Hun Sen to make Obama appeal

Photo by: Pha Lina

Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks at the inauguration of the Prek Phnov bridge in Russey Keo district yesterday.

PRIME Minister Hun Sen has said that he would appeal to US President Barack Obama to cancel more than US$300 million in “dirty debt” accrued by the Lon Nol regime in the 1970s.

Speaking at the inauguration of Prek Phnov bridge on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, the premier said he would make the request when he meets Obama during this week’s ASEAN-US summit in New York.

“I will tell the US that the 1970-75 debt is considered as dirty debt and ask them to cancel it,” Hun Sen said. “If it is dirty debt how can we pay it? Even the bank will cancel this.”

The debt, which amounts to an estimated $317 million, was incurred by the republican regime that came to power in a 1970 coup backed by Washington, which showered the government with military and economic aid.

Cambodia has long opposed repayment of the debt, which it says fuelled the country’s civil war with the Khmer Rouge.

US officials, however, have said Cambodia is merely being held to the same standards as other countries.

“Our position on that debt is the same as our position on bilateral debt we have with any other country, which is that the government should come to the table, sign the agreement and start making payments,” US Ambassador Carol Rodley said in an interview in July.

An embassy spokesman said that under international law, governments are “generally responsible for the obligations of their predecessors”.

“We have made some proposals that we think would help resolve the issue consistent with our overall commitment to support Cambodia’s economic modernisation,” the spokesman said, and added that such an arrangement would “enhance Cambodia’s creditworthiness and ability to access international capital markets”.

ASEAN leaders are scheduled to meet with President Obama in New York on Friday. As planned, Hun Sen will also hold sideline talks with his Thai counterpart Abhisit Vejjajiva to discuss the ongoing border dispute between the two nations, before returning to Cambodia on Sunday.

Source: http://www.phnompenhpost.com

13 PROSTITUTES GATHERED WHILE CALLING CUSTOMERS

Phnom Penh: Cham Kamon district police on Tuesday gathered at least 13 prostitutes, vagrants from public place at around 11:30 pm in Phnom Penh. The gathering was made when those women were calling customers. The previous arrestees were educated or sent to the department of social affairs, but some of them later came back to do the same business.  

New Vietnamese Supermarket

Workers are busy at the US$3 million Vietnamese supermarket due to open on Monivong Boulevard, Phnom Penh, next month. Photo by: Sovan Philong

CAMBODIA’S first Vietnamese supermarket will open its doors to customers next month, its administration manager said yesterday.

The US$3 million two-storey complex has been built on Phnom Penh’s Monivong Boulevard, in Boeung Keng Kang 3, near the Vietnamese embassy, and is owned by an investor from a firm called Z38 Co.

“It is the first Vietnamese

supermarket to open in Cambodia. We will provide good service to the clients,” Keo Rithy Thy, administration manager for the store said.

Despite its roots, the store, which will house around 100 booths for rent in 3,264 square metres of space, will not confine itself to selling Vietnamese products.

“We’re selling mix products come from abroad,” said the manager.

Chinese and Thai products will also be for sale at the complex, which is named simply Vietnamese Supermarket.

According to publicity for the store, it intends to sell bags, clothes, shoes, jewellery, toys, furniture, food and beverages.
Competitors are taking stock of the development.

“I’m not worrying anything because we have different products imported from abroad,” Chheang Meng, General Manager of Bayon Supermarket in Phnom Penh, said yesterday.

“We always give the best services to our clients and make clients feel confident with high quality standard goods,” he said.

Source : http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Samdech Hun Sen accepted the meeting with Thai Premier

Cambodian officials said yesterday that Prime Minister Hun Sen had accepted an invitation to meet Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva in New York later this month, as the countries work to build ties following the resumption of full diplomatic relations last month.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said Abhisit had requested a meeting with Hun Sen on September 24 at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where ASEAN leaders are also scheduled to meet United States President Barack Obama.

“Samdech Hun Sen accepted the meeting, and the two premiers will hold bilateral discussions,” Koy Kuong said.

