24 August 2010

Phnom Penh Police for Hire

What chance justice if the Cambodian police and armed forces literally work for wealthy politicans?

Recently a high-profile senator from the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) paid  uniformed policemen to help him clear protestors from land that had disputed ownership. And yesterday, in Kampong Speu, villagers protesting at having their homes destroyed by employees of the Phnom Penh Sugar Company were met head-on by soldiers from Battalion 313 of the Cambodian Armed Forces. Senator  Ly Yong Phat of the CPP owns the Sugar Company and he pays the soldiers to provide security for his interests.

So much for forces that can be relied on to provide even-handed justice, then. Rather, police and soldiers are sometimes no more than a mob of hired thugs doing the dirty work of those in power.

2 comments:

  1. When the PM (and even his wife) are not above murder and thuggery, there's not a snowflake's chance in hell.

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  2. ...and we sometimes forget that the Khmer Rouge were not invaders, they were native Khmers. Many still are around, driving tuktuks or running the country.

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