Phnom Penh Wednesday, 17 November 2010
via CAAI
Photo: by Heng Reaksmey
Labor leader Chea Mony was turned away from Freedom Park on Wednesday, where he hoped to screen a documentary about his slain brother, "Who Killed Chea Vichea?"
“The banning of this film shows that the freedom of expression in Cambodia is less than zero.”
About 100 armed police prevented a group of demonstrators from showing a film at Phnom Penh's newly built park for protesters.
The Cambodian Cofederation of Unions had hoped to show “Who Killed Chea Vichea?,” which criticizes the handling of the murder case of a union leader, Chea Vichea.
A group of 20 protesters, including Chea Vichea's brother, Chea Mony, arrived at Freedom Park in Phnom Penh Wednesday, but they were turned away by police with electric batons and shields.
“The banning of this film shows that the freedom of expression in Cambodia is less than zero,” Chea Mony, who is himself a labor leader, said Wednesday.
He planned to make $10,000 in copies of the film for free distribution to the public, he said.
Chea Vichea, a widely popular labor leader, was shot to death in February 2004. His killers have never been arrested, and two men brought to court for the crime were widely considered innocent.
The film is an indictment of the handling of the case and has not been allowed a public screening in Cambodia.
Freedom Park was established by the city of Phnom Penh as the only legal site where protesters may gather.
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