Opposition Cries Foul, Art Scene Flourishes, Shootout in Sacred Forest
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, April 22, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
AUTHORITY PROBLEM: Foreigners are reported rescued all the time from slavelike scam centers in Sihanoukville — but nobody is ever arrested. Skeptics say officials are in bed with Chinese gangs.
LIST DISMISSED: Corruption, torture, arbitrary detention and pervasive surveillance were among rights violations noted by the U.S. Local officials yawned, calling the U.S. list “stupid.”
SHELL LIFE: In Cambodia, Royal Turtles are special: deeply revered and extremely rare. Now, 80 eggs from a captive Royal Turtle are about to hatch, and hope has been born.
THE LEDE
Party Time
Hun Sen compared the Kingdom’s first official Khmer New Year since the outbreak of the global pandemic two years ago to the riotous celebrations that erupted on January 7, 1979 — the day the Khmer Rouge were toppled from power.
And what an amazing party last week was: Five million people traveled home during the holiday — better than in pre-pandemic 2019 — and drove a much-needed $200 million into the national economy.
The downside: Health officials feared new Covid-19 cases could skyrocket after millions of revelers ignored health restrictions. Authorities are closely monitoring new cases, which are so far holding steady.
Safe Space?
Opposition leaders scoffed at the prime minister’s call for peaceful elections, saying his appeal was meaningless without concrete actions to protect dissidents and restore political freedoms.
Cases in point: A Candlelight Party candidate in Phnom Penh had his skull crushed from behind. It wasn’t the first time he’d been attacked. A land-rights activist fled to Thailand after receiving death threats. Another is on the run from forgery charges. Yet another was jailed on a questionable illegal fishing rap.
That’s just this month — and doesn’t include the 150 opposition candidates who were barred from standing in the June 5 polls.
Inside Job
A series of botched raids on suspected illegal call centers added to growing evidence that local officials are collaborating with the Chinese gangs accused of running the notorious compounds.
A raid on two suspected Phnom Penh centers produced little more than office chairs. Police believe the gangs were tipped off. In Sihanoukville, police negotiated for eight hours with suspects who refused to let officers inside.
Police rescued 66 Thais and 16 Malaysians over New Year. Thai officials said some 800 nationals had been repatriated in recent months. They suspect more than 1,000 are still involved. For all the rescues, reports of arrests are extremely rare.
TALKING POINTS
Forest Fire
Soldiers in Kampong Speu province opened fire on residents patrolling a disputed community forest, shooting up a trailer and beating a man, residents said. The incident was the latest flare-up of violence inside the Metta Community Forest, where tensions have simmered since the community’s forest was handed over to military families in August.
Big Fish
Police discovered $10,000 worth of illegal fishing equipment set up during Khmer New Year. The find points to a well-funded operation: more than 3km of fishing nets and 2,700 poles. No arrests were made. Hun Sen last month scolded officials for catching small-time operators while letting the big ones get away.
Art Revival
Big events are flourishing as pandemic rules relax. Friends Future Factory will tonight host the return of the Recycled Fashion Show — one of the capital’s hottest pre-pandemic nightlife events. Across town, the Bophana Center is showing “Memory,” a multimedia exhibit showcasing 14 emerging local artists.
Report Rejected
Cambodia called a U.S. human rights report “stupid” and rejected its allegations of widespread abuses. The report blasted the Kingdom for a laundry list of alleged violations, including arbitrary detentions, corruption, torture, pervasive media surveillance and serious restrictions on expression and political participation.
Picket Lines
NagaWorld union members returned to the picket line after a break for Khmer New Year. Police immediately bundled them into buses and drove them around town, dropping them off at Freedom Park in the late afternoon. Talks between the casino and the union resume Thursday. The union has vowed to protest until demands are met.
Officers Down
Two police officers were shot and killed while serving warrants on a den of suspected drug traffickers. Authorities identified the two as a district police chief and a second lieutenant. Police said the suspects opened fire as officers closed in on their rural hideout.
Royal Turtle
Conservationists in Koh Kong celebrated the arrival of 80 Royal Turtle eggs, with half expected to produce turtles. (Only one survived from last year’s batch of 71 eggs, a turtle named Steve.) The Royal Turtle, officially known as the Southern River Terrapin, reaches reproduction age at 15 years, adding to the conservation challenges.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Officials Deny Government Torched UN Camp
April 22, 2002
Government officials Friday refuted published accounts charging the government with allowing the looting and burning at a UN refugee camp in Mondolkiri province within an hour of the camp being emptied and the Montagnard asylum seekers shipped to Phnom Penh.
A Former Teenage Khmer Rouge Chief Tells His Story
April 20, 2002
Ramsamiksopiya Reya was 12 years old the day a casual act of kindness changed his life — and ultimately nearly killed him in Tuol Sleng prison.
Anniversary of Khmer Rouge Takeover Marked With Prayers
April 18, 2002
On April 17, 1975, the embattled government of Lon Nol surrendered to the peasant army of the Khmer Rouge, which had surrounded Phnom Penh. It was the beginning of the dark era known as Democratic Kampuchea — and for more than 1 million Cambodians, it was the end.
More Restrictions Needed to Save Tonle Sap, Experts Say
April 16, 2002
Due to myriad problems ranging from flooding caused by deforestation to overfishing threatening the fish-rich Tonle Sap lake, more reserves where fishing is prohibited are needed, according to government officials and fishing experts.
WEEKEND READS
Cambodia remains a real money laundering centre
Transparency International finds widespread cash transactions in gambling and real estate leave the Kingdom wide open for illegal exchange.
Photos: Hun Sen in Sihanoukville, via Hun Sen’s Facebook page. Turtle Steve, via WCS Cambodia’s Facebook page.