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Saturday, January 3, 2009

Slow boat to Battambang: is travel the ugliest form of voyeurism?

I've finally got the chance to update my blog. Cambodian internet connections leave a lot to be desired, its a relief to find Vietnamese guesthouses have wifi. Am going to try to break the past 10 days up a bit to stop this becoming the longest blog entry ever. First entry: Siem Riep to Battambang.
We spent one last night in Siem Riep exploring the night markets, getting massages and removing the dead skin from our feet via hundreds of little fish. That's right, fishy foot massages. See accompanying photos for details!
Thoroughly sick of buses and aware of the many more to come, we boarded the boat from Siem Riep bound for Battambang. Fighting off the banana sellers, we crammed in to a boat better described as a floating box. Despite the lack of space, nevermind a toilet, that boat ride would have to be one of the best (and worst) things I did in Cambodia.
7 hours of floating down the Mekong saw us through dozens of fishing villages and gave me a whole new perspective on Cambodian life. A strange sense of voyeurism stayed with me the whole way as we sailed through the lives of Cambodia's fishing communities. We were so obviously spectators on a world completely seperate from our own, I couldn't help feeling almost an intruder. The scenery was so stunning and the waving children so adorable, it was impossible not to take hundreds of photos yet an odd sense of guilt remained.
As Jess pointed out to me, most travel is voyeurism at heart. To make people's lives a spectacle however, to travel on a boat designed specifically for that purpose, I can't help wondering what impact it has on the lives of the Cambodian people. Were the frowning adults telling their children to stop waving to the intruding foreigners? On the whole, Cambodians were exceptionally welcoming and friendly towards us wherever we went but I can never escape the knowledge that, and I'm certain Cambodia can't forget the memory of, the extreme damage foreigners have done in the past. To then be part of a staring crowd passing through, are we not then inflicting a new form of humiliation on Cambodia? Or, as I so desperately want to believe, is tourism impacting positively on these poverty-stricken countires? Are we bringing money which local communities would otherwise never dream of or simply donating funds to a blackhole which will never reach the majority of the population?
It brought up many reoccuring thoughts I've had on travel, what is responsible travel and whether it is in fact possible. When travelling I feel so free and alive that I'd never want to believe I was doing anything but good. To learn about other cultures, to see the world from a completely different perspective, to attempt to understand lives a world apart from my own. Surely this is the stuff of goodwill. Its been said that nothing destroys ignorance faster than travel and I would be the first to wholeheartedly agree but I'm nonetheless aware that with travel comes a lot of responsibility, wanted or otherwise.
There are so many things which I'm simultaneously grateful for and ashamed of. The importance placed on speaking English, the convenience of Western commodities, the touts desperately willing to be bargained down to a pittance in exchange for transporting my lazy arse wherever I want to go, the knowledge that no matter how meagre my daily budget may be it is still more than many people will earn in a year.
My thoughts and doubts are nothing new and have undoubtedly been debated in many a travel forum over the years. I have no answers and no solutions to this world of questions. All I can do is keep going as I do and hope like hell my good intentions are indeed yielding good results.
P.s. Anyone reading this may wonder why I didn't ease some my apparent guilt by taking advantage of Cambodia's many volunteering opportunities. The long and the short of it? Don't even get me started on volunteering! That's a whole new level of doubt...
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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

SE Asians may get new long-term visas Indian visas

In an attempt to boost tourism numbers to India, the home ministry is considering introducing new visas for Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) nationals that would allow them to stay in India for 5-10 years.

According to the Economic Times, regions such as Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei would be able to apply for multiple entry long-term Indian visas lasting 5-10 years. 
Further, the ministry is considering new Indian visas for selected 18 countries including the US, the UK, Germany, France and Japan, which would allow visa approvals on arrival.
The ministry is trying to boost the tourism industry, particularly after it took a massive knock from the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
"The home ministry does not have any major disagreement over allowing long-term visas to ASEAN countries.  It is, however, apprehensive on granting visa-on-arrival due to security concerns," an official from the home ministry said.
A decision regarding the visa-on-arrival for 18 countries has been pending for some time now; however, ministry has approved a pilot visa agreement with a few countries offering reciprocity.
"Extraordinary situation requires extraordinary solution.  The foreign tourist arrival has already started falling and the trend needs to be checked," the official added.

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The Worldwide Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in India visa and immigration services.
Article by Jessica Bird, Worldwide Visa Bureau.
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Monday, December 29, 2008

Why Al Qaeda isn't gaining a foothold in Cambodia

The post-Khmer Rouge nation is a portrait of tolerance for Muslims, but the US worries that this could change.

By David Montero | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor from the December 30, 2008 edition
CHROYAMONTREY, CAMBODIA - In this village, and others like it throughout Cambodia, Muslims and non-Muslims live side by side in harmony, their existences unmarred by the toxic cocktail of government repression, separatist ambitions, and growing radicalism characteristic of many neighboring countries.
"I've been living with Muslim neighbors since I was young," says resident Ouk Ros. "When there's a marriage, we join together in the party."
Still, as money and influence from the Persian Gulf pours into Cambodia, many fear that pockets of the 400,000 strong Muslim community could fall into the orbit of a less-tolerant form of Islam.
"There are some organizations here from the Middle East that are very radical and that are very intolerant, and they are trying very hard to change the attitude and the atmosphere of the Muslim population here," the outgoing US Ambassador, Joseph Mussomeli warned in August.
A unique confluence of modern history, geography, and government initiative have combined to foster tolerance in Cambodia, many observers here say.
In Thailand and the Philippines, Muslim communities are concentrated in separate – and often disadvantaged – territories, which are byproducts of ancient kingdoms to which Muslims once belonged. Separatists in Thailand's south have been fighting for greater autonomy since 2004 and in the Mindanao area of the Philippines since the 1970s.
But Cambodia's Muslims, sometimes referred to as Chams – a reference to an ancient empire of warriors, the Kingdom of Champa – have always lived dispersed throughout the country.
"We don't have any separate lands, and we don't want any separate lands," says Osman Ysa, the author of two books on Cambodia's Cham population. "We consider this country as our own."
To date, Muslims here have also eschewed radical politics, although not without exception. In 2003, authorities arrested a Cambodian citizen, as well as an Egyptian and two Thai nationals, all suspected of ties to Jemaah Islamiyah, an Al-Qaeda affiliate based in South Asia.
Cambodia's unique and dark modern history helps explain why the dominant form of Islam remains both peaceful and accommodating, Muslim leaders say. When the ultra-Communist Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975, they outlawed religion and set about decimating the Muslim population. By 1979, when the Khmer Rouge fell, about 500,000 Muslims had been killed – nearly 70 percent – according to one of Mr. Ysa's studies.
As a result, the violence of Al Qaeda today reminds Muslim leaders of the Khmer Rouge of yesterday.
"When Cambodia was controlled by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge look liked Al Qaeda," says Sley Ry, the director of religious education at the Cambodian Islamic center, Cambodia's largest Islamic school, located near Phnom Penh.
"We've already suffered a lot.... We are very disappointed by Al Qaeda because God tells: 'Don't kill people,' " adds Yousuf Bin Abetalip, an elder of Choy Changua, a village just outside of Phnom Penh, where about 300 Muslim families live.
Buddhism is the state religion in this country of 14 million, but the country's constitution enshrines freedom of worship. Unlike in China, where the Communist government has been accused of limiting the freedom of Muslims to worship, the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen has built large mosques and provided free radio airtime for Muslim programming.
Beyond such overtures, Muslims enjoy real political power. About a dozen serve in top political offices. Mr. Sen even has his own advisor on Muslim affairs.
But there are fears that Cambodia's moderate form of Islam could be contested. In recent months, ties between Cambodia and the Persian Gulf have grown as the Gulf States look to Cambodia as a potential buyer of oil and supplier of food. In September, the government of Kuwait pledged $546 million in soft loans, while Qatar pledged $200 million. Kuwait has also earmarked $5 million to refurbish a mosque in Phnom Penh.
There are fears that the money could open the door to private individuals and foundations who seek to influence the Muslim community here. Whether founded or not, in January, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened its first office in Cambodia, citing the potential for terrorism.
"Cambodia is an important country to us for the potential of persons transiting Cambodia – using Cambodia as a spot for utilizing terrorism," FBI director Robert Mueller said, inaugurating the new office.
In September, the prime minister announced a new law to more tightly control nongovernmental organizations. Sen's reasoning: "Terrorists might come to the Royal Government of Cambodia and hide themselves under the banners of nongovernment organizations."
Some critics contend the law is not aimed at terrorists, but nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that routinely criticize Sen's administration.
"It's not only to control the terrorists groups, but also to control NGOs in general," says Thun Saray, the director of Adhoc, a human rights organization based in Phnom Penh.
As concern over terrorism grows, Muslims here, including Mr. Abetalip, say they will be the first to prevent it. "If there's any Cambodian people who want to follow Al Qaeda, we will straight away arrest them and bring them to the government."
RELATED STORIES Three-part series: How Al Qaeda lit the Bali fuse06/17/2003
Commentary: Are Al Qaeda's fingerprints on the Mumbai attack?12/04/2008
Backstory: Cambodia's healing history lessons12/11/2006

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Sunday, December 28, 2008

CAMBODIA 7 January 2009 Khmer Rouge regime overthrown 30 years ago

On 7 Jan 1979, invading Vietnamese troops seized Phnom Penh and sent the Khmer Rouge fleeing to remote jungles. Thirty years on, the country is still wrestling with its Khmer Rouge legacy while being courted by economic superpowers, such as India and China, for its oil potential and trade possibilities.

