Prime Minister HE announces Jan 8 that he won't step down from his position

until he's 90 years old as long as he continues winning the electorate. The PM has

already ruled for 28 years. The pledge would give HE, 54, another 36 years for

a potential total of 64, far surpassing the current longest-ruling head of government

Fidel Castro's 48 years.


Foreigners working or owning businesses in Cambodia must apply for work permits,

costing $100 per year, and undergo mandatory medical checkups, Ministry of Labor

officials say Jan 9.
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National Assembly President Heng Samrin asks Russia to cancel the $1.5 billion Cambodian

debt owed since the Cold War period during the annual meeting of the Asia Pacific

Parliament Forum in Russia, which ended Jan 28.


Former children's NGO worker Oeu Yoeum, 55, is handed a 15 year prison sentence Jan

30 for raping four girls in Pursat province. One of the girls was 6 years old when

she was first assaulted.


Khmer-language newspaper Voice of Khmer Youth prints Jan 31 a story alleging that

Cambodian ECCC officials, including judges, are paying 30% of their salaries to government

officials to secure their positions. Recent kick-back allegations highlight the difficulties

of introducing international legal standards to a country widely considered to be

systematically corrupt.



The Cambodian government must do more to help the more than 1.4 million children

estimated to be working, many for 50 cents a day or less, the World Bank says in

a Feb 7 report.


The Council of Ministers approves a draft law Feb 16 allowing private companies to

sell bonds, laying the foundation for a long anticipated stock market. After creating

a bond market, the next step toward a stock market would be for firms to begin issuing

stocks.


Pop singer Pov Panhapich, 23, is shot in the neck and waist Feb 23 on her way to

school, leaving her paralyzed and breathing with the aid of a respirator at a hospital.



Free Trade Union President Hy Vuthy is murdered Feb 24 at the Suntex Garment Factory.



Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema signs Feb 6 a 99-year lease for a 133 hectare area

around and including Boeung Kak Lake to a little-known private firm, creating the

prospect of evictions for thousands of local residents.



Prince Norodom Ranariddh is sentenced Mar 13 in absentia to 18 months in prison plus

$150,000 in compensation for allegedly pocketing funds during the sale of the former

Funcinpec headquarters while serving as the party's president.



Commune elections are held on April 1. Voter turnout in the nation's 1,621 communes

is only 65.4 percent, the lowest in any election since 1993. The ruling CPP captured

61 percent of the popular vote and ends up with control of 98.2 percent of the commune

councils.