Well-known anti-eviction activist Yorm Bopha and opposition lawmaker Real Camerin announced their plans to get married next year at an engagement ceremony in Phnom Penh on Saturday.
“We plan to get married in April,” Ms. Bopha, 34, said Sunday.
Ms. Bopha has been one of the most high-profile activists to come out of Phnom Penh’s beleaguered Boeng Kak community.
She was arrested in September 2012 on assault-related charges that rights groups insisted were trumped up to punish her for her activism, and was released on bail in November 2013. Shortly after, she divorced her husband in part because he wanted her to stop protesting.
Mr. Camerin, 56, has also joined many of the opposition’s protests against government policies, and was himself arrested for a few days in July for having joined a recent rally in Phnom Penh that turned violent.
Ms. Bopha said she accepted his proposal in part because of their shared activism and belief in the same causes.
“He helps the people and society…. He has the same passions as me, so I accepted,” she said.
Mr. Camerin said he met Ms. Bopha in the months following her release from prison at various demonstrations.
“I kept my eye on her and whenever we met I would say hello,” he said. “I am making her my wife because she has the same desire as me to help society and is not arrogant but brave and strong.”
