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US to help develop Kingdom's cybercrime law
As a hacker yet again defaced the personal website of Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday, a Justice Ministry spokesman announced that the US would help the Kingdom develop its controversial draft cybercrime bill, which observers have long feared will be used to crack down on government critics. Following a meeting between US Ambassador William Heidt and Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana yesterday morning, Justice Ministry spokesman Chin Malin said the US had volunteered to help “guarantee that the preparation of this law is not going to restrict freedom of expression”.
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Workers at Siem Reap hotel to renew calls for reinstatement
About 70 workers plan to once again demonstrate today in front of Siem Reap’s Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa after negotiations failed to reach a solution, said Morn Rithy, president of the Cambodian Tourism and Services Federation. The workers have been protesting for the reinstatement of 17 employees, who they claim were unfairly dismissed in September and October following union elections, and for the firing of the hotel’s manager, who they blame for the dismissals. In January, the hotel fired an additional 60 staff, Rithy said.
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Government Mouthpieces Have Roots in Opposition
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan has little trouble these days conjuring up attacks on the country’s opposition leaders, describing Sam Rainsy as a “racist” with a Vietnamese mother and Kem Sokha as “a puppet of the U.S.” engaged in sex slavery. The two heads of the CNRP, Mr. Siphan has said, are bent on “creating a state of civil war” in Cambodia, with Mr. Sokha “a communist [who] does not support decentralization” and Mr. Rainsy “a national liar.”
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THUMBPRINTS BANNED
The Kampong Thom provincial governor has issued a letter rejecting the Cambodian National Rescue Party’s (CNRP) request to send officials to the province to collect thumbprints for their latest petition for royal intervention over the current political crisis. The letter was issued on Friday after the CNRP provincial executive committee asked the governor’s permission.
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PM takes shots at Sokha as ACU takes up new probe
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday taunted embattled opposition lawmaker Kem Sokha, telling the CNRP acting president that if he was confident of victory in upcoming elections he should just remain holed-up in his party’s headquarters. Although the comments yesterday appeared to mark a further softening in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party’s stance on Sokha – who authorities tried to arrest two weeks ago – they came amid news of another potential legal case against the acting CNRP leader as the Anti-Corruption Unit announced yesterday that it was probing human trafficking accusations against the lawmaker.
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Woman arrested over Kratie land protests
A woman was arrested in Kratie on Sunday for allegedly obstructing public officials while protesting the seizure of her and 64 other families’ land, which is slated to be given away as part of a social land concession. Lun Sophat, an officer at Kratie provincial police headquarters, confirmed 60-year-old Sreng Pho’s arrest and said she was transferred to the provincial court for further questioning yesterday.
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ACU May Investigate Kem Sokha for Human Trafficking
Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) Chairman Om Yentieng said on Monday that he would look into the possibility that deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha facilitated human trafficking to the U.S. under the guise of business trips. The accusation was made during a conference at the ACU’s headquarters in Phnom Penh by Sam Phalla—a woman who has claimed for years to be the mother of a spurned mistress of Mr. Sokha, and has filed a number of complaints against him.
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Arrests Continue on Latest ‘Black Monday’
Seven activists arrested in Phnom Penh on Monday morning for attempting to demonstrate against the recent arrests of four human rights workers and an election official were released by nightfall, a familiar conclusion to the latest “Black Monday” demonstration. Protesters dressed in black shirts first gathered outside the city’s Prey Sar prison on May 9 to demand the release of the five prisoners, who have all been charged with bribing the alleged mistress of CNRP Vice President Kem Sokha to deny the affair. The Anti-Corruption Unit has been investigating the purported relationship for evidence of financial wrongdoing, although many see the effort as politically motivated.
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Minimum Wage Talks Scheduled
The Ministry of Labor has instructed employers and unions in the country’s crucial garment sector to begin preparations for the next round of minimum wage negotiations. In a statement released on Monday, the ministry said initial talks would be held in August, with a final round of negotiations involving factory owners, unions and the government set for October, and a new minimum wage to take effect in January.
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CNRP’s signs removed in Oddar Meanchey
Police from Samraong town in Oddar Meanchey province are investigating the removal of roadside signs promoting the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party by two village chiefs who belong to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. CNRP commune council member Mok Vannvuthy said the seven people who lodged the complaint on June 1 had given statements to police, alleging the two village chiefs took down three of the signs on May 29.
