space Press Releases, News Stories

CAMBODIA NEWS DIGEST, Issue Number 24

In short, corrupt officials are said to have taken millions of dollars in bribes to permit thousands of tons of "construction waste" from Taiwan to be shipped to Cambodia and dumped near the port city of Sihanoukville (pop. 150,000, 125 miles southwest of Phnom Penh).

The full story is not yet clear but each day a mixture of facts and fears seeps out of the murky mess. The shipment arrived at Sihanoukville at the end of November and was supposed to consist of 3,000 tons. The quantity of the material dumped is said to be less than 10% of that, leading to speculation the bulk may have been dumped at sea.

Unsuspecting villagers emptied some of the bags containing the innocuous-looking rubble and used them to store rice or to make sleeping mats. Some of the gravel-like substance (apparently compressed ash from an industrial incinerator) was mixed with cement and used in the repair of houses.

Within days a few people got sick. Then two people who had been in contact with the material suddenly died. Finally, late last week, someone noticed some of the bags were marked with a skull and cross-bones. Some of the waste is - or was - toxic. While there is no medical evidence to link the illnesses and deaths with the waste, an alarmed public drew its own conclusions.

The Taiwanese petrochemical company Formosa Plastics shipped the waste to Cambodia. A company representative told Reuters the waste contains trace amounts of mercury but is not toxic. He acknowledged, however, that no landfill in Taiwan would accept it. Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration approved the shipment of the waste, but for disposal in Taiwan (presumably under its supervision), not for export and certainly not for use as a construction material.

Lacking the necessary technical equipment to test the waste material, Cambodian authorities could do little to calm growing public concern. The government asked the UN and the World Health Organization to send specialists to help deal with the matter. Prime Minister Hun Sen insists the material must be returned to Taiwan whether it is toxic or not. Soldiers wearing special protective clothing have begun to pack the material in steel drums for shipment back to Taiwan.

Over the weekend, public fear and frustration quickly reached the flash point and led to several days of demonstrations and rioting in Sihanoukville. Several government offices and the residence of a provincial official were destroyed by rampaging mobs of hundreds of angry residents. In a move that will surely send shivers up the spines of the country's elite, a Toyota Land Cruiser, that most ubiquitous symbol of power and privilege, was turned on its side and burned. One person was killed and several were injured in the melee.

At least a dozen were arrested, including two human rights workers from Licadho, a Cambodian NGO, who claim they were present only as monitors.

The government has suspended around 30 customs, port and security officials while a full investigation is mounted. Prime Minister Hun Sen is said to believe bribes paid to Cambodian officials to permit the import of the waste may have totaled as much as US$3 million.

Waste makes haste

As Sihanoukville slipped into a state of emergency, troops were sent in to stop the mayhem. Thousands - some report tens of thousands - fled the city in such chaotic panic that car crashes claimed at least four lives and injured at least 13.

SOUND BYTES

"I think it is heavier [more serious] than the bombardment that the United States fired into Iraq in the last few days.... We may be a poor country but we will not tolerate any dumping of toxic or industrial waste on our soil, no matter how lucrative the business may seem to be."

- Prime Minister Hun Sen

"Mercury is a toxic substance. If they thought this waste was really not hazardous why did they ship it to Cambodia at such a high cost? ... If it's not dangerous why do they need to put it in three layers of sack with the skull-and-cross-bones sign and dump it in Cambodia? .We don't let anyone dump waste in Cambodia. It's bad behaviour."

- Mok Mareth, minister of the environment

"The riots by the citizens of Sihanoukville against provincial authorities and port officials shows very clearly that the people do not trust the government to defend their interests..."

- Sam Rainsy Party statement

COMMENTARY by H.E. Sar Kheng, Acting Prime Minister

[The following is excerpted from a speech given by H.E. Sar Kheng, in his capacity as Acting Prime Minister, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Norwegian NGO Redd Barna on December 19, 1998]

"Rule of law is a basic principle of democracy. It is needed to assure a lasting effect of the work of the government and institutions to ensure freedom and the benefit of people, to ensure justice, prosperity and stability of society. We have to promote the formulation of basic law, to strengthen the law enforcement and respect for the law. Equality before the law must be achieved.

Nobody is above the law; there must be no impunity. It is paramount that the same laws apply for everyone in the country, without exceptions. In a country that abides by the rule of law, everybody is treated in the same way. No offenders can go free from punishment.

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The Cambodia News Digest is published weekly by the Cambodia Information Project of the NGO Forum. Unless otherwise noted, information is summarized from media reports. Materials included in the Digest do not necessarily reflect policies or opinions of the NGO Forum or its members. Editor: Bill Herod, Room 304, House 35, Street 178, Phnom Penh; phone: 855-23-360-119, fax: 855-23-723-242, mobile: 855-11-811-490, e-mail: bill@camnet.com.kh.