Hun Sen Defends Pardon for Fisheries Crimes

During a speech lasting more than three hours, Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday sought to clarify his recent blanket amnesty of fisheries crimes, and called on fisheries officials to reform the law that criminalizes certain means of fishing. … In his speech, Mr. Hun Sen provided figures that showed for the first time just how widespread commercial fishing lots – which he canceled last month – had become. Mr. Hun Sen said that 37 private fishing lots covered more than 270,000 hectares or river. With the lots canceled, nearly 178,000 hectares have been opened, with the rest set aside for conservation in order to raise fish stocks, he said. … Passed in 2006, the fisheries law was initially seen as a powerful way to crack down on fisheries crimes in order to protect the nation’s fish habitats. Court officials were quick to point out that those released this week were arrested for the smallest of offenses, those with virtually no impact on the fisheries as a whole. Why such people were being prosecuted in the first place, however, was not explained. NGOs also questioned whether such an amnesty could set a dangerous precedent. …