The Center for Social Development
PUBLIC FORUM
on
“JUSTICE & NATIONAL RECONCILIATION”
PUBLIC FORUM
on
“JUSTICE & NATIONAL RECONCILIATION”
Press Release
PHNOM PENH, 28 May 2007: The Center for Social Development (''CSD'') is pleased to invite you to its public forum on “Justice & National Reconciliation”. The forum will be held on Friday, 8 June 2007 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Svay Rieng province where CSD executive director Theary C. Seng and ECCC press officer Reach Sambath suffered losses of their parents during the Khmer Rouge years and to this day continue to have family ties.
You are also cordially invited to join CSD and 50 of the 150 provincial participants this Tuesday, 29 May 2007 from 8 am to 5 pm on a tour of Tuol Sleng, Choeuk Ek, and the ECCC.
This forum will include participants from all the districts of Svay Rieng, including 45 participants from villages of Trach where ECCC press officer lived, Chensa where CSD executive director lived and continues to have family, and Bung Rei where CSD executive director was imprisoned for 5 months and lost her mother. CSD executive director reflects: This forum has a particular resonance for me because of its location of Svay Rieng and my KR experiences there. I joined my staff during ground preparation personally to invite the participants, comprising of relatives, neighboring villagers, and maybe who knows, the perpetrators of the deaths of my family.
This forum will focus on the process of peace and national reconciliation, using the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (“ECCC”) as a catalyst and an illustration. CSD Executive Director notes: We, Cambodians, desire a just peace, not only the absence of war but also the presence of justice. We know that there are limitations to any and all legal proceedings, especially this ECCC. Hence, the core value of the ECCC as a court of law is becoming the ancillary value, and the ancillary benefits of this ECCC are becoming more and more the raison d’etre for this ECCC; that is to say, we are taking advantage of the concentrated and growing attention of the Cambodian people on the ECCC to discuss other issues of greater importance: just peace, healing, reconciliation, rule of law, history, human rights – and our individual role in this process. It is imperative that we, Cambodians, come together to discuss this dark period of our recent past and own up to our responsibility in order that we may be reconciled within ourselves and with each other. We must do so for the sake of the present and future generations.
The main goals of the forum are (i) to disseminate information regarding the KR years, the ECCC, processes of just peace, healing, reconciliation, (ii) to help manage the expectations of the participants as to what the ECCC can achieve in terms of peace, justice and reconciliation, and ultimately (iii) to create a multiplier effect in these participants as ambassadors to their families and neighbors.
To achieve these goals, CSD will provide a safe venue for open dialogue and discussions amongst the provincial and Phnom Penh participants, and printed materials of competing ideas and institutions to take back home with them. Moreover, the Public Forum is broadcasted regionally on local television and radio stations.
BACKGROUND
CSD has been conducting public forums on issues of national concern at the grassroots across Cambodia since 1996. In pre-ECCC 2000, CSD conducted the 1st series on “Justice & National Reconciliation” in (i) Battambang, (ii) Phnom Penh, and (iii) Sihanoukville.
CSD conducted its 2nd series of forums in 2006 in (i) former Khmer Rouge stronghold Pailin, (ii) Kampot (with participants from Phnom Voar, Koh Sla, Kampong Trach, Anlong Kropoh, Kep and Sihanoukville), and (iii) Kratie (ethnic minority participants from Mondolkiri, Rattanakirri, and Stung Treng).
For the next three years (2007-09), CSD has and will continue to conduct “Justice & National Reconciliation” public forums in every province in Cambodia. This 2007, we have been to Siem Reap, Mondolkiri and now Svay Rieng. You are invited to view our full Public Forum schedule at: www.csdcambodia.org (Public Forum Unit: Justice & National Reconciliation).
About the Center for Social Development
The Center for Social Development (“CSD”) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization. CSD was established in Phnom Penh since 1995 (recognized by the Council of Ministers in 1995 and the Ministry of Interior in 2001) and seeks to promote democratic values and improve the quality of life of the Cambodian people.
The mission of CSD is to encourage broad participation (at both national and local levels) in public affairs, develop a respect for human rights and the rule of law, enhance transparency and accountability in the public sphere, and raise awareness of issues of national concern through all forms of media. CSD has five main operational units and 2 new projects to carry out this mission: (i) Legal, (ii) Governance, (iii) Public Forum, (iv) Elections & Parliamentary, (v) Research & Publications, (vi) i-REACH Kep Pilot Project, and (vii) Voice of Justice Program.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Theary C. SENG, Executive Director
012.222.552, theary@csdcambodia.org
Mr. IM Sophea, Executive Assistant
016.888.552, sopheaim@csdcambodia.org
Mr. Sathya PHOLY, Head of Public Forum Unit
012.310.584 sathya@csdcambodia.org
The Center for Social Development (CSD)
No. 19, Street 57
P.O. Box 1346
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tel: (855) 23.364.735
Fax: (855) 23.364.736
info@csdcambodia.org
www.csdcambodia.org
You are also cordially invited to join CSD and 50 of the 150 provincial participants this Tuesday, 29 May 2007 from 8 am to 5 pm on a tour of Tuol Sleng, Choeuk Ek, and the ECCC.
