Meeting on Implementation of Prakas No. 66 in Siem Reap

[SIEM REAP] On 14 June 2011, National AIDS Authority (NAA) organized a meeting on “Dissemination and Strengthening the Implementation of Prakas No. 66” at Cozyna Hotel, Siem Reap province. The objectives of the meeting are to disseminate and strengthen the implementation of Prakas 66 of government and the decision No. 482 of NAA and to implement successfully the 100% Condom Use Program (100% CUP). The meeting presided over by H.E Dr. Sim Kimsen, vice-chair secretary general of NAA, and around 150 participants came from owners of entertainment establishments and beer gardens, police, local authorities, provincial AIDS committee, and relevant authorities, joint this meeting.

Welcomed speech by H.E Mao Vuthy, Director of Provincial AIDS Committee and deputy governor of Siem Reap province, addressing that he was appreciate to participate in this meeting and to clarify the confusion of using Prakas 66. The meeting is a kind of activities to prevent the HIV epidemic.

H.E Dr. Sim Kimsen, Vice Chair of NAA, welcomed speech and opened the meeting. In this occasion, he would like to thank all development partners, stakeholders, and civil societies for mutually working to achieve the award from United Nation Award on Millennium Development Goal 6 (MDG6). Without the participation from local authorities, owners of establishment, and beer garden, the result of HIV epidemic reduction could not be achieved. 

Prakas 66 on 100% CUP is a main guide to pave the way for implementers. Remaining a concern of second wave which may be occurred such as the increase of Entertaining Workers (EWs), Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) and Drug users/Injecting Drug users, NAA conducted this meeting to disseminate the decision and to share experiences and challenges during the implementation in which it may occur.

Many questions were raised related to the condoms existing in place and concerning the accusation by police. All questions were answered by guest speakers.

-          Ask if police used condoms as evidences, what can the owners of establishment do? Answering by deputy governor and as a Provincial AIDS Committee, H.E Mao Vuthy and deputy secretary general Dr. Ros Seilavath, saying that when facing this problem, the owners of establishment should report to him for intervention. However, he mentioned that only the case related to condom uses regardless rape, drug uses, minor rape, and other activities which are not relevant to 100% Condom Use Program. In addition, he strongly supported and encouraged all owners of entertainment establishments to keep condoms available in places.

-          PAC has no budget support for coordination among stakeholders and local authorities, how can the coordination be done?  According to recommendation of H.E Dr. Sim Kimsen, the budget to support the coordination of PAC is now available; he suggested PAC make a request to NAA for this budget.

-          What is the intervention on MSM in foreign restaurants? Answering by participants, there are networks and peers to educate those MSMs in which recently 1183 MSM are existing in Siem Reap province.

-          What will happen if the owners of establishment did not display condoms? Answering by H.E Dr. Sim Kimsen, there is no any accusation of not displaying the condoms; however, it is the law in which altogether need to contribute to the reduction of HIV epidemic.

-          How many organizations are working to disseminate the condom use and what is the identity to show the promotion team? Answering by Mr. Nou Sovann, PSI has a team to promote the condom uses in the target areas in Siem Reap province and PSI also got approval from the owners to do the activities.

Suggestion

-          Owners of establishment suggested that PSI should make the presentation of condom display boxes and slides in the establishments to testify that there have no trafficking activities. The slides shall be approved from the governor or deputy governor of Siem Reap province with the coordination of PSI. The suggestion has been accepted for consideration from PSI and Governor.

H.E Mao Vuthy and H.E Dr. Sim Kimsen strongly supported all owners of establishments to have condoms in places. According to Dr. Ros Seilavath, there were three laws concerning to the HIV prevention such as Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, Law on Drug Control, and Village/Commune Safety Policy. Pertaining to the use of condoms as the evidence is not stated in any law. It may have hidden information behind the issues, he added.

In addition, there were presentations of the achievement of PSI on the promotional team for condom uses and figures of target groups. To be more confident of implementing 100% CUP, Dr. Sieng Sorya, deputy secretary general of NAA, read the Prakas 66 and NAA’s decision No. 482. Participants were encouragingly given a floor to raise questions and concerns for the meeting.

Finally, H.E Dr. Sim Kimsen wrapped up and closed the meeting with some recommendations. He raised challenges which have been faced.

