Khmer Intelligence News - 13 November 2006

Sam Rainsy given the Liberal International Prize for Freedom by The Lord Alderdice, President of Liberal International and a Member of the United Kingdom's House of Lords Marrakesh (Morocco) - November 10, 2006. (Photo: SRP)

13 November 2006

Overseas Cambodians might be allowed to vote in 2008 (3)

The opposition SRP is proposing an amendment to the current election law so as to allow overseas Cambodians to take part in the forthcoming national elections in 2008. The amendment is modeled on some specific provisions of the Italian election law as implemented for Italy's last general elections in April 2006. It is suggested that Cambodians living in the USA tentatively form a specific constituency represented by five seats at Cambodia's National Assembly. Cambodians in France would have three seats. Canada and Australia would have one seat each. To qualify for a seat, the Cambodian community in any country must comprise at least 20,000 voters. The size of the Cambodian Diaspora is estimated at 600,000 persons worldwide, 400,000 of whom are over 18-year-old. Therefore, overseas Cambodians would be represented by ten Assembly members from four specific constituencies.

Foreign nationals' names deleted from voter lists (1)

After the deletion of 51 names of foreign nationals from the voting list for Chbar Ampeuv II commune in Phnom Penh's Meanchey district earlier this month, 892 similar names were deleted last week from the voting list for Kompong Luong commune in Pursat province's Krokor district, which borders the Tonle Sap Great Lake. In the two communes, the decisions to delete foreigners' names were made unanimously by commune councilors from the three political parties at the request of Khmer villagers. More information is available here.

Sam Rainsy: Cambodia is a false democracy (1)

In his acceptance speech for the Liberal International Prize for Freedom that was given to him in Marrakech (Morocco) on 10 November 2006, opposition leader Sam Rainsy calls Cambodia a "false democracy." He elaborates as follows: "We have the façade of democracy but no democratic substance in our institutions. We have a parliament but it is a rubber-stamp parliament. We have a judiciary but it takes orders from the ruling party, which uses it as a political tool to crack down on opponents. We have elections but they are manipulated elections whose results are decided before Voting Day. We have officially abolished capital punishment but extra-judicial executions take place every day in the street." He concludes by saying that Cambodia is a "mafia state" and a "banana kingdom."

Full text of the speech is available here.

Photos of the ceremony can be found here.

CCHR case: Several ongoing court hearings for plaintiffs (2)

Several plaintiffs who have filed corruption and defamation lawsuits against Cambodian Center for Human Rights president Kem Sokha, are being heard this month by the judge. Some of the plaintiffs, who are former CCHR employees, have accused Kem Sokha of stealing their salaries, while others have accused him of embezzlement. Kem Sokha avoids answering questions from his former colleagues and accuses them of wanting to destroy the CCHR and to ruin his career.

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