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Vigil Dispersed as Third ‘Black Monday’ Ends
It wasn’t until the sun set on the third “Black Monday” on Monday that activists calling for the release of a group of jailed human rights officers again scuffled with state security guards, after the guards descended on a candlelight vigil being held in Phnom Penh’s Boeng Kak neighborhood. At about 6 p.m., dozens of security guards descended upon a group of about 30 activists as they began a ceremony calling for the release of four officers for local rights group Adhoc and an election official jailed for their alleged role in bribing a woman involved in a sex scandal.
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NEC seeks regular meetings to dispel bias suspicions
Cambodia’s election body has called for regular meetings with political parties, journalists and civil society organisations (CSOs) in a bid to stave off suspicions of bias as two of its non-CPP aligned officials face prosecution. National Election Committee (NEC) spokesperson Hang Puthea, the independent member of the bipartisan body, requested NEC President Sik Bun Hok meet fortnightly with the groups.
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Senator says he was harassed during stop
Sam Rainsy Party Senator Sor Chandet on Thursday filed a complaint to the Senate president over an incident on May 10 in which he was halted for two hours by some 30 armed authorities over their suspicion of his Senate licence plate. In a May 19 letter to the senate president, Chandet claims his parliamentary immunity and human rights were violated.
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Rights Group Warned Over ‘Political Prisoners’ Page
Justice Ministry officials have warned human rights group Licadho that its new webpage documenting Cambodia’s “political prisoners” could be in contravention of the NGO law, arguing that the page violates a provision requiring political neutrality.
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Black Monday Posts May Draw Police Action
Those wishing to post about the Black Monday campaign online will now need authorization from the government to do so, according to soon-to-be-retired Interior Ministry spokesman General Khieu Sopheak. Meanwhile, the defense attorney for four Adhoc officials submitted a bail request for his clients after a previous request was denied.
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H&M's suppliers guilty of labour rights abuses, report alleges
A new report has alleged labour rights abuses at Cambodian supplier factories for apparel giant H&M, as more than 500 garment workers gathered in Phnom Penh yesterday to air some of the same concerns over working conditions during a workers’ forum. An independent investigation by Asia Floor Wage Alliance, which interviewed 201 workers at 12 H&M supplier companies in Phnom Penh and the surrounding areas, found that a large number of workers at nine of the factories were improperly employed on fixed-duration contracts, while many were forced to work long overtime hours and threatened with termination if they became pregnant.
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‘Black Monday’ plans mixed following arrests
Supporters of the “Black Monday” campaign are expected to keep a low profile today following two weeks of arrests and threats by the government, though activists yesterday vowed the movement would continue online. For the second week in a row, groups involved in the campaign to free five current and former human rights workers, said to be “political prisoners”, have opted not to stage public protests after government and military officials warned of more arrests.
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Cham Muslims Protest Government’s Planned Road Beside Mosque
About 200 Cham Muslims turned out to the Al-Serkal Mosque near the old Boeng Kak lake in Phnom Penh on Friday to protest a controversial road that the government plans to build through the mosque’s land. The planned road has already led to a defamation lawsuit being filed by Labor Ministry Secretary of State Othsman Hassan against Ahmad Yahya—his counterpart in the Social Affairs Ministry—after Mr. Yahya said Mr. Hassan had benefitted from a land-swap for its construction.
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Activists Plan Third ‘Black Monday’ Rally
A small group of activists say they will carry the so-called “Black Monday” protest into its third week today in the face of mounting efforts by the government to shut down the campaign. More than a dozen people have been arrested and released by police since protesters dressed in black shirts first gathered outside of Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison on May 9 to demand the release of four human rights officers and an election official.
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Government Says Permission Needed for Online ‘Black Monday’ Protests
With at least one prominent activist announcing that he would retreat from the streets to the perceived safety of the internet to support this coming week’s “Black Monday” campaign, a senior government official warned on Friday that even in cyberspace Cambodians must ask for permission to demonstrate.
