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The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has issued the second weather long term forecast for Cambodia in 2023 – and it says hot weather will continue till August with the rainy season having less rain than 2022. The Ministry advises Cambodians that there may be more dry season, so people should use water sparingly and be very careful when it rains and the wind blows. The forecast results show that: 1. Global Phenomena Based on the Global Alert on Pacific Ocean Temperature Indicators show that in 2023, from May to August, Cambodia will be affected by the El Nino heat phenomena, which is a transitional phenomenon between El Nino and La Nina. From September to November, the El Nino phenomenon may increase by 70% to 80% and the Neutral phenomenon by 20% to 30%. 2. Rainy season 2023 A- Early rainy season: The rainy season of 2023 will arrive in the second week of May later than 2022, with light to moderate rainfall and scattered rainfall. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501277806/ministry-issues-long-term-2023-weather-forecast-for-cambodia-less-rain-more-high-temperatures/

Former Cambodian wildlife official makes his first court appearance since his November arrest in New York. The former head of Cambodia’s Department of Wildlife and Biodiversity should not be held responsible for illegally smuggling research monkeys because he was acting on orders of his government and not in a personal capacity, his lawyers have argued in a U.S. government case against him. Moreover, the U.S. case against Masphal Kry is tantamount to an attack on the Cambodian government, his defense lawyers argued, calling the indictment “a full-on assault on a foreign ministry.” U.S. Justice Department officials said Kry and seven other individuals were running a smuggling operation involving hundreds of long-tail macaques - a primate key for medical studies - poached from the wild in Cambodia and shipped illegally to the U.S. Kry, who has been under house arrest since he was apprehended at New York’s JFK airport in November 2022, made his first court appearance at an evidentiary hearing in Miami on Friday. Officials in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida have accused Kry of taking monkeys from the national parks and other locations in Cambodia and then falsifying permits, making it seem as though the animals had been raised in a breeding facility - the only legal place where the research primates can be sourced from. The prosecutors accused him of being part of a conspiracy in which monkeys were sold with inaccurate export permits to the U.S. The prosecutors accused Kry and his associates of trying to make it seem as though the monkeys had been bred in captivity, when in fact the monkeys had been caught in the wild. Prosecutors said that Kry and his associates concocted a scheme to sell the monkeys. He and his associates have each been charged with seven counts of smuggling and one count of conspiracy. Masphal Kry, the former head of Cambodia’s Department of Wildlife and Biodiversity. Credit: Masphal Kry Facebook On Friday, a judge, Lisette Reid, considered whether some of the evidence gathered by federal investigators could be admitted at trial. The lawyers argued about the circumstances of Kry’s arrest at Kennedy International Airport in New York in November, and whether information that he provided to an investigator on that day can be admitted. At the airport, Kry was read his Miranda rights (his right to have a lawyer present and to remain silent). But his lawyers said that he does not speak or understand English well enough to have comprehended the full meaning of his rights. If he was not aware of his rights, then the information he shared cannot be admitted. The prosecutors said that he was told of his rights, and that he was given a translation of his rights in the Khmer language. Therefore, they said, the evidence can be admitted. Kry, sitting next to an interpreter, listened intently to their arguments. He wore a dark suit and white socks, with an electronic ankle bracelet - a GPS tracking device - bulging under one of his socks. Outside the courthouse, animal rights activists, holding signs (“End Monkey Smuggling”) and wearing cardboard monkey faces, stood in a line. “Hunters in Cambodia are taking mothers away from their babies,” said Amanda Brody, a senior campaigner for an organization, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), referring to the captured animals. “We’re standing here in solidarity with the monkeys.” Protecting public spaces? Ahead of Friday’s hearing, Kry’s lawyers sought to have the indictment dismissed, arguing that he was following the Cambodian government’s request to obtain monkeys from “public spaces,” places where monkeys are a nuisance for local residents. In fact, Cambodian officials viewed the capture of the monkeys as a service to the people who live in these areas. Local authorities had wanted the monkeys removed, the lawyers claimed. Kry was fulfilling his duties as a wildlife official and U.S. prosecutors are attempting “to criminalize public acts by a foreign government employee that occurred entirely within that foreign country.” “These public acts are legal under Cambodian law,” said the defense lawyers. Experts say the argument has little credibility as the issue is not whether poaching monkeys is legal under Cambodian domestic law, but that Kry and his conspirators faked import documents to pretend that the provenance of the macaques was legitimate. This would be illegal under U.S. law and under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which Cambodia has signed. The defense's argument "epitomizes the Cambodian government's way of thinking — it’s not illegal if the government says it’s not," said Ed Newcomer, a former U.S. Fish and Wildlife investigator. "[But] Cambodia is a signatory to CITES and, as such, has to follow CITES rules if they want to export their wildlife." Long-tailed macaques, highly intelligent creatures prized in research for their biological similarity to humans, are protected under international trade law, and their handlers need a permit to ship them to the U.S. They were added to the endangered species list in 2022 amid increased poaching as demand for the primates surged in the midst of the COVID pandemic. The biggest market is the U.S. From 2000 to 2018, the U.S. imported between 41.7% and 70.1% of the total annual trade, according to a forthcoming article in the International Federation of Tropical Medicine journal. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/us-cambodia-monkey-smuggling-04212023182723.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Information minister criticized for a recent sexist Facebook post. Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday publicly lashed out at Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith and other top government officials for not being responsive to his online messages – and also called out Kanharith for a sexist online comment that recently caused an uproar. “I want to talk about the ministers’ Telegram group,” the prime minister said at a Phnom Penh hospital, referring to an instant messaging app. “When I sent my messages in the group, it took them seven days to get it. And they just responded ‘thank you.’ “These kinds of people, why do they need a phone? Some of the ministers are lazy.” Hun Sen said the 71-year-old Kanharith was the worst, sometimes taking 15 days to answer a message. “He is the minister of information but he doesn’t read the news,” the prime minister said. “I don’t know what to say. He posts on Facebook constantly but doesn’t look at WhatsApp and Telegram.” Kanharith, a former newspaper editor and legislator who has served in top roles at the ministry for nearly 30 years, was heavily criticized on his Facebook page this week after he posted a photo showing a man spraying a water toy gun at a woman’s breast while she drove a motorbike during Khmer New Year. His comment next to the photo said: “What a really nice shot!” The post received over 15,000 reactions, 1,300 shares and 870 comments. ‘Not just this photo’ Kanharith’s posting negatively affects the dignity of women, said Mean Lisa, a member of the Mother Nature NGO. “It’s not just this single photo,” she said. “In the past, this information minister has posted photos implying sexual harassment on women. He shouldn’t make fun out of that. It creates a bad example.” Information Ministry spokesman Meas Sophoan couldn’t be reached for comment. Radio Free Asia sent several messages to Kanharith but didn’t receive a response. Khmer Student Intelligent League Association president Keut Saray urged Hun Sen to re-educate his ministers by prohibiting Kanharith from posting any more inappropriate photos. “He is a public figure who is the servant of the people and an example for his subordinates. He should act as a good role model for Cambodians in general, especially journalists,” he said. ‘People are disappointed’ Additionally, the prime minister should also be blamed when his ministers don’t respond in a timely fashion to his messages, Keut Saray said. It looks like Hun Sen doesn’t effectively manage his ministers but instead runs the government like a family, he said. Hun Sen on Thursday also called out Soy Sokha, the secretary general at the Office of the Council of Ministers, for being slow to reply. He also said that Minister of Planning Chhay Thorn and government adviser Ek Sam Ol were quick to respond to his messages but didn’t seem to closely read the content of the messages. If ministers can’t respond to Hun Sen on time, how can they be trusted to respond to the needs of the people? asked Vorn Pov, president of the Independent Democracy of Information Economic Association. The prime minister should look into reshuffling inactive ministers after the upcoming July parliamentary election, if the CPP wins, he said. “People are tired of lagging services. People are disappointed in relying on ministers,” he said. Translated by Samean Yun and Keo Sovannarith. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/ministers-messages-04202023151752.html

