Supporters of opposition leader Sam Rainsy wave placards during a demonstration against the “deterioration of democracy in Cambodia” on Parliament Hill in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, on Monday. Hundreds gathered to protest against the Cambodian government’s alleged mistreatment of opposition politicians. (Photo by: Photo Supplied)Tuesday, 01 December 2009
Irwin Loy
The Phnom Penh Post
SUPPORTERS of embattled opposition leader Sam Rainsy gathered in North American capitals this weekend to protest what they called the deteriorating state of democracy in Cambodia.
Organised as a response to the National Assembly’s decision last month to strip Sam Rainsy of his parliamentary immunity, nearly 200 people protested on Parliament Hill in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, while a smaller group demonstrated in front of the Cambodian embassy in Washington on Saturday, organisers said.
Pretty Ma, secretary general of the Sam Rainsy Party North America, said opposition politicians in the Kingdom face “mistreatment and harassment”.
“The way immunity can be easily revoked from the people’s representatives is something almost unheard of here in the West,” he wrote in an email. “It’s overdone, truly abusive and ridiculous.”
The protesters urged Canada and the US to deny entry visas to “any corrupted official, including any human rights violators”.
Sam Rainsy, who is currently in Europe, was stripped of his immunity last month after an October incident in which he uprooted six wooden posts in Svay Rieng province along the border with Vietnam.
Villagers had claimed the Vietnamese were encroaching on their land.
The Vietnamese government, however, reacted with outrage, and the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the act “perverse”.
Organised as a response to the National Assembly’s decision last month to strip Sam Rainsy of his parliamentary immunity, nearly 200 people protested on Parliament Hill in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, while a smaller group demonstrated in front of the Cambodian embassy in Washington on Saturday, organisers said.
Pretty Ma, secretary general of the Sam Rainsy Party North America, said opposition politicians in the Kingdom face “mistreatment and harassment”.
“The way immunity can be easily revoked from the people’s representatives is something almost unheard of here in the West,” he wrote in an email. “It’s overdone, truly abusive and ridiculous.”
The protesters urged Canada and the US to deny entry visas to “any corrupted official, including any human rights violators”.
Sam Rainsy, who is currently in Europe, was stripped of his immunity last month after an October incident in which he uprooted six wooden posts in Svay Rieng province along the border with Vietnam.
Villagers had claimed the Vietnamese were encroaching on their land.
The Vietnamese government, however, reacted with outrage, and the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the act “perverse”.
7 comments:
TO ADMIN: Smear the faces of the protesters before posting the pictures.
We need to protect our heroes! Thank you.
I bet the US government dares not deny visa or impose any sanction on Hun Sen's government. He is too strong. You can see now, he is making Thailand in a difficult situation because they want to play this game. If the US government dare to try, let try and wait and see!
The financial sanction does not work with Hun Sen's government. The worse he just order to cut down and sell all forest in Cambodia and you will see who will react the most and beg Hun Sen to stop cutting the trees. Another choice is just to increase 500% taxes on all people's belongings such as house, car, TV, clothes, furniture, lighting, cow, horse, dog, cat, banana tree etc. that should be more than enough
So don't play with this game. Hun Sen has gone through all the difficulty and people under his leadership are more than happy to go through those difficulties again and again and even willing to eat sand and soil.
Only Mr. Sam Raingsy and his SR-Party and not all of you from Canada or USA are able to resolve the problem in Cambodia.
Vote for me Xam Rainxy as your PM!
dear all
see link, UPR today, 01/dec/09 at Human Rights Council. view all the video.
http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/archive.asp#pm
i applaud them for standing up to the the Hun sen govt, but rallying oversea will not take much effect to the Cambodian govt. Cambodian citizens need to all rise up together and protest because they live there.
Many thanks to those attented the demonstrations. The survival of Cambodia depends on brave people like you. To suceed we can not allow fear to take over our fighting
spirit. You guys truely are heroes indeed. Keep on fighting because will prevail.
Salute to you all!
Khmer K
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