Mourners of slain government critic fill Cambodia’s streets

Tens of thousands of Cambodians filled the streets of Phnom Penh Sunday for a funeral procession of a well-known government critic who was gunned down earlier this month.

Kem Ley, a Cambodian political commentator and activist, was shot to death at a convenience store at a petrol station on July 10.

Police had arrested Oueth Ang, a 43-year-old man who claimed during questioning that he had killed Ley over a $3,000 debt that Ley failed to pay back, according to Kirth Chantharith, a spokesman for the National Police.

But some Cambodians have raised doubts about the motive for the murder, saying that Ley’s outspokenness and involvement in political organization made him a target. Ley founded the Khmer for Khmer, a grassroots political advocacy group.

Ley had also been a long-time critic of Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen and his government. Just two days before his death, Voice of America Khmer asked him to comment on a report by the London-based anti-corruption group Global Witness that revealed the prime minister’s family held the majority stake in companies whose value totals more than $200 million. Ley said those findings were still “understated”.

Families and friends of the suspected shooter were also suspicious.

People hold portraits of Kem Ley, an anti-government figure and the head of a grassroots advocacy group, “Khmer for Khmer”, shot dead on July 10, as they attend a funeral procession to carry his body to his hometown, in Phnom Penh July 24, 2016. Photo by Samrang Pring/Reuters

“I think there was someone behind my child’s back.” Ang’s mother, Ek Tap, said to Voice of America Khmer.

Ang was charged with murder on Wednesday and faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Sunday’s march, one of the largest protests in recent years, included mourners from across the country who flocked to the capital city to pay their last respect to the slain activist. With many dressed in black and white, massive crowds accompanied Ley’s glass casket from the capital city’s Wat Chas pagoda to Takeo province, where he was born.

The body of Kem Ley, an anti-government figure and the head of a grassroots advocacy group “Khmer for Khmer”, is carried by his relatives and supporters to put on a hearse during a funeral procession to carry his body to his hometown, in Phnom Penh July 24, 2016 Photo by Samrang Pring/Reuters

“He was a mirror of society, a hero. His murder is a huge loss to democracy,” 39-year-old Hul Chan said to Agence France-Presse as he was walking.

The killing took place as tension is rising between the ruling Cambodia People’s Party, led by Hun Sen, and the opposition, Cambodia National Rescue Party, ahead of the general election in 2018. After the shooting, the president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party said Ley had planned to join the opposition party, according to reports by the Phnom Penh Post, a Cambodian newspaper.

Hun Sen has condemned the shooting and ordered a “vigorous investigation.”

People attend a funeral procession to carry the body of Kem Ley, an anti-government figure and the head of a grassroots advocacy group, “Khmer for Khmer” who was shot dead on July 10, to his hometown, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia July 24, 2016. Photo by Samrang Pring/Reuters

According to the Khmer Times, an English newspaper in Cambodia, Ley knew it was dangerous to speak against the government.

“I never thought that I was going to live long,” Ley said. “One day, I might die or be shot to death. But as long as I live, I will say what the others dare not to. No one can buy me or make me not speak out.”