Anti-Corruption Unit Mum on Declaration Deadline

Under the new anti-corruption law, officials from ministries from undersecretaries upward and those in other government institutions, about 25,000 total, were to declare their assets or face a fine of $500 and up to a year in jail.

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer

Phnom Penh Friday, 08 April 2011

“Anyone who has not declared his or her assets by the ACU deadline must be found guilty. We will wait to see who does not declare assets on time and whether the ACU takes action in conformity with the law.”

The deadline for public officials to declare their assets passed at midnight Thursday. But with the anti-corruption unit silent on the number of officials who met the deadline, critics are questioning the effectiveness of the law.

Under the new anti-corruption law, officials from ministries from undersecretaries upward and those in other government institutions, about 25,000 total, were to declare their assets or face a fine of $500 and up to a year in jail.

The total number of officials who have complied with the law remains unknown.

Officials from the Anti-Corruption Unit, which is to enforce the declaration and other provisions under the new law, could not be reached after multiple attempts Friday.

Cambodian PM declares assets in anti-graft push [-It just so happens to be April Fool Day!]

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen holds up a document detailing his personal assets Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) office in Phnom Penh. -- PHOTO: AFP

Apr 1, 2011
AFP

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIAN Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday declared his personal assets to the country's new anti-corruption unit and urged officials to follow his lead in a bid to tackle rampant graft.

'Today, I have fulfilled my obligation under the anti-corruption law,' the premier said as he personally delivered his documents to the unit's headquarters in the capital Phnom Penh.

Although the asset declaration is confidential, Hun Sen told reporters he earned a monthly salary of 4,600,000 riel (S$1,450).

He also encouraged senior government and military officials to follow his example ahead of a deadline next week. 'Don't be hesitant or afraid,' he said.

Lawmakers To Open Session With Corruption Law Amendment

The removal of Article 57 would put the anti-corruption law in line with the new penal code passed in December.

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer

Phnom Penh Wednesday, 23 March 2011

“The amendments to the anti-corruption law’s three articles are aimed at speeding up the work of the Anti-Corruption Council to be more effective for various corruption offenses.”

National Assembly lawmakers are preparing to approve an amendment to the anti-corruption law when their next session opens next week that would give more power to the head of the Anti-Corruption Unit and other minor adjustments.

The proposed amendments would allow the head of the ACU to appoint and remove members of the unit who are now there by appointment.

The proposed amendments also include moving the funds for the unit from the Council of Ministers to the national budget and the elimination of an article holding up legal implementation of the anti-corruption law. The removal of Article 57 would put the anti-corruption law in line with the new penal code passed in December.

Officials Begin Asset Declaration to Counter Corruption

Cambodia is ranked No. 154 of 178 countries for corruption by Transparency International.

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer

Phnom Penh Friday, 14 January 2011

“The asset declaration is a legal measure to prevent corruption.”

More than 100,000 government officials have begun the task of asset declaration, a secret process required by the new anti-corruption law aimed at helping in investigations.

Government ministry officials have until March to add up their worth and send it to anti-corruption authorities, as the country tries to tackle a deeply ingrained culture of graft.

“The asset declaration is a legal measure to prevent corruption,” said Keo Remy, spokesman for the National Anti-Corruption Council, which, along with the separate Anti-Corruption Unit, was formed by the new law as well. “The asset declaration is made in secret, a first and historic condition to safeguard each official’s physical and mental safety, and particularly the country’s political stability.”

Group Files 90 Claims With Anti-Corruption Unit

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Thursday, 23 September 2010

The complaints included tax agents working out of uniform, to dissuade identification, said San Chey, a project coordinator for the Affiliated Network. They also included commune clerks, police, children of tax agents, village chiefs, deputy village chiefs and others.

A watchdog organization issued 90 complaints representing thousands of people to the nascent Anti-Corruption Unit on Thursday, claiming tax agents for the Ministry of Finance have been overcharging for annual vehicle stickers.

The complaints come from 2,700 people across 14 provinces and constitute the first real test of the ACU, which was established under a new anti-corruption law that was hailed as a breakthrough by the administration but lambasted as toothless by the opposition.

