Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - ‘Black Monday’ passes without fresh arrests

‘Black Monday’ passes without fresh arrests

Boeung Kak community activists gather yesterday to participate in a ‘Black Monday’ event calling for the release of jailed rights workers. Photo supplied
Boeung Kak community activists gather yesterday to participate in a ‘Black Monday’ event calling for the release of jailed rights workers. Photo supplied

‘Black Monday’ passes without fresh arrests

Now in its eighth week, the civil society-backed “Black Monday” campaign yesterday saw no arrests as land rights activists kept protests within their respective communities and rights groups limited themselves to posting support for jailed human rights activists on social media.

Boeung Kak land activists released 200 black balloons with black hearts attached to them as they demanded the release of four Adhoc staffers and one election official jailed in relation to the Kem Sokha sex scandal.

“We believe that our voice can have an influence and be heard by the world, which will then put pressure on the government and call for their release,” said prominent Boeung Kak activist Tep Vanny.

Twenty representatives of the so-called SOS community near the airport also dressed in black and protested, though did not stray from the area near their homes.

Land activists have been at the forefront of the campaign and been the subject of multiple arrests over the past two months, only to be let go after pledging to not wear black and to ask permission before conducting any future protests.

City Hall administrative director Mean Chanyada expressed frustration at the continued defiance of government orders to stop Black Monday-related activities.

“They are stubborn,” he said. “We have educated them many times and they promise the authorities that they will not do again, but they still do it, and the ones who do it are the same faces.”

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Rare plant fetches high prices from Thai, Chinese

    Many types of plants found in Cambodia are used as traditional herbs to treat various diseases, such as giloy or guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) or aromatic/sand ginger (Kaempferia galangal) or rough cocklebur (Xanthium Strumartium). There is also a plant called coral, which is rarely grown

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Cambodia returns 15M Covid jabs to China

    Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia will return 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to China for donation to other countries. The vaccines in question were ordered but had not yet arrived in Cambodia. While presiding over the Ministry of Health’s annual meeting held on

  • Wat Phnom hornbills attract tourists, locals

    Thanks to the arrival of a friendly flock of great hornbills, Hour Rithy, a former aviculturist – or raiser of birds – in Kratie province turned Phnom Penh tuk tuk driver, has seen a partial return to his former profession. He has become something of a guide