Paris Peace Agreements, Hun Sen Banknotes, National Internet Gateway

Oct 22, 2021

FIREWALL FEARS: Cambodia’s new China-styled internet filter is already having a chilling effect on freedom of speech.
GAS GRIPES: Everyone’s complaining about soaring gas prices, which have gone up some 20% since January.
PEACE PROCESS: Thirty years ago, the Paris Peace Agreements ended decades of war and was the crucible for modern Cambodia.

THE LEDE

A scene from Nov 14, 1991, now depicted on the Kingdom’s new 30,000 riel note.

Old Alliances, New Money

Prime Minister Hun Sen joined a rare class of world leaders: Heads of state who have put their own faces on the country’s banknotes.

Saturday marks the 30th anniversary of the Paris Peace Agreements, the accords that officially brought peace to post-war Cambodia and launched its modern political narrative.

The country will commemorate the anniversary by releasing a first-ever 30,000 riel note. The bill depicts a scene from November 1991, when a young Hun Sen and a jubilant Norodom Sihanouk paraded triumphantly through the capital in a white convertible.

Few at the time would have imagined that, 30 years on, the rail-thin former soldier would tower over the Kingdom’s politics. And the peace agreements, the reason for the day’s celebrations? They ended up mostly irrelevant.

Half Measures

Cambodia relaxed quarantine requirements and began issuing tourist visas for the first time in nearly two years.

The rules drew mixed reactions from tourism operators, who welcomed the move but said the industry cannot begin rebuilding until quarantines are completely lifted.

Mandatory quarantine for vaccinated travelers dropped to seven days with a $1,000 deposit. It was previously two weeks and a $2,000 deposit. Unvaccinated travelers are still required to quarantine in government-approved hotels for two weeks.

Further moves are expected, but authorities have given little indication of when those changes may come.

Press Freedom

The government dismissed calls from a leading journalism group to end criminal prosecutions of reporters and citizen journalists.

The demands came in a quarterly press-freedom review from the Cambodian Journalists Alliance. The Ministry of Information denounced the group’s work as “dishonest” and deliberately provocative.

The report cited 21 incidents of official harassment from July to September, including the case of a Koh Kong reporter who was accused of publishing misinformation on Facebook and sentenced to one year in prison for felony incitement.

Camboja, as the journalist alliance is known, reiterated its pleas for the government to use the press law, instead of the criminal code, when dealing with the media.

TALKING POINTS

Naval Gazing

The Australian navy visited Sihanoukville and Ream Navy Base, home to several controversial construction projects funded by the Chinese government. Cambodia used the visit to slam Washington, which has repeatedly raised suspicions about Beijing-backed developments on the southern coast.

Land Disputes

The government accused a leading human rights group of making false claims in a report on land disputes. In a short video, Licadho said land-grabbing had affected more than 5,000 families during the Covid-19 pandemic. The government said the report “lacked proper evidence or research.”

Gateway or Filter

The National Internet Gateway is already having a chilling effect on free speech and press freedom, critics said. The gateway is a state-controlled connection through which all digital traffic must pass. Internet providers are required to connect to the hub by February 2022.

Bad Forecast

The tourism shutdown will drag on Cambodia’s economy through 2022, according to a Singapore bank, which pegged next year’s growth at 4.8%, well below the IMF’s prediction of 5.7%.

Gas Problems

Rising petrol prices sparked a flurry of complaints at the pumps and across social media. Gas prices have risen some 20% since January.

Fishing Lows

Rapid population growth, upstream dams, overfishing and climate change have pushed Mekong river fish catches to dangerous lows. Some 65 million people rely on the river for protein. The Mekong River Commission has called for greater cooperation and protections.

Monsoon Floods

Heavy monsoon rains closed schools, forced thousands from their homes and caused untold financial damage. Ratanakiri and Battambang provinces, as well as the northwest, were the hardest hit.

BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault

Leaders Reflect on Anniversary of Accords

October 22, 2001
Tempered optimism and fond reflection were the themes Sunday morning at a Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace sponsored conference celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the signing of the landmark Paris Peace Accords.

The Story of Khieu Ponnary, Revolutionary and First Wife of Pol Pot

October 20, 2001
The first time Yong Moeun saw Khieu Ponnary was in 1967, when the woman who was to become a Khmer Rouge icon was on the run in Kratie province. She was riding a bicycle through the countryside, a slender, austere woman with intense eyes and a subdued manner that cloaked her growing mental illness.

10 Years Later, Effect of Peace Accords Evident

October 19, 2001
The people have come back to live along the road between Malai and Banteay Meanchey town. There are few signs of the decade the government troops and the Khmer Rouge spent battering each other from the sharp mountain peaks that break up this wide, hot plain filled with marshes and rice fields.

The Weekly Dispatch

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