DEMOLITION of the Hotel Renakse by workers contracted by the municipality began Saturday, said hotel manager Kem Chanta. She has continually objected to claims by the ruling Cambodian People's Party that she lost her contractual right to preside over the hotel by failing to complete structural renovation. The hotel is covered by tarp and access is cut off, preventing independent observation of work there. Kem Chanta accuses the government of contradicting itself by disputing the building's age - which has surpassed 100 years - and requiring its demolition when the Culture Ministry has a policy of preserving buildings that date back more than a century.