About 20,000 Cambodian opposition supporters on Friday wrapped up a three-day demonstration to petition foreign embassies and the U.N. for intervention in what they claim was a rigged election.
While the international community is very unlikely to intervene in Cambodia's domestic affairs, the rallies served to highlight the opposition's demand for an independent probe into the July 28 poll, which it says returned Prime Minister Hun Sen to power illegitimately.
Throngs of cheering demonstrators marched through the capital this week as they delivered petitions to the French, British, U.S., Australian, Russian, Japanese, Indonesian and Chinese embassies and to the U.N. human rights office. The rallies ended peacefully.
Official election results extended Hun Sen's 28-year rule and gave his party 68 seats in parliament, compared to 55 for the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party. The party says it was cheated out of a victory and that it will boycott parliament until the government has met its demands.
According to the petition — which the opposition says was thumb printed by 2 million people — the Cambodian government's failure to investigate election irregularities and its inauguration of the National Assembly without the opposition "take Cambodia back to a one-party system of governance."
The three-day demonstration coincides with the 22nd anniversary of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords on Cambodia, which laid the groundwork for U.N.-sponsored elections after the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge and years of civil war that followed. The countries that received opposition petitions were all signatories to the 1991 Accords.
The government denies election fraud, and has rejected opposition demands for an independent investigation. It maintains that its inauguration of a new parliament in September was legitimate and has filled parliamentary commissions with ruling party members.
Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said that intervention from abroad was "not going to happen." Moreover, he said, seeking outside help was counterproductive to building democracy from within Cambodia.
"By going abroad, you're actually re-confirming this attitude of we need to depend on the U.N. jumping out of the sky, out of a plane or whatever, to rescue us," he said.
The Australian embassy said in a statement Friday that it had received the petition and that its ambassador, Alison Burrows, "urged both parties to continue their dialogue including on electoral reform."
4 comments:
lose or winner, CNRP needs to clean up the trash,, big messy on democracy park for 3days, no sanitation, shit on the street, etc..
big trash all over the park - all over the street
let keep the city clean for daily living
ជនជាតិខ្មែរដូចជាដីខ្សាច់មួយចានដែលត្រូវខ្យល់បក់
បោក ប្រៀបបាននិងជម្ងឺមហារីកនៅទ្វីបអាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ៏
មិនអាចមើលជាឡើយ នៅតែថ្ងៃបាត់បង់និងស្លាប់?
គ្មានការសាមគ្គីរវាងរាស្ត្រ
គ្មានការសាមគ្គីរវាងជាតិឯងដើម្បីការពារទឹកដីជាតិឯង
ម្នាក់ៗគឹតតែពីអំណាចខ្លួន
ចូលចិត្តពឹងផ្អែកបរទេសជាបង្អែកបំផកលាញជាតិឯង ជាពិសេសដើម្បីផលប្រយោជន៏ខ្លួន
រករាស្ត្រធ្វើជាឈ្នាន់ដោយសាររាស្ត្រខ្មែរល្ងង់ស្រួលបោក ស្រួលធ្វើបាប។
អ្នកមានចំណេះភូតភរអ្នកល្ងង់ អ្នកមានអំណាចជិៈ
អ្នកទន់ខ្សោយ អ្នកមានជិៈជានអ្នកក្រក្សាត់
បែជាស្តេចលក់ទឹកដីឳយយួន អស់អ្វីក៏អស់ចុះឳយតែបានគេថ្វាយបង្គំ។
Cambodia is a cursed nation because of there are too many idiotic. Mike
Yes I agreed with you. Cpp build schools stupid raincy stop them. Yeas ah chkout pler pler nis.
Post a Comment