Phnom Penh — Cambodian leader Hun Sen's eldest son was officially promoted to the rank of four-star general Thursday, in another sign of plans for him to succeed his father. Hun Sen has publicly backed Hun Manet to lead the kingdom in the future. Hun Manet, who is commander of the army, received the four-star rank at a ceremony attended by more than 1,000 senior military officials. Defense minister Tea Banh, who presided over the ceremony, said Hun Manet's promotion reflected his efforts "to serve the nation, military and Cambodian people." Hun Manet — who was educated in Britain and the United States — has been officially backed by the ruling party as a future prime minister and has been active on social media in recent months to increase his public profile. The 45-year-old has also had more diplomatic meetings with senior political figures than before, according to the Lowy Institute's Asia Power Index. In 2022 he met 10 world leaders, deputy leaders and foreign ministers, compared with only two in 2019, the institute said. He will run for a parliamentary seat when Cambodia goes to the polls in July this year, according to a party document seen by AFP. Hun Sen, who has ruled the country for 38 years, has repeatedly hinted at stepping down but has said he will run for office again in the coming election. The prime minister, who has wound back democratic freedoms and used the courts to stifle opposition, frequently characterizes his children's achievements as the product of education and training and rejects claims of nepotism. At the last general election in 2018, Hun Sen's party won every seat in parliament after the Supreme Court dissolved the main opposition, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) a year before. https://www.voanews.com/a/cambodia-pm-hun-sen-s-son-becomes-four-star-general/7058435.html

Report from provincial police calls shooting an ‘accidental discharge.’ Witnesses said a top local police officer shot a man during a raid on an illegal cock fight, but police later said that the gunshot came from an accidental discharge – which angered the victim’s family. Witnesses said Seang Bunnal, the deputy police chief in Prey Veng province’s Ban Phnom district, led a group of officers in the raid over the Khmer New Years holiday weekend. Seang Bunnal fired his pistol, hitting San Vicheca, a 36-year-old farmer, witnesses said. San Vicheca had been watching the cockfighting and was sitting on a motorbike when he was struck, his brother said. The brother, San Tola, told Radio Free Asia that San Vicheca was being treated at a hospital in Vietnam. Doctors have been unable to remove the bullet and he may be permanently paralyzed, San Tola said. San Vicheca lies on the ground after being shot during a cockfight raid in Prey Veng Province, Ban Phnom District, on April 15, 2023. (Citizen Journalist photo) After the shooting, a group of people and journalists stopped Seang Bunnal. He was detained and later released, witnesses said Prey Veng Provincial Deputy Police Chief Prak Chanthet wrote a report this week to National Police Commissioner Neth Savoeun that called the shooting an accident. Seang Bunnal is still being investigated and the case hasn’t been sent to court officials yet, Prak Chanthet said. San Vicheca’s family continues to insist that the shooting wasn’t an accident. They also say that he didn't fight with police during the raid. Seang Bunnal refused to talk to RFA when reached for comment, citing the ongoing investigation. Police should only use lethal weapons when they’re fired upon, Adhoc spokesman Soeung Sen Karuna told RFA. But if the other party doesn’t have a weapon, it’s illegal to shoot at them, he said. “There should be a good reason,” he said. “Police can’t just use lethal weapons. The victim was shot from behind which meant the victim was afraid.” Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/cockfighting-raid-shooting-04202023172025.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

The charges are similar to those facing other Candlelight Party officials who switched from a smaller party. A provincial court ordered the arrest of two senior Candlelight Party officials on fraud charges, the latest such charges – which critics called politically motivated – that stem from political party registration documents filed last year. Seng Visal, the Candlelight Party’s finance officer in Prey Veng province, and Bin Chhong, a commune council member in Prey Veng, were arrested and charged with submitting fraudulent documents to the Ministry of Interior for last year’s local commune election candidate lists. The two officials were members of the National Heart Party at the time. They have since switched their allegiance to the Candlelight Party – the main opposition party and the biggest threat to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. The CPP filed the complaint against the two officials as a way of intimidating opposition party activists ahead of the July parliamentary elections, said Dim Yun, the executive director for the Candlelight Party in Prey Veng. “I am very disappointed with the arrest. This is very inappropriate. During the election, the government should allow more political parties and not arrest any party’s activists,” he said. “This is not about criminal offenses, it is a politically motivated case to intimidate opposition party officials in Prey Veng.” Four other Candlelight Party officials have been arrested on similar charges in recent weeks. In previous similar cases, the Ministry of Interior has said that the National Heart Party collected several hundred forged thumbprints on documents it filed when it registered ahead of the 2022 commune elections. Seng Visal and Bin Chhong ahead of their arrest on fraud charges at Prey Veng Provincial Court. (Image grab from a Citizen journalist video) Aimed at intimidation But any problems that the ministry had with last year’s candidate lists should have already been resolved, said Am Sam Ath of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, or Licadho. “These arrests will lead to criticism saying the arrests were aimed at intimidating the opposition party officials who will compete in the election,” he said. Seng Visal and Bin Chhong were questioned at Prey Veng provincial court for four hours before their arrest, their lawyer Sam Sokong told Radio Free Asia. They are being held without bail even though their alleged crime is minor and they have full-time jobs, he said. “According to the law, they have permanent jobs – particularly Bin Chhong, who is a commune councilor – so they should be safe to be released on bail,” he said. Outside the courthouse, about 50 supporters gathered to show solidarity with the officials before they went inside the court for questioning. After the questioning, Presiding Judge Hem Krishna ordered the arrests and that Seng Visal and Bin Chhong be detained while they await trial. Later, Prey Veng Provincial Prison Department officials refused to allow a defense lawyer and party officials to see them. Court spokesman Ath Sokhon refused to comment when contacted by RFA. Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/prey-veng-candlelight-arrests-04192023170153.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