---

Hun Sen accepted the meeting and the two premiers will hold [talks].

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Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told Bangkok’s The Nation that the gathering would be “an informal and friendly meeting to discuss only cooperation, not issues of conflict”.

Cambodia and Thailand withdrew their respective ambassadors last year in a rift over the appointment of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as economics adviser to the Cambodian government. Thaksin is wanted on graft charges at home in Thailand.

Ties were restored last month following the announcement of Thaksin’s resignation. 

But although relations have warmed with Thaksin out of the picture, the countries’ dispute over territory along their border adjacent to Preah Vihear temple remains unresolved. 

Speaking at a graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh this month, Hun Sen chided the Thai government for its inaction in resolving the ongoing border dispute and said discord between the two countries would remain as long as Thai troops were stationed in the disputed territory.


Source: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Cambodia To Grow Around 5% In 2010, IMF Says

(RTTNews) - Cambodia's economy may expand 4.5% to 5% this year, largely led by exports, the International Monetary Fund said Friday.

However, the fund sees significant downside risks to the country's growth prospects from fragile global recovery as Cambodia's export sector relies heavily on the U.S and European markets.

However, the lender observed that the country's export-led recovery is taking hold since the beginning of the year. Garment exports and tourist arrivals are bouncing back, while construction activity is expected to remain sluggish. Moreover, delayed monsoon may adversely affect agricultural output.

The Fund recommended strengthening of the business climate and boosting of the public sector revenue could help to overcome the downside risks. A better-than-expected return to medium-term investments in the power sector and rural infrastructure could offer significant upside potential.

The IMF mission also stressed that further consolidation for 2011 would enable Cambodia to retain its favorable debt sustainability outlook and rebuild its capacity to absorb potential future shocks.

by RTT Staff Writer

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

CAMBODIAN LAWMAKERS HEAR ABOUT TEMPORARY SPECIAL MEASURES AS A MEANS TO INCREASE WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

Thursday, September 09, 2010

PHNOM PENH, 8 September 2010:  Cambodian leaders joined UN officials and international and regional experts in calling for a redoubling of efforts to increase the number of women in the country’s legislative body to 30 percent, a target required to achieve the Millennium Development Goal by the target year of 2015.

The message was the focus of the “Workshop on Achieving MDG 3 by 2015” which was attended by senior members of the Royal Government of Cambodia, Members of the Cambodian Parliament, UN representatives, regional and international legislators and experts, and members of civil society organizations.

H.E. Men Sam An, Deputy Prime Minister, reaffirmed government’s commitment to improve women’s status.

“The Royal Government of Cambodia has been taking steps to increase to the maximum proportion of women’s participation in all levels of national institutions,” she said in her opening remarks at the workshop.

“However, more concerted efforts are required to address the remaining challenges,” she added.

Women now hold 27 of the 123 seats – or 21 percent in comparison to men – in the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament. Their representation increased on average 2 percent every five years for the three elections between 1993 and 2003. The last election in 2008 saw that number go up to 12 percent. Meanwhile, in the Senate, the upper house of parliament, women hold 8 of the 61 seats, representing only 13 percent, below both the global and regional averages. Before the MDG 2015 deadline, the National Assembly and the Senate will be required to increase the number of female lawmakers by 9 percent and 17 percent, respectively. But time is of the essence as both Houses have only one election cycle left in which to fill the gap. The next Senate election is in 2012 and the National Assembly in 2013.

Despite some progress, overall Cambodian women continue to face socio-economic disadvantages compared to their male counterparts. Gender parity in literacy for women aged 13-24 has almost been achieved but only a third of domestic violence victims will seek help. And five women die giving life every day.

To give new momentum to MDG 3, the UN Secretary-General recently created UN Women, an agency which is tasked with consolidating and strengthening the UN’s gender policies and work globally. The aim is to enable the UN to mobilise significant resources, both financial resources and technical expertise, to support the global achievement of MDG 3, Mr. Douglas Broderick, UN Resident Coordinator in Cambodia, said in his remarks at the workshop.

