Social development
Human rights
Censorship harms Myanmar’s chance for reconciliation
The Human Rights Human Dignity film festival could not screen its opening film Twilight over Myanmar: My Life as a Shan Princess in Yangon this week. Myanmar’s film censorship board banned the film because it could allegedly tarnish the image of the Myanmar Army and harm ethnic ...
Vietnam, Cambodia agree to push forwards bilateral ties
Vietnam and Cambodia have agreed to continue their mutual support and close collaboration in order to strengthen the “good neighbourliness, traditional friendship and comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation” between the two countries, thus bringing pragmatic interests to their people. President Tran Dai Quang noted his hope ...
Sugar company's compensation deals leave families bitter in Kampong Speu
In 2010, more than 1,500 families in Kampong Speu’s Oral district were evicted from the land they had cultivated since the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979 to make way for a Phnom Penh Sugar Company mega-plantation. Bunsak, head of the Cambodian Human Rights ...
Montagnards wary as deportation rumours circulate
On 14 June, at about 11:30am, several officers from the refugee department visited Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district to photograph and take names of some of those residing at a guesthouse where about 100 Montagnards have been staying with support from the UN refugee ...
Facebook racks up 10m Myanmar users
The world’s most popular social network, Facebook, has made millions of new “friends” in Myanmar over the last few years. In that time, the site has played the part of nationwide news outlet, emergency relief coordinator and community water cooler – but it has also provided ...
Amid turmoil, EU calls for review of aid to Cambodia
The European Parliament on Thursday passed a resolution accusing the Cambodian government of laying politically motivated charges against the opposition and calling for aid cuts if its respect for human rights fails to improve—a loud echo of a resolution it passed just six months ago. “Today, ...
Value of dam-affected homes being assessed
Officials have started to assess properties in Oddar Meanchey that will be flooded by an under construction dam, though the affected villagers remain in the dark about possible compensation. Eight officers from the Ministry of Finance and the province’s water resources department were in Chongkal district’s ...
Dozens in Myitkyina township protest Myitsone dam meeting
Some 40 residents of Kachin State’s Myitkyina Township staged a protest on on 4 June against a meeting between Chinese Ambassador Hong Liang, Chinese investor China Power Investment and president of the Kachin State Democracy Party Tu Ja over attempts to renegotiate the Chinese-funded Myitsone dam.Keep ...
Mekong dam projects ‘could destroy livelihoods, ecology’
The ecology of the Mekong River could be destroyed within 10 years if dam projects along the river are allowed to continue, Thai and Cambodian non-government organisations have warned. They have also warned that it will be very difficult for people to claim compensation for ...
New teams to settle land disputes announced
Newly appointed Minister of Land Management Chea Sophara last week established a working group comprising 27 four-man teams tasked with hastening the resolution of land disputes. According to a letter issued by the Ministry of Land Management on 5 June, each team will be assigned three ...
