Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Japanese NGOs in Cambodia are concerned about the NGO law

04 October 2009
By Savyut
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer


Katsuya Okada, the Japanese Foreign Minister, indicated that a number of Japanese NGOS currently operating in Cambodia have expressed their concerns that the Cambodian government will adopt a law that could affect the freedom of operation of all Japanese NGOs currently operating in Cambodia.

Kazuo Kodama, the information secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, said, following the bilateral meeting between Katsuya Okada and Hor 5 Hong, his Cambodian counterpart, during the 2nd Mekong-Japan FM meeting in Siem Reap on Saturday 03 October, that he does not know the issues that Japanese NGOs are facing in Cambodia.

Kazuo Kodama said: “I don’t know if there is anything happening to the Japanese NGOs currently operating in Cambodia, and I understand that their concerns may stem from the fact that they want to provide information to the Japanese FM to let him know only.”

Kazuo Kodama added that Mr. Okada met with Japanese NGO representatives who are currently working in Cambodia, and that some of these NGOs have expressed their concerns that the Cambodian government will enact a law that affect the freedom of Japanese NGOs currently working in Cambodia.

Vice-PM and minister of Foreign Affairs Hor 5 Hong said, during the bilateral meeting between Japan and Cambodia, that Mr. Okada told him about this issue, and Hor 5 Hong replied by saying that, currently, there are several thousands of NGOs operating in Cambodia, and among all these NGOs, the Japanese NGOs never create any problem for Cambodia.

Hor 5 Hong said: “I told him (Okada) that, in the world, maybe Cambodia is the only country that counts thousands of NGOs, and among these thousands of NGOs, the Japanese NGOs never create any problem for Cambodia. In fact, they help Cambodia a lot.”

The concerns expressed by the Japanese NGOs come at a time when numerous local NGOs are also expressing the same concerns because the Cambodian government is drafting a law ruling on the NGOs.

Ny Chariya, the investigation director for the Adhoc human rights organization, NGOs do not want to see the enactment of the NGO law, because, at this time, it is not necessary [for the government] to rule over the NGOs.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Get out of Cambodian right now while you still have a chance because Hun Sen will tricker his nephew, Ah et pouch, Hun To to kill all of you.