Opposition leader of Cambodia National Rescue Party Kem Sokha, center, prays with incense sticks during a Buddhist ceremony to mark the anniversary of the March 30, 1997 attack, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, March 30, 2017. Hundreds of members of Cambodia's opposition party held a remembrance Thursday marking the 20th anniversary of a grenade attack that killed 16 people. (AP/Heng Sinith) (AP/Heng Sinith )

Cambodia marks 20 years since deadly grenade attack

AP / Jakarta Post | 30 March 2017

Hundreds of members of Cambodia's opposition party held a remembrance Thursday marking the 20th anniversary of a grenade attack that killed 16 people.

The 1997 attack was widely seen as an assassination attempt on Sam Rainsy, a former finance minister, political leader and fierce critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Rainsy escaped with minor injuries. But others at the anti-corruption protest where the attack happened died or suffered serious injuries, including lost limbs.

Speaking by video link from Paris, Rainsy said the victims are still waiting for justice. He has lived in self-imposed exile since 2015.

Hun Sen's government in the past year has put increasing legal pressure on its critics and political opponents, keeping them tied up in court, sending them fleeing into exile, or sometimes jailing them.