Interview: 'They Are Afraid of my Shadow And my Voice or Anything Related to my Name'

Former Cambodia National Rescue Party President Sam Rainsy, who has been forced to live in exile since 2015 in the face of questionable defamation charges, spoke with reporter Vuthy Huot of Radio Free Asia’s Khmer Service by telephone from Massachusetts on Friday to discuss his life and activities after he was forced by the government in February to leave his CNRP post. He also spoke about local elections on June 4 that are seen as a bellwether for national elections in 2018.

Cambodia National Rescue Party President Sam Rainsy at RFA's studio, Dec. 15, 2016.

RFA: How is your life after resigning from the position of CNRP president?

Sam Rainsy: I want to state that even though I forced myself to resign from being the CNRP president, my heart still yearns to rescue the nation 100 percent. My forced resignation was in order to protect the CNRP so that the other side could not use my personal issues as a pretext for dissolving the CNRP. I was the one who initiated the establishment of the CNRP. Considering me as though I am a parent who produced a child and devotes everything for the long life of that child. Hence, I don’t regret any position as I have to devote everything including my own life so long as our nation is alive, sustained and prosperous. The CNRP is the only means of rescuing our nation. So, again, I don’t have any regret so long as the CNRP retains its role as the single hope for Cambodian citizens, patriots and justice lovers. I would like to appeal to our fellow citizens and our young people, nephews and nieces, to go to vote for the CNRP so that we can rescue our nation together to make it become a prosperous nation like other civilized countries in the world.

RFA: During the election campaign, current CNRP President Kem Sokha called on the citizens to vote for the CNRP if they want to witness Sam Rainsy’s return to Cambodia. As for now, will you return to Cambodia to lead the party if the CNRP wins the election?

Sam Rainsy: I’ve always wanted to return to my home country now. Yet the Phnom Penh government has banned all airline companies from allowing me to board any plane. They said that they won’t allow any plane carrying Sam Rainsy to land in Cambodia. They won’t even allow any persons boarding the plane to be able to leave the plane as they will send the plane back to its point of origin. So no airline dares to accept me. If the government was courageous, they would not bar me from returning to my own country since it violates the laws and the constitution. No government is entitled to prevent its own citizens from returning to their own home country. Our fellow citizens can make a judgment on this issue. This government is very afraid and nervous of my presence. They are not brave enough and do not possess any sporting spirit for fair competition. They wouldn’t need to use such a puppet court to convict me so that I am not able to compete with them. This is so terrible. So leave it to our citizens to judge.

RFA: In the event that the CNRP wins the upcoming elections, and things change, and you can return to Cambodia, will you lead the government or the CNRP once again?
Sam Rainsy: The most important thing is the will of the people. When the majority of the people vote for the CNRP, it means that the citizens want the CNRP to lead the country. First, in 2017 to lead at the commune/sangkat level. With the same level of support in 2018, the CNRP can lead the new government. Hence, when we have a new government led by the CNRP, we can request the King to help intervene in settling my past cases and we will make a new law to protect citizens’ rights and freedom of expression, and those of our lawmakers as well so that they can protect the citizens who are subject to injustice and other victims. I myself along with my colleagues who dare to speak up for our citizens and those victims didn’t do anything wrong. They just convicted us, saying that we had committed offenses so that I cannot take part in the election or return to Cambodia. These are all just pretexts to prevent their challenger from being able to take part in the competition with them since they are very afraid of us and they are cowards. I request that all of our citizens go to vote on election day. When they see the CNRP receive massive support from the people, I believe that the situation will start to change. And I will try to return to Cambodia when our citizens vote for the CNRP at a maximum level. 

RFA: Are you standing behind the CNRP acting as the party’s supreme advisor or being an unofficial leader of the CNRP?

Sam Rainsy: This depends on the CNRP and its leadership. Let them consider it. But for now, what we need to do is to ensure that our citizens go to vote and bring about victory for the CNRP. Other remaining issues can be settled easily once we gain a good number of our own commune/sangkat chiefs. When they see the landslide support for the CNRP, the other side will surely weaken in power. By then we will have an opportunity for dialogue. Now they are boastful, saying that they represent the majority. Just wait and see in the next couple of days which party enjoys majority support at the commune/sangkat level, and next year at the national level. When we have a majority voice, they won’t have the ability to disturb or harass us again. Then the CNRP will make its own internal decision whether it wants anyone to hold any position or not at all. As long as we are the ones who make our own decisions, as long as we have not been forced to follow their orders. When we follow their orders, it damages not only our interest, but also the interest of the nation as a whole.

RFA: Besides appealing to Cambodian citizens to vote for the CNRP so that you can return, have you sought any negotiations with the ruling party so that you can return?

Sam Rainsy: I believe that for now what is crucial is that we must give priority to the election process. We don’t need to negotiate at this time. Let the citizens decide and make their own judgments. The courts in Cambodia cannot be accepted. The ones who make the final decision are the citizens who are the owners of the territory. Please my fellow citizens go to vote. You are the representatives of Cambodia; you are the one who make the decision for the future of the country so that you don’t allow such corrupted and unjust courts decide the cases of the country’s patriots. So you as the citizens go to vote. You are the court of last resort and the people’s court that makes a decision via elections.

RFA: The NEC does not permit any airing of video clips by the CNRP containing your message. What is your reaction to such a ban?

