Arrest warrants in hand, authorities Wednesday began their search for the suspects in the killings of a Funcinpec commune candidate and a Sam Rainsy Party activist, an official said.
If the Ministry of Interior makes arrests in the two separate killings, the government will have made arrests in all 20 killings involving commune election candidates or activists, Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said.
Both victims were shot dead in the same Kompong Cham commune last Nov 14.
Thon Phally, the Funcinpec candidate, was shot outside his Srolop commune home, while Sam Rainsy Party member Phuong Sophat was killed after four men called him out of his house.
In both cases, police said the motive was not political. At the time of the shootings, police said Phuong Sophat was shot because he helped to rape and rob a woman Aug 12, while Thon Phally was killed because he fought with a neighbor over a plot of land, officials said.
Despite these claims, human rights workers have called both killings “politically motivated” and have included them in a list of 20 killings of candidates or activists during the election season.
The government has prosecuted suspects accused of killing Sam Rainsy Party and Funcinpec commune candidates in only three cases.
Human rights workers, however, have questioned whether the government and the courts prosecuted the right men in all three of those cases.
Last month the Ministry of Interior released a statement saying there were no politically motivated crimes related to the Feb 3 elections, at which Cambodian voters selected their own commune councils.
The CPP won the majority of votes in 1,598 of the 1,621 communes. The Sam Rainsy Party carried 13 communes and Funcinpec prevailed in 10.
