Slaying of Government Critic in Cambodia Raises Questions

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Cambodians lay flowers on the car carrying the body of independent political and social analyst Kem Ley outside the store where he was shot dead earlier in the day in Phnom Penh, July 10, 2016

AFP

Family members and local villagers are raising questions about the investigation into Sunday’s slaying of outspoken government critic Kem Ley as they cast doubt about the suspected killer’s identity and the motive alleged for the killing.

According to authorities, Kem Ley was shot while sitting alone inside the Caltex gas station at the intersection of Monivong and Mao Zedong boulevards in Phnom Penh, where he liked to have coffee and talk with friends. The 46-year-old was attacked execution-style, shot once behind his left ear and once under his left arm.

While Cambodian police have identified the suspected killer as Chuop Samlap, the alleged culprit’s family and Buddhist monks told RFA’s Khmer Service that the man is actually a former soldier and an ex-monk named Oeuth Ang.

Hoeum Horth, 45, who is married to the suspect, said she recognized him when she saw a Facebook post with his picture.

They had been married for only about two months when Oeuth Ang, 43, left the Norkor Pheas 2 village, in Siem Reap province’s Angkor Chum district on a trip after they had a falling out because he gambled away a new motorbike.

“He told me that he was going to Phnom Penh,” she told RFA. “I didn’t ask him much about his trip because I was angry with him. After we got married, I bought a new motorbike for him that he lost gambling. He had no money when he went to Phnom Penh.”

The suspect’s 64-year-old mother, Ek Tap, who lives in Tunle Sar village, which is about three miles from the village where Oeuth Ang lived, said she recognized a photo of the suspect she saw on TV as her eldest son.

Ek Tap told RFA that Chuop Samlap, which means “Meet to Kill” in Khmer, was likely an alias he gave police. Ek Tap said her son had a job as an environmental conservation worker for the government, but that he had been a soldier in his youth.

“He used to be a soldier in Angkor Chum district when he was very young,” she said. “I was shocked to see him like that as he was never involved in such bad activity. Yesterday I saw him on TV. I recognized him as Oeuth Ang.”

Ek Tap told RFA that her son had been a soldier from his early teens until 1998, but had done a lot of jobs after that, including working in Thailand.

Failed monk

Villagers and monastic leaders say Oeuth Young tried to become a Buddhist monk, but he wasn’t cut out for the monastic life.

Soeum Suon, the head monk at Prasath Thnung pagoda in Saom commune, told RFA he ordained Oeuth Ang as a Buddhist monk in 2012, but kicked him out after a year for his bad behavior.

“When I reprimanded him for his poor discipline, he threatened to shoot me,” the monk said. “When he was a monk he bragged about his work as a soldier. He is illiterate. I decided to kick him out of the pagoda in 2013.”

Saom Samorn of Angkor Chum district told RFA he’d also ordained Oeuth Ang, but that Oeuth Ang didn’t clean up his act.

“Oeuth Ang used to threaten that anyone who caused him trouble would be killed with a gun that he had purchased,” the monk said. “I assume that he has had that gun since back when he was a monk.”

Motive questioned

While villagers described Oeuth Ang as a cruel man who liked to drink heavily and chase women and was capable of carrying out the killing, they questioned his alleged motive.

Police have said that the murderer killed Kem Ley over a $3,000 debt, but that makes little sense, say the villagers and his wife.

Kem Ley’s wife Bo Rachana challenged the suspect’s confession, calling it an attempt to make the popular researcher and leader of the advocacy group Khmer for Khmer look bad.

“He never borrowed from anyone, not even 100 riels (U.S. $ 0.03),” she told RFA. “He wouldn’t dare to ask people to lend him money. He even helped provide free consultation to some poor NGOs. He was very gentle, polite and kind person. He liked helping people.”

Oeuth Ang was brought to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday under heavy guard and was questioned for more than an hour. Reporters were kept away, but Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesperson Ly Sophanna said he would be questioned again on July 12.

