Regional peers urge gov’t to probe deaths
An organisation made up of current and former elected representatives from across Southeast Asia has called on the United Nations to investigate the deaths of two people shot by police during protests over the past three months.
In a statement released yesterday, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) slammed the Cambodian government’s failure to “properly investigate” the deaths of Mao Sok Chan and Eng Sokhom.
Sok Chan, 29, was shot in the forehead on September 15 when security forces began firing into a crowd near a police barricade at Phnom Penh’s Kbal Thnal overpass. Uninvolved in the protest, he had been attempting to return to his home after finishing his day’s work as a newspaper binder. …
Vice president of APHR and former Thai Senator Kraisak Choonhaven pointed the finger squarely at the Cambodian government yesterday, accusing them of not meeting international human rights standards. …
“I am deeply concerned that the common trend of state violence and impunity in ASEAN member states will only worsen if this serious problem is continually brushed under the carpet to ensure a blinkered focus on economics and trade.” Robert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva, urged the Cambodian government to investigate the deaths. …
Eddie Morton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/regional-peers-urge-gov%E2%80%99t-probe-deaths
