Cambodia’s military adopts movement restriction to combat pandemic

PHNOM PENH, Mar 20, 2020, The Khmer Times. General Vong Pisen, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, yesterday imposed a movement restriction order in the military to prevent the possible transmission of the coronavirus among military personnel, The Khmer Times reported.

“To prevent [a COVID-19 outbreak], all military units must limit the number of meetings and avoid large gatherings. If absolutely necessary, a distance of at least 1.5 to two metres apart must be observed,” said Gen Pisen.

He noted all military commanders and heads of institutions under the jurisdiction of the RCAF’s General Command Headquarters must instruct their subordinates to follow the Health Ministry’s instructions.

“Military units, schools and training institutes must prohibit their officers from going outside the unit or compound unless called on for a special mission. Once they return, they must go through a health checkup,” said Gen Pisen.

He also called on ministry officials to jointly clamp down on fake news about the coronavirus situation in the Kingdom, which are spread on social media, saying the unverified information poses a “negative impact on society and the morale of the soldiers”.

“You must strengthen the spirit of the officers to prepare them as they perform their duties to combat COVID-19,” noted Gen Pisen.

GCH spokesman Major General Thong Solimo said as of yesterday, no Cambodian military personnel has been diagnosed of the virus but assured that Gen Pisen’s instructions will be followed by all military units, including the RCAF infantry, Royal Cambodian Air Force and the Royal Cambodian Army.

“We will also limit the number of military officers deployed for overseas missions [until the situation normalises],” he said.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday also instructed military officers and police officers returning from missions to observe necessary precautions and take a 14-day self-quarantine.

“All missions overseas must be postponed. If necessary, the missions must receive a go-signal from the ministry,” he said, adding that officers must practice “Sampeah,” a traditional way of greeting in Cambodia, instead of handshakes.

National Police spokesman Lieutenant General Chhay Kim Khoeun said yesterday National Police Commissioner General Neth Savoeun also educated police officers on how to prevent contracting and transmitting the virus.

He added the National Police have arrested several social media users who propagated misinformation regarding COVID-19 in the past few weeks although he refused to provide specific figures.

However, rights groups have criticised the arrests saying if authorities continue to apprehend Facebook users who have limited understanding of the real coronavirus situation, then efforts to stop the spread of fake news will still be unsuccessful.