Olympic Dreams Unfold in Paris, Low Season Blues Hit Temple Town, Clues Emerge in Chopper Search
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, July 26, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
WORLD CLASS: The Kingdom has sent a three-member team to the Paris Olympics, including a sprinter and two swimmers. Keep an eye on Sakbun Apsara, a women’s freestyle champion with endless charm.
OLD MONEY: Tourism in Siem Reap is in such trouble the government has ordered businesses to accept damaged U.S. greenbacks. The buck stops at Hun Manet, who called saving tourism his biggest test.
BOTTOMS UP: A wine producer in Svay Rieng province was caught spiking its “health wines” with an enterprising pick-me-up — sildenafil, otherwise known as Viagra. Increased sales could not be confirmed.
THE LEDE
Dragon’s Tale
It was another rough week for activists in the Kingdom — and no one said a word.
To start, Hun Sen ordered the jailing of four political campaigners for suggesting a Ratanakiri development project might lead to the loss of Cambodian land. Next, authorities in Svay Rieng arrested an NGO worker for disseminating information about the national health fund, and a Phnom Penh court fined a Candlelight Party vice president $1.5 million for defamation. All this while the U.N. Special Rapporteur was in town to study the Kingdom’s human rights record.
There's a U.N. news conference this afternoon. Analysts will be watching closely, hoping it brings to light the brazen crackdown on dissent now in place by the ruling CPP.
If the UN doesn’t, who will?
Bad Trip
A sense of desperation is settling in across Siem Reap, with some insiders calling the travel sector “totally broken.”
Tourism operators have for years pressed the government for help, including preferential loans, government-backed marketing campaigns and an end of visa fees. What they’ve received are largely cosmetic measures that do little to slow the downward economic death march.
The National Bank this week ordered Siem Reap banks to start providing $20 and $50 notes in their ATMs, and for businesses to stop rejecting damaged American bills. It plans to launch a digital payment app designed for tourists.
Hun Manet said saving tourism was his government’s biggest test. At this point, few are giving it a passing grade.
Team Spirit
Three of the Kingdom’s top athletes will compete for glory in the Paris Olympics.
Chhun Bunthorn, who won gold at the 2023 SEA Games, will represent Cambodia in the 800 meters, while Antoine Le Lapparent will swim in the 100m men’s freestyle.
Cambodian-American swimmer Sakbun Apsara, who will compete in the 50m women’s freestyle, could soon be the Kingdom’s newest media star. The 23-year-old set three national records at last year’s SEA Games, and her chances for setting a new national record for the Olympic 50 meters are strong.
The 16 days of the Games begin in earnest today. Watch for Cambodia’s tiny contingent in the Opening Ceremonies.
TALKING POINTS
Stone Face
Could Angkor Wat lose World Heritage Site status? The U.N. World Heritage Committee recommended the Kingdom invite a team of experts for renewed monitoring of the temple complex, citing allegations of forced evictions. Critics say the relocations violate the U.N.’s criteria for World Heritage Site standing.
Chopper Hunt
Rescue teams looking for a missing military helicopter have narrowed the search area based on satellite imagery and mobile phone activity. Fast-changing weather and ultra-rugged mountains made operations difficult, officials said, but they vowed to keep looking.
Hard Yards
Cambodian and Thai police launched a joint task force to eradicate Thai-run call center gangs from the Kingdom. Thailand says the problem is getting worse, and more than 100 Thai nationals with known ties to scam operations are working from Cambodian territory. The task force expects results in 60 days.
Big Interest
Cambodia's public debt jumped by $1 billion in the first quarter of 2024, reaching just over $11 billion, of which nearly $4 billion is owed to China. Separately, the National Bank agreed to work with the U.N. on concerns about informal microfinance lending, and the Kingdom's credit bureau reported that almost 30% of the population borrowed money in Q1.
Sand Box
The saga of Cambodian domestic workers marooned in Saudi Arabia has entered its fourth month. The stranded women have taken to social media to complain of confinement and malnutrition, seeking immediate repatriation. Labor ministry officials said 78 workers had been brought home and they were working to return the remaining 30.
Nose Up
The funniest part of the publicity barrage surrounding the Prahok Powder Processing Project is that the ultra-pungent traditional Khmer fermented fish paste must be "deodorized" before it's ground into flour for use in Europe. The savvy NGO behind it all promises "an exciting culinary experience that bridges cultural tastes." That's an understatement.
Hard Stuff
Health officials banned several brands of "health wine" for containing "high levels of sexual doses," referring to a large presence of sildenafil, which is the common name for Viagra. The wines, all made by a company in Svay Rieng province, were pulled from stores and labeled potentially deadly.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Truth Behind Backpackers’ Deaths Still Elusive
July 26, 2004
The 10 years that have elapsed since Khmer Rouge soldiers kidnapped French tourist Jean-Michel Braquet from a train and later executed him have brought his father little solace.
Interior Ministry Employs Convicted Killer
July 26, 2004
A man convicted of orchestrating the killing of an Interior Ministry official has been appointed an undersecretary of state for the same ministry in the new mandate, a move observers said emphasizes a lack of respect for the judicial system.
Revolt Charge Part of Hun Sen’s Power Play
July 20, 2004
Charges that the Sam Rainsy Party is plotting armed attacks are part of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s plan to cripple the opposition while bringing newly appointed royalist Cabinet members under CPP influence, analysts said Monday.
WEEKEND READING
Can a carbon offset project really secure Indigenous rights in authoritarian Cambodia?
The Cambodian Ministry of Environment has blocked Indigenous communities from receiving ownership over thousands of hectares of customary farmlands and culturally significant forests in the Keo Seima REDD+ project zone.
Indigenous villagers lose forest & land amid carbon offset project
A 3,348-hectare protected forest established by a carbon credit project in Cambodia and encompassing the customary lands of several Indigenous Bunong communities has been destroyed largely by outsiders, while Indigenous community patrollers say they lack adequate law enforcement support from the REDD+ project.