“BRUTAL ACT”
Sam Rainsy, Hun Sen’s longtime rival, accused the previous Cambodian chief of being behind the killing.
“Hun Sen’s hand could be seen behind the assassination of Lim Kimya, simply because it was behind the numerous political crimes in Cambodia which have at all times gone unpunished,” Sam Rainsy mentioned in a press release posted on his Facebook web page.
He acknowledged that “the reason being the identical, as is the modus operandi”.
Cambodian authorities spokesman Pen Bona advised AFP the killing happened in Thailand “so the Thai authorities will deal with the case.”
He denied that the federal government was concerned within the killing, saying that opposition figures “at all times accuse the federal government of the whole lot with out basis and with none proof.”
Lim Kimya turned an opposition member of the Cambodian parliament following the 2013 elections during which Hun Sen’s ruling occasion practically misplaced to its then-rival, the Cambodia National Salvation Party (CNRP).
The CNRP, based in 2012 by Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha and as soon as thought of the one viable opponent of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), was dissolved by court docket order in 2017.
Dozens of opposition politicians and MPs, together with Lim Kimya, have been banned from political actions following the dissolution of the occasion.
The now-disbanded CNRP mentioned in a press release that it was shocked by the “heinous and inhumane” killing of Lim Kimya.
He condemned “the brutal act which gravely threatens political freedom.”
Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, urged Thailand to hold out a “thorough and unbiased investigation” into the killing.
“What has occurred within the final 24 hours actually sends shivers down the backbone of any Cambodian political activist as a result of Bangkok will not be a protected place,” he advised AFP.
The French embassies in Bangkok and Phnom Penh have to date declined to touch upon the killing.
