Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen reiterated Tuesday that the government would no longer tolerate illegal strikes or demonstrations led by the opposition and its aligned trade unions.

Speaking during the 17th Government-Private Sector Forum, the premier said the opposition party and its trade unions have used demagogue to incite garment workers to hold illegal strikes and demonstrations to demand higher wages unreasonably.

"They are using workers as their political pedal with their aim to pollute investment climate and destroy workers' benefits and job opportunities for youth," he said at the forum, which was attended by some 400 government officials, business representatives, diplomatic corps and development partners.

"Up to now, this extremist group has not stopped their illegal activities yet and some outsiders have encouraged and supported this group and its activities," he added.

"The Cambodian government would like to reaffirm that the implementation of rights and freedom in demanding must be held in compliance with laws. Any activities that violate the laws will be no longer tolerated," he said.

Many protests have been conducted by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party and its six aligned trade unions since a disputed election in July last year that handed victory to Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling party.

Two violent protests on Jan. 2 and 3 had left 4 protesters dead and 21 others still detained.

Van Sou Ieng, president of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC), expressed gratitude to the government for restoring peace and order in January and bringing a stop to the illegal behavior of certain minority trade unions. "Investor confidence can only be established when there is peace and industrial harmony," he said.

Nang Sothy, co-chair of the Government-Private Working Group on Industrial Relations, said the illegal protests between Dec. 24 and Jan. 3 had damaged factory properties in the amount of 75 million U.S. dollars. "This has adverse impact on foreign and domestic investors and the economy," he said, adding that currently, factories have filed 28 complaints against leaders of the six trade unions for inciting violent protests.

The garment and shoe industries, the kingdom's largest foreign exchange earner, generated some 5.53 billion U.S. dollars in revenues last year. The sector comprises about 900 factories with more than 600,000 workers.

Cambodia remains trapped in political dispute after July's election results showed that the Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling party won 68 parliamentary seats and Sam Rainsy's opposition party got the remaining 55 seats.

Claiming serious irregularities, the opposition refused to accept the outcome and has boycotted parliament and staged many protests to demand the resignation of Hun Sen and a re-election.

Hun Sen has said that he would neither step down nor call a re- vote. Endi

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