Watching from outside the Sokha Hotel, activists and human rights defenders in Cambodia and Myanmar shrugged: As usual, they said, it was doubtful the yearly summit would lead to any material change for their situations.
Cambodian activists and opposition politicians made a last-ditch effort to catch the attention of U.S. President Joe Biden before he arrived at the Asean Summit, hopeful that the U.S.’s self-image as a protector of democracy could help elevate their plight.
Phnom Penh’s New Mingda garment factory suspended two more workers who had been trying to form a union, workers said, following a protest there last week over the dismissal of another union leader.
Fears of traffic chaos in Phnom Penh failed to materialize on Thursday as the city’s roads remained quiet and largely free of roadblocks despite earlier plans to divert private vehicles from arterial roads.
Land protesters have begun camping out at a controversial lake, activists are undertaking a hunger strike, and unionists will continue their casino protests despite threats of legal action for gathering during the Asean Summit.
Phnom Penh is gearing up for the Asean Summit with fresh restrictions: street sellers downsizing stalls, residents taking down drying clothes, streets blocked around major hotels and nightclubs closed.
A district official in Phnom Penh has been suspended six months without pay for beating a street recycler. A Cambodian soldier was arrested in Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province for allegedly driving illegally into Thailand and using weapons.
Phnom Penh will divert private vehicles away from four arterial roads in the capital from Thursday to Sunday as part of traffic management for the Asean Summit, City Hall said.
NagaWorld casino strikers will continue their protests during the Asean Summit this week despite a threat of legal action from authorities, a union representative said on Tuesday.
Off the banks of Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changva peninsula, in the shadow of the famous Sokha Hotel, the ubiquitous fishing boats and sand dredgers have been replaced by military vessels, and local fisherpeople have been asked to temporarily clear the area with no compensation until the Asean Summit is over.
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