Just over 100 people were arrested and fined in Phnom Penh in one day as authorities introduced canes for beating lockdown violators, a police official said on Wednesday.
Three former opposition CNRP youth members have defected to the ruling party, including a woman who previously presented the nightly news on party co-founder Sam Rainsy’s Facebook page and, according to Rainsy, had received refugee status after fleeing to Thailand to escape incitement and plotting charges.
The government cut another 295 hectares of Boeng Tamok to private individuals, with some exchanged for city center land, raising the total area sliced from the natural lake to at least 880 hectares.
Confusion reigned after the latest round of negotiations over a garbage collectors’ strike, with workers applauding a speech by Phnom Penh governor Khuong Sreng before later realizing, according to a unionist, that “none of their demands were accepted.”
Phnom Penh city governor Khuong Sreng blamed long-running land conflicts in the capital on interference from politicians and supposedly paid protesters, but some civil society members dismissed his claims as a frame-up and deflection.
Phnom Penh residents being moved to make way for railway expansion met with City Hall on Thursday complaining their houses were falling into disrepair waiting three years for relocation.
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith warned he would publicly shame ministry officials who failed to come into work despite collecting salaries, tactics an accountability expert called questionable despite the need for reform.
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.
Prime Minister Hun Sen last week issued a letter to officials that seemed to reveal concerns that changes in the political situation at the grassroots level in Cambodia could cause risks for his usual mechanisms for maintaining control and power.
Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Khuong Sreng has appealed to city officials and police to allow NGOs to hold public events and work freely without threats.
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