Guns Kindle Flame of Peace

Ireland Online today carries a story Cambodia burns arms reminders of Pol Pot.

It says that as part of Cambodia’s Flame of Peace program, officials at the village of Anlong Veng burned more than 3500 guns, rocket launchers and other munitions in a ceremony meant to help expunge the former Khmer Rouge stronghold’s association with Pol Pot, the group’s leader who lived out his final years there.

More than 3,000 people, including villagers and former Khmer Rouge soldiers, watched as officials stacked the weapons in a pile and surrounded them with sandbags, apparently to protect against explosions. The weapons were then doused with diesel fuel and torched by officials holding long bamboo sticks with fuel-soaked clothes wrapped around the end.

To me, bullets and bonfires seem an odd mix when celebrating peace.

Link

Cash For War Crimes Trial

Still more signs of a story brewing abroad that we predict will eventually be a feature in Australian media.

IPS Inter Press Service News Agency today carries an detailed account of the UN launch for international funding for a tribunal to prosecute surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge.

The United States refused to donate, saying it had already given seven million dollars to Cambodia over the last decade for documentation and research for the crimes committed there.

While I-newswire also gives an account of the UN launch and exact financial details as to what pledges have so far been raised.

Placing the pledging conference into an historical context, Sean Visoth, Executive Secretary of the Royal Task Force on the Khmer Rouge Trials, in a message read out on behalf of Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Sok An, noted that this April would mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Khmer Rouge’s coming to power.
On 17 April 1975, [editors' note: anouther date to watch for in world media coverage] the people had celebrated the end of a bitter and tragic war, flooding the streets of Phnom Penh to welcome the liberating troops.
That happiness, however, had been short lived. Plunged into a nightmare that lasted three years, eight months and twenty days, Cambodia had lost a quarter of the population -– about 3 million people –- to starvation, untreated illness, torture and execution.

It ranks Australia's place as current at fourth among the donations: Japan $21,600,000; France $4,800,000; United Kingdom $2,870,000; Australia $2,350,000; Netherlands $2,000,000; Canada $1,610,000; Germany $1,000,000; Norway $1,000,000; Denmark $525,000; Austria $360,000; Sweden $150,000; Republic of Korea $150,000; and Luxembourg $66,000.

Lawyers, Sums and Money

Another early signal. As predicted here, the Australian media will eventually find the "local" angle to this Cambodian story and give it an airing within the next few months.

Peter Lloyd gave it a bit of a push at the weekend.

And today the Asia Pacific arm of the ABC website is giving portions of Lloyd's report radio report a run as written text.

Slowly, slowly, the story is edging closer to Australian shores.

Under the headline "Appeal for funding for UN war crimes tribunal in Cambodia", it reads as follows:

An appeal will be launched today for funds to pay for a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal in Cambodia.

More than $70 million is needed to prosecute surviving members of the Khmer Rouge regime which oversaw the deaths of up to two million people between 1975 and 1979.

South East Asia correspondent Peter Lloyd reports.

"After years of bitter disagreement between the UN and Cambodia's government, money is now all that stands in the way of a war crimes trial in Cambodia. Japan has pledged roughly half the budget.

A further ten million will come from Australia, France and Britain.

The aim of today's appeal in New York is to raise the remaining millions from UN members.

The United States has already indicated that it won't contribute any money. The Bush Administration and senior Republicans are long-standing opponents of Cambodia's elected leader Hun Sen.

The Prime Minister has urged a speedy beginning of the tribunal, warning that the ageing defendants risk dying before justice can be served. Cambodian officials believe it could begin this year if donors respond to the appeal for funding. "

Banks: Check the Cheque

Tan and Trev did get some mid amusement in visiting another bank in Phnom Penh - solely for the purpose of seeing its level of service.

Armed doormen usher us inside. A large number of staff stood ready behind bullet-proof glass. Each cashiers was eager to handle our inquiry - as there was no queue of customers to keen them occupied. The speed and staffing levels seemed startling compared to what might be experienced back home.

But then came the crunch. With our traveller cheques and passport in hand, the cashier then walked back to consult a middle-aged chap seated at the central desk in the office. This must be the senior accountant. And judging from the number of staff poised waiting to consult the man at this one desk, it was apparent that most banking
processes must get bottlenecked at this point.

We left empty-handed; realising too late that we needed Tan's passport that was securely locked in the hotel safe deposit box. We needed it's signature to match up with the travellers' cheques.

ATMs: Don't Bank on It

Our guide points to the only ATM available in Phnom Penh.
"I hope no-one is planning on using that," she said. "ATMs are such a novelty here that it is frequently broken. The locals tend to gum it up."

Fortunately the news didn't seem to distress anyone in the tour party. No-one urgently needed to swipe a card to replenish funds this early into the trip.

