2013–2014 Cambodian protests
Cambodian anti-government protests in 2013 and 2014 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Anti-government protests (Khmer: បាតុកម្មប្រឆាំងរាជរដ្ឋាភិបាល) were a series of protests in Cambodia from July 2013 to July 2014. Popular demonstrations in Phnom Penh took place against the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, triggered by widespread allegations of electoral fraud during the Cambodian general election of 2013.[5] Demands to raise the minimum wage to $160 a month[6] and resentment at Vietnamese influence in Cambodia have also contributed to the protests.[7] The main opposition party refused to participate in parliament after the elections,[8] and major demonstrations took place throughout December 2013.[9] A government crackdown in January 2014 led to the deaths of 4 people and the clearing of the main protest camp.[10]
2013–2014 Cambodian protests | |||
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Date | 28 July 2013 – 22 July 2014[1] (11 months, 3 weeks and 3 days) | ||
Location | |||
Caused by | Electoral fraud, political corruption, illegal logging and human rights violations | ||
Goals | Democracy, electoral reform and snap election | ||
Methods | Demonstrations, civil disobedience and internet activism | ||
Parties | |||
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Lead figures | |||
Sam Rainsy | |||
Number | |||
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Casualties and losses | |||
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Cambodian protests may have been partly precipitated by the perception of corruption, lack of freedom and poor quality of life in the country. Cambodia is near the bottom of international rankings in the measurement of those factors. Inequality in the distribution of wealth is a recognized problem, as is the statistic that a third of children are malnourished, and the difficulty that government critics are rounded up and detained on dubious charges.[11]
Cambodia's strongman Hun Sen has affirmed his 'pre-eminence' by closing Freedom Park, an opposition protest site in central Phnom Penh that is now strictly off limits to the public and appears to be like a 'fortified military base'. Cambodians are 'riled by incessant land grabs, official corruption and labor disputes in a country tightly controlled by one man for nearly three decades.' Freedom Park, is closed now indefinitely. Protests have now "fizzled out after a crackdown on factory strikes in January that killed at least four people and alarmed major clothing brands with interests in Cambodia, like Adidas, Nike and Gap. "Since then, anti-government protests intended to draw hundreds of thousands of people have attracted just a few hundred. Freedom Park was shut down in April. "In general, people I've seen and talked to in villages, just want change of national leadership," said Kem Ley, an independent political analyst. "But what the CNRP has been doing is the same thing, again and again," Ley said, referring to the calls for protests. "People are just tired and afraid because of the government's shameless use of violence."[12]