Five Injured in Second Day of Crackdown at Phnom Penh Park

 
Security guards armed with batons and cattle prods left at least five people injured after they violently dispersed a group of opposition supporters who had gathered for a second day Friday outside Freedom Park in defiance of a ban on rallies in the Cambodian capital, according to sources.

The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) had organized the gathering to mark the start of the May 2-16 campaign period for municipal, provincial, city and district council elections and to protest a January ban on public gatherings. Hundreds of party supporters had awaited the arrival of a morning march led by party leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha for a rally outside of the heavily barricaded park in Phnom Penh when some 100 armed guards descended on them, sources said.

“At least five people were injured by security guards—including CNRP supporters, one monk and one journalist—as they waited for the march to arrive at Freedom Park,” local rights group Licadho said in a statement.“The journalist was taken to a hospital while Licadho doctors treated the other injured civilians, including one man who required three stitches.”

Pa Nguon Teang, director of the independent radio Voice of Democracy, told RFA’s Khmer Service that at least one protestor and one of his reporters had been “seriously injured” during the crackdown.He said the reporter, Lay Samean, and other members of the press had been targeted by the armed guards as they tried to take pictures of the rally, and that doctors at a nearby hospital said that his jaw had been broken.“This is an unfortunate incident and I condemn the security guards’ violent actions,” Pa Nguon Teang said.

“Our reporter, Lay Samean, was assaulted until he was knocked unconscious. He has bruises everywhere.”According to the Phnom Penh Post, “several observers were beaten,” including an unaffiliated activist who was “bleeding profusely from the head” and at least two reporters—one of them female, and an American photographer.

The Post quoted Lay Samean as saying that he had been surprised that the armed guards were targeting journalists.“I just took a photo of their activities when they were beating a monk,” he said.“When they saw me take a photo of their activity, they rushed to beat me like a robber, and I lost my smartphone as well.”The report also quoted activist monk Loun Sovath, one of at least two monks attacked by guards, who said that he too had been singled out for taking photos and had been struck on the neck and hand.

After the crackdown, organizers changed the route for the procession and marched for around three hours from the CNRP headquarters through the city to the Royal Palace, where Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha addressed supporters, Licadho said, adding that they had pledged to continue the rally on Saturday.

Friday marked the second day in a row that armed guards attacked crowds around Freedom Park, which security forces barricaded with barbed wire on April 30 ahead of a planned Labor Day rally by demonstrators.CNRP-backed labor unions had been denied permission by city officials to lead the May 1 rally in the park and, instead, Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha chose an area near the site to address a crowd of more than 1,000 people.

Following the leaders’ departure, some 100 security guards set upon the demonstrators who had poured into the city’s streets to press for better working conditions for garment workers.They had also called for an increase in the minimum wage and the release of garment workers and activists detained in strikes in early January, which had prompted a violent crackdown that left five people dead and a ban on demonstrations, as well as the closure of Freedom Park for public rallies.In the aftermath of the attack, Licadho said doctors treated five injured people, one with stitches to his head.

On Friday, the group said that authorities had extended the barricade around Freedom Park to cover a nearby bridge and the Wat Phnom temple, where hundreds of police armed with tear gas launchers and security guards were stationed.It said military police were also positioned next to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house and at the Supreme Court near the Royal Palace.

UN weighs in

Friday’s clash came as U.N. Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Flavia Pansieri concluded a five-day visit to Cambodia to probe violence following the disputed July 2013 general elections.Pansieri, the most senior U.N. human rights official to visit the country since 2010, called for a transparent investigation into the January crackdown on striking workers.She told reporters on Friday that she was “deeply saddened” to learn of the previous day’s violence in Freedom Park and concerned that journalists were reportedly targeted.

“The use of excessive force raises serious concerns about the role of district security guards in dealing with demonstrations and public order,” she said.Pansieri said that during her fact-finding mission she had concluded that freedom in Cambodia had deteriorated since the July elections in which Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodia People’s Party (CPP) was declared the winner by the country’s government-appointed electoral body.