A call for transparency

Distrust with the police runs deep in Cambodia where they often are seen as adding and abetting the brutality that has marked Prime Minister Hun Sen’s more than 30 years heading the country.

Relatives and local people aren’t the only ones with questions. Eng Chhai Eang, a Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) senior official, said the authorities must show the public security footage in and around the Star Mart, where Kem Ley was killed.

“If the Cambodian authorities want to resolve public doubt and suspicion, they need to show the captured video footage to the public so that we are satisfied,” Eng Chhai Eang said. “Please try not to point your fingers at others. You have to be accountable and show your competency in prosecuting criminals.”

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday ordered a thorough investigation into the killing and announced a large-scale campaign to strengthen security and social order in the aftermath of Kem Ley’s murder.

“This is a loss. It badly affects the reputation of the government,” he said. “Who will benefit from such a thing when the government is talking about peace and security?”

Kem Ley’s death comes at a time of political uncertainty for Cambodia with opposition CNRP leader Sam Rainsy in self-imposed exile and facing defamation charges.

Other opposition leaders have been tossed in jail and the acting head of the CNRP has been holed up in party headquarters since heavily armed police attempted to arrest him in connection with cases related to an alleged affair.

Political tension

Public killings of Hun Sen’s critics have regularly occurred during the first 15 years of his rule but the killings have diminished over the years. Political tension between Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party and the CNRP has been intensifying this year, however, as the parties prepare to contest local elections in 2017 and a general election in 2018.

Just days before he was killed, Kem Ley had appeared on an RFA Khmer Service call-in show to discuss a report by the London-based NGO Global Witness documenting how Hun Sen and his family have amassed a $200 million fortune. The Hun family has dismissed the report.

The U.S. State Department expressed concern over the killing. RFA is funded by the U.S. government

“We are deeply saddened and concerned by reports of the tragic killing of prominent Cambodian political commentator Dr. Kem Ley. We offer our sincere and profound condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. “We are following developments in this case closely, noting the Cambodian government's call for an investigation, and urge that authorities ensure this process be thorough and impartial.”

Reported by Savyouth Hang for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/slaying-of-government-critic-07112016170039.html

Copyright © 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036

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Dictator Hun Sen uses brutality to maintain power & erode international confidence, writes Nate Thayer

Minutes after prominent Cambodian independent political analyst Kem Ley was gunned down in broad daylight, police arrested a “suspect” who had “confessed” to the assassination.

Within hours, a video of the suspect’s interrogation—the man bleeding from the head and scared witless—was released to the TV Station BTV, which is 100 percent owned by the daughter of the Cambodian dictator Hun Sen. The arrested suspect was asked his name by police. “Chuab Samlab,” he answered, lips quivering.

“Chuab Samlab” translates directly in English as “Meet Death” or “Meet Killed.” A more literal translation would be “To be killed upon encountering.”

read more http://www.asiasentinel.com/opinion/analysts-murder-highlights-cambodian-misrule/

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Gunman’s Identity Revealed

Police yesterday discovered the real name of the gunman who shot and killed prominent government critic Kem Ley when the shooter’s wife, who lives in Siem Reap province, came forward and identified him. Mr. Ley was shot in the back and in the head at about 9am on Sunday morning in a Star Mart cafe next to a Caltex gas station on the corner of Monivong Boulevard and Mao Tse Tung Boulevard.

The gunman was arrested soon after the incident and confessed to shooting Mr. Ley over a supposed $3,000 debt owed to him. The man told police his name was “Choub Samlab,” but police did not believe him because the words mean “meet to kill” in Khmer. He told investigators he was from Banteay Meanchey province and worked as a crop farmer in Sa Kaeo province in Thailand. Because of the fake name, police were skeptical of his initial answers to their questions.