News today in The Australian shows that the ANZ Bank's stake in Cambodia quicken the pace on its ATM installation.

Tim Boreham reports that the ANZ Bank acquiring a 10 per cent stake in Vietnam's Sacombank for $US27 million ($35 million), outbidding a number of other offshore banks.

The purchase follows the (ANZ) bank's acquisition last year of a 55 per cent stake in Cambodia's Royal Bank for $13 million.

ANZ Asia head Elmer Funke Kupper said the ANZ would continue to roll out its Cambodian branches and ATMs "a little more quickly than we thought". The venture is expected to open its first branch in July.

"I think we will start with four or five branches relatively quickly and then grow an extra couple in the first six months," Mr Funke Kupper said.

Law and Money

There was an interesting piece broadcast today on ABC Radio National by reporter Peter Lloyd filed under that headline "Action yet to back Cambodia's law rhetoric".

It suggests that the Cambodian Government's promise to crackdown on lawless behaviour will need to produce tangible results or it risks losing future foreign fiscal support.

Aid donors, who sustain the country with hundreds of millions of dollars each year, are beginning to lose patience with Cambodia's culture of impunity, and have been putting pressure on the Government to make some changes.

Lloyd cites examples as the seeming reluctance of authorities to halt the sale of bootleg CDs and DVDs at Phnom Penh market, hushed-up instances of murder and rape, and the continued taunts of escapee Chhouk Rin who eluded recapture.

But for Peter Lloyd:

The greatest demonstration of what people call Cambodia's culture of impunity is of course the failure so far to launch a war crimes tribunal to prosecute surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime.

As mentioned previous in this blog, the topic of the United Nation's backed trial will grow and assume a higher prominence in the Australian media as the year progresses.

Click here for a transcript from Lloyd's report.
Or listen to the story in Real Audio and Windows Media formats.

The Childrens' Plight

ABC radio reports that three-day conference in Cambodia has wound up today with a commitment to do more to improve the lives of 600-million children throughout Asia and the Pacific region.

"The conference was told rapid economic and social changes in the region have contributed to increasing disparities and greater risks for children."

Trading Landmines for Gold Mines

This blog has previously expressed doubts about the effectiveness of proposed new laws to keep people from tampering with landmines.

As previously observed, the cruel economic realities of a drought might force people to ferret for cash in reclaiming forgotten ordnance.

Well recent news from Reuters shows that economic realities can also be used as an incentive to clear landmines in an orderly manner.

The lure of gold may instead motivate the world to help clear the region.

Foreign firms that have previously flocked to Laos, Thailand and Vietnam may now wish to set their sights on Cambodia for building gold mines, bauxite mines and iron ore mines.

But apart from the demining, the locals stand to gain little else.

"To date, the country's largely unregulated mining industry has yielded only small returns for families who dig for metals in the dry season and grow rice in the rainy months."

Stitched Up

Sometimes the safety nets we take for granted in Australia are not always common throughout the world.

Here is an example of the sudden impact of economic rationalism as the free trade agreement unravels Cambodia's clothes industry.

At first, officials were optimistic that the industry, which makes shirts, shoes and trousers for the likes of Adidas, Nike and Gap, could survive as a niche operator with a surprisingly good reputation for labour conditions and worker rights.
But already evidence is mounting, in the form of more and more factories closing, and more and more jobless women, ... that they were wrong.

Cello Fellow Not So Mellow

Dr Beat "Beatocello" Richner is passionate about the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospitals in Phnom Penh and in Siem Reap. Our travels included a chance to hear him speak and see his works at Phnom Penh.

For more than 10 years Richner has raised funds and has overseen construction of three children's hospitals in Cambodia. He is the founder and acting head of the facilities.

Richner's huge task is overwhelming. His hospitals each treat 2000 outpatients a day and more than four million patients per year for free.

"I would say in Siem Reap 95% of the families and here in Phnom Penh 85% of hospitalised they cannot afford one dollar cash for hospitalisation," he said. "The only way to treat the children is free of charge otherwise they have no chance."

And every week, and atop of an already demanding schedule, Dr Richner gives a one hour performance in Siem Reap and again in Phnom Penh to promote awareness of the issues of child health in Cambodia.

The cello recitals, short films, and the lecture on the ethics of funding, makes for a strange and uncomfortable mix.

"We ask old tourists to give money, the young tourist to give blood, and those in the middle to do both," he said.

Thousands of children are admitted each year to hospitals in Cambodia with Dengue haemorrhagic fever. It requires huge amounts of blood and blood products to save the life of the infected child. He said this does not make the world news, unlike SARS and chicken flu concerns.

During his show he makes repeated calls for donations of money and blood. Eighty five percent of the $15 million annual budget is from private donations, 12% from the Swiss Government (Dr Richner's country of origin), and 3% from the Cambodian government.