The Khmer Rouge forced the population out of cities as it tried to establish an agrarian state, killing an estimated 1.7 million people through starvation, disease or execution. Its leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998 without being brought to trial. In 2008 five aging former Khmer Rouge leaders are in prison awaiting trial before an unusual hybrid tribunal, administered jointly by the United Nations and the Cambodian government. The approach of the 30th anniversary could be the needed prompt for the trial to begin.
Cambodia recently granted China the permission to develop offshore oilfields in exchange for a US $600 million credit for bridges near the capital Phnom Penh. For India, Cambodia serves as an important element of its “Look East Policy.”
An International Herald Tribune story notes that two-thirds of Cambodia's 12 million citizens were born after the Pol Pot era, so most young Cambodians know little or nothing about the horrors their parents and grandparents experienced. The IHT said that in a 79-page textbook on Cambodian history published for ninth-graders by the Ministry of Education in 2000, the Khmer Rouge era rates two sentences. It has been excised from a later edition.
The overthrow began a 10-year Vietnamese occupation, and touched off almost 13 years of civil war. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a ceasefire, which was not fully respected by the Khmer Rouge. Nonetheless, UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy under a coalition government. Jun/08
ARTICLE SUPPLIED BY CORRESPONDENT C.BALAJI, WHO IS AVAILABLE FOR FREELANCE ASSIGNMENTS IN INDIA AND THE REGION. email: mohan balaji RELATED READING:
Khmer Rouge victims given a voice in Cambodia trials (IHT 16 Jun 2008) http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/16/asia/cambo.php
Chronicle of Choice ( PBS Frontline Oct 2002) http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/cambodia/tl03.html
1979: Vietnam forces Khmer Rouge retreat (BBC) http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/8/newsid_2506000/2506533.stm
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Saturday, December 27, 2008

Indian investor plans to open pharmaceutical plant in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, (Xinhua): An Indian investment group has tabled a plan at the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce to recruit private partners to build a new pharmaceutics manufacturing plant in the kingdom, national media said on Friday.
The investors prepared to devote some 1 million U.S. dollars to the new facility in a push to help curb counterfeit drugs in Cambodia, said English-language newspaper the Phnom Penh Post.
"They are interested in this sector because they don't want to see Cambodia rely on imported drugs," said Nguon Ming Tech, the group's local representative.
Yim Yann, president of the Pharmacists Association of Cambodia (PAC), said that "a new pharmaceutical factory will bring new technology to Cambodia and will be able to take advantage of local resources."
"Thousands of pharmacies in the country offer imported medicine, much of which is counterfeit," he added.
Cambodia has about 1,000 registered pharmacies, with an additional 1,000 pharmacies operating illegally, according to PAC.
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'Airport Club' now open in Sihanoukville!

By Casper | December 26, 2008

Finally, the ‘Airport’ has opened in Sihanoukville. Sadly, it’s not the Sihanoukville International Airport, it’s the new ‘Airport Club’ on Victory Beach.
Run by the son of the owner of the Snake House Bar, Restaurant and Bungalows, the new Aiport had it’s grand opening on Christmas Eve 2008. To be honest, despite having over 100 people there at the time we arrived, it didn’t look ‘busy’, certainly nowhere near it’s capacity. A reasonable mix of people where there though, including probably 30% ‘well to do’ Khmers, most of the French Contingent from Victory Hill and smatterings of Bar Owners and resident expats. What the place didn’t have though, is much of a visitation by the backpackers that are currently filling the town.
One possible reason for this could be that they, like me, thought the bar prices were going to be a ‘rip’. The weren’t. Draft Angkor and Anchor is available for 1 dollar, even RedBull which is normally 1.50 at many Ochheutel beach bars, is only 1 dollar.
Obviously, by the name, you’d imagine the place to carry an Aviation theme, and since the centerpiece of the whole place is a full size passenger aircraft! I have to say, the place is extremely well done and very impressive on your first visit. Yes, some touches are a little too much, like the ‘business class’ VIP areas on the upper levels, the sliced up BMW’s hanging from the walls etc, but it would be wrong to criticise the place on these details. Like I said, it’s impressive, very impressive.
I honestly don’t know what the future is going to hold for the place, it’s opening night was pretty lacklustre, unless it was just a ’soft opening’ as it wasn’t particularly well advertised, more by word of mouth. But we’ll see how things turn out, personally though, i’m not sure if the target customers are here in enough numbers at the moment, and with the global downturn, they may not be for sometime.
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Cambodia's crackdown on Poipet touts

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Written by May Kunmakara   
FRIDAY, 26 DECEMBER 2008
Tourism Ministry issues new guidelines for tour operators [image: ProntPage.jpg]Photo by: Tracey Shelton
Poipet Deputy Tourist Police Chief Prum Chandy says after recent complaints, his department has targeted tourist harassment. 
CAMBODIA'S Tourism Ministry this week reached an agreement it hopes will end aggressive tactics by private tour operators at the Poipet border checkpoint that have tarnished the Kingdom's image and led to complaints by tourists.
Problems first arose in late November after political unrest in Bangkok led to the closure of Thailand's two principal airports, increasing the number of tourists passing through the Poipet checkpoint by more than 11 percent, said Chhung Lim, director of the Tourism Bureau in Banteay Meanchey.
The increase in border traffic led to rival tour operators fighting for business, which escalated earlier this month with tourists being shouted at, having their luggage snatched from them and being forced into vehicles by five competing tour companies, border officials told local media at the time.  
Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the new agreement would require private tour companies to operate on a fixed schedule that would eliminate unruly competition for clients and provide transparent fares and fixed visa prices in US dollars.
"I have offered them a schedule whereby tour associations work in shifts - one per day - to avoid problems and improve their image among foreign tourists," he said. 
Prum Chandy, deputy chief of the Poipet Tourist Police, said he has seen tourist security and services increase dramatically in his three years of service, and complaints from tourists overall have decreased nearly 95 percent.
The frequency of the once daily complaints of pickpockets, visa and money changing scams, as well as hassles from transport companies, have dropped  to an average of less than one per month, he claimed.
But Prum Chandy said the increase of tourists in late November posed a threat to safety and order at  the crossing, so his department has been working with immigration police to get rid of pickpockets and the forceful tactics of private tourism companies.
"We completely cracked down 100 percent," he said. "This doesn't happen anymore."
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Thursday, December 25, 2008

36 Hours in Siem Reap, Cambodia

[image: The New York Times]
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December 28, 2008

