What is Hun Sen fishing for?

Hot on the heels of the balloon boy incident in Colorado about 10 days ago, the public display of affection by the threesome - Thaksin-Chavalit-Hun Sen -may also go down in the annals of trivia as a hoax.

The Heenes family grabbed worldwide attention by floating an odd-looking balloon and making the spectacle of a six-year-old boy trapped inside it.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen used Pheu Thai Party adviser Chavalit Yongchaiyudh as a conduit to talk about his buddy-buddy ties with fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The balloon boy incident was exposed as a sham as soon as the balloon ran out of hot air. The brouhaha about the political threesome will not outlast the hot air coming out of Hun Sen's mouth.

Unlike the balloon-boy incident, which ended up as a joke, Thai and Cambodian citizens may find themselves in the predicament of a dealing with a sick joke that causes unwarranted concern over the mutual interests of the two neighbouring countries.

Thaksin, Chavalit and Hun Sen have undoubtedly tried to gain their respective advantages. But are they striving to serve Cambodia and Thailand or individual agendas?

It is a myth that the Thaksin-Hun Sen ties go back decades. The two were never close before Thaksin came to power in 2001.

Chavalit, though a self-proclaimed expert on Cambodian affairs, has never had a personal bond with Hun Sen. He relied on his aide Wichit Yathip to arrange his trip last week to Phnom Penh.

Wichit, in turn, works through Defence Minister Tea Banh instead of directly dealing with Hun Sen.

Because of Thaksin's personal touch to push for Thailand Inc diplomacy, Hun Sen looked to Bangkok in a favourable light to further the interests of Cambodia.

The Thaksin administration tried to advance the joint development of the overlapping sea boundaries and cross-border projects coinciding with the promotion of Thai satellite business.

Then, and now, Hun Sen's motive is consistently benefit-driven and not his personal ties with Thaksin.

At the peak of Thaksin's popularity in 2003, Hun Sen wanted to lessen Thai domination in the wireless commnunications business. He pushed for the granting of an operating licence to a Japanese operator.

This led to a failed coup in Phnom Penh. Cambodian leaders, particularly those in the Hun Sen camp, had lingering doubts about the involvement of certain Thai figures. Soon after, Hun Sen fanned the Cambodian backlash on a Thai television actress. This in turned led to riots and the torching of the Thai Embassy.

To this day Thaksin and Hun Sen still cast suspicion on one another although they have been boasting about their buddy-buddy ties for mutual gains.

It is noteworthy that Thaksin posted a profuse thank-you note on Twitter but made no mention about accepting Hun Sen's offer for an exile haven.

In light of Hun Sen's temperamental wrath as shown in 2003, Thaksin is justified in being cautious. He should doubly be on guard because he has yet to deliver a lucrative deal for Koh Kong development using the investment funds from the Gulf countries.

The deal was reportedly brokered in Phnom Penh during a round of golf after he was ousted from power.

If Hun Sen and Thaksin both are truly buddies, then the exile in Phnom Phen should have already happened.

Hun Sen's remarks on his undying friendship were designed to grab publicity. Chavalit and Thaksin managed to inflate their international stature in the eyes of the red shirts.

What's in it for Hun Sen? As a big fish in Tonle Sap, the Cambodian prime minister may want to flex his might in the uncharted waters of the Chao Phya.

It is no secret that he feels restless over the stalled talks on the overlapping sea boundaries. But transplanting himself into the thick of Thai politics is guaranteed to get a flak instead of achieving anything favourable for Cambodia.

Should Hun Sen want results in dealing with Thais, he ought to emulate the example set by Burmese Prime Minister General Thein Sein. In contrast to Hun Sen's megaphone diplomacy, Thein Sein tactfully sent a bouquet of flowers with a get-well message to His Majesty.

Ball is in Cambodia's court, PM says

Good relations with Cambodia are up on Phnom Penh, according to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who said yesterday that the "ball is now in Cambodia's court".

His remark suggests it's up to Prime Minister Hun Sen to strengthen bilateral ties or allow them to suffer after the verbal spat between him and Abhiisit over the weekend.

Speaking to Nation Multimedia Group's editor-in-chief Suthichai Yoon on the World Pulse TV show - being aired nationwide this evening, Abhisit said there would be no diplomatic protest or recalling of Thai ambassadors at this point in time.

