Weekly news round-up / Week 47

Political (Cambodia-Specific)

On Friday 13th November the Phnom Penh Municipal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy, leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party.
The charges relate to a speech made by Sam Rainsy in 2008 at Choeung Ek in which he alleged that Foreign Minister HorNamhong had run a prison during the Khmer Rouge period. In 2011, Rainsy was convicted in absentia to two years’ imprisonment. Rainsy remained in self-imposed exile until 2013 when a Royal Pardon, which may not specifically refer to the 2008 case, enabled him to come back and contest the national elections. An Appeals court upheld the verdict in 2013 and the Phnom Penh Municipal Court has now mandated that the verdict be implemented.
Sam Rainsy Party president Teav Vannol argued that the court’s decision was clearly politically motivated, stating that “Using the court system to intimidate like this is like a dictatorship.”

A meeting of the National Assembly on Monday 16th November has decided to strip CNRP leader Sam Rainsy of lawmaker status in relation to his 2011 conviction on defamation charges. Significantly, the stripping of his status removes any parliamentary immunity.
A special commission, with capacities in both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, has been created to oversee the implementation of the arrest and the quelling of any potential protests by CNRP supporters.
CNRP lawmakers boycotted the Assembly meeting whilst claiming it to be unconstitutional.

Following an arrest warrant against him and the removal of his parliamentary status, CNRP leader Sam Rainsy has delayed his return to Cambodia from South Korea but vowed that he will be in the Kingdom in the next few days. He had previously expressed an intention to return at 10:20pm on the night of Monday 16th.
In a Facebook post, Rainsy stated that he had taken advice from CNRP party members as well as “international pro-democracy organisations” and believed it better that he return in “broad daylight”. He also said that he wanted to leave time for diplomatic intervention, with the objective of reaching a “peaceful solution”.
Political analysts have offered mixed responses to the decision – some have praised the opposition leader for acting responsibly and seeking to avoid provoking conflict, whereas others have said the delayed return weakens his credibility and represents a lost opportunity for an ‘Aung San SuuKyi moment’.
A strong statement by the US Embassy has said they are “deeply concerned” about the “unilateral move by the [CPP]” and called for the arrest warrant to be dropped and for Rainsy to be reinstated immediately. On the heightened political tensions, the Embassy stated that “These developments are harmful to Cambodian democracy and contrary to the wishes of the Cambodian people."

An influential media baron who has in the past acted as an unofficial mediator between the CPP and opposition parties has ‘provided ideas’ about a potential deal that could see Sam Rainsy return to the Kingdom.
Soy Sopheap, owner of Deum Ampil news and close to the Prime Minister, suggested that Mr. Rainsy could receive a reduced sentence if choosing to return to the Kingdom and face the courts. Another idea would be for Mr. Rainsy to pen a public letter of apology to Foreign Minister HorNamhong (who Mr. Rainsy is accused of defaming) and recognizing the role of the CPP “as the national liberator from the Khmer Rouge”, which may see the arrest warrant dropped.
A CPP spokesman said that there was no official plan to strike a deal with Rainsy and that the party was not aware of attempts at negotiation by Sopheap.
In a Facebook post, Rainsy referred to the Cambodian People’s Party’s decision to strip him of his parliamentary status and immunity as a ‘constitutional coup’ that took the country back to ‘a one-party system’. Following a CNRP standing committee meeting on Wednesday 18th November, a spokesman expressed the party’s intention to pursue a peaceful return for their leader which will not be happening in the next few days.

Europe, European Businesses, EuroCham Members

On a visit to Cambodia, Stephen Lillie, director for Asia-Pacific at the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has stated that the UK sees Cambodia as a strategic location at the heart of a transportation network through Thailand, Vietnam and Laos to reach China and other countries in the region and the world. He stressed the benefits that FDI can contribute to Cambodia including the creation of training programs to international standards, increasing choice for consumers, and raising the bar for ethical business practices.
UK Ambassador Bill Longhurst further commented on Cambodia’s potential as an investment destination whilst adding that “our concern is that political developments don’t get in the way of those opportunities”.
Prominent British brands in the Kingdom include Range Rover (automotive), Prudential (insurance), GSK (pharmaceuticals) and Costa Coffee. Bilateral trade between Cambodia and the UK rose from about $749.01 million in 2013 to $807 million last year, according to the Commerce Ministry, for which UK exports to Cambodia accounted for $56.45 million last year.

