Sunday, 30 August 2009

Remembering KHAO I DANG Refugee Camp in Thailand








Khao-I-Dang

Khao-I-Dang Khmer refugee camp was located 20 Km north of Aranyaprathet in Prachinburi (now Sakeo) province Thailand.

Background

Khao-I-Dang was the oldest and most enduring camp on the border. It opened Nov. 21, 1979 and closed in 1992 during the UNTAC repatriation when all remaining residents were moved to Site II to await their personal repatriation.

During its peak period, 1979-1985, KID was sometimes the equivalent of Site II in population but the population was in flux and transit, some going to third countries, some only seeking shelter until they could see what the future would bring.

KID became a unique camp on the border, it was the only camp not controlled by one of the resistance factions, it was a UNHCR / Thai MOI camp, its residents were recognised as "Refugees" and were entitled to a higher level of protection, care and nutrition than people in the UNBRO administered camps (not a criticism of UNBRO, the Thais ultimately decided what UNBRO was allowed to do). KID was also the only camp whose residents were eligible for resettlement in third countries.

ICRC chose KID for their first border surgical hospital where acute trauma patients were cared for, this was initially war wounded but came to be dominated by landmine victims.

When I started working in KID in 1990 is was only a shadow of what it had been in terms of population. It was the only camp whose residents were eligible for resettlement, although by 1990 all of the remaining residents of KID had been turned down for resettlement and had little hope of being accepted by any country in the future. In many cases they had been turned down because of past activities or associations as KR, they could not go back and they could not go forward, this made for a sense of helplessness and a lethargy in the camp.

During repatriation the residents of KID were the most vocal in opposition to what they felt was a forced repatriation and held numerous demonstrations both as a group and occasionally as individuals.
Programs
KID had the most extensive coverage by programs operated by NGOs - medical, health, sanitation, education, social, vocational..... Many long term residents had been through multiple programs and were qualified health care workers, teachers and / or in some other vocation such as mechanics.

Medical - (see glossary for abbreviations)
IRC - Medical Coordination, OPD, Public Health & Training
HI - Hospital
COR - Mother Child Health clinic
ICRC - ICRC surgical hospital
Khmer Traditional Medicine

Education -
IRC - Primary, secondary, ESL, teacher training
YWAM - secondary
COR - vocational skills

Social -
IRC - Khmer Arts & Dance

Printing -
IRC - educational materials, literature, materials for NGOs, export
JSRC - literature, export

Population
average monthly population between December 1981 and November 1982 - approximately 42,700 (ref. CDC report)
December 1982 - 40,134 (ref. CDC report)
mid-June 1983 - 57,500 (ref. CDC report)
1991 - 14,734

Khao I Dang Snaeh Kam



PanhJaPor

For all of us that went through the Khmer Rouge Regime and refugee camps, this video reminds us of who we are and where we are coming from. This video is dedicated to all Khmer people! Please enjoy!

Cambodia halves troop numbers at border temple

Sun, Aug 30, 2009

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia has halved the number of troops around an ancient border temple that has been the scene of bloody clashes with Thailand, the defence ministry said Sunday.

There have been several skirmishes between the two countries on the disputed frontier around the 11th century Preah Vihear temple in Cambodia since the ruins were granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008.

"We have pulled out 50 percent of the troops from Preah Vihear temple," said Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defence.

"This shows that the situation at the border is really getting better, and that both countries have a mutual understanding of peace," he added.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen last week said Thailand had just 30 soldiers on the border, meaning that Cambodia could stand some troops down and send them back to their provincial bases.

"We still have enough troops remaining to protect our territory," said General Chea Dara, deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.

He said if Thailand "shows a softer manner" they could cut the numbers further. "However, if anything happened, our troop mobility would be very swift," he told AFP.

Thailand in June reignited the row over the temple when it asked world heritage body UNESCO to reconsider its decision to formally list the temple in Cambodia.

Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads over the land around the Preah Vihear temple for decades.

Although the World Court ruled in 1962 that it belonged to Cambodia, the most accessible entrance to the ancient Khmer temple with its crumbling stone staircases and elegant carvings is in northeastern Thailand.

