Suspected Sam Rainsy Rebels Summoned

Officials at some of Cambodia’s most popular tourist spots say they are concerned that recent crimes against foreigners may deter travelers from visiting the country.

Last week five Ja­pan­ese tour­ists were bound and robbed at gun- point in their Phnom Penh ho­tel room by three assailants. And early Wednesday morn­ing, two Canadians—a 24-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman—were stabbed and robbed in their guest house room in Siha­nouk­ville.

Also in Sihanoukville in April, a Canadian woman in her mid-20s was reportedly raped at gunpoint on the beach.

“We regularly strengthen security, but some bad people sometimes make trouble,” Chhun Sirun, the Sihanoukville deputy governor, said Thursday.

Sihanoukville police were pursuing the suspects in Wednes­day’s stabbing, Kol Phaly, chief of the town’s pe­­­n­al poli By Yun Samean

and Porter Barron

the cambodia daily

The Military Court summoned two Sam Rainsy Party members this week, keeping at a simmer Prime Minister Hun Sen’s threats against a so-called militant wing of the opposition party.

Thach Phy and Khuong Nareth, both of Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district, said Wednes­day that they each received summons on Monday—Hun Sen’s deadline for alleged militants to surrender and confess without punishment.

The summonses were issued in response to Hun Sen’s accusations last month that the Sam Rainsy Party had formed rebel force, which he likened to the outlawed Cambodian Freedom Fight­ers. Government officials confirmed that Hun Sen’s accusations targeted Committee No 14, the opposition’s aboveboard watch­dog network that reports on the misconduct of RCAF and security departments.

But Khuong Nareth and Thach Phy said Thursday that they were not active members of Com­mittee No 14.

Khuong Nareth said Thach Vang, one of the first Sam Rainsy Party ac­tivists who came forward and claimed to be tricked by the Sam Rainsy Party into militancy, asked him to join the committee in July, after Hun Sen made his charges.

He said Thach Vang told him mem­bership in the committee would secure him a government job, so he filled out the application. Khuong Nareth said he also gave Thach Vang information on his friend Thach Phy, so Thach Vang could fill out an application for him too.

“I was cheated by Thach Vang. When he gave my application form [for Com­mittee No 14] to the government, he made money from it,” Khuong Nareth said.

Contacted by telephone Thurs­day, Thach Vang denied knowing either Thach Phy and Khuong Nareth.

Khuong Nareth, however, said Thach Vang contacted him Tues­day, telling him to report to the court and testify that Thach Yoeurng, another Sam Rainsy Par­ty member, organized the armed force.

He said Thach Vang told him Hun Sen would pay him to implicate his colleague and told him to relay the message to Thach Phy.

The men worried about their safety and said they had asked the court to postpone questioning until they could find lawyers.

“We are afraid to go to the court because it is already organized,” Thach Phy said Thursday, speaking at Sam Rainsy Party head­quarters.

Investigating Judge Pok Pon said he agreed to the request for a temporary  postponement, but had not set a new date for ques­t­ion­ing.

Pok Pon said he had issued a total of seven sum­monses but would not reveal the other five re­cip­ients.

Cheam Channy, Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker and the chief of Com­mittee No 14, said Thursday that his party had not decided whether to provide its own legal coun­cil to represent the summoned men.ce office, said Thursday.

The two injured Canadians were brought to Phnom Penh’s Cal­mette hospital on Wednesday with stab wounds to the ribs, arms and back, said a Calmette administration official who de­clined to be named. They were flown to Bang­kok for treatment later that night, the official said.

In last week’s incident, the five Ja­panese tourists were  un­harmed. But the at­tacks have alarmed some officials.

In Siem Reap province, Deputy Prov­incial Governor Suy San said he was concerned about the ef­fects of crime on tourism in his prov­ince.

“We have been worried about this problem for a long time,” Suy San said.

“We cannot be careless about this problem.”

On Monday, Phnom Penh Gov­ernor Kep Chuktema or­dered local authorities to increase security at all hotels and guest houses in the city.

Last week, the British Embassy updated its travel advisory for its citizens visiting Cambodia, though the advice was largely un­changed, said John Mitch­ell, deputy head of mission.