Cambodia’s New Era Begins, Local Media Under Fire, More Scorching Heat Ahead
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, July 20, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
ELECTION TIME: Cambodia faces a pivotal transfer of power. It’s not about who will win Sunday’s national election, but what kind of future the new generation of leaders will provide.
COSTLY BILL: The CPP clapped back at U.S. legislators who proposed sanctioning those responsible for the Kingdom’s democratic backsliding. The bill would bar violators from visiting or doing business with the U.S.
DOG HUNT: Consumer protection officials are scouring the nation for pork sausages contaminated with African swine fever. The Chinese brand of links may have been smuggled from Thailand.
THE LEDE
New Boss
Cambodia on Sunday enters its most fragile political phase in decades, as a rubber-stamp national election marks the beginning of a generational shift in central power.
Hun Sen will embark on the delicate task of installing his eldest son, Hun Manet, into the role of prime minister. Similar handoffs are planned for 23 of the Kingdom’s 30 cabinets, including the powerful ministries of Defense and Interior.
Hun Manet is predicted to bring a softer touch to the Kingdom’s notoriously hard-knock politics, while the new regime of ministers are expected to install levels of technocratic competence long missing in the old guard of former guerilla fighters and ex-communists.
Mute Button
The government banned what’s left of the Kingdom’s independent news media, blocking the websites of outlets including The Cambodia Daily, Radio Free Asia and Kamnotra, the month-old, open-source database site.
The order includes the outlets’ Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts. Internet service providers, which are responsible for enforcing the ban, have so far been inconsistent in its application, and the sites are still available on many networks.
Even so, the smothering restrictions on local media grow tighter as the national election nears. These dictatorial directives to block any bit of online dissent raise a frightening question: What won’t the government do to silence its critics?
Online Again
It’s hard to stay away from the things you love, even for the Strongman.
Hun Sen’s brief estrangement from Facebook is over. An aide reactivated the page on Thursday, explaining it would be used only for official government business and that Hun Sen would not be the person posting.
The reboot comes three weeks after the prime minister theatrically ditched the platform in protest over a decision to take down one of his videos, which a Facebook oversight board considered to have incited violence.
The board also recommended Hun Sen’s page be suspended for six months, meaning the page could disappear — again.
TALKING POINTS
Pesky Foe
Cambodia banned Sam Rainsy from running for office for 25 years after he urged supporters to protest Sunday’s election by submitting incorrectly marked ballots. The opposition leader, who has lived in Paris since 2015, faces more than 150 years in prison on political charges should he ever return.
Rock Fight
The CPP slammed a bill proposed in Washington barring Cambodian leaders from visiting or conducting financial transactions with the U.S. The draft legislation, called the Cambodia Democracy and Human Rights Act, targets politicians involved in rights abuses and attacks on democracy.
High Flyer
The Kingdom’s tourism industry is on the road to recovery, according to the Asian Development Bank, which credited a regional rise in travel for the turnaround. International arrivals are approaching pre-pandemic levels, and the ADB forecast robust 7.3% growth this year and 6.8% in 2024.
Royal Flush
Around 300 families living in Botum Sakor National Park accused a powerful tycoon with close government ties of illegally clearing land and evicting villagers. Residents say the Royal Group has offered nothing in return for family homes and land. They have appealed to national authorities for help.
Getaway Care
Nearly 200,000 Cambodians visited Vietnam in the first half of the year, more than 300% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Many are seeking medical care, said Vietnamese officials, who acknowledged that a lack of tourism options and direct air service had hindered growth.
Dry Heat
The Kingdom faces a scorching summer of drought fueled by climate change and a La Nina weather pattern, according to the National Committee for Disaster Management. Rainfall is far below annual averages, leading to water shortages, and far more lightning storms, flash floods and other extreme weather events.
Dirty Dogs
Pork hotdogs tainted with African swine fever might have been smuggled into the Kingdom, consumer protection officials warned. Investigators were searching markets nationwide for the sausage links, which originated in China.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Villagers Attempt to Ban Tourists From Cemetery In a Fight To Protect the Living From the Dead
July 19, 2003
Bou On knows change is coming. Her eyes, milky with age, have seen a jungle footpath swell into a full-sized road. They’ve squinted into a sun reflected from tin roofs that were once wood. And they’ve helplessly followed the footsteps of unwelcome visitors treading on sacred ground.
US-Backed Institute Accused of Interference
July 17, 2003
The US-backed International Republican Institute has come under fire recently, with strong criticism levied against it for allegedly siding with the Sam Rainsy Party and interfering with Cambodia’s political process.
Nature of Intimidation Changing in Prey Veng
July 15, 2003
Standing near a tree peppered with shrapnel at the entrance to her small farmhouse, Phay Ty, 52, can think of no reason why a grenade was thrown at her home in this largely CPP-loyal village.
WEEKEND READING
Before elections, Cambodia blocks database of public information
The independent portal “Kamnotra” was intended to fill the information void left by recent press crackdowns. Less than a month into its work, officials ordered local Internet service providers to strike access to the platform