Cambodia, Thai Officials Set up Hotline on Migrant Issue

Cambodia and Thailand on Tuesday sought to downplay reports of a crackdown on illegal Cambodian workers by Bangkok’s new military junta as the two governments agreed to establish a hotline to communicate on labor issues afflicting the two neighboring countries.

Eat Sophea, Cambodia’s ambassador to Thailand, was summoned to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the issue as the number of illegal Cambodian workers returning across the border since June 1 hit 200,000 on Tuesday, according to Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Kuy Koung.

The Cambodian workers—who prop up Thailand’s industries, but are mostly living in the country without proper documentation—have fled or have been forcibly repatriated by the Thai junta, which threatened illegal workers with arrest and deportation last week after taking power in a May 22 coup.

Kuy Koung said that the Thai junta had agreed to “establish a hotline for communication” on labor issues, and assured Cambodia that it “doesn’t have plans to deport all Cambodian laborers.”

“They simply want illegal immigrants to become legal immigrants in order to avoid labor exploitation,” he said.

The Thai side also urged those workers who have been deported since June 1 to return with legal paperwork, Kuy Koung said, adding that Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working to ensure that illegal workers in Thailand become registered.

“So far we have about 50,000 workers already registered,” around 20,000 of whom have returned to Thailand, he said.

Speaking after talks with foreign ministry permanent secretary Sihasak Phuangketkeow in Bangkok, Eat Sophea dismissed reports of the shooting and abuse of Cambodian migrants by Thai authorities, which some have said triggered the mass exodus.

“The reports about shootings, the reports about other abuses are rumors and are not true, it's been taken out of context,” Agence France-Presse reported the ambassador as saying.

“We agreed to work together in order to clarify any issues.”

Border overwhelmed

Meanwhile, Cambodia’s Minister of Interior Sar Kheng on Tuesday urged authorities across the country to do whatever was in their power to facilitate the return of migrants to their home provinces.

“In order to help the returnees, the government would like authorities at the provincial level to welcome them at the border checkpoints and to provide them with transportation so they may return home,” Sar Kheng said in a statement.

“Please provide them with food [and] medication and make sure they return safely.”

Sar Kheng also called on local authorities to ensure that potential migrants are better informed about the situation they face working across the border in Thailand.

“[Authorities] must also disseminate information to prevent Cambodians from crossing the border to Thailand illegally and explain the consequences that might arise from doing so,” he said.

According to the World Bank, some 20 percent of Cambodia’s nearly 15 million population live in poverty, earning below U.S. $2.00 per day, and many have been tempted to find work in Thailand, where they can earn significantly more than they would at home.

Reuters news agency quoted Sar Kheng as slamming the Thai army for never consulting Cambodia about sending workers home.

“The army has rushed to deport workers who are considered illegal without prior notice or discussion with Cambodia or at least making contact with provinces along the borders,” he told a university graduation ceremony in the capital Phnom Penh.

“I think the current Thai army leadership must be held responsible for all the problems that have occurred, including the loss of life.”

Thai police say six Cambodian workers and a Thai driver were killed last weekend when a pick-up truck overturned on its way to the border. Thirteen people were injured.

Last week, the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), an umbrella group of 21 nongovernmental organizations, claimed that investigators from the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)—a CHRAC member—had received “credible witness accounts” that up to nine Cambodian migrants had been killed during the deportations, and that “beatings have occurred at the hands of the Thai armed forces.”

Cambodian Government ‘Flouting International Rules Against Torture’

Cambodians continue to suffer torture and other forms of ill-treatment in police stations and prisons despite the country’s commitment to international treaties banning such practices, according to a report ahead of theInternational Day in Support of Victims of Torture on Thursday.

The report, released Wednesday by local rights group Licadho, called on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government to pass legislation outlawing acts of torture and ill-treatment which are aimed mostly at extracting confessions from suspects.  

