Law and judiciary
MPs from 1990 to form draft committee for new constitution
More than 25 years on, MPs elected in the 1990 election that was set aside by the military regime are taking another crack at changing the constitution. The Members of Parliament Union 1990 want to make radical changes to the military-drafted 2008 charter. Both President U ...
Four sentenced for roles in Preah Vihear ELC protest
The Preah Vihear Provincial Court on 17 May sentenced four men for burning a contentious fence during a 2014 protest against an economic land concession in Kulen district held by the FP Malaysia (Cambodia) Plantation. Lor Chan, the provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc said,“Even though the ...
Finishing touches coming for Sugar Act
A draft of the long-awaited Sugar Act is to be revised with recommendations from industry figures at a meeting of the Sugar and Sugar Related Products Merchants and Manufacturers Association on 17 May. Once the revision is complete the act will be submitted to parliament through Myanmar’s ...
Hluttaw eyes fixing repressive laws
Parliament is taking steps to slash one repressive law used to crack down on activists and will debate heavily revising another later this week. The junta-era, 1975 State Protection Act was revoked by the Pyithu Hluttaw on 9 May after the conclusion that the law was explicitly ...
Majority in NE understand ‘less than 20%’ of draft charter
Most residents of the Northeast understand only a small part of the draft constitution, a public opinion poll found. As many as 54.3 per cent of respondents said they understood less than 20 per cent of the draft’s content, according to survey results released on 9 May by ...
Ministry hits back at rebuke of contentious telecoms law
Cambodia’s Ministry of Post and Telecommunications has defended the controversial new Telecommunications Law following a biting legal analysis by rights group Licadho, which says the legislation is a veiled tool to silence critics and potentially criminalize private expression. Keep reading ...
Experts wary as Kingdom mulls private prison plan
As Cambodia moves towards opening its first privately run prison, international experts have warned the government may have misunderstood the concept and cautioned that privatisation likely isn’t the best way to tackle chronic overcrowding in prisons. Keep reading ...
In Arakan State, resource control fuels conflict
In a new report, Arakan Oil Watch has urged Myanmar’s incoming government to amend the Constitution in an effort to quell tensions between the military and the country’s ethnic armed groups. “Breaking the Curse,” released on 22 March by the environmental non-government organization, describes the “decentralization of ...
Timber busts made in Stung Treng, Mondulkiri
The ongoing nationwide crackdown on illegal logging in Cambodia has produced another pair of high-profile busts touted by the national military police. On 9 March, alleged smugglers in Stung Treng were busted attempting to sneak three tractor-loads of luxury wood into Laos. The day before, some 10,000 cubic ...
Koh Tao petition reaches Thai embassy
Nearly 100,000 people have signed a petition organised by nationalist groups against the death penalty verdict given to two Rakhine State natives. Ko Zaw Linn and Ko Wai Phyo were convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of two British backpackers in Thailand in 2014. The ...
