Sam Rainsy Receives Warm Welcome in the Philippine Senate

Thursday, September 13, 2012 
Source: http://cald.org/site/entry.php?i=Sam_Rainsy_Receives_Warm_Welcome_in_the_Philippine_Senate&id=991

Exiled Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy, MP and opposition parliamentarian Saumura Tioulong were warmly received in the Philippine Senate yesterday, 12 September 2012. The Cambodian parliamentarians were given designated seats at the VIP area of the plenary session hall, and were officially recognized by the Senate Majority Floor Leader. The Senate President even went out of his way to greet the distinguished guests.

MP Sam and MP Tioulong were in the Philippines to gather support from Filipino Senators and Members of Congress for the International Parliamentary Committee for Democratic Elections in Cambodia (IPCDEC). IPCDEC, chaired by Philippine Senator Franklin Drilon, was officially launched in Manila last 10 September 2012. It is a group of like-minded parliamentarians expressing their solidarity to promote full and inclusive democracy in Cambodia. Its members come from all parts of the globe, from Europe to Asia-Pacific.

The Cambodian parliamentarians went to the Philippine Senate yesterday to pay a courtesy call to Senator Drilon and Senator Francis Pangilinan, liberal colleagues and friends from the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD). The Liberal Party of the Philippines (LP), where Senator Drilon and Senator Pangilinan belong, and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) of MP Sam and MP Tioulong, are both members of CALD.

សារសំខាន់​នៃ​គណៈកម្មាធិការ​សភា​អន្តរជាតិ - Importance of the Internatonal Parliamentary Committee

លោក សម រង្ស៊ី

2012-09-11
ដោយ ម៉ៅ សុធានី
Radio Free Asia

លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​ប្រឆាំង និង​ជា​ប្រធាន​ចលនា​សង្គ្រោះ​ជាតិ បាន​ថ្លែង​ថា គណៈកម្មាធិការ​សភា​អន្តរជាតិ​ដើម្បី​ការ​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​បែប​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ​នៅ​កម្ពុជា បាន​សម្ពោធ​ជា​ផ្លូវ​ការ​ហើយ នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ចន្ទ ទី​១០ ខែ​កញ្ញា នៅ​ក្រុង​ម៉ានីល (Manila) ប្រទេស​ហ្វីលីពីន ដែល​មាន​លោក ហ្វ្រែងគ្លីន ឌ្រីលិន (Franklin Drilon) សមាជិក​ព្រឹទ្ធសភា​ហ្វីលីពីន ជា​ប្រធាន។

លោក​ប្រធាន សម រង្ស៊ី អះអាង​ថា គណៈកម្មាធិការ​សភា​នេះ ដែល​មាន​សមាជិក​សភា​ពី​ប្រទេស​ប្រមាណ​ជា​៨០ នឹង​ចូល​រួម​យ៉ាង​សកម្ម​ក្នុង​ការ​ជួយ​ជំរុញ​ឲ្យ​ការ​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​នៅ​កម្ពុជា ប្រព្រឹត្ត​ទៅ​ដោយ​សេរី និង​យុត្តិធម៌ ជាពិសេស សម្រាប់​ការ​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​សកល​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​២០១៣។

លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​ចលនា​សង្គ្រោះ​ជាតិ បាន​មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​សម្ដែង​សុទិដ្ឋិនិយម​ពី​ក្រុង​ម៉ានីល ថា ការ​បង្កើត​គណៈកម្មាធិការ​សភា​អន្តរជាតិ​ដើម្បី​ការ​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​បែប​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ​នៅ​កម្ពុជា (International Parliamentary Committee for Democratic Election in Cambodia – IPCDEC) នេះ គឺ​មាន​សារសំខាន់​ណាស់​សម្រាប់​ដំណើរ​ការ​លទ្ធិប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ​នៅ​កម្ពុជា។

Press Release: Exiled Cambodian Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy and Senator Franklin Drilon Launched International Parliamentary Committee

Exiled Cambodian Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy and Senator Franklin Drilon Launched International Parliamentary Committee

10 September 2012

Honorable Sam Rainsy, MP, leader of the biggest opposition party in Cambodia arrived in Manila this week to launch the International Parliamentary Committee for Democratic Elections in Cambodia (IPCDEC). The official launch was on the 10th of September in Club Filipino, and was attended by Senator Franklin Drilon, Secretary Neric Acosta, Congressman Jerry Treñas, and Cambodian MPs Saumura Tioulong and Yim Sovann.

