Baby Siamese Crocs Discovered, Manned Drone Takes Off, Prince Bids for Famous French Football Club
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, September 24, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
FLYING HIGH: Local students built and flew a one-person passenger drone with eight rotors, cool design and seemingly endless potential uses.
FORECAST SLASHED: The Asian Development Bank blamed the global pandemic as it reduced Cambodia’s GDP growth rate from 4% to 1.9%.
STORMY WEATHER: Rain will continue to pound as monsoon season intensifies, throwing rural areas into panic as flooding destroys rice crops.
THE LEDE
Hazard Duty
Hun Sen walked back death threats against a top political analyst after listening to his extended remarks in an interview with The Cambodia Daily.
Seng Sary, a Bangkok-based academic and commentator, sparked the prime minister’s ire with Facebook comments exploring the formation of a government in exile, an idea championed by opposition leader Sam Rainsy.
After listening to The Daily’s interview, the strongman said he understood the scholar was only “analyzing a scenario,” not voicing support for a shadow government. He said Seng Sary and his family no longer needed to fear for their safety.
Ecotourism Gamble
The Kingdom’s decimated tourism sector is pushing hard for a November reopening.
The industry is betting big on impressive vaccination rates and pent-up regional demand to fuel a post-pandemic rebound. Looking ahead, it’s leaning hard on untamed mountains and lush jungles to ignite an ecotourism bonanza.
The government could soon reduce mandatory quarantine for vaccinated travelers, and it’s already working with at least one airline to woo South Korean and Chinese tourists. The World Bank, meanwhile, just launched a five-year, $54 million plan to develop ecotourism, from the Cardamom Mountains to Phnom Kulen.
Activist Arrested
Ratanakiri police jailed a well-known land activist for stealing state land.
The activist’s wife said officials invited her husband to the police station to correct voter registration documents, then arrested him without warrant or explanation. Authorities said the case dated to 2019, when officials charged him with clearing state land for personal use.
The activist had accused several local officials of illegal logging and other forest crimes. The couple fled the province in July 2020 after he was beaten by several of the officials he had accused. They returned in February after authorities guaranteed their safety.
TALKING POINTS
Baby Crocs
Wildlife researchers in Mondulkiri province discovered eight baby Siamese crocodiles, among the rarest reptiles in the world. Experts had spent more than a decade searching the Sre Pok Wildlife Sanctuary for photographic evidence of a breeding population.
Fly Rides
Students at the National Polytechnic Institute tested the Kingdom’s first passenger drone. Designers said the 8-rotor, single-person vehicle is still a prototype, but they have ambitions for a consumer model.
French Footie
A group led by Prince Norodom Ravichak put down a Є100 million deposit for AS Saint-Étienne, the historic French football club. Saint-Étienne dominated French football in the 60s and 70s but has played unremarkably in recent years. The prince and his partners hope to turn the team around.
Growth Shortage
The ADB slashed the Kingdom’s 2021 GDP forecast by more than half, revising its April estimate of 4% to 1.9%. The bank cited economic calamity wrought by the pandemic.
Minimum Wage
Union reps, factory owners and government officials will vote Tuesday for the 2022 minimum wage. Unions want $204 per month, a $12 increase from the 2021 minimum. Owners countered with a $4 cut, to $188. The government is standing on $192.
Nasty Weather
Seasonal monsoons are hammering the provinces. In Banteay Meanchey, flooding has destroyed thousands of hectares of rice crops and displaced dozens of families. In Kampong Cham, officials have banned trucks from waterlogged stretches of National Road 7. Authorities warn more rain is on the way.
Covid-19 Watch
Good: New cases appear to have plateaued after climbing for a month. Daily cases are now in the low 600s after peaking last week at 698. Deaths remain low despite the increase.
Bad: Active cases are higher, deaths are expected to follow.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Controversial Book Gives Insight Into Prince
September 24, 2001
It was 1993, and Prince Norodom Sihanouk and Prince Norodom Ranariddh were sitting together on an airplane, having a father-and-son chat unique even for a royal family.
Report Slams Logging Corruption, Violence
September 21, 2001
Corruption in the logging industry remains “prevalent” and is undermining government efforts to reform the industry, according to the UN’s latest report on the situation of human rights in Cambodia.
Former KR Leaders Celebrate Pchum Ben
September 20, 2001
The former top leaders of the Khmer Rouge, who outlawed all religion in Cambodia during their regime, joined countrymen this week to celebrate the Buddhist holiday Pchum Ben, making offerings in public and in private to the souls of dead ancestors, sources reported Wednesday.
Photo Credits: Phnom Kulen, Vladimir Mokry via Flickr. Baby crocs, WWF Cambodia.