Protesters Slam Manet Over Kem Ley in Australia
Cambodia Daily | 7 October 2016
Hun Manet, the prime minister’s
eldest son and the head of the CPP’s foreign outreach committee, was again met
by angry protesters during his latest trip abroad, this time to Melbourne.
Having previously faced protests
during a visit to the U.S., protesters in Australia focused their ire on the
July murder of political analyst Kem Ley, which many believe was a
state-sponsored attack.
About
200 protesters, many wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with Kem Ley’s face and
holding banners with slogans, including “Beast Go To Hell,” shouted at
Lieutenant General Manet as he entered a restaurant with supporters in
Melbourne.
The protest was led by
Cambodian-Australian politician Hong Lim, who was banned from entering Cambodia
in August for referring to the government as a “beast” during an interview. He
urged CPP supporters to raise the death of the Kem Ley over dinner.
“As we all are Khmer, please,
brothers and sisters who go to eat the offering, ask [Lt. Gen. Manet] who
killed Kem Ley. Please answer,” he shouted to a backdrop of “Manet is a
traitor” chants.
The prime minister’s son’s
globe-trotting has proven controversial. During a visit to the U.S. earlier
this year, politicians in Lowell, Massachusetts, called off meetings in the
face of public pressure.
In Long Beach, California, the
general was not only met by protesters, but also an attempt to serve him a
subpoena. Process server Paul Hayes says that Lt. Gen. Manet’s bodyguards
assaulted him as he attempted to deliver the document, and a legal case is
pending.
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan branded
the demonstrators in Australia as “extremist.”
“It’s a democratic country, so
there are multiple opinions, and as we have seen there were opponents and
supporters holding two separate protests,” he said. “It’s normal to have
extremist protesters as we also have supporters to…give us justice.”
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