DHL opens new office in Cambodia

By NewsDesk

Share DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, today opened its new premises for its Global Forwarding arm in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Located in the Regency Square Business Complex close to the capital’s center, the new office will serve as a “DHL Fashion and Apparel Center of Excellence” to support the established textile and garments industry in Cambodia, and also bolster DHL’s services to customers in the oil and energy sector.

“The new office reflects our commitment to expand our reach in the region and to continually invest in Cambodia. We are very optimistic about the country’s growth potential – gross domestic product growth stands at 5.5 per cent in 2010, higher than the forecast of 4.9 per cent[1] by the World Bank. We believe that 2011 will be an even better year for Cambodia now that economic recovery is well underway,” said Amadou Diallo, Chief Executive Officer, Africa and South Asia Pacific, DHL Global Forwarding.

Is she our "national champion" or our "national Geisha"? You decide

First lady "national champion" Chumteav Bandit Dr. Dr. Dr. Bun Rany Hun Xen

Traditional Japanese Geisha

Natural skin tone versus national champion skin tone

The Bangkok Post has obtained new evidence that Thailand did use cluster munitions

EXPLOSIVE: Kim Samnang, who lost his forearm; and what is believed to be a cluster bomb, found near Svay Chrum village.

Sign Convention on Cluster Munitions

20/02/2011
Bangkok Post
EDITORIAL

One of the most disturbing aspects of the renewed hostilities along the Thai-Cambodian border is the reported use of cluster munitions or bombs. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen first made the allegation, as printed in the Feb 11 of The Phnom Penh Post: ''They launched a cluster bomb. Is that a clash?''

Thailand denied the allegation, and army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said that in fact Cambodia had used the controversial weapon. Colonel Sanserd said a Cambodian cluster bomb attack was responsible for the death of Thanakorn Poonperm, deputy commander of the Paramilitary Rangers Company. Cambodia denied this charge.

Cambodian army deputy chief General Hing Bunheang and the director-general of the government-run Cambodian Mine Action Centre, Heng Ratana, backed up Hun Sen's allegation, but several sources, including Carl Thayer, a professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy, cast doubt on the claim.

However, the Bangkok Post has obtained, and published in today's edition, new evidence that possibly supports the Cambodian assertion that Thailand did use cluster munitions.

Thus far the Thai army has not produced evidence that cluster bombs were used against its soldiers.

The use of cluster bombs by one or both sides is a very serious issue, and it should be further investigated.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions currently has 108 signatories, has been ratified by 48 states and became international law for the states parties when it entered into force on Aug 1 of last year. However, neither Thailand nor Cambodia has signed the convention.

This failure to sign is particularly perplexing in the case of Cambodia, which was heavily bombarded with cluster munitions by US warplanes during the Vietnam War.

According to the website Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor (http://www.the-monitor.org/index.php/cp/display/region_profiles/theme/572), ''The Kingdom of Cambodia has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, despite the fact that it was an early, prominent, and influential supporter of the Oslo Process that produced the convention.''

The website goes on to explain that there is a direct link between the failure to sign the convention and tensions with Thailand over Cambodia's application to Unesco for world heritage site status for Preah Vihear. The report quotes a Cambodian government spokesman as saying: ''Due to the fact that Thailand does not yet sign the treaty ... we can delay a bit our adhesion to the treaty.''

Both sides deny using cluster bombs, but neither side denies having them, and it is likely that the border tensions have also influenced the Thai government's decision not to sign the convention, which requires that parties ''destroy their stockpile of cluster munitions within eight years of entry into force'' of the convention.

Destruction is absolutely, without a doubt, what should happen to the many large stockpiles of these cruel weapons scattered around the world.

All weapons of war sow horror, but these are perhaps on another level because they are so dangerous to civilian populations.

After they are dropped from the air or fired from mortars, they are designed to break open in mid-air, releasing bomblets over a wide area. In places like Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon, where cluster bombs have been widely used, the menace is compounded because the small objects are sometimes mistaken for toys by children.

