Cambodia will deploy thousands of security personnel to police
a mass protest in the capital Phnom Penh this weekend against disputed
election results.
Supporters of Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) take part
in a rehearsal for a non-violent demonstration planned for September 7
at Democracy Park in Phnom Penh. (AFP PHOTO/TANG CHHIN SOTHY)
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia will deploy thousands of security personnel to police a mass protest in the capital Phnom Penh this weekend against disputed election results, officials said Thursday.
The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) said it expected at least 20,000 people to join the demonstration on Saturday over strongman premier Hun Sen's contested poll victory in July.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy urged people to turn out in order "not to let them steal the votes".
"We will show our feeling that we want justice," he told a gathering in Phnom Penh.
The CNRP, which has so far unsuccessfully demanded an independent probe into the election, has urged its supporters to avoid violence at what could be one of the largest opposition demonstrations for a decade.
Military police spokesman Kheng Tito said "thousands" of members of the security forces would be mobilised.
"If it turns violent andleads to chaos, we will crack down immediately," he added.
Cambodia's government has urged foreigners to stay away from the rally. The US and Australian embassies have also warned their citizens to avoid the protest as a precaution.
Security forces and armoured vehicles have been deployed around the capital since the July 28 poll, in a move the opposition has decried as intimidation.
Thousands of Cambodian police officers, armed with batons and shields, were seen learning protest control tactics early Sunday in a park in Phnom Penh.
Final poll results are expected to be announced by September 8, after which there will be no furtherlegal challenges available to the opposition, which has also called on the nation's king to resolve a festering poll dispute.
The opposition has called the mass protest to press the government to meet their demand for an independent investigation of the alleged vote fraud.
"The chances of the opposition succeeding in its demands are proportional to the number of supporters joining the demonstration," Cambodian independent political analyst Lao Mong Hay told AFP.
According to preliminary official results from the National Election Committee, Hun Sen's long-ruling Cambodian People's Party won 3.2 million votes to the CNRP's 2.9 million, although it has yet to reveal the party's share of parliamentary seats.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, a French-educated former banker, was excluded from standing in the polls despite a recent pardon for criminal convictions that he maintains were politically motivated.
Hun Sen, 61, a former Khmer Rouge cadre who defected and oversaw Cambodia's rise from the ashes of war, has vowed to rule until he is 74.
His government is regularly accused of ignoring human rights and suppressing political dissent.
The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) said it expected at least 20,000 people to join the demonstration on Saturday over strongman premier Hun Sen's contested poll victory in July.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy urged people to turn out in order "not to let them steal the votes".
"We will show our feeling that we want justice," he told a gathering in Phnom Penh.
The CNRP, which has so far unsuccessfully demanded an independent probe into the election, has urged its supporters to avoid violence at what could be one of the largest opposition demonstrations for a decade.
Military police spokesman Kheng Tito said "thousands" of members of the security forces would be mobilised.
"If it turns violent and
Cambodia's government has urged foreigners to stay away from the rally. The US and Australian embassies have also warned their citizens to avoid the protest as a precaution.
Security forces and armoured vehicles have been deployed around the capital since the July 28 poll, in a move the opposition has decried as intimidation.
Thousands of Cambodian police officers, armed with batons and shields, were seen learning protest control tactics early Sunday in a park in Phnom Penh.
Final poll results are expected to be announced by September 8, after which there will be no further
The opposition has called the mass protest to press the government to meet their demand for an independent investigation of the alleged vote fraud.
"The chances of the opposition succeeding in its demands are proportional to the number of supporters joining the demonstration," Cambodian independent political analyst Lao Mong Hay told AFP.
According to preliminary official results from the National Election Committee, Hun Sen's long-ruling Cambodian People's Party won 3.2 million votes to the CNRP's 2.9 million, although it has yet to reveal the party's share of parliamentary seats.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, a French-educated former banker, was excluded from standing in the polls despite a recent pardon for criminal convictions that he maintains were politically motivated.
Hun Sen, 61, a former Khmer Rouge cadre who defected and oversaw Cambodia's rise from the ashes of war, has vowed to rule until he is 74.
His government is regularly accused of ignoring human rights and suppressing political dissent.
- AFP/fa
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