Cambodian government received loan from China last year in order to build second port located in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district. And China-based Shanghai Construction has been contracted for the first stage of construction covering an area of 12 hectares. The second stage will cover another 8 hectares.

The first US$28 million stage of the two-stage build – slated to begin in September and take 22 months to complete – will create a total capacity of 120,000 TEUs per year once complete. That figure will increase to 300,000 TEUs once the second stage is finished.

Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen signed deals with the Chinese government worth US$850 to spend on development projects on October 15 in Cambodia. Around $68 million of loans was slated for the development of Phnom Penh’s port capacity.

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Ministry of Health issued announcement in January to all municipal and provincial health officials a deadline of February to take action against illegal pharmacies across the nation.

Sok Sokun, director of the Phnom Penh Health Department, said that there are 528 licenced pharmacies and 116 illegal ones in Phnom Penh, reported the Post.

Complicating matters, however, is the fact that many owners operating illegal pharmacies are actually also running licenced medical clinics. “We have [licenced] them to operate clinics, but they are not allowed to open pharmacies,” added he.

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Recently, CAA bought a new-brand ATR-72 aircraft, which was manufactured by a French-Italian company. After launching, it has hired two ATR-72 and an Airbus A-320 from its joint-venture partner.

At the present, CAA has five flights between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap province, and three daily flights between Siem Reap to Saigon and other two flights from Phnom Penh to Saigon per day.

Soy Sokhan, under-secretary at the Secretariat of Civil Aviation, who oversees CAA matters, was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying that “we brought a brand-new ATR-72 to get it registered for an AOC on February 12. It is currently being operated on the Phnom Penh-to-Siem Reap route.”

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“We are really concerned about illegal pharmacies because they negatively affect people’s health,” the Phnom Penh Post quoted Uoch Sam, deputy director of the Phnom Penh Municipal Health Department, as saying that.

“Unlicensed pharmacies are mostly owned by non-qualified pharmacists. Some medicines are expired, so there is no quality control” added he.

Chan Sam An, deputy governor of Phnom Penh, said it is vital that health officials work with authorities in each of the city’s eight districts to approach the remaining unlicensed pharmacies and advise them to register at the Ministry of Public Health, according to the Post.

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There are more than 60,000 vehicles have been temporarily confiscated since 1st August. And motorcycle drivers have been required to buy helmet and to place rear mirror.

Hem Ya, deputy chief of the Phnom Penh Police Commissariat, was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying that “I think that so far, 80 percent of Cambodian people respect the traffic law. the other 20 percent, mostly teenagers under the age of 25, don’t seem to respect the law and don’t want to wear helmets.”

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Hang Chakra had originally been summoned to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on June 3 to answer questions regarding controversial articles published in his newspaper. During Chakra’s interview, details of informants inside the Council of Ministers who were the source for the stories remained anonymous with Hang Chakra refusing to identify them to the court, as allowed under Article 2 of the Press Law.

His questioning came after the government filed a complaint in response to the articles published by Khmer Machah Srok in April and May 2009 about Senior Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, also head of the Council of Ministers.

The articles in question detail the alleged demotion and firing due to corruption of officials who worked with Sok An in the Council of Ministers. Upon filing the complaint, the government claimed that the articles could affect political stability in the country.

This was not the first time that Hang Chakra and his newspaper, one of the few media outlets not controlled by the ruling party, have come under fire from the government in recent years:

• In July 2008, an opposition defector and government advisor Sok Pheng threatened to sue Hang Chakra after the paper published an article alleging that Sok Pheng was involved in corrupt activities.

• In January 2008 Hang Chakra was questioned by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court after Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh filed a defamation lawsuit against him in relation to an article that alleged Cham Prasidh had had an extramarital affair.

Restricting Freedom of Expression
The government and the courts have been criticized repeatedly for resorting to the use of defamation and disinformation charges under the UNTAC Criminal Code (Articles 63 and 62, respectively) to restrict the freedom of expression. Courts’ judges also continue to ignore the more recent 1995 Press Law, a civil law that was specifically enacted to regulate the print media; it contains less severe penalties than the UNTAC Criminal Code and offers the media some protections.

Although in May 2006 the UNTAC Criminal Code was amended to remove prison sentences for the charge of defamation after broad national and international pressure. It however still remains a criminal offense for which suspects can be arrested: a person convicted of defamation may still be imprisoned should they be unable to pay the fine, which can be as high as 10 million riel (USD $2,500) – a sum most Cambodians would have little hope of being able to pay.

After the amendment to the UNTAC code, the courts favored disinformation over defamation against government critics, the former still leading to imprisonment. While disinformation requires a high standard of proof – requiring the prosecution to prove that false information is published with malicious intent and poses a real threat to public peace – the reality is different and the courts freely convict journalists with little or no evidence when asked to do so.

LICADHO urges the government to remove both criminal defamation and disinformation charges entirely from the UNTAC Criminal Code as well as insuring the absence of such charges in the new draft of the Criminal Code currently before the National Assembly.

The government is also urged to cease pressuring the courts to restrict the freedom of expression in Cambodia. In particular, the court needs to cease its misuse of the UNTAC Criminal Code in favor of the Press Law to prosecute members of the media, and to do so independently.

As the Cambodian Constitution guarantees, all Cambodians have the right to express their opinions and to freely participate in debate about government policies and practices.

(this article source is from Licadho)

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