Sam Rainsy: The current government nowadays is afraid of me. They are afraid of my shadow and my voice or anything related to my name. They are very afraid, just like children afraid of a giant. So let the citizens make their own judgment against those who do evil things against their own citizens, compatriots. They are afraid of those who love justice, democracy and patriotic movements. So you see … they don’t have any new ideas to present to the citizens. They know that the citizens don’t like them and don’t believe in them, so they don’t have anything to say except using threats of war, or threats to eliminate this or that. I feel such pity for our citizens who are the victims, including civil society members, members of national assembly and the senate from the CNRP who are now in jail. These people didn’t commit any crime. I insist our citizens to go to vote in this local election. Do not wait until next year for the national election by saying that this local election is not important. Please don’t think like this. We have to do it step by step. We have to go vote and the first step is to change local leadership so that later we can change the leader at the national level. We cannot directly change the national leader at once. We have to vote for change of commune/sangkat leaders, to show our force at the local level so that we can arrange for a better national election towards our final victory for the Cambodian citizens. So please do go to vote on June 4.

Translated by Sovannarith Keo.

Cambodia Police use drone to observer the parade of CNRP

We received many pictures from a student in Phnom Penh showed Cambodia Police use drone to observer the parade of CNRP

Updating...

CNRP would dismantle Development Ministry

Mon, 22 May 2017

Touch Sokha and Yesenia Amaro

Opposition leader Kem Sokha said on Saturday his party would shutter the Rural Development Ministry and put the savings towards the goal of funding each of Cambodia’s more than 1,600 commune councils with half a million dollars a year if it wins power in 2018.

Opposition leader Kem Sokha speaks at a commune election campaign rally on Saturday in Phnom Penh. Pha Lina

Speaking to supporters during the opening on Saturday of the opposition’s campaign for the June 4 commune election, Sokha said that the ministry, which has been criticised in the past for duplicating the duties of other ministries, was of little use to most people. “[If] the commune had the money to build and we decided to do it by ourselves, then there would be no need to depend on Ministry of Rural Development,” Sokha said. “Do brothers and sisters dare to handle this job? If we can do it, do we need to keep the Ministry of Rural Development? Cancel it.”
But Rural Development Ministry Secretary of State Sous Kong slammed the idea, taking to Facebook to describe it as “ridiculous” because his ministry had overseen the construction of more than 44,000 kilometres of roads. “Does he know the duties of the Ministry of Rural Development?” Kong asked. “It’s OK if he does not know.”
The ministry’s spokesman, Chan Darong, added by telephone yesterday that the government and the Rural Development Ministry were already financing projects totalling more than $500,000 per year in each commune.
“It is much more than $500,000, which is spent to develop all kinds of services,” he said, adding that the ministry had also provided nearly 60 percent of villagers around the country with access to sanitation services.
“We have not completed 100 percent, but we have done a lot,” Darong said. “If there is no ministry to sit, think, study and provide services, who will do the work? Therefore, how can we reduce poverty?”
Yet others were less convinced. San Chey, executive director of good governance NGO ANSA, said many of the Rural Development Ministry’s duties could be more efficiently carried out by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and the Ministry of Agriculture. “I think the idea [of eliminating the ministry] is appropriate, but there must be a study about the sharing of responsibilities” after the ministry’s closure, Chey said.
Polin Phang, executive director of Sustainable Cambodia, said his group had a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Rural Development to carry out some projects, but most of his staff only interacted with local authorities. “We deal with [people] at the grassroots level,” he said.
Additional reporting by Phak Seangly

ការផ្តើមនៃយុទ្ធនាការឃោសនាថ្ងៃទី២០ ខែឧសភា ឆ្នាំ២០១៧

By គណបក្ស សង្រ្គោះជាតិ, ឧសភា 20, 2017

ថ្ងៃនៃផ្តើមយុទ្ធនាការឃោសនារកការគាំទ្រសម្រាប់ការបោះឆ្នោតជ្រើសរើសក្រុមប្រឹក្សាឃុំ-សង្កាត់ នាថ្ងៃទី០៤ ខែមិថុនា ឆ្នាំ២០១៧ នៅថ្ងៃទី២០ ខែឧសភានេះ គណបក្សសង្រ្គោះជាតិនៅទូទាំងប្រទេសបានចាប់ផ្តើមមានជាក្បួនតូច ឬធំ ចាក់ឃោសនស័ព្ទ ឬចែកខិតប័ណ្ណតាមផ្ទះ យ៉ាងផុសផុល ។ ចំណែក ប្រធានគណបក្សសង្រ្គោះជាតិ លោក កឹម សុខា នៅថ្ងៃនេះ បានចូលដង្ហែរក្បួននៅរាជធានីភ្នំពេញ និងពេលរសៀលនៅខេត្តតាកែវ ។

– ក្បួនដង្ហែរនៃការផ្តើមយុទ្ធនាការនៅរាជធានីភ្នំពេញ

– ខេត្តតាកែវ

– ក្បួនដង្ហែរតូចៗតាមឃុំ នៃខេត្តព្រៃវែង

ក្បួនដង្ហែរតូចៗតាមឃុំ-សង្កាត់ នៃខេត្តព្រះសីហនុ

ក្បួនដង្ហែរតូចៗតាមឃុំ នៃខេត្តពោធិ៍សាត់

– វេទិកាជួបជុំនៅខេត្តស្វាយរៀង

– ក្បួនដង្ហែរតូចៗតាមឃុំ-សង្កាត់ នៃខេត្តបាត់ដំបង

Two KNLF Members Arrested at News Conference

by Ouch Sony and George Wright | May 17, 2017 | អានជាភាសាខ្មែរ

Two members of the Khmer National Liberation Front (KNLF), a government-branded terrorist group, were arrested yesterday as they attempted to hold a news conference in Phnom Penh, police and the group’s president said.