The last gunbattle in the temple area in April left three people dead while clashes there in 2008 killed another four people.

The border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated, in part because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.

Typhoon heads for Japan


Aug 30, 2009

TOKYO - A TYPHOON churned towards the Tokyo region on Sunday as Japan went to the polls for a vote widely expected to end more than half a century of almost unbroken conservative rule.

Typhoon Krovanh, named after a Cambodian tree, was over the Pacific Ocean, more than 600 kilometres southeast of the Japanese capital early on Sunday.

'There is a possibility that it will hit eastern Japan' early on Monday, an official from Japan's meteorological agency said.

The storm was packing gusts of up to 90 kilometres per hour near its centre and moving northwest.

The agency has warned of heavy rain, strong winds and high waves for areas along the Pacific coast.

The landmark election is expected to see the untested centre-left Democratic Party of Japan oust the Liberal Democratic Party from government. -- AFP

Veterans who saved 100 soldiers ask Obama to present citation

Lake Fong/Post-GazetteVietnam veterans Ray Tarr, left, of Kittanning, and Donnie Colwell, of Emerickville. For a video of the interview, go to post-gazette.com

Sunday, August 30, 2009
By Torsten Ove, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ray Tarr, 59, has a fake eye, a dent in his head, a withered arm and wince-inducing scars on his back, all courtesy of a rocket-propelled grenade that slammed into his tank in Cambodia in 1970.

"We had a saying in Vietnam," he shrugged last week in recollection. "When someone died or something bad happened, we just said, 'It don't mean nothing.' "

But the actions of his unit on March 26, 1970, a few months before he was wounded, did mean something -- resulting in a Presidential Unit Citation issued in March, 39 years after the fact.

Now the veterans of that battle are asking President Obama to present the citation to them personally in the East Room of the White House this fall. It could happen as early as October.

With a First Cavalry infantry company pinned down, outnumbered and out of ammunition, Mr. Tarr's Alpha Troop of the 11th Armored Cavalry rushed to save 100 men.

"I'm proud that I'm an American and could serve my country and that I could help those guys," said Mr. Tarr, of Kittanning, who was a 20-year-old tank loader.

"They were not going to live through the night," said his friend, Donnie Colwell, 61, of Emerickville, Jefferson County, who won the Silver Star for gallantry as commander of the unit's medical armored-personnel carrier.

"There were some other things that happened [in the war] that we could have gotten awards for. But the point is, we saved 100 grunts. They would have been massacred."

Alpha's commander at the time, Texas multimillionaire John B. Poindexter, 64, wrote a book about the rescue in 2004 called "The Anonymous Battle" and pushed for the citation.

The White House won't comment on whether President Obama will make the presentation. Presidents rarely do. Usually, another official does the job, typically at the unit's base, which in this case is California.

But Mr. Poindexter, owner of J.B. Poindexter & Co. in Houston, said all of his men deserve the honor of a White House ceremony. He said he'll pay for the trips for the 100 or so men who want to go.

"The Presidential Unit Citation is a tiny affirmation of my obligation to those men," he said. "On an institutional level, I feel the men who served in Vietnam, like those who served in Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq, fought a particularly unpopular war. This is a much-belated gesture of great importance."

Months in combat
Ray Tarr and Donnie Colwell first met in the motor pool at Quan Loi in 1969 and learned that they had lived near each other before they were drafted and sent overseas. Ray had been an apprentice bricklayer with his own car; Donnie had been attending Allegheny Technical Institute for electronics.

Times were turbulent and they knew the war was going badly, but they were too young to think much about it.

"We had no idea what we were getting into," Mr. Tarr said.

When they met, Mr. Colwell was commander of the unit's armored carrier that transported the chief medic, Gary Felthager, and had already earned two Purple Hearts for injuries suffered in mine explosions. Mr. Tarr became a loader in a Sheridan tank.

The men served under Mr. Poindexter, their bright, aggressive 25-year-old captain.

By March 1970, Alpha Troop had been in combat for months near the Cambodian border, where construction battalions were building a road through the jungle in anticipation of a May invasion of Cambodia.

