05-07-2018, 10:52 PM
*** 8-May-18 World View -- Cambodia's dictatorial Hun Sen forces sale of independent Phnom Penh Post
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Cambodia's dictatorial Hun Sen forces sale of independent Phnom Penh Post
****
![[Image: g180507b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180507b.jpg)
Phnom Penh Post on November 13, 2017 (Reuters)
Cambodia's last independent newspaper, the Phnom Penh Post, is in
crisis after the editor-in-chief was fired for refusing to take down
an article critical of the new owner, and several senior reporters
subsequently resigned after being ordered to take down the same
article.
Hun Sen, Cambodia's leader for 33 years, has become increasingly
dictatorial since the opposition political party, the Cambodia
National Rescue Party (CNRP) almost won the 2013 election, and has
become increasingly popular since then. With another election
scheduled for July of this year, Hun Sen has solved the problem by
arresting CNRP leaders and jailing them on phony charges, and even
getting the Supreme Court to declare the CNRP to be an illegal
political party. In addition, Hun Sen has been jailing protesters,
and shutting down media sources not controlled by the government.
The weekend sale of the Phnom Penh Post is the latest example of Hun
Sen's dictatorial takeover. The Cambodian government forced the
previous owner to sell by imposing an enormous $3.9 million tax bill
on the paper. The only other independent newspaper in the country,
the Cambodian Daily, was forced to shut down last year after receiving
a $6.3 million tax bill.
An announcement on Saturday said that the Phnom Penh Post had been
sold to a Malaysian investor, Sivakumar Ganapathy, executive director
of the Malaysia firm Asia PR.
Sivakumar's first act as owner was to issue a statement saying that
the newspaper would remain independent.
But then Sivakumar's next act as owner was to demand that the
editor-in-chief take down an article posted on Sunday detailing the
sale and Sivakumar's background, and then fire him for refusing.
Then Sivakumar fired the editor-in-chief, and when he demanded of the
other senior editors to take the article down, there was a mass
resignation.
As of Monday evening ET, the article still has not been taken down, and I was still able to
access it. (Perhaps after all the senior reporters left, there was no
one left with a password to the servers.)
The article described numerous examples of Sivakumar's close
relationships with Hun Sen and the Cambodian government, suggesting
that Sivakumar might be controlled by Hun Sen. AFP and Phnom Penh Post (6-May) and Australian Broadcasting and BBC
****
**** Phnom Penh Post had a combative relationship with Hun Sen
****
As an example of other articles that might have triggered Hun Sen's
decision to make sure that the Phnom Penh Post would become
government-controlled, an article last week described Hun Sen's "catch
and release policy." The way it works is that opposition figures are
arrested on phony charges, kept in jail for as many months or years as
necessary, and then released just in time to achieve some objective.
For example, an opposition politician Bun Chhay was jailed on August 4
of last year, supposedly on some decade old drug charges, but just
when it appeared he would pose a legitimate political challenge. Then
on September 3 Sourn Serey Ratha, head of the tiny Khmer Power Party,
was arrested over a Facebook post criticizing the government’s recent
military stand-off with Laos.
This cleared away the only viable competitors to Hun Sen's reelection,
but the arrests caused an international uproar, with threats by the US
and the EU to withdraw aid. According to the Phnom Penh Post article,
the "catch and release" strategy was completed last week:
<QUOTE>"Last week, the EU publicly acknowledged that it would
be taking the extraordinary step of sending a team to review its
General Scheme of Preferences with Cambodia – raising questions
about the future of tariff-free access to one Cambodia’s largest
trading partners. The pressure was reaching a head.
Days later, Nhek Bun Chhay walked out of jail.
“While it would seem that the [Cambodian People’s Party] has the
upcoming election neatly sewed up, perhaps Hun Sen views him as a
figure who can help diversify the electoral field just enough to
gain some international credibility, while remaining too marginal
to pose any real threat to the CPP’s power,” Strangio
said."<END QUOTE>
Whether the EU will be fooled by this remains to be seen.
However, placing new sanctions on Cambodia will likely not have much
effect. Cambodia is becoming China's most important political ally in
the region. Already, between 2011 and 2015 Chinese firms funneled
nearly $5 billion in loans and investment to Cambodia, mostly for
major infrastructure projects, while making no demands on how Hun Sen
runs the country. Like Pakistan, Cambodia is expected to be an
obedient ally of China, and to follow China's policy directives in
return for money. Phnom Penh Post (2-May) and Reuters and Reporters Without Borders and Nikkei Asia Review and The Diplomat (15-Jan)
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Cambodia, Phnom Penh Post, Hun Sen,
Cambodia National Rescue Party, CNRP, Cambodia Daily,
Sivakumar Ganapathy, Asia PR, Khmer Power Party, Sourn Serey Ratha,
China, Pakistan
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Cambodia's dictatorial Hun Sen forces sale of independent Phnom Penh Post
- Phnom Penh Post had a combative relationship with Hun Sen
****
**** Cambodia's dictatorial Hun Sen forces sale of independent Phnom Penh Post
****
Phnom Penh Post on November 13, 2017 (Reuters)
Cambodia's last independent newspaper, the Phnom Penh Post, is in
crisis after the editor-in-chief was fired for refusing to take down
an article critical of the new owner, and several senior reporters
subsequently resigned after being ordered to take down the same
article.