Chuon Sovann, Phnom Penh’s municipal police chief, said the gunman was sent to court for questioning yesterday evening after police discovered his real identity. Mr. Sovann declined to comment further, but confirmed the man’s real name was Eurth Ang. “After the investigation is completed, I will explain this case in detail. For now, the court will continue the procedure and investigation,” he said.

read more http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/27113/gunman---s-identity-revealed/

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Prominent Critic's Killing Raises Political Stakes in Cambodia

Luke Hunt

July 11, 2016 11:16 AM

PHNOM PENH—

The killing of high profile activist and political commentator Kem Ley has shocked Cambodians, angered the opposition, and raised the political stakes in a country with a tragic history of assassinations and an intolerance of dissenting voices.

Hundreds have been jailed and many killed in a difficult peace since the final shots in Cambodia's long-running civil wars were fired almost 18 years ago, leaving behind a nasty culture of violence. Analysts said Kem Ley's death symbolizes that culture and the recent crackdown on dissent by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Ley's death was alarmingly similar to the notorious murder of trade unionist Chea Vichea in 2004 and reminiscent of the 2012 killing of Chut Wutty, an environmentalist shot dead while working with two journalists.

Neither case has been resolved satisfactorily, raising fears the latest high profile murder of a civil society activist would again be blighted by official obfuscation and an unwillingness by the police to challenge authority.

This point was made by John Kirby, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, who said Washington was deeply concerned by the death of the 45-year-old activist.

“We are following developments in this case closely, noting the Cambodian government's call for an investigation, and urge that authorities ensure this process be thorough and impartial,” he said.

Reaction

Cambodia's robust civil society is usually loud and fast when speaking out about this country's injustices. But nearly all were silent today as the full weight of the killing and its ramifications were felt.

Kem Ley, a Cambodian analyst, discusses the meaning of color revolution and freedom of expression in Cambodia during Hello VOA call-in show in Phnom Penh, June 30, 2016. (Lim Sothy/VOA Khmer)

In perhaps his last interview, conducted Friday by VOA Khmer service, Kem Ley was quite vocal in regards to a highly sensitive report from London-based corruption watchdog Global Witness that last week valued Hun Sen's family wealth at a minimum of $200 million.

He told VOA Khmer the report provided clear information about how Cambodia really works and should be used to benefit the country through investigations by the anti-corruption unit, the National Audit Authority, and the National Assembly.

“How far are they willing to go? I doubt it if they do, but even if they don’t, it still is a historical evidence under a person’s leadership,” he said, referring to Hun Sen and the report.

It's a touchy issue in a country mired by poverty with the wealth divide becoming an increasingly hot election topic among voters.

Global Witness added its voice to the growing chorus of international condemnation of Ley's death and called for an investigation “that will ensure that the real perpetrators are brought to justice, not just the hit men.”

Cambodians shout slogans outside a shopping mall where prominent political analyst Kem Ley was shot dead in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 10, 2016.

Long history of political assassinations

Spokeswoman Josie Cohen said Cambodia had a long history of political, human rights and labor activists being killed.

Keith Loveard, a regional risk analyst with Jakarta-based Concord Consulting, said violence in Cambodia was an issue of concern for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) adding the current political climate was similar to the political assassinations of the Philippines and Indonesia during the 1980s and 1990s.

But he added that political assassinations could prove to be more damaging for a government intent on ruling through violence and intimidation.

“I think there is already some concerns about the directions of Cambodia and this will only accentuate those directions,” he said in regards to the killing.

The Overseas Press Club of Cambodia (OPCC) said Kem Ley was a trusted and often quoted source for journalists.

“Well I think it's a worrying time for Cambodia,” OPCC board member Rupert Winchester said. “Kem Ley was a respected political commentator and Cambodia has lost an important political voice.

“At the OPCC we're extremely concerned this killing will have a quietening effect on freedom of speech nation-wide, which is crucial ahead of next year's commune elections,” he said.

A government spokesman declined to comment.

Death not unprecedented

At the latest murder scene, a Caltex gas station on a busy corner of the capital, hundreds of protesters and at least one policeman simply said they did not believe the official explanation for Ley's death.

Police survey the crime scene where Kem Ley was shot dead while family members pray next to his dead body, July 10, 2016.