They often remain deadly and undetected for many years. In that sense they are similar to land mines, which are still killers in Cambodia and to some extent in Thailand, where some border provinces were mined during the 1980s to keep the Khmer Rouge out. The Cambodian Mine Action Centre states there may be as many as six million mines still laid in Cambodian fields and small villages.

Thailand and Cambodia have officially prohibited land mines as signatories to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, and both countries should follow up on that action by signing and ratifying the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The fact that Thailand and Cambodia are adamant in their insistence that their respective militaries have never used the repugnant weapons against the other is proof that they view such behaviour to be unacceptable, even in a battle zone.

Why not make this position official?

UN Rep Investigates Land Dispute

Surya Subedi talks with Hun Sen (L) in Phnom Penh, Jan 19, 2010. (AFP)

2011-02-18
Radio Free Asia

A UN official visits the site of a land dispute as part of his inquiry into human rights in Cambodia.

A United Nations human rights representative visited a Cambodian village community embroiled in a land dispute on Friday as part of a fact-finding mission for a set of wider reforms he is recommending to the country’s leadership.

The visit by Surya Subedi, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, came on the fourth day of a 10-day trip to the country, and followed a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen where he expressed concerns about the country’s court system and a new law on nongovernmental organizations.

Subedi told RFA that it is important to take the complaints of Cambodia’s rural population into consideration in addition to speaking with high-level officials while forming an overview of the country’s human rights situation.

“I wanted to speak to people from all walks of life in Cambodia, and I wanted to see the villagers for myself to listen to them directly—their grievances—and then see for myself the area where they are living now and the conditions there as well. This is purely a fact-finding mission and … [for] information gathering,” Subedi said.

He traveled to the site, in central Kompong Chhnang province, to investigate a land dispute case in which NGO worker, who represented the villagers, had been jailed. The dispute was with a company owned by Lauk Chumteav Chea Kheng, the wife of Cambodia’s mining minister.

Land grab

Sam Chankea was convicted in January of “defamation” against KDC International Co. after he told RFA in a 2009 interview that the company had committed an “act of violation” when it confiscated land from the villagers, because the provincial court had yet to rule on the disputed property.

The dispute dates back to 2002 when KDC International took possession of some 184 hectares (455 acres) of land from more than 100 families in the area.

“I now have a much better idea and information about the plight of the villagers and the disputed land," Subedi said.

"I will try to speak to government authorities about what they have been doing about this dispute and what the response of the other party has been and what other avenues there are to look after the interests of the villagers,” he said.

“I will consider whether I will need to intervene at certain levels of government authorities, and if I decide to do so, I will not hesitate to do so.”

Subedi said that he had a number of meetings scheduled with various ministers and that he planned to use the Pursat land case as an example of how the government must work to improve its human rights record.

Fact-finding meetings

In addition to meeting with the prime minister, Subedi has been busy since arriving in Cambodia on his fourth mission for the U.N., meeting with officials from the ruling party and from the opposition, observing trials, and speaking with NGOs.

On Wednesday, the special rapporteur met with Thun Saray, director of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) to discuss the concerns of domestic NGOs operating in the country.

“The problems include a land crisis that adversely affects the people. We propose a swift and satisfactory solution for those who have been affected by the land conflict,” Thun Saray said in an interview recounting their conversation.

The land issue in Cambodia dates from the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime, which forced large-scale evacuations and relocations throughout the country.

This was followed by mass confusion over land rights and the formation of squatter communities when the refugees returned in the 1990s after a decade of civil war.

Housing Cambodia’s large, young, and overwhelmingly poor population has posed a major problem ever since.

Judicial reform

Thun Saray also advised Subedi that Cambodia’s notoriously ineffective judicial system is in dire need of restructuring.

“The justice system should be reformed. We all see the shortcomings and flaws in the system. The reform should start by looking into the flaws point by point. For example, the flaws happen in the process of trials and court proceedings which result in unjust rulings,” he said.

