geovalin

Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng, has ordered Pursat provincial authorities to take action against the escalation of human trafficking in Veal Veng district on the Thai border. Foreign media reports have claimed that the area – a special economic zone with many buildings rented to foreign concerns – is rife with human trafficking and internet scame The Deputy PM stated earlier this week at the inauguration of the new governor of Pursat province that illegal activity in the area ‘is growing’. He added that the weak capacity of officials is also an opportunity for criminals to commit illegal acts. Therefore, he urged cooperation to get rid of those involved in illegal trafficking. The Deputy PM stated: “Human trafficking, other crimes, if our officials are not involved, it is very easy to solve.” read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501190715/deputy-pm-pursat-district-must-not-become-hotbed-of-crime-and-human-trafficking/

The 9th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Retreat and the 9th ADMM-Plus, a key platform for ASEAN military leaders to discuss regional peace and security were successfully concluded yesterday after three days of meetings. Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the National Defense shared the success at a press conference in Siem Reap provincial city yesterday. He said that at the retreat meeting, the ASEAN defense ministers approved the participation of Canada, France, and the UK in the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group (EWG) Observership Program and welcomed the commencement of the program next year. He added, all military leaders discussed the ADMM’s progress, and exchanged views on the regional and global security environment, and on future areas of cooperation for the ADMM and ADMM-Plus. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501190603/admm-retreat-and-admm-plus-in-siem-reap-cambodia-wraps-up-successfully/

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit has left the cleared area of Phnom Tamao forest after occupying it for about a month starting in August, seeming to transform a piece of the protected forest into an apparent park after a land giveaway controversy embroiled the area just three months ago. On a visit to the former forest on Wednesday, reporters found the cleared area fenced off but its entrance accessible, marked with a sign noting the “Phnom Tamao Arboretum” is open all day. A half-dozen visitors sat on motorbikes and a truck carried water throughout the clearance. In what was previously a zone of short but dense deciduous forest, meter-high saplings were evenly planted in rows across the expanse of sand, with weeds and some sheets of grass in between. A new man-made lake and bridge sits in the middle of the park, with large but newly-planted tree trunks supported by scaffolding flanking a water feature. read more https://vodenglish.news/cleared-phnom-tamao-forest-sculpted-into-park/

The initial exhibition at the Preah Srey Icanavarman Museum of Economy and Money (SOSORO) after the Covid-19 pandemic of the first journey of King Sisowath to France has drawn large crowds of international tourists, students, and members of the Royal Family. The exhibition titled “The journey of King Sisowath in France: a mutual revelation” opened on October 3 and runs until April 4 for visitors to learn about the official relationship between Cambodia and France. Blaise Kilian, co-director of the museum, said there have been more than 1,400 visitors who have mostly been international tourists, students, and members of the Royal Family who have visited the exhibit to learn about how the initial relationship with Europe was built into the fruitful one that exists today. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501189538/king-sisowath-exhibit-a-big-hit/

Lloyd Austin and Wei Fenghe discussed improving communications, Taiwan and military operations in the Indo-Pacific. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Wei Fenghe, Tuesday in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap to discuss managing the competition between the two superpowers. The 90-minute discussion, held ahead of an ASEAN defense ministers meeting, was the second face-to-face talks between them this year. Austin and Wei met in person for the first time as defense chiefs in June at a regional security forum in Singapore. Before the meeting, Cambodia’s Prime Minister and host Hun Sen said he hoped his country could be “a place of reconciliation” between China and the U.S. The two sides have been seeking to open a clearer and more regular communication channel between themselves in order to avoid miscalculations and mishaps. A press statement from the Pentagon said Secretary Austin “emphasized the need to responsibly manage competition and maintain open lines of communication” to Gen. Wei. Austin also raised concerns about what he called “the increasingly dangerous behavior” by Chinese military aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region, reiterating that the U.S. “will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows.” U.S. ally Australia said a Chinese fighter aircraft dangerously intercepted an Australian military surveillance plane in the South China Sea in May, a charge denied by Beijing. Chinese flyovers and naval patrols around Taiwan, in the East and South China Sea, are also posing challenges to the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy. Washington blames Beijing’s growing assertiveness and changing military postures for increased tensions in the region. The Chinese defense ministry in its readout of the Wei-Austin meeting said: “The responsibility for the current situation in Sino-U.S. relations lies with the U.S. and not with China.” Core interests “China attaches great importance to the development of relations between the two countries and the two militaries, but the U.S. must respect China's core interests,” the Chinese ministry of defense said. A large part of the talks focused on the Taiwan issue which Beijing said “is the core of China's core interests and the first insurmountable red line in China-U.S. relations.” China considers Taiwan a breakaway province that shall be reunified with the mainland at any cost. “The Chinese military has the confidence and ability to resolutely safeguard the unity of the motherland,” Wei was quoted as saying. “No external force has the right to interfere,” he added. For his part Austin reiterated that the U.S remains committed to its longstanding One China policy but emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He underscored his opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo and called on the Chinese military to “refrain from further destabilizing actions toward Taiwan,” the Department of Defense’s statement said. Austin and the Chinese minister also discussed other international and regional issues, the crisis in Ukraine, the South China Sea and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Sailors stand guard near patrol boats at the Cambodian Ream Naval Base in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, July 26, 2019. CREDIT: Reuters/Samrang Pring The U.S. and its allies also remain worried about a security deal China signed with the Solomon Islands and its involvement in a naval facility in Cambodia, where China is building a facility its military can use, but it’s unclear whether Wei and Austin discussed these topics during their meeting. Rong Chhun, a Cambodian political observer and union leader, told RFA Khmer that the fact the Cambodian government is getting closer to China and fails to honor its policy of neutrality as required by the constitution, especially over the Ream Naval Base, is a source of great concern. “If Cambodian leaders don’t show a clear stance on this [Ream] issue, it will not benefit our country and Cambodian citizens,” he said. The Association of Southeast Asia Nations Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus is an annual security forum between ASEAN defense ministers and the bloc’s eight Dialogue Partners - Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States. It is hosted by the rotating chair of the ASEAN. This year’s ADMM-Plus takes place on Wednesday. RFA Khmer contributed to this story. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/us-china-defense-meet-11222022035412.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

