THE lack of food at a controversial resettlement site that is home to more than 60 HIV-positive individuals is "potentially life-threatening", a new report has warned.
The joint field report from four HIV/AIDS NGOs was released Friday, the same day that the heads of the National Aids Authority (NAA) and UNAIDS Cambodia visited Dangkor district's Tuol Sambo village for the first time.
City Hall forcibly relocated 20 HIV-affected families to Tuol Sambo following their June eviction from the Borei Keila community in central Phnom Penh. About 20 more Borei Keila families were sent there in July.
Residents at Tuol Sambo have complained that their 3.5-metre-by-4.5-metre green metal sheds - which are smaller than those required for emergency refugee camps - become oppressively hot during the day. On Friday, a broken water pump had rendered a local well unusable, meaning that residents looking for drinking water needed to buy water jugs at 1,200 riels (US$0.29) each.
The lack of resources described in the joint field report was borne out by interviews. Touch Sokhak, 45, who is HIV-positive, said his family did not have enough food or drinking water, adding that the heat made it difficult to store his medicine.
"We face a lot of difficulties living here, but the main problem is that it is too hot," he said. "It makes my health get worse because I do not sleep enough."
Tak Dina, 30, described the discrimination she faced at the site, another concern raised in the report.
The former restaurant worker said her efforts to sell cold drinks in the village had been unsuccessful because no one would buy from her.
"Here we cannot sell," she said. "If I sell drinks, no one will come to buy because they are disgusted with HIV-positive people. Other villagers have an easy time recognising us because we are different from them, and because we live in these green houses."
Jason Barber, a monitoring consultant for the rights group Licadho, said conditions at the site had become "grimmer and grimmer" in recent weeks.
"I think the people are expecting to see some results from this visit, and I think they will judge the government and UN agencies on their actions rather than their words here," Barber said. "It's one thing to express concern. It's another thing to meaningfully provide some assistance."
Coordinating aid
Residents and NGO workers described a diffuse humanitarian assistance effort.
There are currently at least 11 NGOs providing various forms of assistance, from food to medical treatment to education, said Oum Vicheth, a home-care officer at the Centre of Hope, which has operated a weekly mobile clinic at the site. UNAIDS Country Director Tony Lisle said Sunday that the purpose of the visit was "to get an immediate overview of the current situation in respect of the community's needs", adding that he would meet this week with stakeholders and the NAA to discuss ways "to better coordinate the response".
While Lisle said the aid effort had been "reasonably well-coordinated" and that NGOs had been "exceptionally flexible", he noted that there was room for improvement.
"I think, again, we need to emphasise national leadership," Lisle said. "The NAA will lead on coordination."
NAA Secretary-General Teng Kunthy said Friday that his organisation had devised a plan to improve conditions at the site, though the specific efforts he mentioned hinged on NGOs.
"We have acknowledged that the shelters are hot and narrow, but Caritas will help improve their living," he said, referring to the Catholic charity Caritas Cambodia.
He also said Caritas would construct a pipe system that would bring water to the individual dwellings. Kim Rattana, executive director of Caritas, said the pipe system would be completed in mid-September.
Both Lisle and Christophe Peschoux, the Cambodia representative of the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed concern that NGOs were being forced to pick up the pieces of a poorly executed eviction, arguing that the municipality had not taken steps to properly set up the site before moving families there. City Hall could not be reached for comment over the weekend.
Peschoux said he believed NGOs risked inadvertently condoning future evictions by providing humanitarian assistance, though he said they did not have the luxury of retreating "behind nice principles" and refusing to help the evictees.
"In this case, humanitarian agencies are facing a dilemma," he said. "We are opposed to forced evictions by principle because they are inhumane and increase poverty and social distress.... At the same time, the eviction has taken place and these families are in dire need of basic assistance."
Monday, August 31, 2009
Situation grim at Tuol Sambo
No suit against Chea Mony
MINISTER of Information Khieu Kanharith said Sunday that Prime Minister Hun Sen had ordered officials of the Cambodian People's Party to halt legal action against Chea Mony, brother of slain union leader Chea Vichea, after he blamed the government for his brother's killing.
The announcement during a Radio Free Asia broadcast reverses the government's position stated earlier this month that it had already begun legal action against Chea Mony.
Khieu Kanharith could not be reached for comment Sunday, but Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak confirmed the order, though he declined to provide any further details.
Chea Vichea, former head of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, was gunned down in 2004. Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were convicted of the crime the same year, but the Supreme Court ordered their provisional release in December 2008, citing contradictory evidence in their previous trial.
During a hearing on August 17, the Appeal Court announced a new investigation into the case and ruled that the two men were to remain free until a verdict was handed down.
Chea Mony said following the hearing that he remained convinced the government had been involved in his brother's killing - comments that prompted Khieu Kanharith to say initially that the government had no choice but to file a legal complaint.
Chea Mony on Sunday welcomed the U-turn. "I would like to congratulate the government, especially the prime minister, for reversing this decision, and again I would urge the courts to find the real killers and bring them to justice," he said.
