Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Officials break up Kem Ley gathering

Officials break up Kem Ley gathering

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Chamkarmon district authorities on Wednesday stopped 20 youths and 10 monks from gathering to commemorate the fourth anniversary of political activist Kem Ley’s murder at a Caltex petrol station at the Bokor traffic light in the capital’s Tonle Bassac commune. Hong Menea

Officials break up Kem Ley gathering

Chamkarmon district authorities on Wednesday stopped 20 youths and 10 monks from gathering to commemorate the fourth anniversary of political activist Kem Ley’s murder at a Caltex petrol station at the Bokor traffic light in the capital’s Tonle Bassac commune.

Authorities also took a 30-year-old man named Khan Chanthorn away for questioning after they saw him enter the petrol station wearing a t-shirt with a photo of Ley printed on it.

Boeung Trabek commune police chief Hong Chantheng told The Post on Wednesday that the youths and monks left the petrol station area after being advised by local authorities to do so.

District authorities had previously banned such commemorations.

Chantheng said: “A man wearing a t-shirt with Kem Ley’s picture entered Caltex petrol station. We allowed him to go back home after an hour of questioning. We just educated him and made him sign a contract.

“We did not detain him just because he wore that t-shirt. He did not do anything that caused social disorder. He said he was riding his bicycle along that road. He saw the crowd and went to see it. He did not know anything,” he said.

District governor Theng Sothol and district police chief Yin San could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

At a district administration press conference on Tuesday, the petrol station’s owner requested authorities to help ensure that business ran normally and there were no disturbances.

In line with the law, the administration said it will take measures to ban gatherings in the area as per the request of the petrol station owner. Furthermore, public order and security needed to be upheld.

According to protest laws, those who want to express opinions must go to Freedom Park, Chantheng said.

The Ministry of Health also banned all types of gatherings in the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The district administration said they had no choice but to enforce the laws.

Thon Ratha, an environmental activist who joined the commemoration said on Wednesday that youths and monks planned to gather and pray for the soul of Ley who was killed on July 10, 2016.

Ratha said it was interrupted by the authorities who said they could not hold a gathering. The owner of the station, he said, also requested help to maintain public order and security.

“I am sorry about this but I think our action was not illegal. We did this just to give opinions and join social work,” he said.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Tina rebuffs ‘false claims’ over falling paddy price

    Agriculture minister Dith Tina has shed light on the trade of paddy rice in Battambang – Cambodia’s leading rice-producing province – in a bid to curb what he dubs a “social media fact distortion campaign” to destabilise the market. While acknowledging that the prices of paddy

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm