Govt flips stance on Suu Kyi
GOVERNMENT officials have hailed the outcome of the trial of Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, claiming the reduction of her sentence was a “good sign” the country was moving in a democratic direction. On Tuesday, a court at Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison found Suu Kyi guilty of breaching her house arrest and sentenced...
Under the gaze of the Divine Eye
Phnom Penh’s small Caodai temple, the Cambodian outpost of a curious southern Vietnamese religious sect, continues to attract local converts, attracted by its all-inclusive religious doctrine
Hun Sen versus Mu Sochua and the state of democratic reform
Observers say the recent legal offensive against government critics raises questions about how far Cambodia has come on the road to democracy — and how far the nation has yet to go
REVIEW: ‘The Golden Triangle’, by Ko-Lin Chin
BURMA’S United Wa State Army is seen by many Western law enforcement agencies as one of the most powerful drug-trafficking organizations in the world. Since signing a cease-fire agreement with the Burmese government in 1989, the 20,000-strong UWSA has been granted control of Wa Special State—an isolated and mountainous region of Shan State in Burma’s...
Mobile phone operators face the levelling force of the free market
AS the global economic slips into recession, domestic mobile phone operators remain confident that Cambodia – a country with low mobile penetration rates and large untapped markets – will continue to see a boom in mobile expansion. But with eleven mobile operators currently licensed to operate in Cambodia, eight of which are now online, industry...
Sand mining spikes in Koh Kong estuaries
Large-scale sand dredging operations in Koh Kong estuaries ignoring long-term effects, say environmentalists. By Sebastian Strangio & Vong Sokheng.
Corruption may undermine Khmer Rouge justice
ON 17 February, a gaunt former school teacher walked into a packed courtroom in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, flanked by lawyers and lit by the flashes of the international press corps. Amid the procedural banalities of the ensuing hearing, an observer could be forgiven for mistaking the momentous nature of the event: more...
Minority tongues face grim future
DEVELOPMENT and economic integration are pushing the languages of Cambodia’s highland ethnic minorities towards extinction, according to language specialists, who are concerned some native tongues may be beyond the reach of government programs aimed at reversing the slide. “You could compare it with burning down a library. When it disappears, centuries of experience are just...
Lao dams muddying the waters
Environmentalists say regional forums have proven themselves inadequate to address the cross-border impacts of a slew of hydropower dam projects planned for southern Laos. Sebastian Strangio and Sam Rith report.
Ethnic minorities lose land, livelihoods to rampant land grabs
RATANAKKIRI PROVINCE—THE Toyota Landcruiser arrives in the village just as the morning sun breaks through the trees, casting long shadows across the rust-coloured earth. After exchanging a few quiet words with the driver, half a dozen young villagers – no more than teenagers – get into the vehicle, which pauses for a moment and then...
Proselytising amid the poverty
Cambodia’s relative religious freedoms have encouraged Christian groups to set up shop in the Kingdom, but they risk creating ‘rice Christians’ when they preach to the poor
CAMBODIA: Freshwater fish resources under increasing pressure
PHNOM PENH – Each year, between July and October, Cambodia’s Tonle Sap river, swollen by monsoon rain and excess flow from the nearby Mekong River, reverses its course. As water pours back into Cambodia’s Great Lake, swelling its size by over four times, the flood-plain is transformed into a vast breeding ground for over 250...