She was particularly concerned over the situation since January.“I regret having to assess that there has been a deterioration in 2014 in the extent to which freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia are guaranteed and enjoyed,” she said, adding that she had repeatedly raised the ban on demonstrations in Phnom Penh with the authorities during her visit.

“Recalling State obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to uphold the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, I reiterate the view that the ‘ban’ on demonstrations falls short of the test of legality, necessity, and proportionality,” she said.“I urge the government to take the necessary measures to remove this ban without further delay and to ensure that all citizens are able to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

Vicious May Day beatings

 

At least five people were injured yesterday morning when a Labour Day rally next to a heavily fortified Freedom Park was violently broken up by police and security forces – some dressed in civilian clothing – wielding batons and cattle prods.More than 1,500 people had gathered around Naga Bridge on Norodom Boulevard at about 9am to voice demands for better working conditions and wages, and to greet the arrival of opposition leaders Sam Rainsy, Kem Sokha and Mu Sochua.

At about 10am, after the Cambodia National Rescue Party leaders had left, more than 100 helmeted Daun Penh district security guards, along with municipal police and plain-clothed men wielding wooden batons, metal poles and cattle prods, were deployed to disperse the thinning crowd.

A Post reporter heard the forces being given direct orders to attack civilians, who by gathering near the park had defied a newly reimposed ban on meetings in all public areas in Phnom Penh, effective from yesterday until the end of the council election campaign period on May 16.

On Street 108, security guards were seen beating people over the head with batons at random.

One man was dragged off his motorbike and beaten on the ground by a crowd of district security guards in front of journalists and NGO workers.Lying on a bed in Licadho’s clinic in Phnom Penh – where three of the victims were being treated – the man, 34-year-old Eum Roly, described the attack.

“About 10 security guards used the metal and wooden sticks as well as batons to beat my hands, back and head until I was almost unconscious. Luckily, journalists and NGOs intervened to stop them,” he said.Roly, a CNRP supporter, said that he had done nothing to incite the attack and that he was at the scene in support of his wife, a garment worker, and others demanding a pay hike in the sector.

“I arrived there to support the workers’ demonstration … I had no intention of cursing or attacking the police or security guards,” he said.At least three journalists were also attacked, according to the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia Another victim of yesterday’s violence, 44-year-old Soy Sok Chamroeun, spoke to the Post shortly after being given five stitches to heal head wounds he received at the hands of security forces.

Baton-wielding plainclothed security chase and beat Eum Roly as he sits on motorbike yesterday near Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park. Daniel Quinlan“A group of security forces beat my forehead and the back of my head as well as my right arm,” he said, adding that he was also ambushed while driving his motorbike.Sok Chamroeun, a moto driver, said he attended yesterday’s rally with his 21-year-old son “to support union workers in their demonstration”.“I had no idea the authorities would crack down like this,” he said But despite the beating and the ongoing ban on public assembly, Sok Chamroeun says he will join the CNRP with their election campaigns as soon as he has recovered.

“I have a right to join and support any political party,” he said.Speaking to the crowd from the back of an open truck before the violence, Cambodia National Rescue Party deputy leader Sokha slammed the government’s treatment of its workers.“In democratic countries in the world, their government always comes out to welcome and encourage their workers every [International Labour Day]. But in Cambodia, the government uses guns to welcome the workers. It is very strange,” Sokha said.“However, I do not condemn the police who follow the orders of their leaders, and I also thank our police that make an effort to protect our workers.”

The CNRP speeches were interrupted when a car sped into the crowd, onlookers said.

A group of about 100 people surrounded the car, hitting its roof and trying to overturn it, until police brought in a tow truck and hauled the vehicle away with the driver inside.While rights groups condemned the ban on gatherings and the violence, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party said yesterday morning that it supported measures taken to stop Labour Day demonstrations.“The CPP strongly supports the Cambodian government’s measures to enforce the implementation of laws so as to ensure the democratic process and human rights for all Cambodian people,” a statement released by the CPP says.