Half of the budget is spent on drugs and medicines. Richner insures that the drugs used in Kantha Bopha hospitals are pure and from a central pharmacy in Copenhagen authorized by UNICEF. The medicine is from the original manufacturer and not copies. "Not to be criminal is very expensive," he pointed out.

Dr Richner said that in 1992 he started with 12 expatriate and 62 Cambodian staff. The hospitals currently employ two expatriate and more than 1250 Cambodian staff.

Richner has been criticized for spending too much money to give free health care for the poor people of Cambodia. Some of Richners critics pay $340 a day to stay at the Hotel Sofitel Royal Angkor next door to the hospital. Compare that to the $210 to treat a sick child and it is stiking.

"Our hospital is even an economic factor," Richner said. "First, we give thousands of Cambodians a good salary. They can survive with their families. And second we prevent the small economic system of these families of these farms we prevent them from selling their ox's, and their land in order to save their child because it's free of charge.

"Without these hospitals 2800 children would die every month. Eighty percent of the hospitalised patients could not survive without this hospital," Richner said.

Some of Richner's practices have been called into question. For instance, his concert is set in a big, modern conference hall with seating for a few hundred people, fully air-conditioned, and well-equipped with modern sound, video equipment and big spotlights. Critics ask if funds for these buildings might have been better spent elsewhere.

However Richner is annoyed with these critic because, he says, they block his attempts to provide the same levels of medical practices to Cambodia as in the western world. He gives an example where he says that people from funding agencies stay in the nearby Sofitel Hotel for ike $US300 a night and tell him that his treatment is too expensive.

For more information on Dr Richner visit here and here.

Palace Bookends

Copyright Tan and Trev 2005

One of the first scenes to greet us entering the palace grounds was (above) this series of statues. This is taken just inside the gates on a path leading from the pay-booth to the compounds.

Built in 1866 by King Norodom, the palace officially opened on 14 February 1870. It faces east, thus complying with the sacred geographic tradition of Cambodia.

As Tan noted from her extensive pre-trip research of travel guides, much of the palace is relatively young concrete and timber - with many areas needing to be restored after damage sustained through wars and civil strife.

Near the conclusion of our walk through the Grand Palace compound we find this miniature replica (below) of Angkor Wat. It is a small taste of what lies ahead for us in this trip - as we were to see Angkor Wat later in the week.



Copyright Tan and Trev 2005

They Hear Dead People

Ghost stories in the International Herald Tribune provide an insight about the Cambodian psyche and that nation's people deal with its tragic past.

"They tease us," said Pen Mon, 42. "They startle us in our sleep so they can see us jump ... They call out: 'Bring us water. It's so hot and crowded in here.' And then next morning we bring them water."

It helps explain why skulls crammed into shrines are given offerings of food and water, why a royal call for cremation has gone unanswered, why the forensic evidence of foreign specialists may never be presented to court, and how the national memory of recent events is slipping away from today's youth.

This is a country that is still haunted by its past, its psychic wounds still raw, its tormentors unpunished, its traumatic history a tangle of ignorance, confusion and nightmares.
It is not easy living side by side with piles of the skulls of the victims of the killing fields. But that, in effect, is what Cambodians do today, 26 years after the murderous Khmer Rouge were driven from power.

It is a confronting read. It even explains why cow herds find old bones a treat to eat.

Golden Buddha Bonanza

Just how often do Cambodians stumble across forgotten Buddha statues? Is the story of Grandma Penh (or Daun Penh) something that is being repeated throughout the ages?

Well if this report in the China View is any indication, then gold coated statues are popping up on a regular basis.

In 1997, 15 artifacts were found in the area [of Stung Treng province] and given to retired King Norodom Sihanouk for display inside the Royal Palace.

It also quotes The Cambodia Daily in its report that Cambodia's soldiers uncovered 154 miniature Buddhas coated with gold, silver and brass last week in Stung Treng province.

The local media reported the artefacts were buried in a plot owned by a relative of one of the soldiers in Stung Treng district, which had been overgrown with forest.

Ten of them are plated with gold, 51 with silver and 93 with brass and vary in hight from about 10 cm to the size of a human thumbprint.

So perhaps the odds are good for stumbling across another forgotten trove?

Backdoor to Wat Phnom

Having entertained ourselves by watching the antics of the monkeys in puddles, we then head up the man-made hill in a failed bid to see the five statues of Wat Phnom.

Wat Phnom is a revered place of worship for all Khmers and is the namesake of the capital. The temple is the focal point for many Buddhist ceremonies and his highly revered by Phompenh residents.

Alerted through Tan's diligent research of guidebooks, we knew our first stop would be needed to be at a ticket booth. But where is it? It was suppose to be at the foot of the hill.

