Jailed unionist Rong Chhunn had “intent to incite social disorder” by releasing statements containing fabrications about the Cambodia-Vietnam border demarcation, the government told the U.N.’s human rights office in response to questions about his arrest.
The embattled tourism sector’s woes continued as foreign visitor numbers to Angkor Archaeological Park dipped again in October, while the Water Festival weekend failed to provide much of a boost for some regions and businesses.
Workers say debt and a lack of jobs in Cambodia are pushing them to consider crossing the closed border amid labor shortages in Thailand, despite the pandemic. Programs to get Cambodian workers back in Thailand are in the works, but concerns remain over conditions and safety.
A news publisher who was imprisoned over criticisms of Prime Minister Hun Sen in several social media posts pleaded guilty at his trial on Tuesday but said he was just trying to arouse interest and more “likes.”
A Phnom Penh resident and CNRP member who was struck with a brick one week ago is still in a serious condition in hospital, while police say they have not found any leads to an incident caught on CCTV.
The banned opposition party on Wednesday requested that the Cambodian government lift travel restrictions and reinstate high-ranking members’ passports to clear the way for nine party officials summoned by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to return to the country.
UPDATED 7:55 a.m. — Din Varin, 48, was smashed in the head with a brick on Monday morning outside a Phnom Penh market and rushed to the hospital. One day after the attack, nearby vendors said they were still shocked, saying they knew the organic vegetable vendor as a gentle and quiet seller but knew nothing of alleged political activities.
Heavy rain warnings remain in place after more than a week of flooding, leaving rice farmers increasingly anxious about their harvests — the longer their fields are flooded, the more likely their crops will be lost.
More than 2,000 sanitation workers in Phnom Penh ended their strike and returned to work on Wednesday afternoon after City Hall and their employer promised to pay them as demanded in February.
Last week’s arrest of a former opposition commune councilor stems from a 6-year-old complaint filed by timber baron Try Pheap, a human rights group said.
VOD is an independent media outlet producing radio programs and disseminating information to the public via the Internet.
© 2019 VOD. All Rights Reserved.