This forum will include participants from all the districts of Svay Rieng, including 45 participants from villages of Trach where ECCC press officer lived, Chensa where CSD executive director lived and continues to have family, and Bung Rei where CSD executive director was imprisoned for 5 months and lost her mother. CSD executive director reflects: This forum has a particular resonance for me because of its location of Svay Rieng and my KR experiences there. I joined my staff during ground preparation personally to invite the participants, comprising of relatives, neighboring villagers, and maybe who knows, the perpetrators of the deaths of my family.
This forum will focus on the process of peace and national reconciliation, using the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (“ECCC”) as a catalyst and an illustration. CSD Executive Director notes: We, Cambodians, desire a just peace, not only the absence of war but also the presence of justice. We know that there are limitations to any and all legal proceedings, especially this ECCC. Hence, the core value of the ECCC as a court of law is becoming the ancillary value, and the ancillary benefits of this ECCC are becoming more and more the raison d’etre for this ECCC; that is to say, we are taking advantage of the concentrated and growing attention of the Cambodian people on the ECCC to discuss other issues of greater importance: just peace, healing, reconciliation, rule of law, history, human rights – and our individual role in this process. It is imperative that we, Cambodians, come together to discuss this dark period of our recent past and own up to our responsibility in order that we may be reconciled within ourselves and with each other. We must do so for the sake of the present and future generations.
The main goals of the forum are (i) to disseminate information regarding the KR years, the ECCC, processes of just peace, healing, reconciliation, (ii) to help manage the expectations of the participants as to what the ECCC can achieve in terms of peace, justice and reconciliation, and ultimately (iii) to create a multiplier effect in these participants as ambassadors to their families and neighbors.
To achieve these goals, CSD will provide a safe venue for open dialogue and discussions amongst the provincial and Phnom Penh participants, and printed materials of competing ideas and institutions to take back home with them. Moreover, the Public Forum is broadcasted regionally on local television and radio stations.
BACKGROUND
CSD has been conducting public forums on issues of national concern at the grassroots across Cambodia since 1996. In pre-ECCC 2000, CSD conducted the 1st series on “Justice & National Reconciliation” in (i) Battambang, (ii) Phnom Penh, and (iii) Sihanoukville.
CSD conducted its 2nd series of forums in 2006 in (i) former Khmer Rouge stronghold Pailin, (ii) Kampot (with participants from Phnom Voar, Koh Sla, Kampong Trach, Anlong Kropoh, Kep and Sihanoukville), and (iii) Kratie (ethnic minority participants from Mondolkiri, Rattanakirri, and Stung Treng).
For the next three years (2007-09), CSD has and will continue to conduct “Justice & National Reconciliation” public forums in every province in Cambodia. This 2007, we have been to Siem Reap, Mondolkiri and now Svay Rieng. You are invited to view our full Public Forum schedule at: www.csdcambodia.org (Public Forum Unit: Justice & National Reconciliation).
About the Center for Social Development
The Center for Social Development (“CSD”) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization. CSD was established in Phnom Penh since 1995 (recognized by the Council of Ministers in 1995 and the Ministry of Interior in 2001) and seeks to promote democratic values and improve the quality of life of the Cambodian people.
The mission of CSD is to encourage broad participation (at both national and local levels) in public affairs, develop a respect for human rights and the rule of law, enhance transparency and accountability in the public sphere, and raise awareness of issues of national concern through all forms of media. CSD has five main operational units and 2 new projects to carry out this mission: (i) Legal, (ii) Governance, (iii) Public Forum, (iv) Elections & Parliamentary, (v) Research & Publications, (vi) i-REACH Kep Pilot Project, and (vii) Voice of Justice Program.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Theary C. SENG, Executive Director
012.222.552, theary@csdcambodia.org
Mr. IM Sophea, Executive Assistant
016.888.552, sopheaim@csdcambodia.org
Mr. Sathya PHOLY, Head of Public Forum Unit
012.310.584 sathya@csdcambodia.org
The Center for Social Development (CSD)
No. 19, Street 57
P.O. Box 1346
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tel: (855) 23.364.735
Fax: (855) 23.364.736
info@csdcambodia.org
www.csdcambodia.org
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