The March 30, 1997 Tragedy

The 30 March 1997 Tragedy

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Cambodia: No Justice for Grenade Victims

Source: Human Rights Watch

US Should Revive Inquiry Into 1997 Attack and Reassess Aid to Units Linked to Abuse

Related Materials: Cambodia: 1997 Grenade Attack on Opposition Still Unpunished.

"The United States claims that human rights and the rule of law are primary policy goals in Cambodia, yet it withdrew the FBI just when it was close to solving the case and has done nothing for over a decade to resolve it. This attack has cast a shadow over Cambodia that will only be lifted when the perpetrators are brought to justice." - Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

(New York, March 29, 2010) - The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) should revive its investigation into the deadly 1997 grenade attack on an opposition party rally in Phnom Penh that left at least 16 dead and more than 150 wounded, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Cambodian government has failed to take any steps to investigate or hold perpetrators accountable, despite strong evidence of complicity by Prime Minister Hun Sen's bodyguard unit in the attack. The FBI undertook an investigation into the grenade attack because a US citizen, Ron Abney, was among those wounded.

"The United States claims that human rights and the rule of law are primary policy goals in Cambodia, yet it withdrew the FBI just when it was close to solving the case and has done nothing for over a decade to resolve it," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "This attack has cast a shadow over Cambodia that will only be lifted when the perpetrators are brought to justice."

In a well-planned attack on March 30, 1997, four grenades were thrown into a crowd of approximately 200 supporters of the opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who had gathered to protest judicial corruption. At least 16 protesters and bystanders were killed, including children, with limbs torn off of nearby street vendors.

Members of the personal bodyguard unit for Hun Sen, then the co-prime minister, were deployed in full riot gear at the rally. They opened their lines and allowed the grenade throwers to escape, then threatened to shoot people trying to pursue them.

Instead of investigating and prosecuting the perpetrators of the grisly attack, Hun Sen announced that the demonstration's organizers should be arrested. In 2009, Hun Sen gave high-level promotions to two military officials linked to the grenade attack, Hing Bunheang, deputy commander of Hun Sen's bodyguard unit at the time of the attack, and Huy Piseth, who ordered the deployment of the unit to the demonstration that day.

"The Cambodian government should be investigating those implicated in the attack, not promoting them," Adams said. "Since the UN peacekeeping mission arrived in 1992, well over 300 people have died in political attacks, yet not one government or military official has been held to account. Cambodia is the textbook case of impunity for human rights abusers."

Human Rights Watch said that US assistance to military units linked to the grenade attack and other serious abuses compounds Cambodia's deeply entrenched culture of impunity for human rights violators.

Since 2006, the United States has provided more than $4.5 million worth of military equipment and training to Cambodia. US aid includes counter-terrorism training to personnel from Hun Sen's bodyguard unit and Brigade 70, who have been moved to a special anti-terrorist unit that was created in January 2008. US training has also been provided to members of Airborne Brigade 911, which has been implicated in well-documented violations, including arbitrary detentions, killings and other attacks, torture, and summary executions.

"Rather than continuing the FBI probe into the killings, the US has channelled military aid to units linked to the attack and other recent serious abuses," said Adams. "The US is sending mixed signals about its commitment to the human rights of the Cambodian people."

"Bang-Uot Neak Na" a Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea

Impunity at Work in Cambodia: Soldiers and Police Escape Prosecution

Nget Nith's bandaged shoulder after being shot by a RCAF soldier

October 15, 2008
Source: Licadho

For Cambodia's police and armed forces, impunity is the rule of law. In recent months Phnom Penh has been witness to a spate of shootings perpetrated by police or Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) personnel. These individuals at the time of the shooting incidents were either off-duty or working second jobs as security guards, during which they were illegally carrying firearms. Following the shootings all these perpetrators escaped prosecution because they were protected by their high-level connections, paid out-of-court compensation to the victim to ensure a criminal complaint was not made, or were allowed to go into hiding.

RCAF Brigade 70 soldier shoots factory worker

On July 31, 2008, Dy Sothearith, a soldier in Brigade 70, an elite RCAF unit which includes the Prime Minister's bodyguard unit, shot Nget Nith, a worker at the Toyo Food Product Co. factory Dangkao district, Phnom Penh. Dy Sothearith was working at the factory as a private security guard provided by the Cambodia Special Security Agency (CSSA), owned by Leng Ho, a senior official in the Ministry of Interior. The shooting occurred after Nget Nith, a technician at the factory, had attempted to enter the factory 15 minutes prior to the start of the night shift. After Sothearith refused him entry, a small argument erupted and the security guard shot Nith in the shoulder (he initially aimed his gun at Nith's chest but Nith turned his body sideways and the bullet hit his shoulder). Sothearith fled the scene after the shooting.