The 11th Cavalry's job was to seek out North Vietnamese Army units in the region and destroy them.

They endured numerous firefights, and each evening parked their tanks and armored vehicles in a ring to protect against attack or infiltration by highly trained troops, who crept up at night.

But one of their worst episodes was an accident. On the night of March 25, three men died and five were wounded in explosions that also destroyed one of their armored carriers.

The soldiers initially thought the blasts were the result of enemy action and braced for combat. They later learned that one of their own mortar shells had detonated inside its tube and set off other shells.

Mr. Colwell tried to help the wounded. One man, he recalled, had lost both arms and both legs. He died a short time later.

'Get ready, let's go'
When morning came after a sleepless night, the Alpha platoons moved out on reconnaissance patrols. By late morning, everyone heard sounds of a battle in the distance.

They learned from the radio that Charlie Company had wandered into an elaborate hidden North Vietnamese bunker complex and had come under heavy fire. U.S. fighter jets swooped in, dropping bombs in support of the trapped company, while Cobra helicopter gunships fired rockets and machine guns at the North Vietnamese.

But C Company was outnumbered 3-to-1 and taking heavy casualties. Its men were also out of water and ammunition.

Capt. Poindexter knew what he had to do.

"He just told us, 'Get ready, let's go,' " Mr. Colwell said.

"There was no hesitation," Mr. Tarr recalled. "In the Army, you follow orders. But you could tell by the looks on guys' faces that no one really wanted to go."

They hadn't slept in 30 hours and they were scared, but they moved out. It took more than an hour for the armored column to plow 2.5 miles through the triple-canopy jungle.

"We broke into a clearing, and there they were," Mr. Tarr recalled. "I remember seeing the wounded men. I saw three soldiers lying under ponchos, obviously dead."

But C Company rejoiced as Alpha Troop opened fire with .50-caliber and M-60 machine guns.

"It was just relief on their faces to see us," Mr. Tarr said.

"We were fighting for our lives," recalled Paul Evans, then an 18-year-old private, in "The Anonymous Battle." "Then out of nowhere, the tanks and [armored carriers] came busting out of the jungle. ... For 34 years, they have been my heroes and always will be."

Mr. Colwell, whose job was to protect Doc Felthager as he worked on wounded men, was one of the first Alpha troopers on the ground. He saw one man who had been shot through the forehead and had died, and another who had been shot in the leg and later died of blood loss. At least 66 other men were wounded.

A mad minute
Waving his pistol, Capt. Poindexter immediately ordered his vehicles to line up in a row with the Sheridans in the center. Alpha then launched what the men called a "mad minute," in which every vehicle fired all of its weapons for 60 seconds. They moved ahead another 50 yards and did it again. The North Vietnamese fired back.

"It was pandemonium," Mr. Tarr said. "You can't believe the noise, the smoke, the confusion."

The Sheridans and the armored carriers advanced, crushing the underground bunkers under their treads while infantrymen hurled grenades and fired at enemy soldiers.

Alpha lost one man: Robert Foreman, Mr. Tarr's platoon sergeant, who was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade behind his gun shield on a Sheridan.

The North Vietnamese suffered at least 80 killed and an unknown number of wounded. The rest fled. After dark, Alpha Troop carefully backed out and evacuated the wounded to a landing zone, where helicopters carried them to safety.

All told, the two units lost seven men in two days. More than 70 were wounded, Capt. Poindexter among them.

But had Alpha not come to the rescue, the survivors insist, every man in C Company would have died. The North Vietnamese units were tenacious and ruthless.

The war went on for Mr. Tarr and Mr. Colwell. There were other battles, including the one that sent Mr. Tarr to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and earned him his Purple Heart.

They moved on
When the Alpha troopers came home, no one thought much about March 26. For them, it was like many other firefights, and Vietnam was a war everyone wanted to forget.

Mr. Poindexter did put in for individual medals for some of his men, but a unit citation didn't enter his mind for decades. He put aside the war, built a manufacturing empire and got rich.