Diplomatic relations went into a tailspin last week after Hun Sen said his "old friend" Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai PM, would be welcome to live in Cambodia.

Hun Sen said he would not extradite Thaksin to face prison terms in Thailand because he considered his crimes were political in nature. He later said he would make the fugitive premier an economic adviser.

Hun Sen made the statement shortly after arriving in Thailand to attend the 15th Asean Summit in Cha-am over the weekend.

Abhisit said Hun Sen needed to hear all the facts before any conclusion could be reached. The Cambodian needed to know what laws Thaksin had violated and then decide as to whether the former PM should be sent back to Thailand, if and when he arrives in

Cambodia.

Abhisit dismissed suggestion that Hun Sen's remarks spoiled the Asean Summit, hosted by Thailand in Hua Hin and Cha-am over the past weekend. The PM said he was satisfied with the outcome of the summit.

No other leaders at the summit asked about Hun Sen's statement, Abhisit said.

When asked about Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's trip to Phnom Penh, which sparked Hun Sen's remarks, Abhisit suggested the Pheu Thai politician needed to re-evaluate whether his actions had hurt or helped relations with Cambodia.

Abhisit said he was willing to talk to Thaksin about national reconciliation provided the fugitive premier returned to the country and accepted findings from the country's justice system, which had convicted him of fraud and corruption.

"If he is not willing to abide by our law then what's the use of talking to him?" he asked.

Cambodian PM 'was misinformed'

The Foreign Ministry will send Cambodian Premier Hun Sen a note detailing former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's political status here to defuse tensions generated by Hun Sen's comments last week.

"I understand that Prime Minister Hun Sen made such remarks because he was misinformed about Thaksin and the whole situation in Thailand, so we have to give him the facts," Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.

Hun Sen said upon his arrival at the Asean Summit that he would offer Thaksin refuge in Cambodia and appoint him as an adviser. He said Thaksin was a victim of political changes in the wake of the 2006 coup.

"We will tell him what happened in Thailand over the past three years and that his many trials have nothing to do with the coup," Kasit said.

The letter would not be an argument or condemnation of Hun Sen but just a plain description of Thaksin, the political situation and Thailand's justice system, he said.

Many criminal cases arose before the coup and asset concealment actually took place only within Thaksin's family, he said.

Hun Sen's invitation to Thaksin threw more fuel on the fire after the two countries have faced off over the controversial Preah Vihear Temple for over a year.

The government had Deputy PM Suthep Thaugsuban explain the matter to Hun Sen during his two-night stay in Thailand.

The foreign ministry would make the clarification and send it through diplomatic channels to him again within a week to make sure he gets the right picture, Kasit said.

While declining to interpret Hun Sen's move, Kasit said his government would simply regard the incident as the Cambodian premier, who is an old friend of Thaksin, just getting the wrong idea.

Kasit rejected a demand by a group of senators to retaliate against Hun Sen since the two governments have promised to jointly develop their countries and not to bring up internal politics.

"We don't allow a minor thing to jeopardise the entire relationship," he said.

Cambodia Ranked 117 in Press Freedom, a Slight Improvement

Reporters Without Borders said in an annual report last week that Cambodia had moved up in press freedom, but concerns over threats to journalists remain.

Cambodia was ranked No. 117 of 175 countries, an improvement from its No. 126 position last year, which came from the murder of an opposition journalist and his son ahead of a national election.

However, at least one opposition journalist was jailed in 2009, following reporting on corruption within the powerful Council of Ministers.

Journalists worldwide suffer from murder, imprisonment and the threat of revoked license, Reporters Without Borders said. In countries like Burma, China, North Korea and Vietnam, still restrict access to the Internet, the group said.

The report confirms a statement made by Marcus Brauchli, executive editor of the Washington Post, earlier this month.

“Some governments inevitably attempt to the unnatural and try to suppress the growth of journalism,” he said. “The Russian government has forced most of its news agency operations into the government’s hand, and many, far too many, good journalists have been assassinated with impunity.

“Until recently, Zimbabwe intimidated, imprisoned and induced to leave the country both foreign and local journalists and may still up to date,” he continued. “In Cambodia, a journalist and his son were murdered after writing critical articles of the government and a publisher was imprisoned and fined for disinformation and for dishonoring public officials.”

