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Rong Chhun

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Rong Chhun
President of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU)[1]
In office
6 August 2006 – 11 April 2015
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 November 2017
President of the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association[2]
In office
March 2000 – 11 April 2015
Opposition member of the National Election Committee of Cambodia[3]
Resigned
In office
11 April 2015 – 20 November 2017
Personal details
Born1969
Talon commune, Kandal Province
Pronunciation of Rong Chhun

Rong Chhun (born 1969 in Talon, Kandal) is a Cambodian trade unionist and political activist. He is the president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions and has been imprisoned several times for his work.

Biography

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Chhun was born in Talon commune, Kandal Province, in 1969, as the fourth of five siblings. In 1993, he graduated from the Royal University of Phnom Penh with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. He then began teaching at a high school in Talon. He formed the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association (CITA) in March 2000, together with more than 30 other teachers, to organise for better pay and more rights.[2]

Chhun was detained on October 15, 2005, in Banteay Meanchey Province. He was charged with defamation of the Prime Minister in statements concerning a border agreement with Vietnam signed on October 12, 2005, and held without trial in Prey Sar prison until January 2006, when he was released on bail.[4][5]

In 2010, Chhun voiced concern over a planned law on trade unions, especially over unions being required to report their financial situation to the government every year and union leaders being legally responsible if strikes turned violent.[6]

In 2012, he was summoned for questioning at Kandal Provincial Court after allegations that he had incited the employees of Tai Yang garment factory to illegal protests.[1]

During the 2013–2014 Cambodian protests, Chhun led the first strike of around 300,000 garment workers that protested together with members of the opposition party Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in Phnom Penh.[7] After the violent crackdown on the protests, Chhun was summoned for questioning together with Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha. 5,000 people protested in front of the court building in their support. On January 21, Chhun was briefly arrested together with ten other activists.[8] In November, he was, together with Yang Sophorn of the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions, prohibited from meeting other union leaders or attending demonstrations by Phnom Penh Municipal Court.[9]

Chhun joined the newly formed National Election Committee of Cambodia in 2015 as a CNRP member under a deal to end CNRP's year-long boycott of parliament. During his time on the commission, he faced prosecution under charges of "intential violence" from 2014 which Human Rights Watch called "baseless".[10][11] He resigned from his position after two years, protesting against the CNRP's dissolution and laws distributing its parliamentary seats to other minor parties.[3] When he then tried to return to his post in the Ministry of Education in January 2018, he was told he had been fired for being absent without permission. Chhun said he had been under an agreement for leave without pay for his position in the NEC and called the dismissal politically motivated.[12] He then rejoined CITA as a consultant in the same month.[13]

On July 31, 2020, Chhun was again arrested for allegedly saying that Cambodia had ceded land on its border to Vietnam.[14] The arrest was condemned by Cambodian civil society groups, several global union federations and human rights organisations, and the UN.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Chhun's trial began on January 15, 2021, observed by several diplomats and a representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.[22] On November 12, 2021, he was released from prison after the Court of Appeal suspended part of his sentence.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Trade Union Leader Summoned to Appear at Kandal Provincial Court". Cambodian Center for Human Rights. 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  2. ^ a b Kimseng, Men (2016-12-10). "Rong Chhun: From Street Activist to Elections Organizer". Voice of America. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  3. ^ a b "Opposition Members Quit Cambodia's Electoral Body in Protest of Party's Dissolution". Radio Free Asia. 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  4. ^ "The ILO welcomes the release Rong Chhun and human rights activists". ILO. 2006-01-20. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  5. ^ "Cambodia: Release on bail of Mr. Rong Chhun". OMCT Network. 2006-01-20. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  6. ^ Thul, Prak Chan (2010-06-09). "Cambodian draft law on unions worries labour leader". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  7. ^ "Striking Garment Workers Join Cambodian Opposition Protests". Radio Free Asia. 2013-12-26. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  8. ^ "When Freedom Meets Oppression: Timeline of Recent Events". LICADHO. 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  9. ^ Mech Data (2014-11-01). "Court Places Two More Union Heads Under Supervision". The Cambodia Daily.
  10. ^ Cambodia. Events of 2016 (Report). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  11. ^ Naren, Kuch; Willemyns, Alex (2016-05-20). "If Rong Chhun Goes, CPP Can Veto Any New NEC Member". The Cambodia Daily. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  12. ^ Yon Sineat (2018-02-06). "Government critic fired from Education Ministry". The Phnom Penh Post.
  13. ^ David, Sen (2018-01-23). "Former NEC member goes back to education". Khmer Times. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  14. ^ Strangio, Sebastian (2020-09-20). "With New Arrest, Cambodia's Permanent Crackdown Intensifies". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  15. ^ Thul, Prak Chan (2020-08-03). "Cambodia activists urge release of unionist accused of inciting unrest". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  16. ^ "Cambodia: global unions demand immediate unconditional release of Rong Chhun" (Press release). ITUC. 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  17. ^ "Global Union Federations demand release of Rong Chhun and other trade unionists in Cambodia" (Press release). UNI Global Union. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  18. ^ "Asia Pacific unions demand Cambodian government release Rong Chhun" (Press release). IndustriALL Global Union. 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  19. ^ "Cambodia: Free Prominent Trade Union Leader" (Press release). Human Rights Watch. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  20. ^ "Cambodia: Arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Cambodian Confederation of Unions's President Mr. Rong Chhun" (Press release). International Federation for Human Rights. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  21. ^ Chheng, Niem (2021-01-10). "UN expresses concerns over detention of rights activists". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  22. ^ "Cambodian Court Launches Trial of Prominent Union Leader Rong Chhun". Radio Free Asia. 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  23. ^ "Activist Rong Chhun Released from Prison". Cambodianess. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
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