Government
National government
Untrained guards rule at protests
Security guards that have forcibly detained protesters in the capital in recent weeks include large numbers of men who have received no government security training, Phnom Penh municipal spokesman Long Dimanche said yesterday. In an effort to recruit civilian “public order” officers, Dimanche told the Post, the ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Shane Worrell
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/untrained-guards-rule-protests
China donates 600 sets of radio transmitters to Cambodian Army
The Chinese government on Wednesday donated 600 sets of radio transmitters to the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) in order to increase the capacity and efficiency in information communication among armed forces. Speaking during a handover ceremony at the Headquarters of the Infantry on the outskirts ...
Xinhuanet News Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-01/22/c_133066316.htm
Cambodia's 64 trade unions urge gov't to take legal action against gangster unions
Cambodia’s 64 trade unions on Wednesday asked the Minister of Labor Ith Samheng to take serious legal action against some gangster unions that have caused riots and illegal strikes as well as intimidations to their members in protests, according to a joint letter. “We’d like to ...
Xinhuanet News Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-01/22/c_133066064.htm
Cambodia's new business registrations drop 12 pct in 2013
Cambodia had issued operating licenses to 2,988 new companies last year, down 12 percent from 3, 386 in a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday. Of the 2013 new business registrations, foreign businesses registered 1,448, down 9 percent, while local registrations fell ...
Xinhuanet News Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2014-01/22/c_133065203.htm
11 Activists Arrested for Views That ‘Impact Public Order’
Eleven political activists were pulled off the street by helmeted security guards Tuesday morning during a peaceful march to foreign embassies to deliver petitions calling for an end to government violence and the release of 23 imprisoned activists and strikers. The 11 protesters—10 land rights activists ...
Phorn Bopha and Colin Meyn
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/eleven-activists-arrested-for-views-that-impact-public-order-50934/
The Assassination of Union Leader Chea Vichea—A Decade On
Ten years after his assassination, friends and associates remember Chea Vichea, the founding president of the Free Trade Union, as a quiet man but a charismatic leader, passionate about labor issues and the right for workers to collectively bargain for higher wages and better conditions. ...
Denise Hruby
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/the-assassination-of-union-leader-chea-vichea-a-decade-on-50951/
Ministries Discuss New Appeal Courts, Judicial Reform
The Ministry of Justice is moving ahead with plans to expand the Appeal Court system around the country as part of inter-ministerial talks that began on Monday on the subject of judicial reform. The talks, which are expected to wrap up today, focus on a long-awaited ...
Khuon Narim and Lauren Crothers
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ministries-discuss-new-appeal-courts-judicial-reform-50940/
Cambodia's economy achieves 7 pct growth last year despite political row: central bank
Cambodia’s economy grew by 7 percent in 2013 even though political row over the July election has still persisted, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) said Tuesday. The growth was lower than that of 2012, which was up to 7.3 percent. “In 2013, Cambodia’s economy achieved ...
Xinhuanet News Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2014-01/21/c_133062259.htm
Cambodia's rice export to reach 1 mln tons in 2015: commerce minister
Cambodia’s Minister of Commerce Sun Chanthol said Tuesday that the country is expected to achieve its goal of exporting one million tons of milled rice in 2015. “The country had exported more than 400,000 tons in 2013 and there is two years more toward the goal, ...
Xinhuanet News Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2014-01/21/c_133062965.htm
Embassies abroad get reminder about graft
Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on all embassies and consulates to accelerate visa application procedures and cease charging “unofficial” fees, in an apparent bid to stamp out corruption abroad. ...
Eddie Morton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/embassies-abroad-get-reminder-about-graft
Beyond Chea Vichea, Many Cases Lack Accountability, Justice
Ahead of the 10-year anniversary on Wednesday of the assassination of Free Trade Union (FTU) President Chea Vichea, police said Monday that despite their inability to bring anyone to justice for the high-profile slaying, the case remains open. However, Chea Mony, the brother of Chea Vichea, ...
Khy Sovuthy and Lauren Crothers
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/eu-ambassador-distances-local-delegation-from-resolution-50914/
Passports pledged anew
Migrant workers and students who have won scholarships abroad will now pay only a small tax fee for passports, according to a government sub-decree enacted this month that seeks to reprise a similar effort from 2008 widely perceived to have been ineffective. The latest sub-decree, signed ...
