PhDs – What model works for developing countries?

By Devi D Tewari 08 July 2012 Issue No:229

 

Doctoral research is often dubbed the ‘primary function of universities’. It supplies important academic training with the main focus on creating a highly skilled and knowledgeable labour force with great competence in influencing the ideas of wider society.

The acquisition of a PhD has become the yardstick for measuring the quality of research output in countries as well as contributing new research-oriented ideas.

The models, practices and procedures for the awarding of a PhD degree have been extensively transformed since its introduction in Germany in 1810 at the University of Berlin. At that time, the awarding of a PhD meant a candidate had to attend and contribute at seminars, submit a self-written and acceptable dissertation or thesis characterised by originality and creativity, and pass a comprehensive oral examination.

Between the 1860s and 1930s PhD studies permeated North America, Canada, Australia and Britain as well as other parts of Europe. In North America, Yale was the first university to commission PhD studies and was later joined by other institutions, including Harvard and the Universities of Michigan and Pennsylvania.

In the United States, the requirements for the awarding of a PhD were extended to include undertaking a set of specialised courses, enrolling for three years, demonstrating a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language, passing a comprehensive examination, submitting a dissertation and passing an oral examination.

Australia and Britain adopted and modified the American system in accordance with their indigenous conditions. The methods of examination for PhDs were therefore part of the warp and weft of the traditions and cultures of these countries.

Two distinguished models emerged

By the close of the 1950s two highly distinguished models of examining PhD dissertations had emerged and were practised by, first, Britain, Australia and some Commonwealth nations and, second, universities in the US and Canada.

The quality of a PhD dissertation depended on the nature of supervision and the models used to examine it. In the American system, supervision was administered by a team of academics led by a principal supervisor. In the British system, only one supervisor undertakes the whole moderation process.

PhD candidate status is granted only after the student has passed a comprehensive examination under the American model, but under the European model PhD candidacy is granted upon the successful defence of a research proposal.

The American PhD system has many checks and balances to control for quality. For example, a PhD student must pass a set of coursework covering the duration of about 12 to 18 months, in addition to the comprehensive examination.

The comprehensive examination is a very important feature of the American system and comprises both written and oral elements. A student who fails the comprehensive examination is given the opportunity to take it again within a year. If the student fails the second time s/he is advised to withdraw from the programme.

To control for quality in the European system, a PhD student must successfully pass a proposal defence seminar. This system absolutely eliminates the need for coursework and favours a good proposal written and defended by the student in the presence of the proposal examination committee. A failure to defend the proposal successfully prevents the university from granting a PhD candidacy.

Different models of dissertation examination

However, in the examination of the dissertation the two models differ sharply.

Under the American model, a group of academicians – internal and external, including the principal supervisor – examine the student’s work. These academics form the dissertation examination committee, which examines the student both orally and on the basis of a written submission.

The supervisor is a very important figure in the whole process and his or her importance is based on the premise that s/he is an intellectual who is interested in producing another intellectual through the production of a dissertation by the student.

Therefore the supervisor is guided by intellectual ethical guidelines, which will ensure the authenticity and quality of the dissertation. However, the external examiner holds the veto power and fails the candidate if the dissertation is of low quality.

In the European model, examiners are appointed to evaluate the dissertation and the main supervisor is excluded. This model excludes the supervisor on the basis that his or her judgement may be clouded by self-interest even in the case of a low quality dissertation.

The examiners, who may be local or international, together with the dean or deputy dean, form the dissertation referees committee. The role of the committee is to make a summary report on the results of the various reports submitted by the different examiners.

Compared to the American model, the European model committee is relatively less powerful since it cannot decide on whether to pass or fail a candidate. The examiners make this decision.

Conclusions

Based on these distinctions, it is clear that the American model is more painstaking and has multi-stage confirmations to control for quality of the candidate and dissertation. However, it is expensive to adopt and implement.

Both models of PhD dissertation examination have their limitations and their strength is seen in the assumptions concerning the human nature of the supervisor(s) involved.

The European system works on the premise of the vested interest underpinning human nature, while the American system believes that advancement in knowledge inculcates ethical values into the supervisor(s), making him or her turn their back on any vested interest.

Replicating the American system in developing countries, where the knowledge industry and research ethics are still in their infant stages, is unattainable as the required standards are weak and not suitable for ensuring the integrity of the dissertation examination process.

It is therefore better to begin with the European system, but gradually implement the American system as the knowledge industry and research ethics approach the required standards.

Some institutions, such as the Indian institutes of management and Indian institutes of technology, have however switched to the American model and have produced good results and become world-class institutions.

* Devi D Tewari is a professor in the school of accounting, economics and finance at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
 

English spreads as teaching language in universities worldwide

Andrew Green, Wang Fangqing, Paul Cochrane, Jonathan Dyson and Carmen Paun08 July 2012 Issue No:229

 

The Politecnico di Milano, one of Italy's most prestigious universities, will teach and assess most of its degree and all of its postgraduate courses in English from 2014. While the move proved controversial in Italy, it is far from unusual – universities worldwide have been switching wholly or partly to teaching in English for a number of reasons.

This became clear during interviews with academics and higher education officials in a selection of countries around the world.

Chief among the reasons for the marked shift towards teaching in English, especially at postgraduate level, were improved graduate employment and mobility prospects and the need for graduates who can speak English for international trade.

But there are also challenges, including a shortage of lecturers who are proficient in English, the costs involved and local resistance.

Rwanda

One particularly illuminating example is in Africa. Former Belgian colony Rwanda once taught mainly in French or the indigenous Kinyarwanda dialect, but switched to English as the primary language of educational instruction in 2008.

It changed partly in order to integrate better with nations that cooperate as the East African Community – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi – the majority of them English-speaking in official circles.

The switch has also helped to distance Rwanda from France, which the Rwandan government has accused of arming the 1994 Hutu genocide against the minority Tutsi population.

The Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) in the capital city was one of the first to convert fully. Focusing first on English-taught technical classes, it is now expanding English usage across the arts and humanities.

However, four years on, students and instructors still struggle with English, said Professor John Severin Mshana, KIST’s vice-rector for academics. “It's a problem for students to understand what lecturers are saying,” he said.

This stemmed from not having enough primary and secondary school teachers with English fluency, he added. So KIST offers remedial English classes to students.

Despite the challenge, Mshana said he has never heard anyone question the transition. Quite the opposite, because “to be bilingual is a benefit”.

China

Meanwhile, Chinese universities have been adding bilingual lectures to curricula to comply with a 2007 government requirement for more lectures in English and Chinese to improve the overall quality of Chinese students, as the Ministry of Education put it.

Ningbo University in the key east China trading port of Ningbo, Zhejiang province, started trialling bilingual teaching then, and has a small number of English lectures, including some taught partly in English.

Around half of these are finance-related, including international clearance, international finance and accounting.

“English-teaching makes our students more competitive if they want to seek jobs in foreign companies or banks. It will also benefit our students planning to study abroad,” said Zhang Ying, a curriculum specialist at Ningbo.

Other lectures, such as liberal arts and scientific engineering, use just Chinese. "For one thing, the English level of Chinese students is not good enough. For another, we lack English-speaking teachers,” Zhang told University World News.

Limited budgets are another constraint. Ningbo usually seeks teachers among overseas returnees, or sends its own teachers abroad for short-term language training. "It costs a lot more if we hire returnees, let alone foreign teachers.”

However, Zhang added, a “foreign language cannot be quickly improved in just six months. That's why we are still trialling the English-teaching programme."

Middle East

In the Middle East, English is the official language of long-established American universities in Lebanon, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and is rapidly becoming the language of choice at new universities in the region.

In Lebanon, for instance, students over the past decade have increasingly opted for English over French at university despite being schooled in French. Again, job opportunities are typically cited as the major reason.

This has not generally caused problems, but there has been some resistance in the more conservative Gulf countries – and there have recently been moves towards a greater role for Arabic in higher education.

In Qatar, English has been gradually imposed on schools as well as at the state-owned Qatar University, where most subjects are now taught in English. Also, Qatar Foundation's Education City has six branch-campuses of leading American universities.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one academic based in Qatar told University World News: "Some Qataris are not happy about English being the dominant language, as they feel it is at the expense of Arabic and a further blow to their culture.

“This is a pressing issue at Qatar University as English is the course language at the Education City universities.”

Latin America

In Latin American universities too, teaching in English is increasingly common. It is driven largely by job opportunities opening up at overseas companies investing in Latin America, and as more students look to work overseas.

Ecuador is typical, and Universidad San Francisco de Quito in the capital city Quito leads the way.

Students must reach an advanced level of English before they can graduate. A growing number of courses, including psychology, sociology and education, are now taught mostly in English, with each specifying a number of credits that students must take in the language.

“The use of English here has been growing over the past five years,” said Rhys Davies, English coordinator at Universidad San Francisco de Quito. “We are always looking for teachers to teach in English, and lots are now from the US and the UK.

“Students know how important it could be for their professions and embrace any opportunity to improve language skills.” Another factor is the growing number of students becoming postgraduates in the US, Davies added.

Europe

In Europe, professors in The Netherlands have complained of Dutch becoming a second-class language and students have not been generally happy about the spread of English.

Competition for foreign students has seen English gain ground since 2009 depending on subject and degree level. Dutch prevails for bachelor degrees, and English at masters level. International programmes are largely in English.

At the University of Amsterdam, two bachelor of arts programmes – economics; and business, liberal arts and sciences – are in English, as are 87 masters and research masters programmes.

Since 1996, almost all courses at Maastricht University have switched to, or started up in, English. Some staff and students worried about their English proficiency, so the university has student admission requirements based on TOEFL and IELTS English language exams.

"For teaching and support staff, courses are offered to improve their level of English," a spokesperson said.

Using English has attracted students from Anglophone countries. The Netherlands is seen as an option by students from the UK, where tuition fees have tripled of late. Within a broader strategy, teaching in English has seen a doubling over 10 years in the proportion of foreign students registered at Maastricht.

The Dutch approach to English usage in universities is echoed in some other European countries, including Germany and Scandinavian nations.

Oxford 'admitting more students from poor backgrounds'

Oxford is admitting more teenagers from poor performing state schools and deprived backgrounds amid government pressure to create a more diverse student body, it has emerged. 

 By Graeme Paton, Education Editor

New figures show a 75 per cent increase in offers made to disadvantaged students who were fast-tracked for interview at the elite university this year.

It was also revealed that more than four-in-10 teenagers who applied after attending an Oxford summer school – set up for bright pupils from poor areas – have been given a provisional place in 2012.

This was twice as high as the average offer rate for other students.

The disclosure underlines the lengths to which the university is now going to recruit bright candidates from “under-represented groups”.

It follows a series of high-profile attacks by the Coalition on Britain’s most selective universities.

Last year, Nick Clegg accused Oxford and Cambridge of being effectively biased against poor pupils, saying they had to ensure “British society is better reflected” in their admissions to justify state funding.

Universities are now being ordered to set targets for the number of disadvantaged students being admitted to ensure the poor are not deterred by tuition fees of up to £9,000.
It has prompted concerns that universities are being forced to place "widening access" above maintaining high academic standards.

But Prof Andrew Hamilton, the Oxford vice-chancellor, said the latest figures showed the university was “passionately committed to attracting talented students whatever their circumstances”.
“By offering the most generous financial support in the country, we have made it more likely that those from under-represented socio-economic backgrounds will choose Oxford,” he said. “We hope our message is getting across: If you have the ability, Oxford will remove all barriers.”
Currently, Oxford uses a special system to ensure bright applicants from poor backgrounds are “flagged” up to admissions tutors during the applications process – ensuring they receive a fair interview.

Students gain a flag if their school is below the national average at GCSE or A-level, if they have been in care for more than three months or come from a deprived postcode.
According to figures, 573 candidates were shortlisted for interviews after being “flagged” by the university. Of those, 185 have won offers this year. This compares with 106 who were given offers in 2011 – representing a rise of 75 per cent in just 12 months.

Separate figures show the number of students being given conditional offers after attending Oxford summer schools – staged each summer for pupils from schools and colleges “which historically have had limited progression to Oxford”.

According to data, some 444 students who attended a summer school went on to apply to the university this year. Of those, 185 – or 41 per cent – received an offer.
This was twice as high as the acceptance rate for other students, the university said.
In total, 17,243 people applied to Oxford for entry in 2012 and 3,536 received the offer of a place – a 20.5 per cent success rate.

