Obama urged to decry rights abuses in Cambodia

Boeung Kak Lake protester facing the cops (Photo: Uon Chhin, RFA)

The Associated Press
Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012

Human Rights Watch is urging President Barack Obama to address Cambodia's longstanding rights issues during his visit to the Southeast Asian country, the first by a U.S. president.

The New York-based rights watchdog said in a report Tuesday that more than 300 people have been killed in politically motivated attacks in the past two decades under Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's rule.

It said officials responsible for extrajudicial killings and other abuses have not been prosecuted, but instead were rewarded. Targets of the alleged attacks were opposition politicians, activists and journalists.

HRW's Asia director, Brad Adams, suggested that Obama demand that Hun Sen make genuine reforms to bring justice to the victims.

Obama is scheduled to attend the East Asia summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital.