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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014 Successful People Read ThePost 4000 RIEL

ISSUENUMBER1893

WORLDPAGE 15 LIFESTYLEPAGE 17 SPORTPAGE 21

Brits want full stopto apostrophe culling

Exploring the past,one cocktail at a time

Riverboarders epicswim down Mekong

Daniel de Carteret

EXECUTIVES from Australia and NewZealand Banking Group Limited(ANZ) and local partner Royal Groupof Companies (RGC) both went intodamage control yesterday after com-ments by ANZ chief executive officerMike Smith suggesting the joint bank-ing venture between the two was onthe rocks.

Royal Group chief financial officerMark Hanna said yesterday that theCambodian conglomerate had astrong relationship with ANZ andthere were no plans to break up theventure, ANZ Royal Bank.

The Royal Group would like toclarify that it is a strong and commit-ted partner to ANZ in Cambodia and

will remain so. Together we have built

a very successful franchise in Cambo-dia and we do not see that this willchange, Hanna said in an email.

Our position is that we like the bankand have no desire to sell, he added.If they want to make a very high offer,it would be sensible to at least con-sider that. However as it stands today,no offer has been discussed, and it isbusiness as usual.

ANZ owns a 55 per cent stake in ANZRoyal Bank, which was started in 2005.Royal Group owns the rest.

Its not the first time that the localfirm, which is owned by Cambodiantycoon Kith Meng, has had to defend

Monks wrap a community resin tree in orange cloth in Preah Roka forest in Preah Vihears Tbeng Meanchey district earlier this month as part of a treeordination ceremony. MAY TITTHARA

Its a wrap

Kevin Ponniah and Meas Sokchea

Analysis

IN MID-FEBRUARY, as the rulingand opposition parties declaredthey would restart formal talksfocusing on election reform in a

bid to finally end months of politicaldeadlock, observers predicted that lit-tle would be achieved.

It had been roughly six weeks sincea violent crackdown on protesting

opposition supporters and strikingworkers put a swift end to burgeoning

anti-government protests and seem-ingly put the ruling party back in thedrivers seat.

I appreciate that they will start [for-mal] negotiations, but, for me, they

will be useless. This time, the CPP hasgreat power and the CNRP has verylittle power at the negotiating table,political analyst Kem Ley told the Post

at the time.On Monday, following the fourth

meeting of a bipartisan electionreform committee that was formedas a result of those talks, Leys com-ments appeared prescient.

Frustrated after weeks of flip-flop-ping from the Cambodian PeoplesParty on the oppositions key demandof National Election Committeereform, the Cambodia National Res-

cue Party threw in the towel, haltinglower-level talks and demanding a

meeting between top party leaders.If the [CPP] understands that NEC

reform is an important priority, wantsto have a real, independent NEC and

wants to actually solve problems rath-er than [simply] delay, [they] shouldrespond to what the [CNRP] hasrequested, deputy CNRP leader KemSokha said yesterday, warning that his

party would lead more demonstra-tions if its demands are not met.

On January 12, senior party figuressaid a final campaign to force PrimeMinister Hun Sen to step down orcall fresh elections was being targetedfor March.

Though the party has called a pressconference for this morning followingthe return of CNRP leader Sam Rain-sy from abroad yesterday, officials

were coy last night about what wouldbe announced.

The CPP, meanwhile, has stated it

An exercise in futility?Little to show for weeks of political talks

Continues on page 6

Continues on page 8

For RoyalGroup, salenot desired

MH370 GRIEF SPILLS OVER: PAGE 12

STORY >2

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2 THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

In forest, silence all too short-livedMay Titthara

Preah Vihear province

FOR three days last

week, the Preah Rokaforest in Preah Vihearprovince was silent,

the usual cacophony of chain-saws notably absent.

The buzz of trucks arrivingempty and later leaving heavi-ly loaded with timber had beenreplaced by ethnic Kuoy villag-ers, about 300 in all, patrollingfor illegal loggers. Destroyingthe forest is destroying ourlives, said Nuon Mun, who

was among the band of villag-ers from three districts. Theyare logging all the [trees].

Previously, villagers say,teams of loggers targetedluxury timber in what is theprovinces second-biggest for-est after Prey Lang. In the pastmonth, their priorities havechanged and they have settheir sights on resin trees. Al-though the area is state forest,the minority group relies onsuch trees for their livelihoodsand fear the consequences ofthe logging will be profound.

Its a concern the authoritiescare little for, villagers say.

The authorities help, allright, but they dont help us,Mun said. They help the an-

archists behind this. When wecome here to patrol, they re-port it to the [loggers].

The long road into the for-est from the closest towntakes eight hours on a home-made tractor and its only a45-kilometre trip. Sections ofthe road, damaged by heavy

trucks or covered by broken,decaying pieces of timber, arevery nearly impassable.

During the past few weeks,villagers say, workers withunfamiliar faces have loggedabout 90 resin trees.

In what was once thick, denseforest, sun is beginning to shine

through, villager Roeung Khansaid at a ceremony that the pa-trol groups held as a way of urg-ing spirits to protect their trees.

Monks tied saffron robesaround resin trees and incensesticks were burned as thosepresent prayed for growthrather than destruction.

We have to protect PreahRoka forest, because now it isthe only one left, said villagerTouch Sokha, 57. If we cant

protect it, the next generationwill not even know what theforest is, while the old people

will be starving to death.Many Kuoy men are rice

farmers and a lot of the womenweave silk, according to PonlokKhmer, an organisation that

works closely with the commu-nity. Many of the families alsodepend on resin for their sur-vival as did their ancestors.

Holding about seven bas-kets of resin in her homemadetractor, surrounded by herfamily, villager Kham Von, 56,said that her family can collectabout 30 litres a month, whichcan earn them more than $20.

But with this destruction,were losing the trees, she said.

Ponlok Khmer says thatabout 15,000 people from 21villages depend on this forest.

And its not the first time it hasbeen under threat. In 1997, aforestry concession was grant-ed to a company called Chen-da Plywood. After protestsagainst resin trees being felled,the company suspended itsactivities in 2002.

This time around, villagersand rights groups believe they

know who is behind the log-ging: Try Pheap.

A logging tycoon, Pheap islicensed to clear vast areas of

Cambodias forests, possessesa large number of economicland concessions and has beenaccused of causing the evictionof more than 1,400 families.

We know that Try Pheapscompany has deployed peopleto cut down and sell trees inthe area, said Boek Sophan,from Ponlok Khmer.

Staff from the organisation,Sophan claimed, had spokento loggers in the area who saidthey worked for Pheap.

Ouch Leng, president of theCambodian Human RightsTask Force, said his organisa-tion was preparing a reportthat would expose Pheapsconnection to the logging.

Pheap and representativesof his company, MDS ImportExport, could not be reached,nor could It Phumara, directorof the provincial forestry ad-ministration.

With the patrol over, thevillagers are expecting the si-lence to lose out to the soundof trucks and chainsaws again.

Previously, this area wasreached by no one but those

who collected resin, Sophansaid.

People rest in hammocks at a makeshift camp in Preah Roka forest in Preah Vihears Tbeng Meancheydistrict earlier this month. MAY TITTHARA

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3THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

Khouth Sophak Chakrya

FORTY families in KampongChhnang provinces Peani

commune complained yes-terday that a local factory hasbeen polluting their land withtoxic liquid waste.

Kong Yom, 40, a representa-tive of the 40 families in KrangTa Ekh village, said yesterdaythat this is not the first timevillagers have complained that

weaving factory The Best Sea-son is destroying their land.

We have asked the local au-thorities many times already tointervene, but this factory keepsreleasing its waste into our ricefields. Now, 50 hectares of ricefields have been destroyed be-cause of the waste, Yom said.

One of the villagers, 29-year-old Oeurn Nit, said that duringthe dry season, locals dependon the Krang Ta Ekh river as asource of clean water. But, heclaims, pollution from the fac-tory has put a stop to this.

We do not know what thechemical substances are, butit turns the water a dark colourand [makes it] stink . . . The vil-lagers skin will be itchy afterthey use [it], Nit explained.

Village elder Rith Soth said thefactory has been secretly releas-ing toxic liquid waste into the

rice fields and river for a num-ber of years, but the factory hasnot been fined or punished bythe authorities at all.

Taim Saroeurn, KampongTralach deputy district gover-nor, told thePostthat in 2013 theenvironment ministry issued a

warning letter, threatening totemporarily stop production atthe factory if measures were nottaken to stop the waste infect-ing the surrounding area.

After receiving the letter, thefactory made improvements,

which included plans to builda stronger reservoir to store thetoxic liquid and filters to treat it,Saroeurn said.

For this new case, I do notknow clearly yet, but I willsend our officials to cooperate

with the experts at the provin-cial environment departmentto inspect the site soon, hesaid, adding that if the villag-ers claims are proven true, he

would temporarily stop opera-tions at the factory.

Tut Sokunteara, a managerat The Best Season, denied in-tentionally leaking the waste,but said it might have comethrough cracks in reservoirs.

We accept that there aresome technical points that wehave not improved yet, but wecan improve it again, he said.

Factory waste blamedfor health, crop woes

Recruiters to be reigned in?Sean Teehan and Mom Kunthear

A

NEW series of regulations forCambodias recruitment agen-cies many plagued with alle-

gations of fraud, negligence andhuman trafficking should mean a closereye on firms in practice, but labour rightsadvocates remain dubious.

Speaking before a room of recruitmentagency managers yesterday, Labour Min-ister Ith Sam Heng officially put into effecta new sub-decree increasing protection of

workers who find overseas employmentthrough these firms.