The KNLF planned to hold the event alongside the little-known Inter-Races High Commissioner Organization at the latter’s office in Chbar Ampov district to “seek the political solution for a long political crisis in Cambodia,” according to a media statement released last week.

However, the event was shut down just before 9 a.m. and two KNLF members were arrested, said district police chief Em Saravuth, who accused the group of failing to obtain permission from the Interior Ministry.
“Yesterday and the day be- fore yesterday, the ministry and municipal police came to advise them not to do it because [they] don’t have the legal permission,” he said, adding that he was not present for the arrests but that “perhaps three” had been detained.

According to the government-aligned Fresh News website, Khun Sawak Khet, of the Inter-Races High Commissioner Organization, was the third person arrested. Mr. Sawak Khet’s telephone was switched off yesterday when attempts were made to reach him for comment.

Mr. Saravuth, the police chief, accused the KNLF of having arranged an illegal meeting under the banner of the Inter-Races High Commissioner Organization.

“We came down to cooperate with them two times already, asking them to get the permission letter because they put the logo as an organization,” he said, referring to the Inter-Races High Commissioner Organization. “They concealed themselves as it was a Khmer National Liberation Front meeting.”

“They don’t have the legal permission from the Interior Ministry and expert officials already came down to advise them but they did not follow the advice.”
Sam Serey, the KNLF leader who is in Denmark to avoid prison for plotting to overthrow the government, named the arrested members of his group as Thuy Vy and Ditlim Sopheawattei.
Mr. Vy is the minister of Agriculture in Mr. Serey’s “government in exile,” which he founded in October to mark the 25th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords. Mr. Serey is the “president” of the government.

“They tried to arrest our diplomat and member that came for negotiation to end the conflict,” Mr. Serey said in an email.
“The arrest of Thuy Vy is a thing that the international community and U.N. should not ignore about the human rights violation in Cambodia.”
Those affiliated with the KNLF have faced serious consequences in recent years.
In December, 11 members of the group were handed five- to nine-year sentences over 2014 plotting charges by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, despite most renouncing their support for the KNLF in court. The defendants claimed they had planned a peaceful demonstration in front of the Vietnamese Embassy, but authorities claimed the event was intended to sow violence and disorder.

In 2014, 12 men and one woman were found guilty of plotting to overthrow the government and were also handed between five and nine years in prison.
Those arrested in the latest incident were being questioned at the municipal police headquarters last night. Municipal and National Police officials could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Serey said he had not been in contact with the KNLF members since their arrest, and that he feared for their safety.
“They are senior active members in KNLF. If they do not release them and the other political prisoners, I cannot guarantee what will happen next,” he said.
sony@cambodiadaily.com , wright@cambodiadaily.com

Police Link Kith Meng to Illegal Wood Racket

By Chhorn Phearun | May 17, 2017

The National Police on Tuesday published a brief but scathing report on business mogul Kith Meng, citing anonymous sources who accuse his company of using its license to log the reservoir of the nearly completed Lower Sesan 2 hydropower dam to launder timber.
Mr. Meng’s Royal Group, which is building the 400-megawatt dam with Chinese partners in Stung Treng province, has handed the job of clearing the 36,000-hectare reservoir to a subsidiary, Ang & Associates Lawyers.

Officials inspect a truck in Tbong Khmum province in late March. (Fresh News)

Locals and NGOs have been accusing the logging operation of using the reservoir to launder timber illegally logged elsewhere for years with impunity. Tuesday’s report, posted to the National Police website, adds official weight to those claims.
“Forest destruction in Sesan district and timber smuggling for sale in Vietnam is happening in the name of the company clearing the Lower Sesan II reservoir, which belongs to Oknha Kith Meng, but authorities ignore and overlook it and do not prevent it,” the report says.
“People report that the bottom of the reservoir that Kith Meng’s company was licensed to clear has no big trees. Yet the manager of the company, named Seng, colludes with, and recruits, local people to log the forest outside the bottom of the reservoir, and then collects [the timber] and places them at the bottom of the reservoir to make illegal timber become legal.”
According to sources, the report says, Mr. Meng handed the logging operation over to an “Oknha Chhey,” who in turn handed operations over to two others, Tim Bunlin and San Choy. The same sources, it adds, say Mr. Bunlin and Mr. Choy are buying up timber in different communes and either sneaking it into the reservoir or hiding it underwater.
“Kith Meng’s logging of state-timber outside the reservoir is causing concern about the loss of natural resources in Sesan district and of imminent disaster if not prevented,” the report ends.

Kith Meng, right, poses with Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem in front of Lower Sesan II dam last month in Stung Treng province, in a photograph posted to Facebook by one of Mr. Meng’s employees.