Top universities warned over 'slow' admissions progress in UK

The Telegraph08 July 2012 Issue No:229

 

The number of disadvantaged students admitted to sought-after UK institutions remained flat last year, it was claimed. The Office for Fair Access said attempts to attract more applicants had been too “slow” and all institutions would be expected to set more ambitious targets for 2012-13, writes Graeme Patron for The Telegraph.

It emerged that fewer students from disadvantaged backgrounds were admitted to England’s 33 leading universities last year with some form of financial support. But more undergraduates claimed a full bursary, figures showed, suggesting that a far larger share of available cash is being concentrated on the very poorest students, at the expense of partial subsidies handed to those from lower middle-class households.

Figures also showed that the amount of financial help being invested in deprived students increased across the English higher education system from £403.7 million (US$629 million) in 2009-10 to £424.2 million last year.

Full report on The Telegraph site

Government pushes for national university mergers in Taiwan

The China Post08 July 2012 Issue No:229

Taiwan’s Ministry of Education will actively move to promote mergers among national universities, to counter the steady drop in student numbers caused by the declining birth rate and to better integrate university education resources, reports The China Post.

According to officials, the ministry has worked out regulations governing the mergers of universities, and will set up a merger screening committee to screen merger plans filed by national universities. In addition, it has amended the University Act to drop the regulation that stipulates university merger plans should be approved by academic affairs meetings for national universities. The amendment was ratified by the legislative Yuan.

Based on the revised act, the ministry can directly propose a merger plan of national universities to the executive Yuan for approval after taking various factors into account. Ministry officials said that Taiwan boasts the highest density of universities in the world, with a total of 162 universities, including 53 national universities and 109 private ones, in a land area of only 36,000 square kilometres.

Full report on the China Post site

Gov't pushes for national university mergers

The China Post news staff--The Ministry of Education (MOE) will actively move to promote mergers among national universities to counter the steady decline in the number of students caused by the increasingly low birth rate and to better integrate university education resources, according to MOE officials. 

The MOE has worked out a set of regulations governing the mergers of universities, and will set up a merger screening committee to screen merger plans filed by national universities, with the committee to be headed by the education minister or the political vice minister.

 

In addition, the MOE has also amended the University Act to drop the regulation that stipulates university merger plans should be approved by academic affairs meetings for national universities. The amendment was ratified by the Legislative Yuan.

Based on the revised Act, the MOE can directly propose a merger plan of national universities to the Executive Yuan for approval after taking into account factors including the overall development of higher education, the distribution of educational resources, the geographic conditions of the relevant universities and other related issues.

MOE officials said that Taiwan now boasts the highest density of universities in the world, with a total of 162 universities, including 53 national universities and 109 private ones on a land area of only 36,000 square kilometers.

As it runs counter to the R.O.C. Constitution for the Ministry of Education to request mergers of private universities, the ministry has no other choice but to carry out mergers of national universities to cope with the growing difficulty in recruiting new students as a result of the ever-declining birth rate.

Ho Cho-fei, director of the Department of Higher Education under the MOE, said that the education ministry will move to study the feasibility of mergers between national universities in accordance with the scale of universities involved, their respective academic fields, education resources allocated to students, and geographic conditions, in a bid to secure an optimal scale of economy for the expanded universities.

In addition, national universities in remote areas such as National Taitung University and National Penghu University of Science and Technology won't be merged.

Over the past few years, planned mergers among some national universities have failed to proceed smoothly, including the merger between National Taiwan University and National Taipei University of Education; National Tsing Hua University and National Hsinchu University of Education; as well as National Cheng Kung University and Tainan National University of the Arts.

For instance, the merger between National Tsing Hua University and National Hsinchu University ofa Education was submitted to the Ministry of Education as early as 2006, but both universities failed to reach a consensus on how to carry out the merger, the official name of the merged university, and the personnel arrangement.

 

Call for region to join forces for better education

The Nation-Asia News Network08 July 2012 Issue No:229

 

Thailand is working to join hands with more of its neighbours in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to drive the region's educational improvement – starting with research sharing – according to a top education official, writes Wannapa Khaopa for The Nation-Asia News Network.

“Thailand and Malaysia will probably invite other countries, like Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore to provide collaboration in education [matters]," Anek Permvongseni, secretary-general of the Office of the Education Council, said at the Fourth Thailand Malaysia joint educational research conference.

"In the future, we may work together to jointly create educational curricula or share instructional media to learn English and studying of maths. So, when students look to further higher education, Malaysian students can study a programme in English in Thailand under the co-created curricula," he said, adding that teaching and learning using technology for the future was also an issue of interest to the region.

Full report on AsiaOne News site  

 

Call for Asean to work together for better education

 

 

 

 

By Wannapa Khaopa
The Nation/Asia News Network

Thursday, Jul 05, 2012 Thailand is working to join hands with more of its neighbours in Asean to drive the region's educational improvement, starting with research sharing, a top education official told The Nation recently.

"Thailand and Malaysia will probably invite other countries, like Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore to provide collaboration in education [matters]," Anek Permvongseni, secretarygeneral of the Office of the Education Council said at the Fourth ThailandMalaysia joint educational research conference.

"In the future, we may work together to jointly create educational curricula or share instructional media to learn English and studying of math. So, when students look to further higher education, Malaysian students can study a programme in English in Thailand under the cocreated curricula," he said, adding that teaching and learning using technology for the future was also an issue of interest to the region.

"Next year, Thailand and Malaysia and the three other countries will probably share research in topics that all consider significant for sharing," Anek added.
He proposed that Singapore could be the model for lessons learned in teaching math and science for other countries.

Also, with its strength in English communication, Singapore could share its teaching and learning of the language with others.
Students' performances in science and math in most countries in Southeast Asia, except Singapore, were weak, he said.

Malaysia's Educational Planning and Research Division Deputy Director, Haji Zainal Aalam Hassan said at the conference: "If countries in Southeast Asia join in the conference, maybe Malaysia can share in this transforming education. Singapore is strong in PISA and TIMSS (the programme for international student assessment, and trends in international mathematics and science study) and would probably share with us if we invited them."

Also, Mohd Subri Mat Isa, director of Private Education Division in Malaysia agreed with the collaboration expansion.

"Probably, we should move on from here so that our neighbours can benefit from the collaboration of Malaysia and Thailand.

"Under the concept of Asean, probably we can think about expanding this to our friends, like Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. "So, they can learn from the collaboration what Malaysia and Thailand have done. Also, Thailand and Malaysia can learn from them in terms of classroom research.
"We won't know what our neighbouring countries, like Indonesia, Singapore or Brunei can offer in terms of their collaboration and benefits for everybody unless we come together," he said.
The conference is being held from July 26 in Chiang Mai under the theme "ResearchDriven Education Reforms: Raising the Quality of Teaching and Learning towards the International Standards."

It is presenting eight policy researches and 20 classroom researches offered by Thai and Malaysia presenters.

Attending are 150 Thai and Malaysian policy makers, practitioners and teachers.
The previous three conferences were alternately organised in Thailand and Malaysia

Oxford University Press settles UK, World Bank probes

Oxford Publishing Ltd, a unit of Oxford University Press, said last week it had settled probes by the World Bank and the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into allegations of corruption in its operations in East Africa, writes Samuel Rubenfeld for The Wall Street Journal.

The publisher became aware in 2011 of “irregular tendering practices” involving its education business in East Africa, immediately began investigating and reported voluntarily to the World Bank and the SFO on its findings, the SFO said. The investigations led the SFO and the World Bank to believe the two Oxford Publishing units “offered and made payments, directly and through agents”, with the intention of trying to win tenders and contracts to publish schoolbooks, the SFO said.

Under separate settlements, Oxford Publishing agreed to pay nearly £1.9 million (US$2.9 million) pounds in a civil recovery order in the UK, and Oxford University Press agreed to pay the World Bank $500,000. The World Bank also announced it debarred the two units – Oxford University Press East Africa Ltd and Oxford University Press Tanzania Ltd – for three years after the parent company acknowledged wrongdoing in Bank-funded projects.
Full report on The Wall Street Journal site

By Samuel Rubenfeld

Oxford Publishing Ltd., a unit of Oxford University Press, said Tuesday it settled probes by the World Bank and the U.K. Serious Fraud Office into allegations of corruption in its operations in East Africa.

Caleb Jones/Associated Press

An Oxford English Dictionary, published by Oxford University Press, is shown at the headquarters of the Associated Press in New York on Aug. 29, 2010.

The publisher became aware in 2011 of “irregular tendering practices” involving its education business in East Africa, immediately began investigating, and reported voluntarily to the World Bank and the SFO on its findings, the SFO said.
The investigations led the SFO and the World Bank to believe the two Oxford Publishing units “offered and made payments, directly and through agents,” with the intention of trying to win tenders and contracts to publish schoolbooks, the SFO said.

Under separate settlements, Oxford Publishing agreed to pay nearly 1.9 million pounds in a civil recovery order in the U.K. and Oxford University Press agreed to pay the World Bank $500,000.
“This settlement demonstrates that there are, in appropriate cases, clear and sensible solutions available to those who self report issues of this kind to the authorities,” said David Green, director of the SFO, in a statement.

The World Bank also announced it debarred the two units — Oxford University Press East Africa Ltd. and Oxford University Press Tanzania Ltd. — after the parent company acknowledged wrongdoing by those units in Bank-funded projects. The subsidiaries are debarred for three years, and Oxford University Press received a conditional non-debarment, the World Bank said.
“This debarment is testimony to the Bank’s continued commitment to protecting the integrity of its projects,” said Leonard McCarthy, head of the World Bank Integrity Vice Presidency, in a statement.
Oxford University Press isn’t the first publisher to face the SFO for corruption in Africa. Macmillan Publishers Ltd. agreed in July 2011 to pay a GBP11.2 million fine over illegal payments made by its education division to secure contracts.

More coverage of the Oxford settlements is available here and here.
Along with the settlements, Oxford University Press announced it was taking disciplinary action against those involved in the misconduct, and it is contributing GBP2 million to non-profit organizations for teacher training and other educational purposes in sub-Saharan Africa.
“This GBP2 million contribution is in part a recognition that the conduct of our two subsidiaries in East Africa fell well below the standards we expect within our organization,” said Nigel Portwood, chief executive of Oxford University Press, in a statement. “At the same time it is a direct and effective way of improving educational opportunities for children in sub-Saharan Africa, in a way which is true to our core values.”

Nation's universities attract fewer applicants in Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge08 July 2012

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training, the number of candidates for yesterday and today has decreased 27.2 per cent compared with last year, down to 662,096 candidates from more than 900,000.

Initial figures show that the number of candidates sitting for exams for technology universities amounted to 70 per cent of those who had applied. This was slightly higher than in previous years.

And the rate for those who turned up for exams for provincial universities was higher at 80 per cent.

However, the big surprise was that the attendance rate for those arriving for tests at universities covering foreign trade, economics and banking-finance fell to a low 50 per cent of those who applied. This is seen by some as a reflection on Viet Nam's economy.

In the capital city, HCM City, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Vinh, Can Tho and Thai Nguyen, crowds of students were a common scene as parents busily took them to more than 1,000 exam venues.

Many parents took their children to their destinations early because of the threat of rain and flash flooding in places like HCM City.
Meanwhile in Ha Noi, home to many universities and colleges, there were no traffic jams on the first day of the exam. However, police were mobilised to direct traffic on major routes leading to test venues, including Cau Giay, Kim Ma, Giang Vo, Nguyen Trai and Nguyen Luong Bang streets.

Voluntary students in green shirts were seen at bus stations and street corners to help direct students.

During yesterday's exams, the education ministry sent inspection teams to venues without notice in a new crackdown on cheating.

The teams, led by education and training Deputy Minister Bui Van Ga, did not find any violations among students sitting for entry to the University of Foreign Trade and the University of Mining and Geology and the People Police Academy.

However, 20 exam papers were cancelled at other venues because of violations. Two students were also not allowed to take the exam because they arrived late.

Two examiners at Vinh City University were also withdrawn because they signed off in the wrong place.

Candidates for the two exam periods this week and next week will total 1.4 million. 

