Angkor.com

Preserving Phnong Culture - AlertNet, December 20, 2004
The traditional life of the Phnong, the hill people who live off what they grow and gather in the deep forests along the border between Cambodia and Vietnam, faces threats from modernization, land development and tourism...

Book banned - December 18, 2004
On the Cambodian politics mailing list, M Preuk writes: Please follow the link to read Cambodia Daily's article about ban of Angkar Chea Nona book in Phnom Penh. I can't thank Lok Ly Diep enough for posting the book. For those interested in reading the book, it is posted at Amekhmer web site.

Cambodia's famous Bayon temple in danger: experts - Xinhuanet, December 17, 2004
...The tower should be tied with ropes to keep it together, a roofshould be installed to keep rain off, and gaps in-between stones should be cleaned and grouted without delay, experts suggested.
At the Bayon Symposium last February, participants stressed that drastic changes in the underground-water level could cause Angkor monuments to sink and asked for data to be collected on theamount of under-ground water pumped by hotels...

Lost tribe bypassed by history - The Independent, December 10, 2004
...Clad in strips of bark and woven leaves, the ragtag band of Khmer families who fled the killing fields of Cambodia 25 years ago trekked out of the malarial thicket in crude sandals hacked from the rubber tread.
They had no idea the tyrant Pol Pot was dead, that the Vietnamese Army was gone or that the civil war that had forced them into hiding was long since over...

News from our neighbors: Restoring Ta Phohm - December 11, 2004
Many will be horrified that Indian restorers will be working on the otherworldly Ta Phohm after the desecration of one of the towers at Angkor Wat. Below is a photo we believe to be of the ruined "melted tower." We have been informed apocryphally that the tower was treated by the Indian restorers with a 'magic' solution that was to restore the features and it took the intervention of then King Norodom Sihanouk to put a stop to the destruction. Do readers have any further details?

A new web site for the CPP - Khmer Intelligence, November 26, 2004
News from our neighbors: The ruling CPP has recently overhauled its web site. Only a few people so far have seen the updated version. Number of visitors for web sites run by the three main Cambodian political parties as of 26 November 2004 at 11:00 a.m. Phnom Penh time:
- CPP: 2,479 (November 2004 only)
- Funcinpec: 258,212 (since 1998)
- Sam Rainsy Party: 729,214 (since 1996)

Cambodians who fled Vietnamese invaders 25 years ago found in jungle - Daily Times, November 23, 2004
Seven Cambodian families have been found living wild in remote jungle where they had been hiding since 1979 from Vietnamese troops who left the country 15 years ago, officials said...

After a decade of silence, Cambodia's cinema enjoys resurgence - AFP, November 21, 2004
After a decade of silence, Cambodia's movie industry is enjoying a boom due to a dash of Hollywood attention, burgeoning nationalism and cheaper production costs, industry insiders say...

The Republicians and the SRP - Phnompenh Post, November 19 - December 2, 2004
..."These guys all have my number. I'll be standing on my porch, 100-year-old house, sipping a diet Coke and there's Rainsy on the line saying, 'They're trying to kill me again!'" said Abney with a chuckle.
Abney makes no secret of his close friendship with Sam Rainsy, and his conviction that the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) is the only political party worthy of support.
Critics of IRI-and there are many-say that by exclusively focusing their political party training on the SRP, the organization is interfering in the affairs of Cambodia and, in effect, trying for a slow-burning "regime change."
...He rejects outright any claims that IRI contributes funds directly to the cash-strapped opposition, saying the provision of IRI-branded pencils and notepads at training sessions and a per diem of $1 or $2 to cover food for participants are the limit to their material assistance.
"We've never funded [SRP]. We can't, it would be against the American law for us to provide funds to this party and we never have."
"There seems to be a myth that we're funneling money to the SRP, but our money all goes to training."
This year IRI will spend about $450,000 training the SRP. That money goes mostly to paying the trainers as well as expenses, such as renting meeting space at provincial hotels, says Abney.
...Abney believes Ranariddh "lost his place at the table" of serious political discussion as a result of betraying the Alliance of Democrats, but says he remains open to approaches from even the most unlikely political allies.
"There is a split within the CPP, there is a moderate wing, and God bless 'em. If the moderate wing of the CPP came to us and said we want to form a moderate CPP II, we'd probably work with them."...

