Bodies greeted by ceremony

Shrouded in flags, the bodies of two Cambodians deployed on a UN peacekeeping mission in the West African nation of Mali returned to the Kingdom last night to a crowd of nearly 100 civilians and men and women in the armed services.

An hour before the plane landed at Phnom Penh International Airport at 7:25pm, men and women dressed in fatigues waited alongside family members of Ny Nol, 32, and Meak Sereyvatana, 26, who died from suspected food poisoning on June 10.

“Both men are good friends to our armed forces . . . they were always friendly and took care of their friends and co-workers. We are very proud that they jointly served us [Cambodia] and Mali’s people under the United Nations,” said Sem Sovanny, director-general of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces’ National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces, Mine and Explosive Remnants of War Clearance.

The deaths mark the first loss of Cambodian soldiers in eight years of UN peacekeeping missions, Sovanny added.

A portrait of a UN peacekeeper who died in Mali sits in front of his coffin at Phnom Penh International Airport last night. Vireak Mai

While the official cause of death has yet to be confirmed, Sovanny maintained last night that both men died of food poisoning and that authorities were “waiting for the results of the UN investigation”.

Saffron robes dotted the crowd of solemn men and women as the two wooden caskets were escorted down a red carpet. Nol’s body was transported to Kampong Thom’s Baray district and the body of Sereyvatana will be taken to Phnom Penh’s Wat Than pagoda, family members said last night.

“We requested through the government that UN officials not perform an autopsy on my son’s body. We demanded the body remain whole, because if some piece becomes lost he will not be reborn again,” said Sereyvatana’s father Meak Timchenda, 42.

“This is Cambodian culture,” affirmed his wife, Chan Pichery, 46, who last saw her son three months ago.

Ny Taing In, 28, the younger brother of Nol, reiterated his family’s request that Nol’s body be returned “untouched”.

“My family did not ask for an autopsy, but we did ask the government to intervene and keep the body of my brother whole,” Taing In said.

Last week, a UN spokesman for the UN mission, known as MINUSMA, confirmed that Cambodian authorities had requested autopsies not be performed.

As the bodies of the two men were shouldered by their fellow countrymen, and the sound of drumming grew louder, a cousin of Nol quietly clasped her hands in the rain as the skies opened.

“We are very proud,” Un Chhun Ieng, 27, said.

Behind closed cell doors

Torture and ill-treatment are rife in Cambodia’s police stations and prisons, with women, children and the mentally ill among those targeted, and no signs of the abuse subsiding, a new report from rights group Licadho says.

Released today to mark the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the report references allegations from more than 500 people of abuses ranging from beatings to threats of nail extraction and electric shocks since Licadho began compiling figures in 2008.

It’s a figure the rights group says does not begin to touch on the true scale of the problem.

The abuse comes at the hands of “police and other security forces at the point of arrest and during transit to police stations. Once in prison, inmates are not only subject to abuse by guards but also by other inmates, often under the direct order or with the acquiescence of prison authorities,” the report states.

In the first four months of this year alone, Licadho says it heard 49 allegations of torture and ill-treatment.

“In 2014, detainees were slapped, kicked in the ribs and chest, and beaten on the head and torso with sticks and electro-shock batons. Police officers stamped on detainees’ hands and, in one case, covered a man’s head with a plastic bag whilst he was lying on the floor, stamped on his body and kicked him repeatedly in the ribs,” the report says.

As in previous years, one of the main purposes of abuse was the forced extraction of confessions or money, it adds.

“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 Licadho director Naly Pilorge.

But Chet Vanny, deputy police chief for Battambang province, said he did not believe that police in Cambodia ever coerced confessions from suspects.

“If a suspect doesn’t confess and we have evidence, we show it to him and just ask repeatedly if he now confesses. It’s not coercion. As you know, this is a modern society and there is no such thing as torture or violence happening during the questioning of suspects,” he said.

In the report, Licadho says it is “not aware of any successful prosecutions of law enforcement officials for torture related crimes in recent years”, adding that the number of administrative complaints and investigations within prisons is also low.

