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Government blames the Ukraine war, but experts point to partial loss of preferential trade agreements. More than 50,000 Cambodian garment workers have lost their jobs as struggling companies have made cutbacks to try to stay afloat while others have closed, Radio Free Asia has learned. To date, 10 Cambodian factories have completely shut down and 500 others have suspended production since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Dec. 2019. The government has cited the war between Russia and Ukraine as the main reason for the industry’s inability to recover from downturns it experienced during the pandemic and other woes. But experts say a better explanation is because Cambodia has lost some of its preferential trade advantages with the European Union due to human rights concerns – which means higher tariffs on exports – and that the country risks losing more. In response to the company closures and layoffs, the Cambodia’s National Employment Agency, under the Ministry of Labor, held a career expo Friday in the southwestern province of Kampong Speu, where it invited jobseekers to apply for work at five different factories. The plan is to hire at least 5,250 people, the ministry said in a statement. Kem Sopeng, a garment union representative who has been fired from his job for the past three months told RFA’s Khmer Service that he will not apply for those jobs because he thinks the new factories are not stable and they likely won’t respect workers’ rights. “The working conditions in garment factories have not improved over the past 10 years,” he said, adding that he has been working in the sector for the past seven years, and has been abused and exploited. “I just made enough to get by. If I couldn’t work, I would starve,” he said. “The work is just enough to live another day.” Huge pool of workers Ath Thun of the Cambodian Labour Confederation said he welcomed the government’s efforts to get the laid off workers back into factories, but he urged the ministry of expenditures to provide more employment opportunities to agricultural workers too. "It is very difficult to seek employment because too many people are out of jobs,” he said. “They are trying to work in illegal establishments and the entertainment sector.” Many rural Cambodians also venture to large cities like Phnom Penh in search of work, only to quickly burn through their meager savings and take on debt, said Ath Thun. He said the government should also fix its issues with the U.S. and the European Union so they can be in good standing with their respective preferential trade status schemes. Cambodian garment workers buy clothing during their lunch break, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, March 12, 2015. Credit: Associated Press Cambodia’s Labor Minister Ith Samheng said in a statement Wednesday that the government and the factories will pay laid off workers between US$25 and $70 depending on how long they have been unemployed. The ministry will provide payments to garment and bag factories that have permission from the ministry to suspend operations from April 1 onward. "Based on Hun Sen's recommendation to help stabilize workers’ living standards and safeguard businesses due to low production during this global financial crisis, the factories should discuss with workers to take turns coming to work if they are being laid off temporarily," the statement said. Trade status Garment factory workers, meanwhile, told Radio Free Asia they were concerned about an EU resolution that would further suspend Cambodia from its Everything But Arms, or EBA, status, which Cambodia needs to maintain preferential trade advantages in Europe. The regional bloc, concerned over the human rights situation in Cambodia, withdrew about 20 percent of the EBA scheme in 2020, equivalent to about $1.09 billion of the country’s Europe-bound exports On Friday, the European parliament adopted a resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of opposition leader Kem Sokha who was recently sentenced to 27 years in prison and is currently serving his term under house arrest. The resolution also called for the country to hold free and fair general elections next year and called for further EBA suspension if the elections “deviate from international standards” or if rights violations in Cambodia continue. Link between politics and trade Meach Piseth, a garment worker, told RFA that the partial removal of EBA status has already impacted his life. He said he is worried the election will not be free and fair, and Cambodia will lose EBA status completely. "I urge the government to try to respect democratic principles so that the EU and U.S. will return our EBA and GSP,” he said, the latter acronym referring to the Generalized System of Preferences used in the United States. “The government must understand this difficult time. I hope that the government will fully respect freedom of expression and political parties," he said. Keo Boeun, another garment worker, said he was among many that have been laid off and have fallen into debt traps laid by predatory banks. He said the government should stop violating human rights. “I want Samdech to follow the [EU resolution] requests,” he said, using an honorific title to refer to the country’s leader Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985. “If they ignore it, we won’t have buyers to export to.” Katta Orn of the government-backed Human Rights Committee said that the government is not afraid of losing EBA status because Cambodia sooner or later will lose its status anyway. He said that the EU has already removed 20 percent of EBA from Cambodia but it has not had any effect on Cambodia. Katta Orn also said he expects the upcoming elections will be totally fair. "Cambodians enjoy peace and freedom, and other political parties can work freely and the upcoming election results will respect the people’s will," he said. Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/garments-03172023202746.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Centuries-old cultural artifacts that had been illegally smuggled from Cambodia are being welcomed home PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Centuries-old cultural artifacts that had been illegally smuggled out from Cambodia were welcomed home Friday at a celebration led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who offered thanks for their return and appealed for further efforts to retrieve such stolen treasures. Many, if not all, of the items displayed at the government’s offices Friday had been looted from Cambodia during periods of war and instability, including in the 1970s when the country was under the brutal rule of the communist Khmer Rouge. Through unscrupulous art dealers, they made their way into the hands of private collectors and museums around the world. A statement from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts described the returned artifacts as embodying the “priceless cultural heritage and the souls of generations of Khmer ancestors.” read more https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/cambodia-celebrates-return-priceless-stolen-artifacts-97934206

The US remained the biggest market for Cambodia with a share of 34.4 percent even though the Kingdom’s exports to the country decreased by 20.2 percent to reach $1.12 billion in the first two months of the year compared to the same period in 2022, showed the latest trade data of the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE). For the last two months of 2023, Vietnam remained the second biggest market for Cambodia, with exports to the country reaching $491 million, registering a growth of 36.1 percent year-on-year. Vietnam now accounts for 15 percent of Cambodia’s total exports. The Kingdom’s exports to China, another traditional market for the country, registered a decline of 5.5 percent for January and February and accounted for $198 million. China has a share of six percent in the exports from the Kingdom and is now only the fifth biggest market for the Kingdom after Japan and Thailand. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501255716/us-remains-cambodias-biggest-market-despite-declining-exports/