The Affiliated Network for Social Accountability In East Asia and the Pacific, which helped collect and file the complaints, says 2.5 million vehicles are registered in Cambodia, and each collection can be overcharged by as much as $0.50 each time, each year.

Kampong Cham province had the most complaints, 18, followed by Takeo with 17, and Phnom Penh, Kandal and Prey Veng with nine each.

The complaints included tax agents working out of uniform, to dissuade identification, said San Chey, a project coordinator for the Affiliated Network. They also included commune clerks, police, children of tax agents, village chiefs, deputy village chiefs and others.

San Chey said his organization wants the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the ACU to open investigations into the alleged corruption.

Om Yentiang, head of the ACU, said the unit welcomed complaints and would review them.

And Om John, deputy chief of the legal department for the Ministry of Finance's tax department, said tax agents are required to respect the law.

Some 100,000 Cambodian gov't officials to be asked to declare assets

Will this corrupt trio declares their assets? (Photo: AP)

July 14, 2010
Xinhua

Chairman of the Cambodian Anti- Corruption Unit (ACU) told reporters on Wednesday that about 100, 000 government officials will be asked to declare their assets as part of the government's efforts to fight against graft.

Om Yentieng said at a news conference that"we have list of the names of about 100,000 officials to declare their assets to the National Anti-corruption Council and is expected to do so ahead of November this year."

Cambodia is to host a regional conference on anti-corruption on Nov. 4, 2010. He said that the government officials, who have been appointed by royal decree or government's sub-decree, would be asked to declare their assets if needed. The Cambodian lawmakers and leaders of the civil society would be also asked to declare their assets to the National Anti-corruption Council in the future, he said.

Om Yentieng also said that his Unit will sign notes of the Memorandum of Understands (MOU) with a number of the relevant ministries such as ministries of justice and interior for collaborations in investigating grafts and law enforcement.

The Cambodian National Assembly approved in March the anti- corruption law allowed the country to establish the mechanism of the National Anti-corruption Council and the Anti-corruption Unit.

Cambodia has planned to set up hotlines, emails and offices to receive complaints about corruption. The Anti-corruption Unit would protect the identities of the sources, said Om Yentieng.

The Unit called Cambodians to come forward with their complaints of corruption if any, he said.

Cambodian officials of the Unit have so far received five training sessions, which conducted by USAID, on how to fight against such illicit activities of graft, he said.

The fox is guarding the chicken coop: Cambodia under Dr. Hoon Xhen!

Anti-Corruption Council Holds First Meet

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Tuesday, 15 June 2010

The council members “are the officials from the ruling CPP who cannot eliminate corruption in the government."

The nascent national Anti-Corruption Council opened its first meeting Tuesday, selecting its president and vice president and calling the official declaration of assets the first order of business.

The 11-member council, a policymaking and standards body, was formed as part of a new anti-corruption law that critics worry won’t have teeth to combat Cambodia’s rampant corruption.

The council chose Top Sam, 63, as president and Prak Sok, 67, as vice president. Both are former members of the Constitutional Council and members of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

Om Yentieng, a council member who is also the head of the Anti-Corruption Unit, told reporters that the first work of the council will be to determine assets of officials.

The ACU will be in charge of investigation and operations, he said. “The National Anti-Corruption Council does not interfere in the work of the Anti-Corruption Unit.”

Some members of the opposition and development organizations said Tuesday’s meeting did nothing to allay fears the anti-graft bodies will seriously tackle the corruption that costs Cambodia millions of dollars a year.

The council members “are the officials from the ruling CPP who cannot eliminate corruption in the government,” said Yim Sovann, a lawmaker and spokesman of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.

However, Top Sam said the council was committed to the new law, telling reporters, “You all should wait for the result of the implementation of this law.”

And Om Yentieng admitted the work would be “very difficult, particularly [finding] evidence of corruption,” but he added, “We cannot retreat.”

