The 40th anniversary of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party is commemorated at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh – one of the key events in the Kingdom during the past year. Heng Chivoan
As Cambodia looks forward to 2020, The Post remembers the significant events of last year.
The change to Article 45 of the Law on Political Parties went into effect after King Norodom Sihamoni signed off on the amendment on January 2.
It gave the prime minister the power to request the return of political rights to those banned by the courts.
The law change paved the way for the 118 opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) politicians banned by the Supreme Court to have their political rights returned if they requested rehabilitation.
THE EU on February 12 announced it had begun the process of withdrawing the Kingdom’s access to its preferential Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme over “a deterioration of democracy [and] respect for human rights”.
The EU announcement quoted the then-High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini as saying “a deterioration of democracy [and] respect for human rights calls Cambodia’s participation in the EBA into question”.
Then-Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said the move “was not a final decision”, with it beginning a period of engagement with the Cambodian authorities.
“We need to jointly work for economic growth to strengthen our independence. We should not exchange our sovereignty for [economic] assistance,” Prime Minister Hun Sen said after the announcement.
A SEVEN-storey building under-construction collapsed on June 22, killing 28 people and injuring 26. Some survivors were trapped under the rubble for 48 hours. The then-Preah Sihanouk provincial governor Yun Min was granted permission to resign, while Nhim Vanda was transferred from his post as first vice-president of the National Committee for Disaster Management.
Before arriving at the scene, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced the provision of $10,000 for the families of the deceased. The injured received free hospital treatment and five million riel ($1,250). Hun Sen called the tragedy a national agony and said those responsible would be held accountable.
FORMER Brother Number Two of the Khmer Rouge Nuon Chea died of illness on August 4 at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh. He was 93.
Chea, second in command only to Pol Pot, was sentenced to life in prison in Case 002/02 at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, along with the Khmer Rouge’s head of state Khieu Samphan, in November 2018.
A lawyer representing Chea declined to comment on the cause of death, saying it was confidential.
IN late October and early November, the army, military police and police were deployed along the Thai border in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces to take action against Sam Rainsy coup plotters.
Rainsy, the “acting president” of the Supreme Court-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and living abroad, had announced that he would return to the Kingdom on November 9. He failed to do so despite not being barred from entering the Kingdom.
The Kingdom’s security forces were commended for thwarting an attempted “coup plot” by the former opposition leader.
The government deemed Rainsy’s attempted plot for November 9, which was to coincide with the Kingdom’s 66th Independence Day, a failure.
Instead of joining his movement, it said people had joyfully participated in the eating of ambok (flattened rice) as a symbol of national unity during the three-day Water Festival which followed.
THE Phnom Penh Municipal Court on November 10 reduced the bail conditions of former CNRP president Kem Sokha, more than two years after he was charged with treason. Sokha, who was allowed to travel freely in Cambodia but not to leave the Kingdom, was banned from political activism and had to respond to any summons by the authorities.
The investigation into the charge of treason against Sokha concluded on December 2, with the case sent for trial. A hearing at the Appeal Court on December 9 for his charge to be dropped was rejected.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court then set January 15 as the date for Sokha’s trial on the charge of “conspiracy with a foreign power”.