The report does not say what, if any, action police are taking to address the reported timber laundering.
National police spokesman Kirth Chantharith could not be reached on Tuesday and Stung Treng provincial police chief Mao Dara declined to comment.
Provincial governor Mom Saroeun also declined to comment.
Lean Seng, director of the province’s agriculture department, denied the report’s claims.
“It doesn’t happen,” he said. “Officials from the Agriculture Ministry have come to inspect.”
Mr. Meng, reached by phone, said he was in a meeting in Beijing and hung up.
In a related case from late March, authorities in Tbong Khmum province seized two trucks transporting timber from the Lower Sesan reservoir for Ang & Associates. The drivers told authorities that they were driving the timber to Vietnam, despite a ban on all timber exports to Vietnam that has been in place since January last year.
The day The Cambodia Daily published a story about the seizures, a man named Kim Seng, identifying himself as a representative for Ang & Associates, called the reporter who wrote it and offered to pay his editors to take the story offline.
Authorities later released the two trucks and the timber without explanation.
Earlier this month, the Environmental Investigation Agency, a U.K. NGO, released the results of an undercover investigation exposing a major illegal logging operation in Ratanakkiri province, just east of Stung Treng. Vietnamese timber traders told the investigators that their companies were bribing local authorities in the province to let them log in protected areas and smuggle the timber across the border.

NEC warns against use of war rhetoric

Talking up the risk of war during the coming election campaign can be expected to bring legal action from the National Election Committee (NEC), the body’s spokesman said yesterday, a day after the premier warned he feared conflict would ensue if his ruling Cambodian People’s Party lost the election.

NEC spokesman Hang Puthea speaks to the press in Phnom Penh. Pha Lina

NEC member and spokesman Hang Puthea said the body stood ready to enforce the Election Law come May 20, the official beginning of the campaign period for the June 4 commune elections.
As part of this, any politician who mentions the threat of war would likely fall foul of Article 71, which says political parties and candidates shall not use threats, intimidation or violence.
“For politicians, their rhetoric will be considered by the NEC,” Puthea said. “It does not refer only to [politicians] speaking about war but also problems which might arise because of insults, for example.”
Hun Sen on Wednesday told a gathering of military veterans and officers that the country would descend into war if the CPP lost power, a theme long present in his speeches.
The premier also threatened a military crackdown against any protests during the election.The NEC was made bipartisan in 2015. Reached yesterday, representatives of both parties said they supported its role in policing extreme rhetoric.
“We welcome the principles of the NEC. It is up to them to decide if any party or individual has committed an offence,” CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said.
Yim Sovann, a CNRP spokesman, commended the NEC for taking what he said was a brave stance.

Hun Sen Scolds Media During Forum Session

by Matt Surrusco | May 12, 2017 | អានជាភាសាខ្មែរ

Prime Minister Hun Sen used a news conference at Thursday’s World Economic Forum on Asean in Phnom Penh to warn that two foreign-owned news outlets, including The Cambodia Daily, were “against” the government and that journalists who did not report “properly” would be seen as “servants of foreigners.”
During a 37-minute media briefing with the premier on the second day of the international business summit, Mr. Hun Sen described Radio Free Asia (RFA) as “a radio against the government,” and said The Cambodia Daily was “opposing me all the time,” according to a live English translation of the prime minister’s statements.

Prime Minister Hun Sen and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte share the stage at the Sokha Hotel in Phnom Penh on Thursday. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)

Pointing a finger at two journalists in the front row of the media group, Mr. Hun Sen said, “Now the two…who work for Radio Free Asia and Cambodia Daily, now write it properly because it is a live broadcast.”
The journalists had asked the prime minister questions about how the nation’s youth would be trained for the jobs of the future and how Cambodia would participate in China’s “One Road, One Belt” economic policy.
“So if you write it wrongly, make a wrong commentary, then it will be seen that you, niece and nephew who are working for foreigners, are actually the servants of foreigners. I don’t want to hear such a word,” Mr. Hun Sen said.
Tripti Lahiri, Asia bureau chief for website Quartz, part of Washington-based Atlantic Media, and who attended the press conference, said she was surprised by the exchange.
“The prime minister spent the bulk of his answer criticizing the outlets the reporters worked for, instead of responding to two reasonable questions,” Ms. Lahiri said.
Last month, RFA’s deputy director for Cambodia, Huot Vuthy, fled the country before a scheduled court date over allegations that he falsely identified himself as a CNRP assistant during a prison visit with opposition officials. He denies the accusations.
RFA’s spokesman Rohit Mahajan said in response to the prime minister’s comments that they “illustrate what poor regard Cambodia’s government has for independent, free press.” RFA is funded by the U.S. government.
Douglas Steele, The Daily’s general manager, citing the newspaper’s motto, said, “We are not for or against any person or party. Our mission is unbiased news, without fear or favor.”
In concluding the briefing, Adrian Monck, the forum’s head of public and social engagement, said critical news outlets were a key component of economic growth.
“I think one of the key findings from the forum’s Global Competitiveness Report is that healthy, critical media is an important part of any growing economy,” Mr. Monck told the room of journalists.
“The World Economic Forum’s own global rankings show that accountability and scrutiny help economies become more competitive,” he added in an email later on Thursday. “Media plays an important role as a stakeholder in that process.”
The forum supported that role by inviting more than 200 reporters to the summit and “asking leaders to face their questions on the record,” he said.
“It is for viewers and readers to decide if the answers provided address their concerns sufficiently,” Mr. Monck said.
During the briefing at the forum, Mr. Hun Sen also brought up his Wednesday gift of $20,000 to ailing Cambodia Daily associate editor Saing Soenthrith to “save him.”
“He’s been writing for [The] Cambodia [Daily] cursing me for almost 20 years, at the time getting ill and he’s been abandoned by The Cambodia Daily,” Mr. Hun Sen said.
Mr. Soenthrith said on Thursday that he stopped working last May due to illness, needs a kidney transplant and receives dialysis twice weekly. He said he took a $1,000 monthly pay cut before being put on unpaid leave.
“My name is still on the masthead,” Mr. Soenthrith said, adding that he felt “abandoned” by The Daily’s management. He said former and current Daily reporters had donated money and raised funds to help pay for medical expenses.
Asked why he thought Mr. Hun Sen had given him the money, he said he was unsure.
“I don’t know his idea, but when he learned about my background, he pitied me,” Mr. Soenthrith said. “And he supported me.”
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith has pledged an additional $5,000 to Mr. Soenthrith, which the journalist said he was told he would receive today.
Despite his criticism of the outlets, Mr. Hun Sen told the reporters at the forum that their questions pleased him. In response to a question from RFA journalist San Sel about how Cambodia was working to educate its youth for jobs of the future, Mr. Hun Sen cited the careers of the two Cambodian reporters who had asked him questions as examples of educational opportunities available for the nation’s youth.
Following years of war, “we have been emerging, including grandparents, and your parents can survive and provide you training. Now you can work for American radio and an American newspaper,” Mr. Hun Sen said.
“Is it not a life example of the achievement that the Royal Government has been doing for you?” he said.

