Cambodia - Montagnards fled to Thailand, fearing return to persecution in Vietnam

Montagnards – or “mountain people” as they were named by the French colonialists
.
 Fearing repatriation to Vietnam, almost 50 Montagnards fled Cambodia for Thailand after the Interior Ministry began rejecting some of their asylum claims last month, The Post has learned. 
.
Meanwhile, the head of the ministry’s refugee department Tan Sovichea yesterday revealed only three of nearly 100 members of the majority Christian Vietnamese ethnic group remaining in Phnom Penh were being considered for refugee status.
..

 .
But the exodus, which began on the weekend of March 25, included some individuals with a “very strong” case for asylum, said Denise Coghlan, director of the Jesuit Refugee Service, which has been assisting the group during their stay in Cambodia.
.
“I can say I was very disappointed that some we considered to have very strong cases received a negative decision and very surprised at the number who were rejected in a very short space of time,” Coghlan said, adding the government began notifying dozens of the refugees that their applications were rejected on March 20.
.
“I hope the people who ran away are safe somewhere and hope in the future they receive a just decision,” she said.
.
Some 200 Montagnards – or “mountain people” as they were named by the French colonialists – arrived in Cambodia in late 2014 and 2015 from Vietnam’s Central Highlands, where the group has long complained of religious and political persecution by communist authorities and in decades past.
.
Reached yesterday by phone, one of the Montagnards who fled, a 27-year-old, said about 50 Montagnards had made it to Thailand in several separate groups. He said he left by car with five other people and spent two nights near the border before paying a broker $50 to get across during the night.

“We were absolutely terrified, but it would be much worse than that if we were sent back to Vietnam. They will arrest, jail or kill us” he said, speaking his native language of Jarai through a translator. 
.

 .

He said his group had made contact with Montagnards in Thailand before fleeing and added he was now with 14 runaways staying in a rental house and trying to make contact with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to apply for asylum. The UNHCR could not be reached for comment yesterday.
.
“We dare not go anywhere so we are not arrested; we just stay inside the home,” he said.
Though an initial group of 13 from the 200 who fled in 2014 and 2015 was granted refugee status – and flown to the Philippines in May where they are seeking asylum in a third country – most spent months in limbo before being registered as asylum seekers in January last year. 
.
The Post has been told there are now 96 Montagnards left in United Nations-supported accommodation in the capital’s Por Sen Chey district, where immigration officers have increased their presence since the mass departure. 
.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity surrounding the exodus, police have now restricted the group’s movement.
.

 A Montagnard in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district holds up photos of a Montagnard’s funeral inside a Vietnamese prison last year.
.
 “Before they were allowed to go out and they could play football. After the other group fled they are not allowed to go out a lot; just to buy food or go to the market for 10 to 15 minutes,” said the source. “They are all concerned that they will be rejected and taken back to Vietnam.”
.
Yesterday, at least four Cambodian officials, who were not in uniform, but were obviously there for security, occupied a table in front of the building while a vehicle from the Department of Immigration was parked nearby. 
.
One official, who appeared to be in charge, directed questions to the Interior Ministry and refused to identify himself, saying: “You have no right to ask my name.”
.
Yesterday, Sovichea, of the refugee department, said he had “no information” on the fate of those who fled, but said it was “not a problem” for the Cambodian government and denied there was any pressure from Vietnam to send them back. 
.
He said only 20 or 30 of the group were yet to receive a decision and noted some of those rejected had appealed their rejections. He said only three were being considered for asylum.
.
“Only three of them will hopefully be recognised as refugees,” Sovichea said. “The department has evaluated them and made a letter to the superiors to sign to agree and they will get it back within the next two weeks.”
.
Sovichea said the rest would be voluntarily repatriated to Vietnam with assistance from the UNHCR, as has been the case with other individuals rejected, including six who were sent back on March 14. 
.
He added that authorities had intended last month to send back 10 people, but four refused at the last minute to leave and were later among those who fled. 
.
The Montagnard speaking from Thailand claimed one of the recent returnees to Vietnam had been harassed by police upon arriving and “slapped in the face” for not answering questions about fleeing to Cambodia, though The Post could not independently verify this. 
.
The asylum seeker said he had crossed the border into Cambodia’s Ratanakkiri province in 2015 after being detained for two days by Vietnamese authorities who he said had also “tortured” his brother and jailed his brother-in-law, whom he said died in prison.
.
“[In Vietnam] we were persecuted, not allowed to gather, pray or celebrate Christmas. Particularly we were afraid of arrest by the authorities, so we fled to Cambodia but they did not grant us refugee status so we came here because we are frightened of repatriation to Vietnam.”
.