Other members of the council include Som Kimsour, Minister of National Assembly and Senate Relations; Keo Remy, secretary of state for the government’s Human Rights Committee; Chan Tany, secretary of state for the Council of Ministers; Suy Mong Leang, head of legal and judicial reform; Heng Vong Bunchat, head of legal council; Uth Chhon, president of the National Auditing Authority; Chiv Keng, head of Phnom Penh Municipal Court; and Kuy Sophal, a senior official for the Royal Palace.

CPP anti-graft body to investigate CPP corruption? Dream on!

Tob Sam

Cambodia unveils anti-graft body

Jun 15, 2010
Reuters

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA unveiled the make-up of an anti-corruption body on Tuesday but critics doubted the effectiveness of an anti-graft panel many of whose members are from the ruling party.

Cambodia invariably appears near the bottom of any list of countries with corruption problems, coming 158th out of 180 in the anti-graft watchdog Transparency International's 2009 ranking.

Corruption is a major worry for both foreign investors and the aid donors that keep afloat a country still dealing with the legacy of decades of conflict including the communist Khmer Rouge 'Killing Fields' rule.

'From now on, the mechanism to fight corruption is created and this event is considered historic for the Kingdom of Cambodia,' Top Sam told a news conference after being elected chairman of the National Council for Anti-Corruption.

Asked how the council could fight corruption when many of its 11 members were from the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen, Mr Top Sam said everyone had to obey the law.

The council has been set up under an anti-graft law adopted in March amid protests by rights groups and opposition politicians who said it would entrench official corruption. Mr Om Yentieng told the news conference the unit would be hiring 120 members of staff over the next few months and investigations had already begun into illegal logging and other crimes.

Cambodia's corruptor-in-chief vows to fight corruption: Can he send himslef to jail?

Hun Sen speaks during a graduation ceremony Thursday at the National Institute of Education. (Photo by: Uy Nousereimony)

PM vows to fight corruption

Friday, 04 June 2010
Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

GOVERNMENT officials caught engaging in corrupt practices will be swiftly prosecuted under the Kingdom’s new Anticorruption Law, Prime Minister Hun Sen vowed Thursday.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony for students from the Royal School of Administration, the premier urged officials to stamp out corruption in all its forms, and called institutional graft “a dangerous disease”.

“I am optimistic that we still have the capacity to fight against this dangerous disease,” Hun Sen said. “Corruption will damage our institutions.”

But the premier also defended the Kingdom’s police, military and government institutions, saying that most officials do not engage in corruption.

“People who commit corruption, they do it secretly. But be aware that other people working with you will find some way to know about it,” he said.

Cambodia is regarded as one of the most corrupt nations in the region, according to Transparency International, which ranked the Kingdom 158th out of 180 countries in its 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index.

Observers have questioned whether the Anticorruption Law, passed earlier this year, will give officials enough tools to effectively and thoroughly combat graft.

Yong Kim Eng, president of the People’s Centre for Development and Peace, said he is concerned the new law lacks safeguards to protect whistle-blowers. Particularly troubling, he said, is an article outlining punishments of up to six months in jail or 10 million riels (US$2,386) in fines for complaints that lead to “useless inquiry”.

“This makes it a problem for the public to report about corrupt people,” Yong Kim Eng said.

It also remains to be seen whether the new Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) will be able to ensure witness confidentiality, he said, or whether the unit will be sufficiently independent – both politically and financially, since it falls under the auspices of the Council of Ministers – to carry out investigations.

After the law was passed in March, ACU officials acknowledged that extensive training would be required for those tasked with fighting graft.

Deputy Director Chhay Savuth said Thursday that the body was still in the process of “forming an internal structure”.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY IRWIN LOY

Som Niyeay Phorng - "The Art of Corruption": Op-Ed by Angkor Borey News

Click on the article in Khmer to zoom in

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Congratulations Mr. Joker

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Controversial pick for anticorruption chief

Friday, 21 May 2010
Sebastian Strangio and Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

GOVERNMENT critics have slammed Prime Minister Hun Sen’s appointment of Om Yentieng as head of the country’s new Anticorruption Unit (ACU), saying the choice does not bode well for efforts to eradicate graft.

Om Yentieng, a senior adviser to the prime minister and chairman of the government-run Cambodian Human Rights Committee, confirmed Thursday that Hun Sen appointed him to the post last week and pledged to carry out his duties in accordance with the law.