Minister Tells White Building Residents to End Negotiations

by Sek Odom | May 12, 2017

The Land Management Minister informed residents of Phnom Penh’s White Building on Friday that they should end compensation negotiations and accept the offer from the Japanese developer that plans to flatten the iconic housing complex.
The government and nearly 500 families have been unable to reach an agreement over compensation for their homes, with residents seeking $2,000 per square meter, and the developer, Arakawa, offering $1,400 per sq m.

Land Management Minister Chea Sophara talks to residents of Phnom Penh’s White Building on Friday. (Siv Channa/ The Cambodia Daily)

Laos PM Calls Reports of Border Clash With Cambodia a ‘Rumor’

By Sek Odom | May 12, 2017

The visiting premier of Laos this week sought to downplay reports of a tense standoff between Laotian and Cambodian troops in February over construction projects inside a disputed patch of the border, according to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Facebook page.
Mr. Hun Sen’s Laotian counterpart, Thongloun Sisoulith, is in Phnom Penh for the World Economic Forum on Asean and met with the prime minister at his office on Wednesday, said a post to Mr. Hun Sen’s Facebook page on the same day.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, left, embraces Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith before a meeting in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, in a photograph posted to Mr. Hun Sen’s Facebook page.

លោក ហ៊ុន សែន ព្រមាន​ពី​ការ​បាត់បង់​សន្តិភាព​បើ​ពលរដ្ឋ​មិន​ចេះ​ថែរក្សា​ទេ

លោក​នាយក​រដ្ឋមន្ត្រី ហ៊ុន សែន បាន​ព្រមាន​ថា សន្តិភាព​ដែល​កំពុង​តែ​មាន​នេះ អាច​នឹង​ដួល​រលំ​ពេល​ណា​មួយ បើ​សិន​ពលរដ្ឋ​មិន​ខំ​ថែរក្សា​អ្វី​ដែល​មាន​នៅ​ក្នុង​ដៃ​ទេ។ យ៉ាង​ណា អ្នក​តាមដាន​ពី​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​នយោបាយ​នៅ​កម្ពុជា មើល​ឃើញ​ថា ការ​គំរាម​កំហែង​ថា​នឹង​មាន​សង្គ្រាម ឬ​លួងលោម​តាម​រយៈ​ការ​ផ្ដល់​អំណោយ​បន្តិចបន្តួច​នៅ​មុន​ការ​បោះឆ្នោត លែង​ជា​វិធី​សន្សំ​ពិន្ទុ​សម្រាប់​ទាក់ទាញ​ទឹក​ចិត្ត​តទៅទៀត​ហើយ។

ការ​ព្រមាន​ពី​ភាព​ផុយ​ស្រួយ​នៃ​សន្តិភាព ឬ​ការ​ដួល​រលំ​ដែល​កម្ពុជា កំពុង​តែ​មាន​នៅ​ពេល​នេះ​របស់​លោក ហ៊ុន សែន វា​ពុំ​មែន​ជា​រឿង​ថ្មី​ឡើយ ហើយ​សារ​ព្រមាន​របស់​ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​កាន់​អំណាច​នេះ ធ្វើ​ឡើង​ស្រប​ពេល​យុទ្ធនាការ​ឃោសនា​ស្វែងរក​សំឡេង​បោះឆ្នោត​ឃុំ-សង្កាត់ នៅ​សល់​ពេល​ប្រមាណ ១០​ថ្ងៃ​ទៀត នឹង​ឈាន​មក​ដល់។

លោក​នាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រី ហ៊ុន សែន ថ្លែង​ក្នុង​ពិធី​ចែក​សញ្ញាប័ត្រ​ដល់​និស្សិត នៅ​មជ្ឈមណ្ឌល​សន្និបាត និង​ពិព័រណ៍ កោះពេជ្រ រាជធានី​ភ្នំពេញ កាល​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​១៧ ខែ​មីនា ឆ្នាំ​២០១៦។