CAMBODIA: The culture of impunity and violence must stop

Cambodian and International civil society organizations

May 31, 2012

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

Phnom Penh, 30th May 2012- We, Cambodian and International civil society organizations represented in this statement, condemn the use of armed force and escalating violence against citizens peacefully defending their land, labor and natural resources rights. We are referring to not only the events earlier last week on 22nd May, when dozens of peaceful Boeung Kak Lake (BKL) protesters were violently dispersed and two days later when fifteen (fourteen women and one male) BKL residents were sent to Prey Sar prison and charged and convicted of unfounded criminal offenses,1 but also the recent shooting incidents—the killings of environmental activist Chut Wutty2 in Koh Kong province and 14-year old girl Heng Chantha3 in Kratie province, and the shooting of three young women protesting for better working conditions in Svay Rieng province. These incidents are particularly disturbing because they indicate an increasing readiness on the part of security and military forces to use lethal force against civilians.

The year 2012 has already witnessed at least five such instances, not including numerous other human rights abuses. We are deeply concerned, shocked and saddened about this escalation of violence, particularly in disputes related to Economic Land Concessions (ELCs). Pursuant to Article 41 of the Cambodian Constitution and international conventions to which Cambodia is a party, all citizens enjoy a fundamental right to free expression, which includes the right to protect against decisions of public authorities that infringe on their rights and livelihood . In practice, the exercise of this right is all too often denied or met with violent repression.

Cambodian citizens have a right to live under the rule of law. They deserve to be protected, served with dignity and fairness based on universally agreed basic rights. Public authorities not only have a duty and obligation to ensure that a culture of impunity is never condoned but also must make fighting against impunity a priority. All instances involving the use of firearms against civilians should be promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigated. Investigations that find shootings to be “accidental” or the result of low-ranking officers acting on their own initiative should be supported by evidence gathered in a rigorous, transparent manner. At the very least, protection against threats and intimidation should be provided to witnesses and all victims should have access to effective judicial verdict and justice.

The recent shootings took place despite the fact that Prime Minister Hun Sen has made an announcement prohibiting the use of firearms against protesters4 and issued a moratorium on the granting of ELCs5. Civil society organizations welcome the Prime Minister’s much needed directives, which work to improve human rights in Cambodia. However, the Prime Minister's directives should be followed by detailed, binding regulations that highlight how public authorities—both local and provincial and armed forces—should thoroughly and systematically implement these directives.

It is necessary to fully review all existing concessions to ensure they all are fully compliant with relevant national and international legal frameworks. Gaps in resources or technical capacity should be identified and addressed, and the implementation of these decisions should be monitored and reported to the public.

We, the 122 undersigned civil society organizations, believe that violence against citizens is never acceptable and should cease immediately and will also continue to monitor individual cases related to land, labor and natural resources rights. In addition, we will seek to engage the Royal Government of Cambodia with the aim to strengthen the rule of law and to break the current cycle of violence and impunity.

This statement is endorsed by the following Cambodian and International Civil Society
Organizations:

1) 3S Rivers Protection Network (3SPN)
2) Action for Environment and Communities (AEC)
3) Action for Research and Development (ARD)
4) ActionAid International-Cambodia
5) Advocacy and Policy Institute (API)
6) Affiliated Network for Social Accountability-East Asia and the Pacific (ANSA-EAP
CAMBODIA)
7) Aide Et Action International-Cambodia
8) Alliance Action for Rural Restoration Organization (AARR)
9) Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
10) Assistance to Poor Children’s Agency (APCA)
11) Australian Council for International Development (ACFID)
12) Banteay Srei (BS)
13) Buddhism for Development (BFD)
14) Building Communities Voices (BCV)
15) Burma Partnership
16) Cambodia Women's Crisis Center (CWCC)
17) Cambodia’s Media Forum on Environment (CMFE)
18) Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM)
19) Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR)
20) Cambodian Children’s Trust (CCT)
21) Cambodian Civil Society Partnership (CCSP)
22) Cambodian Defenders Project (CDP)
23) Cambodian Food and Service Workers Federation (CFSWF)
24) Cambodian HIV/AIDS Education and Care (CHEC)
25) Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC)
26) Cambodian Human Rights and Development (ADHOC)
27) Cambodian Indigenous Youth Association (CIYA)
28) Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
29) Cambodian Mental Health Nurses Association (CMHNA)
30) Cambodian National Research Organization (CNRO)
31) Cambodian Rural Development Team (CRDT)
32) Cambodian Volunteers for Society (CVS)
33) Cambodian Worker Center for Development (DWCD)
34) Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children's Rights (CCPCR)
35) Center for Advanced Study (CAS)
36) Child Hope Cambodia
37) Children and Life Association (CLA)
38) Children Development Association (CDA)
39) Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC)
40) Christians for Social Justice (CSJ)
41) Coalition for Integrity and Social Accountability (CISA)
42) Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC)
43) Community Capacities for Development (CCD)
44) Community Economic Development (CED)
45) Community Empowerment and Development Team (CEDT)
46) Community Managed Development Partners (CMDP)
47) Community Peace-Building Network (CPN)
48) Concern Worldwide Cambodia
49) Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC)
50) CORD South & East Asia
51) Culture and Environment Preservation Association (CEPA)
52) DanChurchAid/ChristianAid
53) Danmission-Cambodia
54) Development and Partnership in Action (DPA)
55) Development and Peace-Canada
56) Diakonia
57) Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment (ELIE)
58) Environment and Society Organization ( ESO)
59) Environmental Protection and Development Organization(EPDO)
60) Equitable Cambodia
61) Farmer of Cambodia Organization (FOC)
62) Forum Syd
63) Friends of the Earth Indonesia (WALHI)-based in Indonesia
64) Gender and Development for Cambodia (GADC)
65) Heinrich Böll Stitfung Cambodia
66) Highlander Association (HA)
67) Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF)
68) ICCO & KiA Southeast Asia and Pacific
69) Inclusive Development International
70) Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA)
71) Indigenous Community Support Organization (ICSO)
72) Indigenous Rights Active Members (IRAM)
73) International Center for Conciliation (ICfC)
74) Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC)
75) Jesuit Service Cambodia
76) Kelompok Studi Konservasi (KSK)- based in Indonesia
77) Khmer Institute for National Development (KIND)
78) Khmer Youth Association (KYA)
79) Korean Missionary Society (KMS)
80) Krom Akphiwat Phum (KAWP)
81) Kunathor (TNK)
82) LICADHO Canada
83) Life with Dignity (LWD)
84) Mercy Teams International
85) Mlup Baitong (MB)
86) My Village (MVi)
87) Neak Poan Organization For Development (NOP)
88) Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFIC)
89) NGO Committee on the Rights of the Child (NGOCRC)
90) NGO Education Partnership (NEP)
91) NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGOF)
92) Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP)
93) Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)-Cambodia
94) Operations Enfants du Cambodge (OEC)
95) Organization to Promote Kuy Culture (OPKC)
96) Partnership for Development in Cambodia (PADEK)
97) People in Need Cambodia (PIN-Cambodia)
98) People’s Action for Change (PAC)
99) Phum Baitong
100) Ponleu Ney Kdey SangKhum (PNKS)
101) Ponlok Khmer (PKH) based in Preah Vihear
102) RACHANA
103) Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia (RHAC)
104) Riverkids Foundation
105) Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT)
106) Save the Children
107) Servants of Cambodia
108) Silaka
109) Social Action for Change (SAC)
110) STAR Kampuchea
111) Strey Khmer Organization (SKO)
112) The Cambodian Center for the Protection of the Children’s Rights (CCPCR)
113) Trócaire
114) Urban Poor Development Fund (UPWD)
115) Village Focus Cambodia (VFC)
116) Volunteers for Sustainable Development (VSD)
117) WAI Bangladesh Steering Committee
118) Welthungerhilfe Cambodia (DWHH/GAA)
119) Women Association for Community Development (WACD)
120) World Rainforest Movement (WRM)
121) World Vision Cambodia (WVC)
122) Youth Resource Development Programme (YRDP)

50 things to do before you leave university

By Oliver Brann 

 

University is a very special time in your life. There are some incredible opportunities for personal growth. And also for being very, very silly. Studentbeans is all about this (plus, of course, the freebies, discounts and money saving - join now, it's free!) - so they've created this handy list to work through before you leave uni. How many have you already done?

1. Feed the campus wildlife
2. Have an epic karaoke night at your house using just YouTube, booze, and your natural star quality
3. Go on a date with someone you would normally say no to - give them a chance
4. Hand in an essay early
5. Busk on campus for a charity (even if you have zero talent)
6. Teach someone something
7. Read a book that isn't study-related
8. Hire a bike for a week and see how it works out for you
9. Study in every library that exists at your university (like you're ‘on tour' - but studying)
10. Drive to a beach. Swim. (If your uni is miles away from the coast, you'll just have to stay over)
11. Make your own booze
12. Go to a university sports team's game. Get vocal and animated with your support.
13. Have an incredibly elaborate picnic on a uni green space one lunch time
14. Sit in on a lecture that's completely out of your field, but that you've always been fascinated by
15. Join a society for something you've always wanted to do, but never got round to
16. Apply for internships and jobs
17. Turn up at a 9 am lecture along with all the other students dressed in your PJs and dressing gowns
18. Go to the careers office and speak to them completely honestly - whatever your thoughts and fears, loves and hates...
19. Go on a weekend country jaunt with friends - get as remote as possible
20. Start a conga at a big union night. See how long you can get it, before leading it as far from the music as possible (if you can get it to a house party or another club night, you can officially retire from doing stuff. Your work here is done)
21. Go and see the art departments' end of year shows
22. Go to a play put on by the drama department or a uni society
23. Get involved in a play or some kind of performance (e.g. fashion show, etc.)
24. Visit all historical building and monuments in your town (including churches)
25. Go out sober and dance all night (at least once, repeat as required)
26. Swim in a fountain (campus if possible, town will do)
27. Go paddling on a hot day
28. Hold your own Come Dine With Me with other student houses
29. Take part in a protest
30. Write in to the uni radio station or newspaper
31. Dress up! As a fictional character, an animal - anything
32. If you think a lecture was particularly good, try and instigate a standing ovation
33. Do something – anything! – silly, for charity
34. Give your parents a in depth tour of all the great stuff you do and love at University (It'll make for an amazing trip for them, and make them feel happy whenever they think of you at uni)
35. Have a sleepover
36. Play an elaborate prank on a housemate
37. Win a pub quiz (whatever it takes)
38. Make a kite and fly it
39. Have an 80s montage house cleaning session, with appropriate outfits and music blaring
40. Go on a blind date
41. Find out the names of all those people you know far too well to not know their names
42. Dye your hair
43. Sleep out under the stars
44. Make a movie starring your friends and your favourite places
45. Celebrate something by doing the classic shake up a bottle of champagne and spraying it all over yourself and everywhere (or at least do it with sparkling wine..!)
46. Make friends with a student from a country you've never known someone from or been to before
47. Go inside (and have a little explore of) every building that is part of the university
48. Become a wise mentor for a Fresher doing your course. Tell them what you wish you'd known
49. Learn a new sport or instrument or activity that you never thought you would
50. Get loads of discounts, free things and cool stuff by joining the UK's largest student money saving club studentbeans.com, of course!

 

Book spotlights life for children under Khmer Rouge rule

Friday, 06 July 2012
Chhay Channyda

“One day, two boys caught a cat and banged its head to a tree trunk. They then set it on fire and tore the meat to eat by sharing with me, but this was to be a secret, otherwise we would be accused of being thieves . . . We looked like vampires eating such things,” journalist Chhay Sophal recounts in his book Mom & Angkar’s Kid, which was launched yesterday.

Sophal was 12 when Phnom Penh was was evacuated and he was sent to live in the Khmer Rouge’s child mobile unit.

His book intertwines his memoirs with interviews and research of the regime.

“I made the book’s title Mom & Angkar’s Kid because in that period, they trained us to hate our parents,” the former Reuters reporter said.

He describes an enduring guilt for “being so crazy to scorn [my parents] lives during the Khmer Rouge regime and saying that ‘I will smash them if they do something wrong for the revolutionary Angkar’”.

“I want to show the next generation about the children’s rights violations and abuse during Democratic Kampuchea,” Sophal, who is not participating in the Khmer Rouge tribunal, said.

“If there had been no January 7 [overthrow of the Khmer Rouge], I would have had an idea to smash my mom, because I was absorbed into Angkar’s ideology,” he said.

The book is fully financed by Minister for Information Khieu Kanharith.

Adhoc’s KRT Justice Program co-ordinator Latt Ky said that the Khmer Rouge’s treatment of children was akin to complete indoctrination.

“Kids were pulled out of school and all their education was political education,” Ky said. “They don’t really understand their actions and even when Angkar asks the child to kill his father and mother, the child sees no choice.”

