Written by Ambassador Julio A Jeldres
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post
Dear Editor,
Reading the article "Deputy Governor faults land-grabbing report as biased, un-Cambodian", (June 9) made me realise with sadness that Cambodian government officials do not seem to appreciate that by continuing to hide evictions beneath the banner of development, they are pushing the people being evicted to desperate actions that may lead to instability.
The Licadho report is a compassionate, well-researched, factual and moving report on the plight of the people who have lost their land through forced evictions by powerful elites that control today's Cambodia.
It is becoming more and more common for Cambodian officials to respond to factual criticism on forced land grabbing, corruption and other violations of human rights as "foreign interference in Cambodia's internal affairs".
The logo "No one loves Khmer more than Khmer" is becoming the fashionable mantra of the government's response to any critical remark to its actions. I often wonder if this "No one loves Khmer more than Khmer" really comes from the heart of the officials who use it.
Otherwise, how do you explain the violent deaths of Piseth Pilika, Chea Vichea and so many other Khmers?
Yet, while Cambodian officials become more and more "anti-foreigner", they do not seem to have any compunction to constantly request further funds from foreign countries, which continue to support the Cambodian government's request for assistance because of their genuine concern for the welfare of the people of Cambodia.
The contemptuous manner in which Professor Yash Ghai, the former special representative of the UN Secretary General for Human Rights, and Ms Carol Rodley, the US Ambassador to Cambodia, have been treated by government officials for drawing attention to genuine violations of human rights, such as land grabbing, and other problems such as the corruption affecting the livelihood of the less privileged of Cambodia, is morally wrong, historically unsound and totally unacceptable.
Cambodian government officials need to understand that foreign governments, in particular the signatories of the 1991 Paris Agreements who are the guarantors of the Cambodian people's rights, cannot remain silent in front of so much injustice.
Likewise, we ordinary citizens of the countries that provide multiform assistance to Cambodia, contribute through our taxes to the national reconstruction of Cambodia and, therefore, have the right to expect our respective governments not to remain silent when these continuous violations of human rights take place in Cambodia.
Ambassador Julio A Jeldres
Adjunct Research Fellow
The Asia Institute, Monash University
The Licadho report is a compassionate, well-researched, factual and moving report on the plight of the people who have lost their land through forced evictions by powerful elites that control today's Cambodia.
It is becoming more and more common for Cambodian officials to respond to factual criticism on forced land grabbing, corruption and other violations of human rights as "foreign interference in Cambodia's internal affairs".
The logo "No one loves Khmer more than Khmer" is becoming the fashionable mantra of the government's response to any critical remark to its actions. I often wonder if this "No one loves Khmer more than Khmer" really comes from the heart of the officials who use it.
Otherwise, how do you explain the violent deaths of Piseth Pilika, Chea Vichea and so many other Khmers?
Yet, while Cambodian officials become more and more "anti-foreigner", they do not seem to have any compunction to constantly request further funds from foreign countries, which continue to support the Cambodian government's request for assistance because of their genuine concern for the welfare of the people of Cambodia.
The contemptuous manner in which Professor Yash Ghai, the former special representative of the UN Secretary General for Human Rights, and Ms Carol Rodley, the US Ambassador to Cambodia, have been treated by government officials for drawing attention to genuine violations of human rights, such as land grabbing, and other problems such as the corruption affecting the livelihood of the less privileged of Cambodia, is morally wrong, historically unsound and totally unacceptable.
Cambodian government officials need to understand that foreign governments, in particular the signatories of the 1991 Paris Agreements who are the guarantors of the Cambodian people's rights, cannot remain silent in front of so much injustice.
Likewise, we ordinary citizens of the countries that provide multiform assistance to Cambodia, contribute through our taxes to the national reconstruction of Cambodia and, therefore, have the right to expect our respective governments not to remain silent when these continuous violations of human rights take place in Cambodia.
Ambassador Julio A Jeldres
Adjunct Research Fellow
The Asia Institute, Monash University
18 comments:
Well Julio,
Tell that to your pal Sihanouk, okay?
Why is Sihanouk continuing to Kiss Hun Sen's arse to the detriment of the Cambodian people or as Sihanouk put it his "petit peuple (little people)?"
You tell me Julio!
Are you thinking of parting Sihanouk, Julio?
I wouldn't dare if I were you.
why are you two so clueless? Sihanouk can't do politic. He's a senile old man, as good to anyone as a person locked away in the institution.
Sihanouk doesn't challenge Hun Sen because he can't. Hun Sen is king, number 1 in Cambodia.
You think Julio would care so much about Cambodia if he doesn't have some Cambodian friends who asked for his affection? No one loves you unless you appeal to them, no one does your the work that benefits you unless they are your friend. So ask yourself again, who is Julio's 'friend'? And for who is Julio speaking for?
Maybe the 'voiceless small people' perhaps? Maybe i think you have enough clue here to figure what i'm talking about.
Read between the line. Think and contemplate before you speak.
Khmer Student,
Knung Prey Baksa
Khmer hated Khmer! just take a look at Khmer Krom poeple! who seeking help in Cambodia, Phnom Pehn governments rejected, abusing them and treated them like dogs and rats! we suppose to help each other! not killing each other!
khmer ignor khmer krom because they forgot about the history of all khmer. we khmer were one kingdom in southesat asia. because of one stupid king chey setha II we khmer lost kampuchea krom. as present, we repeat the history. we allow the youn to occupy the country the way chey setha II did in the 1600's. look at most of those governmenr officials, do they look like cambodian people? to me they look like youn or the chinese. that is why they don't care about khmer kampuchea krom.
please look back at our history. be independent.
