Cambodia's opposition ends 3-day protest after delivering petitions to embassies

English.news.cn   2013-10-25 18:29:42

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's opposition party on Friday afternoon wrapped up its three-day mass protest peacefully after it delivered petitions to the United Nations office and foreign embassies to call for their interventions in the country's political crisis since July's election.
"We have successfully conducted the nonviolent mass demonstration. Thank all of you for your time to join with us. Have safe trips back home," Sam Rainsy, president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) spoke to about 20, 000 supporters at the capital's Freedom Park.
During the three-day protest, Sam Rainsy led his supporters to march through streets in the capital to submit petitions to the United Nations office and eight foreign embassies--those of France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Russia, Japan, Indonesia and China.
There was no report of clashes between heavily-deployed security forces and protestors during the demonstration, Kheng Tito, a spokesman for the National Military Police, said Friday.
"It was held peacefully. We hear no report of incidents," he told Xinhua.
The demonstration coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement on Cambodia, which laid the groundwork for UN -sponsored elections in 1993. The countries that received the opposition party's petitions are signatories to the Paris Agreement.
Cambodia held a parliamentary election on July 28. The official results revealed that the ruling party of Prime Minister Hun Sen won the election, but the opposition CNRP refused to accept the results, claiming serious irregularities during the poll and demanding for an independent poll probe.
The government has denied election fraud and rejected the opposition's request for poll investigation.
On Sept. 24, the Cambodian parliament, formed by the ruling party's 68 lawmakers-elect, voted for the establishment of a new government under the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen even though the opposition's 55 lawmakers-elect boycotted the session.
Sam Rainsy said Wednesday that the opposition would continue to boycott parliament unless there was an appropriate solution to the contested election. He said his party did not recognize the Prime Minister Hun Sen-led government, claiming that it was a violation of the constitution.
However, Hun Sen has defended that his government was legitimate since the nation's King Norodom Sihamoni had already given endorsement.
Chan Saveth, head of legal aid for rights group Adhoc, said that the opposition's efforts to seek foreign help in the internal political row were unlikely to succeed.
"In my own opinion, Cambodian politicians are mature enough to sit down and talk together for a solution to the conflict. The opposition should not try to seek foreign intervention," he told Xinhua on Friday. "The opposition and ruling parties should continue dialogues for the sake of the nation."

Editor: An

Cambodia sees 1.48 bln USD trade deficit in 9 months

English.news.cn   2013-10-25 16:19:23

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has seen a trade deficit of 1.48 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of 2013, according to the Commerce Ministry's data on Friday.
The total import and export volume was valued at 11.82 billion U.S. dollars during the January-September period this year, up 20 percent from the 9.88 billion U.S. dollars over the same period last year, the data said.
Export rose by 28 percent to 5.17 billion U.S. dollars, while import went up by 16 percent to 6.65 billion U.S. dollars, leading the trade deficit of 1.48 billion U.S. dollars.
The country's main trading partners are the United States, European countries, China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.
Cambodia exports mainly garments and shoes, dry rubber, milled rice and cassava as it ships in garment raw materials, petroleum, construction materials, automobiles and motorcycles, and pharmaceutical products and cosmetics.
The Southeast Asian nation's economy is supported by garment exports, tourism, agriculture and construction. Garment sector accounted for more than 80 percent of the country's total exports.