You must prepare, you must make yourhouse stable, Sam Heng said. When youestablish your company, you must be pro-fessional; because this is not a joke.

The sub-decrees eight prakases placerequirements on recruitment agenciesand the Ministry of Labour including con-sequences for failed inspections and aspecific reporting mechanism for workersemployed in abusive working conditions.

An abuse-reporting structure, whichgives Labour Ministry officials 10 days toact on written complaints, is among thestronger points in the sub-decree, said

Anna Olsen, technical officer for the Inter-national Labour Organization.

But a lack of specificity about monitor-ing and enforcement measures will makethe sub-decree little more than lip service,said Huy Pichsovann, a program officer forthe Community Legal Education Center.

In the past year, the Post reportednumerous instances of domestic workersand fishermen recruited to work abroad,

who returned home with tales of enslave-ment and physical abuse.

Prakases include provisions requiringrecruitment agencies to submit reports ofindependent workplace inspections to theLabour Ministry and penalties for agenciesthat fall below the sub-decrees standards.

But details including what will actuallybe inspected, frequency of inspections andhow far a firm can deviate from the rulesbefore license suspensions and revoca-tions are imposed remain vague.

The prakas are not powerful enoughbecause there is no implementation [ofenforcement], Pichsovann said yesterday.

Most of the recruitment agency ownersare relatives of high-ranking [government]officers . . . or they have connections.

Ung Seang Rithy, head of the Associa-tion of Cambodian Recruiting Agencies,owns the Ung Rithy Group, which has re-peatedly been accused of human traffick-ing, and is the sister of former police chiefSok Phal.

Additionally, said Dave Welsh, countrydirector for labour rights group SolidarityCenter, Cambodia has relatively little ex-perience legislating migrant worker issues,

when compared to ASEAN countries, suchas the Philippines.

A maid exits the Phnom Penh Airport in 2012 after suffering abuse at the hands of her employerin Malaysia along with 11 other domestic workers.PHA LINA

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Vong Sokheng

CHINESE firm Global (Cambo-dia) Trade Development willlaunch several more city buslines in Phnom Penh over the

next 10 months, dramaticallyexpanding what has so far beena successful experiment tointroduce mass transit to thecapital, the company and statemedia said yesterday.

Lin Andre, Globals chiefexecutive, said that a total of118 new buses will be deployedto serve routes on the Street 271ring road and Mao Tse Tung,Kampuchea Krom, Sothearos,Sisowath and Russian boule-vards, among others.

We do hope that we will beable to sign a contract with theCity Hall before Khmer New

Year, Andre said. Globals pub-lic bus service does not easilymake profits, but we do hopethat within the next three or four

years, there will more supportfrom the passengers.

Passenger numbers have heldsteady, Andre added, with some1,400 to 1,600 people paying the1,500-riel (about $0.37) ticketprice to travel along Globalscurrent line on Monivong Boul-evard every day.

The bus line began as a one-month public experiment by theJapanese International Coop-eration Agency (JICA) before

being taken over by Global.Masato Koto, who is in charge

of a JICA project to developPhnom Penhs urban masterplan, said yesterday that hisorganisation had advised thecitys Department of Public

Works and Transportation(DWPT) on the criteria for viableroutes, but said that final deci-sions were between City Hall andGlobal, who match the criteriato conditions on the ground.

We need more time to dealwith the [illegal] parking situa-tion, and we will work on this

with the DPWT, he said. Itseasy to say about the criteria, but

[more difficult to] adapt to theactual road conditions.

State-run media outlet AgenceKampuchea Presse on Mondayquoted Phnom Penh MunicipalGovernor Pa Socheatvong assaying that the bus service isaimed at reducing traffic acci-dents and congestion, but CityHall spokesman Long Diman-che yesterday would not con-firm the expansion.

We are planning and it is anongoing discussion to expand tomore routes, but so far we can-not announce it yet, saidDimanche. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BYSTUART WHITE

National4 THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

Annotated code topromote rule of lawStuart White

THE UN Office of theHigh Commissionerfor Human Rights yes-terday unveiled the

first ever annotated version ofCambodias Code of CriminalProcedure, a tool they say couldultimately promote strongerrule of law in Cambodias oft-criticised domestic courts.

According to OHCHR countrydirector Wan-Hea Lee, annotat-ed codes of criminal procedure which refine articles fromthe criminal code by couplingthem with examples of howthey have been ruled upon incourts like the Khmer Rouge tri-bunal help lawyers craft moresophisticated legal arguments,thereby elevating Cambodiascourtroom dynamics.

I have no doubt that the An-notated Code will encourage ashift in Cambodian legal prac-tice through enhanced legalreasoning, increased referencesto jurisprudence, and the futureproduction of similar resourcesfor other fields of law, Lee

wrote in the codes foreword be-fore urging legal practitioners toput the new text to good use.

Speaking at the codes launch,

Lee said that such annotatedcodes reduce the subjectivitybehind legal verdicts.

Khmer Rouge tribunal prose-cutor William Smith, one of thelawyers who presented the ideafor the code to the OHCHR, saidat the same event that he hopedthe code could contribute toaccelerating the goal of seeingthe rule of law in Cambodia.

However, some legal practi-tioners and observers yester-day said that, while positive,

the code would face challengesgetting Cambodias recalcitrantdomestic legal system to favourtrue rule of law.

First, jurisprudence is rarelyapplied in Cambodian courts,said Panhavuth Long, a pro-gram officer with the Cambo-dian Justice Initiative. See the[limited] resources available tothe courts, the political influ-ence . . . It may take a lot of time

for the [jurisprudence] that the

[tribunal] applied to take hold.Nonetheless, he added, the

code is good, because its a re-source for legal practitioners, soits up to individuals to decidehow they want to use it.

Defence attorney Dun Vibol,on the other hand, was evenmore sceptical of the codesprospects, given Cambodian

judges unwillingness to enter-tain legal arguments.

Sometimes I mention everypoint of law, jurisprudence . . .

but even so, in reality, the Cam-bodian court never tries thecase based on jurisprudence,he said. We raise this point,but I never think that a judge

will ever listen.But according to Smith, the

prosecutor, if one actor inthe courtroom starts to of-fer more sophisticated argu-ments, then naturally, thestandards [will rise].

A man collects fares from passengers on a city bus travelling alongMonivong Boulevard in Phnom Penh earlier this month. PHA LINA

Firm plans more bus lines

Sometimes I mention everypoint of law . . . but the

Cambodian court never triesthe case based on jurisprudence

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5THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

Multiple Positions for Upcoming Civil Society Support

Program, Cambodia

Management Systems International seeks aDeputy Chief of Party, Grants

Manager, and Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist for the upcoming

USAID Cambodia Civil Society Support Program aimed at strengthening the

organizational capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) through training,

technical assistance, and financial support. The program will also assist USAID

with managing a grants program and managing a legal defense fund.

The Deputy Chief of Partywill support the Chief of Party in managing all

aspects of the program: Masters degree, 10 years experience managing

and implementing civil society programs, experience with USAID-funded

programs preferred. Professional proficiency in English and Khmer required.

The Grants Managerwill oversee and administer grants under this project:

Bachelors Degree, 5 years experience managing USAID grants programs,

professional proficiency in English and Khmer required.

The Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Specialistwill design and implement

an M&E system to monitor the program in reaching its targets and overall

objectives: Bachelors degree of higher, an advanced certificate in M&E

preferred, 5 years experience in a senior M&E position, professional proficiencyin English and Khmer required.

To apply : Please visit ou r websi te,

www.msiworldwide.com/careers

Sen David

CAMBODIAS Ministry ofHealth said yesterday that it

recorded 116 cases of ma-ternal mortality in 2013, afigure that is markedly lowerthan accepted rates recordedby health organisations in re-cent years.

The ministrys annual re-port mentions the 116 cases,but does not specify if thisfigure is a rate per 100,000 livebirths, a common way of pre-senting such data.

It also does not provide aspecific definition of what itconsiders maternal mortality.

Recent studies have placedCambodias maternal mortal-ity rate at between about 200and 300 deaths per 100,000live births.

In a 2013 report, the UnitedNations Population Fundfound that 250 women diedper 100,000 live births inCambodia, or nearly doublethe Kingdoms 2015 Millen-nium Development Goal.

But Health Minister MamBun Heng said at yesterdaysreport launch that accordingto the report, [we] have nearlyachieved the Kingdoms 2015Millennium DevelopmentGoal.

According to the ministrysreport, about 320,000 births

were recorded last year, 80per cent of which took place

in recognised health centres.The government is mak-

ing efforts to promote womengiving birth in health centres,especially in rural areas, andthats why we want to expandmore health centres, BunHeng said.

Denise Shepherd-Johnson,UNICEF Cambodias chief ofcommunications, said that

while the rate in Cambodiawas declining, other maternaldeaths at home or in privatehealth facilities may havegone unrecorded by the gov-ernment last year.

Although there has beena decrease in maternal mor-tality . . . disparities exist for

women in deprived or hard-to-reach communities wherethey do not have access to ba-sic and essential health ser-vices and where it is a normto use traditional birth atten-dants, she said.

Tung Rathavy, director ofthe National Maternal andChild Health Centre, said thegovernment needed to focuson increasing prenatal careand reproductive healthcareaccess.

Maternal death ratesliding, claims govt

Judges prodded on detentionAlice Cuddy

W

ITH pre-trial de-tainees adding toan already over-

crowded prisonpopulation, the government

yesterday called on the judi-ciary to rethink the widespreadpractice of jailing suspectslong-term before trial.