Prince blamed 15 years on

Friday, 06 July 2012
Meas Sokchea

Funcinpec party leader Nhek Bun Chhay marked the 15th anniversary of what he called the “factional fighting” of 1997, and what many have called a bloody coup that swept Prime Minister Hun Sen to power, by sharing some of his own experiences yesterday and blaming the entire mess on Prince Norodom Ranariddh.

He said that Ranariddh, who was then sharing the prime minister’s seat with Hun Sen, had asked Bun Chhay to meet with Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan without telling Hun Sen.

“This point caused uncertainty in the coalition government,” he said.

“Samdech Hun Sen asked to meet with Samdech Krom Preah [Ranariddh] to have a talk about these issues, but Samdech Krom Preah did not agree and went abroad. That’s what caused the event of July 5-6, 1997.”

When contacted yesterday, spokesman of the Norodom Ranariddh Party Pen Sangha said Bun Chhay was just scoring political points.

“Samdech Krom Preah [Ranariddh], actually, did not have any intention to create this event, because he was a winner of the election,” he said.

Over those two days in July, troops loyal to then-Second Prime Minister Hun Sen and First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who led Funcinpec at the time, fought street battles in Phnom Penh.

CPP troops emerged the victor, Ranariddh went into exile in France, and the Hun Sen-led CPP has won every subsequent election.

Bun Chayy also took the occasion yesterday to pass out copies of his two-volume biography, whose title roughly translates to “An Incredible Piece of Luck Among 1,000 Risks”.

Bun Chhay said that on July 6, he had withdrawn about 1,200 troops from Phnom Penh to Kampong Chhnang province, and after that, some troops were divided into small groups to escape as a guerrilla strategy.

His men were surrounded by CPP armed forces. They tried to escape and two of his commanders were killed in the process.

He then fled to the Cambodia-Thailand border where he led a resistance movement before eventually returning to Phnom Penh and rejoining political life.

ញឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ បន្ទោស​រណឫទ្ធិ​ចំពោះ​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​៥-៦​កក្កដា

06 July 2012 មាស សុខជា

ភ្នំពេញៈ លោក ញឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ ប្រធាន​ប្រតិបតិ្ត​ គណបក្ស​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច​បច្ចុប្បន្ន បាន​បន្ទោស​និង​ទម្លាក់​កំហុស​ ទៅ​លើ​ព្រះអង្គ​ម្ចាស់​នរោត្តម រណាឫទ្ធិ ចំពោះ​ការ​កើត​មាន​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​ផ្ទុះ​អាវុធ​ដ៏​បង្ហូរ​ឈាម នៅ​កណ្តាល​ទីក្រុង​ភ្នំពេញ នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី ៥-៦ កក្កដា កាល​ពី ១៦ ឆ្នាំ​មុន​។

កាល ​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​ ៥-៦ កក្កដា ឆ្នាំ ១៩៩៧ មាន​ការ​ផ្ទុះ​អាវុធ​ដ៏​បង្ហូរ​ឈាម​មួយ នៅ​កណ្តាល​ទីក្រុង​ភ្នំពេញ ដែល​អ្នក​ខ្លះ​ហៅ​ថាជា​«រដ្ឋ​ប្រហារ» រវាង​កង​កម្លាំង​ ដែល​ស្មោះ​ត្រង់​នឹង​ព្រះអង្គ​ម្ចាស់​នរោត្តម រណឫទ្ធិ ដែល​កាល​នោះ​ជា​នាយក​រដ្ឋ​មន្ត្រី​ទី ១ និង​កង​កម្លាំង​ដែល​ស្មោះត្រង់ និង​លោក​ហ៊ុន សែន ដែល​កាល​នោះ​ជា​នាយក​រដ្ឋ​មន្ត្រី​ទី ២។ ការ​ផ្ទុះ​អាវុធ ដែល​មាន​ការ​បាញ់​​ផ្លោង​កាំភ្លើង​ធំ និង​ប្រើ​កង​រថ​ក្រោះ នៅ​កណ្តាល​ទីក្រុង​ភ្នំពេញ ដែល​មាន​មនុស្ស​ច្រើន​កុះករ​នោះ ត្រូវ​បាន​គេ​រាយការណ៍​ថា បាន​ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​កង​កម្លាំង​ និង​មន្ត្រី​ដែល​ស្មោះត្រង់ ​នឹង​ព្រះ​អង្គ​ម្ចាស់​នរោត្តម រណឫទ្ធិ យ៉ាង​ហោច​ណាស់ ជាង ១០០ នាក់ ត្រូវ​បាន​គេ​សម្លាប់ ទាំង​នៅ​ក្នុង​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​និង​នៅ​ក្រោយ​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍។ 

ប៉ុន្តែ​រហូត​មក​ដល់​ពេល​នេះ មិន​ត្រឹម​តែ​មិន​មាន​នរណា​ម្នាក់ ឬ​ក្រុម​ណា​មួយ ​ត្រូវ​បាន​គេ​នាំ​យក​ទៅ​ផ្តន្ទាទោស​ ប៉ុណ្ណោះ​ទេ ថែម​ទាំង​អ្នក​ដែល​គេ​មើល​ឃើញ​ថា មាន​ចំណែក​ជាប់​ពាក់ព័ន្ធ​ក្នុង​រឿង​នេះ ហាក់​បី​ដូច​ជា​បាន​នាំ​គ្នា​បំភ្លេច​ពី​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​នេះ​ទៅ​វិញ​។ នៅ​ក្នុង​សន្និសីទ​កាសែត​ដ៏​កម្រ​មួយ កាល​ពី​ម្សិលមិញ លោក ញឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ អតីត​មេទ័ព​គណបក្ស​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច ដែល​បច្ចុប្បន្ន បាន​ថ្លែង​ថា ការ​ផ្ទុះ​អាវុធ ​ថ្ងៃ ៥-៦ កក្កដា ឆ្នាំ ១៩៩៧ ​កើត​ឡើង​ដោយ​សារ​ការ​មិន​ជឿ​ទុក​ចិត្ត​គ្នា​នៅ​ក្នុង​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ចម្រុះ​។

លោក ញឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ ដែល​ក៏​កាន់​តំណែង​ជា​ឧប​នាយក​រដ្ឋ​មន្ត្រី នៅ​ក្នុង​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​បច្ចុប្បន្ន​ ​ដែល​មាន​សម្ព័ន្ធភាព ស្អិតល្មួត ជាមួយ​លោក​នាយក​រដ្ឋ​មន្ត្រី​ហ៊ុន សែន ហាក់​បាន​ទម្លាក់​កំហុស​ ទៅ​លើ​ព្រះ​អង្គ​ម្ចាស់ នរោត្តម រណឫទិ្ធ ចំពោះ​ការ​កើត​មាន​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍ ថ្ងៃ ៥-៦ កក្កដា​។ លោក​បាន​គូស​បញ្ជាក់​ថា​៖ «ព្រះ​អង្គ​ (រណឫទ្ធិ) ចង់​ឲ្យ​កម្លាំង​មាន​តុល្យភាព ជាមួយ​នឹង​កង​កម្លាំង​របស់​គណបក្ស​ ប្រជាជន​កម្ពុជា ខណៈ​ពេល​ដែល​ព្រះ​អង្គ​ធ្វើ​ជា​នាយក​រដ្ឋ​មន្រ្តី​ទី ១ ព្រះ​អង្គ​មាន​កងទ័ព​តែ ២០០០០ នាក់ ហើយ​លោក ហ៊ុន សែន ​នាយក​រដ្ឋ​មន្រ្តី​ទី ២ មាន​កង​ទ័ព​រហូត​ដល់​ ១១០០០០ នាក់​។

លោក ញឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ បាន​លើក​ឡើង​ដូច្នេះ​ថា៖ «​សម្តេច​ក្រុម​ព្រះ ​បាន​នាំ​អាវុធ​ចូល​មក [កម្ពុជា]។ ព្រះ​អង្គ បាន​បញ្ជា​ខ្ញុំ​ទៅ​ជួប​លោក ខៀវ សំផន មេ​ដឹក​នាំ​ខ្មែរ​ក្រហម ចូល​ដោយ​មិន​បាន​ប្រាប់​សម្តេច ហ៊ុន សែន។ ចំណុច​នេះ​ បង្ក​ឲ្យ​មាន​ភាព​មិន​ប្រាកដ​ប្រជា ក្នុង​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ចម្រុះ»។ លោក​បាន​បន្ថែម​ថា៖ «​សម្តេច ហ៊ុន​ សែន បាន​ស្នើ​ជួប​សម្តេច​ក្រុម​ព្រះ ដើម្បី​ពិភាក្សា​ ពី​បញ្ហា​ទាំង​នេះ ប៉ុន្តែ​សម្តេច​ក្រុម​ព្រះ​មិន​ព្រម ហើយ​ចាក​ចេញ​ទៅ​ក្រៅ​ប្រទេស​។ នោះ​ហើយ ជា​មូល​ហេតុ បណ្តាល​ឲ្យ​មាន​ព្រឹត្តការណ៍​ថ្ងៃ​ទី ៥‑៦ កក្កដា ឆ្នាំ​១៩៩៧»។ លោក ញឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ បាន​គូស​បញ្ជាក់​ទៀត​ថា៖«សម្តេច​ក្រុម​ព្រះ គួរ​ហ៊ាន​ទទួល​ខុស​ត្រូវ ចំពោះ​មួយ​ផ្នែក​ធំ នៃ​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​នេះ»។

បើ​ទោះ​បី​ជា​មាន​ការ​ រិះគន់​ជា​ច្រើន​ថា នៅ​ក្នុង​និង​ក្រោយ​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​ដ៏​បង្ហូរ​ឈាម​នោះ មាន​ការ​សម្លាប់​ក្រៅ​ច្បាប់​ ទៅ​លើ​មន្ត្រី​ដែល​ស្មោះត្រង់​នឹង​គណបក្ស​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច​រហូត​ដល់​ជាង ​ ១០០ នាក់​ក្តី ក៏លោក ញឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ បាន​លើក​ឡើង​ថា វា​ជា​រឿង​ធម្មតា​ ដែល​ទាហាន​ស្លាប់ ​នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី ៥‑៦ ខែ​កក្កដា ព្រោះ​ភាគី​ទាំង​ពីរ​ បាញ់​គ្នា​ទៅ​វិញ​ទៅ​មក ហើយ​ពួក​គេ តែង​តែ​ត្រូវ​បាន​សម្លាប់ ​ដោយ​សារ​គ្រាប់​កាំភ្លើង​ពី​ភាគី​ម្ខាង​ទៀត​ ប៉ុន្តែ លោក​​ក៏​បាន​ទទួល​ស្គាល់​ផង​ដែរ​ថា ទាហាន​ខ្លះ ​ត្រូវ​បាន​សម្លាប់​ក្រោយ​ពី​ចាប់ខ្លួន ដោយសារ​កំហឹង​បុគ្គល ហើយ​ទាហាន​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច​ដទៃ​ទៀត ដែល​ត្រូវ​បាន​ចាប់​ខ្លួន ត្រូវ​បាន​ដោះ​លែង​ បន្ទាប់​ពី​លោក ហ៊ុន សែន បាន​ដឹង​ពី​បញ្ហា​នេះ។

នៅ ​ពេល​ទាក់ទង​កាល​ពី​ម្សិលមិញ លោក ប៉ែន សង្ហា អ្នក​នាំពាក្យ​គណបក្ស​នរោត្តម រណឫទ្ធិ ​មិន​ចង់​ធ្វើ​អត្ថាធិប្បាយ​ច្រើន​ទេ ដោយ​លោក​គ្រាន់​តែ​និយាយ​ថា អ្វី​ដែល​លោក ញឹក ប៊ុនឆៃ លើក​ឡើង គឺ​គ្រាន់​តែ​ដើម្បី​បុព្វហេតុ​នយោបាយ​ប៉ុណ្ណោះ។ លោក​បាន​បញ្ជាក់​ថា៖ «ប្រជាជន​បាន​ដឹង​ ពី​មូលហេតុ​ចម្បង​ ដែល​ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​កើត​មាន​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​ថ្ងៃ​ទី ៥‑៦ ខែ​កក្កដា។ សម្តេច​ក្រុម​ព្រះ​គ្មាន​ហេតុផល​អ្វី ត្រូវ​បង្កើត​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​នេះ​ទេ ព្រោះ​ព្រះ​អង្គ​ជា​អ្នក​ឈ្នះ​ឆ្នោត ហើយ​ព្រះ​អង្គ​សង្ឃឹម​ឈ្នះ​ក្នុង​ការ​បោះឆ្នោត​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៩៨ ទៀត»។

