Kem Ley Honored, Pet Lion Returned, Fake Angkor Exposed
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, July 9, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
THE BIG PARTY: The ruling CPP is cracking down on dissent. Tomorrow is an event to honor Kem Ley, a murdered government critic. People are worried.
WRONG IN KOH KONG: The coastal province has a land-use disconnect. The army gets a huge vacation spread, but farmers face threats over small plots.
ANGKOR UPROAR: A squabble was avoided after experts ruled that an Angkor-esque temple being touted in Thailand looked nothing like the real deal.
THE LEDE
Kem Ley Lives On
Sharp eyes will be on a Phnom Penh gas station tomorrow where supporters will gather for the fifth anniversary of the murder of Dr. Kem Ley, a popular government critic.
In the thick of a ruling party clampdown on social dissent, things could turn combustible. Last year, police scuffled with monks. The year before, authorities arrested seven opposition-aligned loyalists.
Will this year’s anniversary pass peacefully? Will one side — or both — make a point by turning a peaceful march to Takeo into an ugly clash with violence, arrests or worse?
It’s cause to wonder: What would Kem Ley do?
Smugglers vs Activists
The pet lion confiscated last week and the $30,000 fine paid by its Chinese owner were both returned — by order of Hun Sen’s Facebook page.
The prime minister said he was swayed by an outpouring of social media support for Hima, the 18-month-old lion, and his owner, a Chinese national linked to the casino industry.
Most accounts agree the lion was trafficked and smuggled into the country. The case has made a mockery of laws against exotic pets. Concerns from animal NGOs, the Forestry Administration and local residents were crisply dismissed.
Hun Sen's allies portrayed the act as a leader’s kindness and generosity. For cashed-up casino men and their exotic pets, maybe. For environmentalists, not so much.
Mekong Sunset
For months, residents in Areyksat watched and wondered as sand dredgers pumped overtime to create prime real estate across the river from Phnom Penh.
Welcome to the latest Mekong mega-project, which is already well underway. The Khun Sea Group is dredging up 70 hectares of Mekong mud to build a $2-billion satellite city and “Hong Kong style” entertainment complex.
Independent experts completed an environmental assessment, the company said, but the findings are not public. Residents remain in the dark: Will the project force them to move? What about compensation?
TALKING POINTS
Southern Serows
Camera traps captured images of the southern serow, an enigmatic and at-risk mammal believed to be a cousin of sheep and goats. Serows have been bred in captivity at Phnom Tamao Zoo, but little is known about the animal in the wild.
A Thai Angkor?
Photos of an Angkor-esque temple in Thailand set off social media accusations of the appropriation of the Kingdom’s crown jewel. The government investigated and said the Thai structure looked nothing like Angkor Wat. But it’s a sensitive topic. In 2003, a mob set fire to the Thai embassy over comments made by a Thai actress about Cambodia’s cherished monument.
Union Busting
NagaWorld moved a step closer to dismantling its employee union. In recent weeks, the $4-billion company forced severance on 300 of the union’s 600 remaining holdouts.
Trafficking
The 2021 Trafficking in Persons report paints a bleak picture. Corruption, official complicity and lack of political will keep vulnerable victims in slavery, the report said. One takeawy: “Authorities often overlooked, denied or downplayed labor abuses — including forced child labor — and colluded [with owners] to arrest, jail and return indentured laborers who had attempted to escape.”
Koh Kong Cleared
An unnamed person in Koh Kong used 50-man teams to clear some 500 hectares of protected forest, residents said. A provincial office, just 100 meters away from the clear cutting, hardly seemed to notice. For comparison: Officials in a neighboring village threatened to sue 70 to 100 villagers who had cleared 15 hectares for personal use.
Military Retreat
Also in Koh Kong, provincial authorities gifted the Ministry of Defense with 1,100 hectares of pristine coastline to build the Samdech Pichey Sena Tea Banh development area and military vacation resort. Local officials said fishing communities and others in the area had nothing to worry about.
Killing Distilling
Toxic rice wine killed another 11 drinkers, prompting authorities in Kep to ban local distilleries. Why does rice wine turn lethal? A 20-year distilling veteran explains.
Covid-19 Watch
The Ministry of Health on Thursday reported 954 new Covid-19 cases and 27 deaths. Local transmissions accounted for 818 of the new cases, with 136 imported. The national total is now 58,057.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Explosions Rock Downtown Hotels; 3 Dead
July 5, 2001
Two bomb blasts ripped through a pair of neighboring hotels catering to foreign tourists in central Phnom Penh, killing three people, including a police officer, and wounding 11 others in what was called a terrorist attack by extortionists. A hotel housekeeper and a Cambodian man were also killed.
Cambodia’s Quest for Environmental Policy at Crossroads
July 4, 2001
Cambodians eat more than 75kg of fish each year, one of the highest levels in the world. As much as 15% of the country’s population depends on the Tonle Sap lake for food and income.
Fear Prevails In Village of Slain Activist
July 3, 2001
Baset district, Kompong Speu province – A few weeks ago, Sam Rainsy Party activist Uch Horn told fellow opposition party member Orm Bunly that if he died, his colleague must carry on with the party’s work.