Chinese Debt Under Control, Hun Sen Says
Prime Minister Hun Sen brushed off concerns that Cambodia could fall into a “debt trap” due to the billions it was borrowing from China.
Nhim Sokhorn May 31, 1:54 pm
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Prime Minister Hun Sen brushed off concerns that Cambodia could fall into a “debt trap” due to the billions it was borrowing from China.
Cambodia’s district and provincial administrative councils have a mandate under the law to “establish, promote and sustain democratic development.”
Commune councilors voted to select district and provincial representatives on Sunday, with the ruling party predictably taking 92 to 100 percent of the vote in every province.
Sam Sokong, a defense lawyer for former opposition party activists summoned for questioning in Battambang over illicit noodle lunches, has decried the provincial court’s handling of the cases after nine of his clients were upon arrival at the court informed their scheduled questionings had been pushed to another day.
The Chinese owners of a Sihanoukville casino leaking streams of wastewater into the ocean have been threatened with arrest by provincial authorities, who say the resort complex is being built illegally and despite repeated official warnings.
Four more former opposition commune officials were questioned at the Battambang Provincial Court on Tuesday about meeting at colleagues’ homes for meals, the latest in a series of interrogations against 35 members of the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).
For Prime Minister Hun Sen, the Khmer Rouge genocide is evidence of progress and security under his rule — a doctrine he repeated again on Monday, the National Day of Remembrance. For some political observers, however, the lesson lies less in the virtues of his firm grip over the country’s politics, and instead in the dangers of unrivaled power.
National Police Chief Neth Savoeun has added to ongoing government rhetoric raising fears of popular uprisings by announcing on Thursday that Cambodia was under threat from revolutionary movements and calling for police to stay alert.
Almost 40 former opposition members were questioned by police in three provinces across the country over the past few days, while the number of officials summoned to court in Battambang rose to 35.
Cambodia and Nepal will press for direct flights between the two countries to encourage tourism, Prime Minister Hun Sen said after a meeting on Monday.
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