PHNOM PENH: Thousands of opposition supporters rallied in the Cambodian capital Sunday vowing to remain for several days in a renewed bid to overturn Prime Minister Hun Sen’s disputed election win.
The protest, called by the Cambodia National Rescue Party, comes a day after a rare meeting between opposition chief Sam Rainsy and the strongman premier to break the political paralysis gripping the kingdom.
Around 20,000 people converged on Phnom Penh’s Democracy Park on Sunday, according to an AFP reporter, the majority staying in place as dusk approached despite a prior order from authorities to disperse around nightfall.
Water cannon and tear gas were fired at an apparently unrelated group around two km from the park, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.
One man appeared to be injured in the clash which occurred when the group of around 200 people tried to break through a police barricade, he added.
The CNRP was swift to distance its rally from the incident and a spokesman said it was “not involved with the demonstration.”
CNRP supporters on Sunday again responded in large numbers to the call by opposition leader Sam Rainsy to reject official poll results, over allegations voter fraud, which saw the ruling Cambodian People’s Party take 68 seats to the opposition’s 55.
“Brothers, this is an important mission to rescue the nation,” Rainsy said Sunday addressing demonstrators, many of whom held banners reading ‘my vote, my nation’ and ‘where is my vote?’
Rainsy called for a recount or new vote and stated that opposition lawmakers will not attend the opening of Parliament on Sept. 23.
But “there will be no talks on power sharing,” he warned, without the alleged election irregularities being cleared up.
Saturday’s meeting between Rainsy and Hun Sen, hosted by King Norodom Sihamoni, made limited progress towards ending the stalemate but the opposition leader said he will still attend new talks on Monday with the CPP.
Anti-riot and military police were deployed at key locations in Phnom Penh on Sunday, but as dusk fell security forces had maintained a low profile at the rally site.
Ahead of the rally the government set a limit on the number of protesters at 10,000 and said it must finish by around 6 p.m. local time (1100GMT).
But protesters remained defiant, vowing to stay in the park until their demands are met.
“Our votes were robbed,” said 56-year-old Srin Chea, who travelled from southern Kandal province.
“I am angry. I want justice. I am not afraid of death.”
So far the CNRP’s efforts to challenge the outcome have failed and it has run out of formal options in its bid to overturn Hun Sen’s victory.
Hun Sen, 61, has been in power for 28 years and has vowed to rule until he is 74.
A former Khmer Rouge cadre who defected and oversaw Cambodia’s rise from the ashes of war, his government is regularly accused of ignoring human rights and suppressing political dissent.
New Cambodian opposition rally keeps heat on Hun Sen
New Cambodian opposition rally keeps heat on Hun Sen
’Without any humanity’: Eritrea human trafficker gets 20 years
- The court said the man had treated migrants “without any humanity” as they were transported from Eritrea to Europe via Libya
- Gang members abused thousands of migrants before detaining them in overcrowded and dirty camps in Libya
THE HAGUE: A Dutch court on Tuesday sentenced an Eritrean man to 20 years in prison for operating a human trafficking ring in which migrants were tortured and their families extorted.
The court said the man, identified as Amanuel Walid, had treated migrants “without any humanity” as they were transported from Eritrea to Europe via Libya.
“Your only aim was to earn as much money as possible from people who were looking for a better future,” presiding judge Rene Melaard told Walid.
Gang members abused thousands of migrants before detaining them in overcrowded and dirty camps in Libya, extorting their families for large sums of money.
The court in the northern Dutch city of Zwolle heard how gang members tortured victims while on the phone to their families in the Netherlands, demanding payments to make the abuse stop.
Only once family members had transferred money were the victims put on rickety boats for the perilous trip across the Mediterranean Sea. Many drowned in the crossing.
Prosecutors had called for the maximum sentence of 20 years, accusing him of leading a criminal organization with the intent to commit human trafficking, extortion, hostage-taking, and sexual offenses.
“The court finds that the seriousness and the extent of those crimes justifies such a 20-year sentence,” said Melaard.
He noted Walid had never expressed remorse for his actions and that a psychiatric observation center had judged him mentally fit to take criminal responsibility.
Melaard said he was also imposing the maximum sentence “because of the particularly cruel, violent, and degrading treatment to which the defendant and his accomplices subjected the migrants.”
The court ruled however it had no jurisdiction over the charges of hostage-taking and sexual offenses as these alleged crimes did not take place on Dutch soil.
Walid has been in custody in the Netherlands since October 2022. There is confusion over both his name and his age. He says he has a different name and is 46, not 42.
He made no substantive comments in court, except to deny the charges. He said it is a case of mistaken identity.
But the judge dismissed this claim, saying: “The court finds that it is beyond reasonable doubt that you are the person who was active as a trafficker in Bani Walid in Libya.”
His lawyers also argued that he has already been tried in Ethiopia over largely the same allegations and therefore could not be put on trial again.
Melaard said that the sentence in the Ethiopian case had not yet been applied but that Walid could appeal if it is.
- ‘Freedom and dignity’ -
Prosecutors believe Walid was one of the “most prolific” smugglers on the route from conflict-torn regions in Africa via Libya to Europe.
Walid “deprived the victims of their freedom and dignity,” the public prosecutor argued in court.
“He held them in appalling conditions, starved them, tortured them, and denied them essential medical care,” said the prosecutor.
The Dutch investigation into the operation lasted several years and was carried out with other international bodies such as the International Criminal Court and Interpol.
Libya has struggled to recover from chaos that erupted after a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 overthrew longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
Smugglers and human traffickers have taken advantage of the instability, with the country facing criticism over conditions for migrants and rights groups levelling accusations of extortion and slavery.