លោក ហ៊ុន សែន ព្រមាន​ជា​ថ្មី​ថា​នឹង​មាន​សង្គ្រាម​បើ​បក្ស​លោក​មិន​បាន​កាន់​អំណាច

លោក​នាយក​រដ្ឋមន្ត្រី ហ៊ុន សែន និង​ជា​ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​ប្រជាជន​កម្ពុជា ដែល​កំពុង​កាន់​អំណាច​សព្វថ្ងៃ ព្រមាន​ថា បើ​គណបក្ស​លោក​មិន​បាន​កាន់​អំណាច​បន្ត​ទៀត​ទេ សង្គ្រាម​នឹង​ផ្ទុះ​ឡើង​ជា​ថ្មី​នៅ​កម្ពុជា។ អ្នក​វិភាគ​ព្រឹត្តិការណ៍​នយោបាយ​យល់​ថា សម្ដី​របស់​លោក ហ៊ុន សែន ជា​ការ​គំរាម​កំហែង​ដល់​ការ​សម្រេច​ចិត្ត​បោះឆ្នោត​របស់​ពលរដ្ឋ​ជា​ម្ចាស់​ឆ្នោត ប៉ុន្តែ​បើ​គណបក្ស​ប្រជាជន​កម្ពុជា ចាញ់​ឆ្នោត​មែន​នោះ គឺ​មិន​អាច​កើត​សង្គ្រាម​នោះ​ទេ។

Cambodia Breaks Ground on Oil Refinery Construction Project in Preah Sihanouk Province

Sihanouk province on May 4 with the capacity of producing 5 million tons of oil a year.

Saturday, May 06, 2017 - 9:41:00 AM 

AKP Phnom Penh -- A US$1,620 million oil refinery was broken ground in Preah

Laos Dam Poses Environmental Dangers to Lower Mekong Basin

Plans for the newest hydropower dam on the Mekong River will need dramatically improved environmental safeguards in order to minimize damage to fish and other wildlife in the river basin, researchers say.
Ahead of a regional consultation on the project today in Vientiane, the intergovernmental Mekong River Commission released a draft report on the proposed Pak Beng dam in northern Laos, saying the amount of water that would flow through proposed fish passages are less than a tenth of recommended levels. It also issued a slew of other recommendations.

Plants line the bank of the Mekong River near the Pak Beng dam site. (International Rivers)

The passages are needed to help fish—ranging from larval drift to the Mekong giant catfish, the world’s largest freshwater fish—move between the two sides of the massive 912-megawatt dam, says the report set to be presented at the forum.
The dam, “if designed and operated as outlined in the documents submitted, will impact on fish passage, downstream sediment transport, and aquatic habitats,” says an email sent by the commission’s secretariat on Thursday.
“These may have knock on impacts on the people and economy of the Lower Mekong Basin,” the email says, adding that these would likely be felt across country borders.
While the international standard for water flow through a dam’s fish passage is 10 percent of the river flow—allowing the fish to easily swim up or downstream—the proposed rate is less than 1 percent, the report says. It also notes a need to attract fish to the passages’ entrances and to add more exits.
The dam’s developer—China Datang Overseas Investment Company—and the Laotian government failed to provide enough information about their plans during the assessment, the report adds.
“Some impacts are unavoidable,” the email from the Mekong River Commission secretariat says, adding that implementing the recommended changes was beyond the commission’s mandate and “final decision[s] rest with the proposing country.”
Two previous consultations on a dam built downstream of Pak Beng, and another under construction on the Cambodia-Laos border, had stalled, but construction moved ahead anyway.



retka@cambodiadaily.com

PM Hit With ‘Exhaustion,’ Currently Recovering in Singapore

by Kuch Naren | May 5, 2017

Prime Minister Hun Sen announced on Thursday that he has been hospitalized in Singapore with “extreme exhaustion” and could remain there until at least Sunday, which would mean missing a series of planned meetings with foreign diplomats, military officials and civil servants, according to a post uploaded to the premier’s Facebook page.
“I ask for understanding from civil servants and armed forces in Kompong Speu province that I was going to meet with, but it has been postponed,” the post said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen lies in a hospital bed in Singapore after suffering from a bout of ‘extreme exhaustion,’ in a photograph posted to the premier’s Facebook page on Thursday.

“[I] ask for understanding from foreign friends, especially Japan, India and France, that the planned programs for the meeting has been canceled,” the premier added.
Mr. Hun Sen said in the post that he was suffering from “extreme exhaustion” and had been admitted to a Singapore hospital on Wednesday, where he is expected to remain for several days. He did not name the hospital where he is receiving medical attention.
“I fell ill [and] needed urgent medical examination and treatment. I’ve been in a hospital in Singapore from 2 p.m. on May 3 and could return to Cambodia on Sunday, May 7,” Mr. Hun Sen wrote.
Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said on Thursday that the premier’s condition had been caused by a heavy workload.
“He has a busy schedule of working locally and abroad and does not have time to relax,” he said, adding that the condition was not considered to be serious.
Mr. Hun Sen has previously courted controversy for choosing to seek medical attention in Singapore rather than at home.
In January last year, the premier said he decided to visit Singapore for his annual checkup because Cambodian doctors told him the country’s health system could not adequately provide the required care.
CNRP lawmaker Mu Sochua on Thursday said that getting treatment abroad was Mr. Hun Sen’s choice to make.
“[Mr. Hun Sen] has been abroad so it means he trusts a hospital there. I think that health issues, especially the leader’s health, is so important. Thus I wish Samdach Prime Minister to have a complete recovery soon,” she said.

naren@cambodiadaily.com

Police Try to Break Up Opposition Meeting

Dozens of police officers descended on a private meeting of hundreds of CNRP activists in Ratanakkiri province on Thursday to try to block an event at which party vice presidents Mu Sochua and Pol Ham were due to speak, according to an opposition official.The CNRP went ahead with the gathering, which was held on the grounds of a home belonging to one of the activists, after police pulled back when they saw the number of people present.