PHNOM PENH, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia reported 1.26 million air travelers during the first quarter of 2023, up 549 percent from only 195,000 passengers over the same period last year, said the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation's report released on Wednesday. The report said international and domestic airlines had operated 12,091 flights to the kingdom's three international airports during the January-March period this year, up 199 percent from 4,043 flights over the same period last year. The State Secretariat of Civil Aviation's Undersecretary of State and Spokesman Sinn Chanserey Vutha said the Southeast Asian country is projected to attract some 4.6 million air passengers this year, an expected sharp increase from 2.38 million last year. "For 2023, we predict that the number of air passengers will be doubled thanks to China's reopening," he told Xinhua. He said China's optimization of its anti-COVID-19 strategy and resumption of its outbound group tours earlier this year have injected fresh impetus into the development of the aviation industry. According to the spokesman, the aviation sector generated 1.7 million direct and indirect jobs, and contributed nearly 17 percent to the country's total gross domestic product. http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2023-04/19/content_85239675.htm

Cambodia will be the first host country in SEA Games history to cover all expenses from meals and transport to accommodation for participating nations in the event next month. In an announcement on Tuesday to the sports delegations attending the Games, the Cambodia Olympic Committee said that following the direction of Prime Minister Hun Sen, the hosts would cover all meals, accommodation and transport for the participants, as long as the schedule of the delegations remains the same as previously registered. This is unprecedented in the history of the SEA Games. Initially, Cambodia planned to collect $50 per person per day, like in the previous editions of the Games. Cambodia's decision will help 11 sports delegations attending SEA Games 32 save a huge amount of money. For example, the Vietnamese sports delegation with 1,003 people will save over $50,000 per day. read more https://e.vnexpress.net/news/sports/sea-games-32-cambodia-to-cover-all-expenses-for-participating-nations-4595492.html

Two Irrawaddy dolphin calves have been recorded since early this year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) said in a news release on Tuesday. The first calf recorded this year was on March 1. The second dolphin calf was spotted on April 15. Both calves were spotted at the Kampi dolphin pool in northeastern Kratie province. Seng Teak, World Wildlife Fund Cambodia country director, said yesterday that the birth of the new Irrawaddy dolphins shows that the “great task of the conservation team” is showing progress. “I hope this year there will be more dolphins giving birth,” he said. He added the conservation team has not yet had to evict any fisherman from the conservation area this year. Teak said that management of the dolphin sanctuary is strictly enforced in accordance with the government’s sub-decree through a policy of education, outreach and patrol. “We are seeing now that this strict area management strategy helps dolphins reproduce since we are protecting their breeding grounds,” he said. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501275974/two-dolphin-calves-observed-in-the-mekong/

The Ministry of Environment (MoE), the Embassy of Japan, GIZ implemented 3RproMar Project and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organised the 3rd National Forum on “Combatting Plastic Pollution in Cambodia” earlier this month. This forum brought together more than 250 people from the government, development partners and NGOs, the private sector, academia, and the arts. The main purposes were to share Cambodia’s efforts to combat plastic pollution, to feature creative awareness-raising initiatives, and to introduce innovative circular businesses for tackling plastic pollution. Cambodia’s recent rapid economic and population growth has drastically increased plastic waste, with many negative impacts on Cambodia’s environment and public health. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501274385/combatting-plastic-pollution-in-cambodia/

PHNOM PENH, April 15 (Bernama-Xinhua): Hundreds of thousands of Cambodian migrant workers left the capital Phnom Penh since last week for their home provinces to celebrate the traditional New Year holiday, which started from Friday and ends on Monday. Phnom Penh governor Khuong Sreng said that on the advice of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, the Phnom Penh City Hall has arranged 345 city buses to ferry people from the capital to provinces and vice versa for free-of-charge from April 13-17, reported Xinhua. "The move is to prevent private bus companies and taxi drivers from raising fees and to reduce travel costs for people who visit their hometowns during the New Year holiday period," he said during a visit to a city bus station. The city bus fleet includes 98 Yutong "smart" buses donated by the Chinese government in July 2017. read more https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2023/04/16/cambodians-flock-to-hometowns-to-celebrate-traditional-new-year-holiday-weekend