Extraction of the world's most mined mineral is having a serious impact on the biodiverse river. Sand mining in the Lower Mekong region is taking place at a far greater rate than previously reported, with an estimated 100 million metric tons (100 billion kilograms or 200 billion pounds) of sand extracted each year from Cambodia and Vietnam, experts said. Sand mining is “a pervasive activity across much of the Lower Mekong that is widespread … and yet it’s fairly unconstrained and unquantified,” Christopher Hackney, a fellow at Newcastle University, said Monday during an online seminar hosted by the Washington-based Stimson Center. According to a scientific report published in 2013, around 56 million tons of sediment were extracted in 2011 in the Lower Mekong region, including 32 million tons from Cambodia, 12 million tons from Vietnam, and 7 million tons from Laos. The figure is still considered low due to underreporting by miners and weak government monitoring capabilities. It also did not cover extraction on Mekong tributaries. “Development in Vietnam and Cambodia has grown [since 2013]. Demand for aggregates has grown,” said Hackney, who is mapping sand mining activities alongside Magdalena Smigaj, a postdoctoral researcher at Wageningen University. By 2020, the volumes from Cambodia alone exceeded the 2013 estimate for the entire Mekong basin, with 59 million tons extracted a year, he said. It does not include the 32 million tons of sand city developers said is needed to fill a reclamation project in Phnom Penh. A dredging boat pumps sand on the Mekong River in Phnom Penh, Jan. 3, 2023. Credit: AFP The duo, using satellite imagery and deep learning, did not calculate figures for other countries, though some studies in the last year have estimated sand extraction in Vietnam to be around 49 million to 50 million tons. “So combining those two [we] would come out with an estimate of about 100 million tons. That’s excluding Laos and further upstream,” Hackney said. In one of the hotspots in Cambodia, the researchers noticed the number of sand-carrying vessels increasing from around 50 per month in 2016 to 150 a month in 2020. Similarly, in Vietnam’s Dong Thap province, the duo noticed a sudden increase in traffic intensity in 2020, which then dropped in 2021. Smigaj said it was primarily due to a boom in unregulated mining since ground monitoring was nil during the country’s strict COVID-19 lockdown. The experts estimated around 10 times the natural supply of sand is being extracted from the riverbed in Cambodia alone. “That sounds to me like a big problem,” said Brian Eyler, Southeast Asia program director at the Stimson Center. “Sand mining hurts the river system,” he said, adding that it is “happening at an under-reported and mostly unregulated rate, in a way that is robbing or taking a very important component of the river’s mightiness out for other uses.” By net weight, Cambodia was the 12th largest exporter of sand in 2021, according to the U.N. Comtrade database. It exported 797,218 metric tons that year. Export data for Vietnam and Laos were not available, while Malaysia was the highest sand exporter, with 19.6 million metric tons annually. Worldwide, 50 billion tons each year Sand, an essential component of many construction materials, including concrete, asphalt, and glass, is the most mined material globally. It is essential for river systems, but excessive extraction has caused negative environmental impacts, including erosion, loss of biodiversity, and water pollution. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, usage of sand resources has tripled worldwide in the last two decades, with about 50 billion tons of sand extracted from rivers, lakes, deltas, and coasts each year, and is expected to grow. A crane moves sand from a ship on Mekong river in Hau Giang province, Vietnam Dec. 19, 2018. Credit: Reuters The world’s large rivers, including the Mekong, face reduced deposit loads due to activities like hydropower development and sediment extraction. Hackney said climate change has exacerbated the problem, with changing weather and rainfall patterns shifting away from parts of the Mekong that generate sediment. The Mekong is one of the world’s largest and most biodiverse river basins. More than 70 million people from five Southeast Asian countries depend on it for their livelihoods, primarily through fishing and agriculture. Locals and government officials say sand dredging and China’s opening and closing of upstream dams have caused significant issues, including erosion, along the Mekong. Experts estimate sand mining alone has caused the riverbed to erode up to 15 centimeters (6 inches) each year, resulting in increased tidewater extent and velocity that surges inland. There has also been a rise in salinity intrusion, a significant concern for the region’s “food basket,” with two million hectares at risk each year. “On top of that, you’re destroying benthic habitats,” Hackney said, referring to animals and plants that live at the water bottom. “You’re removing the kind of feeding grounds for a lot of the invertebrates and biodiversity within the river system.” Such deposit extraction also digs up fish breeding grounds and makes water cloudier, reducing light filtration and changing its chemistry and quality, he added. “So yeah, the impacts are quite wide-ranging once you kind of unpick all the different aspects of the industry,” Hackney said. In 2020, the Mekong River Commission, an intergovernmental body that helps coordinate river management, issued a basin development strategy to respond to increasing environmental and social pressures from climate change and development. It includes maintaining good flows and water quality and implementing a basin-wide sediment management plan. “Sediment concentrations in the mainstream are observed to be much reduced largely as a consequence of sediment trapping and sand mining,” Anoulak Kittikhoun, Chief Executive Officer at the Mekong River Commission Secretariat, said in a speech last year. He said suspended sediment concentration decreased up to 80% in some areas between 2018 and 2020. “The trend is unmistakable,” he said, adding that sediment reduction has implications for floodplain productivity and riverbank stability. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/environment/mekong-sand-03142023064512.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen hinted strongly Tuesday that he intends to step down as the country’s long-serving leader when a new government is installed after July’s general election. The 70-year-old Hun Sen has led Cambodia with an iron fist for 38 years, and during the last election in 2018 had vowed to stay in office for two more terms, until 2028. Since then, however, he has spoken often of having his eldest son, Hun Manet, succeed him and appointed him to several high profile and important positions. He explicitly declared his support in December 2021 to have Hun Manet, Cambodia’s West Point-trained army commander, take over his job but only through elections. read more https://www.thespec.com/ts/news/world/asia/2023/03/14/long-serving-cambodian-leader-hun-sen-hints-at-retirement.html

Bulging grey heads break the turbid waters of the Mekong River in Cambodia as a pod of rare Irrawaddy dolphins surfaces to breathe, drawing excited murmurs from tourists watching from nearby boats. The thrilling sight may soon be no more than a memory, as numbers of the endangered mammals dwindle despite efforts to preserve them. Cambodia has announced tough new restrictions on fishing in the vast river to try and reduce the number of dolphins killed in nets. But in a country with limited financial resources, it's a huge challenge to enforce the rules on a river hundreds of metres wide that is dotted with islets and lined with dense undergrowth. read more https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230315-the-battle-to-save-cambodia-s-river-dolphins-from-extinction

