The Cambodia daily All the News Without Fear or Favor Thursday, October 9, 2014 Volume 59 issue 44 2,000 riel/50 cents Government Unveils New Rules to Protect Sex Workers B y h olly r oBertSon and K huon n arim the cambodia daily New government regulations for the entertainment industry announced yesterday aim to offer sex workers and other vulnerable employees increased protection under the Labor Law, but experts warned that implementation would be a long and difficult task. During an event at the Labor Ministry, minister Ith Sam Heng announced that the new regulations—for bars, karaoke parlors and adult entertainment venues— aim to improve the lives and legal protection of the venues’ mostly fe male staff. The proclamation, or prakas, covers working conditions, health and safety, and access to HIV services for sex workers, and will for the first time offer legal protection to employees in a sector that Mr. Sam Heng said is thriving. “I estimate that every year most people go to entertainment establishments one or two times, including me,” Mr. Sam Heng said at the launch event yesterday. “entertainment services,” he clarified to laughter from the audience, “include discotheques, clubs and restaurants.” Chan Dyna, a representative of the National entertainment Work ers’ Network, said the new rules Continued on page 2 About Cambodia • Pailin Locals Rally as Rumors of Y Chhien's Removal Swirl • Interior Minister Promises to Push Through Trade Union Law Page 15 • Twelve Story Fall Kills Baby In Tuol Kok • Accused Fraudster Walks Out of Supreme Court • Officials Suspect RCAF Involved in Timber Trade Page 16 • Military General Confesses to Double Murder • Murdered Woman's Body Found in Tonle Sap • Kampuchea Krom Protests End Amid Threats Page 17 • The Magic of Khmer Classical Dance Back in Phnom Penh Page 24 John Vink Thach Setha, head of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community, addresses protesters yesterday outside the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh, on the last day of a five-day demonstration to demand an apology for comments made by an embassy spokesman in June. (Story page 17) Amid Tourism Boom, Luxury Market Beckons B y G eorGe S tylliS and K anG S othear the cambodia daily Retailers at Cambodia’s biennial tourism exhibition were brimming with optimism yesterday, certain that a luxury hospitality sector is on the cusp of a boom, while tourism operators in the country announced a new federation to smooth the road ahead. Thousands of visitors made the trip to Phnom Penh’s Koh Pich for the first day of the three-day CamFood/CamHotel 2014 exhibi- tion, sampling free food and wine from around the world and watching contestants laying bed linen and sauteing seafood in a series of hospitality competitions. This year’s event, organizers said, has attracted more high-end exhibitors poised to exploit the demand for high-end goods and services as the country’s tourism sector continues to grow. “The difference this year is that we have more professionals coming. These people have spent a lot of money to build a booth. You are talking $1,000 to $10,000 to have a booth for three days,” said Luu Meng, president of the Cambodian Hotel Association. Tourist arrivals reached 2.9 million during the first eight months of the year, a 4.2 percent increase on the same period last year, a rise Mr. Meng said reflects a hospitality industry that is starting to demand higher quality products. The number of global franchises in the country’s hospitality sector has risen from four to 40 in the past Continued on page 19 Kenyan President Faces Charges Before ICC reuters THe HAgue, Netherlands - A de fense attorney for Kenyan Pres ident uhuru Kenyatta called on judges at the International Crim inal Court to throw out allegations of crimes against humanity, saying that prosecutors had failed to prove their case after five years of investigations. Prosecutors countered that Kenyatta’s government obstructed the hunt for evidence and requested an indefinite postponement of the trial. They said sanctions should be con- sidered to force Nairobi to comply with its obligations to cooperate. “The case has failed, and it has failed in a way that means there is no prospect of it going further,” defense lawyer Stephen Kay said, calling on the judges to find his client not guilty. If the prosecutor doesn’t offer more evidence, he said, “you act to terminate.” Kenyatta was summoned to the Hague-based tribunal to answer questions about his indictment on charges of orchestrating a wave of deadly post-election violence that The Daily Newspaper of Record Since 1993 swept Kenya in 2007. He is the first sitting head of state to answer a summons to the court, established 11 years ago to prosecute individuals for serious crimes when domestic courts are unwilling or unable to do so. Judges adjourned the hearings and are expected to make a decision about the trial’s future before the end of the year. Kenyatta, dressed in a dark blue suit, did not speak in court, but was defiant in comments to journalists Continued on page 2