We should heed Roosevelt's advice -- "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" not later, now!

https://www.box.com/s/850ec57c2c9499e1b34e

Boun's description of the Khmer propensity toward destroying an adversary is vivid: In civilized countries political competition is a sport -- the winner and loser move on -- but in the Khmer culture, "though an adversary is knocked down in a fight, the one with advantage does not stop but rushes to kick the downed adversary until the latter loses consciousness or even dies. This is no sport. Winning means the adversary must fall unconscious or die; it's not winning if the adversary is still breathing. This is Charet Khmer (Khmer more or Khmer trait)."

June 1, 2012

An article by Dr. Gaffar Peang-Meth published by the Asian Human Rights Commission

Driving through America's southern countryside of green fields and wild flowers, a flurry of thoughts overwhelm me as the words of a song reach my ears: "The banker man grows fatter, the working man grows thin; It's all happened before and it'll happen again; It'll happen again, they'll bet your life; I'm a Jack of all trades and, darling, we'll be alright…"

That's my 12-year-old grandson's favorite song from a new Bruce Springsteen CD. "So you use what you've got, and learn to make do," the song goes, "You take the old, you make it new."

The words remind me, oddly, of America's youngest president (1901-1909), Theodore Roosevelt, who said, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." They are words about creativity: To imagine something that never exists and create it.

Martin Luther King, Jr., sees as a function of education, "to teach one to think intensively and to think critically."

There are two inseparable processes of excellence of thought: Creativity -- to produce something out of nothing; and criticality -- to evaluate whether what's produced leads one closer to a goal. This is quality thinking -- which determines the future of anything we do and the quality of our future.

The following morning, my grandson, his digital video camera running, interviewed me for his school project. One of his questions: Why do Cambodian opposition parties fight among themselves and why do members of the same party also fight among themselves? Oh, boy…

CAMBODIA: A survival recipe -- attitude change, practice Buddha's teaching, engage in nonviolent action

This brings me to a recipe for Cambodians' survival: Cambodians need a change in attitude first and foremost, including a reexamination of Lord Buddha's teachings to make a new Cambodia. When enough Cambodians understand and follow Buddha's true path, a new society can be developed; successful dealings with expansionist neighbors to the East and aggressive neighbors to the West can be initiated; and the generalized fear of Cambodia's extinction may be assuaged.

15 March 2012
Source: http://www.humanrights.asia/opinions/columns/AHRC-ETC-009-2012

My article last month in this space brought comforting and kind words in e-mails from some Cambodian and non-Cambodian readers, to whom I am grateful. It's they who encourage me to have hope in Cambodians' abilities to find ways to effect change.

I continue to receive requests from readers in Cambodia to provide translations from English of my articles for "Lok Ta, Lok.Yeay, Pou, Mign" (the elders) to read. I was touched by taxi-driver Svang Huy, a graduate with a bachelor's degree in English literature, who asked permission to translate into Khmer my articles compiled in Loyola Marymount University Professor Sovathana Sokhom's book (2011), What is Your Ten Minutes Worth? I am heartened at the interest expressed by those who clearly want to learn. I encouraged Svang Huy not to get hung up with specific words translation, but to adapt my ideas into Khmer. If he does this, I have promised to go over his finished product one article at a time.

Arguments and counterarguments

Proponents of the "filled stomach" and "stability" perspectives supported by Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian Peoples' Party which asserts that positive change will come only after the people are contented with "full stomachs" and a cessation of significant political dissent and provide data and photographs in support of their position. Similarly, regime opponents highlight areas that sorely need reform and improvement.

A "Cambodia observer" writes, "We must give peace and stability in Cambodia a chance, while helping to develop Cambodia in the 'appropriate' and ‘equitable' direction." A Cambodian elder scoffs: The current leadership has been in control "virtually solo" for 33 years, a period during which forced evictions, land-grabbing, deforestation, the sale of the country's natural wealth, among others degradations, have steadily increased; fear and intimidation are used to keep people cowed.

Taboo thesis topics

Of interest, Cambodians from around the world are engaged in an Internet discussion of a little publicized story from Cambodia's Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), which issued to its fourth year students a list of research topics that are prohibited. The list includes, among other topics, "drug problem in society," "the organization and the working of the Cambodian Red Cross," "the goal and the legal resolution of land dispute resolutions in Cambodia," "the resolution of land disputes by the authority in Cambodia." Oh, dear.

