The Post Stops Printing, Diaspora Party Starts, Tep Vong Passes at 93
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, March 1, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
BAD PRESS: The arrival of two Japanese warships didn't stop Tokyo media from lambasting Hun Sen and his family. Among the comparisons: Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and Kim Jong Un.
LAKE FRONT: Dozens of Phnom Penh residents splashed in the not-so-pristine waters of Boeung Ta Mok to protest evictions and fishing bans. Several protesters were hurt as the fight reached a boil.
FINE PRINT: For the first time since 1992, The Phnom Penh Post will not publish a print edition, citing falling revenue and the rise of social media. The online news website will continue, but for how long?
THE LEDE
Waiting Game
Japan reaffirmed its position as the Kingdom’s chief ally outside the U.S.-Sino rivalry with the docking of two naval destroyers in Sihanoukville.
The visit highlights Japan’s intentions to take a more active security role in Southeast Asia, now that China is hobbled by an ailing economy and pulling back on Belt and Road initiatives. Like Washington, Tokyo wants to pry Cambodia from Beijing’s grip, and it views warming ties under Hun Manet as a key opportunity.
Does that mean Cambodia is thinking of life after China? Probably not. But Tokyo sure will — and it plans to be ready when the break comes, no matter how long it takes.
Dollar Diplomacy
After six months of Hun Manet, the world is reaching conclusions about Cambodia’s new government — and they are not flattering.
Japanese media placed the Hun clan in league with some of the late 20th Century’s most repulsive dictators, including Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi. Others, pointing to the Kingdom’s long ties with Russia, have compared the Hun family to the Kims of North Korea.
The world’s major democracies haven’t seemed to notice. The U.S. offered to resume military training and aid, while Australia will host Hun Manet next week.
Business is business, after all.
Green Fees
Forest rangers destroyed crops and burned homes while forcibly evicting dozens of ethnic Chong communities from the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project, a prominent carbon offset program once praised as a model of environmental conservation.
The government and Wildlife Alliance, according to Human Rights Watch, have earned at least $18 million selling carbon credits to global titans like Delta Airlines and Bayer, while excluding the Chong from decisions about spending and forest management.
Human Rights Watch urged the group to enact a formal revenue sharing plan and demanded the government quickly issue land titles, which were promised long ago. Wildlife Alliance disputes the allegations.
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TALKING POINTS
Lake Fight
Around 40 residents plunged waist-deep into muddy waters to stop officials from dismantling homes and fishing nets from the shores of Phnom Penh’s largest lake. Police blocked an ambulance and denied medical care to several injured in the scuffle. The protesters, mostly women, are the last holdouts at Boeung Ta Mok, where authorities and residents have clashed for years over plans to develop the area.
New Stage
Mu Sochua is not going quietly. The exiled opposition leader announced the launch of a new organization, the Khmer Movement for Democracy, which will work to unify the Khmer diaspora. People need to stand up, she said, and quit being afraid.
White Gold
The Ministry of Agriculture pledged to prop up rice prices. The value of the staple grain is down compared to last year, and authorities fear a bumper March harvest will cause further price declines and devour farmers’ profits.
Price Pain
Costly tourist visas and poor marketing are hampering the tourism rebound, according to AirAsia Cambodia, which offered a number of recommendations to boost the sector. Relaxing the $30 fee for ASEAN-based expats, for example, could increase arrivals by 10% and encourage visitors to spend an additional $15 per day.
Paper Cuts
The Phnom Penh Post announced it would stop publishing printed editions this month. The publication, which started as a fortnightly in July 1992, will continue reporting in English and Khmer online.
Misspelled Youth
Education officials are alarmed by the deteriorating usage of the Khmer language on social media, where conversations are littered with awful grammar and spelling. The Ministry of Education urged parents and teachers to guide students on proper communication.
Spiritual Path
Tep Vong, the Kingdom’s most senior religious leader, who played a vital role in rebuilding Cambodian Buddhism after the Khmer Rouge, died of natural causes at 93. Vong was the youngest of seven monks ordained after Pol Pot’s defeat and his elevation in the clergy was intertwined with the rise of the CPP. He was granted the title Great Supreme Patriarch in 2006.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Wife of Dead 90 FM Director Loses Station
February 27, 2004
The ownership dispute over Radio 90 FM intensified as the station was abruptly cut off Thursday afternoon, as police enforced a Municipal Court decision to strip ownership rights from the wife of the station’s late director.
Fear Sending Many Cambodians Into Exile
February 27, 2004
When men in uniform came to her door, Choen Sochoeun would cry, according to a close relative. Widowed since pro-Funcinpec journalist Chuor Chetharith was shot dead in October, she felt haunted at every step, the relative said.
Western Men Targeted in Sling-Shot Attacks
February 24, 2004
Police are investigating a spate of slingshot attacks apparently targeting Western men in the vicinity of Phnom Penh’s popular waterfront area.
Photo: Cardamom mountains, via WikiMedia.
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