PROFILES IN COURAGE: Vignettes from Cambodian Life

First published in September 2008. Since mid-2009, the Center for Social Development (CSD) has been effectively non-functioning and run aground as staff who could not be absorbed by the Center for Justice & Reconciliation struggle to survive. Two years ago, CSD had some 80 local staff. Where is Madam Chea Vannath, now that she has succeeded in claiming her Board status via the court injunctive order? The last I heard, the some tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment were sold off or stored in a "laveng" on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

Profiles in Courage is a tribute to the former CSD staff, wherever they are, who still believe and who still trust, despite... thearyseng.com

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PROFILES IN COURAGE:
Vignettes from Cambodian Life

In this Voice of Justice column, we write often of disposition and virtues which we believe to be first principles - foundational blocks for meaningful living - in the hope that these reminders will turn into clarion calls to action. We ourselves are very much aware of the precarious position we are in as a public purveyor of these messages and at the need for humility, that we ourselves should be actualizing these 'principles of first things' from empty, aspirational rhetoric into daily, growing habits. As we know, it is action which speaks louder than words.

Here, we focus on one of the virtues most needed in this culture of embedded fear: COURAGE. Courage, according to Merriam-Webster, is the ability to conquer fear or despair; valor; bravery.

It is interesting that courage is something that is simultaneously most needed and most shown often and brightly here in Cambodia.

Not despairing amidst trying circumstances

We Cambodians have an amazing ability of resilience amidst great odds, not to despair but hope in the face of hopelessness. This ability not to despair shines most brilliantly among rural Cambodians.

In my travels through the provinces - albeit for the CSD "Justice & National Reconciliation" public forums or Civil Party Orphans Class seminars, other meetings or for just pure pleasure - I am deeply moved oftentimes by the sheer determination not to despair (courage!) of Cambodians in the most trying, poverty-ridden, poverty-persisting living conditions as reflected in the smiles and laughter and warm, embracing welcome to visitors of faraway, foreign Phnom Penh.

Daily acts of bravery against abusive powers

I remember several elections ago smiling and at times being moved to tears when I see shack holding up an opposition sign when these signs were rare and potential dangerous attractions; this family was going to vote its conscience despite the odds and forgoing potential social/material benefits. Whatever is one's political persuasion, it is difficult not to admire this type of courageous convictions. During these most recent elections as well, in CSD's work of elections monitoring, we witnessed and heard firsthand acts of bravery and valor of common Cambodians, forgoing personal gains for the sake of their conscience and dignity.

I read with overwhelming pride of the two students who were the only ones who achieved all A's in their exams. What odds when one thinks of the culture of corruption in schools and the larger unfriendly environment of noise, tight living quarters, inadequate materials, for learning. But amidst these odds what great courageous accomplishments!

We see time and again the bravery of common Cambodians standing up, with only their conscience and moral compass, to abusive acts of power of authorities and the wealthy, whether relating to land or other fundamental rights. What valor!

Courage to stand up and be counted at the ECCC

One of my joys working with participants of CSD justice and reconciliation forums and with victims who'd like to become civil parties in the criminal proceedings at the Khmer Rouge tribunal is witnessing the courage and bravery of these individuals, who have already suffered so much, coming forward and sharing with each other their long-held stories and pains - with most of them, open to sharing their stories with the world, no matter how difficult it is for them to tell this story. In a culture where falsely we believe "men are diamonds and women are white cloth easily stained", imagine the courage of a woman who had been raped filing a complaint and going public with this?!

Courage of CSD Staff fighting for dignity and voice, for their present and future

During the almost three years I have been at the helm of CSD, I am repeatedly stunned anew by the people who work with me -their sheer refusal to succumb to despair and most difficult circumstances, and in the process shining like stars, balancing with great aplomb family life as father or mother (of one, two, three children), husband or wife, and the larger extended family relations who often-times depend on their financial support. And amidst it all, they produce excellent work for CSD, too regularly working overtime, unasked, with me oftentimes requesting that they go home early to their family or before it gets too dark to risk security in their long journey home. Then, there are the staff who make unimaginable sacrifices as they live and work separately from their spouse and/or newborn children in order that they may provide for their family. Given their pleasant demeanor and their valiant spirit, you'd never know of these sacrifices.