Elaborate event criticized as costly use of national budget. Prime Minister Hun Sen and his youngest son kicked off a lavish Khmer New Year celebration at the Angkor temples complex on Friday as several thousand volunteers set a world record for the largest display of origami hearts. The arrangement of more than 3.9 million origami hearts at the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Siem Reap province was organized by Hun Many, the chairman of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia and a parliamentary candidate in the upcoming July general election. “Cambodia has between 16 and 17 million people. We can make about 4 million hearts, so if China and India can make more hearts then the committee must consider,” the prime minister said, referring to the Guinness World Records officials who determine whether a record has been set. “They must think about the percent of the country’s population.” The Angkor Sangkran 2023 celebration near Angkor Wat temple – Cambodia’s top tourist attraction – has been decorated with lights, souvenir shops, food stalls, concerts and floating boats. Volunteers from the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, which is made up of supporters of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, did much of the work for the event. But the festival hasn’t done anything to promote the country’s culture, political analyst Kim Sok told Radio Free Asia. Money was spent out of the national budget and civil servants were put to work just to make people happy ahead of the election, he said. “Hun Sen doesn’t think about the country and its people. He organized the event for his face and for his family,” he said. Hun Many is currently a lawmaker from Kampong Speu province. Hun Sen’s eldest son, Hun Manet, has also been named a parliamentary candidate. He is currently the deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and is expected to eventually succeed his father as prime minister. Left: A scene from the Angkor Sangkran festivities. Right: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife, Bun Rany, look at part of the world’s largest display of origami hearts at the Angkor Sankram festival on April 14, 2023. Nearly 4 million folded hearts were created at the Angkor Wat temple ahead of the new year. Credit: Hun Sen Facebook page Another Guinness record attempt A member of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, Kean Savong, told RFA that another world record will be attempted at the festival on Saturday, when thousands of people will gather to do the Madison line dance. “People are volunteers so we don’t spend much money,” he said. A villager from Siem Reap province, Siem Vann, said Angkor Sangkran will make people happy for a short time but won’t really do anything to help the country when so many people are facing financial difficulties, are indebted to banks or are considering moving abroad to find work. He urged the government to think about increasing local markets for farmers and resolving political conflict. “The government should use the budget to appropriately help the poor and restore democracy so that people will have freedom,” he said. Siem Reap authorities wouldn’t elaborate on how much the event will cost, but the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia said private donations from rich businessmen known by the honorific “Okhna” will cover most of the expenses. Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Matt Reed. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/hun-sen-khmer-new-year-04142023163431.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

As Cambodian families usher in Khmer New Year with their loved ones, those of hundreds of migrant workers do not even know if they will ever be able to see them again. The National Committee for Counter Trafficking (NCCT) has asked Cambodian embassies to help trace more than 600 migrant workers whose families claim have gone missing abroad. Chou Bun Eng, a secretary of state of the Ministry of Interior and vice-chairwoman of the NCCT, said yesterday that “We are looking for cooperation with countries where Cambodians go to work, to help provide information on these migrants whose families are unable to contact.” “I think it will be a difficult task because some of the workers may have gone to work illegally and used different names or do not have documents of identification with them,” she said. Bun Eng said that some of the “missing” migrants could also be working on ships and their families are unable to contact them because they are out at sea for long periods of time and have no means of communication. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/1272463/missing-cambodians-families-of-over-600-migrant-workers-unable-to-contact-them/

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Cambodia to be among the best-performing economies in East Asia and the Pacific this year alongside the Philippines and Vietnam. In its annual World Economic Outlook released in Washington Tuesday, the IMF said the Philippine economy was forecast to expand 6.0 percent – the fastest pace among the 15 members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement. Cambodia ranked equal second with Vietnam, with both economies projected to grow 5.8 percent. Other projections were 5.2 percent for China, 5.0 percent for Indonesia, 4.5 percent for Malaysia, 4.0 percent for Laos, 3.4 percent for Thailand, 3.3 percent for Brunei, 2.6 percent for Myanmar, 1.6 percent for Australia, 1.5 percent for both South Korea and Singapore, 1.3 percent for Japan and 1.1 percent for New Zealand. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501272841/cambodia-among-three-most-robust-rcep-economies-this-year-says-imf/

The move is the latest in controversy with Thailand over name of the martial art. At Prime Minister Hun Sen’s behest, Cambodia has granted a Brazilian kickboxer and his wife citizenship for promoting Kun Khmer, the national sport, in the latest development in a controversy with Thailand, which calls the sport Muay Thai. Hun Sen also gave a U.S.$20,000 sponsorship to Thiago Teixeira, 34, who with his wife Roma Maria Rozanska-Steffen, an American citizen, became naturalized Cambodian citizens by King Norodom Sihamoni through a royal decree dated April 11, the Phnom Penh Post reported. The announcement came after the World Muay Thai Organization, or WMO, stripped Teixeira of a middleweight title that he won at the Apex Fight Series on April 1 in Germany, during which he waved Cambodia’s flag. Teixeira had said he wanted to represent Kun Khmer instead of being a Muay Thai fighter, despite training in the Thai sport for years. The two martial art forms — the most popular sports in their respective countries — are nearly identical and involve punching, kneeing and kicking opponents. But Cambodians argue that the sport originated from their culture, while Thais say it belongs to them. Cambodia has removed Muay Thai from a list of sports included in this year’s Southeast Asia Games, replacing it with Kun Khmer, amid a larger push for the national sport to gain international recognition. The biennial sports event will be held in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on May 5-17. Political ploy? Critics said the prime minister was using the issue to try to increase his popularity among Cambodian voters ahead of July’s general election. Legal expert Vorn Chan Lout said Cambodia should be extra cautious before granting citizenship to foreigners because the law requires them to live in the country for three years and understand its culture to be eligible. “Politicians are smart to take advantage of events, but the most important thing is the government needs to have a long-term vision in order to pay gratitude to all athletes,” he said. Cambodia’s Citizenship Law allows foreigners to acquire citizenship through marriage and naturalization, though they must stay in the Southeast Asian nation for three years. Am Sam Ath of Licadho said Hun Sen’s government should support Cambodia’s home-grown martial arts athletes rather than foreign ones. “I urge the government to pay attention to Kun Khmer and to encourage athletes with sufficient training so they are able to fight,” he said. Cambodian kickboxers have complained that they are underpaid in the sport. Veteran Kun Khmer fighter Vong Noy said he stopped fighting because his earnings from the sport were not enough to support his family or pay medical bills for injuries he sustained during fights. “I stopped fighting now because I have been fighting for many years,” he wrote on Facebook. “I got famous, but I am facing financial issues, and I’m afraid that I will become disabled and not make enough money to raise my children.” RFA could not reach Teixeira for comment, but he told local media during a press conference in Phnom Penh after signing a contract with the World Champion Kun Khmer Club, that he already considered Cambodia his home and he would help promote Kun Khmer to the rest of the world. Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/brazilian-kickboxer-04122023165736.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Despite concerns over the ability of Cambodia to reintroduce tigers which have gone extinct, the Ministry of Environment says Cambodia now is ready and will soon import the first group of the big cats from India. However, a conservation NGO working on the project said the Indian government certainly will not provide tigers until they are assured that there will be a safe environment for them in Cambodia. The last tiger to be spotted in Cambodia was photographed by a camera trap in 2007 in the Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri province. Wildlife experts declared the animal extinct in the country in 2016. Speaking during a press conference to launch the Zero Snare Campaign Phase II in Pursat province on Friday, Ministry of Environment Secretary of State Neth Pheaktra said Cambodia would “soon” be importing tigers from India to reintroduce in Cambodia’s protected area. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501270535/tiger-concerns-cambodia-doing-its-best-to-make-a-home-for-indian-big-cats/

