News

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party has called on the government to intervene in the softening prices of Cambodian agricultural commodities. In a letter passed to Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday, via National Assembly president Heng Samrin, a group of opposition lawmakers has raised concerns ...

CNRP President Sam Rainsy on Friday told supporters that the opposition party was responsible for recent government efforts to lower gasoline and electricity costs and said he would work to keep alive the new “culture of dialogue” with the CPP, despite Prime Minister Hun Sen calling ...

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng has been appointed majority leader in the National Assembly, meaning he and opposition leader Sam Rainsy will engage directly in dialogue over legislative issues. Prime Minister Hun Sen and Cambodia National Rescue Party president Rainsy agreed in late ...

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party is about to undergo a significant reshuffle of elected members, according to party sources. According to a senior party official, who asked not to be named, several elected lawmakers will change jobs, leaving their constituents without the representatives who ...

The Jan. 7 holiday marking the 1979 ouster of the Khmer Rouge is most often celebrated by supporters of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. On Monday Prime Minister Hun Sen lashed out at the opposition, saying their lack of support for the day meant they ...

Cambodia’s parliament endorsed opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Friday as minority leader with legislative rank equal to Prime Minister Hun Sen, a rare concession by the long-serving premier to preserve a fragile political truce. The arrangement is part of a deal struck in July to end ...

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 ...

In a rare intervention, Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni has demanded an investigation over a Phnom Penh judge who interviewed an opposition party activist without his attorney being present. A lawmaker had complained to the King that Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge Keo Mony had questioned Ouch ...

The CNRP has selected longtime opposition financier Kun Lom Ang as chairwoman of the private company established in October to operate its new television station, party spokesman Yim Sovann said Tuesday. The Ministry of Information late last month granted Cambodian Independent Media, which was registered by ...

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 ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, vice-president of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), met with Sam Rainsy, president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), on Friday to find solutions to the remaining issues after the two leaders agreed in July to end their ...

Lawmakers from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) would consider boycotting parliament again if Prime Minister Hun Sen’s party continues to delay an agreement on electoral reform, according to CNRP deputy leader Kem Sokha. The two parties have reached a deadlock in talks on forging ...

When an ethnic Vietnamese crashed his motorcycle into an ethnic Khmer’s car in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district last Saturday night, he was attacked by Khmers shouting the racially charged term for Vietnamese — “yuon” — and beaten to death. That an ordinary traffic accident turned into ...

Cambodia’s nine opposition-aligned trade unions warned on Wednesday that they will lead a large-scale strike in eight days from March 12 if their demands are not met, reports Vietnam News Agency (VNA). The unions have demanded that the court free 21 detained protesters and the government ...

Prak Sovannary tries to put on a brave face. She has just heard that two of 23 men arrested during a violent crackdown on garment worker protests in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last month have unexpectedly been released on bail.Her husband, Vorn Pao, a prominent activist and union leader, is not ...

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 ...

Riot police and security forces prevented an opposition delegation from meeting with 23 protest detainees in Kampong Cham province on Tuesday, for second day in a row. No violence was reported, as the delegation from the Cambodia National Rescue Party met with more than 100 police ...

A group of Cambodian-Americans plans to file a criminal complaint at the International Criminal Court against Prime Minister Hun Sen and senior officials, accusing them of human rights violations and obstructing justice for the victims of the Khmer Rouge. The complaint will be submitted to the ...

Political tensions that remain unresolved in both Cambodia and Thailand could lead to more violence in both countries, analysts warn. Thailand is going through another spate of democratic reform, following demonstrations that forced Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down and call for new elections. Those elections ...

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 ...