By NAOMI LINDT
AS captivating as the temples of Angkor may be, Cambodia’s scorching sun, gritty air and pot-holed roads inevitably take their toll on even the hardiest travelers. Perhaps it’s by necessity, then, that Siem Reap, the town that lodges and feeds Angkor’s million annual visitors, has evolved into a chic haven of rest and relaxation. An international group of chefs has set up the country’s finest tables there, and bartenders in the vibrant night life are versed in sophisticated cocktails. Contemporary art has also found itself a home, with a gallery scene intent on nurturing local artists. It’s as though Siem Reap is finally picking up where the Angkorian kings left off some 600 years ago, resurrecting itself as the center of Khmer taste and culture.
Friday
5 p.m. 1) ANGKOR ART
With Angkor Wat’s inspiring beauty just five miles away, it’s not hard to see why Siem Reap is at the heart of Cambodia’s flourishing art scene. Galleries are popping up in renovated shop houses, and hotels now exhibit the work of young Khmers and regional expats. Art Venues, a free brochure available in upmarket hotels, maps out walking tours to the town’s best spots. McDermott Gallery (FCC Complex, Pokambor Avenue; 855-12-274-274; www.mcdermottgallery.com), known for its emotive, dreamlike photographs of Angkor, takes Asia’s cultural heritage as its curatorial focus. At the Arts Lounge inside the fashionable Hôtel de la Paix (Sivatha Boulevard; 855-63-966-000; www.hoteldelapaixangkor.com), contemporary works fill the minimalist space, where well-heeled guests sip designer cocktails like the Oolong Kiwi Sling, made with tea and vodka.
7 p.m. 2) SWINGING CURRIES
Cambodian cooking doesn’t get the attention it deserves, especially compared with the fare of its food-trendy neighbors, Thailand andVietnam. Though the basic ingredients are similar — lemongrass, garlic, ginger, fish sauce — Khmer cooking is subtler and lighter, employing less chili, pungent herbs and coconut milk. For an innovative lesson on local flavors, sample the seven-course Khmer tasting menu ($31) at Méric, a dimly lighted Art Deco-themed restaurant, also at the Hótel de la Paix (note: dollars are widely accepted in Siem Reap). Dishes, which change daily, might include chicken and pumpkin saraman (a type of Khmer curry) and stir-fried frog’s legs with holy basil served in hollowed-out bamboo reeds and miniature woks. To heighten the experience, dine on one of Méric’s hanging cushioned daybeds, which swing alongside a flame-lighted pool.
9 p.m. 3) FLOWER BATH
Prolong the post-dinner buzz with a pre-slumber rubdown at Frangipani Spa (617/615 Hup Guan Street; 855-12-982-062;www.frangipanisiemreap.com). With modern art on the walls and fresh orchids in vases, the spa feels like the plush digs of a fashionable friend’s home. Sink into the low sofa as you sip tamarind juice while your feet are bathed in a frangipani-filled tub, the prep to a glorious 60-minute massage (from $22).
Saturday
5 a.m. 4) VIEW FROM ON HIGH
It might be brutal, but it’s worth getting up this early to experience the famous Buddhist temples of Angkor Archaeological Park (admission, $20), the 155-square-mile area that counts Angkor Wat among its more than 100 temples. Less crowded at this hour is the ninth-century Phnom Bakheng, a five-tiered, rectangular temple built on a hill. The few lotus-shaped towers that remain are testament to the 108 that once stood. You’ll have to work for the view: it’s a 15-minute hike up to the sandstone terrace, which overlooks an endless expanse of jungle and mist-shrouded hills. It’s a mesmerizing spot from which to watch the sun paint the sky in blues and oranges.
11 a.m. 5) MINING FOR HISTORY
It’s on an idyllic country road lined with stilt houses and lush, neon-green rice fields, but the Cambodia Landmine Museum (20 miles northeast of Siem Reap on the road to Banteay Srei; 855-12-598-951; www.cambodialandminemuseum.org) is a jarring reminder of the country’s three decades of war. Established by a former Khmer Rouge child soldier named Aki Ra, the museum provides a detailed account of Cambodia’s political and social upheaval, including the Khmer Rouge insurgency, which ended only 10 years ago. Efforts to clear unexploded ordnance and millions of land mines have been made since the 1990s, yet it’s estimated that fewer than half have been cleared. Mr. Aki Ra has deactivated about 50,000 of them; many are on view.
12:30 p.m. 6) COLONIAL COOKING
Cambodia’s heat and intensity demand long, replenishing lunches. Only a Frenchman could dream up Chez Sophéa (across from Angkor Wat; 855-12-858-003), an open-air restaurant with wooden tables and white linens that serves rillettes de canard, charcoal-grilled steaks and crème de chocolat — all next door to the temples. The owner, Matthieu Ravaux, lives on the premises, so you’re technically eating in his dining room. Set menu for $18.
4 p.m. 7) FAIR-TRADE SHOPPING
After a lunch-induced nap, it’s time to put your dollars to good use at some of Siem Reap’s community-friendly shops. In the center of town, Senteurs d’Angkor (Pithnou Street; 855-63-964-801; www.senteursdangkor.com) sells spices, coffee and bath products, wrapped in palm-leaf packages. For flirty frocks and custom-made quilts, try Samatoa (Pithnou Street; 855-63-96-53-10;www.samatoa.com), a fair-trade label that specializes in silk. The hand-painted cards and cute canvas bags at Rajana (Pub Street; 855-12-481-894; www.rajanacrafts.org) are produced by Cambodians down on their luck.
7 p.m. 8) COMMUNIST KITCHEN
There’s no need to reserve a table at Restaurant Pyongyang (4 Airport Road; 855-63-760-260) — it seats over 400. Besides, it would be anti-Communist. Every evening, between servings of fantastic bulgogi ($8.70) and bibimbap ($6), pretty North Korean waitresses in short red dresses put on elaborate song and dance routines. Though the tile floors and faux-wood paneling aren’t exactly impressive, the cultural pageantry is. With a karaoke screen displaying waterfalls and snow-capped mountains, the girls perform peppy propaganda tunes to a compliant and clapping audience.
10 p.m. 9) RED LANTERN DISTRICT
With a name like Pub Street, you won’t have any trouble finding Siem Reap’s prime night-life drag. But if beer girls, big-screen TVs and $3 pitchers aren’t your style, head a block north to Miss Wong (the Lane; 855-92-428-332) for a taste of vintage Shanghai. The cherry-red lantern that dangles from the doorway beckons passers-by. Inside, slip into one of the intimate leather booths for an Indochine Martini, a mixture of vodka, ginger cognac and fresh pineapple juice ($4.50). For dance beats and late-night snacks, take the party two blocks to trendy Linga Bar (the Passage; 855-12-246-912; www.lingabar.com), a mixed, gay-friendly lounge with killer mojitos.
Sunday
7:30 a.m. 10) BARGAIN BREAKFAST
Early morning is social hour for Khmers, with men filling outdoor cafes to sip iced coffee and women gathering at local markets to shop and eat breakfast. At Psar Chaa, or Old Market, the butchers and produce sellers will be in full force, peddling dried fish, fruit stacked in neat pyramids, and freshly pounded kroeung (an herbal paste used in many dishes). Pull up a plastic stool at one of the food counters and order a bowl of baay sac chruuk — superthin pieces of grilled pork served with white rice and a tangy cucumber and ginger salad (about 5,000 riel, $1.27, at 4,029 riel to the dollar).
11 a.m. 11) SLEEPING BEAUTY
Until a few years ago, tough road conditions meant that only the bravest travelers ventured to Beng Mealea (45 miles from Siem Reap on the road to Koh Ker), a sprawling sandstone temple that has been nearly consumed by the jungle. But a new route replaced the single-plank bridges and motorbike-only track, cutting the travel time from a half-day to just under an hour by car. Built in the 12th century, this forgotten sanctuary is nearly as big as Angkor Wat but gets a fraction of the visitors. The destruction is breathtaking: towers reduced to tall mounds of rubble, thick webs of tree roots snaking through the walls, and faceless carvings, their heads cut out and sold. Still, the place has seen worse: until 2003, the surrounding grounds were littered with land mines. Now it’s ripe for a fresh start.
THE BASICS
Flights to Siem Reap from the United States require a plane change. A recent online search found an Asiana Airlines flight fromKennedy Airport to Siem Reap, via Seoul, starting at $1,200 for travel in January. From Siem Reap Airport, it’s a $5 taxi ride into town.
The Khmer-chic rooms at La Résidence d’Angkor (River Road; 855-63-963-390; www.residencedangkor.com) have hardwood floors, silk and bamboo accents and giant whirlpool tubs. Rooms start at $175.
With its minimalist aesthetic, neutral palette and saltwater pool, the seven-room Viroth’s Hotel (0658 Wat Bo Village; 855-63-761-720;www.viroth-hotel.com) provides a welcome respite from temple overload. Rooms from $80.
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Cambodia: Buying a private piece of paradise

[image: International Herald Tribune] By Alex Frew McMillan
Thursday, December 25, 2008
No man is an island. But plenty of people fancy the idea of owning one.
It may seem that Asia would be a magnet for "islomaniacs." Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world, with 17,000 islands. The Philippines has about 7,100 or so, depending on the tides. Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam all have extensive coastlines.
But real estate laws do not make it easy for foreigners to own property in Southeast Asia, and most islands either do not have clear ownership rights or are already settled. Also, the few places that do come on the market can have prohibitive costs, thanks to demand from hotel developers.
Given all those difficulties, several new developments are selling villas on private islands that are adjacent to high-end hotels. Owners can have their island retreat without having to absorb the total cost of keeping it habitable.
Aman Resorts is selling villas that start at $3 million on a private island in the Philippines. Owners have unfettered access to the resort's facilities and can live at their property, use it as a holiday home or include it in the company's rental pool.
Similarly, Soneva Kiri, a resort run by Six Senses on the Thai island of Koh Kood, is selling villas starting at $4.5 million. There also is a private island for sale nearby at $38 million.
And the Jumeirah Private Island project in Phuket, Thailand, is selling private residential villas and estates next to a resort, with prices starting at $3.2 million.
The developers of all these projects say it is too early to tell how the global real estate slump and credit crisis will affect sales - or whether persistent political problems in Thailand will take a special toll on that country's projects.
There are options for buyers with smaller budgets, like The Village at Coconut Island, a private island just off Phuket, with prices starting around $610,000. Also, a startup called Barefoot Investments is beginning its first project on a private island in the Philippines, the Cacao Pearl in Palawan, with homes starting at $210,000.
"There's a wide selection of interest for private islands that would support a development that's a hop skip and a jump from a five-star resort," said David Simister, chairman of CB Richard Ellis for Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. "It's the ideal balance."
Marlon Brando's experiences in the South Pacific while shooting the 1962 movie "Mutiny on the Bounty" inspired him to buy Tetiaroa, an atoll surrounded by 13 smaller islands, which he owned until his death in 2004.
In recent years, Dick Bailey, an American hotelier based in Tahiti, has been trying to develop a luxury hotel, The Brando, at Tetiaroa. But the controversial project has faced legal wrangling over Brando's will and wishes for the atoll as well as delays.
Brando had many ideas for his sanctuary, but few came to fruition - a common problem for island owners. Getting enough potable water is a significant problem. So is access, if the island is remote. And owners have to import all their household goods and building materials.
"If the island is too small, just a palm tree and a beach, you can't do anything with that because there is no water," said Charlotte Filleul, general manager of resort property for CB Richard Ellis in Thailand. "It has to be a certain size, and once it is a certain size it is impractical. It is not easy to make it work."
But, with enough money, there are ways to get around the problems.
Six Senses is offering the Thai island of Koh Raet, with a 10-bedroom villa and full management services, for $38 million. It says the spot, opposite Koh Kood and the Soneva Kiri resort, has drawn interest from potential buyers in the Middle East, Taiwan and Russia, but no one has committed.
"There are only so many private islands you can buy, and this one is fully managed and serviced by Soneva," said Adam Taugwalder, the sales and marketing director for the company's residences division.
As required by Thai law, it would be sold on a 30-year lease, with two extensions of the same duration; the company promising additional extensions, if possible.
Six Senses made its name with its flagship resorts in the Maldives, Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili. The expansion into private property is something of a gamble for the company, but the founders - the chief executive, Sonu Shivdasani, and his wife and creative director, Eva Shivdasani - say they started their hotels so they could have their own house at Soneva Fushi. Now, they are offering such access to others.
The TGR Group is developing a similar project with Jumeirah Private Island, which the owners had originally planned for their own use.
"It grew from the idea that it would be fantastic to have a private island in this region," said Anthony Franklin, a TGR partner and its marketing director. "And then once you start to work on the logistics, you realize you need service."
TGR is a syndicate of European investors that started looking at Thai property, particularly Koh Samui, after the 2004 tsunami. They took on a local partner in Dilokpol Sundaravej, the former Thailand manager of Bovis Lend Lease and nephew of Samak Sundaravej, who stepped down as Thai prime minister in September.
The partners decided Phuket had the international schools and amenities they required, and, with undeveloped beachfront in very short supply there, they decided to expand to nearby islands. But few are suitable, and most are controlled by the Thai Navy.
Jumeirah Private Island sits in Phang Nga Bay, just northeast of Phuket and near its international airport. TGR drilled a tunnel under the seabed to put in fiber-optic cables, electricity and water pipes, to turn the island - also called Koh Raet - into a developable site. It also dredged the marina, put in roads and hired the Jumeirah Group, best known for running the sail-shaped Dubai hotel Burj Al Arab, to operate the resort, which is due to open in 2010.
The project has three types of private property for sale: 15 estates that start at $6 million, 34 large residences and several smaller, two-bedroom villas.
Posted by Saigon Charlie at 6:46 PM1 comments[image: icon18_email.gif][image: icon18_edit_allbkg.gif]

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Angkor, Cambodia-A world wonder