An average Cambodian can now live six years longer, said the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO). A joint press statement by the Ministry of Health and WHO on Friday said Cambodia’s life expectancy has increased to 76. Cambodia has made significant progress in its health sector and this has contributed to the well-being of the people. “Life expectancy has constantly been on a rise in Cambodia, and in 2021 and 2022, Cambodia’s life expectancy was 76 years old,” the statement said. In 2020, the life expectancy of a Cambodian was 70.42 years. In March, the government held talks with WHO, focused on strengthening the health system toward Universal Health Coverage and expanding social protection, both of which are vital to achieving the targets set in Cambodia’s Sustainable Development Goals. Health Minister Mam Bun Heng said Cambodia will continue to boost its primary healthcare with the collaboration of WHO to secure a healthy and safe future for all Cambodians. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501270542/life-expectancy-increases-to-76/

A British man was found face down in a sewer in a residential area not usually frequented by tourists in Kampot around 90 miles from the capital of Phnom Penh, Cambodia The 30-year-old man, who is thought to be from Bristol, was found by shocked locals in Kampot province, around 90 miles from the capital Phnom Penh on Thursday afternoon. He was wearing a pair of black trainers and black shorts but did not have anything on his upper body. Locals tried to rouse him but he reportedly had no signs of life. Pictures show residents had pulled him up onto the grass next to the drainage ditch and turned him onto his back. He was surrounded by thick grass several metres from the nearest road. Police arrived shortly after he was found at around 4pm local time. They pronounced him dead at the scene and his body was taken away for a police post-mortem examination. Shocked resident Bong Chea, one of the neighbours who gathered round his body said: “The man was dead when we found him. Somebody moved him to check if he was alive and try and wake him up. He was already dead. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501270042/british-national-30-found-dead-lying-face-down-in-a-sewer-in-cambodia-shrouded-in-mystery/

Opposition activists gathered to demand release of arrested party officials. About 100 activists with the main opposition Candlelight Party started a protest on Friday in Phnom Penh – their first demonstration in several years – but police quickly confronted and dispersed them, claiming they were causing a traffic jam. The activists gathered in front of the party’s headquarters to demand the release of recently arrested party officials. The city had refused to give them permission to protest at Freedom Park, the location of previous rallies against Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government, the party’s Youth Movement President Thorn Chantha said. Party organizers have faced threats and harassment as they prepare for July’s parliamentary elections. Party Vice President Thach Setha, for example, was arrested in January on charges of writing false checks. Her lawyers filed another request for bail earlier this week. “We also would like the political space to be opened ahead of the election to show the international and national community is acceptable,” said Thorn Chantha. “There should be fair competition. While other parties have the right to do everything, the Candlelight Party is being restricted.” Separately, Thorn Chantha said he was assaulted on Thursday by two unknown people after he ordered coffee. He said he was struck with a baton on his shoulder. The assailants then followed him as he was fleeing in his car and smashed his driver’s window with a rock, he said. “This violence is to intimidate opposition party activists who dare to conduct political activities ahead of the election,” Thorn Chantha said. ‘People understand their rights’ Police from the city’s Sen Sok district pushed the protesters away from the party’s headquarters, and activists eventually agreed to move off the street and into the party's headquarters, said Rong Chhun, a labor leader who recently became the party’s vice president. “We were protesting on the pavement, but the traffic was flowing. The accusation is unjustified,” he said. “This shows that they restrict freedom of speech and assembly.” There was no violence between police and protesters, he said. District officials invited him to a meeting on Monday to discuss the demonstration, which he told Radio Free Asia he would attend. But he urged NGOs and diplomats to monitor what takes place. “This was yet another image of repression to scare the youths and to scare people into not expressing themselves,” he said. “But people understand their rights and the law now. The more they scare us, the more people will join us.” Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/candlelight-party-protest-04072023163504.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Nineteen Japanese men detained in Cambodia in January on suspicion of taking part in organized phone and online scams will be deported to their homeland, a Cambodian immigration police officer said Friday. Arrangements for their return are being made by the Japanese Embassy in Cambodia, but so far no date has been set, Immigration Police spokesperson Gen. Keo Vanthan told The Associated Press. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported Friday that Tokyo police have obtained arrest warrants for the 19 Japanese on suspicion of running phone scams from Cambodia targeting people in Japan. NHK said Cambodian authorities who searched the men’s hotel rooms “discovered a list of Japanese citizens believed to be targets in a fraud scheme.” The 19 were taken into custody in the southern city of Sihanoukville on Jan. 24 and sent to the capital, Phnom Penh, where they were held after investigation by the interior ministry. read more https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/cambodia-deport-19-japanese-cybercrime-scam-suspects-98427132

PHNOM PENH — After working for two years as a shoe trimmer at Pontus Footwear factory in Takeo province, Kem Saory could not endure the working conditions any longer. He decided to create a union with nine colleagues in order to demand improvements in accordance with their labor rights. Kem Saory, 37, knew he was risking his $200-per-month job from the factory, which he needed to support his wife, eight-year-old son and baby girl, but hoped that the Taiwanese-owned supplier of international shoe brands such as Puma and Timberland would respond positively. He announced in a letter on Dec. 1, 2022, to management at the factory, located around 70 kilometers south of the capital Phnom Penh, that he was the head of a new, independent union. About three weeks later he and three other unionists were being let go by the company, which said in a letter dated Jan. 24, 2023, and seen by VOA Khmer, only that their fixed-duration contracts expired and were not being renewed. “It is certain that the factory doesn’t want our independent union to exist in the factory. That’s why they rejected it and fired us,” Kem Saory told VOA Khmer, adding that the six other unionists feared they would be the next to be let go. A spate of firings of unionists A labor rights group said Pontus was one of three garment factories in recent months that have forced out a total of 20 workers for attempting to unionize. The others were T-Win Co. Ltd. in Takeo province, which reportedly supplies international brands Skechers, Nike and 5.11 Inc., and Caswell Apparel Co., Ltd. in Phnom Penh. Another ongoing dispute concerns three workers who were fired in 2022 after attempting to form a union at Cinlon International factory in Kampong Speu province. The Chinese-owned factory produces bags for the California-based brand Clevermade. The Ministry of Labor instructed the company in July 2022 to reinstate the workers, but labor activists said that the factory failed to do so. “Freedom of creating local unions has been a challenge for workers lately,” Pav Sina, president of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUMW), said in a statement on 15 Feb. “[The workers] formed a union within the company for the rights and freedoms of workers as stated in Cambodian law,” he said, adding that union founders are protected by law, “[h]owever, the companies do not care about the law.” The recently dismissed unionists jointly submitted letters of complaint on March 6 to the Ministry of Labor requesting intervention in order to force factory owners to rehire them and to respect the law. Labor Ministry spokesman Heng Sour told VOA Khmer that the ministry was assessing the complaints and urged this reporter to be skeptical of the complaints of individual labor activists as they are “not the authority.” Kaing Monika, deputy secretary-general of Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, referred questions about the disputes to the ministry, adding,“Any action on non-compliance [with labor laws], if any, would be dealt with by the ministry.” FILE - Employees work at a factory supplier of the H&M brand in Kandal province, Cambodia, December 12, 2018. read more https://www.voacambodia.com/a/firings-of-unionists-at-garment-factories-raise-concern-over-cambodia-s-labor-rights-/7037641.html

