From The Jurists
US Senate urges sanctions against Cambodia government
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday announced legislation [S.Res. 279, text] proposing restrictions on senior Cambodian government officials.
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From Forbes
Why The EU Is Dallying Over Possible Cambodia Sanctions
By David Hutt
Sanctions were again the talking point when a delegation of European Union parliamentarians visited Cambodia earlier this week. Werner Langen, who led the delegation, warned the Southeast Asian nation’s deteriorating political situation could have “implications for development assistance programmes and trade preferences” that the EU offers Phnom Penh.
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From East Asia Forum
Southeast Asia’s strongmen looking to China as Trump visits Asia
The Communist Party of China’s 19th Party Congress, which finished last week, was memorable for confirming Xi Jinping’s status as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao. It was also memorable for its celebration of China’s governance model, with President Xi noting that China would not copy the political systems of other countries.
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From The Los Angeles Times
Asia is turning its back on democracy, and some say Trump isn’t helping
By Jonathan Kaiman
Liberal Cambodians have never had it easy, but this year has robbed many of hope. Prime Minister Hun Sen, in power since the 1980s, has jailed an opposition leader, expelled nonprofit workers and shuttered an independent newspaper. “Descent Into Outright Dictatorship,” screamed a headline on its final front page.
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From The New Lens
Divide and Conquer: Authoritarianism and Cyberspace in Southeast Asia
On April 12, Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society issued what the Bangkok Post called “a strange government directive”. It prohibited anyone from following, communicating with, or disseminating information online from three outspoken critics of the government — or risk up to 15 years in prison.
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From The New Mandala
Old dominance, new dominos in Southeast Asia
By Dan Slater
Not since World War II has liberal democracy, and the intergroup tolerance that sustains it, seemed so deeply endangered in so many places at once.
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From Reuters
Cambodian PM tells opposition to defect or face being banned from politics
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday called on lawmakers from the main opposition party to defect ahead of a court ruling on whether to dissolve it, saying they could be banned from politics for five years if they left it too late.
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From Xinhua
Cambodian PM says main opposition party on verge of dissolution in treason case
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Saturday that the country’s biggest opposition party was on the brink of dissolution after its leader Kem Sokha was charged with treason.
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From Reuters
Fight for Grassroots Democracy in Cambodia Sidelines U.S.
By Matthew Tostevin
Sin Rozeth’s attempts to show the benefits of grassroots democracy to some of the poorest people in the Cambodian city of Battambang are in peril.
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From Fibre2Fashion
Cambodia’s garment & footwear exports cross $5bn in 2017
The value of garments and footwear exported by Cambodia in the first nine months of the current year have crossed the $5 billion mark, as per the date released by the ministry of commerce. Apparel exports fetched $4.9 billion and accounted for 63 per cent of the total $7.7 billion exports made the by the southeast Asian nation in January-September 2017.
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From Xinhua
Cambodia sees Belt and Road Initiative as key development strategy for trade, investment
Cambodia regarded the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative as a key development strategy for the country’s trade and investment expansion, said a Commerce Ministry news release on Sunday.
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From The Los Angeles Times
In Cambodia Town, a community moves from survival to success
By Frank Shyong
Phnom Penh Noodle Shack, one of the better-known restaurants in Long Beach’s Cambodia Town, opened in 1985 in a tiny dining room with four tables.
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From NBC
Nonprofits Sue Over Immigration Detention of Cambodian Nationals Who Came as Refugees
By Agnes Constante
Community advocates said they hope the lawsuit results in a legal ruling that stops ICE from conducting raids in the Cambodian-American community.
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From Internatinal Examiner
Flashpoint in U.S.-Cambodia Repatriation Agreement has origins in work by grassroots groups
By Bunthay Cheam
On October 17, the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), a leading advocate organization for people of Southeast Asian descent, issued a press release stating that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had initiated a mass national roundup with over 100 individuals of Cambodian heritage being detained over the last several weeks. Most of the individuals detained arrived in the United States as child refugees, escaping the Cambodian Genocide.
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From The Los Angeles Times
ICE raids are targeting Cambodian immigrants caught between two countries, advocates say
By Frank Shyong
Nak Kim Chhoeun entered the federal building in downtown Los Angeles a few weeks ago for his immigration check. He had been reporting to immigration authorities like this every year since being convicted of assault and unlawful gun possession in 1999. This time the Cambodian refugee never came out, said his cousin Posda Tuot, who drove him to his immigration appointment.
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From Deadline
Angelina Jolie, Loung Ung Talk ‘First They Killed My Father’ And Honoring Cambodian History — The Contenders
by Dino-Ray Ramos
The Netflix film is about Cambodian author and human rights activist Ung’s life under the rule of the deadly Khmer Rouge, the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea in Cambodia.