In Pennsylvania, Mr. Colwell became a coal miner and Mr. Tarr a dental lab technician for the Veterans Affairs hospital in Butler. They raised families and moved on with their lives.

During his last days in Vietnam, Mr. Poindexter wrote a clinical account of the battle. After it was rejected by Armor magazine, he set it aside until 1999, when the regimental commander of the 11th Cavalry invited some veterans to discuss their Vietnam experience.

Mr. Poindexter revised the old manuscript, and Armor published it in 2000. He later developed the account into his self-published book, which included his recommendation for the Presidential Unit Citation and the recollections of his old comrades.

Mr. Tarr and Mr. Colwell both contributed.

Mr. Poindexter describes the book as a "faint eulogy for America's first wartime defeat." For him, the presidential citation is similarly symbolic.

There are veterans of Alpha Troop who don't see it that way. Some want nothing to do with reunions or commendations. Mr. Colwell said Doc Felthager, the medic who saved so many men before his eyes, has never responded to e-mails or calls.

Mr. Tarr and Mr. Colwell said they understand.

When Mr. Tarr was wounded in Cambodia, a young man on the tank behind him, Danny Ray Schmidt, of Indiana, took an AK-47 slug in the head and died.

"I was treated as a hero at Walter Reed and when I came home," he said. "What did Danny Ray Schmidt get? I think about that and I feel bad."

Mr. Colwell said he came home from the war an angry, confused young man. He struggled with bad dreams and a violent temper for years, and he drank too much.

It wasn't until a religious conversion a few years ago, he said, that he became a different person.

"I'm much calmer now," he said. "But the demons still chase me."

Torsten Ove can be reached at tove@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1510.

Culture shock hits hard in Cambodia

A typical slum village in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

My friend and fellow Des Moines native, Chandra Binnie, and I sitting atop one of the Angkor temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Sunset in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.

A little boy I met at a river slum village in Phnom Penh

This beautiful little girl lives in a slum village built on stilts over two feet of floating garbage.

PHOTOS FROM BETSY BAEHR / SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER

BETSY BAEHR • Special to the Register
August 30, 2009

"The other side of the world" is an impossible phrase to comprehend until you're actually on the other side of the world. Within 15 minutes of my arrival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the culture shock hit hard. Within a few short minutes, that simple phrase had a whole new meaning.

Eighteen months ago, as a student at Oral Roberts University, I attended a seminar on the growing problem of child trafficking and prostitution in southeast Asia. I realized that I was rather naive to the topic. I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around this worlds-away issue, and I was immediately intrigued and interested to learn more.

In 2004, Citipointe Church in Brisbane, Australia, started a child rescue home in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. They house 15 girls, ages 3-16. Once I learned of the shocking statistics of child prostitution in Cambodia, and the hope and life Citipointe was bringing, I was both heartbroken and captivated to learn more and to see this country for myself.

I spent June 27 through July 10 in Cambodia with a group from the church's rescue home, and it was one of the greatest experiences I have encountered. Breaking out of the "American bubble" was exhilarating.

I visited the "killing fields" and was floored that the mass killings by the Khmer Rouge happened just 30 years ago.

Outwardly, the Cambodian people are unlike any group I have seen. They are absolutely, unknowingly stunning. Everywhere you look is a photo waiting to be taken. Some Cambodian clothing stores only offer one size since the people there are so small and lean — talk about culture shock.

The overarching language barrier was difficult since there was so much I wanted to learn from them. But the fact that I, a Westerner, was there only to hang out in orphanages and slums, to offer hugs, shampoo, rice and lollypops, visibly resonated with them.

When visiting the slum villages and the rescue home in Phnom Penh, the contrast between the startling and numbing experiences these children had been through and their cheerful attitudes, was striking. The children in the slums and rescue homes were vibrant, loving and lively.

Our group also visited the town of Siem Reap, Cambodia, which is primarily known for its ancient temples. The only other location with similar ancient temples is Egypt, in the Nile Valley. The temples were beautifully aged, elaborate and breathtaking. Built in the early 12th century, Angkor Wat is the most famous of the temples and appears on the Cambodian flag.