In Cambodia, he said, gender continues to be a pillar and cross-cutting issue of focus for the work of all UN agencies in the next five years. He also noted that MDG 3 might fall into the off-track category unless gender-based domestic violence is tackled aggressively.

“Women make up 52 percent of Cambodia’s population, and yet represent only 13 percent of the seats in the Senate and 21 percent in the National Assembly. Without adequate representation, women’s voices are simply not being heard,” Mr. Broderick said.

“Far more important to achieving MDG3 will be mobilising the political will and commitment to bring more women into the political arena. By supporting and training women candidates, by mentoring women who are Members of Parliament, by coaching women in Government at all levels, we can ensure that women’s voices are heard,” he said.

“I’m pleased that the Cambodian government has set a target to elect 30 percent women to the Parliament. The global experience has shown us that temporary measures need to be adapted to each country. Half of the countries in the world now have temporary special measures, something that only happened over the last 10-15 years. Interestingly, these measures are both controversial and popular,” said Prof. Drude Dahlerup from Stockholm University.

Two leading political science professors from Sweden and South Korea discussed the use special temporary measures as a means of increasing female political representation in their respective countries. Members of Parliament from Viet Nam, Timor-Leste, and Lao PDR also shared their own experiences with progress and challenges in ensuring adequate women’s political representation in their own countries. 

The workshop was held as part of the “MDG3 Week” from 6-10 September with the support of UNDP and in collaboration with the Cambodian Parliament, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, UNIFEM, the UN Millennium Campaign, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and ActionAid

Cambodia is a "Repressive State" when it comes to "Workers' Rights": Freedom House

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 09:12 AM PDT

(Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

Cambodia: Repressive

The 1993 constitution guarantees freedoms of association and assembly and allows demonstrations and strikes. The labor code promulgated in 1997, which was written with assistance from the International Labour Organization and the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), upholds workers‘ right to establish and join unions as well as the right to strike and lockout, and bars discrimination in employment. There are more than 20 national labor organizations in Cambodia. Unions can freely associate themselves with the government or opposition groups. However, labor laws do not apply to public employees, including teachers.

Despite the fairly robust legal framework, enforcement of labor laws is weak. The government respects some worker rights because of pressure from and scrutiny by international donors, which it depends on to fund public services. Antiunion harassment, dismissal of union leaders and supporters, and violence by vigilantes are common. At least three leading officials in the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC)—the largest union organization—have been murdered since 2004, and their cases remain unresolved. The heads of the Independent Teachers‘ Association, the Independent Civil Service Association, and the FTUWKC have all been arrested for defamation in recent years. While the right to demonstrate is provided in the constitution, groups must obtain prior government approval, and protests are limited to a maximum of 200 participants.

The government has enjoyed increasing success in attractive private investment to Cambodia, and appears to favor the interests of investors and employers over workers‘ rights. For example, the government is seeking to amend labor laws to allow more permanent use of short-term contracts, which critics say would allow employers to deny workers maternity and annual leave, among other benefits. Increased use of short-term contracts might also discourage workers from joining or supporting trade unions for fear of dismissal. The government has yet to set a minimum wage as mandated by the 1997 labor code. Although Cambodian workers such as those in the garment industry, the leading manufacturing sector, are paid well compared with their peers in the region, high inflation and lack of job security have caused considerable economic hardship and spurred a number of demonstrations, strikes, and lockouts in recent years.

Hun Sen wary but still ready for Thai talks

September 2, 2010
The Nation

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday the recent thaw with Thailand following resumption of diplomatic relations would not help solve the border conflict as long as Thai troops were stationed in the area near the Preah Vihear temple, claimed by both countries.

"I am not satisfied nor am I smiling while you are shaking my hand and at the same time you step on my foot," he was quoted as saying by the Kyodo news agency.

However, Hun Sen expressed his readiness to hold talks with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The two leaders are expected to meet at several upcoming events, such as the Asia-Europe Meeting to be held in Brussels in early October, the Asean Summit in Vietnam in late October, or the leaders' meeting at the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) in Cambodia in November.

