Pchum Ben Banned, U.S. Deploys Sanctions, Oil Tanker in Legal Limbo
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, October 1, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
SHOCKING CLAIM: The Cambodia Daily was accused of “fake news” for a story on police who allegedly pocketed the money taken from unofficial traffic fines.
SPIN DOCTORS: Cambodia wants to clean up its image in Washington. First step, hire a despot-defending PR firm to lobby for the Kingdom at $70,000 a month.
TOURISM BLUES: Vaccinations are a big win for the government, but the eye-popping jab rates haven’t led to a timetable to reopen the Kingdom to tourists.
THE LEDE
Quiet Blessings
Phnom Penh officials banned public ceremonies and enforced strict health measures after Covid-19 cases surged during the first week of Pchum Ben, the Kingdom’s largest religious holiday.
Health officials discovered Covid-19 cases in nearly half the city’s 150 pagodas, and authorities shut them all for disinfection. Under the new measures, visitors cannot enter but can leave offerings at temple gates.
Monks worried the restrictions would leave them without food for the holidays. Prime Minister Hun Sen appealed to the public for understanding.
Unsocial Media
Medical experts were twice barred from testifying in the case of an autistic teenager who’s being held in Prey Sar Prison for incitement and insulting government officials.
Prosecutors said the boy’s ability to use social media was proof he was fit to face the charges. Yet the 17-year-old appeared confused during questioning, and the court denied the doctors’ testimony about his mental capacity.
Authorities arrested the teenager in June after complaints from an unknown Cambodian man in Canada. The pair had argued in a private Telegram chat about the boy’s father, an opposition member who is also in prison for incitement.
Daily Outrage
Police accused The Cambodia Daily of peddling fake news in a Khmer-language story that detailed bribery and corruption among the city’s legions of street-corner traffic cops.
A police spokesperson called the story “malicious'' and said it defamed officers’ integrity and insulted their honor.
The story highlighted complaints about traffic officers who levied unofficial fines and pocketed the proceeds. Police officials strongly denied the claims.
TALKING POINTS
Great Reopening
The government has yet to offer a firm roadmap for reopening the country to tourism despite exceptional vaccination levels. The pandemic has decimated the tourist sector, and frustrations are growing.
Optic Nerves
Cambodia retained a high-priced Washington P.R. firm to burnish its plummeting reputation. The move came as the U.S. house passed legislation sanctioning those in the Kingdom responsible for suppressing democracy.
Case Dismissed
The court dropped all charges against a former CNRP youth leader and nine of his colleagues. They were the latest government critics to receive forgiveness from the prime minister, who intervened with the court on their behalf.
Reporter Jailed
Koh Kong authorities sentenced an online news reporter to one year in prison for incitement to cause a felony. The charges were prompted by a lawsuit from Minister of Defense Tea Banh and stemmed from reports on land evictions at Botum Sakor National Park.
Tanker heist
The government denied claims it was using “unethical” tactics to recover $20 million of Cambodian oil trapped in a tanker off the Indonesian coast. The government filed charges in Cambodian court against the ship’s crew and Indonesia, acting on an Interpol red notice, arrested them for extradition. The ship’s owner called it hostage-taking.
Stiff Warning
Sihanoukville authorities warned local businesses that kidnapping, torturing and sexually exploiting workers was a gross violation of the labor law. The statement came after recent reports of horrific abuse.
Tiny gains
The tense negotiations over next year’s minimum wage for garment workers ended with a $2 victory for the employees. Even so, labor activists were disappointed.
Covid-19 Watch
Good: More than 65% of the population is fully vaccinated. More than 98% of adults have had at least one jab.
Bad: The Delta variant is spreading fast with daily infections surging from under 700 last week to nearly 1,000 on Thursday.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Prince Disavows Biography Claim
September 28, 2001
Prince Norodom Ranariddh has disavowed the contents of his biography “Warrior Prince,” in which he is quoted as being critical of King Norodom Sihanouk.
Funcinpec Angry at Party Officials’ Arrests
September 25, 2001
A senior Funcinpec official has denounced the arrests of four party commune administrators last week, saying the accusations that those taken into custody are members of the Cambodian Freedom Fighters are a political strike against the party.
Controversial Book Gives Insight Into Prince
September 24, 2001
It was 1993, and Prince Norodom Sihanouk and Prince Norodom Ranariddh were sitting together on an airplane, having a father-and-son chat unique even for a royal family.
WEEKEND READING
Cambodia’s Hun Sen plots his long-awaited exit
Many think the long-serving authoritarian leader is looking for a safe way out as pressure for change mounts
As Constitution Turns 28, Observers Says Top Law Fragile Under One-Party Rule
High Privy Councilor Son Soubert remembers fondly the weekslong efforts in 1993 to compose the text that would ostensibly define post-Cold War Cambodia: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Cambodia’s prime minister is Zoombombing opposition meetings
Hun Sen’s government, which has shown little hesitation in quashing any sign of dissent, is taking control of user activities on the internet.
Photo Credits: Pchum Ben, Manuth Chek via Flickr. South Gate, Pixabay.