Within days they arrested four people accused of wanting to overthrow the government in the northeastern province of Ratanakkiri. Against him is the charge of participating in a working group of the Coalition of Cambodian Farmers Community. Executive crackdown continues ahead of July vote, Prime Minister Hun Sen threatens foreign governments and embassies.
Phnom Penh () – With the fourth arrest on the (false) accusation of a “peasant uprising” aimed at “overthrowing the government”, the Cambodian authorities continue their repression against activists and peasants in Ratanakkiri, province in the northeast of the country, with the aim of silencing critical voices before the elections. The detained person, according to the security forces, was allegedly part of a working group promoted and directed by a group that fights for the rights of those who work the land called the Coalition of Cambodian Farmers Community (CCFC). ), which has been operating in the area for some time.
Local sources report that the fourth person arrested is Chan Vibol, an independent investigator, who has already been charged with conspiracy and incitement under Articles 453, 494 and 495 of the Penal Code, along with CCFC Chairman Theng Savoeun and activists Nhel Pheap and Than Hach. The crime of conspiracy – which carries a sentence of five to ten years – was added to the previous charges that became official in recent days, despite the protests of the peasants who organized a spontaneous protest march in the direction of Phnom Penh. . Along the way, they urged Interior Minister Sar Kheng to drop the charges.
According to CambodiaJA News, the Ratanakkiri prosecutor described the meeting as a “secret meeting” to discuss “political issues” with the aim of agitating the peasants and encouraging them to “cause disturbances in society, leading to the overthrow of the government.” Another government official likened the meeting of CCFC members to an uprising reminiscent of the one promoted by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, whose regime was guilty of the worst atrocities against the Cambodian people.
“Mounting these false accusations against prominent civil society leaders demonstrates the lengths the government is willing to go to silence critics ahead of the July elections,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW). There must be an international chorus of condemnation directed at Prime Minister Hun Sen and his government, calling for an end to these intimidation tactics,” he added.
Words doomed to fall on deaf ears, as reflected in the latest guidelines from the prime minister, who ordered foreign executives and embassies to “remain silent” until after the July 23 elections. “From now until the elections, please keep quiet,” Hun Sen continued. “Let’s use local rules to solve the problem of democracy in Cambodia.” With this he made reference to the criticism of foreign representatives of his long leadership and the growing repression of dissent, the deterioration of democratic norms and the persecution of more than a hundred supporters of opposition political parties.
In recent days, the leader of the Cambodian opposition in exile, Sam Rainsy, described as a “sham” and “shame” the upcoming elections scheduled for July, in which Hun Sen and the majority are running unopposed. In addition, he called on democratic nations not to recognize his legitimacy, in a context of increasing repression of critical voices and the exclusion of the Candlelight Party, the only party that opposes the ruling leaders. In March, Phnom Penh sentenced another opposition leader, Kem Sokha, to 27 years in prison, accused of conspiring against foreign forces.