The Cambodian leader said outside mediation was not necessary for just bilateral talks covering issues of common interest. However, if no way out was found for the border problem, a third party was a real need. Hun Sen added that Cambodia could not wait for too long, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Hun Sen also urged the Thai Parliament to approve agreements made by the foreign ministers of the two countries in order to help solve the border problem.

He said parliamentary approval for the three agreed minutes would pave the way for the two governments to resume their talks and for the border dispute to be solved. The agreements referred to the setting up of a joint committee to look into the redeployment of the armed forces, real action on troop redeployment at the area near Keo Sikhakiri Svarak temple and Preah Vihear, and the joint de-mining of the areas.

Regarding fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra's resignation as his economic adviser, Hun Sen said his status had nothing to do with the border conflict.

Thailand, Cambodia Restore Diplomatic Ties

Thailand and Cambodia have decided to normalize diplomatic relations after nearly a year.  

Tensions flared between Thailand and Cambodia when former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is wanted in Bangkok on corruption charges, took a post as an economic advisor to the Phnom Penh government. 

But Mr. Thaksin has given up the post and the Thai foreign ministry says ambassadors will return to their posts in the two countries.  The foreign ministry also thanked Cambodia for its cooperation in "boosting bilateral relations."

Mr. Thaksin was ousted in a coup in 2006 and has lived in exile since 2008.  He has close links with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, and has business interests in Cambodia.

The Cambodian Foreign Ministry says Mr. Thaksin resigned his post for personal reasons. 

His resignation and renewed diplomatic relations are important steps toward ending tensions said Hang Chhaya, the executive director of the Khmer Institute for Democracy in Phnom Penh.

"So this is a positive step, I think, by Mr. Thaksin resigning.  You can see how quickly the Thai government has sent the ambassador back to Phnom Penh and Cambodia also did the same,” he said.  “This is good in terms of the two counties can actually work together now that they have diplomatic relations back to normal." 

Hang Chhaya said diplomatic efforts, including those by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States and China, helped improve relations. 

"So ASEAN in a sense act like a caretaker in this region and maybe to help to save face, because imagine if Thailand and Cambodia enter into a war.  That would be a disaster for them."   

Mr. Thaksin's appointment to the Cambodian post led Thailand to withdraw support for agreements on overlapping maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand. 

The Thaksin dispute aggravated friction over Cambodia's management plan for a 900-year-old Khmer temple on the border. The Preah Vihear temple lies inside the Cambodian border on the top of a cliff.  But access to the complex is largely only available from the Thai side. 

In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled the temple is Cambodian territory, but failed to determine ownership of an adjacent piece of land that Thailand controls.  Thailand was angered when Phnom Penh independently sought a World Heritage listing for the temple two years ago.

There have small military clashes around the temple since.  Talks about the dispute are expected in October.

Source: www1.voanews.com

Cambodian Garment Workers Plan Mass Strike

Over 60,000 garment workers have put their thumbprints on a union petition calling for a mass week-long strike on September 13. The Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC) called the strike after the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training and the Garment Manufacturers Association refused its demand to renegotiate the new minimum wage structure to be implemented on October 1. In July, the Free Trade Union of Workers, a union representing over 130,000 garment employees, dropped previous demands for a 53 percent minimum wage rise. It accepted a $US5 monthly increase offered by the Labour Advisory Committee, a body made up of government officials and industry representatives. The rise means the minimum monthly wage will be $61, far below the $93 workers were demanding. The CLC and other smaller unions are demanding that the minimum wage be set at $95.

Cambodian construction workers on strike Posted: 20 Aug 2010 09:55 PM PDT (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post) Up to 40 construction workers from KC Gecin Enterprises in Kandal province walked off the job on August 16 to demand reinstatement of 27 colleagues fired for trying to organise a union. Strikers are maintaining a picket at the company’s main office in Phnom Penh despite having their placards destroyed by police. KC Gecin Enterprises employs over 160 construction workers in Kandal province, whom the Building and Wood Workers Trade Union of Cambodia has been attempting to organise into a union.

