Activists Honor Chut Wutty, Remittance Rates Skyrocket, Angelina Jolie Gives Voice to Art
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, April 29, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
TRENDING DOWN: The political opposition is reeling under constant pressure from the ruling CPP. Threats, arrest and intimidation are rampant, and time is running out. Crucial commune elections are only weeks away.
RUSHING REMIT: A hefty 12% of the Kingdom’s GDP now comes from overseas remittance, equaling $3 billion each year. More than 1.3 million Cambodians now work abroad, mostly in Thailand but also in Japan, Korea and Malaysia.
TOTALLY WRECKED: The photos were a one-way ticket to Facebook infamy: passed out behind the wheel after demolishing his SUV, then too drunk to walk. It was a wild night for the deputy chief of Phnom Penh’s traffic police.
THE LEDE
Forest Fighter
The 10th anniversary of the killing of Chut Wutty was muted. Phnom Penh authorities shut down a commemorative bike ride and the mouthpiece media remained silent as his supporters gathered to honor the forest activist who was shot dead in 2012.
He died under murky circumstances while investigating illegal logging in the Cardamom Mountains. His family and civil society groups this week renewed demands for a transparent investigation.
The activist’s son said high-ranking officials were likely behind his father’s death — and he had no hope of ever seeing justice.
Lost Lake
In the Kingdom of Wonder, fortune favors the well-connected.
Since 2018, the government has parceled out nearly 1,000 hectares of land soon to be reclaimed from Boeung Tamok, Phnom Penh’s largest natural lake. A surprising amount of the new land has ended up in the hands of people close to Hun Sen.
Activists say it’s unclear how so much government land ended up in private hands. The state makes property records public, but transfer details remain shrouded in secrecy.
Recent maps show more than 75% of the lake as earmarked for privatization. Environmentalists fear it’s just a matter of time until Boeung Tamok disappears completely.
Getting Smashed
It was 15 minutes of fame for the deputy chief of the Phnom Penh traffic police, and for all the wrong reasons.
The senior law enforcement officer got drunk and smashed his white Toyota Land Cruiser into the wall of a local university, unleashing howls of outrage and non-stop social-media mockery. Images from the scene showed him passed out in the driver’s seat. Post-crash video showed him too drunk to walk.
The chief skated out of it with a $100 fine, about half the minimum penalty for such an offense.
TALKING POINTS
High Heat
Australia granted asylum to a political analyst who Hun Sen had threatened with death for publishing a study on shadow governments. The prime minister eventually backtracked, but the scholar was taking no chances.
Election Looms
The top opposition party continues to face threats, intimidation and arrests. Civil society groups have decried the situation and warned of a badly uneven playing field for the coming elections.
Bad Bosses
More than 1,400 factory workers are seeking government help to resolve claims of unpaid wages, improper dismissals and other labor-law violations. In many cases, the Arbitration Council has ruled in workers’ favor, but factory owners refused to comply.
Khmer Glory
The Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art will sell Angkor-inspired jewelry made by rising Brooklyn design stars Edo and Eyen Chorm. The jewelry compliments a multimedia exhibit — narrated by Angelina Jolie — that showcases the Cambodian sandstone masterpiece “Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan.”
Rising Remits
Cambodia has more than a million overseas workers who send home a collective $3 billion every year, about 12% of the Kingdom’s GDP. About 1.2 million are working in Thailand, with the rest mostly scattered across South Korea, Malaysia and Japan.
Caged In
Land clearing in protected areas around the Phnom Tamao Zoo has alarmed conservationists. The area holds dozens of rare species and is a critical habitat for rescued animals. In a sign of rising fright, a local NGO director made a Facebook video pleading to the prime minister for help.
Dolphin Death
In another blow to conservation efforts, a baby Irrawaddy dolphin was found dead in a protected stretch of the Mekong River. Officials said the newborn was found floating in the water and wasn’t scarred or tangled in nets, possibly killed by an aggressive older male.
Hard Bargains
The standoff between NagaWorld and its labor union has turned into a battle of attrition. The main sticking point: the return of 200 union members who were laid off last year. Activists say the casino wants to bust the union, an accusation the company has denied. The two sides are scheduled to return to the negotiating table next week.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Infamous Pedophilia Suspect Resides in City
April 30, 2002
Authorities are preparing to deport convicted British sex offender Paul Francis Gadd, said Minister of Women’s Affairs Mu Sochua on Monday.
Looting Still Threatens Cambodia’s Artifacts
April 29, 2002
Cambodia’s heritage has long been the victim of its history, as looters have taken advantage of war and instability to pillage the country to satisfy the lucrative international art market.
Hitman Suspected in Karaoke Actor’s Death
April 29, 2002
A professional hitman probably executed the early Sunday shooting death of a budding karoake-video star, police said.
Defunct Airline’s Workers Imprison Manager
April 26, 2002
Royal Air Cambodge employees imprisoned a management representative in the company’s headquarters for hours Thursday morning as an act of protest.
WEEKEND READS
The Cambodian megaprojects failing to materialize
The Kingdom's real estate market is beset with plans that don’t get off the ground as overambitious visions and outright scams derail real and imaginary ventures.
Landmines shake the lives of farmers long after conflicts end
As Cambodia’s government and NGOs remove buried explosives, agricultural challenges hamper farmers who work on dangerous ground.
Union-Busting Under Guise of Pandemic Leaves Hundreds Out of Work
“The factory ended my contract not because of Covid-19, or because they didn’t have work for me — but because we joined the union.”
These Adoptees Were Brought to the US as Babies. Now Some Fear They Were Stolen.
For years, adoption agencies preyed upon impoverished Cambodian mothers, taking their children in shady circumstances and sending them to families abroad.
Photos: Chut Wutty, National Resource Protection Group via The Cambodia Daily. Krishna exhibit, Cleveland Museum of Art.