“The public is unsatisfied with the current process of court trials. We have to look, investigate these shortcomings, and fix them.”

More than one-quarter of Cambodian court defendants reported being tortured or coerced into confession, and ordinary people said they lack faith in the justice system, according to a 2009 judicial review released by Cambodian anti-corruption organization The Center for Social Development.

Poor training of the judiciary, bribery, torture, underfunding, a lack of independence, and frequent pre-trial detention of prisoners for terms exceeding the legal limit of six months are among problems with the judiciary often cited by rights organizations.

At the end of his last visit in June, Subedi said the judiciary faced “tremendous challenges in delivering justice for the people of the country, especially the poor and marginalized,” adding that some judges were simply not interested in upholding the law.

NGO law

Thun Saray also discussed a controversial draft law put forth by Cambodia’s National Assembly which would severely curtail the ability of foreign and domestic NGOs operating in the country to carry out their work.

Last month a U.S. State Department spokesman said the United States had “serious concerns about the law as drafted and strongly opposes the enactment of any law that would constrain the legitimate activities of NGOs.”

The State Department urged Phnom Penh to consult with NGOs on the substance of the draft law and to “reconsider whether such a measure is even necessary.”

Cambodia’s government has long had an antagonistic relationship with human rights groups and NGOs operating in the country.

Last year, Hun Sen said he wanted the U.N. human rights office in Cambodia closed and its representative, Christophe Peschoux, sacked.

Subedi is expected to hold a press conference in Phnom Penh on Feb. 24 during which he will review some of the key issues raised during his visit before compiling a report for the United Nations.

He last presented his findings to the U.N. in September 2010.

Reported by Pon Bun Song and Khe Sonorng for RFA’s Khmer service. Translated by Vuthy Huot. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Speak Truth To Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark - the Play by Ariel Dorfman - FREE ADMISSION but come early!

CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education is proud to present Speak Truth To Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark, a play by Ariel Dorfman based on Kerry Kennedy's book Speak Truth To Power, as part of the 2-day launching events in Phnom Penh of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights' project by the same name, with performance by the Phnom Penh Players with introduction by Ms. Kennedy. This coming THURSDAY, 24 February 2011 at PUC Auditorium (Norodom Blvd.). FREE ADMISSION, on a first-come-first-served basis. So, COME EARLY!

- Theary C. Seng, CIVICUS Cambodia founding president, Phnom Penh

Bahrain royal family orders army to turn on the people

Sixty hurt as Bahrain troops fire on protesters: Protesters run for shelter after Bahraini security forces opened fire at protesters marching towards the Pearl Square in capital Manama February 18, 2011. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Bahraini protesters face off against army tanks after some shots were thought to have been fired, according to some demonstrators, near the Pearl roundabout Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, in Manama, Bahrain. Several prayed then sat down and shouted 'peaceful, peaceful'. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

Bahrain's ruling family has defied mounting international criticism by ordering the army to turn on its people for the first time since pro-reform demonstrations erupted five days ago.

18 Feb 2011
By Adrian Blomfield in Manama
The Telegraph (UK)

As protesters attempted to converge on Pearl Roundabout, a landmark in the capital Manama that has become the principal rallying point of the uprising, soldiers stationed in a nearby skyscraper opened fire.

Since they took to the streets, Bahrain's protesters have come to expect violence and even death at the hands of the kingdom's security forces. At least five people were killed before yesterday's protests.

But this was on a different scale of magnitude.

As they drew near, they were met first with tear gas and then with bursts of live ammunition.

Many fled the first salvoes, scrambling down empty streets as the shots rang out behind them.

As they ran, terror and disbelief flashed across their faces. One man shouted: "They are killing our people! They are killing our people."

Cowering behind a wall, a woman wept, her body shaking in fear.

But many refused to run, initially at least, determined to defy the violence being visited upon them. Some held their hands in the air and shouted "Peaceful! Peaceful!".

