Sam Rainsy Charges, Organ Harvesting Claims, Sacred Forest Fight

Mar 18, 2022

WELCOME SIGN: No 72-hour test requirement. No Covid-19 swab on arrival. Visas as usual. To revive its tourism sector, Cambodia has rolled back nearly all restrictions for vaccinated visitors.
WARRIOR MONK: A dispute is intensifying in Kampong Speu, where an eccentric hermit monk is leading villagers in a fight over ancestral land that was awarded to an elite military unit.
ARTISTIC MASTER: Vann Nath, the Toul Sleng survivor who painted heartbreaking and terrifying depictions of the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge, is the subject of a posthumous hardcover book.

THE LEDE

Hard Answers

Cambodia said it was investigating its largest opposition party for ties to Sam Rainsy, the longtime opposition leader now living in exile.

A 2017 law bars those with criminal convictions from participating in politics. Evidence of collaboration, however tenuous, could disqualify the Candlelight Party from district elections in June.

Will the ruling CPP relent on its yearslong political clampdown and compete with a legitimate opposition? If recent court rulings are any guide, the answer is “no.”

NagaWorld Talks

The Phnom Penh court granted bail to all 11 NagaWorld union leaders, clearing a path for talks to end a monthslong strike at the billion-dollar casino.

Eight leaders were released Monday after written assurances that they would stop protesting and return to the negotiating table. The other three were released Thursday.

The breakthrough followed heavy criticism from the United Nations, prompting government officials to get involved.

Chhim Sithar, the union president, said she wanted a quick resolution to the crisis. No date for talks has been set.

Chinese Crime

Cambodia has 99 Chinese gang problems but organ theft isn’t one, officials said.

Police are scrambling to deny a second report of organ harvesting and forced blood extraction — this time made by a Thai woman caught without a valid visa and deported. She might have been kidnapped and tortured by Chinese call-center gangs, the authorities said, but her claims of blood and organ harvesting were pure bananas.

The Kingdom is under mounting pressure to rein in rampant Chinese banditry. Its efforts so far have been lackluster.

TALKING POINTS

Cambodia’s Goya

A book of paintings by Cambodian master artist Vann Nath, who survived internment at Tuol Sleng by making portraits of Pol Pot, has been released to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his death. Titled simply “Vann Nath,” the 240-page hardback includes works on display at S-21 and many from private collections. The book is available at the Silapak Trotchaek Pneik art gallery.

Tourists Welcome

Cambodia dropped Covid-19 restrictions for vaccinated travelers and restarted its visa-on-arrival policy, bringing an end to nearly two years of travel-related health controls. The visa-on-arrival system includes sea and land crossings. Unvaccinated travelers are still required to quarantine for 14 days.

Coup Charges

A Phnom Penh court sentenced Sam Rainsy and 20 supporters to prison for their roles in a 2019 plot to topple the government. Prosecutors painted Sam Rainsy as the “mastermind” of an “illegal rebel group.” The former opposition leader and six others were sentenced in absentia to 10 years each. Rights groups called the proceedings a “show trial.”

Forestry Fight

Led by an eccentric, jungle-dwelling monk, villagers in Kampong Speu are taking on military heavies from an elite unit in a battle over a community forest. The government recently gave more than 250 hectares of local land to Brigade 70, prompting a series of skirmishes — both legal and physical — with no resolution in sight.

Shore Leave

Cambodia used a visit by the Japanese navy to reinforce claims that its port in the Gulf of Thailand was open to all nations. The U.S. has pushed for transparency around Chinese-backed construction at Ream Naval Base after media reports of a secret deal allowing Beijing exclusive access to the base — charges the government has strenuously denied.

Accusation U-Turn

Authorities dismissed assault charges against a high-ranking prosecutor after his wife said she fabricated domestic-abuse allegations in the heat of a family argument. The wife originally told police her husband, Muth Dara, had pointed a gun to her head and beaten her. On Monday, she issued a public apology for her exaggerations and police dropped the case.

Slow Pace

After a one-week break, the treason trial against Kem Sokha resumed much as it left off, with attorneys bickering about details big and small. The opposition leader was arrested in 2017 and charged with attempting to overthrow the government. The case is dragging on with no end in sight.

BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault

Judge Makes Landmark Labor Ruling

March 13, 2002
In what labor activists are calling a landmark decision, a Kompong Speu provincial judge ruled Tuesday that a garment factory acted improperly when it fired workers for trying to organize a union and has ordered the company to pay back wages to the dismissed workers, officials said Tuesday.

Ta Mok Supporters Plan Rally

March 12, 2002
Close to 200 family members and supporters of Ta Mok said they will demonstrate this week in front of the National Assembly to urge parliamentarians to release the alleged former Khmer Rouge leader.

Tuol Sleng Workers Dismantle Skull Map

March 11, 2002
After 23 years, Om Changoeun said goodbye Sunday morning. He rocked back and forth, his fingers stiff in prayer as four monks chanted, hoping to send the dead of Tuol Sleng to a peaceful, if delayed, rest.

The Weekly Dispatch

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