Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry on Friday confirmed Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit April 17-18, ending days of public buzz and scant official word on the trip.
Provincial police force and district authorities have set up barricades to check on people traveling from one area to another, restricting entry of groups to Phnom Penh to prevent “extremist groups” from organizing a so-called color revolution on August 18 to “topple the government”.
An incumbent commune councilor of Candlelight Party in Kampong Thom and a 22-year-old youth in Takeo province have been arrested for allegedly inciting people to topple the government with regards to the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Areas (CLV-DTA).
Interior Minister Sar Sokha issued an order to provincial governors, the police force and military police to tighten security to restrict people from entering Phnom Penh as a group to prevent extremist groups from carrying out a “color revolution to overthrow the government”.
Government officials and armed forces condemned anti-Cambodia-Lao-Vietnam Triangle Area (CLV-DTA) activists and pledged to suppress any activities initiated by the “extremist opposition groups” based overseas who are “attempting to overthrow the government”.
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a lower court’s verdict on opposition Candlelight Party vice president Thach Setha who was sentenced to three years' jail and fined four million riel for incitement to disturb social order and discrimination.
Cambodia witnessed the groundbreaking of the $1.7 billion Funan Techo Canal in Kandal province aimed at boosting the economy via water transportation, with Prime Minister Hun Manet pledging to resolve public concerns over any loss of territory sovereignty.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court granted an injunction order to stop Candlelight Party president Teav Vannol from transferring his properties to a third party after he lost the defamation suit brought by the government.
Cambodia has announced August 5 as the inauguration date of the $1.7 billion Funan Techo Canal amid local endorsement and international scrutiny of its potential impact on the Mekong River and alleged ties to Chinese military operations. The government has denied this allegation.