The shooting resumed. One man crumpled to the ground, blood pouring from his leg; nearby a second was also felled. A scream went up: "live ammunition!"

As security forces then began to fire anti-air craft guns over their heads and the air filled with tear gas, the protesters' will finally broke.

But even as they fled in headlong panic, a helicopter sprayed gunfire at them and more fell. Paramedics from ambulances that had rushed to the scene darted forward to help the wounded, but they too were shot at. Several were detained and at least one ambulance was impounded.

Doctors at the nearby Salmaniyah hospital said they had received 32 wounded people, nine of whom were in a critical condition. There were unconfirmed reports of two deaths at Pearl Roundabout, but witnesses said the bodies had been seized by the army.

Those caught up in the violence were mourners, returning from funerals of three people killed before dawn the previous day when police opened fire on protesters, many of whom were asleep, in a successful bid to regain control of Pearl Roundabout.

Thousands thronged the body of Ali Ahmad al-Moumen as it was born aloft down the streets of Sitra, a poor Shia village near Manama.

Despite the violence, many said the death of Moumen and other protesters had only increased their determination to press ahead with the protests.

"The regime has failed to stop us," Abdulwahab Hussein, a senior Shia Muslim leader, told the crowd. "Their action shows that they are strong and we are weak."

Most of the protesters are members of Bahrain's long-marginalised Shia majority.

They say they are not demanding the abdication of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahrain's Sunni king, but they are calling for a constitutional monarchy that would treat the Shia fairly and make them equal subjects in his kingdom.

But they are demanding the resignation of his uncle Khalifa bin Sulman Al Khalifa, who has served as prime minister for 39 years.

During his rule, the protesters say, the Shia have been turned into second class citizens, deprived of jobs in the army, police force and government while Sunnis from abroad have been given Bahraini citizenship to alter the kingdom's demographic balance.

Government officials in Bahrain have warned that the Shia opposition is controlled by Iran, which seeks to use the kingdom to establish a foothold on the Arabian peninsula.

Protesters insist that they have no love for Iran and are only seeking justice for themselves.

Eco-holiday in Cambodia

18 Feb 2011

The Guardian, London

By Jane Dunford

(Photo: Bloomberg)

Besides the country’s beaches and temples, Cambodia also offers alternative options for tourists, such as a luxury waterborne ecolodge deep in pristine rainforest

It’s pitch black as I set off tentatively in my kayak, the starless sky merging seamlessly into the inky river. The only sound is of my paddle in the water and a faint chirping of cicadas. Suddenly the darkness is broken — a tree decorated in a thousand fairy lights is frantically flickering on the riverbank.

“It’s the firefly disco,” says Chilly, my guide, pointing at the twinkling display.

I am, it’s fair to say, in the middle of nowhere. This is the Tatai river, east of Koh Kong, in the southern reaches of Cambodia’s Cardamom mountains. Half-way between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, this is a pristine area of rainforest and coastal mangroves that barely features on the tourist trail.

What’s more I’m camping — though it’s not exactly pop-up tent and baked beans. I’m staying at the Four Rivers Floating Lodge, which takes glamping to a whole new extreme.

The brilliant idea of Romanian owner Valentin Pawlik, the entire resort is waterborne. You get here by boat, arriving at one of a series of floating wooden platforms. A central pontoon houses bar, restaurant and library. There are 12 huge and super-luxurious South African safari tents (six more are planned), with private decks and sunloungers, double-sinked en suite bathrooms, and flatscreen TVs and DVD players that seem a tad incongruous in the heart of the jungle. But, hey, this is wilderness in style.

It’s all very eco-friendly too — largely solar-powered, and staffed mostly by locals — so you needn’t have a guilty conscience. Move it away and there’d be little sign that it had ever existed.

Leaving the fireflies to party I paddle slowly back home and feast on spicy shrimp and freshwater fish with coconut, cooked in banana leaves, before heading for a blissful night’s rest, lulled to sleep by the gentle bobbing of the water.

