http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t-bGh7mqrY
Showing posts with label Cambodia's dictator. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cambodia's dictator. Show all posts
Saturday, April 07, 2012
Thursday, November 03, 2011
Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Twins
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| Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com) |
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Clinton Says Arrest of Gbagbo A 'Signal' to Dictators, Tyrants
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A screengrab from TCI television shows Laurent Gbagbo surrounded by soldiers loyal to Alassane Ouattara, shortly after Gbagbo's capture on Monday. |
State Department April 11, 2011
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the arrest of defeated Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo sends a message to dictators that they cannot disregard the verdict of free elections. The United States had strongly backed the internationally-recognized winner of last year’s election, Alassane Ouattara.
The United States had supported the African Union and United Nations effort to dislodge Gbagbo with financial and travel sanctions. And welcoming his surrender, Clinton said the episode makes clear there will be consequences for leaders who defy the results of free elections.
“This transition sends a strong signal to dictators and tyrants throughout the region and around the worlds," she said. "They may not disregard the voice of their own people in free and fair elections, and there will be consequences for those who cling to power.”
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Tunisia-type revolt keeps Dictator Hun Xen awake at night?
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| Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration in the center of Tunis, 19 January 2011. (Photo: AP) |
Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Friday, 21 January 2011
“I will close the door and beat the dog.”
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday vowed to take harsh action on any Tunisian-style revolution among Cambodians.
“I have to send a message to people who want to inspire a riot [like] in Tunisia,” he said in a public speech in Kampong Cham province. “I will close the door and beat the dog.”
Hun Sen was referring to the ongoing social upheaval in the North African country that toppled a longtime authoritarian president and is calling for a total change in government.
“I remind you: first, do not play,” Hun Sen said. “But if you can gather enough people, please go ahead.”
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Banana Kingdom's Gecko
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| Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com) |
Wherever they are from, all dictators are the SAME!
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| DICTATORS: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia (L) and Hun Xen of Cambodia (R) |
Similarities between Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Hun Xen:
- Families and cronies of Ben Ali own the businesses in the country: Similiar to the Hun Clan and Hun Xen's cronies in Cambodia
- Ben Ali's political party controls all the country's state affairs: Similiar to the CPP in Cambodia
- Tunisia's Ministry of Interior (and cops) terrorizes dissidents and represses human rights: Similar to Cambodia's CPP-controlled police state and judicial system
TIME TO GO DICTATORS!
Bye! Bye!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Surya Subedi's apology to Comrade-Dictator Hoon Xhen for the latter's inability to understand English?
Surya Subedi (L) and the Kingdoom's dictator Hoon Xhen (R) (Photo: RFA and AFP)27 June 2010
By Khmerization Report by Yun Samean
Radio Free Asia
Click here to read the article in Khmer
A senior government official said that Prof. Surya Subedi, UN Rapporteur on Human Rights to Cambodia, has sent a letter of apology to Prime Minister Hun Sen for expressing his "disappointment" when Mr. Hun Sen cancelled a scheduled meeting with him allegedly due to illness, reports Radio Free Asia.
Prof. Subedi was due to meet with Mr. Hun Sen during his visit to the kingdom from 8-18 June to assess and evaluate human rights situations and justice system in Cambodia.
Just before the meeting, there were land rights protests in front of Mr. Hun Sen's house and many of the protesters as well as prisoners and NGOs had sent petitions and letters to Prof Subedi to hand to Mr. Hun Sen during the meeting. Mr. Hun Sen then abruptly cancelled the meeting, claiming illness. Prof. Subedi, during a press conference to report about his visit to the kingdom, called the cancellation "a disappoinment" which angered Mr. Hun Sen who publicly berated the rapporteur a few days later.
Mr. Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said on Sunday 27th June that Prof. Subedi has sent a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen apologising over the matter. "First, he (Subedi) apololised to Samdech (Hun Sen). Secondly, he wished Samdech a quick recovery, good health and longevity. And thirdly, he talked about the positive outcomes of his visit to Cambodia", Mr. Kuong said of the letter.
"It is a good and positive sign that Prof. Subedi responded with an apology and acknowledging about Samdech's illness", he added.
On 21st June, Mr. Hun Sen publicly blasted Prof. Subedi, calling his remarks "disrespect" and "insulting" to him and the Cambodian people. "He called a press conference and he used the word 'disappointment'. I think that the word 'disappointment' is a disrespect to the host. I hope he will correct his word. Not only that he was not concerned about my health, but truly he can use other word such as 'regret for not meeting the prime minister and next time hope to the meet the prime minister'", he said.
Dr. Pung Chiv Kek, director of human rights group Licadho, said Prof. Subedi's apology to Mr. Hun Sen did not show his weakness, but rather it shows his politeness and his thoughtfulness. However, she said the word "disappointment" is a simple word and is not an insult to the government. "Prof. Subedi wanted to use diplomatic path, wanted to use dialogue and he hopes to meet Cambodian leaders whenever he visit Cambodia in the future", she said.
Prof. Subedi was due to meet with Mr. Hun Sen during his visit to the kingdom from 8-18 June to assess and evaluate human rights situations and justice system in Cambodia.
