Stricter Omicron Rules, An Unlucky Okhna and Hun Sen’s Ticket to Washington
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, February 11, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
OPEN ARMS: Hun Sen, after nearly 40 years in power, has finally received an invitation to meet an American president in Washington D.C.
MEA CULPA: Hun Sen’s star-crossed Myanmar tactics took another hit as he publicly rolled back claims of helping free an imprisoned Australian.
SOLE SURVIVOR: She served four years for throwing a shoe at a billboard of Hun Sen. Upon release, she was given 24 hours to pay a $2,500 fine — and pulled it off.
THE LEDE
Party Fever
Health officials renewed calls for vigilance against the ultra-contagious Omicron variant as cases spiked after Chinese New Year.
New infections have doubled since the Feb. 1 holiday. Prime Minister Hun Sen said lax enforcement of existing rules facilitated the surge, and he urged businesses to strictly follow health regulations. He stopped short of demanding closures or other harsh measures that could disrupt the economy.
Tourism officials have reissued guidelines for nightlife venues that required patrons to show vaccination cards and submit to contract-tracing measures. Such rules have been around for months, but rarely enforced.
Quarantine Kibosh
Authorities found the hammer they needed for NagaWorld protesters.
Citing Covid-19 laws, authorities arrested three union members and ordered hundreds into home quarantine, effectively killing a monthslong workers’ strike at the Hong Kong-listed gaming giant’s Phnom Penh complex.
The order leaves the union with few moves. The casino has spurned Arbitration Council rulings in the workers’ favor, and the Ministry of Labor has declined to intervene in their case. Union members now face what appear to be arbitrary arrests under the pretense of Covid-19 laws.
The union had promised to protest until its demands were met. Jail threats will test their resolve.
Tumbling Tycoon
The luckless tale of Oknha Duong Ngeap reads like a Thai soap opera.
His estranged wife gambled away $500,000 betting on the rain. His business partners disappeared with millions. And the court, where he is charged with fraud, fleeced him for unofficial fees.
In desperation, the three-star general turned to the place Cambodia’s powerful always painstakingly scrutinize — Facebook — where he pleaded to Hun Sen for justice.
His appeals could bring more bad luck. Publicly accusing a sitting judge of extortion is no trifling matter. Many are doing time in Prey Sar for far less.
TALKING POINTS
Australian Gambit
Hun Sen’s diplomatic joyride into regional peace-building hit another pothole, forcing the strongman to issue a rare mea culpa. Hun Sen this week claimed Myanmar’s military government had freed a jailed Australian economics adviser — a move prompted in part by his own diplomatic prowess. Myanmar quickly denied the release.
American Prestige
Hun Sen will visit Washington later this year for a special summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and ASEAN leaders. The Biden administration hopes to rekindle its relationship with the region after years of chill. A date has not been announced.
Japan Visit
Hun Manet, the prime minister’s eldest son and heir apparent, is scheduled to meet the Japanese prime minister in Tokyo this month. Cambodia is the 2022 ASEAN chair, and Japan wants to increase coordination with the Kingdom on regional security and the Myanmar crisis. Hun Manet has long been groomed to assume his father’s role as leader of the nation.
Noble Descent
The royalist Funcinpec party elected Prince Norodom Chakravuth — the eldest son of the late Norodom Ranariddh — to lead the group after the death of his father. Founded in 1985 by Norodom Sihanouk, the party was once a potent force in Cambodian politics. It lost its way after dozens of leaders were killed in 1997 factional fighting.
Court Snafu
The court postponed Kem Sokha’s treason trial until Feb. 16 after a government attorney tested positive for Covid-19. The infection sent the prosecution’s entire legal team into quarantine. Kem Sokha, the former opposition party president, was arrested in 2017 and charged with trying to overthrow the government.
Freedom Loan
A Kampong Speu woman who spent four years in prison for throwing a shoe at a Hun Sen billboard was given just 24 hours after her release to pay a $2,500 fine — or spend another six months behind bars. She borrowed the money.
Bad Lieutenant
A prison official dismissed for taking $71,000 in bribes was transferred to the Ministry of Interior, where he was made an adviser. Several families had accused Lieutenant General In Reaksmey Rithea of selling them police jobs that never materialized.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Voters Say CPP Officials Tried to Buy Votes
February 7, 2002
Voters in Battambang province say CPP officials appeared in their villages in the days before the election bearing gifts of rice and riel.
Film Shows Power of Love During KR Years
February 6, 2002
A 1996 film that documents a true story of love in the time of the Khmer Rouge now has a chance to teach Cambodia’s younger generation about Khmer history and the power of love.
US Group Blames Gov’t for Election Violence
February 5, 2002
A US-based organization Monday declared that Sunday’s commune elections were not free or fair, and blamed the Cambodian government for the violence and lack of equitable media coverage during the pre-election period.
Observer Stabbed, Shot to Death; Candidate Found Hanged
February 4, 2002
Two more deaths with possible political connections were reported as Cambodians went to the polls.
WEEKEND READS
To Save a Dying Lake, Mekong Nations Must Act as One
Mekong nations must act collectively to preserve Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake, its fisheries and the livelihoods that depend on them. If not, human-made problems of illegal fishing, hydropower dams and climate change will spell disaster for millions.