1.       Some owners of establishment didn’t implement Prakas 66 on 100% CUP fully.

2.       Some owners of entertainment establishment remained afraid of conviction of storing condoms in their places.

3.       The staff did not have accurate figure of condom uses.

Seeing these obstacles, NAA and PSI coordinated this meeting today to disseminate and strengthen the implementation in sub-national levels among public and private sectors. H.E Dr. Sim Kimsen recommended that:

• All owners should fully implement the 100% CUP in all establishments. This is the contribution to achieve the reduction of HIV epidemic.
• All owners are encouraged to implement the 100% CUP without the intervention of trafficking by using condom as evidence.
• All owners should cooperate with local authorities, especially the Provincial AIDS Secretariat for doing this activity.
• All owners should send their employee to do testing (VCCT) in order to avoid the transmission of disease.

He also recommended PAC to implement the Prakas 66 successfully with participations from all owners of establishment, NGOs, and relevant local authorities. 

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Ayay Song Promotion Radio FM102MHz

Mr. Doung Sokea sang a beautiful ayay song which is the Khmer traditional song in Cambodia.

Ayay Song Promotion Radio FM102MHz

Mr. Doung Sokea sang a beautiful ayay song which is the Khmer traditional song in Cambodia.

Scales of Justice

Courting TV audiences
Thursday, 20 August 2009 15:01 Roth Meas, The Phnom Penh Post

The third series of a televised courtroom drama hits screens this weekend with hopes that its messages will educate viewers about the legal process

Dramatic tension: The WMC production crew prepare to shoot a scene for Scales of Justice. PHOTO SUPPLIED. We hope that making a law-based drama will make it easier for cambodians to engage with the subject.

LIFE imitates art. At least that is what the people behind Scales of Justice, a television courtroom drama produced by the Women's Media Centre of Cambodia(WMC), hope will occur as audiences tune in to the ongoing saga of lawyer Pich Sotheary and police official Meas Chamnan, which begins its third instalment this weekend.

Wary of its notorious corruption, impenetrable language and labyrinth of procedures, Cambodians often find their own judiciary inaccessible - something WMC hopes to change by presenting the courts as entertainment, said 29-year-old production manager Uch Thavy."This story details court procedure, which many people find difficult to understand," she said.

"We hope that making a law-based drama will make it easier for Cambodians to engage with the subject," Uch Thavy added.The original Scales of Justice, which is supported by USAID and AUSAID, was shot last year and gained widespread popularity.

Uch Thavy hopes this third instalment will continue in the same vein - presenting viewers with situations that they might encounter in real life.Several of the six, 30-minute episodes delve into the realm of domestic discord that may be familiar to audience members who have ever battled their brethren over money.

One episode follows characters as they try desperately to gain control of an inheritance following the death of the family patriarch.The second also features a family fight over money, but this time the characters are faced with dividing an inheritance after a messy divorce.

The producers of Scales of Justice focused on these scenarios because they are the most common to come before the Kingdom's courts, Uch Thavy said. "People should pay a lot of attention to their childrens' birth certificates, which are often used to clear up disputes in the event of a death," she said.

The same holds true when marriages fall apart and families begin squabbling over who gets what."The judges often consider dividing some of the inheritance, even though the parents may have been divorced," Uch Thavy added.The third episode is driven by the classic whodunit: a dead body and a murderer somewhere on the lose.

Leading man: Famed Cambodian actor Tep Rindaro adds kudos and star power to the production. PHOTO SUPPLIED Producers admit that they diverged from the more complex but common civil disputes as a way to keep the audiences interested in their message.

"The entertainment aspect is there to keep people watching it, but our main intention is to put across the messages of law that are woven into the story," Uch Thavy said. Uch Thavy said court officials from Phnom Penh and Kandal province were consulted before the scripts were penned to lend an air of credibility to the drama.The often contrived movie sets of traditional dramas were also abandoned for real courtrooms, judges' chambers and prosecutors' offices in an attempt to bring a level of gritty realism to the series, Uch Thavy said. The series was shot in Kandal, Kampong Cham and Kampong Chhnang provinces, she added.Star powerAlso keeping audiences tuned in should be the return of Cambodian actor Tep Rindaro as policeman Meas Chamnan.Along with dedicated young lawyer Pich Sotheary, played by Keo Sereyrath, Tep Rindaro's honest cop Meas Chamnan will "work hand-in-hand to fight for the victims and even find romance along the way", according to the WMC's Web site.

Though the pair will feature less prominently in the third instalment - the action will instead centre on Meas Chamnan's sister - they still remain the soul of the programme, producers said. Uch Thavy said she was reluctant to guess how the latest episodes would fare among Cambodian viewers. But she said that a test screening won rave reviews from Women's Media Centre presidents, donors and the Ministry of Culture's Film Art Department.Copies of previous instalments were also requested by the Senate, Uch Thavy said.The first episodes, which cost US$122,845 to produce, will be screened Saturday on TVK and Sunday on TV3, at 6pm and noon, respectively.