Brussels, 02/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Like the United Nations, the European Union is calling for an investigation into the murder last week, in peculiar circumstances, of a 43-year-old environmental activist, the head of a forestry protection group, in Cambodia.
On Tuesday 1 May, the following statement was issued: “The EU delegation is deeply concerned about the incident that occurred on 26 April in Key Kong province, resulting in the death of Mr Chut Wutty, a well-known environmentalist and human rights defender, and Mr In Rattana, a military policeman. The EU Delegation calls for a speedy, robust and independent investigation of this case, which casts a shadow over the Government's and civil society's efforts to curtail illegal logging in the country.” Wutty was collecting evidence about illegal logging in remote parts of Cambodia, when he was killed by a military policeman who then killed himself, according to a highly controversial official version of the facts. A spokesperson in Geneva for the UN High Commission for Human Rights said that the UN is very concerned, despite the lack of clarity about what actually happened, because this murder is only the latest in a long line of ever more violent attacks on human rights activists in Cambodia. The UN demands a judicial enquiry to be carried out rapidly with the greatest probity and independence. Phnom Penh has set up a special investigatory committee, but it has been criticised for including a high-ranking military policeman. (EH/transl.fl)