes the tribunal for hiring unqualified staff, paying them too much, and accepting kickbacks from said unqualified appointments. The report goes on to recommend that the UN pull out of the proceedings unless changes are made.
In response, the Cambodians have called the audit an "unbalanced account" and its recommendations "out of proportion".
Sad, but typical...
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Nuon Chea charged: Hell hath frozen over
Khmer Rouge chief ideologue and Pol Pot's right-hand man, Nuon Chea, has been charged with crimes against humanity by Cambodia's UN-sponsored genocide tribunal.
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia has had the 82-year old former KR #2 arrested in Pailin. Nuon Chea is the second prominent KR figure charged and arrested, as Kaing Guek Eav (the infamous Duch) has already been detained.
No word on the fate of Khieu Samphan or Ieng Sary, although it's widely speculated both are on the tribunal's list of five names to be charged. The tribunal is going to have to hurry, as both are circling the drain, health-wise.
After YEARS of delays, it's absolutely amazing to see charges finally being filed in Cambodia. Hun Sen has tried his very best to derail the tribunal, but one gets a sense of the importance Cambodians, and the UN for whatever that's worth, place on this process.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Cambodia - Hell may be freezing over
In news I was pretty sure I would not live to see, judges in Phnom Penh today said they are ready to start the LONG-delayed Khmer Rouge trials.
While Brother Number One Pol Pot went to face a higher form of justice almost ten years ago, big boys like Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary are still on this side of the daisies and are eligible for trial. One would think, since their sicko "social experiment" from 1975-1979 killed approx 2 million Cambodians, they might even be eligible for the Saddam Special.
This has been a political football of the highest order for the past twenty years or so, and delays of every description made trials before the defendants died of old age the longest of longshots. It remains to be seen who gets charged, with what crimes, and if the trials are going to be, you know, trials, but it's still a huge step.
And a reaffirming one at that. Hopefully, justice will finally prevail.
While Brother Number One Pol Pot went to face a higher form of justice almost ten years ago, big boys like Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary are still on this side of the daisies and are eligible for trial. One would think, since their sicko "social experiment" from 1975-1979 killed approx 2 million Cambodians, they might even be eligible for the Saddam Special.
This has been a political football of the highest order for the past twenty years or so, and delays of every description made trials before the defendants died of old age the longest of longshots. It remains to be seen who gets charged, with what crimes, and if the trials are going to be, you know, trials, but it's still a huge step.
And a reaffirming one at that. Hopefully, justice will finally prevail.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The Cambodian "Jungle Girl"
Been meaning to get to this one for a few days:
Cambodian police in a remote village along the Vietnamese border have cordoned off an isolated home to keep prying eyes away from the family of Sal Lou. The family, it seems, has been reunited with a daughter who disappeared in 1988 at age 8. Where has she been all this time: Living alone (maybe, more in a moment) in the jungle. She was recently captured, filthy, near starving, naked, and unable to communicate, by a farmer from whom she was trying to steal rice.
A miraculous, ecstatically happy ending to a family tragedy? Maybe. Maybe not.
This story, weird to begin with, only gets weirder.
There are reports which indicate the "Jungle Girl" was not alone when caught by the farmer. She may or may not have been accompanied by an equally feral man, who ran off when the farmer challenged them.
Additionally, the supposed "identifying mark" on the woman is a scar on her wrist, which came, her maybe-maybe-not father insists, from an accident involving a knife and the woman's maybe-maybe-not younger sister prior to the disappearance 18 years ago. These marks, which are unquestionably visible on the woman's wrists, may be, instead, an indication she had been bound by the arms, a common treatment for the mentally ill in rural Southeast Asia.
Oh, and the maybe-maybe-not younger sister? She disappeared at the same time way back in '88. No sign of her now.
And, finally, not the least fascinating part of the Sydney Morning Herald article linked above: The last part of the article lists several previous cases of children abandoned at early age who somehow survived on their own, aided by animals.