In opening remarks at thetwo-day conference, co-organised by the Ministry ofJustice and the Bar Associa-tion, with support from theUN Office of the High Com-missioner for Human Rights(OHCHR), Justice Minister

Ang Vong Vanthana calledfor a transparent and effec-tive approach to pre-trialdetentions.

Judges have a very su-preme power. [They] haveenforced their law, but theirenforcement is not compre-hensive . . . When they leaveor graduate from school,they have some gaps in theirdecision making, he told theaudience of about 70 judi-ciary members, donors andgovernment officials at theCambodiana Hotel.

Judges are [now] requiredto give proper arguments and

justifications for pre-trial de-tention, he said, explaining

that the days of simply be-ing able to tick boxes whendeciding whether to detain asuspect before trial are num-bered.

In January, the Ministryof Justice sent a new form

which senior judges helpedto pen to all Cambodiancourts, requiring judges tocall an adversarial hearing

with all parties ahead of anydecision.

Yesterdays event soughtto convince judges that, as

per law, In principle, thecharged person shall remainat liberty.

Licadho prison consultantSharon Critoph said this is farfrom what is happening at themoment.

Whilst pre-trial detentionshould always be the exceptionnot the rule, as things stand,suspects, including pregnant

women and juveniles, are rare-ly spared prison time even forthe most minor offences, shesaid by email yesterday.

According to Licadho, pre-trial detainees, includingthose awaiting final verdictor appeal, now representmore than 60 per cent of the

entire Cambodian prisonpopulation.

[They] are often held inworse conditions than con-victs.

They are unlikely to beoffered work opportunitiesor vocational training andtherefore have less out-of-celltime, Critoph said.

High numbers of detaineesalso add to prison overcrowd-ing. According to Justice Min-istry figures, in Decemberthere were 14,691 inmatesfilling 8,500 places.

Under the new rules, thejudge will only be able toorder pre-trial detention fora set period, the maximum of

which is one year for suspectsover 18 who have committeda felony.

While wide-scale imple-mentation is yet to hap-pen, organisers yesterdaystressed the importance ofthe change.

A speech read on behalfof OHCHR representative

Wan-Hea Lee said the reformrepresents human rightsprotection against arbitrarydetention.

Two handcuffed men are escorted to a hearing at Phnom Penh MunicipalCourt this month. Licadho believes pre-trial detainees account for morethan 60 per cent of the Cambodian prison population. PHA LINA

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Chhay Channyda

and Laignee Barron

CAMBODIAS highschoolers, soon to

enjoy an overhaul ofthe nations bribery-

plagued test-taking system,can now also look forward tolessons in corruption busting.

At the start of a three-dayteacher training workshop inthe capital yesterday, the ACUannounced it would beginrolling out anti-corruptionlesson plans starting with anaddition to the upper sec-ondary school Life Skillscurriculum in the followingacademic year.

The new lesson plans arethe starting point for chang-ing the attitude of students. . . in order to build up a goodsociety, Minister of Educa-tion Hang Chuon Naron said.

The 12-unit anti-corrup-tion addendum will be un-packed in eight teachinghours spread throughoutthe year, with the hope thatstudents armed with a betterknowledge of their nationscorruption laws will be lesstolerant of crime.

I see corruption like asocial cancer . . . Educating

young people about integrityand anti-corruption is like in-

jecting them with a vaccina-tion so they are not affectedby these diseases, said Kol

Preap, executive director ofTransparency International,

which assisted in developingthe new curriculum.

But critics scoffed at theidea that embedding anti-corruption lessons into theschool day would have an im-pact in a nation consistentlyranked as one of the worldsmost corrupt; last year, aleading international corrup-tion index found Cambodiato have the worst perceivedlevel of corruption in ASEAN.

The whole system needsto be cleaned up, otherwise

whats in the lesson plans isntgoing to matter, said Son

Chhay, an opposition partylawmaker-elect. How dothey expect students to learncorruption is bad while at thesame time many are brib-ing their teacher for a pass-ing grade? The reality of thiscountry is that if you do goodthings you are good in nameonly, and if you do bad, cor-rupt things, you profit.

The ACU declined to pro-vide the Postwith specifics ora copy of the upcoming anti-corruption curriculum, butsaid the new textbooks will bepublished soon, funded by ei-ther the Ministry of Educationor a development partner.

Continued from page 1

cannot accept being forced toagree to the oppositions centralrequest: that the NEC bereplaced with a constitution-ally mandated election body

whose members must beapproved by at least two-thirdsof parliament.

But to many observers, therecent breakdown of talks hasmerely confirmed what theyspeculated beforehand thatthe CPP, despite being underimmense pressure, was neverserious about in-depth elec-tion reform.

The CPP understands thatthe demand for electoral reformfrom Cambodian society andkey stakeholders, includingdevelopment partners, is sostrong that it cannot ignore it,said Preap Kol, executive direc-tor at Transparency Interna-tional Cambodia, which moni-tors elections.

But the CPP is seen to bewilling to [only] undertakereform in areas that do not fun-damentally affect the NECcomposition. This indicatesthat the CPP considers theNEC to be very important forthem rather than consideringit a neutral or independentnational institution to admin-

ister the elections.This further validates the

concerns that the CNRP andsociety have about the NEC,

which they believe to be one ofthe root causes [of] electoralproblems.

On March 11, following thecommittees second meeting, at

which the ruling party wantedto focus on the neutrality of

election NGOs, oppositionleader Sam Rainsy sent a noteto the diplomatic communityarguing that the CPP was sim-ply trying to buy time and tocling on to power by any means

and at any cost.A day later, CNRP leaders told

supporters that they were pre-paring to cut off talks in favourof protests, saying the rulingparty was only putting on a showto appease foreign donors.

Those demonstrations never

occurred, and after more thana month of participating in talksthat have achieved nothing, anyleverage the opposition oncehad is ebbing away, accordingto Ou Virak of the Cambodian

Center for Human Rights.The CNRP is losing steam a

little bit. While going to talk,they should have kept the pres-sure up. They can talk and pro-test at the same time, maybenot on a massive scale, but theyshould come up with ways to

keep up the pressure, he said.But while more mass demon-

strations might not be a viableoption, repeated statementsfrom Defence Minister Tea Banhpledging the militarys allegianceto the government shows that alot of nervousness remains inthe CPP, Virak added.

Any reforms that the CPP willagree to make are going to be

ones that aim to please and notones that will undermine itsgrip on power. Thats the bal-ance the CPP is trying to strike.

Youve got to pressure the CPPto reform, and without thatpressure, they wont.

Peter Tan Keo, a US-basedanalyst and Southeast Asiaexpert, said that top-level talks

were the only way that major

election reform issues could beagreed on.

Negotiations should alwayshave been at the highest levels.Thats where real decisions aremade, at least within the CPP. It

was somewhat foolhardy forthe opposition to think other-

wise, he said.Unfortunately, the CNRP has

lost a great deal of steam thatmay, at this point, be difficult torecuperate.

Veteran political pundit DrLao Mong Hay agreed that thenegotiations strategy was wrongfrom the beginning.

Given that Cambodia alreadyhas extensive reform recom-mendations from a number ofinternational and local groups,the parties should have set atime frame from the beginningto debate those recommenda-tions, he said.

If you have that kind of strat-egy [as opposed to a committeestudying reforms], we can see

who is dragging their feet,he said.

But for those who are hopingto see an end to the deadlockany time soon, there appears tobe no rush from either party inthe ongoing war of attrition,Mong Hay warned.

Its a question of time. [Therewill be no] immediate settle-

ment of issues. [Cambodians]dont have that type of tradition[where] issues are resolved byourselves without resorting tothird parties. So it will taketime.

But as long as talks are notbroken off and abandoned[completely], there is hope there.

We take time and wear down ouropponents strategy.

Ceded territory

Court dropscase againstPM Hun Sen

ACASE filed by a youthorganiser against Prime

Minister Hun Sen, inwhich the premier was ac-cused of illegally ceding Cam-bodian territory to Vietnam,has been dropped by PhnomPenh Municipal Court.

Deputy prosecutor MeasChanpiseth last week issueda decision, saying the courtwould not pursue the casebrought by Neang Sokhun,president of the Khmer YouthFederation of Patriots, whichaccuses Hun Sen of unlawfullygiving away the islands of KohTral and Koh Krachak Sesto Vietnam.

Its not a court that offersjustice for its nation, but acourt that defends individualswho commit crimes, Sokhunsaid yesterday, adding that heplans to appeal the decision. Iam very upset with the courtsunjust decision.

Sokhun filed his case incourt on February 3. WhenSokhun appeared as a plaintiffin the case on February 28,the deputy prosecutor saidthat more evidence wasneeded, Sokhun told the Postat the time.