Most visitors to Cambodia flock to the revitalized capital of Phnom Penh further east, and the temples around Siem Reap in the north. This coastal region, part of the Koh Kong Conservation Corridor, is home to some of the country’s most impressive natural sights. The long civil war kept developers and loggers at bay, and the potential for ecotourism is huge (although the threat of hydroelectric power plants looms).

Four Rivers, with its gorgeous setting on a bend in the river, is magical at all times of day — misty in the morning, glowing at sunset and prettily lit up after dark — and as tranquil a place as you could wish for. I spend much of my time here kayaking through the mangrove maze (spotting those fireflies, and watching monkeys gather at the water’s edge at dusk), swimming in the river from steps outside my tent (a pool is planned) and visiting waterfalls, where the pounding torrent gives a great back massage.

There are excursions into the jungle, led by a former poacher, to spot wildlife and to visit villages and fruit plantations. (Overnight camping is a new option too). As I’m here at the end of the rainy season, when leeches and mud make trekking treacherous, we take a boat downstream instead. Thick mangrove forests line the banks, and dolphins can sometimes be spied in the estuary opening on to the Gulf of Thailand. Koh Kong island appears on the horizon, an as yet undeveloped paradise with pristine beaches and untouched rainforest.

We stop at Koh Sra Lau, an island with one tiny fishing village, and wander around while women sit mending nets and offer us fried fish with tamarind sauce and papaya. There’s no tourist fatigue here, just friendly welcomes. A little boy grabs my hand and leads me to the village school, where children proudly sweep the classroom before the teachers appear.

I’m keen to explore more, so the next day head to Chi Phat village, and a community-based project started by conservation charity Wildlife Alliance in the Southern Cardamoms Protected Forest. It aims to preserve the rainforest by helping villagers earn a living from ecotourism, instead of illegal logging or hunting endangered animals, and giving tourists a unique green adventure. It’s a winding bus journey down to the port town of Andoung Tuek and a two-hour boat ride along Phipot river to the village. There are several guesthouses, but I choose a homestay on the outskirts of town with Chou and her young family, who sit underneath the stilted wooden house, a cow curled at their feet like a pet dog. A far cry from the luxuries of Four Rivers it may be, but it’s clean, comfortable and a great way to see everyday village life.

Chi Phat is all about outdoor adventure: You can trek or cycle into jungle and mountains for days at a time, sleeping in hammocks or rustic campsites, go birdwatching, take boat trips or check out the nearby bat caves and an area dotted with mysterious ancient burial jars. I sign up for a 28km mountain bike tour to O’Malu waterfall. Crossing grassy plains and traditional farmland, we follow Lucky — a 23-year-old from the village who’s been trained in everything from bike maintenance to wildlife spotting — up steep paths through the tangled jungle, with gibbons calling high overhead. It’s a challenging ride in parts (yep, I end up on my bum in a puddle at one point) but jumping into the cool pool at the base of the waterfall is a great reward.

There’s no one else around as we tuck into lunch, sitting on rocks in the sunshine, surrounded by rainforest, the waterfall roaring. Marvelous though the sights of Angkor Wat and the buzz of Phnom Penh are, I can’t help thinking that it’s Cambodia’s more remote natural attractions that offer the best adventure — and one it would be a shame to miss.

Manhattan College offers Cambodian girl in need a math scholarship

Manhattan College Prof. Helene Tyler, center in photo taken at Phnom Penh airport, rallied to have 18-year-old Kimsy Tor brought over to New York on a full scholarship after teaching her during a math class.

Friday, February 18th 2011
BY Corinne Lestch
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Manhattan College Professor Helene Tyler was teaching an advanced math course in Cambodia last month when a young woman, bright beyond her years, immediately caught her eye.

All of the students in the class had at least four more years of education than Kimsy Tor, 18, one of six children from a poor family.

But "she just threw herself into it and learned like I rarely see," said Tyler.

