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| Protestors remove barbed wire barricades in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 15, 2013. Cambodian police fired tear gas and water cannon to dis |
English.news.cn 2013-09-15 21:41:28
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The first day of Cambodian opposition's
mass protest over the contested election results ended Sunday evening
with clashes between police and protestors, injuring one police officer,
a spokesman said.
The peaceful demonstration turned violent in the afternoon when hundreds
of protestors attempted to remove police's barbed wire barricades in
order to march through a street in front of the Royal Palace.
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| Protestors are dispersed by water cannon in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 15, 2013. Cambodian police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of protesters near the Royal Palace on Sunday afternoon |
"Police had fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse about 500
protestors as they removed the barbed wire barricades and threw stones
at the police," National Military Police spokesman Kheng Tito told
Xinhua after the clashes.
"One police officer got injured on his head due to a stone thrown by protestors."
The clashes ended when Phnom Penh Municipal Police chief Chuon Sovann
and opposition party leader Sam Rainsy arrived at the scene and held a
talk.
Speaking to his supporters via a microphone after the talk, Sam Rainsy
said: "We hold a peaceful protest; we condemn anyone who throws stones
at the police."
Then he led protestors to march back to the Freedom Park.
Chuon Sovann said the use of tear gas and water cannons over the protestors was police's self-defense rights.
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Police
clash with protestors in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 15, 2013. Cambodian
police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of
protesters near the Royal Palace on Sunday afternoon as they attempted
to remove the police's barbed wire barricades in order to march through a
street in front of the Royal Palace. (Xinhua/Phearum)
|
The protest, organized by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party
(CNRP) of long-time Sam Rainsy, aimed to reject the July 28 election
results that showed the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of
long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen got victory with 68 parliamentary
seats and the CNRP received the remaining 55 seats.
The CNRP claimed that its party should win 63 seats, with the CPP
getting 60 seats if alleged irregularities during the poll were fairly
investigated.
Sunday's protest started when Sam Rainsy led over a thousand of
supporters to march from his party's headquarters in the southern part
of the city to the Freedom Park in the morning.
Security has been tightened throughout the city on Sunday as barbed wire barricades have been placed across major roads.
At the Freedom Park, Sam Rainsy told about 20,000 supporters that the
party would boycott the opening session of the parliament on Sept. 23 if
there was no a proper solution to the alleged irregularities during the
election.
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| Protestors remove barbed wire barricades in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 15, 2013. Cambodian police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of protesters near the Royal Palace on Sunday afternoon as they attempted to remove the police's barbed wire barricades in order to march through a street in front of the Royal Palace. (Xinhua/Phearum) |
He said the mass protest would last for three days as makeshift tents
had already set up at the Park for protesters from provinces to sleep at
nights.
After his speech, he led thousands of protestors marched on streets in the city.
The opposition's protest came a day after a meeting between Sam Rainsy
and Prime Minister Hun Sen under the auspices of King Norodom Sihamoni
had reached no any agreement over the election impasse.
However, the two political rivals would meet again on Monday at the
National Assembly in a last-ditch attempt to break through the political
stalemate, the two parties said.
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| Protestors remove barbed wire barricades in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 15, 2013. Cambodian police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of protesters near the Royal Palace on Sunday afternoon as they attempted to remove the police's barbed wire barricades in order to march through a street in front of the Royal Palace. (Xinhua/Phearum |
Prime Minister Hun Sen has said that his party has enough lawmakers to
override any opposition parliamentary boycott and form a new government.
Hun Sen, 61, who has been in power for 28 years, will rule the country for another five years through the election victory.
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