Advocates Divided on Worth of Asean Commission

Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho. (Photo: VOA, Khmer)

Soeung Sophat, VOA Khmer
Washington, D.C Monday, 28 June 2010

“Because in the Asean way of doing things, a consensus must be reached and countries cannot interfere with each other’s internal affairs. This is what I believe is a major obstacle.”

After years of effort by civil society, the establishment of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights was seen as a milestone. However, activists and critics now say they have concerns the body, which was formed in October 2009, might not live up to its goals, and they are divided on it current value.

Human rights violations remain a problem in Cambodia and other parts of Southeast Asia, particularly Burma. The Asean rights commission was supposed to be a major step toward strengthening rights in these countries. But at least four prominent activists interviewed by VOA Khmer agree that the main obstacle for an effective commission will be its lack of protection mechanisms and independence.

“I haven’t seen this commission doing any investigation at all,” said Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho.

Unlike human rights commissions of other regions, the Asean body has been active only in human rights promotion—through teaching, dissemination, and research—but it lacks protection measures, she said.

“Because in the Asean way of doing things, a consensus must be reached and countries cannot interfere with each other’s internal affairs,” she said. “This is what I believe is a major obstacle.”

The commission’s own literature says it should “promote and protect human rights” within Asean, via 10 representatives from member nations “accountable” to their own governments. But at the same time, representatives can be replaced at will, raising concerns the body is vulnerable to political interference by its own member states.

The chair of the commission is currently Vietnam, for example, a country that itself is often criticized for rights abuses and restrictions of freedoms.

“These kinds of commissions can be created for window dressing and actually succeed in creating cynicism among a lot of people about whether or not human rights in worth pursuing,” said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Right Watch.

“I perfectly well understand that it will take time in the best of cases to create a successful mechanism, but I don’t think that Asean is serious,” he said. “They are just a bunch of dictators running various countries, and people who would be dictators…just don’t have any interest in allowing anything out of their control. Even a country like Singapore, which is very liberal economically, is very controlled politically. So it has very serious limits, and I don’t have particular high hopes for this.”

Asean officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Despite these apparent shortcomings, Ou Virak of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said that having a commission is better than nothing, noting that the ambiguity of the commission’s founding document could work in favor of civil society advocates.

“I think that it is good to have the commission, because it is a political institution,” he said. “The agreement that created this commission is a political document, meaning that it evolves according to the trends of Asean politics. This means that if Asean becomes more open to human rights, the agreement can be interpreted in a broader way. The role of the commission can thus be made more effective.”

Activists disagree on the extent to which civil society can play a role in helping shape the commission’s long-term effectiveness.

Adams said he doubted the commission will do any good for Cambodia’s civil society, noting that groups and activists here already have strong support.

“It will be more helpful to other countries,” he said. “Cambodia does have a very vigorous civil society. It was opened up by the Untac process, and it’s been sustained by…the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights office, by donors, diplomats, and most of all by the courage and tenacity of Cambodian groups themselves. And I wouldn’t expect them to get anything from the Asean process what they can get already.”

Ou Virak acknowledged that the lack of real power would hurt the Asean rights commission’s overall effectiveness, but he also said civil society can push for a greater role in the future. The association is an evolving institution, he said, and it can make inquiries that help reveal human rights deficiencies and create political pressure on governments.

The CCHR plans to work with other NGOs to file a joint complaint about Cambodia’s human rights violations to the commission, after similar proceedings were pioneered by rights groups in the Philippines earlier this year.

Thun Saray, president of the rights group Adhco, said his group is also hoping to file complaints with the commission, especially concerning the alleged shootings of Cambodian civilians by Thai soldiers along the border, should such violations continue.

The Asean commission will hold two meetings this year and has reviews every five years. The next review is in October 2014, and until that time rights groups say they have little hope in shaping its structure and workings.

The next five years are likely to see little progress in the commission’s work, Thun Saray said. Still, he said, in the long run, progress in other regions, like Africa and the Americas, where there are human rights courts, could help build momentum for Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, Kek Galabru suggested patience, especially with a commission that is just beginning. The ultimate test will be its ability to bring justice to victims of rights abuse, she said.