In the weeks since Tyler returned home, the professor has been quietly rallying to have Tor enrolled in Manhattan on a full scholarship.

Thursday, the Riverdale college's admissions department told Tyler that Tor has been accepted to study mathematics this September.

"Knowing how much she loves to learn, I'm just so excited that she now has this opportunity," said a choked-up Tyler.

She immediately sent Tor an email with the good news - even though it was 2:30 a.m. in Cambodia.

"Her background and interest in pursuing the type of educational opportunity we have at Manhattan is very consistent with our mission," said William Bisset, vice president of enrollment. "She's an extraordinary student."

It wouldn't have happened had not all the celestial charts and graphs been aligned, said Tyler.

She visited the Southeast Asian nation last month to voluntarily teach at the local university in Phnom Penh.

In a strategic move, the Cambodian education minister planted Tor, a recent high school graduate, in Tyler's master's course.

"It was a well-conceived plan," Tyler said with a laugh.

During the span of the four-week course, Tyler realized Tor belonged with the older students.

Tyler noticed Tor's attentiveness right away, and said she began talking to her during class breaks. The education minister organized a trip for them to a wildlife preserve, and Tyler could tell that Tor would be able to handle the pressure of leaving her family and culture.

Tyler learned that Tor is an avid Jane Austen reader and tennis player. Her parents, though considered middle-class by Cambodian standards, are poor tailors who make traditional wedding outfits.

Since the brutal Khmer Rouge rule ended in the late 1970s, Cambodians have suffered economically and academically. About one-third of the people live below the poverty line and are illiterate.

According to the education minister, Chan Roath, there are only four resident citizens who hold doctorate degrees in mathematics.

Tyler said that although she is excited that Tor will be able to broaden her horizons, the issue of money still looms.

"Now the big task is for \[Manhattan\] to secure the necessary funds through whatever available scholarship resources there are," she said. "She'd need everything - full tuition, room and board, books, a plane ticket."

Bisset said Tor definitely qualifies for merit-based scholarships.

Tyler said the hardships people like Tor have faced make the possibility of studying here a rare opportunity.

"Investing today for the future is part of the American psyche, but it's not part of the Cambodian psyche," she said.

"So seeing it from someone over there was just unusual and a bit more inspiring."

Cambodian band aims to revive music almost eliminated by Khmer Rouge

A Cambodian woman has formed a rock band with an Australian musician to bring Cambodian to the world after years of being silenced by the Khmer Rouge.

The Cambodian Space Project performs in Phnom Penh.

Jared Ferrie

By Jared Ferrie, Contributor / February 17, 2011

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Srey Thy has come a long way from her village in one of Cambodia’s poorest provinces to performing throughout the world. And her music has had a similarly arduous journey.

Ms. Thy sings with the Cambodian Space Project, a band recapturing a musical legacy nearly wiped out by the Khmer Rouge. After taking power in 1975, the regime targeted intellectuals and artists, and many musicians were executed or died in labor camps.

But Cambodians like Thy’s mother, who came of age in the 1960s, never forgot the music of that era, a fusion of Western garage rock and Khmer vocals. “I always sang because I heard my mom singing every day,” Thy recalls.

RELATED: Think you know Asia? Take our geography quiz.

At the age of 19, Thy moved to the capital to pursue a singing career in karaoke clubs. But the lines between the karaoke scene and the sex trade are blurred, and Thy had “a lot of bad experiences.”

She eventually quit, and was working as a waitress when she met Australian musician Julien Paulson. He was hooked on Khmer rock and looking around for a collaborator.

The band played its first gig in December 2009 and performed in Hong Kong just a few months later. “When I came back after five days in Hong Kong, I felt like I had just woken up from a dream,” says Thy, recalling her first trip out of Cambodia.

The band has since traveled to Australia and France, and they are booked to play in the “South by Southwest” music festival in Austin, Texas, this March.