Angkor, Cambodia

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Angkor, in northwestern Cambodia, is the site where Khmer kings established their capitals from the ninth to the twelfth century. Angkor was a highly developed civilization, as demonstrated by its temples, sculpture and bas-reliefs, as well as its elaborate irrigation system. Today, Angkor is an extensive archaeological site covering more than 400-square kilometers. More than 100 temples can be seen there. However, civil houses, including palaces, which were built with wood, no longer exist. Up to the twelfth century, kings were Hindu. At the end of this century, a Buddhist king built a number of temple complexes.
The archaeological site includes many treasures, the most beautiful of which is the Hindu temple of Angkor Wat, constructed during the first half of twelfth century. The last capital was Angkor Thom, a city of nine-square kilometers, in the middle of which was built the Bayon, around 1200. It underwent important changes until the end of the century. At this time, Angkor kings were the masters of the most important empire in Southeast Asia.[image: Angkor-Wat-Cambodia-Siem-Reap-Hrtfried-Schmid.jpg][image: Angkor-a.jpg] [image: 186709-Angkor-Wat-0.jpg][image: angkor_wat.gif] The power of the Khmer kings gradually decreased, and after the middle of fifteenth century, Angkor was just the center of a small kingdom until the end of sixteenth century.
Threats to the archaeological site of Angkor include looting, vandalism and natural forces. In 1860, French explorer Henri Mouhot encountered Angkor and drew the attention of the western world to the site. Soon after, there were several expeditions which occasionally removed sculptures from Angkor and other sites in Cambodia, and brought them back to Paris, along with many mouldings shown presently in Musée Guimet. From 1908 to 1970, the Conservation d'Angkor protected Angkor. During the genocide and years after, Angkor was inaccessible and the site suffered from neglect.[image: Angkor_2.jpg][image: angkor-wat.jpg][image: angkor_thom.jpg][image: 041110043%20Angkor%20Thom%20Moat.jpg][image: 800px-East_gate_to_Angkor_Thom.jpg][image: Angkor-Wat-from-the-air.JPG][image: 2800971.jpg][image: Cambodia+2008+%2877+of+193%29.jpg]
Posted by Saigon Charlie at 10:41 PM0 comments[image: icon18_email.gif][image: icon18_edit_allbkg.gif]

Cambodia's Inmates Call for Fair Play

Cambodia's 10,892 prisoners held in 24 prisons have to turn to family or NGOs when mistreated in prison, while the government makes no serious promise toward change. Human Rights workers stress that even convicts should not be deprived of their human rights.

PHNOM PENH - There is only one visit a week from a local NGO to Prey Sar's Correctional Centre 2, and Pov Chanthy, a 38-year-old female inmate with a 2-year-old daughter, always welcomes it enthusiastically.
As one of the 50 female prisoners in one room, with mats rolled up so that everyone can move during the day, Chanthy confronts poor prison living conditions with an overcrowded cell, starchy food with no nutritional value, and a notoriously corrupt system in the prison. “I don't eat enough and things here are three times more expensive than outside, so only those with money live without worries,” she says. The 38-year-old was sentenced to 20 years for allegedly dealing drugs. She has spent the last two years behind bars and already wishes she had never gotten near where drugs were being raided. “My life is so difficult here--I want to cry every day,” Chanthy, pale, says in the prison. Such a story is typical among Cambodian inmates who are provided two meals per day worth 1,500 Riel (38 cents), including soap and other living necessities. The Ministry of Interior has allocated the Prison Department 1,500 Riel (38 cents) per prisoner per day since 2006, yet it is obvious that “this small amount can barely cover the inmate's meals and it is the prisoner who ultimately suffers,” says the recent report by the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, Licadho. “We have proposed to the government that they improve the prison system by increasing the food budget for prisoners,” says Svay Thy. “But the government and the prison department only say they will do something.” The government's low income tax and lax rule in practical justice to prisoners are real obstacles for prison system reformation, stresses Svay Thy. But Licadho is also apprehensive about another obvious issue. One fifth of all the inmates in Cambodia, that is 2,793 prisoners, are still remanded, spending several years waiting for being sentenced, which has prompted rights groups to be concerned with justice in the country. Lack of Key Standards Every day, they are allowed less break time to go outside their cell in order to stretch their arms and legs, explains Svay Thy, prison supervisor of Licadho. With a doubling up in cell occupancy in old prison buildings, each inmate is allowed little space to sleep and there have always been complaints about lack of nutrition, water, and break time outside the cells, according to Licadho. “Even though prisoners have been sentenced to jail, they still have the right to live decently. Only their freedom is confined to one place according to basic human rights,” explains Svay Thy. “Besides what the human rights universal declaration states, the prison regulations and the country's constitution state that whoever you are and wherever you are from, your basic human rights still remain and can't be deprived.” This prison activist continues saying that compared to others countries Cambodian prisons still lack some important elements regarding the accommodation, break-time outside the cell, and vocational training for prisoners. The rate of torture and physical and sexual assault is declining, however he warns that prisoners' rights will be more violated if the prison conditions deteriorate. Already, the lack of food and other facilities such as water and medical care in prisons cause prisoners to depend on their better-off relatives to visit them once a week, so that the family can bring in supplies. In contrast, poor prisoners who account for 80 percent of the population in prisons, have to live on what the state provides. With food and fuel prices rising, many get fewer visits from their families. Like other poor inmates, Chanthy gets one visit from her disabled husband every two or three months. “It would be unfair to turn to my husband when he can hardly support himself,” says Chanthy. Widespread Corruption While corruption may be frowned upon, it is often a saving grace for prisoners who can afford to buy the food that they need to survive from the guards, observers from Licadho say. Bribing prison guards is common practice among visitors for the prisoners' survival, a Licadho report released in January 2007 points out. Mong Kim Heng, the director of Prey Sar Correction Centre 1,25 km north of Phnom Penh, plays down the accusations of bribery, instead saying that “to give a little money to prison guards is a normal and generous offer from visitors.” But, the acknowledgment of “little gifts” by this official is in contradiction to the reports of visitors who were refused entry into some prisons in late October this year unless they paid between 25 to 50 dollars in exchange for visitation rights. Prison not home Most of the prisons are in a deteriorating state, with dilapidated buildings and do not provide any vocational training. Only three prisons which were turned into national “model” correctional centres, have agri-industrial programs and job training. “Prisons located in Phnom Penh receive more attention than prisons in the provinces, where the provincial prisons are largely ignored. Inmates' cells in the provinces are close together, which causes fear of physical abuse to the weak, especially to women and children,” Svay Thy says. Prisoners in the model correctional centres have opportunities and more privileges than others with access to agri-industrial programs, so they have a chance to leave their cells for some exercise and fresh air, Svay Thy says. “Staying in all the time can cause exhaustion and depression.” But the government officials point out and accept the hard conditions of the Cambodian inmates and say prisoners are treated the same everywhere. “We see all the problems here in the prison, but if the prison is like home, it's not a prison at all,” says Mong Kim Heng, director at Correction Centre 1. “Normally, no luxury of good food or rooms can be found in a prison.” Chab Si Neang, director of Correctional Centre 2, agrees with Mong Kim Heng. “ I admit that the cells are very narrow and the 1,500 Riel-meals can't provide sufficient nutrition but this is because Cambodia has been tightening its laws and we are discussing the problems,” says Chab Si Neang, claiming that more people have to cram into a tiny cell as a punishment for the crime they committed.
Posted by Saigon Charlie at 10:40 PM0 comments[image: icon18_email.gif][image: icon18_edit_allbkg.gif]

The sorry state of Buddhism in Cambodia

A former communist preaches good behavior to monks who are led by another former communist politburo member

[image: Hun+Sen+-+Tep+Vong+%28PPP%29.jpg]Comrade Hun Sen, a former KR soldier, is being blessed by Comrade Tep Vong, a former PRK communist politburo member (Hochimonk) under the gaze of King-Father and Queen-Mother's photos (Photo by:Kem Sovannara)
Bad Buddhists behave: PM 
Friday, 19 December 2008  Written by Vong Sokheng  The Phnom Penh Post
Hun Sen urges wayward monks to follow Buddha's rules
PRIME Minister Hun Sen on Thursday appealed to the Kingdom's Buddhist clergy to behave, saying monks' misdeeds are causing citizens to lose respect for religion and thereby hastening a decline in religious belief.
"If monks cause social problems, it is very difficult for me," Hun Sen said during the closing ceremony of the 17th monk congress Thursday in Phnom Penh.
"If monks behave disreputably, I will not help. I will run away, and those monks will have no one but themselves to blame when people lose confidence in Buddhist monks," he said.
Hun Sen urged the Sangha - or community of monks - to respect the Vinaya - the rules by which monks must live. He said he had been shocked when he saw Buddhist monks dancing in a recording on one of his children's mobile phones, and mentioned an unidentified temple where the chief monk had collected money from ceremonies to buy himself a car.
However, he said this did not reflect on the overall spiritual health of the nation.
"These are individual monks making problems. Citizens should not consider it an issue of the whole religion, but equally, we must not be careless over the issue," Hun Sen said.
Chea Vannath, an independent social analyst, said that disputes between monks, or between monks and laypeople, were increasing.
"With a growing culture of globalisation and materialism, both monks and officials are seeking their personal happiness and have stopped concentrating on the rules of Buddha," she said.
But others welcomed monks increasingly moving into the secular sphere, with Min Khin, minister of cults and religions, using his speech at the closing ceremony to highlight the contribution some 20,000 monks who voted in the July national election made to the victory of the ruling Cambodian People's Party.
"Monks have played an important role in the development of the nation and in the recent election," Min Khin said.
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Cambodia's Summarized History

The Funan Kingdom, believed to have started around the first century BC, is the first known kingdom of Cambodia. The kingdom was strongly influenced by Indian culture by shaping the culture, art and political system.