Fire has damaged part of the provincial residence of Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni while he was abroad PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Fire damaged part of the provincial residence of Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni near a famous temple complex, officials said Monday. No injuries have been reported. The blaze broke out on Sunday night in the northwestern city of Siem Reap, damaging the roof of one of the smaller buildings in the complex. The 69-year-old king is currently in Beijing for routine medical checks. Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said there were no reports of anyone being injured. The Ministry of the Royal Palace on Monday blamed an electrical fault. Video from the state news agency AKP showed the intensity of the fire before emergency crews brought it under control and evidently prevented major damage to the main residential building. The large villa is the official home of the king when he is in Siem Reap. King Sihamoni's main residence is a palace inside a walled compound in the capital, Phnom Penh. read more https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/fire-damages-part-cambodian-kings-residence-temple-97817729

Architects, archaeologists, and workers who participated in the renovation of the Takav gate of Angkor Thom expressed their happiness after seeing this ancient gate, which showed its unique beauty and longevity. Han Mach, 66, a resident of North Sras Srang village, who has been involved in the renovation of many temples in the Angkor area with the APSARA National Authority for more than 20 years, said that initially the Takav gate was damaged in many parts, such as stones falling apart from the top of the Brahma faces, three-headed elephant statues, the statues of Deva and Asura on the causeway. She said happily that when the restoration project was completed, the Takav gate was so beautiful that it was almost unbelievable. “This work was very valuable because she has contributed to preserving our ancient Khmer temples.” Oeung Thoeun, 39, a resident of O’Torteung Village, and a worker who helped repair the Takav gate, said that after the restoration over the last three years, the Takav gate has stood strongly again. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501252928/restoration-team-expresses-happiness-after-seeing-takav-gate-of-angkor-thom-stand-strong-again/

Qatar Airways announced the resumption of its Phnom Penh flights this year. While talking at the opening day of the ITB Berlin 2023, the world’s largest international travel and tourism trade show, Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker said it would resume flights to 11 destinations, including Phnom Penh, Beijing, Birmingham, Buenos Aires, Casablanca, Davao, Marrakesh, Nice, Osaka, Ras Al-Khaimah, and Tokyo Haneda. The Phnom Penh flights are expected to commence operations from October 29 onwards, an airline industry source told Khmer Times yesterday. The airline operated its last flight to Phnom Penh in April 2020. Qatar Airways started its daily flights to Phnom Phenh in February 2013 and thus became the first Middle Eastern airline operating direct flights to the Kingdom. Its flight QR602 received a traditional water salute followed by a grand ceremony at the Phonm Penh International Airport. Qatar Airways started direct flights to the Kingdom in a bid to connect the country with scores of destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, North America and South America. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501251646/qatar-airways-to-resume-phnom-penh-flights-in-october/

But there’s a larger constellation of professionals and organizations and survivors who are still working toward justice and reconciliation — work that has no end, given the scale of pain experienced in the 1970s and passed on through the generations since. For nearly two decades, their work has revolved around the tribunal and associated foreign funding for activities ranging from education, intergenerational dialogue, psychological services, public remembrance and engagement in the judicial process. Non-profits have built out programs that not only help heal old wounds, but seek to foster a society with less hate and more capacity to resolve disputes peacefully. And the leaders of these groups aren’t sure that international partners — which have spent some $337 million on the tribunal alone — will continue to support their work now that “justice” has been served through the tribunal. “Dealing with the past context is like: Cambodia is no longer a post-conflict country so why do you have to respond to this area? So I think in terms of that particular context, there is a decline in funding support,” said Suyheang Kry, the executive director of Women Peace Makers, a Cambodian non-profit focused on inter-ethnic conflict resolution. However, her organization still sees a need for building a bridge between remaining Khmer Rouge survivors and future generations of Cambodians, to ensure that the lessons learned from the country’s dark history aren’t lost. “How are we going to ensure that the younger generations can also bring that; not just about knowing the past, but also how they can also reflect and use that as a tool for them to deal with the present…and build more non-violent types of response,” Suyheang Kry said. A number of studies have found widespread “secondary trauma” among the children of Khmer Rouge survivors — even if they grew up in the diaspora. Leakhena Nou, a sociology professor at the University of California Long Beach who has worked extensively with Khmer Rouge survivors, said she still sees signs of unresolved Khmer Rouge trauma throughout Cambodian society, including among younger generations. “The legacy of the Khmer Rouge continues to live on vicariously through behavioral manifestations like gambling, domestic violence, drug addiction,” she said, noting that violence is often present in everyday language and on social media. “It just shows that society has not truly addressed the underlying trauma,” Leakhena Nou said. read more https://www.voacambodia.com/a/6999699.html

