Lenient Treatment of Tribunal Suspects Upsetting for Some

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Saturday, 10 September 2011

When Khmer Rouge prison survivor Vann Nath died earlier this week in a quiet Phnom Penh clinic, family members had been scrambling for cash to pay for his treatment. Staff at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal pooled $500 to offset costs, as Vann Nath lay in a coma after a heart attack Aug. 26. Friends scrambled to collect money online. Meanwhile, the four former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of widespread atrocity crimes and responsibility for the deaths of 1.7 million people are getting free health care with good doctors under the UN-backed court.

Top Healthcare of Tribunal Suspects Upsetting for Some

Say Mony, Kong Sothanarith,VOA Khmer

Saturday, 09 September 2011

When Khmer Rouge prison survivor Vann Nath died earlier this week in a quiet Phnom Penh clinic, family members had been scrambling for cash to pay for his treatment.

Staff at the Khmer Rouge tribunal pooled $500 to offset costs, as Vann Nath lay in a coma after a heart attack Aug. 26. Friends scrambled to collect money online. He died on Monday.

Meanwhile, the former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of widespread atrocity crimes and responsibility for the deaths of 1.7 million people are getting free health care with good doctors under the UN-backed tribunal. Vann Nath’s family members and other regime victims did not fail to notice.

In Ratanakkiri Land Dispute, Long Wait for a Judge

Say Mony, VOA khmer | Ratanakkiri province, Cambodia
Tuesday, 06 September 2011 

Minority villagers who are caught up in a land dispute with the sister of Cambodia’s Finance Minister say they have waited years for the courts to look at their complaints. But in this remote part of the country, they say, they have had little luck getting a judge willing to take on the case. The land dispute is centered around Kong Yu village in Ratanakkiri province. Villagers here say they have waited four years to have a hearing for their complaints against Keat Kolney, the sister of Keat Chhon, who is the Finance Minister and holds the position of Deputy Prime Minister.

Lack of Research Among Academics a ‘Problem’: Lecturer

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Saturday, 27 August 2011 

Peou Chivoin, a lecturer of media theory and research at the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

Cambodia’s higher education would do well to include more research and critical thinking demands on its professors, a university lecturer said Thursday. “When [academics] do research, it is like they are exercising and it requires them to think critically, thus boosting the overall quality of their abilities and work,” said Peou Chivoin, a lecturer of media theory and research at the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

Engineers Ready, But Nowhere To Go

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Thursday, 10 August 2011 

Two Cambodian boys fish on an empty drainage pipe at the natural irrigation  canal in Kompong Speu province.

A growing group of young engineers say they are ready for the government to make use of their skills but are facing limited job prospects. “The use of the skills acquired by graduate engineers in the labor market is still limited,” said Chann Rithy, vice president of Techno Charity, a group of engineers, as a guest Monday on “Hello VOA.”

American Students Build Houses for Poor Students

Say Mony, VOA Khmer 
Saturday, 06 August  2011

To help Cambodian children attend schools, volunteer American students are helping a non-governmental organization 'Caring for Cambodia' to build houses for poor families in Siem Reap. Figure shows high percentage of Cambodian boys and girls dropping out of schools because poverty. VOA Khmer's Say Mony reports from Siem Reap.

Hun Sen Pushes for Three-Party Border Talks

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Wednesday, 27 Jul 2011

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday insisted on three-party talks with Thailand and Indonesia in an effort to implement an international court ruling to resolve the border dispute near Preah Vihear temple

More Understanding Needed Among Mekong Countries: Experts

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Wednesday, 20 July 2011

A fishing boat floats on the Mekong river at Sambor in Cambodia's Kratie Provice, a  site in the country that has been chosen for a proposed 18-kilometer hydro-dam.  Upstream, China has four hydrodams in operation on the Mekong and has plans for four more.

Regional security experts warn that Mekong River countries must do a better job of sharing, as more and more look toward hydropower on the massive river. Experts met in Siem Reap this weekend to discuss ways to mitigate impending conflict over the river, which is a major food source to millions of people but also a huge power supply to growing economies in the region.

Water Experts Warn of Conflict Over Mekong Dams

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Tuesday, 19 July 2011 

Experts on water security met in Siem Reap on Friday, July 15, 2011, at a two-day conference of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific in an effort to address upcoming issues surrounding such projects and other water conflict.

The race for hydropower development among Mekong countries could lead to conflicts or even war over water, regional security experts say. Hydroelectric projects have begun to spring up across the Mekong River, with some already under way and other already creating tensions between Southeast Asian neighbors.

Among Students, Doubts Over Tribunal Suspects’ Defense

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Friday, 14 July 2011 

Cambodian Students line up to attend the Khmer Rouge trial in Phnom Penh, June 27, 2011.

As more Khmer Rouge leaders are put on trial by a UN-backed tribunal, some Cambodians students say they don’t believe their defense claims, that they established an ultra-Maoist regime to prevent Cambodia from falling into foreign hands. The tribunal has put the crimes of the Khmer Rouge back into the public consciousness, and many of the young generation are now learning more about the regime than they learned from parents who often withhold their own stories of atrocities.