“I think that it is most important for a human rights institution to have power to investigate, make findings, and then to deliver justice to the victims,” she said. “Only after it has fulfilled this role is it of any use.”

Cambodian HIV Villages Draws Controversy

2009-8-13
New Tang Dynasty Television

Click here to watch the video in English

25 kilometers outside of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, lies a village built by the government for HIV-infected patients and their families.

Come to be known as the "AIDS colony", in the past two months the government has relocated 47 families to live in its metal and wooden sheds.

With inadequate sanitation and no running water, the area is not a health sanctuary for HIV-infected patients, who require personal attention and care.

The government maintains it is taking care of patients by building new homes and offering healthcare and ownership rights previously unavailable.

But HIV-infected people living in the village say they have not received any official recognition of ownership rights nor government compensation for their old homes.

40-year-old HIV patient Chheang Toma says even with free medical treatment, he has no real means of earning a living in the colony.

[Chheang Toma, HIV Patient]:
"I feel sluggish in my arms and on my legs everyday and I cannot walk well. I will hang on, until the day I need to go to sleep in the hospital. I wanted to go now, but I have no money to spend for food, although they give treatment free of charge."

With little prospect of work in the area due to the distance from the city, people say they must survive largely on donations from the government and NGOs.

[Suon Davy, HIV Patient]:
"I face great difficulty for my family day to day, because we live far away from the hospital, far from any job opportunities and it is very hot here."

Local human rights activist Dr. Kek Galabru says the government actions are discriminatory while the conditions could pose health risks to already vulnerable patients.

[Dr. Kek Galabru, President, Lacadho NGO]:
"It's regretful that city hall sent 40 families to Tuol Sambo village. This is a discriminatory act because by putting them together like this, everyone will know this is an AIDS community."

The "AIDS colony" is one of a number of forced evictions in Cambodia, where the government has faced escalating criticism about its mandatory relocations.

Many HIV-infected people living in Tuol Sambo previously resided in squatter areas in the Borei Keila area of the capital, forced out as the government took over the land to build high-rise buildings.

Last month, the World Bank urged Cambodia to halt the forced evictions from disputed land, saying it threatened the livelihoods of thousands of urban dwellers.

Rights Advocate Suggests Truth Commission

Kek Galabru, president and founder of Licadho.

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
19 May 2009

Even if the Khmer Rouge tribunal manages to try all five aging leaders now in custody, Cambodia will likely need more reconciliation, a leading rights activist said Monday.

The tribunal is undertaking its first trial, of the regime’s chief torturer, Duch, but the country might need something like South Africa’s Truth Commission alongside the court in order for Cambodians to be at peace with the past, said Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho.

“People are still not feeling justified with the trial of the five accused,” she said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.” “For instance, some say that they see many former prison directors who operated in their provinces who are still alive. People still feel pain, even seeing the trial of the five Khmer Rouge leaders.”

She suggested an expert be invited to Cambodia to demonstrate how truth commissions are run.

Meanwhile, more and more Cambodians are paying attention to the trial of Duch, she said, which contributes to national healing.

Not everyone has been satisfied with the tribunal.

A “Hello VOA” caller from Oddar Meanchey province said he did not believe the UN-backed tribunal would provide justice. The tribunal is being held in Cambodia, he said, so the court could not be insulated from political influence.

Another caller, Sun Thun, from Kampong Thom province, said he wished to see the court finish its work as quickly as possible, so more evidence against those involved in the killings of the Khmer Rouge would come to light.

He said he wanted more indictments of former regime leaders and disagreed with statements by Prime Minister Hun Sen and other officials that further indictments could destabilize the country.

“I don't see any war,” he said. “Our country is bound by the Paris Peace Agreement, in which signatory countries are committed to bringing an end to wars in Cambodia. If there is a war, it is those in the government who would create it.”

With the KRT stigmatized by alleged corruption, salary kickback, govt interference, can it still be considered as a model?

Dr. Kek Galabru

Tribunal a Model for Courts: Rights Leader

By Poch Reasey, VOA Khmer
Washington
03 April 2009

A leading member of Cambodia’s civil society praised the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal for reaching its first trial, of prison chief Duch this week, saying the tribunal could work as a model for the country’s widely criticized public court system.