Just before the meeting, there were land rights protests in front of Mr. Hun Sen's house and many of the protesters as well as prisoners and NGOs had sent petitions and letters to Prof Subedi to hand to Mr. Hun Sen during the meeting. Mr. Hun Sen then abruptly cancelled the meeting, claiming illness. Prof. Subedi, during a press conference to report about his visit to the kingdom, called the cancellation "a disappoinment" which angered Mr. Hun Sen who publicly berated the rapporteur a few days later.
Mr. Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said on Sunday 27th June that Prof. Subedi has sent a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen apologising over the matter. "First, he (Subedi) apololised to Samdech (Hun Sen). Secondly, he wished Samdech a quick recovery, good health and longevity. And thirdly, he talked about the positive outcomes of his visit to Cambodia", Mr. Kuong said of the letter.
"It is a good and positive sign that Prof. Subedi responded with an apology and acknowledging about Samdech's illness", he added.
On 21st June, Mr. Hun Sen publicly blasted Prof. Subedi, calling his remarks "disrespect" and "insulting" to him and the Cambodian people. "He called a press conference and he used the word 'disappointment'. I think that the word 'disappointment' is a disrespect to the host. I hope he will correct his word. Not only that he was not concerned about my health, but truly he can use other word such as 'regret for not meeting the prime minister and next time hope to the meet the prime minister'", he said.
Dr. Pung Chiv Kek, director of human rights group Licadho, said Prof. Subedi's apology to Mr. Hun Sen did not show his weakness, but rather it shows his politeness and his thoughtfulness. However, she said the word "disappointment" is a simple word and is not an insult to the government. "Prof. Subedi wanted to use diplomatic path, wanted to use dialogue and he hopes to meet Cambodian leaders whenever he visit Cambodia in the future", she said.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
“For Communists and dictators, never trust, and always verify”: Sichan Siv
Sichan Siv
Would Mr. Sichan Siv's quote apply to Cambodia's dictator?Remembering Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos
06/06/2010
By Sichan Siv
HumanEvents.com
Spring 2010 marks the 35th anniversary of the fall of Cambodia and South Vietnam to communism. In a recent speech at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor, Mich., to commemorate the sad anniversary, I mentioned a pivotal date: April 10, 1975.
While in Cambodia, I listened to President Ford’s address to the joint session of Congress through the Voice of America. My heart sank when I heard him say: “The situation in South Vietnam and Cambodia has reached a critical phase requiring immediate and positive decisions by this government. The options before us are few and the time is very short.” I quoted this in my memoir Golden Bones (HarperCollins, 2008).
In his recently published book An American Amnesia (Beaufort Press, 2010), Bruce Herschensohn speaks to this date more extensively, including President Ford’s request for “Congress to appropriate without delay $722 million for emergency military assistance and an initial sum of $250 million for economic and humanitarian aid for South Vietnam.” Herschensohn concludes his quotes with the following paragraphs from Ford’s speech:
“In Cambodia, the situation is tragic. And yet, for the past three months, the beleaguered people of Phnom Penh have fought on, hoping against hope that the United States would not desert them, but instead provide the arms and ammunition they so badly needed. In January, I requested food and ammunition for the brave Cambodians, and I regret to say that as of this evening, it may soon be too late… Let no potential adversary believe that our difficulties or our debates mean a slackening of our national will. We will stand by our friends, we will honor our commitments, and will uphold our country’s principle.” But we didn’t, adds Herschensohn.
Ford’s address was one of the most difficult he had ever delivered. On the copy of the speech that he read, he added his own hand-written words to begin the speech: “I stand before you tonight after many agonizing hours and solemn prayers for guidance by the Almighty.”
An American Amnesia starts on January 23, 1973 in the corridors of the White House, where Bruce Herschensohn was working for President Nixon. He describes the cheerful mood in the executive compound after the peace agreement had been signed in Paris by the United States, its ally South Vietnam, Communist North Vietnam, and the Vietcong, known as the Provisional Revolutionary Government.
It was more than a cease-fire, Herschensohn points out. It called for the United States and North Vietnam, a.k.a. the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, to respect the right of the South Vietnamese people to self-determination. Following articles urged all parties to settle issues through negotiations and avoid armed conflicts and acts of reprisal, to insure democratic liberties, including freedom of speech, etc.
Cambodia and Laos were barely mentioned in the Accords; not until chapter 20, article 20. (I was a high school teacher in Phnom Penh and working at a conference of Southeast Asian nations on January 23, 1973. In all naïveté, I was happy that Cambodia was mentioned at all).
Without referring to North Vietnam and the Vietcong, who had occupied Cambodia’s eastern parts since the mid sixties, the accords stated: “Foreign countries shall put an end to all military activities in Cambodia and Laos, totally withdraw from and refrain from reintroducing into these two countries troops, military advisers and military personnel, armaments, munitions and war material. The internal affairs of Cambodia and Laos shall be settled by the people of each of these countries without foreign interference.”
These all sounded idealistic and wishful. There was hardly any provision to penalize the offenders of these articles. If anything, it was like trying to give speeding tickets at the Indy 500.
Obviously, the North Vietnamese and Vietcong had no intention of respecting the accords. Two years later they ran their tanks through Saigon and took over South Vietnam. The Khmer Rouge went even farther by immediately turning Cambodia into a land of blood and tears, where some two million people died. It was said there were only two kinds of people: those who had died and those who would die.
After 12 Congresses and five Presidents (Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam fell to the Communists. Who lost them?