"Hun Sen's decision is a good strategy because no one should be sued by the government for defamation or anything else. Our country has the rule of law and democracy, so we must find the truth."
Rights groups welcomed the government's climbdown on Sunday, describing it as a vital step towards restoring freedom of speech in Cambodia.
Ny Chakrya, of the rights group Adhoc, said: "I support this change of stance, which shows the government is capable of acting with maturity. Even if our politicians are criticised, they can respond with patience."
Am Sam Ath, head of an investigative team with the rights group Licadho, said the government had been wrong to take the words of a grieving man so literally.
"Chea Mony made his statement in the Appeal Court because he was upset that his brother was murdered five years ago and the real killers still haven't been found," he said. "If the government were to sue him for that, it would spell the end for freedom of expression."
The Appeal Court ordered further investigations into the 2004 killing of trade union leader Chea Vichea following requests from the defence lawyers of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, the two men accused of the killing.
"This case is still not clear, which requires us to conduct further investigations involving some police in relation to the [slaying]," presiding Judge Chuon Sunleng said after the two-hour hearing.
He ordered that suspects Born Samnang, 28, and Sok Sam Oeun, 41, remain free until the investigation is closed and a verdict handed down.
During the hearing, the two men again declared that they had not been involved in the killing, accusing the police who arrested them in 2004 of forcing them to confess to a crime they didn't commit.
Troops exit temple complex
Cambodia's Defence Ministry says government has halved deployed troops at Preah Vihear but warns that forces remain prepared for any future hostilities.
Troops stationed at the Preah Vihear temple complex near the Thai border completed their redeployment over the weekend, a Royal Cambodian Armed Forces commander told the Post on Sunday.
Srey Doek, commander of RCAF Division 3, said Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday met soldiers from Brigade 11 during their redeployment to their base in Kampot province.
"[Hun Sen] welcomed them as they travelled near Siem Reap and offered them each 50,000 riels [US$12], and the prime minister's wife offered them gifts of fruit," Srey Doek said.
Srey Doek said the money and fruit were given to nearly 1,000 RCAF soldiers as expressions of gratitude for their service at the front line, adding that troops from other brigades from Siem Reap as well as members of Hun Sen's personal bodyguard who were also redeployed over the weekend did not meet the prime minister.
Meanwhile, an official at the Defence Ministry said Sunday that forces at the border have now been halved.
"We have pulled out 50 percent of the troops from Preah Vihear temple," said ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat.
"This shows that the situation at the border is really getting better, and that both countries have a mutual understanding of peace," he added.
Hun Sen declared last week that the 13-month standoff with Thailand over the disputed Preah Vihear temple complex, which claimed more than seven lives and left hundreds homeless, had effectively ended following a bilateral withdrawal of troops announced during a meeting on August 24 between the head of RCAF, General Pol Saroeun, and his Thai counterpart, General Songkitti Jaggabatra of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.
Troops still on guard
Despite a thaw in relations, Cambodian military officials last week were quick to point out that troops would still be necessary to guard the integrity of the border and the sovereignty of the nation.
Defence Minister Tea Banh said some troops would remain at the border.
"We do not need too many soldiers there now. We are currently adjusting the numbers to achieve the right balance for the situation," Tea Banh said last week.
Chea Dara, RCAF deputy commander in chief, echoed this sentiment Sunday, saying the border's security remained a vital concern and downplaying the impact of the withdrawal on Cambodia's ability to secure its border with Thailand.
"It is not a problem for our soldiers to defend the nation, even as their numbers have been reduced by the withdrawal," he said Sunday. "We have kept enough of our troops in place."
He said if Thailand "shows a softer manner" Cambodia could cut troop numbers further. "However, if anything happened, our troop mobility would be very swift."
Thailand in June reignited the row over the temple when it asked World Heritage body UNESCO to reconsider its decision to formally list the temple in Cambodia.
Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads over the land around Preah Vihear temple for decades.
Prek Leap businesses robbed at gunpoint
JEWELLERY vendors from Russey Keo district's Prek Leap market were robbed at gunpoint of gold, platinum and more than US$7,000 in cash, vendors said Sunday.
Kim Srun, 46, said that on Friday, six masked thieves accosted her and other jewellery vendors from Prek Leap market, located in in Prek Leap commune, Kean Khilang village. All told, five vendors at the market lost 1.2 kilograms of gold, 0.8 kilograms of platinum and $7,650, Kim Srun said.
"They hammered my jewellery box and stole about $2,500, as well as gold, platinum and about 1.2 kilograms of jewellery," she said.
Sok Sarann, a 37-year-old garment vendor at Prek Leap who witnessed the robbery, said that he and others at the market had little faith in police and market security, whom he said paid only lip service to their complaints.
Chey Soseila, Russey Keo district police chief, said the vendors had overstated the value of their goods, estimating that only 75 grams of gold and about $2,000 were lost, though police "still apologise to those who lost their property".