នៅ​ ថ្ងៃ​នេះ​ គណបក្ស សម រង្ស៊ី នឹង​ប្រារព្ធ​ពិធី​រំឭក​ខួប ដល់​ការ​សម្លាប់​កងទ័ព​ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​ ៥‑៦​ ខែ​កក្កដា ដោយ​ហៅ​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​នេះ​ថា​ជា​«រដ្ឋ​ប្រហារ» បង្កើត​ឡើង​ដោយ​លោក​ ហ៊ុន សែន នាយក​រដ្ឋ​មន្រ្តី​ទី ២ នៅ​ពេល​នោះ។ ​លោកគង់ គាំ ប្រធាន​ស្តីទី គណបក្ស សម រង្ស៊ី បាន​ថ្លែង​ថា៖ «យើង​រៀបចំ​ពិធី​នេះ​ ដើម្បី​គោរព​អ្នក​ដែល​ត្រូវ​បាន​សម្លាប់​ក្នុង​អំពើ​រដ្ឋ​ប្រហារ។ យើង​ហៅ​វា​ជា​រដ្ឋ​ប្រហារ ព្រោះ[​គណបក្ស ប្រជាជន​កម្ពុជា] បាន​បណ្តេញ [​គណបក្ស ហ៊្វុនស៊ិនប៉ិច] ដោយ​អាវុធ និង​សម្លាប់​មនុស្ស​នៅ​ក្រៅ​ប្រព័ន្ធ​តុលាការ។

លោក​នាយក​រដ្ឋ​មន្រ្តី ហ៊ុន សែន និង​មន្រ្តី​របស់​លោក តែង​តែ​លើក​ឡើង​ថា ការ​ផ្ទុះ​អាវុធ​ថ្ងៃ ៥‑៦ កក្កដា​១៩៩៧​មិន​មែន​ជា​រដ្ឋ​ប្រហារ​ទេ ប៉ុន្តែ​វា​ជា​ការ​បង្ក្រាប​លើ​កម្លាំង​អនាធិបតេយ្យ​៕ TK

WHO still unable to identify illness that killed 61 children in Cambodia

The World Health Organisation says it is too early to say whether a mixture of known diseases or something new is responsible for the deaths of more than 60 children.

A mysterious disease has killed 61 of the 62 children admitted to hospital since April, although there is no indication it is spreading from person to person. Patients suffer a high fever, followed by severe respiratory problems that progress quickly.

Dr Nima Asgari of the WHO in Phnom Penh said health workers were combing through the records of the victims, most of whom were under seven.

ពលរដ្ឋ​ខ្មែរ​ខ្លះ​ត្អូញត្អែរ​ពី​ការ​លំបាក​សុំ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​អាមេរិក

ដោយ វោហារ ជាតិ

2012-07-05

ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​ខ្មែរ​មួយ​ចំនួន​ដែល​សុំ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ទៅ​​ប្រទេស​អាមេរិក បាន​រិះគន់​មន្ត្រី​ស្ថានទូត​អាមេរិក ផ្នែក​ការិយាល័យ​ផ្ដល់​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ប្រចាំ​កម្ពុជា ថា​មាន​ការ​តឹងតែង​ក្នុង​ការ​ផ្ដល់​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ឲ្យ​ពួក​គាត់ ថែម​ទាំង​ធ្វើ​ឫក្ស​ក្រអឺតក្រទម​ទៀត​ផង។

រៀងរាល់​ព្រឹក​គេ​សង្កេត​ឃើញ​ថា មាន​ប្រជា​ពលរដ្ឋ​ខ្មែរ​យ៉ាង​ហោច​ណាស់​ចាប់​ពី​២០ ទៅ ៥០​នាក់ នាំ​គ្នា​តម្រង់​ជួរ​នៅ​ស្ថានទូត​អាមេរិក ដើម្បី​សុំ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ទៅ​អាមេរិក។
ពេល​ចេញ​មក​វិញ អ្នក​ដែល​បាន​ទិដ្ឋាការ​មាន​ទឹក​មុខ​រីករាយ។ ក៏ប៉ុន្តែ​អ្នក​ខ្លះ​ខកចិត្ត ព្រោះ​ពួក​គាត់​មិន​ត្រឹម​តែ​មិន​បាន​​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ដូច​ក្ដី​រំពឹង​ទុក​ទេ តែ​ថែម​ទាំង​អស់​ប្រាក់​ចំនួន ១៦០​ដុល្លារ ថែម​ទៀត គឺ​ប្រាក់​បង់​ថ្លៃ​សេវា​សម្រាប់​ទិដ្ឋាការ។

ជាអាទិ៍​ដូច​ជា​ប្រជា​ពលរដ្ឋ​ម្នាក់​សុំ​មិន​បញ្ចេញ​ឈ្មោះ ពោល​ទាំង​សោកស្ដាយ​ថា គាត់​នៅ​តែ​មិន​អស់​ចិត្ត មិន​ដឹង​ថាគាត់​ខ្វះ​ឯកសារ​អ្វី​បាន​ជា​ស្ថានទូត​មិន​ផ្ដល់​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ឲ្យ។
គាត់​បាន​អះអាង​ថា​គាត់​បាន​ទៅ​ចូល​រួម​ពិធី​អាពាហ៍ពិពាហ៍​កូន​នៅ​សហរដ្ឋ​អាមេរិក៖ «អ្នក ​គ្រប់​គ្នា​ដែល​គេ​ទៅ​សម្ភាស​ដូច​ខ្ញុំ អ្នក​ណា​ក៏​គេ​ខឹង ហើយ​គេ​ស្ដាយ​លុយ​គេ​ដែល​បង់​អស់ ១៦០​ដុល្លារ។ សម្ភាសន៍​ហ្នឹង គ្មាន​អ្នក​ណា​បាន​សម្ភាស​ច្រើន សួរ​តែ​ពីរ​បី​ម៉ាត់​ថា ឯកសារ​អ្នក​ឯង​អត់​គ្រប់​ទេ។ ដល់​ពេល​គេ​សួរ​ហេតុ​អី​បាន​មិន​គ្រប់ មិន​គ្រប់​ហ្នឹង​ខ្វះ​ស្អី? គេ​អត់​ប្រាប់​ថា​ខ្វះ​ស្អី ទេ។ លុយ ១៦០​ដុល្លារ​គេ​ពិបាក​រក​ណាស់​ដល់​សួរ​តែ​ពីរ​បី​ម៉ាត់​ស្រាប់​តែ​ឲ្យ​គេ​ ធ្លាក់»។

ចំណែក​អ្នក​សុំ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​មិន​មែន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​ម្នាក់​ទៀត​ដែល​សុំ​មិន ​បញ្ចេញ​អត្ត​សញ្ញាណ ដែល​ធ្លាប់​សម្ភាសន៍​ធ្លាក់​ដូច​គ្នា​ដែរ​នោះ ក៏​អះអាង​ប្រហាក់​ប្រហែល​គ្នា​នេះ​ដែរ ៖ «ជាក់​ស្ដែង​ខ្ញុំ​ក​ទទួល​ អ៊ីចឹង​ដែរ។ ការ​សួរ​របស់​អ្នក​សម្ភាស​ហ្នឹង​ហាក់​មិន​យក​ចិត្ត​ទុក​ដាក់​ជាមួយ​នឹង​អ្នក ​បេក្ខជន​ដែល​ត្រូវ​ទៅ​សម្ភាសន៍ ឬ​ក៏​គាត់​អាច​មើល​ប្រវត្តិ​យើង​ហើយ​ក៏​មិន​ដឹង យើង​អត់​ដឹង​រឿង​របស់​គាត់»។
ទិដ្ឋាការ​មិន​មែន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​ជាទូទៅ​គេ​សម្គាល់​ថា ជា​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ទេសចរណ៍ ឬ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​សម្រាប់​ទៅ​លេង​សហរដ្ឋ​អាមេរិក​ជា​បណ្ដោះ​អាសន្ន​សម្រាប់​ធ្វើ​ ការងារ ធ្វើ​មុខ​ជំនួញ ទេសចរណ៍ ឬ​ទៅ​សិក្សា។

លោក ហុក ប៊ុនលី រស់​នៅ​ភ្នំពេញ ដែល​លោក​អះអាង​ថា មាន​បង​ប្អូន​មាន​គូ​ដណ្ដឹង​នៅ​អាមេរិក ហើយ​សុំ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​ទៅ​នៅ​អាមេរិក​មិន​បាន បាន​រំលឹក​ថា ជួនកាល​មន្ត្រី​ស្ថានទូត​សម្ភាស​អ្នក​ដាក់​ពាក្យ​សុំ​ទិដ្ឋាការ ស្ដាប់​ទៅ​ប្រៀប​ដូច​ជា​ប៉ូលិស​សួរ​ចម្លើយ​ជនសង្ស័យ​បទ​ល្មើស​អ្វី​មួយ​ទៅ​ វិញ។

លោក ហុក ប៊ុនលី៖ «ពេល​សួរ​សំណួរ​ខ្លះ​ហាក់​ដូច​ជា​ដេញ​ដោល​មែន​ទែន ថា​យើង​ស្គាល់​គូ​ដណ្ដឹង​យើង​ហ្នឹង​ពេល​ទំនេរ​ចូល​ចិត្ត​ធ្វើ​អី? ហ្នឹង​តាម​គេ​សួរ​ណា។ យើង​ថា ចូល​ចិត្ត​មើល​សៀវភៅ ហើយ​គេ​សួរ​ថា សៀវភៅ​ហ្នឹង​សៀវភៅ​អី? យើង​ថា​សៀវភៅ​រឿង អ៊ីចឹង​គេ​សួរ​ទៀត​ថា រឿង​អី? ដេញ​ដោល​រហូត​អ៊ីចឹង​រហូត​ដល់​យើង​ឆ្លើយ​អត់​ចេញ។ ចុះ​អ្នក​ណា​ហើយ​ទៅ​ដឹង​ទាំង​អស់ បើ​គូ​ដណ្ដឹង​នៅ​នោះ​យើង​នៅ​នេះ។ មួយ​សំណួរ​ទៀត​ដែល​ពិបាក​ឆ្លើយ​ហ្នឹង​មិន​ដឹង​យ៉ាង​ម៉េច មាន​ន័យ​ថា គេ​សួរ​ដេញដោល​យើង​មែនទែន​ចង់​ទម្លាក់ ឬ​យ៉ាង​ម៉េច​ទេ។ គេ​សួរ​ថា ចុះ​ក្រៅពី​មើល​សៀវភៅ​រឿង​ធ្វើ​អី​ទៀត? អ៊ីចឹង​គាត់​ថា កីឡា។ កីឡា​អី​គេ? វ៉ៃ​ហ្គោល វ៉ៃ​ជាមួយ​អ្នក​ណា? មិត្តភ័ក្ដិ​គេ​សួរ​ថា មិត្ត​ភក្ដិ​ឈ្មោះ​អី? ចុះ​ម៉េច​ដឹង​ឈ្មោះ​អី មិត្ត​ភក្ដិ​នៅ​អាមេរិក​នោះ ​ហើយ​យើង​នៅ​ស្រុក​ខ្មែរ​នេះ។ អ៊ីចឹង​យើង​ឆ្លើយ​អត់​ចេញ។ អ៊ីចឹង​គេ​ថា អ្នក​ឯង​ស្គាល់​គ្នា​មិន​ទាន់​ច្បាស់​ទេ គេ​មិន​អាច​ឲ្យ​វីសា​ទៅ​បាន​ទេ។ អ្វី​ដែល​គេ​សួរ​ដេញ​ៗ​ទាល់​យើង​ទាល់​គេ​វាយ​តម្លៃ​យក​បណ្ដោយ។ អ្នក​ដែល​ត្អូញត្អែរ​ភាគ​ច្រើន​មាន​បញ្ហា​អ៊ីចឹង​ឯង»។

