Authorities urged to ensure violence-free elections

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen has called on authorities at all levels and the armed forces to ensure order and security for the upcoming elections.

The appeal came just three days before political parties kick off their one-month campaign to shore up support from voters.

The premier said he wanted to see the upcoming elections take place without any violence.

“Local authorities at all levels and the armed forces must do their best to ensure security and order for the election so that it is free from violence,” the premier said today from Kampong Cham province where he presided over an inauguration ceremony.

The prime minister, meanwhile, thanked people as well as political parties for their patience and preventing violence during the elections.

The premier said during the previous elections, some cases of violence did occur, but so far for this year’s elections, there had not been any violence.

Cambodia will conduct its fifth legislative general election on July 28, costing around 20 million dollars. And the election campaign will kick off on June 27^th and last for a month.

9.6m eligible voters are expected to turn out to cast their ballots.

In the general elections in 2008, Cambodia’s ruling party the Cambodian People’s Party won a landslide victory, and held up to 90 out of 123 seats in the parliament.

And this year, the ruling party is expected to continue its winning streak in the elections. 

French broadcaster opens office in Cambodia

Radio France International (RFI) has launched its office in Phnom Penh ahead of the country’s national elections in July.

RFI has also increasing hours of its Khmer language broadcasts from one to fourteen hours a day. 

Presiding over the opening of the new RFI office, Information Minister Excellency Khieu Kanharith said the government permitted RFI to open its Cambodia office because it deemed the French broadcaster is professional.

The minister says, “There are two broadcasters that we think are professional. One is Radio France International and the other is ABC Australia. Their analyses are accurate. Not everything is wrong and everything is against the government. That’s why the government has decided to allow RFI to open its office in Cambodia so that our Khmer people will understand what a real professional press is.”

RFI president Marie Christine Saragosse said the French government decided to increase Khmer language broadcasts because of the success and popularity of the one-hour broadcast.  

 
The French government-owned RFI received a broadcasting license from the Cambodian government in 1992.

PM denies having facebook account

Cambodian prime minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen announced that he has never had any facebook account. The premier made the announcement today while inaugurating a school building in Kandal province. 

The prime minister said he read books, review documents and play chess during his free time.

The premier’s facebook account denial is apparently in response to a recent announcement by the opposition party declaring their leader’s victory over the prime minister in a popular vote on Facebook.

The prime minister said if he has a facebook account, his page will be more popular than that belongs to the opposition leader because the CPP has more supporters than the opposition does.

The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) which the prime minister belongs to looks set to win the upcoming elections, some analysts say. 

Statistics from a recent survey by the International Republican Institute showed that 77 per cent of the voters were either voting for or likely to vote for the CPP in the July elections.

Spectacular road to northeastern province of Ratanakkiri

Over the weekend, I had a chance to join a group of journalists for a tour to Ratanakkiri. It's a long journey - some 570 kilometers from capital Phnom Penh. And it's a working trip so I didn't have time to explore tourist attractions in the province. Here are some pictures that were taken along the road.

Doctor warns against staying too late at night with Facebook

In Western countries, research has found that social network sites such as Facebook could be addictive. And some even sought treatment for Facebook addiction.

Here in Cambodia, a healthcare expert has recently warned against staying up late at night with social network sites.

The expert says insufficient sleep as a result of using Facebook could affect one’s health.

CNC interview with Janet Steele, professor of journalism from George Washington University, United States

Recently, a professor of journalism from George Washington University, United States, was on a five-day visit to Cambodia.
During the visit, Janet Steele has had a number of meetings with Cambodian journalists and talked to media students at a few universities in Phnom Penh.

CNC’s Ung Chan Sophea has sat down with Professor Janet Steele to discuss press freedom and the importance of an independent press in a democracy.

The professor also talked about the difference between social media such as Facebook and journalism. And later in the interview, she has also given her advice to those who want to become journalists.

In Kratie, there’s plenty to explore

If you talk about Kratie, people will quickly think of the Mekong dolphins, Kampi resort, 100-pillar temple et cetera.

Upon arrival at the Kratie town, if you continue your journey of another 15 kilometers north of the town, you will reach one of the most popular tourist attractions in the province. That’s Kampi resort – well known for its swirling water – where you can have an ideal picnic and a view of Asia’s rare Mekong dolphins.

Every year, from January to late April or early May, water level at the Kampi resort is shallow enough for a wooden bridge to be constructed across the river and thatch-roofed huts built for the convenience of holiday-goers.

At thatched huts or kiosks built on wooden stilts over the river, people enjoy their freshly cooked food of fresh fish; some happily bathe in cool water and others relax on a hammock breathing in fresh air while listening to the sound of flowing water and occasional laughter of the nearby holiday-goers.

Kimsieng, in her 40s, is from neighboring Kampong Cham province.

“I come to visit here every year. I feel happy. The water is cold,” she says.

A man by the name of Ny, in his 40s, is also from Kampong Cham province. He says he often takes his family to the Kampi resort when time allows.

“I visit here once a year. I like the cold water here. As my family’s living condition is improving, we can travel to many resorts around the country,” says Ny while bathing nearby his kiosk.

Kampi resort is only open to tourists from January to late April or early May when the water level of the river is shallow.

On weekdays, the resort welcomes local and foreign visitors in their hundreds, but during main public holidays such as Khmer New Year holiday, the resort attracts thousands of holiday-goers coming each day.

In fact, according to Mom Kunthy from the provincial office of tourism, on the first day of the Khmer New Year holidays, the resort received roughly 7,000 visitors, about 10,000 visitors on the second day and approximately 4,000 to 5,000 visitors on the third day.

 
In addition to being a tourist attraction, Kampi resort also provide seasonal jobs for local residents who generate their income from selling food and tokens of souvenir to the visitors.

In the afternoon, when you finish your picnic and bathing at the Kampi swirling water resort, you can continue a journey of around one kilometer to see the endangered Mekong dolphins nearby.

At the dolphin seeing place, foreign tourists are required to buy entrance tickets while local visitors are not. However, everyone has to rent a boat if they want to have a close view of the dolphins. The boat rent may cost 10 dollars for four to six people per boat.

Most of the boat pilots are former fishermen. They have been turned from the persons who threaten endangered Irrawaddy dolphins (or Mekong dolphins) into protectors of the species. They earn from guiding tourists with their boats to see dolphins in the river.

Besides the Kampi resort and dolphins, there are many other tourist attractions around the province including Koh Trong, one-hundred-pillar temple, islands and waterfalls. 

So if you want to explore other resorts around Kratie, you may be required to stay one or two nights.

Some facts about Kratie:

Kratie is located some 340 kilometers northeast of the capital Phnom Penh if you take national road #7. However, it’s just approximately 240 kilometers if you take a shortcut at Dambe district, Kampong Cham province. The Mekong River flows from the north to the south of the province in the approximate length of 140 kilometers.Kratie is administratively divided into five districts, one town, 46 communes and 250 villages with the total population of 331,592.