Thread: Shooting Death of Popular Activist Roils Cambodia

Cambodian civil society expressed shock on Sunday at the shooting death of an activist and critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government, a killing that came amid months of political tensions as the country faces elections next year.

Kem Ley, 46, researcher and leader of the advocacy group Khmer for Khmer was shot two times in a store at a gas station in the capital Phnom Penh, police said a statement.

Reuters news agency quoted Eng Hy, a spokesman for the National Military Police, as saying “Kem Ley was shot dead” and the agency quoted a Cambodian Interior Ministry statement as saying a 38-year old suspect has been arrested, and has admitted to killing Kem Ley in a dispute over money.

Hun Sen took to social media to condemn the slaying and order an investigation.

"I pay my condolences over the death of Kem Ley, who was shot by a gunman," Hun Sen said on his Facebook page. "I condemn this brutal act.

Ou Virak, founder of the NGO “Future Forum,” said Cambodia has lost “a hero in the hearts of all Khmer. “

“We lost a good human being who has participated in social and political activities to push Cambodia to move forward,” he told RFA’s Khmer Service.

An official of the domestic human rights group LICADHO, Am Sam Ath, told RFA that his and other watchdog groups demand that the government handle the investigation carefully.

“We of civil society insist that authorities investigate the motive of this shooting death properly to dispel suspicion that the killing of Kem Ley is political,” he said.


Official account doubted

The executive director of the Cambodian Commission on Human Rights, Chak Sopheap, called on civil society to step up activism an not be cowed by the killing of Kem Ley.

“I hope that all the citizens will continue participating in social-political activities despite what has happened,” she said. “It is only our participation to ensure that Cambodia can develop human rights and democracy.”

Political tension between long-ruling strongman Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) has been intensifying this year as the parties prepare to contest local elections in 2017 and a general election in 2018.

Reuters quoted Kem Ley's pregnant wife, Pou Rachana, as saying “I don't know what happened, somebody just called me and said that he's shot," Pou Rachana told Reuters.

Thousands of supporters followed a procession taking Kem Ley’s body to a Buddhist pagoda in Phnom Penh, where his coffin was covered with flowers and fruit.

University student Kem Kim from Kampong Cham province told RFA he did not accept the police account of the killing.

“I want to find justice for him and find the real murderer. I do not believe that he owed other people money. I don’t believe it,” he said as he fought back tears.

A widely quoted analyst, Kem Ley has appeared on a RFA Khmer Service call-in show to discuss a report by the London-based NGO Global Witness documenting how Hun Sen and his family had amassed a $200 million fortune. The Hun family dismissed the report.

Shooting Death of Popular Activist Roils Cambodia

Slaying of Government Critic in Cambodia Raises Questions

Family members and local villagers are raising questions about the investigation into Sunday’s slaying of outspoken government critic Kem Ley as they cast doubt about the suspected killer’s identity and the motive alleged for the killing.

According to authorities, Kem Ley was shot while sitting alone inside the Caltex gas station at the intersection of Monivong and Mao Zedong boulevards in Phnom Penh, where he liked to have coffee and talk with friends. The 46-year-old was attacked execution-style, shot once behind his left ear and once under his left arm.

While Cambodian police have identified the suspected killer as Chuop Samlap, the alleged culprit’s family and Buddhist monks told RFA’s Khmer Service that the man is actually a former soldier and an ex-monk named Oeuth Ang.

Hoeum Horth, 45, who is married to the suspect, said she recognized him when she saw a Facebook post with his picture.

They had been married for only about two months when Oeuth Ang, 43, left the Norkor Pheas 2 village, in Siem Reap province’s Angkor Chum district on a trip after they had a falling out because he gambled away a new motorbike.

“He told me that he was going to Phnom Penh,” she told RFA. “I didn’t ask him much about his trip because I was angry with him. After we got married, I bought a new motorbike for him that he lost gambling. He had no money when he went to Phnom Penh.”

The suspect’s 64-year-old mother, Ek Tap, who lives in Tunle Sar village, which is about three miles from the village where Oeuth Ang lived, said she recognized a photo of the suspect she saw on TV as her eldest son.

Ek Tap told RFA that Chuop Samlap, which means “Meet to Kill” in Khmer, was likely an alias he gave police. Ek Tap said her son had a job as an environmental conservation worker for the government, but that he had been a soldier in his youth.

“He used to be a soldier in Angkor Chum district when he was very young,” she said. “I was shocked to see him like that as he was never involved in such bad activity. Yesterday I saw him on TV. I recognized him as Oeuth Ang.”

Ek Tap told RFA that her son had been a soldier from his early teens until 1998, but had done a lot of jobs after that, including working in Thailand.

Failed monk

Villagers and monastic leaders say Oeuth Young tried to become a Buddhist monk, but he wasn’t cut out for the monastic life.

Soeum Suon, the head monk at Prasath Thnung pagoda in Saom commune, told RFA he ordained Oeuth Ang as a Buddhist monk in 2012, but kicked him out after a year for his bad behavior.

“When I reprimanded him for his poor discipline, he threatened to shoot me,” the monk said. “When he was a monk he bragged about his work as a soldier. He is illiterate. I decided to kick him out of the pagoda in 2013.”

Saom Samorn of Angkor Chum district told RFA he’d also ordained Oeuth Ang, but that Oeuth Ang didn’t clean up his act.