“We will focus toward cooperation in the process of investigation and the law,” he said.

The ACU – one of two bodies established by the new Law on Anticorruption, passed by the National Assembly in March – will be responsible for directing investigations into public and private-sector corruption. The body is set to begin its work once the law comes into effect in November.

But opposition officials said Om Yentieng’s track record raises concerns about his suitability for the position.

Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann said that during Om Yentieng’s tenure as head of the Council of Ministers’ National Anticorruption Committee, the government’s pre-existing anti-graft body, corruption only worsened.

“Based on past experience, I don’t think that he can curb corruption,” he said.

“How can he work independently? He will be under the influence of the prime minister or the Council of Ministers.”

In February 2009, the London-based watchdog Global Witness reported that Om Yentieng was one of several high-ranking officials “quietly awarded” exploratory mining licences in a “non-transparent and highly dubious” manner.

The report accused Om Yentieng of involvement in the Float Asia Friendly Mation Company, which Global Witness alleged has extracted marble from areas in Pursat province that are protected under Cambodian law.

George Boden, a Global Witness campaigner, said Thursday that the group had “serious concerns” about the effectiveness of the new Anticorruption Law.

One “major area of concern”, he added, is the ability of the prime minister to appoint an effective anticorruption staff.

“This severely undermines the independence of the anti-corruption authorities in Cambodia, including the Anticorruption Unit,” he said by email.
When contacted Thursday, Om Yentieng rejected claims that he is unfit for the post.

“We are not surprised about the criticisms from opposition groups such as the SRP and Global Witness. For us there is nothing strange and they have never helped us – they only mock us,” he said.

Sar Sambath, a permanent member of the ACU, said he supported the appointment.

“I think he has enough ability to fulfill his duty and has done a good job so far in his work to fight against corruption. He is cooperative in bilateral discussions, regional discussions and global discussions that are finding ways to fight corruption,” he said.

But Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, said Om Yentieng’s appointment was discouraging.

“This appointment was an opportunity to send a signal of something new,” he said.

“This was an opportunity for them to make a statement, and I think they’ve missed the opportunity.”

Chairman of the anti-corruption unit for the Council of Ministers nominated to chairman of the national anti-corruption department

20 May 2010
Free Press Magazine Online
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Even though there is nothing major to show for a long time about the anti-corruption work under the leadership of Ong Yentieng at the Council of Ministers, he was still nominated as chairman of the national anti-corruption department.

Ong Yentieng, a close confident of Hun Xen, told reporters on Wednesday that Hun Xen and King Sihamoni decided to nominate him two weeks ago to lead the national anti-corruption department.

Under the newly adopted anti-corruption law, it is stipulated that the national anti-corruption department will be responsible for all corruption investigations in Cambodia.

Nevertheless, this nomination came under criticisms from civil society and opposition officials who indicated that it will not bring any change to the current corrupt situation that plagues Cambodia.

Yim Sovann, SRP spokesman and MP, said that corruption went unabated under Ong Yentieng leadership at the anti-corruption unit at the Council of Ministers, in fact corruption even grew larger.

For Ordinary Man, ‘the Sufferings of Corruption’

Hing Chantha, a 45-year-old farmer in Kandal province, has lived with corruption his whole life.

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Friday, 23 April 2010

“I have suffered from corruption, and I have experienced unofficial daily payments through my own life.”

Hing Chantha, a 45-year-old farmer in Kandal province, has lived with corruption his whole life.

In 1996, he opened a business selling cabbage, cucumber and other vegetables at Takhmao market. Every year since then, he figures, he’s paid $300 a year in corruption, to protect his business and keep his children in school, and for various nagging fees that eat up a quarter of his annual gross.

“The amount of money is a small sum for the rich,” he said in a recent interview. “But it is very valuable for me as a farmer, working hard from morning to night.”

Hing Chantha is an ordinary man, facing ordinary corruption, one of millions of Cambodians who see their earnings whittled away through unofficial fees, or tea money, or lose out to nepotism, patronage, theft, or tax evasion.