Discussions on the Cambodian Red Cross led by Bun Rany Hun Xen is a taboo

An employer wrote: "I used to interview many university graduates and I have rarely [been] satisfied with their skills and knowledge. I would say most of them are uncooked [sic] and equipped with poor quality. All in all, my top question is: How can Cambodia compete with others when ASEAN is integrated in 2015? Do we take pride of cheap labor cost compared to other members of ASEAN?"

(Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Earlier this month, the Phnom Penh Post's "A tough place to call home" reported about a family from Prey Veng province living in Phnom Penh's cement pipes, circumstances they have called home for the past two years as they dream of "a better life." A Western visitor to Cambodia writes: "If you wander around the streets and parks of Phnom Penh, you will run into refugees from the stagnant and impoverished countryside like this all over the place. Apparently most of them feel that living in pipes, or even on the street, is better than returning to the hopeless situation that they left in Prey Veng, or wherever they came from."

The visitor spoke to a family at the base of Wat Phnom with belongings beside them still wrapped in a blanket: "They seemed to have no idea what they were going to do in Phnom Penh but hope that life in the city would be better than where they came from. It is a sad situation."

Skyscrapers as development

Images of bustling Cambodian metropolitan cities, adorned with high rises and skyscrapers, latest model vehicles, crowded markets and restaurants, and camera-toting tourists, are equated with progress and development.

Canadia Bank Tower (Photo: Flickr)

Last February 9, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Prime Minister Hun Sen told the nation that the construction of high rises and skyscrapers should not occur only in Phnom Penh, but all over the country. Again, oh dear!

Inauguration of the Dreamland amusement park by Hun Manet, Hun Xen's son and possibly his heir

A young girl who will never set feet at the Dreamland amusement park.

Public Invitation to Meet Ven. Loun Sovath in Montreal on March 3, 2012

Dear all,

Ven. Loun Sovath is currently visiting Canada. He is an outspoken activist, documentary filmmaker, and poet – and earlier this month he boarded a plane to deliver his message of Truth about Cambodia to Canada.

He will speak at an event organized by Cambodian community at Buddha Sodharam Temple on March 3, 2012 entitled :Monk's Role during Injustice Events in Cambodia.

Venerable Loun Sovath is a Cambodian monk who saw his nephew and brother injured by bullets for trying to farm their land. When 12 others were sent to prison he decided to speak out. Since he became a Human Rights Defender the Venerable Luon Sovath has been arrested and threatened with beatings, death, and defrocking as a monk.

Human Rights Watch has awarded a prestigious Hellman/Hammett Award to the Venerable Loun Sovath for his human rights defender work supporting communities facing forced evictions and land-grabbing in Cambodia.This once-in-a-rare opportunity to see Ven. Sovath in person is not to be missed.

For further informations, please consult the attach file.

Thank you,

Chuop Samnang
Event Organizer
Montreal,Canada
514-543 1479

Seek to effect positive changes

"In Cambodia, ... They fight over how much to take from the poor."

Feb. 22, 2012
A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
PACIFIC DAILY NEWS

This column is the last of my bi-weekly postings to the Pacific Daily News. I am moving on to another project. I thank the PDN for having provided me with the opportunity to offer my thoughts in this space since 1999. Those who read my columns have said they always learn something. I consider that the highest praise and will look forward to occasional submissions to the PDN in the future that will elicit, I hope, that same reaction.

To the people of Guam, I thank you for sticking with me as my writing in the last year or so has focused increasingly on Cambodia, the country of my birth. I appreciate what a reader from Guam wrote not long ago, that my writing on Cambodia also provides lessons for others, particularly those who reside in developing nation-states. That's what comparative studies are about.

Last week, my 12-year-old grandson -- the seventh-grader who read "The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror" and told me I might benefit from reading it -- showed me a slide show he made on events in the United States and in Cambodia. I was impressed by the young boy's comparative analysis skills.

