Assembly May Make Adultery Illegal Today
By Yun Samean
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
Under the proposed law, if a person has an affair while they are married, they will face fines of between $50 and $250 and could spend between one month and a year behind bars.
The National Assembly will likely vote today on a new law on monogamy that, if passed, would mean men and women could be sentenced to up to a year in prison for having extramarital affairs, officials said Tuesday.
CPP officials said the legislation would protect Cambodian morality.
But several political observers questioned the timing of the law, claiming it may be a political maneuver aimed at applying further pressure to Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh. And one leading human rights worker said he could think of few regimes that had implemented such strict legislation on personal conduct, other than the fanatical Taliban in Afghanistan.
"This law is aimed at protecting dignity, strengthen harmony and mutual respect between a husband and a wife," CPP National Assembly President Heng Samrin explained to reporters outside parliament. "We want the family to be in harmony and to have mutual respect between a husband and wife."
The law will be debated today and will then likely be passed, he said.
According to a copy of the draft law, Cambodian citizens must have only one husband or wife, and if they take a second spouse or lover, it will be viewed as a crime. If a person has an affair while they are married, they will face fines of between $50 and $250 and could spend between one month and a year behind bars.
If a person formally marries a second husband or wife when they are already wedded, they will be liable to the same fine and between six months and one year in jail.
Thun Saray, director of local rights group Adhoc, said he supported monogamy. But for adultery to be treated as a criminal offense is unacceptable and is not the mark of a civilized nation, he said.
He said that one of the only regimes he could think of that had applied criminal punishment for infidelity was the Taliban's.
"Only extremists would use the law," he said.
Funcinpec lawmaker Monh Sophan said he was uncertain whether the law was intended to undermine Prince Ranariddh. But he said it seemed a remarkable coincidence that those who originally called for the law were members of Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling CPP.
The prince's public affairs adviser Ok Socheat revealed this week that the prince and his wife, Princess Marie, have begun divorce proceedings. Ok Socheat also said the prince has recently been living in Paris with Cambodian classical dancer Ouk Phalla, who was identified in March by her older brother as the prince's long-time mistress.
Chea Chanboribo, Prince Ranariddh's spokesman, declined comment on the proposed morality law.
Asked whether the legislation would affect Prince Ranariddh, Heng Samrin responded that anyone with multiple spouses should beware.
"Those who have two or many wives would be affected. The Cambodian Constitution states that there is only one wife and one husband," he said.
Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Yim Sovann said there are many laws that should be prioritized over policing people's private lives, and warned that the law could be wielded selectively.
"The law must be applied without any discrimination,'' he said.
Hang Puthea, director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free Elections in Cambodia, said the legislation should not be given priority over the long awaited anti-corruption law, which has been more than a decade in the making. It has been just five months since Hun Sen first proposed introducing a law on monogamy in March.
"There are a lot of laws, especially the anti-corruption law," that should be given priority, Hang Puthea said.
Koul Panha, director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said the legislation is likely intended to make further problems for the already beleaguered Prince Ranariddh.
If passed, the law will probably force the prince to either divorce Princess Marie or leave Ouk Phalla, he said.
But he added that the CPP might also be pushing for the legislation with its own unfaithful officials in mind.
The CPP is probably concerned that its powerful family dynasties, formed by elaborate inter-marriages among senior officials over several decades, are being undermined by extramarital affairs, Koul Panha said.
Prime Minister Hun Sen's adviser Om Yentieng said the law is important for Cambodia, and that it was not designed with Prince Ranariddh in mind.
"The law doesn't state that only Prince Norodom Ranariddh will be imprisoned," he said, adding that Hun Sen and the prince are not enemies.
The government has not yet submitted the draft anti-corruption law to the Assembly because the government does not want to do so until the draft is perfect, Om Yentieng maintained.
Prince Sisowath Thomico, head of the newly formed Sangkum Cheat Niyum Front Party, said the legislation is illogical and is a sign of the country's social regression.
There are no modern countries using such a law, and France has not applied such rules since the 19th century, Prince Thomico said.
"The law is nonsense," he said. "We are going backwards."
The National Assembly will likely vote today on a new law on monogamy that, if passed, would mean men and women could be sentenced to up to a year in prison for having extramarital affairs, officials said Tuesday.
CPP officials said the legislation would protect Cambodian morality.
But several political observers questioned the timing of the law, claiming it may be a political maneuver aimed at applying further pressure to Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh. And one leading human rights worker said he could think of few regimes that had implemented such strict legislation on personal conduct, other than the fanatical Taliban in Afghanistan.
"This law is aimed at protecting dignity, strengthen harmony and mutual respect between a husband and a wife," CPP National Assembly President Heng Samrin explained to reporters outside parliament. "We want the family to be in harmony and to have mutual respect between a husband and wife."
The law will be debated today and will then likely be passed, he said.