Sam Rainsy says he is backing Tea Seiha to succeed current leader Hun Sen. Exiled Cambodian opposition figure Sam Rainsy has thrown his support behind the current defense minister’s son to become prime minister four months ahead of July’s general elections. The announcement followed a report about a shakeup and power struggle within the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP, over the selection of a new leader to succeed Hun Sun, who has ruled the country since 1985. Sam Rainsy, acting president of the disbanded opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, posted a statement Friday on Facebook backing Tea Seiha, governor of Siem Reap province and the son of Defense Minister Tea Banh, as a prime ministerial candidate for the 2023-28 term. The Cambodia National Rescue Party was the previous main opposition party before Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved it in 2017. Sam Rainsy, a party co-founder, has been living in self-exile in France since 2015, when he fled a series of charges his supporters say are politically motivated. “The Cambodian people who want freedom and justice must unite around Tea Seiha, Tea Banh and Tea Vinh in order to bring about a democratic change in the country’s leadership through peaceful and nonviolent means, meaning free and fair elections,” he wrote. Tea Seiha is the son of Cambodia’s minister of defense and the provincial governor of Siem Reap. Credit: Fresh News Admiral Tea Vinh is the brother of Tea Banh and commander of the Royal Cambodian Navy. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Tea Vinh in late 2021 for corruption concerning China’s involvement in the redevelopment of Ream Naval Base in Sihanoukville province, which could give Chinese forces a stronghold in the contested South China Sea. In Transparency International’s 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, Cambodia scored only 24 out of 100, and was ranked at 150 out of 180 countries. “Such a change will promote a new leadership which is not made up of murderers, desperately corrupt people and traitors to the nation such as Hun Sen and his family,” Sam Rainsy wrote, referring to the authoritarian prime minister who has ruled Cambodia for 38 years. July elections The move comes as Cambodia prepares to elect members of the National Assembly, now fully controlled by the CPP under Hun Sen, who also serves as the party’s president. Opposition figures, including Sam Rainsy, want the prime minister and his party out of power. In the run-up to the election, Hun Sen has repeatedly attacked members of the Candlelight Party — the current main challenger to the ruling party — in public forums, while CPP authorities have sued Candlelight members on what many observers see as politically motivated charges. Tea Banh, who has served as defense minister since the late 1980s, dismissed San Rainsy’s support for his son in a Facebook statement of his own, and stated his backing of Hun Sen’s oldest son, Hun Manet, as the future prime minister. Cambodia's Defense Minister Tea Banh attends the ASEAN Japan Defense Ministers Informal Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 22, 2022. Credit: Associated Press Hun Manet, 45, is commander of Cambodia’s army, deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, and leader of the CPP’s central youth wing. Hun Sen has groomed him to be his successor. Sam Rainsy’s statement “aims at breaking national unity,” Tea Banh wrote. “My family and I still have a stand to support Hun Manet to be the next prime ministerial candidate. He added that the military will work against any foreign interference in an attempt to topple the legal government. Following the statement, many senior military officials also denounced Sam Rainsy’s backing of Tea Seiha, who is widely expected to succeed his father as defense minister when Tea Bahn retires. After Hun Sen said in December 2022 that Hun Manet would succeed him, some leaders in his government, including Tea Bahn and Interior Minister Sar Kheng, did not immediately endorse the move, though they eventually expressed support for the plan. Internal rifts? Political analyst Kim Sok said the matter is indicative of internal rifts in the CPP over prime ministerial candidates, suggesting that a faction led by Sar Kheng and Tea Banh still may not be pleased with Hun Sen’s intention to transfer power to his son. He also said Hun Sen’s concern about a possible revolution sweeping through Cambodia might not come from members of the public and young people displeased with chronic corruption within the government and growing authoritarianism, but from within the CPP itself. “Hun Sen has said that he will be the CPP president when his son is the prime minister; this means there is an internal rift,” said Kim Sok. “This is a sign of a color revolution within the party.” Hun Sen recently warned Cambodians not to attempt to stage any color revolutions — popular anti-regime protest movements and accompanying changes of government — using human rights as a pretext, but rather to protect his so-called hard-earned peace. Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/pm-candidate-03102023170621.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday said that Cambodia should not be a dumpyard for used electronic items from developing countries, and import of secondhand products into the country should be restricted. “If other countries have the latest smartphones, we must also have them. They need not sell the old products to Cambodia,” Mr Hun Sen added while addressing the closing ceremony of a review meeting of the Ministry of Health on Tuesday. Mr Hun Sen also urged authorities concerned to stop producing substandard products and goods that can affect the health of the people. “Cambodians should not be the guinea pigs for developed countries, either for medicine or technology,” the Premier said. Reacting to the Prime Minister’s comments, Meas Sok Sensan, spokesman for the Economy and Finance Ministry, said yesterday that the Ministry has put in place a number of strategic plans to work with the General Department of Customs and Excise to take legal action against the import of obsolete products. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501252328/cambodia-not-a-dumpyard-says-pm/

The government has issued a Sub-Decree requiring those who use devices with SIM cards to register their identities in order to prevent cybercrime and theft. The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPT) yesterday announced the new Sub-Decree to protect those who use smart phones, tablets and computers. Everyone has to register SIM cards and only those who stay in the Kingdom for less than 60 days are exempt. The registration system will record the identity of the owner which is useful if the device is lost or stolen, as the owner can report to the authority who will block the function of the phone, thereby rendering the device useless in the hands of a thief. The owners can turn on the function once they are back in possession of their device. Hok Arun, 40, a phone shop owner in Kandal province, said yesterday the registration system of the MPT is very important to reduce criminality, as thieves won’t be able to sell the device if it will not function correctly. “As a retailer of phones, I have to check phones carefully when I purchase a used phone or I will lose money if it is a stolen phone,” he said. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501252335/new-sub-decree-requires-sim-cards-to-be-registered-to-prevent-cybercrime/

The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the eight-year jail term of an American tourist who sexually abused two minor boys in Siem Reap province in 2019. Presiding Judge Chiv Keng named the convict as John Patrick Reidy, 59, an American from Massachusetts. In the judgement, the Judges’ Council of the Supreme Court said it found that the lower court verdict was appropriate and in accordance with Cambodian law. “Therefore, the Supreme Court has decided to uphold the ruling dated January 18 last year of the Phnom Penh Appeal Court as effective, and close the convict’s appeal,” Judge Chiv Keng said. Reidy was sentenced on February 26, 2020, by the Siem Reap Provincial Court to eight years in prison and fined $1,000. The court also ordered him to pay $5,000 in compensation each to two Cambodian underage boys. Reidy was charged with purchasing child prostitution and child pornography under Articles 34 and 41 of the Cambodian Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation and with rape under Article 239 of the Criminal Codes. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501252337/top-court-upholds-sentence-of-american-paedophile/

More than 15,000 people died of smoking every year in Cambodia, Mom Kong, executive director of the local non-government organisation, the Cambodia Movement for Health, said on March 9. Kong cited a recent survey by the Ministry of Health showing that there are an estimated 1.6 million adult cigarette smokers, or 13% of the country's adults aged 15 years old and above. The rate of adult cigarette smokers had dropped by 4% between 2014 and 2022, he said. It is estimated that Cambodian smokers spent 235 million USD a year on cigarettes and tobacco, Kong said, adding that tobacco users in rural areas were likely to spend more money buying tobacco products than those in urban areas. Kong said if the government increases taxes on tobacco products, it is believed that the death toll from tobacco-related diseases will be further reduced. He added that tobacco users are at risk of morbidity and early mortality from cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, and many other tobacco-attributable diseases. According to a United Nations study, tobacco-related illnesses cost Cambodia's economy 657 million USD a year, Kong said./. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/over-15000-cambodians-die-of-tobaccorelated-illnesses-annually/249623.vnp