An alphabetical system, religions and architectural styles were also Indian contributions to the Funan Kingdom. There is archeological evidence of a commercial society in the Mekong Delta that prospered from the 1st to 6th centuries.
Returning from abroad, a Khmer prince declared himself the ruler of a new kingdom during the 9th century. Known as Jayavarman II, he started a cult that honored Shiva, a Hindu god, as a devaraja (god-king) which then linked the king to Shiva.
He also began the great achievements in architecture and sculpture while his successors built an immense irrigation system around Angkor.. His successors (26 from the early 9th to the early 15th century), built a tremendous number of temples - of which there are over a thousand sites and stone inscriptions (on temple walls).
By the 12th century, Cambodia had spread into other areas, now known as Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Malaysia (the peninsula). There is actually still evidence of Khmer inhabitance in Thailand and Laos to this day.
The 13th and 14th centuries were not as successful for Cambodia, some believe it was due to the increased power of (and wars with) Thai kingdoms that had at one time paid homage to Angkor. Others believe it was due to the induction of Theravada Buddhism, which was totally contrary to the Cambodian societal structure at that time. After this time historical records are rather sketchy at best regarding Cambodia and it is considered the "Dark Ages" of Cambodian history.
Cambodia was ravaged by Vietnamese and Thai invasions and wars up until the 19th century, when new dynasties in these countries fought over control of Cambodia. The war, that began in the 1830's almost destroyed Cambodia. King Norodom signed a treaty that enabled the French to be a protectorate, thus effectively stopping the Viet-Thai war within. For the next 90 years, France in essence ruled over Cambodia.
Although officially they were just advisors, it was known that the French had final say on all topics of interest. Although the French built roadways and made other improvements regarding trade and transportation, they sadly neglected the Cambodian educational system, which is still not effective to this day.
In 1953, Cambodia managed to gain their independence in spite of World War II and the First Indochina War. Their independence was obtained through the political savvy of King Sihanouk. Wanting to be released from the pressures of the monarchy, Sihanouk abdicated the throne and became a full time politician.
He started a political faction called the People's Socialist Community (Sangkum Reastr Niyum) which then won by a landslide in the 1955 national elections. In part the success was due to his popularity, but also from police brutality at the polling stations.
In 1960, when his father died he was named head of state (up until then he'd been the prime minister). Although he had remained neutral in a struggle between the US and USSR regarding tensions in Vietnam, he changed his position in 1965 and eliminated diplomatic relations with the US.
At the same time he allowed the Communist Vietnamese access to Cambodian soil to set up bases. With the Cambodian economy becoming unstable, Sihanouk decided to renew his relations with the US, who were secretly planning on bombing Cambodian areas suspected of housing Vietnamese Communists.
While Sihanouk was abroad in 1970, he was ousted from power and fled to China. General Lon Nol, the prime minister, had hoped for US aid, but the US was occupied with Vietnamese troubles and didn't help. In the meantime, since his army was ill-equipped, they couldn't stop an invasion by the South Vietnamese, searching for North Vietnamese.
To add to Lon Nol's problems, Sihanouk had been persuaded to set up a government while in exile, called the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge became a thorn in Lon Nol's side along with the Vietnamese until the Khmer regime collapsed. Another contributing factor to the collapse was the repeated US bombing of the Cambodian countryside. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge was able to take over Phnom Penh and shortly thereafter, the North Vietnamese were occupying South Vietnam.
The Khmer Rouge felt antipathy toward Cambodians living in urban areas and forced them to the countryside where they were forced to work in various forms of agriculture. Leading the Khmer Rouge was a man by the name of Saloth Sar, better known as Pol Pot. The government, Democratic Kampochea (DK), was run in part by rural Cambodians who were illiterate, but had fought along with the Khmer Rouge in the war.
The derision and ill-treatment felt towards the former city dwellers was slightly better than the treatment of anyone intellectual, religious, and those who were believed to be against the regime - their punishment was death. During Pol Pot's (Khmer Rouge's) regime over twenty percent of Cambodia's population was murdered.
The Khmer Rouge's plan to attack Vietnam and other areas backfired when the Vietnamese surprised Cambodia with an attack of over 100,000 troops. They were accompanied by Cambodian Communist rebels and managed to invade Phnom Penh, which had been vacated by the Khmer Rouge the day before.
The Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot among them, fled to the Thai-Cambodian border, where they were given asylum by the Thai government, which was unfriendly to Vietnam.
The Vietnamese established a regime in Cambodia that included many members of the Khmer Rouge as well as Cambodians who had fled to Vietnam before 1975. Not to be swayed, the Khmer Rouge and it's followers created a government that was hostile to Vietnam while in exile, also known as DK.
The UN upheld this government in exile, with the support given to it by the US, China and Thailand. With more ensuing conflicts between the two governments, many of Cambodia's finest along with the general population, totaling over half a million people, resettled in other countries.
By the end of 1989, the Cold War had ended which had the Vietnamese exiting Cambodia. Without financial support from the Soviets, the Vietnamese couldn't keep their troops in the country.
This withdrawal made things difficult for Cambodians, especially the prime minister, Hun Sen. The Khmer Rouge had not disappeared, but had made their presence known and were threatening military action. Since Cambodia was without much needed foreign aid, they discarded socialism and tried to get investors interested in the country.
Another major change was in the country's name, it was changed to the State of Cambodia (SOC), while the KPRP (who currently ruled Cambodia) changed their name to the Cambodian People's Party. An attempt to have a free-market economy just increased the gap between the rich and the poor with many government officials becoming millionaires.
In 1991, the UN, Cambodia, and other interested parties came to an agreement to end the Cambodian conflict. A United Nations Transitional Authority (UNTAC) and a Supreme National Council (SNC) were formed and were comprised of members from different factions within Cambodia. The agreement in Paris and the UN protectorate started competitive politics in Cambodia, something they hadn't seen for about 40 years.
In May 1993, UNTAC sponsored an election for the national assembly, which ended up ousting the military regime. The Cambodians wanted a royalist party, FUNCINPEC, but Hun Sen, who won the second largest number of seats, refused to give up his power. Fortunately a compromise was reached and a government was formed with two prime ministers, FUNCINPEC had the first prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen became the second prime minister.
A name change for the country was in order, so in 1993 Cambodia became known as the Kingdom of Cambodia and Sihanouk became the king once again after ratifying a new constitution which re-established the monarchy. After these changes were made, the UN no longer accepted the DK as the ruling party, thus causing them (the DK) to lose their seat and power in the UN.
The tentative compromise between the FUNCINPEC and the CPP fell apart in 1997 when Prince Ranariddh was overseas. Hun Sen took advantage of the Prince's absence and organized a violent takeover to replace him. He replaced Prince Ranariddh with another member of the FUNCINPEC, but this time with one who was more easily manipulated and compliant. In spite of this takeover, the elections of 1998 were carried out, but not without foreign observations.
Although it was stated the voting was fair, the CPP hassled it's opposition and following the elections many were put in jail while a few others were killed. Once again, the results were not accepted, but this time it was Prince Ranariddh who opposed it. Yet again another compromise was reached with Hun Sen as the only prime minister and with Prince Ranariddh as the president of the national assembly.
Things are stabilizing in Cambodia, but not without the help and support of foreign aid. With the outside world's interest waning, it's help is steadily decreasing, hich is discouraging any hopes for economic advancement and democracy.
Reference:http://www.blogger.com/www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/cambodia/pro-history.htm%20-%2048k
Posted by Saigon Charlie at 9:01 PM0 comments[image: icon18_email.gif][image: icon18_edit_allbkg.gif]

