Union Official Forced to Sign ‘Confession’

13 July 2012
The Cambodia Daily
Unions
beaten / Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU) / Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU) / CATU / CCU / complaint / Demands / detained / Hun Sen / petition / Police / Prime Minister Hun Sen / Protest / Rong Panha / union representative / workers

A union representative who was beaten and detained by police during a protest Wednesday was released after being forced to sign a statement taking responsibility for starting a fight with authorities, union officials said yesterday. A bloodied Rong Panha, a representative of the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU) —which forms part of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU)—was taken into custody after he and 20 workers of Tai Yang garment factory marched to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house to submit a petition listing their demands. According to a copy of Mr. Panha’s hand-written confession, the union representative states that he regrets “the scuffle” with the police on Wednesday and promises not to file a complaint. ...