REAKSMEY KONGKEA

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA One of the University of Cambodia’s Samdech Techo Hun Sen “Vision 100”scholarship students, Peou Sopheak, 19, has provided an interview to the Cambodia Weekly on February 19. Sopeak was born in 1988 in Phnom Penh and has two sisters and one brother. He is now studying International Relations at the University of Cambodia (UC). Sopeak passed the scholarship exams offered by the University of Cambodia and the Institute of Foreign Language in Phnom Penh in 2008. “I am very happy because I passed the scholarship exams from the University of Cambodia and Institute of Foreign Language in 2008. I think that I passed the two scholarship exams because of my study and hard work,” he told the Cambodia Weekly on February 19. Sopheak pointed out that he studied at the Indratevy High School in Phnom Penh, earning a Baccalaureate in 2008. He applied to study International Relations at UC following the introduction of the Samdech Techo Hun Sen “Vision 100”scholarship in 2008. ...

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Khmer Traditional Arts Paintings Exhibition will open its doors for ten days over 19th to 28th February in Phnom Penh. The venue will be the Department of Plastic Arts and Handicrafts in the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. It was organized by Chhim Sothy, professional painter, with support from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (MoCFA). “I am proud to be involved with such a rich and wide ranging exhibition,” said Meng Hour, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. “I think these paintings will provide an insight for both national and international visitors into the importance and values of Khmer identification and culture,” he said. The Secretary of State added that the exhibition had helped his ministry place the preservation of traditional arts and culture back into the spotlight highlighted the value of the arts and handcrafts in Cambodia. “I support his art works and I appeal to national and international visitors to buy his ...

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Cambodia plans to send a team of five “vulnerable” child football players to the “Homeless World Cup Competition” scheduled for September 2009. This international competition will take place in Italy, according to Py Sophon, Country Director of the Riverkid Foundation Project, a local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) formed in 2007. The Country Director said there are over 50 vulnerable children training very hard every weekend at Boeng Trabaek High School in Phnom Penh. He said all the contenders are former street children and orphans and they are currently unable to go school. “We are going to send the five children to the Homeless World Cup 2009, and the main objective of participation is to compete with foreign teams to gain honor and medals back to Cambodia,” he told the Cambodia Weekly February 18. The Country Director said the children were collected from streets and dumpsites in Phnom Penh and they are now receiving financial support from three NGOs ...

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Cambodian Red Cross President and Honorary President of the National Committee for Social Morality, Women’s Values and Khmer Family Values, Bun Rany Hun Sen, has appealed to relevant authorities to take action in combating pornography. Recently, the production of this material has been on the increase in Phnom Penh. The President Bun Rany said that inappropriate movies were show regularly in private coffee shops across the nation, in addition to the pictures that have been published in magazines for sale nationwide. “Pornography is a contributing factor in cases of rape and trafficking and this is especially infuriating when the victims are children,” she said during opening remarks delivered to the National Committee’s Annual Congress on February 16 in Phnom Penh. The President said pornography is also spread across the country via mobile phones. She said these activities should be eradicated as they undermine Khmer culture and traditions and create an env...

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Literary Author’s Conference for Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao will be held over 5 days from 19th-23rd February in Phnom Penh. The conference is organized by the Khmer Writers’ Association (KWA), a local association formed in 1993 and supported by the Cambodia Council of Ministers. Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers said the conference will promote and preserve the literary heritage of Cambodia. The Deputy Prime Minister said the conference will also provide an opportunity for the neighboring countries’ authors to learn about literature, writing, culture, customs, civilizations and progress in each country. “I appreciate the Conference because this is an opportunity for writers to debate topics on culture and literature preservation,” he said. “I hope through this conference, they can also gain a deeper insight into the importance and values of the culture and civilizations of each country,” he added....

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Royal Government of Cambodia plans to lift an ancient shipwreck, along with other artifacts which sank of the coast of Koh Kong Province. The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (MoCFA) has further plans to build a huge museum to house the ship later on this year. Khim Sarith, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, said that according to recent research conducted by his Ministry and the Shipwreck Research and Salvage Committee, a centuries-old vessel was discovered off the Southwestern coast of Koh Kong Province. The Secretary of State said the ship is believed to be a wooden sailing ship laden with pottery and other artifacts that sunk during the 15th or 16th century. He continued that the ship which is 30 meters long and 8 meters wide, has not been identified but hundreds of fragments of ceramics, jars and pottery have been recovered from it. He said that the ship sank in over 30 meters of water. He pointed out that there had been pre...

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Noun Pichsoudeny, 18, is one of the University of Cambodia’s Samdech Techo Hun Sen “Vision 100”scholarship students and has spent time to provide an interview to the Cambodia Weekly on February 11. The youngest novel writer in Cambodia was born in 1989 in Pailin and has one sister and one brother. She is now studying Economics at the University of Cambodia (UC). Pichsoudeny is well-known as the youngest student writer in the Kingdom of Cambodia after her four novels were published and bought by many readers. The books continue to be sold at book shops throughout the country. “I have read Khmer novels, short stories and magazines since I was 7 years old. I have probably read over three 300 books so far,” she said. Pichsoudeny continued that from 2006 until 2008, she had written a total of six novels four of which have been published and a further two novels awaiting publication. “I was able to write novels and other short stories since grade six at Primary Schoo...