In Cambodia, a Clash Over History of the Khmer Rouge

By Erika Kinetz

Special to The Washington Post Tuesday, May 8, 2007; Page A14
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, May 7 -- In a country where half the students who enter grammar school never finish, Cheak Socheata, 18, is among the most privileged of her generation: She made it to college.
But even Cheak, a first-year medical student at Phnom Penh's University of Health Sciences, has learned next to nothing in school about the Khmer Rouge, who in a little less than four years in power executed, tortured and starved to death an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians, about a quarter of the population.
"I just heard from my parents that there was mass killing," Cheak said. "It's hard to believe." Her high school history teacher told her the basics -- the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 -- and advised her to read about the rest on her own, she recalled.
Nearly three decades after the Khmer Rouge were overthrown, a battle over history is underway in Cambodia. On one side are forces eager to reckon with the past, both in school and at a special court set up to try the surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge. Many teachers, students and activist groups say more should be taught about the Khmer Rouge years, which is virtually absent from school curriculums now.
Blunting these demands is a government whose top leaders were once associated with the now-defunct communist movement and who seem loath to cede control over such a politically sensitive chapter of Cambodian history.
"Suppose that ever since 1945, Germany had been ruled by former Nazis," said Philip Short, author of "Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare," a biography of the Khmer Rouge leader published in 2004. "Would the history of the Nazi regime be taught honestly in Germany today? This is now Cambodia's problem."
A new high school textbook about the era, the first written by a Cambodian, was recently published by the Documentation Center of Cambodia, an independent institute in Phnom Penh that specializes in Khmer Rouge history. In "A History of Democratic Kampuchea," author Khamboly Dy, 26, spells out in 11 detailed chapters the rise, reign and fall of the Khmer Rouge, who called themselves the Communist Party of Kampuchea and the country, Democratic Kampuchea.
A Cambodian government review panel deemed the book unsuitable for use in the regular curriculum. Instead, the panel said the book could be used as supplementary reference material and as a basis for the Ministry of Education to write its own textbook.
"It's a start. The door is open," said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center, which has been pushing to get a textbook into classrooms since 1999.
Short said Khamboly's text is hard to fault on substantive historical grounds. "It deserves to be not merely an approved textbook for Cambodian schools but a compulsory text, which all Cambodian schoolchildren should be required to study," he said.
Its sidelining reflects the failure of the country's current leaders to move beyond their Khmer Rouge past, he said. Prime Minister Hun Sen, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and Senate President Chea Sim were all middle-ranking Khmer Rouge officials, he said.
The three men left Cambodia for Vietnam in the late 1970s and returned with Vietnamese army forces that overthrew Pol Pot in 1979. Today, their political legitimacy rests in part on their credentials as men who helped free Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge tyranny.
Heng Samrin said it was unfair to implicate him and other top officials of the ruling Cambodian People's Party in the crimes of the Khmer Rouge.
In an interview with a Cambodian journalist, he maintained that the term "Khmer Rouge" refers only to people who joined the National United Front of Kampuchea, which in the first half of the 1970s fought the U.S.-backed Lon Nol government but later betrayed the revolution and killed innocent people.
He and his colleagues only fought to liberate Cambodia from Lon Nol and his imperialist henchmen, he said. "We were not involved in the Khmer Rouge regime," he said, adding that he had been only a "simple soldier."
Khamboly said that picking his way through politically charged points was the most difficult aspect of writing the book, which was printed with $10,000 from the Soros Foundation's Open Society Institute and the National Endowment for Democracy. By citing sources, focusing on survivor stories and seeking neutral language, Khamboly said, he hoped to avoid political tussles.
It wasn't enough. The committee that reviewed the text criticized it for giving too much attention to the years after 1979, when Cambodian factions fought a long civil war, and for tracing the roots of the Khmer Rouge back to the struggle against French colonization and to Ho Chi Minh's Indochinese Communist Party.
Committee members also said naming individuals associated with the Khmer Rouge government was "unnecessary" and a threat to their safety.
History "should be kept for at least 60 years before starting to discuss it," said committee member Sorn Samnang, president of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, a graduate school, according to the minutes of a Dec. 14 meeting of the review panel.
There is a long-standing political debate in Cambodia over whether Vietnam liberated or invaded the country when it ousted the Khmer Rouge.
Khamboly's book uses neither term, saying only that Vietnamese forces "fought their way into Cambodia."
"We use facts," Khamboly said. "Whether they invaded or liberated the country is an interpretation."
But in Cambodia, as in other post-conflict states, there are few facts that belong to everybody. In a Sept. 19 letter to Hun Sen, the premier, his education adviser, Sean Borat, generally praised the book but took issue with Khamboly's failure to characterize the Vietnamese action as a liberation.
He also objected to the book's characterization of Cambodians who returned with the Vietnamese in 1979 as "Khmer Rouge defectors." That phrase, Sean Borat wrote, must be deleted because "the Cambodian People's Party did not originate from Khmer Rouge soldiers but from a massive movement that emerged to oppose the brutal regime led by Pol Pot."
The offending phrase was removed from the final version of the book.
Young Cambodians haven't been formally taught much about the Khmer Rouge in school since propaganda texts of the 1980s, when Cambodia was ruled by the communist government that the Vietnamese installed. Those books depicted the Khmer Rouge with such graphic ferocity that some children grew up thinking they were actual monsters.
These books were taken out of use in 1991, when U.N.-brokered peace talks ended more than a decade of civil war and led to elections.
In 2002, a 12th-grade history textbook touching on the Pol Pot years was introduced but quickly recalled after controversy arose over the book's omission of the 1993 electoral victory of the royalist Funcinpec party. A new version of the text has yet to appear. Ministry of Education officials say they plan to publish a new book in 2009; they blame the delay on lack of funds.
In the meantime, Cambodia's youth are "a lost generation," said Chea Vannath, former president of the Center for Social Development, a local rights group. In the absence of a shared national story about the Khmer Rouge, a thousand conversations, fractured by politics, rumor, myth and the varieties of human experience are being passed down to a sometimes skeptical younger generation.
"When a kid doesn't eat all the rice on the plate, his mother tells him, 'If you were in the Pol Pot regime, you would die because you don't have enough food,' " said Nou Va, 27, a program officer at the Khmer Institute for Democracy, a nonprofit group that recently produced a documentary film about the generation gap. "The kid says, 'Oh, she's just saying that to blame us. I don't believe it.' "
The battle for history is also being waged at a former military headquarters on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, where a special tribunal set up by the United Nations and the Cambodian government is struggling to bring to justice those leaders of the Khmer Rouge who survive. (Pol Pot died in 1998.)
Efforts to establish the court go back a decade. Despite recent signs of progress toward convening trials, many observers have concluded that the Cambodian government is not ready for a truly independent inquiry into this chapter of the nation's past.
"Were Hun Sen and his colleagues to permit an honest appraisal of the past, it would be the best proof that they have finally broken with that past and moved out from under the shadow of their Khmer Rouge origins," Short said. "Unfortunately, all the signs continue to point in the opposite direction."
Cheak, the medical student, has a more immediate concern. It's about Khamboly's new book. "Where," she asked, "can I get a copy?"
Posted by Saigon Charlie at 8:53 PM0 comments[image: icon18_email.gif][image: icon18_edit_allbkg.gif]

Friday, December 19, 2008

China's new rail system

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Its central hall is big enough to fit a Boeing 747 and that says much about Beijing South. In many ways it is more like an airport terminal.
Merely pointing out it is the largest railway station in Asia does not begin to do justice to this behemoth. The statistics are as breathtaking as the experience: a roof area equal to 24 football pitches; waiting areas capable of holding 10,000 people at a time, half of them seated; a structure larger than the Bird's Nest; and a capacity to spew forth 30,000 passengers per hour, to name a few.
Welcome to train travel 21st century-style but ponder the aviation parallels.
You arrive via a perimeter ring road to a vast modern building with a row of taxi drop-off points. Departures and arrivals are on different levels to allow for efficient movement of passengers. Above it the glass ceiling's 3,246 solar panels supply the station's electricity needs. Underneath are links to various forms of transport: 800 basement car parking spaces, 40 taxi bays and an area for 30 buses.
The subway hasn't arrived yet but Line 4 is scheduled to be in place next year and Line 14 by 2012.
Buying a ticket is a breeze, either over the counter or at the many machines, and the waiting area resembles a vast departure lounge. The aviation similarities even continued on the journey - staff dressed like airhostesses served free bottles of water to first and second-class passengers and the lock-up toilets, with sit-down facility and granite bench tops, were high quality.
The station opened just in time for the Olympics and although not yet finished, already has various restaurants. The airport analogy ends with the prices, though. Here, the bill is high street, not high-flyer.
This 7-billion-yuan ($1 billion) investment is the jewel in the crown of China's railway network and is something the staff is proud of. A woman surnamed Wu, 30, sells magazines to waiting passengers and transferred to Beijing South three months ago after working in the old Beijing Station for five years.
Despite the station's vast workload, she says: "It works in perfect order under the management of only 150 staff. Our government will keep investing to develop the railway system. In the future, there will be more trains connecting this station to capital cities in provinces across the country."
The station isn't even finished yet but it is already breathtaking. "M-a-t-e!" exclaimed fellow Aussie Bill McGuinness. "This is unbelievable. Back in Australia all we have are stations that are 80 years old and get renovated bit by bit. This is new and state-of-the-art."
The millions of other travelers who have already passed through Beijing South's doors doubtless feel the same way.
The future down the track is bright indeed.
Posted by Saigon Charlie at 12:36 AM0 comments[image: icon18_email.gif][image: icon18_edit_allbkg.gif]

Cambodia and Thailand Border Dispute: The Real History

The Plans of Siem, Yuon, and China

[image: mao+tsetung.bmp]Schemes of Siem, Yuon, and China  ( Cf. extracted from defaced docs of Cambodia history compiled by General Raoul Norotin, part 3) 
When Japan sent its army to make the war at Manchury in the northern of China, Mr. Tat Lat had form a communist party in Moscow of Soviet Union, named "Chinese Communist Party" in order to prepare the army force to defend the Japenese army at that time. Next, in 1930 this party had sent a general with one hand, called Lam Tachung, to form a party to be known as "Indochina Communist Party" at Tung Keong so that this party could defend French army forces in Indochina. 
Comrade Tat Lat, Mr. Mao tse Tung's teacher and the biggest chief, was that time a young revolutionist. China's goal was to form an immediate major military force in the south of China before Soviet Union sent their communist troops down to the south of the republic of China because Soviet Unions had ambition to seize the former territory of French colony. 
Afterwards in 1930 Comrade Ho Chi minh preceeded this movement and General Lam Tachung became a Vietminh military force commander.After the Geneva conference in 1954, Cambodia encounterred a number of problems because of Vietminh forces influxed illegally into Cambodia territory. Because America was aware of Soveit Union and China's tricks, America formed a new organization, called SEATO in order to assemble the forces in the south east Asia to be against the invasion of the international communists. 
Whereas Thailand,then, supported " struggle Khmer Movement " with its decieving reasons were to be against Franch colony; however, it was only for its own benifits. And it hoped that when Cambodia got indepence, the Cambodia provinces where were wanted for long time would be in its controll. 
As my study, it was viewed that the problems taking place with Siem and Yuon were endlessly always caused because these both countries mostly have updated tricks to take an advantage from Cambodia. For instance, in 1949 France administration attached the western Kosaingsin territory , where was the birthplace of Khmer Krom to the free Vietnam to prepare the forces against the influx down of the north communists. Although most of Vietnamese people lived in that territory, all kinds of Khmers considerred that attachment of territory to be illegal and unjust. In 1939 Franch designed the Ligne Brevie, as well. Franch designed this line to attach the Trol Island to touch the Kosaingsin territory for only a purpose of administrative controll without any clarification of ownership. However, afterwards Koh Trol became an exclusive ownership of Vietnam. And because of this reason, it made these both countries trouble, especially on an oil deposit territory. (cf. Summery of Cambodia History, page 55).
[image: ho_chi_minh.jpg]
Vietnam designed a new map with secret without any aggreement from Cambodia party after the geneva conference in 1954, and Thailand also publisized its own map with secret after it was in failure in the lawsuit in La er in 1962. Franch worked out clearly at that time with Siem concerning the borders between Indochina and Siem. 
I would like to indicate that for long time, Cambodia has been using an internationally recognized UTM map designed by Franch and put into application in the country. 
The Thailand's map has not been consistent with French UTMmap because its purpose is to take an advantage from Cambodia territory. Likely, Yuon is not different from Siem. For the map designed by Yuon, the names of the villages, communes, districts, and provinces have been changed into the Vietnamese language sound, and some places were transferred into the Yuon names. 
These were indicated that SEDOC, the ministry of Khmer detectives led by Mr. Colenel Ek Proeung, Cambodia government and especially Khmer embassy in Thailand, did nothing after getting successful in an international base because they did not think of these change with care. How is the Khmer policy prepared to be against Vietnam and Thailand? So far, Khmers would like to get peace with the neigbouring countries but for Yuon and Siem, they think in a different way. 
Cambodia was not only influenced by China, Soviet Union, and France, but also influenced by Yuon and Siem. It was thougt and history was written that Youn and Siem always strategize to find new tactics to take an advantage from Cambodia, especially when Cambodia is facing internal conflicts. 
 
