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US urges release of Cambodian unionist, Khmer Bible editor

Australia says the arrest of NagaWorld protest leader Chhim Sithar 'is questionable'
US State Department has urged Cambodian authorities to release Theary Seng, the Cambodian-American lawyer and Khmer Bible editor seen in this picture, along with the recently detained trade unionist Chhim Sithar, leader of the year-long NagaWorld casino strike

US State Department has urged Cambodian authorities to release Theary Seng, the Cambodian-American lawyer and Khmer Bible editor seen in this picture, along with the recently detained trade unionist Chhim Sithar, leader of the year-long NagaWorld casino strike. (Photo: UCAN files)

Published: November 30, 2022 11:34 AM GMT
Updated: November 30, 2022 11:44 AM GMT

The United States has urged Cambodian authorities to immediately release the detained trade unionist Chhim Sithar, leader of the year-long NagaWorld casino strike, who was arrested at Phnom Penh airport on Nov. 26 after returning from abroad.

Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, said Cambodian authorities had previously interfered with the exercise of workers’ rights by detaining union leaders and workers protesting the wrongful termination of NagaWorld employees.

“We urge Cambodian authorities to release Chhim Sithar and all detained trade unionists exercising their rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, drop charges against them, and move to constructively resolve their disputes,” he said.

“We also reiterate our call for Cambodia to release US citizen Theary Seng,” Price added, referring to the Cambodian-American lawyer and Khmer Bible editor who has been convicted of treason and jailed for six years.

“We continue to call on the Cambodian government to uphold its labor rights obligations and commitments and mediate a resolution between NagaWorld and the labor union representing terminated employees,” he said.

Chhim Sithar, president of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld, has campaigned for improved severance pay and the reinstatement of 365 union leaders and delegates who were laid off in April last year.

She was arrested after returning from Melbourne where she had attended the International Trade Union Confederation World Congress. Authorities say she had breached bail conditions banning her from overseas travel, imposed after she was released from jail earlier this year.

Australian ambassador to Cambodia Pablo Kang said he was “concerned” to hear of Chhim Sithar’s detention, adding he had raised “the questionable basis of her arrest” with Cambodian Justice Minister Koeut Rith.

A coalition of 69 NGOs has also called for her immediate and unconditional release and stressed that authorities had failed to inform Chhim Sithar or her lawyers about the travel ban and that she had had no problems leaving the country.

They said her bail conditions were “secret and undisclosed” and that she had also made two previous trips to Thailand without issue. She faces up to two years in prison for breaching those conditions and is currently being held in Prey Sar prison.

“The arrest of a prominent labor activist is a serious violation of human and labor rights, as the charge from the court has no legal basis,” Khun Tharo, program coordinator at the Center for Alliance of Labour and Human Rights, said.

NagaWorld casino is owned by Malaysian billionaire Chen Lip Keong and says the layoffs that prompted the industrial action were necessary after losses were incurred through the economic downturn, accompanying the Covid-19 pandemic.

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