Lawyer Rips KR Trial, Workers Unite Against NagaWorld, Khmer Gansta Rapper Drops Album
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, July 8, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
CLEAR COAST: Horror stories of crime and mayhem in Sihanoukville are a thing of the past, the authorities declared. Trouble is, grim reports keep coming in like the tide, of passport thieves, slave compounds and ultra-violent Asian gangs.
BARKING MAD: Deforestation? Abysmal forest conservation? Cambodia has turned its jungles into farms, jobs and opportunities, the Strongman proclaimed. Critics of such progress can donate their land — and Hun Sen pledged to plant trees on it.
NEW SCHOOL: VannDa, the gangsta rap prodigy, just released his second album. The 25-year-old Sihanoukvillian reached stardom last year with “Time to Rise,” featuring chapei master Kong Nay. The video has more than 94 million views.
THE LEDE
Victims’ Lament
An Australian lawyer at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal blasted the court’s alleged indifference to the victims of the Pol Pot regime in a blistering resignation letter.
In her public resignation, the International Civil Party Lead Co-Lawyer said the court had provided zero funds for lawyers to communicate with hundreds of victims and had also cut all funding for her position.
“The overwhelming majority of civil parties do not know what has occurred at the ECCC over the past few years,” said Megan Hirst, “or what will happen after the final judgment.”
She said her team was able to meet only 5% of nearly 4,000 registered civil parties, most of whom were victims or families of victims, due to the lack of funding.
Youk Chhang, executive director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said Hirst’s complaint “underscores an overall failure in living up to the promises we made to the victims in the justice process for the Khmer Rouge.”
The tribunal, which has cost more than $300 million since 2006, is expected to wrap up this year when the Supreme Court Chamber rules on an appeal by Khieu Samphan.
Workers Unite
Cambodia’s largest independent labor groups are preparing to join marches by the NagaWorld union, potentially boosting the ranks of near-daily protests into the tens of thousands.
The labor confederations said they had not ruled out nationwide protests. The show of unity ratchets up pressure on the government to settle the dispute, which has been spilling into the streets of Phnom Penh since Dec. 2021.
Union leaders, who have endured jail stints and police brutality, say Cambodians’ right to collective bargaining is at stake — and giving up is not an option.
Hope Flickers
Candlelight Party Vice President Son Chhay is scheduled to appear in court twice next week for criticizing commune election results.
In comments made to The Cambodia Daily, Son Chhay said the poll was marred by irregularities, intimidation and vote-buying, and the outcome didn’t reflect the will of the people.
The CPP and National Election Committee called his allegations defamatory, slanderous and insulting — and sued him for $1 million.
Observers called the lawsuits a clear threat to freedom of expression — and said they only helped prove Son Chhay’s point.
TALKING POINTS
Tall Talk
Deforestation is hard proof of national development, the Strongman declared as he blasted critics and defended the Kingdom’s abysmal record on forest protection. Hun Sen said the country had turned its jungles into farms and plantations, providing food, jobs and economic growth. Those unhappy with the results could donate their land to the state — and Hun Sen would plant trees on it for them.
Mission Accomplished
Sihanoukville police declared the province’s crime problems fixed, calling horror stories about Chinese gangs enslaving indebted foreigners a thing of the past. Even so, reports of trouble continue to roll in. Police in recent days arrested citizens from Malaysia and Thailand on immigration charges, likely after kidnappers stole their passports. Vietnamese police helped rescue a 17-year old, and the Chinese Embassy warned its citizens of “recruitment traps.”
Trucker Strike
Hun Sen quickly backtracked on a law banning right-hand drive vehicles after hundreds of angry truckers blocked National Road 2 south of Phnom Penh. The chief complaint: modifying trucks from right-hand to left-hand drive would cost thousands. The win could embolden labor groups, who are preparing to negotiate minimum wage hikes, the NagaWorld union and others.
Vax Facts
Hun Sen demanded police detain an opposition party member who posted a TikTok video falsely claiming the Covid-19 vaccine killed a man in Koh Kong. The prime minister warned that anyone making jokes or sharing misinformation about the pandemic would be arrested.
VannDa’s House
Sihanoukville gangsta rap prodigy VannDa dropped “Skull 2 (Season 1),” his second full-length album. The record picks up where his last — $kull the Album — left off, layering traditional Khmer tones with dark, melodic rhymes. VannDa exploded on the scene last year with “Time to Rise,” a call-to-arms featuring chapei legend Kong Nay. The YouTube video has more than 94 million views.
Poll Parity
Civil society groups urged all political parties to increase their numbers of women candidates. Women represented only 10% of winning commune chiefs in last month’s local election, a 2% increase over 2017. At the commune counselor level, 22% of the country’s 11,622 elected councilors were women. All 173 winning female commune chiefs belonged to the CPP.
Landmine Funds
Hun Sen called for local donations to support a landmine-free Cambodia by 2025, saying the Kingdom had relied on foreign money for too long. Under the program, the nation will clear 14 provinces, leaving eight to foreign programs already underway. After 30 years of demining, more than 700 sq km of Cambodia still needs clearing. The campaign has raised about $15 million so far, and needs about $65 million more.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
No Suspects Yet on Anniversary of Star’s Slaying
July 5, 2002
Gunmen who snuffed out the life of Cambodia’s most famous film actress and star of the Royal Cambodian Ballet, Piseth Pilika, killed more than a talented woman — they erased a renowned cultural icon.
F’pec Officials Mourn Dead, Skip Assembly
July 5, 2002
Mass absences by Funcinpec lawmakers left the National Assembly without a quorum for the fifth time in two weeks, with 16 of the 43 royalist legislators failing to show up.
Bopha Devi Wins Lawsuit Against Paper
July 4, 2002
A Thai court awarded Cambodia’s Minister of Culture Princess Bopha Devi more than $100,000 in compensation on Tuesday following a successful defamation suit against the Bangkok Post newspaper, family and lawyers for the princess said.
Students Beat Strict School Master, Police Say
July 1, 2002
Phnom Penh municipal police were awaiting warrants Sunday to arrest four high school students who they say beat a school master unconscious near his classroom.
WEEKEND READING
Conservationists look for ‘divine intervention’ from forest development
Legal exceptions and uncertain protections have paved the way for construction and potential wildlife disruption within Cambodia’s Phnom Tamao Forest.
Inside a Scam: White-hat Hacker Infiltrates Cambodian Operations
After linking up with dozens of workers “asking to be saved” and breaking into scammers’ computers, a notorious ex-hacker now working for the Vietnamese state cybersecurity agency called for “prompt intervention” to get thousands of victims out of Cambodian compounds.
Photos: Toul Sleng, by Ryan Milani, Flickr.