Venerable Soy Sat has called on the government to restore social ethics. A Buddhist monk walking across Cambodia to urge the government to restore social ethics was defrocked following his second arrest in a week by authorities worried about his supposed ties to opposition politicians. Police arrested Venerable Soy Sat in Battambang province’s Moung Ruessei district on Thursday and took him to a local temple where he was defrocked for being affiliated with the opposition Candlelight Party, said fellow marcher Sim Mao. They also arrested marcher Cheat Kamara, but later released him after Soy Sat’s defrocking. “The chief monks told Venerable Soy Sat that monks are supposed to eat and practice religion and not be involved with politics,” Cheat Kamara told Radio Free Asia. Soy Sat said monks are supposed to pay attention to society and advocate for good social ethics and harmony, he added, calling the monk’s arrest a “brutal” action. Police asked Soy Sat to return to Phnom Penh and get permission from the Ministry of Interior to continue his march through Battambang province, but the monk refused, according to In Kongchit, a provincial coordinator for the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, or Licadho. “Venerable Soy Sat refused to go back, so he was defrocked,” he told Radio Free Asia. Also detained in Pursat The 72-year-old began his latest march on March 1. He was also stopped for several hours on Tuesday and questioned by police in Pursat province. Earlier that day, Soy Sat had accepted a food donation from Candlelight Party Vice President Rong Chhun, who was in the area for a party meeting. Soy Sat told officials on Tuesday that he did not participate in Rong Chhun’s party meeting. He also said the march wasn’t tied to any political party. During a previous peace march in early February, Soy Sat walked with Rong Chhun and other demonstrators from Phnom Penh to Pursat. They had permission for that march from the Interior Ministry. Several days later, he was expelled from his pagoda in Kampong Speu province by the pagoda’s chief, who accused him of incitement and of trying to destroy peace. Buddhist monks, who occupy their own social class in Cambodia and are given a great deal of respect by the public, frequently participate in demonstrations, but defrocking them is unusual. The move comes less than five months ahead of an election showdown between the opposition Candlelight Party and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party. In the run-up to the vote, authorities have been arresting opposition figures on what critics say are politically motivated charges. Support for the CPP has fallen in the past decade amid chronic corruption within the party and the government, which opponents say has led to human rights violations, deteriorating social ethics and a culture of impunity. RFA could not immediately reach Battambang provincial police chief Sat Kim San for comment on the monk’s latest arrest. Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/marching-monk-03092023160129.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Phnom Penh authorities on Tuesday set a three-month deadline for all owners of hotels, apartments and condominiums to strengthen the management of foreigners who stay together to prevent them from committing crimes such as human trafficking, illegal gambling and money laundering. The deadline came when Phnom Penh authorities summoned about 400 people who own or run hotels, apartments and condominiums in Phnom Penh to guide them on the management of foreigners. Huot Hay, Deputy Governor of Phnom Penh, said that the focus is on the management of foreigners to prevent human trafficking, illegal gambling and money laundering. “Over three months the administration will disseminate the law to the owners of hotels, apartments and condominiums from April to June,” he said. “Thereafter, a team consisting of law enforcement officials, local authorities, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Labour will inspect their business locations,” he said. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501251636/hotel-condo-owners-given-three-months-grace-to-register-foreigners/

The Ministry of Interior reported 86 incidents along the Thai, Lao and Vietnamese borders last year. According to Ministry of Interior’s annual report, there were 86 border incidents, 69 with Thailand, 10 with Vietnam and seven with Laos. Cambodian officials have observed the Thai army flying helicopters and drones into Cambodian airspace, also they have closed a border gate and destroyed a bridge at the Cambodian-Thai border. The Lao army have conducted three military exercises only 15 kilometres from the border. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam’s military erected 369 tents along the border to curtail illegal crossings, of which 46 tents were erected in an un-demarcated area, however, only six remain. Interior Ministry’s Secretary-General General Por Pheak said the Cambodian government have a good relations with their neighbours and all these issues have been resolved peacefully and diplomatically to avoid conflict, he added. The Vice-Chairwoman of Cambodia Border Affairs Committee Koy Pisey said yesterday most of the border issue occurred in areas which have not yet been demarcated. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501251764/border-issues-with-neighbouring-countries-resolved-peacefully/

A Mongabay investigation indicates that a three-star military general who also serves as a top interior ministry official appears to be the notorious illegal logger known as Oknha Chey. Family and business ties link Meuk Saphannareth to logging operations in northern Cambodia that satellite imagery shows are clearing forest well outside their concession boundaries. Officials at the provincial level could not give a clear answer as to why the concession had seemingly been awarded to Oknha Chey, while the interior ministry ignored Mongabay’s questions about the allegations against Saphannareth. Some names have been changed to protect sources who said they feared reprisals from the authorities. This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network where Gerald Flynn is a fellow. SIEM PANG, Cambodia — “Us locals cannot source benefits from the forest anymore, only the Oknhas can find benefits in the forest now,” Samnang* said one afternoon in January, using a Khmer word for tycoons. His farm sits on the eastern banks of the Sekong River, in Siem Pang, a district of Cambodia’s northeastern Stung Treng province, which shares a border with Laos. Behind his small patch of land, a vast canopy of green stretches out as far as the horizon, with densely forested mountains rising against the skyline. read more https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/logged-and-loaded-cambodian-prison-official-suspected-in-massive-legalized-logging-operation/

