Global Voices » Cambodia

Cambodia: Teenager Killed During Eviction

Mong Palatino — Sun, 20 May 2012 10:32:41 +0000

A 14-year old girl was killed when police forces evicted a rural village in Cambodia. The case highlights the growing land disputes in the country and the use of violence by government forces to stifle dissent

Cambodia Gay Pride Week 2012

Mong Palatino — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:21:04 +0000

Cambodia Gay Pride Week 2012 will take place on May 11 until May 20. Some of the activities include film screenings, parties, Buddhist blessings, and the first Cambodia Pride Amazing Tuk-Tuk Race.

May Day Videos: Marches, Demonstrations and Protests Around The World

Juliana Rincón Parra — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:08:19 +0000

Through cities around the globe, people took to the streets to march and commemorate the International Workers' Day. Videos by The Real News take us on a tour of how the day was observed throughout the world.

May Day March in Venezuela

While some places saw peaceful marches, others had violent encounters between armed forces and the protesters. On the first part of the video, an overview of workers in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. For example, Malaysian activists protested against the growing inequality. In the Philippines were for job security and higher wages. Indonesians protested low wages and rough conditions. Cambodians asked for higher wages. People in Bahrein asked for workers to be reinstated to their positions of which they were removed by the government crackdowns. In Egypt protests were on behalf of including workers rights in the constitution that is being drafted. In Europe, workers protested austerity measures that seem to target them. In Russia, both the ruling party and the opposition had their own rallies. The French left marched against the past of fiscal austerity. And in the London, where May Day is not a holiday, workers went on strike.

On the second part, protests in North and South America. Demonstrations throughout Canada protesting budget cuts and rises in college tuition. In the USA, banks were targeted in many major cities including clashes with riot police, calls to strikes, and blockades. In Mexico workers marched to ask the government to do a better job in the face of violence. Honduras saw protests against the privatization of public services as well as corruption. In Cuba, massive parades commemorated the Cuban Revolution and in Venezuela both the government supporters and opposition marched, either for or against the recent reforms. In Colombia there were arrests during the protests and the Chilean student movement also marched.

Cambodia Inventions

Mong Palatino — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:11:01 +0000

Angkor Car, The Peacehammer, Recycled Biodiesel, Affordable Water Pumps, Moonlight. These are some of the unique inventions from Cambodia and Asia Life Guide was able to interview the inventors.

Human Rights Mapping in Cambodia

Mong Palatino — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 04:02:05 +0000

Human rights advocates in Cambodia have been using online maps to document, monitor, and expose human rights violations across the country. Sithi or the Cambodia Human Rights Portal has a Violation Map which provides an overview of the extent of rights violations in Cambodia

The map below shows different human rights violations occurring throughout Cambodia. The map on the page when you first enter this section shows the most recently recorded human rights violations on Sithi, represented by the red icons. You can search the violation section by human right, victim, alleged perpetrator, case status, location and date

Sithi's Violation Map

Land conflicts have been rising in the past years and many of them are related to development projects which have displaced hundreds of thousands of residents

According to our research, 223 land disputes have been reported on in the public domain in the last 4 years since 2007…The province with the highest number of land conflicts, according to our findings, is Phnom Penh with 10% of total land conflicts occurring in the province containing the country’s capital and largest city.

Land Disputes in Cambodia

The Cambodian Daily Weekend has published an article about the questionable land concessions in Cambodia

3,936,481 hectares have been granted as mining and economic land concessions, covering 22 percent of Cambodia’s surface area

1,900,311 hectares have been granted as mining concessions to companies exploring for precious minerals such as gold, iron ore, copper and bauxite

2,036,170 hectares have been granted as land concessions for agro-industrial plantations for crops such as rubber, sugar and cassava, an area equivalent to 53 percent of Cambodia’s arable land

346,000 hectares of land concessions are located inside conservation areas administered by the Ministry of Environment. This area represents about 10% of protected areas under the ministry’s control

400,000 people have been affected by land disputes in 12 provinces since 2003, according to Licadho, mostly after concessions were granted in their area

Below is a map showing where journalists had been killed in Cambodia

Media Killings in Cambodia

Global Voices has already featured the prison mapping of Licadho, also a human rights group. Below is the group’s freedom of expression mapping

Freedom of Expression Mapping

Other Maps

An online map of the Members of Parliament is also now available. Last month, a map of the power cut schedule in Phnom Penh was also made public. There are also maps of Phnom Penh’s streets, restaurants, public service agencies, shops, and hotels. A website has been launched to track Cambodia’s infrastructure development and other development-related issues. Meanwhile, map researchers are complaining against the prohibitive costs charged by the National Archives

Cambodia: Bokator, Angkorian Martial Art

Mong Palatino — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 10:38:11 +0000

Bokator or Labokator (to fight like a lion) is a Cambodian martial art that is believed to be the predecessor of Southeast Asian kickboxing styles. Historians believe that it was the close quarter combat system used by the ancient armies of Angkor.

