Phnom Penh: Cambodia has not planted any new landmines and had warned Thai military commanders that a disputed border area was heavily infested and dangerous well before two Thai rangers were seriously wounded by mines this week, an official said yesterday.
Cambodia Mine Action Centre director, Khem Sophoan, said yesterday that Cambodian officials and soldiers had warned Thai troops in the area that it was only partially demined and that walking off clearly marked paths around the disputed border area was dangerous.
“Cambodia does not have landmines to lay and has absolutely not laid any new mines,” he said.
“The mines that hurt Thai troops are left over from our civil war.”
Cambodia ended 30 years of war barely a decade ago and remains one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.
Two Thai rangers lost their legs as they stepped on landmines while patrolling along the Thai-Cambodian border near the disputed Preah Vihear temple Monday, drawing some Thai media reports sourced to Thai military that Cambodian forces may be planting new mines.
The rangers were the second and third men respectively to have been wounded by mines since the border stand-off began in June.

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PHNOM PENH, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Hor Nam Hong, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, will visit Vietnam on Oct. 6-7, a press release said Monday.

This visit is at the invitation of Pham Gia Khiem, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, the press release from the Cambodian foreign ministry said.

During the visit, the Cambodian delegation will attend the 10thmeeting of bilateral committee of economic, cultural, scientific and technological cooperation, it said.

Both sides will ink exchange notes of the bilateral committee of economic, cultural, scientific and technological cooperation, it said.

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PHNOM PENH, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that the lawmakers from the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) who hold both government posts and seats in the National Assembly will resign their parliamentary positions and concentrate on their ministerial responsibilities, national media reported Friday.

"If we keep them in two positions it will be difficult for them to stand with one leg in the National Assembly and the other one in the government," Hun Sen was quoted as saying in the Phnom PenhPost.

"I have already signed off on (a letter) to the National Election Committee (NEC) regarding the replacements," Hun Sen said.

Hun Sen named the resigned parliamentarians as Minister of Rural Development Chea Sophara, Minister of Information and government spokesman Khieu Kanharith, Minister of Education, Youthand Sports Im Sethy, Minister of Environment Mok Mareth, and Minister of Social Affairs Ith Sam Heng.

Nguon Nhel, the first deputy president of the National Assembly, said that a total of 40 CPP parliamentarians holding dual positions or being considered for fresh government posts were in line to be replaced.

"Such replacements are the strategy of Hun Sen," he told the Post Thursday, adding that "we have already approved the names of the candidates."

Meanwhile, the three Human Rights Party (HRP) parliamentarians who boycotted the Sept. 24 swearing-in of the new Assembly will have the chance to be sworn-in in a separate session with the replacement CPP parliamentarians.

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