Understanding and experiencing "the other side of the world," is an irreplaceable, unexplainable gift. It cannot be truly grasped through textbooks, documentaries or Wikipedia. There is beauty in authenticity and the need to see with your own eyes.

Will Cambodian-Japanese Ties Change if Japan Has a New Prime Minister? – Saturday, 29.8.2009

Posted on 30 August 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 627
http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

“Two different views have been expressed by official of the Royal Government of Cambodia and of the opposition party about the relations, both in diplomatic and in other terms, between Cambodia and Japan, if a new Japanese prime minister from the opposition party would take power after the general elections in Japan on 30 August 2009.

“An official of the Royal Government said that Cambodian and Japanese ties will not change and will become even better, whichever candidates from the ruling party or from the opposition becomes the new prime minister of Japan. An official of the opposition party of Cambodia, on the other side, thinks that the Cambodian-Japanese relations might change, if the president of the opposition party becomes the new prime minister, and he might restrict aid to Cambodia.

“On 30 August 2009, Japan will hold general elections, with two main candidates competing to become prime minister: first, the current prime minister, Mr. Aso Taro – 麻生太郎, Asō Tarō – and second, the president of the Japanese opposition Democratic Party, Mr. Hatoyama Yukio – 鳩山由紀夫. An opinion poll in Japan shows that an [opposition] majority seems to be able to take the position of the present prime minister, who will fall into the position of the president of the opposition party. Currently, Mr. Hatoyama is president of the opposition party, but the majority of Japanese people have lost faith in Prime Minister Aso Taro, who made the Japanese economy drop dramatically.

“The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr. Koy Kuong, told Deum Ampil by telephone on Friday, ‘I think that the Cambodian-Japanese ties will not change, regardless of which candidate will take power, and the relations of both countries’ will become better, both as far as aid is concerned, and also in relation to other sectors.’

“When asked why the relations might become better if a new prime minister would be elected in Japan, Mr. Koy Kuong said, ‘What is good will not change. Whichever candidate will make the relations to move ahead, because the whole world is cooperating towards globalization, and a party that takes power will surely always walk along this same track.’

“The spokesperson of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, Mr. Yim Sovann, expressed a contrasting opinion to the above view, saying, ‘Normally, if a country changes to a new prime minister, foreign politics will also change, because they are smart, and if the opposition party wins the elections, I believe that the aid requested to be provided to Cambodia will be severely restricted.’

“Mr. Yim Sovann added that Japan’s new government will not let the Royal Government of Cambodia do whatever it wants to do freely, relating to both corruption and to violations against democracy. They will not just stay calm and will carefully make their decisions before granting aid to Cambodia.

“According to information from Japan, Mr. Hatoyama, a co-founder and president of the opposition party, who expects to become the new Japanese prime minister, said that the government will focus on the requirements for the integration of economy and of politics with the East Asian countries, especially with the Beijing government, and also, he warned that Japan will likely also criticize America, a country which has been supporting Japan.

“According to a survey in Japan, if this opposition party president wins the elections, the whole Japanese government will turn to cooperate with Asian countries, especially with ASEAN countries, continuing to provide aid to those countries.

“It should be noted that so far, most of the aid that Cambodia has received [from one country] is from the Japanese government that is leading in helping to speed up the economy and to eradicate poverty in Cambodia, following the core policies of the Cambodian government.”

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #275, 29.8.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Saturday, 29 August 2009

Swiss man charged with abuse


Aug 30, 2009

PHNOM PENH - A CAMBODIAN court has charged a Swiss man with sexually abusing two minors, a government official said on Sunday.

Police said Rudolph Knuchel, 62, was arrested on Friday on suspicion of the sexual abuse of two boys, aged 14 and 16, after bringing them to his home in Siem Reap province.

'The judge has charged him for child sex abuse,' said Sun Bunthorng, the director of the government department that deals with human trafficking and protecting minors.

He said police also found evidence of child porn videos on Knuchel's computer.

The judge could not be contacted for comment Sunday.