An American Amnesia details the role of the 94th Congress which came to Washington after the November 5, 1974 post-Watergate landslide. It brought 291 Democrats and 144 Republicans to the House, 61 Democrats and 39 Republicans to the Senate. When it convened on January 3, 1975, President Ford became no more than a caretaker. The Democratically controlled Congress, along with the biased media, the anti-U.S. and pro-North Vietnam protesters (Jane Fonda, Ramsey Clark, and the like) made President Ford’s job at best challenging and at worst impossible.
Nixon probably said it best in 1969: “Let us be united for peace. Let us also be united against defeat. Because let us understand: North Vietnam cannot defeat or humiliate the United States. Only Americans can do that.”
Herschensohn’s chapter on “Hotel Journalism” is very telling about “cocktail reporting,” a tendency of anti-war journalists who filed stories from hotel bars based on propaganda fed by communist sympathizers. Incidentally, I was at one of those hotels, Le Royal in Phnom Penh, with my brother on April 17, 1975 when the Khmer Rouge came in and opened the darkest chapter of Cambodia’s history.
Bruce Herschensohn does an excellent job in painting the reality of this period, exposing the biased press and the overtly pro-Communist anti-war movement, and saluting the real heroes (Bud Day, John McCain, Jim Stockdale). He debunks many myths about the Vietnam War which he refers to as the Southeast Asian War.
President Reagan once quoted a Russian proverb: “Trust, but verify.” I would add, “For Communists and dictators, never trust, and always verify.”
Bruce Herschensohn’s American Amnesia is a must read for those interested in this critical period of history.
----------------------------
Sichan Siv (www.sichansiv.com) is a former United States ambassador to the United Nations and author of "Golden Bones: An Extraordinary Escape from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in America."
While in Cambodia, I listened to President Ford’s address to the joint session of Congress through the Voice of America. My heart sank when I heard him say: “The situation in South Vietnam and Cambodia has reached a critical phase requiring immediate and positive decisions by this government. The options before us are few and the time is very short.” I quoted this in my memoir Golden Bones (HarperCollins, 2008).
In his recently published book An American Amnesia (Beaufort Press, 2010), Bruce Herschensohn speaks to this date more extensively, including President Ford’s request for “Congress to appropriate without delay $722 million for emergency military assistance and an initial sum of $250 million for economic and humanitarian aid for South Vietnam.” Herschensohn concludes his quotes with the following paragraphs from Ford’s speech:
“In Cambodia, the situation is tragic. And yet, for the past three months, the beleaguered people of Phnom Penh have fought on, hoping against hope that the United States would not desert them, but instead provide the arms and ammunition they so badly needed. In January, I requested food and ammunition for the brave Cambodians, and I regret to say that as of this evening, it may soon be too late… Let no potential adversary believe that our difficulties or our debates mean a slackening of our national will. We will stand by our friends, we will honor our commitments, and will uphold our country’s principle.” But we didn’t, adds Herschensohn.
Ford’s address was one of the most difficult he had ever delivered. On the copy of the speech that he read, he added his own hand-written words to begin the speech: “I stand before you tonight after many agonizing hours and solemn prayers for guidance by the Almighty.”
An American Amnesia starts on January 23, 1973 in the corridors of the White House, where Bruce Herschensohn was working for President Nixon. He describes the cheerful mood in the executive compound after the peace agreement had been signed in Paris by the United States, its ally South Vietnam, Communist North Vietnam, and the Vietcong, known as the Provisional Revolutionary Government.
It was more than a cease-fire, Herschensohn points out. It called for the United States and North Vietnam, a.k.a. the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, to respect the right of the South Vietnamese people to self-determination. Following articles urged all parties to settle issues through negotiations and avoid armed conflicts and acts of reprisal, to insure democratic liberties, including freedom of speech, etc.
Cambodia and Laos were barely mentioned in the Accords; not until chapter 20, article 20. (I was a high school teacher in Phnom Penh and working at a conference of Southeast Asian nations on January 23, 1973. In all naïveté, I was happy that Cambodia was mentioned at all).
Without referring to North Vietnam and the Vietcong, who had occupied Cambodia’s eastern parts since the mid sixties, the accords stated: “Foreign countries shall put an end to all military activities in Cambodia and Laos, totally withdraw from and refrain from reintroducing into these two countries troops, military advisers and military personnel, armaments, munitions and war material. The internal affairs of Cambodia and Laos shall be settled by the people of each of these countries without foreign interference.”
These all sounded idealistic and wishful. There was hardly any provision to penalize the offenders of these articles. If anything, it was like trying to give speeding tickets at the Indy 500.
Obviously, the North Vietnamese and Vietcong had no intention of respecting the accords. Two years later they ran their tanks through Saigon and took over South Vietnam. The Khmer Rouge went even farther by immediately turning Cambodia into a land of blood and tears, where some two million people died. It was said there were only two kinds of people: those who had died and those who would die.
After 12 Congresses and five Presidents (Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam fell to the Communists. Who lost them?
An American Amnesia details the role of the 94th Congress which came to Washington after the November 5, 1974 post-Watergate landslide. It brought 291 Democrats and 144 Republicans to the House, 61 Democrats and 39 Republicans to the Senate. When it convened on January 3, 1975, President Ford became no more than a caretaker. The Democratically controlled Congress, along with the biased media, the anti-U.S. and pro-North Vietnam protesters (Jane Fonda, Ramsey Clark, and the like) made President Ford’s job at best challenging and at worst impossible.
