By Wency Leung
The cambodia daily

Voters wait in line to cast their ballots July 27 in Phnom Penh.

Cambodia got off to a tumultuous start in 2003, as riots aimed at Thai-owned property in Phnom Penh reopened a centuries-old feud between the country and its northwestern neighbor.

On Jan 29, thousands of people, mostly students, ransacked the Thai Embassy and Thai-owned businesses in the capital, causing an estimated $50 million worth of damage. The riot was spurred by unsubstantiated reports that Thai television actress Suvanant Konying had said Cambodia’s celebrated Angkor Wat belonged to Thailand.

A youth prepares to throw a portrait of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej on a fire Jan 29 during the burning and looting of the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh

Thai officials sharply criticized Cambodian authorities for their inability to prevent the crisis, while more than 500 Thai nationals, fearing for their safety, were airlifted out of the city.

More than six months later, relations between Cambodia and Thailand were improving, said Chea Vannath, president of the Center for Social Development. But, she said, the riots have left a lasting black mark on the Cambodian government, especially in the minds of its own people.

“There is an ongoing distrust on the political stability of this country and a distrust that the government is able to maintain stable peace,” Chea Vannath said.

Although she said the riots have done little to slow foreign business, they have dealt a blow to investor confidence.

Asia rocked by SARS
In the following months, Cambodia’s economy took another unexpected hit.

While the rest of the world grappled with an outbreak of the mysterious severe acute respiratory syndrome, Cambodia appeared to have escaped the epidemic. Not a single case of the deadly virus was confirmed.

But the country did not emerge unscathed. SARS is estimated to have cost Cambodia’s tourism and service industries millions of dollars. Tourism officials reported a 22 percent decline in the number of foreign visitors in March 2003, compared with the same month a year earlier.

More recent figures showed an even steeper decline. Estimates for the number of foreign visitors in the month of June were down 70 percent from the same period a year ago, said Kousoum Saroeuth, director general of the Ministry of Tourism.

And while tourists were slowly returning to the country by July, he said, the latest figures from that month showed foreign travel to Cambodia was still 40 percent below normal.

“I think maybe it will return to normal starting in October or November,” Kousoum Saroeuth said.

Plan approved for Khmer Rouge trial
In May, after nearly six years of negotiations, the government reached an agreement with the UN on plans for a UN-assisted Khmer Rouge tribunal. The plan, which was approved by the UN General Assembly on May 14, needs only final authorization from the National Assembly.

The agreement came as a long-awaited breakthrough for the two governing bodies. After beginning in 1997, negotiations between the government and the UN were halted in February 2002 amid doubts the country could hold a fair trial.

The tribunal is expected to take three years to complete and cost about $19 million.

Critics have argued against the proposed method of funding the trial, which calls for voluntary donations from UN members. They claim it could delay the trial by a year. And some say time is running out.

“Be careful that now that the Khmer Rouge trial has been passed that the Khmer Rouge leaders don’t die,” Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters in May.

The country lost one of the few remaining founders of the revolution in July with the death of Khieu Ponnary, “Sister No 1” and first wife of Pol Pot. She was 83.

Cambodia chairs Asean Regional Forum
The Asean Regional Forum, which was chaired by Cambodia for the first time in mid-June, drew foreign ministers and top officials from 23 countries to Phnom Penh.

During the two days of meetings, Asean leaders stretched their policy of non-interference in its member’s internal affairs to call for Burma to release democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi. While Burma took center stage, officials also discussed terrorism, money-laundering and human trafficking.

Cambodia hammered out a counterterrorism agreement with Australia to increase cooperation in training, intelligence, security and defense. The forum was seen as an inspiration for progress within Phnom Penh and the rest of the country.

“The presence of those countries contributed to the betterment of the city,” Chea Vannath said, since Phnom Penh was forced to put its best face forward for the international event.

She added: “The message to Burma was a good signal to Cambodia as well. It means the members of Asean are watching each other.”

CPP wins general election

Military policemen Pen Sopheak, 36, Stands guard on July 28 as group of passengers alight from provincial taxis at a checkpoint near the Monivong Bridge in Phnom Penh. Officers were given orders to conduct weapons checks as part of post-election security plans.

On June 27, the CPP emerged as the dominant party in the general election, as nearly 5.2 million voters hit the polls under international scrutiny. Amid complaints of vote-buying, intimidation and violence, the three major political parties, CPP, Funcinpec and Sam Rainsy Party, jockeyed for leadership of the country.

Initial National Election Committee results showed the CPP had won 2.44 million votes, while the opposition Sam Rainsy Party followed with 1.13 million votes, and Funcinpec trailed with 1.07 million.

While that means CPP would secure 73 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly, the party would not have a two-thirds majority needed to form a CPP-led government outright.

Following the election, Funcinpec and the Sam Rainsy Party formed an alliance, rejecting the poll results. And with neither of the two willing to form a new government with the CPP with Hun Sen as prime minister, the country was bracing for a political deadlock.

In the first two weeks of campaigning leading up to the election, police officials reported at least nine members of the three parties had been killed. But some election-watchers said the big event had unfolded more smoothly compared with previous elections.

Some praised Cambodia for taking a positive step toward democracy, claiming parties were granted more media access than ever before and pointing to the country’s first public pre-election debate.

“Generally looking at the big picture, it is good for the democratic process,” said Chea Vannath. “If the result is a democratic election that is free and fair without intimidation, it doesn’t matter who wins.”

Police arrest terror suspects
In late May, just weeks before the Asean forum, authorities charged three foreigners with involvement in international terrorism, accusing them of having links to the regional Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Two Thai nationals, Abdul Azi Haji Chiming and Muhammad Yalaludin Mading, and Egyptian Esam Mohammed Khidr Ali were arrested in Kandal province, where the schools they taught at were closed.

In June, Cambodian Sman Esma El was arrested on similar charges. On July 25, the US Central Intelligence Agency interrogated the teachers. In August, Investigating Judge Oun Bunna said the case lacked evidence, and that the arrests were based on “a tip” supplied by the US.

Cambodia pushes for WTO
In the upcoming weeks, Cambodia will kick into high gear as it races to prepare for its planned entry into the World Trade Organization in September.

Membership in the WTO would make Cambodia “the first least-developed country to join the world body,” WTO officials said.

Supporters of the move say joining the WTO will introduce rules and standards for Cambodian industries that they now lack, and puts the country on the radar of major trading partners.

“If we can participate [in the WTO] in 2003, this is a final success for Cambodia...to integrate Cambodians into the international community,” Prime Minister Hun Sen told reporters in January.

Leading up the induction, the government has introduced numerous laws to try to meet the WTO’s requirements.

Member nations, however, have agreed to relax some of their requirements for Cambodia during its transition period. (Additional reporting by Rick Valenzuela)

While Cambodia revisits the ghosts of its past in 2003—rebuilding Cambodian-Thai relations and forming a Khmer Rouge trial—the country continues to work toward its reconstruction and development.