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Eight arrested, released over ‘Black Monday’ protest
Four NGO staffers and a quartet of land activists emerged from police stations across the capital yesterday after being grilled for hours over their participation in the so-called “Black Monday” campaign, conducted in support of rights activists jailed last week over the ongoing Kem Sokha investigation. Sahmakum Teang Tnaut executive director Ee Sarom and Licadho deputy director Thav Kimsan were the first taken into custody yesterday morning, after being greeted by a heavy contingent of police as they attempted to reach Prey Sar prison, where they had hoped to demonstrate. Borei Keila land activist Sar Sorn soon joined the duo at the Dangkor district police office.
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Hundreds walk in capital over factory dismissals
About 300 workers at the Lian Hao garment factory in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district protested for the third day in a row yesterday over the sacking of 14 workers, allegedly for forming a union. Workers Development Union Federation president Tep Ton said the workers began protesting on Saturday, a day after their firing.
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Auctions of Illegal Timber To Resume, Officials Say
Top officials on Monday said the government would be auctioning off some of the 70,000 cubic meters of wood authorities have seized in recent months, backtracking on a recent pledge Hun Sen made to stop the sales. The massive timber haul, enough to fill more than 2,000 standard 20-foot shipping containers, was seized by a special task force that Prime Minister Hun Sen formed in mid-January to go after illegal wood stocks in the eastern provinces.
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Government Calls Rally Against ACU an Act Of ‘Rebellion’
The government on Sunday warned of a crackdown on activists and advocacy groups set to protest today against the recent arrests of four rights workers and an election official, calling the planned demonstration an act of “urban rebellion.” The activists and organizations are calling for the release of the five, four of whom were sent to Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison on bribery charges last week for allegedly conspiring to pay a woman to deny an affair with CNRP Vice President Kem Sokha. The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) is investigating the allegations in a case widely thought to be politically motivated.
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Development Council Officer Charged Over Bribery Claim
An official at the Council for the Development of Cambodia was charged with bribery over the weekend after being arrested by the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), just weeks after the graft-fighting body arrested a Foreign Affairs Ministry official and the ambassador to South Korea. Lay Tharoat, 33, was sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Saturday and charged by Investigating Judge Yin Saroeun before being placed in provisional detention, court spokesman Ly Sophanna said on Sunday.
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New Head of Human Rights Committee
Keo Remy, a Council of Ministers secretary of state and former member of the opposition, will replace Mak Sambath as the head of the Cambodia Human Rights Committee (CHRC), according to a Royal Decree issued last Wednesday. Mr. Remy was appointed to the position by King Norodom Sihamoni, who also appointed Mr. Sambath as an undersecretary of state in the Council of Ministers.
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Black Monday Protest Planned
The area in front of Prey Sar prison will be painted black at 9am this morning if the Black Monday campaign is successful. Members of civil society, monks and community members affected by land disputes plan to wear all black and gather in front of the prison to demand the release of four Adhoc officials and one National Election Committee (NEC) official, who were detained there after being charged for their alleged involvement in the sex scandal surrounding Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) acting president Kem Sokha.
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Opposition defector tapped for rights role
A former opposition operative who defected to the ruling party and was made a Council of Ministers secretary of state has been given the top job at the government’s Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC). Keo Remy, a veteran of the opposition movement who joined Kem Sokha’s Human Rights Party in 2007 before defecting to the Cambodian People’s Party in 2008, will serve in the role concurrently with his job as a member of the national council against corruption.
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Foreign Ministry says UN worker has immunity
Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested that the Kingdom’s “competent authorities” stop legal action against United Nations staffer Soen Sally – one of several people charged with bribing the alleged mistress of Kem Sokha – declaring the human rights worker protected by UN immunity. Contradicting a May 1 declaration by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who warned UN workers in Cambodia that they could not rely on their immunity for protection from arrest, the ministry has recommended the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN be obeyed, according to spokesman Chum Sounry.
