Sou Sdei and welcome to Campuccino, your fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia with a dash of opinion.
To new subscribers, welcome!
I wrote and rewrote this one multiple times because I first wanted to keep it light and short with it being the end of the year, Christmas and all. I also wanted to do the best of something but figured the idea is far from unique. So, I say sod it and and here we are: #31, my last newsletter of the year (as I’m turning 31 in a few days, what a funny coincidence!). I’m going to take a break and will be back again in the third week of January.
I wish you and your loved ones a happy holiday and a high-note end to yet another peculiar year. Now, take good care, spend some time away from the news and your devices, reconnect with nature, and eat some good food!
- Darathtey
PS. If you haven’t figured it out yet, each Campuccino issue is named after a song title. Usually, the songs reflect the specific theme of each issue or my feelings while writing them. Here’s the playlist of all the titles.
In this issue: NagaWorld workers strike, PM’s plan to visit Myanmar, inspiration from young environmental activists, and more.
I’m going to keep this quick because I know you all have somewhere to be or even a party to plan, and I literally just told you to spend some time away from your devices.
Let’s start off with the unmissable NagaWorld workers strike. Around 700 to 1000 workers of NagaWorld went on strike on December 18 to protest a targeted layoff of union representatives by the casino group. The peaceful strike was bizarrely ruled by the Phnom Penh Court of First Instance as illegal a few hours later on the same day. Workers were being threatened with “serious misconduct” clauses if they didn’t return to work within 48 hours and were intimidated by the demonstration of police force. Spoiler alert, the strike went on for 5 days. On day 4, the union representatives met with NagaWorld to discuss potential solutions. However, the meeting didn’t yield any result. Read the latest updates on this VOD’s article here.
I’ve been procrastinating to address ASEAN politics and Myanmar because I feel like it’s beyond me. Simply put, frustrating, but sometimes I can’t just ignore it.
To quickly bring you up to speed, Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing was banned from the ASEAN summit in October because of the coup in Myanmar. So why this news now? Well, Prime Minister Hun Sen hosted Myanmar’s Foreign Minister in Phnom Penh and is scheduled to visit Myanmar in early January at the invitation of the military regime leader. Obviously, the planned visit attracted many criticisms from some of the ASEAN countries and the people of Myanmar. Therefore, the PM responded stating that his visit was for normal diplomacy and that so far no country has cut off relationships with Myanmar.
Here are a few titles to check out if you want to know more about the topic:
‘Cowboy Diplomacy’ on Display as Hun Sen Meets Myanmar Official: Analysts | VOD
Cambodia PM Hun Sen to visit Myanmar for talks with junta | CNA
Cambodia's Hun Sen announces trip to Myanmar next month | Nikkei Asia
Cambodian PM Nominates Top Diplomat as ASEAN Envoy on Myanmar | the Diplomat
This next story is mentioned here because of its absurdity and poor plot (hire some creative writers, will ya?), which kinda represents Cambodia quite well.
Sovann Vathana Sabung, widely known as William Guang, president of the Khmer Rise Party was arrested at his villa along with 11 other suspects in connection to an armed robbery of An Sieu My, an online cosmetic seller tycoon. Guang previously served on the government-led Supreme Consultative Council and then was dismissed while investigating land disputes in Preah Sihanouk Province in May 2020. According to the Phnom Penh Gendarmerie’s video posted on their official Facebook page, Guang confessed going to the victim’s house with armed individuals. For more details, read this story on Cambodianess.
Visually Pleasing
Arts & Culture
📷 National Road Number 5 is a great work by artist and photographer Lim Sokchanlina. I first came to see one work of this project at an art gallery in Chiang Mai, randomly enough. National Road Number 5 is Lina’s attempt to document the progress of road construction and expansion which affects the surrounding landscapes. Hence, I’m very glad that the project has finally become a book! If you’re in Phnom Penh, do check out the book launch and exhibition. I might be there ;)
Overheard on Twitter
📑 Worthy Read
If you’re looking for inspiration for resilience and bravery, this article is worth your time. This article by Southeast Asia Globe brings you into the mind of two young Cambodian environmental activists, Long Kunthea and Sun Ratha, who still face imprisonment, yet refuse to give up their advocacy work for the sake of the country.
Things I love
A totally #notsponsored section of things I love around Phnom Penh:
Mekasé serves up a great selection of Cambodian traditional desserts. I discovered this aesthetically pleasing dessert shop on Instagram last week. Of course, I had to sample the desserts myself before writing a recommendation. They were delicious and came in a very nicely-wrapped package! Those desserts reminded me of my childhood. I used to wait for my mother to come back from her market trip because she usually brought me these awesome sweet treats. Yum!
Campuccino is a fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia, written by @DarathteyDin from Word & Visual.
I’d love to hear from you. If you have feedback or content ideas, please reach out via tey@wordandvisualmedia.com