Police pledge ‘no guns’ at today’s rallies

National Police and military police officers deployed to International Human Rights Day events and an opposition rally in the capital today will not carry guns or live ammunition, spokesmen for the respective authorities said yesterday.

Effectively vowing to avoid a repeat of two fatal police shootings at separate protests and strikes since September, National Military Police spokesman Kheng Tito said hundreds of military police will take to the streets only to “maintain security and order”.

“No more than 500 troops will be deployed,” he told the Post. “They will have no guns or ammunition. [And] if it’s not necessary, they will not block the road.”

Likewise, National Police spokesman Kirth Chantharith said police officers were not allowed to open fire today. …

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party will lead three marches from different parts of the capital to Freedom Park this morning, where a mass demonstration will be held, while a group of activist monks and villagers will descend on the National Assembly to demand human rights be be respected after a 10-day walk from different parts of the country.

The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee, meanwhile, has been granted permission to use Wat Phnom for a 5,000-person event at the same time that unions and other NGOs will gather in parkland on the riverside opposite the office of the Council for the Development of Cambodia. …

 Shane Worrell and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/police-pledge-%E2%80%98no-guns%E2%80%99-today%E2%80%99s-rallies