R 3491 E MB U N SSUE I THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020 Intelligent . In-depth . Independent www.phnompenhpost.com 4000 RIEL PUBLIC SCHOOLS INFRASTRUCTURE CALLS FOR PROBE SET TO REOPEN NEEDS UPGRADE, into putin critic’s ON SEPTEMBER 7 MINISTRY SAYS POISONING CLAIMS NATIONAL – page 5 BUSINESS – page 6 WORLD – pAGE 10 Government lauded for reforms Mom Kunthear Committee (CHRC) president Keo government to accept inputs from late the law and the rights of others, pecially the legal basis and measures Remy via video conference that was civil society regarding the draft laws especially protests that can cause taken by the authorities,” he said. N special rapporteur on also attended by representatives from on associations and non-govern- racial discrimination and disrupt Malin said the meeting provided a the situation of human the ministries of Interior; Foreign Af- mental organisations (Lango); pub- public order and social security. floor for Cambodia to explain in de- rights in Cambodia Rhona fairs and International Cooperation; lic order; and the establishment of CHRC vice-president Chin Ma- tail the current situation as opposed Smith praised the govern- Justice; Information; and Health. national human rights institutions. lin told The Post on Wednesday that to biased allegations of human rights Ument for its efforts in addressing However, Smith also expressed The laws, she said, should be in line the virtual meeting yielded positive violations. He said the government issues related to freedom of expres- concerns on Covid-19 disinforma- international human rights principles. results and demonstrated growing shared some of her concerns and sion, judicial reforms and Covid-19 tion and the passage of laws on civil Smith said while she remains con- mutual understanding. will do more to address them. preventive measures. society organisations. cerned about restrictions on free- “What we can assess is that Smith “We accept her suggestions and will Smith made the remarks on Tuesday She called for constant prevention dom of expression and assembly, seems to understand the real situa- as she met Cambodian Human Rights of Covid-19 fake news and urged the she did not support rallies that vio- tion and reality in Cambodia and es- CONTINUED – page 2 Afghanistan flash floods kill over 70 as search goes on RESCUE workers in Afghani- their salvaged belongings. stan searched on Wednesday “I was alone when the for survivors of flash floods flood-hit. I grabbed the win- that killed more than 70 peo- dow and was holding it for ple and destroyed hundreds two hours until the neigh- of houses in a city north of bours came to rescue me. I the capital, officials said. lost everything … my jewel- Troops pulled dozens from lery, money and property,” the rubble of collapsed build- said 70-year-old Hamida. ings in Charikar, capital of Flash floods were also report- Parwan province, after it was ed in other provinces – includ- hit by heavy rains overnight, ing Nangarhar, Panjshir, Wardak, but officials and witnesses Loghar, Paktika and Kapisa – but said many children were there were no reports of casual- among the dead. ties, the ministry said. Mohamed Qasim, a 45-year- Torrential downpours and old farmer from the city, said flash floods kill scores of peo- 11 members of his family were ple annually in Afghanistan. killed in the floods. Many poorly built homes, Piles of rocks from destroyed mostly in rural areas, are at risk KrisEnergy is currently developing the Apsara oil field in Block A of the Khmer Basin in the Gulf of Thailand. KRISENERGY buildings were scattered across of collapse during the rains in the city, with roads blocked by the impoverished country. mud and debris and cars Earlier this month, 16 people, flipped on their sides. including 15 children, were “The figures we have col- killed and dozens of houses Kingdom’s oil extraction on lected from hospitals show that destroyed when flash floods 72 people have died and over ravaged a village in the eastern 100 are injured,” said Ministry province of Nangarhar. of Disaster Management Heavy monsoon rains have target for year’s end, says firm spokesman Tamim Azimi. also wrought havoc on neigh- Waheeda Shahkar, the bouring Pakistan, with May Kunmakara The load-out and sail-away in the Gulf of Thailand. ergy (Apsara) Company Ltd, spokeswoman for the Parwan authorities in the southern of the topsides and jacket (the It said the fabrication of the noted that nine months had governor, confirmed the toll, city of Karachi reporting 30 SINGAPORE-BASED oil and gas legs of the platform) were com- Mini-Platform began early in elapsed from the “first steel- adding that more than 500 deaths over the past three exploration company KrisEn- pleted on Tuesday, it said, December at the facility of PT cutting” to the “sail-away”. houses had been destroyed. weeks from flood-related inci- ergy