Group Finds Chaos, Violence Led to Bridge Tragedy

Photo: by Heng Reaksmey
Stampede victims are seen rescued by police officers and fellow bystanders. The Diamond Bridge tragedy killed 353 people and injured nearly 400.

Kong Sothanarith,
VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Wednesday, 15 December 2010

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“In our country, the responsible persons conduct the investigation by themselves, and there is no result.”

Initial reports of an independent investigation into the Nov. 22 bridge stampede has found a climate of chaos far more detailed than an initial government assessment of the disaster.

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights says it has found testimony of electrocutions on the overcrowded bridge, which as lit with festive lights that night, as well as fist fights between youth gangs, prior to a panic that left 353 dead and nearly 400 wounded.

The preliminary findings to a larger report are likely to stir more public debate for the way the Water Festival security was handled by public officials in the lead-up to the stampede.

The government has said the incident was an unforeseeable accident and that no one will be punished.

Ou Virak, director of the Center for Human Rights, said the center’s investigation had also learned that military police had stolen the possessions of the victims, following interviews with more than 40 witnesses and survivors.

He called the government investigative committee lacking and hastily done.

“That investigation was only symbolic, because they knew in advance their answer to the cause,” he said. “In general, an investigation must not be concluded in one week. It needs detail.”

Ou Virak said the center would need up to six month to complete the report on the bridge stampede, which was the worst Cambodian disaster in decades. The report will then be sent to the administration and the National Assembly, he said.

Chan Saveth, chief of investigation for the rights group Adhoc, said the government’s answer to the disaster was “not enough and not credible.”

The National Assembly denied a request by the opposition Sam Rainsy Party for an independent parliamentary investigation.

SRP lawmaker Son Chhay said his party was considering an investigation of its own nevertheless.

In many countries, he said, those thought responsible for such disasters removed themselves from their posts, to allow investigation. “In our country, the responsible persons conduct the investigation by themselves, and there is no result.”