Nixon probably said it best in 1969: “Let us be united for peace. Let us also be united against defeat. Because let us understand: North Vietnam cannot defeat or humiliate the United States. Only Americans can do that.”
Herschensohn’s chapter on “Hotel Journalism” is very telling about “cocktail reporting,” a tendency of anti-war journalists who filed stories from hotel bars based on propaganda fed by communist sympathizers. Incidentally, I was at one of those hotels, Le Royal in Phnom Penh, with my brother on April 17, 1975 when the Khmer Rouge came in and opened the darkest chapter of Cambodia’s history.
Bruce Herschensohn does an excellent job in painting the reality of this period, exposing the biased press and the overtly pro-Communist anti-war movement, and saluting the real heroes (Bud Day, John McCain, Jim Stockdale). He debunks many myths about the Vietnam War which he refers to as the Southeast Asian War.
President Reagan once quoted a Russian proverb: “Trust, but verify.” I would add, “For Communists and dictators, never trust, and always verify.”
Bruce Herschensohn’s American Amnesia is a must read for those interested in this critical period of history.
----------------------------
Sichan Siv (www.sichansiv.com) is a former United States ambassador to the United Nations and author of "Golden Bones: An Extraordinary Escape from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in America."
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
From Presidency to prison: A warning to all dictators in the world
Manuel Noriega (L) and Hun Xen (R)Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Ayaz Ahmed Pirzada
Pakistan Observer
Gen Manuel Noriega the former dictator of Panama ousted by the American military in 1989, has been refused immunity plea by a French court that as head of a country he could not be prosecuted for any criminal case. This was the second occasion a court refused to entertain plea for immunity. Earlier a US court dismissed this request in 1998 when he was hustled into USA after his capture in Panama. A Miami Judge gave him 20 years prison for money laundering and drug trafficking. Known as inmate number 38699-079 Noriega completed his jail term in the US on September 9, 2007 but was not released as the French government had asked the US authorities for his extradition to Paris to face criminal charges. Gen Noriega 73 was extradited to France on April 28,2010 where a French Judge refusing immunity found him guilty of money laundering and handed down a jail term of 10 years.
If no other cases are brought against him which is unlikely, he would be released at the of 83. Once a charismatic personality and happy go lucky type Noriega looked frail but at 73 he still inspires enough anxiety for government of Panama and still has some followers who love him. But in Panama, he faces legal problems as he was convicted in absentia of embezzlement and corruption, and for ordering the killing of political opponents. Although he faces up to 60 years in prison for those charges, Panamanian law allows older convicts to serve prison time at home. There is a long list of heads of state who were refused immunity, arrested, tried and in some cases punished for the crimes they committed. On October 16, 1998, London police arrested Chilean dictator Gen Augusto Pinochet. They were acting on a Spanish warrant charging the former dictator with human rights crimes committed in Chile during his seventeen-year rule. The British courts rejected Pinochle’s claim that he was entitled to immunity and ruled that he could be extradited to Spain to stand trial. Only his deteriorating mental capacity revealed in medical report, saved him from prosecution He was released in March 2000 and he returned home to Chile. In March 2002 the Court of Appeals of Brussels ordered Scheduling of hearing to assess the relevance of the ICJ decision in the case of Ariel Sharon the then Prime Minister of Israel accused of slaughtering hundreds of refugees at Sabra and Shatila in Beirut.
Milosevic, ‘Butcher of the Balkans’ was tried by an International Criminal Tribunal for corruption, mass murders and crime against humanity .The trial after Miloševiæ’s death under suspicious circumstances. After the arrest and trial of Milosevic, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was arrested, tried and hanged in 2007.Liberian President Charles Taylor also sits in the dock in The Hague. Chad’s exiled former president, Hissène Habré, is to stand trial at a special court in Senegal while another corrupt and murderer of thousands of people, Khieu Samphan, the former president of the Khmer Rouge, is facing a U.N.-sponsored court in Cambodia for his part in “the killing fields” - the slaughter of his own people - nearly 30 years ago. Most recently, the International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued warrants for arrest of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan for allegations of genocide. The Sudanese president became the first sitting head of state on March 4,2009 to be charged with war crimes by the international criminal court in The Hague. Radovan Karadzic was arraigned thirteen years after the Srebrenica genocide, when Bosnian Serb forces rounded up more than 7,500 Muslim men and boys and slaughtered them in cold blood.
Of all these leaders who were indicted, tried and punished for their crimes Noriega is the only leader whose ordeal does not seem to be anywhere near the end . Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno a career soldier was the de facto leader and military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989. His biggest blunder perhaps was to join the recruits of the CIA He was initially a strong ally of the United States and according to statements made by former CIA Director Admiral Stan Field Turner in 1988; Noriega became a CIA “asset” in the early 1970s. Former President George. H. W .Bush during his tenure as Director of the CIA, had personally arranged annual payments to Noriega of $110,000. Noriega enhanced his position as de facto ruler in August 1983 by promoting himself to General .He was convinced that being a strongest man in Panama he would prolong his authority by becoming a CIA source and an ally to the U.S. Despite the canal treaties, he allowed the U.S. to set up listening posts in Panama, and acted as a diplomatic go-between with Cuban President Fidel Castro.
