Lim Kimya, a 74-year-old Cambodian politician from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, who is in exile and a former member of the National Assembly of Cambodia, was shot dead in Bangkok. Colleagues immediately called the attack an “assassination.” Lim arrived in the Thai capital from Siem Reap late Tuesday night accompanied by his French wife and Cambodian uncle.
“Innocent and brutally inhumane shooting” Against this backdrop, the CNRP called Lim “an elected lawmaker to represent the interest of the people of Kampong Thom province.” Many opposition leaders fled the country due to the CPP harassment, led from then Prime Minister Hun Sen. Lim, however, decided to stay within the country.
In 2017, the Cambodian Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the CNRP, banning the party from conducting political activities. The party nevertheless operates in many Cambodian diaspora communities around the world. In its statement, CNRP condemned the killing of Lim as a “severe threat to freedom of political life and called for “an independent investigation by Thai authorities.”.
Thailand’s Metropolitan Police Bureau has issued a manhunt for the shooter, who they said escaped on a motorcycle. Human rights groups call for an investigation. The “cold blooded killing” sends the grim message to the Cambodian political activists, as Elaine Pearson from Human Rights Watch explained, that they’re not safe even outside Cambodia:.
Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates, described the killing as “all the hallmarks of a political assassination.” He warned that such an act could strike fear into the hearts of many Cambodian opposition figures and activists who have fled to Thailand to escape the political repression under Hun Manet, the successor of Hun Sen. The murder happened on January 7, the CPP’s Victory Day, one of the most politically tense days in Cambodia.
