US to Review Security Procedures After Detroit Airline Incident

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Holiday travelers wait in a long line at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The U.S. government tightened airline security as it searches for answers to how a 23-year-old Nigerian man eluded extensive systems intended to prevent attacks like his botched Christmas Day effort to blow up a Northwest flight from overseas.

The Obama administration is reviewing U.S. terror monitoring procedures after a Nigerian man attempted to blow up an airliner as it approached the city of Detroit. Administration officials say the suspect's name had been entered into a U.S. security database, but had not been added to a "no-fly" list.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this undated photo provided by the Web site saharareporters.com and verified by an Associated Press reporter present at the subject's arraignment, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is shown

In the wake of Friday's foiled terror plot, President Obama has requested two reviews of U.S. security procedures. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs spoke on ABC's "This Week" program. "First, on our watch-listing procedures: did the [U.S.] government do everything it could have with the information it had, understanding that these procedures are several years old? Did we do what we need to with that information? Second, obviously we have to review our detection capabilities. The president has asked the Department of Homeland Security to answer the very real question about how somebody with something as dangerous as PETN [plastic explosive] could have gotten onto a plane in Amsterdam," he said.

U.S. authorities have charged the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, with transporting and attempting to detonate explosives aboard an airliner . The suspect flew from from Amsterdam to the United States, and is believed to have hidden plastic explosives inside his clothing.

Passenger and witness Melinda Dennis said, "Right when we were about to land, there was some commotion in the back, and from what we could tell there was a gentleman who had some sort of device on him that caused him to catch on fire. They put out the fire, brought him up front where they stripped him down to make sure he had nothing else."

The suspect suffered burns and has received medical attention in Michigan, where he is being held.

U.S. officials confirm they had advance knowledge of the suspect. But Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that knowledge did not rise to the level of banning him from flying or entering the United States. "There are different types of databases, and there was simply throughout the law enforcement community never information that would put this individual on a 'no-fly' list," she said.

Napolitano also appeared on ABC. She says the suspect's possible ties to terrorist groups are under investigation, but that there is no indication that Friday's bombing attempt was part of a larger plot.

According to Nigerian officials, the suspect's father had discussed concerns about his son's radical religious views with U.S. authorities in Nigeria before the attack.

U.S. Congressional leaders have promised probes of the incident. If convicted, the suspect could face 20 years in prison as well as a fine.

Bhopal Gas Victims Still Await Justice 25 Years Later

India is marking the 25th anniversary of the leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in the city of Bhopal. The victims have generally been left in a legal haze since the ill-fated night (Dec. 2, 1984) when a toxic-gas cloud spread across the central Indian city.

Photo: AP

Children put candles on the ground during a candle light vigil on eve of 25th anniversary disaster, in Bhopal, 2 Dec 2009

ndia is marking the 25th anniversary of the leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in the city of Bhopal. The victims have generally been left in a legal haze since the ill-fated night (Dec. 2, 1984) when a toxic-gas cloud spread across the central Indian city.

Victims of the gas leak, accompanied by family members and supporters, took to the streets of Bhopal to demand long-delayed justice.

They want accountability for the deaths of thousands of people and the ill effects suffered by - in the Indian government's estimate - a half million individuals.

There have been numerous civil and criminal cases, filed in India and the United States.

Warren Anderson, 88, who was then chairman of Union Carbide, faces manslaughter charges in India. The United States, five years ago, rejected India's request to extradite him.

A nearly one-half-billion dollar settlement was paid by Union Carbide to the Indian government in 1989. Disabled survivors say what eventually trickled down to them, amounting to an average of a few cents a day since the tragedy, is woefully inadequate to pay medical bills and replace lost income.

India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, commented in a statement that the victims "can never really be fully compensated."

VOA S. Herman

Mobile protest truck in New Delhi marking 25th anniversary of Bhopal gas leak.

The parent company of the Indian subsidiary was bought by Dow Chemical of the United States in 1999. Dow maintains all legal liabilities were settled with that one-time payment.

New York-based lawyer Rajan Sharma, who represents Bhopal plaintiffs in a groundwater contamination case, filed in 1999, disputes Dow's stance.

"The U.S. Court of Appeals has rejected that argument at least four times," Sharma said. "There is absolutely no doubt the present-day litigation that concerns environmental pollution stemming from the Bhopal plant is completely outside the scope of the 1989 settlement."

Sharma, speaking to VOA from Bhopal, says he hopes American judges will rule the plant's original owner is legally responsible, no matter how much time has passed.

"We are cautiously hopeful that the American courts will see that Union Carbide is playing a game here whereby it will not submit to the jurisdiction of India's courts. It will not allow India to apply its own laws to address this problem. The American courts will see that if they do not address this Union Carbide will essentially to have been allowed or permitted to escape liability altogether."