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The long-awaited trial of Kaing Guek Eav alias “Duch”, the chief of the infamous Tuol Sleng S-21 Prison, where thousands of Cambodians were tortured and killed, is scheduled to begin on Tuesday at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), said Reach Sambath, Press Officer of ECCC. Sambath said “Duch” is the first of five Khmer Rouge leaders to be tried for their roles in the regime that killed as many as two million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979. He said the Initial Hearing for Duch's trial will start at 9am on February 17th at the ECCC and will also be broadcast live over TVK and Cambodian Television Network (CTN). It will also be aired by National Radio AM 96. “At the Initial Hearing on Tuesday, the judges will decide on the nature of participation of “civil parties”, or “victims” who have asked to be included in the proceedings. Neither the accused persons, nor any witnesses, experts, or Civil Parties will speak at the Initial Heari...

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Ministry of Health’s Secretary of State Dr. Te Kuyseang has estimated that 90 percent of Cambodian children suffer from tooth decay and other diseases of the teeth and gums. He said the scope of the dental hygiene problem was much worse compared to other countries in Southeast Asia. The Secretary of State said that according to research conducted by the Department of Preventive Medicine in the Ministry of Health in 2008, 90 percent of Cambodia’s children suffer tooth decay. “I have observed that many Cambodian children have tooth decay because they have not got into the regular habit of brushing their teeth,” he said. “They have not been taught the importance of oral health, nor how to prevent the onset of dental problems,” he added. According to the ministry’s research data, children in the six-seven age range have nine rotten teeth each and 16 to 17 year-olds have on average six rotten teeth each. The majority of Cambodian adults were found to have tooth ...

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Culture and Fine Arts Ministry’s Secretary of State Som Sokun has appealed to Cambodian youth to respect their own customs and traditions and not adopt the Valentine’s Day Traditions. He said the Festival is diluting Cambodian culture and traditions. “Valentine’s Day is not a Cambodian festival, it is a Roman Festival in which women proclaim their love and men buy overpriced gifts and single people getting depressed,” he said during an interview with The Cambodia Weekly February 11. The Secretary of State said that there are so many young people making love and sacrificing their purity during Valentine’s Day in Cambodia. He said these activities will have a negative effect in Cambodia. “I think that the Valentine’s festival is good for people in developed countries but it is not so good for our people who must preserve their culture and traditions,” he said. “We should not allow sex before marriage,” he added. He pointed out that recent years, many Cambodia...

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Keo Sarin, Deputy Director General of the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC), revealed that Cambodia has a total of 50 football referees. He said one of the best is female referee Keo Monorom, 26, who completed a training course in “Physical Education and Sports” in Cuba last year. The Deputy Director General said that Keo is the only qualified female referee in Cambodia and one of very few in the entire world. On top of this, she is also the youngest football referee in Cambodia. Ms Monorom took six years of training in Cuba; hence she is a highly qualified referee and an honor to the Cambodian people. “I am proud of her as she is a very active and capable referee and stands as a shining light and example to other women of Cambodia,” he said during an interview with the Cambodia Weekly on February 6. “I believe that she will share her skills and working experience with all the young football players of Cambodia – male and female,” he added. Monorodom was bo...

By BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Reyum Institute plans to print more books for Cambodian readers, according to its Founding Director, Ly Daravuth. He said that his non-governmental organization aims to serve as platform for research and documentation and provide an arena for the exchange of ideas and creative expression. Currently, there are eight titles scheduled for a print-run of over 2,000 copies each, on topics covering Khmer Food, Khmer culture, Cambodian history, and Geography. They will be published early in 2009, according to Reyum’s plan. Next year, the organization’s catalogue will expand with a broader range of titles to stock the shelves of libraries and book sellers both here and abroad. “I note that books produced today are generally poorly printed and often poorly written,” he said. “Worse than this, books are not readily available to all sections of the community, especially in rural areas and some children grow up never having owned a single picture book,” he told The Cam...

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Royal Government of Cambodia gratefully accepts financial assistance from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) which has promised to offer a total of US $ 2.2 millions in aid to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MoAFF). Chan Tong Yves, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, said that the FAO’s financial aid will help MoAFF to promote food security and increase agricultural activities in Cambodia. To achieve these goals, he said his Ministry has been working very hard with its development partners and other involved ministries to construct irrigation systems and renovate dams throughout the country. “I fully appreciate the FAO’s continued support and they have provided food supplies and financial assistance to Cambodia since 1993. With this additional grant, we will make further strides towards total food security by increasing agricultural output,” he said. The Secretary of State continued that h...

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The National Election Committee (NEC) has commanded all political parties to register for City, Municipality, District and Khans Elections, starting on February 26. Deadlines for registration will be March 2, 2009. This announcement was made by Tep Nytha, NEC Secretary General, who emphasized the importance of making sure that all registration details had been covered by the start of March. He was speaking to reporters during a press conference in his office on February 3. The Secretary General said that all political parties officially registered with the Ministry of Interior who seek participation in the Council Elections 2009 can prepare their candidates’ names for registration from February 26. “These will be the first council elections ever held in Cambodia,” he said. “The main purpose of the Council Elections is to select new political representatives and council members to work in municipalities, provinces, districts or Khans throughout the kingdom,” he ...

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Spring Board Cambodia Education Fair opened on February 5 in Phnom Penh with the support of the British Council Bangkok and the British Embassy in Phnom Penh. It was jointly organized by SpringBoard4Cambodia and the National Institute of Education in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS). The Fair took place at the National Institute of Education, under the presidency of the Cambodian Education Minister Im Sethy, who said that education fair underlines the attention and strong support of the British government in promoting good cooperation, education and human resource development between Cambodia and the UK. The fair also provides opportunities for state and private universities to cooperate and work with British Education Partners in promoting and expanding the cause of sciences technology, management and university development. The Minister said that in addition, the fair offered the opportunity for Cambodian students and members of the pub...