Sak Setha, secretary of state for the Ministry of InteriorNGO Law To Aid Counterterrorism: Official
By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
30 October 2008
A proposed law to govern the activities and monitor funding of Cambodia’s hundreds of non-governmental organizations will also help in the fight against global terrorism, a senior official said Monday.
The proposed “Law on Organizations,” sometimes mistranslated as the “Organic Law,” has been criticized by rights groups and other organizations as an attempt by the government to control them.
But the law will also prevent funding from Islamic extremism to Cambodia’s Muslim communities, said Sak Setha, secretary of state for the Ministry of Interior, which drafted the law.
“We focus on international terrorist organizations, not assistance from countries,” he said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.” “I believe that assistance from any country, if it’s proper by this law, will not be impacted.”
Sak Setha pointed to Muslim organization Um Alkura, which was linked to the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah and closed by the government in 2006, as evidence that extremist funding was finding its way to Cambodia.
Many of Cambodia’s Muslim communities receive funding from Muslim patrons from the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Tieng Saphorn, a project manager for the NGO Star Kampuchea, welcomed the law.
“NGOs are partners of the government, and we have never committed any wrongdoing,” he said, also as “Hello VOA” guest.
“The law is in the interest of NGOs,” Sak Setha said, dismissing concerns from groups that the law would adversely affect them.
When the new law is passed, many of the country’s more than 2,000 NGOs will have to reapply and fill out additional documentation, he said.
The proposed “Law on Organizations,” sometimes mistranslated as the “Organic Law,” has been criticized by rights groups and other organizations as an attempt by the government to control them.
But the law will also prevent funding from Islamic extremism to Cambodia’s Muslim communities, said Sak Setha, secretary of state for the Ministry of Interior, which drafted the law.
“We focus on international terrorist organizations, not assistance from countries,” he said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.” “I believe that assistance from any country, if it’s proper by this law, will not be impacted.”
Sak Setha pointed to Muslim organization Um Alkura, which was linked to the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah and closed by the government in 2006, as evidence that extremist funding was finding its way to Cambodia.
Many of Cambodia’s Muslim communities receive funding from Muslim patrons from the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Tieng Saphorn, a project manager for the NGO Star Kampuchea, welcomed the law.
“NGOs are partners of the government, and we have never committed any wrongdoing,” he said, also as “Hello VOA” guest.
“The law is in the interest of NGOs,” Sak Setha said, dismissing concerns from groups that the law would adversely affect them.
When the new law is passed, many of the country’s more than 2,000 NGOs will have to reapply and fill out additional documentation, he said.
9 comments:
This laws is rather a low political maneuver of hun sen government attempted to use as pretext against those who want to help poor Khmer people and special hun sen will use it against opposition party or those who stand against the ill policy of hun sen government.
It is nothing difficult for hun sen government to control over terrorist action over Cambodian territory, if it exists one, because hun sen and his people have everything in hand to do so except hun sen doesn’t want to …. Hun sen can control every movement inside Cambodia specially while the movement is against the policy of hun sen and his cronies. Why hun sen government needs to create more laws? May be it is not terrorism that hun sen want to control or fight against but people who want to help poor Khmer people and against those who rebel against hun sen bloody government. It is the pervert of global antiterrorism in the country like Cambodia, in china or in Vietcong land. ..etc that international community and influence countries should aware of
I meant "perversion" of global antiterrorism
No question ask lead our nation to Hanoi (Vietcong/Vietnamese is our Second Mother )
I do not understaning about khmer people try to againsting of khmer government. I following if againsting make Cambodia country growing up,but against to somdaech Hun Sen that meant nothing.Why all those khmer people don't against with pol pot regime let khmer were killed lots by his regime?
បើខ្ញុំជាលោក ហេង ស៊យ វិញ ខ្ញុំសរសេរ បែប
នេះទៅវិញ
"why wouldn't the Hun Sen regime dream of curbing NGO activities?"
សូមលោកបានសុខសប្បាយ។ អរគុណ។
អក
Mr/Ms 9:39AM
Fellow Cambodians living under both communist regimes were not allowed to have access to information coming from outside. So they did not know that many of their compatriots living outside were lobbying people, organisations and governments in their host countries to do something about the Khmer Rouge atrocities.
In France there was a Cambodian organisaion called Association Generale des Khmers a l' Etranger which did that job.
Eventually, Amnesty International(London), International Jurist Commission (Geneva), and the British government raised the issue of the Khmer Rouge atrocities at the UN High Commission for Human Rights in Geneva in March 1978. Later on in September 1978, again the same organisations, the British government, and the US, Canada, Norwegian and Australian governments raised the same issue at the UN Minorities Sub-Committee.
You know which counries blocked the action of both the Commission and the Sub-Committee? And you woudn't believe it: the Soviet Union and several tother communist countries. They defended the Khmer Rouge regime.
The Soviet Union denounce the Khmer Rouge and China at the Commission when the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia.
All this information is on the record preserved at the library of the UN High Commission for Human Rights now called the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
I must add that at that time, the Khmer Rouge attacked the British government and the UN Commission for interference into the internal affairs of Cambodia using the language not very much different from the language used by our current leaders when they attacked Prof Yash Ghai and the UN.
LAO Mong Hay, Hong Kong
តើគេកំពុងគិតអី?
9.39am, you are not so bright. Khmer people is not against current government. It's been too long and there is no improvement. They want to make some changes. May be the new governemnt can bring new skills and knowledge to improve the nation instead of begging other countries for money all the times. Look at all the developed countries, no man sit in the leader's position for too long as Cambodian leader.
Do you want to eat just pro hok all your life?
There is no need to enact any NGO law if the objective of this law is to prevcent funding from terrorist organisations.
The Ani-Terroorism Law (2007)has already dealt with it adequately (see its articles 76, 77 amd 78).
LAO Mong Hay, Hong Kong
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