The widow of a former Cambodian opposition party lawmaker who was killed in a brazen street attack in Bangkok said she believes the shooting was “definitely political” and not the result of a personal dispute.
Lim Ani spoke to Radio Free Asia on Thursday following a funeral held at a Cambodian Buddhist pagoda near Paris for Lim Kimya, who in recent years had been a frequent critic of the Cambodian government.
“This murder is definitely political. I am sure that this shooting is political,” she said. “As far as I know, my husband has no enemies or grudges with anyone. He is a good person.
“But he exposed the injustices that happened in Cambodia. This is what he wrote, he showed,” she said. “As usual, there are always people who like what he says and people who don’t.”
Lim Ani, Lim Kimya and his uncle had just arrived in Bangkok on Jan. 7 when he was shot twice by an assassin in Bangkok’s old quarter.
Lim Ani, a French citizen, flew to France several days later. She told RFA she underwent questioning by French judicial authorities on Wednesday and has also filed a complaint related to the shooting with authorities there.
Thai police have charged suspected gunman Aekaluck Paenoi, a former Thai Marine who was arrested on Jan. 8 in Cambodia’s Battambang province and was extradited to Thailand on Jan. 11.
Suspected mastermind
Earlier this week, Thai police said they were searching for Ly Ratanakrasmey, an adviser to former Prime Minister Hun Sen who they believe masterminded the assassination.
However, a document posted on Facebook this week by a Cambodian government minister showed that Ly Ratanaksmey was removed from his adviser position last March.
Two letters -– the first showing Ly Ratanaksmey’s appointment in January 2024 and the second showing his dismissal two months later –- were published by So Naro, who holds the title of minister delegate attached to the prime minister in charge of ASEAN affairs.
The dismissal followed an internal decision made by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party because he had violated party rules, party spokesman Sok Eysan said.
Thai police have also issued an arrest warrant for another Cambodian who they identified as Pich Kimsrin. They alleged that he acted as a spotter for the gunman.
Moved to France
Lim Kimya, 74, held dual French-Cambodian citizenship. He moved to France in the early 1970s, finding work with the French Ministry of Economy and Finance.
He returned to Cambodia about a year before the 2013 election. He won a seat in the National Assembly as a member of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP, and served until 2018.
RELATED STORIES
Thais scrutinized over Cambodian’s murder, Vietnamese, Uyghur detainees
Thai police seek Hun Sen adviser believed linked to Bangkok killing of critic
Cambodian opposition critic Lim Kimya refused to be silenced
A Supreme Court decision in late 2017 ordered the CNRP dissolved and banned Lim Kimya and other party members from politics for five years. Lim Kimya told Agence France-Presse at the time that he would “never give up politics” and planned to stay in Cambodia, even as many of the party’s top leaders left.
Thursday’s funeral was attended by Sam Rainsy, a former opposition leader who remains acting president of the CNRP. He told RFA that he also believes that the shooting was motivated by politics.
The ceremony at Wat Porvong, also known as Wat Saint-Simon, was organized by Cambodians living in France.
Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