Dow declined VOA's requests for an interview.

VOA S. Herman

Anti-Dow Chemical petition signed by Delhi college students.

Union Carbide claimed a disgruntled employee sabotaged the plant, causing the leak of tons of toxic gases. Activists contend a faulty plant design or neglect was to blame.

Union Carbide documents no one has bothered to remove remain at the neglected site inside buildings with broken doors and smashed windows. Lawyers and activists say the files, could be pertinent to the lingering legal cases.

Telegrams and other papers obtained by VOA from the site discuss leaks and other problems at the facility prior to the December 1984 disaster. The full picture is slowly vanishing, however. Security guards on the site say they use the remaining documents to light fires on chilly nights.

Land Dispute in Kampong Thom Leads to Violence and Arrests

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh 18 November 2009

Three villagers have been arrested in Kampong Thom province on Wednesday in a chronic land dispute and some others are being pursued by provincial authority, officials and villagers said.

“We are interrogating the three men for more arrests of those involved before sending the case to court,” Kampong Thom provincial police chief, Phan Sopheng, said.

More than 1,000 families live on the land that is now part of an 8,000-hectare land concession belonging to the Vietnamese Tin Bien company.

As a result of the dispute, some property belonging to the company, including two bulldozers, an excavator, and a generator, were burned when violence erupted Monday. Nine residents were also wounded.

Land disputes are on the rise in Cambodia. In 2008, a human rights group Adhoc documented 306 cases with 150 people arrested.

Karzai Sworn in for Second Term as Afghan President

By VOA News 19 November 2009

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been sworn in for a second five-year term following his disputed victory in fraud-marred presidential elections.

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai (L) takes the presidential oath besides Afghanistan's Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi during his inauguration at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, 19 Nov 2009

The inauguration was held Thursday at the presidential palace in the capital Kabul.

Addressing hundreds of foreign dignitaries and Afghan leaders at the ceremony, President Karzai vowed to tackle government corruption, calling it a "dangerous enemy of the state."

Mr. Karzai has faced intense Western pressure to fight corruption and improve government accountability. He promised to select "competent," "expert" ministers and vowed to take action against those who are stepping over the country's laws and constitution.

President Karzai said another priority for his government will be to transfer the leading role for security from international forces to the Afghan army. Mr. Karzai said he hopes Afghan forces will lead all security operations within the next five years.

He said he believes the "problem of international terrorism" in Afghanistan will be overcome.

President Karzai also pledged to combat the problem of drug trafficking in Afghanistan, which produces about 90 percent of the world's opium - the key ingredient in heroin. The Afghan leader called on the international community to help Afghanistan tackle the traffickers and those who cultivate poppies.

He said he also wants to secure prosperity for his country and will do his best to secure its access to the international market.

President Karzai concluded his speech by reaching out to his rivals in the disputed presidential election. He said he invites all candidates to partner with him to help govern the country and apologized if anyone was upset by him or his administration. He said he is sorry if he has not fulfilled all that he had promised.

Mr. Karzai won the election by default after his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from a runoff, saying it was impossible for the vote to be fair.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the start of Mr. Karzai's new five-year term represents a "window of opportunity" for Afghan leaders to make a "new compact" with their people.

Obama Calls on N. Korea to Return to Talks

By Paula Wolfson Seoul 19 November 2009

U.S President Barack Obama is calling on North Korea to return to nuclear talks and he is warning of possible new sanctions on Iran. Mr. Obama spoke in Seoul after talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

The president's day in Seoul began with ceremony - and quickly moved to substance.

Topping the agenda: North Korea's nuclear program.

The American and South Korean presidents called on the North Koreans to return to multilateral negotiations. And, Mr. Obama announced he is sending a senior envoy to Pyongyang for the first time since taking office.

"We will be sending Ambassador Bosworth to North Korea on December 8, to engage in direct talks with the North Koreans," he said.

President Obama says Bosworth will have a defined mission - to get the North Koreans back to the so-called six-party talks.

President Lee indicated patience is running thin.

When asked if he has a time frame for resolving the North Korean issue, he said, "as soon as possible".

The nuclear threat from Iran also came up during President Obama's brief visit to Seoul.

Mr. Obama says he still holds out some hope Iran will eventually agree to send its nuclear fuel to another country for processing. But he admits the chances are not good.

"We have seen indications that, whether it is for internal political reasons or they are stuck in some of their own rhetoric, they have been unable to get to 'yes,'" he said.

The president says the United States and its international partners are already exploring various options that can be taken if Iran says 'no.'

