Monday, December 16, 2013

Cambodia opposition rallies against PM

Cambodia opposition rallies against PM 

Thousands gather in a park in Phnom Penh, calling for Prime Minister Hun Sen to step down and allow a new election.

AFP | Al Jazeera | 15 Dec 2013 13:14



Cambodia's opposition party has boycotted parliament since Hun Sen's re-election [Reuters]

Thousands of Cambodian opposition supporters have launched fresh demonstrations against Prime Minister Hun Sen's highly contested re-election in July, calling for a new poll to settle allegations of vote rigging.

Around 5,000 protesters gathered in a park in the Capital city of Phnom Penh on Sunday, waving Cambodian flags and banners.

"A new election is the peaceful and democratic way forward," Ho Vann, a senior opposition member told the crowd.

"We want the government to call a new election now because July's election was marred by widespread voting fraud and there is no investigation into it so far," protester Tep Chan Thaiya told the AFP news agency.

Cambodia's opposition, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), had previously called for an independent probe into alleged vote rigging during the election that saw Hun Sen's nearly three-decade rule extended.

But Hun Sen's government rejected an investigation, prompting the opposition to call for elections.

One protester died and several others were injured when opposition supporters took to the streets immediately after election results were released in July.

'Hun Sen Step down'

This time, there was only a light security presence.

Protestors listened to a speech given by opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who arrived in the afternoon, before beginning a march through the capital.

"We are demanding a re-vote because the previous election is not acceptable," Rainsy said to cheers. "The (July) election is not fair. We cannot accept it," he added before leading a chant of "Hun Sen step down."

Rainsy's CNRP has boycotted parliment since Sen's re-election to protest against the alleged vote-rigging.

According to official results of the July polls, the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won 68 seats against 55 for the opposition.

Parliament approved a new five-year term for Hun Sen in late September, despite the absence of opposition members of parliament.


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

បើអាសម រង្ស៊ី ជាខ្មែរ
ម៉េចក៏ចាំបាច់មានអង្គរក្សយួនការពារ?

Anonymous said...

And then???

JAMM TA JOSS TEU!

Hun Sen

Anonymous said...

Dictator Hanoi-Puppet Hun Sen Must GO!

Hun Sen is the master of all corruption in today Cambodia. Even the Chinese government has decried the corruption in the Hun Sen regime.

RESIGN NOW HUN SEN! THIS IS THE ORDER FROM CHINA!

Anonymous said...

Just a useless PATOKAMM ESS KDOR LENG.

JAMM TA Resign TEU!

Hun Sen

Anonymous said...

“I have always felt that Sam Rainsy was hoping for an overreaction by security authorities to generate martyrs for his movement. ”


University of New South Wales professor and Southeast Asia expert Carlyle Thayer

Anonymous said...

All the protesting has no result, I don't see anything going to change anytime soon. The leader of the protester are to weak, if they are strong there should be 100 thousand to a million of the protester in the streets right now. I see no blood spill, no death and it getting boring. They should give up now before the peoples turn againt the leader of the protester, because the leader are too weak, no result, no real goal to accomplish. People only support you if you give them what they want, if not those leader should be worry that they will turn back againt them