"Egypt is free ... The tyrant is gone"

Egyptian revelers wave flags on the frame of a burned car in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, during celebrations over President Hosni Mubarak stepping down. (Chris Hondros / Getty Images / February 11, 2011)

Euphoria in Cairo – 'the tyrant is gone'

Tahrir Square erupts in cheers and later song and fireworks as people celebrate a hard-won victory. 'We have our dignity again,' says one. For some, a hint of melancholy creeps in at the thought of the community of protesters disbanding.

February 11, 2011

By Bob Drogin and Raja Abdulrahim

Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Cairo — First a deafening cheer erupted and echoed to the minarets. Then protesters leaped in the air, kissed strangers, banged on barricades like steel drums, and fell to their knees in prayer. A dozen burly men saluted the Egyptian flag and sang the national anthem, tears streaming down their faces.

Soon fireworks lighted the sky, veiled women ululated from balconies, men danced atop burned out vehicles, and grinning soldiers stuck flags in their rifles. Cars honked in joyful processions along the Nile, impromptu parades clogged the streets, and songs of freedom filled the night air.

"Egypt is free," the revelers chanted. "The tyrant is gone."

That's what the frenzied celebration — no, the sheer pandemonium — looked and felt like here Friday night when President Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down after three decades of autocratic rule.

To Paris 1945 and Berlin 1989, history books can add Cairo 2011.

In Tahrir Square, epicenter of the extraordinary 18-day revolution, the unexpected news of Mubarak's resignation — a day after he had defiantly refused to quit, enraging protesters and sparking fears of violence — jolted the teeming throngs into pure delirium.

"In 30 years, I haven't felt freedom," said Salah Amad, a steel worker, one of several men who kissed a reporter on both cheeks. "Now we have hope for the future."

"It's like I can finally breathe fresh air for the first time," said Somaia Shakeer, wearing a veil, as her toddlers waved flags and grinned.

"I feel like today is the day of my birth, the day when I became a true Egyptian," said Mohammed ElRaouf, a poet and folk singer who said he was beaten and jailed for three months last year for his anti-Mubarak verses.

Protest organizers said the demonstrators who have occupied the heart of Cairo and riveted the world's attention since Jan. 25 will be urged to go home. But not yet.

"We will celebrate seven days and seven nights," promised Mohammed Abbas, one of the organizers. "We have suffered 30 years of humiliation and torture."

One of the world's oldest civilizations, Egypt has never enjoyed a democracy, and no one knows how the most populous Arab nation will handle the challenge. Hopes seemed impossibly high, and the nitty-gritty of forming a new constitution, electing a parliament and other matters still lie ahead.

A few people expressed concerns, nervous that the military — which stood on the sidelines until finally ushering Mubarak to the exit — may not surrender power. Military strongmen have ruled Egypt since 1952.

"We have to trust the military," said Mohamed Abdallah, 40, a professor of computer science. "But we need to see what's next."

And a few were melancholy, cherishing their time on the square and the fellowship they found on the front lines.

"I'm really sad because these people are going to leave," said Mahmood Mohamad Abdulaziz, 16, a factory worker who sat away from the cheering crowds. "We're more than brothers here."

But for at least one crisp, clear night, the dreams of a beleaguered generation were improbably fulfilled, and that's all that counted.

"Our injustices will disappear," said Zaynab Hesham, a 24-year-old computer student, her voice filled with optimism. "Political prisoners will be freed. All the people will be proud that we have our dignity again."

"I am unemployed," said Mohamed Fahd, 35, who stuck an Egyptian flag in his hat, and had painted his face red, white and black to match. Then he beamed with confidence. "But I'm sure now I will find a job."

At an entrance to the downtown square, revelers gleefully banged rocks on metal sheets that had served as barricades at a checkpoint. The pounding electrified the crowd with the rhythm of a rave.

A group of boys, perched precariously atop a large electric utility box, acted as back-up singers. "So long, so long, oh you thieves, so long," they hollered. Nearby, women responded with high-pitched trills.

