Sou Sdei and welcome to Campuccino, your fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia.
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In this issue: Re-emergence of Covid-19 community transmission, further decline in human rights and freedom of expression, decriminalisation of surrogacy mothers in question and more…
Last week, I had a headline about schools reopening line up to be included in this issue. Who would have thought that the headline is now somewhat obsolete because schools, movie theatres and some other public venues are ordered to be closed again for 14 days after community transmission of Covid-9 reemerged in Phnom Penh, reports Ouch Sony for VOD. This is the result of a visiting Hungarian delegation who bypassed all the Covid-19 precautious procedures during their 24-hour stop in Cambodia. The Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto tested positive for Covid-19 when he later arrived in Bangkok. Consequently, over 600 people, among them government officials and journalists, were tested and found negative of Covid-19, according to CamboJANews. A local security guard accompanying the delegate during their time in Cambodia was the first to be tested positive which prompt the precautionary closures of public venues and schools. However, the number of people tested has reached over 1000 people with 4 being positive as of November 3, according to AKP.
The whole thing is ridiculous and obviously preventable if you ask me. This saga brings to light the issue of transparency when it comes to Covid-19 protocols. Ouch Sony, Michael Dickison and Danielle Keeton-Olsen did an extensive piece on the public concerns regarding this issue.
In other Covid-19 related news, Cambodian migrant workers risk crossing the closed borders between Thailand and Cambodia for work. VOD reports that debt and a lack of jobs in Cambodia has driven them to brave the illegal border crossing because, despite the pandemic, Thailand is facing labour shortages.
I sometimes wonder how desperate and insecure can a leader be to destroy and suppress anything that comes in your way. It is like digging up seeds underground, stomp it so that the plants would not even have a chance to start growing. The seeds in this context are our last bit of freedom to express any concern or critical opinions at all as Cambodians.
I covered what happened to the peaceful protest during the Paris Peace Agreement day on October 23 in the last issue. The demonstration was met with hostile confrontation from authorities. During the chaos, Sath Pha, one of the activists was carried away. Four days later she was arrested with the charge of incitement to disturb social security along with three others, reports VOD by Mech Dara. She was charged with incitement and sent to prison on 28 October, according to report from Cambodianess.
Activists were not the only one who got harassed for simply exercising their rights. Journalists, too, were harassed. Tran Techseng reports for VOD that authorities, including a Phnom Penh Deputy Governor, harassed right monitors and reporters by threatening to confiscate their cameras and phones at the same protest.
On November 2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, over 50 nongovernmental organizations released a joint statement declaring their concern for journalists in the wake of the government’s ongoing harassment of independent media and its intentions to hinder press freedom, reports Khy Sovuthy for CamboJANews. The government, as usual, denied everything on the twisted ground of the Constitution and the laws. Classic!
Since we are on the topic of harassment, let’s move on to the next one, shall we?
While the new date of Kem Sokha’s trial is nowhere in sight, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court summoned several party leaders and ex-lawmakers to appear at court on November 26 on charges of plotting and incitement, according to VOD. At this point, who in their right mind would show up? Especially, after the Prime Minister made a public threat to come after their families who are in the country.
Now, the topic of surrogacy does not come up a lot in Cambodia’s media space. If anything, I’ve only encountered such news when surrogate mothers were simply labeled criminals. I personally think the topic is complex, and requires open and extensive discussion among relevant government institutions. Therefore, New Naratif’s piece on surrogacy and its criminalisation by Sineat Yon and Danielle Keeton-Olsen is a crucial step to fuel further intricate discussion on the topic. Since Cambodia banned commercial surrogacy in 2016, about 100 surrogate mothers are ordered by the court to raise the children that they carried for others. With the law on commercial surrogacy still in draft, it is uncertain what the future has in store for the people involved in this practice. Similar to many other complex issues, it seems that it is easier for government institutions to generalise and criminalise issues that they simply don’t want to deal with.
Arts & Culture
Sa Sa Arts Project is hosting a fundraising auction and exhibition on 14 November at Factory Phnom Penh to raise funds for its 2021 programme. There will be more than 40 works by some of the most renowned artists from Cambodia and Southeast Asia available for an online silent auction.
Cambodian Living Arts has made four new dance performances – Dark, Roots, The Pillar, My Village Traditions, available online for free. The dances were commissioned for their 2020 Cultural Season which has been happening throughout October and November.
If you have ever wondered what it feels like to be young Cambodians who are stuck in between traditions and modernity, this episode on the meaning of Cambodian identity by Anakut Podcast is a must-listen. I’m from the younger generations whose identities are being questioned and doubted by ourselves and fellow Cambodians every day just because we refused to be categorised and pressured to fit into a single box. It is refreshing to hear that others feel the same way and that we are all trying our best to slowly change this norm.
Overheard on Twitter
Campuccino is a fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia, written by @DarathteyDin from Word & Visual.
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