Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Angkor Sentinel

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Additional criticism from Mrs. Mu Sochua on the court and the ruling party

Mrs. Mu Sochua (Photo: Sovannara, RFI)

18 July 2010
By Sopheak
Cambodia Express News
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Phnom Penh – During a meeting with SRP party activists in Boeung Salang commune, Tuol Kok district, Phnom Penh city, on 17 July 2010, Kampot SRP MP Mu Sochua – who lost her parliamentary immunity – criticized the judicial system and the CPP, saying that they took a step back by not daring to arrest and send her to jail even though the ultimatum for her to pay her fine and compensation has passed.

Mrs. Mu Sochua said that she is still preserving her stance of not being afraid, and of not paying anything to the court. Regarding the request made by Hun Xen’s lawyer for the court to impound her parliamentary salary, her stance remains the same, i.e. she refuses to pay still because the court in not independent and it only serves as a political tool [of the ruling party]. At the same time, Mrs. Mu Sochua also criticized the Supreme Magistracy Council presided by King Sihamoni, saying that this institution has no power on the judicial system, and in fact, the power to control the judicial system resides within the ruling party.

Tith Sothea, government advisor and mouthpiece of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit (PQRU) of the council of ministers, reacted to the criticisms leveled by Mrs. Mu Sochua, saying that the court is pursuing its legal measures. The court is putting into practice the legal measures to strengthen the rule of law and the action taken by Mrs. Mu Sochus to oppose the court bears no result because she is a convicted person.

In the afternoon of 17 July, William Burns, the US Under-Secretary of State, visited Cambodia and he also met with opposition officials at the US embassy. During the meeting, Mrs. Mu Sochua told reporters that the SRP raised a number of important issues with William Burns, such as: pushing for the signatory countries of the 23 October 1991 Paris Agreement – which the US is part of – to enforce full democratic process and full respect of human rights in Cambodia; bringing in reforms needed for the judicial system so that it becomes an independent institution that is respected by the people; and reforms in the election system in Cambodia to achieve true independence of this institution by allowing the participation of the opposition party leader in the election process, and by holding truly democratic election.

The Cambodian Experience

July 17, 2010
By CECILIA S. ANGELES Manila Bulletin Publ. Corp.

Despite applying sun block cream on my uncovered skin, I still got a good, lasting souvenir from my Cambodian trip when I went there together with a friend from Sta. Barbara, California, Maria Macabio, who is also a photographer. And that was sunburned face, arms, and legs. We were among the thousands of tourists around the world, falling in line and waiting under direct sunlight for our turn to climb the Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap City, Cambodia. The Khmers were prosperous from the ninth to the thirteenth century, but deserted the place in 1443 because of the constant attacks of the Thai armies in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The ruins of Angkor remained buried in the jungle until French archeologists started restoring the heritage ruins at the end of the nineteenth century. Until now, Angkor Wat has not been restored completely, for time destroyer seems faster than human restorer.

According to our tour guide, some two million tourists around the world visit this heritage place yearly. Every segment of the man-made structure dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu amazed me, including its long entrance lined with heroic busts of gods and the two mile water-filled moat around Angkor Wat. I could simply imagine that this ditch was an effective defense from Thai invaders. To climb the 130-feet-high main tower was the obsession of tourists like us, so we waited for our turn under the sun. At the tower, people below looked like ants in size. That was how high the main tower was. There were four other smaller towers on each corner of the ancient structure.

Solid walls displayed carved pictures of Hindu epics. Our tour guide had fluently mastered the scenes, settings, characters and plots of the tale, much, much better than my English major students of Asian Literature. All areas of the huge walls of the temple displayed sculptured scenes to picture Hindu dancing gods in their worship hours.

Visiting even the smaller towers on the four corners of the temple gave me an imaginary experience to live in the past. There was a room, the only room that echoed every word we said and noise we created.

Tourists who did not trust their knees or grip remained on the ground, yet Angkor Wat has never denied them a sensational Cambodian experience of its historical world heritage.

(Cecilia S. Angeles is a college professor in Fine Arts and a regular lecturer in the FPPF Basic Photography Workshop at Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila. Email: csa_palay@yahoo.com)

Comrade Jarvis finally to retire

Helen Jarvis, far right, shakes hands with Peter Taksoe-Jensen, UN assistant secretary general for Legal Affairs. (Photo: AP)

Head of Tribunal’s Victims Unit To Retire

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Monday, 10 May 2010

“I am 64,” she said. “I wish to live with my family.”

The head of the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s Victims Unit announced Monday she was retiring, becoming the second person to leave the office in a little over a year.

The Victims Unit is responsible for coordinating testimony and other documentation from survivors and families of victims of the Khmer Rouge, as part of the UN-backed court’s efforts of national reconciliation.

Helen Jarvis, who had been head of the unit since April 2009, said she would leave June 30, as part of a “normal” retirement.

“I am 64,” she said. “I wish to live with my family.”

Jarvis, an Australian national, had been an adviser to the government’s Khmer Rouge tribunal task force as it negotiated formation of the court with the UN. She was with the tribunal from its inception and had been a court spokeswoman before taking the job at the Victims Unit.

The unit has so far collected 4,004 victim complaints, as the tribunal moves toward the atrocity crimes trial of a group of aging Khmer Rouge leaders.

“Her leaving coincides with a busy moment at the [tribunal], especially for what is related to the participation of the civil parties,” said Long Panhavuth, a court monitor for the Open Society Justice Initiative of Cambodia.

“We call for urgent preparations for a new director of this unit, to ensure the full participation of victims and ensure their interest,” he said.

Lat Ky, who observes the court for the rights group Adhoc, said Jarvis’ replacement is so far not known.

Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath, however, said the court’s administration is now considering a replacement.

"Ou'tiean Pear'no" a Poem in Khmer by Sék Serei