THMA DA COMMUNE, Pursat — Rows of shabby worker compounds in the remote Phnom Samkos mountains at the Thai border are still locked up. Large sliding metal panels close off access to more than a dozen of four- to six-story buildings where clothes are hanging out to dry at many windows. The road outside is quiet in the afternoon, as street vendors explain that as far as they know, the foreign workers inside are not allowed to come out. The talk of confined workers continues in the tiny border town, but a new notice has been posted on one barbed-wire-topped wall: All foreigners must have valid passports and documentation. Two months of a police “crackdown” on Cambodia’s scourge of human trafficking — workers tricked into coming to the country, then confined, bought and sold, and forced to work under the threat of violence — have at-times cast the enslavement as a matter of immigration status. read more https://vodenglish.news/sar-kheng-attacks-police-excuses-in-scam-trafficking/

For nearly five years in the 1970s, the Khmer Rouge conducted a reign of terror across Cambodia, killing at least 1.7 million people. Almost half a century later, as the trial of the regime’s last living leader concludes, traumatized survivors are trying to stem fading awareness about the horrors they endured. Norng Chan Phal, a survivor of Cambodia’s notorious Tuol Sleng prison. Norng Chan Phal, 53, is one of the few survivors of Cambodia’s notorious Tuol Sleng prison. He was just 9 years old when he and his family were locked up in the one-time school that served as a torture and execution center for those purged by the Khmer Rouge. More than 10,000 people died there. Skulls left from Pol Pot’s regime. "They started torturing my mother by kicking and punching her," he recalls. "She was kicked in the back and had her head slammed into a desk, which broke her teeth. Blood gushed from her mouth. I clung to my mother, but they beat her up again." He and his mother were then placed in separate cells. One day he caught a glimpse of her from the courtyard. It was the last time he would ever see her. Both of his parents were executed. The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. A final trial For more than 13 years, Norng Chan Phal has been watching as those responsible for the Khmer Rouge’s crimes stood trial. A special tribunal, established with the backing of the United Nations, prosecuted former members for the genocide that wiped out a fifth of the country’s population. read more https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/2141/

In a strong snub, ASEAN Chair Cambodia has excluded Myanmar Junta Defence Minister General Mya Tun Oo from the ongoing Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Retreat in Siem Reap province due to no “visible progress” in the implementation of the bloc’s peace initiative.This is the first time that Gen Tun Oo was not invited to attend an ADMM event. Despite controversy surrounding him, he was invited to and attended the 16th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) in Phnom Penh in June. The Junta Defence Ministry representative Zaw Zaw Soe, the Deputy Director-General of the Ministry’s Department of International Affairs, also attended the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials Meeting (ADSOM) and ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting Plus (ADSOM-Plus) in Phnom Penh in May. However, Minister of Defence General Tea Banh had decided to invite “a non-political representative” to represent the junta at the ADMM Retreat. But as it has done for past Asean meetings, including the recent ASEAN Summits, Myanmar’s State Administration Council (SAC) refused to send “a non-political representative” to attend the one in Cambodia, leaving Myanmar’s seat vacant. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501188705/junta-snubbed-cambodia-bars-sac-defence-minister-from-asean-meets/

