Cambodian Tragedy in Comparative Term
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| The Strongman shedding crocodile tears? (Photo: AP) |
For the very first time that the entire world and the Cambodian public at large got to witness a Cambodian Prime Minister cried – something they’re rarely used to seeing on screen, given his past combative speeches and authoritarian style. I’ve got to give it to the man. He gave one of the finest theatrical shows I have ever seen - weeping and looking sad as best as he can be. But, NOT when he evicted Khmers from their lands; put Khmer farmers in jail; ordered his men to launch a couple grenades against political opposition march, lining up people to shoot as a result of his 1997 coup d’état. He was not crying when he sent capable men on K5 plan to be killed or limped. NO
Unfortunately when we are talking about our Cambodia, this is not the first tragedy or policy failure and it won’t be the last, either, that we are going to see from this government, going forward. There have been too many policy failures in the past and present leading up to the future. Time will tell if the true believers of the Hun’s regime, and possibly dynasty, will learn something meaningful at the end; for a nation built on shaky foundations where the culture of impunity, corruption and feudalistic behaviour are accepted as the norms at the expenses of the mass - the poor and the very least educated farmers. More land evictions are on the horizon, watch my word, people.
It is truly refreshing, yet not surprising to see Cambodian come out in large numbers to offer money and condolences to the victims and surviving families. In comparative analysis, it makes you wondered, what about other tragedies? Take land eviction as a prime example where entire villages are affected or the beating, killing of democratic activists, union leader, singers etc..? The story of Mr. Soung Sophorn is relatively fresh. Isn’t it a tragedy as well?. He was beaten up pretty badly and unprovoked at best – something could have been easily avoided. The Cambodian polices were better trained to hurt Khmers, protect Youn’s encroached farmer’s lands than to save real Cambodian lives. How sad!
My 2-cent engineering perspective on the Pich Bridge tragedy
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| Koh Pich suspension bridge (Photo; AFP/Xinhua) |
In view of the recent tragedy on Koh Pich Bridge where several hundreds of our compatriots died and were seriously injured, I would like to provide below, my personal perspective as a Civil engineer in this regards. While my specialty is not in Structural engineering, but rather in Geotechnical engineering, i.e. a specialty related to foundation engineering etc, I will strive to explain as best as I can, in laymen terms, the various aspects of bridge construction, and in particular the suspension bridge type that is used for Pich Bridge linking mainland to Koh Pich Island, and I will also provide my 2-cent input on the various aspects any investigation should consider.
The most basic method of constructing a bridge can be seen in the illustration above. First several piers are constructed as support for the bridge, next a bridge deck is placed in between two piers to provide a platform on which traffic can move over the bridge. In general, guard rails will be constructed next to prevent vehicles and foot passengers from falling off the bridge. While in concept, this construction method appears quite simple, the reality is not so. For one thing, if the spacing between two consecutive piers is very wide, then the bridge deck need to be designed thicker or more rigid so that when traffic moves over the bridge, there would be not too much vertical deflection (see black arrow in the illustration above).
Who’s responsible for the Koh Pich accident?
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| Who's responsible: Maybe you are looking at him right now? (Photo: AP) |
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Soch
Government officials indicated on 27 Nov that, up to now, the tally of the number of dead and injured people inside the hospitals shows that there are 347 deceased and 395 injured. This number is lower than a previous tally which put the total number of dead and injured to almost 1,000.
While the mourning is taking place, the public, both from inside Cambodia and from overseas, demand that an investigation be conducted to find the reasons and those responsible for this accident that caused so many deaths.
Long Beach mourns Cambodians lost in holiday stampede
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| 11-27-10 - Savy Pan of Long Beach says a prayer during a prayer an candle light ceremony for the victims of the tragedy at the Water Festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Stephen Carr / Press-Telegram) |
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| 11-27-10 - Melissa Suos, 9, and her sister Melinda,4, make a donation for the victims in this week's tragedy at the Water Festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Members of the Cambodian American Business Association and other civic organizations held a fundraiser and memorial Saturday at MacArthur Park, 1321 E. Anaheim St. (Stephen Carr / Press-Telegram) |
11/27/2010
By Kristopher Hanson, Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram
LONG BEACH — Dozens of mourners gathered here Saturday to remember and raise funds for nearly 800 people killed or injured Nov. 22 in a panic-induced stampede during a national holiday in Cambodia.
