Claudio Bussolino espatriato in Cambogia

Perché i Cambogiani non possono stimare gli Americani ?

I Cambogiani sono forse ancora dei contadini un po’ rozzi, abituati a fare i conti con una dura realtà fatta di grandi speranze e poverissime risorse. Sono quindi abituati a valutare le persone non tanto per quel che dicono ma piuttosto per ciò che fanno. Sono ormai numerosissimi i turisti statunitensi e non meno numerosi sono gli “operatori” di infinite organizzazioni od organismi americani che si aggirano per la Cambogia per le loro missioni umanitarie. I Cambogiani in realtà un po’ li amano perché sanno che da loro possono spillare facilmente denaro, molto più che dagli altri occidentali per non parlare poi di Cinesi e Coreani dai quali è già un’impresa riuscire a strappare mezzo dollaro. Non li stimano però perché li considerano molto ottusi e incapaci di capire e rispettare la mentalità del popolo cambogiano. E’ soprattuto poco accettata il paternalistico tono con cui pretendono di imporre agli “indigeni” la loro etica. Gli Stati Uniti, anche al più alto livello istituzionale, non fanno nulla per superare questa “incomprensione”. L’ultimo esempio è venuto dalla visita di Stato di Hillary Clinton che preoccupata della sempre maggior influenza della Cina nel Sud-Est asiatico è stata prodiga di consigli ma ai massicci aiuti finanziari offerti da Pechino ha contrapposto la richiesta al governo cambogiano di pagare 445 milioni di dollari per i “prestiti” (leggasi armi) concessi tra il 1970 ed il 1975 al governo del generale Lon Nol che era arrivato al potere con un colpo di Stato che è opinione comune fosse stato promosso dall’Amministrazione statunitense al fine di procurarsi un fedele alleato nella lotta che allora conducevano per annientare le linee di rifornimento dei Vietcong lungo la pista di Ho Chi Minh.

Le tre notizie sotto riportate, comparse sulla stampa nel breve periodo tra il 31 ottobre ed il 4 novembre 2010, spiegano bene come possa alimentarsi la poca stima che i Cambogiani nutrono per gli Americani.

China to bridge missing rail link (vedasi l’articolo “In treno da Singapore a Nanning, via Phnom Penh)

31 October - Beijing has pledged to support the construction of a US$600 million railway between Phnom Penh and Vietnam – one of four “missing links” on a 5,382-kilometre pan-Asia track between Singapore and Kunming in southern China. The People’s Republic is funding a feasibility study on the missing Phnom Penh-to-Vietnam stretch. Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong said Prime Minister Hun Sen met Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the 17th Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, held in Hanoi last week, to discuss its funding.

“Hun Sen requested China to help build a railway from Phnom Penh to Vietnam, which is 257 kilometres [long] and costs $600 million,” the minister said. “China affirmed to do whatever it can to speed up railway construction. “We hope there will be construction on the railway in the year to come.”

The economic benefits of linking Cambodia and Vietnam will be profound, according to officials. “The construction of this railway will not only benefit Cambodia, but also ASEAN members particularly Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos,” Hor Namhong said. “It will support a massive flow of trade and tourists for the benefit for all.” The link – thought to cover the line between Phnom Penh and Loc Ninh, Vietnam – is one of four identified by ASEAN as necessary for completion before the Singapore to Kunming Rail Link can open.

In a master plan on ASEAN Connectivity, released by the association on Friday in Hanoi, the regional community decided to “prioritise” rail lines through Cambodia in a bid to complete the SKRL by 2015.

The plan identifies the “missing links”: a 6-kilometre stretch in Thailand near the town of Aranyaprathet, close to the Kingdom’s border, to be completed in 2014; the 48-kilometre link between Poipet and Sisophon in Cambodia, to be finished by 2013; and the Phnom Penh-to-Loc Ninh line, which is expected to be operational by 2015.
Construction on a fourth link – the 129-kilometre stretch between Loc Ninh, near the border with Cambodia, and Ho Chi Minh City – is scheduled for completion by 2020, according to the ASEAN plan.

The plan did not discuss the Phnom Penh-to-Sisophon stretch of Cambodia’s Northern Line, which is part of the proposed SKRL route and is presently being rehabilitated.

It is earmarked to open in the next two years, according to the Asian Development Bank, which is providing loans to fund its restoration.

Toll Royal Railways, a joint venture by Australia’s Toll Group and Cambodian conglomerate The Royal Group, has been given a 30-year concession to run the Kingdom’s railways – but not with the proposed link to Vietnam. However, at the launch of the restored railway between Phnom Penh and Kampot last month, Toll officials expressed hopes for future concessions. “In time, we would like to think we can gain the confidence of the Cambodian government [to secure the concession for the link to Vietnam],” said Wayne Hunt, chief executive officer of Toll Global Logistics.

