Cambodian labor leader Chea Vichea fatally shot in Phnom Penh

Associated Press ^ | Thursday, January 22, 2004

[tdadams]

Cambodian labor leader Chea Vichea fatally shot in Phnom Penh

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - A prominent Cambodian labor leader affiliated with the country's main opposition party was fatally shot Thursday on a street in Phnom Penh, in the latest in a series of suspected political killings.

Chea Vichea, president of the Cambodian Free Trade Union of Workers, was shot at least twice in the chest at close range while reading at a roadside newsstand, said the owner of the newsstand, Va Sothy.

"There were two assailants,'' Va Sothy said. "One was waiting on a motorcycle and the other walked toward him and shot him two or three times from about half a meter (two feet) away.''

She said the gunman did not say anything to Chea Vichea, who was reading a newspaper, before shooting him.

Chea Vichea helped organise unions at garment factories and negotiate labor disputes.

He was closely associated with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party and was frequently seen at the party's Phnom Penh headquarters.

The shooting is the latest in a series of suspected political killings.

At least three members of the Sam Rainsy Party have been killed in recent weeks.

A deputy police chief in Phnom Penh, Heng Peo, confirmed the shooting and death, but was unable to provide details. - AP

[tdadams]

It seems like Hun Sen is stepping up the political killings in the wake of the contested election and increasingly vocal opposition. This is the third killing recently, all with the same modus operandi, man drives up on a motorbike and opens fire. How is Cambodia ever supposed to gain credibility in the world when their "leader" still acts like a medieval thug?

[tdadams]

ping

[FirstPrinciple]

Damn it! I am going there in February. I hope I am not in the middle of any of this.

[tdadams]

Don't worry, as a western tourist, you'll be well-shielded from anything negative, as long as you don't go around wearing a Sam Rainsy Party t-shirt.

[FirstPrinciple]

Question for anyone reading this thread. I want to go from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. Should I fly or take the boat?

[angkor]

I don't know who does this web site "Khmer Intelligence," but you should check it out if you haven't already:

http://www.khmerintelligence.org/1Q_2004.html

There was a brief time when Hun Sen might have been appropriate for Cambodia. Ranariddh was/is weak and corrupt, and there's little doubt in my mind that he was consorting with the remnants of the KR, Pol Pot faction. And in the past Rainsy was simply too weak to hold the country together.

But that time is now over, Hun Sen has gotten too many passes, and he's now completely out of control. The institutionalized lawlessness appears to be worse than ever before.

There's no easy way out for Cambodia, and it's going to take another generation to repair the damage of the KR, but the prerequisite is for Hun Sen to go. I suspect his time is running out.

[angkor]

I don't know the boat situation these days. Check some of the travel forums like Lonely Planet, and download some of the current and back issues of the Bayon Pearnik, www.bayonpearnik.com. (in fact you should get a bunch of back issues, it's an informative newspaper with great British wit)

Anyway I always took the boat, which at the time was dodgey but less so than Royal Air Cambodge.

I feel so dated now, back in 1996/97 the boats suffered from overloading, breakdowns in the middle of the Tonle Sap, occasional boarding by the military or robbers, occasional AK spray by the Vietnamese fisherman (for running through their nets). I think that's all in the past but not sure.

It used to be that the "banana boats" were less subject to breakdown than the "fast boats" (which lose their "fast" edge because of those frequent breakdowns). But in either case you'll want to bring earplugs, maybe a Walkman, suntan lotion, water, and whatever. The sun gets pretty hot, and February it's going to be quite sunny. You'll want to sit in an outside spot so you can bail out if something goes wrong (you are on a third-world Asian boat trip, after all, that advice applies anywhere).

The planes are boring, the boats are interesting. Your choice.

[FirstPrinciple]

Thanks.

[angkor]

TD is right, as a tourist you'll most likely never be exposed to any of these internal political machinations. That stuff is for the Cambodians, not you.

I will however recommend something which served me well: do not go walking around Phnom Penh with one of those ridiculous fanny packs or (worse) a backpack containing all your valuables, especially if you're out at night. And do not rely on a "secret" money belt, because it's not a secret at all.

Leave your stuff in a safe place (e.g., hotel safe), carry only photocopies of your passport and visa and enough money for whatever it is you intend to do. No flashy jewelery, rings, watches. Obviously it's fine to bring a camera or whatever if you're doing tourist stuff (and Angkor Wat is relatively safe, no need for worries there).

Phnom Penh has a well-deserved rep for being .... the Wild West. Last year a friend was an eyewitness to an incident between a tourist/backpacker and a Khmer military officer, in the Heart Of Darkness of all places. Don't challenge Cambodians in those circumstances. Walk away. If you're robbed, give it all up, no questions asked (you're only carrying small change, a cheap watch, and photocopies, yes?). The only sad incidents I've ever heard of between tourists and locals - which by the way are very infrequent - is during robberies (or the Heart incident noted above). And *always* because the tourist fought back in some way.