The Khmer Rouge tribunal comprises three special chambers to Cambodia’s court system, established only to try former leaders of the regime. The regular public court system, however, faces continuous outcries over political bias and bribe-taking.

The tribunal Trial Chamber opened its first substantive trial this week, putting in the dock Kaing Kek Iev, better known as Duch, for his role as the chief of Tuol Sleng and Prey Sar prisons and the Choeung Ek execution site.

Duch admitted to all 260 crimes in his indictment and asked forgiveness from survivors of his killing machine and the families of victims.

"Although everyone knows the defendant committed serious crimes against humanity, and serious human rights violations, the court still gave him full rights to defend himself,” said Kek Galabru, the founder and president of the rights group Licadho.

The tribunal was demonstrating that non one can escape justice, she said, no mater how much time has passed.

“I think this court can be a model court for Cambodia when it decides to reform and improve its court systems,” she said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”

Cambodia has a rare opportunity to find justice for the victims of the Khmer Rouge, she said, adding that she does not want the court to stop if donors stop providing funds.

The Cambodian side of the tribunal is facing a budget crisis. It was only able to pay its staff in March thanks to a $200,000 infusion from the Japanese government. Allegations of corruption and mismanagement at the tribunal have made other donors reluctant to release funding.

Massive relocation diplaces Phnom Penh's poor

February 27, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

As the price of land has soared in Cambodia in recent years, tens of thousands of urban and rural poor have been evicted from their land and their homes.

Human rights groups and civil society say that - despite the passing of a Land Law in 2001 - the situation continues to worsen as the powerful indulge in a scramble for land at the expense of the poor.

Robert Carmichael
Speakers: "Channy", Village Six evictee; Kek Galabru, founder of human rights group Licadho; Peter Jipp, land special with the World Bank in Phnom Penh

Click here to listen to the audio program in English (Windows Media)

CARMICHAEL: Phnom Penh has changed markedly over the past decade. Where there were once large slums providing homes and work for tens of thousands of people in central locations, there are now tracts of fenced off, empty land, or freshly-painted modern buildings. It's all part of what the municipality calls its 'beautification' programme - but it has come at a price, often paid by the poorest. I am standing at Village Six in the north of Phnom Penh. It's part of the latest threatened area - a low to middle-income suburb surrounding the city's Boeung Kak Lake. Last year, in a multi-million dollar land deal that local human rights groups say was crafted illegally, a powerful politician was granted the right to fill in the lake and develop the land on and around it.

The Boeung Kak lake development will see 30,000 people evicted in the coming months in what will be one of South-East Asia's largest land evictions in decades. Some families have lived in the area since the Khmer Rouge were driven out of power in 1979. One of the residents faced with eviction is Channy. She is using a false name for fear of retribution. Channy moved here in 1990 and has raised a family in her home - a respectable two-storey building, tiled and well maintained. She says the municipality and the company haven't bothered to come and discuss the development with residents. Instead, they heard about it through the media.

She is angry that the compensation offered is so meagre - around eight thousand US dollars per house, no matter what its real value. Channy says that residents aren't being greedy - they simply want a fair deal.

CHANNY: What we can accept is this: We have to get the price that our houses are worth on the open market. The government and the company have to do this exchange for a reasonable price so we can buy another house in the city, not twenty kilometres outside the city in the countryside.

CARMICHAEL: Amnesty International says at least 150,000 people are at risk of eviction in Cambodia - that's 1 per cent of the population. Dr Kek Galabru is the founder of human rights group Licadho. She says the Boeung Kak Lake case is the latest in a long line of land grabs and evictions that generally target the poor and powerless.

She says the problem is getting worse.

GALABRU: I don't think this is better - we don't see the sign. Because we see the number of the victims that come to us, come from the province. Everywhere.

CARMICHAEL: The World Bank is involved in a program to issue land title documents. The Bank's land specialist, Peter Jipp, says almost 1 million land title documents have already been distributed to people across the country. The target is to issue 1.5 million land titles before the program closes at the end of this year.

