Americans Being Told to Avoid Cambodia

Asia

Cambodia: Following a violent change of government, the State Department posted a warning on Cambodia, advising Americans not to travel there and urging those already in the country to leave. Nonessential U.S. Embassy staff and dependents of embassy employees were ordered out.

Two dozen Oklahoma college students who had traveled to Cambodia to teach English were evacuated to Thailand. The temple complex at Angkor Wat, a major tourist magnet, was deserted. In Phnom Penh, the capital, a curfew was lifted, but Americans were nonetheless urged to remain home at night and “exercise extreme caution” until the situation stabilizes.

Macao: After Hong Kong’s transition to Chinese rule, attention is being focused on the nearby Portuguese territory of Macao, where street violence has increased recently and 13 people have been killed this year. Most of the violence has been in areas near the casinos during the early morning hours and appears to be related to organized crime.

The U.S. Navy has declared Macao off limits to its personnel. Counterfeiting of brand-name items is a booming industry in Macao, and the State Department reminds American travelers that importing counterfeit watches, CDs, computer software and clothing into the United States is illegal. Crime in Macao rose 20% in 1995 and a further 19% last year. The territory is scheduled to revert to China in 1999.

South America

Argentina: An American missionary was in a coma after being shot in the head by a robber in a Buenos Aires suburb. The Utah man and another Mormon missionary were returning to their apartment in the town of Florencio Varela when the attack occurred. Crime in Buenos Aires shot up more than 40% in the 1994-’96 period, according to a police report.

The U.S. Embassy says some Americans attempting to report thefts to the Buenos Aires police have found no English-speaking officers available. In some cases, local officials advise them to hire professional translators to deal with the police.

Judges and policemen interviewed by a Buenos Aires newspaper acknowledged that there are entire neighborhoods that police seldom enter, including one area west of downtown known as “Fort Apache.” According to a poll published in May, one in four residents of Buenos Aires reported having been robbed or mugged in the past six months.

Worldwide

With college students and other Americans vacationing abroad this summer, the State Department reminds travelers that more than 2,000 Americans are arrested in other countries each year, and about half that number are held on charges of using or possessing drugs. Americans have been arrested for possessing as little as a third of an ounce of marijuana.

It is not uncommon to spend months or even years in pretrial detention, only to be sentenced to lengthy imprisonment without parole in a foreign jail--where conditions are frequently what the U.S. government describes as “substandard.”

Be wary of anyone who asks you to carry a package or drive a car across a border. If your doctor has prescribed medicine that contains a narcotic, carry a doctor’s certificate attesting to that fact, and keep all medication in original and labeled containers.

Briefly . . .

Bahamas: The U.S. Embassy in Nassau says it has learned that “local criminal elements may be planning unspecified violence against U.S. interests in the Bahamas.” The State Department advises Americans to take extra care in security matters, but points out that no one is being urged to leave. . . . The potential for political violence exists in the Basque region of northern Spain throughout the summer. Americans traveling in the larger cities, particularly San Sebastian, should try to avoid demonstrations or any large public gatherings. . . . Italy: The government announced plans to send troops to Naples in a crackdown on warring gangs after a weekend of shootouts that killed a mobster and wounded three passersby, one of them an 8-year-old girl. . . . Guatemala: A vacationing Briton was stabbed to death during an apparent robbery as he returned to his hotel in Guatemala City. . . . Belgium: An American businessman was injured when he and his wife were attacked and robbed as they walked to a railway station late in the evening in Brussels. The three assailants stole a laptop computer, a suitcase and a wallet. . . . Peru: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has upgraded its rating of Peru’s aviation regulations from “conditional” to “acceptable,” allowing that country’s airlines to operate freely to and from the United States.

Hot spots: Citing political violence, the State Department has added Cambodia (see above) to its list of places Americans are cautioned to avoid. Others on the travel-warning list are Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Colombia, Congo (formerly Zaire), Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan.

The U.S. State Department offers recorded travel warnings and advisories at (202) 647-5225; the fax line is (202) 647-3000.

Wright is a former assistant foreign editor at The Times. His column appears monthly.