Angelina Returns, Sexy Cooks Spice Up Food Scene, Omicron Lockdowns on Hold
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, February 25, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
STAR STRUCK: The Kingdom’s favorite Hollywood star, Angelina Jolie, is back to launch a women’s beekeeping program. She was seen at Angkor Wat and touring Phnom Penh in a cyclo.
DRESS CODE: Another court date, another costume for Theary Seng. The Khmer-American lawyer this time appeared in the mass trial of opposition figures dressed as an ancient Chinese peasant.
UP IN SMOKE: The prime minister went after wealthy Cambodians who haven’t paid taxes on their luxury cars. Those who don’t pay up, the Strongman said, could have their SUVs incinerated.
THE LEDE
Covid-19 Watch
The government won’t reintroduce lockdowns or other health restrictions despite a resurging coronavirus, Prime Minister Hun Sen promised an anxious public.
The ultra-contagious Omicron variant has brought thousands of new cases in February. The prime minister said one of his daughters and five of his grandchildren had tested positive.
Health officials warned the surge is just starting, and new daily infections could soon reach into the thousands or even tens of thousands.
The good news: Deaths remained low, with only a dozen or so reported since the wave began.
Targeted Testing
Police detained more than 100 NagaWorld union members for gathering in apparent violation of Covid-19 regulations.
Authorities kept dozens overnight in a makeshift quarantine camp with no running water. Many were forced to sign contracts promising to abandon the picket line – or face harsh fines and further detention. Workers complained of rough treatment, including instances of sexual assault.
Labor activists said the government’s strong-arm tactics threatened to roll back hard-won workers’ rights and embolden companies to ignore labor standards.
The union vowed to keep picketing, no matter the cost.
Fry-Cook Sexy
Fried rice with a side of macho eye candy – that’s the offer at a bustling Russian Market eatery run by shirtless bodybuilders. Come for the food, stay for abs.
The hunky employees of Single Man Fried Rice are turning heads and raising eyebrows in conservative Cambodia, where their salacious TikTok marketing has sparked a peculiar backlash – not against the beefy stallions, but on Khmer ladies for their ogling.
Social-media commenters claimed such wanton displays of female desire devalued women. The muscly cooks insist they never meant to spark a re-examination of cultural mores – just make a few bucks.
TALKING POINTS
Hollywood Buzz
Angelina Jolie attended the launch of Women for Bees in Cambodia. The UNESCO-backed program promotes women’s education and bee conservation. The Hollywood star was spotted strolling around Angkor Wat and cruising the streets of Phnom Penh in a cyclo.
Net Loss
The government banned Opennet — a popular internet service provider — from accepting new customers until it paid nearly $7 million in back taxes. The announcement prompted a flood of inquiries from customers left wondering over the fate of their Netflix subscriptions. Opennet and the MPTC assured customers that internet service would continue.
Khmericans Protest
Sam Rainsy, the former CNRP leader, arrived in Florida to a crowd of protestors, many holding signs and blasting their uncensored views by megaphone. Pro-government media reported “hundreds” had gathered, but photographs showed far less — at most, a few dozen.
Hard ‘No’
Hun Sen denounced any thoughts of allowing Sam Rainsy in from the cold after the former CNRP leader called for renewed talks between the opposition and government. The Strongman said Sam Rainsy had insulted his wife and eldest son, so speaking to him was out of the question.
Peasant Class
The mass trials of opposition members continued in typically fiery fashion. Barbs were traded between the prosecution and Theary Seng, a Cambodian-American lawyer, who faced the court dressed as a Chinese peasant, sporting a Manchu hairstyle. The democracy activist and others have been accused of trying to overthrow the government.
Tax Fire
Hun Sen lambasted rich and powerful Cambodians who refused to pay taxes on their luxury vehicles, threatening to one day order their cars incinerated. With the state spending more than $2 billion battling the pandemic, the prime minister has ordered the tax-dodgers to pay up.
Speed Plead
Lawyers for former CNRP president Kem Sokha pleaded with the court to increase the number of weekly hearings in his treason trial from one half-day to three days. The opposition leader was charged in 2017 with plotting to overthrow the government. His lawyers say the sloth’s pace of the case violates his right to a speedy trial.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Political Intimidation Rampant, Adhoc Reports
February 21, 2002
At least 100 instances of politically motivated threats and acts of intimidation were made against Funcinpec and Sam Rainsy Party candidates or activists last year, according to a 2001 human rights report by the NGO Adhoc.
Ke Pauk Dies, Is Buried in Anlong Veng
February 18, 2002
Cambodia on Sunday saw the burial of the man who some observers say was not only a key figure in the massacre of millions of his people, but also a key piece of evidence for the now-endangered Khmer Rouge tribunal.
Pilgrimage to Mecca a Privilege for the Few
February 18, 2002
For Mohamad Ali Musa, the pilgrimage to Mecca this year comes at a time when the world has been greatly changed by the events of Sept 11.
WEEKEND READ
Small Monkeys are Big Business in Cambodia's Animal trade
Captive breeding farms fuel an international market for long-tailed macaques while bloggers profit from online monkey content.
Photos: Quarantine, Central Cambodia. Protesters, Cambodian Opinion Facebook page.