The Secretary of State for Civil Aviation Announced that Bangkok Airways Flights Will End

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 632 - Thursday, 1.10.2009

"The secretary of state of the State Secretariat for Civil Aviation [Mr. Mao Havannal] made an announcement that previous information about the suspension of flights of Bangkok Airways for the Phnom Penh-Siem Reap and Siem Reap-Phnom Penh sectors was not based on a clear source. Mr. Mao Havannal said that the information led to confusion. Therefore, the State Secretariat for Civil Aviation makes an announcement to clarify.

"The announcement reads:

1. "The Royal Government of Cambodia allowed Bangkok Airways to operate domestic flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh temporarily, based on Notification 1447, dated 20 November 2008 from the Council of Ministers. The suspension [of domestic flights] is not related to to general relations between the Royal Government and Bangkok Airways.
2. "Permission for domestic flights for Bangkok Airways was provided to ensure the sustainability of tourism, as tourists who are visiting the Kingdom of Cambodia, as well as national and international tourists, could board Phnom Penh-Siem Reap and Siem Reap-Phnom Penh flights, while Siem Reap Airways had been suspended temporarily due to air safety problems [of Siem Reap Airways].
3. "Temporarily permitted flights of Bangkok Airways on the Phnom Penh-Siem Reap and Siem Reap-Phnom Penh sectors will be terminated automatically on 25 October 2009 after this permission will expire. But this suspension of flights does not happen because of the creation of a new company [Cambodia Angkor Air], since all local companies have anyway the right to fly in the country.
   "Even though the permission for domestic flights by Bangkok Airways expires, this company still has the right to fly on international routes to the Kingdom of Cambodia. The secretary of state of the State Secretariat for Civil Aviation added that Bangkok Airways had been allowed to fly on the Phnom Penh-Siem Reap and Siem Reap-Phnom Penh sectors before the creation of Cambodia Angkor Air. That is why the expiration of the permission is not related to the creation of the new company.
4. "Flights of Bangkok Airways will be replaced by flights of Siem Reap Airways. Thus, Siem Reap Airways can receive all flight sectors from Bangkok Airways, while it is submitting the necessary documents to respond to the legal standards of the Cambodian State Secretariat for Civil Aviation."

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6767, 1.10.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Thursday, 1 October 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #299, 1.10.2009

• Cambodian Prisoners in Thailand Will Be Repatriated to Be Jailed in Cambodia [according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation]
• Hor Namhong: Cambodia Desires Cooperation with All Nations [not just China or the USA]
• [Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian] Ms. Sochua Denied She Called On America to Cut Military Aid

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2060, 1.10.2009

• The King Went to Deliver Donations to 100 Families Whose Houses Were Destroyed by the Typhoon in Prek Chhdor Village [Kompong Chhnang]
• Germany Will Present Famous Films of 60 Years History [from 5 to 11 October 2009 at the Lux Cinema (5. and 11.10.2005 - German films in Khmer language) and at Meta House (7., 8., 9., 10.10.2009 - in German with English subtitles)]
• A Tsunami Attacked the Samoa Islands [in the Pacific], Killing More Than 100 People

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #499, 1.10.2009

• Hor Namhong Said He Did Not Know, when He Was Asked [during an interview with Radio Free Asia] Why in Cambodia, Yuon [Vietnamese] People Can Watch and Listen to Yuon Television and Radio, while Khmers in Kampuchea Krom [in Vietnam] Cannot Watch and Listen to Khmer Television and Radio

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6767, 1.10.2009

• The Secretary of State for Civil Aviation Announced that Bangkok Airways Flights Will End
• The Ministry of Interior Reshuffles and Promote Senior Officers

Phnom Penh Post, Vol.1, #16, 1.10.2009

• Three State Enterprises to Be Registered at the Stock Exchange Officially [after having been instructed by the Ministry of Finance - though they do it reluctantly, and they do not see that this will be of benefit for them: the Phnom Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, Telecom Cambodia, and the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port]
• UNICEF Vows to Help Cambodian Children [so that they can receive their full rights]
• Citizens Living along the Railway in Community B Agreed to Accept Compensation [23 families agreed to take between US$15,000 to US$20,000 in exchang for removing their houses]
• [The president of the Khmer Civilization Foundation, who fled to France] Moeung Sonn Asked the Court to Work on the [defamation] Case against Him Again [regarding his comment about the drilling at the Agnkor Wat Temple to attach electric lighting]
• [According to the spokesperson of the Thai National Counter Corruption Commission, Mr. Klanarong Chantik] Thailand Accuses Former Prime Minister [Mr. Samak Sundaravej of violating the Thai Constitution by bypassssing the Thai parliament when] Supporting the Request of Cambodia [to list the Preah Vihear Temple as a world heritage site]

Note:

It is interesting to compare reletad events and how they are reported on both sides of the border.

According to a statement by the spokesperson of the Thai National Counter Corruption Commission, Mr. Klanarong Chantik,the former Prime Minister and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs were found to have violated the constitution by signing the Joint Communique of 18.6.2008, supporting Cambodia's bid to list the Preah Vihear temple as a world heritage site without parliamentary approval. Their action was bypassing the authority of the parliament - and this led to them being censored.

Cambodian media seem to interpret the accusation against the former Thai government leaders not so much as upholding Thai constitutional requirements, but more as an anti-Cambodian act. The legal procedural authorization of the Cambodian delegation involved with the Joint Communique, producing a map where only a narrow strip of land of about 30 meters around the Temple of Preah Vihear is designated as the area for the World Heritage Committee's decision, making this map "supersede the maps" originally used by Cambodia (the maps of 1904 and 1970, used also in 1962) and agreeing to "buffer zones" in the area of 4.6 sqkm, where there are mutual claims, and proposing to have the Temple of Preah Vihear listed "without at this stage a buffer zone on the northern and western areas of the Temple," has never been discussed in the Cambodian media, as far as we know. If this is not correct, we would appreciate to be corrected, with refrence to the respective information.

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5009, 1.10.2009

• The Impact of Typhoon Ketsana Killed 11 People and Injured Many in Kompong Thom and in Ratanakiri
• A Reporter of Radio Free Asia, Mr. Sok Serei, Is Summoned to the Court on 1 October 2009 over a Disinformation Case [after he had reported conflicts between Cambodian Muslim communities in Takeo]
• Samdech Dekchor Hun Sen Asked Japan to Continue to Help Cambodia, Especially Not to Reduce Aid [during a meeting with the new Japanese ambasssador on 30 September 2009]
• A Woman Who Committed an Offense by Shooting Was Sentenced to Serve Eighteen Months in Prison [Phnom Penh]
• The Royal Academy of Cambodia Received an Electronic Library from the People's Republic of China

Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1798, 1.10.2009

• The Opposition Party Demanded Articles Limiting the Freedom of Expression to Be Taken Out from the Criminal Code [the party said so ahead of a meeting to adopt the draft of the criminal code on 1 October 2009]

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