New drug law under fire
HUMAN rights groups have attacked the contents of a new draft drug law, describing it as a “dangerous mess” that could further institutionalise the abuse of drug users in government-run treatment centres.
Vietnamese refugees face deportation
MORE than 10 Montagnard asylum seekers will be deported to Vietnam after the government closes a United Nations-administered refugee centre at the end of the month, officials said yesterday, prompting an outcry from local and international rights groups.
Cambodia’s prince of mystery
Norodom Chantaraingsey, Lon Nol’s warrior prince, was presumed killed after the fall of Phnom Penh in 1975. Sebastian Strangio reports on the elusive legacy he left behind.
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,...
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...
A mixed reaction to judgment day
KAMPONG THOM PROVINCE–IN the cafes of Stoung district, yesterday’s verdict in the case of Kaing Guek Eev, alias Duch, proved a hard sell. At one cavernous establishment on National Road 6, a broadcast of the proceedings vied for attention with a cheaply made Chinese action film.
Duch’s neighbours reflect on his life
KAMPONG THOM PROVINCE–THESE days, life in Chaoyot village, a collection of stilt houses nestled along the banks of the Stoung river, proceeds in much the same way it did 68 years ago, when Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, was born to parents of Khmer-Chinese extraction. It was here, in a small concrete home shaded by...
From carpet-bombing to friendship-building
As Cambodia and the United States celebrate six decades of diplomatic ties, the Post looks back at a relationship that has moved from alliance to alienation and back. By Sebastian Strangio & Neth Pheaktra.
Good relations on the horizon
THOUSANDS are expected to turn out for a celebration at Preah Vihear temple today marking the two-year anniversary of its listing as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The July 2008 listing of the 11th-century Angkorian temple, the ownership of which has long been a point of contention between Cambodia and Thailand, sent bilateral relations into...
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...