Love and sexual Relationship in Valentine's day in Cambodia

LOVE AND SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS:
EXPERIENCES AND PLANS OF MIDDLE CLASS YOUNG PEOPLE REGARDING THE UPCOMING VALENTINE’S DAY
IN PHNOM PENH IN 2009
(A Quantitative Study)


By
Tong Soprach, MPH
Independent Researcher
Phnom Penh, February 2010
Email: soprach76@gmail.com


Abstract

A Cross-sectional design was chosen for this descriptive quantitative study on the upcoming Valentine’s Day in 2009. Thus, cluster sampling was used primarily for administrative convenience. The questionnaires are separated into four categories of the population aged 15-24 years old and wealthier young people (n=458) in Phnom Penh: young males in a couple, young males not in a couple, young females in a couple and young females not in a couple. Because of the sensitive nature of the subject matter of this study, self-administered questionnaires were used.

These Valentine’s Day quantitative study findings give more quantified information to the 2008 qualitative study, which recognized that middle class young people (n=458) do not understand the background of Valentine’s Day. Approximately two third (61.6%) of them have known only the festival coming from Western or European culture, but nearly a third (29.7%) of them stated that they didn’t know or gave a broad answer (World or no idea). More than half (52.2%) of them indicated that they heard from media, business advertising, calendar and so on. While, more than a third (37.1%) of them knew through their friends, and 10.6 percent of them knew nothing about Valentine’s Day. Due to the misunderstanding of the Valentine’s Day history, middle class young people use this festival to involve themselves in sex. This current study was therefore designed to seek to answer the research question:
Do middle class young people in Phnom Penh plan to be sexually active on the upcoming Valentine’s Day?

In the results, 12.4 percent of all respondents answered that they expect to be able to have sex on the upcoming Valentine's Day, and more than 14.3 percent of young people in a couple answered that they expect to be able to have sex with their sweethearts on that day too, and a few couples plan not to use a condom. Meanwhile, More than a third (39.5%) of the young people in a couple surveyed (n=38) stated that it will be the first time for them to have sexual intercourse. And the other two thirds (66.6%) of young males in couple (n=25) will pressure or force their girlfriend for having sex using many devices, if they do not agree. And at least seven percent of young males who answered that they expect to be able to have sex are open to being involved in Bauk on the upcoming Valentine’s Day.

Even though more than half (59.8%) of all interviewees mentioned that they agreed that it is normal and their personal right to have sexual relationships between young people and are therefore more likely to be aware of sexual reproductive health, they are consequently probably at high risk of non-consensual sex, committing suicide, contracting sexually transmitted diseases and HIV and AIDS if they will be able to have sex on the Valentine’s Day festival. On the other hand, approximately two thirds (63.8%) answered that their parents or anyone in their family were more likely to not talk about sexual issues in the past 3 months. More than half (53.7%) of them thought that their parents or anyone in their family don’t know what young people will be doing on the upcoming Valentine's Day.

US steps up development talks [in the lower Mekong region]

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 09:35 PM PDT

15/08/2010
Achara Ashayagachat Bangkok Post

The United States is talking to international agencies and governments in the region in a bid to get its Mekong development programme off the ground.


US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Phuket in July last year about the US plans to expand its role in the lower Mekong region, comprising Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.


Richard Cronin of the Washington-based Stimson Centre, who works on recommendations for the programme, said he was talking to agencies from the lower Mekong countries and their governments. ''We are still in the process of coordinating when and how to get money into the programme,'' said Mr Cronin, who advises on non-traditional security issues such as fisheries, food security and water boundaries in the region.

The US would step up support for education, health and climate change, said Mr Cronin.

He was speaking on the sidelines of his talk on ''Harnessing the Mekong: Human Security and Regional Stability'' at Chulalongkorn University last week.

He observed a meeting between the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and other agencies on development programmes in Vientiane two weeks ago.

