Authorities in Cambodia are cracking down on noodle dinners attended by supporters of the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), in what analysts and rights groups say signals political paranoia on the part of Prime Minister and his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
On Thursday, some 30 police officers descended on a noodle dinner in Treal commune’s Prey village, in Banteay Meanchey province’s Svay Chek district, as around 100 people gathered as part of a ceremony to honor their ancestors, according to former Svay Chek CNRP official Yath Pirum.
Diners were compelled to finish their meals, he told RFA’s Khmer Service, noting that around 10 of the attendees were formerly elected CNRP commune councilors who were forced to give up their seats after the Supreme Court banned the party in November 2017 for its role in an alleged plot to topple the government.
“We were eating when the police came in by force, causing some of our people to become terrified and try to leave,” he said.