Government
Cambodian report on Vietnam rentals implicates no officials
Senior officials at Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior have concluded a preliminary investigation into allegations that Cambodians living along the border with Vietnam have been illegally leasing land to Vietnamese farmers. About 1,000 families owning almost 7,000 hectares of land in five provinces have rented the territory out ...
Budget bill proposes $3b deficit
The current government headed by President U Thein Sein has proposed a K24 trillion (US$18.4 billion) budget for the incoming government, including a K3.9 trillion deficit – more than $3 billion at current exchange rates. The draft was submitted to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on 22 ...
Freed students defiant
Still defiant, three of the four Yadanabon University students jailed in October on riot charges were released from Mandalay’s Ohbo Prison on 22 December. A fourth, Ko Naing Ye Wai, remains behind bars. Their conviction followed a demonstration in front of the university last June in ...
Tax revenues grow state coffers by $1.3B
Revenue from tax collection jumped 25 per cent in 2015, government officials revealed on 22 December, saying the tax department has collected about $1.3 billion on the back of better compliance and awareness among the private sector. At a seminar in Phnom Penh, Kong Vibol, director ...
Villagers in land dispute say IDs were denied
More than 100 family representatives on 21 December filed complaints at Ratanakkiri Provincial Hall and the Interior Ministry, claiming that requests to be issued with identity cards so they could vote in upcoming elections were denied by local police officials. The villagers who signed the letter, representing ...
Fighting continues to expand in Shan State
Fighting is spreading over larger areas of northern Shan State as the Tatmadaw and a newly allied ethnic armed group move in reinforcements, according to the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Villagers forced to flee the conflict are reported to have scattered across five townships. The current round ...
Civil societies call for more space at table
Civil society organisations have called for more representation around the negotiating table when the government and ethnic armed groups launch the next stage of the peace process in early January. CSOs from across the country meeting in Yangon on 17 December complained that they had been completely ...
Lao, Kuwait visa exemptions come into force
Visa exemptions for diplomats and officials / special passport holders of Laos and Kuwaiti came into force on 28 October after the two sides signed an agreement in Vientiane in June. However the passport holders of Lao and Kuwaiti nationality are allowed to stay in one ...
European Parliament adopts Vietnam-EU partnership agreement
The European Parliament (EP) adopted an official resolution ratifying the Vietnam – EU Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA), at a plenary session in Strasbourg city, France, on 17 December. The resolution welcomes Vietnam’s outcomes in doi moi (renewal) and integration over the past time and hails ...
Drawdown of troops at Preah Vihear
Cambodia is quietly reducing troop numbers on the contentious shared border with Thailand in Preah Vihear province. Citing the current good relations with Cambodia’s western neighbour, Ministry of Defence spokesman Chhum Socheath on 17 December said members of three units had been ordered to leave the border ...