I don't want to leave the wrong impression of Cambodia but it is my experience there over nearly a year. Use common sense. You'll be fine and you'll have a fascinating trip. As in all countries, 99 percent of the Khmer people are really great, and they'll be the best part of your visit there.

[Redak]

The boats a four or five hour trip,no stops.You can also get together with a couple of others and hire a van to drive up. I took the boat last time but will go by road next time.

[tdadams]

Take the boat. It's $25, takes about five hours, and leaves at 7am (only once a day). Take a hat and sunscreen, and something soft to sit on. Ignore rumors you hear about boats capsizing and bandits firing at you. It may have been true at one time, but even years ago it was anecdotal at the most.

[tdadams]

the prerequisite is for Hun Sen to go. I suspect his time is running out.

I think you're right, and I think he knows it too. He's losing popular support and he's desperately holding on, by whatever means he can, including wanton executions.

As you know, I was there just last month, and it seemed to me that there was a tremendous amount of support for Sam Rainsey (although several people I talked to voiced their support in hushed tones) while they "officially" supported Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party. One guy even told me he voted for Sam Rainsey, but was wearing a watch wit Hun Sen's face on it, just so no one from the government (he was a soldier in the military) would think he was supporting Sam Rainsey.

Hun Sen only has a facade of support because people who support someone else fear for their lives.

[angkor]

Hun Sen only has a facade of support because people who support someone else fear for their lives.

It's always been that way.

IMHO, it'll probably take another brief coup to resolve the problem, and Hun Sen is certainly doing a bangup job of bringing it to that point. He'll have the loyalty of his private troops at the Tiger's Den, but as you described many will side with Rainsey. Almost without exception, right after the 1997 coup people were PO'd, calling him the "Vietnamese Communist". He is disliked, but feared.

He has plenty of places to seek asylum and spend his ill-gotten gains. Note that he's carefully distanced himself from the drug trade, which would make him persona no grata in too many countries where he might like to retire. He leaves that business for his minions.

Nah, he's pushing it too hard now, the resistance is too stiff, and I think someday soon he'll be jumping into a helicopter, probably to Saigon first but then to Singapore or Malaysia. He's always had a fractious relationship with the Thais, they prefer Ranariddh and his KR cronies in Pailin because they have the gems and control the smuggling routes for Thai goods into Cambodia and Vietnam. Also Ranariddh has no scruples about the Thai trade in Ankorian sculpture, he had an entire housefull of it crated-up for shipment to France during the 1997 coup (a journo friend got the pictures).

Cambodian politics are certainly interesting.

[angkor]

Ignore rumors you hear about boats capsizing and bandits firing at you. It may have been true at one time, but even years ago it was anecdotal at the most.

It was in the past, but not so anecdotal. Stuff did really happen.

Personally, I was once stuck in the *middle* of Tonle Sap (the part where you can no longer see land in any direction) for two hours. They had to wait for a more accomplished machanic to come by and fix the engine. My one and only trip on the "fast boat."

I wasn't too worried about it, it was dry season and the lake was only about 3 or 4 feet deep.

Still I took that trip 6 times, always on the boat. It's great.

[tdadams]

Oh, I know those incidents did happen and I wasn't trying to dismiss it, and I certainly wasn't pointing a finger at you when I said to ignore rumors.

There are people in other places (Lonely Planet's website being the major one) where people who've probably never been to Cambodia enjoy perpetuating the scare-mongering about the boat trip on the Tonle Sap. They do the same about Route 13 through Laos, acting as if your life is in imminent danger if you're a tourist on that route, when nothing could be further from the truth.

But some people just seem to get a thrill from contributing to confusion and misinformation. They're probably the same people who forward me emails warning me the Madalyn Murray O'Hare is petitioning Congress to ban religious broadcasting, not realizing (or caring) that she's been dead for quite some time.

[tdadams]

Note that he's carefully distanced himself from the drug trade

Not too much. He pardoned several drug dealers who were caught smuggling cocaine to Australia (?) just a couple of months ago.

[FirstPrinciple]

I was planning on taking the boat. I wanted to see that village on the lake.

[FirstPrinciple]

I was planning on taking the boat. I wanted to see that village on the lake.

[angkor]

There are people in other places (Lonely Planet's website being the major one) where people who've probably never been to Cambodia enjoy perpetuating the scare-mongering about the boat trip on the Tonle Sap.

Well, yes, it was probably a mistake to mention LP, a better source of Cambodia info is the Bayon Pearnik website. I knew a bunch of those guys, they were ruthless adventurers and debunkers, dirtbiking up to Pailin for a weekend's fun.

One thing I've learned from Asia travel is to take lots of things with a huge grain of salt, the reality is usually far more interesting and much less threatening than you'd imagine.

In fact I just ran across a Web site showing that Pol Pot's "grave" in Anglong Veng is now a tourist attraction. Unbelievable.

[tdadams]

Unfortunately, it's all too believeable. Look how many people make pilgrimages to see the body of Lenin or the grave of Marx.