However, Pen Samithy, president of the Club of Cambodian Journalists, said journalists in the country are still able to do their work.

“According to my observation, the overall concern that journalists have does not prevent them from reflecting the truth,” he told VOA Khmer. “This means that every day journalists work with a higher responsibility to making improvements in the quality of journalism in Cambodia.”

Meanwhile, journalists who perform their jobs in the face of oppression have not gone unrecognized.

Peter Mackler, a former journalist for Agence France-Presse, died in June 2008 at 58, suffering an apparent heart attack after working in journalism for more than 30 years. As a reporter and editor, Mackler covered the Gulf War in 1991; conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan; the Palestinian intifada; the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York; and George W. Bush’s presidency.

He trained journalists in some developing countries like Lebanon, Iran, Malaysia and Cyprus. He also trained VOA Khmer staff.

In memory of Mackler’s work, his family and friends set up the “Peter Mackler Award” to honor courageous and ethical journalists. The first winner was a Sri Lankan journalist sentenced to 20 years in jail for inciting “communal disharmony.”

“I am delighted to hear that you are honoring Peter’s legacy by recognizing courageous and ethical journalists with the Peter Mackler Award,” former US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice said in a letter to organizers. “Throughout his distinguished thirty-three year career in journalism, Peter was a champion of the freedom of the press who fought tirelessly to defend the rights of reporters to publish stories without fear of retribution.”

In Cambodia, Hang Chakra, publisher of the opposition Khmer Machas Srok newspaper, remains in jail for an article dishonoring a senior government official.

Reporters Without Borders has also appealed for his release.

This year’s ranking puts Cambodia above neighboring Thailand, which was ranked No. 130.

Government Considers Reducing Military, Police [-Eliminating Brigade B-70 is essential!]

Brigade B-70: Several thousands troops just for the protection of one man!

Cambodia is preparing to retired 3,000 soldiers this year, in a bid to continue the reform of its security forces, a senior official said Thursday.

“There has been some preparation, and there is the possibility we will do it this year,” Defense Minister Tea Banh told VOA Khmer.

Cambodia hopes to eventually reduce its forces from 200,000 to 80,000.

About 100,000 soldiers are ready to retire, Tea Banh said, but the government lacks the budget to fund their retirement.

Rank, title and other details for the retirees have not been publicly released.

An infantry officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said about 1,600 infantry personnel due to be retired, from either disability or age. About 20 military advisers are due to be retired soon, the official said.

The latest defense White Paper, published on the Ministry of Defense’s Web site, says the government has largely completely the demobilization of army personnel.

“Although 15,000 personnel, the number intended for demobilization in phase two, remain to be demobilized, the current figure represents a significant reduction compared to the approximately 165,000 personnel serving before1999,” according to the White Paper.

The five-year plan of the government calls for the demobilization of 30,000 soldiers, starting in May 2000, with a budget from donors of $45 million, but the plan was delayed until mid-2003.

Tea Banh said this year’s retirement is not budgeted through donor assistance.

The infantry officer said many soldiers want to retire, in exchange with an offer of land and money from the government.

In years past, Cambodia spent up to 30 percent of its budget for defense and national security. In 2009, defense was budgeted for $160 million of a total $1.8 billion.

Hun Sen and Thein Sein can be credited with livening up the Asean summit, even though the movement has no shortage of clowns

The Thai government prepared to fend off a “red shirt” army at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in the Thai resort town of Cha-am, mounting security measures designed to prevent a repetition of the embarrassing scenes that disrupted a similar Asean meeting in Pattaya.

This time, the red shirts behaved well—unlike Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen, who called the fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra his “eternal friend” and compared him to Burma’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander known for his provocative remarks, said: “Many people talk about Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, why not talk about Thaksin? That cannot be referred to as interfering.”

Was Hun Sen joking? Not really. The ill-considered remark from the head of the Cambodian government illustrated the quality of leadership we have in Asean.

Hun Sen’s remark was not only an insult to Thailand but also to Burma. The Cambodian prime minister should be made fully aware that Thaksin and Suu Kyi have nothing at all in common. There are thousands of reasons for ruling out any comparison—but let’s look at just a few…

Suu Kyi is dedicated to the struggle for democracy and freedom in Burma. It won’t matter whether Suu Kyi becomes leader of Burma or not—today she is a symbol of change in Burma and remains a beacon of hope in spite of the attempts to belittle her by a repressive regime that has locked her up in her own home for years.

