Murdered Activist, Battambang Gun Smuggling and the Trial of Kem Sokha
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, November 26, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
THE STRONGMAN: The release of dozens of dissidents from prison in recent weeks had some thinking the government was conceding to international pressure. The prime minister was quick to correct them: “Hun Sen does not bow,” he said.
POKER FACES: NagaWorld employees will start picketing next month if casino management refuses their demands. The gambling juggernaut this year fired more than 1,000 workers, citing Covid-19. The two sides are still at the table.
ON TARGET: Two Cambodian generals and four officers were busted in a gun-smuggling ring that was caught with three secret weapons caches and more than 100 automatic rifles. The guns were headed to Myanmar, officials said.
THE LEDE
Activist Assassination
The brutal murder of a CNRP youth activist shocked the nation.
Witnesses said a group armed with knives and swords attacked the campaigner around 1am Sunday outside the pagoda where he lived. Police arrested a 29-year-old neighbor. Rights groups and opposition officials said authorities' accounts of events didn’t add up and demanded a full, transparent investigation.
The murder will send seismic waves of alarm through the political opposition, which is preparing for scheduled elections. The killing also casts a dark shadow over Cambodia’s 2022 ASEAN leadership. Pressure groups have pushed Western nations to censure Cambodia for its dire human rights record.
New violence could prompt the U.S. and others to boycott the 2022 ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh, which would make for an inglorious coda to Cambodia’s ASEAN leadership.
Refugee Crisis
The United Nations fears a fourth CNRP member detained in Thailand will be forcibly returned to Cambodia and jailed on politically motivated charges.
Thailand has in recent weeks arrested and swiftly deported three opposition activists despite their U.N. status as protected asylum seekers. The forced repatriations have opposition members in Thailand watching the shadows. The Cambodian government is keeping a close eye on its critics, and analysts warned more deportations were likely.
The Kingdom has released more than two dozen dissidents from prison in recent weeks, and analysts had suggested the government was relenting on critics in the face of growing international scorn.
The prime minister was quick to correct them: “Hun Sen does not bow.”
High Hopes
The Water Festival was a grand success, Hun Sen proclaimed.
Local tourists ventured to nearly every corner of the Kingdom, bringing much needed riel to long-suffering tourism businesses. Pent-up demand meant travellers splurged on things like restaurant meals and pub beverages. Health safety measures ensured the public stayed masked up. Most importantly, new Covid-19 infections remained steady.
Tourism officials said the festival’s success showed the Kingdom was ready for international travellers. The prime minister said he expected tourism to recover by the New Year.
TALKING POINTS
Court Battles
The trial of former CNRP president Kem Sokha will resume in the next few months, according to the Phnom Penh court. Kem Sokha was arrested for treason in 2017. The government accused him of plotting a color revolution with the U.S. The court suspended his trial in January 2020 due to the pandemic.
Crime Gangs
Shady Chinese gambling and extortion rings appear to be running rampant. Officials said they are currently helping around 2,000 Thai victims of human trafficking. Authorities rescued more than 100 Thais from a special economic zone in Pursat on Wednesday. They freed 50 Chinese nationals from a Phnom Penh villa the day before.
Moving Up
AMRO, the Singapore-based research group, predicted Cambodia’s economy will register 2.8% growth in 2021, a healthy uptick from last year’s 3.1% contraction. The group’s forecast ranked well above predictions from the IMF and ADB, which estimated growth of 2.2% and 1.9%, respectively. The IMF in October said it did not expect the Kingdom’s economy to make a full recovery from Covid-19 for a “few years.”
Called Strikes
The NagaWorld employees’ union will start picketing next month if casino management refuses its demands. The casino earlier this year terminated more than a thousand workers, including every union leader and representative, citing pandemic-induced business losses. Workers accused the casino of union busting and other labor abuses. The two sides remain at an impasse.
Gun Running
Police busted two military generals and four officers operating a Battambang gun-smuggling ring. Authorities so far have discovered three clandestine weapons depots and more than 100 automatic rifles. Officials said the weapons were likely headed to Myanmar.
Little Diamonds
Nike is getting behind the Kingdom’s fledgling efforts at little league baseball. The American pastime made its Cambodian debut in the early 2000s — remember the epic Joe Cook scandal? — and the country fielded teams for the 2007 and 2019 SEA Games. This will be the first major effort at establishing youth leagues.
Golden Voice
The authors behind a graphic novel depicting the life and music of Ros Serey Sothea, the 60s-era pop icon, have completed illustrations, editing and layouts. “The Golden Voice” is scheduled for release in 2022.
Red Heads
A group of farmers in southern Kampot province are trying to save the extremely rare eastern sarus crane. In a plan with conservationists, farmers are growing the bird’s favorite food: native short-grain rice varieties known as boka teourm and pong roluk. The birds are lovin’ it.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
City Darkened as Nightlife Ban Takes Effect
November 24, 2001
As Friday evening fell Monivong Boulevard was dark and quiet, as the dozens of karaoke parlors that normally cast their lights onto the street as a beacon to revelers were shuttered—all victims of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ban on nighttime establishments he says are encouraging violence and lawlessness.
NGOs Seek Reform in Punishing Acid Attackers
November 20, 2001
As another acid attack victim recovers from burns inflicted last week, legal watchdogs are pressing for more specific legislation that would punish the perpetrators. Meanwhile, an NGO is spearheading an effort to perform reconstructive surgery on acid attack victims.
Ambassador: US Will Deny Adoption Visas
November 20, 2001
Last Friday, a group of US adoptive parents in Cambodia got the phone call they had awaited for the past seven weeks—but it didn’t bring the words they wanted to hear.
WEEKEND READS
He Sold Away His People’s Heritage. He’s in the Jungle to Get It Back.
A Cambodian temple looter, who says more than 100 artifacts he stole are in museums around the world, is working to help reclaim them.
Another poor wet season endangers Cambodia’s biggest lake and its people
Climate change, unsustainable and illegal fishing and the proliferation of hydropower dams on rivers that feed Tonle Sap threaten the livelihoods of over one million Cambodians.
Photo Credits: Water Festival, Siem Reap, 2009, VasenkaPhotography via Flickr. Ros Serey Sothea illustration, Kat Baumann.