The Bamboo Train in Cambodia - Christian Science Monitor, October 29, 2004
...In a short while, we arrived at a crumbling shack in the middle of nowhere. Wild monkeys screeched at us and Brahma cows eyed us warily as they chewed their cud. Next to the shack was a narrow-gauge train track, no wider than two feet. It looked small enough to be a toy railroad. From inside the shack two young men appeared, carrying two ancient steel axles with cast-iron wheels at both ends.
These were placed on the track - a perfect fit. Next, they produced a long semi-rigid bamboo mat that was about three feet wide and maybe eight feet long.
The axles fit into two steel forks on the underside of the mat. The mat sat atop the wheels, unsecured except by the steel forks. Next came a tiny gas engine that seemed no larger than a loaf of bread. A rubber drive wheel linked the engine to the wheels.
As they assembled the contraption, my guide related the history of the Bamboo Train.
It had been built by the French around 1870, when this land was called Indochina, to haul coffee and bananas from jungle plantations into the city...
Our guide told us that we had to ride our motorbikes the last two miles into town because the train is considered illegal and unsafe, and the local police would arrest us if they knew we were using it.
...As I mounted my bike, I watched several men pick up the "train," turn it around, and set it back on the track for its return journey into the jungle...

The mafia consolidates its grip on Cambodia - KhmerIntelligence, November 14, 2004
The regional Mafia finds many ways to preserve and consolidate its grip on Cambodia. Through corruption of political leaders from the ruling CPP and Funcinpec, it has secured influential/strategic positions for the organized crime.
The Cambodian-Thai Mafia is represented by Ly Yong Phat, also known as Phat Suphapha on his Thai passport (KI, 06 July 2004: "Australian authorities investigate pro-CPP businessman Ly Yong Phat"). Ly Yong Phat, also known as the "King of Koh Kong", is notoriously engaged in smuggling, casinos, and money laundering. Following a severe crackdown on the mafia by the Thai authorities, illicit drug trafficking and manufacturing (amphetamines and methamphetamines) activities are thriving in Cambodia, along the border with Thailand.
Already in a long-time symbiotic relationship with the CPP, the mafia has, over a more recent period of time, successfully infiltrated Funcinpec (KI, 25 February 2004: "CPP-affiliated businessmen try to buy Alliance leaders"; KI, 03 August 2004: "Prince Ranariddh receiving extra cash").
While most Funcinpec-affilialed provincial or municipal Governors have been recently dismissed, demoted or transferred, Say Hak, one of Ly Yong Phat's relatives and close associates, has just been re-appointed Governor of the port city of Sihanoukville, a key position to oversee illegal activities including drug trafficking. New evidence of drug trafficking activities through Sihanoukville has been made available to Interpol and the DEA.
On 6 March 2004, Ly Yong Phat and Say Hak were seen in Bangkok escorting Prince Norodom Ranariddh from the airport to the latter's luxurious residence at the "All Seasons Place" compound, on Wireless Road.

Decades after the Khmer Rouge, Cambodians still search for the lost - AFP, November 9, 2004
Nearly 30 years after the Khmer Rouge stormed to power in Cambodia, people forcibly split from loved ones under their genocidal rule are turning detective in growing numbers to try to find them...

Paddy rats back on menu in Cambodia - Independent, November 13,2004
It is paddy rat season again in southern Cambodia, and gourmands from all over the country, not to mention the rest of South-east Asia, are polishing their chopsticks at the thought of stir-fried rat, boiled rat al dente and Vietnamese-style barbecued rat...

Former King reportedly aware of a plan to overthrow new King - Khmer Intelligence, October 25, 2004
The political intrigue continues non-stop: In a 24 October 2004 letter in French sent from France to former King Norodom Sihanouk by an old friend of his named Ruom Ritt and posted on the royal Web site, the author used disguised but easily understandable words to reveal a plan to be implemented upon the former Monarch's demise, which will result in present Monarch Norodom Sihamoni being replaced - through a possible "coup d'tat" - by his more politically minded half-brother Norodom Ranariddh (KI, 14 October 2004: "Behind the King's abdication"). To read Ruom Ritt's original letter. For more information on the royal succession issue read our special file.

