Up to 20,000 Cambodians are taking shelter at a doomsday cult politician’s farmhouse while they await an apocalyptic flood that will bring about the end of the world.
Khem Veasna, the founder of the League for Democracy Party, claims a ‘black hole’ has formed in his spine which is sending him messages about an impending flood that will destroy everything apart from his farmland in Siem Reap.
He said in one Facebook post: ‘I can’t sleep because whenever I sleep, my spinal cord is pulling so hard, because the world is breaking down, and the water is flowing into the gap.’
The supposed soothsayer also posted a number of images of apparent apparitions in the sky which he said foretold of the end of days.
The leader, who refers to himself as a Brahma, a religious title which means heavenly king, has called for Cambodian migrant workers in South Korea to abandon their jobs and return home.
Up to 20,000 Cambodians are taking shelter at a doomsday cult politician’s farmhouse while they await an apocalyptic flood (pictured at the farm)
Khem Veasna (pictured), the founder of the League for Democracy Party, claims a ‘black hole’ has formed in his spine which is sending him messages about an impending flood
The appeal to the 30,000 expats in South Korea prompted a warning by the Cambodian embassy in Seoul for citizens not to travel there, and if they leave without informing their companies they will not get their jobs back.
A spokesman for the labour ministry also urged people not to quit their jobs just for ‘one individual’s superstition’.
He only started sharing his prophecy on Facebook last week where he has a large following of more than 370,000 people, and authorities estimate that up to 20,000 including children and the elderly have moved to his farm house.
Veasna is entertaining them with daily lectures from 1pm to 7pm, which are blared out on loudspeakers, but baffled locals have complained over his followers’ mess and their public defecation.
The supposed soothsayer also posted a number of images of apparent apparitions in the sky which he said foretold of the end of days
The leader, who refers to himself as a Brahma, a religious title which means heavenly king, has called for Cambodian migrant workers in South Korea to abandon their jobs and return home
The politician has long been a critic of the Cambodian government and its main opposition, and his party secured 310,000 votes in the 2018 elections which were seen as rigged in favour of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
Astrid Norén-Nilsson, senior lecturer at Lund University’s Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, told Vice World News: ‘Even though the opposition has been allowed to resurrect to some extent, Cambodia is still very much marked by how this is a one-party mandate period.
‘Khem Veasna denounced politics and brought his followers with him on the journey to become a sort of millenarian social movement.
‘It evidently speaks to people in these globally uncertain and rather dark times.’
The politician has long been a critic of the Cambodian government and its main opposition
The devotees have been ignoring calls from local authorities to disperse and remain on his site.
An ultimatum was issued for the supporters to leave today or face ‘appropriate legal action’, although it is not clear what this is.
Veasna has allegedly told police he will help them but their orders have so far been ignored.
Barricades have been erected at the entrance to the farm house to stop more people entering.
But many are now erecting tents nearby or booking hotel rooms, hoping that when the floods come they can still escape the rising waters in the safehaven.