On a photo showing "Occupy" protesters in America claiming, "We are 99%. We will no longer remain silent," my grandson writes, "In America, ... people complain about their problems, and woes." On the next photo showing a Cambodian riot police officer kicking a yellow-robed Buddhist monk whose legs were off the ground and whose robe was flying in the air, my grandson writes, "In Cambodia, ... they try." Photos of police tackling protesters follow.

Elections ‘Best Opportunity’ Yet for Cambodians: Analyst

Lao Monghay, has spent years watching Cambodian politics and was a researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission.

Friday, 06 January 2012
Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC

“Now, their destiny is in the hands of the Cambodian people entirely.”

With elections coming up in 2012 and 2013, Cambodians will again have a chance to elect their leaders. Political analyst Lao Monghay told “Hello VOA” Thursday now was the “best opportunity” for them to change leaders they are unhappy with.

In times past, Cambodians did not have choices, because their local leaders were appointed. That has changed, he said, but Cambodians must exercise their right to vote to take advantage of it, he said.

“Now, their destiny is in the hands of the Cambodian people entirely,” he said.

Cambodia needs good leaders, he said, quoting Cambodia’s former king, Norodom Sihanouk, who once said that Cambodians are good people with bad leaders.

Hello VOA: State of democracy and people’s rights in Cambodia

Dr. Lao Mong Hay at the VOA studio in Washington DC

02 December 2011
By Sok Khemara, Washington DC
VOA Khmer

Hello VOA program on Thursday 01 December 2011 will discuss the issue of “state of democracy and people’s rights in Cambodia”. The main questions are: “What is the state of democracy in Cambodia?” and “What is the level of the people’s rights in Cambodia?”

Our guess: Dr. Lao Mong Hay, an independent commentator

Our host: Sok Khemara in Washington DC

Click on the control below to listen to the Hello VOA program:

Click here to download the audio program in MP3

CCHR Releases Report Examining Electoral Processes and Democratic Practices in Cambodia

CCHR Press Release – Phnom Penh, 15 September 2011

CCHR Releases Report Examining Electoral Processes and Democratic Practices in Cambodia

On this international day of democracy, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), a non-aligned, independent, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect democracy and respect for human rights throughout Cambodia, releases a report titled “Strengthening Electoral Processes and Democratic Practices in Cambodia: A Report on Forum on Elections and DemocraticSpace” (the “Report”).

The Report is the output of a CCHRimplemented Forums on Elections and Democratic Space (FOREDS) Project supportedby United Nations Development Programme aimed at engaging a number ofstakeholders, including decision makers at the local and central levels,electoral constituents and civil society. The purpose of the FOREDS Project wasto identify issues of concerns in the areas of elections and democraticgovernance, to provide a neutral forum for a wide range of stakeholders toraise and debate issues related to the democratic and electoral processes, andto promote civic participation and seek solutions for improvements inidentified areas through an open and respectful dialogue.

Between 21 October and 2 December 2010, CCHR conducted forums inBattambang, Ratanakiri, Takeo and Phnom Penh, engaging a total of 737 people. Basedon stakeholder consultation and discussions at the forums, the Report notesthat there has been a failure to entrench a culture of democratic participation in Cambodia which was due to a number of factors, including: lack of understanding of electoral processes, physical barriers to voting; distrust of a system that is considered not to ensure equal participation; and reverence to paternalistic traditions which stymies civic participation, even outside of elections. The report also outlines concerns raised by participants in relation to attempts by local officials at preventing non-ruling party aligned individuals from registering to vote, efforts to frustrate opposition candidates from exercising the right to freedom of expression in order to campaign effectively and concerns with respect to the composition and independence of the National Election Commission. The issues raised at the forums and solutions for their improvement were presented to a representative of the Ministry of Interior at a Workshop in Phnom Penh on 8 December 2010. CCHR notes that since the completion of the FOREDS Project a number of changes have been implemented which go some way towards addressing some of the issues identified at the forums, for example the suspension of the use of the Form 1018 and the extension in the period for voter registration.