The Toyo Food factory reportedly loaned money to Nith to pay for his medical costs and the CSSA paid Nith $1000 in compensation, in exchange for him not pursuing a criminal complaint against Dy Sothearith in court. At the same time, Dy Sothearith is believed to have gone into hiding within the Brigade 70 headquarters. Although many people witnessed the shooting of Nith and the district police conducted an investigation into this criminal act, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court has not taken any action to prosecute Sothearith.

Under Cambodian law, it is unlawful for the police not to send a file on a criminal case to court, or for a court not to file criminal charges, simply because the alleged perpetrator has paid compensation to the victim.

RCAF Brigade 70 soldier shoots man after traffic accident

On July 11, 2008, Meur Bora, also a RCAF Brigade 70 soldier, was driving his Lexus sports utility vehicle in Daun Penh district, Phnom Penh, when a Camry car driven by So Vinas and Pav Mengleang scratched his vehicle. Vinas and Mengleang continued to drive on as they were afraid of retribution should they stop their car. Bora pursued the Camry and managed to block its path with his own car. Bora then proceeded to shoot at the car, injuring Mengleang in the leg, and then beat Vinas on the head with his gun.

Bora was arrested and detained overnight by Daun Penh district police. The next day Bora was released and paid compensation to his victims. No further action has been taken by the police nor the court to prosecute Bora.

Police officer shoots and kills tuk tuk driver in bar

On May 5, 2008, Chhoun Mony, a Daun Penh police officer who was working off-duty as a security guard outside the Walkabout Bar, shot dead tuk-tuk driver Ieng Nhim. The killing took place at 12:30am when Nhim was waiting outside the bar for guests. Nhim and some of the other tuk-tuk drivers had apparently insulted Mony and he retaliated by shooting Nhim twice. Nhim was taken to hospital but later died of his wounds.

Police initially questioned witnesses to the shooting and also Nhim's relatives, however Mony managed to escape arrest. A police file on the murder was sent to court officials who have said that they will issue an arrest warrant for Mony; however, it is highly unlikely that the policeman will ever be arrested by his fellow police officers who are responsible for implementing arrest warrants.

Prime Minister Hun Sen's Bodyguard shoots and kills waitress

On September 4, 2008, Mean Sokchea, a RCAF Major working in Prime Minister Hun Sen's bodyguard unit, shot dead 21-year-old waitress Put Samphors at the Floating Beer Garden and Restaurant in Kien Svay district, Kandal province. On the night of the shooting Samphors had apparently refused Sokchea's romantic advances, however Sokchea continued to try and convince her to date him. It was raining at the time and Sokchea took his gun out apparently to fire into the air in an attempt to stop the rain. In his drunken stupor Sokchear discharged his gun, hitting Samphors in the stomach. Samphors was taken to hospital but later died of her wounds.

Sokchea was detained by the police overnight but was then released, allegedly after intervention by Hing Bun Heang, the commander of the Prime Minister's bodyguard unit. Samphor's family received $2700 from Sokchea and were told by police that their daughter was shot while authorities were chasing robbers.

No further action has been made on this case.

These four cases above highlight the pattern of impunity applied to off-duty police officers and RCAF soldiers and the continued failure of the judiciary to bring these perpetrators to justice. LICADHO urges the authorities and the courts to prosecute all perpetrators of violence (in particular the cases outlined above), regardless of what position they may hold, connections they may have, or if compensation has been paid to the victims.

Cambodia: Infamous Grenade Attack Still Unpunished

A wounded Chea Vichea (L) sitting next to Sam Rainsy following the attack
Scene of the carnage following the grenade attack on 30 March 1997
Sam Rainsy following the grenade attack

31 Mar 2008
Source: Human Rights Watch

(New York, March 30, 2008) - The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) should reopen its long-stalled investigation into the grisly grenade attack on an opposition party rally in Phnom Penh 11 years ago that left at least 16 dead and more than 150 injured, Human Rights Watch said today. The FBI investigation, which made significant progress in 1997, has been effectively abandoned. On March 30, 1997, a crowd of approximately 200 supporters of the opposition Khmer Nation Party (KNP), led by former Finance Minister Sam Rainsy, gathered in a park across the street from the National Assembly to denounce the judiciary's corruption and lack of independence. In a well-planned attack, four grenades were thrown into the crowd, killing protesters and bystanders, including children, and tearing limbs off street vendors. The grenade attack made headlines and provoked outrage around the world. On June 29, 1997, the Washington Post wrote:

"In a classified report that could pose some awkward problems for U.S. policymakers, the FBI tentatively has pinned responsibility for the blasts, and the subsequent interference, on personal bodyguard forces employed by Hun Sen, one of Cambodia's two prime ministers, according to four U.S. government sources familiar with its contents. The preliminary report was based on a two-month investigation by FBI agents sent here under a federal law giving the bureau jurisdiction whenever a U.S. citizen is injured by terrorism. ... The bureau says its investigation is continuing, but the agents involved reportedly have complained that additional informants here are too frightened to come forward."