Cambodian police in a remote village along the Vietnamese border have cordoned off an isolated home to keep prying eyes away from the family of Sal Lou. The family, it seems, has been reunited with a daughter who disappeared in 1988 at age 8. Where has she been all this time: Living alone (maybe, more in a moment) in the jungle. She was recently captured, filthy, near starving, naked, and unable to communicate, by a farmer from whom she was trying to steal rice.
A miraculous, ecstatically happy ending to a family tragedy? Maybe. Maybe not.
This story, weird to begin with, only gets weirder.
There are reports which indicate the "Jungle Girl" was not alone when caught by the farmer. She may or may not have been accompanied by an equally feral man, who ran off when the farmer challenged them.
Additionally, the supposed "identifying mark" on the woman is a scar on her wrist, which came, her maybe-maybe-not father insists, from an accident involving a knife and the woman's maybe-maybe-not younger sister prior to the disappearance 18 years ago. These marks, which are unquestionably visible on the woman's wrists, may be, instead, an indication she had been bound by the arms, a common treatment for the mentally ill in rural Southeast Asia.
Oh, and the maybe-maybe-not younger sister? She disappeared at the same time way back in '88. No sign of her now.
And, finally, not the least fascinating part of the Sydney Morning Herald article linked above: The last part of the article lists several previous cases of children abandoned at early age who somehow survived on their own, aided by animals.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Atrocity or theme park?
I have to tell you, if I'm gonna schlep all the way to Cambodia, I'd probably want to see Anlong Veng, Choueng Ek, and Toul Sleng.
Maybe not if the Japanese build a gift shop next to racks of human skulls, but it's probably on my itinerary.
Maybe not if the Japanese build a gift shop next to racks of human skulls, but it's probably on my itinerary.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Cambodia bans 3G phones
Unfortunately, when the subjects of technology and Cambodia converge, it's rarely good news, and this is no exception.
Cambodia got third-generation wireless earlier this year, a major accomplishment in one of the poorest and most-deeply-scarred nations on Earth.
Then, somehow or other, the wife of Prime Minister for Life Hun Sen pulled up some porn on her phone and went bananas. As a result, Hun Sen knee-jerked 3G right into the rubbish bin, banning it from the country completely.
"We can wait 10 more years until we have managed to improve morality in society," he said. This, in a country where prostitution and sex tourism rank as leading industries.
Third generation wireless was not going to yank Cambodia into prosperity by itself, but this mindset from the only leader who matters in that sad little nation will certainly keep the Khmer people in poverty for a long time to come.
Cambodia got third-generation wireless earlier this year, a major accomplishment in one of the poorest and most-deeply-scarred nations on Earth.
Then, somehow or other, the wife of Prime Minister for Life Hun Sen pulled up some porn on her phone and went bananas. As a result, Hun Sen knee-jerked 3G right into the rubbish bin, banning it from the country completely.
"We can wait 10 more years until we have managed to improve morality in society," he said. This, in a country where prostitution and sex tourism rank as leading industries.
Third generation wireless was not going to yank Cambodia into prosperity by itself, but this mindset from the only leader who matters in that sad little nation will certainly keep the Khmer people in poverty for a long time to come.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Hun Sen blows a gasket
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen launched a verbal broadside of monumental proportions against UN human rights envoy Yash Ghai on Tuesday.
Mr. Ghai, in Cambodia on a 10-day fact finding trip, apparently had the gall to criticize Cambodia's commitment to human rights. He went on to state the obvious by saying too much power has been centralized around one person (that would be Hun Sen, for those of you following along at home).
Hun Sen took the paranoid-former-Khmer-Rouge-pretending-to-be-reformed track in responding, calling Mr. Ghai "deranged", insisting Kofi Annan sack him, and pointing out that Kenya (Ghai's home country) has a poverty problem too.
Hun Sen, in power in Cambodia since the Vietnamese installed him in 1979, has never been one to play by the rules. He's bullied his way into government when he didn't receive the votes to be involved, his Cambodian Peoples' Party has often been accused of strong-arm tactics, and he's done everything he can do to stall the trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders to prevent unsavory details about his own past from coming to light. Even by his standards, though, Hun Sen has been acting increasingly paranoid and insecure lately, charging multiple opposition figures with criminal defamation, only to drop the charges after the headlines subside.
