Diplomats, Donors Lobbied to Help Free Jailed Protesters
Challenging the ban on demonstrations in Phnom Penh, activists rallied Friday at the U.S. Embassy, the Japanese Embassy, the Australian Embassy and the German Embassy before stopping for lunch and rallying again, in the afternoon, at the British Embassy, the European Union and World Bank offices, then marching, finally, to the South Korean Embassy to lobby for the release of protesters jailed earlier this month. The peaceful, multi-embassy protest was organized by the well-known Boeng Kak housing rights activists, who submitted petitions at each diplomatic compound seeking international pressure to gain the release of 23 people rounded up by paratroopers and military police during the violent and lethal suppression of strike demonstrations in Phnom Penh on January 2 and 3. … A U.S. Embassy official accepted a petition letter at about 9 a.m. from the demonstrators, who then promptly took off in tuk-tuks and motorcycles for the Japanese Embassy where they again rallied with flags, loudspeakers and slogans before being allowed to enter the compound to submit their letter seeking Tokyo’s pressure on Phnom Penh to gain the release of the 23 prisoners. At 9:40 a.m., and emboldened by their unobstructed protests despite the government issuing a ban on gatherings of 10 or more people, the demonstrators began to march to the Australian Embassy along Norodom Boulevard, followed closely by a dozen undercover police officers who furiously relayed information on their two-way radios about the unfolding events. Submitting a petition to the Australians, the demonstrators then drove to the German Embassy on Street 214 where, after presenting their petition, and before breaking for lunch, protest leader Tep Vanny said that donor countries must finally speak up on behalf of ordinary Cambodians. …
Khy Sovuthy
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/diplomats-donors-lobbied-to-help-free-jailed-protesters-50852/