Chanpiseth declined to com-ment on the case yesterday.MEAS SOKCHEA

Touch and go lady failsto con builder brothersTWO brothers skilled with theirhands were nearly outdone bya dexterous lady of the nighton Monday in Phnom Penhs

Russey Keo district. Two car-penters were waiting outside anightclub when the womanapproached and got a bit tac-tile. The men realised she hadpassed over their wallets toher waiting lover, and handedthe thieving lovebirds over topolice. The cops confiscatedthe cash and sent the sus-pects to court. KOH SANTEPHEAP

Joyride short-lived forshortsighted teenagerA NIGHT or two on the townfor one teen in Kandal provincebegan with an innocentrequest, but ended with a nightin a cell. Claiming he neededto go food shopping, the

18-year-old borrowed hisneighbours moto on Sunday.The teen returned, emptyhanded, on Tuesday, afterpawning the bike and spend-ing the $200 on party para-phernalia. His friends, he says,forced him to sell the moto. Hewas sent to court, and hisfriends are now wanted forquestioning. NOKORWAT

Disabled moto driverinjured in hit-and-runA DISABLED motodop gotsnagged by a reckless driveron Monday in Kandals AngSnuol district. The 45-year-old driver, whose leg hasbeen paralysed since birth,was left unconscious andbleeding with a broken legafter an accident with a carspeeding from a gas station.The driver abandoned thevehicle in Phnom Penhs PorSen Chey district after apolice chase. The victim is inthe hospital and police arestill searching for the sus-pect. NOKORWAT

Canine kerfuffle leadsto fisticuffs, machetesONE Banteay Meanchey fami-lys bite lived up to their barkon Sunday. Four men and awoman aged between 30 and38, all relatives, were arrestedon Monday after batteringtheir 45-year-old neighbour

and hacking at him with amachete. The fight startedbecause the victims son anddaughter were playing nearthe suspects house. Whenthe family dog began to chasethe kids, the victim com-plained, leading to the inci-dent. NOKORWAT

Arrested teenage dealermum on his ringleaderA SMALL-TIME drug pusherwas nabbed by police in thecapitals Sen Sok district onMonday. Cops found the19-year-old loitering on astreet corner and, after aquick search, discovered fivepackages of methampheta-

mines in his pockets. Heconfessed to being a dealer,claiming to make a 20,000riel profit per package sold.Police are searching for thesupplier after the manrefused to rat out his source.KAMPUCHEA THMEY

Translated by Phak Seangly

POLICEBLOTTER

National6 THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

Trio deniesmarriageplot chargeButh Reaksmey Kongkea

A TRIO accused of attemptingto smuggle two underage girlsand two women to China formarriage denied the charges

yesterda y, saying that thefour would have worked aslabourers.

Mak Heang Rithy, 32, ischarged with providing forgeddocuments, and alleged con-spirators Taing Saroeun, 46,and E Lao, 65, both face charg-es as accomplices to providingforged documents after theirNovember arrest at PhnomPenh International Airport.

They collected the girls, whorange from age 17 to age 23,and made fake passports forthem, in order to send them toChina to marry men there,Phnom Penh Municipal JudgeKeo Mony said.

Municipal anti-human traf-ficking police arrested thedefendants at the airport, whilethey were allegedly seeing offthe four, said Keo Thea, chief ofdepartments juvenile protec-tion unit.

In court yesterday, HeangRithy admitted to forging thedocuments, but insisted thefour were meant to work asfruit collectors in China.

Verdicts will be hand eddown on April 23.

Anti-corruption 101

CNRP members attend a meeting to discuss National Election Committee reform at the Senate in PhnomPenh on Monday. HENG CHIVOAN

Little to show for weeks of political talks

Students at a high school in Kampong Chhnang. New lessons are beingprepared to provide high school students with better knowledge on thenations corruption laws. DC-CAM

The CNRP is losing steam alittle bit. While going to talk,they should have kept the

pressure up

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Kyoko Hasegawa

TOKYO resident ReikoOguma is splashingout the yen in a last-minute buying spree

as she and millions of Japaneseshoppers brace for the coun-trys first sales tax hike sincethe late 1990s.

Oguma, a forty-somethinghousewife, reckoned there wasno time to lose so she shelledout the equivalent of $2,000 fora new refrigerator and clothesahead of the increase on April1, as fears grow that the hike

will take a bite out of consumerspending and derail Japansnascent economic recovery.

I know that stuff is cheaperthan it will be afterwards soId rather buy it now, saidOguma, among the thousandsshopping in Tokyos bustlingShinjuku district, adding thatshe saved the equivalent of

about $60.Such modest savings and

a new levy of 8.0 per cent, upfrom 5.0 per cent, might notregister in places with muchhigher consumption taxes.

But not so in Japan, wherethe economy has been longbeen locked in a deflation-ary spiral and consumers areused to paying pretty much thesame prices year after year fortheir haircuts, televisions, beerand sushi.

Electric toothbrushes, fam-ily-sized fridges and wash-ing machines are selling fastat household and electronicschain Bic Camera, where Feb-ruary sales were up almost14 per cent from a year ago,despite poor winter weatherthat might have otherwise keptshoppers at home.

Were seeing rush demandahead of the tax increase, saida spokesman for the company.

Some firms are absorbingthe higher tax to keep pricessteady, fearing a drop in cus-tomer traffic.

However QB House, a 1,000yen-a-head haircut chain, saidprices will go up a full 8.0 percent to 1,080 yen. The com-pany reasoned that it kept its

thrifty rates capped despite thelast tax rise 17 years ago, whenthe levy rose to 5.0 per centfrom 3.0 per cent .

Under the current circum-stances, it is hard to keep pricesthe same, it said.

Its a similar story for theYoshinoya restaurant chainsbeef-on-rice bowls which areset to cost 300 yen, up from280 yen, owing to the tax riseand rising import costs, whichhave been pushed up by the

weak yen.Falling or static prices may

sound great for householdbudgets, but Japanese wageshave barely moved over the

years and the cycle meantshoppers tended to hold offbuying in the hope of getting

goods cheaper down the road.That, in turn, hurt producersand slowed economic growth.

The tax rise is seen as crucialfor bringing down Japans eye-

watering debt.

But it has created a keychallenge for a policy blitzunleashed by Prime MinisterShinzo Abe, aimed at nudgingthe worlds third-largest econ-omy out of deflation.

A key worry is that Japanslast tax rise in 1997 deterredconsumers and foreshadowedthe drop into a cycle of fallingprices although other factors,including the Asian financialcrisis, also weighed on theeconomy.

Consumer prices in 2013logged their first annual rise in

five years, while land prices areup in major cities for the firsttime since the global financialcrisis in 2008.

Those inflationary signs,along with higher prices from

the tax rise, are exacerbatingfears about future spending,despite recent wage increasesby major firms including Toyo-ta and Panasonic.

Spending data suggest con-sumers are getting thrifty, andexpectations for salary increas-es were not enough to offsetthe trend, said Credit Suisseanalyst Hiromichi Shirakawa.

Among those tightening theirbelts is 19-year-old college stu-dent Yukako Muraishi.

From April, Ill be cuttingback on spending, she said,

after scooping up some expen-sive new clothes.

Still, not everyone thinks thelate nineties slowdown willrepeat itself.

Last week, Japan passed its

biggest-ever budget to prop upgrowth, after the Bank of Japanlast year unleashed an unprec-edented monetary easing cam-paign to stir growth.

Compared with 1997, wenow have the central banksmonetary easing and govern-ment policies designed tocushion the shock, said Mit-subishi UFJ Morgan StanleySecurities senior economistHiroshi Miyazaki.

So, I dont think the econ-omy will slow down this timearound. AFP

7THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

BusinessUSD / JPY

102.21

USD / SGD

1.2679

USD /CNY

6.1843

USD / HKD

7.7571

USD / THB

32.48

AUD / USD

0.9141

NZD / USD

0.8552

EUR / USD

1.3836

GBP / USD

1.6496

Indicative Exchange Rates as of 25/3/2014. Please contact ANZ Royal Global Markets on 023 999 910 for real time rates.

USD / KHR

3,999

Suspensionfor officialsin railwaycorruption

VIETNAM yesterday said it hadsuspended four railway offi-cials following allegations aJapanese firm paid bribes to

win a contract linked to a railproject for Hanoi.

Japans leading Yomiurinewspaper reported that thehead of Japan TransportationConsultants (JTC) admitted hiscompany had paid kickbacksof 130 million yen ($1.3 million)to civil servants in Vietnam,Indonesia and Uzbekistan to

win work tied to projects fund-ed by Japans Official Develop-ment Assistance (ODA).

The report said Tamio Kaki-numa, 65, told prosecutors inTokyo last week that among theillicit payments were 80 million

yen paid to officials at VietnamRailways for a project worth 4.2billion yen.

The scheme was for part ofan overground rail link acrossHanoi, partially financed by the

ODA.Prosecutors were preparing

to launch a criminal probe, thenewspaper added, while JTCsaid it had set up an internalcommittee to look into theclaims.

In response Vietnams Depu-ty Minister of Transport Nguy-en Ngoc Dong said yesterdaythe four senior railway officialsare temporarily suspendedfrom their daily work to con-centrate on clarifying theirinvolvement in the project inHanoi.

Vietnam and Japan haveagreed to . . . cooperate in ouractions to quickly solve thecase, Dong said.

Late on Monday, DeputyPrime Minister Nguyen XuanPhuc also urged serious pun-ishment for anyone foundguilty, the governments web-site said.

Japan is Vietnams largestODA donor with a pledge of$2.6 billion last year. In Decem-ber 2008, Japan suspendedODA to Vietnam for fourmonths during a similar scan-dal that led to a 20-year jailterm for Ho Chi Minh Citystransport departments deputyhead Huynh Ngoc Sy. AFP

Pedestrians wait to cross an intersection at a shopping street in Sendai, Japan, earlier this year. BLOOMBERG

As historic sales tax looms,Japanese hit stores to shop

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Patent lessons

Officials holdIP workshopin the capital

O

FFICIALS from Cam-bodia, Laos and the

United States gatheredin Phnom Penh yesterday fora training program on theenforcement of IntellectualProperty Rights.

Hosted by representativesfrom the US Departmentof State, US Department ofHomeland Security and USPatent and Trademark Office,the three-day event at theHotel le Royal in Phnom Penhwill focus on investigationtechniques to crack down onintellectual property theft.

While we all benefit fromstate-of-the-art productsand services, the degree ofintellectual property theftis equally as sophisticated,US Embassy Deputy Chief ofMission, Jeff Daigle, said.