Kuy Bunsorn, director general of the prison department at the Ministry of Interior, said that this was because torture and ill-treatment were simply not an issue.

“I’m not really interested in their report. Our government has worked hard to improve prison conditions to follow national and international laws,” he said.

National Police spokesman Kirt Chantharith could not be reached yesterday.

But, according to Licadho, while “there has clearly been significant progress towards reducing levels of torture in Cambodia in the decades since Khmer Rouge rule, such progress appears to have stalled completely in recent years”.

The report notes that Cambodia has failed to establish an independent National Preventative Mechanism to monitor and prevent torture and ill-treatment in places of detention as required under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), which it ratified seven years ago.

And while “levels of torture and ill-treatment in Cambodia remain high … avenues for complaint are limited and … those responsible for abuse are rarely punished”, the report says.

One of the most high-profile instances of alleged abuse this year came from the 23 union leaders, workers and activists who were violently arrested during deadly clashes at a garment strike in early January.

One of the 23, 31-year-old Yong Sam Orn, told the Post yesterday of abuse and humiliation when he was taken to Kampong Cham province’s remote Correctional Center3 (CC3) prison following his arrest.

“When we arrived at CC3, our clothes were stripped. We were naked and [forced to put] our hands behind our heads. [The police] walked with batons behind us into the rooms and we were forced to look at the ground. We looked like animals. They threatened us when we were walking, saying that if we dared to look up, we would be beaten,” he said.

“It is such an inhumane act … prisoners are also humans.”

Two missile ships launched in Saigon, U.S. naval ship anchors in Nha Trang for maintenance

A rocket-class versatile ship built by Ba Son Corporation.

The vessels, named M3 and M4, were built by Ba Son Corporation, a subsidiary of the General Department of DefenseIndustry.

The same day, Ba Son Corporation also completed the assembly of another rocket-class versatile vessel named M5.

In early 2013, the first two ships of this generation – M1 and M2 - were launched and handed over to the Navy by this corporation.

According to Ba Son Corporation, these are the most modern ships built at home for the Navy.

 

The USNS Cesar Chavez.

In another news, on Tuesday, the cargo ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14) of the U.S. Navy anchored in the Nha Trang Bay of the central province of Khanh Hoa, reported the border guard station at the Nha Trang Port.

The USNS Cesar Chavez, with 114 crew members, will stay in Nha Trang Bay in 15 days for maintenance by the Cam Ranh Shipyard.

This is a heavy cargo ship of the U.S. Navy that was launched in May 2012, with a tonnage of 41,000 tons, a length of 210 m, a width of 32.2 m, a speed of 20 nautical miles per hour. It can carry two helicopters.

Sri Lanka scholars supportive of Vietnam in East Sea issue

The Chinese rig’s illegal presence in Vietnam’s waters from early May has stoked public outrage at home and abroad,Vietnamese Ambassador Ton Sinh Thanh told participants, adding that it poses a threat to peace, stability, maritime security and safety in the East Sea.

He condemned the act as a serious violation of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea.

While urging China to pull its rig out of the area, Vietnam has exercised its utmost restraint and sought to talk with China on over 30 occasions. Meanwhile, the neighbour, apart from turning down the offer, has deployed a large number of military ships to the rig site to intimidate, encircle and even brazenly ram into Vietnamese fisheries surveillance and fishing boats, he pointed out.

Chairman of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka Raja Collure voiced his support to Vietnam’s peaceful means in the process, saying that parties concerned should sit together for talks to peacefully address the issue.

Lawyer M.A. Razwi, in his speech, traced back Vietnam’s long history of managing and exercising its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, citing the building of a lighthouse there in 1889 under the instruction of Governor General of French Indochina Paul Doumer.

He also denounced China’s use of force to occupy Hoang Sa archipelago in 1974 as illegal.

Thiyagarajah, a student from Bishop college, suggested holding more public activities, including workshops of this kind to expose the true nature of the issue to the world community and rally their support to Vietnam.

Ambassador Thanh also answered relevant queries at the event, making it clear that China has claimed a nine-dash line to turn the non-disputed waters into disputed waters.