Editor: Mengjie

Chinese arts activity to be staged in Cambodia to mark 55th anniversary of ties

English.news.cn   2013-10-25 15:59:45

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- "China Today Arts Week", an art exchange activity is to be staged here Nov. 2-8 to celebrate the 55th anniversary of China-Cambodia diplomatic relations and to promote cultural ties between the two countries, officials said Friday.
More than 40 Chinese artists will perform a series of Chinese traditional songs, dances, acrobatics, and performances in the capital of Cambodia during the "China Today Arts Week", Cao Yuguang, deputy chief of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Division of Asian Affairs International Liaison Department said Friday.
Besides, six renowned Chinese movies will also be screened.
"This will be the first time that the China Today Arts Week comes to Cambodia," he told a news conference. "The event aims to celebrate the 55th anniversary of China-Cambodia diplomatic relations and to further promote cultural ties between the two countries."
The performance will be held in the evenings of Nov. 4 and 5 at the capital's Chaktomuk Theater and the films on Nov. 3-7 at the Lux Cinema.
Cao said the movies included The Smile of Angkor, The Piano In a Factory, Mother, Love On Gallery Bridge, Thangs Ka, and Immortal Love.
The Smile of Angkor featured the marvel of the ancient Angkor Wat temple, Cambodia's World Heritage Site, and the natural landscapes in and around the temple, he said.
"All the films had been dubbed into Khmer language so that Cambodian people can freely enjoy the movies," he said, adding that tickets are for free.
Li Zhigong, political counselor at the Chinese Embassy to Cambodia, said the culture exchanges were very important to strengthen mutual understanding and create closer ties between the two peoples.
China Today Arts Week will be the largest and most inclusive of its kind in the history of cultural exchanges between Cambodia and China.
Samrang Kamsan, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, said the event will enable the peoples of the two countries to better understand each other's respective cultures, customs and traditions.
"This will be another milestone in Cambodia-China cultural ties, " he said at the news conference. "Cambodian and Chinese artists will have a chance to meet and exchange their experiences."
In exchange, Samrang Kamsan said 35 Cambodian artists, led by Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeung Leakhana, will start a weeklong art performance and Khmer movie screening in Guangzhou, southern China on Nov. 21-27.

Editor: An

Cambodia unveils statue of late King Father Norodom Sihanouk

English.news.cn   2013-10-11 10:42:20

People attend the inauguration ceremony of a statue of late King Father Norodom Sihanouk in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Oct. 11, 2013. Cambodia inaugurated a bronze statue commemorating late King Father Norodom Sihanouk on Friday, four days before the anniversary of his death. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Friday inaugurated a bronze statue commemorating the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, just four days before the one-year anniversary of his death.
The inauguration ceremony was presided over by King Norodom Sihamoni and his mother Queen Mother Norodom Monineath and was attended by President of the National Assembly Heng Samrin, Prime Minister Hun Sen, members of the Senate, the National Assembly, and the Government as well as diplomatic corps.
The 4.5-meter-tall statue, built under a 27-meter-tall memorial stupa, is situated in a public park across from Prime Minister Hun Sen's house and just east of the Independence Monument.
The larger-than-life statue depicted the King Father wearing a dark business suit.
"The statue is to express gratitude and to commemorate late Former King Norodom Sihanouk, the father of independence, territorial integrity, and national unity," Prime Minister Hun Sen said at the ceremony, which was live televised on all local TV channels.
"The inauguration of the statue is to prepare for the commemoration of the first anniversary of his death on Oct. 15," he said.
The premier added that the statue would be the venue for Cambodian people and foreign guests to pay homage.
Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Sok An said at the event that the statue construction took eight months to be completed, costing one million U.S. dollars.
The country's most revered King Father Norodom Sihanouk died of illness at the age of 90 in Beijing on Oct. 15, 2012. He suffered from various forms of cancer, diabetes and hypertension and had been treated by Chinese doctors in Beijing for years before his death.
Sihanouk reigned the country from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his voluntary abdication in 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni.
He was the king who led the country to gain independence from France in 1953.