Licadho said it had found “no palpable change in the type, frequency and severity of abuse reported in recent years” in police and prison custody, adding that inmates continue to describe being beaten until bloodied or unconscious with objects including guns, sticks, iron rods, stun batons and electric cables.

Victims of abuse regularly include females, juveniles and those experiencing mental health problems, the rights group said in the report, entitled “Torture & Ill-Treatment, Testimony from Inside Cambodia's Police Stations and Prisons.” 

“Torture is practiced in Cambodia, but there is no measure to prevent this practice,” Licadho senior investigator Am Sam Ath told RFA’s Khmer Service, adding that authorities often employ abuse to extract confessions or money from prisoners and suspects.

“We have observed that judges rarely asked suspects whether they were subjected to torture, even though they physically display bruises, swollen faces and broken arms,” he said.

Am Sam Ath urged the government to establish laws explicitly preventing torture, as well as an independent national framework and civil department to resolve complaints against abuse by police in Cambodia’s justice system.

Licadho said that in addition to regular beatings, it also received reports of other abuses including inmates being dragged on the ground by their hair, being forced to stand on one leg for prolonged periods, guards standing and stamping on bodies and faces, and objects being forced into mouths.

The group said it recorded testimonies of cigarette burns, forced prolonged kneeling—including in direct sunlight, choking, and the use of electro-shock weaponry for torture.

“This alarming testimony leaves us in no doubt that Cambodian authorities are failing in their responsibilities to prevent and punish acts of torture and ill-treatment,” said Naly Pilorge, Licadho director.

“Authorities appear to be incapable of fulfilling their obligations to end torture in Cambodia. Not only that, they also seem unwilling to take practical steps to address the ongoing abuse.”

Cambodia ratified the Optional Protocol to the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2007, which requires the government to establish an independent National Preventative Mechanism to monitor and prevent torture in places of detention within one year of ratification.

Licadho said that Cambodia has failed to establish the mechanism, and only set up an inter-ministerial committee made up of various government officials in 2009, which the rights group called “neither independent nor effective.”

Additional abuses

Licadho said it also regularly documents abuse by authorities at the point of arrest and in transit, as well as by other inmates once a detainee is placed in confinement, often at the direction of officials.

According to the report, conditions in some places of detention, including the denial of medical care, may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment—particularly with regard to the handling of people experiencing mentalhealth problems.

“Cambodian authorities should be ashamed that this type of abuse continues unabated, that protection measures are so weak, and recourse to justice so limited,” said Nget Sokun, Licadho’s prison supervisor.

“Sadly, Licadho believes that the real rate of torture and ill-treatment is much higher than documented because so much abuse remains hidden.”

The rights group said that while it is impossible to know the true extent of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in Cambodia, it is clear that they continue to be subjected to abuse in custody, have little recourse, and that those responsible are rarely brought to justice.

“For as long as the Cambodian courts continue to accept confessions obtained under duress, whilst men,women and children continue to be beaten, threatened and maimed in the custody of the state and whilst those who order, facilitate or commit torture do so with impunity, Cambodia’s true commitment to the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment will remain in serious doubt,” Naly Pilorge said.

In its report, Licadho included a dozen recommendations to the Cambodian authorities, including the preparation of specific anti-torture legislation and the establishment of a truly independent National Preventative Mechanism.

It also called for a civilian oversight body to effectively deal with complaints against the police and other law enforcement personnel.

Government reaction

Council of Ministers Secretary of State and spokesman Phay Siphan dismissed Licadho’s report, saying treatment in police stations and prisons was within the law.

“I can’t accept Licadho’s report, because in most of the cases we have complied with the law,” he said.

Last week, Cambodia’s Interior Minister Sar Kheng told U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi, who on Tuesday wrapped up a 10-day fact finding mission to the country, that Cambodian authorities “would not tolerate” the practice of torture in detention.

In December, representatives of the U.N. Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture visited Cambodia for five days, making unannounced visits to places of detention, including prisons, police stations and drug rehabilitation centers.