CNRP Vice President Mu Sochua speaks at a gathering in Ratanakkiri province, in a photograph posted to former opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s Facebook page on Thursday.

As the district police chief on Thursday defended their actions, citing a law that bans campaigning until two weeks before the commune elections on June 4, organizers vehemently insisted that it was just a meeting of supporters.
Tim Phally, a member of the CNRP’s provincial executive committee, who organized the event, said that police and district authorities had first turned up at the site in Kon Mom district on Wednesday in an attempt to remove a tent that was being erected for the get-together with Ms. Sochua and Mr. Ham.
“District authorities threatened that if we did not ask permission, they would order forces to take action,” Mr. Phally said.
“They said if we did not listen to them, they would order the forces to remove the tent. At that time, there was a lot of tension between the authorities and us,” he added.
Despite believing that the party was not legally required to request permission to hold a meeting, Mr. Phally said CNRP officials submitted a letter in the evening asking the district governor for consent anyway.
Authorities usually need to be notified of gatherings at private homes, for events such as weddings, but don’t need to grant permission for them.
The organizers said that they had notified commune officials well in advance of the meeting.
On Thursday morning, however, dozens of police officers returned to the site. But they swiftly retreated upon witnessing hundreds of opposition supporters inside and outside the tent, he said. Only four were left to monitor the event.
“After the police saw hundreds of people had come and our leaders were not afraid, the situation seemed to calm down,” he said.
Ms. Sochua and Mr. Ham—who have both been elected as vice presidents of the opposition, although the government has yet to recognize them—then delivered speeches, he added.
Contacted after the event, Mr. Ham said he “heard there was trouble,” but couldn’t comment as he arrived after it had died down.
Mr. Phally said the authorities’ behavior was a clear attempt at intimidating the opposition before next month’s commune elections.
“We are not doing an election campaign. We just had a meeting with our activists,” he said.
“Actually, it’s intimidation. They use power rather than implementing the law.”
District police chief Phok Borith confirmed that officers were sent to the site to “question” organizers about whether they had permission. The election law states that parties are only allowed to campaign two weeks before an election.
“Based on the principle, the election campaign hasn’t started yet,” he said.
“They must ask for permission from provincial and district authorities to provide safety for them,” he said, adding that he was concerned that “bad people” might throw rocks at speakers.
When asked what law the opposition was breaking by holding a meeting, deputy provincial governor Nhem Sam Oeun said permission should have been sought out of “principle.”
“It’s a principle because in the past, when an incident happened at the event, the people often blamed us,” he said.
The incident comes a day after a city police chief in Koh Kong province admitted that there was no law justifying the actions of police officers who ripped down banners urging the release of detained rights workers, but said the NGOs that had put them up needed to have asked for permission.
sokhean@cambodiadaily.com
© 2017, The Cambodia Daily. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced in print, electronically, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without written permission.

‘Tired’ PM Hun Sen in Singapore hospital

‘Tired’ PM Hun Sen in Singapore hospital

Fri, 5 May 2017

Erin Handley

Prime Minister Hun Sen announced on Facebook yesterday that he had fallen ill with exhaustion and was currently seeking medical treatment in Singapore.

Family members visit Prime Minister Hun Sen after he was admitted to a hospital in Singapore yesterday. Facebook