They observed transport trucks, armed groups of people and evidence of 219 fallen trees. Forest protection activists found more than 200 fallen trees that had been illegally cut down in a vast protected area of northern Cambodia that showed signs of around-the-clock operations, transport trucks, motorcycles and armed security. Activists with the Prey Lang Community Network for Preah Vihear province traveled through the area for four days and three nights in late March. Prime Minister Hun Sen has promised publicly that he would take action to prevent illegal logging in Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, which covers land in Preah Vihear, Stung Treng, Kampong Thom and Kratie provinces. He’s even blamed Cambodia’s poor in recent years for the country’s growing loss of forest cover. But activists have said that government authorities have done nothing to prevent supporters of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party from illegally exporting timber to neighboring Vietnam, a major buyer of luxury hardwood. A 2020 survey by researchers at Denmark’s University of Copenhagen showed that Cambodia had lost 26 percent of its tree cover, equivalent to about 5.7 million acres, since 2000, according to satellite imagery Moving timber day and night Activists told Radio Free Asia on Monday that logging transport trucks and motorcycles seen last month carried an identifying logo from the Phnom Penh-based Macle Logistics (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. A Prey Lang community network member, Srey They, said the perpetrators brought wood out of the forest day and night in an area where forest crimes are on the rise. Groups of between five and 10 people – some of them armed – were seen cutting and transporting timber in Preah Vihear’s Rovieng district, he told RFA. “It is very sad that the government has established the protected area, but there are still perpetrators of deforestation for companies,” Srey They said. Illegal logging continues in Cambodia because of compliant government officials, Cambodian Youth Network project coordinator Oath Latin said. “This involves corruption between the timber traders, the perpetrators and the officers who are stationed around the Prey Lang checkpoint,” he said. RFA was unable to contact the director of the Department of Environment, Song Chan Socheat, and the spokesman for the Ministry of Environment, Neth Pheaktra, on Monday, calling several times without an answer. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/prey-lang-logging-04042023171405.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

PHNOM PENH — With elections just a few months away, young Cambodians have a message for their government: "We are hungry for truthful and independent news." More than 10 youth organizations in the country have petitioned Cambodia's Ministry of Information calling for authorities to reinstate independent media outlet Voice of Democracy. The outlet was closed on February 13, on the orders of Prime Minister Hun Sen over its coverage of Cambodian aid to help Turkey after that nation's devastating earthquake in early 2023. Authorities revoked Voice of Democracy's license and blocked access inside Cambodia to its English and Khmer-language news websites. The closure has left Cambodians without a reliable source of independent news, the youth organizations have said. FILE - Supporters of online media outlet Voice of Democracy (VOD) hold placards in front of VOD office in Phnom Penh, Feb. 13, 2023. Members of the organizations gathered at the Information Ministry in the capital, Phnom Penh, on Friday to deliver their petition. The groups included the Khmer Youth Capacity Development, Youth for Social Development and Democracy, and Youths for Awareness Club. Ke Chamroeun, 28, who acted as a representative for the groups, told reporters that while Cambodia has several media outlets, not all of them are active in covering news that is beneficial to audiences. "Most of them [media outlets] only disseminate propaganda rather than the social issues which need a solution," he said. Arn Sreyoun, 21, said most media in Cambodia fail to report sensitive stories including those focused on politics, corruption, deforestation, and land disputes. "We need an independent media outlet to report about those issues," said the Phnom Penh-based university student. Soeun Makara, who also joined the groups presenting the petition to the ministry, told reporters, "We are hungry for truthful and independent news." "Providing untruthful news to the youths is like killing their hearts," said the 27-year-old. Stressing the importance of the media when elections are scheduled for July 23, the petition said, "We think that independent media will play a very crucial role in ensuring the free and fair process of the upcoming national election." The petition cited the Cambodia Press Law on how authorities should handle media violations. Under that law, authorities can issue fines, order a broadcaster to run a correction, or temporarily cease operations rather than revoke the license. In the case of Voice of Democracy, the broadcaster sent two letters to Hun Sen expressing "regret" and ran a follow-up story to clarify its reporting. But the move to revoke the license remained. Chhan Sokunthea, the director for media development at the Cambodia Center for Independent Media, which oversees Voice of Democracy, said she didn't expect any changes soon. "I don't have any hope of reinstating [the license] since it is the order of the prime minister," she told VOA Khmer. In response to the youth petition, the Ministry of Information issued a statement that defended the action taken against Voice of Democracy. "The revocation of any media outlet license follows legal procedures," the statement said. "The revocation of media outlets which violate law, seriously abuse professional and ethical code of conduct, defy other people's right and not admit the mistakes can't be considered as restriction of rights to freedom, threats or persecution against media or journalists." Media analysts viewed Voice of Democracy as one of the few independent news outlets left in Cambodia. Founded in 2003, its journalists took on big issues including deforestation, cyber scams, and a repressive political space in the lead-up to the 2022 local elections. In the past year, it published dozens of articles on a people-trafficking operation inside Cambodia. On March 14, the European Parliament issued a joint motion for a resolution calling Cambodian authorities to stop restricting civil liberties and media freedom ahead of elections. The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, said in a February statement the government decision appeared arbitrary. "It was not preceded by a thorough and transparent process as required under Cambodia's own press law, and fails to meet the tests of legality, necessity and proportionality that international human rights law requires for any permissible restriction on freedom of expression." Cambodia ranks 142 out of 180 countries, where 1 denotes the best media environment, on Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom index. This story originated in VOA's Khmer service. https://www.voanews.com/a/cambodian-youth-petition-government-to-reinstate-broadcaster-/7035754.html