JIPP: This is really the first time since the Khmer Rouge that formal titles are being issued. And there have already been almost a million titles that have been issued to land owners in Cambodia under the program. I would have to say that this is a very significant step for Cambodians to have formal title. This is a long process and with almost a million titles having been issued there still are another 11 million parcels out there that need to be titled, so there is still a long way to go.

CARMICHAEL: But while legal title may be important, the courts that were specially-created to hear land disputes are widely seen to have failed. Licadho's Dr Kek Galabru.

GALABRU: It didn't work because most of the people who are in the conflicts - you know, the ones that want to grab the land of the poor - they have power. And in Cambodia if you have power and you have money, you always win.

CARMICHAEL: For its part the government denies accusations that it is working against its own poverty alleviation strategy. Information Minister Khieu Kanharith acknowledges there have been high-profile cases where things have gone wrong, but maintains that the situation is not as bad as is sometimes painted. That is cold comfort to Channy and her neighbours at Village Six - they stand little chance of resisting eviction in the coming months.

The only certainty is that Channy and her family will soon be forced to leave their home, which will then be demolished to make way for offices and expensive houses. At that point she will become just the latest in a long line of powerless Cambodians who have been evicted in the country's unending scramble for land.

Profile: Giving hope for two decades

Licadho founder and President Kek Galabru aims to promote respect for human rights in throughout the Kingdom and its institutions. (Photo by: SOVANN PHILONG)

Monday, 23 February 2009
Written by Sarah Whyte
The Phnom Penh Post

NGO FOCUS Licadho

• Founded 1992
• Personnel 160 staff and volunteers working in Phnom Penh office and 12 provincial offices
• Mandate Licadho works with victims of human rights abuses, especially focussing on women and children who fall victim to domestic violence, rape and trafficking.
• Funding The group is funded by a wide range of donors, including Operation a Day's Work (Finland), Danchurch Aid, Diakonia, ICCO, Danida, German Agro Action, USAID/EWMI, and the governments of Finland, Australia, Malta and the Netherlands, as well as private donors.

As one of the first NGOs in Cambodia, Licadho has seen the landscape for civil society evolve - and says things are worse now than in 1992.

THE Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (Licadho) was founded in 1992, just after the thawing of the Cold War and the signing of the Paris Peace Agreements brought to an end a decade of one-party rule by the People's Revolutionary Party of Kampuchea - the forerunner to today's Cambodian People's Party (CPP).

Kek Galabru, the organisation's founder and president, remembers well the difficulties of operating in the overly bureaucratic and unstable climate of the early 1990s.

The organisation was one of the first nongovernmental organisations to be established under the UN's transitional administration, but even the presence of the international community could not prevent Licadho's early efforts from being mired in communist-era red tape.

"We had to sometimes wait eight months before we could get permission to visit the prisoners in jail," Galabru said. "It was only because the UN were in Cambodia that we got permission at all." In spite of the obstacles, Licadho had over 130 employees and had expanded into 12 provinces by 1998, and today it continues to work relentlessly with victims of illegal trafficking, domestic violence, land grabbing and forced evictions.

But as Galabru says, there is an endless amount of work still to be done. Licadho is still occasionally subjected to anonymous threats when dealing with high-profile cases involving well-connected authorities, she said, and in the aftermath of the Dey Krahorm eviction case last month, two members of staff were threatened via anonymous mobile phone messages.

"After 1993, we were given some freedom to operate as an NGO, but now in 2009 our democratic space is shrinking," she said, adding that the absence of democratic mechanisms in the country has meant that if these limits are overstepped, there can sometimes be serious ramifications.

"We do get very tired from our work, but if we give up on these people, what else will they have. ... we can provide assistance to the victims and give them a little more hope," she said.

Licadho provided legal, medical and financial support to such victims, explaining their rights under domestic law and the international agreements to which Cambodia is signatory. Licadho has also recently drawn attention to what it calls the "wrongful" 1,799-day imprisonment of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, convicted of the 2004 murder of union leader Chea Vichea. The pair have been freed on provisional release.

The group also advocates free education for all children, government-provided medical care and full compensation for communities facing eviction - all goals the organisation hopes will move Cambodia towards a more democratic form of government.

