(동영상) 캄보디아의 홍수 상황을 보도한 '미국의 소리'(VOA) 크메르어판의 방송 화면.
* 영문 참조기사
(보도) Phnom Penh Post 2011-10-14
연례 캄보디아 물축제 취소
Water Festival cancelled
기사작성 : May Titthara 및 Bridget Di Certo
훈센 총리, 10월13일 임시 국무회의에서 "홍수에 국력을 모으자"고 촉구
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday announced that he had cancelled the annual Water Festival to preserve funds for addressing the effects of devastating floods that continue to sweep through the Kingdom.
Speaking at a special Council of Ministers meeting yesterday to assess damage from the flooding, the premier said that the annual three-day Water Festival celebrations next month, including the renowned boat races, would be cancelled and the money people saved could be used to aid flood recovery.
“Water levels are still higher than the warning levels in Phnom Penh and it would be a high-risk situation for boat racers and festival-goers,” Hun Sen said.
“Additionally, the suspension will save money in the national budget and allow us to divert funds that would be used for Water Festival preparations to provide assistance to flood victims.”
On the final day of last year’s Water Festival, 353 people were killed in a stampede on Phnom Penh’s Diamond Bridge. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan told the Post yesterday that Phnom Penh Municipality would coordinate commemorations to mark the disaster.
Yesterday, the premier told attendees at the meeting that flooding had destroyed more than 190,000 hectares of rice paddies, or 7.74 per cent of the total grown rice paddies, and affected another 390,000 hectares, or 16 per cent of the total rice paddies in the Kingdom.
Phay Siphan said that the death toll from the flooding had risen to 247, with 17 out of Cambodia’s 23 provinces suffering from its effects.
He added that despite widespread destruction of rice paddies, the government now had food security under control.
“Despite the high number of destroyed rice paddies, we will still have enough rice to meet exporting needs,” he said, adding that the government was positive that there would be enough rice production after the flooding receded to continue to ensure food security.
“We are trying to do what we can to look after the people,” he said.
Provincial governors have been instructed to remain in the provinces and are not permitted to travel until the flooding crisis eases, Phay Siphan said.
He also reasserted that the government did not need to call for international assistance to cope with the worst flooding to hit the Kingdom in more than a decade.
“We do not request international aid because everyone has their own problems,” he said. “It would be very difficult for us to request their help. For the time being donations and any charity are really appreciated.”
China, Singapore and the US have so far provided monetary and other donations to the Kingdom, Phay Siphan added. Vietnam has also contributed some assistance to Vietnamese communities in Cambodia and last week Japan donated a number of non-food emergency relief items.
Aid organisations have urged the government to call for international help to better coordinate the humanitarian response to the flooding.
첫댓글 작년에 물축제를 첨 봤는데 내눈에는 뭐 특별한 볼거리는 아닌것 같았는데 시골에 사는 캄사람들은 프놈펜에 공식적으로 구경 올 수
있는날이다보니 보기보다 지방에서 상상을 초월 할 정도로 사람이 무척 엄청 올라 옵니다.
물축제 취소는 지혜로운 정치적인 결단인것 같네요.