Contact authors: Shaun Turton and Phak Seangly

. 

Laos Sees 10 Percent Drop in Foreign Tourist Numbers

.

While Lao Nationals hit an all time high for travelling abroad in 2016, as previously reported by The Laotian Times, the number of foreign visitors entering Laos has dwindled after several consecutive years of visitor growth.

.

According to statistics provided by the Tourism Development Department of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Laos reported an average annual growth in foreign tourist arrivals of 10.7 percent over the past five years. However,  in 2016 just over 4.23 million foreign visitors came to the country – a drop of 10 percent since 2015, 

.

Collectively, visitors from the other nine ASEAN member countries dropped by an estimated 14 percent to 3 million people. Tourists from the Asia Pacific region dropped by 11 percent to  about 3.9 million people, and visitors from the Americas dropped by 3 percent to just 86,211 people.

.

Though the number of tourists from some regions have increased, it is marginal compared to how many visitors the country has lost overall. Visitors from Europe, and Africa and the Middle East, increased by 2 percent and 6 percent last year to 221,952 people and 11,263 people respectively.

.

 Travellers from Thailand and Vietnam, the majority of foreign visitors to Laos, dropped significantly to just over 500,000 visitors.

.

An official gave several potential reasons for the decline of visitors to the country, explaining that Thailand has been encouraging their citizens to take tours in their own homeland by offering special promotions and incentives.

.

This includes granting Thai nationals the ability to claim a reduction on their personal income tax, equivalent to what they spent while on holiday if they spend it within the country.

Additionally, the number of foreign tourists entering Laos in previous years was boosted by Vietnamese workers entering the country on tourist visas and finding work illegally. 

.

However, governments within ASEAN, including Laos, have been strictly enforcing measures to regulate foreign workers, which is speculated to have deterred Vietnamese workers from entering Laos, thus reflecting a decrease in the number of Vietnamese in Laos on tourist visas.

. 

The official also brought up that the cost of living in Laos has increased and could also be a contributing factor for the vast reduction in visitors. Living costs in neighbouring countries, for example, Thailand are significantly lower than in Laos. 

.

The official suggested that Laos should attempt to put more effort into attracting tourists from Muslim countries. By providing prayer rooms in public places along with promoting halal restaurants the country would be more welcoming to Muslim visitors if such facilities were provided, especially in the provinces. 

.

Statistics indicate that visitors from Muslim-majority countries like Brunei and Indonesia have dropped by 44 percent and 17 percent to just 484 and 5,010 visitors respectively in 2016.

.

It is urged for Lao tourist authorities to do more to promote tourism in the country, starting with an official comprehensive website where all tourism-related information can be obtained. The website should include tourist attractions, transportation, accommodation, a calendar that indicates when and where a cultural festival will take place and any other related costs visitors should anticipate.

.

 It was added that  the Tourism Development Department is requesting insight from other departments regarding the decline in tourist entries in order to identify common grounds and take steps to remedy the situation.

.

Tour facilitators have expressed that a lack of tourist activities, underdeveloped facilities at tourist sites, and the absence of direct flights to many countries seemingly discourage tourists and are factors that need to be addressed.

.

Source  

.

 FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.

The problem with traveling to Vietnam just because it’s cheap

.

Tourists love the country because it’s cheap, but low costs come with risks.

Yet another travel list has named Vietnam among the must-visit places in the world because it’s cheap.

.

This time, it’s Emily Zemler, a writer from Refinery29, who describes Vietnam as one of the best “super cheap” destinations in the world.

.

