Farewell for Golden Era Filmmaker, Hun Sen’s Passport Fracas, Pchum Ben as Omen for Tourist Industry
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, October 8, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
BIG BROTHER: Beijing is exporting powerful surveillance tools to Cambodia, including biometric and DNA screening devices and a state-run internet gateway.
NAGA ROLLS DICE: Odds are the reopening of Phnom Penh’s biggest casino bids well for a tourism rebound. But labor protests could put a dent in the winnings.
STUMPED: Since the year 2000, Cambodia has cut down more than 25% of its forests. That’s about 15% of all national land, and local communities are seething.
THE LEDE
Life in Film
Ly Bun Yim, a pioneer of Cambodian cinema who enthralled audiences with homegrown storylines and ingenious special effects, passed away Tuesday. He was 87.
Regarded as the Kingdom’s greatest Golden Era filmmaker, Yim produced 21 films between 1960 and 1975. His masterpieces include “Sobasith,” “12 Sisters” and “An Euil Srey An.” One of the first domestic filmmakers to use special effects, audiences delighted at his flying animals, ground-shaking earthquakes and ghastly fake blood.
During his heyday, Yim’s films packed the Hemakcheat Theatre, a sweaty movie hall on Street 130 with few seats but capacity for a thousand people. His popular films played for months. Tickets sold for 5 to 10 riel.
Yim fled to France in 1975. All but three of his films were lost to the Khmer Rouge. He returned in 1994 and worked until his death to rebuild the movie industry.
Plan Unknown
What does the future hold for Cambodia’s stagnant tourism industry?
The answer lies in the aftermath of the Pchum Ben holiday. If Covid-19 cases skyrocket, the government could put the reopening on hold indefinitely. If cases remain low, the government will move forward with its plan to restart international travel.
What that plan is, however, remains the subject of much speculation.
There is talk of allowing vaccinated travellers back in December, reducing quarantine from two weeks to one, and expanding quarantine to a provincial level, meaning tourists who arrive in Siem Reap could explore the province but not travel beyond its borders. Industry insiders are charging hard for an unrestricted restart, citing the country’s exceptional vaccination rates.
For an industry that has lost billions of dollars and millions of jobs, an announcement can’t come soon enough.
No Return
A story that claimed Prime Minister Hun Sen purchased foreign citizenship has provoked widespread scorn from the government and a constitutional amendment from the strongman himself, who said he would ban dual passport holders from seeking high office.
The prime minister’s proposal followed an erroneous line in a Guardian story, but its target appeared to be Sam Rainsy, the opposition party leader exiled in France. Rainsy shared the story on social media with comments suggesting Hun Sen was looking for an exit after 35 years in power. The post prompted rare, government-wide clapback.
The opposition leader already faces a stack of criminal charges, with more just announced. He is unlikely to ever set foot on Cambodia soil again, constitutional amendment or not.
TALKING POINTS
Pineapple Eyes
Privacy activists are alarmed by the Kingdom’s growing surveillance state. Under a new deal with China, Cambodia will receive biometric surveillance and DNA screening tools. The country announced in February it would soon start routing internet traffic through a single government-controlled gateway.
Cut Down
Cambodia has chopped down some 27% of its forests in the last 20 years. That’s 15% of the country’s total land area, and it’s contributed greatly to the country’s endemic land-rights problems.
Familiar Turn
It’s as sure a thing as the Tonle Sap changing directions: The U.N. will criticize Cambodia’s human rights record and Cambodia will blast back with both barrels. The latest U.N. report is no different.
Journalism Crimes
Phnom Penh cops outlawed the live-streaming of police activities. The move follows a similar directive from January that warned reporters could face criminal charges for interfering with law enforcement work.
Full Tilt
NagaWorld casino reopened to fully vaccinated punters, perhaps the surest sign yet the government might soon reopen the country’s borders. It’s not all jackpots for the casino, however. The company is still embroiled in a standoff with its labor union, which hasn’t ruled out public protests outside the casino’s newly reopened doors.
Covid-19 Watch
Good: Vaccination rates continue to grow. Official deaths remain low.
Bad: Faith in the country’s testing regime took a hit after it stopped administering rapid Covid-19 tests, resulting in an 80% reduction in cases overnight.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Gov’t Report Claims End to Illegal Logging
October 8, 2001
Forestry officials confiscated 6.8 million cubic meters of logs and destroyed 92 sawmills in the first half of this year, according to a report by the Council of Ministers.
Drug Official Charged With Trafficking
October 5, 2001
A high-ranking anti-drug official, a Phnom Penh municipal court clerk and two others have been charged with drug trafficking, police and court officials said Thursday.
Montagnards Reportedly Sold to Vietnamese
October 2, 2001
Cambodian police in Ratanakkiri province are investigating claims that eight Montagnards who might have been trying to reach a UN camp there were arrested by district authorities and “sold” to Vietnamese police.
WEEKEND READS
From temples to offshore trusts, a hunt for Cambodia’s looted heritage leads to top museums
U.S. investigators say Douglas Latchford trafficked ancient treasures for decades. Dozens of relics tied to the accused smuggler remain in the Met and other prominent institutions.
The great Koh Kong land rush: Areas stripped of protection by Cambodian gov’t being bought up
A regulation issued earlier this year in Cambodia’s Koh Kong province purported to take land from protected areas and grant the land titles to families living in the area. But developments since then, and interviews with residents and brokers, paint the scheme as a massive land grab orchestrated by the country’s political elite.