“Oeuth Ang used to threaten that anyone who caused him trouble would be killed with a gun that he had purchased,” the monk said. “I assume that he has had that gun since back when he was a monk.”

Motive questioned

While villagers described Oeuth Ang as a cruel man who liked to drink heavily and chase women and was capable of carrying out the killing, they questioned his alleged motive.

Police have said that the murderer killed Kem Ley over a $3,000 debt, but that makes little sense, say the villagers and his wife.

Kem Ley’s wife Bo Rachana challenged the suspect’s confession, calling it an attempt to make the popular researcher and leader of the advocacy group Khmer for Khmer look bad.

“He never borrowed from anyone, not even 100 riels (U.S. $ 0.03),” she told RFA. “He wouldn’t dare to ask people to lend him money. He even helped provide free consultation to some poor NGOs. He was very gentle, polite and kind person. He liked helping people.”

Oeuth Ang was brought to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday under heavy guard and was questioned for more than an hour. Reporters were kept away, but Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesperson Ly Sophanna said he would be questioned again on July 12.

A call for transparency

Distrust with the police runs deep in Cambodia where they often are seen as adding and abetting the brutality that has marked Prime Minister Hun Sen’s more than 30 years heading the country.

Relatives and local people aren’t the only ones with questions. Eng Chhai Eang, a Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) senior official, said the authorities must show the public security footage in and around the Star Mart, where Kem Ley was killed.

“If the Cambodian authorities want to resolve public doubt and suspicion, they need to show the captured video footage to the public so that we are satisfied,” Eng Chhai Eang said. “Please try not to point your fingers at others. You have to be accountable and show your competency in prosecuting criminals.”

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday ordered a thorough investigation into the killing and announced a large-scale campaign to strengthen security and social order in the aftermath of Kem Ley’s murder.

“This is a loss. It badly affects the reputation of the government,” he said. “Who will benefit from such a thing when the government is talking about peace and security?”

Kem Ley’s death comes at a time of political uncertainty for Cambodia with opposition CNRP leader Sam Rainsy in self-imposed exile and facing defamation charges.

Other opposition leaders have been tossed in jail and the acting head of the CNRP has been holed up in party headquarters since heavily armed police attempted to arrest him in connection with cases related to an alleged affair.

Political tension

Public killings of Hun Sen’s critics have regularly occurred during the first 15 years of his rule but the killings have diminished over the years. Political tension between Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party and the CNRP has been intensifying this year, however, as the parties prepare to contest local elections in 2017 and a general election in 2018.

Just days before he was killed, Kem Ley had appeared on an RFA Khmer Service call-in show to discuss a report by the London-based NGO Global Witness documenting how Hun Sen and his family have amassed a $200 million fortune. The Hun family has dismissed the report.

The U.S. State Department expressed concern over the killing. RFA is funded by the U.S. government

“We are deeply saddened and concerned by reports of the tragic killing of prominent Cambodian political commentator Dr. Kem Ley. We offer our sincere and profound condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. “We are following developments in this case closely, noting the Cambodian government's call for an investigation, and urge that authorities ensure this process be thorough and impartial.”

Slaying of Government Critic in Cambodia Raises Questions

‘I Am Safer Behind Bars,’ Cambodian Opposition Lawmaker Says

While they remain unbowed by the execution-style slaying of government critic Kem Ley, opponents of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen say they could easily suffer the same fate as the popular activist.

Kem Ley was shot twice at point blank range on Sunday while sitting alone inside a Caltex gas station at the intersection of Monivong and Mao Zedong boulevards in Phnom Penh, where he liked to have coffee and talk with friends.

“Paradoxically, I am safer behind bars,” opposition party lawmaker Um Sam An told RFA’s Khmer Service. “If I were outside of the prison, I would have the same fate as that of Kem Ley, who was gunned down because he had the guts to criticize the government and the Hun family members based on the Global Witness report.”

Just days before he was killed, Kem Ley had appeared on an RFA Khmer Service call-in show to discuss a report by the London-based NGO Global Witness that documented how Hun Sen and his family have amassed a fortune in excess of $200 million. The Hun family has dismissed the report.

Um Sam An was jailed in April after Hun Sen ordered police to arrest anyone accusing the government of using “fake” maps to cede national territory to neighboring Vietnam. The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) lawmaker made his remarks as he was being led away from an appearance at the Appeals Court in Phnom Penh.

His arrest and charges came even though lawmakers are guaranteed immunity by Cambodia’s constitution unless two-thirds of the National Assembly vote to approve of the arrest. There is a loophole in the law, however, that allows lawmakers to be arrested if they are caught in the act of committing a crime.

His case has been widely seen as another instance of the persecution of the political opposition by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).


Border criticism

Um Sam An said Kem Ley had also criticized the government over the Vietnam border issue--seen as a weak spot for Hun Sen, who was installed by Hanoi three decades ago while Cambodia was embroiled in a civil war.

“He also dared to give his criticism on the border issues,” he said. “Those who allow our land to be seized remain at large while we who protest the loss of the land are jailed.”

While police have a suspect in custody, authorities first reported his name as Chuop Samlap, which means “Meet to Kill” in Khmer, but later said he was an ex-Buddhist monk named Oeuth Ang.