He’s heard about a new anti-corruption law, officially approved this month, he said, but he doubts it will eliminate the costs he continually faces. That law, which has yet to be promulgated, provides punishments for officials who engage in corruption, as well as for middlemen who perpetuate it.

For Hing Chantha—who lives in an aging wooden house with a tin roof, less than 10 kilometers from the massive Kandal province complex of Prime Minister Hun Sen—the law is far away and corruption is close at home.

“I have suffered from corruption, and I have experienced unofficial daily payments through my own life,” he said.

Hing Chantha is a thin man, short, a father of five. He carries vegetables to the market on his old motorcycle at 4 am, returning to the farm a few hours later to tend the crops he keeps behind his house.

He sat tired in a small plastic chair one morning and recalled the bribes he’s had to pay in his life: $40 to local police to protect his land from being taken by a private company; $37.50 for the birth certificates of his children; $7.50 for a marriage certificate; $18 for the privilege to sell at the market; and $30 a month to keep his children in school.

“The unofficial payments have not provided any benefit to me, but they have deepened the poverty of my daily life,” he said. “I can tolerate the poverty in my family, but I cannot tolerate the sufferings of corruption.”

Crunch time in corruption fight

Former Hong Kong anti-graft chief Tony Kwok Man-wai at a workshop in Phnom Penh earlier this week. (Photo Supplied)

Friday, 02 April 2010
Sebastian Strangio
The Phnom Penh Post

KEY PROVISIONS
Law on Anticorruption

• Article 4: Exempts from prosecution any gift given “in accordance with custom or tradition”.
• Article 11: Chairman and vice-chairman of the Anticorruption Unit (ACU) to be appointed by the prime minister.
• Article 36: Empowers the ACU to punish “illicit enrichment”, the unexplained increase in an individual’s wealth.
• Article 39: Any person leaking confidential information about corruption can be punished with up to five years’ jail.
• Article 41: Complaints lodged with the ACU that lead to “useless inquiry” carry up to six months’ jail or 10 million riels in fines.

ONE month after passing its long-awaited Anticorruption Law, Cambodia is entering a make-or-break period in its fight against corruption, a veteran Hong Kong corruption fighter said this week, and the first year after the law comes into effect will be significant in determining the legislation’s ultimate success.

Under the law, set to come into effect in November, two new bodies will be tasked with fighting the Kingdom’s endemic levels of corruption: a National Anticorruption Commission (NAC), which will guide the country’s anti-graft policies, and an Anticorruption Unit (ACU), based at the Council of Ministers, which will carry out day-to-day investigations.

Tony Kwok Man-wai, the former deputy commissioner of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), said that Cambodia lies “at the crossroads” in its fight against graft.

“From my experience, it is most important that the ACU can have a good start for the first few months of this operation,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “This is a time when the public will be behind it. The government and the ACU should take advantage of the public support.”

Kwok, who served at the ICAC for 27 years and oversaw Hong Kong’s transition from a place of “womb to tomb” corruption to what he now calls one of the “cleanest societies” in Asia, said the first year of operation will be critical for both bodies.

“If they fail to get a good start, it will cause a lot of disappointment and the public will probably become even more cynical than before. It will be very difficult for the government and the ACU to get the proper amount of support they need again,” he said.

The law has already been criticised by some experts, who say it is merely a watered-down version of a draft formulated in 2006. According to a briefing paper on the new law put together by international corruption experts last month, a copy of which was obtained by the Post, changes to the 2006 draft included the removal of key provisions, resulting in an “overall narrowing effect” on the scope of the law. In particular, the briefing paper says an entire chapter – dealing with “large-scale specific actions” aimed at creating a “culture of intolerance” towards corruption – was removed from the 2006 draft.

Among its provisions, the redacted chapter called for the development of a “corruption-free personnel recruitment system for government”, as well as the development of a code of ethics for civil servants based on international standards. In addition, it called for the reform of election financing and greater transparency in public administration. It also recommended that a large-scale anticorruption education campaign be conducted in the country’s schools and universities. None of these provisions appear in the version of the law that was passed last month.