He aided the pro-American forces in El Salvador and Nicaragua by acting as a conduit for American money and weapons. However, Noriega insists that his policy during this period was essentially neutral, allowing the warring parties on both sides of the various conflicts free movement in Panama as long as they did not attempt to use Panama as a base of military operations. He rebuffed requests by Salvadorean rightist Roberto D’Aubuisson to restrict the movements of Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (leftist Salvadorian insurgent) leaders in Panama, and likewise rebuffed demands by American Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North that he provide military assistance to the Nicaraguan Contras. Noriega insists that his refusal to meet North’s demands was the actual basis for the U.S. campaign to oust him. Noriega was accused of amassing huge illegal money and used the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) as a means to launder his wealth ($20 million). His personal banker, Amjad Awan, a Pakistani senior manager at BCCI handled Noriega’s accounts. He was convicted of money laundering after a lengthy trial in Tampa, Fla.
Holding individuals accountable for involvement in international wrongdoings, corruption, and heinous crimes is a modern concept which has legitimately taken root during the last five decades. A case against Ariel Sharon in a European court illustrates substantive shifts in international customary law regarding questions of jurisdiction and immunity. With every passing year, the dominoes of impunity keep falling, first Europe, then the Middle East, then Africa. And they continue to fall every where. These days the world lawyers community is asking the question when another president will ever be charged for wrong doings, looting the resources of his nation and punished accordingly. A growing number of Pakistanis are voicing for making President Zardari as the next head of state to face accountability, at home or abroad. Their demand is based on the Supreme Court verdict directing the government to send a fresh request to the Swiss authorities to reopen cases of money laundering, kick backs, illegal income etc. But so far the decision is being frustrated by the government‘s defiance, showing scant respect for the judiciary.
If no other cases are brought against him which is unlikely, he would be released at the of 83. Once a charismatic personality and happy go lucky type Noriega looked frail but at 73 he still inspires enough anxiety for government of Panama and still has some followers who love him. But in Panama, he faces legal problems as he was convicted in absentia of embezzlement and corruption, and for ordering the killing of political opponents. Although he faces up to 60 years in prison for those charges, Panamanian law allows older convicts to serve prison time at home. There is a long list of heads of state who were refused immunity, arrested, tried and in some cases punished for the crimes they committed. On October 16, 1998, London police arrested Chilean dictator Gen Augusto Pinochet. They were acting on a Spanish warrant charging the former dictator with human rights crimes committed in Chile during his seventeen-year rule. The British courts rejected Pinochle’s claim that he was entitled to immunity and ruled that he could be extradited to Spain to stand trial. Only his deteriorating mental capacity revealed in medical report, saved him from prosecution He was released in March 2000 and he returned home to Chile. In March 2002 the Court of Appeals of Brussels ordered Scheduling of hearing to assess the relevance of the ICJ decision in the case of Ariel Sharon the then Prime Minister of Israel accused of slaughtering hundreds of refugees at Sabra and Shatila in Beirut.
Milosevic, ‘Butcher of the Balkans’ was tried by an International Criminal Tribunal for corruption, mass murders and crime against humanity .The trial after Miloševiæ’s death under suspicious circumstances. After the arrest and trial of Milosevic, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was arrested, tried and hanged in 2007.Liberian President Charles Taylor also sits in the dock in The Hague. Chad’s exiled former president, Hissène Habré, is to stand trial at a special court in Senegal while another corrupt and murderer of thousands of people, Khieu Samphan, the former president of the Khmer Rouge, is facing a U.N.-sponsored court in Cambodia for his part in “the killing fields” - the slaughter of his own people - nearly 30 years ago. Most recently, the International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued warrants for arrest of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan for allegations of genocide. The Sudanese president became the first sitting head of state on March 4,2009 to be charged with war crimes by the international criminal court in The Hague. Radovan Karadzic was arraigned thirteen years after the Srebrenica genocide, when Bosnian Serb forces rounded up more than 7,500 Muslim men and boys and slaughtered them in cold blood.
Of all these leaders who were indicted, tried and punished for their crimes Noriega is the only leader whose ordeal does not seem to be anywhere near the end . Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno a career soldier was the de facto leader and military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989. His biggest blunder perhaps was to join the recruits of the CIA He was initially a strong ally of the United States and according to statements made by former CIA Director Admiral Stan Field Turner in 1988; Noriega became a CIA “asset” in the early 1970s. Former President George. H. W .Bush during his tenure as Director of the CIA, had personally arranged annual payments to Noriega of $110,000. Noriega enhanced his position as de facto ruler in August 1983 by promoting himself to General .He was convinced that being a strongest man in Panama he would prolong his authority by becoming a CIA source and an ally to the U.S. Despite the canal treaties, he allowed the U.S. to set up listening posts in Panama, and acted as a diplomatic go-between with Cuban President Fidel Castro.
