Cambodian rights activists defiant, but offer talks with government

Pa Nguon Teang (R), deputy of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR), Kem Sokha (2nd R), head of CCHR, Mam Sonando (C), Beehive radio station owner, Rong Chhun (2nd L), teachers' union head and Yeng Vireak, human rights worker affiliated with CCHR, speak to the media during a news conference in Phnom Penh on January 23, 2006. Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the release of Pa, Kem, Mam and Rong, who were facing criminal defamation charges on January 17 'as a gift' to the United States, which had attacked the arrest. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

AFP

23 January 2006

PHNOM PENH - Cambodian rights leader Kem Sokha, out on bail after being arrested for defamation, warned the government Monday of growing tensions if it rejects talks with democracy advocates about dissent.

He also said he would continue his rights work, despite a looming trial that observers say will likely see him convicted and possibly sent to jail -- one of about a dozen rights figures targeted in an apparent clampdown on critics.

“We welcome any talks to resolve this problem peacefully. If the government wants to be tough, it will be tough,” an unrepentant Kem Sokha said during a press conference with four other government critics released on bail last week.

“For us as the victims, the tougher the government, the tougher we will get. We cannot accept that the government asks us to apologise ... because we have done nothing wrong.”

Kem Sokha, who directs the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, was arrested December 31 with rights activist Yeng Virak. Kem Sokha’s deputy, Pa Nguon Teang, was arrested five days later.

All three have been charged with defamation -- a criminal offense in Cambodia -- as have journalist Mam Sonando and union boss Rong Chhun.

The five are now free on bail but still face trial, as rights groups push for the charges against them to be dropped.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said Sunday that the five will go on trial, indicating that convictions were likely, but that he would consider clemency if they changed their “attitude”.

International rights watchdogs and foreign governments have accused Hun Sen of using the courts to crush opposition to his government.

While they welcomed the granting of bail for the five critics, they also said the premier’s intervention in the cases by effectively ordering their release showed the government’s hand in the judiciary.

“It puts to rest the fiction that the government has had nothing to do with these cases,” Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, told AFP.

Since October, nearly a dozen people have been arrested or face punishment for criticising the government. Several, including opposition leader Sam Rainsy, have fled the country.

Foreign observers warn of an erosion of democracy as the ruling Cambodian People’s Party moves to consolidate its power before 2008 general elections.

Following the Monday press conference, the five prayed at a nearby stupa before offering King Norodom Sihamoni a petition bearing tens of thousands of thumbprints asking for charges be dropped against everyone caught in the clampdown.