South Korean Embassy Denies Role in Strike Suppression
The South Korean Embassy on Wednesday denied a news report that it had lobbied Cambodian military authorities to “crack down on protesters” in a bid to shield Korean investments in the garment industry, prior to Friday’s killing of five protesters and the wounding of more than 40 others by military police officers. A story published late Tuesday by the U.S.-based GlobalPost news service cited a statement by the South Korean Embassy—posted online in Korean—in which embassy staff allegedly said that they had asked the Cambodian military to “act swiftly” in protecting factories owned by their citizens. According to GlobalPost, in the statement on Monday, “the South Korean Embassy took credit for convincing the Cambodian government to ‘understand the seriousness of this situation and act swiftly.’ It cited high-level lobbying over the past two weeks as contribution to the ‘success’ of protecting business interests.” … A South Korean Embassy official on Wednesday said that they had simply done their duty by asking government officials to protect South Korean businesses, but that military action or violence against protesters had never been suggested. …
Denise Hruby
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/south-korean-embassy-denies-role-in-strike-suppression-50364/
