The chief instigator of the 1997 grenade attack?
Slaughter during the 1997 grenade attackOriginal report from Washington
31 December 2009
A declassified report by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation indicates involvement by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party to a deadly grenade attack on an opposition rally in 1997.
The attack, on a gathering of supporters for opposition leader Sam Rainsy, killed 16 people and injured more than 100 others, including an American citizen, which prompted an FBI investigation that was ultimately abandoned.
But in documents recently released to the English-language Cambodia Daily through a Freedom of Information request, the FBI said it had been pursuing evidence that pointed to the involvement of security forces loyal to then second prime minister Hun Sen.
Released in part to the newspaper, the 2,300-page case file indicates advance knowledge of the attack by Cambodian police at the scene of the March 30 rally and possible collusion with the attackers by Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit.
The rally was organized by the Khmer Nation Party, the precursor to the Sam Rainsy Party, to demand an independent judiciary.
“But at the time, some criminals with an order from the top threw hand grenades into the rally,” Sam Rainsy told VOA Khmer recently. “The FBI also looked thoroughly into the case and had witnesses, evidence and clear records to show that those who are behind the grenade attack are those in power today.”
The FBI investigation came months after the attack, at the request of Funcinpec and the CPP, which were in a power-sharing coalition. The investigation did not go far, and the FBI pulled its investigator from the country due to security concerns and political tension, the Daily reported.
The FBI also encountered difficulties having CPP officials cooperate, the newspaper said.
Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, dismissed the report, calling the abortive investigation “an FBI failure.”
“The FBI should take it as a lesson for its academy,” said Khieu Sopheak, who had acted as a liaison officer with investigators at the time. He also denied any security threats to FBI personal, saying he would have heard about them because police and the FBI spent time together.
Nevertheless, the FBI report highlights several anomalies that led investigators to suspect involvement of Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit, including an abnormal deployment of troops near the rally.
Unit commander Huy Piseth and his deputy, Hing Bunheang, were interviewed by the FBI, along with other officials.
Hing Bunheang, who is now the head of Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit, declined to comment on the FBI report.
“I only pay attention to helping farmers to harvest,” he told VOA Khmer by phone. “People don’t have enough, and they are now harvesting. I have no time to think of any political parties. I only see rice harvesting. Many people lack a labor force. Some are disabled, old and widowed…and they need a workforce. Besides this, I know nothing.”
The FBI made more than 50 interviews in its investigation, sometimes in collaboration with Cambodian police and sometimes separately without their knowledge, the Daily reported.
A US congressional committee said agents met difficulty gaining the cooperation of police officials like Mok Chito, who was then the chief of penal police for Phnom Penh and is now in charge of the criminal department for the national police.
“I assisted in bringing witnesses to the FBI for drawing sketches, because when I got there I saw a few witnesses and I was on the taskforce,” Mok Chito told VOA Khmer.
The FBI produced sketches of nine suspects that were widely circulated that year. In the end, however, no arrests were ever made, and the FBI concluded its investigation was “incomplete.”
The attack, on a gathering of supporters for opposition leader Sam Rainsy, killed 16 people and injured more than 100 others, including an American citizen, which prompted an FBI investigation that was ultimately abandoned.
But in documents recently released to the English-language Cambodia Daily through a Freedom of Information request, the FBI said it had been pursuing evidence that pointed to the involvement of security forces loyal to then second prime minister Hun Sen.
Released in part to the newspaper, the 2,300-page case file indicates advance knowledge of the attack by Cambodian police at the scene of the March 30 rally and possible collusion with the attackers by Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit.
The rally was organized by the Khmer Nation Party, the precursor to the Sam Rainsy Party, to demand an independent judiciary.
“But at the time, some criminals with an order from the top threw hand grenades into the rally,” Sam Rainsy told VOA Khmer recently. “The FBI also looked thoroughly into the case and had witnesses, evidence and clear records to show that those who are behind the grenade attack are those in power today.”
The FBI investigation came months after the attack, at the request of Funcinpec and the CPP, which were in a power-sharing coalition. The investigation did not go far, and the FBI pulled its investigator from the country due to security concerns and political tension, the Daily reported.
The FBI also encountered difficulties having CPP officials cooperate, the newspaper said.
Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, dismissed the report, calling the abortive investigation “an FBI failure.”
“The FBI should take it as a lesson for its academy,” said Khieu Sopheak, who had acted as a liaison officer with investigators at the time. He also denied any security threats to FBI personal, saying he would have heard about them because police and the FBI spent time together.
Nevertheless, the FBI report highlights several anomalies that led investigators to suspect involvement of Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit, including an abnormal deployment of troops near the rally.
Unit commander Huy Piseth and his deputy, Hing Bunheang, were interviewed by the FBI, along with other officials.