"We need to see freedom of access to information, freedom of assembly and a freedom of expression in Cambodia before we can call ourselves a democracy," she said.

Growing up, Galabru said she was surrounded by strong female role models who left a strong imprint on her human rights work. In 1958, her mother, Pung Peng Cheng, became the first woman to be elected to government in Cambodia.

"When I saw my mother working and serving the people of Cambodia, I knew I wanted to serve the people," she said. "But I did not want to work in the government, so I began studying medicine." Years later, with the help of her mother and late husband, she set up Licadho. In 2005, Galabru was one of 1,000 women nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, in recognition of the organisation's work in Cambodia.

"I was very grateful to my Cambodian colleagues who nominated me," she said.

"I hope that I can continue to serve the Cambodian people and not disappoint them."

Evictees Deserve Compensation: Rights Worker

Hun Sen's rectangular strategy to fight poverty? Worth nothing more than TRASH!
Documents about development assistance to Cambodia and the government’s so-called Rectangular Strategy, to combat poverty and improve health and education, lie on the ground in the wreckage of Dey Krahorm homes. (Photo: Licadho)
Demolition workers use axes, hammers and other tools to destroy homes. (Left picture © Peter Harris - Fotojournalism.net)
A woman wails as workers begin to destroy her house - her possessions still inside. (© Peter Harris - Fotojournalism.net)
A woman, who collapsed with heart palpitations, is comforted by her family. (© Peter Harris - Fotojournalism.net)

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
27 January 2009

Click here to listen to the audio program in Khmer

A leading rights worker denied on Monday that non-governmental organizations were pushing an agenda for the displaced residents of a Phnom Penh slum, but are urging the government to provide them fair compensation.

“We know there has been some allegations against NGOs,” said Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho, as a guest on “Hello VOA” Monday. “But we NGOs only know that the people want fair compensation if they are evicted from the area.”

Kek Galabru was addressing government criticism of rights groups in the eviction of Dey Krahorm, a neighborhood in Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmon district, over the weekend.

Residents, who are among the city’s most disenfranchised, were ejected hundreds of demoltion workers of the 7NG development company and riot police, who launched tear gas and opened water cannons on them.

7NG had promised to pay $20,000 per home, but only one person of thousands had been compensated, Kek Galbru said. Some had only received $500.

7NG adviser Srey Sothea canceled an appearance on “Hello VOA” Monday.

Forced evictions have occurred with more frequency in recent years, as land prices in the capital and across the nation have risen. Kek Galabru said evictions of should be done according to law and in the interest of the people.

Rights Leader Regrets Loss of UN Envoy

Kek Galabru, founder of Licadho

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
10 October 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

For the first time since the Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia will not have a UN human rights envoy from the secretary-general, but will instead have a rapporteur assigned by the UN Human Rights Council.

Kek Galabru, a leading human rights activist in Cambodia who founded the group Licadho, said she "regretted very much" the change.

"We still see the UN human rights envoy as being able to help promote human rights in Cambodia," she said Thursday, as a guest on "Hello VOA."

Former rights representatives of the UN secretary-general have been unbiased in their reporting, she said.

This reporting has sometimes led to a strain on relations between the UN and Cambodia, especially with the previous envoy, Yash Ghai, who resigned earlier this year.

Kek Galabru said the Paris Peace Accords required an envoy from the secretary-general, but on Sept. 24, the Human Rights Council chose instead a posting for rapporteur. This will make a difference, she said, because the rapporeur will not report directly to the secretary-general.

Om Yentieng, head of the government's human rights committee, said in a recorded statement Ghai had made inaccurate reports on Cambodia.

Om Yentieng declined to comment on the current human rights situation in Cambodia, leaving it to "third parties" in order to avoid sounding "proud."

Groups in Geneva to Lobby for UN Envoy

Left: Prof. Yash Ghai, UN Special Envoy on Human Rights in Cambodia, Right: Hun Sen, Strongman and Violator of Human Rights in Cambodia

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
12 September 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

[Editor's note: Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho, recently traveled to Geneva, where the ninth annual meeting of the UN's Human Rights Council is considering whether to continue the mandate of a UN rights envoy to Cambodia. She spoke to VOA Khmer by phone from Geneva.]