Many of them are known to you as a result of their solidarity and braved stance in response to personal acts of public destruction, speaking with one voice against abusive power, most recently when I was away for an August family wedding in California. The staff are not only advocating others to be courageous; they are living by example. It moves me to know that these are the courageous, high-quality individuals I am honored to work alongside.

Courage is the only response to fear

As with any other disposition, courage is only fixed in us through practice. As Aristotle notes in the Nicomachean Ethics almost 2.400 years ago, we become brave only by doing brave acts: "By being habituated to despise things that are terrible and to stand our ground against them we become brave, and it is when we have become so that we shall be most able to stand our ground against them."

Moreover, when we encounter obstacles, let us be reminded that they are only invitations to courage.

Theary C. SENG, a member of the New York Bar Association, former director of Center for Social Development (March 2006—July 2009), founder and Board of the Center for Justice & Reconciliation (www.cjr-cambodia.org), founding adviser of the Association of Khmer Rouge Victims (www.akrvc.org), is currently writing her second book, under a grant, amidst her speaking engagements. For additional information, please visit Theary's website at thearyseng.com.

Theary Seng learned about the govt action to remove her from the CSD leadership while attending the Lisbon Meeting of the Community of Democracies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 23, 2009
International Civil Society Leaders Meet at Lisbon Ministerial of Community of Democracies

Nearly 80 democracy and human rights activists from around the world met in Lisbon, Portugal from July 10-12 in conjunction with the Fifth Ministerial of the Community of Democracies (CD) to discuss with governments the ways in which civil society and democratic governments can work together to promote democratic development. Citing the need to maintain support for democratic values through the current economic and financial crisis, nongovernmental leaders urged governments to pay greater attention to recent trends curtailing the rights of civil society and voiced their solidarity with democratic activists who are currently the targets of increasingly innovative and sometimes violent repression.

Welcoming the opportunity to consult with governmental representatives in the global forum provided by the CD, civil society leaders nonetheless expressed their concern at the presence in Lisbon of many governments that fall short of meeting the standards outlined in the CD’s founding document, the Warsaw Declaration. In a statement endorsed by the NGO participants in Lisbon, the invitations of 28 countries were identified as being at odds with the recommendations of the International Advisory Council, which issued an April report to the CD on invitations to Lisbon. They said that “the fact that all of these deviations are in the direction of giving a more favorable status to the governments in question – notably on Angola, Egypt, Iraq, Nicaragua, and Russia – indicates a trend of declining standards.”

NGO participants also detailed recent actions by governments to restrict the rights of civil society. Leading democracy scholar Larry Diamond of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University described the emergence of an authoritarian backlash that is becoming more sophisticated. Many present testified to this backlash, including Cambodian human rights activist Theary Seng, who learned upon arrival to Lisbon that the Cambodian government had taken action to remove her from her leadership of the Center for Social Development in Phnom Penh, and the prominent Egyptian activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who continues to face the threat of arrest in his home country for defamation of the government. Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party was not present, instead represented by attorney Robert Amsterdam, as Dr. Chee was prevented from attending by the Singaporean government.

NGO leaders present endorsed a statement on Iran, calling for the respect of rights of assembly, association, and expression for Iran’s people as guaranteed under Iran’s constitution and expressing solidarity with the Iranian people in their “indigenous struggle to achieve democracy, rule of law, and fundamental freedoms.”

Articulating a series of opportunities for strengthening the capacity of the CD to support democracy, including through partnership between governments and civil society, the nongovernmental International Steering Committee of the CD (ISC/CD) expressed its hopes that through a planned tenth anniversary meeting in 2010 and the chairmanship of the Lithuanian government following the Lisbon Ministerial, the CD will assume a more active role protecting and promoting democratic values throughout the world.

