Fearing an attack by the outlawed Cambodian Freedom Fighters, Phnom Penh traffic police on Wednesday briefly detained a Cambodian-American man who had Cambodian and US flags hanging from the back windows of his car, police said Thursday.
Thong Kanara, 52, who came to visit Cambodia for Khmer New Year, was allowed to go on his way after about an hour, said Ou Sara, Prampi Makara district traffic police chief.
“He was freed after we advised him to stop hanging up the flags [because] it looks like CFF,” Ou Sara said.
Today is the eighth anniversary of the CFF’s formation, according to Chhun Yasith, the US-based president of the group.
“We will fight soon for the territory, justice and democracy for our people,” Chhun Yasith said in a statement marking the anniversary and received Thursday. “Vietnamese stooges are coming to their end.”
On April 22, graffiti bearing the CFF acronym appeared in Phnom Penh’s Chamkar Mon and Daun Penh districts.
Police have not received any information suggesting that the CFF is planning to attack, Sok Phal, deputy director-general of the National Police said. “I think they can continue to write on the walls only,” he said. Sok Phal added that the group only has few leaders, all of whom are said to live in the US.