Authorities say the suspect told them he killed Kem Ley over a $3,000 debt, a story that has been challenged by the suspect’s wife and by family members and people who knew the slain researcher and leader of the advocacy group Khmer for Khmer.

On Monday, 70 Cambodian civil society organizations condemned the murder and demanded “a prompt, independent and thorough investigation, including a forensic examination by an independent and expert pathologist, so that Kem Ley and his family can receive justice.”


‘The crime was orchestrated’

But Buntenh, head of the Buddhism for Peace Organization, told RFA’s Khmer Service he was convinced “the crime was orchestrated.”

He told RFA that he met Kem Ley just days before his death to discuss the challenges they faced, and the normally optimistic analyst told him: “Now the time has come. We will not be spared. They are going to kill us in the very near future.”

But Buntenh added: “The name of the suspect itself tells it all. Chuop Samlap means ‘meet to kill.’ Let’s not just prosecute him. Let’s cast a wider net to hold those who hired him accountable as well.”

After being questioned from about 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Kem Ley’s suspected killer, who has no legal representation, remains in police custody. Charges are expected to be filed on Wednesday, said Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesperson Ly Sophanna.


Artificial killer?

While critics are questioning the government’s actions, a Ministry of Interior spokesman attempted to dissuade people from jumping to conclusions, saying authorities have retrieved security cameras from the crime scene.

“We have seized the cameras now. It’s not true that the memory in the cameras is blank,” said ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak. “Please try not to confuse the public with rumors. Otherwise people will think he is an artificial killer.”

“Artificial killer” is term used in Cambodia for a scapegoat in a high-profile killing. The term become popular after the death of Chea Vichea, another government critic who led the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia. He was gunned down in 2004 at a newsstand in Phnom Penh.

?I Am Safer Behind Bars,? Cambodian Opposition Lawmaker Says

Wife of Alleged Cambodian Killer 'Shocked' by Accusations

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA—
The man who allegedly shot dead a Cambodian government critic over what he claimed was a money dispute is too poor to have loaned the victim $3,000, his wife said Tuesday.

"We don't have $3,000 at home. We just have enough for a hand-to-mouth existence,'' Hoeum Huth, who makes a living selling pork on her bicycle, said in a telephone interview from her village in northwestern Siem Reap province.

Her husband, Oeut Ang, has been in custody in Phnom Penh since Sunday, when he allegedly shot to death Kem Ley, a prominent political analyst and government critic. After he was caught by police in a chase, Oeut Ang said during interrogation that Kem Ley had borrowed $3,000 from him, and that he killed him because he had failed to return the money.

However, opposition parties and Global Witness, a British activist group about whose work Kem Ley occasionally made radio commentaries, have suggested a political conspiracy behind the killing.

Asked if she believes that her husband was hired by someone to kill Kem Ley, Hoeum Huth replied: "I don't know about this. I am very perplexed as to why he murdered Kem Ley because I have never heard him says that Kem Ley owed him money.''

"I was shocked when I saw his picture on TV, and they said he was the killer,'' Hoeum Huth, 45, said.

She said she married Oeut Ang on May 7 after the match was arranged by his mother. She said her husband was a former Khmer Rouge soldier, a former government soldier, a monk for three years and a farm worker in Thailand before joining a local environment nongovernmental organization.

She described Oeut Ang as a good husband who never displayed any violence.

"During these two months of our living as husband and wife, he never provoked any problem or used violence against me,'' she said. "He is a quiet man and normally if he's not going to work he stays at home and helps me with housework.''

Oeut Ang was brought to a Phnom Penh court on Tuesday, but the media were kept out. It was not immediately clear whether he had been formally charged.

Kem Ley's body is being kept at a Buddhist temple until his funeral on July 19 to allow his admirers and friends to pay their respects.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, often a target of Kem Ley's criticism, has promised a thorough investigation into the killing, which came at a time of political tension that began last year with legal and other pressures by the government on the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party.

Kem Ley was widely known because he was frequently heard on the popular Cambodian-language services of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, U.S. government-funded services that are among the few independent news sources in Cambodia. He was also frequently quoted in the country's handful of independent newspapers.

One of his most recent commentaries was about a report issued last week by the London-based research and advocacy group Global Witness that alleged that Hun Sen and his family have enriched themselves and kept power through corruption.

Kem Ley is the most prominent Cambodian government critic to be killed since trade union leader Chea Vichea in 2004.

Wife of Alleged Cambodian Killer 'Shocked' by Accusations

Millions of Cambodians Join Kem Ley Funeral Procession

Millions of mourners lined Cambodia’s highways to pay respects to popular government critic Kem Ley on Sunday, two weeks after his murder shocked the nation and underscored simmering political tensions.

Two million people turned out to see the flower-covered glass coffin of Kem Ley taken from Watt Bodhiyaram in the capital Phnom Penh to his home village in the southwestern province of Takeo.

Mourners from all walks of life and many parts of the country joined in the funeral procession, some traveling the entire 78 km (50 miles) from the capital to Takeo. Others stood on both sides of the road as the funeral procession passed, sharing supplying food, fruits and water to marching mourners.

Kem Ley, 46, who will be buried on Monday, was also honored in large gatherings across the nation on Sunday, two weeks after he was shot dead at a gas station convenience store where he was having coffee.

