Authorities halt R’kiri thumbprint collection

Opposition supporters in Ratanakkiri yesterday said that local authorities aligned with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party have actively obstructed their efforts to circulate petitions ahead of Wednesday’s planned rally in Freedom Park. After collecting more than 100 thumbprints, local government and police officials in Bakeo district invited Kvas Sang, a member of the district’s Keh Chung commune council, to a sit-down at the commune hall, he told the Post yesterday. They asked why he was collecting thumbprints and for the names of those who had signed the petition, he said. “I replied that it was nothing; we support [the Cambodia National Rescue Party], so they thumbprinted documents to support the CNRP,” Sang said. Heng Bun Thang, Bakeo district governor, yesterday confirmed Sang’s account, saying that higher-level officials had ordered their provincial counterparts to halt the collection of thumbprints. …

 Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/authorities-halt-r%E2%80%99kiri-thumbprint-collection