adminAt least three Cambodians have been killed when police opened fire on garment workers on strike, as a nationwide protests, backed by the main opposition party, presses on in demand for wages to be doubled. An Associated Press photographer and human rights workers said police fired AK-47 rifles yesterday, after several hundred workers blocking a road south of the capital Phnom Penh began burning tyres and throwing objects at them. Several wounded workers could be seen after the shots were fired.
Phnom Penh deputy police commissioner Chuon Narin said that three people had been killed and several others wounded in the capital.
About 500,000 Cambodians are employed in the garment industry, the country’s biggest export earner worthing $5bn a year to the economy.
The government has offered $100 as a minimum monthly wage, short of a $160 wage pledged by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party.
The clash comes a day after Cambodian soldiers forcefully quelled a separate demonstration by striking workers, marking a violent turning point after two weeks of relatively peaceful strikes, marches and demonstrations of unprecedented scale in Cambodia. Security forces, which have a reputation for zero-tolerance, have so far exercised restraint. — AFP
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