On 30 March 1997 Sam Rainsy–now leader of Cambodia’s opposition party–organised and led a peaceful demonstration in front of the National Assembly in Phnom Penh. The rally was called to protest at the corrupt judiciary, which then as now was under the control of the dominant Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). Approval had been obtained for the demonstration. When the people gathered and Rainsy was making a speech, four to five men threw four grenades into the crowd, killing 14 and injuring 142.
After nine years, the police investigation has not led to a single arrest. No progress report has been made known to the public or the relatives of the dead and the survivors. There are concerns that inquiries have been closed. All this only adds to the already strong suspicion that the attack was intended as a blatant assassination and that Cambodia’s investigating agencies are mere instruments of the country’s rulers. This suspicion is compounded by the widespread knowledge that the police had been assigned to ensure law and order during the demonstration. A strong contingent of bodyguards belonging to then-Second Prime Minister Hun Sen was deployed in front of a Buddhist monastery near the scene. The alleged perpetrators were reportedly chased in that direction after the attack.
In July of the same year, FUNCINPEC fell out of coalition with the CPP, and into open warfare on the streets of the capital. A number of its members were killed, among them Ho Sok, a senior official who was shot dead in cold blood while under custody within the Ministry of Interior premises. None of the perpetrators of these killings have ever been brought to justice either, again giving cause to believe that the failure to capture the murderers has been deliberate.
The grenade attack and killing of FUNCINPEC members are the most serious cases among numerous others in which the Cambodian authorities have failed to apprehend perpetrators of crime because they have not conducted any investigation at all or their investigations have been ineffective. The impunity enjoyed by these killers indicates that government of Cambodia has failed to meet its human rights obligations arising from the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, both under international law and the national constitution.
The government of Cambodia can no longer claim that it lacks the means to conduct serious and effective investigations and end impunity. For 15 years the international community has continuously provided it with training and material resources. Nor is it acceptable to claim that investigations have been continuing for nine years. In stark contrast to the work on these killings, the government has shown over the years that it is capable of moving with great speed and expertise when investigating and arresting its opponents or critics.
According to the Cambodian Criminal Law of 1992, commonly known as the UNTAC Law, the statute of limitations for serious crimes is ten years. This statute ceases to have effect as soon as the legal process has been initiated. But it is not clear whether under Cambodian law a police investigation counts as a legal process or not.
The grenade attack case is now entering its tenth year. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) fears that one year from now the case will remain unsolved and justice will never be done. It urges the government of Cambodia to activate the investigation into the 1997 grenade attack as a matter of great priority and urgency. The government must make public a report on the work of the investigators without further delay.
Additionally, the AHRC urges the Prosecutor General of the Appeal Court to take up this and other cases where the perpetrators of killings continue to enjoy impunity, in accordance with articles 35 and 36 of the Law on Criminal Procedure. The Prosecutor General must in all these cases closely supervise and oversee the police investigations, ensuring that inquiries are carried out effectively and the public and concerned parties are made aware of the investigation results without unnecessary delay. To this end, all victims of impunity and their families should file complaints–either individually or in groups–with the Prosecutor General, specifically requesting that investigations be initiated and supervised under his authority before ten years have passed and it is too late to ask, “Who did it?”