Following complaints from local people, authorities in Koh Kong province’s Sre Ambel district said that they will seal an illegal construction that encroached the sea. The residents approached the authorities over two constructions alleging a secret tie-up between Chi Khor Krom commune chief and construction owner. In their complaint to the Koh Kong provincial authorities, the residents said that mangroves were cleared for the construction. Koh Kong provincial deputy governor Sok Sothy, who led a team to inspect the cases Friday last week, found that one is legal while the one site was found with no licence for construction. “The illegal construction site is affecting the sea and mangrove forest, so we have alerted Koh Kong Provincial Department of Agriculture to take action as the construction in the sea is completely illegal,” Sothy said. Director of Koh Kong Provincial Department of Agriculture, Y Mengleang, said yesterday that he will take action after receiving the inspection report. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501188826/koh-kong-residents-complain-against-illegal-construction-into-sea/

The government cares more about employers’ profits than workers’ welfare, sources told RFA. Cambodia’s government used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse for busting unions by jailing union members, preventing new unions from being formed, and stopping strikes and protests, a new report by Human Rights Watch said. The report said that in addition to abusing coronavirus restrictions to crack down on workers asserting their rights, authorities also allowed employers to ignore labor regulations and treat workers unfairly in violation of Cambodian labor laws. “The Cambodian government and unscrupulous employers used the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to further restrict independent unions instead of protecting worker welfare and rights at a desperate time,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Robertson said labor rights in the Southeast Asian kingdom were backsliding and urged the international community to pressure the country’s authoritarian government to comply with labor rights obligations. The report documented five examples of unfair dismissals and mass layoffs that targeted union leaders and activists, including the high-profile NagaWorld Casino controversy. In December 2021, thousands of NagaWorld workers walked off their jobs, demanding higher wages and the reinstatement of eight jailed union leaders, three other jailed workers and many others they say were unjustly fired from the hotel and casino. The complex is owned by a Hong Kong-based company believed to have connections to family members of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Cambodian authorities called the strike illegal and alleged that it is supported by foreign donors as a plot to topple the government, and then repeatedly arrested protesters en masse for “violating pandemic health regulations.” The Human Rights Watch report also documented Cambodian companies’ use of fixed-duration contracts to restrict workers’ rights. Employers were able to discontinue the contracts on a whim to target union leaders and activists, and get out of paying severance payments as required by law. Cambodia’s Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training issued an order to allow fixed-duration contracts to extend beyond two years, which the organization said was an “apparent violation of Cambodian labor law.” Government entities that are supposed to protect labor are not acting, Human Rights Watch said. The Arbitration Council, which interprets labor law to settle disputes “has increasingly refused to rule against the ministry,” the report said. Accurate reporting The report accurately reflects the situation on the ground, sources in Cambodia told Radio Free Asia’s Khmer Service. Cambodia’s court system has been complicit in restricting labor rights, said Chhan Bora, who participated in the NagaWorld strike and is a member of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees. She said the court has summoned her after NagaWorld Casino’s owner sued strikers, whom she said were trying to demand that the owner complies with Cambodian labor laws. Having “government authorities as arbitrator in charge of solving this labor dispute are not independent,” said Chhan Bora. “The labor dispute has been protracted, and they cannot solve it,” she said. “Yet, they turn to support the [foreign] employer’s side and treat our Cambodian workers badly.” Even though Cambodia is party to International Labor Organization conventions that protect the rights of association, organization and collective bargaining, newly created Cambodian laws go against these conventions, said Ou Tep Phallin, president of the Cambodian Food and Service Workers Federation. “Cambodian workers face difficulties in forming their unions, in registering their unions. They are subject to government pressure,” said Ou Tep Phallin. “I think the whole system of the government is not to promote civic rights, but to promote the employers’ wealth to arbitrarily do anything [against workers],” she said. RFA attempted to contact government spokespeople from the government, the labor ministry, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, and the government-aligned Cambodian Human Rights Committee, but none could be reached as of Monday. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Eugene Whong. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/union-11212022155826.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

This is a two-story series looking at a monkey breeding farm in Pursat and allegations made in a U.S. indictment that the firm and the Agriculture Ministry were in cahoots to export wild-captured macaques. PURSAT CITY, Pursat — The workload at Vanny Bio Research monkey farm goes up as long-tailed macaques are prepared to be boxed in crates and flown to laboratories overseas. Food preparation teams make extra portions to pack for the road. Medical teams give the monkeys extra injections. And the workers watch as the export-ready macaques are separated from the others. “Every time they export I’m very sad. We have a lot of close contact with the monkeys. They wail. The next day they will be on a plane,” a worker said. “I can’t hold in my feelings. I pity them.” Three employees of Vanny Bio Research spoke to VOD about the Pursat monkey farm, whose management is facing indictment from the U.S. court for allegedly laundering wild-captured monkeys as captive-bred. An Agriculture Ministry official was arrested in New York on Wednesday in the case, and Cambodia’s Forestry Administration director is also facing charges. All three of the Vanny Bio Research employees who spoke to reporters said they knew of “forest,” or wild, monkeys being brought in from outside. read more https://vodenglish.news/i-pity-them-unease-inside-the-monkey-export-business/

Ten people were killed and 30 seriously injured by landmines or unexploded ordinance (UXO) in the first 10 months of this year. Senior Minister Ly Thuch, the first vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) said the number of cases was, however, down 5% compared with the same period last year. He said of the 30 injured cases, seven were disabled by landmines or UXO. Most of the cases, he said, happened in Preah Vihear, Battambang, Kampong Thom, Svay Rieng, Pursat, Banteay Meanchey, Ratanakiri, Kratie, Pailin, Siem Reap, and Preah Sihanouk. “Preah Vihear had the most number of cases, both fatal and injuries,” he said yesterday. According to Thuch, some 20,000 people were killed by landmines and UXO between 1970 and October this year. “The number of injury cases is 45,186,” he said. “We remain highly committed to ridding Cambodia of landmines and UXO and we are grateful for the support given to us in this endeavour by countries including Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501188233/landmines-kill-10-hurt-30-this-year/

They worry a new Chinese language requirement will be too big of a burden. Meng Sophay, an 11th grader at Hun Sen Chamkar Dong High School in Cambodia’s coastal province of Kep, doesn’t think much of a plan announced last week to require students like him to learn Chinese. "To me, it is not very satisfying because we already have our Khmer language and other languages,” Meng Sophay told Radio Free Asia. “I think it's a lot.” Earlier this month, Chinese and Cambodian officials signed an agreement to include Chinese instruction in grades 7 to 12, a reflection of the close economic and geopolitical ties that have developed between the two countries. Sok Ey San, a spokesman for the ruling Cambodian People's Party, noted in an interview with an influx of Chinese nationals working in Cambodia. Chinese-language instruction will help Cambodian students compete for jobs after they leave school. He dismissed any criticism of the plan as coming from CPP opponents. “It is very necessary that we strive to strengthen and expand trade between Cambodia and China, which is a huge market,” he said. But Ol Sophin is another student who isn’t quite sure. The 10th grader at Sre Po High School in the central Cambodian province of Stung Treng province said that the inclusion of Chinese characters in public schools could make it easier for poor children who could not afford to study Chinese in private schools. She is concerned, however, that the additional requirement could mean young students have less time to learn the Khmer language. "I'm worried that when foreign languages are introduced, such as Vietnamese and Chinese, it can overwhelm the next generation of young Cambodians, it makes them forget their own language, and some of them will speak foreign languages,” Ol Sophin said. “When it comes time to speak a foreign language, you will forget your own language, [you] do not speak your own language,” she said. Ros Sovacha, spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports spokesman, told local reporters that the inclusion of high school Chinese language education programs will be rolled out in stages. To start, the Chinese language curriculum will be limited to 20 high schools in two or three provinces. RFA could not reach Ros Sovacha for further comment. French and English are already part of Cambodia’s general education curriculum. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/students-11182022143311.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Royal Palace, the most popular tourist spot in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, will be reopened for the public from Dec. 1 after a closure for more than two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "National and international tourists will be allowed to visit the Royal Palace from Dec. 1, 2022 onwards," Royal Palace Minister Kong Sam Ol said in a letter released to the media on Friday. According to the Ministry of Tourism, the beautiful towering spires of the buildings at the Royal Palace are a great example of classic Khmer architecture found in Cambodia. Tourists are welcome to visit the Throne Hall (Preah Tineang Tevea Vinichhay), where coronations and official ceremonies take place, the ministry said. The gardens are beautifully manicured, and buildings on the palace grounds include the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Preah Keo Morakot), Stupas, the Royal Dining Hall, the Chan Chhaya Pavilion and a French building that was a gift from Napoleon III, the ministry added. Among the numerous interesting buildings, within the 183,135-square-meter compound is the Khemarin Palace, or the "Palace of the Khmer King", which is the official residence of current King Norodom Sihamoni, the ministry said, adding that the Khemarin Palace is in a protected part of the compound and not opened to the public. The number of international tourists to Cambodia has increased at a faster-than-expected pace, prompting the kingdom to lift its target to 2 million tourists for 2022, up from earlier forecast of 1 million, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said. "Cambodia's full reopening of its borders to all travelers, high COVID-19 vaccination rates and tourism development strategies are key to attracting tourists to the kingdom," Khon told Xinhua. https://english.news.cn/20221118/c9b89eea7801466a9516077cff267db1/c.html