We looked left. We looked right. No luck. So we head up the hill to get a better vantage point. Perhaps with a little elevation we'll see the booth, or maybe find it at gate nearer to the temple.

As all good Victorian's would know, Mount Wycheproof holds claim to being the smallest registered mountain in the world. This fact is celebrated annually with the 'King of the Mountain' foot-race up the mountain with each contestant carrying a sack of wheat weighing 60kg up 43m from the surrounding plains.

At about two-thirds the distance, Cambodia's hill poses no real problem. At blinding speed, we found ourself top-side and without a ticket.

We look around again for the booth, but instead make eye contact with a uniformed guard. ``You'll need a ticket.'' he cautions.

``We know. Where do we buy one?"

He pauses to give the question thought - possibly to find the right words in an unfamiliar language. "Pay me," he said, pushing forward an open palm.

We laughed at the audacity, took our leave and went searching for the ticket booth. Apparently we had entered from the back and tickets were available back down the other side of the hill.

Being a hot and muggy day, we didn't feel like climbing the hill twice.

Others in the tour party would later tell us that scenes inside Wat Phnom could easily have been skipped.

Cash-strapped, Dry: the New Killing Fields

As previously covered here and here, there are alarming signs that Cambodia will be in for a hard year if the drought refused to break.

Today's news from Vietnam News Agency warns "an estimated 500,000 Cambodians (are likely) to suffer food shortages" this year.

The World Food Programme is set to distribute 1,000 tonnes of emergency rice to villagers and is currently working out a distribution plan, Deputy Country Director Ramaraj Saravanamuttu said.

Meanwhile, the BBC News today reports the Red Cross effort to educate rural Cambodians about the dangers of unexploded ordnance (UXO).

This is an interesting colour piece, but largely misses the point raised here that the economics of scavenging for scrap metal continues to make this an attractive option for cash-strapped farmers.

If the drought continues, then the temptation to gather UXO for scrap must surely grow. Especially if the dry rice fields fail to generate money from planting.

The grim reality is that the world can expect the toll to rise; even inspite of fresh attempts to outlaw trade in UXO scrap metals.

What's in a Name? Wat is in the Name

The city of Phnom Penh takes part of its name from the wealthy Khmer widow woman Penh, who founded a small monastery there.

It is situated at the confluence of the Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers with the Mekong, and it is said Penh found Buddha statues in a tree trunk on the banks of the river which in turn inspired her to found the monastery.

As the story goes, Grandma Penh (or Daun Penh) settled on a high land at the west bank of Chrap Chheam River (now Sap River next to Chaktomuk). At a vast flood season, there were many Koki trees floating to stick at Daun Penh high land and in the hole of a big Koki, there were four bronze and one stone Buddha statues.

In 1372, Daun Penh ordered people to pile up earth at northeast her house and used those Koki trunks to build up a pagoda on that hill for keeping the five Buddha statues, then named the temple Wat Phnom Daun Penh (now Wat Phnom)

The Cambodian word for hill is Phnom. Therefore the name of the town correctly translates as "Hill of Penh" and Wat Phnom means "temple built on a hill."

According to one Wikipedia:

The city takes its name from the Wat Phnom Daun Penh (known now as just the Wat Phnom or Hill Temple), built in 1373 to house five statues of Buddha on a man-made hill 27 meters high.

Phnom Penh was also previously known as Krong Chaktomuk (Chaturmukha) meaning "City of Four Faces". This name refers to the junction where the Mekong, Bassac, and Tonle Sap rivers cross to form an "X" where the capital is situated.

Krong Chaktomuk is an abbreviation of its ceremonial name given by King Ponhea Yat which was "Krong Chaktomuk Mongkol Sakal Kampuchea Thipadei Sereythor Inthabot Borei Roth Reach Seima Maha Nokor"

It first became the capital of Cambodia after Ponhea Yat, king of the Khmer Empire fled Angkor Thom when it was captured by Siam in 1431. There are stupas behind Wat Phnom that house the remains of Ponhea Yat and the royal family as well as the remaining Buddhist statues from the Angkorean era.

Dry and Dusty

This yarn [Drought-stricken Southeast Asia seeks assistance] from the Taipei Times tells of concerns over crop losses in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Highlights include:

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday called for assistance from the international community as well as fellow Cambodians for a national campaign to help farmers who are short of water.

In Cambodia, about 700,000 villagers are reeling from water shortages, authorities there said. Serious droughts have badly affected impoverished Cambodia for the past two years.

Poor farmers in remote areas may be driven deeper into debt as they are forced to borrow money to survive, said Nhem Vanda, chairman of Cambodia's National Disaster Management Committee.

But of particular interest in this article is the opposing views about the possible cause for the shortfall in the Mekong's supply to farmland irrigation.

