NEW YORK (August 16, 2010) – Prosecutors at the United Nations-backed tribunal into war crimes committed under Khmer Rouge rule in the late 1970s today launched an appeal against the 35-year jail term handed out to the head of a notorious detention camp run by the regime. Last month, Kaing Guek Eav, whose alias was Duch, was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced by judges in the trial chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

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St. Paul, Minn. (June 26, 2010) – Kolap Cambodian Restaurant in St. Paul was host to a fundraising dinner last week for Ramsey County judge candidate Trevor Oliver, as friends and supporters gathered to raise money for Oliver’s campaign.

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Richfield, Minn. (June 12, 2010) – The Cambodian community of Minnesota last Saturday welcomed the legendary Sam Rainsy to the Richfield Community Center. The former Cambodia Parliamentarian and President of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party has been out of the country since early 2009 on reportedly politically motivated charges.

“I received a very warm welcome and I am very happy to be here,” said Ramsey, who last came to the state in 2005.

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NEW YORK (May 25, 2010) – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appealed to donors to provide urgent funding to the United Nations-backed court tasked with bringing justice to the people of Cambodia for the heinous crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, composed of both national and international judges and staff, were set up in 2003 under an agreement between the UN and the Royal Government.

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Sy Sar dance to a piece written and performed by Phillip Glass, as seen in Dancing Across Borders. (Photo by Erin Baiano – First Run Features)

Dancing Across Borders, a First Run Features film produced and directed by Anne Bass in her documentary film debut with Catherine Tatge, opens May 21 at Landmark’s Lagoon Cinema in Minneapolis.

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From left: Noro Andriamanalina, Ph.D., Director of Academic and Professional Development for the UM Graduate School and Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, with U of M Postdoctoral Research Symposium presenters, Vichet Chhuon, Ph.D., Wendy Thompson, Ph.D., and Jarrett Gupton, Ph.D. (AAP staff photo by Tom LaVenture)

By TOM LAVENTURE

AAP staff writer

MINNEAPOLIS (March 24, 2010) – Three of University of Minnesota Postdoctoral Fellows presented their work to faculty and community last week at a Coffman Union luncheon, offering highlights of research on issues of relevance to the community.

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By TOM LAVENTURE

AAP staff writer

Twin Cities, Minn. (February 15, 2010) – A Minnesota report on Southeast Asian cultural perceptions regarding tobacco use was released in February, producing data to better understand the prevalence of smoking in the Southeast Asian communities of Minnesota. Read the reports in their entirety at http://www.preventionminnesota.com/doing_page.cfm?oid=6678.

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Chaplin  films, which were screened on the grounds of local Buddhist temples or Wats, attracted over 2000 people at each site. (U.S. Embassy Photo)

Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Feb. 1, 2010) – Silent films have an international language all of their own, and that was illustrated last week with several Charley Chaplin film screenings in Cambodia.

The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh reports that its Public Affairs bureau and the Bophana Center together hosted a Movie Night for the northern Cambodian town of Battambong on January 29 – 30. The U.S. Embassy, in partnership with the Bophana Center, screened a series of Charlie Chaplin films – perhaps to get huge audiences together for other public information spots.

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