Q. What is the aim of your trip?

A. I have come to Geneva with Adhoc president Thun Saray and four other Khmers, who live in the foreign countries and have helped facilitate our participation in the Human Rights Council annual meeting in Geneva. The Human Rights Council is opening a meeting from Sept. 8 until Sept. 23. In the meeting they will also bring the Cambodia issue to discussion, regarding the mandate of the UN representative on human rights in Cambodia. We civil society want to see the term of the UN representative to be continued in Cambodia. We don't want to see them cut this term out of Cambodia.

Q. Alongside the discussion about the term of the UN representative on human rights, what are the specific things that the meeting is focusing on?

A. In that meeting they are not only focusing on the Cambodian issue, but they are also talking about children and women's issues, as well as some other issues. But in that meeting, they have raised our Cambodian issue. We really want the term of the UN representative on human rights in Cambodia to be continued, as we know that the Cambodian government doesn't want this mandate to be continued. So our civil society strives hard to talk about it with the Human Rights Council members in order to lobby and negotiate with our Cambodian government so that the Cambodian government can allow the mandate to continue. Whether the UN representative on human rights can continue its mandate depends on the Cambodian government's permission.

Q. The Cambodian government plans to close the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in Cambodia. Is the Human Rights Council in Geneva reacting to this plan?

A. The permanent Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in Cambodia won't be discussed in this Geneva meeting. It could be discussed between our government and the United Nations, and should not be discussed at the Human Rights Council. The Human Rights Council is talking about the mandate of the UN Special Representative on Human Rights. We have received unofficial information that perhaps our government won't oppose this suggestion. But the UN secretary-general, he doesn’t want the UN Special Representative appointed by him anymore. So he wants to see the UN Special Rapporteur instead of a UN special representative. For the mandate, we really want to see that the position of the UN Rapporteur remains the same as the position of the UN Special Representative’s position, in coming into Cambodia to monitor the human rights situation and then reporting to the Cambodian government on how to change those institutions in order to respect human rights.

Q. If the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in Cambodia closes, what will be the affect to the civil society and the political situation?

A. We hope that the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in Cambodia won't close its door. If the government does not allow this office to continue its work, it will affect a lot to the Cambodia people because we still have a lot of human rights issue that so far haven't been solved completely. So we need more cooperation with the UN, we need more technical support and human resources support. So I think we still need more support from them.

Groups Worry UN Rights Office Could Close

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
29 August 2008

Cambodian civic leaders plan to lobby the international community in a September push to keep the UN human rights office open in Phnom Penh.

Kek Galabru, president of the rights group Licadho, and Thun Saray, head of the rights group Adhoc, will both travel to Geneva, where the UN is headquartered, Sept. 7 to urge member countries not to eliminate the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kek Galabru said Thursday.

Many of the 47 member countries of the UN Human Rights Council do not support a special envoy to represent the UN secretary-general, not only in Cambodia, but other countries, she said.

Cambodia's rights record remains poor, Kek Galabru said, making the continued operations of a UN rights office here important.

The government of Prime Minister Hun Sen has had problems with UN rights envoys in the past, especially the special envoy of the secretary-general, Yash Ghai, a strident critic of the premier.

Yash Ghai has had his visa to the US restricted, and top officials, including Hun Sen, have refused to meet him on past visits.

Meanwhile, the UN rights office is in transition, with the former head of the commission, Luis Arbour, stepping down Sept. 1, to be replaced by Navanethem Phillay.

Kek Galabru said Thursday at least 12 European Union countries opposed the elimination of the rights office.

Land Crisis Echoes Pre-Revolution Period

Click here to download a translation in Khmer of George Orwell's Animal Farm (Once upon a revolution)

By Pin Sisovann, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
25 August 2008

With land disputes widespread in the provinces, longtime Cambodia observers say the conditions are similar to those of the 1960s that gave rise to the Khmer Rouge, even as they warn against revolution.

Human rights and democracy advocates say Cambodia's current land crisis has signaled an evolution of the country's former revolutionaries into powerful officials similar to those that were toppled in the past.

