Strike justified, suppression not, experts say
Garment workers’ calls for a $160 minimum wage are justified and should be honored, a new report by an international team of academics and labor experts has found. The authors—including a team from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, South Korean and ...
Lauren Crothers
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/strike-justified-suppression-not-experts-say-53255/
Municipal Court calls 10 witnesses in racist mob killing case
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has summoned 10 witnesses, including several police officials and one reporter, as it begins investigating the brutal murder of Nguyen Vann Chean, an ethnic Vietnamese man who was beaten to death by an angry mob in Meanchey district last month. The ...
Eang Mengleng
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/municipal-court-calls-10-witnesses-in-racist-mob-killing-case-53754/
Mostly failed promises mark Phnom Penh governor’s 1st year
When he assumed leadership of Phnom Penh municipality in May 2013, Pa Socheatvong vowed to be a governor who would get things done. His predecessor, Kep Chuktema, oversaw the filling in of Boeng Kak lake and the mass eviction of its residents. A similar scenario unfolded ...
Lauren Crothers and Mech Dara
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/mostly-failed-promises-mark-phnom-penh-governors-1st-year-54423/
Anti-dam activists set to block workers’ arrival
Members of an ethnic minority in Koh Kong province’s Areng Valley stood watch Thursday to block a road leading to the site of a proposed dam after they heard that Chinese workers would inspect the site, community representatives said. Villagers believe that the Chinese company Sinohydro ...
Khuon Narim
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/anti-dam-activists-set-to-block-workers-arrival-56442/
Hun Sen hits back at judicial reform criticism
Prime Minister Hun Sen used a graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh Monday to denounce criticism from civil society groups who say that his government is rushing judicial reforms into law without appropriate public consultation. Speaking at the ceremony for about 1,800 students from the Asia Euro ...
Khy Sovuthy
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-hits-back-at-judicial-reform-criticism-57613/
Bag snatchings jump: EU
After being presented with statistics showing a more than 100 per cent rise in petty crime against foreigners, Minister of Interior Sar Kheng yesterday called on police officials to look into what’s causing the problem. Nicolas Baudouin, a spokesman for the French Embassy, confirmed that a ...
Vong Sokheng and Joe Freeman
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/bag-snatchings-jump-eu
As verdicts loom in 25 protest related cases, acquittals sought
Verdicts will be handed down Friday in two garment protest-related cases that rights groups say were built on a weak body of evidence. The two cases occurred months apart but followed a similar narrative: Garment workers fed up with their calls for a higher monthly minimum ...
Lauren Crothers
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/as-verdicts-loom-in-25-protest-related-cases-acquittals-sought-60056/
As fish stocks vanish, locals flout law to survive
Khan Thea, a subsistence fisherman who lives and works along this sprawling, 7,000-hectare lake fed by the Mekong River, was not having a good day on the water. Struggling to net even a single fish, he finally resorted to a dangerous—and illegal—technique: fishing with electric current. ...
Phorn Bopha and Alex Consiglio
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/as-fish-stocks%E2%80%88vanish-locals-flout-law-to-survive-63567/
CNRP to try to visit jailed 23
Opposition party members will lead a delegation to the doors of Kampong Cham Correctional Centre 3 on Tuesday in the hope of visiting the 23 people imprisoned there following a violent crackdown on striking garment workers in early January. despite having previously been denied access to ...
May Titthara and Daniel Pye
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cnrp-try-visit-jailed-23
New Futuristic Tuk-Tuks Arrive on the Streets of Phnom Penh
Most tuk-tuk drivers have to continuously vie with each other to attract tourists’ attention, but Oung Hour gets it without even trying. As he stands on the sidewalk near the riverside, groups of tourists point at his bright mustard-yellow tuk-tuk, its smooth fiberglass body shaped like ...
Emily Wilkins and Sek Odom
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/new-futuristic-tuk-tuks-arrive-on-the-streets-of-phnom-penh-52616/
Three arrested in land dispute with Governor
Villagers involved in a long-running land dispute with a company alleged to be owned by Pailin Governor Y Chhien were arrested Monday for failing to heed an order from Mr. Chhien to vacate the disputed land, rights workers said. Pich Sothea, 47, Orm Sam Ath, 44, ...
Phann Ana
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/three-arrested-in-land-dispute-with-governor-55402/
Cobra house family again accuses security guards of arson
A family locked in a longstanding land dispute with a powerful real estate tycoon claims company guards late on Sunday night once again attempted to burn down their Tuol Kok home. The alleged attempted arson is the latest in a slew of bizarre attacks on the ...
Eang Mengleng
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cobra-house-family-again-accuses-security-guards-of-arson-57606/
ADB says aid plan for railway evictees still under negotiation
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday insisted that the Cambodian government has not turned down any of its recommendations for helping thousands of families hurt by a bank-funDed project, claiming that talks over how to compensate and support the families were still unDerway. Last week, ...
Zsombor Peter and Aun Pheap
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/adb-says-aid-plan-for-railway-evictees-still-under-negotiation-57859/
Villager travels to Parliament over land row
A representative of villagers involved in a land dispute in Mondolkiri province appealed to the government Tuesday to address their displacement after their shelters were destroyed by police and soldiers in a forced eviction Monday. Chan Rithy stood outside the National Assembly in Phnom Penh on ...
Ben Sokhean
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/villager-travels-to-parliament-over-land-dispute-59795/
Appeal Court upholds controversial convictions
The Court of Appeal on Monday upheld the protest-related convictions handed down to 11 activists in November, but reduced the prison sentences of all but the most high-profile members of the group. Seven of the defendants were arrested in mid-November for blocking traffic during a ...
Mech Dara
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/appeal-court-upholds-controversial-convictions-76728/
Maid agreement looms
Under an agreement with Malaysia, Cambodian migrant workers will be allowed to hold on to their passports and copies of their contracts but will be banned from any “political activities”, according to a draft version of the document obtained by the Post. The memorandum of understanding ...
Alice Cuddy
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/maid-agreement-looms
Unions warn of strikes over gov’t rejection of new branch
A group of eight trade unions Thursday said the government has turned down every one of their applications to form local branches at the country’s garment factories since early last year and threatened mass strikes if the rejections continue. At a press conference in Phnom Penh, ...
Mech Dara
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/unions-warn-of-strikes-over-govt-rejection-of-new-branches-77031/
Gov’t studies land service provision via one-window
The Ministry of Interior has launched a study on land service provision via the one-window service at select locations in the Kingdom. The move is to enhance people’s access to government services. The ministry’s director-general Prak Samoeun said it decided to conduct the study in ...
Soth Koemsoeun
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/govt-studies-land-service-provision-one-window
IMF revises GDP projection for Cambodia upward to 7%
The International Monetary Fund has revised Cambodia’s economic growth projection to between 6.5 and 7 per cent, up from 6.2 per cent in April, saying the country could manage a sound macro-economy because of the growth in four main sectors: manufacturing, tourism, agriculture and construction. According to Ek ...
Forest watchdog warned against satellite imagery
Ministry of Environment officials have warned it will take legal action against Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) and several other organisations if they continue to collect deforestation data in the area. The ministry’s warning comes after PLCN suggested a new programme that would use satellite imagery ...
Khorn Savi
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/forest-watchdog-warned-against-satellite-imagery