Stephen Cook: He won the recent election in September, but (just like the Thais, who want their PM out) Cambodians are calling for their long-time leader Hun Sens to quit. Meanwhile, in South Korea, thousands have rallied against privitisation of local rail networks.

By Robert Carmichael, Voice of America –  December 29, 2013 | Thanks to Golden Age of Gaia.

http://tinyurl.com/leouf66

PHNOM PENH — In Cambodia Sunday, tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of the capital calling on Prime Minister Hun Sen to quit. The public outpouring of sentiment in recent months against the long-time leader is unprecedented, and has brought together opposition party supporters and many of Cambodia’s 400,000-strong garment workers.

Before leading the huge march through the streets of Phnom Penh, opposition leader Sam Rainsy told the crowd at Freedom Park in the city center that this is a historic day and that the will of the Cambodian people will prevail.

Rainsy said all Cambodians believe Hun Sen’s government is illegal, adding that the prime minister would hear their voice. He said everyone wants to see a change in leadership, and he called for fresh elections.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy (white shirt, right), and deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha (left) wave to people watching the march in Phnom Penh, Dec. 29, 2013. (R. Carmichael/VOA)

​The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which Sam Rainsy leads, stunned the ruling party in July when it came close to winning the general election. The opposition has since claimed the election was stolen.

It initially sought an independent investigation into the ballot.

But Prime Minister Hun Sen – who has been in power for nearly three decades – rejected that, and talks between the two sides quickly stagnated.

The 55 opposition MPs-elect have refused to take up their seats in the 123-seat National Assembly. They want Hun Sen to quit and a second election held next year. Hun Sen has rejected both of those demands, too.

So for the past two weeks, the opposition has staged daily rallies and marches in Phnom Penh, drawing between a few thousand supporters and – on Sunday a week ago – as many as an estimated 40,000.

The march this Sunday saw even more people turn out. Counting crowds is a notoriously tricky task, but this march was clearly much larger than last week’s. Once again, the refrain was that Hun Sen must go.

Expressing such sentiments publicly in Cambodia even a year ago would have been unthinkable, and is indicative of how far the country’s political landscape has shifted.

The opposition has been boosted by wide segments of society: from civil servants fed up with low wages, to ordinary citizens tired of corruption, Buddhist monks speaking out against the senior clergy’s coziness to the ruling party, and garment workers, angry at the government’s announcement on Tuesday to raise the minimum wage from $80 a month to just $95.

Garment workers say that is not enough – with prices in the markets rising fast, as are rents. Many are forced to work overtime simply to make ends meet.

Touch is one of the protestors demanding that the minimum wage rises to $160. The 35-year-old Touch has worked for a decade in a factory that makes jeans for Levi-Strauss. She and her husband are able to send home a small monthly sum to her parents in the village who look after their two children.

She says there are two reasons she came Sunday. One is to have the minimum wage increased to $160. The other is for Hun Sen to step down.

Cambodia’s garment industry is the country’s key foreign exchange earner – worth more than $5 billion this year, mostly in exports to the U.S. and the European Union. The sector is also Cambodia’s biggest formal employer, with 400,000 workers.

But wages have not kept pace with inflation, and over the years the industry has been hit by hundreds of strikes. Last year saw more than half a million days lost to strike action; this year will likely see one million days lost, by far the worst in its two-decade-long history.

So it was little surprise that the announcement of the $15 raise saw tens of thousands of garment workers walk out. In response the trade body that represents the factory owners advised its 470 or so members to close, citing the risk of violence. Many have done so.

Although unions affiliated to the ruling party did back the pay rise, independent unions and those linked to the opposition rejected it. On Friday, leaders of the last two groups met senior officials at the Ministry of Labor to discuss new wages terms, while 2,000 workers blocked the road outside. They failed to reach a deal and are scheduled to meet again Monday.

Touch reckons a deal is at some point inevitable – but pledges that until one is concluded, she and her fellow workers will stay on strike.

She says she expects the government will find a solution for the workers, but doesn’t know how long that will take.

The opposition continues to reap political capital from the dispute over the minimum wage. Earlier this past week, Sam Rainsy told workers they should stay on strike until they get $160 a month.

Protestors attend a rally against railway privatization in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 28, 2013.

South Korean’s Protest Against Railway Privitisation

From Xinhua News – december 28, 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-12/28/c_133003838.htm

SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) — Thousands of rail workers and supporters rallied in downtown Seoul and marched into streets on Saturday to protest the government’s move to open a new subsidiary for the state-run rail operator, which unionists fear will result in privatization and layoffs.

The labor union led the walkout till Saturday night after the government on late Friday issued a formal license for a new affiliate of South Korea’s state-run Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) that operates the new high-speed line from Suseo-dong in Seoul to the port city of Busan.

The union said that up to 100,000 people joined the strike on the 20th day of this largest scale protest, but local police put the number at 20,000,according to the Yonhap news agency.

Shouting “no privatization,” protesters occasionally clashed with riot police, whose number is estimated to be 13,000. There have been no reports of injuries or arrests so far.

The labor union denounced the transportation ministry for ” abruptly” issuing the license regardless of workers’ strong protests, saying it is “a declaration of war” against the people.

KORAIL union chief Kim Myung-hwan said at a press briefing that the union will submit a lawsuit attempting to nullify the government decision.

The workers declared that protests will go on until Feb. 25, the first anniversary of the inauguration of President Park Geun- hye.

The rail operator vowed to give heavy punishment for 490 union leaders according to their involvement in the strike and downtime, according to the KORAIL’s spokesman Jang Jin-bok, who added that the company will also take legal actions to seek compensation for financial damages.

Local police have court-issued arrest warrants for 25 union leaders involved in the strike.

To find ways out to control the intensified conflict, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won held a meeting of related cabinet members, maintained that the goal of opening the new KORAIL affiliate is to benefit people by introducing competition mechanism to its rail industry.

Chung urged people to support the government’s decision and hoped citizens could “endure the inconveniences for a little longer.”

More than 50,000 workers of the state-run Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) have walked off the job since Dec. 9, affecting high- speed KTX, ITX, subway and cargo train operations. KORAIL was forced to cut passenger train services by around 24 percent for the fifth day in a row on Friday. The daily amount of cargo shipments has also dropped to an average of 30 percent of the normal volume.