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Chea Mony, the brother of slain labor leader Chea Vichea, said on Thursday he would identify the killers within a week if his opposition party were to win the general election in 2028.
He was speaking at a ceremony in Phnom Penh marking the 22nd anniversary of Vichea’s killing, where hundreds of unionists and rights activists laid wreaths at a statue of the former garment workers’ leader.
Vichea, then head of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC), was shot dead in 2004 after helping organize the country’s garment sector. His successor, Ros Sovannarith, was killed four months later. Another FTUWKC leader, Hy Vuthy, was shot dead in 2007.
Two men were convicted of Vichea’s murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison, but the case was widely criticized for a lack of evidence. They were acquitted after serving five years, following pressure from his family and rights groups.
A special commission set up in 2015 to identify those responsible has yet to produce results.
“We want to see the truth – whether the government has the capacity to identify the killers or not,” Mony said, adding that his Nation Power Party, which he now leads after its former president was arrested on incitement charges widely condemned by rights groups, will track down those responsible after the next general election, which he predicted his party will win.
Opposition parties and dissidents have been severely curtailed under the ruling Cambodia People’s Party (CPP), which has dominated Cambodian politics for more than four decades.
Power was transferred to Hun Manet, the son of longtime prime minister Hun Sen, after the CPP claimed a landslide victory in the 2023 general election. The main opposition Candlelight Party had been disqualified, in a vote widely condemned by rights groups and foreign governments as neither “free nor fair.”
In the last commune elections in 2022, which Human Rights Watch said were marred by fraud and voter manipulation, the CPP also claimed a landslide. Commune elections are scheduled for next year.
“I guarantee that a democratic government that leads the country will develop both the economy and ethics, and improve the human rights situation,” Mony said.
Other activists, including FTUWKC’s current president, Touch Seur, echoed calls for justice, which they have raised every year for decades on the anniversary of Vichea’s murder.
“Authorities and relevant institutions have yet to deliver justice for Chea Vichea, even after 22 years,” said Seur.
“We will find justice for Chea Vichea, as well as for others who have been killed while advocating for citizens’ freedom,” said Ly Sothearayuth, secretary-general of the Candlelight Party.
Several members of the party have been arrested since their 2023 disqualification, often on incitement charges tied to social media posts critical of the government.
One commune official in Battambang province was arrested earlier this month and charged with “plotting” under article 453 of the criminal code, which carries a prison term of five to ten years.
National Police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun and Interior Ministry spokesperson Touch Sokhak did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