Cambodia is stepping up itscommitment to battle IP theft,said Minister of CommerceSun Chanthol, who pointedto a draft sub-decree layingout the duties of all agenciestasked with enforcement. Aspecial government task forceis also being established tobattle pirated CDs and DVDs,Chanthol added. POST STAFF

Business

8 THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

ANZ Royal Bank partnership uncertainContinued from page 1

its businesses. For the better part oflast year, the company fielded in-

quiries about its partnership withPhilippines Airlines (PAL), which ishelping to finance a joint venture tolaunch Cambodia Airlines.

The carrier, which aims to becomethe countrys second full-service air-line after Cambodia Angkor Air, wassupposed to start up in mid-2013 witha $1 million investment from PAL.

But closing dates in June and Octo-ber were missed, and PALs chief ex-ecutive officer was quoted as sayingthat the deal was on hold due to po-litical instability in Cambodia.

A separat e media report releasedin February, however, said the com-pany denied it had shelved prepara-tions for the carrier.

On March 3, a report from TMT Fi-nance said that Mobitel, the telecom-munications arm of Royal Group, wasseeking outside investment.

Royal Group, however, denied thisin the same report.

The latest round of questionsemerged after The Sydney MorningHeraldreported on Monday eveningthat Smith, the ANZ CEO, said thecompany would pursue a similar tactin Cambodia as it had with VietnamsSacombank in 2012.

We got out of a relationship, a smallrelationship, in Vietnam, Smith saidin Hong Kong, according to a Reuters

report on the remarks. We wouldlike to do the same in Cambodia. Idmuch rather have a wholly ownedbusiness in these places.

Smiths comments came months af-ter two audits revealed that ANZ RoyalBank had financed ruling party sena-tor Ly Yong Phats Phnom Penh SugarCompany, and more than a year afterPost reporters found children labour-ing on the sugar p lantation.

Launched in 2010, the Phnom PenhSugar Company has been at the cen-

tre of a years-long land dispute overforced evictions from its concessionin Kampong Speu province.

Of the two audits, the secondshowed that 60 per cent of recom-mendations made after the initialfindings, on issues ranging from

worker safety to sanitation, had notbeen addressed.

Appearing on Sky News yesterday,Smith said his comments were takenout of context, though he went on toreiterate the banks desire to fully own

its business without a local partner,which in this case is Royal Group.

What Ive always said is that for[the] minority interest that we have

held, we always look to seek a waytowards control and where possibleto wholly own those businesses, andthat is exactly the same in Cambodia.Id like to get . . . 100 per cent of it, hetold interviewer Brooke Corte.

You are not currently actively look-ing to exit that stake, then? Cortethen asked.

No. I mean, Cambodia is still animportant country in Asia. It is still avery nascent economy. Its got a long

way to go. But I do bel ieve that thepotential for the medium and longerterm will be good but Id rather have[a] 100 per cent owned business,Smith responded.

ANZ could either buy out RoyalGroup or sell its shares and start itsown venture. ANZ Royal Banks CEOGrant Knuckey told the Poston Mon-day, however, that there was no dealcurrently on the table.

Hanna, Royal Groups CFO, reiter-ated the firms stance yesterday.

With ANZ Royal being a very suc-cessful bank, it is natural that ANZ

would like to own more of it.This has been ANZs position for

some time, so this is not a new de-velopment, nor has it ever impactedRoyal Groups relationship with ANZ

which continues to be healthy, hesaid.

People ride past an ANZ Royal Bank branch in Phnom Penhs Daun Penh district yesterdayafternoon.VIREAK MAI

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Markets

9THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

Business

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Wine time

UK to offerfirst courseon oenology

A

UNIVERSITY in southernEngland announced on

Monday it will offer apostgraduate course in viticul-ture and oenology, capitalis-ing on the countrys boomingsparkling wine industry.

The University of Brightonis offering budding vintnersthe chance to study for anMSc from September, andhopes to compete with similarcourses abroad.

This postgraduate programis the first created in the UK,said Chris Foss, head of theWine Department at PlumptonCollege, the university affiliatehosting the course.

At a cost of 6,000 ($9,900)each, 12 students will be im-mersed in all the details ofthe winemaking process for15 months.

They will study the vine,wine chemistry, microbiology,climate, different soils and thescience of sparkling wine,Foss said.

The students will benefitfrom a soon-to-be inaugurated2 million research centre,partly funded by The RathfinnyEstate, a winery established byretired investment fund mana-ger Mark Driver in 2010.

The ultimate objective is toattract students from aroundthe world to give it an interna-tional dimension, Foss said.

Rathfinny Estate, which isone of the largest vineyards inBritain, is located in Alfriston,

East Sussex.The estate has helped fuel

Britains rising interest in localsparkling wine, and there ismore demand than supply atthe moment, Paul Brennon,press officer at the RathfinnyEstate, said.

Britains cold climate meansgrapes ripen slowly, leavingthem highly acidic and ideal formaking sparkling wines. AFP

Business10 THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

Developer looks to lure super wealthy in ChinaFrederik Balfour

PAN Sutong proudly displays the 4.5-litre jeroboam of 1900 Chateau Latourhe uncorked on December 8 after histwo thoroughbreds placed first andsecond in their respective races at theHong Kong Jockey Club.

Over a lunch prepared by his per-sonal chef of mussels with lobster

jelly, wild salmon with carrot-and-caviar puree and lamb wrapped withParma ham, Pan describes the life-style hes packaging for Chinas elite,based on fast horses, haute cuisineand fine wine.

Its taking shape at Fortune Heights.an ultra-exclusive gated community inthe city of Tianjin, a 35-minute bullet-train ride from Beijing. Its 64 mansions

will have cellars stocked with first-growth Bordeaux, gold-plated showerheads and commanding views ofemerald polo grounds, Pan says.

Anchored by the Tianjin Goldin Met-ropolitan Polo Club, the villas are partof a $5 billion, 89-hectare (220-acre)development thats expected to includea 117-storey office tower that has risento almost half its planned height, anupscale shopping mall, a Las Vegas

style theatre, a convention centre anddozens of apartment blocks, four of

which are nearly sold out.Im not satisfied with three Miche-

lin stars or Robert Parkers 100 points,Pan says. We want to put everythingthat is high-end into one community,

where horses are front and centre.China is minting more millionaires

than any other emerging economy,according to the 2013 Asia-Pacific

Wealth Report from Capgemini andRBC Wealth Management.

Property developers in China havebeen building pricey villas overlook-ing golf courses for decades; now, byreplacing fairways with the Kentuckybluegrass of polo fields, Pan is intro-ducing the countrys nouveaux richesto a new level of sophistication.

He has a certain savoir-faire thatdifferentiates him from people whohave only money, says WinfriedEngelbrecht-Bresges, chief executiveofficer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.He wants to create an experience thatis not only a property but a lifestyle.

Its a lifestyle thats part DonaldTrump, part British aristocracy. PansGulfstream G550 jets him to homes inHong Kong, London, Los Angeles and

Tianjin, where hes building a 6,500-square-metre mansion thats biggerthan Candyland, the late Aaron Spell-ings former 5,100-square-metre housein LA. And he hobnobs with princesHarry and William at a charity polomatch he sponsors at Englands exclu-sive Beaufort Polo Club each June.

The furnishings headed for his Tian-jin manse may be faux Louis XV, butthe polo club it overlooks is the realdeal. The general facilities are out-standing, and not many sporting clubsin the world are more elegant, Rich-

ard Caleel, president of the Federationof International Polo, said by telephonefrom Santa Barbara, California.

Pan, 51, never even made it pasthigh school. Born in Shaoguan, inGuangdong province, he was broughtup by his paternal grandmother inGuangzhou until her death from can-cer when he was 13, at which point hemoved to San Marino, California, tolive with his stepgrandmother.

He spent most of his time skippingschool and hanging out in the familyschain of Chinese restaurants, so henever learned to speak much English.

After five years, he moved to HongKong and, with a loan from his family,set up an electronics business.

Ten years later, he moved into man-ufacturing in southern China, eventu-ally commanding 90 per cent of Chi-nas production of karaoke monitorsthrough his Matsunichi Communica-tion Holdings Ltd. In 2002, Pan listedthe company (since renamed GoldinProperties Holdings Ltd) on the HongKong Stock Exchange.

Five years later, he branched out intoreal estate with the Tianjin parcel. Asof mid-March, his controlling stakesin Goldin Properties and its sister com-

pany, Goldin Financial Holdings Ltd,were worth some $2.8 billion.

Three years ago, Pan bought his firstwinery, paying $50 million for SloanEstate, a Rutherford, California, pro-ducer of Bordeaux-style reds whosemost recent vintage, the 2009, sells for$367 a bottle.

Last April, Pan snapped up ChateauLe Bon Pasteur from one of Bordeauxsforemost winemaking families, along

with Chateau Rolland-Mai llet inSt-Emilion and Chateau BertineauSt-Vincent in Lalande de Pomerol.

More acquisitions are planned. Weare aggressively still in investmentmode, says Jenny Pan, his 26-year-old daughter, who took over the run-ning of Sloan after a two-year stint

working in wealth manageme ntat Goldman Sachs Group Inc inNew York.

As Chinese President Xi Jinpingscrackdown on corruption enters itssecond year, conspicuous consump-tion of Patek Philippe watches andLouis Vuitton handbags is still frownedupon, something that makes Pansoffering of a discreet lifestyle behindclosed doors appealing.

William Lin, a Tianjin-based inter-

net entrepreneur and the first Chinesemember to take up polo at the club,says the limited popularity of thegame isnt the point.