As COVID-19 sends demand for research macaques soaring, a U.S. court case is raising questions about their origins. Visitors are not welcome at the monkey farm co-owned by the sister of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The farm is ringed by moat-like canals, 6-foot-6-inch-high (2 meters) earthworks and a brick wall topped with razor wire. A former employee told RFA that guards with Kalashnikov assault rifles patrol the grounds inside the farm in rural Kampong Speu province, which is two hours’ drive from the capital Phnom Penh. So, what’s there to secure behind the walls? The answer is the captive animals within: long-tailed macaques, a breed of primate favored for medical research. Cages of monkeys are seen on the grounds of a farm co-owned by the sister of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in rural Kampong Speu province, March 2023. Credit: RFA Once an unremarkable player in the business of providing the animals for a global research industry, Cambodia has become a hub for exports of long-tails – a lucrative but shadowy business tied to the nation’s political elite. Growing demand from the COVID-19 pandemic meant primate farms like the one owned by the prime minister’s sister exported about a quarter of a billion dollars worth of research macaques in 2022, according to U.N. trade data. But as the business booms, questions are emerging about the origin of the monkeys Cambodia ships around the world. Allegations of illicit trade are at the core of a high-profile legal case brought by U.S. wildlife prosecutors against senior Cambodian government officials. Two officials have been charged with issuing fraudulent export permits certifying poached monkeys as captive-bred animals to circumvent U.S. import restrictions and international treaties governing the trade in endangered species. Cambodia’s wildlife and diversity director, Kry Masphal, was arrested in New York in November while traveling to a conservation conference in Panama. His boss, Forestry Administration Director General Keo Omaliss, was also indicted but remains at large in Cambodia. A permit issued by the Cambodian government for the export of monkeys. Credit: Handout Kry is currently under house arrest near Washington, D.C., and set to face a court proceeding in Miami in June. Yet with so much money to be made in Cambodia, experts fear there is little incentive for reform in the country. “It’s kind of like the realization of our worst fears,” said Ed Newcomer, a recently retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent who spent 20 years investigating wildlife crimes around the world. “When government officials, and relatives of high-powered officials, are involved in the wildlife trade, how are the Cambodian regulatory and enforcement agencies supposed to effectively enforce the law?” The monkey business Long-tailed macaques, which are native to Southeast Asia, are so-named because their tails are usually longer than the length of their bodies. Other distinguishing characteristics include tufts of hair atop their heads and whiskers around their mouths. An engineer takes samples of monkey kidney cells at a lab in China. Credit: AFP file photo Also known as “crab-eating” monkeys, they are highly prized by biomedical researchers for their similarity to humans. Testing on the animals helped lead to a vaccine for yellow fever. More recently, they’ve been used to test treatments for issues ranging from reproduction to obesity and addiction. Demand for their species soared with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, as macaques were critical in the development of the mRNA vaccines for COVID. Until recently, China was the world’s top supplier. But in a bid to protect its own vaccine development, Beijing banned exports of research monkeys, leaving Cambodia as the number-one source for a global research industry that was suddenly facing a severe shortfall. In 2019, Cambodia exported the most primates it had ever shipped in a single year, sending 14,931 overseas for $34 million – an average cost of just over $2,271 per monkey, according to the U.N. trade data. The number of macaques being exported and the average cost per monkey continued to rise. Countries reported importing around $250 million worth of monkey shipments from Cambodia in 2022 alone, according to the data. Questions of origin But experts say it would be impossible for all of them to have been legitimately raised and sourced according to rules that govern the use of research primates. Partly to protect dwindling wild populations, but also to reduce potential contamination of experiments, only captive-bred macaques are allowed in medical research. However, they are also slow-breeding, with infants taking three years to reach maturity. So, captive-bred stocks frequently struggle to meet researchers’ needs, and suppliers are often incentivized to pass off wild-caught monkeys as farm-reared. Although a black-market trade in the monkeys has long blighted the industry, the COVID-driven supply shortage has sent illicit poaching into overdrive, conservationists say. “There’s just too much money in this business now for these macaques to stand a chance,” said Lisa Jones-Engel, a primatologist who now advises the animal rights group Peta. A study published last month in One Health, a peer-reviewed veterinary science journal, found that Cambodian breeders would have needed to more than quadruple production rates – from 81,926 over a four-year period to at least 98,000 in a single year – to have legitimately exported the number of macaques shipped during the pandemic. As Cambodia has never reported importing long-tailed macaques, such an increase would have to have been driven entirely by an increase in domestic supply. Yet “Cambodia has historically been incapable of producing second generation offspring macaques, therefore increasing their production capacity legally seems unlikely,” the researchers wrote. The sister The farm owned by the prime minister’s sister Hun Sengny sits at the end of a dusty road on the outskirts of the sleepy town of Damnak Trach. It is registered under a Cambodian firm, Rong De Group, for which she serves as chairwoman. The uniforms of the security guards who wield the assault rifles bear the insignia of her private security firm, Garuda Security Co. Locals who spoke to RFA all described the “boss” of the farm as being Chinese expatriate, Dong Wan De, who Commerce Ministry records identify as the Rong De Group’s only other director and shareholder. Rong De Group was granted a breeding license for the farm in 2007, although Hun Sengny did not take control as chairwoman until 2011. The Rong De Group farm, Hun Sengny and Dong Wan De have not been implicated in any wrongdoing, and Hun Sengny does not hold any government office in Cambodia. But she is among the many with ties to political power – official or otherwise – who have enjoyed the fruits of being given free rein to undertake business ventures with little government oversight. After spending much of the 1970s forced by the Khmer Rouge to work as a seamstress, Hun Sengny now has interests in mining, agriculture, logistics and consulting, often in collaboration with Chinese investors. The farm in Kampong Speu province is co-owned by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s sister, Hun Sengny. Credit: Hun Sengny's Facebook account. Hun Sengny and Dong Wan De did not respond to requests for comment. Powerful players In another example of the industry’s connections to the powerful, Agriculture Ministry Secretary of State Sen Sovann told RFA that he has leased land in Kandal province for decades to James Lau, the founder