Developers Snatch Up Idyllic Island, Sam Rainsy Repeats Murder Claims, Kingdom Bags Public Bathroom Prizes
Developers Snatch Up Idyllic Island, Sam Rainsy Repeats Murder Claims, Kingdom Bags Public Bathroom Prizes
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, February 10, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
RED FACED: The Ministry of Information blasted The Cambodia Daily over a report on a local tycoon’s alleged money deals, drawing an odd and upsetting comparison to the Khmer Rouge killing victims over rumors.
RENMINBI ME: The Chinese yuan has been made legal tender in yet another bid to lure back Chinese tourists. Of the four million international visitors expected this year, at least 25% will be from China.
U.N. BELIEVABLE: After his first four months, the new U.N. resident coordinator praised Cambodia’s “improving” record on human rights. Back on Planet Earth, activists remain in jail and reports of abuse persist.
THE LEDE
Paradise Lost
Koh Rong Sanloem — the Kingdom’s remaining primary island get-away — has been shanghaied by big-money developers.
Businesses in Saracen Bay, where gin-blue waters splash up to white-sand beaches, were handed surprise eviction papers and told the land belongs to developers, some with close connections to Hun Sen. Work crews quickly began widening roads and planning demolitions. Glitzy resorts are sure to follow.
A few holdouts remain, waving their long-term lease agreements in protest. It won’t matter: It seems their only option is to relocate to the other side of the island, where officials said residents were safe from evictions — at least for now.
Plain Sight
The new U.N. resident coordinator praised Cambodia’s “improving” record on human rights, drawing double-takes from reality-based observers and those concerned with facts.
The Kingdom’s U.N. point man said the country’s respect for human rights was getting better and even thanked the CPP-controlled Human Rights Committee for its cooperation with the High Commissioner’s office.
He might need a closer look at the situation. NagaWorld union leader Chhim Sithar and Cambodian-American lawyer Theary Seng are still in jail, government critics face ongoing legal harassment and intimidation, and reports about forced labor and slave compounds persist.
History Drop
The Khmer Rouge murdered their victims based on rumors, the Ministry of Information sternly reminded The Cambodia Daily, drawing a broad and bizarre connection to a recent Khmer-language report.
The odd statement came in response to a story about a well-connected real estate barron suspected of laundering money. The Ministry said big stories needed big investigations and strong evidence, but did not deny the allegations or explain why it was defending a private citizen.
Cambodia happens to be working hard to remove itself from a global money-laundering blacklist, so the allegations come at a sensitive time.
The tycoon’s supporters, meanwhile, took the government’s warnings to a violent place on social media, issuing death threats against the editor and his family.
TALKING POINTS
Open Arms
Hun Sen appealed to overseas opposition supporters to return home and participate in the country’s “democracy,” although his distinction between those who had only insulted the government (no problem) and “extremists” (definitely a problem) was unlikely to inspire much confidence. Dozens of dissidents have fled the Kingdom since 2017, when the Supreme Court outlawed the CNRP. Dozens more remain jailed or face unjust charges, according to rights groups.
Old Hits
Sam Rainsy is back with more murder conspiracies, this time against Hun Sen and his recently deceased sister-in-law, Bun Sotha. The exiled opposition leader alleged that Bun Sotha ordered her husband’s 1996 assassination, and The Strongman was in on the plot. The prime minister is considering suing for defamation in a French court. A decision could come as early as this weekend.
New Money
The Chinese yuan is now legal tender, as the Kingdom works overtime to woo Chinese travelers. Hopes are sky high as flights between the two allies gather pace. Officials predict four million international arrivals this year, about 25% from China.
Friend Zone
About 1,000 Cambodian and Chinese soldiers will participate in the “Golden Dragon” joint military exercise next month in Kampong Chhnang, the first since 2019. The armies will practice disaster rescue and counter-terrorism operations. Cambodia permanently canceled military exercises with the U.S. in 2017.
Window Seat
Social media is agog over Siem Reap’s airplane house. The two-bedroom, two-bath walkup is made of cement, sports two wings, two mock engines and a growing gaggle of selfie-snapping tourists.
Go Time
Cambodia is a pit-stop paradise. The Kingdom bagged 17 prizes at this year’s ASEAN Tourism Standards Awards, including five in the public bathroom category. Winners included Aeon Mall in Phnom Penh and Srah Srang, the mid-size baray opposite Banteay Kdei, in Siem Reap. And, no, not the baray itself.
Art Scene
“Svay Ken: My Art, My Life” opened Feb. 7 at Meta House with paintings from private collections rarely shown to the public. “Passing for Protection,” a photojournalism exhibition documenting people living in Cambodia’s most at-risk protected areas, opens Feb. 10 at Hops Beer Garden. The European Film Festival Cambodia opens Feb. 17 in Phnom Penh. A pre-event panel discussion will be held Feb. 14 at the French Institute.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Sam Rainsy: Suicide Squad E-Mail a Ploy
February 7, 2003
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy claimed on Thursday that he is the target of an elaborate plot to frame him for last week’s anti-Thai riots and the government is preparing his arrest for allegedly masterminding the Thai Embassy mayhem.
NGO Sees Potential Danger in ‘Sweetheart’ Sex
February 6, 2003
Educational campaigns are increasingly successful in convincing Cambodians that unprotected sex with prostitutes is dangerous. But a lower perception of risk is attached to noncommercial, indirect sex workers in restaurants and massage parlors, leading many young Cambodians to experiment with unprotected sex, a report has stated.
Group Says Gov’t Must Stop Political Killings
February 5, 2003
The government and the National Election Committee must act aggressively to dispel the “climate of anxiety and fear” in the election process and build public confidence, the US-based National Democratic Institute said on Monday.
WEEKEND READING
Scams, Human Trafficking Thrived at Bokor Mountain Behind Tycoon’s Luxury Hotel
Scam companies involved in human trafficking have found a refuge on Bokor Mountain, in the shadow the five-star Thansur Sokha hotel owned by Sokimex petrol magnate Sok Kong.
Art as a tool for healing? Cambodian circus fosters joy and confidence
In Cambodia, a circus is helping break the cycle of poverty and renew arts that were nearly wiped out by the Khmer Rouge regime.
Photos: Saracen Bay, WikiMedia. Srah Sang, ecperez via Flickr.
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