Phnom Penh, 12 November 2013 – The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) – a coalition of 21 NGOs working in the field of the promotion Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law in the Kingdom of Cambodia– deplores the excessive use of force by the authorities this morning at a demonstration by workers from the Singaporean owned SL-Garment factory – which makes clothes for clothing giants Gap and H&M. Tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets and live rounds were fired to disperse the workers, after demonstrators and police threw rocks at each other in Stung Meanchey District, Phnom Penh. Mrs. Em Sokorm, 49, a local rice vendor was shot dead around 9:30am. Numerous others were injured and early reports to the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) suggest that at least 27 people have been arrested, including monks and youths living at the Stung Meanchey Pagoda.
Tensions rose early in the day when police blocked demonstrators from marching to the house of Prime Minister Mr. Hun Sen in order to demand better working conditions. The workers have also complained of intimidation by plain-clothed military police officers acting as security guards at the factory. The demonstrators were exercising their legitimate right to freedom of assembly, as guaranteed under Article 41 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia and international legal standards to which Cambodia is State Party. Notwithstanding the abrogation the rights of the workers, the decision by the riot police and military police to obstruct the march resulted in a standoff that could have been avoided. Instead, tensions escalated to the point where demonstrators, innocent bystanders and military police were injured, and one woman was killed. Police Chief General Chuon Sovann has been captured on camera personally ordering the use of violence against demonstrators.
Crowds angered by the use of force by the authorities captured a number of police and held them in Stung Meachey Pagoda. Police raided the pagoda, beating monks and young men and firing tear gas and rubber bullets indiscriminately. The large bloodstains that peppered the pagoda buildings are testament to the injuries sustained as a result of the raid.
It seems that the lessons learned by the soft-handed approach by the authorities at the mass-rally of the opposition party in October – in which there were no injuries – have been forgotten and the authorities are returning to inadequate crowd control and the kind of violent crackdowns that left Mr. Mao Sok Chan, another innocent bystander, murdered at the Kbal Thnal overpass in September.
Cambodia’s garment sector makes up over 80% of Cambodia’s foreign exports, but the industry is beset by poor working conditions, low pay and short-term contracts which mean there is little employment security for the over 400,000 people that work in the sector. Strikes and protests are commonplace and are routinely broken up by the authorities and/or private security guards, often violently. To make matter worse, the violence against workers is often met with impunity. Only last week Mr Chhouk Bandith, the former Governor of Bavet City Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was handed a light sentence after shooting three protesters in February 2012. He remains at large.
Impunity cannot be allowed the reign in Cambodia. With Chhouk Bandith free and still no investigation into the death of Mr. Mao Sok Chan, Cambodia’s claim to be a country that respects rule of law lacks any credibility. This case should not go the way of the ones that preceded it. There is clear video evidence of Police Chief General Chuon Sovann ordering riot police to use violence against demonstrators. He must be held to account, stripped of his position and take legal responsibility for today’s violence.
Moreover, CHRAC demands a full and proper investigation into the death of Mrs. Em Sakhorn. There must be justice for her and her family.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Suon Bunsak, Executive Secretary of CHRAC Tel: 092 344 357
Mr. Ny Chakrya, Head of Monitoring Section, ADHOC: 011 274 959
Mr. Neil Loughlin, Technical Assistant, ADHOC: 092 648 318; loughlin.adhoc@gmail.com
