Phnom Penh (Ah!) Travel Tips - WHO'S SECURE?

U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Carol A. Rodley - Public domain photo

D. J. Ken - National Radio Text Service

Safety is always a concern for a discerning tourist. The questions that need to be addressed are is the country you are visiting safe and taking precautions to insure tourist safety? Who are the decision makers? What is their background? Pedophiles are running rampant in Cambodia - NR Top Five Phnom Penh stories

Wednesday June 30, 2009

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

The United States Embassy's July 4th celebration has some major requirements for those that care to attend. The tickets had to be purchased by June 20th. The purchaser had to furnish their passport number for a background check. On arrival the requirements are to bring a passport or ID for every outside the embassy person a ticket is bought for. So the question is who is the US Ambassador?

US ambassador Carol Rodley arrived in Phnom Penh after a vacancy of several months after former Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli departed the position in August 2008. She was appointed Thursday, 12 June 2008 after then US President George Bush announced May 13, 2008 that he intended to do so. Senate approval was required. Ironically her arrival came within a short time frame after Barack Obama was elected as the new President of the United States. She was sworn in as the Ambassador to Cambodia on October 24, 2008.

Rodley arrived in Phnom Penh Wednesday morning November 5 the day after Obama was elected. It was a return to Cambodia where she previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Phnom Penh, from 1997 to 2000.

Rodley has a background with the CIA. With the corruption problems and unexplained wealth for some now very rich Khmers that background can be a major factor where US taxpayer dollars are spent or wasted.

The June 4th edition of the Cambodia Daily noted in its front page article titled Cambodia Has Among The Highest Levels In Graft; Rodley noted that Cambodia loses US $500 million yearly due to corruption. It has been reported that the country receives in excess of US $600 million yearly of donated money. If Rodley's figures are correct only US $100 million of the donated funds are spent on its intended purpose. Rodley feels that the $500 million in question would be better served to be used to support the countries social services.

Earlier in her career Rodley served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research. She has access to America's most tightly guarded secrets about Al Qaeda and the global war on terror.

Rodley has drawn some flack from the Cambodian government when she requested that they sign an anticorruption bill into law. The government's reaction was to ask her to retract her statement. The government did pass a law REDUCING THE PENALTY FOR HAVING SEX WITH CHILDREN.

As reported on the front page of Wednesday's June 24th Cambodia Daily a Russian businessman who was sentenced to a 17-year jail term for having sex with 17 minors is receiving special treatment and is not being punished. The headline reads Official Arrested In Forgery Plot To free Pedophile. Since the sentence was issued the prisoner has been seen OUT OF JAIL at the Hawaii Beach in Sihanoukville (name now changed to Preah Sihanouk) overseeing construction of a business investment with the parents of some of the young girls that he abused looking on.

The Russian's company signed a 99-year lease with the Cambodian government and agreed to invest US $300 million to develop an island in Sihanoukville as a shopping and tourist resort. It wasn't clear what he intended to stock the island with for tourists shopping.

The Daily followed up on the story the following day with another front page article in their Thursday June 25th edition headlined that the Pedophile Was Permitted To Leave Prison. The piece also notes that the prisoner was permitted to leave the prison on three occasions and the official in charge of the prison says that he didn't break the law. The corruption issue was pointed out while noting that a government official accepted US $250,000 to forge documents to have the prisoner sent back to Russia.

In a related feature story the Cambodia Daily which had a front page photo of an arrested German pedophile with the cover of their June 13-14 Weekend magazine edition with the headline reading The Pedophile Problem, Child Abusers Target Sihanoukville. The 3 page story begins on page 4 and is titled The Dark Side of Paradise while noting that A lax legal system makes Sihanoukville an ideal destination for predators. Bernard Krisher the publisher of the Cambodia Daily was formerly the Asian editor for Newsweek magazine.

The most alarming revelation is that there was a lack of a background check by the government. It has come to light the individual is on Interpol's wanted list as a CHILD SEX OFFENDER in Russia.

The government is very concerned about the trail of five Khmer Rough leaders being expanded to include trying more individuals involved with the Khmer Rouge. The logic is how could only five people murder 1.7 million Cambodians?

One doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the 8-12 year-old children between 1975-79 who placed plastic bags over the head of its victims and suffocated them to death are currently integrated into the general population. They may not be tried but the mentality and past experience continues to exist. Those children as depicted in the film the Killing Fields are now only aged between 38-46 years-old.

In reflection Rodley's background has much to do with human rights. She has been the recipient of the Department's Senior Performance Award, the State Department's Human Rights and Democracy Award, the American Foreign Service Association's Christian Herter Award for creative dissent, the James Clement Dunn Award for leadership, the Director of Central Intelligence Exceptional Humint Collector Award and an Intelligence Community Seal Medallion. Her languages are Khmer, German, Spanish, Urdu, and Hindi.

What this has to do with travel is that a tourist must understand the mentality of the country they are visiting. Being enlightened to the environment prior to arrival can save ones life. Cambodia is largely controlled by individuals who were active during the Khmer Rouge era. Several years ago the Daily reported that 14 heads of Cambodian Ministry's each had at THAT TIME US $20 million deposited in Singapore banks. The question is could that be the reason that an anticorruption law wasn't passed?

For Cambodia Daily back issues contact:

www.cambodiadaily.com

Email: editor@cambodiadaily.com

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NR's TOP 5 Phnom Penh Stories

We're returning to our report on the top stories visited by our readers. Our February 2009 piece took the top spot. It featured Korean tourists in Phnom Penh for basically a layover as they didn't feel that there was much to see in the city. The plan was to rest after spending several days in Siem Reap primarily visiting orphanages and one day at the Angkor temples. The column also pointed out several location changes and new business in the area.

The Gold Quest Comes To Cambodia story took the second spot. The article notes that its businesses Q1 and GQ have a history of being criticized as being a pyramid scheme. It's an image they would like to clean up.

The third spot went to our July 2006 column that features INTERNET THEFT WARRANTS CAUTION regarding the growing problem of Internet theft in the region. It is a problem that continues today. It must be noted that what was written then is not applicable now due to the thieves adjusting and improving their spy capabilities.

Beauty took the fourth spot when our September 2005 column focused on the beauty contest in the area. Since that time the credibility of some of these contests has been blurred by questionable decisions and the departure of key individuals from the organizations. Sports activities in Phnom are also noted.

The final spot went to our March 2005 column largely devoted to the two film festivals that were in Phnom Penh. Since that time one has gone out of business. That festival started out like a house of fire and gave promising video/film producers a platform to display their talents. The program ran into financial problems and the program was abandoned.

GOOD ENGLISH COMPREHENSION = BETTER UNDERSTANDING IN TRANSACTIONS

When making a purchase it is wise to talk to a person who:

1. Speaks good English.

2. Has a good COMPREHENSION of English.

3. Has good PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE.

4. IS HONEST and serves the customers needs.

The serving the customer's needs issue came to light when my Japanese neighbor who speaks very good English purchased an Internet service from Camshin They first told her that she needed a telephone line thus having to pay for a telephone, a line and connection as well as the Internet installation fees and service cost. She later found that she didn't need a telephone but could receive the service by ADSL. There was another $200 Installation charge and equipment costs.

The point being as a tip is careful who you gave your memory cards and business to so you can prevent theft, damage and aggravation.

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