The International Labor Organization has renewed criticism of Cambodian authorities for their failure to solve the murders of union leaders, according to a report by an ILO committee obtained by VOA Khmer.
The report details the killing of union leaders Chea Vichea and Ros Sovannareth, who were killed in 2004, and Hy Vuthy, killed in 2007, among others.
The killings signified “a climate of violence” and a “serious obstacle to the exercise of trade union rights,” the ILO said.
The report also cited the prison sentences of Born Samnang and Sok Samoeun, two men held for the killing of Chea Vichea but widely believed innocent.
Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Khieu Sopheak said the police were at the service of the courts in making arrests and said the ILO was acting as a “victim.”
The fresh criticism comes as Cambodia’s garment industry is facing a slowdown along with the global economy and as the Supreme Court is set to hear the case of Chea Vichea’s murder, Dec. 31.