“Asian destinations like Japan and Singapore can be pricy, but Vietnam is notably budget-friendly. The food, which is just as good from a street cart as it is from a sit-down restaurant, is cheap (usually less than 10 bucks a pop) and hotels are reasonable, with luxury properties averaging around $80 per night…

Don’t be afraid to sample the street food, which includes signature dishes like beef pho and bun cha, and make sure to spring for a countryside bicycle tour from Hoi An, which run $17 and up.”

.

 To be fair, cost-based recommendations like these are what Vietnam, still an emerging travel destination, needs now.

It’s perfectly fine to love something when it doesn’t bankrupt you – it’s even better when that something is also good. “Cheap” is not a dirty word. We don’t need to avoid it and replace it with pretentious phrases like “budget-friendly” or “best value for your buck” when we promote a product or a travel destination.

.

But “cheap” does come with a connotation: some sort of compromises must be made and accepted.

.

For cheap travel, the biggest compromises are on quality and safety. In Vietnam, this can mean anything: drinking a beer that tastes like water, sleeping on a hostel bed with a dirty sheet, getting food poisoning after a meal at a delicious sidewalk joint, drinking toxic moonshine, or falling from a waterfall. And the list goes on.

.

Many travelers will take these risks without blinking an eye. Ask any backpacker in Saigon and they will tell you how happy they are when they only need a few hundred bucks to travel in Vietnam. Diarrhea and those serious travel safety warnings don’t faze them one bit.

.

READ CONTINUE PLUS VIDEOS

.

FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.

Beijing and Phnom Penh think about becoming sister cities

Infra

.

Phnom Penh and Beijing are in talks to become “sister cities”, chief of the Chinese Embassy’s political section Wang De Xin confirmed yesterday.

.

According to Wang, representatives from the Beijing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, led by committee chairman Ji Lin, met with Phnom Penh Governor Pa Socheatvong on Monday to discuss the partnership.

.

Reached by phone yesterday, the capital’s deputy governor, Khoung Sreng, said the objective of the meeting was for both countries to better understand each other.

.

“The main purpose of being sister cities with Beijing would be to support each other . . . to cooperate economically and to promote cultural exchange,” he said.

.

He added that one of the most important aspects of the partnership would be requesting Beijing’s assistance in areas such as infrastructure, training and the management and restoration of public spaces.

.

Sreng noted that the focus of the partnership was not to attract foreign investment, but to work with Beijing in selecting local poor communities for targeted help, such as the building of homes.

.

  FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.

Source - PhnomPenhPost

Thailand - 3 million funeral wood flowers for King’s cremation

.

Three million funeral wood flowers will be given to public mourners before the late HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s royal cremation, according to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Governor Pol General Aswin Kwanmuang.

The artificial flowers will be made into 36 patterns – such as roses, orchids, water lilies, cape jasmines, daffodils, zinnias and champaks – from focal natural materials like dried banana leaves and trunks and dried water hyacinths, Aswin said on Monday.

.

They will be made and provided at 101 booths across Bangkok.

.

Flower makers will include people from BMA schools, vocational schools and companies. 

Their models will also be given to those wishing to craft the flowers themselves.

.

According to Thai tradition, wood flowers are placed in front of a deceased person’s coffin or urn as a last tribute before cremation.

.

The BMA’s Social Development Department is receiving raw material donations for the flower-making process.

.

Source - TheNation

Cambodia - Push to reduce chemical dependency

.

The Ministry of Agriculture is working to develop a procedural framework for the trade and use of biological control agents (BCAs) in agriculture in an effort to improve crop yields, protect consumer health and ensure continued access to key export markets. Regulation could also create opportunities for the import or local production of BCA products a possibility that has piqued the interest of foreign firms.

.

Speaking yesterday at a consultative meeting on regulations and national registration of biological control agents, Sam Chhom Sangha, deputy secretary-general of the Ministry of Agriculture, said the use of BCAs could provide “holistic” support to Cambodia’s struggling agriculture sector, which he claimed had been damaged by the overuse of chemical agents.

“We need to find ways to boost agricultural productivity, encourage crop resilience and diversification and improve commercialisation,” he said.