He also met non-governmental organisations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City two weeks ago, and in Bangkok met the Foreign Ministry and World Bank.

''There are varying degrees of welcome. Most countries in Asean are happy to see more US involvement. That includes Thailand and Vietnam.

''But some countries are uncertain about implications of having US involvement in the the MRC,'' he said.

Mr Cronin said Washington could restore the geopolitical power balance needed to support new development in Southeast Asia.

Suthep ready to talk with Cambodia

Posted: 15 Aug 2010 01:04 AM PDT

15/08/2010
Bangkok Post

Deputy Prime Minister in charge of security affairs Suthep Thaugsuban said on Sunday he is ready to hold talks with the Cambodian government immediately once he receives the order from Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.


"I ask all sides not to be too worried about the Thai-Cambodian border row and the interviews given by Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen. If there is a problem affecting Thailand, the Foreign Ministry and relevant agencies will deal with it right away," Mr Suthep said.


The deputy premier said the Foreign Ministry had additional information regarding the border issue to clarify.


Foreign Minister's secretary Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said Thailand and Cambodia both agreed to use satellite technology to settle the border demarcation dispute at the Special Meeting of the Cambodian-Thai Joint Commission on Demarcation of Land Boundary (JBC) on Nov 2008 and the JBC meetings in Bangkok and Phnom Penh earlier last year.

A Key Link With China

One felicitous result of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan was the setting up of a military-to-military relationship between China and the United States 30 years ago. The move was born of mutual fear of Russian expansion, for no one could foresee then that Afghanistan would be the undoing of Soviet power and that the Soviet Union itself would collapse partly because of it.

Nor was it clear then that China would emerge in the next century as the potential rival to American power in the Pacific. But militaries have their own codes and their own ways of thinking and it is always a good idea to keep them talking and getting to know each other.

Recently China put a halt to these exchanges because of American arms sales to Taiwan — which are mandated by American law. When Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asked if he could come to Beijing as part of his five-nation tour earlier this year he was rebuffed.

The exchanges began in the Carter administration, soon after the Soviet invasion, when Secretary of Defense Harold Brown visited Beijing.

“Brown’s visit marked the wary beginning of the formal relationship between two military establishments whose most recent view of each other had been over gun sights in the Korean Peninsula 27 years before,” wrote the old China-hand Nicholas Platt in his recent memoir “China Boys.”

Platt, a retired State Department officer who was seconded to the department of defense and accompanied Brown, writes that the Chinese could not get used to the idea of a Pentagon hotline in their midst. They would not get around to setting one up until 2008.

Most of the Chinese generals and admirals that Brown met were well into their seventies and beyond, for retirement was unthinkable in those days.

“The freefall from four-star rank to life in one’s home village was just too far,” according to Platt. Back then the Chinese had none of the support systems of a fruitful retirement that old soldiers in America enjoyed. They peppered the American delegation about annuities, promotion rates and jobs in industry.

A Chinese military delegation followed up Brown’s visit with a trip to Washington, and was taken to visit military facilities in Indiana, Colorado, California and Hawaii. The U.S. side looked for “ways to improve China’s defense capability without threatening others,” according to Platt.

One of the things China really wanted was help in developing sophisticated fighter planes — especially advanced radars, electronics and guidance systems — so its planes could match the Soviet MIG-23, which the Vietnamese had been given. In those days, China was more than a little annoyed at the Vietnamese for invading Cambodia, and in a short, sharp incursion to teach Vietnam a lesson, the Chinese had come off second best.

The Americans were not willing to share with the Chinese at that level, but the relationship developed despite that early disappointment. It would later expand and flower under Secretary of Defense William Perry, who served President Bill Clinton.

There have been stresses and strains in America’s relationship with China since then, and the pity is that the first thing to get curtailed when we have a spat is the military exchanges. The United States suspended them after the suppression of the Tiananmen demonstrations, and China followed suit after the recent arms sales to Taiwan.