“The authorities must launch a full investigation with the participation of independent experts participate to reveal the truth,” said Eng Chay Eang, a senior official of the opposition Cambodia National Renewal Party (CNRP), who joined the funeral procession.

A Cambodian court charged a former soldier named Oueth Ang with premeditated murder on July 13 for the execution-style killing of Kem Ley. Authorities have said that Kem Ley was killed over an outstanding $3,000 debt to Oueth Ang, but many in Cambodia question that explanation.

Prime Minister Hun Sen did not make any statement on Kem Ley’ funeral. But a spokesman from his ruling Cambodian People’s Party expressed regret at the loss a prominent scholar and intellectual whose policy suggestions he said the CPP had adopted.

“We will make efforts to encourage the authorities to investigate the offender. We hope that Dr. Kem Ley’s soul will rest in peace,” said CPP spokesman Sok Eysan.

Cambodia’s Royal Palace also honored Kem Ley, calling him a “hero of expressing opinions with Golden Words, providing insight on society through analysis.”

Political tension between long-ruling strongman Hun Sen’s CPP and the CNRP has been intensifying this year as the parties prepare to contest local elections in 2017 and a general election in 2018.

About a dozen opposition party members, including lawmakers Hong Sok Hour and Um Sam An, are jailed in the country’s Prey Sar prison on various charges.

CNRP leader Sam Rainsy is in exile, and acting leader Kem Sokha has been holed up in party headquarters since heavily-armed police attempted to arrest him in May for ignoring court orders to appear as a witness in a pair of defamation cases related to his alleged affair with a hairdresser.

Asked about the prospect of restarting dialogue between the parties, the CNRP’s Eng Chhay Eang said his party is “the victim as they have arrested and put our activists in jail. They have banned our leader from returning to the country and our other leader has not been able to do any activity.”

CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said negotiations would resume after court procedures are completed on the opposition cases. He called on the CNRP, which believes its members are being jailed to discredit the party before elections, to end its boycott of the national assembly.

Millions of Cambodians Join Kem Ley Funeral Procession

In Cambodia Friends of Kem Ley Fear for Their Safety

Cambodians with close ties to slain pundit Kem Ley are fleeing the country or going into hiding as they fear for their personal safety following the popular gadfly’s death and funeral, RFA’s Khmer Service has learned.

Chum Huor and Chum Huot, twin brothers and environmental activists who were close to Kem Ley, left Cambodia a few days after the killing and after they posted criticisms about the murder investigation on their Facebook pages and gave accounts of the slaying to the U.S. embassy.

The twins were granted refugee status by the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights so they could move to another country. Exactly where is unclear.

They were granted refugee status with the assistance from the U.S.-based International Khmer Assembly (IKARE), IKARE Director Kosol Sek told RFA on Wednesday.

“The reasons IKARE helped these two environmental activists, is because the organization wanted them to continue the numerous works left behind by Dr. Kem Ley,” Kosol Sek said. IKARE is located in Minnesota where many expatriate Cambodians live.

The Chum twins aren’t the only Cambodians with ties to Kem Ley who fled. Many people who served on Kem Ley’s funeral commission have left the country or gone into hiding, among them Buddhist monk But Buntenh, president of the Independent Monk Network for Social Justice RFA, sources tell RFA.

Kem Ley was shot dead on July 10 in Phnom Penh and buried in Takeo Monday after a weekend funeral procession that drew throngs of mourners and well-wishers.

Fear of reprisal

Buddhist monk But Buntenh, president of the Independent Monk Network for Social Justice and a member of the Kem Ley funeral commission, recently told RFA that he feared for his safety after authorities went to his home village searching for his identification documents.

“We’re very concerned that they will cause trouble for him in the same way they did to Dr. Kem Ley,” his father But Sdeung told RFA. “I am deeply concerned about that, and I would like to appeal to the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights to do whatever they can to protect the safety of all members of our family.”

A civil society official, who was also a member of Kem Ley’s funeral committee, said the authorities must take measures to protect them while some individuals have been threatened.

“Dr. Kem Ley’s funeral commission has been threatened since the delay of Kem Ley’s funeral procession and his burial,” said Moeun Tola, executive director of the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights and Labor (CENTRAL).

There were discussions about delaying Kem Ley’s funeral procession from Phonm Penh to his hometown in Takeo province to allow more mourners to pay their respects. In the end, the funeral procession went ahead on Sunday and hundreds of thousands of Cambodians jammed the streets to take part.

“The authorities must be responsible to take measures to protect the citizens and the members of Dr. Kem Ley’s funeral commission who have been threatened,” Moeun Tola said. “The authorities were not happy with the delay of the funeral, and the threats to the funeral commission bring more suspicion on the government.”

Cheang Sokha, executive director of the Youth Resource Development Program (YRDP), wondered what threat the funeral posed.

“What trouble does Dr. Kem Ley’s funeral cause to society?” he told RFA. “[There] should be a discussion for a solution. If there is any threat, it would not benefit society.”

Attempts to contact officials with the Ministry of the Interior and the National Police Commissariat went unreturned.

Just days before Kem Ley was gunned down, he’d discussed on RFA a report by the British NGO Global Witness detailing the extent of the Hun Sen family’s wealth.