Most people who buy apartmentshere wont play but will like a lifestyle

where they can watch out the win-dow, he says. As the Chinese makemore money, they will need to know

which kind of high-class lifestyle theyshould follow. BLOOMBERG

He has a certain savoir-faire that differentiates

him from people who haveonly money

India takes on produce pricesKartik Goyal

INDIAS top political par-ties are taking aim at a

six-decade old practice ofcollusion among traders

at produce markets that poli-cymakers say helps fuel Asiashighest inflation.

At Mumbais Vashi market,middleman Nitin Parakh put atowel over his hand last monthas he began an onion auction.Buyers drifting through piles ofonions placed bids by reachingunder the towel and squeezinghis hand: The thumb, middle,ring and pinkie fingers eachcount for 10 rupees ($0.16),

while the index finger has avalue of 100 rupees.

We know secret biddingis illegal and we should actu-ally do open auctions, saidParakh, one of about 450 trad-ers licensed to sell onions andpotatoes at Vashi, the largest

wholesale market in Mumbai,a city of about 18 million peo-ple. This practice has been invogue for many, many years.

The ruling Congress partyput trader rackets on its prior-ity list after surging prices foronions, an Indian diet staple,contributed to local-electionlosses late last year.

With a nationwide ballotlooming next month, the op-position Bharatiya Janata Par-ty also is pledging to chip awayat the middlemans margin.

Secret bidding fuels infla-tion as there is collusion be-tween the middlemen and

wholesalers: They pay lowerprices to farmers and sell it athigher price to retailers, said

A V Manjunatha, who co-au-thored a report for the govern-ment on onion price manipu-lation in 2012.

The problems are known,and the solutions are alsoknown: you need to have po-litical will to bring about thechanges, he said.

The central bank in Janu-

ary cited agriculture marketcartels for exacerbating pricespikes as Governor RaghuramRajan raised the benchmarkrepurchase rate to 8 per cent.Indias consumer-price infla-tion of 8.1 per cent is the fastestamong 18 Asia-Pacific econo-mies tracked by Bloomberg.

Rajan will leave the key rateunchanged at an April 1 policyreview, according to 18 of 19analysts in a Bloomberg Newssurvey. One predicted an in-crease to 8.25 per cent.

A central bank panel in

January called for consumer-price gains to slow to 6 percent by 2016. Food pricesmake up 50 per cent of theCPI basket, compared with 14per cent in the US and 24 percent in Brazil.

Prime Minister ManmohanSinghs Congress party target-ed the rackets in December af-ter it lost four of five state elec-tions to the BJP following a

jump in onion prices. Govern-

ment officials accused mid-dlemen of hoarding as pricesquadrupled while heavy rainscrimped supplies.

Rahul Gandhi, who is lead-ing the partys bid to extendits decade-long rule afterSingh said he wouldnt seek athird term, ordered changesto enable buyers to directlypurchase from farmers in 12states under his control. Vot-ing starts on April 7, results aredue on May 16.

The BJP, which leads in opin-ion polls, will change the cur-

rent system to benefit farm-ers more than middlemen,spokesman Prakash Javadekarsaid. Narendra Modi, the par-tys prime minister candidate,said in January hed establisha real-time database to trackagriculture prices.

We need to remove all thegeographical restrictions andmake the system more trans-parent so that the farmer getshis due, Javadekar said.

The current system datesback to the 1950s, when stategovernments, which haveconstitutional powers to regu-late farming, sought to pre-vent farmers in remote areasfrom exploitation by settingup markets with licensed trad-ers and transparent sales.

Over time, the licensing sys-tem turned into a monopoly inmany states, with traders orga-nising to prevent new entrantsand stifle competition, accord-ing to an Agriculture Ministryreport published last year.

There are at least three tofour stages before the finalproduce reaches the con-sumers, said Ashok Gulati, aformer chairman of the Com-mission for Agriculture Costsand Prices, a body that recom-mends minimum guaranteedfarm prices to the govern-ment. There is rent-seekinghappening at every stage.

While some of Indias 28states, including Uttarakhand

and Himachal Pradesh, havealready changed laws to allowfarmers to directly sell fruitsand vegetables to retailers,

others have resisted Gandhisproposed changes.

The process is stalled in Ma-harashtra, home to Vashi mar-ket in Indias financial capital,

where Congress has held pow-er since 1999.

There is resistance fromtraders as they are afraid theymight lose their livelihood,Deepak Taware, director of ag-riculture marketing in the Ma-harashtra government, said.It looks like it wont happenvery soon.

Indias finance ministry ispreparing legal changes toallow direct sales of fruitsand vegetables by farmersand eliminate middlemen

from wholesale markets, theEconomic Times newspaperreported yesterday, citing of-ficials it didnt name. Thechanges will be presented af-ter the election, it said.

Parakh, the Vashi trader, isconfident the system wontchange. He paid farmer Ba-

jirao Madhav 7 rupees perkilogram (2.2 pounds) for hisonions, three times less thanthey fetched in a nearby retailmarket.

This system is completelyin the hands of middlemen,said Madhav, who added thathe must take whatever price isoffered because he travelled along distance.

Even if the laws change,

farmers will have few im-mediate options. The stateshould have more than fourtimes as many markets asit has now, according to the2012 Competition Commis-sion of India report.

It will be very, very suicidalfor any party to change thesystem unless they build alot of infrastructure to enablefarmers to sell their produce,Parakh said. BLOOMBERG

An Indian farmer rests among watermelons at his fruit stall prior to auctioning them at the Gaddiannaramwholesale fruit market on the outskirts of Hyderabad last week. AFP

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Markets

11THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

Business

International commoditiesEnergy

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H ang Seng Ind ex , M ar 2 4 CS I 3 00 Ind ex , M ar 24

Nikkei 225, Mar 24 Taiwan Taiex Index, Mar 24

Ho Chi Minh Stock Index, Mar 24

14,423.19

2,174.4421,748.02

1,831.433,103.45

605.51910.21

8,689.30

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BSE Sensex 30 Index, Mar 24 Karachi 100 Index, Mar 24

S&P/ASX 200 Index , Mar 24 NZX 50 Index , Mar 24

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26,602.9822,012.02

4,701.951,306.84

6,336.341,941.25

5,130.70

Item Unit Base Average (%)

Gasoline R 5250 5450 3.81 %

Diesel R 5100 5200 1.96 %

Petroleum R 5500 5500 0.00 %

Gas Chi 86000 76000 -11.63 %

Charcoal Baht 1200 1300 8.33 %

Energy

Construction equipment

Item Unit Base Average (%)

Rice 1 R/Kg 2800 2780 -0.71 %

Rice 2 R/Kg 2200 2280 3.64 %

Paddy R/Kg 1800 1840 2.22 %

Peanuts R/Kg 8000 8100 1.25 %

Maize 2 R/Kg 2000 2080 4.00 %

Cashew nut R/Kg 4000 4220 5.50 %

Pepper R/Kg 40000 24000 -40.00 %

Beef R/Kg 33000 33600 1.82 %

Pork R/Kg 17000 18200 7.06 %

Mud Fish R/Kg 12000 12400 3.33 %

Chicken R/Kg 18000 20800 15.56 %

Duck R/Kg 13000 13100 0.77 %

Item Unit Base Average (%)

Steel 12 R/Kg 3000 3100 3.33 %

Cement R/Sac 19000 19500 2.63 %

Food -Cereals -Vegetables - Fruits

Cambodian commodities(Base rate taken on January 1, 2012)

COMMODITY UNITS PRICE CHANGE % CHANGE TIME(ET)

Crude Oil (WTI) USD/bbl. 99.45 -0.15 -0.15% 3:22:15

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Global watch fair starts upNathalie Olof-Ors

THE worlds biggest watchfair is set to open this week

in Basel, offering an indus-try showcase for the worlds

most extravagant, rare and complextime pieces.

The 42nd edition of Baselworld,which opens in the northern Swisscity to the media today and a day lat-er to the public, is expected to drawsome 100,000 visitors.

Nearly 1,500 exhibitors, includ-ing leading watch brands like Rolex,Patek Philippe, Breguet and Omega,

will be there, offering up all differentstyles for all different budgets.

From affordable plastic sportswatches to intricately detailed me-chanic time pieces that can bepriced well above the 1 million Swissfranc ($1.1 million) mark.

Hublot, a brand belonging toFrench luxury group LVMH, for in-stance told AFP it would unveil a

watch with a face made of osmiumcrystal, a new material. Like otherprestige brands, Hublot is in a raceto offer collectors exclusive modelsnot dangling from every wrist.

It has teamed up with a Swiss sci-entific team to develop a new wayto work with osminum, a rare metalin the platinum family which whencrystallised has a rare shine to it.

At Baselworld, also devoted to jew-ellery, exhibitors also indulge in cut-throat competition on the market-ing front to grab attention for theirnew offerings amid the multitude ofsparkling gems and flashing lights.

With the Easter holidays fast ap-

proaching, Geneva jeweller Shawishis thus set to present its own versionof hollowed-out chocolate egg sur-prises popular among children, witha very adult twist: Inside the fine,Swiss milk chocolate shell is not aplastic toy, but one of Shawishs lat-est jewel creations.

Less than three months from thestart of the World Cup in Brazil,Baselworld will also be showcasingits share of football-related themes.

Swiss watchmaker Jeanrichard,which recently partnered with Brit-ish club Arsenal FC, will for instancebring in French football great RobertPires to unveil the limited editions ithas created for the club.