Thaksin, a billionaire telecommunications tycoon, was ousted in a bloodless coup in 2006. He skipped bail after an indictment on corruption charges and has since been living at various locations—including Nicaragua, Montenegro and the United Arab Emirates.

During his time at the head of the Thai government, the press in Thailand was muzzled and he launched a “war on drugs,” which killed more than 2,000 people who, if they had been legally dealt with and convicted, would have served prison terms.

Thaksin claimed that he and his government knew the situation in Burma very well because the two countries are immediate neighbors. Here are some facts...

Thaksin was a known friend of Burma’s military regime. His government courted the junta by offering loans, improving border trade and sending numerous delegations to Rangoon.

During the Asean summit in Bali, Indonesia, in 2004, Thaksin surprised many of the delegates by giving Burma his unconditional support and praising then prime minister and feared spy chief Gen Khin Nyunt’s “sincerity.” Philippine president Gloria Arroyo later told journalists that Thaksin defended Burma throughout the entire summit.

While other governments in the region—and worldwide—were voicing increasing criticism of the junta and championing speedy democratic change in Burma, Thaksin was seen to be defending the generals, investing in the country and promising piecemeal progress.

Thailand was then Burma’s third most important investment partner, exporting goods worth around US $1.26 billion annually.

Thaksin also had his own business interests in Burma. In 2003, Shin Corp, the telecoms company owned until recently by Thaksin’s family, signed a deal with Bagan Cybertech, the Internet service provider run by Ye Naing Win, son of disgraced Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt.

In 2004, Thaksin visited the ancient former Burmese capital Pagan to sell his Economic Cooperation Strategy, and promised Burma aid and support worth $45 million.

He also set his sights on what he called the “excellent prospects” of Burma’s tourism industry, proposing the construction of a ski resort in Burma’s northern Kachin State and the development of the unspoilt beaches of Arakan State.

The “Bangkok Process,” hosted by Thaksin’s government to advance democracy in Burma, fizzled out when Burmese representatives failed to turn up for a planned second session—a clear demonstration that even the Burmese generals didn’t count on him.

Back home, Thaksin’s administration cracked down on Burmese seeking economic and political refuge in Thailand, raising concerns about a conflict of interests and doubts about Bangkok’s ability to act as an honest broker in Burma’s political standoff.

Sadly, Thaksin’s government, by its attitude towards Burmese migrants and refugees living in Thailand, played the nationalism card in order to boost the prime minister’s popularity.

In early 2004, UN human rights envoy Hina Jilani visited Thailand and said: “Many of the Burmese human rights defenders feel very insecure with regard to their freedom of movement inside Thailand.” Not surprisingly, Jilani received a cool reception in Bangkok.

Just before the 2006 coup, Thaksin stayed in his heavily-guarded home for a day because of a bomb threat, likening the experience to Suu Kyi’s enforced house detention. He said he sympathized with Suu Kyi.

What, for not being able to go shopping for a day?

So, once and for all, let’s make it clear to Hun Sen that Thaksin is no Suu Kyi. She may have her shortcomings, but she has sacrificed much in her fight for democratic change in Burma. Her sacrifices include separation from her family and her enforced absence from the funeral of her beloved husband Michael Aris, who died of cancer in 1999 in London.

The fiasco caused by Hun Sen’s remarks at the Asean summit should have been an embarrassment to the Burmese delegation and Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein, who told his Japanese counterpart that the military regime would consider relaxing Suu Kyi's house arrest terms, if she “maintains a good attitude.”

Thein Sein’s cynicism matches that of his boss, junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe, who said in a letter published after Suu Kyi’s farcical trial in August that if she behaved “well” at her Inya Lake home under the restrictions imposed on her, she would be granted amnesty before her suspended sentence expired.

Astonishingly, Singapore’s foreign ministry reacted positively to Than Shwe’s gesture, saying that while it was disappointed at the guilty verdict it was nonetheless “happy that the Myanmar government has exercised its sovereign prerogative to grant amnesty by halving her [Suu Kyi’s] sentence and that she will be placed under house arrest rather than imprisoned.”

The world must be upside down, if not flat.