Eum Roly lies on a bed at Phnom Penh’s Licadho office yesterday after receiving treatment for his injuries. Scott HowesCity Hall spokesman Long Dimanche said that any further attempts to defy the ban will also be met with force.“As we have said already, the authorities will take administrative measures against any group of people who do not understand the authorities’ ban [on assembly],” he said.He added that if the CNRP continues to act “stubbornly” and campaign in the streets today – the first of the council election campaign period – force will, once again, be used.“If the CNRP are still stubborn against our ban, our authorities will need to enforce the law and crack down.”At a new conference yesterday afternoon, Rainsy and Sokha vowed to flout the ban and march along the roads. 

Sokha said that with the area surrounded by razor wire the CNRP plans to create a new Freedom Park.“The respect of the law on elections has been abused,” party leader Rainsy said, adding that he has sent a letter to National Election Committee president Im Suosdey calling on him to take action against the authorities abusing the law by banning campaigning.Suosdey could not be reached for comment.Speaking to a crowd of about 300 people on Veng Sreng Boulevard earlier in the day, at a ceremony for the victims of fatal military police shootings on January 3, Rainsy encouraged people to file complaints over the crackdown.

“The current ruling group is not afraid of Cambodian courts, they are afraid of the ICC [International Criminal Court]. So we file a complaint to the ICC,” Rainsy said.Despite roadblocks set up by the security forces impeding their march, activists representing 17 unions successfully delivered letters – with demands including a minimum monthly wage raise to $160 and for courts to drop charges against 23 people arrested at demonstrations in January – to the two political parties.“Security . . . pushed us around, and we still managed to stay peaceful,” said Kong Athit, vice president of Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union, one of the march’s organisers.Yesterday’s violence seemed to have gone unnoticed by Kirt Chantharith, spokesman for the National Police.“I didn’t receive any report of police beating anyone,” he said. “I think that nothing happened this morning.”

Chaos in southern Ukraine: Deadly fire, choppers down and street fighting

 

Deadly street fighting, helicopters shot down and civilians being used as human shields.

That was the picture that emerged Friday in southern Ukraine as violence escalated amid reports that dozens of people were killed in a fire and still more were shot dead or wounded in street fighting, raising the question of whether the country can stave off a possible civil war.The violence -- pitting pro-Russian separatists against Ukrainian forces and those who support the government in Kiev -- prompted an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, with Russia demanding an end to what it called Ukrainian aggression and Western powers accusing Moscow of funding the violence.

Russia and the West have squared off diplomatically over the fate of Ukraine, after Moscow annexed Crimea in March following the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. He was pushed from office after months of protests by people upset that he had turned away from Europe in favor of Russia.

 

The crisis in eastern Ukraine hit a boiling point with news Friday that security forces launched their most intensive effort yet to try to dislodge pro-Russian separatists, who have reportedly seized a number of government buildings in nearly a dozen cities and towns.

Helicopters downed

Two Ukrainian government helicopters were shot down in the flashpoint city of Slavyansk. The helicopters were brought down by fire from pro-Russian separatists, the Ukraine Ministry of Defense said.Five pro-Russian separatists and two civilians were killed in Slavyansk in a Ukrainian military operation, the city's self-declared mayor, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov.

Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed during an attack in the village of Andriyivka, near Slavyansk, defense ministry said. The gunmen also blocked a bridge in the area, using local residents, including women, as shields, according to the ministry.

Hundreds of miles away, in the Black Sea city of Odessa, at least four people were killed and 40 were wounded in fighting, according to the regional police administration.Another 31 people died after a fire was started at a trade union building amid clashes in the largely Russian-speaking Odessa, police said. Authorities initially reported 38 people had died, but later revised it.Video posted on YouTube appeared to show Molotov cocktails being thrown by Kiev supporters at the building where pro-Russian separatists had reportedly taken up positions.The footage, which CNN could not independently confirm, showed people sitting on ledges trying to escape the fire and thick smoke.

CNN cannot independently confirm the casualty counts.

The United States condemned the violence that led to the fire."The violence and mayhem that led to so many senseless deaths and injuries is unacceptable," Marie Harf, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman, said.The events that led to the fire "underscore the need for an immediate de-escalation of tensions in Ukraine," Harf said.The violence came the same day that U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to seek harsher sanctions against Russia if Ukraine doesn't stabilize in time for elections this month.The two leaders warned Russia could face a new round of sanctions by the West, if it does not stop its actions in Ukraine.

"There just has not been the kind of honesty and credibility about the situation there and the willingness to engage seriously" in finding a diplomatic solution, Obama said.But the threat seemed to do little to waive off Russia, with its Foreign Ministry saying Ukraine's use of its military in Slavyansk is criminal.

'Nail in the coffin'

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told CNN the military operation was "the last nail in the coffin" for the deal agreed to last month in Geneva, Switzerland, which called for illegal militia groups in eastern Ukraine to disarm and vacate seized buildings.Putin has been kept fully informed of unfolding events and regards the situation with "grave concern," Peskov said.

What's not yet clear is whether the escalating violence may prompt a response by Russia, which has previously said it has the right to intervene in Ukraine to protect Russian speakers.

Besides the threat from pro-Russian separatists, NATO estimates that Russia has some 40,000 troops massed near Ukraine's border.

Negotiations complicated

Peskov said the Ukrainian operation also complicated ongoing negotiations to free seven Western observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, who have been held captive by separatists in Slavyansk for the past week.Russia's Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, raised concern about the safety of a special presidential envoy, Vladimir Lukin, sent to southeastern Ukraine to negotiate a possible release of the OSCE observers.Its statement cited "reports about English-speaking foreigners spotted among attackers," saying there should be no "external interference" in Ukraine's affairs.

 

As the diplomatic wrangling continued, residents of Slavyansk were warned Friday to stay home and avoid windows as the latest phase of the authorities' "anti-terrorist operation" got under way.

The two Mi24 helicopters were downed with mobile air defense systems, killing two military officers and injuring others, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry website. Another army helicopter, an Mi8, was damaged, but no one was hurt, it said.Pro-Russian separatists took one badly injured pilot hostage after his helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing, the ministry said, and efforts to free him are ongoing.Ukraine's security service, the SBU, said one helicopter that came under attack was carrying medics, one of whom was injured.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti earlier reported that one Russian separatist was killed and another wounded in Slavyansk.The operation also targeted the town of Kramatorsk.

Meanwhile, Russian airline Aeroflot said it was canceling flights Friday to the eastern cities of Kharkiv and Donetsk because it didn't have permission to enter Ukrainian airspace.

Human shield allegation

In his Facebook post, Arsen Avakov, the Ukrainian interior minister, said nine checkpoints that were under control of pro-Russian separatists in Slavyansk have been taken back by Ukrainian forces, who now encircle the town.What the Ukrainian authorities want from the separatists has not changed, he said -- release the hostages, turn in weapons, vacate seized administrative buildings and allow the normal functioning of the city.Ukraine's security service also accused separatist leaders of ordering separatists to use residents as human shields in the city and at checkpoints.

Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov acknowledged this week that the central government has effectively lost control of the country's Donetsk and Luhansk regions to the pro-Russian separatists.He signed a decree introducing military conscription Thursday in a bid to beef up Ukraine's military, citing "real and potential threats to Ukraine."

Women working in Hon Khoi salt fields

Salt making is a very hard job, which is suitable to men but at Hon Khoi salt fields in the central province of Khanh Hoa, women are the main workers.

Nearly 50km to the north of Nha Trang City, there is a place called Hon Khoi, in Ninh Hai Commune of Ninh Hoa District. Different from other salt fields in Vietnam, most of salt makers here are women. They have to wake up from 3am to pedal for 4km from home to the salt fields. Women carry salt at dawn. They work early to avoid the sun because from 9am, it will be very hard to sustain the heat on the salt fields. At Hon Khoi salt fields, women do the job of carrying salt and men do other tasks. The salt piles are getting taller. The break. Having breakfast in salt fields. They do this job every day, under the heat.