Senate spokesperson Chea Thyrith has rejected comments made by Thai defence ministry spokesperson Surasan Kongsiri, who claimed today that Senate president Hun Sen pressured Thailand to open the border crossings on October 20. Kongsiri’s claims were published today by The Nation media outlet. Thyrith considered the claims to be a distortion of the truth. “Hun Sen made it clear that Cambodia would not stoop so low as to beg Thailand to reopen the Cambodia-Thailand border. Even if Thailand closes it for another 100 years, Cambodia will not plead; let Thailand do as it pleases,” he said. “Therefore, the statements made…
Author: Niem Chheng
The air in Phnom Penh on April 17, 2025, hummed with a different kind of anticipation. Fifty years had passed since the city’s fall to the Khmer Rouge, a half-century etched into the collective memory of Cambodia. This poignant anniversary will be brought to life at the Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center this weekend, in an exhibition that promises to transform remembrance into a living, breathing dialogue: ALIVE. Running from October 18 until November 15, ALIVE is more than just an exhibition; it is a homecoming. Well-known artist Kim Hak, under the creative direction of Rithy Panh and curated by Moeng…
Yesterday, Chbar Ampov district authorities raided a site suspected of hosting scam activities. Eight Vietnamese nationals, including three women, were arrested in the bust, which took place in Svay Ta Ok village in the capital’s Vela Sbov commune. “The suspects used the location as a call center to carry out scam activities targeting Vietnamese nationals. Under the guise of winning a prize or other forms of persuasion, they would obtain credit card numbers from their victims and then steal, money from their accounts,” said the police. In July, the Cambodian government launched a nationwide campaign to crack down on online…
The Ministry of Interior has instructed the Kingdom’s National Police to provide the South Korean embassy with a detailed report on a recent high-profile case involving the death of a young South Korean man, at the hands of a Chinese online criminal gang he was reportedly connected with. In an October 14 press release, ministry spokesperson Touch Sokhak reiterated the details of the death of 22-year-old Korean national Park Minho, who was found dead last August in Kampot province. He noted that three Chinese nationals have been detained, while a manhunt continues for two others. The case drew a strong…
While Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and First Army Region commander Worayos Luangsuwan have come out in support of ultra-nationalist influencer Kan Jomphalang — who has been disrupting the sleep of Cambodian communities in Banteay Meanchey province by broadcasting loud “eerie” sounds across the border — at least three prominent Thai figures have spoken out against his actions. The loud howls, scream and aircraft noises have been played for three consecutive nights since October 11 in Prey Chan and Chouk Chey villages, with only a short postponement while the ASEAN Interim Observer Team (IOT) was at the scene. Both Anutin…
Cambodian officials and tourism specialists have urged the government of South Korean to separate instances of crime by scam gangs and their associates from crimes against holiday makers and tourists to Cambodia. This follows recent diplomatic pressure from Korean President Lee Jae Myung, in the wake of the death of a South Korean man with links to a scam operation. The Korean Herald media outlet reported on October 12 that the president had called for officials to “go all out in terms of diplomacy to safeguard South Koreans from crimes in Cambodia”. The 22-year-old man’s body was discovered in Kampot…
In a move which may have been influenced by US President Donald trump, Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and international Cooperation Prak Sokhonn and his Thai counterpart held a quadripartite meeting with the US and Malaysia yesterday, to discuss a possible resolution to the ongoing border dispute. Trump has reportedly expressed a desire to oversee the signing of a peace agreement between the two neighbouring Kingdoms, with the exclusion of China, who served in an observer’s role during the signing of the July 28 ceasefire agreement. An October statement from the foreign ministry explained that the Sunday, October 12 meeting…
It was confirmed today that Thai influencer and nationalist Kan Jomphalang is behind a psychological warfare operation against the villagers of Prey Chan village. On the nights of October 10 and 11, loudspeakers broadcast eerie sounds, like dogs howling and human screams, across the border into the village, in Banteay Meanchey province. Both Thai the Thai political and military leadership have come out in support of the operations, which reportedly added a large movie screen this evening, October 12. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said today that he was surprised that the influencer appeared to be doing more for the…
In a somewhat bizarre escalation, last night, Thailand began employing psychological warfare tactics against the Cambodian villagers of Prey Chan and Chouk Chey, disputed areas which saw a Thai incursion with armoured bulldozers earlier in the day. The soundtrack included disorienting sounds, including dogs howling and screams, throughout the night, interrupting people’s sleep in an attempt to stoke fear. The eerie soundtrack began at around 11pm. This attempt at psy-ops, or psychological operations, marked a sideways escalation in the ongoing border dispute, raising concerns about the potential for further destabilisation in the region. The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement…
Following the October 5 bust of an illegal shipment of frozen meat products from Thailand, once popular businesswoman Im Sophanarith has been stripped of the honorific Oknha title. An October 10 order revoking her title was signed by acting head of state Senate president Hun Sen, at the request of Prime Minister Hun Manet. Several media outlets reported that the fallen business maven’s company imported chicken and pig offal from Thailand. The import of such goods is currently banned.