Cambodia continues to be one of the poorest countries on earth, seemingly unable to recover from its decent into hell under the Khmer Rouge 30 years ago. It seems clear Cambodia will not make any significant progress while Hun Sen keeps his hands firmly on the reins.
Mr. Ghai, in Cambodia on a 10-day fact finding trip, apparently had the gall to criticize Cambodia's commitment to human rights. He went on to state the obvious by saying too much power has been centralized around one person (that would be Hun Sen, for those of you following along at home).
Hun Sen took the paranoid-former-Khmer-Rouge-pretending-to-be-reformed track in responding, calling Mr. Ghai "deranged", insisting Kofi Annan sack him, and pointing out that Kenya (Ghai's home country) has a poverty problem too.
Hun Sen, in power in Cambodia since the Vietnamese installed him in 1979, has never been one to play by the rules. He's bullied his way into government when he didn't receive the votes to be involved, his Cambodian Peoples' Party has often been accused of strong-arm tactics, and he's done everything he can do to stall the trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders to prevent unsavory details about his own past from coming to light. Even by his standards, though, Hun Sen has been acting increasingly paranoid and insecure lately, charging multiple opposition figures with criminal defamation, only to drop the charges after the headlines subside.
Cambodia continues to be one of the poorest countries on earth, seemingly unable to recover from its decent into hell under the Khmer Rouge 30 years ago. It seems clear Cambodia will not make any significant progress while Hun Sen keeps his hands firmly on the reins.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
More Cambodian opposition figures charged with "defamation"
It looks like things are headed back towards the Bad Old Days in Cambodia, as several opposition leaders have recently been charged and/or convicted of "criminal defamation" of the ruling coalition.
Our CIT coverage started last week when Sam Rainsy was sentenced in absentia to 18 months in prison for defaming Hun Sen and Prince Ranariddh. Now, several other leaders, including Kem Sokha, leader of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, have had the same book thrown at them.
This is not good. Governments around the world should condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms.
Our CIT coverage started last week when Sam Rainsy was sentenced in absentia to 18 months in prison for defaming Hun Sen and Prince Ranariddh. Now, several other leaders, including Kem Sokha, leader of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, have had the same book thrown at them.
This is not good. Governments around the world should condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Uh-oh - opposition being harshly suppressed in Cambodia
Just when the rule of law seemed to be taking hold in Cambodia, today we have a BBC story that appears to be a significant step backwards.
Sam Rainsy (who only sounds like the guy who works at the Exxon station on the corner) has been the leading voice of the opposition to the Hun Sen-Prince Norodom Ranariddh coalition government for several years. His political party, the not-very-catchingly-named Sam Rainsy Party, holds a few seats in the parliament, but his primary contribution has been that of a gadfly.
Sam Rainsy has been sentenced in absentia to 18 months in prison for remarks he made about both Hun Sen and Prince Ranariddh. He had claimed that Hun Sen had been involved in a grenade attack on a Sam Rainsy Party rally several years ago, and that Ranariddh had accepted bribes to form the coalition.
This kind of prosecution for "defamation" has become more regular in Cambodia recently. Hun Sen, who has resorted to all sorts of tricks, dirty and not so dirty, to retain power for the past 15 years, is showing no signs of letting go of the reins and letting democracy work in this very sad country.
Sam Rainsy (who only sounds like the guy who works at the Exxon station on the corner) has been the leading voice of the opposition to the Hun Sen-Prince Norodom Ranariddh coalition government for several years. His political party, the not-very-catchingly-named Sam Rainsy Party, holds a few seats in the parliament, but his primary contribution has been that of a gadfly.