Scientists debate what is to blame.

Seasonal fluctuations in rainfall are at the heart of the problem, but the situation has become more difficult in recent years with a decline in water levels of the mighty Mekong River, which runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The decline has a knock-on effect, as the Mekong's tributaries experience lower water levels or in some cases dry up entirely.

"Global warming has caused rainfall to decrease and the land to become hotter, which makes water evaporate more quickly," said Kansree Bunprakob, a scientist at Bangkok's Ramkhamhaeng University.

Other environmentalists say that new dams upstream in China -- built primarily to generate electricity -- obstruct water flow on the Mekong sufficiently to disrupt the river's ecosystem and harm agriculture and fisheries in the lower basin.

"The water level in the Mekong River has continued to drop in dry season since China built the first dam in 1992," said Chainarong Setthachua, director of the Southeast Asian Rivers Network, an environmental group based in Thailand.

Is it a sign of global warming, or the direct result of neighbours?

Link

Wet and Wild

Copyright Tan and Trev 2005

These monkeys frolicking in a puddle took advantage of a spot over-watered in the public park.

It made for a handy distraction from the heat of the day.

In the following days, as our tour took us out beyond the city limits of Pheon Pem, the effects of prolonged drought on Cambodia became more apparent to us.

Vast areas of rural areas looked dry and dusty - and farmers were struggling to overcome the two-year drought's crippling effects on their livelihoods.

The Bangkok Post reports:

"Only 1.8 million hectares in Cambodia were planted with rice in 2004, short of the target of 2.1 million hectares due to shortage of rain water."

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on the weekend warned that poor outlooks for the coming farming season (beginning in May) meant the country now needed to prepare ahead for the problem.

"While the government is seeking foreign assistance in irrigating Cambodian rice fields, individual Cambodians should also show their generosity in helping farmers, he said, without elaborating."

Copyright Tan and Trev 2005

War Crimes

While touring S-21, our guide surprised the tour group with the news that so few had been held accountable for the horrors.

None of the leaders of the Khmer Rouge has been tried.

He explained that an amnesty of sorts in the mid-90s had allowed for people to confess without fear of reprisal; and that a few now held senior roles in public office. It was a way in which the country could effectively close a chapter on its sad history – putting to rest the memory of 1975 to 1979 during which an estimated 1.7 million people died of starvation, execution, disease and overwork.

However this might soon change, according to reports coming out of New Zealand during the weekend.

“PHNOM PENH: A Cambodian military court has charged two jailed Khmer Rouge leaders with war crimes, allowing them to be detained until a UN-backed tribunal is set up to try former Pol Pot aides, court officials said yesterday.”

New charges allow the pair - the only two leading members of the Khmer Rouge "Killing Fields" regime in detention – to be held for another three years while the United Nations seeks to raise the $56 million needed for trials.

One is Duch, 59, the head of the Tuol Sleng interrogation centre. The other is Ta Mok, 78, the one-legged Khmer Rouge military chief.

Australia and New Zealand authorities have played a part in helping Cambodia lay new charges.

“From our investigation into the case we have found that they (the pair) committed more crimes so we decided to charge them with war crimes,” said investigating judge Ngin Sam An.

“The embassies of New Zealand and Australia have sent me letters informing me about their citizens killed during the regime, so we have another reason to detain them,” he said.

The court also received a list of 78 foreigners killed by the Khmer Rouge from a documentation centre collecting evidence to support trials at the UN-backed tribunal which are expected to start in August this year.

So keep an eye on the Australian and NZ media for reports in August (2005) if the trials go to schedule.

Link

More Landmine Figures

The China View on Friday reported a single week's tally for Cambodia: three deaths and eight people seriously injuries in three separate mine explosions.

"According to the Cambodian Red Cross, there were 80 land mine and UXO casualties in January and 131 in February.
"Cambodia is one of the world's most-heavily mined countries with an estimated 4 to 6 million of the hidden killers buried in its soil."

In a bid to dissuade "a growing number of villages scavenging for bomb refuse to sell as scrap metal", the Interior Ministry plans to pass a law to criminalize for the first time the buying and selling of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and anti-tank mines.
It is a noble attempt, but can it really work where crops fail and mouths need to be fed?

At Your Feet

The most famous landmark of the city is possibly the Silver Pagoda and the Royal Palace. Through the palace compound gates we found a glorious courtyard bedecked with stone stupas and golden pagodas of all shapes and sizes. This was Phnom Penh at its proudest.

The pagoda was built in 1892 by King Norodom, Sihanouk's great grandfather, as the eternal residence of Cambodia's Emerald Buddha, a Baccarat crystal statue modelled after the Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok.

We circled the Silver Pagoda, marvelling at its size and glistening panels.