ទោះ​យ៉ាង​ណា ការ​ត្អូញត្អែរ​នេះ​ត្រូវ​បាន​មន្ត្រី​ទំនាក់​ទំនង​កិច្ចការ​សាធារណៈ​នៃ​ ស្ថានទូត​អាមេរិក​ប្រចាំ​ទីក្រុង​ភ្នំពេញ លោក សន មគ្គិនថស្ស (Sean J. McItosh) ឆ្លើយ​បំភ្លឺ​ថា មន្ត្រី​ស្ថានទូត​ធ្វើការ​គោរព​ទៅ​តាម​វិជ្ជាជីវៈ​របស់​ខ្លួន និង​គោរព​សេចក្ដី​ថ្លៃ​ថ្នូរ​របស់​មនុស្ស ដើម្បី​ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​ប្រាកដ​ប្រជា​ថា ការ​ផ្ដល់​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ឲ្យ​ទៅ​អ្នក​សុំ​គី​មិន​មែន​ជន​ឆបោក។ ចំពោះ​តម្លៃ​សេវា​ទិដ្ឋាការ ១៦០​ដុល្លារ  លោក​អធិប្បាយ​តាម​សារ​អេឡិចត្រូនិក​ថា នេះ​ជា​គោលការណ៍​សកល​របស់​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​អាមេរិក ដែល​បាន​សម្រេច​ដំឡើង​ថ្លៃ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ពី​ចំនួន ១៤០ ទៅ ១៦០ ដុល្លារ ដើម្បី​តម្រូវ​ទៅ​នឹង​សេចក្ដី​ត្រូវការ និង​ការ​រៀបចំ​ទុកដាក់​ឯកសារ និង​សេវា​ទិដ្ឋាការ។

តម្លៃ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​បារាំង ៧៥ ទៅ ៧៨​ដុល្លារ កាណាដា ៧៥​ដុល្លារ អូស្ត្រាលី ២០​ដុល្លារ។ តម្លៃ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ដែល​ថោក​ជាង​គេ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ទៅ​ប្រទេស​ជប៉ុន គឺ​តម្លៃ​ត្រឹម​តែ ៣​ម៉ឺន​រៀល ហើយ​បើ​សម្ភាស​យក​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ធ្លាក់​ក៏​ស្ថានទូត​មិន​យក​ប្រាក់​ដែរ។

ស្រប​ពេល​នេះ​ដែរ ក៏​មាន​ពាក្យ​រិះគន់​មន្ត្រី​ស្ថានទូត​ផ្នែក​ការិយាល័យ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ដែរ ដូច​ជា​ថា ស្ថានទូត​អាមេរិក មិន​រើស​បុគ្គលិក​ខ្មែរ​ធ្វើ​ការ​មាន​តែ​បុគ្គលិក​ជនជាតិ​អាមេរិក​ដែល​ពិបាក ​ក្នុង​ការ​ប្រាស្រ័យ​ទាក់​ទង​គ្នា​ជា​ភាសា​ខ្មែរ​ពេល​សម្ភាសន៍។ ក៏​ប៉ុន្តែ​លោក សន មគ្គិនថស្ស ឆ្លើយ​ថា ស្ថានទូត​មាន​ទាំង​បុគ្គលិក​ខ្មែរ​ទាំង​អាមេរិក ធ្វើ​ការងារ​គ្រប់​គ្រាន់។ ម្យ៉ាង​វិញ​ទៀត ក្រុម​មន្ត្រី​ទាំង​នោះ​បាន​ទទួល​ការ​ហ្វឹកហាត់​ការងារ​យ៉ាង​ស្ទាត់​ជំនាញ​ មុន​បញ្ជូន​មក​ធ្វើការ​នៅ​ទី​នេះ។
ចំពោះ​ការ​អះអាង​របស់​លោក សន មគ្គិនថស្ស ត្រូវ​បាន​លោក កុយ គួង អ្នក​នាំ​ពាក្យ​ក្រសួង​​ការបរទេស​កម្ពុជា គាំទ្រ។

លោក​​បញ្ជាក់​​ថា រូប​លោក​ផ្ទាល់​​ត្រូវ​មន្ត្រី​ទូត​អាមេរិក​សម្ភាស​ពេល​ថ្មី​នេះ ពេល​លោក​អញ្ជើញ​ទៅ​អាមេរិក​ជា​ផ្លូវ​ការ​រដ្ឋ៖ «មិន ​មែន​ដូច​​គេ​ត្អូញត្អែរ​​អ៊ីចឹង​ទេ គឺ​មាន​បុគ្គលិក​ខ្មែរ​ធ្វើ​ការ​នៅ​ហ្នឹង​ដែរ។ ជនជាតិ​បរទេស​មិន​មែន​ខ្មែរ​គេ​និយាយ​ភាសា​ខ្មែរ​ខ្ញុំ​អាច​ស្ដាប់​បាន។ ប៉ុន្តែ​ខ្លាច​​ខ្មែរ​ទៀត​​ស្ដាប់​មិន​បាន ហើយ​បទពិសោធន៍​មិន​យូរ​ពេក​ទេ ​ទើប​ថ្មី​ៗ​ប៉ុន្មាន​​ខែ​មុន​នេះ​ទេ។ ខ្ញុំ​បាន​ឃើញ​ដោយ​​​ផ្ទាល់ គឺ​មាន​បុគ្គលិក​ខ្មែរ​ធ្វើ​ការ​នៅ​ក្នុង​ហ្នឹង​ដែរ។ ខ្ញុំ​អត់​ដឹង​ថា អ្នក​ដទៃ​​ហ្នឹង​គេ​ជួប​ស្ថានភាព​ខុស​ពី​ខ្ញុំ ផ្សេង ខ្ញុំ​គ្មាន​យោបល់​ទេ។ តម្លៃ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​​ខ្ញុំ​អត់​ដឹង​ទេ​ ពីព្រោះ​កាល​គេ​ហៅ​ខ្ញុំ​ទៅ​សម្ភាសន៍​ហ្នឹង គេ​អត់​បាន​ទារ​តម្លៃ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ពី​ខ្ញុំ​ទេ។ ប្រហែល​​ជា​ខ្ញុំ​​ជា​មន្ត្រី​រាជការ​ដែល​ត្រូវ​គេ​អញ្ជើញ​ក៏​មិន​ដឹង​ដែរ»។
តែ​​ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​ខ្លះ​បាន​បន្លុយ​ពាក្យ​ថា មន្ត្រី​ស្ថានទូត​អាមេរិក ពិត​ជា​ទទួល​រាក់​ទាក់​លោក កុយ គួង ដូច្នេះ​​ពិត​មែន​ហើយ ព្រោះ​លោក កុយ គួង ជា​មន្ត្រី​រាជការ​មាន​មុខ​មាត់​មួយ​រូប ហើយ​ត្រូវ​បាន​មន្ត្រី​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​អាមេរិក​អញ្ជើញ​ទៅ​ទៀត វា​ពិត​ជា​គ្មាន​បញ្ហា​អ្វី​កើត​ឡើង​ទេ។

គេ​នៅ​ចាំ​បាន​ថា ស្ថានទូត​អាមេរិក​បាន​បិទ​ទ្វារ​ការិយាល័យ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ម្ដង​រួច​មក​ហើយ ហើយ​បាន​បណ្ដេញ​បុគ្គលិក​ខ្មែរ​បម្រើការ​ផ្នែក​ការិយាល័យ​ទិដ្ឋាការ ៣​នាក់ ទាក់​ទង​រឿង​អាស្រូវ​ផ្ដល់​ទិដ្ឋាការ​មិន​ប្រក្រតី​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​២០០២។ ពេល​នោះ អ្នក​សុំ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ទៅ​អាមេរិក ត្រូវ​ធ្វើ​ដំណើរ​ទៅ​ស្ថានទូត​អាមេរិក​ប្រចាំ​បាងកក ប្រទេស​ថៃ។

ប្រភព​ដែល​ដឹង​រឿង​នេះ បាន​រំលឹក​ដោយ​សុំ​មិន​បញ្ចេញ​ឈ្មោះ​ថា អំពើ​ពុករលួយ​នោះ​បាន​ប៉ះពាល់​​កិត្តិយស​ខ្មែរ​យ៉ាង​ខ្លាំង ដោយសារ​ការ​ផ្ដល់​ទិដ្ឋាការ​កាល​នោះ​ឲ្យ​ទៅ​ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ រួម​ទាំង​មន្ត្រី​រាជការ​មួយ​ចំនួន​ដែល​ឆបោក ព្រោះ​ពួក​គេ​លាក់​ខ្លួន​សម្ងំ​រស់​នៅ​អាមេរិក មិន​វិល​មក​ស្រុក​វិញ៖ «ខ្ញុំ ​ស្គាល់​ខាង​សម្ដែង​សាលា​វិចិត្រ​សិល្បៈ កូន​សិស្ស​វិចិត្រ​សិល្បៈ​មួយ​ចំនួន​ទៅ​សម្ដែង រួច​នៅ​ហ្នឹង ហើយ​មាន​មន្ត្រី​ច្រើន​ទៅ​ហើយ​អត់​មក​វិញ​ក៏​មាន​ដែរ។ កាល​ហ្នឹង​សម្បូរ​អ្នក​អាច​មាន​​លទ្ធភាព​គេច​ទៅ​ហ្នឹង​បាន​ច្រើន»។

ប្រភព​ខ្លះ​អះអាង​ថា មាន​ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​ខ្មែរ​ខ្លះ មាន​គំនិត​ចង់​ទៅ​រស់​នៅ​ប្រទេស​អាមេរិក ​ព្រោះ​យល់​ថា អាមេរិក​ជា​ប្រទេស​អ្នក​មាន ស្រួល​រស់​នៅ​។ ដូច្នេះ​ហើយ​ទើប​មាន​ខ្មែរ​ខ្លះ​ព្យាយាម​ទៅ​ទាំង​ស្រប​ច្បាប់ និង​ខុស​ច្បាប់​ដើម្បី​ទៅ​រស់​នៅ​ប្រទេស​អាមេរិក។

បើ​ទោះ​បី​ជា​មាន​អ្នក​រិះគន់​យ៉ាង​ណា​ក្ដី ក៏​មាន​អ្នក​ដែល​បាន​ទទួល​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ទៅ​អាមេរិក កោត​សរសើរ​គោលនយោបាយ​ស្ថានទូត​អាមេរិក ក្នុង​ការ​ផ្ដល់​ទិដ្ឋាការ​នា​បច្ចុប្បន្ន​នេះ​ច្រើន​ដែរ។

លោក សាន សេដ្ឋា ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​រស់​នៅ​ភ្នំពេញ ដែល​ដឹង​រឿង​អ្នក​ក្លែង​បន្លំ​មន្ត្រី​ស្ថានទូត​អាមេរិក​កន្លង​មក បាន​សំណូមពរ​ឲ្យ​មន្ត្រី​ស្ថានទូត​ដែល​ធ្វើ​ការ​ទាក់ទង​ការ​ផ្ដល់​ទិដ្ឋាការ ​ទាំង​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍ និង​ទិដ្ឋាការ​មិន​មែន​អន្តោ​ប្រវេសន៍ ឲ្យ​ផ្ដល់​ចំ​ជន​ដែល​ត្រូវ​ការ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ពិត​ប្រាកដ​ជា​ជាង​ផ្ដល់​ឲ្យ​ជន​ ឆបោក ដែល​ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​ប៉ះពាល់​ដល់​មោទនភាព​ជាតិ​ខ្មែរ​ដែរ។

តួលេខ​ស្ថានទូត​អាមេរិក​បង្ហាញ​ថា ស្ថានទូត​អាមេរិក​បាន​ផ្ដល់​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ដល់​ពលរដ្ឋ​កម្ពុជា ដែល​មិន​មែន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​ទៅ​អាមេរិក ចំនួន ៣.៤៤៣​នាក់ នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​២០០៩ និង ៣.៥១៣​នាក់ ក្នុង​ឆ្នាំ​២០១០។

ចំពោះ​សំណួរ​របស់​អ្នក​សុំ​ទិដ្ឋាការ​មិន​មែន​អន្តោប្រវេសន៍​ខ្លះ​ថា តើ​គាត់​​ត្រូវ​មាន​ឯកសារ​អ្វី​ខ្លះ​ទើប​ស្ថានទូត​ផ្ដល់​ទិដ្ឋាការ​ជូន?