"Our expectation is that, over the next several weeks, we will be developing a package of potential steps that we could take that will indicate our seriousness to Iran," Mr. Obama said.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to U.S. troops at a U.S. military airbase in Osan, south of Seoul, 19 Nov 2009

South Korea was the last stop for the president on an Asian tour that also included Japan, Singapore and China.

He ended the journey as it began - with a visit to American troops.

At Osan air base, near Seoul, he reflected on his maiden voyage as president to East Asia.

"At every step of my journey, one truth is clear: the security that allows families to live in peace in Asia and America, the prosperity that allows people to pursue their dreams, the freedoms and liberties that we cherish, they are not accidents of history," he said. "They are the direct results of the work that you do."

The president said he could not end his trip without extending personal thanks to the members of America's armed forces, in South Korea and around the world.

No Cambodian-Thai dispute raised at a meeting with Obama

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh 13 November 2009

Cambodia will not bring up a dispute with its neighboring Thailand in the first meeting of Asean leaders with the US President Barack Obama to be held this Sunday in Singapore, a foreign ministry's official said Friday.

“The first reason is that, this is an Asean’s internal affair, and secondly Cambodia wants this first meeting to proceed with a success,” Koy Kuong, a spokesman for Cambodia’s foreign ministry, said.

The statement was made after the Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan expressed his concern during a lecture at Lee Kwan Yew school of public diplomacy in Singapore that current diplomatic row between Cambodia and Thailand would affect the first Asean-US meeting.

Singapore hosts Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) which President Obama is scheduled to join.

Prime Minister Hun Sen will leave for the meeting this weekend.

Thais Threaten to Close Cambodian Borders

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh 06 November 2009

Thailand’s deputy prime minister on Friday warned the country could close its borders to Cambodia, after each withdrew their ambassadors in a worsening row over ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Both sides have troops amassed on the border following skirmishes over Preah Vihear temple last year, but military officials said Friday the situation remained calm.

The two countries share seven international checkpoints, as well as 12 others, along 800 kilometers of border.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban was quoted Friday saying worsening relations could lead to closed checkpoints, following Cambodia’s announcement it had made Thaksin an economic adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Thaksin is in self-imposed exile and faces a two-year jail sentence for corruption charges if he returns to Thailand. Hun Sen has said he would welcome the former premier, who was ousted in a bloodless coup in 2006, in spite of an extradition treaty with Thailand.

“If Cambodia still adopts a hard line and uncompromising attitude, then we must continue to downgrade relations and maybe seal off all border checkpoints,” Suthep was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said he wasn’t surprised by the warning, but he added that Thailand would suffer more from a border closure than Cambodia.

The deepening diplomatic crisis had no bearing on a military standoff along the northern border, officials said Friday.

Defense Minister Tea Banh told VOA Khmer the border situation was “quiet” and “normal,” despite the withdrawal of ambassadors from Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

Chea Mon, commander of Division 4, said Cambodian soldiers were maintaining their positions on the border, which was quiet.

Iran Lawmakers Say Tehran Will Reject UN-Backed Nuclear Deal

By VOA News 07 November 2009

Iranian technicians work at a facility near Isfahan, south of Tehran, that produces uranium fuel for a heavy-water nuclear reactor (File)

Some Iranian lawmakers are saying Iran will reject a U.N.-backed proposal for Iran's uranium to be enriched abroad.

The semi-official ISNA news agency quotes a prominent conservative lawmaker laeddin Boroujerdi saying Iran will not send away any of its 1,200 kilograms of enriched uranium.

France, Russia and the U.S. are urging Iran to trade about 7 percent of its low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel, which would assuage international fears the stockpile would be used to make a bomb.

Another conservative lawmaker, Hossein Naqvi Hosseini, said Iran could not trust the international promises, therefore it could not accept such an agreement.

He said Iran could buy uranium directly from another country or enrich it themselves.

Russia's president Dmitri Medvedev says if Iran "takes a less constructive stance" in international talks, the possibility of further sanctions could not be excluded.

In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, Mr. Medvedev said sanctions usually represent a step in a "dangerous direction." But he said they may be necessary, nonetheless.

The International Atomic Energy Agency says it has not yet heard a formal response to the proposal from Iran.

The U.N. Security Council has hit Iran with three sets of sanctions for its refusal to stop enriching uranium, a process that can be used to make nuclear weapons.

Iran says its atomic program is aimed at generating electricity.

Israel's deputy foreign minister says Israel will attack Iran if it continues on a path of nuclear defiance. Danny Ayalon told Britain's Sky News that Iran has expressed no desire to halt its nuclear program.

He accused Iran of conducting stalling tactics in hopes of "buying time" on its uranium enrichment work.