One Thai national was arrested immediately after the killing and police said the motive was a debt for $3,000. In a recorded confession, the Thai gave his name as Chuab Samleep, which means “meet death” in Khmer.

Police say they are looking for a second assailant.

Kem Ley was shot twice in broad daylight, from behind with a high precision hand gun, which is not normally associated with street thugs and debt collectors.

Chea Vichea was also shot twice in broad daylight. Two suspects were tried, a process widely slammed by human rights groups who say both men were used as scapegoats.

Their case ran nine years before being dropped because of a lack of evidence. Investigations into the deaths of two other two unionists were inconclusive, and activists say a probe into the killing of Chut Wutty was closed without justice rendered.

FILE - Chut Wutty, Director of the Natural Resource Protection Group, walks in Koh Kong province,

Feb. 20, 2012. The prominent anti-logging activist, who helped expose a secretive state sell-off of national parks, was fatally shot on April 25, 2012 in a remote southwestern province, said police.

Future in politics

Kem Ley was as much an outspoken critic of Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) as he was of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP).He founded the Grass Roots Democracy Party almost a year ago.

Commune elections scheduled for mid-2017 and general elections due a year later are shaping-up as a bloody affair after the CPP returned to power in the last election with a sharply reduced majority.

“Much is going on and people don't want to talk about it,” said one local academic who declined to be named said. “Kill one person and everyone shuts up, but at the end of the day it's about people who owe their livelihoods to the CPP and they will do anything in their power to keep that power.”

Two CNRP politicians were bashed outside the National Assembly in October and a further 19 politicians and supporters have since been detained.

Additionally, CNRP leader Sam Rainsy has fled into self-imposed exile, while authorities are threatening his deputy Kem Sokha with arrest over a sex scandal.

source http://www.voanews.com/content/assassination-raises-political-stakes-in-cambodia/3413285.html

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Who does Kem Ley's killing ‘benefit’, asks PM

Vong Sokheng, Mech Dara and Shaun Turton

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday called for calm in the wake of the slaying of political analyst Kem Ley, though appeared to cast aspersions in the direction of the opposition party by asking “who benefited” from a crime that made the government look bad.

Speaking to a gathering of military police, the premier again condemned Sunday’s shooting of the prominent government critic and called for authorities to find and punish the perpetrators or “conspiracy” behind the murder, while also announcing the government would begin a “campaign” to clamp down on crime and increase security.

While 44-year-old suspect Eout Ang claimed he shot Ley over a debt in a confession video uploaded just hours after the crime, many were quick to label the slaying political, among them opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who flatly accused the state of involvement, while noting past assassinations of government critics.

a lot of other articles here on this topic http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national

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Who does Kem Ley's killing ‘benefit’, asks PM

Vong Sokheng, Mech Dara and Shaun Turton

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday called for calm in the wake of the slaying of political analyst Kem Ley, though appeared to cast aspersions in the direction of the opposition party by asking “who benefited” from a crime that made the government look bad.

Speaking to a gathering of military police, the premier again condemned Sunday’s shooting of the prominent government critic and called for authorities to find and punish the perpetrators or “conspiracy” behind the murder, while also announcing the government would begin a “campaign” to clamp down on crime and increase security.

While 44-year-old suspect Eout Ang claimed he shot Ley over a debt in a confession video uploaded just hours after the crime, many were quick to label the slaying political, among them opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who flatly accused the state of involvement, while noting past assassinations of government critics.

a lot of other articles here on this topic http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national

So Hun Sen is suggesting that the opposition benefit from killing a man who, 24 hours earlier, had been publicly critical of Hun Sen's ill-gotten wealth. He is so delusional!

[phantomfiddler]

Well, one thing is for sure, it could not have been orchestrated by that cuddly hombre hun sen (note lower case), he has such a genuine care for the people smile whenever photographed

[ggt]

Why is this news? Killing of political opponents is what governments do in the 21st Century...

Edward Snowden's life would not be worth a plug-nickel if he returned to the US...he would either be found dead from a "suicide"...or die in some horrible "accident"...

After all...human rights and humane treatment are what governments are all about...