Speaking on electoral processes and democratic practices, Ou Virak, President of CCHR, commented:

“The FOREDS Project has demonstrated that Cambodia’s multi-party democracy is still young and that in order to maintain and encourage democratic development an increase in civic participation is fundamental. I sincerely hope that the Royal Government of Cambodia, Ministry of Interior, National Election Committee and other stakeholders give due consideration to the accounts of the Cambodian people about their experience with the democratic process as documented in the Report and take heed of the recommendations made to support demand for improved electoral processes and democratic practices. This must be duly considered not only ahead of the 2012Commune Elections and 2013 General Elections, but generally to create more responsive democratic practices that encourage the evolution of citizen-state relations.”

-ENDS-

The Report is available to view or to download in Khmer or English on the Cambodian Human Rights Portal, www.sithi.org, and on the CCHR website, www.cchrcambodia.org.

For more information please contact Ou Virak, CCHR President, via telephone on +855 12404 051 or via email at ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org, or Suon Bunthoeun , Project Coordinator, via telephone on +855 12 483 546 or via email at bunthoeun@cchrcambodia.org.

Please find attached this press release in both English and Khmer.

http://www.box.net/shared/2pcdk4tkvv0rkb6kpk0g


http://www.box.net/shared/86s31td5kdfz2up6nl6y

‘Youth can enforce democracy’

Koul Panha

Monday, August 29th, 2011
By Kristine Felisse Mangunay
Philippine Daily Inquirer

He was only 8 years old when his father, a clerk at Cambodia’s Supreme Court, was killed by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime.

Thirty-five years after that murder, some of the leaders of the murderous regime are on trial for war crimes while the boy has become a fighter for democracy—one of this year’s winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, dubbed Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize.

Though decades have passed since his father was killed, Koul Panha has not forgotten. He was on the verge of tears when he spoke of those dark times in his country during an interview with the Inquirer at the weekened.

Koul’s father was picked up by soldiers of the Khmer Rouge in 1976 and ordered to gather beans.

“My father knew that he would be faced with great danger. After a few days, I received information from the villagers that he was killed,” Koul said.

“The senior villagers told me that my father did not let the Khmer Rouge guards and soldiers kill him easily as he fought back.”

The image of how his father must have died has remained indelible in Koul’s mind. It taught him the value of democracy.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Professor Hon. Gareth Evans

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

China's overreach is discomforting

Aug. 10, 2011
A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
PACIFIC DAILY NEWS

China's activities in Cambodia appear to impede Cambodian democrats' struggle against autocracy.

China's rising power is a fact, but the "Chinese Century" is still a matter open for debate. An examination of Chinese courses of action should tell us of China's foreign policy goals and national interests as defined by her leaders.

Interestingly, whereas American Thomas Jefferson's self-evident truths -- that "all men are created equal ... with certain unalienable rights" -- are ideals envied by the world's peoples, many of whom hope to see them emulated in their own nations, the billions of U.S. dollars spent and the thousands of U.S. soldiers lost have not made Americans popular in Afghanistan or Iraq.

However, Chinese businessmen and engineers are doing well in business there, and Chinese oil companies have acquired bigger stakes in the oil industry in those countries than have U.S. companies.

Headlines about China's rising influence and quiet power grab, and of Asian countries facing an increasingly intimidating China are numerous: China's navy is second only to the U.S.; China in dispute with neighboring Southeast Asian nations over the Spratlys; China seeking domination over the South China Sea.

Cambodian Youths and Democracy - Opinion by James Sok

Analysis: A hard road to democracy

Monday, 11 July 2011
Mu Sochua
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post

More than 1,400 opposition members were arrested at the weekend in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Is this a sign of an Asian storm coming?

Prime Minister Francois Fillon of France granted an exclusive interview to The Phnom Penh Post on the eve of his two-day visit to Cambodia last month.

Fillon was totally correct to remind Cambodia that democratic institutions must benefit everyone. They are essential pillars of democracy.

The challenge of building these institutions begins with the political will of leaders who have been chosen by their people to lead.

Most important of all, the true challenge is the commitment to an inclusive system of governance and mechanisms that allows voices to be heard and differences of opinion to be brought to the attention of those in charge.

President of MongoliaTsakhia Elbegdorj - Son of a Herdsman

Tuesday, July 05, 2011
By Mu Sochua
Originally posted at: http://sochua.wordpress.com/

"Freedom has no obstacles but challenges-trying to govern" are words of President Tsakhia Elbegdorj as he delivers his acceptance speech for Mongolia's chairmanship of the Community of Democracies this year.