Dear Julio,
Good observation and thanking you for the analysis. Quite factual and a good reference resource for future writing of the current regime (...and their families right down to their little offsprings).
As a Khmer, I do apologise to you re these critics. They are illegitimate and unsound, but just comments/critics made out of frustration by these "little" offsprings, mentioned above. In addition, these offsprings who gone to study oversea, by sucking blood of the inocent cambodian of course, can not stand with such factual observation that you revealed in your analysis. How sad and pity we have on these little ones. That's why they made such comments!
That's true : No one loves Khmer more than Khmer !
Well, I think this sentence apply to the Cambodia before 1970.
Since then... Sunday Bloody Sunday...
And since 2006, CPP is the only party who hold the power,
we could say : Khmer Kill Khmer !!!
Today, we have a legal Khmer Rouge's Regime !!!
Good Luck our fellows cambodians !
Since we have so much land's concession,
even Heng Samrin is now in the territory of Vietnam !
Khmer Canadian
It's coming a bit at a time; Hun Sen regime will be abolished. The Tyrany and Terrorist group no more.
I drink to the end of Hun Sen regime. The more the West spoke, the more the grass's blades bent.
Hello (Male) Birdie in the wood!
(Knung Prey Baksa - បក្សាក្នុងព្រៃ)
By the sound of your writing, you ain't no student but rather a mature and unmistakenly a hard-core Sihanoukist...
And let me repeat your word back to you Birdie - Read between the line. Think and contemplate before you speak and just like the Frenchies say - "Avant de parler, tourner 7 fois ta langue" D'accord?"
Alors, Bonne journée depuis Paris!
And 4:35 AM is an idotic imbecile that cannot tell right from wrong...
idiotic*
In some circumstances, it's fair to say "No one hates Khmer more than Khmer" from 1975- present.
the way i see it is not that the gov't don't care about our people and country. it's more of a society problem, thanks to the stupid KR destroying most fabric of khmer society. who to blame? no one really. we all need to wake up and reform and do better than the past. everyone made mistake, however, at a national level like what the KR did to cambodia is a catastrophe that requires lots of time and patient, understanding, etc to heal... it's not easy like on the surface to be a khmer leader during this difficult recovery period of khmer history. of course, one will inevitably hear critics, etc... it calls for education, understand, patient; even at a personal level to overcome all that had been destroyed in cambodia. it is easier to give critics than to actually be productive and be proactive. we all must strive to make a difference even in our way of thinking. it takes an age of new thinking, reformist minds, etc for cambodia to get better like a sick person. if we all keep on pouring gasoline into a fire, don't expect the fire to extinguish. same concept, you know. so, why not use water or ice or something else, instead of gasoline. it's called unity, reconciliation, forgiveness, etc, etc... stop the hate, the jealousy, the envy and other forms of destructive forces; why not rid cambodia of evil forces. cambodia needs god, not evil. we need a lot of healings. however, don't be discourage just because things look murky at the moment. failure is real only if one quits! god bless cambodia.
Another smart pants 6:34 AM,
How can you solve all the problems you have just described when the current Viet-Boy Hun Sen regime is a Viet regime? Do you think a Viet regime is there to help/save Khmer???
And please quit that "God bless Cambodia" nonsense will you?
6:34AM,
It's understandable but someone or a group of people have to be responsible for the suffering of our Khmer people.
Thanks for your input.
All Khmers,
The ROOT CAUSES of evry thing worst in Cambodia is the Viet Invadoers, over five millions of them now resettled freely inside Cambodia. These Viets took shares from the foreign aids for Khmer people. And foreign aids given to Hun SEn Viet puppet regime never nver reached Khmer people, the real owners of Cambodia and the poorers, and almost no rights at all in comparing to those Viets invaders who had more privilege, controlling Angkor Wat, depleting fishstock in Tonle Sap, deforestation, minerals and petrol's exploitation.
Khmer will be Viet slaves in their ancestors' lands for sure if Khmers continue to sleep like of today.
For 6:10am.... oh boy, oh boy! 6:10 am, is that all you got? The hypothesis is true, isn't it? Another classic example of comment which has been made out of frustration! It is true, and you may agree with me, that these offsprings are ashame in introducing themselves to their friends or lecturers who know factuals about Cambodia.
Land grabbing is one way of "sucking blood from inocent Cambodians". I can name a thousand more ways if you wish. But the essence of the argument is that no matter how rich or powerful you are, there ain't no respect for you, your families and offsprings. You may have glory in the short term but I can tell you that Cambodians will never forget who they are....
A reply from 4:35am.
4:35 AM above,
If you meant to refer to those sons and daughters of the nouveau-riches currently in the rank and file of Ah Hun sen regime, I would wholeheartly agree with you...and I am telling you why - I met a a few of them (and they are maybe a few years younger than me) but I was surprised to see them as half-bred (Yuon-Khmer, Yuon-Jen) to my surprise of course....and those that come here...oh boy..they behave themselves just as I said earlier, nouveau riche attitude and mentality....need we say more?
Post a Comment