11 Activists Arrested for Views That ‘Impact Public Order’
Eleven political activists were pulled off the street by helmeted security guards Tuesday morning during a peaceful march to foreign embassies to deliver petitions calling for an end to government violence and the release of 23 imprisoned activists and strikers.
The 11 protesters—10 land rights activists and Rong Chhun, a prominent opposition-aligned labor activist—were arrested for disturbing public order, City Hall said. They were held at Phnom Penh municipal police headquarters for about five hours before being released shortly before 2 p.m.
“We arrested them because the rally and the expression of their views impact public order and public security,” City Hall spokesman Long Dimanche said.
Following the government’s violent and lethal suppression of demonstrations from January 2 to 4, the Ministry of Interior announced an indefinite ban on the constitutional freedom to assemble peacefully, which law experts say is illegal. …
Phnom Penh police chief Chuon Sovann arrived at about noon, and following a meeting with Daun Penh district officials and a lawyer from local human rights group Licadho, the activists were released at about 1:45 p.m.
Standing side by side with their hands clasped in the air, the 11 activists walked through the police headquarters’ parking lot to cheers from the crowd of people waiting outside, which included a number of monks and youth who joined in the afternoon.
Mr. Chhun said he and seven other non-government aligned union leaders planned to hold a demonstration in Freedom Park on January 26 to call for the release of the 23 arrested activists and workers, many of whom were beaten during the government’s violent suppression of labor protests on January 2 and 3. …
Phorn Bopha and Colin Meyn
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/eleven-activists-arrested-for-views-that-impact-public-order-50934/