Click here to read the entire report (PDF)

Contact: Robert R. LaGamma
President, Council for a Community of Democracies

Secretariat of the nongovernmental International Steering Committee of the CD
Phone: +1 202 789 9771 | Fax: +1 202 789 9764
Email: bob@ccd21.org

Seng Theary removed from her position by court order: Another govt critics hit by Hun Sen’s kangaroo court?

Seng Theary (L) and Vi Houi (R)

CDS : Le procureur remet Vi Houi en selle
Uploaded by CambodgeSoir. - News videos hot off the press.

CSD: the prosecutor installs Vi Houi

09 July 2009
By F.C.
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French

Seng Theary, Director of the Center for Social Development (CSD), was removed from her position on Thursday 09 July based on a decision handed down by the Phnom Penh municipal court.

The news was known since the verdict was handed down by the court at 2:30PM the day before. Vi Houi, the former CSD director should “temporarily” replace Seng Theary at the head of the organization. This is the outcome of a conflict which opposes the two leaders for more than one year.

Several CSD officials and reporters were present in front of the organization headquarters in Phnom Penh when the court prosecutor arrived to confirm the news and read the verdict. He also listened to the criticisms raised by Seng Theary’s defenders who noted that she is currently absent from Cambodia, as she is on a trip overseas. CSD officials also indicated that a large number of the organization personnel are currently completing their duties in the provinces, and they could not be present to listen to the verdict. The officials also raised the issue of the CSD image being affected by the case, as well as the difficulties CSD is encountering in the provinces where it is accomplishing its work. [DAP news also reported that lawyer Ang Uddom and several CSD personnel claimed that Vi Houi does not have the ability to lead CSD, unlike Seng Theary].

Following long discussions, the various parties present signed the document recognizing the court decision and Vi Houi was declared the CSD president. The latter immediately proceeded to ask that Seng Theary’s belonging be removed from her office so that he can settle in.

Seng Theary was nominated as CSD president at the beginning of 2008 to replace Vi Houi. She also nominated a new board of directors while the old one still proclaim their legitimacy. Since then, the two “teams” never stop criticizing each other, and in the absence of an amicable resolution, the case was brought to the court.

Crisis at CSD?

Center for Social Development director Theary Seng was voted out of office by one of the group’s two conflicting boards of directors. (Photo: Kay Kimsong)

Friday, 27 June 2008
Written by Sebastian Strangio
The Phnom Penh Post

Crisis has again engulfed the Center for Social Development (CSD), one of Cambodia’s most visible civil society groups, following a leadership dispute that culminated in the alleged dismissal Tuesday of Theary Seng, the organization’s executive director.

Her reported firing came amid uncertainty as to who has legal control of the organization, with two separate boards of directors claiming legitimate decision-making powers.

“The entire board has unanimously resolved to dismiss Theary Seng,” said Vi Houi, a member of a three-member board of directors that claims to be CSD’s key decision-making body.

“The main issue is that Theary has not been accountable to the board. If she doesn’t come to meetings when the board calls a meeting, it means she doesn’t want to do her job,” he said.

According to Houi, the other 11-member board, constituted earlier this year after the old board’s term expired last November, was a legal fabrication, and part of the reason for the executive’s dismissal.

“It’s not legal. It’s not legitimate to disagree with the board and then to go out and organize your own board,” he said. “Staff can’t go out and make their own board. That’s one reason [we have] rushed to dismiss Theary.”

If she refused to step down, Houi added, the next step would be formal legal action. “It’s a very simple thing. She’s the employee, the board is her employer. If she doesn’t want to do what the board says, she can leave.”

However, Theary, who has served as executive director of the CSD since 2006, rejected the decision of the board members, saying that their terms ended in November and have not since been renewed.