At the end of the visit, the delegation said that Cambodia had fallen behind in obligations it made to monitor the treatment of prisoners.

It urged Phnom Penh to set up an independent national body to monitor detention centers.

Dissident no stranger to Kingdom

A Thai dissident who has been in and out of Cambodia since beginning a self-imposed exile in 2009 has been appointed a senior officer in an anti-coup organisation launched yesterday.

With a manifesto condemning the Thai military regime’s attempts to turn that country into a “state of fear”, the Organisation of Free Thais for Human Rights and Democracy (FT-HD) announced its arrival.

“This organisation will now become the centre for all Thais who possess an unyielding desire for full democracy, in full compliance with the principles of democracy, universal human rights, international laws, and non-violence,” the group’s letter said. FT-HD, the letter added, would “oppose the military dictatorship and its aristocratic network and establish the people’s complete and unchallenged sovereignty”.

Heavily involved will be Jakrapob Penkair, a former government minister and adviser to Thailand’s ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra. The dissident has assumed the position ofexecutive secretary/spokesman, a position directly below the group’s secretary-general.

Jakrapob, known to have been in Cambodia recently, faces a lese majeste charge in Thailand, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, and accusations that he instigated violence.

He has publicly stated that he and other “anti-junta” dissidents have not been permanent residents in Cambodia and have used the Kingdom only as a transit location to different countries.

Jakrapob declined yesterday to say where the organisation’s base would be.

“No announcement will be made about [FT-HD] headquarters but Minister Charupong is announcing [the group formation] from the United States and I from London, UK,” Jakrapob wrote in an email.

FT-HD’s letter was signed by the group’s secretary-general Charupong Ruangsuwan, who resigned as leader of the Pheu Thai Party less than a week before yesterday’s announcement.

Yesterday, Jakrapob told the Post the organisation consists of eight standing committee members and about 20 other “incognito” constituents.

“We will [now] seek deeper and wider cooperation with countries around the world, while domestic groups are going to be coordinated and enhanced,” Jakrapob wrote. He declined to answer questions about whether Thaksin was involved in or supported the group but confirmed that Robert Amsterdam, best known in Thailand as one of Thaksin’s lawyers, is an “adviser” to the group.

Given its geographical proximity and historic ties to the Shinawatra clan, Cambodia was floated by media outlets as an ideal location for a government-in-exile following the coup.

After being deposed in a coup in 2006 and fleeing to avoid a corruption conviction, Thaksin was made an economic adviser to the Cambodian government and personal adviser to Hun Sen in 2009, a move that led to both nations withdrawing their ambassadors.

The permanent secretary of the junta’s Foreign Affairs Ministry was quick to dismiss the relevance of FT-HD yesterday.

“There is only one legitimate government, that is this administration,” Sihasak Phuangeketkeow said.

Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong reiterated previous statements that no anti-junta political organisations or dissidents were organising or operating in the Kingdom.

Thai dissidents seeking refuge in the Kingdom is nothing new, said Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a professor of South­east Asian studies at Kyoto University.

“I think this has to do with the relations between Hun Sen and the anti-coup elements [operating] inside of Cambodia. This shows the extent to which Cambodia has become involved in Thai politics,” Chachavalpongpun wrote in an email.

But according to independent analyst Peter Tan Keo, Jakrapob’s activities will likely be ignored by the Cambodian government as long as trade between the two countries remains unaffected.

East Sea tensions warned to get out of control

A China Coast Guard ship aggressively firing water cannons at a Vietnamese boat near the rig

Tensions have mounted in the East Sea after China placed its giant floating drilling rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 deep inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in early May. Its escort vessels, including warships, have constantly intimidated and attacked Vietnamese law enforcement boats, injuring people on board and damaging their property.  

Australian Senator Scott Ryan said parties concerned should respect international law and act in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Australia does not take sides but has an interest in maintaining peace and stability, respecting international law and assuring maritime freedom, he said.