A Cambodian court charged a former soldier named Oeuth Ang with premeditated murder for the execution-style killing. Authorities have said that Kem Ley was killed over an outstanding $3,000 debt to Oueth Ang, who gave his name as Chuob Samlab, a Khmer name meaning “meet to kill.”

“In such cases the authorities have always failed to find the real perpetrators. Scapegoats are always hired or threatened to cover up their mess,” Sam Rainsy said in a recent appearance on RFA’s Special Discussion Show. “Only those who have the highest authority would be the ones who ordered such killings.”

A worry for Hun Sen

While the killing appears to have stoked fear in people close to Kem Ley, Elizabeth Becker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former correspondent for The New York Times in Cambodia and Author of “When the War Was Over, A Modern History of Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge,” said Hun Sen also appeared to be unnerved by the public’s reaction.

“Immediately everyone in the country presumed this was a murder ordered by the government of Hun Sen,” she said at the Heritage Foundation in Washington on Tuesday. “Cambodians of all ages and situations immediately gathered in the city of Phnom Penh.”

When the outpouring of support for Kem Ley failed to blow over, Hun Sen took more threatening action, she explained.

“They went to pay homage to the body, and by Sunday the government was so worried about a popular uprising that the government ordered tanks into the capitol and ordered the military and police in the streets, shut down gas stations and ordered all the TV stations not to cover the event,” she said.

“Yet hundreds of thousands of Cambodians defied their government’s bullying threats and marched in the funeral parade. They were mourning not just the loss of Kem Ley, the leader, but of the democracy that he championed,” Becker added.

Defense Ministry spokesman Chhum Sucheat told the Cambodia Daily on that the 10 tanks that were moved from the north to the south of Phnom Penh on Sunday night were being taken in for repairs, but he would not say where they went.

In Cambodia Friends of Kem Ley Fear for Their Safety

Wife of Slain Cambodian Government Critic Leaves Country

The widow of slain government critic and scholar Kem Ley has left Cambodia with her children for an undisclosed third country, a Buddhist monk who is a member of the pundit’s funeral commission told RFA’s Khmer Service on Monday.

Bou Rachana and her children are now in a secure place which cannot be disclosed, and she has prepared a letter of authorization for the funeral commission to hold a traditional 100-day funeral for Kem Ley on her behalf, said monk But Buntenh.

The ceremony will be held for three days on Oct. 14-16, though the committee must decide where to hold it, said But Buntenh, who , who is also president of the Independent Monk Network for Social Justice.

Nearly two weeks ago, Bou Rachana asked the CENTRAL, a labor-oriented NGO that provides legal aid to Cambodian workers, to prepare legal action related to the murder of her husband.

Kem Ley was gunned down in broad daylight on July 10 when he stopped in a Star Mart convenience store beside a Caltex gas station in the capital Phnom Penh.

Cambodian authorities have charged former soldier Oueth Ang with the killing, who has said he shot Kem Ley over a U.S. $3,000 debt.

Kem Ley was buried in southwestern Cambodia’s Takeo province two weeks later after a weekend funeral procession that drew around 2 million mourners.

Just days before he was gunned down, he had discussed on an RFA call-in show a report by London-based group Global Witness detailing the extent of the wealth of the family of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 31 years.

Wife of Slain Cambodian Government Critic Leaves Country

Some pretty horrific things happen in that country. On par with Burma and Tibet..


Here is a link to that interview : http://www.voanews.com/a/cambodia-ke...l/3416106.html

So Cambodjia is promoting itself again as a safe-haven for senior expats

Thank you Misskit for keeping this story front and center for the Thai-bashers. (wink)

re: 'Cambodia woos seniors' , PM Hun Sen

Yeah because Thais don't kill Thais over political or business disputes, do they?

No Harry, the Thai regime arrests and incarcerates dissenters ...the PM doesn't execute them in service stations a few days after they've spoken out.
Do you see the difference...

Originally Posted by PeeCoffee

No Harry, the Thai regime arrests and incarcerates dissenters ...the PM doesn't execute them in service stations a few days after they've spoken out.
Do you see the difference...

Did you know there is an International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance?

And guess which country has never ratified it.

And why.

Is this a multiple choice quiz ?
Australia, NZ, USA, China , England, Canada, Russia...

Originally Posted by PeeCoffee

Is this a multiple choice quiz ?
Australia, NZ, USA, China , England, Canada, Russia...

Yeah, I thought so.

Originally Posted by Latindancer

Some pretty horrific things happen in that country. On par with Burma and Tibet..

....and Thailand.

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Originally Posted by Latindancer

Some pretty horrific things happen in that country. On par with Burma and Tibet..

....and Thailand.

NO NO NO Fuck off Jeff.

It doesn't happen in Thailand.

Nor the nepotism shit.

Temporary refuge in Thailand for Widow of Slain Cambodian Critic Kem Ley

The widow of slain government critic and scholar Kem Ley has taken temporary refuge in Thailand, sources familiar with the family's movements told RFA’s Khmer Service on Friday.

Bou Rachana and her children, who left Cambodia for Thailand on Aug. 28, have received refuge status from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and are waiting for the UNHCR's decision to move them to a third country, said the source, who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the family's situation.

Kem Ley was gunned down in broad daylight on July 10 when he stopped in a Star Mart convenience store beside a Caltex gas station in the capital Phnom Penh.