Samleang Seila, director of the anti-paedophile group Action Pour Les Enfants, which helped in the arrest, told AFP that his team and police had been tracking the man's action for nearly a year.

Cambodia has struggled to shed its reputation as a haven for paedophiles, putting dozens of foreigners in jail for child sex crimes or deporting them to face trial in their home countries since 2003. -- AFP

Opposition Democrats tipped to win Japan election

In this photo taken on Aug. 29, 2009, Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, waves during a last minute speech to the public in downtown Tokyo, Japan, during the last day for Parliament's lower house election campaign. Japan voted Sunday Aug. 30, 2009, in parliamentary elections expected to end the ruling conservative party's nearly 54 years in power and give a largely untested opposition a chance to make good on its promises to revive the ailing economy and turn around record-high unemployment.(AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer

TOKYO – Japan voted Sunday in parliamentary elections expected to end the ruling conservative party's nearly 54 years of power and give a largely untested opposition group a chance to make good on their promises to revive the ailing economy and turn around record-high unemployment.

The vote was seen as a barometer of voter frustrations over the economy, which is in one of its worst slumps since World War II, and a loss of confidence in the ruling Liberal Democrats' ability to tackle tough problems such as the rising national debt and rapidly aging population.

All major polls going into the elections for the 480 seats in the lower house of parliament projected an overwhelming defeat for the Liberal Democrats, who have governed the country since they were founded in 1955 with only one break, a nearly 11-month respite in 1993-1994.

A loss by the Liberal Democrats would open the way for the Democratic Party of Japan, headed by Yukio Hatoyama, to oust Prime Minister Taro Aso and establish a new Cabinet, possibly within the next few weeks. It would also smooth policy debates in parliament, which has been deadlocked since the Democrats and their allies took over the less powerful upper house in 2007.

"The ruling party has betrayed the people over the past four years, driving the economy to the edge of a cliff, building up more than 6 trillion yen ($64.1 billion) in public debt, wasting money, ruining our social security net and widening the gap between the rich and poor," the Democratic Party said in a statement as voting began Sunday.

"We will change Japan," it said.

Polls by major newspapers said Hatoyama's party is likely to win more than 320 seats in the 480-seat lower house, sharply higher than the 112 it held before parliament was dissolved in July. The Democratic Party would need to win only a simple majority of 241 seats in the lower house to assure that it can name the next prime minister.

Officials said voter turnout was high, despite an approaching typhoon, indicating the high level of public interest the hotly contested campaigns have generated.

"We don't know if the Democrats can really make a difference, but we want to give them a chance," Junko Shinoda, 59, a government employee, said after voting at a crowded polling center in downtown Tokyo.

With only two weeks of official campaigning that focused mainly on broadstroke appeals rather than specific policies, many analysts said the elections were not so much about issues as voters' general desire for something new after more than a half century under the Liberal Democrats.

They also noted that although the Democrats promise to change Japan's approach toward its economy and make Tokyo's diplomacy less U.S.-centric, their founders are defectors from the Liberal Democrats and are not likely to present too radical a departure from the country's current path.

The Democrats are proposing toll-free highways, free high schools, income support for farmers, monthly allowances for job seekers in training, a higher minimum wage and tax cuts. The estimated bill comes to 16.8 trillion yen ($179 billion) if fully implemented starting in fiscal year 2013.

Aso — whose own support ratings have sagged to a dismal 20 percent — repeatedly stressed his party led Japan's rise from the ashes of World War II into one of the world's biggest economic powers and are best equipped to get it out of its current morass.

But the current state of the economy has been a major liability for his party.

Last week, the government reported that the unemployment rate for July hit 5.7 percent — the highest level in Japan's post-World War II era — while deflation intensified and families have cut spending because they are insecure about the future.

Making the situation more dire is Japan's rapidly aging demographic — which means more people are on pensions and there is a shrinking pool of taxpayers to support them and other government programs.

Hatoyama's promises to hold off on tax hikes planned by the Liberal Democrats and put more money into consumers' pockets are a sharp contrast with the Liberal Democrats' heavy focus on tax-funded stimulus packages that increase government spending and debt.