Senator Franklin Drilon, who chairs the IPCDEC, introduced the committee as a "group of like-minded parliamentarians expressing their solidarity to promote full and inclusive democracy in Cambodia."

"This committee is of paramount importance in light of forthcoming elections parliamentary elections in Cambodia on July 2013", Senator Drilon added. He noted how past elections in Cambodia have been plagued with violence and electoral fraud, not unlike the plight of Filipinos not long ago.

Exiled Cambodian Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy to be welcomed by Senator Frank Drilon in Manila

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy

Sam Rainsy, MP, leader of the biggest opposition party and democratic movement in Cambodia,will arrive in Manila next week to discuss recent political developments in his country ahead of crucial parliamentary elections in July 2013.

The opposition leader, who has been in exile in France for more than a year now, will speak together with Senator Frank Drilon in the launch of International Parliamentary Committee for Democratic Elections in Cambodia (IPCDEC), which Senator Drilon chairs. MP Rainsy and Senator Drilon are the present and past Chairperson of Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) respectively, a network of liberal and democratic political parties in Asia.

The IPCDEC launch will be held on Monday, 10 September 2012, 9:00 am to 11:00am in Waling-Waling Room, Club Filipino, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila. A press conference will follow the launch.

Philippine Presidential Adviser for the Environment, Dr.Neric Acosta, who is also the CALD Secretary General, will moderate the event.

For more information, contact:

• Yim Sovann, MP: 012 788 999
• Jenno Arellano (Philippine Senate, Senator Drilon’s Office):09322084767
• Mico Espina (International Parliamentary Committee for Democratic Elections in Cambodia Desk): 0908890 8978

Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy on the merger of the SRP and the HRP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3F425Mu3d0

CALD Multimedia Presentation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPfE_wqxHAk

Sam Rainsy in Colombo to Become Chair of Regional Grouping

March 7, 2012

SAM RAINSY IN COLOMBO TO BECOME CHAIR OF REGIONAL GROUPING

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy will be in Colombo (Sri Lanka) from March 8 to 11. Along with SRP Vice-President and Senator Kong Korm and National Assembly members Son Chhay and Tioulong Saumura, he will take part in the General Assembly of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) and in an international Conference on the theme “The Populist Challenge to Liberal Democracy”.

CALD is a regional grouping whose members include political parties (in government or opposition) from Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia; Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka,Taiwan and Thailand. More information at http://cald.org/site/

According to CALD’s rule of rotating chairmanship, Sam Rainsy is to become Chair of the regional grouping for a two-year period starting from the Colombo conference.

SRP Cabinet

Strong Opposition for Strong Democracy

Wednesday, February 22, 2012
By Mu Sochua

Free an fair election can not be accomplished without a level playing field.

A level playing field begins with a free and fair competition.

The 2008 EU election observation report gives full detail of the necessary steps for full electoral reforms in Cambodia.

Sentencing the leader of the main opposition for a crime he has not committed puts Cambodia off track for true democracy.

Step in to make that difference.

-----

SRP MPs attending the CALD Meeting in Bali on 05 November 2011

Sam Rainsy In Indonesia And Italy

November 3, 2011

SAM RAINSY IN INDONESIA AND ITALY

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy arrived today in Bali for a 5-day visit in Indonesia where he will attend a Conference of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) on the theme "Pluralism and Development in Asia."

Members of Parliament Son Chhay, Mu Sochua and Tioulong Saumura will also attend the Conference and actively take part in it. The Conference program and the list of participants are attached to this statement.

