Like father, like son in Cambodia
PHNOM PENH–ON May 29, 1999, Hun Manet, the eldest son of Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, mounted the dais at the United States Military Academy at West Point to collect his diploma from General Dennis J Reimer, the US Army’s former chief of staff. Clad in a traditional grey jacket and red sash, then 21-year-old...
A prince joins the fray
Former Cambodian Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh is coming out of retirement. But will he be able to recapture his glory days?
Cambodia sees Suu Kyi release as positive step
THE Cambodian government has hailed the release of Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi after years of house arrest, describing it as an important step on the road towards democracy for the troubled country. “The government of Cambodia welcomes the release of Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar,” said Koy Kuong, spokesman for the...
Cambodia maintains distance on Myanmar poll
THE Cambodian government has adopted a wait-and-see approach to the upcoming elections in Myanmar, amid mounting criticism of a process many observers see as a charade to legitimise military rule.
PM orders closure of UN office
PRIME Minister Hun Sen has ordered United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to remove the head of the local UN human rights office, who he accused of acting as a “spokesman” for opposition groups.Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, who attended a meeting between Hun Sen and Ban yesterday morning, said the premier “proposed” that Christophe Peschoux,...
Bangladesh braces for divisive war-crimes trial
DHAKA – A SPECIAL tribunal in Bangladesh has indicted four members of the country’s main Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, on suspicion of committing mass atrocities during the country’s 1971 Liberation War. Those arrested, including party president Motiur Rahman Nizami and his deputy Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, have been remanded in custody indefinitely and are likely to...
Border spat set to drag on
YESTERDAY, Thai media reported that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and nationalist Yellow Shirt leaders had reached a “common position” on the 4.6-square kilometre disputed area adjacent to Preah Vihear temple. In a televised debate with the so-called Thai Patriots Network, a fringe group dominated by the yellow-shirted People’s Alliance for Democracy, Abhisit agreed that the...
Geopolitics behind a Cambodian conviction
PHNOM PENH – EARLY on November 24, 2000, about 70 gunmen slipped into the center of Cambodia’s capital city. After drinking and singing traditional songs at a karaoke bar, one unit of men moved towards a series of government buildings armed with AK-47 rifles, grenades and B-40 rocket launchers.
Bomb suspects handed over
CAMBODIA has deported two anti-government Red Shirt activists to Thailand, where they are accused of involvement in an attempted bomb attack in Bangkok last month. Kobchai Boonplod and Varisareeya Boonsom, both 42, were handed over to Thai officials at Phnom Penh International Airport yesterday, a move Long Visalo, secretary of state at the Ministry of...
The Dhaka solution
While the rest of the world debates climate change, Bangladesh has started living the reality of a warmer, more volatile world.
Burma’s nuclear venture
The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reports that the Burmese military government is attempting to acquire nuclear weapons technology as a deterrent against Western military actions. The allegations have been substantiated by Sai Thein Win, a former major in the Burmese army who served as a defence engineer and missile expert. According to DVB, he...