លោក សន មគ្គិនថស្ស ឆ្លើយ​ថា គឺ​មាន ៥​ចំណុច។ ចំណុច​ទី​១ អ្នក​ដាក់​ពាក្យសុំ​គឺ​ជា​អ្នក​មានបំណង​ទៅ​លេង ធ្វើ​ជំនួញ ឬ​ព្យាបាល​សុខភាព។ ចំណុច​ទី​២ គឺ​ត្រូវ​បញ្ជាក់​ពេលវេលា​ស្នាក់​នៅ​ច្បាស់​លាស់។ ទី​៣ ត្រូវ​មាន​ភស្តុតាង​បញ្ជាក់​អំពី​មូលនិធិ ឬ​ប្រាក់​ចំណាយ​នៅ​ពេល​ស្នាក់​នៅ​អាមេរិក។ ទី​៤ ត្រូវ​មាន​ភស្តុតាង​បញ្ជាក់​អំពី​ចំណង​ទាក់​ទង​សង្គម និង​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​នៅ​បរទេស។ ទី​៥ ត្រូវ​មាន​លំនៅឋាន​ក្រៅ​ប្រទេស​អាមេរិក រួម​ទាំង​មាន​ចំណង​ទាក់ទង​ធានា​ថា ពួក​គាត់​ពិត​ជា​ត្រឡប់​វិញ​បន្ទាប់​ពី​បាន​​ស្នាក់​នៅ​ប្រទេស​អាមេរិក​រួច​ ហើយ៕

គេ​រក​ឃើញ​ថា​ចៅ​ក្រម ព្រះ​រាជ​អាជ្ញា ៣០ រូប​ហួស​អាយុ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍

05 July 2012

មាស សុខជា

 

ភ្នំពេញៈ ចៅក្រម និង​ព្រះ​រាជ​អាជ្ញា​ប្រមាណ ៣០ រូប​ ត្រូវ​បាន​គេ​រក​ឃើញ​ថា​ លើស​អាយុ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍​ ប៉ុន្តែ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ ពុំ​បាន​ដាក់​ឈ្មោះ​របស់​ពួក​គេ​ ក្នុង​បញ្ជី​ចូល​និវត្តន៍​ឡើយ​ ដែល​ទង្វើ​នេះ​ ត្រូវ​បាន​អ្នក​ជំនាញ​ផ្នែក​ច្បាប់ ចាត់​ទុក​ថា ខុស​ច្បាប់ ខណៈ​ដែល​ប្រព័ន្ធ​យុត្តិធម៌​នៅ​កម្ពុជា កំពុង​ទទួល​រង​នូវ​ការ​រិះគន់​យ៉ាង​ខ្លាំង​នៅ​ឡើយ​នោះ។

ក្នុង​បញ្ជី​ ឈ្មោះ​ ចៅក្រម និង​ព្រះរាជ​អាជ្ញា​នៃ​តុលាការ​កម្ពុជា ​ដែល​ចេញ​ផ្សាយ​កាល​ពី​ឆ្នាំ​ទៅ និង​ដែល​ភ្នំពេញ​ទទួល​បាន​ច្បាប់​ចម្លង​មួយ​ច្បាប់​ កាល​ពី​ម្សិលមិញ​បង្ហាញ​ថា មាន​ចៅក្រម ២៤ រូប និង​ព្រះ​រាជ​អាជ្ញា ៦ រូប​ លើស​អាយុ​ត្រូវ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍​ ប៉ុន្តែ​ពួក​គេ​នៅ​តែ​បម្រើ​ការងារ​ ក្នុង​ប្រព័ន្ធ​តុលាការ​សព្វ​ថ្ងៃ​នេះ។ ឯកសារ​បង្ហាញ​ថា មន្ត្រី​ក្នុង​ប្រព័ន្ធ​យុត្តិធម៌​ទាំង​នោះ មាន​អាយុ​លើស​ពី ៦០ ឆ្នាំ​ដែល​ជា​អាយុ​ត្រូវ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍​ទៅ​តាម​ច្បាប់​នៃ​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា។
នាយក ​ប្រតិបត្តិ​ ក្រុម​អ្នក​ច្បាប់​ការពារ​សិទ្ធិ​កម្ពុជា លោក​មេធាវី សុក សំអឿន និង​ប្រធាន​ផ្នែក​តាម​ដាន​នៃ​អង្គការ​សិទ្ធិ​មនុស្ស​អាដហុក លោក នី ចរិយា បាន​ថ្លែង​ថា រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ មិន​គួរ​អនុញ្ញាត​ឲ្យ​ចៅក្រម និង​ព្រះ​រាជ​អាជ្ញា​ទាំង​នោះ​ បម្រើ​ការ​ក្នុង​តួនាទី​របស់​ពួក​គេ​ទៀត​ទេ ព្រោះ​ពួក​គេ​លើស​អាយុ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍​៦០ ឆ្នាំ​ទៅ​ហើយ។

លោក នី ចរិយា បាន​មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា៖​ «បើ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល អនុញ្ញាត​ឲ្យ​បម្រើ​ការ​លើស​អាយុ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍ វា​ខុស​ច្បាប់ ព្រោះ​យើង​ពុំ​មាន​ច្បាប់​ពិសេស​សម្រាប់​ពួក​គេ​ទេ។ លោក​ថា ការណ៍​នេះ​បង្ហាញ​ថា វា​មាន​ភាព​មិន​ត្រឹម​ត្រូវ​នៅ​ក្នុង​ប្រព័ន្ធ​យុត្តិធម៌។ [យើង​បាន]​ចោទ​ជា​សំណួរ ថា​តើ​ពួក​គេ​អាច​រក​យុត្តិធម៌​ជូន​ដល់​ប្រជាជន​បាន​ដែរ​ឬ​ទេ?»។
លោក សុក សំអឿន បាន​មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា៖​«ប្រទេស​យើង​ មាន​[មន្ត្រី​រាជការ]​ចូល​និវត្តន៍​តិច​តួច​ណាស់។ យើង​ត្រូវ​តែ​អនុវត្ត​ទៅ​តាម​ច្បាប់ នៅ​ពេល​យើង​មាន​ច្បាប់ បើ​មិន​អ៊ីចឹង​ទេ វា​មិន​មែន​ជា​នីតិ​ច្បាប់​ទេ»។
ក្នុង​ចំណោម​បញ្ជី​ ឈ្មោះ​ទាំង​នោះ ក៏​មាន​ចៅក្រម​នៅ​តុលាការ​កំពូល ៥ រូប ផង​ដែរ ​រួម​មាន​លោក ឌិត មន្ទីរ ប្រធាន​តុលាការ​កំពូល​ដែល​កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៤៤ លោក ឃឹម ប៉ុណ្ណ អនុប្រធាន​តុលាការ​កំពូល ដែល​កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៤០ ចៅក្រម ទី ណេង ដែល​កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៤៤ ចៅក្រម យស់ សុខឿន ដែល​កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៤៦ និង​ចៅក្រម ប្រាក់ គឹមសាន្ត ដែល​ពុំ​មាន​បញ្ជាក់​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ខែ​ឆ្នាំ​កំណើត​ច្បាស់​លាស់។

ចៅក្រម ​នៅ​សាលា​ឧទ្ធរណ៍ ៥ រូប​ក៏​ត្រូវ​គេ​រក​ឃើញ​លើស​អាយុ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍​ផង​ដែរ ​ដែល​រួម​មាន​លោក ជួន ស៊ុនឡេង អនុ​ប្រធាន​សាលា​ឧទ្ធរណ៍​ ដែល​កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៤៧ ចៅក្រម សំរិទ្ធ សុផល ដែល​កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៥០ ចៅក្រម អ៊ុំ សារិទ្ធ ដែល​កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៤៧ ចៅក្រម ងួន អ៊ឹម ដែល​កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៥២ និង​ចៅក្រម អ៊ឹង សារុន ដែល​កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៥១។
រីឯ​សាលា​ដំបូង​រាជធានី​ភ្នំពេញ​ វិញ លោក ជីវ កេង ដែល​ជា​ប្រធាន កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៥១ លោក គឹម អេង អនុ​ប្រធាន​សាលា​ដំបូង​ខេត្ត​ព្រះសីហនុ​កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៥២ លោក ថោង អុល ប្រធាន​សាលា​ដំបូង​ខេត្ត​ពោធិ៍សាត់ កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៤៩ លោក កឹម ឈាន ប្រធាន​សាលា​ដំបូង​ខេត្ត​កំពត​ កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​១៩៥២ និង​អ្នក​ស្រី ស៊ឹម សាមឿ អនុ​ប្រធាន​សាលា​ដំបូង​ខេត្ត​កំពង់​ធំ​ ដែល​កើត​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ ១៩៥២ សុទ្ធ​តែ​ត្រូវ​បាន​រក​ឃើញ​ថា​ លើស​អាយុ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍។
លោក ឌិត មន្ទីរ ប្រធាន​តុលាការ​កំពូល និង​ចៅក្រម យស់ សុខឿន បាន​បដិសេធ​មិន​អធិប្បាយ ប៉ុន្តែ​លោក ថោង អុល ប្រធាន​សាលា​ដំបូង​ខេត្ត​ពោធិ៍សាត់ ​បាន​ថ្លែង​ថា ច្បាប់​ស្តី​ពី​លក្ខន្តិកៈ​មន្ត្រី​រាជការ​ស៊ីវិល​ មិន​អាច​កំណត់​អាយុ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍​លើ​ចៅក្រម និង​ព្រះ​រាជ​អាជ្ញា​បាន​ទេ ព្រោះ​លក្ខន្តិកៈ​ចៅក្រម និង​ព្រះ​រាជ​អាជ្ញា​ពុំ​មាន​ចែង​ឡើយ។
លោក ថោ​ង អុល បាន​គូស​បញ្ជាក់​ថា​៖​«ព្រះរាជក្រឹត្យ​ចែង​ថា ចៅក្រម​ដែល​មាន​អាយុ ៦០ ឆ្នាំ​ ត្រូវ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍ តែ​មាត្រា ២ នៃ​ព្រះរាជក្រឹត្យ​ ក៏​បាន​ចែង​ថា ចៅក្រម​ដែល​មាន​អាយុ ៦០ ឆ្នាំ​ អាច​បន្ត​តួនាទី​របស់​ខ្លួន​ទៅ​តាម​ការ​ចាំបាច់»។

លោក​ស្រី ស៊ឹម សាមឿ អនុ​ប្រធាន​សាលា​ដំបូង​ខេត្តកំពង់ធំ បាន​ថ្លែង​ថា លោក​ស្រី​ពុំ​ព្រម​ចូល​និវត្តន៍​ទេ ល្គឹក​ណា​ព្រះ​រាជក្រឹត្យ​ បាន​ចេញ​បង្គាប់​ឲ្យ​លោក​ស្រី​ធ្វើ​បែប​នោះ។
លោកស្រី​បាន​គូស​បញ្ជាក់ ​ថា៖​ «វា​មិន​ខុស​ច្បាប់​ទេ បើ​រាជ​ក្រឹត្យ​ពុំ​ត្រូវ​បាន​ចេញ​តម្រូវ​ឲ្យ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍​នោះ។ បើ​រាជ​ក្រឹត្យ​ត្រូវ​បាន​ចេញ​តម្រូវ​[ចៅក្រម]​ឲ្យ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍ ខ្ញុំ​នឹង​សុខ​ចិត្ត​ចូល​និវត្តន៍»។

