VOA Khmer

Phnom Penh recently saw the destruction of a portion of the Buddhist Institute to make way for the expansion of a casino. Political analyst Lao Mong Hay told “Hello VOA” last week that this kind of development demonstrates an “imbalance” between public and private institutions. The ...

Tuesday morning, not long after dawn, a line of students formed outside En Komar Primary School, in Kampong Thom province. Students were waiting to receive breakfast from their teachers. The breakfasts are part of a World Food Program initiative that aims to feed 3.5 million students ...

Twenty-three labor activists are free from jail, but Freedom Park remains closed to the public. The park is a government-sanctioned place of protest, but it was closed after opposition demonstrations there in April. Phnom Penh spokesman Long Dimanche said there is “no threat” of protests ...

Cambodian human rights organizations say they have major concerns over a deal with Australia that could send unwanted refugees to Cambodia. The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee says Cambodia’s track record of human rights abuse and corruption make people “living on the margins” vulnerable to abuse. Australia ...

Some 400 students, monks and activists were stopped from a peaceful march for Environmental Day on Thursday, as they sought to deliver petitions to the Ministry of Environment and other institutions calling for an end to deforestation. Cambodia’s forests provide many services to the rural poor, ...

Human rights groups and other members of civil society on Tuesday submitted a letter to Senate President Chea Sim, requesting a meeting over their concerns for three draft judicial reform laws passed last month in the National Assembly. The three drafts must be approved by ...

Housing rights activist Yorm Bopha, who spent nearly a year in jail for leading demonstrations, will receive a reward and recognition for her work. The James Lawson Award, named for an American activist and given for nonviolent achievements, will grant her $6,000 in Boston later ...

Indigenous villagers in Mondolkiri province say relevant authorities that are supposed to crack down on forestry crimes instead collude with logging companies and powerful businessmen, allowing them cut down trees. That has put their forest tribal traditions and livelihoods, which are dependent on forests, in ...

Thailand’s political crisis could create ongoing problems for Cambodian migrant workers, especially night time curfew, a development expert says. Ya Navuth, executive director of Caram Cambodia, said undocumented Cambodian workers in Thailand may not know about the curfew and could be arrested when they travel. ...

Prey Lang is one of Cambodia’s few remaining large forests, covering approximately 3,600 square kilometers across four northern provinces. The forest is home to about 200,000 mostly indigenous people, who depend on it for their livelihoods, according to the Prey Lang Community Network. But, the ...

Cambodia says it hopes to have road connectivity to Vietnam and Thailand by 2015. The connection would be part of Asean integration, a process where Cambodia lags behind its neighbors. Six countries of the Mekong River delta have worked toward linking by road since 1998, in an ...

Cambodian officials say they have not yet confirmed whether they will accept a request from Australia to receive rejected immigrants. But they do say the request is moving forward. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding over the transfer of immigrants in April, but a ...

Representatives from some of the world’s largest fashion brands and the leader of one of the world’s biggest union organizations met this week with Cambodian officials and local clothing manufacturers to demand better treatment and improve workplace safety for the country’s estimated 600,000 garment workers. Garment ...

A major international union wants Cambodian garment workers and factory managers to return to negotiations, following meetings between international companies and officials. The IndustriALL Global Union said Tuesday that management should seriously consider a minimum wage of $160 per month, after international buyers such as Levis ...

ambodian leaders are facing a very uncertain Asean in recent weeks, with anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam pitting two of the country’s standards allies against each other and a Thai coup sealing the western borders and leaving a neighbor in the hands of military control. Both issues ...

Ruling party lawmakers at the National Assembly pass the first of three draft laws in judicial reform, defying an opposition boycott and ignoring calls for further review by outside legal experts. The Law on the Organization of the Courts will put more power within the Ministry ...

A group representing Cambodia’s indigenous communities traveled to New York this week, meeting with UN officials and other minority groups from 70 countries. Cambodia’s minorities face a host of problems, particularly as they try to maintain a way of life that relies on traditions and the ...

In the past, Chhoeurng Rachana had a boyfriend, but now she loves a woman instead. The 27-year-old says she just realized who she really loved, after trying to figure out her own feelings toward men four years ago. “Back in 2010, I tried having a boyfriend ...

Trials against 23 labor activists continued in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, with union leader Von Pov addressing the court to defend himself. The activists are charged with inciting violence in mass demonstrations in January. The court was shown three video clips on Wednesday, in which Von Pov ...

Negotiators for the ruling party and opposition say they are preparing for a summit to settle their differences over election reforms, following meetings this week with a team of Japanese development experts. Officials from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party say they will still push for ...

The Cambodian People’s Party is declaring victory in a round of sub-national elections that were held Sunday, but observers say the latest polls diminished some of the ruling party’s power at the grassroots. The CPP on Monday claimed 2,543 seats in leadership positions at the city, ...

A small group representing striking Caltex gas station workers delivered a petition to the US Embassy on Thursday, asking for help as they seek an increase in monthly wages. Hundreds of Caltex workers have been on strike since Monday, joining garment factory workers in calls for ...

International observers are calling on the Cambodian government to ensure the safety of a human rights worker who has allegedly received death threats from a company affiliated with family members of Prime Minister Hun Sen. ...

Chevron’s Caltex gas stations are potentially losing hundreds of thousands of dollars per day in Cambodia, striking employees say. Workers say Caltex, a subsidiary of US-based multinational Chevron, sells between 5,000 to 10,000 liters per station per day, putting its losses between $350,000 to $700,000 ...