Archive: Jun 2020



STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 17, 2020 • 6 min read

Opinion Ressa’s conviction by the Duterte regime isn’t the story we should focus on

By Tom Smith • Jun 17, 2020
This week Rappler CEO Maria Ressa was convicted in the latest attack on press freedom under President Rodrigo Duterte. But academic Tom Smith says by shining all the spotlight on this high-profile case, we're forgetting the Filipino journalists under fire at the grassroots

STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 16, 2020 • 4 min read

Online activism In Thailand, activists flood online to protest Wachalearm disappearance

By Wanpen Pajai • Jun 16, 2020
With the whereabouts of missing activist Wanchalearm still unknown, protestors in Thailand are turning to social media to express their grief and start hashtags as platforms like Twitter continue to adopt an increasingly significant role in the kingdom's political discourse

STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 15, 2020 • 2 min read
Partner Content

Do Forni Reopening

By Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra • Jun 15, 2020
Phnom Penh's favourite Italian restaurant is back

Jun 15, 2020 • 10 min read
History

The day the world went dark: Mount Pinatubo eruption, as told by survivors

When Mount Pinatubo erupted on June 15 1991, it proved to be the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, devastating communities and shrouding the Philippines in darkness for several days. Almost three decades on, survivors speak of the horrors of that day's events, and how it banded the country together
By Lee Ying Shan • Jun 15, 2020

Jun 15, 2020 • 4 min read
Editorial

Black Lives Matter and abandoned Angkor

This week, as the US is rocked by a moment of intense introspection and reflection on the issue of race and equality, we publish an op-ed on the role of the Khmer diaspora in the Black Lives Matter movement, sent to us by our friends over at the Cambodian American Literary Arts Association. We also have a selection of images depicting ancient Angkor as few have seen it in recent decades, with it largely devoid of visitors in recent months with the dramatic downturn in global tourism.
By Andrew Haffner • Jun 15, 2020

Jun 15, 2020 • 3 min read
Press freedom

Duterte-critic journalist Ressa convicted in Philippine libel case

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa was convicted on June 15 of cyber libel and sentenced to prison in a case that watchdogs say marks a dangerous erosion of press freedom under Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte
By Joshua Melvin and Ron Lopez/AFP • Jun 15, 2020

Jun 15, 2020 • 6 min read
Black Lives Matter

Perspectives from Khmer diaspora in the US on the Black Lives Matter movement

As protests erupt across the United States demanding racial equality and an end to police brutality, members of the Cambodian American Literary Arts Association living across the country offer their reflections on race and the Black Lives Matter movement
By Cambodian American Literary Arts Association • Jun 15, 2020

Jun 15, 2020 • 6 min read
Opinion

Khmer community – It is time for us to say Black Lives Matter

As Black Lives Matter protests gathers momentum globally, Deputy Director of the Cambodian American Literary Arts Association Joan Chun says the Khmer community must examine its own attitude to blackness and throw its support behind the movement
By Joan Chun • Jun 15, 2020

Jun 12, 2020 • 7 min read
Human rights

In the furnace: Why is Cambodia’s brick kiln child labour persisting?

Last year, the Cambodian government set out to put a permanent end to child labour in the country’s brick kilns by 2020. But as the problem persists, experts believe the remedy will have to tackle the systemic issues causing children to head to the furnaces
By Alexi Demetriadi • Jun 12, 2020

Jun 12, 2020 • 3 min read
Human rights

Child Labour Index: Cambodia highest risk in region for underage workers

Consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft has ranked Cambodia 28th in the world and the highest risk in Southeast Asia for the use of child labour in its 2020 index. The Southeast Asia region as a whole faired poorly, with seven countries deemed at 'extreme' or 'high' risk
By Alexi Demetriadi and Alastair McCready • Jun 12, 2020

Jun 11, 2020 • 6 min read
Editorial

Card swapping: The Mekong countries’ problem with activist kidnapping

When Thai activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit was bundled into a car in Phnom Penh on June 4, he became merely the latest in a string of forced disappearances in the region. With several authoritarian governments coexisting in close proximity, the peculiarly Mekong country issue of activist kidnapping shows no sign of abating
By Alastair McCready • Jun 11, 2020