The Mirror, Vol. 11, No. 530
A Story of A Cambodian Woman Who Was Ordered by Laotian Authorities to Return Home
“Phnom Penh: A letter which was sent through e-mail allegedly by Ing Chamreun, a former student of Krolanh High School, to Koh Santepheap asked, ‘Why Does Laos Not Recognize Cambodian E-Passports?’ Although the writer of the letter shows his identity, he does not say more about himself; however, according to the writing, he is a Siem Reap resident, and the woman, who is the holder of the of E-passport, traveled through Siem Reap airport to Laos.
“Koh Santepheap does not have any other goal, besides providing information to government institutions about what happened concerning a Cambodian E-passport. How useful is it? Why was a Cambodian woman holding such a passport and just traveling to Laos forced to be back? Is it true that there is such a problem? Below is a letter that Koh Santepheap received, and it is copied here from the original.
Why Does Laos Not Recognize Cambodian E-passports?
“After more than two months, and after spending US$135, my sister received a passport. My sister was very happy to receive this legal document which would give her the opportunity to meet her husband, who is working in Luang Prabang in Laos. Officials, who were responsible for issuing her passport, affirmed that in this era of modern technology, our country of Cambodia has a type of E-passports which provide Khmer citizens who travel with a tool so that everything is operated by electronic systems without any complications.
“A week after receiving the modern E-passport, my sister bought a ticket from Lao Airlines, from Siem Reap to Luang Prabang. There was no obstacle or any problem, neither from the ticket selling agents, nor from the officials at Siem Reap Airport regarding the E-passport, but when arriving in Luang Prabang, the problems started; officials at the airport stopped her there, claiming that the passport is not appropriate, as it has no stamp; they examined the passport again and again.
“They stated that they have never received any information from the Khmer side about E-passports; however, with the sponsorship by many Laotian nationals, my sister was allowed to leave the airport for the place where her husband lives. However, at that time, Laotian officials demanded $200 from my brother-in-law; he affirmed that they promised to solve the issue if he would pay, so that they would be able to permit my sister to stay up to one month. With such a hope, my sister did not visit any places or buy anything, because she thought that she could stay there for many days. Contrary to their expectation, on Saturday morning, on 13 October at about 8 o’clock, which was the fifth day of my sister’s stay, my brother-in-law received a phone call from a Laotian official ordering my sister to leave the country at 10:30 a.m. that same morning; otherwise they would arrest and jail her, accusing her to be an illegal immigrant.
“Everything seemed to have been organized in advance, because there were people waiting to hand my sister a plane ticket though she had not booked his one. The couple was separated from each other tearfully. After arriving in Cambodia, my sister told the officials at Siem Reap Airport about the problem; they seemed to be very surprised about the case; some of them said that this is not the first case, and others said that information about such a kind of passport had already been sent by the Khmer side to the Laotian side. They encouraged my sister to file a complaint against the Laotian side.
“I hope that this issue will be handled in a way so that my sister will receive compensation for damages suffered. Concerning this issue, we cannot blame the passenger, because for them it is a first time experience – they could not have known from a former case. If there is a problem, the Khmer side should not have permitted my sister to leave the airport.
“Is it because of a lack of interaction between the two countries? If this problem still happens again, passengers who have spent months and years to save money remain the victims.
“I hope that if Samdech Head of the Royal Government gets to knows this problem, Samdech will not stay silent. [signed by] Ing Chamreun, a former student of Krolanh High School.” Koh Santepheap, Vol. 40, #6169, 18.10.2007
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Thursday, 18 October 2007
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.6, #1469, 18.10.2007
- Prince Thomico Enters Monkhood, After Leaving Monkhood He Will Create Again Something Special
- Ky Tech [President of the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia] Announced Strengthening of the Lawyers’ Code of Conduct by Eliminating the Role of the Opinion of Lawyers [corruptly] Facilitating Lawsuits
- Ms. Men Sam An [Minister of National Assembly and Senate Relations and Inspection]: Women Are the Backbone of the National Society
- 30,000 Evacuated because of Volcano in Indonesia
Koh Santepheap, Vol.40, #6169, 18.10.2007
- Cambodian E-Passports
- Samdech Euv [Father King] Recalls Those Who Have Opposed Him So Far; New Article Mentions Mr. Lao Mong Hay [a Cambodian legal expert in Hong Kong]
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.14, #3287, 18.10.2007
- Mr. Kong Korm [Vice-President of the Sam Rainsy Party] Asks National Election Committee to Cancel Voter Registration in Poipet [because it does not work according to the rules of the committee]
- Nuon Chea Decides to Get Another Lawyer Who Is Dutch
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.15, #4413, 18.10.2007
- Prince Thomico Wants Funcinpec to Send Senior Officials to Meet Preah Mohavirak Khsatr [the Great Heroic King] to Find a Compromise with Krom Preah [Norodom Ranariddh]
- Cambodia and Laos Lay Foundation Stone for the Construction of an International Border Crossing Checking Office [Stung Treng]
- Samdech Hun Sen: “Cambodia Enters the Phase of Using Its Own Natural Resources to Develop the Country”
Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.14, #3162, 18.10.2007
- Funcinpec Marks “Party Coup” of Overthrowing Samdech Krom Preah Norodom Ranariddh on 18 October
- Lou Kim Chhon [Sihanoukville port director] and Say Hak [Sihanoukville governor] Make $300,000 to $400,000 per Year from Safe Road [National Road 4 – through money extortion under the pretext of maintaining road safety]
- Civil Society Organizations Concerned about Voter Registration Irregularities
Sralanh Khmer, Vol.3, #528, 18.10.2007
- Funcinpec Standing Committee Selects Samdech Preah Anoch [“younger sister”] Norodom Arun Rasmey as Prime Ministerial Candidate
- In Cambodia, Murderers and Young People [who are criminal gang members] Are More Powerful Than Samdech Prime Minister! [mocking]