Rights groups call for release of female activists and journalists across Southeast Asia. Cambodia and Laos declared Wednesday’s International Women’s Day a holiday as leaders sought to highlight improvements in the status of women, but activists across Southeast Asia said much progress was still needed in protecting women, who regularly face discrimination and threats of violence. Although the Ministry of Women’s Affairs encourages female victims to seek help from local authorities, “those requests are often ignored,” said Chak Sopheap, director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights. She raised examples of women activists who have faced violence from security personnel while fighting to uphold their rights, including workers striking to demand better wages and working conditions at the NagaWorld Resort and Casino in the capital. Authorities have violently clashed with the mostly female workers on multiple occasions, leaving several injured. The government must free women it has detained for promoting their rights, including Cambodian-American lawyer Theary Seng, Nagaworld union leader Chhim Sithar and CNRP activists York Neang, Lanh Thavry, Mom Sambo, Kim Tola and Pen Mom, said Mu Sochua, a deputy vice president of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party. More female journalists in prison Paris-based Reporters Without Borders issued a statement Wednesday calling for the immediate and unconditional release of imprisoned women journalists throughout the world, singling out two reporters from Vietnam and Myanmar. Pham Doan Trang displays the books she wrote that were banned by the Vietnamese government, in an undated photo from her Facebook page. The group highlighted the case of Pham Doan Trang, who it awarded its Press Freedom Prize for Impact in 2019, noting that the activist and journalist had been moved to a prison 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Hanoi “in an attempt to suppress any reporting about her state of health, which is critical.” Trang was arrested on the charge of "propagandizing against the State" in October 2020 and sentenced to nine years in prison in December 2021. She had been accused of speaking with foreign media, including Radio Free Asia and the BBC, allegedly to defame the government with “fake news.” Reporters Without Borders also highlighted the case of Myanmar freelancer Htet Htet Khine, who has been held in Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison since August 2021. She was sentenced twice to three years of imprisonment with hard labor on charges of “inciting hatred and violence against the armed forces” for reporting the violence they used after taking power in a February 2021 coup. Former BBC reporter and presenter Htet Htet Khine in an undated photo. Credit: Htet Htet Khine/Facebook Vietnam ranked 174th out of 180 countries on Reporters Without Borders’s 2022 World Press Freedom Index and is the world’s fourth largest prison for journalists after China, Iran and Belarus. According to the group, of the 550 journalists and media workers who are currently imprisoned worldwide, 73 – more than 13% – are women, a proportion that has doubled in the past five years. ‘Human trafficking must stop’ In Laos, an official who works on women’s issues told RFA that women’s rights are “a priority” for the government. “Human trafficking and violence against women must stop, and those who commit these acts must go to jail,” the official said, asking not to be named. “The laws that protect women should be strongly enforced.” But while the roles and rights of women in Laos have become better respected and protected in recent years, many Lao women – especially those in the country’s remote areas – are poor, uneducated, and easily victimized by human traffickers for the sex trade and forced labor in countries like Thailand and China. Vendors wait for customers at the main tourist market in Luang Prabang, Laos, Feb. 2020. Several women who spoke with RFA said the country’s gender imbalance is gradually improving. Credit: AFP And while the United Nations Development Program has commended Laos for having one of the world’s highest proportions of women in parliament, it noted that very few women hold power in other government institutions. The UNDP also notes “large inequalities in some regions, with women systematically denied the same work rights as men.” It cited sexual violence and exploitation, unequal division of unpaid care and domestic work, and discrimination in public office as huge barriers. Red paint Also on Wednesday, about 20 youth activists gathered in front of the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh calling on the Thai government to drop charges against Thai Tantawan “Tawan” Tuatulanon, Orawan “Bam” Phupong, and other Cambodian women rights defenders. The activists held a mediation session and doused their bodies with red paint to draw attention to their cause. “To honor women's day, the government needs to encourage the women who are environmental activists, politicians or union leaders,” said Kim Chhilinshe. “They are being detained for crimes that they didn't commit.” Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government marked International Women’s Day with a bleak statistic: It said 483 women across the country have been killed by the junta in the 25 months since the military seized power from the democratically elected government. The joint statement by the National Unity Government’s Ministry of Women, Youth and Children’s Affairs and the National Unity Consultative Council’s Coordinating Committee on Gender Policy said the junta had also detained 3,125 women, 11 of whom received the death sentence and 15 life imprisonment. Helping, not hurting In Cambodia, a number of women activists and politicians have been arrested due to their activism, said Am Sam Ath of rights group Licadho. He said they should have been encouraged to work to promote human rights and serve society instead of being arrested. "I want to see women [activists and politicians] who are being detained get their sentences reduced and pardoned so they can return to their families and to help develop the country," he said. Cambodian workers participate in an event to celebrate International Women's Day with a theme of "Support women and girls for the justice of all," on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Credit: Associated Press Lim Mony, a senior staffer with the rights group Adhoc who is working to promote the rights of women, said the government should encourage women to work freely. She also called for an end to political discrimination against women. “We have to understand that they are helping society rather than working against the government,” she told RFA. “They are working for the sake of the national interest.” Attempts by RFA to reach government spokesman Phay Siphan about the NGOs’ concerns went unanswered Wednesday. Translated by Samean Yun and Sidney Khotpanya. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/women-03082023165702.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036