Washington, DC — A unique Cambodian circus troupe that attempted to set a Guinness World Record with a more than 24-continuous-hours performance in 2021 was officially granted the “Longest Circus Show” title, according to a press statement released Friday. The Cambodian non-profit circus group, Phare Ponleu Selpak, said in the press release that its circus performance in Battambang town in northwestern Cambodia of 24 hours, 10 minutes, 30 seconds was “a last-ditch effort to raise funds to survive” during the Covid-19 pandemic. Guinness announced the world record in a livestream on Thursday attended by Cambodian Ministry of Culture. Phare Ponleu Selpak was founded by Cambodian refugees and victims of the Khmer Rouge genocide to help lift families out of poverty and to preserve the Cambodian culture. The Guinness World Records organization said on its website that the Cambodian circus group has helped over 800 disadvantaged children and has taken “innovative steps in the last decade to avoid dependence on handouts by creating a popular animal-free circus and tourist attraction which has funded their life-saving programmes.” The ‘Longest Circus Show’ record is added to the kingdom’s other world records including the longest woven scarf, the biggest sticky bun, the longest alphabet, and the largest religious structure of Angkor Wat. https://www.voacambodia.com/a/cambodia-s-phare-wins-guinness-record-for-longest-circus-show-/6839879.html

US global rating agency Moody’s Investors Service Inc on November 15 announced that it downgraded Cambodia’s outlook from “stable” to “negative” and maintained its B2 local and foreign currency issuer ratings. “The negative outlook reflects a deteriorating external position as illustrated by the severe widening of the current account deficit, which Moody’s expects to remain wide – albeit narrowing – over the next few years, raising financing concerns,” the New York City-based firm said in a statement. Citing “downside risks” to post-Covid-19 recovery stemming from a “weakening” of growth in the US and EU, Cambodia’s top export markets, as well as in China and other jurisdictions with significant economic ties to the Kingdom, Moody’s says it expects real gross domestic product (GDP) growth to remain below the seven per cent annual average logged in the 2010-2019 decade in “the next few years”. read more https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/moodys-sets-outlook-rating-negative-cambodia

The Agriculture Ministry backed two of its employees who have been charged with smuggling long-tailed macaques — and one of whom was arrested in the U.S. on Wednesday — and said it would make the “utmost efforts” to absolve them. Agriculture Ministry official Kry Masphal was arrested in New York, U.S., on Wednesday after a federal court issued an arrest warrant for him and another senior ministry official Keo Omaliss. Masphal is Cambodia’s representative to the CITES wildlife convention and deputy director of the wildlife department, whereas Omaliss is the head of the Forestry Administration and REDD+ forest protection program. CITES, or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is a global treaty that protects against international trade of plants and animals, while REDD+ is a conservation program aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation. The ministry released a statement Thursday night saying it was “surprised and saddened” at the arrest of Masphal as he was transiting to a CITES conference in Panama. read more https://vodenglish.news/agriculture-ministry-defends-indicted-officials-caught-in-monkey-smuggling-ring/

Cambodia won the World’s Best Rice 2022 Award in World Rice Conference (WRC) yesterday after it was commissioned to participate in the world-class rice competition in Phuket province of Thailand, according to the agriculture minister. Dith Tina, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), told Khmer Times yesterday that Cambodian premium fragrant rice won the award for the fifth — 2022 after 2018, 2014, 2013 and 2012 — of its rice industry history since this year since participating in the annual contest, which is a very big honour and proud of Cambodia and Cambodians, especially on the quality of Cambodia’s rice. “The world would recognise more about our country through the award as the producer of the best quality of rice in the world. Cambodian rice is very delicious with great smell for both supplying domestic market and exporting to other markets in the rest of the world,” Tina said, adding the award is expected to promote the quality of Cambodia’s rice. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501187052/cambodia-wins-worlds-best-rice-award-2022/

