Washington Slaps Sanctions, Prince Takes Fire From Football Club, Rare Storks Rebound
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, November 12, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
TEEN FREED: The monthslong saga of the jailed 16-year-old son of an opposition figure has come to end with his release on a suspended sentence. Or has it? The young man has vowed to fight on.
FEVER PITCH: A legendary top-division French football club is kicking back at Prince Norodom Ravichak, who the club claims submitted forged bank documents in his attempt to buy the 88-year-old franchise.
DELUGE DEBATE: Phnom Penh’s recent flooding problems, according to some, were caused by the lack of lakes, long filled-in for their property value. Hun Sen said such critics were just jealous of the city’s progress.
THE LEDE
Sanctions Slap
Washington has dropped a hammer on Cambodia.
The Biden administration announced Wednesday it would reassess the Kingdom’s eligibility for preferential trade status, citing Cambodia’s rampant human rights abuses and endemic corruption. Without U.S. trade preferences, the Kingdom’s $7-billion garment industry would be decimated.
Will Prime Minister Hun Sen submit? No way. But he will surely relent. Look for the political master to ease up just enough to earn Washington’s approval without opening the door to real reform — just as he has done for decades.
Will Washington get hustled yet again? That remains unknown. But the fact that trade preferences are on the table suggests U.S. patience has its limits.
Disappointing, Naturally
Cambodia used its five minutes at the world’s premier climate summit to evade new commitments and disappoint environmentalists.
Minister of Environment Say Samal led Cambodia’s delegation to the U.N.’s climate change conference, known as COP26. In his turn at the podium, he rattled off a short list of the country’s achievements — new solar energy projects and a promise to stop building dams — and threw out a few buzzwords, but failed to commit to net-zero emissions or expand its forest protections.
It’s no surprise. The government is hostile to forestry watchdog groups, routinely jails environmental activists and clear cuts protected forests with impunity.
The U.K. ambassador called Say Samal’s speech “disappointing.”
Coming Home
Cambodia has put the global art world on notice. The Kingdom claims dozens of museums around the world possess stolen Khmer artifacts, and it wants them back.
Some institutions are listening: The Denver Art Museum promised to repatriate four Khmer statues it purchased from Douglas Latchford, the disgraced art dealer.
The U.S. Attorney's office in New York had filed a civil complaint seeking the return of the relics. The museum accused Latchford of an elaborate plot to obscure the statues’ origins and said it was unaware the antiquities had been looted.
TALKING POINTS
Canberra Calling
Hun Sen held talks with Australia’s top diplomat during her two-day visit, discussing trade, defense and other issues. The Australian foreign minister promised more than three million doses of Covid-19 vaccines. She also met with Kem Sokha, the opposition leader, and said her country was closely following the Kingdom’s human rights situation.
Water Woes
Critics who blamed recent Phnom Penh flooding on the capital’s filled-in lakes got a tongue-lashing from Hun Sen, who said the detractors were just jealous of his ability to bring “rapid development” to the country. In the city’s badly flooded Dangkor district, residents have asked the government for better flood mitigation, regardless of the cause.
Football Forgery
Saint-Etienne, the famous French football club, said Prince Norodom Ravichak submitted forged bank documents in his attempt to buy the top-division club. The team, founded in 1933, plans to file criminal charges.
Teen Released
Authorities released the teenage son of an opposition politician who had been jailed on incitement charges since June. The boy, Kak Sovannchhay, was convicted last week and given a partially suspended sentence. He promised to keep fighting for human rights and democracy.
Prenatal Fears
Health officials said pregnant women accounted for nearly 20% of Covid-19 deaths, and the real number could be higher. Authorities said unvaccinated mothers and inadequate healthcare services were to blame.
Casino Kidnap
Three Sihanoukville casino workers said their employer kidnapped them. They said they were lured by a Chinese man promising well-paid work but the money never came. The three have pleaded with relatives for help. Police have yet to investigate.
Sad Passing
Nguon Nhel, vice president of the National Assembly since 1998, died from illness. A lifelong CPP stalwart, he was also a member of the CPP’s powerful standing committee. He was 79.
Big Bird
Asian openbill storks in Prey Veng province are making a comeback. Local watchers said the storks were hammered earlier this year by avian flu, but the birds were now flourishing. Hundreds of thousands of birds nest in the area, a veritable utopia for bird watchers.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
CPP Official Denies Role in US Visa Scam
November 7, 2001
Nguon Nhel, a high-ranking CPP official and second vice president of the National Assembly, denied Tuesday that he participated in a US visa scam and showed reporters documents to support his claims.
Witnesses Say Guard Shot Mine Victim
November 7, 2001
Two witnesses from the scene of a recent shooting near the border Tuesday said Thai border police shot a Cambodian after he had been wounded by a land mine while illegally crossing the border.
US Course Shows Life Under Khmer Rouge
November 6, 2001
In this northern US state, far from the killing fields both in geography and culture, a handful of young Cambodian immigrants spend evenings at a wooded retreat to recreate a terrible period in their motherland’s history for the benefit of people who know nothing about Cambodia.
Policeman Beaten in Melee With Boat Racers
November 5, 2001
A military policeman was beaten unconscious with an oar on Thursday night when a riot broke out at the Water Festival between festivalgoers and a group of boatmen from Pea Reang district, Prey Veng province, police said.
Photo Credits: Sandstone bas relief, U.S. Justice Department. Asian openbill stork, Pixabay.