By Jim Lobe
Washington, DC, Jan. 26 — The assassination of Cambodia’s
most important trade union leader has sharply increased tensions surrounding
the unsettled political situation in the Southeast Asian nation and
could jeopardize Cambodian textile exports to the US.
Thousands of mourners turned out Sunday for the funeral of Chea Vichea,
who was both the leader of Cambodia’s textile workers and a prominent
political foe of the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen. He was only
36 years old.
Rights groups expressed uncertainty as to whether his murder was motivated
by his opposition activities or his labor organizing efforts, which
have been strongly opposed by many of the owners of the country’s
fast-growing textile industry.
Several prominent personalities, including a radio journalist and a
popular singer — both associated with the opposition royalist party
(FUNCINPEC) — have been slain by unknown assailants over the past
three months. Vichea was a leading member of a second opposition party,
the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), named after its leader.
“This assassination will surely exacerbate the climate of fear
for workers, journalists, environment and human rights activists who
speak out or publicly demonstrate to express their views,” said
Sara Colm, a senior researcher at New York-based Human Rights Watch
(HRW).
“It is a watershed killing that will not only send shockwaves through
the labor movement, but may also silence and intimidate opposition activists
and journalists,” she added.
Vichea, who reported receiving several death threats from a variety
of sources over the past year, was reportedly shot several times in
the head and chest by two assailants while reading a newspaper at a
highway newsstand, and died on the spot.
When police officers attempted to remove his body to arrange for an
immediate cremation, trade unionists intervened and took him to the
headquarters of the his 30,000-member strong trade union, the Free Trade
Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, according to the Brussels-based
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).
In a strong letter to Hun Sen, the ICFTU detailed a number of the death
threats that had been conveyed to Vichea and noted that a retired military
colonel, who served as head of security at one garment factory, had
physically attacked and beaten Vichea as he was distributing leaflets
inviting workers to a May Day labor rally earlier this year. Vichea
won a court victory against his assailant last September.
Noting that Vichea had been forced into hiding on a number of occasions
and that the government had failed to provide him with protection, the
ICFTU called on Hun Sen to “issue a public guarantee that Cambodia’s
trade unionists will benefit from full protection by state authorities
against any future occurrence of similar events.”
The US State Department also strongly condemned the assassination and
called on the government “to undertake immediate and effective
action to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
“A culture of impunity in Cambodia must not be tolerated,”
said deputy spokesman Adam Ereli, who also called on Phnom Penh to ensure
the security of Vichea’s family and colleagues.
Vichea’s murder came as Hun Sen has continued to negotiate with
other parties to form a new government since the July elections that
were won by his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP); which failed, however,
to get a majority of seats in the national legislature. The CPP has
effectively ruled Cambodia since Vietnam ousted the Khmer Rouge regime
in 1979.
The two main opposition parties, SRP and the FUNCINPEC, have formed
their own alliance in the negotiations, and the resulting impasse, combined
with the recent string of high-profile murders, has itself raised tensions.
Some analysts have charged that the government is trying to intimidate
the opposition.
Rainsy, who gave an emotional address at Sunday’s funeral, declined
to assign blame. “Chea Vichea has done many things that have affected
the leaders of the country, but I cannot say whether (his killing) is
politically motivated or not,” he said, adding, however, “Those
who protest against the government, you see the result.”
Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihanouk, however, was less restrained.
From Beijing, he charged that the recent killings were “unquestionably
political.”
HRW noted that a senior adviser to FUNCINPEC leader, Prince Norodom
Ranariddh (Sihanouk’s son), was killed last January; a judge and
court clerk were murdered three months later’ and 13 opposition
party activists were killed in the run-up to the July elections. In
addition, a series of attacks on opposition supporters had also gone
unpunished, the group said.
“Unfortunately, Cambodia has a poor track record in bringing to
justice the perpetrators of political killings,” said Colm. “The
Cambodian authorities must take immediate steps to enforce the law and
protect those who struggle for basic freedoms, including labor rights.”
Two senior Republican senators, Majority Leader Bill Frist and Mitch
McConnell, also strongly denounced the killing and insisting that Hun
Sen should be held accountable for the failure to provide security to
opposition figures.
In addition to the political fallout, Cambodia’s textile trade
could also suffer a setback from Vichea’s killing. Under an unusual
1999 trade accord, Washington agreed to increase the import quotas for
apparel assembled by Cambodia’s textile factories so long as plant
owners and the government are in “substantial compliance”
with international core labor standards.
Vichea’s killing, particularly if there is a strong suspicion that
apparel interests may have been involved, is likely to draw renewed
scrutiny to how well the right to organize is being protected.
Source: OneWorld.net