After Indonesia, Sam Rainsy will travel to Italy where he will be a guest of the Alliance of Democrats (a grouping of 11 political parties from different European countries) to deliver a speech in Rome on November 11, on the theme "Democracy Promotion and Human Rights."

Eighty-seven Italian Members of Parliament from practically all political parties have signed Sam Rainsy-initiated "Appeal from Parliamentarians for the Reactivation of the 1991 Paris Agreements on Cambodia." In a meeting in 2010 at Italy's Chamber of Deputies, Sam Rainsy highlighted the strong similarities between the current regime in Cambodia and the fascist regime in Italy before World War II (autocratic dictator, police state, political violence, state capitalism, crackdown on trade unions, social injustice, a weak King, a complacent religious clergy). The meeting took place in the historical room where a group of courageous democracy-inspired Deputies dared to confront Mussolini in the 1920s and where the Italian Republic was proclaimed in 1946.

SRP Cabinet

CALD Statement on Migrant Workers

August 25, 2011 | Malacca, Malaysia
Source: Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats

The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) recognizes that free flow of people is an aspect of the globalization process which should be encouraged and protected. The movement of people for the purpose of employment, in particular, brings about benefits not only to the migrant workers and their families, but also to the sending and destination countries.

CALD believes that both the sending and destination countries have the responsibility to promote the welfare of migrant workers and to ensure the protection of their rights.

CALD is gravely concerned by the severe maltreatment of many migrant workers from Asia and from other parts of the world. Reports by the police, family members and organizations involved in the protection of migrant workers reveal a situation that deserves immediate attention of all concerned governments.

CALD is alarmed by the abuse and exploitation of vulnerable, young and women workers from Cambodia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Burma and Indonesia who left their countries to work as domestic helpers in other Asian countries and elsewhere.

Liberal International Calls For The Implementation of The 1991 Paris Agreements on Cambodia

20 June 2011

LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL CALLS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF

THE 1991 PARIS AGREEMENTS ON CAMBODIA

A SRP delegation composed of elected Members of Parliament Sam Rainsy, Yim Sovann, Son Chhay, Kuoy Bunroeun and Tioulong Saumura, is currently in Manila, The Philippines, to attend the 57th Congress of Liberal International (LI) from 16 to 20 June 2011. http://www.liberal-international.org/

On 18 June, opposition leader Sam Rainsy was received at the Malacanang presidential palace by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III for a face to face meeting on the sidelines of a reception in honor of the LI delegates from all over the world.

MPs Sam Rainsy, Son Chhay and Tioulong Saumura took the floor several times during the Congress to speak about the Congress theme “Human Rights and Trade,” but also about the Arab spring, People Power and other topics related to freedom, democracy and development.

On 19 June, saying “the worst regimes in terms of crimes and impunity are those whose autocratic leaders have been in power for the longest period of time,” Sam Rainsy called for the formation of a “Peoples’ alliance for the removal of multi-decade dictators.” He associated Cambodia’s Hun Sen (32 years in power) with Tunisia’s Ben Ali (removed after 24 years in power), Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak (removed after 30 years in power), Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi (to be removed after 42 years in power), Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh (to be removed after 33 years in power) and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad (to be removed after 40 years of dictatorship including his father Hafez al-Assad’s 29-year reign).

In the presidential speech and closing remarks, LI President and Member of the European Parliament Hans van Baalen mentioned the case of Cambodia by saying, “As President of Liberal International, I ask that the international community observes its obligation that derives from the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement on Cambodia of which they are the signatories, in particular in ensuring the safe return to his country of Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy before the 2012 election and the effective implementation of reforms to the election system as recommended by the UN, the European Union and civil society groups.”

SRP Cabinet

Opposition Leader addresses the closing of the Liberal International congress in Manila, Philippine

This afternoon (June 19), the Liberal International congress which was held in Manila, Philippine, ended its meeting with speeches by Liberal Leaders where Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy gave a comparison between the fall of dictatorship rulers in the Middle East and the situation in Cambodia. Mr. Sam Rainsy also asked the liberal members to help improve the election process in Cambodia and to use their influences to ensure the full and comprehensive implementation of the 1993 Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia. The Liberal International congress was attended by numerous government ministers, president, deputy speakers from EU and other continents.

