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MTV EXIT concert tour kicks off Saturday in Sihanoukville 


Saw this piece in The Phnom Penh Post ...so where are they holding the concert ??

Anyone going ?

BANGKOK (AFP) — Alternative guitar band Placebo are to headline the first rock concert at Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple complex, putting years of catering to their fans' teenage angst behind them to speak out against human trafficking.

The December 7 gig, held as part an of an MTV Exit campaign, will transform the 12th century Khmer ruins into a rock venue that will also feature US band The Click Five and a host of other international and Cambodian stars.

Lead singer Brian Molko, best known for his androgynous looks and penchant for black nail polish, told AFP he felt "honoured" to play at the historic jungle temple complex.

"It's just one of the most breathtaking and unique places I have ever spent time in really," the 35-year-old, who visited the ruins as a tourist three years ago, said in a telephone interview from London.

"It's also a very spiritual and quite calming place and so to be able to perform in front of it is just ridiculous."

But taking on the one-off gig at the crumbling ruins has presented some technical difficulties for the London-based three-piece, whose hits include "Nancy Boy" and "Pure Morning".

"We decided that since we don't have access to a massive wall of sound... we have been forced to deconstruct our songs, tear them to pieces and put them back together in novel and unusual ways.

"It's very challenging and very stimulating," he said, describing the end result as "more melody than bombast".

Molko said he hoped the show will attract Cambodians as well as international fans and highlight the problem of this "modern form of slavery".

Cambodia has struggled to shed its reputation as soft on human trafficking, and earlier this year suspended marriages between foreigners and Cambodians amid concerns they were being used to traffic poor, uneducated women.

The US State Department refused a visa to Cambodia's late police chief Hok Lundy in 2006 due to allegations he was involved in trafficking prostitutes.

"There may be people (in the audience) who wish to get more involved in trying to change things. That's all that we can do as a rock band. We are not politicians, we are not heads of police," Molko said.

The concert is part of a series of music shows in Cambodia organised by the anti-trafficking MTV Exit campaign and the US Agency for International Development to raise awareness in young people about human trafficking in the region.

The last international recording artist to perform at Angkor Wat, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was tenor Jose Carreras who sang for a charity gala dinner there in 2002.

Molko said the rock concert, which is Placebo's only outing before their sixth studio album comes out next spring, is part of a change of focus for him after becoming a father three years ago.

"When you have somebody in your life that you care about more than yourself it's a massive shift in perspective in the way that you view the world," Molko said.

"It does make you want to become involved in the planet that we live on. It's the world that you are passing on to your children."

According to police the 39-year-old victim was trembling with fear when she reached the police station to report the attack on Tuesday afternoon. The monk, 17-year-old Thorn Sophoan, was immediately arrested and defrocked. Police said that he has confessed to the crime.

"While the monk was guiding the British woman to see caves on the top of Phnom Sam Pov mountain, he raped her," the local police chief Mey Chhengly said.

The victim reportedly told the monk that she did not want a guide but he insisted on following her anyway. The attack took place in Battambang province in the north west of Cambodia.

The victim's right leg was injured as she attempted to fight off her attacker, who also stole her money, camera and mobile telephone.

Buddhist monks in Cambodia are frequently accused of sexual assaults.

This week two other monks were arrested for allegedly raping two teenagers in a school classroom.

In January a monk was arrested for allegedly molesting an 8-year-old French girl at the famous Angkor ruins and in August a monk was arrested and defrocked after being accused of the rape and murder of a 10-year-old child.

There is also a problem with fake monks, who police say deceive the public into giving alms or disguise themselves as holy men before committing crimes such as armed robbery.

"Buddhism educates monks to have physical, verbal and mental purity," said Nun Nget, supreme patriarch of the Mohanikaya Buddhist sect in Cambodia. "[Such crimes] heavily affect our religion, which is why it is necessary to defrock bad monks."

Thorn Sophoan had been a monk for only a few days month before he was arrested. Many young Cambodians become monks for short periods of time without necessarily devoting their lives to the clergy. They could be briefly ordained to show gratitude to their parents, honour a dead relative, or study Buddhism.

 I for one like the idea of a slowdown...

It will be like Ireland was pre Celtic Tiger days...

people in general were nicer when there wasnt so much money sloshing around...

less jealousy...less greed ...

The only major concern is the medical one...

I read where a TV presenter in Phnom Penh had her face slashed and was beaten up...

Jealous wife...

She ends up in a Viet hospital !!!

Anyone have hospital experience in Snooky ?

That's always going to happen Joe, wherever the tourists go, the profiteers will follow.

Then again, many of the complaints about Sihanoukville involve the regular powercuts, lack of decent wifi, poor quality hotels, bad roads, none existant drainage, no shopping malls .... even the lack of McDonalds.

All these things will come in due course ...... but for now i'm quite happy to put up with things.

Except for the "lack of decent wifi" part, all these things you mentioned are good things. Of course, I'm preaching to the choir here. Too much development can be a bad thing.

And like the others here, I don't think these master plans are actually going to happen. The global economy will not be good enough to make luxury resorts in Cambodia financially viable.

As soon as I finish re-building my own business, I'll definitely be back to enjoy good old Snooky with it's Third World features ... just the way I like it. 

That's always going to happen Joe, wherever the tourists go, the profiteers will follow.

Then again, many of the complaints about Sihanoukville involve the regular powercuts, lack of decent wifi, poor quality hotels, bad roads, none existant drainage, no shopping malls .... even the lack of McDonalds.

All these things will come in due course ...... but for now i'm quite happy to put up with things.

too many of these white monkeys in sville trying tomake money.j

Welcome to the forum Steffi ...... you are regular visitor to Cambodia and Sihanoukville?

Hey There!
My name is Steffi and I am glad to be here with all of you

Exactly right, the strong dollar (and of course the Reil hasn't suffered so badly against it!) has put all construction on hold for the time being.

Still got at least 10 years whilst "Sihanoukville remains a grungy coastal town with a slew of casinos and only one high-end hotel". Wouldn't have it any other way