-Deminers are lauded for exhibiting courage in the face of adverse
conditions as Cambodia continues to make its mark in peacekeeping
Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON
Cambodian deminers return to the country Friday after a year demining in Sudan.
A TEAM of Cambodian deminers working as part of a UN peacekeeping force in Sudan has returned to the kingdom, with officials hailing the mission a success.
The yearlong assignment was the country's third since 2006. A fourth 52-man team was deployed last week.
"During our operation in Sudan, we had no injuries and succeeded in doing our work," Mey Sophea, the team's commanding officer, said during a welcoming ceremony.
He said that the 139-man team had successfully removed 800 anti-personnel mines and 17,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance from more than 13 million square metres of land.
Minister of Defence Tea Banh said the deminers had pushed through difficult conditions to receive more awards from the UN for their effort.
"Through heightened consciousness and thorough discipline ... [they] succeeded the mission so that the UN still believes Cambodia is the best among the other [demining] countries," he said.
More than 50 countries are involved in the peacekeeping mission, but only five - Cambodia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Kenya and Zambia - offer their services through demining.
Valuable experience
Khun Sophal, a 40-year-old deminer, said he was required to work long hours in hostile conditions.
But despite the hard work, he gained more experience in demining during the mission than ever before.
"Every day we worked from 7am to 2pm," he said. "But we have succeeded in our work, 100 percent."
Teruo Jinnai, acting president for UN agencies and representative of UNESCO, said Cambodia had proved itself as a leading country in demining and humanitarian services in post-conflict countries.
"Significantly, Cambodia has made a remarkable transition from being one of the countries most affected by mines to becoming one with the global leaders in mine clearance," he said.
"I would like to ... thank you all for the mission you just accomplished. We applaud your courage and acknowledged the success you have achieved in the challenging circumstances," he said.
Since their first deployment in 2006, Cambodian deminers have cleared more than 57 million square-meters of land in Sudan, according to a report by the Institute for Peacekeeping Forces, Mine and ERW Clearance.
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A Vietnamese petroleum company is seeking an investment opportunity in Cambodia's oil exploration, said a senior government official on Tuesday.
Pen Ngoeun, advisor to the Cambodian government said that Dinh La Thang, chairman of PetroVietnam, on Tuesday met with Sok An, deputy prime minister and minister of the Council of Ministers, expressing his company's interest in investing in oil exploration in Cambodia.
He said Sok An, in response, welcomed the move, but suggested more study and discussions be made with Cambodian National Petroleum Authority before making into any agreement.
Many international petroleum companies, including the U.S. Chevron Corp, Polytec, Medco, Kuwait Energy and CNOOC, expressed their interests in putting investments in the sector after this country had revealed to the public of its available national resources in oil and gas in its offshore in the Gulf of Thailand.
Ho Vichet, vice chairman of the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority said last year that Cambodia's expectation of its first oil development before 2010 was unlikely due to the slow submission of a development plan by the U.S. giant Chevron Corp.
He said Cambodia permitted Chevron to exploit the country's offshore Block A, one of several blocks, to do more exploration and appraisal.
According to Vichet, Chevron operates the block A with a 55 percent interest, while Mitsui Oil Exploration holds a 30 percent and South Korea's GS Caltex a 15 percent stake.
Cambodia has earlier estimated its oil production would reach 400-600 million barrels, but have later turned down their estimates saying it was too early to speculate the outcome before a business gets started.
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KOGID Cambodia to grow and process corn to produce animal feed for export, it says, as part of long-term investment
THE Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Monday that South Korea's KOGID Cambodia plans to invest US$150 million to grow and process corn for animal feed to be sold overseas.
Chan Tong Yves, secretary of state who is in charge of investments at the ministry, told the Post on Monday that the company has long-term investment plans for the Kingdom and would buy from the four top producing provinces.
Chan Tong Yves said KOGID plans to purchase 70,000 to 150,000 tonnes of corn this year from Battambang, Pailin, Kampong Cham and Kandal provinces, and will build corn-drying machines.
"We welcome this plan because it will help create markets for Cambodian corn, which we have had trouble finding," Chan Tong Yves said.
"Our farmers only sell corn to Thailand and Vietnam, and these markets are unpredictable. Sometimes they buy, but sometimes they don't," he added.
According to a report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, in 2008-09 Cambodia harvested 611,865 tonnes of corn from 163,106 hectares of land.
Battambang province was the leading producer with a yield of 432,966 tonnes.
Pailin province followed, producing 51,302 tonnes, Kampong Cham province 39,245 tonnes and Kandal province 23,610 tonnes.
Tong Savuth, manager of KOGID Cambodia Co Ltd, confirmed on Monday the total investment.
But he added that the company would invest only $38 million from 2009 to 2012 as part of the first phase.
"We will encourage the government to give us land concessions ... after 2012."
"We are trying to contact brokers to buy corn from farmers in the four provinces for $200 to $210 per tonne for dried corn," he said.
Oung Savuth said his company would buy between 70,000 and 100,000 tonnes from farmers to export to South Korea in 2009.
In 2010 he plans to sign contracts to procure corn from Cambodian farmers, he added.
Oung Savuth also said that to ensure smooth exports in 2010, the company would spend $1.8 million to build three drying machines, each able to dry 500 tonnes of corn per day in Battambang province.
A multi-million dollar storehouse would also be constructed to facilitate sea exportation, he said.
"We will encourage the government to give us land concessions to grow corn after 2012 by providing houses, water and electricity, and building markets and schools and hospitals for our workers by following the same model as the Mong Reththy Group," Oung Savuth said.
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The Phnom Penh Post
A guesthouse near Boeung Kak lake that was set to host a meeting this Friday between residents, human rights groups and officials was briefly closed by police Monday in what critics of lakeside development say is part of an ongoing scare campaign by authorities.
"I led a mixed committee of police to close the Lazy Fish Restaurant and Guesthouse completely, because this restaurant and guesthouse had a business licence that had expired a few months ago," Daun Penh district Deputy Governor Sok Penhvuth told the Post.
By Monday night, however, the guest house was again taking reservations, workers said.
Many Boeung Kak lake residents say the sudden interest in the Lazy Fish's business was not a routine check, but rather one of the intimidation tactics designed to prevent a meeting that would highlight rights issues surrounding the filling in of the lake.
"They knew that the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights [CCHR] rented this guesthouse to organise a meeting. Police told me that the NGO does not a have a permission letter from City Hall and, if I agreed to rent the place, they would close the guesthouse," a Lazy Fish staff member who declined to give her name told the Post.
After the owners were threatened, they informed the meeting organisers that they could not host the event at their venue, the Lazy Fish staff member said.
Boeung Kak lake resident Be Pharom, 57, said the police presence Monday morning was not just targeted at the guesthouse but was also meant to send a message to lake residents still trying to stop local developer Shukaku Inc from building on the lake, a project that will displace thousands.
"Now, because of the authorities, we are afraid the police will arrest us if we join the public forum," she said.
"[The authorities] do not really care about closing the guesthouse, but they need to make the owner cooperate," she added.
Chhim Savuth, a project coordinator for the CCHR, said that even though the Lazy Fish received threats, a meeting will still take place Friday at another location.
He added that police claims that a permission letter was needed are incorrect.
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