Long Beach residents march on Anaheim St. Monday to protest Cambodian election results. Photos by Brian Addison.
As
Cambodia engages in a dispute over recent election results, Cambodian
and Cambodian-American citizens of Long Beach took to the streets to protest in the hopes that a larger public presence will shed the
international light on the possible election fraud in their home
country.
The 5th Cambodian Parliamentary Election, held July 28,
was called into dispute by the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP),
who claimed an estimated one million votes were lost in addition to over
one million "ghost names" appearing in the election results. The
opposing party, the long-in-power Cambodian People's Party (CPP), claims
that their party had rightfully won the majority of votes, seizing 19
of Cambodia's 24 provinces.
Using
their legal right to organize here in the United States, locals were
adamant about the irregularities of the election and emphasized that
distance should not mean apathy.
"It's important because it shows
that even though we are not there in Cambodia, we are watching and
listening and we care," said Cambodian-American activist and musician
Prachy Ly. "We are more united then ever and we here in the States are
fortunate to get information from unlimited resources."
Ly and
other organizers, including the organizer of the protest itself, Pe
Khorng, noted that the images hopefully generated by the protest—which
also happened concurrently at the U.N. Building in New York City—have
multiple effects. One is that Cambodia's overwhelmingly young
population, of which it is estimated that 70% of the country's citizens
are under the age of 30, will have hope knowing outsiders are paying
attention.
Secondly—and much more tangibly—is to deter possible violence.
"We
are fearful of where this could lead," said protest organizer Pe
Khorng. "The current government [of Prime Minister Hun Sen] has refused
to admit fraud or form an independent group to look into the matter.
With troops moving into Phnom Penh, we are deeply concerned that a
peaceful confrontation will become bloody."
Forming an independent
group is key for many Cambodians here in Long Beach, who fear that the
state body National Election Committee (NEC)'s look into the matter will
be entirely biased. The NEC is widely considered to be heavily
influenced by Hun Sen's CPP—including a vitriolic stance from Ly, who
bluntly calls Hun Sen a dictator.
"Hun
Sen is a former Khmer Rouge, he's been in power for 28 years—over
10,000 plus days," Ly said. "He is the youngest and the longest serving
dictator in the world, clinging onto power for dear life even it it
means taking a life… History show us that one man can stop an army of
tanks while a power-hungry, greedy dictator once living in golden palace
can easily end up dead in back of a pick-up truck. I hope there will be
no violence, but what is the price for peace?"
While that price
is being weighed, the protestors will continue to urge action on behalf
of the United Nations and the United States to look formally into
possible acts of fraud and corruption.
3 comments:
they should protest in front of cambodian embassy
ពួកខ្មែរក្រហមនៅក្រៅស្រុកកំពុង
បំរើរនយោបាយយួន ចង់អោយខ្មែរកាប់ចាក់គ្នាឯង
ដើម្បីផលប្រយោជន៏យួនទៀតហើយ។
5:49 am,លោកគួរប្រាប់ទៅចៅហ្វាយនាយរបស់លោកគឺលោកហ៊ុនសែនឲ្យចញ្ជូនទ័ពចេញក្រៅក្រុង។ ការដែលហ៊ុនសែនចញ្ជូទ័ពចូលក្រុងមានន័ថាលោកហ៊ុនសែនចង់កាប់ចាក់សម្លាប់ខ្មែរគ្នាឯងដើម្បីប្រយោជន៍យួន។ តាមរដ្ឋធម្មនុញ្ញ ខ្មែរមានសិទិ្ធធ្វើបាតុកម្មអហឹង្សា តែហ៊ុនសែនបញ្ជូនទ័ពចូលក្រុងបានន័យថាចង់ប្រើហឹង្សានិងបង្ហូរឈាមខ្មែរ។
Post a Comment