He dismissed China’s argument that Vietnam has recently quested for sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly), saying that the country has sufficient historical evidence proving its peaceful and continuous management over the two archipelagos.

In 1954-1975, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa were under the control of the southern administration. Since Vietnam’s reunification in 1975, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has inherited the sovereignty over the two archipelagos, he said.

At the beginning of May, China illegally dispatched its oil rig and a large fleet of armed vessels, military ships and aircraft to Vietnam’s waters and positioned the rig at 15 degrees 29 minutes 58 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 12 minutes 06 seconds east longitude, 80 miles deep into Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

Despite Vietnam’s protest, China expanded its scale of operation and moved the rig to 15 degrees 33 minutes 36 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 34 minutes 11 seconds east longitude, 60 nautical miles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

On June 24, China sent 102 – 108 vessels, including six military ships, to protect its rig and harass Vietnamese ships.

Braving China’s aggressive acts, Vietnamese ships still stayed there to perform their law enforcement duties.

Russian lawmakers revoke Putin's power to use military in Ukraine

Russia's upper house of parliament voted Wednesday to revoke the right of President Vladimir Putin to use troops in Ukraine as efforts continue to calm a separatist uprising in Ukraine's east.The Federation Council had approved Putin's request for a resolution allowing the use of force on March 1.But Tuesday, Putin sent a letter to the speaker of the upper house seeking to cancel the resolution. One lawmaker voted against revoking the powers Wednesday, with 153 in favor.Putin's request was made in light of ongoing talks on how to settle the crisis in Ukraine's eastern regions, said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a tense standoff since March when Russia annexed the previously Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and massed troops along other parts of its border with Ukraine.


Ukraine's new President, Petro Poroshenko, declared a cease-fire last week in Kiev's fight against pro-Russia separatists in an effort to calm the situation.The violence continued Tuesday when Ukrainian authorities said pro-Russia militants shot down a military helicopter in eastern Ukraine, killing nine.
However, peace talks involving representatives from all sides were under way Wednesday in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, Ukraine's official Ukrinform news agency said.Those participating included Ukrainian government officials, pro-Russia separatists from the restive eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions, Russian officials and members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States and Europe plan on additional sanctions against Russia, depending on what choices it makes ahead.Asked if the parliament vote to revoke Putin's power to use force in Ukraine was sufficient action to delay sanctions, Kerry said that he needed to see more.

The parliamentary action is a positive step, Kerry said, but it could be easily reversed.
The greatest difference will be made when Putin publicly calls for separatists in Ukraine to lay down their arms, Kerry said.NATO chief: Peace plan a step forwardNATO foreign ministers on Wednesday endorsed a package of support strengthening the ability of Ukraine, which is not a member of the alliance, to defend itself.Agreed to after talks in Belgium with Ukraine's new foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin, the package includes "the creation of new trust funds to support defense capacity building in critical areas such as logistics, command and control, cyber defense and to help retired military personnel to adapt to civilian life," according to NATO."Ukraine has a clear vision for rebuilding its defense and security sector and a clear strategy for resolving the crisis," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

The ministers from the 28 NATO members -- some of whom are former Soviet states whose nerves have been frayed by Russia's actions against Ukraine -- also agreed to maintain the suspension of practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia."There will be no business as usual with Russia until Russia comes back into line with its international obligations," Rasmussen said.Coordinated sanctionsKerry met with Klimkin ahead of Wednesday's talks.Kerry also met Tuesday evening with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and representatives of other world powers, a senior State Department official said.Kerry discussed their joint support for Poroshenko's peace plan and the importance of preparing additional coordinated sanctions if Putin does not take further steps, the official said.

The United States and European Union have already imposed targeted economic sanctions against certain Russians and companies over Russia's activities in Ukraine.The resolution authorizing Russia to use force in Ukraine was passed three weeks before Russia completed its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, which other world powers condemned.Read: Ukrainian helicopter shot down days after cease-fire, official says
Read: Ukrainian border guards hurt in separatist attack on 1st day of cease-fire