News

Representatives of the opposition CNRP in Canada have sent a letter to the Canadian government asking that it clarify its stance on the results of Cambodia’s national election after a former Cabinet minister took part in an international observer team that deemed the elections free ...

More than one thousand military police officers on Saturday participated in simulated exercises designed to prepare them should demonstrations over the contested results of last month’s national election break out, officials said Sunday. The officers, clad in bulletproof vests, were trained in crowd control and riot ...

NEARLY three weeks after Cambodia’s general election, which both the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the opposition claim to have won, life in Phnom Penh remains tense. Tanks have been deployed, although only on the outskirts, and queues have formed at banks and supermarkets ...

Cambodia is falling short of the full liberal democracy enshrined in its Constitution, the government is becoming increasingly intolerant to constructive criticism and judicial, parliamentary and electoral reforms have been slow to take effect, according to U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi’s latest report on ...

Cambodia has delayed two of its military cooperation programs with Australia, the Australian Defense Department said Thursday, after it emerged this week that U.S.-backed programs had also been postponed following the July 28 national election. Dave Gordge, first secretary and deputy head of mission at the ...

The opposition CNRP on Thursday walked out of an election complaints session at the headquarters of the National Election Committee (NEC), claiming the body was investigating complaints improperly and without the presence of its leadership. The CNRP, which has called for a transparent and independent investigation ...

Phnom Penh’s garment factories are operating at a greatly reduced capacity as workers return home to the provinces in droves in response to the government’s decision to increase security after the opposition warned they plan to hold mass demonstrations against the election results. Ken Loo, secretary-general ...

Opposition CNRP vice president Kem Sokha on Thursday stood firmly by his party’s position that it would call mass demonstrations and boycott the National Assembly unless the U.N. takes part in an independent investigation of last month’s contested national election. So far, there has been no ...

Defense Minister Tea Banh on Thursday said that truckloads of tanks and mounted rocket launchers seen by witnesses leaving the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port in the direction of Phnom Penh would be used to protect the country in the case that someone “tries to destroy the ...

Locals and rights groups on Wednesday said dozens of farmers in a village in Preah Vihear province have been singled out for eviction after supporting the opposition CNRP in last month’s vote, a claim their village chief denied. Residents of Choam Ksan district’s Kom Prak village ...

The government on Wednesday insisted that its decision to postpone U.S.-backed military assistance programs following the July 28 election would not have a negative impact on relations between the two countries. Marie Harf, the spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, also said on Tuesday that ...

Cambodia postponed U.S.-backed military assistance programs immediately after the July 28 national election, officials of both countries confirmed Tuesday, in a move that analysts said reflects a strain in relations after years of strengthening military ties. The U.S. has in recent years expanded training and other ...

Negotiations between the ruling CPP and opposition CNRP over an investigation into election irregularities stalled Monday after the National Election Committee (NEC) released official preliminary election results that supported the ruling party’s claim of victory in the July 28 election. In an initial round of talks ...

CNRP president Sam Rainsy on Monday defended his recent Facebook posts urging police and soldiers to “stand up” with the people and “demand” a change of government, and dismissed claims from the ruling CPP that he was inciting a coup. “We just want to urge ...

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said Monday that the deployment last week of armored personnel carriers (APCs) and soldiers is necessary to prevent an outbreak of post-election violence akin to the anti-Thai riots that gripped Phnom Penh more than 10 years ago. Speaking to reporters at the ...

King Norodom Sihamoni flew to Beijing on Monday, accompanied by Queen Mother Norodom Monineath for a routine medical checkup, but will return to Cambodia to preside over the opening session of the fifth mandate of the National Assembly, according to a statement released by the ...

ambodia has suspended international military co-operation programs with the United States and others following that country’s recent, disputed election, the State Department said Monday. The reason for Cambodia’s action was not immediately clear. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters that Cambodia’s Defence Ministry has postponed ...

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An met with the top U.S. diplomat in Cambodia on Friday to discuss the formation of the country’s National Assembly following the disputed July 28 election. Both the ruling CPP and opposition CNRP claim to have won the ballot, and the opposition ...

Government officials over the weekend warned that opposition leader Sam Rainsy could face legal action for comments he made on his Facebook page that called on the public to woo the country’s armed forces into supporting the CNRP and put an end to decades of ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng on Friday confirmed that the deployment of armored personnel carriers (APCs) to Phnom Penh from the Thai-Cambodian border is part of a concerted security operation in response to the opposition’s plans to hold protests against the outcome of the July 28 ...

The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) has no plan to establish a new coalition government with the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) after the general election on July 28, CPP’s spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said Saturday. “Up to now, we don’t have ...

The CPP and opposition CNRP agreed during a meeting at the National Assembly on Friday that the U.N. can observe an investigation into irregularities in last month’s national election, but continued to disagree that the National Election Committee (NEC) lead the investigation. After the two parties ...

Cambodia’s Minister of Commerce and long-time ruling party stalwart Cham Prasidh said yesterday that post-election demonstrations could prevent growth and even result in small-scale looting. “If they want to destroy the economy, they have to protest more and more in order to destroy,” he said. Speaking ...

Cambodia’s Interior Minister Sar Kheng warned the opposition party leader and his supporters that they will be held responsible if their planned mass demonstration against election results leads to violence and destruction of public and private properties. “A peaceful protest against any issues is the freedom ...