Son Chhay, SRP MP

Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy delivered a Welcome Remarks at the 57th Liberal International congress in Manila, Philippine

On June 19, 2011, Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy delivered a Welcome Remarks at the 57th Liberal International congress in Manila, Philippine, where he spoke about regional experiences on Democracy and Development. On the photo from left to right: Dr. Rainer Adam, regional director of FNF East and Southeast Asia office, Dr J.R. Neric Acosta, secretary general of council of Asian liberals and democrats, and Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy. (Photo: SRP MP Son Chhay)

SRP MP Son Chhay spoke at Liberal International congress in Manila

In the photo below, SRP MP Son Chhay can be seen next to Mr. Chris Dougan of Godard Partners at the congress of Liberal International in Manila on June 17.

At the congress, MP Son Chhay was asked to speak on the topic of "Respecting the Will of the People": Dealing with unfree political system.

CALD Delegation [incl. SRP MP Mu Sochua] Meets Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

2011-02-04
Source: CALD

A small contingent from CALD met CALD Honorary Individual Member, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in her lakeside house in Yangon last 31 January 2011. Prior to this, the CALD delegation also had a meeting with party officials of the National League for Democracy.

Both meetings emphasized the need for increasing people-to-people contacts and for building networks in different sectors to facilitate social and economic development. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also reiterated the importance of genuine dialogue and national reconciliation, and conveyed her party’s willingness to “negotiate with honour and security for the people of Burma.”

When asked about his thoughts about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, CALD Chairman and head of the delegation, Professor Rajiva Wijesinha, MP, said, “I was particularly impressed by the effervescent good humour with which she deals with her ordeal. That, combined with quiet determination, never to compromise on principles, but willing to understand the feelings of all concerned, augurs well for progress in her aim of bringing democracy to her country.”

Mindanao lady solon joins liberal and democrats workshop in Cambodia

Source: Office of Cong. Maria Carmen Zamora-Apsay

Davao City (14 October) -- Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora-Apsay attended the recently concluded gathering of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) in Cambodia from October 1-6, 2010. She was joined by Valenzuela City Councilor Shalani Soledad.

The meeting was a back-to-back workshop on party management and grassroots organizing and was staged in cooperation with the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF).

Rep. Zamora-Apsay lauded the successful event, and vowed to impart the valuable lessons from it to "strengthen not only the Liberal Party, but also other democratic institutions and processes."

"From its vast membership, I feel honored and privileged to have been chosen by the Liberal Party as one of its two representatives to this important assembly," the young solon added.

"This is made more meaningful by the fact that I was tasked to present the Party's agenda on women-one of my core advocacies-and how to strengthen their empowerment through legislation for true equality and genuine respect."

CALD, founded in 1993, is a regional alliance of political parties in Asia which aims to advance the values of liberalism, democracy, human rights, rule of law, private property, and good governance.

Through the years, it has maintained its relevance by addressing issues and concerns that its member parties consider as vital in their operations and political survival.

The workshops saw the attendance of representatives from political parties and organizations across Asia.

These include CALD full members like the Democrat Party of Thailand (DP), the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan (DPT), Liberal Party of the Philippines (LP), the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka (LPSL), the Sam Rainsy Party of Cambodia (SRP), the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), the Malaysian People's Movement Party (PGRM), and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). CALD associate member Liberal Forum Pakistan (LFP) and observer member Nation Awakening Party of Indonesia (PKB) were also present.

According to Rep. Zamora-Apsay, echoing the workshops' findings on empowerment, transparency and accountability and grassroots organization, and translating them into goals will create greater representation of not just women, but even for those who need access to their political leaders the most.

SRP Leaders at 2010 CALD Conference in Manila

Click on the photo to zoom in

Mu Sochua's speech at CALD meeting in Manila on 28 June 2010

Sam Rainsy's Speech in Manila on 28 June 2010