Cambodia to establish first civil aviation school

English.news.cn   2013-10-12 18:50:30

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia planned to set up the first ever Civil Aviation Training Center with South Korean assistance in order to boost development of air transport industry and tourism, a spokesman said Saturday.
"South Korea agreed to provide 10.1 million U.S. dollars in grant aid to Cambodia for the project," Ek Tha, deputy director of the Press Unit of the Council of Ministers, told Xinhua.
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Sok An and Baek Sook Hee, head of the Korean International Cooperation Agency in Cambodia, signed the project agreement on Friday, he said.
"The center will provide Cambodia with ability and mechanism to develop aviation human resources and it will maximize the aviation sector's vital contribution to the socio-economic development of Cambodia," Ek Tha said.
The construction of the center will start in the second half of 2014 in the eastern compound of the Phnom Penh International Airport on the area of 8,000 square meters, he said.
The construction will be completed in a year with necessary facilities for training airline staff, he said. South Korea will dispatch its experts and instructors to train Cambodian airline crew at the center until 2017.
Cambodia received 4.3 million air passengers in 2012, up 14.7 percent year-on-year, according to the data of the Cambodia Airports.

Editor: chengyang

Flood forces Cambodia to cancel Water Festival

English.news.cn   2013-10-06 18:26:00

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia announced Sunday to cancel the annual Water Festival next month since the country has been hit hard by Mekong flash floods, the government said in a statement on Sunday.
"This year, Mekong floods have been severely hitting Cambodia, claiming human lives and inundating houses, schools, pagodas, hospitals, roads and crops," said the statement signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen.
"Now, water situation is still in an alarming level and needs to be given high attention to in order to avoid any possible dangers."
"To focus on flood issues, the government decides to suspend the celebration of Water Festival, which is planned on Nov. 16-18 on Tonle Sap River in front of the Royal Palace," it said
The statement added that despite the cancellation of the festival, civil servants, employees and workers can still enjoy a 3-day holiday on that occasion.
Keo Vy, spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), said Sunday that floods have been affecting 15 out of the kingdom's 24 cities and provinces in the last three weeks and have killed at least 39 people.
Besides death toll, the floods have affected more than 130,000 families and forced over 10,000 families to flee homes for higher grounds as some 160,200 hectares of rice paddy have been under water, he said.
Water Festival is the largest annual festival in the Southeast Asian nation. Around 3 million Cambodians, especially those from rural areas, converge in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, to enjoy the regatta.
It is the third consecutive year that the country has canceled the festival.
The cancellation in 2011 was due to flood devastation, which killed at least 250 people and the cancellation in 2012 was due to the death of former King Norodom Sihanouk in October.

Editor: Fang Yang

Cambodia marks traditional Pchhum Ben, or honoring-the-dead festival

Buddhists prepare food for monks at a pagoda during the traditional Pchhum Ben, or honoring-the-dead festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Oct. 4, 2013. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

English.news.cn   2013-10-04 13:50:46

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has been celebrating its traditional Pchhum Ben festival, the country's 2nd largest traditional celebration, which has fallen on Oct. 3-5.
The festival is to honor the dead through offering food and other stuff to the souls of spirits, ancestors and the dead through reciting by Buddhist monks.
During the 3-day jubilant occasion of Pchhum Ben, Buddhist followers bring food, fruit, money, candles and incense sticks to offer to Buddhist monks at pagodas in order to dedicate to their dead relatives and wish for longevity, good luck, happiness and prosperity.
"This is our tradition and belief, all my family members have practiced this tradition from generation to generation," Chhim Savay, 58, a Phnom Penh resident said Friday while celebrating the festival at a pagoda.
"We believe that everything we offer to the monks would reach our dead relatives."
Buddhism is the country's state religion with more than 90 percent of the country's 14.7 million people being Buddhists.
The Southeast Asian nation has some 4,400 Buddhist pagodas with over 50,000 monks in all 24 provinces and cities, according to the Ministry of Cults and Religion.
Pchhum Ben festival is also a time for family re-union.
About 80 percent of the population has resided in rural areas, but most young adults have migrated to cities for jobs. On that occasion, migrant workers have been allowed a three-day holiday to visit their hometowns.
This year's celebration was made as Mekong River and flash floods have been hitting most parts of the country. The floods have killed at least 39 people and affected more than 100,000 families in the past few weeks, according to a report from the National Committee for Disaster Management on Thursday.

Editor: Zhu Ningzhu