[image: khmer_empire_map.jpg] Figure 1. Khmer Empire during the Height of its Civilization, Before the Appearance of Siam (From Jayavarman II to Jayavarman VII) 
THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE 
Cambodia was a vassal state under Siam during the reign of King Ang Duong. Cambodia had lost Battambang, Sisophon, and Siem Reap to Siam. Siam had placed spies everywhere at the court of Oudong. To get out of the Siam’s manacles, King Norodom who succeeded his father, King Ang Duong, sought out help from France. On 23 March 1907, under the reign of King Sisowath who succeeded his brother, King Norodom, France (as the protectorate of Cambodia) and Siam signed a border treaty that completed the 1904 treaty. In the 1904 treaty Siam ceded Tonlé Repou, Mlou Prey, Koh Kong, and Stung Trèng to Cambodia. The 1907 treaty subsequently produced the French- Siamese Commission 1907 Frontier Line (Figure 2), placing Preah Vihear under the control of Cambodia. The French-Siamese 1907 treaty had Siam ceded almost all Cambodia ancient territory of the 16th century back to Cambodia. The territory included Battambang, Sisophon, Siem Reap, Mongkol Borei, and Tnot (Figures 3 and 4). [image: preah_vihear_map_ICJ.jpg] Figure 3. Map of Cambodia Showing the Te rritory That Siam Ceded To France in 1907 
[image: map_of_cambodia_present_day.jpg] Figure 4. Map of Present Day Cambodia Courtesy: Official Map by the Royal Government of Cambodia Submitted to UNESCO for Preah VihearWorld Heritage List 
In spite of this agreement, Thailand contested in 1934 that the Temple of Preah Vihear belonged to her and their surveyors redrew the frontier to locate Preah Vihear in Thailand’s territory. In 1954 Thailand occupied Preah Vihear. On 6 October 1959, Cambodia, under the leadership of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, petitioned the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of the Hague, Netherlands, to rule on the dispute. By the end of the year, Thailand retaliated with a claim listing Preah Vihear as a national archeological site. On June 15, 1962, the ICJ made a judgment recognizing that the Temple of Preah Vihear belonged to Cambodia using the French-Siamese Commission 1907 Frontier Line as one of the supporting arguments (Figure 5). A satellite photo showing Preah Vihear and its surrounding region with demarcations of the frontier established by the French-Siamese Commission 1907 is presented in Figure 6. Figure 7 shows another satellite photo of Preah Vihear and the Dangrek mountain range. Thailand never protested against the verdict. However, over the years Thailand has unilaterally redrawn the map that contradicts the ICJ judgment (Figures 8- 10). 
Posted by Saigon Charlie at 12:18 AM0 comments[image: icon18_email.gif][image: icon18_edit_allbkg.gif]

