Singaporean Firm Should Be Named and Shamed

This is what happens when deals are made with no transparency. Investors that make opaque deals must be denounced.

Thank you to investigative media

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/firm-buying-boeng-kak-land-claims-no-knowledge-of-evictions-62463/

Return to Thailand Does Not Solve Farmers’ Problems

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/cambodia/131011/cambodia-floods-again-disease-dengue

Less than a year ago, over 60,000 Cambodian farmers in the border area were hit with heavy floods that forced them to leave their villages to seek work in Thailand in order to make monthly payments to micro-finance institutions and to pay other debts. At the time Hun Sen assigned former Finance Minister to find solutions for the victims. Nothing has come of it.

Over 200,000 Cambodian workers were deported back from Thailand in the last 10 days. This week, the Minister of Labor is looking at safer alternatives to send the workers back to Thailand.

The question is : what about solutions to keep the workers in Cambodia?

The alternatives are: 1/ financial support to MFIs to reduce interest rate ( CNRP made the proposal during the floods); 2/ postponement of payments to MFIs; 3/ pay youth to attend skills training programs ; 3/ allocate social economic concessions to farmers with no land or return of their land given as economic concessions; 4/ living wage.

Cambodian workers deported from Thailand

Free, Freedom Park

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/violence-threatens-still-says-subedi

Violence will always be part of our culture as long as impunity rules.

The authorities continue to close Freedom Park under the pretext that it is implicated with the violence a few days prior to the demolition of CNRP tents and stage that were part of Freedom Park for close to six months. The 25 activists and workers who were detained and found guilty were also accused of being implicated with the violence but they were released on 30 May.

The authorities also claim that the closure of Freedom Park is because investigation is still going on. But of what?

Now Sar Kheng is saying freedom park is closed because the people do not respect the law. What law? Freedom Park is stipulated in the law of peaceful protest as the legal space for people to protest publicly.

The Rules on Revolt – Lessons from China

CNRP campaign rally

Hired security guards to crack down on protesters

This an excellent lesson on bringing change and the long road it takes us to:

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_rules_of_revolt_20140608#

Cambodians Still Looking at Thailand As Employment Alternative

Cambodian migrant workers deported from Thailand.

Over 3 million Cambodians live below poverty line; 8 million just make it above poverty line and any hardships will drop them to below poverty line , according to the World Bank.

There are over 500,000 registered and unregistered Cambodian workers in Thailand.

This is why staying in Cambodia with no income is not an option.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/home-options-few-migrants