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If Rong Chhun Goes, CPP Can Veto Any New NEC Member
Any appointments to the National Election Committee (NEC) to replace CNRP-appointed Rong Chhun, who now faces a criminal trial for “intentional violence,” would have to be approved by the ruling CPP under current laws, a lawmaker said on Thursday.
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CPP Newspaper Pens Article on Piseth Pilika
A CPP-aligned newspaper on Wednesday published and then quickly deleted an online article asking why there had never been arrests in the murders of starlets including Piseth Pilika—an alleged mistress of Prime Minister Hun Sen who a report in 1999 claimed was killed on his wife’s orders. The Kampuchea Thmey Daily, which is directed by Mr. Hun Sen’s daughter, Hun Mana, according to a local media watchdog, posted the scathing article at the top of its website with a photo of Piseth Pilika at 11:40 a.m. but deleted it by 11:49 a.m.
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More Capitol Tours Protests in Pipeline
More than 20 former drivers from the Capitol Tours Bus Company gathered in front of the company’s head office in Phnom Penh’s 7 Makara district yesterday to demand Capitol Tours reinstate 45 drivers who were fired last year. More protesters are expected to gather today.
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New summons for Sokha as local chief questioned
Acting opposition leader Kem Sokha has been issued a summons yet again to answer questions over an alleged prostitution case involving hairdresser Khom Chandaraty after he failed to appear before the court on Tuesday. In a related case stemming from the same scandal, Sam Rainsy Party member Seang Chet, a commune chief in Kampong Cham, yesterday was in court for a second time to answer questions on the alleged bribery of Chandaraty’s family.
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US Ambassador Urges Fair Enforcement of Trade Law
The US Ambassador to Cambodia has urged the Minister of Labor to enforce the Union Law approved in April, to ensure equality for all parties free from partisanship. The comments were made yesterday during a meeting between the two officials, with minister Ith Sam Heng telling the media his meeting with ambassador William Heidt included discussions on how the law can be implemented equally between all unions.
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Black Monday Intimidation Moves Beyond Phnom Penh
The government’s crackdown on activists calling for the release of political prisoners has spread outside of the capital as Preah Vihear provincial authorities on Wednesday warned representatives of 10 NGOs to cease holding “Black Monday” protests or face repercussions. The warnings came after four villagers were called for questioning in Mondolkiri province last week after a picture was posted to a community Facebook page of villagers holding banners calling for the release of four recently jailed rights activists and an elections official.
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RCAF chief offers more ‘revolution’ warnings
Deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Kun Kim yesterday reminded troops in the country’s east to remain vigilant against any group’s plotting a “colour revolution” to topple the government, according to an official. As the relationship between the Kingdom’s two main political parties has deteriorated in recent months, government and military officials have increasingly warned of potential “instability” and vowed to stamp out any suggestion of a “colour revolution” – the largely nonviolent popular movements that have toppled regimes in Eastern Europe.
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CNRP’s Elections Appointee to Go on Trial
One of the opposition’s four appointees to the board of the National Election Committee (NEC) will be put on trial over criminal charges of “intentional violence,” according to a letter obtained on Wednesday. Rong Chhun, a union leader, was selected by the CNRP to become one of the nine board members of the election body after its establishment in April 2015.
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Kampong Speu families offered redress in Phnom Penh Sugar dispute
Following a years-long campaign by land rights activists and NGOs, Phnom Penh Sugar has finally offered compensation to families displaced by its Kampong Speu sugar plantation, although not everyone is impressed. Company spokesman Sim Sitha said yesterday that 364 families had on Monday been offered compensation packages of between $500 and $10,000 on the basis of a fact-finding investigation led by Phnom Penh Sugar, whose plantation is part of a 9,000-hectare economic land concession granted to CPP Senator Ly Yong Phat in 2010.
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NEC Official to Appear in Court over Deadly Protests
National Election Committee (NEC) official Rong Chhun is set to appear before the Phnom Penh Municipal Court over allegations of incitement during the deadly protests at Canadia Industrial Zone that led to police opening fire on protesters, killing four, in 2014. According to a letter from investigative judge San Sophat last month, Mr. Chhun’s case was sent for a hearing after he was questioned in 2014, however no date had been set for the hearing.
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