Thousands
of CNRP supporters, led by leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha (centre),
march from Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park to the UN human rights office
during a rally in Phnom Penh. VIREAK MAI
Taking it to the streets
Thousands
of Cambodia National Rescue Party supporters marched through the heart
of Phnom Penh yesterday to deliver a petition signed with the
thumbprints of more than two million aggrieved citizens to the United
Nations.
The march was the culmination of the first day of a
three-day opposition protest that, like the petition, will continue to
call for an independent investigation into election irregularities and
label the government “illegitimate”.
Speaking outside the office
of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights yesterday, party leader Sam
Rainsy said the United Nations had pledged to send all the petitions –
84 boxes of which had been carried into the local office from the back
of a flatbed truck – to the US for safekeeping.
“They told us they
will send all the petitions to the main head office in New York to
ensure the security of the petitions. They will take care of them as
undeniable evidence,” he said.
Rainsy
added that the party would collect another 1.3 million thumbprints,
pledging to take the total to 3.3 million of Cambodia’s close to 15
million people.
UN rights representative Wan-Hea Lee said
yesterday, however, that she “would only be able to confirm that a
petition has been brought to our office”.
The
flags of Australia, the US, the UK, Japan, Indonesia and other
signatories to the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements fluttered throughout the
crowd, reminding onlookers that the purpose of the protest was to call
on the international community to pressure the government to abide by
the spirit of those accords.
The primary focus of the 1991
agreements, which were signed in the presence of the UN
secretary-general, was to bring peace to Cambodia, though it also
established the mandate for the UN-sponsored elections that followed and
laid down principles for a new, democratic constitution.
Prime
Minister Hun Sen said last month, however, that the accords were now
invalid, given the country adopted a new constitution in 1993 and had
its own sovereign laws.
The UN was nonetheless the first stop on
the CNRP’s international petition agenda, with embassies representing
other signatories to be visited today and Friday.
Despite
protesters disobeying every stricture set by City Hall – a 10,000-person
limit at Freedom Park, a 6pm curfew for the event and a 1,000-person
march – authorities remained markedly calm yesterday.
Gone were
the seemingly endless roadblocks that had infuriated Phnom Penh
residents during the CNRP’s past demonstrations, with only a smattering
placed around Independence Monument and Hun Sen’s house.
Notably,
only two dozen military police and police officers followed the mass of
protesters as they marched down Street 51 from Freedom Park to the UN
office on Street 302 in Boeung Keng Kang 1 commune. Although streets
perpendicular to Street 51 were blocked by police, only a couple of
unarmed officers manned the barricades as the demonstrators swept past
and waving residents lined the streets.
The masses were finally
stopped on the corner of Street 302 by police, with only a few hundred
people allowed to continue the final 100 metres to the UN office.
As
the protesters returned to Freedom Park, however, hundreds of military
police clad in riot gear gathered in the park opposite the prime
minister’s house in an apparent act of intimidation, though far fewer
flanked the fences immediately next to the opposition supporters.
Khieu
Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said that as the CNRP
had breached its agreement with authorities, it was fortunate no serious
incident had occurred.
“It is very good there is no violence, but
it is regretful that some demonstrators tried to get past police
barricades at the Independence Monument. We applaud that there was no
violence,” he said.
According to Sopheak, several demonstrators
tried to breach barricades as party leaders paid their respects at the
statue of slain union leader Chea Vichea on Sihanouk Boulevard while
returning from the UN office.
Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian
Center for Human Rights, said he believed that police had finally
learned that if people “can go about their daily lives” during protests,
there is less risk of incident.
“It tells me that the police have
learned a bit from the previous main incidents [and] protests.… It
tells me the police are maturing a bit and learning to behave in a
democracy where people do have the right to protest,” he said. “In a
democracy, people protest. It’s normal and police need to be equipped
and trained to handle that. That’s just a fact of life.”
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan agreed that both the government and protesters were learning.
“Both
parties, the protesters and the authorities, learn from past
experience. Authorities are learning to deal with protesters with
discipline. [This] is a new culture for Cambodia,” he said.
Minister
of Information Khieu Kanharith said via email that he “[hoped] that
everybody could show some maturity in dealing with the issue”.
With
the party planning on following a multi-stop route between different
embassies today and Friday, policing could prove more complicated.
But
in a sign that authorities may be just as well prepared, the Phnom Penh
Municipality has issued a public notice on exactly what streets the
marches will take place on and during what times over the next two days.
“The City Hall appeals to all citizens to remain calm and
patient. Traffic should be avoided on these designated roads that the
CNRP will use in order to maintain security, public order and facilitate
congestion,” it says.
Streets 61, 47 and 76 will be used from
8-10:30am today, while streets 51, 294 and a number of main boulevards
will be used from 8am-12pm Friday, according to the notice. Opposition
leaders yesterday also pledged their cooperation with authorities during
the demonstrations, saying they would take responsibility for any
provocative protesters.
At Freedom Park, elderly Cambodians were a
common sight among those who had made the trip into Phnom Penh from the
provinces, with many telling tales of past grievances they blamed on
the ruling party.
Ma Yin, an 86-year-old grandmother who had
travelled from Mondulkiri, said she wished to find justice for her
children, who had lost land to an economic land concessionaire, as well
as for the voter disenfranchisement she suffered at July’s election.
“It’s not difficult, and it’s not hot,” she said, despite the almost 35-degree temperature.
“We must claim back and find my lost vote and make sure we know where [and how] it was lost.”
Many
others were eager to explain that they were present at the
demonstration not just for themselves but for numerous others in their
families or communities who couldn’t make it due to financial
difficulties, work or simply fear.
“My family don’t come because they are scared…they were warned [away],” Lina, a fiery 33-year-old from Kampong Cham said.
“There are millions of them [like that] out there that are supporting people here [today].”
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