Speaking as a true democrat, president Elbegdorj continues, " no dictator can stand in the way of our people's will to be free". He sparked Mongolia revolution on Human Rights Day December 10, 1989.

Members of Parliament from the Sam Rainsy Party will participate actively in the Parliamentary Forum of the Community of Democracies in Mongolia.

We have already received hopeful signals that other democratic nations will provide us the support as we shape our movement for change from the grassroots up.

Our villagers, our workers, our market women are regularly marching to the prime minister's home. They are sent back , they are tricked and forced to remain silent.

Underneath the calm surface, the fields are shaking.

Time for democracy in Cambodia will come.

It was a great honour to have met President Tsakhia Elbergdorj at the Community of Democracies conference in Vilnius, Lithunia.

For the full speech: www.ned.org/events/address-by-he-tsakhia-elbegdorj

Mu Sochua, MP

UK aid democracy groups in Kingdom

Thursday, 30 June 2011
Daniel Sherrell
The Phnom Penh Post

The British Embassy announced on Tuesday that it would fund two projects to bolster governmental accountability and democracy in Cambodia. The embassy disbursed US$51,537 to the Advocacy and Policy Institute, which will use the money to promote open dialogue between civil society and governmental officials in specific issues areas. A total of $65,392 was also given to the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia for use in improving the transparency of Cambodia’s voter registration process.

Cambodian-Americans wishes for Cambodia: Democracy, Good leaders, No more land-grabbing, No more foreign encroachments

Click the control below to listen to the RFA program in Khmer:

Click here to listen to the audio program in MP3

Speak Truth To Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark - the Play by Ariel Dorfman - FREE ADMISSION but come early!

CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education is proud to present Speak Truth To Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark, a play by Ariel Dorfman based on Kerry Kennedy's book Speak Truth To Power, as part of the 2-day launching events in Phnom Penh of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights' project by the same name, with performance by the Phnom Penh Players with introduction by Ms. Kennedy.  This coming THURSDAY, 24 February 2011 at PUC Auditorium (Norodom Blvd.).  FREE ADMISSION, on a first-come-first-served basis. So, COME EARLY!

-  Theary C. Seng, CIVICUS Cambodia founding president, Phnom Penh

Identity Documents Key to Democracy: Mam Sonando on VOA

Part 1


Part 2

Oppressors must fall if people unite

December 8, 2010
By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
PACIFIC DAILY NEWS

No regime can stand without the people's support.

Some two million people converged in Phnom Penh for Cambodia's annual water festival, celebrated Nov. 20-22. On Nov. 22, an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 people jammed the seven-meter-wide, 101-meter-long Diamond Island bridge. As rumors of "electric shocks" were heard by those on the bridge, the structure "swayed," fear of the bridge's collapse heightened, the crowds pushed and a stampede resulted in the deaths of more than 350 people, with several hundred others suffering injury.

Would any responsible government allow such huge crowds on a narrow bridge without crowd control?

As Cambodians in the country and abroad asked why, and where the responsibility lies, they mourned the dead. Long-serving Premier Hun Sen told the nation -- with "crocodile tears," say Khmer analysts -- the stampede was a lesson learned; no official would lose his job. It was also announced the government would provide the equivalent of $12,000 in compensation to the families of each person who was killed -- to hide the guilt, some say.

Many called for those with some responsibility for the government's failure to resign, but such entreaties fell on deaf ears.

Complaints

My column, "Do complaints serve a purpose?" was dissected by some Khmer bloggers in the West Coast. "They do," some argued. But then what? I quoted a Chinese saying, "Talk doesn't cook rice."

And so, we are, again, complaining, denouncing, pointing fingers, calling for justice -- even more passionately than before.

Yet, what have these verbal demands produced? The straw leviathan with shaky wooden legs stays strong. The irony is, he stays strong and rules ruthlessly because the most powerful force that can run him out of town -- the people -- isn't yet convinced how those who might replace him would better serve the people's interests. Democrats have not convinced them they can succeed in fighting for their rights and freedom.

The leviathan is strong because democrats are weak and in disarray.