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Serial ‘land grabber’ put on new blacklist
Businesses and individuals with a history of improper land dealings are to be added to a “blacklist” barring them from registering or transferring land, according to a Facebook post published by Minister of Land Management Chea Sophara on Friday. The post promised that action will be taken against all who violate land ownership laws “regardless of how powerful they are”. Names added to the list would be passed on to the prime minister for approval, it said.
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Sokha called to court again over 'prostitution'
Days after refusing to appear for a court summons in a defamation case, deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha was again served a summons by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, this time in relation to “procurement of prostitution”. The acting CNRP president will have to appear before the court on May 17, according to the summons issued last week, with deputy prosecutor Sieng Sok refusing to divulge the reasons for the summons or if the case was related to prostitution accusations previously levelled at salon worker Khom Chandaraty.
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Government Had ‘No Choice’ But to Arrest Critics
Provocations from the opposition over the past two years left the ruling CPP “no choice” but to use the courts to preserve peace in the country, Foreign Affairs Ministry Secretary of State Ouch Borith argued at the close of a three-day summit with representatives of the E.U. on Wednesday. Seemingly unconvinced by Mr. Borith, the E.U. released a statement calling for the release of rights workers who are among more than 20 government critics jailed over the past year in cases that have also ensnared opposition lawmakers.
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Government Says Lawmakers Must Respect Court Summons
The Justice Ministry on Thursday rejected the opposition CNRP’s argument for refusing to be questioned by prosecutors over party Vice President Kem Sokha’s sex scandal, calling its claims of unconstitutional behavior “slander.”
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Canal work worries capital residents
Some 60 families visited the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction and the Phnom Penh municipal governor yesterday to demand information on the Stung Meanchey canal’s expansion, which they fear might force them to relocate. The families said they sent a letter to officials on April 23, but had not received a response.
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Minister tells CRC to be more ‘transparent’
Interior Minister Sar Kheng has urged the Cambodian Red Cross, headed by first lady Bun Rany, to be more “transparent” and “accountable” to combat long-standing criticisms that the organisation distributes aid for the political benefit of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. While acknowledging the criticism of the organisation, Kheng told attendees at a Red Cross event in Prey Veng province on Tuesday that “in some places [this] was not true”.
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Protesters to March on ACU Despite City Hall Ban
Activists organizing a protest march to the Phnom Penh headquarters of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) say they will continue with their plans despite City Hall’s decision on Thursday to reject their request.
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EU Calls for Release of Officials
The European Union (EU) has called on the government to release the Adhoc, National Election Committee and United Nations officials who have been charged and imprisoned over the sex scandal involving acting opposition party president Kem Sokha. The call was made during the 9th Joint Committee meeting between EU representatives and the government on Wednesday.
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CNRP Activists on Trial Over Freedom Park Protest
THREE Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) activists were tried by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday over allegations that they were involved in an “insurrection” during large-scale protests at Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park in 2014. Yon Kimhour, 29, Roeun Chitra, 34, and Yea Thong, 44 are charged with three counts, according to presiding Judge Mong Monysorphea and face up to seven years in prison.
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Trial begins for trio arrested over Freedom Park showdown
Three opposition supporters charged over their roles in a violent anti-government protest in 2014 yesterday faced their first day of trial, with two of the men describing the chaotic scenes as protesters and Daun Penh security guards clashed at Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park. Roeun Chetra, 33; Yon Kimhour, 29; and Yea Thong, 44, face between seven and 15 years in prison for “participating in an insurrection”, under articles 456 and 457 of the Criminal Code.
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Canal Residents Want On-site Development
More than 30 people from eight communities living along the Stung Meanchey canal gathered yesterday to submit petitions requesting meetings with the Ministry of Land Management and City Hall. The residents, representing 435 families, hope to use the meetings to discuss a proposed on-site development plan after nearly eight months since their last petition about it was filed.
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