May Titthara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/passports-pledged-anew
Cambodia sees 59 pct drop in dengue fever cases last year
Cambodia reported about 17,533 dengue fever cases in 2013, down 59 percent from the 42,362 cases in a year earlier, a health official said Monday. The disease killed 59 children, representing a 69 percent decrease from the 189 deaths in a year earlier, said Char Meng ...
Xinhuanet News Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/health/2014-01/20/c_133059371.htm
Union rep sidesteps gov’t meet
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association, said yesterday he had been successful in postponing a meeting with the Ministry of Interior about his association, which has come under fire for allegedly engaging in political activities. ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/union-rep-sidesteps-gov%E2%80%99t-meet
Trade hurt by political and labour turbulence
Cambodian trade reached a total of $15.9 billion in 2013, equaling an 18 per cent rise from 2012, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Exports were valued at $6.9 billion, up from $5.5 billion a year earlier, with garment and textiles accounting for more than 80 ...
Eddie Morton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/trade-hurt-political-and-labour-turbulence
Ministry to Question Rong Chhun Over Teachers Association
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA), said Friday that he feels the teachers’ movement is under threat after he received a notice from the Ministry of Interior, summoning him to explain his work on Monday. The letter, dated Thursday and signed by ...
Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ministry-to-question-rong-chhun-over-teachers-association-50854/
Major Brands Confront Cambodian Leader Over Use of Force
A coalition of 30 brands and three global unions have sent a letter to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen calling for an investigation into the recent use of deadly force against striking garment-sector workers. The letter, dated Friday, urged the government to launch a new process ...
Kate O'keeffe and Sun Narin
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304027204579330201431431652?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304027204579330201431431652.html
Chinese investment in Cambodia up in 2013
Cambodia had attracted some $427 million of investment from China last year, up 62 percent compared with the $263 million in a year earlier, according to a report by the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC). The cumulative Chinese investment in Cambodia has totaled $9.6 ...
Global Times News Staff
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/838148.shtml#.Utx56xD-LIU
Cambodian, Laotian FMs to meet next week on ties
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong would meet with his Laotian counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith next week to explore possibilities to further boost bilateral ties, the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday. The two top diplomats would co-chair the 12th meeting of the ...
Xinhuanet News Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-01/17/c_133052813.htm
Retail associations urge talks
Six major retail, footwear and garment industry associations whose members account for over 90 per cent of garment imports in the US and Canada have called on the Cambodian government, the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and unions to resume wage negotiations. The open ...
Daniel de Carteret
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/retail-associations-urge-talks
Data provides illustration of a constantly changing Cambodia
Cambodia is changing fast. Over the past decade, the capital city, Phnom Penh has expanded exponentially: its bodies of water have been filled in and green spaces diminished. Rural to urban migration has changed the shape of the countryside. Great shifts are under way and ...
Post Staff
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/data-provides-illustration-constantly-changing-cambodia
Cambodia sends 22,300 laborers abroad last year
Cambodia had dispatched some 22, 300 laborers overseas in 2013, down 36 percent from 34,800 a year earlier, figures from the Ministry of Labor showed Monday. The country sent 13,170 workers to Thailand last year, down 50 percent year-on-year; 8,820 to South Korea, up 8 ...
Asean-China-Center News Staff
http://www.asean-china-center.org/english/2014-01/15/c_133047425.htm
Subedi Calls for Accountability in Meeting With Hun Sen
In a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen and 10 of the government’s highest-ranking officials in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi called for the perpetrators of recent state-sanctioned killings to be held accountable for their actions. Mr. Subedi spent three-and-a-half hours ...
Lauren Crothers and Khy Sovuthy
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/subedi-calls-for-accountability-in-meeting-with-hun-sen-50675/
Strike action still on table, unions say
Leaders of unions that declared a nationwide garment worker strike said the work stoppage and protests, which they temporarily suspended, will resume unless government officials renegotiate the industry’s minimum wage. The announcement was their first since authorities cracked down on strike demonstrations on January 2 and ...
Sean Teehan and Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/strike-action-still-table-unions-say