Sam Rainsy's Acceptance Speech for Liberal International "Prize for Freedom"

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy (Photo: RFA)

Marrakesh, November 10, 2006

SAM RAINSY’S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH FOR LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR FREEDOM

Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Liberal Friends,

I am most grateful for your decision to present me this evening with the Liberal International Prize for Freedom. It is a genuine honor to be associated with great names such as Corazon Aquino, Vaclav Havel, Martin Lee and Aung San Suu Kyi, all past recipients of LI's Prize for Freedom.

This award has been handed to me, and it is my name that will be printed in future Liberal International and other magazines next to the number 2006. But it should go without saying that I accept the award only on behalf of my colleagues who struggle every day – and who sometimes are brutally killed – in their pursuit for human dignity and a more decent life.

Our political party was founded in 1995. Over the last eleven years, about seventy of my colleagues have been assassinated for their political commitment.

I have attended too many funerals in my political life. In the meantime I have received a few prizes and awards such as the Heritage Foundation Prize in the US, the Passport for Freedom from the European Parliament, and now the LI's Prize for Freedom. I would have preferred not to receive any prize at all if there had been no unnecessary funerals to attend. My standing before you this evening, in this beautiful city of Marrakesh, is the result of the sacrifice and suffering of thousands of unknown people who risk their lives every day seeking the very ideal that serves as the raison d'être of Liberal International.

Cambodia is not a democracy. It is a false democracy. False democracy is more difficult to deal with than outright dictatorship. 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. Cambodia is one of the world's most corrupt countries according to Transparency International and, as a result, one the world's poorest countries according to the World Bank. Independent observers rightly depict Cambodia as a mafia state and a banana kingdom. Many things must therefore be addressed and redressed.

My party is the first opposition party in post-communist Cambodia. It is the only opposition party represented in a parliament dominated by former communists. Our party launched the first opposition newspaper, led the first public demonstrations against corruption and human rights abuses, organized the first industrial strike, and helped to form the first free trade union of workers. Through heavy sacrifices in terms of human lives, we have become the country's second largest political party, supported mainly by factory workers, landless farmers, victims of all sorts of injustices, the unemployed and disgruntled youth, and the new generations who aspire for freedom, social justice and a decent future. Our party is the only serious challenger to the current regime led by Mr. Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge officer and the world's longest serving prime minister.

The Liberal International Prize for Freedom is a great encouragement to my colleagues, and it can offer substantive support as we continue to intensify our uphill battle. With determination on our part and with the support of all our Liberal friends around the world, I have no doubt that we will achieve victory in the near future.

Before and after victory, we are most eager to lend our unwavering support and to show our active solidarity to all those who fight for the same liberal and progressive ideals in Asia and other parts of the world. In Singapore for instance, courageous freedom fighters are facing unjustifiable political repression. Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party, which is a member of LI sister organization CALD, was recently taken to trial for holding a public political speech without a permit. A verdict will be delivered later this month, and he is expecting to face a heavy fine. He has refused to pay as a matter of principle, and will thus be sent to jail. This will be the fifth time he has been imprisoned, simply for his unwavering commitment to the defense of fundamentals freedoms in his country.

The case in Singapore parallels the case in Cambodia and many other nations around the world. Let us all remember that the legitimacy of rulers is granted not only by the peoples within a nation, but also by the international community. This is why I appeal to our friends in true democracies to look beyond the façade of democracy, and not to remain lenient or complacent with dictators wearing democratic clothes.

Thank you again for your encouragement and your solidarity.

Long live the Liberal Family!