The urgent trip saw Hun Sen postpone engagements in Kampong Speu with civil servants and armed forces, and cancel scheduled meetings with representatives from Japan, India and France.
“Because I am very tired I have become so ill that I needed to go to hospital urgently for a medical check-up and treatment,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
The premier posted a series of photos of himself in a hospital bed with his eldest son, Hun Manet, and his grandson alongside him, saying he arrived at the Singapore hospital at 2pm on May 3 and would return to Cambodia on May 7 to “continue my work as usual”.
Hun Manith, the prime minister’s second son, yesterday thanked journalists for their concern but declined to comment further on his father’s condition.
Hun Sen, often labelled a “strongman” of Southeast Asia, is rarely pictured in a state of vulnerability, but political analyst Ou Virak said with yesterday’s post, the premier had managed to take control of the political message.
“It’s definitely showing his vulnerability, but I don’t see many other options,” he said. “I think it’s actually smart because the post is showing him in a stable condition ... Either you have that or you have rumours, and the Cambodian rumour mill is pretty famous for producing juicy conspiracy theories.”
“The message in the Facebook post is that he is working really hard for the country and he pays the price with his health, but they have got to have a healthy person to lead their country.”
But, he added, the post also inadvertently highlighted Hun Sen’s mortality and, by extension, the need to formulate a plan for a smooth transfer of power. Hun Sen has maintained a firm grip on power in Cambodia for more than 30 years.
“The problem of Cambodia is I think we need him; it’s basically his creation, he created a system where he is needed. That’s the risk that needs to be addressed,” Virak said.
Social researcher Meas Ny said Hun Sen appeared to have taken a weakness and turned it into a kind of strength – or at least a humanising force – adding that the “Facebook premier” often posted about his health check-ups on social media.
“Many thousands of supporters are sending well wishes; nobody dares to say anything negative,” Ny said. So far, more than 11,000 people have commented on and shared the premier’s post.
“It’s also a test ... It gauges support for the [Cambodian People’s Party], it’s a tool to assess how much people love him.”
Ny, who clarified he did not know the extent of the premier’s condition, said stress from the past year of all-out politicking could have had an impact on Hun Sen’s health.
“I think it’s probably part of the stress. Over the last year, the CPP has shown more power and more muscle, and that might contribute to a lot of stress,” Ny said, noting that the apparent shows of force appeared not to have had the intended effect.
“His political manipulation sometimes works, and sometimes it elicits a strong reaction from the people and from his own party as well, but ultimately CPP did not get any benefit at all . . . it was less effective.”
In the past, however, Hun Sen has taken his medical ailments in stride. At the height of election season in 1998, a pajama-clad Hun Sen emerged from hospital, shortly after emergency surgery to remove his appendix, to playfully spar with international media.
Lighting a 555 cigarette, he announced “smoking means I am healthy”, before going on to promise that elections would be free and fair and that he had no means to influence the ballot box.
“I can’t even tell my daughter how to vote. I think she will vote for me, but I’m not sure,” he said.
Additional reporting by Khouth Sophak Chakrya

Returned Montagnards Facing Intimidation, Spying in Vietnam

A group of 25 Montagnard refugees who were returned to Vietnam last week are being subjected to surveillance and intimidation, while others have been forced to read “confessions” to be broadcast on television, according to Montagnard rights groups.

The Montagnards—who escaped to Cambodia in recent years after fleeing what they described as religious and political persecution at the hands of the Hanoi government—arrived in Vietnam just over a week ago.

A group of Montagnards who last month left Phnom Penh for Vietnam. (Montagnards Assistance Project)

The U.N.’s refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Cambodian government claimed the repatriation was voluntary, but some of the Montagnards refuted this, saying that they were warned they had to go back or face forced eviction.
Shortly after arriving in Vietnam, the returnees say, they were already being targeted by Vietnamese authorities.
Y-Lhul Buonya, who conducts investigations for the U.S.-based Montagnards Support Group, said on Tuesday that he had interviewed two men by telephone: a member of a group that went to Dak Lak province with six others, and a Montagnard asylum-seeker in Phnom Penh who had received reports from friends and family who were among 18 sent back to Gia Lai province.
Both men said their groups had been placed under surveillance upon return, according to Mr. Buonya, who fled the Central Highlands to Cambodia in 2004 before being settled in the U.S. The two returnees requested anonymity out of fear for their safety.
Most of the Montagnards were immediately interrogated by Vietnamese authorities and warned not to stray far from their homes, Mr. Buonya said.
“They reported that the Vietnamese prohibited them [from leaving], saying, ‘If you go out of the village, or go around to visit anyone, or go to work during this time, then we’ll put you in the jail,’” he said, adding that he was unaware of any arrests so far.
During the meeting with authorities, some claimed they were forced to give filmed confessions admitting they were wrong to flee Vietnam that were later broadcast on TV, Mr. Buonya said.
“They did that to post around the Central Highlands to make sure that all the Montagnard people know that those people have committed [actions] against Vietnamese law,” he said.
They were told they must toe the same line when speaking to other Montagnards, he added.
Mr. Buonya said both groups reported that plainclothes police had been deployed to spy on the new arrivals.
“It’s the same thing in both provinces. They said the Vietnamese government, the non-uniformed people, were monitoring their families. Sometimes they visit daytime and nighttime. They will be there recording
,” he said.
Grace Bui, program director for the Montagnard Assistance Project in Thailand, said she had also received reports of widespread surveillance on the recent returnees, and that some of them had told relatives in Bangkok to refrain from contacting them to avoid incurring the ire of Vietnamese officials.
A senior Montagnard now living in the Thai capital after fleeing Cambodia last month had been told by fellow Monta­gnards who returned to Vietnam “not to contact too much because if he contacts the people, the people are going to get in trouble,” Ms. Bui said.
“So far, nobody went to jail yet, that I know,” she added. “The surveillance around the house is very tight. They cannot leave.”
“They’re being watched 24 hours a day because the government is afraid they will run away again—this time to Thailand, not Cambodia.”
The Montagnards say they face religious and political oppression in the Central Highlands because they are Christians who supported the U.S. during the Second Indochina War. The Communist Party of Vietnam also stands accused of widespread land grabbing against indigenous groups.
The UNHCR has generally claimed that it has found no evidence of retaliatory persecution against returnees from Cambodia.
Vivian Tan, regional press officer for the UNHCR, said on Tuesday she would check the latest allegations.
The latest wave of Monta­gnards fleeing into Cambodia began in late 2014, but stopped the following year as the Cambodian government began forcibly deporting asylum-seekers.
There are currently about 70 Montagnards still in Phnom Penh waiting to hear whether their refugee applications have been accepted. In March, about 50 fled their U.N.-funded temporary accommodations in Phnom Penh to Thailand, where the chances of being deported are far slimmer.