of the Vanny Group, a company that operates monkey farms. Lau was among six individuals indicted last year alongside Kry and Keo Omaliss, who as director of Cambodia’s Forestry Administration was Kry’s immediate superior, in the U.S. monkey importation case. Sovann insisted there was nothing improper in the arrangement and said that he did not know what the land was used for. However, public records for business addresses suggest the land he leases houses one of Vanny Group’s Cambodian monkey farms under investigation by U.S. wildlife officials in the case against Keo and Kry. Vanny Group’s farms are named in the indictment. And in August 2022, then-Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon flew to Seoul to sign a business agreement with Orient Bio, Inc. on behalf of the ministry, despite a U.S. Justice Department investigation into the company on suspicion of poaching and laundering macaques from Cambodia to the United States. Cambodia’s Agriculture Ministry secretary of state, Sen Sovann [left]; Keo Omaliss [center], director of Cambodia’s Forestry Administration; and Cambodia’s wildlife and diversity director, Kry Masphal. Credit: Sen Sovann's, Keo Omaliss's and Kry Masphal's Facebook accounts. The Cambodian government has denied that there is a problem with illicit monkey trading in the country, despite calls by conservationists for tighter regulation of its farms for more than a decade. In response to Kry’s arrest in the US, the Agricultural Ministry issued a statement saying that Cambodia’s macaques “are not caught from the wilderness and smuggled out, but farmed in decent manners with respect to good hygiene and health standards so as to preserve their gene pool.” But such high-level interest in the business makes it hard for Cambodian wildlife regulators to oversee the industry, said Newcomer, the retired U.S. investigator. “They are powerless because such powerful people are involved in the trade,” he said. The gate of the monkey farm, which is located on the outskirts of the town of Damnak Trach, Kampong Speu province, Cambodia, is seen in March 2023. Credit: RFA ‘Voluminous’ evidence But now the illicit trade in the primates has attracted the attention of U.S. authorities. After a years-long investigation by Fish and Wildlife agents, U.S. prosecutors on Nov. 16, 2022, accused Kry, the Wildlife and Biodiversity director, and Forestry Administration head Keo of taking part in a multi-million dollar conspiracy to ship wild long-tails to the United States. The indictment alleges the two colluded with monkey breeders to produce fraudulent export permits certifying the monkeys as legitimately sourced. Kry was arrested in New York last November on his way to a wildlife conservation conference in Panama. Keo remains at large in Cambodia. U.S. prosecutors have described the evidence against Kry as “voluminous.” Court filings reveal it includes blood and trace analyses, hundreds of investigative reports, video footage and financial records. In total, over 660,000 pieces of evidence have been turned over so far. An excerpt from the U.S. Justice Dept. indictment in the alleged monkey trade scheme. Credit: U.S. Justice Dept. photo; RFA photo illustration Kry has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers have not responded to repeated interview requests. Where the demand is But the blame for the criminality alleged by the Justice Department lies not just with the exporters in Cambodia. Importers in the U.S. and China who are fueling the demand bear responsibility, Jones-Engel of Peta said. According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the U.S. imported some 300,000 long-tailed macaques over the last decade, five times as many as Japan, which reported the next highest imports over the same period. It’s not known what proportion of those imports were illegally sourced. But industry players in the U.S. have known for years that wild-caught monkeys were making their way into shipments from Cambodia, U.S. investigators say. Newcomer, the retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent, went undercover at a Washington, D.C., trade show for the biomedical research and primate industry roughly a decade ago. Posing as a lawyer for a group of investors looking to set up a macaque farm in Cambodia or Laos, the things he heard were damning. “When I approached in a nice suit and handed them my business cards from an established law firm, everybody assumed I was part of the inner circle of importers,” Newcomer told RFA. Undercover, he heard incriminating statements, including admissions by representatives of U.S. primate importers, “that they knew wild animals were making it into their shipments from Cambodia.” The high bar for collecting enough evidence to indict meant investigators were unable to pursue charges, however. Bleak outlook Demand for long-tails led the International Union for Conservation of Nature to list the breed as an endangered species last year. Hunting and trapping of macaques is taking place at “unprecedented levels … most ominously, to fuel both the legitimate and illicit trade for research and other usages,” it said. “Both price and demand for [long-tailed macaques] as a trade commodity has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, relative to the already regular and heavy pre-pandemic capture and trade.” Over the last four years, monkey exports have generated half a billion dollars for the Cambodian economy, according to the U.N. data. But the portion of that money ending up in the pockets of the ordinary Cambodians doing the poaching is small. A former monkey poacher in Pursat province, an area northwest of Phnom Penh that includes a vast wildlife preserve, told RFA that even at the height of global demand last year brokers were only paying 700,000 riel ($175) per macaque. He didn’t know where they were going or what they were for, he said. By the time those same monkeys were exported they were fetching an average of $6,660 a piece, the U.N. data show – a 38-fold increase between the point of capture and the moment of export. Given the country’s dynamics, the outlook for Cambodia’s macaques looks bleak, said Timothy Santel, who prior to his retirement in 2020 supervised the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s investigation into Kry and Keo. “Unfortunately, as I have seen in my 30-plus years, money and greed is often the root to most of these activities,” Santel told RFA. “And when you sprinkle in corruption, it's usually a disaster for the critters.” Correction: This story has been updated to correct a mislabeled photo. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/monkeys-04032023133550.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

The Southeast Asian Games takes place from 5-17 May with the region’s best athletes competing in iconic locations such as Phnom Penh and World Heritage Site Angkor Wat. Here are three things to know about Cambodia 2023. The Opening Ceremony of the 32nd edition of the Southeast Asian Games takes place on Friday 5 May in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The following 12 days will see the region’s best athletes endeavour to secure titles, achieve personal bests, and showcase the best sport in the area, with iconic Cambodian locations as the backdrop. With Paris 2024 just 15 months away, preparation for athletes in a multi-sport environment and jostling for potential Olympic spots in front of national federations is key. In anticipation of the high-profile occasion, Olympics.com highlights three things to know about Cambodia 2023. read more https://olympics.com/en/news/things-to-know-southeast-asian-games-cambodia-2023