"The FBI was close to solving the case when its lead investigator was suddenly ordered out of the country by the US ambassador, Kenneth Quinn," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The FBI has damning evidence in its files that suggests that Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the attack, but it has refused to fully cooperate with congressional inquiries or follow through on its initial investigation. Instead of trying to protect US relations with Cambodia, it should now finish what it started."

The FBI investigated the attack because Ron Abney, a US citizen, was seriously injured in the blast, which the United States at the time deemed to be an "act of terrorism." Abney had to be evacuated to Singapore to treat shrapnel wounds in his hip.

Instead of launching a serious investigation, then co-Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that the demonstration's organizers should be arrested and instructed police not to allow them to leave the country. (To read an Agence France-Presse account published at the time, please visit: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/03/28/cambod13086.htm).

On the day of the attack, Hun Sen's personal bodyguard unit, Brigade-70 (B-70), was, for the first time, deployed at a demonstration. Photographs show them in full riot gear. The police, which had in the past maintained a high-profile presence at opposition demonstrations to discourage public participation, had an unusually low profile on that day. Officers were grouped around the corner from the park, having been ordered to stay away from the park itself. Also for the first time, the KNP had received official permission from both the Ministry of the Interior and the Phnom Penh municipality to hold a demonstration, fuelling speculation that the demonstration was authorized so it could be attacked.

Numerous eyewitnesses reported that the persons who had thrown the grenades were seen running toward Hun Sen's bodyguards, who were deployed in a line at the west end of the park near the guarded residential compound containing the homes of many senior Cambodia People's Party leaders. Witnesses told United Nations and FBI investigators that the bodyguard line opened to allow the grenade-throwers to escape into the compound. Meanwhile, people in the crowd pursuing the grenade-throwers were stopped by the bodyguards at gunpoint and told they would be shot if they did not retreat.

"This brazen attack, carried out in broad daylight, ingrained impunity more than any other single act in recent Cambodian history," said Adams. "But that appears to have been one of its purposes - to send the message that opposition supporters can be murdered without ever facing justice."

In a June 1997 interview with the Phnom Penh Post, Hing Bun Heang, deputy commander of Hun Sen's bodyguard unit and operationally in charge of the bodyguards at the park on March 30, 1997, threatened to kill journalists who alleged that Hun Sen's bodyguards were involved. Hing Bun Heang has since been promoted as deputy director of Hun Sen's cabinet and, in September 2006, appointed as supreme consultant to Cambodia's Senior Monk Assembly and assistant to Supreme Patriachs Tep Vong and Bou Kry.

The bodyguard unit B-70 remains notorious in Cambodia for violence, corruption, and the impunity it enjoys as the de facto private army of Hun Sen. According to a 2007 report by the nongovernmental organization Global Witness, "The elite Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Brigade 70 unit makes between US$2 million and US$2.5 million per year through transporting illegally logged timber and smuggled goods. A large slice of the profits generated through these activities goes to Lieutenant General Hing Bun Heang, commander of the prime minister's Bodyguard Unit."

In one notorious case in 2006, two soldiers from B-70 shot a Phnom Penh beer promotion girl in the foot for being too slow to bring them ice. They were arrested by military police, but released hours later by their commander. A representative of the commander said the victim would be paid $500 compensation by B-70, but no criminal investigation or prosecution ensued.

"Instead of investigating the senior officer in charge of the bodyguard unit implicated in the 1997 grenade attack and who threatened to kill journalists reporting on it, Hun Sen has promoted him," said Adams. "Apparently, Hun Sen considers such a person qualified for a senior position in the country's official Buddhist hierarchy."

Given the serious and credible allegations of the involvement of the Cambodian military in the grenade attack, Human Rights Watch expressed concern that the United States has increased military assistance and training to the Cambodian military before it completed its investigation into the 1997 attack.

Human Rights Watch called on the US to ensure that it is not providing any assistance or training to current or former members of B-70 or other Cambodian special military units with records of human rights abuse. In an effort to solidify counterterrorism cooperation, the FBI in 2006 awarded a medal to the Cambodian Chief of National Police Hok Lundy for his support in the US "global war on terror." Hok Lundy was chief of the national police at the time of the grenade attack and has long been linked to political violence.

"No credible explanation has ever been offered for the deployment or behavior of Hun Sen's bodyguards on March 30, 1997," said Adams. "Their actions may reach the highest levels of the Cambodian government, yet the FBI investigation has been dropped. The fact that the US is providing military assistance instead of investigating the grenade attack shows that it is effectively complicit with the Cambodian government in abandoning any hope for justice for the victims of this horrific attack."