PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen has said that he knows all the monetary sources that have been supporting some protesters who have been able to continue protesting for more than a year despite being unemployed. Although the Prime Minister did not directly name any company or elaborate further on which protestors he was referring to, it is likely that he was commenting on former NagaWorld workers who continue to protest to this day.
During the graduation ceremony for students of the Institute of New Khmer on Monday morning, 6 March 2023, Prime Minister Hun Sen raised the question of how this worker’s demonstration could last for more than a year without any backend support.
"If I wanted, I could go and arrest this place that is providing money for the demonstrations to continue, I could also go and catch them, if I wanted to," he said.
Former NagaWorld workers have been protesting since 18 December 2021, following a massive company layoff. Around 300 people were engaged in protests for more than a year, with the objective of getting the company to re-employ them in their previous positions. NagaWorld has since firmly declared its position of not taking these employees back.
According to the Ministry of Labor, there are now only about 100 workers left protesting.