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LOGS TO BE SOLD, NAMES RELEASED
The Ministry of Economy and Finance has announced the date of the auction for timber confiscated from logging companies by the National Anti-Deforestation Committee (NADC) earlier this year, inadvertently releasing the official names of seven previously unknown companies caught housing illegally logged wood. The application process for the auction, which will be held from June 8 to June 22, will allow bidders to vie for more than 6,000 cubic meters of wood only from Mondulkiri province, estimated to be worth more than $12 million.
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Former garment workers petition ministry for severance pay
About 40 former Global Apparels Limited workers marched to the Ministry of Labour yesterday to submit a complaint requesting assistance in obtaining benefits they claim are owed to them under the Labour Law. The complaint, signed by three unions – Collective Union of Movement of Workers, Cambodian Youth Power Union League and Labour Union of Cambodia – demands that the company pay severance pay and other benefits to more than 600 workers who were terminated on Thursday.
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CPP Bigger Than Hun Sen, Dissent Reminds
Speculating on the internal dynamics of the CPP has long been the bread and butter of Cambodian political observers, with theories about divisions in the party proving only less popular among senior leaders than criticism about rights abuses. Such tea-leaf reading has led to a type of Kremlinology that holds Prime Minister Hun Sen and his authoritarian cult of personality against seemingly more moderate groups close to Interior Minister Sar Kheng and Senate President Say Chhum, both vice presidents of the party.
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NGO files complaint against NEC
An NGO has filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Unit against senior National Election Committee members for “colluding to commit corruption inside an independent institution”, relating to a transfer of the body’s employees from independent contractors to government officials. The complaint, signed by Ros Sarom, director of Victory Intelligent Standard Association, who claimed to represent 10,000 intellectuals, government officials and NGO workers, was filed on June 2 and addresses nine NEC members, but specifically accuses four members – Sik Bun Hok, Kuoy Bunroeun, Hang Puthea and Mao Sophearith – of corruption.
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NEW SUMMONS, SAME RESPONSE
After yet another summons was issued for his arrest on Friday, acting opposition party leader Kem Sokha said yesterday he would “sacrifice himself” in the name of justice by ignoring the court order. His Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) also plans to continue gathering signatures on a petition asking for Royal intervention in Mr. Sokha’s case as well as those of five detained members of civil society and the National Election Committee.
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TEAMS TO TACKLE LAND DISPUTES
All of the Kingdom’s longstanding land disputes will be resolved with the help of 27 newly-created teams, Minister of Land Management Chea Sophara said last week. In a letter dated June 3, Mr. Sophara said each team will consist of four members, whose aim will be to support citizens’ rights rather than those of powerful businessmen or authorities.
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Gov’t failing to protect nation’s forests: activist
The government is failing to protect Cambodia’s forests, activists, civil society groups and students said during yesterday’s World Environment Day celebration in Phnom Penh. About 500 people from around the country gathered for most of the day to speak about environmental issues, taking the opportunity to criticise the government for letting powerful tycoons and officials destroy forests with impunity.
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Draft of whistleblower law due in July: ACU
The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) will unveil the first draft of its long-awaited whistleblower protection law next month, according to minutes of a May 30 meeting between the ACU and the National Council Against Corruption published on the unit’s website, but observers are not holding their breath. Drafting of the law was initiated in 2014 following calls from civil society for greater protections to be afforded to whistleblowers.
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Military police to probe timber bribery
The military police has announced an expansive internal investigation following media reports of widespread bribery of its officers by timber transporters along with videos posted online of military police officers taking cash. Military police spokesman Eng Hy said investigators would visit provinces along the Vietnam border as well as Kampong Speu and Pursat, where local media reports said officers were personally involved in illegal luxury timber smuggling to Vietnam.
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Four Injured in Fight Outside Clothes Factory
A brief clash between members of rival unions outside a Phnom Penh garment factory on Friday left four people injured before police could break them apart, local officials said on Sunday. Saing Nhor, a village chief in Pur Senchey district, said about 250 people were protesting outside the Yorkmars Garment factory and started scuffling with another group of roughly equal number at about noon.
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