Cambodia, 1954 - 1999; Part 2

Cambodia, 1954 - 1999; Part 2

By Albert Grandolini, Tom Cooper, & Troung Jan 25, 2004, 06:25
Catastrophe of Pochentong The growing capabilities of the AVNK and a large number of combat sorties flown could not suppress the activities of the North Vietnamese, especially as Lon Nol saw the reinforced AVNK – exactly like Sihanouk before him – foremost as a threat for his regime. Consequently, in the following years he was foremost interested to slow down the development of the air force. This was directly opposite to what the USA wanted to happen: even more so, Lon Nol’s decision came exactly at the time the AVNK was to suffer its worst blow ever.
In the night of 21 January 1971, 97 sappers of the 367th North Vietnamese Dac Cong Group attacked Pochentong: operating in six groups the Vietnamese cut several corridors through the barbed wire and fought down the security guards of the Cambodian Army before saturating most of the installations on the airfield with heavy fire from automatic weapons and multiple rocket launchers. A group of Vietnamese climbed even to the roof of the commercial terminal at Pochentong and started firing at the ammunition depot – full of napalm bombs. Before anybody could react the Vietnamese disappeared back into the jungle.
When the smoke cleared on the following morning, the Cambodians could count their casualties: 39 officers and other ranks were killed and 170 injured. Fortunately for the AVNK no pilots were killed: the pilot's quarters were not hit by the Vietnamese sappers, as these mainly targeted the aircraft on apron, and also all the pilots were evacuated to some irrigation dikes near the runway during the attack. However, ost of the AVNK aircraft were destroyed, including all MiG-17s, all except six T-28s (these were deployed to Battambang), and UH-1Hs, as well as three O-1s of the SVAF. The catastrophe was so immense that it was later seen as the most influential factor for the demise of Lon Nol's regime. The Pochentong airfield remained closed for almost a week: the tarmac, ammunition depots and the runway had all to be repaired and new equipment brought in from the USA: only days earlier the Congress in Washington decided to supply equipment worth $175 million, but now the Americans were forced to further increase their deliveries in order to completely rebuilt the AVNK. Especially the White House felt compelled to do something: it could not send any troops officially to Cambodia, but it could organize a Military Equipment Delivery Team – Cambodia (MEDTC), which was officially to control the flow of supplies to Pnom Penh, but actually to become deeply involved in training of the Cambodian military.
[image: partII1.jpg] Among the victims of the North Vietnamese sapper attack against Pochentong in 1971 were these Cessna T-37Bs. Cambodia had received four of them that were used not only as trainers but also as light strikers - together with Fouga CM.170 Magisters. (Ken Conboy via A. Grandolini)
[image: partII2.jpg] These two KAF T-28Ds seemingly escaped major damage during the North Vietnamese sapper attack. They were among the few survivors of an attack that had completly wiped out the Cambodian air power. (Ken Conboy via A. Grandolini)
[image: partII3.jpg] Another victim of the Pochentong attack was this Antonov An-2 transport aircraft. The last An-2s were withdrawn from service in 1971 - parked outside their hangars and nearly without spare parts left, they were destroyed during a storm. (Ken Conboy via A. Grandolini)
So Satto was actually requesting jets fighters – especially to replace the destroyed MiG-17Fs. He hoped for new F-5As but the Americans proposed instead former F-86Fs – at the time in the middle of the process of being withdrawn from service with the 4th Wing RTAF. An inspection of the airframes by a Cambodian delegation, however, showed that they were in a very bad shape and so nothing became out of this plan. Nevertheless, in part due to the help of MEDTC members the AVNK was completely rebuilt from its own ashes, in the course being renamed again – this time into Khmer Air Force (KhAF). Its first new aircraft were two AC-47s, the crews of which were trained in Udorn, in Thailand. By the end of 1971 also 16 new T-28Ds were delivered, together with a complete fleet of UH-1Hs, partially supplied from the South Vietnamese stocks. Under these circumstances, already in November 1971 the Cambodians were capable to launch the Operation “Chenla II”, with the task of supporting the their troops on the ground. Some 24 UH-1Hs and eight South Vietnamese UH-1Gs were deployed, together with few SVAF AC-47s and AC-119s, many of which had Cambodian pilots in the cockpit, to learn and act as observers. From early 1972 also some Taiwanese and Australian instructors were deployed to Pochentong.
[image: partII4.jpg]
On 15 Devember 1971 the KhAF became a fully independent service, separated from the Army, and with its own budget, and by February 1972 it boasted 23 T-28Ds, three AC-47s, nine own UH-1Hs, and several T-41s. Several pilots were meanwhile qualified to fly FAC-missions. In general, however, the problem of the elack of trained flying crews was still persistent, and several pilots were killed in accidents, while others were shot down and killed by the North Vietnamese. Early in 1972 the KhAF lost four T-41s and four pilots in different mishaps. In March the Khmer Rouge attacked Pochentong again, destroying at least three U-1As. In August the North Vietnamese shot down one UH-1H using SA-7s, and by the time the KhAF suffered also a loss of 14 T-28Ds, of which eight crashed due to pilot mistakes. No air force – and especially not the KhAF – could sustain such a rate of loss, and consequently drastic measures to improve the situation were needed.
The most crucial problem for the KhAF at the time was the lack of personnel to fullfill its rapid expansion program. The Air Academy, meanwhile transfered from Pochentong to Battambang, was forced to reorganize its training syllabus: instead of a French-inspired training program, a new crash-training program was put into practice. Pilots were trained in a hurry; attack pilots received only a 100-130 basic flight hours program before being posted to an operational T-28D squadron. The new student then received was was called an “on job traing” in combat situation. The losses were heavy, with many young inexperienced pilot killing themselves in accidents. The same thing happen with all the transport, observation and helicopter pilots. The technical personnel training was more thorough but the standard syllabus was also cut short. The departure of the French instructors caused further problems to the Air Academy: they were partly replaced by Taiwanese instructors, but - contrary to many rumours - no Thai or Australian ever served as instructors in Cambodia. Australia indeed had delivered some six C-47s in 1971 but no personnel were send to support the KhAF. Some Taiwanese transport pilots flew with the KhAF C-47 squadron to replace Khmer aircrafs needed for the AC-47 program.
In general, however, the KhAF was an organization independent from Thai and US advisors: the MEDTC role was meanwhile limited only to logistic support. Contrary to the situation in South Vietnam or Laos, no US officers were directly involved even in the planning of operations.
By October, reinforced by five new T-28Ds and additional O-1Ds, the KhAF considerably improved the training of remaining crews, mainly with help of six Taiwanese instructors for C-47s and T-28s. To support the training program, the Air Academy's 16 Gardan Horizon trainers, as well a half a dozen surviving MS.733s and Yak-18/BT-6s were reinforced and later replaced by a dozen of Cessna T-41Ds as well as 12 T-28B/Cs. The later were painted in light gray with engine cowling and wings and tail tips in orange-dayglo, while the T-41Ds were painted in an olive-drab scheme. Additional students were sent to the USA for training, and the KhAF was able to increase the number of combat sorties flown by up to 60 percent.
Just as it appeared as if the Cambodian Air Force would finally recover, on 17 March 1973 Capt. So Patra, a son-in-law of Prince Sihanouk, defected with his T-28 and took a course ono Phnom Penh. After doing several turns around the Presidential Palace he finally attacked, dropping several bombs, killing 43 and injuring 35 in the process. Lon Nol, who was not in the palace at the time, immediately ordered all the members of the royal family and their relatives to be imprisoned. The KhAF was grounded for three days, until an investigation ascertained that So Patra organized his action alone: nevertheless, So Satto was removed from command, and replaced by his vice, Penn Randa.
In long term, the attack against the Presidential Palace was to have tremendous effects on the KhAF, however: the US Congress forbade any additional involvement of the US military in Cambodia and ordered a complete pull-out of all US troops by 15 August 1973. This meant that the KhAF was now left with barely five months to become an air force completely independent from any foreign help: a task that was to prove exceptionally problematic because of described problems. Nevertheless, in the final months of their direct involvement the USA managed to reinforce the KhAF by addition of five C-123K Provider transports, 12 T-28Ds, and six UH-1Gs.
[image: abg04.jpg] AVNK UH-1H "213" seen during combat operations in 1973. (USAF, via Tom Cooper)
[image: abg05.jpg]
AVNK UH-1H "208", as seen in 1973 or 1974. Some Cambodian "Hueys" - including this one - carried prominent insignia on the nose: sadly, not much is known about the one carried on this helicopter. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)
The US Pull-Out With the US pullout it was generally expected that Lon Nol’s regime would collapse almost immediately. However, what happened was exactly the opposite. Especially the KhAF – even if not completely developed, and most of its crews lacking training and experience – was in high spirits and ready to continue the war. Already by the end of August its T-28s flew no less but 700 combat sorties, while the new C-123s flow 94 transport missions. Some mistakes could were not corrected, however: the KhAF was still using the old operations centre in Pochentong, and therefore flew mainly missions against fixed targets instead of using the FAC-tactics. Consequently the T-28 were often too late to find their targets, or missed – sometimes by kilometres.
All US military operations in Cambodia ceased on 15 August 1973. Sensing the victory at hand, the Khmer Rouge launched an all out offensive against Phnom Penh with over 75 000 men. Lon Nol requested a last minute effort from the US airpower, and in response all the USAF aircraft still deployed in South East Asia - including over 400 B-52s, F-4s, F-111s and A-7Ds - launched repeated strikes against enemy targets on the outskirts of the capital. At times, crowds gathered on the west bank of the Mekong River to watch them hit Khmer Rouge targets on the opposite shore. This massive air campaign thwarted the Communist offensive. At one point, when it appeared the Khmer Rouge might block river traffic again, the USAF launched an emergency C-130 airlift from U-Tapao to Phnom Penh’s airport. It delivered munitions, rice, and military equipment. The USAF transports also parachuted supplies to several towns under siege by enemy. By mid-August 1973, the C-130s had flown some 666 sorties.
As the deadline drew near, the USAF was involved in a tragic accident. On 6 August 1973, a B-52 mistakenly dropped 20 tons of bombs on the friendly city of Neak Luong, 38 miles southeast of Phnom Penh. The town was situated on the Mekong River bank and served as an important base for both the Cambodian and South Vietnamese Navies. The raid killed or wounded more than 400 people.
The last US air strike in Cambodia occured on the morning of 15 August 1973 with a last bombing mission carried out by a flight of A-7Ds. According to official statistics, the USAF had flown some 39 999 tactical sorties from March 1970 to August 1973 in Cambodia, dropping 78 154 tons of bombs. The B-52s flew an additional 5 979 sorties during the same period, and dropping 125 706 tons of bombs. Exact figures about USN operations over Cambodia remain unknown, but it is known that the carrier USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) made a combat cruise in the Gulf of Siam, in 1973, and that her aircraft flew combat sorties over Cambodia as well.
The US fixed-wing losses in Cambodia were considerable too: the USAF alone lost 39 aircraft, including eight F-4 Phantom IIs, one F-111A, six F-110s, two A-7Ds, and five A-37Bs. Numerous reconnaissance aircraft were shot down as well, including two RF-4Cs, six OV-10As, six O-2As, and two O-1s. A lone USAF C-123K was also destroyed while in Cambodia.
US Operations after August 1973 If after August 1973 all US combat operations ceased in Cambodia, air resuply missions continued. At the year’s end the air bridge brought to Phnom Penh an average of 7000 tons of fuel and amunition per month, against 4900 tons brought in by ships sailing up the Mekong River. The aircraft belonged mostly from the USAF 317th Airlift Wing of Pope AFB that operated rotational detachments from U Tapao in Thailand and used the radio-code name of “Klong”. The USAF transport missions continued until summer 1974, with many paradrops made in profit of the Cambodian garissons of Kompong Thom, Takeo and Kampot as well as dozens other small drop zones (DZ) scattered throughout the country. These DZs were located and their status assesed by reconnaissance flights of USAF RF-4Cs that also flew intelligence sorties in profit of the Cambodians. The aircraft now faced increasing anti-aircraft oppositions, notably several firing of SAM-7s. From April to August 1974, the Klongs were supplemented by some MC-130s from the 1st Special Operation Group with specially equipped aircraft allowing independant precise navigation and high altitude droppings.
Nevertheless, the US open military air transport operations over Cambodia was now facing growing political oppositions. Washington then decided to swicth to a more discrete type of missions. It was envisaged initially to use Air America aircraft but at that date the CIA connection to this company was too well known. Instead, a contract was passed with a former CIA conected air company entrepreneur, William Bird, who had run paramilitary operations in profit of the Agency in Laos in the early 1960s with his Bird and Sons Inc airline.
On 28 August 1974 a contract was signed with the Bird Air Company to run the transport air ressuply operations in Cambodia. The USAF handed over five of its own C-130Es to the Bird Air, in addition to the company own DC-6s. The Hercules were “satinazed” with all the national and military marking removed but retained the camouflage scheme! Only a tiny serial number is painted on the tail. Officially the planes were considered as being “US government furnished” but not “leased”. The first Bird Air mission took place on 26 September 1974 while all USAF airlift missions were suspended on 8 October.
Fighting the Lost Battle
While the USAF B-52s could be dangerous for Cambodian civilians, KhAF attacks sometimes went off as well: in October 1973 the T-28Ds hit a unit of the Cambodian Army and killed 20 troops. As if this would still not be enough, on 19 November there was another incident with a disaffected KhAF pilot, when Lt. Lim Khun bombed the Presidential Palace.
The furious Lon Nol then ordered the CO KhAF to be replaced, and in the future every KhAF formation that took off for a combat sortie had to be lead by a pilot considered “loyal”, the aircraft of which was armed with smoke rockets and guns only, and who had a standing order to shot down any member of his formation that might turn towards Phnom Penh. In the end this order had a very negative effect on the KhAF, as now its best pilots were limited to leading their formations and forbidden to bomb the enemy – and this happened just at the time the Khmer Rouge encircled almost the whole capital, putting it under a siege in the process. Only trust in the KhAF and the US support could now save Lon Nol’s regime – but the amount of both was permanently decreasing.
Contrary to Lon Nol, the Cambodian Army felt no distrust to the KhAF, and continued calling for close-air-support at a high tempo. By the late January 1974 the KhAF T-28s flew up to 40 combat sorties a day. This was in part possible because of its new commander, the French-trained Brigadier Ea Chhong, that introduced very high standards of leadership and command. Under Chhong’s leadership the KhAF was to see its best times in the spring of 1974, with the precision of air-drop sorties of the C-123s reaching 98%, while a number of AC-47- and helicopter-pilots began flying by night as well. Thanks to intense KhAF support, for example, the Army was capable of holding the city of Takeo. The FAC-tactics was reintroduced, and the T-28s improved their precision considerably as well: in July 1974 ten T-28Ds lead by a single O-1D attacked a North Vietnamese truck park in the Kratie Province, destroying no less but 125 vehicles in the process.
At the time, the KhAF was organized as follows: 1st Intervention Group - 3 Attack Squadrons with 45 T-28Ds - 1 Gunship Squadron with 14 AC-47Ds - 1 Gunship Squadron with 14 AU-24As
1st Transport Group - 1 Transport Squadron with 12 C-123Ks - 1 Transport Squadron with 20 C-47s - 1 Light Transport Squadron with 8 U-1As - 1 VIP Transport Flight with 1 DC-6, 1 DC-4, 2 UH-1Ns
1st Observation Group - 45 Cessna O-1s
1st Helicopter Group - 38 UH-1Hs - 13 UH-1Hs (gunships)
Air Academy - 12 T-28B/C - 13 T-41Ds - 10 GY-80s
By September 1974 the KhAF was flying more than ever, with T-28s mounting 127 combat sorties a day on average in order to support the Army in the defence of a Khmer offensive in the Kompong Chhong Province. However, like already several times before, just in the moment the KhAF started to function better than ever before, something happened that changed the whole situation again. Namely while the KhAF air strikes finally started showing their effects, in October 1974 the USA decided to stop supporting Lon Nol, by limiting the worth of ammunition the Cambodians were permitted to spend daily to $82.000. This meant that from that moment the KhAF would not be able to fly more than 49 combat sorties with T-28s, six with AC-47s, and ten with AH-1Gs every day, even if it was clear that much more was needed if the Khmer and the North Vietnamese were to be held under pressure, and all the besieged enclaves supplied from the air.
The situation was immediately exploited by the enemy, and in the late 1974 the Khmer and the North Vietnamese – after recovering from the blows of the previous summer – put the Cambodian Army under heavy pressure. The KhAF was now to start suffering from poor communications with the Army too: the Army was meanwhile counting with air support for most of its operations, but all too often Chhong was not informed in time. Under such circumstances, the Khmer Rouge was able to organize a large offensive in the early 1975, hitting the Army heavily in several places. When this happened, the KhAF was forced to fly intensively and spend more ammunition than officially assigned from the USA. The US President Nixon was not to give up supporting Nol that easily however. In the Operati