Cambodian authorities have charged former soldier Oueth Ang with the killing, who has said he shot Kem Ley over a U.S. $3,000 debt.

Kem Ley was buried in southwestern Cambodia’s Takeo province two weeks later after a weekend funeral procession that drew around 2 million mourners.

Just days before he was gunned down, he had discussed on an RFA call-in show a report by London-based group Global Witness detailing the extent of the wealth of the family of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 31 years.

Temporary refuge in Thailand for Widow of Slain Cambodian Critic Kem Ley

Cambodians Doubt Official Explanation of Activist’s Killing



PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA —
Kem Ley, a poor rice farmer’s son turned champion of Cambodia’s have-nots, was sipping his usual iced latte in the same chair he had occupied most mornings for years. Eyewitnesses say a former soldier walked into the Caltex gas station cafe, fired a semi-automatic Glock pistol into his chest and head and casually walked away.

Two weeks later, tens of thousands of mourners thronged Phnom Penh’s streets to trail the glass casket bearing Kem Ley’s body in the largest public rally Cambodia has witnessed in recent times. The funeral march reflected not only grief for the popular government critic, but also anger at a government that this year has decimated opponents through imprisonment, intimidation and, many believe, the still-unresolved killing of Kem Ley.

Many view the Southeast Asian country’s harshest crackdown in years as an attempt by Prime Minister Hun Sen to sustain his more than 30-year-long grip on power in 2018 elections. The opposition came unexpectedly close to winning the last election, in 2013.

Cambodian authorities deny any involvement in Kem Ley’s death in Phnom Penh, the capital. They arrested ex-soldier and migrant worker Oeut Ang from a distant province on allegations that he killed Kem Ley in July because the activist failed to repay a $3,000 loan. Hun Sen has promised a vigorous investigation.


Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesman Ly Sophana told reporters the investigation is still underway. He did not say when it will be completed or the trial set.

Interviews with Oeut Ang’s wife, Kem Lay’s family and others raise doubts about the government’s assertions that a loan was the motive, heightening suspicions that the killing may have been politically motivated.

Hoeum Huot said she and her husband “lived from hand to mouth” and that he could never have had $3,000 in his pocket to lend. She said her husband, whose nickname Chuob Samlap means “meet and kill,” was prone to drunkenness, out of a job and sold his motorbike before the killing to pay off a gambling debt. She never heard him mention Kem Ley.

Kem Ley’s mother, Pov Se, and sister Kem Thavy said the 45-year-old doctor-turned-activist lived simply and never incurred debts, and had never met Oeut Ang as far as they knew.

Shortly before his death, Kem Ley spoke on radio about a report issued by the London-based research and advocacy group Global Witness that alleged the prime minister and his family had accumulated massive wealth and retained power through corruption and brute force. Earlier he had crisscrossed the country to query villagers about their problems.

Since Kem Ley’s death, his wife and five sons left in fear for Thailand, where they have applied for asylum in Australia.


Activists say the killing has come to symbolize the manifold ills of Cambodian society under Hun Sen’s 31-year rule.

“The death of Kem Ley is the death of human rights in Cambodia. It is the silencing of civil society actors. They are now mute,’’ said But Buntenh, a prominent Buddhist monk and friend of Kem Ley’s who is among the few public figures still openly criticizing the regime.

“With his death we have gained a great deal,” said But Buntenh. “It has been five months but people are still weeping.”

Mourners come to his simple grave every day, including more than 100 who paid their respects on the November day his family was interviewed in Kem Ley’s native village of Ang Takok, southwest of Phnom Penh.

While denying any role in Kem Ley’s death, the government has taken steps to silence other critics. Over the past year, opposition lawmakers and staffers of nongovernmental organizations have been jailed. Others face charges.

Hun Sen lodged a defamation suit in August against his chief political rival, the self-exiled Sam Rainsy, for saying “state terrorism” was to blame for the deaths of Kem Ley and other critics, including a prominent labor leader and several environmental activists. Hun Sen said the government had nothing to gain by killing Kem Ley.

Kem Ley apparently knew he had become a target. Three days before he was killed, he told But Buntenh that trusted sources informed him he would be killed in Phnom Penh.

The day before he died, Kem Ley posted on his Facebook page a political fable he titled “The Garden of Savage Animals,” about tigers, cobras and other ferocious beasts trying to prevent meeker animals from entering their bountiful acreage.

Their answer: intimidation. “You kill one in order to scare a thousand.”

Cambodians Doubt Official Explanation of Activist?s Killing

Chevron May Be Subpoenaed in Kem Ley Murder Case, U.S. Court Rules

Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Friday welcomed a Feb. 9 U.S. court decision to allow Chevron Corporation to be subpoenaed for security camera footage it may have of the murder in Cambodia last year of a popular political analyst.

The video may prove government involvement in the shooting of political analyst and government critic Kem Ley in a gas station in the capital Phnom Penh, Cambodia National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy wrote in a Feb. 10 posting on his Facebook page.

“A North California District Court has granted the right to subpoena the U.S. company Chevron for video footage of the shooting of Dr. Kem Ley, who was killed on 10 July 2016 as he was drinking coffee at a Chevron (Caltex) service station in Phnom Penh,” Sam Rainsy wrote.