Phnom Penh, home to over 2.3 million people and growing fast, is in an excellent position to progress as one of Asean’s future smart cities, said experts during a discussion forum recently. The forum, organised at Raintree Cambodia in Phnom Penh in connection with the release of the latest Digital Insights publication by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and EuroCham titled ‘Future of Cities,’ discussed the implications of digitalisation and challenges such as waste management and transportation – some of the key factors defining city planning. The 30-city Digital Cities Index (DCI) released recently by the Economist Impact was used as a model to study the strengths and weaknesses of Phnom Penh in its quest to become a smart city. The analysis of the factors and initiatives of the five top digital cities in the index – Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Beijing, London and Seoul – found that Phnom Penh has a high score of 56.8 out of 100 when it comes to connectivity. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501187000/phnom-penh-in-excellent-position-to-become-a-smart-city-say-experts/

An Agriculture Ministry official was arrested in New York — and the Forestry Administration’s director is also wanted — for a U.S. felony indictment over smuggling long-tailed macaques. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida issued a statement overnight saying Masphal Kry, the Forestry Administration’s deputy director of wildlife and biodiversity, was arrested on Wednesday at John F. Kennedy International Airport, leading to the unsealing of an indictment against an alleged wild monkey smuggling ring. The indictment charges two officials of the Forestry Administration as well as six members of a “major primate supply organization,” including its owner and general manager. Forestry Administration director Keo Omaliss is the second of the two Agriculture Ministry officials charged. If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years in prison on the charge of conspiracy, and up to 20 years on seven smuggling charges, the statement said. read more https://vodenglish.news/cambodian-official-arrested-in-us-over-alleged-monkey-smuggling-ring/

As the rotating Chair of Asean, Cambodia is committed to moving forward with the peace initiative on Myanmar with the ASEAN Chair Special Envoy planning a third official trip to the crisis-hit nation before the end of his term. In another development, Malaysia has become the first Asean member to oppose the Myanmar junta government’s planned national election next year. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Chum Sounry told Khmer Times yesterday that Minister of Foreign Affairs and ASEAN Chair Special Envoy Prak Sokhonn will travel to the country to seek the resolution. “As the ASEAN Chair 2022, Cambodia remains committed to moving forward the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, and therefore, the ASEAN Chair Special Envoy stands ready to pay his third visit to Myanmar anytime by the end of 2022 when we see the possibility for progress in this purpose,” he said. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501186158/sokhonn-to-make-third-trip-to-myanmar-in-peace-bid/

