NGOs Harassed Ahead of Summit

14 November 2012
Radio Free Asia
ASEAN grassroots people's assembly / ASEAN ministerial meeting / ASEAN People's Forum (APF) / Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit / Beijing / Brunei / Burma / Cambodia Express News / Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) / Chak Angre Krom commune / Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao / East Asia Summit / Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA) / Indonesia / Laos / Malaysian aid / Meanchey District / nongovernmental organizations / Phnom Penh / rights groups / Singapore / South China Sea / Thailand / The Philippines / U.S. President Barack Obama

Cambodian authorities have disrupted several events held by nongovernmental organizations and have threatened to arrest anyone holding protests ahead of sensitive regional summits to be held in the capital Phnom Penh, rights groups said Wednesday. The Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA) said authorities in Meanchey district forced the owner of a local restaurant to shut down the meeting space he had rented to a group of NGOs ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and the East Asia Summit from Nov 18 to 20. … Ngoung Mongtha, an IDEA official, told RFA’s Khmer service that hundreds of NGO officials met on Wednesday morning to discuss requests for a petition the group planned to submit to leaders of the 10-member ASEAN body during the summit. …

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/disrupted-11142012183518.html