Rather annoyingly there are extra entrance fees for cameras and camcorders upon arrival at the royal compounds, but once inside you find photography is not allowed in the best areas. Hence we have no images to help illustrate this part of the visit.

There are so many valuable relics to draw away a visitor's attention in this hall. At the centre of the temple was a golden shrine for the Emerald Buddha. And in front of Emerald Buddha stood a solid gold, life-sized Buddha statue weighing nearly 200 pounds.

As impressive is the Emerald Buddha is, more memorable is the silver-tiled floor. The floor was constructed entirely of solid silver tiles, over 5000 of them, each weighing more than a kilogram. However as rugs cover most of the tiles to protect them from wear, (and it is so easy to be distracted with other items on show in glass cabinets) you need to be alert and remember to look at the samples on display in an exposed, roped-off area near the entrance.

Royal Duties

An example of the current King Norodom Sihamoni's activites can be seen in this VNA report about his meeting with the newly-accredited Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia, Nguyen Chien Thang.

"Thang expressed his belief that under the reign of King Sihamoni and the leadership of the Cambodian Royal Government headed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, the Cambodian people would further succeed in building a peaceful, stable, prosperous and neutral nation having friendly relations with all countries, especially its neighbours."

Such diplomatic and regal exchange neatly juxtaposes with other news offerings from this week.

For instance, Singapore's Channel News Asia carries this Agence France Presse yarn about Cambodia mulling over a decision to beef up its navy patrol ships.

"Cambodia's small and ageing navy engages in occasional spats with Vietnam and Thailand over disputed coastal waters, while piracy and smuggling of drugs, petrol and ordinary consumer items is a rising concern."

Yep. Love thy neighbour and carry a big stick.

Watch Your Head

Copyright Tan and Trev 2005

South of the Throne Hall are the Royal Treasury and the villa of Napoleon III (Napoleon Bonaparte's Nephew).

The building bears no resemblance to Khmer architecture. The gray metal building was gift built in 1866, not in Cambodia, but rather in Egypt. There it served the French Empress Eugenie as accommodation on occasion of the opening of the Suez Canal. One year later Napoleon III gave the villa to the Cambodian king as a present. It was shipped across and re-assembled in the Palace grounds.

This art nouveau villa certainly would not look out of place in our street. But here it is dwarfed by exotic spires and pagodas arcing into the sky and the glittering treasures of the Silver Pavilion.

The iron house was given to King Norodom of Cambodia who ruled Cambodia from 1860 to 1904. It is somewhat ironic given the changes made to another gift elswhere in the grounds. East of the Silver Pagoda is an equestrian monument of King Norodom - which is actually a monument of the French Emperor Napoleon III. The head of the original statue was removed and replaced with one showing King Norodom.

Royal Watching

Copyright Tan and Trev 2005

Wandering around the royal grounds provided a much needed break from our routine.

Built by King Norodom in Khmer style with French assistance in 1866, the palace functions as the official residence of King Norodom Sihanouk since his return to the capital in 1992.



Copyright Tan and Trev 2005

The king's residential quarters, are not allowed to visit, but much of the complex is accessible . You can visit the Royal Throne Hall, (although it is somewhat annoying to pay a camera cover-charge at the front gate - only to later discover that photography not allowed in some buildings).

Within the palace compound are the coronation hall, an open-air theater, a balcony for royal appearances, an open air pavilion for entertaining, the royal residence and office. Most of these buildings are closed to the public but are well worth a peek from the outside.

Inside the Trone hall, many golden sculpures including the Royal Treasury, and exhibition of encient Khmer art.



Copyright Tan and Trev 2005

Mine of information

And while we are on the topic, just who are these people?

The band State of Blake (f.k.a. Silence) just dont seem to have any profile or air play in Australia. What a pity. From what little I've sampled of their work, this is one sweet outfit.

Since their official formation in 1998, the sibling quintet formerly known as Silence has been building an impressive back catalogue -- developing a fresh and diverse modern rock sound. Tunes like "Came So Close" and "Ruins" have me keen to track down more from their discography, like:

• Aug 2003: “State of Blake" (a 2-song CD single with CD-ROM)
• June 2002: “SILENCE Digital Profile CD-ROM”
• October 2001: “Saintless” (13-song full-length album)
• January 2001: “Ruins” (3-song CD single with CD-ROM)
• March 1998: “Demo Use Only” (9-song cassette)

Their link to Cambodia? Well they have donated the new web address for this museum. The audio/video section of that site houses a special clip of the band performing "Ruins". Directed by Nathan Stewart and edited by Mark Hussey, it features Cambodia footage by Josh Peace.

It took a bit of effort to dig up the new site for the landmine museum, as most directories have it listed under the now defunct www.landmine-museum.com. And that site - with its broken links and incomplete structure - is starting to look like much like the piles of discarded weapons rusting around Aki Ra's display.