Baselworld is the most impor-

tant event of the year for the globalwatch industry, with retailers mak-ing the lion share of their annualorders there.

Marketplace observers descendon the fair for guidance on the hot-test trends for the coming year.

Jerome Bloch, head of mens fash-ion at Parisian trend agency Nel-lyRodi, for instance expects to see aresurgence of 1970s looks.

Until recently, the retro side ofwatch fashion was mainly inspiredby the 1950s, but Bloch said the in-spiration was moving forward a fewdecades as those born in the 1970shit their 40s.

They want their fathers watch,but with some upgrades to make it

a bit more modern, he told AFP.Also following the hustle and

bustle at Baselworld closely are fi-nancial analysts, as they attempt

to decipher the health of the globalluxury market.

From a demand perspective, thisedition of Baselworld is probably go-ing to be one of the most uncertainsince the collapse of 2009, becauseof the drop in China, Kepler Cheu-vreux analyst Jon Cox told AFP.

In 2013, Swiss watch exportsedged up 1.9 per cent in 2013 toreach a record 21.8 billion Swissfrancs ($24.1 billion).

That marked a new record high,but also a significant slowdown ingrowth, after exports a year earlierswelled nearly 11 per cent.

Swiss watchmakers, especially inthe high-end segment, have beenhard-hit by a drop in demand inChina, their biggest market whichhas driven breathtaking growth inthe industry for several years.

But the bonanza came to ascreeching halt last year as Beijingattempted to rein in corruption, in-cluding bans on extravagant gifts inbusiness settings.

The new, more austere reality forthe luxury brands should leave itsmark not only on corporate financebut also on watch designs.

I would very be surprised to seea resurgence of the bling-bling era,Cox said.

The analyst nonetheless expectsto see industry growth of around 8percent this year, as exports to Swiss

watchmakers biggest market HongKong appeared set to stabilise. AFP

A woman walks at the booth of Swiss watchmaker Swatch on the opening day ofwatch fair Baselworld in Basel, Switzerland. AFP

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Tania Branigan

FAMILY members ofpassengers on boardflight MH370 havemarched on the Ma-

laysian embassy in Beijingdemanding answers, afterauthorities said they hadconcluded the missing planecrashed in the remote IndianOcean with the loss of all 239people on board.

More than two weeks ofconfusing and sometimescontradictory briefings haveleft relatives of more than 150Chinese citizens on boarddeeply suspicious about thesearch and investigation.

The well-coordinated pro-test followed Monday nightsannouncement by the Ma-laysian prime minister andMalaysia Airlines that allevidence suggested the planehad crashed into the south-ern Indian Ocean.

Malaysia Airlines groupchief executive officer AhmadJauhari Yahya told reporters

yesterday: My heart breaksto think of the unimaginablepain suffered by all the fami-lies. There are no words whichcan ease that pain. Everyonein the Malaysia Airlines fam-

ily is praying for the 239 soulson MH370 and for their lovedones on this dark day.

Asked whether he would re-sign, he said it was a personalquestion that he would con-sider later.

Some family members havesaid they cannot accept theconclusion until they seephysical evidence of a crash.But gale force winds andheavy rains yesterday forced

Australian authorities over-seeing the search to call offtheir efforts.

Yesterday about 200 peoplemarched from the Beijinghotel where were staying to

the Malaysian embassy, wear-ing T-shirts reading pray forMH370 and carrying printedsigns saying Tell us the truthand MH370, dont let us waittoo long!

The mood was sombre andmostly quiet as the crowdmade its way along the mainroad, although periodicallythey chanted slogans includ-ing The Malaysian govern-ment cheated us.

Steve Wang, who said hehad a family member on theplane, accused Malaysian of-ficials of not respecting thefamilies. He said the relativeshad marched to the embassyafter they were told the am-bassador would meet them atthe hotel but failed to appear.

Several of the protestersthrew bottles of water towardsthe building as they chanted

for diplomats to come outand take their statement, call-ing them beasts. They werebussed back to the hotel tomeet the ambassador after atwo-hour protest.

Chinese authorities whichnormally crack down onstreet protests facilitatedthe march, closing off to traf-fic the main road taken byprotesters. Despite heavy se-curity, they allowed them toprotest outside the embassyfor two hours.

Many of the families learnedthe news they had dreaded viaa text message warning them:We have to assume beyond allreasonable doubt that MH370has been lost and none ofthose on board survived.

At a news conference inKuala Lumpur, airline offi-cials defended sending a text

message as a last resort toensure that family membersdid not hear the news firstfrom media if they could notbe reached by a phone call orin person.

But the fact the messagewas sent in English only andthat the families gathered inBeijing were not briefed enmasse added to the anger ofrelatives.

Chinese state media said asenior member of the statecouncil was on his way tomeet family members yes-terday the first senior offi-cial to do so since the planevanished. High-ranking lead-ers often the premier or thepresident himself are usu-ally quick to make consola-tion visits to those involved inhigh-profile tragedies.

Experts say there is little

hope of learning how andwhy the Beijing-bound flightdiverted from its route andended in the ocean unless the

wreckage can be found.Australian Air Marshal Mark

Binskin warned: Were notsearching for a needle in thehaystack, were searching for

where the haystack is.The Chinese government

has already promised to dis-patch more vessels to the re-mote search zone around2,500km (1,500 miles) south-

west of Perth to assist theoperation.

A government source saidthat Malaysia would leadthe investigation, but hopedother countries, especially

Australia, would play a majorrole.

Final confirmation of thedisaster came after 17 daysand was based on unprece-dented analysis of ping sig-nals sent to a satellite as theplane continued flying afterdisappearing from radar

when it s ma in locating bea-cons stopped operating andit veered off course betweenMalaysia and Vietnam.

The Chinese deputy for-eign minister, Xie Hangsh-eng, has demanded Malaysia

hand over all relevant satel-lite analysis showing how itreached its conclusion aboutthe aircrafts fate.

As the search for wreckagecontinues a race is under wayto find the black box record-ers from the plane. The cock-pit voice recorder and a datarecorder emit a high-pitchedping underwater for at least30 days after a crash.

Weve got to get lucky, saidJohn Goglia, a former memberof the US National Transporta-tion Safety Board. Its a race toget to the area in time to catchthe black box pinger while itsstill working. THE GUARDIAN

12 THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

WorldArab meetstarts withcalls to armSyria rebels

AN ARAB summit began inKuwait yesterday with a call bySyrias opposition for sophis-ticated arms, while Saudi Ara-bia stressed the need for achange in military balance toend the impasse.

UN peace envoy LakhdarBrahimi, however, insisted ona political solution to the con-flict, urging an end to the sup-ply of arms to all parties.

The head of the SyrianNational Coalition, AhmedJarba, repeated calls on theinternational community tosupply rebels with sophisti-cated weapons.

Saudi Crown Prince SheikhSalman bin Abdulaziz, whosecountry is a major supporter ofSyrias rebellion, accused the

world of betraying the opposi-tion by failing to arm them,leaving them easy prey.

Salman urged support for therebels, insisting a solution tothe conflict, in which regimeforces have recently made sig-nificant advances, required achange in the balance on theground to end the impasse.

Jarba told the summit that a

decision not to hand over Syr-ias seat in the Arab League tothe opposition sends a wrongmessage to Assad, telling himto continue to kill.

The Syria governments bru-tal repression of protests whicherupted in March 2011 resultedin its suspension from the Cai-ro-based Arab League.

Its seat was allocated to theNational Coalition at the lastsummit, in Doha in 2013, buthas not been handed overbecause, according to ArabLeague chief Nabil al-Arabi, theoppossition has yet to meet thelegal requirements.

While the Syrian conflict istaking centre stage at the sum-mit, a regional rift over EgyptsMuslim Brotherhood has beenkept off the agenda.

The dispute pits Qatar againstEgypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrainand the UAE, and has appar-ently affected the level of rep-resentation at the two-daysummit. Egyptian Foreign Min-ister Nabil Fahmi told reportersit was not possible to forge acompromise with Qatar duringthe summit because the

wound is too deep.Kuwait said the dispute

between Qatar and its neigh-bours would be resolved with-in the Gulf house, not at thesummit.

On Palestine, Arab leadersare expected to call for $100

million in monthly aid for thePalestinian Authority and toreject demands by Israel thatPalestinians recognise Israel asa Jewish state.

Palestinian leader MahmudAbbas, fresh from talks with USPresident Barack Obama in

Washington last week, was tobrief his Arab counterpartsduring the summit. AFP

MH370 families march on embassy

Russia says G8 snub is counter-productiveRUSSIA said yesterday that its suspen-sion from the G8 was counter-produc-tive as Ukraine pulled more troops outof Crimea, effectively acknowledgingdefeat following Moscows annexationof the Black Sea peninsula.

When it comes to contacts with theG8 countries, we are ready for them,

we have an interest in them, Kremlinspokesman Dmitry Peskov told theITAR-TASS news agency.

But the unwillingness of other coun-tries to continue dialogue weconsider it counter-productive, bothfor us and for our partners themselves,

President Putins spokesman said.Russian troops and Kremlin-backed

militias have seized control of almostall Ukrainian bases and ships in Cri-mea in a push ordered by Putin onMarch 1 in response to the fall in Kievof a pro-Kremlin regime.

The crisis has sparked the most explo-sive East-West confrontation since theCold War era and sparked fears amongthe fledgling pro-European leaders in

Kiev that Putin now intends to push histroops into the heavily Russified regionsof southeast Ukraine.

Western leaders sought to ward offany such threat by forging a more force-ful response in The Hague after tworounds of only targeted sanctions thathit only specific officials but left Russiasbroader economy untouched.

