Khmer Circle:
In most other countries, things like national heritage and the environment are taken seriously by their governments. Here, in the Kingdom of Wonder, ruled by the mafia, every shady investor and entrepreneur has come to realise that it's just a matter of how much cash and bribe to the right official you are prepared to spend to clinch a deal – whatever this may involve. Angkor Wat - the soul of the nation - is not exempt from this greed and practice. Often, these investors know that it's a lot easier and less of a hassle to have the ears of the Prime Mate himself, with a few million dollars in bribe in order to launch a billion dollars project regardless of resulting collateral consequences to culture, livelihood or even national sovereignty.
The Prime Mate himself - in spite of his 'Strongman' personae - is surprisingly easy to persuade and manipulate with aforementioned cash as sweetener, of course, along with the usual dose of flattery. He is after all a complete ignoramus, especially, on the finer cultural details or what constitutes civilised taste. The Viet Congs and the KR loved to have such uneducated, peasant youths and recruits in their ranks as they were pliable materials that they could mould to their liking, and more importantly, the materials remained moulded long afterwards. Thus, we have seen similair patterns in this practice, from deforestation and hydraulic dams in so-called protected National Parks to ELCs and cash crop plantations that have displaced whole sale communities and made locals dependent on handouts from foreign commercial ventures.
Tourists visit Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province, March 5, 2020.
AFP
Last week, NagaCorp, which is registered in the Cayman Islands and operates NagaWorld casinos in the capital Phnom Penh under an exclusive license from the government, revealed plans to construct a 75-hectare (185-acre) “Angkor Lake of Wonder” theme park it has compared to California’s Disneyland.
The resort—the first phase of which is expected to cost some U.S. $350 million and be completed in 2025—will include a “China Town” and water park, as well as an indoor theme park, and will be built by an as-of-yet unnamed Chinese state-owned enterprise, the company said in a press release.
According to last week’s announcement, Cambodia’s government in May granted NagaCorp a 50-year lease on land around 500 meters (one-third of a mile) south of the Angkor Wat complex, which drew some 5 million visitors annually before the coronavirus pandemic. Under the terms of the deal, NagaCorp will not pay any rent in the first seven to 10 years and around U.S. $450,000 each year after, with a five percent increase every five years.
While NagaCorp said that the “non-gambling” project will help to increase the number of visitors to Siem Reap and more generally promote tourism in Cambodia, residents and civil society groups expressed skepticism about the benefits it would bring to the local community and called for more transparency from the government.
Speaking to RFA’s Khmer Service, Pech Pisey, executive director of Transparency International Cambodia, said he fears that the value of artifacts in the 12th century Angkor complex—designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992—will depreciate if the project goes ahead.
“I am not against development, but any development should be appropriate according to the culture in the area,” he said.
“I think it is better to develop and preserve the Angkor area as a tourist site, not as an entertainment zone that could impact the culture heritage sites of our ancestry.”
Calls by RFA seeking comment from Siem Reap governor Tea Seiha, who is the son of Defense Minister Tea Banh, and Long Kosal, spokesman for the APSARA Authority that manages the Angkor Archaeological Park, went unanswered.
RFA was also unable to contact government spokesman Phay Siphan, although he told the Voice of Democracy last week that the project was approved because NagaCorp has been a long-term investor in Cambodia and earned the country’s trust. He added that the project would bring jobs to the region.
Call for transparency
Cambodians appeared generally supportive of the project during a call-in show with RFA’s Khmer Service, provided it does not negatively impact the country.
Phnom Penh resident Leng Chentha told RFA that if the theme park provides jobs and other benefits to people in Siem Reap she would support it, but not if it leads to the loss of jobs for Cambodians and “destroys the beauty of Angkor Wat.”
“If the investment, in the long run, diminishes Angkor Wat’s identity, I would not support it,” she said, calling on the government to provide additional information about the project.
Siem Reap tour guide Puy Leng told RFA that if the project “brings more tourists to Angkor Wat, I’m fine with it.”
Ty Leng, a villager from Siem Reap, said the theme park is a good thing for the area, “but we don’t want a casino” to end up being part of the project.
“If they create more facilities for tourists, like hotels and entertainment parks, to draw them to the area, that would be beneficial to us.”
But Hay Vanna, a Cambodian migrant worker in Japan, warned that “the government often says one thing and does another,” and called for a better explanation of what NagaCorp’s plans include.
“I’m afraid they won’t do as they say,” he said.
Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, the founder of domestic environmental watchdog Mother Nature, said the building of a “China Town” in Siem Reap will “destroy the value of this cultural heritage site.”
“The Cambodian government said it will not build casino facilities in Siem Reap—will it dare to swear to that?” he asked, warning Cambodians not to be “fooled” by what Prime Minister Hun Sen promises.
“Why don’t they build this somewhere else? A referendum should be held to see if people support project investments in Siem Reap. I believe the majority of Cambodian people would not support this. They might end up holding demonstrations.”
China has stepped in to wield significant influence in Cambodia as relations between Phnom Penh and Western governments have waned amid concerns over the country’s human rights situation and political environment.
Concerns about the project in Siem Reap follow several years of Chinese investment into Cambodia’s port city of Sihanoukville, where Cambodians regularly chafe at what they call unscrupulous business practices and unbecoming behavior by Chinese businessmen and residents.
Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
2 comments:
Ah Chker Chkuot Kwack Hun Sen has filled up Lakes, Rivers, Oceans to build new buildings to please his masters Yuon and Chen.
He should blow up Angkor Wat and others temples so that his masters could build new buildings.
Keep going Ah Roleuy Hun Sen, you have done a superb jobs for your masters. No one can compare to you in term of know how to please the aggressors in exchange for your stay in power.
The writing is on the wall. Cambodia will be gone soon. Under the guise of progress, heritage and historical sites will be remove or destroy slowly so it does not bring shock. Inch by inch until nothing is left. Don't be surprise when it happen, it will be way too late to do anything. Time to flee to Europe or the West for a better life. Hun Sen and his crooks will head west too, once his job is done, and the evil Yuon will dispose of him and his gang.
Post a Comment