Director General of National Police Hok Lundy warned Monday that the government is preparing to crack down on violent demonstrations or protests contesting the results of Sunday’s national election, if the outcome is recognized by international election observers as free and fair.
“If any demonstrators commit violent acts, police and military police must have a mandate to crack down on it,” Hok Lundy told more than 100 municipal police officers who attended a security meeting at Phnom Penh’s City Hall. “We are the government’s tool to protect for people,” he said.
The police chief said if the election is recognized as free and fair, any demonstrations that destroy national or public property, such as the ransacking of government institutions, the Council of Ministers or the National Assembly must be put down.
This time, however, Hok Lundy said he is apprehensive about police shooting at demonstrators. To that end, he said, police will employ vicious attack dogs to break up large, violent gatherings.
“We have only 30 dogs but each of them can fight against 200 people,” Hok Lundy said.
The police chief said deployment of the attack dogs is not intended to threaten or intimidate supporters of a particular political party, but he said that he has received information that one party intends to hold large demonstrations after the ballots are counted.
Hok Lundy declined to identify which party.
“If the international observation group recognizes the result of the election as fair and free the 23 parties must be forced to accept the result,” Hok Lundy said. “We had the experience in 1998. The demonstrators went out into the street after the NEC announced the result.”
He also said police cannot relax until after the votes are counted and a new government is formed. He said $2 million has been allocated for deployment of police during the election period, including an extra $1.25 a day for police officers as bonus pay during the election and vote-counting period.