Hing Bunheang, who is now the head of Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit, declined to comment on the FBI report.
“I only pay attention to helping farmers to harvest,” he told VOA Khmer by phone. “People don’t have enough, and they are now harvesting. I have no time to think of any political parties. I only see rice harvesting. Many people lack a labor force. Some are disabled, old and widowed…and they need a workforce. Besides this, I know nothing.”
The FBI made more than 50 interviews in its investigation, sometimes in collaboration with Cambodian police and sometimes separately without their knowledge, the Daily reported.
A US congressional committee said agents met difficulty gaining the cooperation of police officials like Mok Chito, who was then the chief of penal police for Phnom Penh and is now in charge of the criminal department for the national police.
“I assisted in bringing witnesses to the FBI for drawing sketches, because when I got there I saw a few witnesses and I was on the taskforce,” Mok Chito told VOA Khmer.
The FBI produced sketches of nine suspects that were widely circulated that year. In the end, however, no arrests were ever made, and the FBI concluded its investigation was “incomplete.”
33 comments:
Of course it links to the CPP. Who else if not CPP the mastermind of all criminal acts committed in Cambodia? Hun Sen and Bun Rany are equally guilty of criminal acts. Both of them are equally brutal.
It's not a surprise to see that the article acknowledges this long-due revelation of the linkage and who the culprit was. Someday these culprits/criminals will be brought to justice; it's only a matter of time that these crininals will run out of place to hide. Remember, you can run but you can't hide. FBI investigation is factual and accurate report and it can be used in a trial.
FBI investigation is to long in cambodai Hun Sen and Bun Rany are kill all the people that they tell them to do it.
thank you S U A YOU ARE #1 IN THE HOLD NOT IN THE WOLD. CAN FBI SAY WHO DID THAT? EXAMPLE JUST LIKE KHMER ROUGE TRAIL TAKE ABOUT 25 YEARS TO START TO INVESTIGATION.
Dealing with a top Mafia with too mnay thousand as his bodyguards, FBI must have a very and very solid evidence to point him, and it does not matter how long it takes. In America some cases just opened after 50 years.
Hun Sen is the skiller behide grenade attacked 1997, countries around the world knonw about this.
The report investigate by FBI are surffience evidence to bring him to prosecute.
Counting on Poor People
3;26am.
How? Hun Sen has nearly 10,000 spies to protect him. FBI found the evidence linked to Hun Sen since day one. At that time, the US wanted Hun Sen to be not with China. Now Vietnam and Hun Sen go with China, then the US starts to open the case. Everything flipped like a coin. Hmong Gen Pao released and sooner Chhun Yasit too will be released.
BECAUSE THE ATTACK AGAINST THE OPPOSITION IN 1997 INVOLVED WITH THE CPP RULING PARTY OF HUN SEN WHICH INJURED ONE AMERICAN MAN, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NEEDS TO DO SOME THING ABOUT THIS CPP HUN SEN GOVERNMENT..... REMOVE HUN SEN BY FORCE, NUKE HUN SEN RESIDENT, KILL HIS ENTIRE FAMILY, THE FAMILY THAT SOLD CAMBODIA TO NEIGHBORING COUNTRY OF VIETNAM, THE FAMILY THAT CREAT THE CORRUPTION FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTRY, EVICT POOR PEOLE OUT OF THEIR HOME...ETC. THERE IS ENOUGH EVEDENCE TO REMOVE HUN SEN FROM POWER.
4:25 the u.s will not do your bidding for you unless you have oil reserves to offer. I suggest you carry out your own fantasy by your own ability.
Good luck
4:25am.
Can you please learn to write something that can be realistic not in Hollywood fantacy?
Usually the third world nations, the powerful people are all like Hun Sen, but there are ways to take them down, not like what you said in anger like nuke and bla bla.
Hun Sen is not a simple or regular man, he has army just like Columbian Drug dealers in Columbia.
If what you said so easy, the US would nuke on Fidel Castro in Cuba already.
There are million innocence lives involved, and the criminals usually use those civilians to shield them unless you have an evil idea to kill those civilians too.
There is NO doubt in my mind, Hun Sen is the one who ordered the attack against the opposition. Who else you think to have gut to do such a big scale of attack like that? what is the purpose and why? It got to be the highest unit of Hun Sen's bodyguard who got the order from Mr. Hun Sen himself. Hun Sen does not only want to silent the oppposition, he wants to kill the entire of oppotion. He does not want any challenges, Hun Sen wants to do whatever he wants all by himself. Hun Sen was a KHMER ROUGE solder, you know. He was a KILLER. You think he is scared to kill or do some thing like that? Hi is evil.
Think about it!
4:45 AM
I agreed with you on my writting, but at least I hope you know what I meant. Take any measure neccessary to remove Hun Sen from power.