Khmer Rouge embraces Jesus - The Observer, October 23, 2004
The Khmer Rouge followed a harsh brand of communism, killing nearly two million people in their bid to return Cambodia to Year Zero. Now they have a new faith: evangelical Christianity...
According to one pastor, 70 per cent of the converts in Pailin are Khmer Rouge. For many, it offers a hope of salvation. 'When I was a soldier I did bad things. I don't know how many we killed. We were following orders and thought it was the right thing to do,' said Thao Tanh, 52. 'I read the Bible and I know it will free me from the weight of the sins I have committed.'...

Cambodia's New King Dances Into a Land of the Absurd - New York Times, October 22, 2004
Cambodia's new king stepped gingerly into the roiling politics of his country with an apology ("I lack experience") and a promise ("I will not interfere")...
Even now, that scenario is not quite clear. In a series of enigmatic statements, the outgoing king has raised questions by saying that he had retired rather than abdicated and that he would remain active as "a (very old) retired 'public servant.' "...
...In effect, some people are saying, Cambodia will now have two kings, which seems only fitting in a country once ruled by two feuding co-prime ministers and now burdened with what by some calculations is the biggest government per capita in the world.
Regardless of the model Constitution it adopted in 1993 under the guiding hand of the United Nations, this is a nation where force and fancy trump the formal structures of government and the written rules of the game.
As Cambodians say, "The law is in the mouth."...

Cambodian King's 'retirement' - October 7, 2004
News from our neighbors: AP reports: The head of Cambodia's National Assembly says King Norodom Sihanouk has announced his retirement.
Cambodian King Sihanouk abdicates, Prince Ranariddh says - Kyodo News, October 7, 2004
Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk has abdicated, leaving Cambodia without a monarch, Prince Norodom Ranariddh told Kyodo News on Thursday.
The prince, one of the king's sons, is president of the National Assembly and leader of the royalist FUNCINPEC party in the coalition government.
Details of the abdication and its possible implications for Cambodia are as yet unclear.
CNN: Ranariddh and Hun Sen issued a joint statement Thursday proposing another of the king's sons, Norodom Sihamoni, to be the new monarch.
Norodom Sihamoni's bio

Cambodia's real crown long gone - AFP, October 15, 2004
...The diamond-encrusted crown, along with a sacred sword and other priceless royal regalia, disappeared after Sihanouk was toppled in 1970 by the pro-US Lon Nol regime, according to Julio Jeldres, Sihanouk's official biographer...

Twisting bridge
The source of these photos of a Cambodian bridge is unknown. Nearovi Pen wrote some comments about them: I cannot believe a graduated engineer would design this kind of bridge for public traffic. What is lacking here is the "roof" over the head of the pedestrians and the top of the cars, like for the old Takhmao bridge, the Montreal Jacques Cartier bridge and the New York Brooklyn bridge. The "roof" ties up the left and the right sides of the girder and prevents it from swaying laterally. Here we can see that the broken bridge is twisted laterally. It was not the 50 tons (downward gravity) of the truck which killed the bridge, but the minimum of 50 t X 2% = 1 ton applied laterally (from left to right or vice versa), small charge but which met no resistance. Then the bridge twisted. If such passerelles are still working in Cambodia, they are real public dangers and must be replaced or reinforced accordingly.

Also see Nearovi Pen's three interesting websites: Cambodian Canadian politics, the six commandments (spirituality, politics novel, Khmer grammar), and MES emails 2003 (mainly Khmer, photos, cartoons, sarcasm)

Cambodia's cultural gem clogged with construction, tourists - Canada.com/AP, September 5, 2004
Dozens of multi-storey hotels, many under construction, pack the road leading from the bustling international airport to Cambodia's increasingly blemished cultural gem...