He aided the pro-American forces in El Salvador and Nicaragua by acting as a conduit for American money and weapons. However, Noriega insists that his policy during this period was essentially neutral, allowing the warring parties on both sides of the various conflicts free movement in Panama as long as they did not attempt to use Panama as a base of military operations. He rebuffed requests by Salvadorean rightist Roberto D’Aubuisson to restrict the movements of Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (leftist Salvadorian insurgent) leaders in Panama, and likewise rebuffed demands by American Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North that he provide military assistance to the Nicaraguan Contras. Noriega insists that his refusal to meet North’s demands was the actual basis for the U.S. campaign to oust him. Noriega was accused of amassing huge illegal money and used the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) as a means to launder his wealth ($20 million). His personal banker, Amjad Awan, a Pakistani senior manager at BCCI handled Noriega’s accounts. He was convicted of money laundering after a lengthy trial in Tampa, Fla.
Holding individuals accountable for involvement in international wrongdoings, corruption, and heinous crimes is a modern concept which has legitimately taken root during the last five decades. A case against Ariel Sharon in a European court illustrates substantive shifts in international customary law regarding questions of jurisdiction and immunity. With every passing year, the dominoes of impunity keep falling, first Europe, then the Middle East, then Africa. And they continue to fall every where. These days the world lawyers community is asking the question when another president will ever be charged for wrong doings, looting the resources of his nation and punished accordingly. A growing number of Pakistanis are voicing for making President Zardari as the next head of state to face accountability, at home or abroad. Their demand is based on the Supreme Court verdict directing the government to send a fresh request to the Swiss authorities to reopen cases of money laundering, kick backs, illegal income etc. But so far the decision is being frustrated by the government‘s defiance, showing scant respect for the judiciary.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Is Hun Sen qualified for world worst dictator yet?: Opinion by Kok Sap
Hun Sen: "Me no Stooge but Master of Cambodia Profiteer Party" (Photo:Reuters)7 January 2010
By Kok Sap
Originally posted at http://khamerlogue.wordpress.com/
From 2003 Parade magazine featured world worst dictators. Following years ASEAN plus 3 club seems steadying at the top places between N. Korea, China, and Myanmar. In 2007 alone, 4 out of 20 went to Myanmar-Than Swe (6) and Laos- Choummaly Sayasone (16), N. Korea-Little Kim Jong Il (2) and China- Hu Jintao (4). Hopefully 2009 Hun Sen will make the list before he will become ASEAN chairman in 2012.
Since UNTAC left in 1993, billions of dollar in donations poured into Cambodia for government and administrative expenses. Yet CIA world factbook indicates external debts are $4.127 billions in 2008 and $3.89 billions in 2007, roadways in total 38,093Km but only paved 2,977 Km; railways total 602 Km which partial is useable and the rest needs to rebuild; airports 17 but only 6 with paved runways; below standard ports 1 in Phnom Penh and another in Kg. Som; and military expenditures still 3% of GDP based on 2005 estimate. The rate of infrastructure rebuilding seems very slow i.e. it took 8 years to construct 142 Km road (6,5) from Siem Reap to O’Chrao (Siam Ploy Paet, French Poi Pet)).
In 20th century, Cambodia's Pol Pot killed millions and held a distinctive place to be equal to dictators like Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse Dong and Ho Chi Minh. Hun Sen born in 1951, a former Pol Pot foot soldier with marginal education and unquestionable loyalty to Hanoi, made himself the world youngest Premier and wealthier than all at age 33. To be what and where he is today, he has toppled his first Premier Pen Sovann and then arranged to send the second Premier Chan Si to secret death in Moscow hospital. The tactics reminded us how Pol Pot had done similar to be top dog in his regime from 1975 to his death in 1998.
In July 1997 bloody coup, it ‘s made known there were 100 killed and several more fled the country. Since then Hun Sen seems following his former ex-leader Pol Pot footstep into the dawn of 21st century.
From watching him delivering his animating speech on state television, his facial expressions and body languages especially when he spoke of his political opponents remind people of Hitler addressing his SS/Nazi rally. From folly gestures to turning his back at audience while talking to the walls or chastising and insulting his subordinates for a laughter, surely Hun Sen seemed disturbed, may be, from mental disorder and post traumatic syndrome disorder. Too much anger in him, the profile can be an apparent sign of paranoia and psychotic delusion that Pol Pot had suffered.
The longer he stayed behind microphones, the more flaws and insolences of Libya dictator Muammar al Qadhafi type showed. He buries himself in speech as a theatrical stunt person but often unsure what’s he talking about. His speech filled with unnecessary stories away from real policy points. It’s clear, after having stayed at the helm for 31 years and no one told him his weaknesses, he almost believes everything he says is the truth. There were points he went into rage and believed all critics are out to destroy him. He is truly to believe he is irreplaceable and Cambodia is his property.
In ASEAN close circle, Hun Sen’s thuggish nature alienated people who knew him. One seasoned diplomat from Thailand has called Hun Sen, a thug and a bluff. In contrast to elite circle of Cambodia, he is the great and unmatched leader.
In 2006, Police General Heng Pov as his personal advisor had a fall out and turned on him and his henchman Hok Lundi. Unfortunately, Hok Lundi died from suspicious helicopter crash after he arrested and jailed Heng Pov for good. He was Hun Sen handy man during 1997 coup and the most corruptive police officer in the nation. Many knew Hok Lundi was too dangerous and a hefty liability for Hun Sen. So his cause of sudden death remains suspicious and mysterious to date.
In UN arena, Hun Sen is known Cambodia‘s Iron Fist and one of the worst human rights detractor and abuser. UN and Khmer Rouge victims had to wait 10 years to see the ECCC up and running. He has done anything to disrupt and ensure the UN initiated tribunal is a failure.
