Social development
Human rights
Supporters of Missing Thai Activist Demand Cambodia Probe His Alleged Kidnapping in Phnom Penh
Some 100 supporters of a Thai political activist who was snatched from the streets of Cambodia’s capital in broad daylight protested Monday in front of the country’s embassy in Bangkok, demanding that Phnom Penh investigate his case, while Cambodian officials continued to disavow knowledge of ...
Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Joshua Lipes
Job losses, pay cuts, force Cambodians into bad debts
In the mid-1970s, when the city crashed and burned in a warped socialist uprising led by Communist Party of Kampuchea leader Pol Pot, untold fear gripped the people. Today, although less menacing, the fear is surreal as Covid-19 does a number on the economy. It has resulted ...
Sangeetha Amarthalingam
Vietnam, Laos Arrest Facebookers on COVID-19-Related Charges
Authorities in Vietnam and Laos have arrested several Facebook users on charges related to the coronavirus, with Hanoi punishing posts that challenge official reporting on the pandemic and Vientiane acting against a lockdown violation streamed live. The two arrests in Vietnam come as the Communist Party ...
RFA’s Vietnamese and Lao Services. Translated by Huy Le and Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
What’s happening at the Khmer Times?
Writing in Asia Times last year about the state of Cambodia’s media (“A bad day all around for Cambodian media,” published July 2019), I opined: “If the relationship of a journalist to politicians is supposed to be that of a dog to lampposts, as one ...
DAVID HUTT
Covid-19 crisis casts shadow over graduate futures
The coronavirus outbreak casts a shadow over the future of approximately 300,000 soon-to-be graduates this year. The bleak prospect of unemployment and layoffs as the economy staggers back to growth is expected to persist for at least two years. Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation ...
THANA BOONLERT
Journalists Fear Tougher Restrictions as Cambodia Enacts New Law on State of Emergency
On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, journalists in Cambodia expressed concern that a new law authorizing a state of emergency to contain the spread of the coronavirus will be used by the government to restrict their ability to work. The “Law on Governing the ...
Thailand: COVID-19 Clampdown on Free Speech
Thai authorities should immediately stop using “anti-fake news” laws to prosecute people critical of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Human Rights Watch said today. A state of emergency, slated to go into effect on March 26, 2020, heightens concerns of greater repression of free ...
HRW
Ministry setting up cash for 2m disabled
The Finance Ministry is seeking a lifeline for the 2 million disabled and underprivileged people who are adversely affected by the coronavirus outbreak, says finance permanent secretary Prasong Poontaneat. The ministry is working out the details with the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, which has ...
WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI
Cambodia’s Senate Approves State of Emergency Law as UN Expert Warns of its Risks to Rights
Legislation authorizing a state of emergency to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Cambodia risks violating the right to privacy, free speech, and peaceful assembly, a United Nations expert said Friday, as lawmakers gave their final approval of the bill. “Emergency measures must be necessary ...
Myanmar: Editor Wrongfully Charged
Myanmar authorities should immediately drop all charges against an editor for broadcasting an interview with an armed group representative, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 30, police arrested and charged Nay Myo Lin, the editor-in-chief of the Mandalay-based Voice of Myanmar, under Myanmar’s overly broad Counter-Terrorism Law for an interview ...