A retired NASA engineer tells RFA he was shocked to learn that he had been accused of working for the CIA. It isn't exactly a plot from a spy novel, but the absurdities of circumstance read more like fiction than real life. Mark Gibbel, a retired NASA engineer, said he was visiting his fiance in Cambodia when a government-aligned news outlet, citing unnamed police sources, claimed that he was secretly a Central Intelligence Agency spy sent to carry out ‘political subversion’. The allegation made in Fresh News would be “funny if it wasn’t so serious,” Gibbel, 68, told RFA. The Cambodian outlet reported on Wednesday that Gibbel was allegedly working with Meach Sovannara, former spokesman for the Cambodian National Rescue Party, the country’s largest opposition party until it was dissolved in a widely criticized court decision in 2017. It later cited an unnamed senior police officer saying an investigation had been opened into Gibbel’s alleged political activities in Cambodia with Meach. “After information was leaked, Mark Gibbel, a CIA agent, left Cambodia last night,” the police official is quoted as saying. Police were investigating why the “CIA agents” were in Phnom Penh in order to prevent any societal unrest ahead of a closely watched verdict expected this Friday on the treason trial of former CNRP leader Kem Sokha, Fresh News said. Gibbel said he had gone to Cambodia not to stir up trouble, but to visit a woman he hopes to make his wife. “I was trying to figure out how my future life should go, should I live with my girl in Cambodia or live with her in the U.S.?” Gibbel said, adding: “I think this silly accusation [has] maybe forced our hand, [I have] no choice but to try to get her safely to America.” He has a professional association with Meach in the U.S., where the two run a nonprofit organization, the Policy Research Institute in California, that provides educational materials for youths in South East Asia. Gibbel insisted that the charity is apolitical. Kicked out Gibbel said he first suspected something strange was happening when police turned up at his guesthouse in Phnom Penh on Wednesday morning, insisting he thumbprint a three-page handwritten incident report in Khmer. The document does not accuse him of spying. It instead says that he purchased flower seeds to grow in the U.S and met with Meach. Assured by his fiancé’s brother that the document contained nothing untoward, Gibbel complied with the officers’ directive. But his landlady - unimpressed at having her business overrun with policemen - threw Gibbel out, which he took as his cue to leave Cambodia. It was not until he arrived in Thailand on Wednesday evening that he learned he had been accused of being a spy. Since he left Cambodia, his fiancé and her family have been under police surveillance, he said. The accusation has come as a shock, not least because he is not opposed to the Cambodian government, Gibbel said. “In the USA I have many friends that are members of the CPP,” he said. He had even been thinking of trying to meet Hun Manet, eldest son to Prime Minister Hun Sen and his anointed successor. “I have many friends that speak highly of him,” Gibbel said. Gibbel’s alleged co-conspirator, Meach, has also denied the Fresh News accusations of espionage, calling the report “unacceptable.” Meach had previously served a prison sentence of 20 years on insurrection charges, though he was released and pardoned in 2018 following the Cambodian elections. He told RFA he had not been contacted by police regarding the latest allegations. The privately-owned Fresh News is known for fierce editorial loyalty to Prime Minister Hun Sen and has used its pages to warn against perceived criticism of his government. On Thursday, it claimed that RFA and another non-state news outlet, Cambodia Daily, were inciting youths against the government with their independent reporting. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/espionage-03022023162456.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

The Cambodia National Rescue Party co-founder has been placed under house arrest. Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha has been found guilty of treason five years after his arrest in Phnom Penh. A judge at Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced him to 27 years imprisonment on charges that carried a maximum 30-year term, according to Am Sam Ath of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (Licadho), who monitored the verdict. The court said he had colluded with a foreign power from 2010 until his arrest, the AP news agency reported. It said he had one month to file an appeal against its ruling. Kem Sokha’s lawyer told RFA he plans to appeal the judgement. Kem Sokha was arrested and placed under house arrest after the announcement. The court also stripped him of the right to vote or run as a candidate for an indefinite period. Soeung Sengkaruna, spokesman for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association said he was not surprised with the outcome. "This is a serious verdict,” he said. "The verdict will affect younger politicians, they will have a difficult time competing in Cambodia's political environment. I am concerned about human rights and democracy in Cambodia.” Five-year wait Kem Sokha has always denied the charges which led to his arrest in September 2017, when more than 100 armed police officers stormed his home. Several months earlier his Cambodia National Rescue Party had made large gains in local commune elections. The 69-year-old was put on trial in January 2020 but the hearings were suspended two months later on the pretext of the coronavirus pandemic. The trial resumed last year. The charges against him relate partly to a video recorded in 2013 in which he discusses a strategy to win power with the help of U.S. experts. The United States Embassy has rejected any suggestion that Washington was trying to interfere in Cambodian politics. Kem Sokha spent a year in Trapeang Phlong Prison near the border with Vietnam. He was transferred to house arrest in Phnom Penh in October 2018. More than a year later, the court eased some of the restrictions by allowing him to travel inside the country but still banning him from participating in politics. The ban proved superfluous. Shortly after his arrest Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved and outlawed the CNRP, paving the way for Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party to take all 125 National Assembly seats in the 2018 general election. Humble beginnings Kem Sokha was born in Takeo province south of Phnom Penh, the son of farmers and grandson of a commune chief. He was 22 and studying law when the Khmer Rouge arrived in Phnom Penh and forced him to return to his hometown where he discovered they had killed his father. Following the fall of the Khmer Rouge he studied chemistry in Prague before returning to work in the Ministry of Industry. After being forced out of the job he took up teaching, worked as a winemaker and then founded a human rights group. He began his political career in 1993, serving as a National Assembly representative for the now-disbanded Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party. In 1999, he joined FUNCINPEC and served as a senator until 2001. Kem Sokha, then leader of the Human Rights party, speaks during a rally in Phnom Penh on July 9, 2008. Credit: Reuters/Chor Sokunthea In 2005, Kem Sokha founded the Human Rights Party which came third in general elections three years later, prompting him to join forces with Candlelight Party founder Sam Rainsy. Their new Cambodia National Rescue Party was the only challenger to Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party and won 45% of the seats in the 2013 general election. Two years later, Sam Rainsy fled to France, where has been living in self-exile ever since, following a series of charges his supporters say are politically motivated. Silencing the opposition Kem Sokha was hoping a not-guilty verdict would clear the way for a return to politics. His daughter told the AFP news agency he was keen to return to the fray ahead of July’s general elections. With four months to go he has become the latest threat to be silenced by Hun Sen. “It was obvious from the start that the charges against Kem Sokha were nothing but a politically motivated ploy by Prime Minister Hun Sen to sideline Cambodia’s major opposition leader and eliminate the country’s democratic system,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch said in a statement released immediately after the verdict. “Sending Kem Sokha to prison isn’t just about destroying his political party, but about squashing any hope that there can be a genuine general election in July.” Last month Cambodia’s Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Candlelight Party Vice President Son Chhay, who has been ordered to pay U.S.$1 million in damages to the CPP and the National Election Commission after saying last year’s local commune elections were marred by irregularities. Also in February Hun Sen shut down Cambodia’s last fully-independent news outlet after Voice of Democracy published a story about his son and political heir Hun Manet. A clever tactician, he then said VoD staff could apply for government jobs without having to sit the entrance examination. On Tuesday the government announced that at least 25 former staffers had applied. Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Mike Firn. Story updated to include details of the judgement. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/kem-sokha-verdict-03022023223514.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

