A Change of Guard

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Monday 19 November 2012

Cambodian police break up protest against role of Kissinger, actions of Khmer Rouge in 1970s


http://youtu.be/uMXnQ68b6kY

Theary Seng's darts game on Sisowath Quay was violently shut down by police violence when they moved in on her during a Poetic Justice exhibition at Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh, in the afternoon on 18 November 2012. The cops violently confiscated all the exhibition material in spite of Theary's protest, in full view of national and foreign reporters.  

By Associated Press,  
The Washington Post
Published: November 18



PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Police in Cambodia broke up a protest Sunday that was meant to highlight the oppression of Cambodia’s people by political figures, including allegedly by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and the late despot Pol Pot.
The protest sought to point out on the eve of a historic visit by President Barack Obama that U.S. actions were allegedly partly responsible for the rise of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge and their genocidal rule.
Protest organizer Theary Seng (pictured) called her action “Poetic Justice Dart Games,” with pictures of Kissinger and others emblazoned on poster-sized dart boards set up on a busy riverside boulevard.
Although the protest was peaceful, police began removing the posters soon after they were set up, even as Theary Seng sought to negotiate with them.
When they took them away, she engaged in a running tug of war to protect her last poster, falling to the ground at one point before policemen gained the upper hand and took it as she yelled “Cowards, Cowards” at them.
Kissinger directed U.S. foreign policy during the Nixon Administration when it carried out large-scale secret bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Some historians blame the bombing for embittering Cambodians and ushering in radical communist Khmer Rouge rule that left 1.7 million people dead.
Theary Sang says Cambodia’s current government is also an enemy of freedom. Theary Seng heads the Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia, which was listed as a sponsor of the protest along with other activist groups.
“We see this unprecedented visit of U.S. President Barack Obama to Cambodia, on the heel of his exciting re-election, as a great occasion to offer a much glaringly, painfully delayed apology to Khmer victims for the destruction of Cambodia — the illegal U.S. bombings which gave rise to the diabolical reign of the Khmer Rouge,” Theary Seng said in a statement before the protest.
Surviving Khmer Rouge leaders are currently on trial for their alleged roles in the 1975-79 regime’s bloody excesses, while Kissinger has been castigated for decades by his critics as a would-be war criminal.
Theary Seng is a Cambodian-American lawyer who moved to the U.S. after surviving Khmer Rouge rule and has returned to her homeland to become a social activist. She says the current government of Prime Minister Hun Sen is autocratic and unjust, “which oppresses its citizens, which keeps its own citizens in prison for personal gain.”
A separate demonstration held earlier Sunday by people evicted from their land without adequate compensation went more peacefully.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Theary,

I am one of the bloggers who criticized you about
your " comma " in Khmer language, and your Christianity solicitation on KI and other forum.
I still disagree with you on these two matters, but I take my hat off and salute you as a remarkable
social activist, and strong advocate for human rights and democracy.

While watching the video clip, my tears were running down. I was wondering, why there were people helping you ?

My love and respect are for you.

Khmer Girl

Anonymous said...

Theary Seng you are the true daughter of Cambodia,Your motherland needs you.
Those who rule the country by fear,will live in fear themselves.

We are behind you.

True Khmer

Anonymous said...

While I disagree with her on some points and the choice of Henry Kissinger as her dart target, I admire her remarkable courage for standing up to Hun Sen and her untiring campaign against human rights abuses in Cambodia.

I too felt emotional watching the police violence against her. My hat off to you, Theary.

Anonymous said...

We should all take our hats off to someone who dares to stand up against these abuses. This is someone who dare to stand there and yell at the cops while many keyboard warriors would insult her instead. Shame on you for not standing up for what you believe in. Weather you agree with her or not. In the end, she is fighting for all Khmers. What have you done other than what we know so far? Insult other Khmers?

This goes out to all the negative bloggers who rather insult people instead of giving a constructive criticisms.

Anonymous said...

We have been so tired of Ms. Theary Seng because she did not listen us. We wanted her to stop the confusion of her statement and activities to back the Hanoi during the KR Trials and showed her naive ways against Nuon Chea who told the truths about the Vietnamese dirty plans and tricks before, during and after the Khmer Rouges Killing Fields. So, Vietnamese killers and leaders have been behind the Killing Fields instead of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouges soldiers who had fought against Khmer Vietminh (like Heng Samrin, etc) and Communist Vietnamese armies/Vietminh (Ho Chi Minh groups) in the South to take back Khmer Krom/Southern Cambodia (South Vietnam) with more than 18 millions of Khmer/Cambodian people living South Vietnam. At the same time, hidden and secret Vietnamese agents in Khmer Rouges uniforms pretended to Khmer Rouges soldiers that killed millions of higher educated and intelligent Khmer/Cambodian people. The world has been still so blind about the hidden and secret Vietnamese leaders and killers until these days.

We have wasted our time and energy to stop Theary Seng from doing that.

Now we support her for the stupid and dumb CPP cops who are not real Khmer/Cambodian.

Again, we support Theary Seng now. We must unite and together we fight for our Khmer/Cambodian nation and people.

Yes, we support her all the way. Thanks for your brave, Theary Seng.

We don't like to see the way CPP cops treated her and other victims. We love you, Ms. Theary Seng. You are our Khmer hero!!!

Khmer Yeurng.

Anonymous said...

We love you, care about you and support you, Theary Seng. We don't want those stupid CPP cops (not real Khmer/Cambodian) to hurt you. We will stand firmly on your side.

We feel hurt when the CPP cops hurt you. You are a part of Khmer Yeurng and we don't like to see all Khmer Yeurng to suffer.

Khmer Yeurng