The memorial and candlelight vigil drew people from across the Southern California to the heart of Cambodia's largest expatriate community, centered on East Anaheim Street in Central Long Beach.
The vigil, organized by the Cambodian American Business Association and other civic groups, launched a fund-raising drive to assist the injured and help the families of those killed.
Relief organizations say at least 395 were hurt and 347 killed.
Seven members of same family jump into river to escape bridge stampede
A 19-year-old ‘hero’ helps to save six other members of his family as they jump from the crush on the diamond bridge into the river below. Malin Dim coordinates his cousins escape from the stampede.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 27/11/2010.
Demotix
A 19-year-old ‘hero’ helps to save six other members of his family as they jump from the crush on the diamond bridge into the river below.
Malin Dim and six cousins set off on the 30 km, dusty and rutted road from their village – Pokrusey Kandal- in the Khsach Kandal district, Kandal Province of Cambodia to travel to Phnom Penh to celebrate the last 2 days of the water festival there.
On Monday evening the cousins, four boys and three girls namely: Malin Dim, 19, Nita Chhan 15, Chanta Sieng 16, Sihorn Heng 17, Namehhiv Yong 14, Hourlong Seng 16, and the youngest Sokhorn Houy who is just 13-years-old, held each others shoulders, with the youngest first they formed a line and pressed onto the crowded metal bridge linking the island to Phnom Penh. [The sequence of portrait images on the slideshow is in the same order as the above name call.]
“For the first few metres we were ok,” says Sihorn and then: “groups meet in the middle of the bridge and make a stampede. I was very afraid then.”
Photos from Koh Pich Bridge on Sunday 28 Nov.
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| A handful of monks with a dozen mourners paying their respect, as the military police lingered in the shade within the cordoned sight of tragedy. (All Photos: Courtesy of Theary Seng) |
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| Wreaths and bouquets of flowers from embassies and individuals lined the entrance of the Koh Pich bridge, which has been cordoned off. Incredible to comprehend that hundreds of people died at one moment in time on this tiny bridge, which takes less than a minute to walk across. |
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| Folded white and pink lotus flowers piled in mounds with incense, surrounded by rows of wreaths and fake $100 dollar bills littering and fluttering about on the ground - offerings to the dead, should they need currency in the afterlife. |
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| The swaying bridge of Koh Pich, a very contained scene for the deaths of hundreds - incomprehensible. |
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| On the edge of the river, a small crowd trying to comprehend what happened. The entrance to the swaying Koh Pich bridge in the back. |
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| A relatively small, short swaying bridge containing the corpse of hundreds in one moment earlier this week. Police keeping watch under the shades. |
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| Small, short swaying Koh Pich bridge, site of tragedy which took lives of hundreds in a blink of an eye. Life is but a breath. |
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| With Independence Monument behind me, view of obscene Naga Casino and Koh Pich swaying bridge in background. |
PM [Hoon Xhen] responds to opposition border claims
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post
PRIME Minister Hun Sen has rejected opposition claims that Vietnam has encroached on Cambodian territory, saying farmers along the border have not lost any land.
My Comment on Neatee Koun Khmer
Dear Readers;
Op-Ed: Khmer Young
Op-Ed: Khmer Young
I am intrigued by the proposed discussion topic by Koun Khmer this week. Many comments and ideas are thought-provoking. Below is my extending comments from my previous inputs. Time is flying and I have to make sure that I have enough minutes to finish my comment. Neatee Koun Khmer should be continued and I really love the idea and scholastic writing of Koun Khmer.
