News

Twelve civil society organizations submitted a joint statement asking the US government and heads of democratic ASEAN members to raise issues of human rights violations in Cambodia and the misuse of courts to stifle the opposition at next week’s US-ASEAN Summit in California, in order ...

In a joint statement, civil society and labor leaders urged the government to accept changes to the law as they continue to discuss it. ...

A joint commission of 10 lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties yesterday met for the first time to review the draft law on trade unions, and two of 21 articles that were flagged as controversial by unions have changed slightly. ...

Ending their almost two-month boycott of parliament, opposition lawmakers yesterday joined their ruling party counterparts at the National Assembly in unanimously passing three laws.The plenary session, attended by 68 Cambodian People’s Party parliamentarians and 34 from the opposition Cambodia Nation Rescue Party, was by and ...

Political tensions increased in Cambodia this week, with opposition lawmakers boycotting a session of the country’s National Assembly on Monday and ASEAN parliamentarians voicing concerns over the country’s “deteriorating political climate” as the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) asserts ever-tighter control over the Southeast Asian ...

The ruling Cambodian People’s Party passed the government’s $4.3 billion budget for 2016 unopposed yesterday as Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers followed through on a pledge to sit out the National Assembly session if concerns for their members’ safety were not addressed. ...

Reversing a statement he made on Sunday, CPP lawmaker and spokesman Sok Eysan said a tentatively scheduled meeting between party leaders, including Interior Minister and senior CPP official Sar Kheng and CNRP acting president Kem Sokha, set for either yesterday or today had been cancelled ...

A man in Kampong Speu’s Oral district was briefly placed under house arrest yesterday, following his public criticism of the government and prime minister at a town hall meeting.Ung Ny, Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) Oral district executive director, said that 45-year-old Hay Hoeun, a ...

A man in Kampong Speu’s Oral district was briefly placed under house arrest yesterday, following his public criticism of the government and prime minister at a town hall meeting.Ung Ny, Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) Oral district executive director, said that 45-year-old Hay Hoeun, a ...

Opposition lawmakers Nhay Chamroeun and Kong Sakphea were viciously beaten and left seriously injured yesterday morning as a protest outside the National Assembly against Cambodia National Rescue Party deputy leader Kem Sokha descended into violence.The ruling Cambodian People’s Party denied any involvement in organising the ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s official visit to France sparked demonstrations organised by Cambodian expatriates in Paris over the weekend, prompting the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to issue a statement on Saturday condemning them for incitement and claiming they have no right to interfere with the ...

Cambodia’s armed forces belong to the country’s ruling party and must prevent a “color revolution” from overtaking the Southeast Asian nation, a four-star general said Wednesday, drawing criticism from an opposition official who called his understanding of the military’s role “limited.” ...

Funcinpec party president Prince Norodom Ranariddh has called on the opposition and ruling parties to form a tripartite coalition with the royalists after Cambodia National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy and Prime Minister Hun Sen embarked on a “honeymoon” after years spent at each others’ ...

The allocation of two new seats to Preah Sihanouk province and absence of seats for Phnom Penh in the recently distributed draft law on electoral reform has prompted concerns that attempts are being made to manipulate the playing field ahead of the 2018 election. Ou Virak, ...

A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is visiting Cambodia to further promote ties and cooperation between the ruling parties of the two countries. ...

As part of political negotiations, the opposition party will be allowed a minority leader in parliament—a system analysts say could strengthen the checks and balances in the government. The legislative branch has traditionally been considered weaker than the executive, with the National Assembly stacked with supporters ...

A deal between the ruling party and opposition in July may have ended a yearlong political deadlock, but some rights workers now worry the compromises will not be worth the long-term costs to Cambodian democracy. But Ou Virak, chairman of the board at the Cambodian ...

Working groups of ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) will meet Tuesday to discuss amendment of article 45 of the internal regulations of the National Assembly to prepare for selection of minority leader whose rank will be equal to ...

Political analyst Kem Ley plans to create a diverse set of independent political parties in the new year, tackling what he says is an autocratic “disease” infecting both the ruling party and the opposition. Using his newly founded “social network” Khmer for Khmer as a springboard, ...

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday lashed out at critics who claimed that the recent arrests of four opposition officials for their alleged roles in a violent protest were politically motivated, saying they had committed criminal acts and must be tried according to law. The ...

Despite the country remaining trapped in a tense political stalemate that shows no signs of abating, Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday reiterated that the government would continue working as normal while the opposition’s boycott of parliament continues. “I will not talk about the political situation, as ...

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday accused certain groups of trying to hold the nation “hostage,” saying his government was functioning normally despite opposition calls for him to resign and hold fresh elections following disputed polls. His administration has also drawn criticism over its heavy ...

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy says the international community is now pushing hard for serious human rights reforms in Cambodia. Sam Rainsy, head of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, was this week in Geneva, where a UN human rights review of Cambodia took place. The UN’s Human Rights ...

The Broadcasting Board of Governors, the US agency that oversees the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, has rejected claims by the Cambodian government that its broadcasters fabricate or manipulate news. In a statement responding to a report by the Cambodian Council of Ministers this ...