“This breakthrough is a step towards proving the involvement of Cambodia’s government in Dr. Kem Ley’s murder.”

Chevron has 30 days to contest the court’s ruling, Sam Rainsy added, citing court documents.

Just days before his death, Kem Ley had discussed on an RFA Khmer Service call-in show a report by London-based Global Witness detailing the extent of the wealth of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for over 30 years, and his family.

Following the shooting, Cambodian authorities arrested and charged a former soldier named Oueth Ang, who says he carried out the killing over an unpaid debt.

Oueth Ang, the only suspect to be charged so far in the case, is now scheduled to go to trial in a Cambodian court on March 1.

Case 'taken for granted'

Many in Cambodia feel the investigation into Kem Ley’s death has been diverted from looking more deeply into who else may have been involved, though.

“Not much progress has been made in this investigation,” a motorized rickshaw driver in Phnom Penh told RFA’s Khmer Service on Feb. 10.

“I’m afraid that this case will end up like previous murder cases, where the perpetrators always remain at large,” he said. “I wanted to hear [better] results from the investigation much sooner than this.”

Also speaking to RFA, a student in the capital said that Kem Ley’s murder has now “been taken for granted” and that the murdered analyst and his family are being denied justice in the case.

“There were security cameras at the scene,” he said. “I don’t understand why the perpetrators can’t be found.”

Chevron May Be Subpoenaed in Kem Ley Murder Case, U.S. Court Rules

Be interesting to see if Chevron fight it to make sure they don't fall out of favour with the Great Khmer Rouge Dictator.

I guess it ain't just one gas station...

Former Soldier Admits to Killing Cambodian Political Analyst

A Cambodian former soldier accused of gunning down a popular political analyst and government critic last July confessed to the crime during a more than five-hour trial on Wednesday in a packed courtroom in Phnom Penh.

Oeuth Ang acknowledged that the pistol shown during the proceedings is the one he used to shoot Kem Ley in broad daylight on July 10 when the analyst stopped in a Star Mart store at a gas station in Phnom Penh where he liked to drink coffee with friends.

Oeuth Ang—also known as Chuob Samlab, a Khmer name meaning “meet to kill”—also denied during the trial that his real name is Oeuth Ang as listed in court documents, and claimed to have no family members in northwestern Cambodia’s Siem Reap province.

Witnesses such as the coffee maker who was on duty at the Star Mart the day the crime occurred and various authorities contested Oeuth Ang’s statements.

During the hearing, an unclear video clip of the killing recorded by a Star Mart security camera was shown.

Other bits of video footage captured by street cameras showed Oeuth Ang running from the crime scene.

Prosecutor Ly Sophanna requested that the judge punish Oeuth Ang to fullest extent possible under the law based on the severity of his crime.

After listening to closing remarks by Ly Sophanna and Oeuth Ang’s lawyer Yong Panith, Judge Leang Samnat of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court said he would issue a verdict by March 23.

After the trial, officials from the notorious Prey Sar prison on the outskirts of the city escorted Oeuth Ang back to jail.

Hard to believe

Though Oeuth Ang has confessed to the killing, many in Cambodia do not believe that he killed Kem Ley over an unpaid debt as he has said, but that he was ordered to do so by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government.

Just days before his death, Kem Ley had discussed on an RFA Khmer Service call-in show a report by London-based Global Witness detailing the extent of the wealth of Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 31 years, and his family.

So far, Oeuth Ang is the only suspect to be charged in the case.

More than 30 people from other provinces gathered outside the courthouse to observe the proceedings which were closely watched by domestic and international journalists and human rights groups.

Am Sam Ath, a senior investigator with the domestic rights group Licadho, told RFA’s Khmer Service that he found it hard to believe that Oeuth Ang admitted to killing Kem Ley.

“[Otherwise,] it would not have been enough for the court to show only one part of [the unclear] video of the shooting as it did,” he said.

In September 2016, more than 30 member countries of the United Nations Human Rights Council urged the Cambodian government to conduct a prompt and transparent investigation into Kem Ley’s murder.

Former Soldier Admits to Killing Cambodian Political Analyst

Cambodia Court Sentences Former Soldier to Life for Murder of Analyst Kim Ley

A court in Cambodia sentenced a former soldier to life in prison Thursday for killing prominent political analyst Kem Ley, prompting demands for an independent inquiry into the slaying many believe was not adequately investigated.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court found Oueth Ang—who calls himself Chuob Samlab, a Khmer name meaning “meet to kill”—solely responsible for Kem Ley’s death, and guilty of illegal possession of a weapon and premeditated murder under Articles 490 and 200 of Cambodia’s penal code, respectively.

Kem Ley, 46, was gunned down on the morning of July 10, 2016 as he stopped for coffee in a Star Mart store at a gasoline station on a busy intersection in the capital.

Immediately following the 40-minute hearing to review the case, Judge Leang Samnath sent Oueth Ang to prison to begin serving his life sentence. According to the ruling, Oueth Ang can file an appeal if he is not satisfied with his sentence.

Speaking to reporters after the punishment was handed down, lawyer Yong Phanith, who was designated by the Cambodian Bar Association to represent Oueth Ang, said he plans to meet with his client in advance of any pursuit of an appeal.

But he indicated that he was unsatisfied with the ruling and urged the court to investigate the case further, noting that Oueth Ang was the only person arrested in connection with the murder, though witness testimony and evidence suggested others were involved.