Ltd said on Wednesday that This marks a significant step NOV Profab, a subsidiary of He said: “This landmark is In parts of the city, anxious dents, including injuries from the fabrication of the minimum towards the company’s ambi- Houston, US-based oilfield made all the more remarkable residents gathered to see if collapsed buildings, drown- facilities wellhead platform tious target of extracting the equipment supplier National given the difficulties and restric- relatives would be pulled from ings and electrocutions. (Mini-Platform) for the Apsara first drop of oil before the Oilwell Varco Inc (NOV), on tions our project team and ours the wreckages by rescue work- President Ashraf Ghani had oil development offshore Cam- year’s end. Indonesia’s Batam Island. NOV Profab colleagues have ers using heavy machinery. ordered emergency relief to bodia has been completed and KrisEnergy is currently Kelvin Tang, the CEO of Kris faced since early 2020 as Many people stood on be sent to Charikar, the pres- its components are on their way developing the Apsara oil field Energy and president of whol- rooftops as the rain continued idential palace said in a state- to the Kingdom’s waters. in Block A of the Khmer Basin ly-owned subsidiary KrisEn- CONTINUED – page 7 to lash the city, holding on to ment. AFP Cash assistance programme THE PHNOM PENH POST National News for Kingdom’s poor extended Inside page 3 2 THE PHNOM PENH POST AUGUST 27, 2020 WWW.phnompenhpost.COM National ‘More need Nutrilatt baby formula ‘iron deficient’ to be done Voun Dara HE General Depart- on human ment of Consumer Protection, Competi- tion and Fraud Re- right issue’ Tpression (CPCFR) is calling for a civil settlement for consum- Continued from page 1 ers who purchased Nutrilatt milk powder for their babies. continue to work together to It is also asking the Ministry improve the human rights sit- of Commerce to stop the dis- uation in Cambodia,” he said. tribution of the baby formula. Cambodian Institute for The CPCFR alleges the iron Democracy president Pa content in Nutrilatt is lower Chanroeun saw Smith’s posi- than the company’s declara- tive assessment as merely an tion and international coding acknowledgement of the gov- standards. It presented labo- ernment’s efforts in contain- ratory findings on Wednesday ing Covid-19. to back its claims. He claimed human rights The presentation was made abuses in Cambodia persist by CPCFR director-general and the situation has not Phan Oun with participation improved. from parents, representatives “As for the human rights of Nutrilatt, WHO, UNICEF, situation and the decline of Helen Keller International and democratic processes in Cam- representatives of the Mater- bodia, this is an indisputable nal and Child Health Centre at fact that has prompted the the Ministry of Health. EU to withdraw 20 per cent of Oun told The Post that six CPCFR director-general Phan Oun wants Nutrilatt baby formula off store shelves for misrepresentation of iron content. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE its Everything But Arms (EBA) batches were analysed by Eu- scheme. It’s because human rofins FoodT esting Singapore ny does not agree, we will send CPCFR for a solution. take responsibility and pub- number of irregularities. rights abuses remain serious Pte Ltd, an independent and the case to court,” he said. Liu Samnang, a mother of licly acknowledge the powder “Nutrilite milk powder and systematic,” he said. internationally accredited Oun said CPCFR would also a baby who used the formula is iron deficient. completely rejects the results Chanroeun said he did not laboratory in Singapore. advise commerce ministry offi- said her child is suffering from “The company should con- of the CPCFR announcement. expect the government to fol- The results show the iron cials to check the milk powder anaemia and severe iron defi- tact the National Pediatric Nutrilatt observes a number low Smith’s recommendations. contained in the milk powder and confiscate the products. ciency. She said the parents Hospital and Kantha Bopha of irregularities in the unilat- He said citizens, civil society was lower than the company’s Iron deficiency in infants have asked Health Minister Children’s Hospital to check eral declaration of the results organisations and relevant declaration and the Codex In- who use this formula may Mam Bunheng to check the and take responsibility for ba- and the results are very dif- UN agencies will continue to ternational Standard. lead to anaemia, fatigue and quality of the milk powder, bies who suffered from the use ferent from those obtained monitor the situation and de- “We want a civil settlement for weak bodies, he said. but they didn’t get any result. of this milk powder,” she said. by the company from the mand that the authorities ful- victims if the company agrees to Oun said 16 families of in- They then turned to CPCFR.