Every so often, the euphoria was interrupted as announcers read verses of the Koran for those who were shot, stabbed or clubbed to death during the protests. At least 25 were killed in Tahrir Square, and at least 300 died nationwide, according to human rights groups.

Members of the Committee of 14, the informal coalition of activists who helped organize the people power triumph seemed as stunned as anyone else.

Six crammed into a small camping tent and, using flashlights, scrawled their official victory communiqué on a slab of cardboard torn from a box of Nestle Pure Life water bottles.

"A New Egypt," Islam Lotfy, 33, a human rights lawyer and member of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, wrote in large Arabic letters at the top. Then he added, "The people have finally toppled the regime."

Others in the group weighed in and he scribbled, "We are on the brink of a new era that we have always dreamed of, an Egypt free of oppression and tyranny… This is a great awaking. We will never again allow a tyrant to lead."

Later, after others had copied his words, translated them into English and French, and read them aloud for radio and TV, he clutched the tattered cardboard to his chest and vowed to give it to the national museum. Was he worried about the future?

"We will keep fighting," he declared. "We won the fight against the dictator. We will fight for a new Egypt, a better Egypt. But first, we party!"

Thailand Supports UNESCO's Inspection Of Preah Vihear Temple

BANGKOK, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Wednesday that he supports the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to inspect the Preah Vihear Temple along the Thai-Cambodian border, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

In response to the UNESCO's proposal to inspect the Preah Vihear Temple in the wake of a series of crossfire between Thai-and Cambodian border troops--which erupted last Friday, Suthep, who oversees national security, acknowledged that it is good for the UN organisation to find out the truth.

Asked if Thailand should be careful of Cambodia's movements in any forum after the United Nations has rejected Phnom Penh's request for it to be a mediator to settle border rows between Thailand and Cambodia, the Thai deputy premier said Thailand, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has already made it clear that Thai-Cambodian border clashes have not justified any intervention by a third party, namely the UN or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), as both concerned countries should seek a way out by themselves and he considers the Thai-Cambodian border issues remain negotiable.


In response to the Thai Defence Ministry's call for Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to phone his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen, the Thai deputy prime minister said that it should not be the right time to do so, noting that, to uphold national honor and dignity, everything is to follow proper procedures.

Meanwhile, Thai Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan said that he believes the Thai military can handle the situation along the Thai-Cambodian border, and that Thailand has not planned any retaliation against Cambodia and the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs is arranging bilateral talks between Thai and Cambodian authorities concerned.

The Thai defence minister was speaking to reporters before visiting border areas near the Preah Vihear Temple in Thailand's northeastern Si Sa Ket Province with Thai Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha earlier Wednesday.

Tribunal Judges Clarify Investigations for Two Cases

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Wednesday, 02 February 2011

“At this stage, no field investigation is being conducted.”

Khmer Rouge tribunal officials issued a statement Wednesday reiterating that there are currently no field investigations into two contentious court cases to indict more suspects of the regime.

“At this stage, no field investigation is being conducted” into cases 003 and 004, investigating judges for the UN-backed court said in a statement.

Tribunal judges are at odds over whether to pursue those cases, which would mean further indictments of Khmer Rouge suspects. Cambodian judges have said more indictments could lead to national instability, echoing warnings of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Wednesday’s statement was made to clarify misunderstandings in the media, the investigating judges said.


Tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen told VOA Khmer that while there have been some field investigations in the past, investigating judges are currently focused on analyzing materials in the case files.

In May 2010, former international investigating judge Marcel Lemonde said a committee had been prepared to examine cases 003 and 004, but that no arrests would be made until the investigating judges completed their closing order for case 002.

That closing order—an indictment of four currently jailed Khmer Rouge leaders—was completed in September 2010. Case 002 will bring to trial for atrocity crimes charges Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith.

Long Panhavuth, a program officer for the Open Society Justice Initiative, who monitors the tribunal, said Wednesday’s statement indicates the third and fourth cases are in front of the investigating judges. However, he said more information about the cases should be brought to light.