You are absolutely right, nuke is a good option. It will not only kill his family but the whole population.
4:45 AM
I was trying to say "nuke is NOT a good option". Sorry for a mispelled.
^^^^ ha ha, sure it's a misspell. i know it's a good sarcasm when i see one.
The final report points to Hun Sen and his brigade. So, what's next? After having established the finding, how about bring the culprit to justice.
Of course it is obvious it link to Hun Xen, CPP. The point is who will bring them to justice? They commit too many crime until today. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO STOP THEM!
All the denies by the CPP officials indicate the truth behind the FBI reports. As the CPP officials and Hun Sen they are all guilty and are murders, but what can we common Khmer do to fight this injustice facing the Cambodian people.
The CPP have Officials and Hun Sen they have license to Kills our people without being prosecuted until today, since the court belong to them.
We are powerless against these CPP officials who are all rich & powerful... The world have largely ignore the problems Cambodia CPP leaders created and one day this in itself will create instability in Cambodia if the international countries signature to the 1991 Paris agreement is not policing it.
Sam Rainsy had almost lost his life to our Beloved Cambodia due to CPP and Hun Sen many time over and they are still doing it until today with different approaches. Only leadership changes in Cambodia and the prosecutions of those CPP murders will bring Cambodia back to balance....
The CPP must understand the importance of US-Thai relations; also, Thailand is strategically important region for the US, and Cambodia must not destabalize the relationship. Now, the CPP and its government must come to an end. In fact, you know what you've done in the past and present.
After this released what next FBI?
If you cannot do anything don't involve. Khmer people are suffering because of American's flip flop policy.
Hun sen is nothing more than a temple boy without conscience. He is a very self serving individual whose desire is to stay in power at all cause. To him, to govern is to make sure that will stay in power until the day he die rather than to serve and protect the people. But again, if he had a moral conscience Viet would not installed as a puppet.
Khmer k
Thanks Tan and the rest of bureau.
Crime does not pay; this time, your time has come, and you have to accept your culpability. Needless to say, Mr. Hun Sen implicated in this horrible crime.
The late general Hok Lundy perhaps gave too much information to the FBI while he was in the US, that's why Mr. Hun Sen killed him.
7:40 AM
His days are numbered. That's why the case is reopened.
May the 2010 brings disasters to ah chkea youn, and his family....burn in hell...ah kwack!
I see Saddam Hun Sen regime is coming to an end very soon. The histories about any dictators who involved with the US will be punished with hung to death or jail forever. Saddam Hun Sen case is beginning to come together more and more in 2010. Very soon Chhun Yasith will be released. And other organization that want to create a war against the HS-VIet regime will be allowed. I'm sure HS knew it very well, that why he gethers his families and adviced them to do good deed for the poor and the nation. I think it's too late for him to stop being an evil man, oh well, what can you say to a man who gets alot of chance to be a human being, but instead he wants to be a dog or a puppet for other nation and make his own people suffering, I think he deserved its.
I hope the US will do the same to HUN SEN like Saddam. They will oust HUN SEN by saying operation "Operation Freedom" or "Human Freedom".
You can run but you can't hide!!!!!!!!!!!!
The US has notorious reputation of supporting dictators -- historically -- throughout the world, and when the dictators ignored their creators ... that's when problems occur.
--Knowledge is money
4:32 PM
the same go to every country in the world. Look at the Viets who originally fight Lon Nol army to put KR in power and when the KR turned their back on them after victory the Viets eventually got rid of Pol Pot. Look at China. During Vietnam war China helped North Vietnam/Vietcong (NVC) in a fight against the American and after NVC victory they turned their back on China and NVC reached out to Soviet instead. China eventually made war with Vietnam in revenge for Vietnam's betrayal. Thus, action by each country is dictated by interest and not by choice.
hun sen is the prime leader in cambodia. he own everything the land,the water and even the people and he have the back up the vietnam govt. who dare to do anything to him. he killed before and he will kill again anybody whose up against him. listen to his speech sometime enough to scare lots of people in sroc khmer. what can the fbi do now? nothing. hun sen only kills his own people not an american. so the case is closed. remember cambodia is still a communist coutry that run by the x khmer rouge. you know how pol pot rule sroc khmer. the same brain with different face. now hun sen now relized that when he step down there will be killing all over again. he tried to warn his children and nephews to be nice to the public so the public will help to protect them when he no longer a leader. there will be revenge he said. there's going to be killing just like the khmer rouge did to lon nol govt. and their family. you think,he doesnt know the bad comment about in any webb site out side the country. believe me he does know. just dont show up at his door step.
I 100% belive that Hun Sen was behind this crime.
How the whole world can turn against my greeds and this khmer killings?
Hun Sen
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