The 70-year-old strongman has previously boasted about his good health. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced Monday that he has prediabetes, a condition that means he has above normal blood sugar levels and is at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. "I am not diabetic yet, but it is very close. It is alarming,” he said. “[Doctors] asked me to reduce sugar intake.” This is a rare instance of Hun Sen making a public announcement about his health. Previously, the 70-year-old has said that he was fit and that his family has no history of diabetes. The announcement comes after his brother Hun Neng, 72, passed away in May 2022. The prime minister’s wife previously secretly built a stupa for him at a pagoda, but Hun Sen has said he won’t be buried there and would rather be buried at his home. In November, he tested positive for COVID and left the Group of 20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, as a precaution despite having no symptoms. Hun Sen has ruled the country for nearly 38 years. He expects to remain in power until 2028, when he plans for his son Hun Manet to take over. Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Matt Reed. Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/hunsen-health-02212023150123.html

PHNOM PENH: Recent cases of bird flu discovered in two Cambodian villagers, one of them fatal, show no sign of human-to-human transmission, health officials in the Southeast Asian nation say, allaying fears of a public health crisis. An 11-year-old Cambodian girl from a village in the southeastern province of Prey Veng died on Feb 22 at a hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh, shortly after tests confirmed she had Type A H5N1 bird flu. Her father tested positive for the virus the day after her death, but showed no strong symptoms and was released Tuesday from a Prey Veng hospital where he had been kept isolated, the health ministry said. He was sent home after three negative tests. The two were the only villagers among more than two dozen tested who were found to carry the virus, the ministry said in a statement. Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, normally spreads among poultry but can sometimes spread from poultry to humans. The recent detection of infections in a variety of mammals has raised concern among experts that the virus could evolve to spread more easily between people, and potentially trigger a pandemic. read more https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/cambodia-bird-flu-cases-spread-not-humans-3316016

Facebook commentator, provincial party officials latest to be targeted in efforts to gain ruling party support. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is continuing efforts to compel political opposition figures to back his ruling Cambodian People’s Party ahead of general elections in July. Activists from the Candlelight Party — the main challenger to the ruling party — say authorities are defacing and stealing party signs and billboards, and police are monitoring their meetings. Candlelight Party activists in almost all provinces have reported cases of intimidation and harassment, party spokesman Kim Sour Phirith said. Police and local authorities have threatened those who join the party, saying they will take away their state-issued poverty cards that allow struggling families to collect about 176,000 riels, or U.S. $43 per month, to buy dry food ingredients and products with long shelf lives. Su Yean, deputy chairman of the party’s executive committee in Tbong Khmum province, said authorities directly and indirectly threatened him and others amid an increase of harassment of the party’s leaders and activists in February. “It is a scheme to discourage the public and Candlelight Party grassroots leaders not to carry out any activities to support the party,” Su Yean said. ‘Not a good son’ Additionally, Prime Minister Hun Sen has lately directed his attention toward Sorn Dara, a prominent political commentator on social media who is now living in exile in France and seeking asylum there. Thousands of viewers watch Sorn Dara’s talk shows on Facebook during which he routinely attacks Hun Sen and calls for his removal from office. Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Royal University of Phnom Penh on Friday, Hun Sen told the crowd that Sorn Dara, whose father is a military officer and a longtime Hun Sen supporter, was not a good son because he didn’t listen to his parents. “You insult your parents to whom you owe gratitude saying they have less education than you,” he said. “Your parents gave birth to you. You still look down on them. How about the regular people? If you don’t recognize your parents, then you are not human.” Sorn Dara’s parents appeared in a short video last week posted by the pro-government Fresh News, saying they had severed ties with their son because he didn’t listen to them. His father, Col. Sok Sunnareth, deputy chief of staff of the Kampong Speu Provincial Operations Area and a ruling party working group official, publicly implored his son on Feb. 22 to stop criticizing Hun Sen and his government, according to a Khmer Times report. Sorn Dara is a former official of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, or the CNRP, which was dissolved by the country’s Supreme Court in November 2017. He said his father disowned him that same year because he had refused to join the CPP. Parents held ‘hostage’ “My parents support for the Cambodian People’s Party is a fact,” Sorn Dara told Radio Free Asia on Monday. “However, the fact that he came forward and attacked his own son is not true.” He went on to say that his father’s criticism of him “was inspired by threats and intimidation” that amounted to his family being held “hostage” by Hun Sen and his government. “My parents are not politicians,” Sorn Dara said. “If you [Hun Sen] want to target me, go ahead with me, but not my parents. … This is an inhuman act, a crime against humanity and an act of terrorism.” Ros Sotha, executive director of the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee, a coalition of 22 local NGOs, said Hun Sen is targeting Sorn Dara because he is very influential. “This will dilute Hun Sen’s popularity,” he said. “Hun Sen worries about it.” For nearly four decades, Hun Sen has used repressive measures, including violence, arrests, detentions and lawsuits to keep the political opposition at bay so he can remain in power, especially before elections. Before the last general election in 2018, Cambodia's Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP and banned 118 of its members from participating in political activities for five years. Now, in the run-up to the July election, Hun Sen and his party are targeting the Candlelight Party. ‘Threatening to a high level’ Khem Monikosal, Candlelight’s president in Pailin province, told RFA on Monday that party members have been photographed while attending meetings. Authorities have also said they would confiscate the poverty cards of those who own the homes where the meetings take place, he said. Up to now, police have refused to accept party complaints that commune authorities and unidentified men stole and destroyed their signs, he said. “This situation is threatening to a high level, and it is my concern, and all colleagues in this Candlelight Party, especially activists at the grassroots level, are concerned about their safety after coming under more pressure and oppression at the grassroots level,” Khem Monikosal said. Election watchdogs urged Candlelight Party members and activists to collect evidence of political persecution and submit complaints to the Ministry of Interior, which governs the country’s police. RFA could not reach Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak for comment. Hun Sen, 70, has also tried to lure political opposition and environmental activists to the side of the ruling party by offering them government positions. RFA recently reported that environmental workers and opposition party members were being offered government jobs by the CPP as a way to weaken any competition ahead of the general elections. At least eight activists have recently joined the ruling party and have taken government positions. Similarly, Hun Sen publicly offered government jobs to staff members of the recently shuttered Voice of Democracy, saying they could apply for positions without taking the required civil service exam. His government revoked the operating license of the independent media outlet earlier this month, leaving Cambodia with no independent source of news. Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/political-opponents-02272023191256.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.