Cambodia a tourist's nightmare - Arizona Daily Wildcat, July 21, 2004
...In broad daylight two teenagers tried to mug me. A policeman and a large group of men stood right across the street and did nothing until the thugs hit me on the head with a blow so hard I was sent to the ground...

Record vulture count in Cambodia includes Asia’s rarest -
Bird Life International, June 11, 2004
At least 28 Slender-billed Vultures Gyps tenuirostris have been sighted in Siem Pang District, north-east Cambodia, at least four times as many as the previous largest single count in Indochina. Altogether more than 120 vultures were seen, including numbers of two Critically Endangered species—Slender-billed and White-rumped G. bengalensis Vultures. This is the largest single gathering recorded in Indochina during the past 15 years...
Populations of both species, together with the Indian Vulture G. indicus, have declined dramatically in South Asia over the past decade, most severely in India, where numbers have dropped by 97 percent since 1993, and numbers are dropping by 30–40% annually in Pakistan. Research has revealed that these declines are caused by veterinary use of the drug diclofenac; vultures feeding on carcases of cattle treated with diclofenac are poisoned and die within a short time. BirdLife considers all three species to be in imminent danger of extinction, and has classified them as Critically Endangered...

Media fan anti-Thai feelings in Phnom Pehn - The Nation, May 24, 2004
...The latest victim was Thai Ambassador to Cambodia Piyawat Niyomrerks, who gave an interview to a group of Khmer-language dailies on the important role of the Thai and Cambodian media in bilateral ties.
Some of the dailies, however, regarded the envoy's comments as insulting and demanded he issue an apology. The demands were all made by papers affiliated with the Sam Rainsy Party.
The SRP has a history of exploiting nationalistic feelings against Vietnam, claiming the neighbouring country has invaded Khmer territory and that Cambodia is being overrun with Vietnamese. Now, it appears to be trying the tactic with Thailand.
The Cambodian media's criticism of Thailand has intensified since the general election in July last year failed to produce a coalition government of the major parties, the Cambodia People's Party, Funcinpec and the SRP. Some observers say Thailand has been targeted by the Cambodian political parties through the media in an effort to drum up more popular support to increase their leverage at the negotiating table. Arousing feelings of nationalism is a common tactic here that often brings successful results.

No going back to Cambodia for factory inspector - The Nation, May 14, 2004
...Waraporn said she was forced to go along with the factory's request.
"At first, I refused to apologise as it was not me who made the alleged claim. But later I changed my mind for my own safety as the situation might have turned ugly. The workers outside made a louder and louder noise. I was very scared."
However, she objected when asked to kneel while expressing the apology. "I agreed to apologise although I felt that action badly hurt my dignity," she added...

India helps Cambodia restore Ta Prohm Temple - February 10, 2004
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will help Cambodia to restore its ancient TA Prohm Temple. The 10-year restoration project will be carried out in six periods at an estimated cost of 5 million USD.

This is sure to raise eyebrows as India's 'restoration' credentials are mixed. Last year an Indian archaeologist was widely quoted as saying that chain saws might be required to "save" TA Phrom. Another restoration team working on one of the towers at Angkor Wat between 1986 and 1993 used a solution to 'clean' the tower and somehow cause the eroded details to magically reappear. Instead details were obliterated giving the tower a melted appearance and concrete was used to fill cracks. The work was only stopped when HM The King intervened.
Some photos of Ta Phrom

The wax diorama
Boing Boing.net - Peter Murphy says: I shot a few panoramas for my blog when I was in Cambodia last week. This shows the controversial wax works diorama at the Cambodian Cultural Village theme park in Siem Riep - where the UN period of Cambodian history is summarized in a scene of a UN soldier with a bar girl. Also there is this panorama I shot from a balloon 200m above the Angkor plain.

Bug-eating gameshow off the air in bug-eating Cambodia - Newindpress, India
It may be standard fare in America, but straitlaced Cambodia has decided it cannot stomach any more "Fear Factor"-style television...

CAMBODIA uncovers hidden temples - NEWS.com.au, Australia
Cambodian experts have uncovered seven ancient temples in the Siem Reap area that had been lost to the encroaching forest and years of civil war in the country ...