Hun Sun Thunders at Election Critics, Rapper Kea Sokun Fears for Safety, Takeo Crowned Kingdom’s Top Weed Zone
Good morning, Cambodia. It’s Friday, January 13, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
LINES DRAWN: The ruling party won’t allow any claims of voter fraud or accusations of irregularities, Hun Sen said, referring to this year’s national polls. He could use the courts to back this up, he warned, or just a “stick.”
BONG RIP: The Kiri Vong district of Takeo Province is the marijuana capital of Cambodia, according to police. Local authorities have this year arrested five major commercial growers and 32 smaller cultivation sites.
DO-GOODERS: There are now 6,109 registered nonprofits and NGOs in the Kingdom, almost double from 10 years ago. That’s evidence of a robust civil society, officials say — the rampant arrests of activists tells a different tale.
THE LEDE
Stern Words
The poor house, the big house, or worse — The Strongman did not speak softly or hold back threats of violence in the latest warning to critics of his ruling party.
The CPP won’t tolerate accusations of “vote fraud,” the prime minister said, as he ordered party lawyers to scrutinize opposition statements. “There are two choices: The first is to use legal action, the second is to use a stick.”
The campaign to silence critics is sure to last through July’s national elections and beyond as Hun Sen prepares to hand power to his son, Hun Manet.
Wicked Rhymes
A prominent human-rights NGO bowed to government pressure and removed a controversial rap video from its website and Facebook page.
Licadho said police threatened legal action if it did not remove “Workers Blood,” by Siem Reap rapper Kea Sokun, which commemorates a deadly 2014 clash between labor protesters and police. The Ministry of Culture said the song incited violence and asked police to stop its spread on social media.
Rights groups said the video was protected under the constitution, and its removal was a clear case of government censorship. Kea Sokun is not under investigation at this time.
Fire Damage
Cleanup crews discovered the body of a 58-year-old Thai citizen inside the Grand Diamond City Casino, nearly two weeks after authorities halted rescue operations. Others may still be entombed in the burned out Poipet casino.
Officials have insisted that no Cambodians died in the Dec. 28 blaze that claimed 27 lives — but at least two Cambodian families were still waiting to learn the fate of missing relatives.
Authorities said victims would receive compensation, likely a few hundred dollars, but families said the police have so far told them nothing.
The casino has been linked to a fugitive Thai politician and four local tycoons. Rights group Adhoc has called for a full investigation and justice for victims.
TALKING POINTS
Hard Times
A second opposition leader is searching for a new home after provoking the prime minister’s wrath. Hun Sen accused the chief advisor to the Candlelight Party of forgery and insulting the CPP, and demanded his eviction from government housing. The court seized two homes owned by Son Chhay, the Candlelight Party vice president, in November.
Tax Time
The government is changing how it taxes the gambling industry. Casinos will now be taxed on income, instead of the lump-sum model used for decades. Casinos with VIP operations in “integrated resorts” will pay 4%, while most others will pay 7%. The government called the rules a boost to tax-collection and transparency. NagaWorld, the billion-dollar gaming giant, supported the changes.
Knowledge Gap
A radio deejay’s outlandish remarks about Khmer heritage prompted the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Union to propose a substantial rewrite to the national history curriculum. The disc jockey claimed Cambodians were a mix of Indian and Chinese ethnicities, rather than “purebred.”
Helping Hand
6,109 — That’s how many nonprofits and NGOs are registered with the Ministry of Interior, almost double from a decade ago. The government cites the figure as proof that civil society operates without restraint— but numerous high-profile arrests tell a different story.
Smoke Stacks
Drug police crowned Takeo’s Kiri Vong district the weed capital of Cambodia. Local authorities arrested five commercial growers and made a record 32 busts in 2022. Nationwide, police seized 14 tons of illegal drugs, up from four tons in 2021.
House Rules
The Philippine Olympic Committee is kicking up a stink over new Southeast Asian Games regulations that favor the home team. The POC complained that Cambodia will drop bodybuilding, allow an unapproved body to officiate Muay Thai matches, and limit the number of athletes a country can send to the May games.
Show Time
“Pray for Prey,” a mixed-media art exhibit exploring the relationship between humans and the environment, opens Saturday at Futures Factory Forum. The show includes work from the Phnom Tamao celebrity painter, Lucky the elephant, and nearly two dozen national and international artists and photographers.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
King Asks PM to Reconsider VN Border Pact
January 13, 2003
King Norodom Sihanouk has urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to consider a request from the Khmer Borders Protection Organization not to sign a border pact with Vietnam in March.
Gary Glitter Deported, Banned From Cambodia
January 9, 2003
Fallen British pop star Gary Glitter was deported from Cambodia in December and will not be allowed back into the country, an Immigration Police official confirmed Wednesday.
Researcher: Early Khmers Were Buddhists
January 7, 2003
A new discovery by a Cambodian scientist may prove that Buddhism was practiced by the ancient Khmers far earlier than their neighbors, shattering the conventional picture of Southeast Asian religious history.
WEEKEND READING
Crackdowns and ecological collapse drive fishers from Tonle Sap Lake
Communities on Cambodia’s great lake struggle to maintain traditional livelihoods as fish populations fall in a ‘tragedy of the commons’.
Denver Art Museum’s scholar named as accomplice for looted Cambodian sculptures
Researcher Emma Bunker aided the notorious looter in sourcing and selling Southeast Asian antiquities
Locking Horns With the Khmer Rouge
A conversation with tribunal witness Rob Hamill.
Photos: Kea Sokun, Facebook. Kun Khmer, Quinn Mattingly via Flickr.
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