Other experts say the law contains provisions that are either too broad or too vaguely defined. Article 4 of the law bans the giving of gifts – as well as loans, fees, rewards or commissions – in exchange for favours, but exempts any gift that is given “in accordance with custom and tradition”.

Leslie Holmes, a professor of political science at the University of Melbourne who specialises in comparative corruption, said the wording of the article gives much leeway to the authorities.

“Few states now would accept the vague notion of ‘in accordance with custom or tradition’ – it’s far too obviously open to abuse,” he said.

He added that although many countries eschew the strict no-gift provisions adopted by Hong Kong’s ICAC in the 1970s, an increasing number have set explicit values for the gifts that are acceptable – permitting, for example, one US$100 gift per source per year. No defined value limits are listed in the final version of the Cambodian law.

The paper also raises concerns about what international experts perceive as weak whistle-blower protections, saying Article 13 of the law – which states that the ACU will maintain the confidentiality of its sources – is “a vague statement … not a robust protection of rights”.

The law also introduces a new offence (Article 41) that carries fines and jail terms of up to six months for “defamation or disinformation complaints on corruption lodged with the Anti-corruption Unit or judges, which lead to useless inquiry”.

Alan Doig, a corruption expert at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Bangkok, said that although such laws exist in other countries, most draw a distinction between malicious and well-intentioned reports.

“As it stands ... most reporting persons will not know where their allegations might lead [and] will be put off by such draconian sanctions,” he said by email.

Holmes described Article 41 as “much more clearly a disincentive to blow the whistle” than exists in most other countries, but added that giving whistle-blowers total anonymity could create a flood of ill-intentioned allegations. “There’s no easy solution to this one,” he said.

Officials at the Council of Ministers directed questions about the new law to Om Yentieng, chairman of the government-run Committee of Human Rights, who said he was too busy to speak Thursday. Sar Sambath, who has been appointed to sit on the ACU, could also not be reached for comment.

A matter of trust
Despite criticisms about specific articles, Kwok said the new law was sufficient to fight corruption – he described the inclusion of provisions about illicit enrichment (Article 36) as “particularly commendable” – provided it is backed up by the necessary resources and professionalism on the part of the ACU.

“Resources are clearly inadequate,” he said, noting that the 80 staff members earmarked so far for the ACU is far less than the 1,300 deployed in Hong Kong, which has half Cambodia’s population. He also said that although he was struck by the enthusiasm of the young officials he met at workshops last week, they lacked much-needed experience.

“They probably need a lot more professional training and resources,” he said, adding that best practice, based on Hong Kong’s ICAC, is for anticorruption budgets to be pegged at around 0.33 percent of the national budget. Most countries in the region, he added, devote around 0.01 percent.

The government “should demonstrate its political will by giving them a lot more resources”, he said.

Doig said it was unclear whether the new institutions would have the capacity to deal with the wide range of crimes listed in the law, from petty street crimes to high-level graft.

“Such an agency has to be a strategic decision, given the levels of resources and expertise it may consume,” he said, adding that the failure to think through priorities, sequence and timing, can “overload a new agency and certainly compromise its organisational confidence and maturity”.

Ultimately, however, Kwok said the law’s success will hinge not on specific articles but on whether the public believes in and supports the system.

“We should not be too concerned with this nitty-gritty, because the whole system is based on trust,” he said. “We should not criticise them before they’ve even started – we should give them a chance.”

Cases that the government must resolve

Will Cambodia's "Strongman" lives up to his reputation by solving Cambodia's problems or will he just remain as Cambodia's "Strong Mouse" (or "Strong Mouth"?) that he is right now?

27 March 2010
Editorial by Pen Bona
Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by Komping Puoy
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Besides the border problem with Thailand which is currently at a standstill and the case of opposition leader Sam Rainsy which is getting more tense, the Cambodian government has several load cases it must shoulder. These cases include criticisms over the anti-corruption law and the much-criticized human rights issues in Cambodia. These are the problems that the government must defend itself and must resolve.

The beginning of 2010 does not look like spring to the government, instead it is more like a stormy weather blowing over the government.