.

“Our fields are under-producing and this is because the soil has been damaged by years of reckless use of chemicals.” 

.

Biological control agents are an integral part of pest management programs that use natural mechanisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, algae or natural insect predators to protect crops from devastating plant diseases and insect infestations. While already in limited use in Cambodia, a regulatory framework on the trade and use of BCAs would facilitate the import of these products and provide solid footing for local production.

.

“BCAs can improve our yields once we finalise and implement their regulation, allowing our farmers to be less dependent on chemical pesticides,” explained Sangha.The Ministry of Agriculture is working with regional experts to draft a national regulatory framework on biological control agents based on ASEAN guidelines.

.

Sangha said the government must speed up its adoption of regulations or risk challenges to its agricultural exports as countries tighten restrictions on the import of contaminated products.

In one recent example, the European Commission has given Cambodian producers of white rice until June and fragrant rice until December to eliminate the use of the fungicide Tricyclazole. Failure to comply could block rice export shipments to the European Union, the Kingdom’s largest market for milled rice.

.

Thomas Jaekel, a regional GIZ expert, said BCAs offers farmers an “economically and environmentally viable” way to increase yields by building crop resilience and improving soil quality. However, convincing Cambodian farmers to cut back on their chemical fertilisers and pesticides can be a challenge.

.

“BCAs are used to complement, not eradicate, the use of chemicals, but the problem is that Cambodian farmers and distributors of chemicals are convinced that the more you spray your crops the better they will be,” he said.

.

Jaekel noted that when Indonesia adopted ASEAN regulations in 2014 and set up the procedures for properly registering products, there was a massive uptake in applications for BCA products.

.

“A week after the BCA regulation was approved in Indonesia, they had already over 10 applications from foreign and local firms trying to register their products,” he said.According to GIZ data, the Indonesian government receives almost 200 applications annually.

Sarah Anderson, a Singapore-based research and development project manager for German industrial giant BASF, said that despite BCAs having a limited market in ASEAN, there was plenty of room to grow. She said BASF, which has an entire arm dedicated to research and development of BCA products, would consider exporting to Cambodia if clear regulations were put in place.

.

“The problem is that there is still a gap between government intentions and those of the traditional chemical distributors,” she said. “Easily 5 percent of the pesticide market in Cambodia could be replaced by bio-pesticides.” 

.

However, she said the use of the products hinged on the government cutting red tape. “If the regulations are too strict or large companies see that costs are too high, they won’t enter the market,” she said.

.

Ieng Sotheara, founder of Entree Baitang Co Ltd, said local demand for BCAs was growing. His company has been distributing Trichoderma – a naturally occurring fungicide that also protects plants against pests and toxins for the last two harvest cycles. 

.

Last year, the company sold 100 tonnes of compost impregnated with Trichoderma. This year it has orders for 500 tonnes.

.

Sotheara said he sells the locally-produced Trichoderma at $12 per kilo, or $400 per tonne when mixed with compost.

.

“Some of the rice farmers say that it has increased their yields by 20 percent,” he said.

.

Source - PhnomPenhPost

Thailand - Beautiful Surat Thani watershed forest attracts thousands of tourists.

.

After its beautiful and uplifting smartphone photos circulated on Thai social media, Ban Nam Rad watershed forest in Surat Thani's Khiri Rat Nikhom district has become a popular attraction in recent months, attracting at least 1,000 visitors a day. 

The clear-water pond, about the size of a standard swimming pool, is supplied by a natural spring that the locals also believe to be holy. 

.

.

 On behalf of the local community volunteers who oversee and take care of the attraction, Tambon Ban Tamniab kamnan Sujin Nakbumrung said: “We don't collect any fee from tourists but require them to sign a daily registration book before entering, in order to assess the best way to improve the forest conservation. 

.

“We also ask that tourists adhere to regulations which include the ban on food, soap, shampoo and alcohol drinks. Some areas of the forest are also restricted, so as to keep this 2,000-rai forestland fertile and its wildlife and plants protected.”

.

He said they intended to make Ban Nam Rad watershed forest a model of conservation tourism.

.

 

.

 FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.