Israel perceives Iran as its greatest threat in part due to remarks by Iran's president calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

Thais Threaten to Close Cambodian Borders

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh 06 November 2009

Thailand’s deputy prime minister on Friday warned the country could close its borders to Cambodia, after each withdrew their ambassadors in a worsening row over ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Both sides have troops amassed on the border following skirmishes over Preah Vihear temple last year, but military officials said Friday the situation remained calm.

The two countries share seven international checkpoints, as well as 12 others, along 800 kilometers of border.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban was quoted Friday saying worsening relations could lead to closed checkpoints, following Cambodia’s announcement it had made Thaksin an economic adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Thaksin is in self-imposed exile and faces a two-year jail sentence for corruption charges if he returns to Thailand. Hun Sen has said he would welcome the former premier, who was ousted in a bloodless coup in 2006, in spite of an extradition treaty with Thailand.

“If Cambodia still adopts a hard line and uncompromising attitude, then we must continue to downgrade relations and maybe seal off all border checkpoints,” Suthep was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said he wasn’t surprised by the warning, but he added that Thailand would suffer more from a border closure than Cambodia.

The deepening diplomatic crisis had no bearing on a military standoff along the northern border, officials said Friday.

Defense Minister Tea Banh told VOA Khmer the border situation was “quiet” and “normal,” despite the withdrawal of ambassadors from Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

Chea Mon, commander of Division 4, said Cambodian soldiers were maintaining their positions on the border, which was quiet.

Rescued Sex Workers Find Refuge

Somaly Mam, in Berlin, introduced her book titled "The Silence of Innocence" in which she describes her own way out of the prostitution. (AP Photo)

Prostitutes are working the streets of Phnom Penh. Despite recent efforts by the Cambodian authorities to curb the country's huge illicit sex industry, the trade is continuing to thrive. While some brothels have been closed, others have been driven underground.

Cambodian law does not explicitly define prostitution as illegal, but commercial sex is frowned upon by authorities who routinely launch sweeps to clean up the streets. Every year in Cambodia hundreds of young girls are kidnapped by human traffickers and sold into brothels. Many endure years of mental and physical torture and they are forced to receive up to twenty customers a day.

Meanwhile, growing numbers of sex workers are moving to beer gardens, karaoke clubs and bars. While some so-called "bar-girls" choose sex work to escape poverty, a large proportion of brothel-based sex workers are the victims of human trafficking.

Founded by a former sex slave, The Somaly Mam Foundation was set up to rescue and rehabilitate victims of human trafficking. Somaly Mam blames organised crime networks, and corrupt officials, for Cambodia huge trafficking problem.

“Organized crime networks have set up a people trafficking system. They go from village to village looking for girls. Sometimes they use marriage to take them or they promise them good jobs in Phnom Penh with good salaries. Because many victims are poorly educated they fall for the trick and when they come to the city they get locked in a brothel”, she said.

The Somaly Mam Foundation has rescued over four thousand sex slaves from brothels throughout Cambodia since it was set up in 1996. It is currently caring for over 250 girls in three centres around Cambodia. More than half of them are under 18 years of age and most of the girls endured years of torture and abuse in brothels.

Vann Sina is keen to tell her story, how she was lured from Vietnam and imprisoned in a Cambodian brothel when she was just 13 years of age.

“I was beaten a lot and had to serve many clients. If I refused they would tortured me with electric shocks or force me to eat hot chillies. They locked me in an underground cellar and if I didn’t receive 15 to 20 clients a day, they would beat me up or torture me some more,” she said.

Life in a brothel is a living hell, says Somaly Mam as she recalls the years of abuse that she also endured.

“If you have lived with terrible experiences, or a bad situation, it does not mean that you are bad. We have to take our terrible experiences, shape them and turn them into something positive. But we have to remember what happened to us and never forget it. We have to help other victims and then they will help you by giving you love,” she said.

Sex work takes a huge physical and mental toll on the women involved. As well as the threat of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, many victims are psychologically damaged by their experiences. Doctor Ma Lay says most of the girls need years of therapy.

“Most of the girls who come to the centre have severe mental problems. They get angry easily, they shout a lot and many of them just want to die. And when we face this kind of situation we help them with regular counselling sessions where we try to encourage them to appreciate themselves and the value of life - and that takes a lot of time," she said.

The Somaly Mam centre creates a loving environment where the girls can make new friends and try to recapture their lost childhood. As well as treating victim's mental and physical injuries, the Somaly Mam Foundation provides further education and job training.

Vocational courses are offered alongside formal classes to help the girls find employment after they leave the centre. But the main aim is to teach the girls that their lives have meaning and that they can have a bright future. Human trafficking is the world's third most profitable criminal enterprise and there are more slaves today than at the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. These girls represent the lucky few who managed to escape a fate that awaits thousands more girls in Cambodia and around the world unless greater efforts are made to stamp out this trade.