Police intervene to disperse demonstration by Sihanoukville factory workers
Published on 7 October 2004
On October 4, 2004, more than 1,000 workers from the Rav Yu garment factory in Sihanoukville began a protest demanding improved working conditions and the reinstatement of 41 co-workers who had been fired during a labor dispute in September. The dispute occurred when three workers were fired after their contracts expired and they refused to accept the buy-out deal offered to them by the factory. Union mediators, and 36 other workers protesting the factory management’s actions, were also fired.
The police intervention and dispersal of this peaceful demonstration violates Articles 37 and 41 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia
On October 5, on the second day of the protest, the workers again rallied in front of the factory, carrying banners and using megaphones, and began a peaceful march to their local parliamentarians’ and governor’s offices to submit a complaint over the dismissal of their colleagues.
However when the march reached the Institute of Management and Economy the demonstrators were confronted by around 30 anti-riot police, carrying batons and shields, and firemen with a firefighting truck. Fire hoses were used to disperse the demonstration.
The police intervention and dispersal of this peaceful demonstration violates Articles 37 and 41 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia, which guarantees people the right to peaceful demonstration, and Articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which stipulates people’s rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
The workers eventually managed to reach the offices of the local authorities and submit their complaints. Representatives of the workers were invited to meet with officials from the Ministry of Social Affairs to discuss the dispute. After meetings on October 5, the management at the Rav Yu factory agreed to rehire the 41 workers who had been dismissed.
Since January 2003 the authorities have denied permission for, and actively obstructed, dozens of peaceful demonstrations and gatherings. Demonstrations and gatherings which have gone ahead have frequently faced police intimidation or violence. All manner of events have been denied permission or subject to interference, including a gathering of women’s rights organizations protesting domestic violence, demonstrations over labor conditions, marches against gasoline price increases and, in May 2003, permission was even denied for a monks' peace march through Phnom Penh.
