By Rich Garella
Wow, that was fast.
We’ve only just completed the public TV version of our film Who Killed Chea
Vichea?, and already a group of Cambodian unions plans to show it. In
Cambodia, where it counts most. Their aim is to highlight the government’s
failure to conduct a real investigation of the 1999 murder of the Cambodian labor
leader.
By Greg Denham
I have worked in the law enforcement field for over twenty five years, and a
significant part of my work has been in the drug policy area. I have come to
the conclusion that harm reduction services, particularly needle and syringe
programs, are an essential component of a comprehensive strategy designed to
reduce drug related harm in communities.
This view, however, is not always shared openly by other police. Privately, while many
police officers accept that harm reduction services are important, their attitude
is more likely to condemn than condone.
The Cambodian government is attempting to coerce local NGOs to test an unproven medication on drug users, according to materials obtained by Asia Catalyst. Authorities have threatened to shut down NGOs that refuse to administer the drug, and arrest drug users who refuse to take the test.
“International experience has shown that nongovernmental organisations are critical to the fight against HIV/AIDS. But in practice, and despite the public promises of many world leaders, AIDS NGOs often face obstacles on the ground. In Cambodia, a proposed new law risks making it harder for these groups to do their work. NGOs need regulation, but not regulations so burdensome as to entangle them in bureaucracy and drive them underground – as is threatening to happen in other parts of Asia.”
Read the full text of our World AIDS Day op-ed in the Phnom Penh Post.