Only thing to fear

If one wakes up every morning, saying to oneself one cannot succeed, then of course one will fail. An anonymous Khmer blogger who commented on my column last week said positive thinking is beyond the capacity of the sick and the poor. He seemed to condemn the sick and the poor to a perpetual sickbed and eternal poverty -- an encouragement to the leviathan's oppression.

Failure is human and people fail; but it's not the end of the world. Success is not irreversible either. Recall Winston Churchill's words, "It's the courage to continue that counts."

So decide what you want, make a strong commitment to achieve it and act resolutely to reach that goal. Actions open doors to many options. Theodore Roosevelt advised, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

Fear of the leviathan? The Germans say "Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is."

Edward Yashinsky, a Yiddish poet who survived the Holocaust, wrote: "Fear not your enemies, for they can only kill you; fear not your friends, for they can only betray you. Fear only the indifferent, who permit the killers and the betrayers to walk safely on the earth."

But leave the last words to Franklin D. Roosevelt, chiseled on stones in the Roosevelt memorial in the nation's capital: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Do something

My political activism dates back to my college years. When I did my doctorate in Ann Arbor, Mich., I supported the Khmer Republic because Vietnamese troops occupied Khmer territory, used as a springboard in the Vietnam War against the Americans and their allies, and because of my attachment to democracy, individual rights, freedom and the rule of law -- which I wanted to see flourish on my native soil. I have not wavered from these ideals.

In 1980-1989, I served in the nationalist Khmer resistance because of Hanoi's military occupation of Cambodia and what I wanted to see established in Cambodia.

The physical battles to improve life for the people of Cambodia must continue. With my brain and my pen, I contribute what I can.

I liked German-born American physicist Albert Einstein's words: "The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

I did. Now, others need to do something. Complaints serve a purpose. Actions make things happen.

Freedom can be won

Khmers can win their rights and freedom.

One immediate task is for Khmers to unite around a carefully designed grand strategy to liberate Cambodia from dictatorship and install a regime of the people, for the people, and by the people. Recall Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's urging that Khmer democrats unite behind a comprehensive political program, rather than behind a political figure.

Khmers need to strengthen independent social groups and institutions -- families, schools, non-government groups. People are empowered when they find collective support to achieve a goal.

Khmers must build the people's self-confidence, resistance skills and determination to liberate themselves, and create a powerful, internal resistance determined and willing to endure oppression to deny the tyrants the people's obedience, submission and cooperation, which they need.

No regime can stand without the people's support.

A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam. Write him at peangmeth@yahoo.com.

Cambodia must be held to account on rights

FRIDAY, 15 OCTOBER 2010
OU VIRAK
Letter to The Phom Penh Post

Dear Editor,

On a recent return trip to the Kingdom, former United States Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli stated that “every nation has interests it wants to advance and protect” in its foreign relations with other states. According to Mussomeli, while the interests of China in Cambodia are access to natural resources, those of the US and some European governments relate to democracy and justice and, in the case of the US, are “inextricably linked to the Cambodian government’s commitment and attitude to its own people”.

In a column published in The Phnom Penh Post on October 11 (“A tale of two eligible suitors vying to win Cambodia”), Roger Mitton examined Cambodia’s “envious position” as the object of the competing attentions of two economic suitors, China and the US. Mitton’s article details recent overtures by the respective superpowers to “woo” Cambodia by strengthening economic ties and, in the case of China, increasing political and military cooperation. Mitton states that by criticising the December 2009 repatriation by the Royal Government of Cambodia of Chinese Uighurs, the US shot itself in the foot and lost vital ground to China in the battle for Cambodian alignment. Mitton concludes his article by urging Cambodia to exploit its envious position “to the hilt”.

Mitton’s article is a timely one and raises important questions as to the fate of human rights and democracy in Cambodia. As China draws ever closer to Cambodia, the temptation for Western democratic governments may be to abandon their commitment to democracy and justice, and to the people of Cambodia in order to placate the government and to ensure influence in the Kingdom and the ASEAN region.

In a recent speech at the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals in New York, US President Barack Obama unveiled his government’s new Global Development Policy; a new approach to foreign aid that will measure development in lives improved rather than dollars spent, and which will do away with short-term projects that manage poverty and produce only dependency in exchange for long-term projects that yield real societal improvements. At the centre of this new approach will be broad-based economic growth based upon bilateral ties between the US and partner countries. These partner countries will be those that are not only capable of moving forward economically but those who also “promote good governance and democracy, the rule of law and equal administration of justice, transparent institutions with strong civil societies and respect for human rights”.