APEC summit ends with drift toward trade war
By James Cogan
World Socialist Web Site
World Socialist Web Site
Two days of talks in Yokohama, Japan by the leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ended yesterday with a clear divergence between the United States and China over the future of regional trade. Following the failure of last week’s G20 summit to resolve festering currency disputes, the APEC meeting further underscored the drift toward a breakdown of relations between the major powers in the Asia Pacific region.
Vietnamese PM arrives in Cambodia to pay official visit
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Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (2nd L) gestures at the welcoming ceremony for his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung (L) at the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh November 15, 2010. Dung is on an official visit to Cambodia. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea |
Xinhua
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung arrived in Cambodia Monday morning to pay one-day official visit at the invitation of his Cambodian counterpart Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Nguyen Tan Dung was welcomed at the Phnom Penh International Airport by Cambodia's Tourism Minister Thong Khon and other government officials.
During his visit, Nguyen Tan Dung will be received in a Royal Audience by King Norodom Sihamoni, according to the press release of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Besides, Nguyen Tan Dung will pay courtesy calls on Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and will also hold an official talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Moreover, both sides will sign the Payment Agreement between the National Bank of Cambodia and the State Bank of Vietnam.
Nguyen Tan Dung will also attend the 6th CLV Summit and the 5th CLMV Summit on Nov. 16-17, 2010 in Phnom Penh.
Cambodia will host a series of summit meetings next week for regional leaders including the 6th Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Summit, the 5th Cambodia-Laos, Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) Summit and the 4th Ayeyawady-Chao Praya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Summit on Nov. 16-17, 2010 in Phnom Penh.
The summits will be attended by Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers of CLMV and ACMECS countries which include Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.
Exclusive interview with Mr. SAM RAINSY
With all the controversy circulating Mr. SAM RAINSY. I am jumping into the eye of the storm.
He have granted me an exclusive interview. He is currently in EXILE. I went one on one with
the man whom millions around the world say; he COULD and SHOULD be the next
PRIME MINISTER of CAMBODIA! - Here is ( part.1 )
of the exclusive interview with Mr. SAM RAINSY.
Originally posted at: http://www.mujestic.com
- How is your health and how is the family?
We are all right. Thank you.
- The municipal court in Phnom Penh sentenced you to 10- years in prison and a $16,000 fine in a dispute about the border with neighboring Vietnam and for “ disinformation and falsifying of public documents”. But your supporters claim that the case is politically motivated. How so?
China's top legislator says to enhance parliament links with Cambodia [-Will China beat Vietnam in terms of influence on Cambodia?]
Xinhua
Top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo said here Thursday that he is aimed at enhancing parliamentary ties between China and Cambodia and elevating the ties to a new high during his visit.
Top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo said here Thursday that he is aimed at enhancing parliamentary ties between China and Cambodia and elevating the ties to a new high during his visit.
Life under Iranian tyranny
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, sentenced to death for adultery in Tehran, is seen in this undated handout image made available to Amnesty International in London on July 8, 2010 and released to Reuters on August 24, 2010. Ashtiani will not be executed on November 3, 2010, France's foreign minister said, citing a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart.
China Forgives $4 Million in Khmer Rouge-era Debt
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| Kiss and beg? Hun Sen embracing and kissing Wu Bangguo (Photo: CEN) |
China announced Thursday it would forgive Cambodia more than $4 million in debt owed by the government of the Khmer Rouge.
In an agreement signed between Prime Minister Hun Sen and China’s top legislator, Wu Bangguo, the two sides said Cambodia’s debt would be transferred into development projects, a government spokesman said.
What will Hun Xen choose? "US with Vietnam" or "China with Money"?
Clinton, China Visits Show Need for Neutrality: Analysts
Men Kimseng & Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
“In trade and other issues, I think Cambodia needs friendships with the West and the East.”
Men Kimseng & Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
“In trade and other issues, I think Cambodia needs friendships with the West and the East.”
With senior-level visits from both the US and China this week, political analysts say Cambodia is rightly pursuing a neutral foreign policy between both powerful countries.
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