Other sites about the global problems of demining can be viewed at:

• Adopt a minefield campaign.


• Red Cross action on mines


• Mines advisory group


• UN Mine Action Service


• Help to pay for landmine clearance


• Or check the UNICEF site

Why are these people here?

Walking through the farmyard had a surreal feeling - a bit like wandering the forgotten back lots for a scene from the movie Apocalypse Now.

Some types of weapons, like grenades, are just in massive piles, like empty beer cans and stubbies. Others are set up around the farmyard in their original evil configuration, minus the TNT. Playing among them are disfigured children - each a landmine victim now under the care of Aki.

But at the core of this surreal feeling is the odd sight of several backpackers lounging around the yard - looking incredibly relaxed and entirely at home among the twisted metal and flesh. It is as if they were movie extras marking time between takes.

I wonder: What's going on? If they are here for the exhibit, then why do they look as if they have settled here? Are they actually staying here? I don't see any hostel.

It is only later that we learn this spray of wild guesses is surprisingly near to the mark. Trev discovers from the now defunct original website that the museum takes volunteers (for a minimum of 1 month) to stay on-site and teach English to the children.

At this museum, Aki does three things.

1. Take care of the children who lost their arms and legs and help them to live by themselves. We also gather children around the area, and send them to school.
2. Clear mines/UXO (Unexploded bomb)
3. And Through the museum, we want you to know about the war in Cambodia and its mines/UXO.

Museum like no other

It's a "heavy" day. First S21, next the fields, and then on to the voluntary landmine museum in Siem Reap. Not to be confused with the government run War museum, Aki Ra established this humble and humbling display.

It was not immediately apparent to us, as the bus pulls to a stop, that we have reached our destination. The museum looks very much like a huddle of private rural huts with perhaps off-caste metal tools lying strewn and rusting around the yard. But upon close inspection we find the rusty piles of implements are actually tools of death rather than idle farming gear.

On the walls of the hut hang dozens-upon-dozens of tatty newspaper articles about the clearing of mines - many referring to Mr Aki Ra.

Once a child soldier laying explosive ordinances, Aki now dedicated his life to demining the Cambodian countryside and adopting children maimed by landmines. He has turned his skills to digging up some the ten million explosive weapons buried all over this country.

Aki disarms a couple of things every week, and brings them back to this farmyard and bamboo shack that doubles for a museum. He melts the TNT out of them and puts them on display.

Laced with irony, one article one display quotes Akira as saying he has spent the first half of his life planting bombs everywhere and the second half digging them up. He has disarmed "hundreds, maybe thousands" of bombs that he himself originally planted.

Also on show in the hut is a video of how to disarm an anti-personnel mine (just in case you ever need to know. It's important to remember that the mine itself might be booby trapped - perhaps holding down the lever on a grenade underneath).

The Caring Gunman

Well this is certainly a weird news story I found on the wire service today at www.newkerala.com [ed note: it has since been removed. But here is a copy]. Research has found that bullets can be bad for one's health.

Forces Radiobiology Research Institute has been playing with lab rats to discover that tungsten bullets cause cancer in wounds.

"(The findings raise) extremely serious concerns over the potential health effects of tungsten-alloy-based munitions currently being used as non-toxic alternatives to lead and depleted uranium," the researchers said.

So what is the appropriate etiquette for today's "new age" gunman? When you are about to shoot someone, do you stop and think about their future health? Does the lone assassin on the grassy knoll need to think about what type of ammo his packing? How absurd.

And how does all this tie into our earlier trip? Well Phnom Penh has at an equally strange reminder of Cambodia's violent past.

In the middle of traffic roundabout is a giant statue of a perfectly detailed black handgun, tilted up on its handle so the barrel points into the air. Our tour bus raced past it, so you'll need to check this equally weird CD cover to see a picture of it

It was made from the metal of confiscated weapons, and the then Prime Minister Hun Sen is said to have donated his own gold-plated pistol to the mix. The monument is supposed to represent the new peace, but that may not immediately be apparent, as it can be difficult to discern that the gun chamber has a knot.

Thus the effect of the huge gun in the middle of traffic is oddly disturbing.

Love thy neighbour

A few news items this week illustrate the fragile nature on foreign policy; even in a climate where senior party officials are keen to bring unity.

Firstly, news agency MCOT reports that government officials for Thailand and Cambodia are keen to explore co-operative tourism promotions.

It quotes the Thai Permanent Secretary for Culture, Khun Ying Dhipavadee Meksawan as saying:

“Linking more than two cultures and countries’ tourist industries, is part of the Thai government’s new policy to strengthen ties with its neighbours and boost mutual understanding between Thailand and other countries with a culture-led foreign policy.”

Yet a few days earlier, this report from MCOT highlights some of the difficulties in aligning current policies with the will of the people.

