Mosquitoes Outpace Repellents, Plastic Clogs the Tonle Sap, Dolphins Face Extinction Threat
Good morning, Cambodia. It’s Friday, December 23. Happy holidays!
TRIAL REDUX: Mu Sochua, Sam Rainsy and 35 others were sentenced to five or more years in prison in the fifth mass trial of opposition members since the Supreme Court banned the CNRP in 2017.
PEAK PLASTIC: Half a million tons of plastic waste is expected to choke the Tonle Sap by 2030. Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam produce 8 million tons of plastic waste each year, with 75% of it improperly handled.
BUG BUZZ: Insecticides are nearly useless against local mosquitos, which now have a genetic resistance to most repellents. One leading chemical killed only 10% of Aedes aegypti. A second killed none.
THE LEDE
Court Drama
Kem Sokha got a fat lump of coal for Christmas. In closing arguments, government lawyers promised to sue the opposition figure for civil damages after the conclusion of his lengthy treason trial on March 3.
Political analysts predicted the former CNRP president will avoid the maximum sentence — life in prison — but say it’s unlikely he’ll be allowed to return to politics ahead of July’s national elections.
The government is under heavy international pressure to reopen democratic spaces, and threats of trade embargoes and targeted sanctions hang over the court’s decision. The government remains defiant.
Press Putsch
A coalition of 60 government-backed media organizations called for the formation of a “Press Ethics Council,” with the legal power to punish “wrongdoers.”
Hun Sen denounced a small number of media workers who violated industry codes by publishing fake news, inciting hostilities and spreading chaos, although he stopped short of supporting the council’s inception. He urged the media to promote government messaging.
Industry groups routinely report on a Cambodian media “under attack.” Reporters Without Borders ranked the Kingdom at 142 out of 180 countries. Independent journalists called the council a brazen attempt to silence what remains of the free press.
Dolphin Demise
Another adult dolphin was found dead — the ninth so far this year, intensifying calls for better law enforcement in areas of the Mekong River where the critically endangered mammals roam.
Wildlife authorities said the dolphin likely drowned after becoming entangled in a fishing net. Less than 100 Irrawaddy dolphins are believed to inhabit Cambodia’s upper Mekong.
Nets and electrofishing, the leading causes of dolphin deaths, are illegal. Even so, officials warned that without improved policing, the dolphins faced near certain extinction.
TALKING POINTS
Mass Trials
Mu Sochua, Sam Rainsy and 35 opposition members were convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to five or more years in prison for supporting the former CNRP vice president’s failed 2021 attempt to return to Cambodia and stand trial. It was the fifth mass trial of opposition members since the Supreme Court banned the CNRP in 2017.
Land Rush
The government made more than 930,000 hectares of public land inside protected conservation areas eligible for private use and development. The ruling should allow indigenous communities to apply for land titles, but environmentalists fear the worst — boondoggles and vast land grabs by influential tycoons and families of the ruling elite.
Plastic Problems
As much as 100 tons of plastic pollution flows daily through the Mekong River, making it one of the most polluted waterways in the world. An estimated 500,000 tons of plastic is expected to choke the Tonle Sap by 2030. The four Mekong countries — Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — produce 8 million tons of plastic waste every year. About 75% of it is improperly handled.
Union Busting
As the NagaWorld union marks one year of protests, organized labor in the Kingdom faces unprecedented pressure, according to experts. Union registration is riddled with obstacles, labor disputes linger at numerous factories, garbage workers toil in “panic,” and airport unionists face indefinite suspension.
Tough Mozzies
Popular insecticides are nearly useless against Phnom Penh mosquitos, which now carry a genetic mutation that makes them resistant to most repellents. One leading chemical killed only 10% of Aedes aegypti. A second killed none. The species is responsible for spreading dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, Zika and other ailments.
Drug Hub
Police seized a record-breaking five tons of illegal narcotics in 2022, with more than two tons discovered in December alone. Experts said the record hauls highlight the Kingdom’s newfound role as the preferred manufacturing hub of Chinese crime syndicates.
Award Watch
“Return to Seoul,” written and directed by Davy Chou, made the shortlist for best international feature film at the 2023 Oscars. “Life. Love. Bliss,” a romantic black-and-white film written and directed by Ines Sothea, won first prize at the Third Cambodian Short Film Festival.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Alleged High School Bully Gunned Down by General
December 21, 2002
A one-star RCAF general shot and killed a 19-year-old high school student on Wednesday night allegedly in a bid to protect his son from the victim, police officials said on Thursday.
Siem Reap’s Water Demands Threaten Stability of the Temples
December 21, 2002
The ground under the Angkor temples—which have stood for as long as 12 centuries—may sink at a threatening pace unless water supplies used by big hotels in Siem Reap are carefully monitored and the area’s waterways restored, experts say.
Looted Artifacts Still for Sale on Int’l Market
December 18, 2002
Earlier this year, a team of the Heritage Police who patrol the Angkor temples came across two men digging in the medieval walled city of Angkor Thom. An officer fired his weapon and hit one of them in the testicles; his accomplice fled.
Bombs Found Near Meeting In Siem Reap
December 17, 2002
Police arrested three men in Siem Reap town Sunday night for allegedly planting high-explosive TNT time bombs in the heart of the city, where an Asean ministerial meeting was being held, officials said.
WEEKEND READING
Thousands of Workers Swept Up in a Year of Union Busting
The year of NagaWorld protests has seen Cambodian labor movements trampled in factories, tourism and municipal services.
Photos: Kem Sokha, WikiMedia. Mu Sochua, U.S. Mission Geneva, Flickr.
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