ខេមបូឌា ដេលី
Villagers Torch Firm’s Shed Over Land Concession
About 400 villagers in Kratie province’s Chhlong district protested yesterday in an effort to stop Kasten agro-industrial company from building houses on contested farmland, the protesters said. The company used red paint to demarcate its boundary and started building houses on the farmland in January, said ...
Macau-Backed Casino Firm to Expand Operations in Cambodia
A Macau-backed firm plans to grow its involvement in Cambodia’s casino sector as it targets the local gambling market with gaming machines and two new casinos, the company said in a financial statement filed in the US. Entertainment Gaming Asia Inc, which currently provides gaming machines ...
CPP Abusing State Property, Election Body Says
The ruling CPP is misusing state properties to further its political agenda, said the Committee for Free and Fair Elections (Comfrel) in a report that will be released today. The report said Comfrel monitors had documented 200 instances in which state properties and resources had been ...
Union Leader Asks Governor To Set Statue Discussion Dates
Free Trade Union (FTU) President Chea Mony yesterday wrote to Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema, reiterating a request to set a date for talks over the construction of a statue honoring his assassinated brother, the late FTU leader Chea Vichea. Permission to build the statue was ...
Appeal Court Declines to Hear Acid Attack Case
More than a year after the people they believe attacked them with acid walked free, the Court of Appeal yesterday declined to hear an appeal filed by two victims of a 2010 acid attack against their alleged assailants. The Appeal Court said the postponement was due ...
Assembly Approves 2010 Gov’t Spending
Following a three-hour debate at the National Assembly, lawmakers passed a draft law approving the $2.5 billion the government spent in 2010. During the debate, CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap presented a 10-page document that he said justified the $2.5 billion in spending, which was 25 percent ...
US Says Money Laundering, Drugs Still Major Challenges
Money laundering and drug-related crimes continue to be a major challenge in Cambodia due to a lack of enforceable legislation, endemic corruption and limited resources, according a new report by the US State Department. According to the 2012 International Narcotics Strategy Report, Cambodia continues to be ...
Sentences in Embezzlement Case Reduced
The Court of Appeal yesterday reduced the sentence of the former deputy director general of Anco Groups and his wife to three years imprisonment each. In December, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced the couple to four-and-a-half years each for embezzling nearly $60 million dollars from ...
Supreme Court Upholds Verdict in Divorce Case
The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the verdict of the Appeal Court regarding the division of assets in a high-profile divorce case that has bounced back and forth between the courts for years. Yesterday’s ruling decreed that Nina Kanikar You, ex-wife of former Funcinpec Secretary of State ...
Villagers Protest Move Due to Land Concession
More than 50 villagers from Kompong Cham province gathered in front of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s home in Phnom Penh yesterday morning to ask for his intervention in their ongoing land dispute with the Memot Rubber Plantation ...
Shooting Victims to File Court Complaint
Two women who were shot and injured during a Feb. 20 protest at a special economic zone (SEZ) said yesterday they plan to file court complaints against Bavet City’s former governor, Chhuk Bundith. Nuth Sokhorn, 23, and Bun Chenda, 21, both said they will go ...
Dhammayietra Peace March to Cover 135 Km
About 70 monks and nuns embarked on the 22nd Dhammayietra peace walk yesterday in Oddar Meanchey province’s Samraong City to promote nonviolence and honor the legacy of the walk’s late founder, Venerable Maha Ghosananda. The six-day pilgrimage, during which participants will walk 135 km through five ...
More Than 250 Firms Hold Mining Licenses
Almost 200 mining companies currently hold government licenses to mine construction materials such as granite, or to extract minerals, while another 53 firms are licensed to explore for mineral wealth, according to a Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy report released Friday. Among these firms, 47 ...
R’kiri Villagers to March Without Permission
Rights group Adhoc said yesterday that a large-scale march in Ratanakkiri province involving hundreds of ethnic minority villagers caught in land disputes would go on as planned later this month despite the government’s refusal to approve the march. The provincial coordinator for Adhoc, Pen Bonnar, said ...
Farmers to Sue Rubber Company, After Land Clearing
Five cashew farmers in Ratanakkiri province will file a lawsuit against Hong An Mang Yang K Rubber Development Company today at the provincial court after the company mistakenly burned down 13 hectares of cashew trees last week, a human rights official said on Friday. With cashew ...
Gov’t, Garment Sector Silent Over Letter Urging SEZ Probe
A senior official at the Commerce Ministry and the secretary-general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) were both silent yesterday regarding a letter sent to the ministry by garment buyers on Friday, urging the government to intensify its investigation of last month’s triple ...
Thai Border Case Weaker, Thaksin Says
Fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has told Thai media that Cambodia has the stronger case in the legal dispute between the two countries over hotly disputed land around Preah Vihear temple. The comments-a first in public for a top Thai politician, past or present-come ...
Six Arrested For Crossing Laos Border
Six Cambodians, including a police officer, were arrested in Laos last week after crossing into the country illegally from bordering Stung Treng province, according to a military official. The group, which also included two women, had been foraging for plants and fishing in the jungle near ...
More Migrant Workers Losing Contact, NGOs Say
The number of families claiming to have lost contact with relatives working overseas has seen a significant increase in recent months, three human rights groups said Thursday. Local rights groups Adhoc and Licadho and the legal aid association Cambodian Legal Education Center (CLEC), said that ...
Sold
Last year saw a record increase in economic land concessions and the area controlled by agro-industrial companies jumped to more than 2 million hectares nationwide, according to human rights groups who track such projects. Mining companies are also flocking to Cambodia and those already have ...
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/selected_features/Carving%20Up%20Cambodia.pdf
Brands Urge Gov't to Act on SEZ Shooting
Some of the world’s largest international clothing brands, along with foreign labor protection groups, have called on the Cambodian government to intensify its investigation of last month’s triple shooting of spectators at a Svay Rieng special economic zone. Signed by several of the biggest customers ...
Leave Minimum Wage Be, Manufacturers Say
The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) has said that there should be no discussions on raising the minimum wage until 2014, in response to a request from three garment industry unions for talks on a living wage for workers. The response, sent on Wednesday ...
Free Lunch Comes at a Cost for City Soup Kitchen Founder
Since its first day of operation in early December, the non-profit kitchen “Buckhunger” has provided nearly 22,00 lunchtime meals to hundreds of needy children and adults for free. There is no record of who comes and goes, and no condition to being fed. If you ...
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 ...