“The court should investigate other involved individuals for [additional] convictions,” he said.

“According to the facts of this case, there are two other individuals that the court need to investigate—namely, Pou Lis and Chork, according to what we have learnt during the hearing.”

Pou Lis (the Khmer word for police) is the name of a man Oeuth Ang said had provided him with Kem Ley’s license plate number, and he said a Thai national named Chork sold him the gun he used in the killing.

Oueth Ang had confessed during his brief March 1 trial to shooting Kem Ley twice at blank point range after growing angry over an unpaid debt of U.S. $3,000, though his motive is not supported by physical evidence and has been widely dismissed by critics.

During the trial, court authorities reviewed blurry footage from the CCTV camera at the Star Mart showing the killing and other video clips from nearby street cameras showing the defendant running from the crime scene through several downtown intersections.

Footage from additional CCTV cameras inside the convenience store was confiscated by police and delivered to court authorities, but inexplicably never shown as evidence.

Most of the 10 people who delivered testimonies during the trial were police officers who read brief statements and were never comprehensively cross-examined, while several other potentially important witnesses were never brought to court.

Several inconsistencies in Oeuth Ang’s statements have also led to widespread skepticism over how the case was handled.

The defendant maintains he is Chuob Samlab, an orphan who never married and purchased the pistol he used to kill Kem Ley with money earned by working on a cassava plantation in Thailand, but his wife and mother presented an identification card to the court with his fingerprints on it, indicating he is Oueth Ang, a former soldier and forest ranger.

Oueth Ang’s claim that he loaned Kem Ley U.S. $3,000 for a job and a home has also been refuted by both his family and that of the victim, who say the two had never met, while the killer’s wife maintains he was too poor to lend out money.

Supporters unsatisfied

Outside the court on Thursday, supporters of Kem Ley expressed their frustration with the ruling, calling it a move to divert criticism from authorities for failing to arrest the people responsible for plotting the analyst’s assassination.

Sor Sorn, a land activist from the Borei Keila community in Phnom Penh, told RFA’s Khmer Service she believed the court had been ordered by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government to issue a sentence and put an end to the proceedings without fully investigating the case.

“I cannot accept this ruling because the court is not independent,” she said.

“Not enough witnesses were summoned. Chuob Samlab never told the truth—he fabricated the story the entire time.”

Am Sam Ath, head of investigations for local rights group LICADHO, said convicting Oueth Ang was not enough, adding that the court must continue its investigation if it wants to eliminate public concerns over its handling of the case.

“Chuob Samlab could not have carried out such a murder against Kem Ley by himself,” he said.

“Therefore, relevant persons and those behind the scenes of this murder case should be brought to justice.”

Kem Ley had amassed a popular following because of his willingness to speak out against what he saw as political injustices under the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).

Just days before he was gunned down, Kem Ley had discussed on a RFA Khmer Service call-in show a report by London-based Global Witness detailing the extent of the wealth of the family of Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 31 years.

Hun Sen has sued for defamation three people he accuses of suggesting Kem Ley’s murder was planned by the CPP—former president of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) Sam Rainsy, Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) Senator Thak Lany and political analyst Kim Sok. Sam Rainsy and Thak Lany are both in exile, and Kim Sok is in jail awaiting trial.

Kem Ley’s wife and five sons are no longer living in Cambodia and have applied for refugee status with the United Nations.

Calls for independent inquiry

In a joint statement released after Thursday’s sentencing, more than 60 local civil society organizations demanded an independent inquiry into Kem Ley’s murder, citing what they called an insufficient investigation of the case.

“The lack of transparency in the investigation of Kem Ley’s death, the brevity of the trial proceedings, and the failure to fully investigate motive, potential accomplices and the circumstances of Oeuth Ang's arrest, raise serious concerns about the adequacy of this criminal process,” the statement read.

“In light of the inadequacies in the investigation into Dr. Kem Ley’s death, as well as in the trial proceedings, we … call for the establishment of an independent Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances of his murder, in accordance with international best practices.”

The civil society groups said the commission should be comprised of experts from outside of Cambodia and have access to all available evidence, including all available CCTV footage.

“An independent Commission of Inquiry is now the only means by which to safeguard the independence and transparency of the investigation, comply with Cambodia’s obligation to fully investigate possible breaches of the right to life, and ultimately to find justice for the family of Dr. Kem Ley,” the statement said.

Also on Thursday, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch urged Cambodia to continue a probe into Kem Ley’s murder to address aspects of the case that “appear to have been inadequately investigated.”

In a joint statement, the three rights groups said the questionable nature of Oueth Ang’s identity and motive, as well as missing witnesses and CCTV footage, was insufficiently explored during the trial.

“The trial revealed that the investigation appeared to be deficient in several important respects,” said Kingsley Abbott, senior international legal adviser at the International Commission of Jurists, who observed the trial.

“Until there is an independent, impartial and effective investigation to establish whether anyone else was involved in the killing, the victims of this serious crime, including Kem Ley’s wife and children, will be unable to obtain justice.”


Cambodia Court Sentences Former Soldier to Life for Murder of Analyst Kim Ley

Pol Pots mate has an iron grip on the country and any voices of dissent are usually killed. This is not unusual.