Cambodia Snubs ASEAN Drills, Carbon Credits Questioned, Prahok Aroma Wafts Worldwide
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, June 23, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
BALLOT BOXED: The Strongman seems determined to strip every last shred of democratic credibility from July’s national elections. He’s now pushing through laws that would jail anyone casting faulty ballots.
DOUBLE BLACK: The Kingdom hit the bottom tier of a U.S. human trafficking blacklist for the second consecutive year. Officials said the shade wasn't helping: they needed money and actual assistance.
SECOND OPINION: Data privacy advocates warn that the government is rapidly hoovering up personal information via medical registrations. Abuse was practically assured, they said, in such authoritarian hands.
THE LEDE
Bloc Heads
ASEAN will forge ahead with first-of-its-kind joint naval drills, despite Cambodia’s refusal to participate, perhaps to gain favor with Beijing.
The operations — announced by Indonesia, the bloc’s current chair — were meant to display unity amid concerns over China’s assertiveness in the region. Cambodia’s reluctance to join has been viewed as an attempt to balance the competing interests of its chief political patron and ASEAN.
The week-long exercises begin Sept 18. Cambodia said it was still studying the plan and would announce a final decision later.
Fearful Tiers
Cambodia blasted a U.S. report placing it dead last in the fight against human trafficking. Officials called the ranking “unfair” and “one-sided” while warning of likely U.S. sanctions.
An estimated 10,000 victims were ensnared in the Kingdom’s notorious “scam factories,” the report said, and the government was doing little to dismantle the networks behind the crimes. The report ranked Cambodia at Tier 3 — the lowest level — for a second straight year, alongside China, Russia and North Korea.
A spokesperson said anti-trafficking units were working overtime, and they needed help from the U.S., not criticism.
Stink Bomb
Local entrepreneurs want to share prahok, Cambodia’s famously pungent fermented fish paste, with the world. Are the long noses ready?
Surveyors at Confirel, an eco-friendly food-and-beverage producer, said early research showed surprising overseas demand for the local delicacy. The main problems were high salt content and the woeful smell. In response, the company developed less salty and less stinky versions and now offers a three-tiered “smell” scale: light, slight and original.
The company is also working on fusion flavors, using sour krasang and tamarind, an endeavor sure to make Khmer purists turn up their nose.
TALKING POINTS
Zero Tolerance
Hun Sen threatened to shut down international organizations helping Montagnard resistance groups. The announcement followed deadly clashes between indigenous rebels and Vietnamese authorities. The Kingdom has beefed up security along the border and vowed to expel foreign fighters.
Dry Heat
Cambodia clapped back at a Global Forest Watch claim that the Kingdom had lost 2 million hectares of forest cover from 2001 and 2021. A spokesperson, without refuting the report, said the government had enacted policies aimed at reducing its dependence on natural resources.
Campaign Fight
The Strongman reminded voters that casting a spoiled ballot in the July 23 national election could result in fines or jail time under a new law being fast-tracked by CPP lawmakers. The warning appeared aimed at silencing the opposition’s calls to protest the vote, which will not include the Candlelight Party, the only credible opposition group.
Credit Check
The Ministry of Environment and Wildlife Alliance are under investigation for rights abuses at a carbon-credit project. Verra, a global standards organization, said it was reviewing complaints at the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project, and violations could suspend the initiative.
Dr. Surveillance
The Ministry of Health plans to digitize medical histories in a nationwide patient registry. The project adds new digital privacy concerns, and critics have warned that personal medical data in the hands of an authoritarian government was likely to be misused.
Hit Parade
YouTube has lowered the bar for turning views into cash, with the change expected to unleash a flood of Cambodian-made creative content as producers chase seemingly easy money. The new rules significantly reduce the required number of subscribers, posted videos and hours watched.
Game Time
Camera traps snapped images of 34 species, including eight critically endangered animals, in a Ratanakiri conservation area next to Virachey National Park. The findings, which the Ministry of Environment termed “significant,” will be used to inform wildlife protection policy at the park.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Party Predicts Unfair Vote, Pulls Campaign
June 23, 2003
As parties prepare to start official campaigning Thursday, the Khmer Help Khmer party said it will withdraw from the July 27 general elections, saying that the elections will not be free and fair.
CFF Leader Vows Coup if Vote Is Unfair
June 23, 2003
US-based rebel group the Cambodian Freedom Fighters is currently organizing an armed force to overthrow the government if the upcoming national elections prove to be laden with corruption and deceit, confessed CFF leader Chhun Yasith said last week, echoing claims made in the past.
Cambodian Weapons Wind Up in Indonesia
June 18, 2003
Weapons have been smuggled from Cambodia to the war-torn Indonesian province of Aceh, where Indonesian troops are engaged in a fierce offensive to rout pro-independence fighters, senior Indonesian military officials said on Tuesday.
10 Arrested in Deadly Strike; Dispute Resolved
June 16, 2003
Traffic outside the Terratex Knitting and Garment International Factory Ltd on National Route 2 flowed freely Sunday while 34 alleged participants in Friday’s bloody conflict found themselves confined to jail.
Photos: Navy, public domain. Montagnard people, early 1900s, via WikiMedia.
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