Cambodia PM condemns attack

(THE PHNOM PENH POST)Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday condemned the savage beating of two opposition lawmakers outside the National Assembly on Monday, before then insisting the violence was wholly unrelated to the pro-ruling party rally from which its perpetrators emerged.

In a rare televised address to the nation, the premier called for those who attacked Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers Nhay Chamroeun and Kong Sakphea to surrender themselves to authorities, ordering police to make arrests “without tolerance or discrimination”.

“Whoever did that bad activity must be arrested and face legal action,” Hun Sen said in the 10-minute speech, calling on witnesses to submit any footage of the incident.

“If [the perpetrators] come out and confess, it is the best way to be responsible before the law.”

The faces of a number of the attackers are visible in footage of the attack circulating widely online.

The group, which dragged the lawmakers from separate cars and beat them in the street, had remained outside the National Assembly as a pro-CPP demonstration calling for CNRP deputy president Kem Sokha to resign as parliament’s vice president had begun to disperse.

Hun Sen stressed the time difference.“The protest finished at 11 o’clock, but what we regret is the incident at 12 o’clock,” he said.

CPP officials have denied accusations the violence was orchestrated by the party. The prior gathering, however, had been pointedly alluded to in a speech by the prime minister the night before.

In the wake of the attacks, other party loyalists have continued to push to remove Sokha, who has flown to Thailand to visit the injured lawmakers in hospital.

Yesterday, Defence Minister Tea Banh backed a letter by Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Deputy Commander Kun Kim calling for Sokha to be ousted.

Banh also supported anti-Sokha demonstrations held by soldiers in uniform at the border, saying military personnel were entitled to their opinions.

“It is their right of expression, which is not a violent act,” he said at a ceremony to welcome Hun Sen back from France.

“Military officials are also humans who know pain, hunger and know every problem. It’s nothing different from general citizens.”

He continued: “They [the military] are impartial only in their position, but their rights of expression can’t be banned.”

Shortly after the protest on Monday, a mob also attacked the Tuol Kork home of Kem Sokha with rocks, smashing windows as his wife was trapped inside.

CNRP president Sam Rainsy has accused Hun Sen of using “fascist methods” in retaliation for anti-government protests he encountered in Paris.