U.S. President Joe Biden aired a litany of concerns during his meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday. Washington — According to a readout of their meeting from the White House, Biden raised his concerns about Chinese construction at the Ream Naval Base in Sihanoukville, called for Cambodia to free jailed activists including Cambodian-American human rights lawyer Theary Seng, and urged Phnom Penh to open political space ahead of national elections next year. Biden called for “full transparency” at the naval base on Cambodia’s southern coast, where he U.S. believes China’s military is constructing a base for its exclusive use, a claim that Phnom Penh denies. “President Biden also urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to reopen civic and political space ahead of the 2023 elections. He also called for the release of activists detained on politically motivated charges, including U.S.-Cambodian dual citizen Seng Theary,” the readout said. “President Biden reiterated the United States’ commitment to the Cambodian people and their aspirations for a more prosperous, democratic, and independent country.” Theary Seng was jailed in July after being found guilty of incitement for her Facebook posts supporting opposition leader Sam Rainsy. She began a weeklong hunger strike on Monday in advance of Biden’s arrival in the country. Human rights groups say she is among at least 50 political prisoners in the country. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan declined on Sunday to say how Hun Sen responded to Biden’s requests. “But I would say the conversation was direct and candid and constructive. It was not acrimonious or harsh,” Sullivan told reporters in a press gaggle. Hun Sen declined to comment on Biden’s concerns at a press conference on Sunday closing the summit. “You can go to ask the US. I won’t answer. I don’t know what the US says since Joe Biden didn’t talk much with me,” he said. “Joe Biden came not to discuss Cambodia’s internal affairs. He came to talk about global issues.” FILE - Cambodian-US human rights advocate Theary Seng, dressed as Lady Liberty, is arrested by police after being found guilty of treason in her trial in front of the Phnom Penh municipal court on June 14, 2022. (Photo by Samuel / AFP) Biden is now in Bali, Indonesia, where leaders of the world’s largest economies gather amid heightened tension over Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s territorial ambitions toward Taiwan. During his stop in Phnom Penh, Biden joined the US-ASEAN Summit, where regional leaders signed the U.S.-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which the White House touted as proof of increasing multilateral cooperation. Biden and Hun Sen also discussed efforts to restore democracy and stability in Myanmar after the military coup last year, and Biden thanked Hun Sen for Cambodia’s support of United Nations resolutions supporting Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion. “President Biden expressed appreciation for Cambodia’s leadership of ASEAN during a challenging year,” per the readout. The last time Hun Sen and Biden met was in Washington DC in May, when Southeast Asian leaders gathered for the US-ASEAN special summit. Hun Sen noted in a social media post that Biden during that trip expressed his condolences over the recent death of the prime minister’s brother. “He is a person of sentiment and was very respectful, as he has also lost close family members – he understood my sorrow and shared his own grief with me,” Hun Sen wrote of Biden. However, Hun Sen’s trip wasn’t entirely smooth. Cambodia-American Ouk Touch threw a show at Hun Sen during his visit, in what he said was an attempt to humiliate him. Hun Sen expressed his frustration over the lack of legal action in the U.S. in a speech a few days later. “If the U.S. considers shoe-throwing as freedom of expression, it is encouraging [the practice] in other countries,” he said “Now I am concerned for the safety of the opposition party leaders…We can also throw shoes at opposition party leaders’ heads in Cambodia.” However, Biden has been on a sustained charm offensive toward Southeast Asia in his attempt to counter China’s rising influence in the region. He said the U.S.-ASEAN pact signed over the weekend would help address some of the “biggest issues of our time.” "Together we will tackle the biggest issues of our time, from climate, to health security, to defend against the significant threat to the rule-based order," he said, opening the U.S.-ASEAN Summit. "We will build an Indo-Pacific that's free and open, stable and prosperous, and resilient and secure.” Cambodia is seen as one of Beijing’s closest allies in the bloc, though analysts say Phnom Penh’s co-sponsorship of recent UN resolutions backing Ukraine show it is also seeking to warm relations with the west. However, next year’s elections are likely to test Cambodia’s relations with its democratic donors. FILE - Cambodia's Candlelight Party supporters celebrate their dancing before marching during an election campaign for the June 5 communal elections in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, May 21, 2022. Most of the country’s most prominent opposition figures face arrest if they return to Cambodia, while Kem Sokha, the acting opposition leader, is still banned from politics, despite regularly meeting with foreign diplomats at his Phnom Penh villa. The ruling Cambodian People’s Party currently holds every seat in parliament, and although it allowed the opposition Candlelight Party to run in local elections, many of its leaders have quickly found themselves slapped with lawsuits or renewed legal charges. And Hun Sen seemed to warn last month the party could be banned like the Cambodia National Rescue Party, due to its symbolic affiliation with longtime opposition leader Sam Rainsy. Sam Rainsy, who lives in France, penned an opinion article for The Diplomat ahead of Biden’s visit calling for the U.S. president to “take concrete measures to hold Prime Minister Hun Sen accountable for his theft of democracy.” “His administration must also ramp up its use of sanctions against the Hun Sen regime, using the same vigor and techniques it has used to target Vladimir Putin’s allies over their war in Ukraine,” Rainsy wrote. The U.S. Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations advanced a bill in July that would sanction Cambodian leaders involved in corruption and human rights abuses. A spokesperson for Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) told VOA Khmer they expected the bill, a version of which was passed in the House, to reach Biden’s desk by the end of the year. "This legislation makes clear that the United States will not stand by as Hun Sen and his cronies corrupt Cambodian democracy, persecute and jail opposition and political activists, target free speech and independent media, and enrich themselves through rampant corruption," Markey said in a statement introducing the bill. Additional reporting in Phnom Penh, Sun Narin https://www.voacambodia.com/a/biden-pushes-hun-sen-on-naval-base-jailed-activists-political-repression/6835039.html