The Ministry of Tourism and the Union of Youth Federation of Cambodia (UYFC) have introduced the ‘Worker Sabay’ project aimed at encouraging tourism companies in Cambodia to comply with labor laws. The program, developed by French development organization and EuroCham member ACTED, is a voluntary program through which companies in the tourism sector are trained to bring their operations into compliance with the project’s code of conduct, which mirrors Cambodia’s labor law. Upon completion of the training the company is awarded a certificate which can be used in marketing towards tourists.

Infrastructure, Development and Core Industries 

A concert was held on the night of Saturday 14th November to celebrate the songs of Sinn Sisamouth, one of Cambodia’s most famous singer-songwriters from the 50s-70s who has been placed at the center of a joint campaign between the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Culture to promote awareness and compliance with intellectual property laws.
Culture Minister Phoeung Sackona said that more than 100,000 discs with illegally copied movies and music have been confiscated from vendors this year.
Pily Wong, Vice-President of the Information Communications and Technology Federation of Cambodia, commented on the movement to enhance intellectual property protection in the Kingdom: “It’s not something that can happen overnight, so we need first to educate the people. And that is what is happening now. At least in terms of awareness,” he said, though also observing that enforcement on the ground remained poor. 

A report by Asian Development Bank and International Labor Organization has highlighted the ongoing problem of Cambodia’s skills gap, which will need to be improved in order to achieve the economic diversification required for sustained economic growth.
The report found that “At the moment, Cambodia’s labor force has relatively low skills and low educational attainment, and skill shortages are already apparent,” it says, adding that despite some improvements, “a significant proportion of workers have not attained the level of education required for many intermediate and higher-skill jobs.”
Commenting on the report, Sandra D’Amico of HR Inc. stated “I think that the approach with any technical, vocational training right now needs to be the government engaging with the private sector—giving you buildings, giving you land and incentivizing you to train in a particular sector.”
A Ministry of Education spokesperson highlighted ongoing reforms including increasing the number of high schools in remote areas.

A report by the Insurance Association of Cambodia (IAC) has revealed healthy growth figures for the industry in Cambodia - Non-life insurance premiums grew 20.2 per cent over the past year with total premiums topping $46 million. The fastest growth was reported in marine, aviation and transport (MAT) insurance, which surged 57.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2015 compared to the same period last year. Property and fire insurance saw a 44.1 per cent year-on-year gain in the third quarter, while medical insurance rose 38.9 per cent in the same period.
The MAT figure is somewhat artificially inflated due to reclassification of insurance products to meet regional norms.
Life insurance and micro-insurance figures were not included in the study though both are understood to be growing rapidly. 

A new study named ‘Mobile Phones and Internet in Cambodia 2015’ by the Open Institute in Phnom Penh has found the number of Cambodians owning at least one smartphone to have almost doubled since 2013. Around 39.5% of the population now has at least one smartphone and this figure is expected to reach 50% by the end of next year.
As expected there are significant differences between urban and rural areas (51% vs. 34%) and between university attendees and those without formal education (82% vs. 15%). Television remains the most important news source but Facebook has now overtaken radio into second place. One NGO worker commented on the political ramifications of this transition, with more young people getting their news from Facebook rather than television which tends to be full of CPP-friendly broadcasters.
The increasing availability of Khmer script on smartphones and computers is bringing the Internet to people who had previously faced hurdles accessing online sources. The report says that 27.3 percent of respondents had written in Khmer script on their phones, an increase of nearly 50 percent compared to 2014.

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