One lengthy problem which does not seem to find an ending is the western border issue with Thailand. On the other hand, along the eastern border, the lawsuit case against Mr. Sam Rainsy is a hot issue that creates a cloudy political atmosphere in Cambodia.

In addition, a number of other cases are also taking shape almost all at the same time during this month of March and led to government to be actively on the defensive because it has to face criticisms. The first problem is the anti-corruption law which was quickly ratified by both the National Assembly and the Senate last week. Next is the 2009 human rights report issued by the US on 12 March which noted a number of problems that do not please the government.

Due to these problems, the government had to face two fronts: (1) responding to defend its record, and (2) resolving these problems.

Turning to the western border problem, any resolution does not seem to see any light at the end of the tunnel at all, under this condition, Thailand also continues to remain in an upheaval and the Abhisit government, which earned popularity because of its politicization of the Preah Vihear problem, is still holding onto power. Nevertheless, Cambodia’s only remaining path for this case is to bring it up to the International community to seek for an intervention in this much needed problem.

Regarding the case of Mr. Sam Rainsy, the path to a resolution is completely in the dark when both sides are facing each other more tensely as the days go by. The EU delegation, which recently ended its visit in Cambodia on 19 March, seems to want to intervene somewhat in this case, but it is not known what will happen to this case yet.

As for the anti-corruption law, there is nothing to stop the government anymore, however, the efficiency of the application of this law is a required necessity that automatically ties it to the confidence of the public on the government. This means that if this law has no teeth, Cambodia will still be considered as a country with no anti-corruption law. Under such scenario, the government will face unending criticisms.

On the human rights front, there are many actions that the government must continue to accomplish. The main problem that attracts the public attention is the freedom of expression as a number of journalists and parliamentarians are now facing or are already sentenced to jail simply because they are performing their duty. As for the government’s development policy, it still remains doubtful in the mind of a number of people, in particular among the poor communities which can be forcefully evicted from their lands and housings.

These are the major cases that the government must resolve for 2010, and the efficiency of the resolutions depends solely on the will of the government leaders. But, what is certain is that, if the government truly has the will, then, there is nothing that Mr. Hun Xen, Cambodia’s “Strongman,” cannot resolve.

Rushed Graft Law a Sham: Opposition Leader

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy (Photo: Reuters)

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
24 March 2010

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Monday lambasted the country’s new anti-corruption law as a sham, saying those who commit graft in the country will never be jailed for it.

The law, which took 15 years to draft and less than a week to approve, will not have the teeth necessary to rein in Cambodia’s rampant corruption, Sam Rainsy said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”

The requirement for public officials to disclose assets will be done with a “closed envelope,” Sam Rainsy said, making it more likely that those who seek the information will be punished before corrupt officials.

Officials who “can’t declare where the assets have come from, that should be from corruption and it should be paid back to the nation and the people,” Sam Rainsy said from France, where he remains in exile, facing a jail sentence in Cambodia.

Assets should not be declared secretly, he said.

“We should do it in a transparent way, to let the people know, and see that before [an official] took office, [he or she] was poor, but after taking office for some years became a millionaire,” he said. “That means [the official] committed corruption while in office.”

Anti-corruption legislation was passed by the Senate last week and has been sent to the Constitutional Council, where it must be approved before moving to the king to be signed.

Implementation is not expected until late 2011, when a new criminal law comes into effect.

The anti-corruption law has worried opponents, who say it does not provide enough protection for whistleblowers and will not create anti-graft bodies with enough independence.

Cheam Yiep, a lawmaker for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, said having a law was a first step.

“If there’s a stalemate in future implementation, we can make amendments,” he said by phone as the show was underway.

Cheam Yiep said the law creates an independent council and puts decisions in the hands of judges.

However, speaking to VOA Khmer ahead of the show, Ny Chaya, chief of monitoring for the rights group Adhoc, said the law will not effectively prevent graft and does not protect those who would report it.

“If the court sees that there is no corruption, then those who are whistleblowers will be charged and imprisoned,” he said. “That would make the whistleblower unable to give information, as the judicial system in our country is not credible.”

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Warning

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

The Cambodian government has threatened to expel a United Nations envoy, accusing him of "unacceptable interference" in the country.