Southeast Asia Digital Library

Mong Palatino — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 09:24:20 +0000

The Southeast Asia Digital Library provides educators and students with materials published in Southeast Asia. The online library contains digital facsimiles of books and manuscripts, as well as multimedia materials and searchable indexes of additional Southeast Asian resources.

Cambodia' Bamboo Trains

Mong Palatino — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 02:05:27 +0000

Edgar Alan Zeta-Yap writes about the bamboo trains or “norry” of Battambang in Cambodia.

Cambodia: The First BarCamp Angkor

Sopheap Chak — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 03:08:22 +0000

Since 2008, BarCamps in Cambodia have been organized in Phnom Penh. But this year's BarCamp will take place in the provincial town of Siem Reap, the gateway to the world-famous Angkor temple complex. Build Bright University in Siem Reap Province is the venue of the event.

Similar to other BarCamp events, the BarCamp Siem Reap aims to gather IT enthusiasts and students in order to share and learn new innovations and ideas in technology, software development, and business solutions.

Interestingly, a BarCamp fan who is living in Phnom Pehn, which is approximately 314 kilometers away from Siem Reap, informed his online readers that he traveled to the venue on his motorbike to attend the event

Photo courtesy of http://barcampsiemreap.org/

Be Chantra, the lead BarCamp Angkor team organizer explained by the event was brought to Siem Reap

BarCamp, an open, free, and no fixed schedule or speakers designed, is generally organized in various towns like BarCamp Yangon, BarCamp Bangkok, Barcamp Chiang Mai. Thus, the BarCamp is brought to Siem Reap town in order to allow and attract participation from youth and other IT enthusiasts living in the town. Also, this may also attract the participation of other fans from overseas and from the capital of Phnom Penh as the venue of Siem Reap is a famous tourist spot.

Chantra recognizes the challenges for the team in mobilizing and campaigning for better participation of the local youth population. He adds that all members of the organizing team are volunteers living in Phnom Penh

Chantra expects the attendance to reach 500 and out of this figure about 80 individuals from Phnom Penh have confirmed their attendance. He hopes that the first launch of BarCamp Angkor will help in bridging the digital divide in the country. He also wants more active participation of the local youth in technology development issues.

News group Sabay, one of the sponsors of the event, encouraged the participation of young people in the province to interact with prominent IT enthusiasts from the capital and neighboring countries.

BarCamp Angkor 2012ជាឱកាសពិសេសសម្រាប់យុវជន យុវនារីក្នុងខេត្តសៀមរាបជួបជាមួយវាគ្មិនដែលអញ្ជើញមកពី សៀមរាប រាជធានីភ្នំពេញ សិង្ហបុរី ម៉ាឡេស៊ី ថៃ វៀតណាម ។

“BarCamp Angkor 2012 offer a great opportunity for local youth both male and female in the Siem Reap town to associate with key speakers from the town, Phnom Penh capital, and other countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.”

A team from Sithi.org, the first human rights portal in Cambodia facilitated by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, will participate in the event to highlight the right to internet access and media freedom.

Cambodia's First IPO

Mong Palatino — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:20:36 +0000

Sihanoukville Journal writes that the Cambodia Stock Exchange opened last year but no company has been listed yet. But three state corporations will soon trade stocks which are being keenly anticipated by global investors

Rising Chinese Investments in Cambodia

Mong Palatino — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:47:05 +0000

Alex Watts probes the impact of rising Chinese investments in Cambodia. Some local residents are worried over the sale of huge tracts of lands to Chinese investors.

Inspiring Stories of Women in Cambodia

Mong Palatino — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:43:33 +0000

New Waves is a collaboration of the UN with a network of young women in Cambodia with the intention of celebrating the inspiring stories of women and girls in Cambodia.

Crisis Mapping of US Bombardment in Cambodia

Mong Palatino — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:10:50 +0000

A research by Dr. Taylor Owen revealed that the total amount of bombs dropped by the United States in Cambodia between 1965-1973 was five times greater than previously known.

Cambodia: Urban Development Mapping Tool

Mong Palatino — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:45:53 +0000

Urban Voice is a newly launched portal in Cambodia which aims to be a map-based visualisation of developments in the urban areas of the country. The developers want it to be a “source of information, a site for civic engagement, an analytical tool, (and) a mapping tool”

Cambodia: Documenting the Work of a Microfinance Loan Officer

Mong Palatino — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 02:37:49 +0000

World Vision posts photos of Nhek Chanthy, a loan officer in Cambodia which give us a glimpse of how microfinance programs are being implemented in rural Cambodia.