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Cambodia faces fresh invasion—from Thai business
PHNOM PENH: Just a few years after Vietnamese troops left Cambodia, a new invasion force of Thal investors and speculators is threatening the country's fragile bid for independence. writes IPS.
A diplomat in Phnom Penh described It as "Thailand colonising Cambodia with money” as the United Nations tries to steer the country towards free elections next May.
The UN-sponsored peace agreement signed in Parts last year by Ine four rival Cambodian factions triggered a flood of foreign investors into the country. Thailand, which shares a long kind border with Cambodia, has raced ahead of its competitors Over 80 Thal companies have been granted licences to operate while France, the former colonial power in Cambodia, has lagged far behind in second place.
The lucrative Bangkok Phnom Penh air link is controlled by two Thal airlines. In the hotel, aviation. banking, gem mining and logging industries. Bangkok Is exerting a dominating influence over the post-peace settlement Cambodia.
Some Cambodian officials resent how their country is being sold' to Its neighbour. "Before ft was Vietnamese domination, now ft is the other big neighbour,” said an adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Cambodian history has seen a succession of invasions by both Vietnam and Thailand.
The Siam Commercial Bank launched a Joint venture with the Cambodian National Bank last year that allowed Thals access to confidential details of Cambodian riels and reserves. Now several officials of the Cambodian Bank feci their Thal partners have cheated them on foreign currency dealings, taking advantage of their lack of expertise tn international banking.
A Thai Journalist based In Bangkok agreed Thal bankers had been "shortchanging" their Cambodian partners. But. he added, "It’s not only In banking that Thai businessmen have been pulling a fast one."
Bangkok speculators have also gobbled up a huge chunk of real estate in Phnom Penh In anticipation of the arrival of UN peacekeeping forces, reaping huge profits. Renovated French villas now fetch over 2,500 US dollar a month and a small plot of land can be sold for 150,000 US dollar. The average citydweller cams only 12,000 riels a month, less than 10 US dollar.
Cambodia, once crippled by a Cold War embargo. is now at the mercy of market forces. "Some people have the wrong Idea that (a market economy) is some kind of economic pill that cures everything, but this is wrong." said Hun Sen adviser Khicu Kanhartth. "Economic liberalisation also causes headaches, and it is easy for foreign Investors to take advantage of a country that has been devastated by war."
Development aid NGO's (non-governmental
organisations) here are alarmed by tne galloping inflation and the economic dislocation caused by the 22.000 UN troops and officials now in Cambodia.
"A few Cambodians are getting rich from the UN." said Brian Veal of the Catholic aid group CIDSE. "But the majority are worse off with the prices of basic commodities leaping up 100 per cent compared to six months ago before the UN's arrival."
Another sign of Thailand’s growing domination Is the spread of the Thal currency, with the stable baht pushing out the Cambodian ric) as the preferred trading currency In many markets.
Bangkok companies with close links to the That military have also pounced on gem mining and logging industries. Some Thal businessmen deal with the Phnom Penh government, but others have signed contracts with opposition groups. Including the Khmer Rouge.
Twenty Thal firms are using sluice mining techniques in Khmer Rouge-controlled Paflln to extract rubies, causing heavy silting of the Tone! Sap Lake. a vast resource for freshwater, fish.
The Thal military has built new roads Inside Khmer Rouge zones to facilitate logging. New border crossing points have been opened by the Thal government, providing even more access routes for loggers.
A special report by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) and the recent Earth Summit tn Brazil warns of an Impending disaster unless there is an "environmental ceasefire" pending the creation of an effective environmental conservation plan.
The UN Transitional Authority In Cambodia (UNTAC) has said it may oversee the pre-election fund-raising activities of Cambodian factions to curb environmental destruction.
But so far there has been little sustained international criticism of Thailand's all-out assault on Cambodia’s natural resources, which could inflict far more permanent damage than the 1979 Vietnamese invasion, which ousted the Pol Pot regime.
Observers say the Thal stronghold over the Cambodian economy Is undermining the country s capacity to attain self-determination and independence guaranteed by the Paris peace accord.
Analyst Raoul Jennar. an NGO consultant, warns that while the Khmer Rouge Incite the people to hate the Vietnamese settlers in Cambodia, the real external threat comes not from the east (Vietnam) but from the west (Thailand).
"With no regard for the sovereignty of Cambodia, with no respect for the fragility of men and structures born from tragedy, Thailand has begun a real colonisation of Cambodia". Jennar adds.