City selects ‘freedom park’ (Date: 08 Jul 10)
July 2010 15:03 May Titthara Phnom Penh Post
MUNICIPAL officials have selected a site near Phnom Penh City Hall for the capital’s first “freedom park”, drawing criticism from some observers who say the move will do little to encourage free and open demonstrations.
Sok Penh Vuth, deputy governor of Daun Penh district, said officials had chosen a public park along Streets 106 and 108 to be designated as a demonstration zone. The zone is part of the government’s effort to enforce the new Law on Nonviolent Demonstrations, which critics have slammed for placing size limits on public protests.
Selecting the 50-by-210-metre area near Canadia Tower on Monivong Boulevard and the Spean Neak, or Dragon Bridge, serves multiple purposes, Sok Penh Vuth said.
“The reason our authorities decided to choose this area is because a lot of car vendors are parking along the garden, so we want them to move away,” he said. “And it is a place that is near City Hall, so it is easier for authorities to receive people who file complaints and also find resolutions for them.”
Sok Penh Vuth said officials began clearing land to build a garden area for the demonstration zone yesterday morning.
Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Pa Socheatvong confirmed that city officials had selected the area to be a demonstration zone. The decision now awaits final approval from the Interior Ministry, he said.
The Law on Nonviolent Demonstrations calls for designated areas to be developed in municipalities nationwide.
It has drawn criticism from rights activists, who contend that some aspects of the legislation needlessly stifle rather than encourage nonviolent protests.
Critics were particularly concerned over an article that caps demonstrations at 200 people and demands that organisers obtain approval from authorities before holding them.
Chan Soveth, a senior monitor for the rights group Adhoc, reiterated those concerns yesterday.
“Authorities should give people the right to express themselves and also allow them to go anywhere they want to protest,” he said. “Don’t put pressure on people by allowing them to protest only in one place.”
Hang Chhaya, executive director of the Khmer Institute for Democracy, said the move to designate demonstration zones might be well-intentioned, but described it as poorly conceived.
“We demonstrate not because of freedom parks; we demonstrate because of real issues that people have,” he said.
“You can’t just draw these boundaries and say you have to get in there in order to protest. That defeats the whole purpose of public demonstrations.” He predicted that the demonstration zones may end up limiting free speech more than promoting it.
“It seems like they will make spontaneous protests illegal,” he said. “They don’t want spontaneous demonstrations, so they create these freedom parks where only a maximum of 200 protesters can congregate at one time.”
Although the designated freedom park is within walking distance of City Hall, it remains far from other institutions of power where people often protest, such as the National Assembly, said Yim Sovann, a lawmaker with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.
“The place is too small. It’s not big enough for villagers to join together to protest,” he said.
“It seems the government is just trying to put pressure on villagers’ freedom of speech.”
Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, confirmed Wednesday that ministry officials had received the city’s request to construct the demonstration zone, but deferred comment on the issue to Sam Samoth, the head of the city’s garden office under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
Sam Samoth declined to comment yesterday, saying that he was busy in a meeting. Go to Top Minimum Wage Hike Likely; Amount Uncertain (Date: 08 Jul 10)
The Cambodia Daily News
Neou Vannarin, July08,2010
The Labor Advisory Committee seemed likely to adopt a minimum wage hike during discussions of workers pay slated for this morning, a committee leader said yesterday. "I think there will be approval of a new minimum wage, because the government has already set forth the principle for a minimum wage increase to $61," said the body's vice president, Chuon Mom Thol, who also leads the CPP-affiliated Cambodia Union Federation. In late June, the government announced its support for a plan that would raise the $50 minimum wage by $5 per month, and incorporate into that figure a $6 living allowance that garment workers already receive.
At least, two-thirds of the committee's members who include labor and garment industry representatives as well as government officials must agree to any wage increase. Go to Top Factory closes down as workers pass out (Date: 06 Jul 10)
Monday, 05 July 2010 15:01 Mom Kunthear Phnom Penh Post
AUTHORITIES ordered the temporary closure of a garment factory in the capital’s Meanchey district yesterday after 47 of its employees fainted while working.
Tep Bora, the chief of Boeung Tumpun commune, said 22 workers at the Pine Great (Cambodia) Garments factory collapsed on Friday, followed by 25 more on Saturday.
“We have decided to postpone [the operations of] the Pine Great factory for a period until they find the reason those workers fainted,” he said yesterday.
He added that a further 50 workers had reported headaches after shifts at the factory.
Tep Bora said that those who suffered fainting spells recovered after being sent to the Cambodian-Russian Friendship Hospital and were resting at home.
“We do not know for sure whether they fainted because of the chemicals that preserve the clothes, because we are still investigating,” he said.
Pok Vanthat, director of the Occupational Health Department at the Ministry of Labour, said yesterday that his department had yet to investigate the incident, but denied chemicals were a likely cause.
“It could be caused by a variety of different reasons, such as the bad environment in the factory, shock from seeing other workers faint or not eating enough food with enough vitamins,” he said.
Factory managers and affected workers could not be reached for comment yesterday.Go to Top |
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