In looking back into 1993, under UNTAC nose, he personally ordered the protest and protesters to violently attack fellow SNC members, Khieu Samphan and peers. Since then every UN human rights commission special envoy has been a target for his verbal belligerences and threats. He mocked UN after fact that, if it wasn’t for UN concerted efforts, Hun Sen might never see the light of peace yet. Presently Cambodia faces increasing of censorship in media and free expression and denial of human rights protection. Many journalists and activists ended up dead, in jail and flee the country.
Under his successive government performances:
In financial and trade, Cambodia is known as one of the worst corruptive and poor fiscal responsible nations in records. It sells export rights to foreign countries to ship their products in lieu of Cambodia’s own for world markets. In shipping and fishing venues, it sells rights to foreign higher bidders in order for them to fly its flag to avoid tariffs and sail through international water.
Compare to other ASEAN members, Cambodia poverty rate is stagnant and the good governance and transparency is non-existed, education is below standard and Laos, unemployment and crime rate is going up daily, land title and distribution is ineffective. The eviction and land grab is uncontrollable plus recently World Bank assistance in land title issuance and distribution has been scrapped by Hun Sen. Overall, no economic safety net in place and US and Russia debts still unpaid.
In social culture, Cambodia is embracing revisionary culture of feudalistic class. Government can’t enforce laws and societal norms stink. Teachers stop teaching and educational system is also corrupted. Most military and law enforcement high ranking officers corrupt to afford outlandish lifestyle in opulent mansions. Each of them and Hun Sen, no exception, uses governmental office and privilege to front enterprises of foreign origins. Most senior ministers and high ranking officers hold titles and ownership of big investment firms and land holdings. Hun Sen and his wife or children share ownership of large monopoly companies in telecommunication, media, oil and energy, and mines. Worst his siblings with no education or capital back in Viet occupation era, now they are tycoons bearing feudal privileged status and unquestionable power of all sorts. Some of his relatives are deep in syndicated and organized crimes and smuggling ring in drug, timber and gambling. Thus social disorderly and moral degradation are owed to his clan and thug personae.
At the UN expenses, in 1993 Cambodia was given an opportunity for first time after Viet prolonged war since 1970 to be a self-controlled and respected sovereignty. But Hun Sen saw it otherwise. The corruptive mechanisms and systematic power abuse go on unchecked. Cambodia government is too corruptive and human rights protection is too pathetic. In economic and livelihood, 90% of population can barely afford $0.50 per day while the top tier children drive flashy cars worth up to $500,000 and countless worldly trips. In sum, all are made possible by dictator Hun Sen, his family and his senior governmental officials who are not only blocking the anti-graft and corruption laws from passing but also obstructing justice for the humanity and killing fields’ victims too.
Source:
http://www.fact-index.com/m/mo/moammar_al_qadhafi.html
http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_02-11-2007/Dictators
Since UNTAC left in 1993, billions of dollar in donations poured into Cambodia for government and administrative expenses. Yet CIA world factbook indicates external debts are $4.127 billions in 2008 and $3.89 billions in 2007, roadways in total 38,093Km but only paved 2,977 Km; railways total 602 Km which partial is useable and the rest needs to rebuild; airports 17 but only 6 with paved runways; below standard ports 1 in Phnom Penh and another in Kg. Som; and military expenditures still 3% of GDP based on 2005 estimate. The rate of infrastructure rebuilding seems very slow i.e. it took 8 years to construct 142 Km road (6,5) from Siem Reap to O’Chrao (Siam Ploy Paet, French Poi Pet)).
In 20th century, Cambodia's Pol Pot killed millions and held a distinctive place to be equal to dictators like Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse Dong and Ho Chi Minh. Hun Sen born in 1951, a former Pol Pot foot soldier with marginal education and unquestionable loyalty to Hanoi, made himself the world youngest Premier and wealthier than all at age 33. To be what and where he is today, he has toppled his first Premier Pen Sovann and then arranged to send the second Premier Chan Si to secret death in Moscow hospital. The tactics reminded us how Pol Pot had done similar to be top dog in his regime from 1975 to his death in 1998.
In July 1997 bloody coup, it ‘s made known there were 100 killed and several more fled the country. Since then Hun Sen seems following his former ex-leader Pol Pot footstep into the dawn of 21st century.
From watching him delivering his animating speech on state television, his facial expressions and body languages especially when he spoke of his political opponents remind people of Hitler addressing his SS/Nazi rally. From folly gestures to turning his back at audience while talking to the walls or chastising and insulting his subordinates for a laughter, surely Hun Sen seemed disturbed, may be, from mental disorder and post traumatic syndrome disorder. Too much anger in him, the profile can be an apparent sign of paranoia and psychotic delusion that Pol Pot had suffered.
The longer he stayed behind microphones, the more flaws and insolences of Libya dictator Muammar al Qadhafi type showed. He buries himself in speech as a theatrical stunt person but often unsure what’s he talking about. His speech filled with unnecessary stories away from real policy points. It’s clear, after having stayed at the helm for 31 years and no one told him his weaknesses, he almost believes everything he says is the truth. There were points he went into rage and believed all critics are out to destroy him. He is truly to believe he is irreplaceable and Cambodia is his property.
