User:Anilakeo/Kem Ley

Kem Ley (កែម ឡី; 1970–2016) was Founder of a grassroots political party called Khmer for Khmr. He was a grassroots campaigner and Cambodian political commentator best known for his trenchant criticism of the government. He was gunned down in the broad day light while drinking coffee and reading news at a convenience store attached to a gas station in the capital Phnom Penh.

Life
Wutty was born in Svay Meas village, Vihear Sour commune, Kchlach Kandal district, Kandal province, Cambodia. Chut Wutty obtained a master's degree in Military Studies from Russia in 1992. Wutty is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son.

Kirth Chantharith, spokesman for the National Police, said at about 10:30 a.m. that officers had already arrested a man over the shooting.

“Police made an arrest immediately after the shooting happened,” he said, declining to give any further information.

A longtime analyst of Cambodia’s fractious political scene, Kem Ley founded the grassroots Khmer for Khmer advocacy group in 2014 with the aim of helping spark the formation of localized political parties across the country.

The Grassroots Democracy Party was formed by his colleagues the following year, but Kem Ley himself disavowed any personal political ambitions of his own. He had continued to regularly appear on the radio and in the press to discuss political issues of the day.