'Anarchy' in Bavet as protesters attack police
Tue, 22 December 2015 ppp
Mech Dara
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| Police stand in front of the Manhattan SEZ in Bavet in the early hours of Tuesday morning in anticipation of yet another day of garment factory protests. Photo supplied |
Protests by striking garment workers in the Svay Rieng province town of Bavet spiralled into “anarchy” this morning after protesters pelted police with stones and injured at least two officers, according to officials.
“The protests continued this morning and became stronger; they did not listen to authorities or anybody, and they threw rocks at authorities, fire fighter trucks and factories,” said Ros Tharith, provincial administration director.
“It became anarchy,” he said.
Tharith said the police “almost lost control” of the situation and were unable to fight back, with one fire truck “completely destroyed”. No arrests were made or workers injured, and workers are now returning to their homes, he added.
Chea Oddom, provincial representative of the Cambodian Union for the Movement of Workers, said the violence occurred after police tried to block the striking workers from coming out of the Manhattan Special Economic Zone.
“The workers tried to push their way through and the police used water to disperse them, therefore workers got angry and they threw rocks at them, damaging two fire trucks,” he said.
Oddom contradicted officials, however, saying police arrested an unknown amount of workers.
Fifty-eight striking workers were arrested and later released yesterday for their alleged involvement in protests.
Provincial penal police chief Koy Sopheap said “two or three” police were injured and that the situation had become quiet again after factories allowed workers to return home.
“There were no arrests … We did not block them and we urged them to go work.”
Protests by thousands of garment workers across several special economic zones in Bavet began last Wednesday. The workers are unsatisfied with next year’s raise in the minimum wage, demanding a $20 raise from the current rate of $128, $8 more than the $140 rate for 2016 set in October.
Unions have denied any involvement in the protests.
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quote from article
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link to article
http://beforeitsnews.com/terrorism/2015/12/more-than-1-in-4-americans-now-believe-the-u-s-government-is-the-enemy-of-the-people-2456750.html
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