Tens of thousands of supporters of a Cambodian union leader gunned down last week marched through the capital's center yesterday, carrying wreaths and wearing black and white headbands to bid farewell to their "hero worker."
Chea Vichea, president of Cambodia's Free Trade Union of Workers and a supporter of the country's main opposition party, was fatally shot Thursday morning at a roadside newsstand.
He became the latest victim of a series of suspected political killings involving critics of the ruling party of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
PHOTO: AP
With police lining the streets, Chea Vichea's body was moved early Sunday from the union's office to a cremation site near Cambodia's National Assembly and the Royal Palace.
Several people carried wreaths adorned with white and yellow flowers, some with Chea Vichea's picture inside, and most wore white shirts with cloth or paper headbands reading "Chea Vichea, the hero worker" and "Chea Vichea, the founder of workers' freedom."
Rong Chhun, leader of a teachers' union, said Chea Vichea "undoubtedly commanded respect among his peer groups."
"While we are mourning his death, let's remember to honor and be proud of his life achievements," he said in prepared remarks to be read at the cremation site.
"The government must end the culture of impunity and the killing anarchy in Cambodia," Men Nath, a representative of the Cambodian Watchdog Council, said in a statement to be read at the cremation.
The procession, which included teary-eyed young women and dozens of monks wearing burgundy or orange robes, attracted many onlookers.
Lak Sina, 58, watched the procession file by as she stood near the corner where Chea Vichea was slain.
"I never knew this person but I heard that he's a good man who fought for the freedom of the workers. I pity him very much," she said.
The recent string of killings of people linked to the political opposition following inconclusive general elections in July has created an atmosphere of fear, human rights advocates said. Several opposition legislators joined the procession.
King Norodom Sihanouk, who said Friday that the murders were multiplying and they were "undeniably" linked to politics, gave Chea Vichea a posthumous royal order, recognizing some of his achievements.
A founding member of the opposition Sam Rainsy party, Chea Vichea left the group to found the union several years ago but maintained close links with the party, which stridently criticizes the Hun Sen government.
Police have not arrested any suspects in the slaying, but are looking for a man who allegedly sent Chea Vichea a death threat in a message to the labor leader's cell phone before July's general elections, said Heng Pov, a deputy police commissioner.
A number of activists with the FUNCINPEC and Sam Rainsy parties were killed in what the parties allege were politically motivated attacks before and after the inconclusive ballot.
The Cambodian Center for Human Rights said in a report that arrests were made in about half the cases over a yearlong period ending last November, but that they were concerned some suspects were not the real killers.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a
RSS