“The acts of these three individuals… have been ones of obstruction, destruction and immaturity; they reflect a sad and desperate attempt at power,” Theary told the Post by email. “Simply put, the answer is power.”

She said that the new board was elected according to the organization’s constitution, and that any decision made by the other board has no legal standing.

“The new board members came about after opening the floor for nomination, [which was open] to former existing board members, the management committee and donors,” she said.

The current crisis has cast a shadow over CSD, which has been an active member of Cambodia’s NGO community since it was founded in 1995. But whatever the outcome of the internal dispute, Theary said she is confident it will not impact the organization’s activities.

“It has made my staff much stronger … it has chipped away at all our unhealthy naiveté and unconditional trust of foreigners and people with seniority of age and status,” she said. “CSD is moving forward. This is a non-issue.”

Attempt to oust Seng Theary from CSD?

Seng Theary, current executive director of the Center for Social Development (Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

CSD faces internal dispute

23 May 2008
By Sophal Mony
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

The Center for Social Development (CSD) cancelled its first annual general meeting after 2 police officers from the Ministry of Interior went inside the CSD compound to hand over a firing letter to Ms. Seng Theary, the CSD executive director. The letter was delivered on order of two of the former board directors.

Soeung Chandara, CSD finance director, indicated that Vi Houi, the chairman of the board of director, and Mrs. Peung Yok Hiep, a board director [KI-Media note: CSD indicated that the pair were former border directors who were recently replaced by a newly elected board of directors], ordered two police officers to meet with Ms. Seng Theary, at 08:00 AM, on Thursday morning, to deliver a letter to fire her at the CSD, however, CSD employees prevented these police officers from taking this action claiming the police action was against the law.

Soeung Chandara said: “This action (by the former two board directors) is not good at all … Do they have a mission letter? Do they have an order letter or anything else? When they (police officers) said no, then their action was illegal.”

On Thursday, CSD organized its first annual general meeting to showcase its action plan, as well as to announce a number of reports on activities completed by the center. However, CSD was forced to delay the meeting due to the presence of the police officers and due to internal dispute with its (former) board of directors.

Peung Yok Hiep, a (former) board director, claimed that the she and Vi Houi, the (former) chairman of the board of director, used these police officers to protect their personal safety, and the pair ordered the police officers to hand the letter to fire Ms. Seng Theary, current CSD executive director: “That letter was a letter to fire her.”

Vi Houi declared that the problem occurred because of internal dispute between the (former) board of directors and the administrators of the CSD: “The internal problem (occurred) because of the relationship between the CSD executive director and the board members, there is a lack in understanding of each party’s role…”

The CSD board of directors must include 5 directors, however, currently, there are only two of them: Vi Houi, the chairman of the board, and Peung Yok Heip, a board director, however, Mrs. Chea Vannath’s position is not clear yet because the center is still asking her. The other 2 board members resigned: Keat Sokun and Kate Bryson.

Seng Theary, CSD executive director, declined to comment on this issue to reporters. However, Im Sophea, CSD executive aid, indicated that this issue arose because the CSD bylaws are not clear: “It is wrong for each person to comment about their role.”

Both sides claimed that they are currently looking for an arbitrator to end this dispute.

Torture still endemic in Cambodian legal system, US ambassador says

Thu, 20 Mar 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - More than a quarter of Cambodian court defendants surveyed reported being tortured or coerced into confession and ordinary people lacked faith in the justice system, US ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli said Thursday. Speaking at the launch of an annual judicial review by local anti- corruption organization the Centre for Social Development (CSD), the ambassador said that although the figures showed some improvement, the country's notoriously fraught system was still poor.

"The CSD annual report makes clear what goes on inside Cambodia's courtrooms still falls short of what can be considered procedural justice," he said.

"CSD reported that over 25 per cent of defendants appearing in court claimed to have been tortured or coerced into giving confessions. I note that this ... is the same as reported last year, indicating there has been no significant change."

The Court Watch Project by CSD has come to be viewed as the definitive annual survey of developments in the fledgling Cambodian judicial system since it was launched in 2003.

