The government is planning new guidelines on security to crack down on crime following reports of increased robbery and kidnapping.
The draft Guidelines on Security and Public Order is being considered at the Conference of National Political Platform, a four-day meeting of department heads and provincial governors that began Sunday.
According to the eight-page draft, the government, particularly the ministries of Interior and Defense, should establish strong measures to prevent and crack down on criminal activities.
Targeted crimes include terrorism, armed rebellion, sex and drug trafficking, armed robbery, kidnapping and illegal gambling.
The new security proposals call for Interior and Defense to set up clear principles and procedures on weapon control and to develop preventive measures on “political terrorism, economic terrorism and social terrorism.”
“The government should strictly control the weapon warehouses of the ministries of Defense and Interior and control shooting clubs in order to eliminate uncontrolled weapon markets,” it states.
The draft appears similar to an eight-point security plan ordered by Hun Sen shortly after his coalition partner, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, was ousted in factional fighting. Each side at the time accused the other of plotting a coup d’etat.
Another focus of the security guidelines is reducing drug trafficking. The draft urges authorities to be alert for instances of cultivating and producing drugs within their jurisdictions.
The draft is scheduled to be finalized by Wednesday, according to officials.
The move to set up new security guidelines came after a wave of armed robberies and kidnappings of businessmen last year.
According to Phnom Penh Municipality statistics, 297 people died as victims of crime in the first nine months of 1998, compared with 284 in all of 1997. The municipality said the use of illegal weapons has increased, creating insecurity and public disorder.