Hun Sen, Cambodia's leader for 33 years, has become increasingly
dictatorial since the opposition political party, the Cambodia
National Rescue Party (CNRP) almost won the 2013 election, and has
become increasingly popular since then. With another election
scheduled for July of this year, Hun Sen has solved the problem by
arresting CNRP leaders and jailing them on phony charges, and even
getting the Supreme Court to declare the CNRP to be an illegal
political party. In addition, Hun Sen has been jailing protesters,
and shutting down media sources not controlled by the government.
The weekend sale of the Phnom Penh Post is the latest example of Hun
Sen's dictatorial takeover. The Cambodian government forced the
previous owner to sell by imposing an enormous $3.9 million tax bill
on the paper. The only other independent newspaper in the country,
the Cambodian Daily, was forced to shut down last year after receiving
a $6.3 million tax bill.
An announcement on Saturday said that the Phnom Penh Post had been
sold to a Malaysian investor, Sivakumar Ganapathy, executive director
of the Malaysia firm Asia PR.
Sivakumar's first act as owner was to issue a statement saying that
the newspaper would remain independent.
But then Sivakumar's next act as owner was to demand that the
editor-in-chief take down an article posted on Sunday detailing the
sale and Sivakumar's background, and then fire him for refusing.
Then Sivakumar fired the editor-in-chief, and when he demanded of the
other senior editors to take the article down, there was a mass
resignation.
As of Monday evening ET, the article still has not been taken down, and I was still able to
access it. (Perhaps after all the senior reporters left, there was no
one left with a password to the servers.)
The article described numerous examples of Sivakumar's close
relationships with Hun Sen and the Cambodian government, suggesting
that Sivakumar might be controlled by Hun Sen. AFP and Phnom Penh Post (6-May) and Australian Broadcasting and BBC
****
**** Phnom Penh Post had a combative relationship with Hun Sen
****
As an example of other articles that might have triggered Hun Sen's
decision to make sure that the Phnom Penh Post would become
government-controlled, an article last week described Hun Sen's "catch
and release policy." The way it works is that opposition figures are
arrested on phony charges, kept in jail for as many months or years as
necessary, and then released just in time to achieve some objective.
For example, an opposition politician Bun Chhay was jailed on August 4
of last year, supposedly on some decade old drug charges, but just
when it appeared he would pose a legitimate political challenge. Then
on September 3 Sourn Serey Ratha, head of the tiny Khmer Power Party,
was arrested over a Facebook post criticizing the government’s recent
military stand-off with Laos.
This cleared away the only viable competitors to Hun Sen's reelection,
but the arrests caused an international uproar, with threats by the US
and the EU to withdraw aid. According to the Phnom Penh Post article,
the "catch and release" strategy was completed last week:
<QUOTE>"Last week, the EU publicly acknowledged that it would
be taking the extraordinary step of sending a team to review its
General Scheme of Preferences with Cambodia – raising questions
about the future of tariff-free access to one Cambodia’s largest
trading partners. The pressure was reaching a head.
Days later, Nhek Bun Chhay walked out of jail.
“While it would seem that the [Cambodian People’s Party] has the
upcoming election neatly sewed up, perhaps Hun Sen views him as a
figure who can help diversify the electoral field just enough to
gain some international credibility, while remaining too marginal
to pose any real threat to the CPP’s power,” Strangio
said."<END QUOTE>
Whether the EU will be fooled by this remains to be seen.
However, placing new sanctions on Cambodia will likely not have much
effect. Cambodia is becoming China's most important political ally in
the region. Already, between 2011 and 2015 Chinese firms funneled
nearly $5 billion in loans and investment to Cambodia, mostly for
major infrastructure projects, while making no demands on how Hun Sen
runs the country. Like Pakistan, Cambodia is expected to be an
obedient ally of China, and to follow China's policy directives in
return for money. Phnom Penh Post (2-May) and Reuters and Reporters Without Borders and Nikkei Asia Review and The Diplomat (15-Jan)
Related Articles
- Cambodia's Hun Sen threatens violence at protesters at ASEAN meeting (18-Mar-2018)
- Cambodia dissolves the opposition political party so that Hun Sen can be reelected unopposed (17-Nov-2017)
- Burma's (Myanmar's) leaders may be inspired by Pol Pot's Cambodian 'Killing Fields' genocide (29-Sep-2017)
- Cambodia bans all sales of sand to Singapore (20-Jul-2017)
- Thailand vs Cambodia border clash damages ancient Hindu temple (17-Feb-2011)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Cambodia, Phnom Penh Post, Hun Sen,
Cambodia National Rescue Party, CNRP, Cambodia Daily,
Sivakumar Ganapathy, Asia PR, Khmer Power Party, Sourn Serey Ratha,
China, Pakistan
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