But half their number are kept out by convictions. In 2017, Cambodia’s Supreme Court disbanded the main opposition party at the behest of Prime Minister Hun Sen and imposed a five-year ban on 118 of its members from entering politics, effectively squelching any political opposition to the strongman who has ruled the country for 37 years. On Wednesday, that ban expired, allowing the former members of the Cambodian National Rescue Party, or CNRP, to re-enter politics ahead of general elections scheduled for July. While nearly half of the CNRP politicians have been convicted of crimes such as incitement and conspiracy to overthrow the government, about 50-60 have not been charged with any offenses and are eligible to become involved in politics again, said CNRP Vice President Eng Chhai Eang, who is among those convicted, and who now lives in the United States. “I am doing politics from abroad where I have full freedom to advocate against dictators who are taking Cambodia for their personal benefits,” Eng Chhai Eang said. “For the five past years, people haven’t remained still. Hun Sen can’t sleep peacefully.” The main reason Hun Sen dissolved the CNRP was because he realized that the opposition party could be the backbone of the power struggle and possibly derail his plan to transfer power to his son, Hun Manet, said Um Sam An, a senior CNRP official who fled to the U.S. on account of political persecution. During the past five years, Hun Sen’s government has become increasingly authoritarian, cracking down on fundamental freedoms, violating human rights, and arresting and imprisoning political and social activists. Hun Sen is still afraid of losing power because he lacks self-confidence and because Cambodians continue to advocate for freedom, despite government repression, Um Sam An said. “After the dissolution of the CNRP, Hun Sen wanted to rule like in North Korea,” he said. “He is holding fake elections without the participation of the opposition party.” New opposition: Candlelight Party The ruling Cambodian People’s Party claimed a sweeping victory in nationwide elections for local councils held in June, though the current opposition party, the Candlelight Party, said were marred by widespread fraud. Founded by Sam Rainsy, co-founder and acting president of the CNRP, the Candlelight Party resumed political activity in October 2021 after being inactive since 2012. Sam Rainsy, who fled to France in 2015 to avoid arrest for various charges his supporters say were politically motivated, said the CNRP is still going strong despite the government ban. “Five years ago, the CNRP was only dissolved on paper,” he said. “Only Hun Sen’s regime thought that the CNRP was dissolved.” Democratic countries still recognize the CNRP and San Rainsy as its acting president, he added. “They recognize and value me as a person who is the representative of half the voters in the country. Nothing has changed me,” Sam Rainsy said. Sok Ey San, spokesman for the ruling Cambodian People's Party, said Cambodia is a democracy that is not experiencing a political crisis that would require the government to negotiate with the opposition and resolve the issue. “The Supreme Court’s verdict dissolved the CNRP so there is no hope that the CNRP will be revived regardless of how many years it will take,” he said. But Kien Ponlok, secretary general of the Federation of Cambodian Intellectual Students, said democracy in Cambodia is on the decline because of the arrest and imprisonment of political and social activists. He urged the government to restore democracy ahead of the 2023 national elections at the request of the U.S., which would enable Cambodia to avoid sanctions imposed by the international community. “While political activists are still being held in custody, democratic space in Cambodia is still not moving forward,” Kien Ponlok said. “Cambodia might become a dictatorial regime.” Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Edited by Malcolm Foster. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/cnrp-politicians-11162022151739.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Around 100 children abandoned by their parents at the farmstead of League for Democratic party (LDP) leader Khem Veasna are subjected to child labour, a top police official has said. The organisers of the doomsday cult are depriving children of their basic right to education and forcing them to do other household chores and farm work. “Children residing in the farmstead are victims of child labour since they spend most of their time on farm chores rather than studying,” according to Banteay Srei police chief Colonel Long Samnang. Col Samnang said that the children are required every day to wash dozens of dishes, give a helping hand in the kitchen, do laundry, sweep the farm yard, herd the cattle, plough, among others, in order to discipline themselves. He added that the children focus on farm chores and spend less time on studying that is usually taught by the LDP members. “We are watching them closely to find whether the doomsday organisers are forcing the children with punishments to do farm chores,” he noted. He said that the children had already lost a lot of months in study as they are living in the farmstead. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501185401/doomsday-farm-kids-subjected-to-child-labour-say-police/

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court yesterday upheld a 15-year jail term given to 57-year-old woman who sold three minor Cambodian girls to Chinese human trafficking group in 2018. Presiding Judge Sin Visal rejected the appeal plea of convict Chim Chantha, a farmer living in Pong Toek village, Roka Pram commune, Tboung Khmum province’s Tboung Khmum district. During yesterday’s appeal hearing, Chantha admitted committing the offence, and said that she filed the appeal to seek a reduced jail term as she was old and living with many diseases in the prison. Judge Visal said that she was sentenced on May 15 this year by the Kratie Provincial Court to 15 years in prison on charges of ‘Unlawful Removal for Cross-Border Transfer’ under Article 11 of the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. According to Ratanakiri Provincial Police’s report, Chantha who had been recruiting girls from poor families in the pretext of helping them get married to Chinese men, persuaded three underage girls living in Kratie province’s Snuol district for marriage with Chinese men in 2018. Chantha paid $3,000 each to the victims’ parents for marriage expenses. When the victims arrived in China, their passports were seized by the Chinese ringleaders of human trafficking group. Later they were sold to work as masseuses at a Chinese Karaoke Club there for more than a year and the owner forced them to be prostitute without pay. The girls managed to flee in a cab to the Cambodian Embassy, and were repatriated later to Cambodia in June 2019. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/1185407/no-mercy-for-woman-who-sold-minor-girls-to-chinese-gang/