Dozens of NGOs and civil society groups were a constant presence at opposition protests over the past three days, including during Sunday’s clashes between civilians and security forces, despite a warning from the Interior Ministry last week not to lend their services to demonstrations.
Interior Minister Sar Kheng released a statement last week warning NGOs that give “support” to the CNRP during its sit-in at Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park would be in breach of their operating contracts.
Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), said that Mr. Kheng’s warning to keep away from a demonstration conflicted with the role of his NGO.
“The Ministry needs to understand: We are a human rights NGO, that’s what we do. If the opposition supporters are the people most vulnerable, we must help them. But if it is the other side [who needs help], we will work with them too,” he said.
“[The Ministry of Interior’s warning] shows a very narrow interpretation of the rules and it reflects a government which is paranoid and obsessed with controlling these demonstrations,” he said.
Chan Soveth, a senior investigator for local human rights group Adhoc, said that civil society organizations, led by the U.N., had proven their worth and neutrality by negotiating an end to the violence around Monivong Bridge on Sunday night, and the removal of Mao Sok Chan’s body, who was allegedly shot dead by police, as panicked protesters refused to let the family or authorities take his corpse from the scene in fear of a cover-up.
“Civil society, especially the U.N., played a part in encouraging the parties to end the violence and reopen the road,” Mr. Soveth said.
“This monitoring and mediating is the role that we play, and it is vital that civil society continues to ensure that protesters behave according to the law and that authorities implement the law properly,” he said.
Human rights monitors also played a role in quelling Sunday’s riverside clash, where opposition supporters threw stones at police and dismantled barricades and were met with water cannons and tear gas from police.
“I talked to the police chief briefly and it helped the situation. When both sides stop listening to each other, NGOs need to become the middleman to share the messages and calm the situation,” Mr. Virak said.
But despite finding some understanding with security forces, Mr. Virak said he got no feeling that police recognized that both NGOs and security forces are ostensibly impartial parties in the disputed election.
“[The authorities] don’t engage as much as we would like them to. I shook hands with a few of the police [on the riverside] but I got the feeling they are not permitted to be seen being close with NGOs because they were very reluctant and nervous.”
“NGOs and authorities don’t need to be enemies. The two parties need to find a different way to deal with each other.”
