Sok An's office: "Official" invitation received to attend Long Beach events from Cambodian delegation

Respected KI-Media Readers,

In view of the confusion generated by our posting of the unofficial English translation of the article published by Mr. Ly Diep of Angkor Borey (click here to read the original article in Khmer), we understand that Mr. Sok An's office claimed that it received an "official" invitation for him to attend the events in Long Beach (see article below). This "official" invitation was delivered to him by a Cambodian delegation from Long Beach, California, which also included Lawyer Evan Braude, the representative of the Mayor of the City of Long Beach.

On 04 March 2008, during a Long Beach City council meeting, Mayor Bob Foster dismissed that he officially invited Sok An to come to Long Beach, and he offered to find out further who handed this invitation to Sok An. Justin Sok reported that Mayor Bob Foster called on city staff to act as mediators for the purpose of bringing together the two groups to clear the air at the special meeting, which will be on this Friday, March 7, 2008.

While there was no official invitation from the City of Long Beach, the invitation for Sok An has not yet been withdrawn, as of today.

KI-Media apologizes for any confusion on this issue, in spite of the fact that the article posted by Mr. Ly Diep was factual.

Thank you,

KI-Media Team
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Royal Government presence and participation in the ribbon cutting (inauguration) of Cambodia Town and the yearly Cultural Parade in Long Beach City during the upcoming Cambodian New Year

Posted in Khmer at: http://www.pressocm.gov.kh/index.html
Website of the Cambodian government Office of the Council of Ministers
Unofficial translation from Cambodian to English
(Originally posted by Angkor Borey)

Left to right: Peter Long, Gary Ung, Richer San, Sok An, Edward Tan and Evan Braude (Photo: Sok An's office)

The Long Beach delegation taking a picture with Sok An (Photo: Sok An's office)

His Excellency Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in charge of the Council of Ministers, accepted the invitation, as the representative of the Royal Government of Cambodia, to participate in the ribbon cutting (inauguration) of Cambodia Town and the yearly Cultural Parade in Long Beach City, California, USA, during the upcoming Cambodian New Year. The declaration of this acceptance to the official invitation was made during an audience held between His Excellency and the Cambodian delegation from Long Beach, USA.

The delegation provided a report about its effort and success in the official registration and formation of Cambodia Town in Long Beach, California, USA. Mrs. Sithea San, the director of Cambodia Town and the leader of the delegation consisting of 15-person group representing 4 associations and organizations, and the representative of the Mayor of Long Beach city, as follows:

1. The Cambodian Coordinating Council represented by Mr. Peter Long,
2. The Long Beach-Phnom Penh Sister Cities represented by Mr. Richer San,
3. The Cambodian American Chamber of Commerce represented by Mr. Edwards Tan,
4. Lawyer Evan Braude, the representative of the Mayor of the City of Long Beach.

Besides recounting to His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister about the experience in the formation of the Cambodia Town which was officially registered on 03 July 2007, and the experience acquired by other nationalities to form their towns in the USA, in order to protect and provide cultural, economic, social developments, and to show and protect their respective national culture, the Long Beach delegation expressed their thanks and gratitude to the Royal Government for providing moral and political support in the formation of this unique Cambodia Town in the world. His Excellency Nguon Nhel, Vice-President of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia, also intervened to support the formation of Cambodia Town at the Long Beach City Hall during His Excellency’s visit to the western United States.

The delegation also received the assurance for the cooperation between the Royal Government of Cambodia and Cambodia Town in Long Beach, a Cambodian center, not only to serve the interest of Cambodian people living in this US region, but it can also turn into a gate leading to cultural, economic and administration center representing the interests of Cambodians living in the kingdom of Cambodia as well. Cambodia Town which is a center representing Cambodian culture, Cambodian pride, and is also a market for Cambodian agricultural products, as well as a center for information helping in the coordination for financial loans between the USA or other nations that want to loan funds to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

His Excellency Sok An hopes that other overseas Cambodians will follow the path for the formation of Cambodia Towns in their respective countries of residence also, in order to participate in the exchange of political and economic opinions for the Cambodian edification both overseas and inside the country. The Cambodian culture can also be propagated through Cambodia Town using Cultural Parade activities with the participation of other nationalities living in their respective regions. The fourth yearly parade which is participated by tens of thousands people, is a historical event for overseas Cambodians to show their Cambodian identity, Cambodian culture, Cambodian pride, because Cambodia used to an empire during the Angkor Wat historical era.

During this meeting, an memorable and historical exchange of souvenirs took place between the delegation and His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister, following an interest shown and a detailed explanation on the current policy and economy. What was of interest, were two topics raised by His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister which also attracted the interest of the delegation: “We are proud of our past, and we are proud of and extremely happy with what we currently have.” Another point was the fact that the Royal Government is proud of the progress made in the political situation led by the Royal Government under the smart leadership of Samdech Akak Moha Senabadey Decho Hun Sen, which, in addition to bringing 2 digits economic growth, received the international concurrence in the formation and the administration of the tribunal in charge of judging the former Khmer Rouge leaders along with the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC), and this tribunal has been recognized as:

1. Providing a judgment through the tribunal by spending as little as possible, in comparison to other international criminal tribunals. The Cambodian tribunal will spend only $56 million during its 3-year operation planned.
2. The judgment will take a short duration of 3-year period only, in view of the old age of the suspects (i.e., Khmer Rouge leaders).
3. Displaying the cooperation goals between the country where the incident took place and other international countries, in order to secure the sovereignty of the Nation which represents the interest of the victims, and the universal international standard (by the co-judges).
4. What is the universal exemplary benefit is the representation by national and international co-judges under the formula where there are 3 Cambodian co-judges and 2 international co-judges, but that all decision must be based on a positive vote by 4 judges, in order for the decision to be accepted. This is exemplified by the actions at the ECCC which took place in the past.
5. Transparency and participation of the population in the judgment, this means that, in the questioning and actions that take place in the court chambers, they are available for public viewing on TV and by the public (friends of the court).

The audience ended in a cordial and highly fruitful atmosphere. The same delegation will receive the authorization for an audience meeting with Samdech Akak Moha Dhamm Pothisal Chea Sim, the representative of the King and President of the Senate, in the afternoon of 09 December 2007, as well as with His Excellency Nguon Nhel, the Vice-President of the National Assembly, the delegation will express its greeting, its thanks and its gratefulness to the Parliament institution, and the King who supported and cooperated with Cambodia Town.