Clinton flags Lon Nol debt negotiations

01 November - United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today that Washington would dispatch a “team of experts” to resolve the long-standing issue of the Kingdom’s Lon Nol-era debt to the US as she completed her two-day visit to Cambodia. Following a meeting with Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, America’s top diplomat said the debt required “immediate attention”, and that she would move the issue “up the ladder of priorities” for Washington.

“There have been no discussions since 2006 at all, and we think it’s time for our experts to meet and explore a broad range of potential areas for settling of this debt,” Clinton said. “It is a concern that it has not been even addressed, and I would like to see us make it a priority, and [Hor Namhong] has agreed, so we will begin to work on that together.” Clinton said she had “no preconceived notion” of how the matter would be resolved, but told students at a town hall meeting that repayment could perhaps be redirected to priority sectors in the Kingdom. “You could have some repayment, you could have debt for nature, you could have debt for education,” she said. “There are things that the government of Cambodia could do that would satisfy the need to demonstrate some level of accountability but, more importantly, to invest those funds in the needs of the people of Cambodia.”

The Kingdom has long called for the US to cancel its Lon Nol-era debt, which now stands at US$445 million with interest. In a speech in September, Prime Minister Hun Sen called the sum a “dirty debt” that was used to fund bombs “dropped on our heads” in the early 1970s by US forces.

“We requested that this debt be resolved through two agreements. One is an agreement reached through Paris Club principles,” Hor Namhong said, referring to the association of economic officials from developed countries who work to relieve or restructure sovereign debts. “Second is an agreement to resolve the debt by transferring it to development.”

Clinton arrived in the Kingdom as part of a region-wide trip that has also taken her to China and to Vietnam for last week’s ASEAN summit. She said her visit to Cambodia was the result of a commitment “to restoring America to a high level of engagement in the Asia-Pacific region”. Asked at the meeting about the rising Chinese influence in Cambodia, Clinton warned the Kingdom not to become too dependent on Beijing and said it was “smart for Cambodia to be friends with many countries”. “China is a great country and has an exciting future,” she said. “There are certainly many reasons for Cambodia to have a good relationship with China. I think there are also important issues that Cambodia must raise with China.”

Wu Bangguo, chairman of the standing committee of China’s national people’s congress, will arrive in Cambodia for a four-day visit Wednesday, Chinese embassy spokesman Qian Hai said. The visit follows Hor Namhong’s announcement on Sunday that China had promised to support the construction of a $600 million rail link between Cambodia and Vietnam.

Chinese pledges $1.6bn

04 November - China has pledged to invest US$1.6 billion in infrastructure projects in the Kingdom over the next five years, as Wu Bangguo, China’s top legislator, continued his four-day visit to Cambodia. The sum will be spread over 23 projects to be implemented by 2015, information minister Khieu Kanharith said following a meeting between Wu, the chairman of the standing committee of China’s national people’s congress, and Prime Minister Hun Sen. “China has lots of experience in infrastructure projects, so they will help Cambodia to develop roads, bridges, ports, railways and information technology,” Khieu Kanharith said.

China has also announced an additional $15 million in aid and has pledged to cancel $4.2 million in debt that Cambodia was due to repay this year, Khieu Kanharith said, in addition to signing 16 agreements related to hydropower and water resources. The Financial Times reported that the agreements included electricity deals involving Chinese state power producer Huadian.

Specific details of the projects were unavailable; Chinese embassy spokesman Qian Hai said he had no information on the issue.

The announcements came only days after United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concluded a two-day visit to the Kingdom in which she announced plans to dispatch a “team of experts” to resolve the long-standing issue of Cambodia’s Lon Nol-era debt to the US, which stands at roughly $445 million with interest. Clinton warned Cambodia during her visit against becoming too dependent on Beijing, saying it was “smart for Cambodia to be friends with many countries”. Khieu Kanharith said government cooperation with both China and the United States was governed by principles “without bias to any country”.

During a visit to the Kingdom last year, Chinese vice president Xi Jinping announced a package of $1.2 billion worth of grants and loans. Cheam Yeap, chairman of the National Assembly’s Banking and Finance Committee, said the Kingdom had accrued more than $4 billion in debt to China since 1994.

During his meeting with Wu, Hun Sen pushed for China to import more rice from Cambodia and increase direct flights between the two countries, Khieu Kanharith said.

ATTUALITA' CAMBOGIANE