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A woman protesting the road expansion in Phnom Penh's Russei Keo district holds an address marker while speaking to a reporter on November 1, 2022. (Hean Rangsy/VOD)

Land Disputes: Protests in Angkor, Petitions in Phnom Penh

Hundreds of residents in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh protested this week over displacement due to an Angkor resettlement plan, the sand-filling of Boeng Tamok lake, and a road expansion project in the capital’s Russei Keo.

A screenshot from a video of a shoe being thrown toward Prime Minister Hun Sen as he meets a crowd in the U.S. on May 11, 2022.

Hun Sen Vexed About US Shoe Throwing

Prime Minister Hun Sen asked supporters to tolerate a shoe thrown at him in Washington, but pondered why U.S. officials didn’t respond to a violent action.

Mother Nature activist Sun Ratha stands in front of a pile of trash on the beach in Sihanoukville in a screenshot from a video posted to Facebook on January 24, 2020.

Mother Nature Arrests Criticized, Gov’t-Linked Media Posts ‘Evidence’

International rights groups and embassies raised concerns over the recent arrests of Mother Nature environmentalists, as a government-aligned media outlet posted alleged evidence of a Zoom meeting where the activists appear to discuss a cartoon sketch of Prime Minister Hun Sen wearing a crown.

Prime Minister Hun Sen and US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman meet at Phnom Penh’s Peace Palace on June 1, 2021, in a photo posted to Hun Sen’s Facebook page.

US Official Doesn’t Get Full Access to Ream Base, Calls Off Visit

The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh said a defense attaché was not granted “full access” to Ream Naval Base during a much-hyped visit on Friday, after a senior U.S. State Department official questioned the alleged presence of Chinese military personnel at the base.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan at the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh (file photo)

Government Spokesman Accuses US of Backing Rainsy-Led ‘Terrorism’

The dissolved opposition party has reorganized and raised funds in the U.S., a situation that amounts to U.S. support for a “terrorist movement,” government spokesman Phay Siphan said on Thursday, the morning after the new U.S. ambassador to Cambodia landed in Phnom Penh.