In the past decade – a period during which Cambodia has been the world’s seventh-fastest growing economy – the ruling Cambodian People’s Party has dismantled the fundamental pillars of democracy and moved the country towards a one-party system similar to those in China and Vietnam.

Since the last election in 2008, a crackdown on freedom of expression has silenced dissenting voices, while a corrupt and politically controlled judiciary has continued to facilitate large-scale transfer of land from poor and marginalised groups to the political and economic elite. As is evident from the finding in the Global Hunger Index, as reported in The Phnom Penh Post on October 12 (“Hunger levels ‘alarming’, report finds”), that 26 percent of the country’s population is undernourished, while Cambodia’s economic growth has been impressive, it has not been shared.

According to President Obama, the new US approach to development on the basis of bilateral partnerships with countries that promote good governance and respect human rights is borne out of the fact that “over the long run, democracy and economic growth go hand in hand”. While the specter of China looms large in the East, Western democracies must avoid being drawn into a race to the bottom for influence in Cambodia. In 2009, some 70 percent of Cambodian exports went to the US or the European Union, providing the Cambodian economy with a long-term viability that Chinese largesse cannot. With this in mind, Western democracies must maintain a principled stance and ensure that continued trade with and aid to Cambodia is contingent on the well-being of democracy and justice and is “inextricably linked to the Cambodian government’s commitment and attitude to its own people”.

Ou Virak, President

Cambodian Centre for Human Rights

Cambodia needs a true democratic government

Friday, 24 September 2010

Ou Virak

Ou Virak
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post

Dear Editor,

Today is Constitution Day in Cambodia, a public holiday that gives Cambodians a chance to celebrate and reflect on the enactment of the 1993 Constitution.

Article 1 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia states that Cambodia shall be ruled according to the principles of liberal democracy and pluralism.

This Constitution Day the Cambodian Center for Human Rights encourages Cambodians to reflect on the unique potential of liberal democratic systems to both uphold civil and political rights and promote equitable economic growth.

In 2010, the liberal democratic system guaranteed in Cambodian’s Constitution is in a fragile state. A recent report issued jointly by 17 NGOs – Cambodia Gagged: Democracy at Risk – raises concerns that the Royal Government of Cambodia, led by the Cambodian People’s Party, is dismantling the fundamental pillars of democracy and gradually moving Cambodia towards a one-party political system.

The report documents the use of state power against parliamentarians, media, lawyers, human rights activists and other citizens to silence debate and close the space for pluralism and diversity of opinion within Cambodia. Given the emergence in Cambodia of an autocratic, authoritarian political system at the expense of liberal democracy, we should examine whether this new system is an effective political model to promote the interests of Cambodian citizens.

The CPP-led RGC has promoted similar priorities to those espoused by the “Beijing Consensus,” emphasising Cambodia’s achievement of high levels of economic growth over the past decade and promoting the CPP as the only political force capable of maintaining peace and stability in Cambodia.

The RGC presided over economic growth in double digits between 2004 and 2007 prior to the global economic slowdown. However, much of this growth resulted from crony capitalism benefiting a few well-connected businessmen, CPP senators and foreign investors.

The RGC has also promoted its ability to maintain stability. However, the price of such a trade-off can include the violent suppression of those promoting alternative solutions to a country’s problems, such as the 1997 grenade attack, and the 2004 assassination of labour leader Chea Vichea in Cambodia, or on a larger scale, brutality such as the Tiananmen Square massacre in China in 1989.

The political system in operation in Cambodia today carries the veil of democracy, but this is a charade. In a true liberal democracy, opposition politicians are able to speak and present policy proposals in parliament, citizens are able to organise protests and strikes without being charged with incitement, and the courts are respected by citizens as an independent arbiter of conflicts.

This Constitution Day, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights calls on members of all political parties to reflect on the democratic values enshrined in Cambodia’s supreme law and consider how they can work together with dignity and respect to build a truly democratic system capable of benefiting all Cambodians.

Ou Virak

Cambodian Center for Human Rights