According to a copy of the draft law, Cambodian citizens must have only one husband or wife, and if they take a second spouse or lover, it will be viewed as a crime. If a person has an affair while they are married, they will face fines of between $50 and $250 and could spend between one month and a year behind bars.
If a person formally marries a second husband or wife when they are already wedded, they will be liable to the same fine and between six months and one year in jail.
Thun Saray, director of local rights group Adhoc, said he supported monogamy. But for adultery to be treated as a criminal offense is unacceptable and is not the mark of a civilized nation, he said.
He said that one of the only regimes he could think of that had applied criminal punishment for infidelity was the Taliban's.
"Only extremists would use the law," he said.
Funcinpec lawmaker Monh Sophan said he was uncertain whether the law was intended to undermine Prince Ranariddh. But he said it seemed a remarkable coincidence that those who originally called for the law were members of Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling CPP.
The prince's public affairs adviser Ok Socheat revealed this week that the prince and his wife, Princess Marie, have begun divorce proceedings. Ok Socheat also said the prince has recently been living in Paris with Cambodian classical dancer Ouk Phalla, who was identified in March by her older brother as the prince's long-time mistress.
Chea Chanboribo, Prince Ranariddh's spokesman, declined comment on the proposed morality law.
Asked whether the legislation would affect Prince Ranariddh, Heng Samrin responded that anyone with multiple spouses should beware.
"Those who have two or many wives would be affected. The Cambodian Constitution states that there is only one wife and one husband," he said.
Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Yim Sovann said there are many laws that should be prioritized over policing people's private lives, and warned that the law could be wielded selectively.
"The law must be applied without any discrimination,'' he said.
Hang Puthea, director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free Elections in Cambodia, said the legislation should not be given priority over the long awaited anti-corruption law, which has been more than a decade in the making. It has been just five months since Hun Sen first proposed introducing a law on monogamy in March.
"There are a lot of laws, especially the anti-corruption law," that should be given priority, Hang Puthea said.
Koul Panha, director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said the legislation is likely intended to make further problems for the already beleaguered Prince Ranariddh.
If passed, the law will probably force the prince to either divorce Princess Marie or leave Ouk Phalla, he said.
But he added that the CPP might also be pushing for the legislation with its own unfaithful officials in mind.
The CPP is probably concerned that its powerful family dynasties, formed by elaborate inter-marriages among senior officials over several decades, are being undermined by extramarital affairs, Koul Panha said.
Prime Minister Hun Sen's adviser Om Yentieng said the law is important for Cambodia, and that it was not designed with Prince Ranariddh in mind.
"The law doesn't state that only Prince Norodom Ranariddh will be imprisoned," he said, adding that Hun Sen and the prince are not enemies.
The government has not yet submitted the draft anti-corruption law to the Assembly because the government does not want to do so until the draft is perfect, Om Yentieng maintained.
Prince Sisowath Thomico, head of the newly formed Sangkum Cheat Niyum Front Party, said the legislation is illogical and is a sign of the country's social regression.
There are no modern countries using such a law, and France has not applied such rules since the 19th century, Prince Thomico said.
"The law is nonsense," he said. "We are going backwards."
7 comments:
Bravo, CPP at least has shown the good side of herself. Married man or woman should be honest and mutual trustworthy. Proceed with Divorce if you think you no longer want to be in a mutual contract.
It's so extreme to propose this law at this time. Anti-corruption law is way important that this one.. it has been proposed for over ten years now. It's very obvious that these people in the gov't have no intention to pass this anti-corruption anytime soon because they themselves are very very corrupted officials. By making Cambodian suffer from your acts, you and your family would go to Hell forever..
Ah Youn Communis Stupid law!!!!
Not all hunam right are right. Only royal families, rich, powerful officials would disagree with this law. 40% of Cambodian women are living as second class citizen by being mistress of such sexual predators. Let pass the law to stop all the Acid splashed to the face activities.
This law applies to those in extramarital affairs. Having such a law would only 1) force affairs to go deeper underground 2)force people to turn to prostitutes in order not to break the law. It's the latter I'm more concerned about. Increased prostitution would lead to higher chances of HIV transmission and higher demand for prostitutes, also meaning more supply. And in order to avoid being infected with HIV, more men will turn to virgins which may lead to higher demand for child prostitues.
I just hope that the Cambodian government is aware of the ripples this law will cause and is prepared to combat the problems that come with it. On the surface, the law seems to protect helpless women but socially it could bring about more problems.
Human right is sometime wrong. So sick that Cambodian women are treated as second class citizen. Polygamism in hidding must be stopped. Even using the religion to have many women in US are being caught (Jeff Warren). Jail all the royal families, rich, and powerful officials who use money/power to buy sexes from young mistresses. Less acid will be splashed to woman's faces.
bravo! bravo! bravo! cheyo Kampuchea!
Post a Comment