In ASEAN close circle, Hun Sen’s thuggish nature alienated people who knew him. One seasoned diplomat from Thailand has called Hun Sen, a thug and a bluff. In contrast to elite circle of Cambodia, he is the great and unmatched leader.
In 2006, Police General Heng Pov as his personal advisor had a fall out and turned on him and his henchman Hok Lundi. Unfortunately, Hok Lundi died from suspicious helicopter crash after he arrested and jailed Heng Pov for good. He was Hun Sen handy man during 1997 coup and the most corruptive police officer in the nation. Many knew Hok Lundi was too dangerous and a hefty liability for Hun Sen. So his cause of sudden death remains suspicious and mysterious to date.
In UN arena, Hun Sen is known Cambodia‘s Iron Fist and one of the worst human rights detractor and abuser. UN and Khmer Rouge victims had to wait 10 years to see the ECCC up and running. He has done anything to disrupt and ensure the UN initiated tribunal is a failure.
In looking back into 1993, under UNTAC nose, he personally ordered the protest and protesters to violently attack fellow SNC members, Khieu Samphan and peers. Since then every UN human rights commission special envoy has been a target for his verbal belligerences and threats. He mocked UN after fact that, if it wasn’t for UN concerted efforts, Hun Sen might never see the light of peace yet. Presently Cambodia faces increasing of censorship in media and free expression and denial of human rights protection. Many journalists and activists ended up dead, in jail and flee the country.
Under his successive government performances:
In financial and trade, Cambodia is known as one of the worst corruptive and poor fiscal responsible nations in records. It sells export rights to foreign countries to ship their products in lieu of Cambodia’s own for world markets. In shipping and fishing venues, it sells rights to foreign higher bidders in order for them to fly its flag to avoid tariffs and sail through international water.
Compare to other ASEAN members, Cambodia poverty rate is stagnant and the good governance and transparency is non-existed, education is below standard and Laos, unemployment and crime rate is going up daily, land title and distribution is ineffective. The eviction and land grab is uncontrollable plus recently World Bank assistance in land title issuance and distribution has been scrapped by Hun Sen. Overall, no economic safety net in place and US and Russia debts still unpaid.
In social culture, Cambodia is embracing revisionary culture of feudalistic class. Government can’t enforce laws and societal norms stink. Teachers stop teaching and educational system is also corrupted. Most military and law enforcement high ranking officers corrupt to afford outlandish lifestyle in opulent mansions. Each of them and Hun Sen, no exception, uses governmental office and privilege to front enterprises of foreign origins. Most senior ministers and high ranking officers hold titles and ownership of big investment firms and land holdings. Hun Sen and his wife or children share ownership of large monopoly companies in telecommunication, media, oil and energy, and mines. Worst his siblings with no education or capital back in Viet occupation era, now they are tycoons bearing feudal privileged status and unquestionable power of all sorts. Some of his relatives are deep in syndicated and organized crimes and smuggling ring in drug, timber and gambling. Thus social disorderly and moral degradation are owed to his clan and thug personae.
At the UN expenses, in 1993 Cambodia was given an opportunity for first time after Viet prolonged war since 1970 to be a self-controlled and respected sovereignty. But Hun Sen saw it otherwise. The corruptive mechanisms and systematic power abuse go on unchecked. Cambodia government is too corruptive and human rights protection is too pathetic. In economic and livelihood, 90% of population can barely afford $0.50 per day while the top tier children drive flashy cars worth up to $500,000 and countless worldly trips. In sum, all are made possible by dictator Hun Sen, his family and his senior governmental officials who are not only blocking the anti-graft and corruption laws from passing but also obstructing justice for the humanity and killing fields’ victims too.
Source:
http://www.fact-index.com/m/mo/moammar_al_qadhafi.html
http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_02-11-2007/Dictators
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Cambodia’s dictator invited to visit the birthplace country of “human rights”
Monday 01 June 2009
By A.C. and K.K.
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French
By A.C. and K.K.
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French
An official invitation was sent to Hun Sen for a visit to France. The trip could take place in July.
Last week, Hun Sen was officially invited to visit France. “He received an official letter on 28 May,” Koy Kuong, spokesman for the ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed.
Hun Sen had already indicated that he accepts the invitation. The trip is planned for July. For the time being, the exact date has not been fixed yet, but it could take place in mid-July. In 2008, the French president invited about 50 foreign head of states to view the 14 July (French Bastille day) parade.
Hun Sen’s last visit to France took place in 2005. During his talk with Jacques Chirac, then-president of France, on 19 September 2005, Hun Sen discussed about a document regarding the 2006-2010 cooperation [with France], about irrigation, and the KR tribunal.
Last week, Hun Sen was officially invited to visit France. “He received an official letter on 28 May,” Koy Kuong, spokesman for the ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed.
Hun Sen had already indicated that he accepts the invitation. The trip is planned for July. For the time being, the exact date has not been fixed yet, but it could take place in mid-July. In 2008, the French president invited about 50 foreign head of states to view the 14 July (French Bastille day) parade.
Hun Sen’s last visit to France took place in 2005. During his talk with Jacques Chirac, then-president of France, on 19 September 2005, Hun Sen discussed about a document regarding the 2006-2010 cooperation [with France], about irrigation, and the KR tribunal.
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