Rithy Panh's Latest Hits Theaters, Press Freedom Plummets, Drug Busts Skyrocket
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, August 9, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
MUZZLED UP: The Kingdom’s press freedom hit an all-time low, alongside Pakistan, Sudan and Yemen. The government is touting a new media charter — critics say journalist freedom is a thing of the past.
HARD TIME: Hun Manet’s war on drugs is no joke. More than 14,500 suspects have been arrested this year, up 42% from 2023, and nearly 5.5 tons of narcotics have been seized, an increase of 500%.
BAD TRACKS: Millions in investment haven’t kept the Kingdom’s antiquated trains on track. There have been nine wrecks this year, including two fatalities. “Off the rails” once meant something else.
THE LEDE
Light Touch
Student-led demonstrations in Bangladesh have Hun Manet reaching for the Strongman’s playbook.
The prime minister lacks his father’s flair for colorful threats, preferring more diplomatic tones, but the hardline message is the same: The government will use any means available to silence its critics.
The new leader’s warning, perhaps his most vitriolic yet, followed a series of broadsides over the Funan Techo Canal and rural development projects, which critics said would damage Cambodian sovereignty.
These commentators simply want to harm the nation, Hun Manet said, so don’t call him a dictator when the government takes action against them. Like father, like son.
News Reel
The battle for press freedom is over. The media lost.
Cambodia sank to an all-time low on the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, ranking just 151 out of 180 countries. The score puts the Kingdom in the same category as rights abusers like China and North Korea.
Experts predict the situation will only get worse. The government on Tuesday released the country’s first “Charter for Professional Journalism,” which press groups view as yet another weapon in what Reporters Without Borders called a "ruthless war on journalistic freedom."
Officials insist the charter will strengthen the media, noting it contained no penalties for violators. Even so, a government spokesman warned that journalists who violate it will face the law.
New Cinema
Rithy Panh, the most renowned and prolific modern Cambodian filmmaker, is back with a highly anticipated release that opens today across the Kingdom. Reviews have been fantastic.
“Meeting with Pol Pot” is a French-language, historical drama based in part on the American correspondent Elizabeth Becker’s account of a deadly 1978 visit of three Western reporters with the brutal leader of the Khmer Rouge.
The film goes farther, delving into the media’s complicity in Cambodia’s darkest chapter and peppering the dramatization with vintage images and archival video. As one reviewer put it: “The result is a hauntingly timeless depiction of power and its mechanisms, filtered down to an intimate tale of journalistic integrity.”
TALKING POINTS
Middle Man
Cambodia will exchange military attachés with Japan in a significant boost to diplomatic ties. The new government is working overtime to improve the Kingdom’s global standing, while trying to reduce the perception that it’s beholden to China.
Up Cycle
The CDC approved nearly $400 million in investment projects last month, about 25% in the garment sector. The renewed financing suggests a modest rebound in the industry, which was badly hit by the pandemic. China accounted for nearly 70%, followed by 14% from local investors.
Washed Out
Heavy rains and flash floods decimated thousands of hectares of rice across the Kingdom. Hardest hit was Kampong Thom, with about half of the province’s crops affected. Officials say more thunderstorms are on the way.
Drug Problem
Alarming — that’s how the Kingdom’s top cop describes the rocketing production and use of methamphetamine. Drug arrests are up 42% this year, while drug seizures have soared 500%.
Buyer Beware
A surge of products on social media claiming to cure diabetes prompted the Ministry of Health to warn consumers about outrageous claims and unlicensed medicines. Experts say it’s a dangerous problem, and it’s getting worse, particularly among health supplements and cosmetic products.
Splash Down
Apsara Sakbun set a new Cambodian Olympic record in the women’s 50-meter freestyle with a time of 26.90, smashing the previous mark set in 2016 by nearly 2.5 seconds. Unfortunately, it was not fast enough to advance to the semifinals.
Slow Ride
Another train wreck, the ninth of the year, is bringing renewed scrutiny to the Kingdom’s neglected railways. The antiquated network is badly in need of modernization, experts say, while dragging severely on economic growth. The government plan to rehabilitate the system is proceeding — slowly.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Nightclub Ordered Closed for Ta Mok’s Safety
August 6, 2004
A top military police commander ordered the popular nightspot Martini Pub Restaurant to close by Monday, saying its clientele may pose a security threat to former Khmer Rouge military commander Ta Mok, who is being detained at a neighboring prison.
Hotel Is Closed After Tourists Are Robbed
August 6, 2004
Authorities temporarily shut down a Phnom Penh hotel on Thursday, where five Japanese women were bound and robbed at gunpoint in their hotel room by three unidentified men.
World Bank Defends Role in Forestry Sector
August 6, 2004
The World Bank defended its role in the forestry sector Wednesday, after weeks of receiving widespread criticism from environmentalists and donors over Bank-sponsored plans to allow the transport of logs cut before logging was banned at the end of 2001.
WEEKEND READING
Is Cambodia’s real estate bubble finally bursting?
Economists have long warned of speculation-fueled growth. For homeowners, the implosion has been devastating.
Photos: “Meeting with Pol Pot,” courtesy Rithy Panh. Train station, Flickr.
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