A summit of the Group of Seven mostindustrialised countries agreed onMonday to deepen Moscows isolationover the crisis and meet on their own without Russia in Brussels insteadof gathering in Sochi in June. They also

threatened tougher sanctions overMoscows annexation of the strategicBlack Sea peninsula.

Were united in imposing a cost onRussia for its actions so far, US Presi-dent Barack Obama said in referenceto the travel bans and asset freezes that

Washington imposed on key membersof Putins inner circle last week.

The G7 leaders also issued a jointstatement meant to demonstrate the

scale of Russias diplomatic isolation.We remain ready to intensify actions

including coordinated sectoral sanc-tions that will have an increasinglysignificant impact on the Russianeconomy if Russia continues to escalatethis situation, the statement said.

The G7 came together because ofshared beliefs and shared responsibili-ties. Russias actions in recent weeks arenot consistent with them. Under thesecircumstances, we will not participatein the planned Sochi summit.

But Russian Foreign Minister SergeiLavrov who met with both his US and

Ukrainian counterparts in The Hague immediately shrugged off the deci-sion as no great tragedy.

If our Western partners think that[the G8] has outlived itself, then so beit, Lavrov said.

We are not trying to hold on to thisformat, and we see no great tragedy ifit does not meet.

Russias loss of the right to host theG8 summit is a moral blow to Putin a

leader whose 14 years in power havefocused on resurrecting the Kremlinspost-Soviet pride.

The seat was awarded in 1998 to thenpresident Boris Yeltsin for his decisionto turn back on Communism despitethe suffering free market reformsbrought on tens of millions of Russians

who as a result came to despise bothdemocracy and the West.

Lavrov accused the West on Mondayof deceiving Moscow for the past twodecades by vowing friendship whileat the same time expanding the NATOand EU alliances ever closer to Rus-

sias doorstep. We trusted our Westernpartners for a long time. We have anidea of the value of the promises of our

Western partners, Lavrov said.He added that Moscow had no inten-

tion of taking over eastern and south-ern regions of Ukraine.

But the White House and NATO haveexpressed concern about the suddenbuild-up of Russian troops alongUkraines eastern frontier. AFP

Chinese relatives of passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 march on their way to protestoutside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing yesterday. AFP

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World

13THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

THE leading candidate forAustrias far-right Freedom

Party in upcoming Europeanelections was under pressureto resign yesterday for racistcomments and comparingthe European Union to theNazis.

According to GermanysSueddeutsche Zeitung daily,

Andreas Moelzer told anevent that the EU was indanger of becoming a con-glomerate of niggers, whereeverything is chaos.

It is really the case that allof them, from the Portugueseto the Estonians, from theSwedes to the Sicilians . . . arelaughing at us, the Germansand the Austrians, the paperquoted the MEP as saying.

We are the only ones whoshow up reasonably on timefor meetings. We are the onlyones who are already workingat nine oclock and not justfrom 11, the papers weeklymagazine quoted him as say-ing at the February event.

On Monday, Moelzer apolo-gised for his semantic blun-der, saying in a statementthat he had intended to usea different word and that thediscussion was satirical-

ironical when he made thecomments.

According to the paper,Moelzer had also called theEU a dictatorship, and thatin comparison the Third Re-ich [was] probably shapelessand liberal because Hitlersregime had fewer rules andregulations.

In another statement yes-terday, Moelzer said that hedid not wish to trivialisethe criminal Third Reichand that he was merely de-nouncing the EUs absurdobsession with regulationsin dramatic fashion.

Politicians from other par-ties have rounded on Moelz-er, calling for him to quit,

with Viennas Jewish Com-mittee saying people likethis should not represent

Austria i n Europe.Yesterday, speaking to Aus-

trian public radio station OE1,he did not rule out resigning.

The eurosceptic and anti-immigration Freedom Party(FPOe) is the third largestin the Austrian parliament,and polls indicate that it willcome third in the May 25 Eu-ropean election with about 20per cent of the vote. AFP

Austrian MEP underpressure to resign forracist EU comments

Nuke security drive agreed

THIRTY-FIVE coun-tries yesterdaycommitted to bol-stering nuclear se-

curity, backing a global drive

spearheaded by US PresidentObama to prevent danger-ous materials falling into thehands of terrorists.

In a joint statement issuedon the sidelines of the thirdbiennial Nuclear SecuritySummit (NSS), the countriespledged to work closer togeth-er and submit to peer reviewsperiodically of their sensitivenuclear security regimes.

The nations includingIsrael, Kazakhstan, Moroccoand Turkey, but not Russia vowed to realise or exceedthe standards set out in aseries of guidelines laid downby the International AtomicEnergy Agency (IAEA) to safe-guard nuclear materials.

These are the closest thingswe have to international stan-dards for nuclear security, USEnergy Secretary Ernest Moniztold reporters as he presentedthe pledge.

Obama has made improvingnuclear safety one of the fig-urehead foreign policies of hispresidency and said in 2009that nuclear terrorism was themost immediate and extremethreat to global security.

Frans Timmermans, foreignminister of the Netherlands,

which is hosting the summitof more than 50 countries, ac-knowledged that nuclear secu-rity had to remain a nationalresponsibility, but said closerinternational cooperationcould be a direct contributionin preventing nuclear materialbecoming a security risk.

Dutch Prime Minister MarkRutte, opening the two-daytalks on Monday, said there

were almost 2,000 tonnes ofweapons-usable material incirculation worldwide andstressed that security has

to be our constant concern.Analysts hailed the joint

pledge but voiced concernthat not all countries hadsigned up notably Russia,

with its outstanding stockpileof Soviet-era weapons.

Miles Pomper, an expert atthe California-based JamesMartin Center for Nonpro-liferation Studies, said thestatement was the most im-portant accomplishment ofthe summit.

But he added: We needto get the rest of the summitmembers to sign up to it, es-pecially Russia, and we need

to find a way to make this intopermanent international law.

According to a draft finalstatement, leaders will pushto reduce stockpiles of highly

enriched uranium, which canbe used to make an atomicbomb, and convert it to saferlower enriched uranium.

Michelle Cann, senior poli-cy analyst at the Partnershipfor Global Security, said thatdespite the fanfare surround-ing the pledge, the real ques-tion is when the remainingthird of states will announcetheir commitment to theseprinciples too.

The summit has been over-shadowed by the crisis inUkraine, with Obama gather-ing his G7 allies on Monday toeffectively expel Russia fromthe top table by scrapping aG8 meeting planned in Sochiin June.

UN Secretary General BanKi-moon has warned thatthe Wests failure to defendUkraine from Russian aggres-sion should not be seen as aninvitation to other states toacquire nuclear weapons.

The first NSS was held inWashington in 2010, with a fol-low-up summit in Seoul beforethis years event in The Hague.

Washington will again host thefinal summit in 2016. AFP

World leaders, ministers and heads of international organisations onthe second day of the two-day NSS meeting in The Hague yesterday. AFP

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14 THE PHNOM PENH POST MARCH 26, 2014

Taiwan leader to meettrade pact protestersTAIWANS president yesterdayoffered to talk with protesters ina concession to studentdemonstrators who haveoccupied parliament for the pastweek in a bid to stop thegovernment from ratifying a

contentious trade agreementwith China. The invite wasapparently aimed at preventingany further escalation of thedemonstration, after more than100 people were injured onMonday when police used watercannon to disperse hundreds ofprotesters who had alsostormed the nearby governmentheadquarters. AFP

Deaths in navy shootingA SAILOR and a civilian died in ashooting incident aboard adestroyer at a US navy base inVirginia, the base commandersaid yesterday. The civilian wasarmed and apparently hadauthorisation to be on the base,called Naval Station Norfolk,homeport to the US AtlanticFleet, Captain Robert Clark said.Clark gave few details, sayingthe case was under investigation,but suggested the civilianopened fire first on board theUSSMahanand was then shotby security. Both fatalities weremale, Clark said. He said theshooting took place around11:20pm on Monday (0320 GMT)and would not speculate onwhat had caused it. AFP

Nothing like a dame

Abbott set tobring backknighthoods

A

USTRALIA announced

yesterday that knights and

dames will be reintroducedto its honours list to recognise

distinguished members of society.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, a

staunch monarchist, said up to

four knights or dames could be

appointed each year, starting

with the British queens outgo-

ing representative Governor-

General Quentin Bryce and her

successor Peter Cosgrove.

The titles will go to people

who have accepted public office

rather than sought it, although

Abbott would not rule out politi-

cians being knighted.

All recommendations will be

made by Abbott and approved

by Queen Elizabeth II, who has

amended the legal document that

created the Governor-General role

to allow for the new honours.

The categories were introduced

by then prime minister Malcolm

Fraser in 1976 but were abolished

a decade later by Bob Hawke.

Only 12 Australian knights

and two dames have ever been

appointed. Bryce had reignited

the republic debate last year

when she expressed support for

replacing the monarch with an

Australian head of state. AFP

Kabul election office attackedEmal Haidary

T

ALIBAN militantsstaged a gun andsuicide attack on

an Afghan electioncommission office in Kabul

yesterday, killing two policeofficers, with less than a fort-night to go before the presi-dential poll.

The insurgents have vowedto unleash a campaign of vio-lence to disrupt the ballot on

April 5, u rging their fightersto attack polling staff, vot-ers and security forces in therun-up to election day.

Afghan security forcesbattled attackers at an officeof the Independent ElectionCommission (IEC) in the

western Darula man area ofthe Afghan capital for morethan four hours.

At around 11:35 am [0705GMT] a suicide bomberblew himself up at the gateof an IEC regional office inDar