CSD, which receives funding from a number of donors including Germany and the US, interviewed a wide range of judicial officials, witnesses, lawyers and defendants between October 2006 and September 2007.

Judicial reform of the notoriously corrupt Cambodian system has been earmarked by donors to the aid-dependant nation as a key factor in the country's development after 30 years of civil war.

The report outlined a number of concerns, including poor training of the judiciary, bribery, torture, underfunding, a lack of independence and frequent pre-trial detention of prisoners for terms exceeding the legal limit of six months.

"Not all the news is bad," Mussomeli said, but "on balance ... there remains a good deal to be done before the people of the judicial system will earn the trust of the people of Cambodia."

Group Notes Continued Concern for Courts

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
20 March 2008

A worrying number of people report coerced confessions ahead of trial, and many are kept beyond reasonable limits awaiting trial, the Center for Social Development said Thursday.

In an annual report, the group found a high number of cases where defendants were allegedly beaten in order to extract confessions.

In six courts monitored by the group, including the Appeals and Supreme courts, 25 percent of defendants claimed they were coerced into confessions by judicial or police officials.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court had the most allegations against it, followed by Kandal provincial court, according to the report.

Courts continued to be under-funded, said Pen Reny, head of the CSD legal unit, noting the budget for the court remained 0.28 percent of the national budget in 2007.

"The lack of court officials impacts the hearings and leads to insufficient justice for defendants, and it also can delay hearings and leave defendants in detention beyond a reasonable time," she said.

US Ambassador Jospeh Mussomeli, who attended a discussion coinciding with the report's release, noted that the percentage of coerced confessions was the same as last year, indicating no change in the way defendants are treated in the initial case process.

He said adults were frequently detained beyond reasonable limits while awaiting trial, and even more so with juveniles. This was something the courts could do something about, he said.

Keu Khem Lim, deputy director-general for the Ministry of Justice, said the ministry was trying its best to carry out the government policy.

In 2007, the ministry drafted new criminal and civil codes, which would provide a basis for proper court conduct, he said.

Profile: Seng Theary - A fighting woman

Seng Theary, Esq., trained in the US, and a champion of human rights in Cambodia (Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

11 March 2008
By Kang Kallyann
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr

Any kind of injustice revolts her, the lawyer is fighting against human rights violations in Cambodia and she is dedicating her life to accomplish this mission.

“If someone hates a Cambodian woman, I feel that I am being aimed at also.” Seng Theary does not support discriminations. On the eve of the International Women Day, she estimates that the rights of Cambodian women are still limited. “Society does not give them an official spot, even though the State declared the equality (of rights) between men and women,” she said with regret.

Raised in the US, the lawyer now works to develop similar rights in Cambodia as those in her adoptive country. Furthermore, for the last two years, she is heading the Center for Social Development (CSD), a Phnom Penh-based organization dedicated to the defense of human rights. Since its formation in 1995, the CSD fight to promote dialogue between the citizens and to encourage national reconciliation, mainly through public forums. CSD also pushes for good governance and for the follow-up on the upcoming July general election. In addition, CSD also performs observations on judiciary work in Cambodia.

Dressed in modern fashion, with a English-accent, Theary is a woman filled with courage. Behind her though, lies a very dark background. She gave an account of her life in 2005, in a book she published, “Daughter of Killing Fields.” Born in 1971 in Phnom Penh, she survived the KR regime. She lived in the province of Svay Rieng, near the Vietnamese border, an area where the KR massacres were the most intensified. Her parents did not escape though, their disappearances still remain intact in her memory.

In the beginning of February 2007, she was among of the first witnesses who were heard by the trial case against the former KR leaders. During Nuon Chea’s hearing, she provided an account of herslef being thrown into jail at the age of seven, along with her younger brother. She remained there for five months and was one of the five survivors in that area. Along with other surviving members of her family, she reached the Thai border in November 1979, and through an uncle, she was able to move to the US one year leater.