He called upon all parties concerned to exercise restraint and avoid additional provocative acts that may further complicate the situation.

The governments need to clarify and follow territorial declarations and maritime rules in line with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, Ryan said.

He suggested that China and ASEAN member countries should promptly conclude a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) a- a more legally binding document to handle territorial disputes in the region.

On June 21, US President Barack Obama urged China and neighbouring nations to peacefully resolve the East Sea dispute and avoid escalating tensions.

"It is important for us to be able to resolve disputes like maritime disputes in accordance with international law, and encourage all parties concerned to maintain a legal framework for resolving issues, as opposed to possible escalation that could have an impact on navigation and commerce," said Obama.

Obama made the statement after meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key at the White House.

For his part, John Key clarified New Zealand’s stance that all parties concerned should fully observe international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, noting this is very crucial to peace and stability in the region and the world at large.

China’s provocative actions in the East Sea continue to grab international headlines. Malaysia’s Star Online on June 22 published an interview with Dr David Arase from the John Hopkins University-Nanjing University-Centre for Chinese and American Studies.

Dr Arase described China’s placement of its oil platform, along with the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing vessel in the disputed area, as a major concern that can cause things to “get out of control”.

According to Arase, China considers the East Sea a strategic area and wants to control security in the region. It recently intensified actions in an attempt to legalise its sovereign claim [the nine-dash line] in the East Sea, but both Chinese officials and scholars are not able to explain their claim.

“What this means is that China’s position is still fluid. Even though it’s being assertive, it’s not yet quite clear about all the details, so this is a great opportunity for the countries in the region to respond,” he said.

Dr Arase suggested that ASEAN should get China to make clear the maritime boundaries which they are claiming before disputes over borders can be resolved.

Voice of Russia recently quoted Vasily Kashin, an expert at Russian Strategic Analysis and Technology Center, warning the US and other regional countries about China’s plan to build an artificial island in the East Sea.

Kashin believes that the artificial island will be large enough for a military base with an airfield and a dock for 5,000-tonne warship and ship.

The New York Times cited Holly Morrow of Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs who notes that China will exploit oil in its waters and others in the neighbouring countries to mislead the public that its operation is normal.

The Philippines’ Inquirer cited Charles Jose, the Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, saying “China’s provocative and unilateral actions have lent credence to the view that it is pursuing an aggressive expansion agenda to advance its nine-dash-line position in the South China Sea [East Sea]”.

Blast kills 21 at plaza in Nigerian capital

An explosion Wednesday afternoon rocked a parking lot at a crowded plaza in Nigeria's capital, killing 21 people and injuring 17 others, authorities said.The blast happened about 4 p.m. in Abuja's "ever-busy Emab Plaza ... at the peak of business," said Ezekiel Manzo, spokesman for Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency.About 40 vehicles were destroyed, in addition to the human toll, he said. In a news release posted online, the Nigerian national police force said the injured were being treated at five hospitals.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for this attack.

Ibrahim Abdullahi told CNN he was in a nearby office when he heard a "loud and terrifying sound."
"When I looked from the window of my office, I saw thick, black smoke enveloped the sky," Abdullahi said. "I could see the raging fire from the blast."Olumide Sanya said the blast shook the nearby building that he was in. "Windows, doors were shattered."The area was evacuated and security personnel managed to take control of the scene, according to Manzo.This was the first part of a wider effort to beef up security around Abuja. The national police's inspector general ordered stepped-up security and surveillance around the capital as part of efforts "to improve overall public safety."

"(Authorities) call on the members of the public to remain vigilant and to stay away from scenes of explosion(s) so as not to fall victim in a likely case of (a) secondary blast," police said.
Nigeria has seen significant violence of late -- most of it centered in northern parts of that African nation and blamed on Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group with a stated aim of imposing strict Sharia law across the country.This includes an attack earlier this month in the Borno state village of Kummabza in which militants killed 30 males and abducted 60 females, some of them girls between the ages of 3 and 12.