Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has asked the European Union (EU) to decrease imports of clothing from Cambodia in an effort to put economic pressure on the government into respecting human rights and freedom of speech, saying he believed the act would not affect workers. Video footage of an EU parliamentary meeting on July 13, which was posted to Facebook on Saturday evening, showed Mr. Rainsy, who was speaking in French, say the garment industry’s relationship to Europe was crucial to Cambodia, as more than half of Cambodia’s exports were sent to EU member states.

He added that investors and big corporations were profiting off the back of workers only to use the money they made to bribe the government for better export deals. Mr. Rainsy, president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), attempted to head off criticism of the idea, saying he did not think an EU slowdown in garment imports from Cambodia would affect average citizens.

The businesspeople bribing the government to get their products in and out of Cambodia would be hit the hardest, he said. “So if the EU stops allowing Cambodian clothing exports into their market, it will not be easy when they [the Cambodian government] want to open it back up. It must come back with terms and conditions. If you [the EU] do so, the government may start to reconsider things,” he said.

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Hitting their money belt is the only thing that despots Asians understand.

he did not think an EU slowdown in garment imports from Cambodia would affect average citizens.

Then a win-win for everyone to slow garmet imports from Cambodia.

Did he explain how and why a reduced amount of business for the factories would not affect the workers? No trade - no work. Does he believe the factory bosses will keep the workers on the payroll when there is no business ?

Maybe there are human rights issues, but there will be other issues if the people have no work, and no income at all.

If a financial crisis hits the EU, then what,

the share price of Deutsche Bank in the 2007

compared to today's price tells a story, what

can they do (the garment) sellers when the

demand slows / stops, just do what the Thais

do in a crisis, increase the prices.