With a curious mind, the young Theary decided to study law. She wanted to understand how human rights could be violated under the KR regime. “I think I had the chance to settle and being educated in this country where human rights (is respected).” Theary graduated in 1995 in International political science from Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service. In 2000, she obtained her J.D. degree from the University of Michigan. She was admitted to the New York State Bar Association, and she is currently waiting to be admitted to the Cambodian Bar Association.

During her first return to Cambodia in 1995, she collaborated as a volunteer for various human rights defense groups. Theary also taught English to government workers at the Ministry of Justice, through the Cambodian American National Development Organization (CANDO). She also worked as a legal aid for poor people at the Legal Aid of Cambodia. In about 18-month, she learned a great deal about human rights – the most important element, according to Theary – in the Cambodian society. Still pursuing after injustices, she wrote a report on the children of prisoners. She visited 20 jails between 1996 and 1997 and she denounced the lack of a special detention center for minors. “Normally, they should be separated from the adults, this is not the case in Cambodia,” she said.

In January 2004, this woman who cherishes her independence, is settling definitively in her birth country. Single at 37, she is dedicating her life to her work. She is one of the judges of the TV program “Youth Leadership Challenge” which selects youths to be sent to the US for their studies. Theary is also the co-founder and vice-president of the Women’s Association of Small and Medium Business (WASMB) and a member of the Cambodian Living Arts Association. In spite of all her work, the lawyer still pursues her life long mission: to participate in the development of the Khmer society.

Om Yentieng: Amnesty International exaggerating the truth

Government official accuses human rights organization of exaggerating the truth

24 May 2007
By Uk Sav Bory
Radio Free Asia (a station labeled insolent by Hun Sen)
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

A government official reacted to the report issued by the human rights organization Amnesty International (AI), and accused the report of exaggerating the true situation in Cambodia

Om Yentieng, the president of the government organization for the defense of human rights in Cambodia, said on Thursday that the report issued by AI only wants to topple the government. He said that AI never provides justice to the Cambodian government at all, and he also accused the AI report of supporting the opposition party.

Om Yentieng said: “The person who wrote this report about Cambodia is too politically biased, and he did not use a pen to write, but used a brush to color (the situation). Therefore, I am asking them: ‘Sirs! That’s enough, please have some mercy, please be neutral, don’t condemn Cambodia nonstop like this, if you want to help the opposition party, just shout out that you help the opposition openly, there is no reason to distort and create a bad reputation for yourself.’”

The reaction from Om Yentieng took place after AI issued a report on Wednesday 23 May stating that Cambodia does not respect human rights by evicting several people from the lands they occupied, Cambodia did not push for the adoption of the anti-corruption law, and Cambodia creates obstacle to the progress of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

Regarding this report, Om Yentieng said: “The (AI) say that we evict people from Phnom Penh, then however large their love for Cambodians is, we as Khmer like (the evicted people) would love them (evicted people from Phnom Penh) 1,000 times more. We cannot kill our own people like this, and we work to obtain the vote, we are not dumb enough to kill ourselves. Don’t think that we are dumb. Furthermore, the institution to fight corruption was formed by the ruling party, if it is not under the ruling party, who should it be under? Under AI, eh? If it’s like this, please take away our sovereignty, there is no need to hold an election, no need to find a party to rule. If we hold the power, then we are the rulers, you (AI) talk so sweet, you want AI to govern Cambodia?”

Notwithstanding (Om Yentieng’s ranting), Seng Theary, Director of the Center for Social Development, said that she supports the AI report. “I trust the research done by AI. The goals of this organization are very valuable for each country in the world, in particular for countries that lack respect for human rights.”

Quite often, Cambodia suffers the scolding from national and international institutions for its non-respect of human rights stemming from the recent violent land eviction of people, the use of violence on Khmer Krom monks and workers, and Cambodia also has a large proportion of corrupt government officials, a fact that was duly noted by national and international organizations as well.