“Relations between the two countries soured after angry Cambodian crowds took to the streets in early 2003 to protest against a Thai soap-opera actress who allegedly insulted them. The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh was burnt down, and Thais attacked on the streets of the city.
The Thai envoy said relations had been on the mend since that time.”

Curiously enough, that report carried the headline:

“Thailand and Cambodia to celebrate
55 years of diplomatic relations”

In Getaway's footsteps ... sorta

We finally catch our first glimpse of the Getaway presenter at the Killing Fields. It's Jules Lund just ahead of us.

He's somewhat taller than I'd imagined - but then, TV does play tricks with a viewer's sense of perspective.

So there is Jules on the path ahead - a little off to one side while his camera crew does a general pane of the scene to create some sort of moody, overview scene.

Heck we might even be in that shot. And if it avoids hitting the cutting-room floor, then we might even be seen in the show as a couple of dots in the background for a few fleeting seconds. Yep, the family had best set the video recorders for that!

Our group shuffles stage right to leave Jules to do his job.


Copyright Tan and Trev 2005

We walk past pit after pit as our guide explains the brutal manner in which they were filled. He points to trees, and explains how seemingly harmless items were used to bring death - and thus save on the expense of bullets. I'm rather proud of my position at the back of the huddled group - as it affords a spectacular view up into the treetops. But pride comes before a fall.

"Hey, if you are having trouble seeing," I tell the others, "then back away from the tree. There is plenty of room over h... ops... ohh... [thump, crash]".

And then I stupidly stepped backwards into an open grave.

Time freezes, as I'm now the centre of attention. One slow eternity ... two slow seconds ... three slow eternities ... four slow seconds .... then it restarts, with several events lurching forward at once. The embarrassed guide rushes over "sorry, sorry - are you all right?" The embarrassed partner shakes her head in disbelief. The embarrassed tourist clambers out of the pit and dusts himself off "it's fine, it's fine. Really".

We had been following in Jules' footsteps, but he certainly won't be following in mine. Having tried so earnestly to respectfully move through the pagoda and fields, it was a little frustrating to finish clumsily down among the dead men.

And yes, I'll admit I was conceited enough to glance nervously over Jules' way just to check if the camera had been trained on my shenanigans. Phew! They were busy with another moody panorama - this time with Jules walking through the shot on the path where we had been earlier.

In Getaway's footsteps

One phrase is being repeated to us almost daily: "the Getaway crew was here".

We seem to be shadowing a camera and support crew for the Australian television show; mirroring their itineray but forever 12 to 24 hours behind them. And we are told things like: "you'll have this guide, because [insert name here] who we would normally use is showing the Getaway team around".

Wow. We image it'll be tough to make scenes from S21 and the Killing Fields suitable for the 7:30pm Thursday timeslot. We must try and keep an eye out for that episode. In previous years, Getaway has tended to favour the more peaceful images of Angkor Wat. See previous screenings on March 7, 2002 and July 24, 2003 .

There is considerable discussion among the group as to which presenter might now be in Cambodia. We push our guide for clues as to the identity. "Not a girl," he says. (Well that'll help narrow down the field from seven to four).

"That makes sense,'' one of our group says (or was it Trev?). "It's not the type of place to parade Catriona [Rowntree] about in swimwear."

"But Sorrel [Wilby] gets to do a fair a bit of trekking and hard travel," said Tan. "This trip would be up her alley".

The group struggles to search for the name of the third female presenter, and then collectively shrugs. [Sorry Natalie Gruzlewski. But as none of us are Queenslanders, we simply don't know your history with Queensland television, nor your national stint as Lady Luck].

"Doesn't matter, cause its a bloke. Lets see ... there's David," prompts one of our group.

"Yeh that right, Reyne. David Reyne," comes a reply. "And then there's that one whose mother won some sort of brain quiz .. err is it Ben Dork."

"Err ... you mean Dark," retorts another.

"Oh I hope its that good looking one," swoons one of the women in our tour party. "You know, umm what's his name? The tall one. Is it Julian? With dark hair."

"Do you mean Brendon [Julian] with the black hair or umm ... who is that new one with the blonde hair. Is his name Jules [Lund] or Julian?"

We push our guide for a description of height and hair style - but find the reply less than conclusive. It could be Brendon, or it could be Jules, or it could even be Ben.

Fortunately, we were not left guessing for long. [See tomorrow's entry]

Number crunching

There was a slightly unreal feel about walking through the Killing Fields while groups of little children play and sing in the background. While we tread carefully not to step on bone fragments, the kids skip and frolick in the abutting paddock.

It is difficult to get a definitive answer as to how many were killed during the Pol Pot regime. Western reports say around 2,000,000 people were killed. Our guide said it was more like 3,000,000.