Sam Rainsy has been sentenced in absentia to 18 months in prison for remarks he made about both Hun Sen and Prince Ranariddh. He had claimed that Hun Sen had been involved in a grenade attack on a Sam Rainsy Party rally several years ago, and that Ranariddh had accepted bribes to form the coalition.
This kind of prosecution for "defamation" has become more regular in Cambodia recently. Hun Sen, who has resorted to all sorts of tricks, dirty and not so dirty, to retain power for the past 15 years, is showing no signs of letting go of the reins and letting democracy work in this very sad country.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Khmer Rouge trials get closer to reality
Trials for the surviving senior commanders of the Khmer Rouge got a little closer to reality recently.
The UN has sent a group of officials to Phnom Penh to set up full-time offices starting in January.
This is good news, I suppose. However, the KR figures set for trial are in far greater danger of dying of old age than they are in being sentenced in a trial. The KR got kicked out of Phnom Penh in 1978. Pol Pot has already expired. The rest of them ain't getting any younger.
Please remember that the Khmer Rouge was responsible for the deaths of between 1 and 2 million Cambodians during their three year reign of mayhem and terror between 1975 and 1978. Don't you think it's time for at least some of them to face justice?
The UN has sent a group of officials to Phnom Penh to set up full-time offices starting in January.
This is good news, I suppose. However, the KR figures set for trial are in far greater danger of dying of old age than they are in being sentenced in a trial. The KR got kicked out of Phnom Penh in 1978. Pol Pot has already expired. The rest of them ain't getting any younger.
Please remember that the Khmer Rouge was responsible for the deaths of between 1 and 2 million Cambodians during their three year reign of mayhem and terror between 1975 and 1978. Don't you think it's time for at least some of them to face justice?
Monday, November 28, 2005
Landmine arrows
A bit of genius from Raytheon. The fine folks at the defense contractor have applied for a patent for a device that can be used to quickly and safely clear a minefield.
The invention is an artillery shell that encloses a bunch of steel "arrows". The shell is fired at a minefield. Just before the it hits, the shell is exploded in air, freeing hundreds of small steel arrows, which are accelerated into the ground by the shell burst. The arrows hit mines buried in the field, detonating them.
GPS-enabled artillery can ensure complete coverage of a field.
This is potentially a huge boon to former battlefields like Cambodia, parts of Africa, and other global hotspots.
The invention is an artillery shell that encloses a bunch of steel "arrows". The shell is fired at a minefield. Just before the it hits, the shell is exploded in air, freeing hundreds of small steel arrows, which are accelerated into the ground by the shell burst. The arrows hit mines buried in the field, detonating them.
GPS-enabled artillery can ensure complete coverage of a field.
This is potentially a huge boon to former battlefields like Cambodia, parts of Africa, and other global hotspots.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Celebrating the magic of Pol Pot
The next time you're in Phnom Penh, be sure to stop by the Khmer Rouge Cafe.
Located across the street from cozy little Toul Sleng (the famed S-21 that would haunt the nightmares of it's survivors, if there were any), the cafe offers delicacies like salted rice-water and dove's eggs, served by friendly guerrillas in torn black pajamas with red and white checked kerchiefs, just like those sported by the real KR as they rumbled ominously into town in April 1975.
You can't make this stuff up, folks.
UPDATE: The cafe is closed, at least for now. Seems the proprietor didn't get a license. He vows to reopen once he does, though, so don't cancel those Royal Air Cambodge tickets yet. Oh, wait, Royal Air Cambodge is bankrupt. Never mind...
Located across the street from cozy little Toul Sleng (the famed S-21 that would haunt the nightmares of it's survivors, if there were any), the cafe offers delicacies like salted rice-water and dove's eggs, served by friendly guerrillas in torn black pajamas with red and white checked kerchiefs, just like those sported by the real KR as they rumbled ominously into town in April 1975.
You can't make this stuff up, folks.
UPDATE: The cafe is closed, at least for now. Seems the proprietor didn't get a license. He vows to reopen once he does, though, so don't cancel those Royal Air Cambodge tickets yet. Oh, wait, Royal Air Cambodge is bankrupt. Never mind...
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