The warning came after the UN called for "a transparent and participatory" process as parliament debated an anti-corruption law.

Human rights and opposition groups say the law is deeply flawed.

Monitoring groups routinely list Cambodia as one of the most corrupt countries in Asia.

Cambodian Government Threatens to Expel UN Country Head

Robert Carmichael, VOA
Phnom Penh 23 March 2010

The Cambodian foreign minister has threatened to expel the country head of the United Nations after the U.N. office asked the government to allow greater public participation in the country's long-awaited anti-corruption law.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong was blunt in a letter to U.N. country head Douglas Broderick this week. He called Broderick's request that the government allow more time for public scrutiny of the anti-corruption law "a flagrant and unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of Cambodia".

The letter concluded that should the U.N. office act in that way again, Broderick would be expelled.

A foreign ministry spokesman says it is unacceptable for the U.N. office to comment on the lawmaking process in Cambodia.

In addition, officials have express government annoyance that United Nations was echoing opposition calls for more time to study and amend the law.

The United Nations has not commented about the foreign minister's letter.

But some civic activists worry the government's tough words to the U.N. are a warning to private aid and rights groups.

Hang Chhaya heads the Khmer Institute of Democracy, a private group trying to foster democratic values. "It is strange, and no one seems to want to comment on it," Chhaya said. "And this can be worrisome for NGOs as well."

Like many here, Hang Chhaya is confused by the government's hard line. He says the U.N. has been in Cambodia for two decades with a mandate to help the government rebuild the country.

"And they have done that," Chhaya asserted. "And what is the point now in not allowing them to comment on such an important issue for Cambodia?"

The government itself is sending out mixed messages.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan, says the government continues to welcome input from its development partners.

He says a letter from Broderick, which was sent before the foreign minister's letter, had answered Council's concerns.

"And we have a good response from them," Siphan said. "They are looking forward to implementing and cooperation with the government to make the law successful."

There are concerns that the government's tough message to the United Nations will shut off criticism of the anti-corruption law, which many rights groups deride as weak and vulnerable to political interference. And, activists say, it adds to fears that the government will continue efforts to silence critics, through court cases and other measures.

Phnom Penh threatens to expel UN country head for 'interference'

Mon, 22 Mar 2010
DPA

Phnom Penh - The Cambodian government said Monday that the United Nations office in Cambodia had overstepped its mandate by speaking out on the process under which the country's long-delayed anti-corruption law was recently put to parliament.

The comments from the foreign ministry followed a weekend letter by Foreign Minister Hor Namhong to the UN resident coordinator Douglas Broderick, threatening to expel him from Cambodia.

"The unwarranted comments made by you in connection with the adoption of Cambodia's Anti-Corruption Law [are] a flagrant and unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of Cambodia," the minister wrote.

"Any further repetition of such behaviour would compel the Royal Government of Cambodia to resort to a 'persona non grata' decision," Hor Namhong concluded.

The UN office in Cambodia was not available for comment Monday.

Koy Kuong, a spokesman for the ministry, said the government felt the UN had gone too far in its March 10 comments requesting that it allocate more time to opposition parliamentarians, civil society and donors to examine the law's provisions.

"It is a purely internal affair of Cambodia, and they commented on the process of adoption," he said. "The comment is similar to what the opposition [Sam Rainsy Party] said."

Cambodia's anti-corruption law took more than 15 years from proposal to reaching parliament.

The final draft was released publicly by the government just four days before the parliamentary debate and vote, prompting an outcry from the main opposition party and civil society representatives who wanted more time to study its provisions.

Asked whether the letter meant the government felt donors - which provided half of its 1.8-billion-US-dollar budget last year - had no right to speak out on programmes they funded, Koy Kuong replied that the government's response was made "on a case-by-case basis."

The anti-corruption law has been criticized by some as being weak and vulnerable to political abuse. It passed through the two houses this month without amendment and is expected to be signed into law later this year.

Cambodia is one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world, ranked 158th out of 180 countries on Transparency International's latest corruption perceptions index.

Last year the US ambassador to Cambodia outraged the government when she said the country was losing 500 million dollars a year to the scourge.