What does Than Shwe mean, for instance, by requiring Suu Kyi to behave well under house arrest? Did Suu Kyi mismanage the economy and lead the resource-rich country into poverty? Did Suu Kyi order the troops to kill Buddhist monks and activists on the streets or throw them into prison? Did Suu Kyi order soldiers to kill or rape ethnic minorities?

At least, Hun Sen and Thein Sein can be credited with livening up the Asean summit, even though the movement has no shortage of clowns.

Portland genocide survivor retells story in new book

As conveyed in his recent book, “Golden Leaf: a Khmer Rouge Genocide Survivor”, Kilong Ung was a “golden leaf” propelled by the wind that blew him from one terrifying part of the world to the next. Through adverse weather, turmoil and calamity, he was subjected to a barrage of horrors. While two million other leaves disintegrated along the way, Ung persevered against all odds, rose above the devastation, and landed safely here in Oregon. His legacy is the tree that took root and the many branches he has utilized to reach out to others who have experienced a similar plight.

For more than 30 years, Kilong Ung, currently a Portland software engineer, struggled with nightmares, insomnia, paranoia and haunting memories of nearly starving to death in a slave labor camp where his parents and other family members perished before his very eyes.

Ung was living in the city of Battambang in Northwest Cambodia with his parents and seven sisters in 1975 when the brutal Khmer Rouge regime took control of the country. During its four years in power, the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, attempted to completely recreate Cambodian society by systematically imprisoning, torturing, starving and executing nearly two million people, primarily those considered urban and intellectual.

Wweek.com recounts how the Khmer Rouge invaded Ung’s town and forced his family into slave labor camps where they worked 13 hours a day. Daily rations were two small bowls of rice porridge, plus whatever wildlife they could catch on their own. Although his mother grew weak, she refused to eat the rats he caught.

“To some people, they would rather die than go that route. My mother was one of those,” Ung told wweek.com. “Eating rats—if you get to that point, you’re pretty much dead anyway. You’re no longer human.”

In addition to losing his mother and father, Ung lost his youngest sister and seven other relatives to exhaustion, starvation, and disease. Other Cambodians were subject to torture and execution across the country’s infamous “killing fields”.

The Vietnamese overthrew the Khmer Rouge in 1979, and Ung fled to Thailand with his older sister and her boyfriend, according to wweek.com. The three came to America as refugees and eventually settled in Portland. Ung graduated from Cleveland High School and Reed College, where he earned a math degree.

Ung went on to graduate school and several well-paid jobs in the corporate world. Along the way, he married his high school sweetheart, Lisa, and together they had two children. But the nightmares continued, despite his successes.

Ung hoped to find a way to share his experiences with his two children, as well as honoring the survivors and non-survivors of the atrocities. He decided to write a book to achieve both objectives. This summer, he self-published his memoir and is hoping his book will help to heal the wounds that continue to plague his homeland.

The book depicts the cruel, agonizing and ravenous life inside a labor camp from a survivor’s perspective. He describes burying his grandmother, his frantic attempt to catch and eat a rat and his degrading arrest for stealing a coconut, among other painful and horrific experiences.

“On the one hand, I wanted to free myself from this memory. On the other hand, I was afraid to lose that memory,” Ung told wweek.com. “Anything I put down in the book, I am clear from it now…. and my nightmares are better.”

According to The Oregonian, Ung hopes his memoir will “leverage the past” and help his native country. He plans to use some of the proceeds from the sale of the book to build a school in Cambodia, which he plans to name “Golden Leaf.”

Ung also hopes to encourage others in the Cambodian community through his leadership and involvement as a language teacher, youth mentor and past president of the Cambodian American Community of Oregon (CACO), which provides support for members of the Cambodian community. His aspires to serve as a bridge between the Cambodian and American communities and hopes his successes will inspire and motivate others.

Mardine Mao, current president of the CACO, told The Oregonian that what sets Ung apart from fellow survivors is his ability to transform pain and suffering into something positive. “His work is a great example that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. It provides an inspiration to those of us that may want to share similar stories,”

“I’ve lost so much,” Ung told The Oregonian, “and if I do nothing with the past, all that has happened would have happened for nothing. A book becomes evidence. It becomes a legacy, a document.”

Ung is a living testament to the power of faith and forgiveness—that through these virtues one can rise above life’s seemingly insurmountable challenges and not only survive, but thrive.