Many China watchers have wondered why the Obama administration ran into such hostility after the president’s visit with the Dalai Lama and the sale of arms to Taiwan. After all, American presidents often meet with the Dalai Lama, and the Taiwan arms sales have been a regular feature since Congress mandated them in 1979, before Harold Brown’s visit.

Nicholas Platt, who still visits China several times a year as a private citizen and is well respected there, believes the big fuss and the slighting of Gates is due to what the Chinese perceive as a changed relationship between the two countries.

The last eight years have seen American power decline and the Chinese have looked on with wonder as we Americans seemingly self-destruct with two wars on the mainland of Asia and what looks to many as the failure of the U.S. economic model in the current great recession. What was acceptable to the Chinese before is no longer acceptable now. The relationship is less unequal today than it was when China was trying to catch up with the Vietnamese military and begging for radar systems.

China and the United States should realize the intrinsic value in military exchanges that will only grow more important in years to come. These exchanges should not be the first to go every time the two countries want to show displeasure.

By H.D.S. GREENWAY, I.H.T. Op-Ed Contributor
International Herald Tribune (Paris, France)

Love and sexual Relationship in Valentine's day in Cambodia

LOVE AND SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS:
EXPERIENCES AND PLANS OF MIDDLE CLASS YOUNG PEOPLE
REGARDING THE UPCOMING VALENTINE’S DAY
IN PHNOM PENH IN 2009
(A Quantitative Study)


By
Tong Soprach, MPH
Independent Researcher
Phnom Penh, February 2010
Email: soprach76@gmail.com


Abstract

A Cross-sectional design was chosen for this descriptive quantitative study on the upcoming Valentine’s Day in 2009. Thus, cluster sampling was used primarily for administrative convenience. The questionnaires are separated into four categories of the population aged 15-24 years old and wealthier young people (n=458) in Phnom Penh: young males in a couple, young males not in a couple, young females in a couple and young females not in a couple. Because of the sensitive nature of the subject matter of this study, self-administered questionnaires were used.

These Valentine’s Day quantitative study findings give more quantified information to the 2008 qualitative study, which recognized that middle class young people (n=458) do not understand the background of Valentine’s Day. Approximately two third (61.6%) of them have known only the festival coming from Western or European culture, but nearly a third (29.7%) of them stated that they didn’t know or gave a broad answer (World or no idea). More than half (52.2%) of them indicated that they heard from media, business advertising, calendar and so on. While, more than a third (37.1%) of them knew through their friends, and 10.6 percent of them knew nothing about Valentine’s Day. Due to the misunderstanding of the Valentine’s Day history, middle class young people use this festival to involve themselves in sex. This current study was therefore designed to seek to answer the research question:
Do middle class young people in Phnom Penh plan to be sexually active on the upcoming Valentine’s Day?

In the results, 12.4 percent of all respondents answered that they expect to be able to have sex on the upcoming Valentine's Day, and more than 14.3 percent of young people in a couple answered that they expect to be able to have sex with their sweethearts on that day too, and a few couples plan not to use a condom. Meanwhile, More than a third (39.5%) of the young people in a couple surveyed (n=38) stated that it will be the first time for them to have sexual intercourse. And the other two thirds (66.6%) of young males in couple (n=25) will pressure or force their girlfriend for having sex using many devices, if they do not agree. And at least seven percent of young males who answered that they expect to be able to have sex are open to being involved in Bauk on the upcoming Valentine’s Day.

Even though more than half (59.8%) of all interviewees mentioned that they agreed that it is normal and their personal right to have sexual relationships between young people and are therefore more likely to be aware of sexual reproductive health, they are consequently probably at high risk of non-consensual sex, committing suicide, contracting sexually transmitted diseases and HIV and AIDS if they will be able to have sex on the Valentine’s Day festival. On the other hand, approximately two thirds (63.8%) answered that their parents or anyone in their family were more likely to not talk about sexual issues in the past 3 months. More than half (53.7%) of them thought that their parents or anyone in their family don’t know what young people will be doing on the upcoming Valentine's Day.

Summer Youth Camp

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