រដ្ឋ​មន្ត្រី​ក្រសួង​យុត្តិធម៌ លោក អង្គ វង្សវឌ្ឍានា មិន​អាច​ទាក់​ទង​ សុំ​ការ​អធិប្បាយ​បាន​ទេ។ រដ្ឋ​លេខាធិការ​ក្រសួង​យុត្តិធម៌ លោក ហ៊ី សុភា និង​នាយ​ខុទ្ទកាល័យ​រដ្ឋ​មន្ត្រី លោក សម ប្រជា​មានិត បាន​បដិសេធ​មិន​ធ្វើ​ការ​បំភ្លឺ​ជុំវិញ​បញ្ហា​នេះ​ទេ ប៉ុន្តែ​លោក ផៃ ស៊ីផាន អ្នក​នាំ​ពាក្យ​ទី​ស្តី​ការ​គណៈ​រដ្ឋ​មន្ត្រី​ បាន​ថ្លែង​ថា ក្នុង​ស្ថាន​ភាព​ដែល​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា​ ពុំ​ទាន់​មាន​ចៅក្រម និង​ព្រះ​រាជ​អាជ្ញា​គ្រប់គ្រាន់ រដ្ឋា​ភិបាល​ មិន​អាច​បង្ខំ​ឲ្យ​ចៅក្រម និង​ព្រះ​រាជ​អាជ្ញា​ទាំង​នោះ ​ចូល​និវត្តន៍​បាន​ទេ។ លោក​បាន​មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា៖​«យើង​កំពុង​ធ្វើ​កំណែ​ទម្រង់​ប្រព័ន្ធ​យុត្តិធម៌។ យើង​ត្រូវ​ធ្វើ​កំណែ​ទម្រង់​ចៅក្រម និង​ព្រះ​រាជ​អាជ្ញា។ យើង​នៅ​តែ​ខ្វះ​ធនធាន​មនុស្ស​ ក្នុង​ប្រព័ន្ធ​តុលាការ [ដូច្នេះ]​នៅ​ក្នុង​ដំណើរ​ការ​កំណែ​ទម្រង់ យើង​ត្រូវ​ការ​ធនធាន​មនុស្ស»។
យ៉ាង ​ណា​ក្តី លោក សុក សំអឿន បាន​លើក​ឡើង​ថា៖ «ការ​ធ្វើ​បែប​នេះ វា​ជា​ទម្លាប់​ទៅ​ហើយ ដែល​ច្បាប់​ពុំ​ត្រូវ​បាន​អនុវត្ត​នោះ​ទេ។ ដូច្នេះ វា​មិន​មែន​ជា​នីតិ​ច្បាប់​ទេ។ ហេតុ​នេះ រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ត្រូវ​តែ​គិត​គូរ​ធ្វើ​វិសោធនកម្ម​ច្បាប់។ ខ្ញុំ​ទទួល​ស្គាល់​ពី​កង្វះ​ចៅក្រម និង​ព្រះ​រាជ​អាជ្ញា ប៉ុន្តែ​បើ​យើង​ចង់​ធ្វើ​ដូច​នេះ យើង​ត្រូវ​ធ្វើ​វិសោធនកម្ម​ច្បាប់»៕ CR
 

Cambodia accuses Thailand of breaching World Court's order

PHNOM PENH, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Wednesday accused Thailand of violating the order of International Court of Justice (ICJ) by placing barbwires in the Provisional Demilitarized Zone ( PDZ) near Preah Vihear Temple.

"Thai Black Uniform soldiers have conducted unconstructive activities in the area including in the PDZ defined in the ICJ's order on July 18, 2011," Cambodian Foreign Ministry said in a note sent to Thai Embassy here.

In addition to what had previously been laid, Thai soldiers placed more barbwires on June 23-25 at coordinate VA 659-918, north of the steel entrance of the Preah Vihear Temple and other areas despite protest from the Cambodian side,the note said.

On June 26, at night, two gunshots were heard from Thai positions. On June 30 in the morning, Thai soldiers laid more barbwires at coordinate VA 659-918, it said.
"While protesting against the above activities which are contrary to the ICJ's order, the government of Cambodia requests the Thai side take action to stop further such activities, in order to avoid provoking tension and negatively affecting the atmosphere for the implementation the ICJ's order,"said the note.

On the same day, Cambodia's deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong also sent a complaint letter to Philippe Couvreur, Registrar of the ICJ, about Thai soldiers'violation.
Cambodia and Thailand have had sporadic border conflicts over territorial dispute near Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple since the UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. The two countries had fierce clashes in February and April 2011 during Thailand's Democrat Party rule.

The ICJ ordered on July 18, 2011 that Cambodia and Thailand immediately withdraw their military personnel from the PDZ and refrain from any armed activity directed at that zone.
Also, it ordered both parties to allow ASEAN observers ( Indonesians) access to the zone to monitor ceasefire.

However, to date, neither Cambodia nor Thailand has withdrawn its troops from the 17.3 square kilometer PDZ.

CAMBODIA: People in my village work as unskilled laborers abroad

July, 4, 2012
An article by Ou Ritthy published by the Asian Human Rights Commission
Ou Ritthy

At first, I could not recognize the group of noisy skinny youths, about 20 in all, with dyed hair, ragged jeans and colorful shirts, drinking beer in this remote village in Pursat where I live. Their clothes and behaviors tell me they are not from the village. I thought they must be friends or relatives of some villagers. Normally, villagers here wear Kroma (scarf), or pants with or without shirts.
Then someone in the group shouted to me to join the group to drink. As I walked closer to them I realized they were all my friends. We used to tender cattle together in the last ten years.
They told me that they had been drinking beer since the early morning; they were proud of their capacity to consume alcohol. One of them complained that it's now hard to find and buy the popular and affordable Leo and Change beers, both Thai products, which were out of stock in Pursat during this Khmer New Year.

They told me they never had so much fun together; for these three whole days of the New Year, they confessed, each had already spent 200,000 riels ($50) to enjoy themselves, to buy and drink beer and home-made alcohol (the popular SraSor the people in Pursat love), dance to loud music through the night, and gamble (card games and KlaKlok). They were celebrating as they and their family members had just returned from work in Thailand.

I also met some villagers who could not pay for their entertainment during the New Year. They had not earned enough money. Worse, some were arrested and jailed in Thailand for a few months for working illegally. A few people who were injured in work accidents in Thailand became disable, and had not been able to help their parents in the rice-field. Sadly, their parents had to sell land for their medical treatment. And I met a villager, near death, who was very sick and skinny as she contracted AIDS/HIV while working at the border.

In my village and in the neighboring villages, young women go to work as maids in Malaysia; men go to work in agricultural and fishing sectors in Thailand. Villagers with high school education go to work in South Korea in the agricultural and industrial sectors. However, all of them are unskilled workers. It's gloomy for me to see the youths commonly known as future citizens of the once Khmer Empire that ruled Southeast Asia seeking jobs as unskilled laborers abroad.

Many 16 to 25 year-old young ladies in my village who worked as maids in Malaysia, returned home with illness and some mental problems. I met two young ladies, my neighbors, who returned home abnormal with serious mental challenge. They cannot recognize their family members. They cry without reason most of the time. What happened to them in Malaysia?
In general, the people in Pursat villages emigrated to other countries for work because of the lack of jobs in Cambodia. My former elementary schoolmate, now 26, married with two children, told me, "I have no option but to leave my family to seek work in Thailand with other fellows. … farming, a traditional job, does not provide enough income; raw materials like fertilizers and gasoline are expensive, the price of rice produced is too low."

When the Khmer New Year ended, all those people were packed into taxis to travel back to the Thai border to work. Unfortunately, as usual, some of them ran short of money to even pay for their transport back to work in Thailand. Their parents either borrowed money or sold properties for their children to travel with a hope that the latter would send them some money from abroad.
I was growing up observing that the people in my village who worked in Thailand were all unskilled laborers; unskilled no matter how long they had worked. Thus, they earned very little, and had no money to care for their illness or injuries acquired through work accident; they came home with illness and diseases, their parents had to sell what little they possessed to pay for their children's medical treatments. I see this same thing happen time and again to people in my village.

Of course, with the eventual integration of ASEAN in 2015, Cambodia will not be able to compete with such unskilled and under-educated population. Cambodia will not benefit as she should from the ASEAN integration. In the short run, I only hope that despite the lack of employment in Cambodia, the ASEAN community will help Cambodian workers to work in ASEAN member countries legally. However, in the long run, I believe that being unskilled workers in agricultural and industrial sectors Cambodian workers will face unending health problems, and ultimately they will end up back in Cambodia with sickness and even mental challenge. In this context, they will pose problems for their families and society. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to create more jobs in the country, reduce the price of raw materials, and look for markets for Cambodian farmers. At the same time, the government should gradually increase or impose higher tax on imported goods and services from other countries in order to increase steady domestic productivities.

I am so much touched by the speech of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San SuuKyi at the World Economic Forum in Thailand where she emphasized the most urgent task to create jobs for the Burmese people, especially the youth, whom she said, have been in the wrong path, wasting time at tea and pub shops. She strongly insisted on the need for quality basic education and secondary school education, to create skills and abilities to work.

Having been brought up in this remote provincial village, I can relate to what Joel Brinkley wrote in his book, Cambodia's Curse, "Cambodia sits at the center of a poverty-stricken region. But by almost every measure, Cambodia is the poorest."

As a matter of fact, education in Cambodia is worse than that in Burma. Yet, Burmese civil rights icon Aung San Suu Kyi expressed grave concerns for the future of her country even though Burma's education is better than ours. Why are we, Cambodians, not worried enough about the poor quality of our education?

Perhaps the majority of Cambodians doesn't have any idea or doesn't care to seek to be informed about education in other countries. Since almost all printed media, especially the televisions, are either affiliated with, or controlled by the government and the ruling party, hence, are a mouthpiece of the regime that disseminates quantity over quality, most of the Cambodian people, especially those living in the provinces, are uninformed of quality education in other countries.

A Khmer saying goes, "Live like a frog in the well." The well is their big world. The light above the well is an unknown; what's in the well is much better than the situation under Pol Pot.
In my personal experience in 2008, when I told people in my village that I was going to study for a bachelor's degree in India many discouraged me from going because "India is dirt poor; life is hard, and India is no better than Cambodia!" But in my three years of experience in India, I found Indians to be far better than Cambodians in almost all aspects of life, including education, health care, infrastructure, water supplies, electricity, employment, GDP per capita, life expectancy, low cost, and so on.

Back to Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San SuuKyi, she bemoaned Burma's lack of quality basic education as the cause of joblessness that ultimately breeds hopelessness in her people.
Therefore, the Cambodian government must seriously take action to improve the quality of Cambodia's basic education and reduce corruption in all levels of administration. The Cambodian government always boasts of how large numbers of Cambodians can access education in the country, and of Cambodia's high educational achievement portrayed by new school buildings and many schools in the country.

In reality, Cambodia has many school buildings but very poor quality education. One reason is the very low salaries for teachers who need to survive, and the pervasive corruption from low level school to the ministry of education. While the government should limit the number of students enrolling at tertiary level and offer more vocational training skills to those who finish or quit secondary and high school education so that the society can absorb the huge number of laborers emigrating abroad to find work.

All at once, the government must create employment linking the agricultural and industrial sectors and create small and medium enterprises (SME) in at least district or commune levels to absorb those workers in order to boost domestic economic productivity. Parallel with this, attracting foreign direct investment is tremendously crucial for Cambodia, and reforming and improving the legal system to become independent and neutral based on the rule of law is a must.
……………..
The AHRC is not responsible for the views shared in this article, which do not necessarily reflect its own.
About the Author:Ou Ritthy is a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Fergusson College, Pune University, India (2008-2011)

US-Cambodia relations have never been better

Wednesday, 04 July 2012

Stuart Alan Becker

 

An American lawyer in Cambodia, Brett Sciaroni says the full spectrum of relations between the United States and Cambodia has never been better.

“This goes beyond the business relationships: diplomatic, political, economic relations are all very good between Cambodia and the United States,” Sciaroni said.

“If you take a look at diplomatic relations, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to Asia on her very first trip when she became Secretary of State. President Obama has been to Asia several times and this coming month will mark the second time in two years that Secretary Clinton has come to Cambodia. That’s significant,” he said.

Sciaroni, who heads one of Cambodia’s largest legal and consulting firms, Sciaroni & Associates, also serves as Chairman of the International Business Chamber of Cambodia (IBC), a business association that has more than 80 company members, many of them global multi-nationals.

“This is part of the Obama administration’s pivot to Asia,” Sciaroni said. “Asia is the future. Economies here are robust and Cambodia is a beneficiary. The United States remains the number one engine for private sector growth in the world,” he said.

Sciaroni said Secretary Clinton, on her visit to Cambodia later this month, will spend a day in Phnom Penh at the ASEAN regional forum and then visit Siem Reap for a full day at an ASEAN conference with government officials and private sector representatives from all the ASEAN countries as well as officials from the United States government.

American business individuals, as well as Sciaroni, will attend the events.

“The meeting is being co-hosted by US Chamber of Commerce and US ASEAN business council. This shows the deepening relationship that US has with ASEAN in general and Cambodia specifically,” Sciaroni said.

“If you take a look at what’s going on in Cambodia, you can see the growth of American business here. Within the last year, Ford Motor Company has opened an assembly plant. Crown Cork is one of the biggest manufacturers of aluminum cans and has a $40 million plant in Phnom Penh and another one in Sihanoukville.”

“John Deere agricultural products, expensive American-made higher quality products are selling well in Cambodia. People see the quality the US produces. Burger King is coming here. Dairy Queen is expanding. General Electric is involved with health services,” he said.

Sciaroni said the US also has a deepening military-to-military assistance relationship with Cambodia.

“The USNS Mercy is coming next month to do another medical mission to Cambodia to help improve hygienic and medical standards,” he said.