Cam News Book

Cambodian authorities issued health protocols on Sunday to prevent the spread of monkeypox and initiated contact tracing after Thailand’s first case fled Phuket and was located in Phnom Penh. The 27-year-old man of Nigerian nationality, who had been living in Thailand since last year, went to a hospital on the tourist island of Phuket on the 16th where blood samples were collected before he was discharged. A laboratory in the following days confirmed he was carrying the virus. Authorities could not contact or locate him.

  In the jungles of Cambodia, Sopheap Meas is lifting old curses. She’s an archeologist working for the Cambodian government and her job is to find ancient Khmer artefacts stolen from her country. To many in Cambodia, the artworks are not just stone artefacts but “living” gods. To them, these sculptures weren’t stolen, they were kidnapped.

  Cambodian authorities have begun tightening regulations on anything deemed “fake news” in relation to COVID-19, following Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Friday warning to jail those responsible for spreading them. “Please do not take the COVID-19 issue as a joke, it is not acceptable. This is not a right of expression. The world is against fake news, why can Cambodia not do it?” Sen asked. The premier’s remarks came after a member of the opposition Candlelight Party was arrested for allegedly posting pictures of dead people on social media and “falsely claiming” that they were bodies of people who had just died of COVID-19 in the Southeast Asian nation. “Anyone who uses COVID-19 to destroy public safety will face legal action,” Sen warned.

  A special envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was unable to meet with Myanmar’s ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a visit to the country. Prak Sokhonn, who is Cambodia’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, traveled to Myanmar last Wednesday. The Cambodian government reported on Monday that Prak Sokhonn met with Myanmar’s top military general and the junta-appointed foreign minister during his stay.

  Cambodia has invited Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to annual Asean-related meetings slated for early August, with the decision likely to cause concern among the international community which has been split in its response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at a briefing to the foreign diplomatic corps on Wednesday, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said he asked the Russian minister to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum and other related meetings. Cambodia, this year’s Asean chair, has also invited Myanmar to the meetings although only as a “non-political representative,” according to Prak Sokhonn, who recently made a trip to the Southeast Asian country where a military junta ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.

  At the time of writing, it’s rather unclear what the Cambodian cabinet is trying to achieve by amending the constitution again – the third time in four years. The government is tight-lipped. Because we know what articles are under review, it seems they are trying to change how prime ministers are appointed and how they can be removed from office. Possibly, this will remove certain powers from the National Assembly. Most likely, the changes are being made because of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s succession plans. In December, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) selected Hun Manet as its next prime ministerial candidate once Hun Sen, his father, resigns. Sar Kheng, the interior minister, took exception, but Hun Sen appears to have now put him in his place. Talk of a Sar Kheng putsch is fanciful; he’s lost even more power after two new party vice presidents were appointed in December. The CPP itself easily won last month’s commune elections, and we can expect another rout at next y...