Along with his fiscal departures from the Liberal Democrats, Hatoyama said he will rein in the power of the bureaucracy and wants Japan to be more independent from the United States, Tokyo's key trading partner and military ally.

But Hatoyama, who holds a doctorate in engineering from Stanford University, insists he will not seek dramatic change in Japan's foreign policy, saying the U.S.-Japan alliance would "continue to be the cornerstone of Japanese diplomatic policy."

Rebel clashes along China-Myanmar border subside

Refugees who fled Kokang in Myanmar rest at a temporary refugee center in the Chinese border town of Nansan in southern China's Yunnan province Saturday Aug. 29, 2009. Fresh fighting erupted early Saturday in northeastern Myanmar after days of clashes between government troops and ethnic rebels drove tens of thousands of people into China. Up to 30,000 people have fled into China from Myanmar's Kokang region, according to reports received by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. (AP Photo)

Refugees who fled Kokang in Myanmar rest at a temporary refugee center in the Chinese border town of Nansan in southern China's Yunnan province Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. Fresh fighting erupted Saturday in northeastern Myanmar after days of clashes between government troops and ethnic rebels drove tens of thousands of people into China. Up to 30,000 people have fled into China from Myanmar's Kokang region, according to reports received by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.(AP Photo)

A baby sleeps amongst refugees from Myanmar at a temporary refugee camp set up in Nanshan, in southwestern China's Yunnan province, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. Thousands of refugees have fled across the Chinese border to escape fighting between government troops and ethnic militia in Myanmar's Kokang region.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Refugees from Myanmar sleep at a temporary refugee camp set up in Nanshan, in southwestern China's Yunnan province, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. Thousands of refugees have fled across the Chinese border to escape fighting between government troops and ethnic militia in Myanmar's Kokang region.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A Myanmar man holds a child at a refugee camp in Nanshan, in southwestern China's Yunnan province, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. Thousands of refugees have fled across the Chinese border to escape fighting between government troops and ethnic militia in Myanmar's Kokang region.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

By NG HAN GUAN, Associated Press Writer

MENG PENG, China – Fighting subsided Sunday along China's southern border after days of clashes between Myanmar government troops and ethnic rebels sent up to 30,000 refugees streaming into China.

Some rebels turned their guns over to Chinese authorities and swapped their uniforms for civilian clothes, tired of being outnumbered by thousands of Myanmar troops. A U.S.-based Myanmar watchdog group said the majority of rebels had "surrendered to China," but it was not clear whether their leader was among them.

"There was no way we would win," said one former rebel, Ri Chenchuan, as he shopped for new clothes in the few shops of Meng Peng, a mountain town about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border. Several former rebels said they arrived Saturday and slept in the open-air vegetable market.

The clashes have posed a major concern to Communist China and its goal of stability ahead of the sensitive Oct. 1 celebration of its 60th anniversary. At least one person was killed and dozens injured when a bomb was tossed into China on Saturday, a report said. Beijing has told Myanmar to end the fighting.

The violence also threatens to strain China's close relationship with Myanmar's military junta, which has been trying to consolidate control over several armed ethnic groups along its borders to ensure next year's national elections, the first in nearly 20 years, go smoothly.

An official with the Public Security Bureau in China's Zhenkang county, which oversees the border area, said Sunday there had been no reports of fighting since late Saturday. Like many Chinese officials, he refused to give his name.

In Meng Peng, several men told The Associated Press they had turned in their weapons to Chinese officials. Dozens of the men wearing blue cotton pants and shirts, issued to them when they surrendered their green rebel uniforms, were seen shopping for civilian clothes.

Li Jiayun said he and others decided to retreat "so that more civilians didn't get hurt."

There was no way to tell how many people in Myanmar have been killed or wounded in the fighting. State-controlled media in Myanmar, also known as Burma, have not reported the violence.

The Kokang are an ethnic Han Chinese minority group that speaks Chinese and, according to exiled Myanmar rights activists, has received support for decades from China because of its traditional ties to the Communist Party.

The Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma said about 700 rebels from the Kokang ethnic minority's militia had fled from thousands of Myanmar troops into China late Saturday, but tensions remained high.

"The majority of the Kokang troops have surrendered to China," said Aung Din, the campaign's executive director. There were conflicting accounts of whether militia leader Peng Jiashen was among them, he said.

But Myanmar's junta is expected to target other ethnic minorities along the border, Aung Din said. Several armed ethnic groups along the border with China are resisting pressure from the junta to join with the military to become border guards ahead of next year's elections.

"There will be more fighting, more tension and more conflict because the regime will continue to try to force these groups to surrender their arms," Aung Din said.

The conflict area is on the fringe of the drug-producing Golden Triangle region where Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet. Many of the ethnic armies there have used the drug trade to finance their operations. The Kokang and neighboring Wa regions, both isolated by mountainous terrain and a lack of roads, were traditionally Myanmar's main poppy growing areas.

Myanmar is the second largest exporter of heroin after Afghanistan.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said up to 30,000 people have poured into the Chinese border town of Nansan from Kokang since early this month after a confrontation between the government and rebels on Aug. 8. Chinese authorities are providing emergency food, shelter and medical care, it said.

Hundreds of refugees could be seen milling around Nansan on Sunday. Many hiked or drove up to a popular tourist spot to take photos of the heavily guarded border crossing.

The refugee camps, however, were off limits to foreign reporters. Li Hui, a local Foreign Affairs Department official, told AP reporters that media were not allowed in the settlement areas and ordered them to leave.

___

Associated Press writer Jocelyn Gecker in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Cambodia halves border troops


Aug 30, 2009

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA has halved the number of troops around an ancient border temple that has been the scene of bloody clashes with Thailand, the defence ministry said on Sunday.

There have been several skirmishes between the two countries on the disputed frontier around the 11th century Preah Vihear temple in Cambodia since the ruins were granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008.

'We have pulled out 50 per cent of the troops from Preah Vihear temple,' said Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defence.

'This shows that the situation at the border is really getting better, and that both countries have a mutual understanding of peace,' he added.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen last week said Thailand had just 30 soldiers on the border, meaning that Cambodia could stand some troops down and send them back to their provincial bases.

'We still have enough troops remaining to protect our territory,' said General Chea Dara, deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.

He said if Thailand 'shows a softer manner' they could cut the numbers further. 'However, if anything happened, our troop mobility would be very swift,' he told AFP.

Thailand in June reignited the row over the temple when it asked world heritage body UNESCO to reconsider its decision to formally list the temple in Cambodia.

Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads over the land around the Preah Vihear temple for decades. Although the World Court ruled in 1962 that it belonged to Cambodia, the most accessible entrance to the ancient Khmer temple with its crumbling stone staircases and elegant carvings is in northeastern Thailand.

The last gunbattle in the temple area in April left three people dead while clashes there in 2008 killed another four people. The border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated, in part because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia. -- AFP

Cambodia in Pictures
















Thailand in Pictures



Red shirt supporters of fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra during a protest in Bangkok. A court in the country has convicted and sentenced a female protester from the political movement to 18 years in prison for insulting the country's monarchy during anti-government rallies. (AFP/File/Nicolas Asfouri)


Darunee Charnchoengsilpakul, a supporter of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, gestures after leaving a courtroom in Bangkok August 28, 2009. A Thai court on Friday sentenced Darunee, a political campaigner, to 18 years in prison for insulting the monarchy, a serious offence in a country where the royal institution is revered and officially above politics.
REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang





Ordinands chant pray on the ground of the Golden Pagoda during the mass ordination at Dhamakaya temple in Pathumthani province, central Thailand Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. More than 7,000 men from the provinces throughout the country ordained Buddhist monks in a ceremony on Saturday. The newly ordained Buddhist monks will practice their teachings at the temples in the rural areas until the end of Buddhist lent which this year falls on October 4.
(AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)




A soldier stands guard next to a barricade at the Government House in Bangkok August 29, 2009. "Red shirt" supporters of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra have postponed Sunday's planned rally outside the office of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva because of a tight security law passed this week.REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom