Civilians Illegally Issued Permits, Interior Chief Says
Co-Minister of Interior Sar Kheng on Tuesday accused RCAF’s elite Brigade 70 unit and the military police of breaching the government’s weapons ban by illegally issuing gun permits to civilians.
Speaking at the opening of the Interior Ministry’s two-day annual meeting, Sar Kheng told police chiefs, and provincial and municipal officials that civilians who have been denied weapons permits by the police are now being granted them by both RCAF’s B70 unit and the military police.
“I would like to inform the military that B70 gives weapons to civilians. This is not right,” Sar Kheng said. “The military police and bodyguards have also issued weapons to civilians.”
Under the April 1999 nationwide weapons ban, no civilian is allowed to own a firearm. Some 10,000 weapons permits were issued to civilians before the crackdown.
Sar Kheng did not disclose how many weapons permits have been issued through the military, but warned that the problem is a threat to security.
“We think there will be anarchy again,” he said. “So now we will conduct an inspection and make an announcement…that it is illegal to obtain or buy weapons from [these] authorities.”
Civilians who own guns with military-issued permits will have them confiscated, Sar Kheng said.
He said a meeting will be held with the Ministry of Defense and the Interior Ministry to discuss the problem.
Co-Minister of Defense Tea Banh said he did not know anything about permits being improperly issued. RCAF officials do not have permission to grant licenses, he said.
The issuing of licenses will be investigated immediately, Tea Banh said. “At this stage we do not yet know how it happened.”
Sao Sokha, national military police commander, said he was unaware of the claims that his forces were illegally issuing weapons permits. He said he will launch an investigation.
“I will investigate to find out where the licenses [came] from,” Sao Sokha said, adding that the military police have been instrumental in enforcing the nationwide weapons ban.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said it is unclear how many civilians have been issued gun licenses, but demand for permits has increased steadily since the government banned civilian gun ownership.
Khieu Sopheak said some military officials have ignored the ban and issued permits to those who could pay for them.
“It is clearly stipulated in the sub-decree that only competent authorities can possess the license. They did not respect this subdecree,” Khieu Sopheak said.
Since the ban on gun ownership, nearly 154,000 firearms have been confiscated or surrendered to the police, Ich Saro, Interior Ministry deputy chief of cabinet, said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Banning ownership of legally held weapons by members of the public has been criticized by gun owners, who say weapons are still easily accessible for criminals while responsible citizens cannot defend themselves from attack.
According to National Police figures released Tuesday, serious crimes committed in Cambodia dropped slightly in the past year.
In 1999 a total of 2,456 serious crimes were reported, compared with 2,196 in 2000.
While armed robbery and murder, Cambodia’s two most common serious crimes, showed a slight decrease, reported rapes jumped 30 percent from 1999 to 2000, making it Cambodia’s third most common serious crime.
