Gas Prices Skyrocket, Fake ‘Blood Slave’ Exposed, Commune Elections Loom
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, March 4, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
PETROL TANK: Ten straight weeks of price increases, equaling nearly 20% since December, have hit the informal economy hard, with tuk-tuk drivers claiming to have lost nearly half of their profits.
NASTY CANALS: Nature activists tracked down city officials in Phnom Penh to hand over a petition calling for trash and sewage to be cleaned from the capital’s most unpleasant canals.
MOVIE MAGIC: Don’t miss Davy Chou, who has emerged as the leader of a New Wave of homegrown filmmakers. “White Building,” one of his production company’s acclaimed films, premiers here next month.
THE LEDE
Cold Warrior
Cambodia will refrain from choosing sides in Russia’s war with Ukraine, Prime Minister Hun Sen said, explaining that doing so would violate the Kingdom’s long-held policy of non-alignment with military groups.
Officially, at least. Behind the scenes, the Strongman could be looking to work both sides and nurse old grievances.
Cambodia co-sponsored a U.N. resolution condemning the Russian invasion, likely winning points from Western nations. In local media, however, Hun Sen led some semi-official pushback, even condemning European Union countries for arming Ukraine.
The U.N. resolution seems unlikely to trouble Moscow, which this week pledged further development support during a visit of Russian diplomats.
Party Time
Registration for commune elections opens today, with at least 12 political parties expected to submit some 150,000 candidates for the nationwide polls on June 5.
The opposition has been decimated by legal challenges. Sam Rainsy, the former CNRP leader, lives in exile. Kem Sokha, the party’s ex-president, remains embroiled in a treason trial that bans him from campaigning.
Most Sam Rainsy followers have migrated to the Candlelight Party, which will field candidates in all communes and is the only opposition group expected to make more than a token showing at the polls.
The ruling CPP, facing a fragmented and leaderless opposition, is expected to win an overwhelming majority of the nation’s 12,000 local seats.
Truth Tourniquet
Cambodian police jailed the leader of a well-regarded anti-trafficking organization after the group’s report of a Sihanoukville “blood slave” was found by local authorities to have been fabricated.
The original story made headlines around the world: A Chinese citizen claimed he was kidnapped by criminal gangs and forced to generate money by giving his blood to be sold.
Yet police arrested Chen Baorong, also a Chinese national, on incitement charges. Stories of kidnapping, forced labor and torture have long emanated from Sihanoukville and victims had praised Chen for saving lives.
TALKING POINTS
Gassed Out
Hun Sen called for understanding as retail fuel prices rose for a tenth consecutive week. The increase, nearly 20% since December, has hit the informal economy hard. The government this week fixed the price of regular gasoline at 4,800 riel, or $1.18, per liter until March 15.
Moving Pictures
The homegrown film industry, which did a roaring trade before the Khmer Rouge era, has found a Pied Piper — Davy Chou, whose team has produced a string of acclaimed art-house films, including “White Building,” "Last Night I Saw You Smiling," and "Diamond Island." “White Building” premiers in Cambodia next month.
Free and Fair?
Upcoming elections will lack credibility if there is no participation of a viable opposition, said Kem Sokha, who continued to push for a speedy resolution to his yearslong treason trial. The opposition leader was arrested in 2017. His trial resumes Wednesday, with no end in sight.
Battle Lines
Capital authorities released the last of nearly 100 NagaWorld union members who had been detained for violating Covid-19 health regulations. Labor activists said the arrests were aimed at breaking a monthslong strike. The tactic appeared to work, at least for now.
Justice Pursued
Hun Sen may one day face multiple murder charges for his role in a 1997 grenade attack on a Sam Rainsy rally. A French court in December indicted two of the prime minister’s ex-bodyguards for orchestrating the blasts that killed 16 and injured dozens. A new Human Rights Watch report claims that only diplomatic immunity has spared the Strongman.
Filthy Canals
Activists from two environmental pressure groups petitioned Phnom Penh authorities to remove the massive islands of trash clogging the city’s canals. No one was arrested.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
NGO: Foreigners Seeking Legless Women
March 1, 2002
An agency that serves the handicapped has issued a warning that foreign men seeking legless women are offering a “commission” of $10,000 to anyone who helps set them up.
Ta Mok’s Family Appeals to Gov’t for Release
February 28, 2002
Alarmed by reports of Ta Mok’s failing health, relatives of the former Khmer Rouge military commander appealed Wednesday to international human rights organizations to help win his release from Phnom Penh’s military prison.
Possessions and Spirit Channeling Celebrated by Chinese
February 28, 2002
Sok Mean has been doing it since he was 14, but the ritual is age-old: Channeling the spirit of Chinese Buddhist gods to help people ward off evil for the year.
WEEKEND READS
Cambodia: Kouprey
The elusive wild cattle is critically endangered, shrouded in mystery and causing controversy with the most recent news of its existence
Measuring the Real Cost of Sand Mining in the Mekong
Sand mining in the Mekong is happening far more than officially reported — meaning the damage is far worse. More sustainable options are available.
When it comes to Cambodia, Japan is playing the long game
Cambodia is left with two major election backers: Japan and China. Both countries view the Kingdom as a source of natural resources and market for export, but while Japan lags behind China in investment and access into the Kingdom, it has a broader strategy
Photo: Prime Minister Hun Sen, Facebook.