The mechanisms to solve land disputes, which can include forced evictions, arson and arrest of residents, have failed, with most decisions coming in favor of the wealthy and powerful, said Kek Galabru, president of the rights group Licadho.

Victims of land disputes have little recourse, Kek Galabru said, as evidenced by their pilgrimages to Prime Minister Hun Sen's front door.

"Until now, no measures have come out to readily solve the crisis," she said. "Having no other choice, they come to Phnom Penh, begging for the prime minister's intervention. This can't be the way. We must have a powerful system that can solve the crisis effectively, unlike the National Authority for the Resolution of Land Disputes."

Hun Sen has publicly warned land-grabbing officials, who often have high posts in the government or military, to stop the practice or face a revolution over the land, she said.

"The prime minister has warned about this more often than us," she said.

So far, the landless have maintained non-violent protests, Kek Galabru said, but that may not always be the case.

"If more and more farmers continue to lose their land, continue to face a state of anger and suffering, I'm afraid one day they will lose their patience," she said.

The best way to prevent a violent revolution, she said, is the democratic election of leaders.

The full scope of land grabs in the provinces is not known, but they are pervasive, occurring in every corner of the country.

On a trip to the northeast last year, UN human rights envoy Yash Ghai warned that landlessness could lead to political instability.

Keat Sokun, a leading member of the Human Rights Party, pointed out the land-grabs of the early 1960s were actually smaller than they are now. The land thefts that in part fueled the Khmer Rouge took place in the areas of Ta Moeun and Samlot in Battambang province.

"People suffering from land-grabs are falling into a situation where they have nothing to loose," he said. "They are losing hope, which forces them to resort to whatever means and it could lead to what is called a revolution over the land crisis."

Hun Sen has been unable to stop the land crisis because the causes of it are people surrounding him, and even as he solves one dispute, another takes its place, Keat Sokun said.

"I see that those who grab farmers' land are powerful," he said. "They are not punished, but became senators, lawmakers and powerful officials in government. So these ties make the crisis more serious. Do you think senators who would grab farmers' land would write a law to serve the people's interest?"

Those who had led a revolution in years past were now leading a new feudalism, he said, comparing modern Cambodia to the Western novel, "Animal Farm," by George Orwell.

In that book, a group of barnyard animals overthrow their human owners, only to become mired in an authoritarian power struggle of their own.

"We are not different from it," he said. "They are not only pigs, but others join the pack."

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said such comparisons were not warranted, as the government had been democratically elected, and that a revolution over the current land crisis was not possible.

Around 420,000 people in a population of 14 million are involved in land conflicts, which was a reflection of economic boom, he said, adding that the government was paying close attention to the issue.

Revolution meant violence and was therefore a poor choice, he said.

"It is not like 'Animal Farm,'" he said. "This is a comment from a dream. What I am worried about is not whether revolutionists have become feudalists, but the cry that 'four legs are good, two legs are bad,' which alleges that the ruling CPP is bad and the consequence is 'ducks and chicken protest.'"

Such criticism by the opposition had become stereotypical and ignored the facts, he said. "Don't take what the opposition says as always right."

Whether Cambodia is traveling on four legs or two, powerful men can turn to personal interest, and the quest for land and property can give rise to feudalism, said Lao Monghay, a senior researcher for the Asian Human Rights Commission.

Even Karl Marx saw this, he said. This is normal for human nature and that is why a country needs checks and balances, between executive, legislative and judiciary bodies.

"It is normal among all nationalities of the world turning from poor to rich and revolutionaries toppling feudalism to become feudalists themselves," he said. "Leaders who abided by Karl Mark’s doctrine to topple capitalists become capitalists themselves."

Few communists don't have a desire to be rich, and a lot of revolutionaries forget their own social class or become feudalists, he said.

To keep themselves in power, they motivate the youth to enjoy happy lives and to forget national problems, he said.

Still, he warned, no matter how serious the land crisis becomes, a violent revolution ending in bloodshed is not the answer.

The democratic selection of leaders is a system honored by countries around the globe, and revolution doesn't necessarily lead to a better regime.

Lao Monghay said he had heard this from one of the country's Khmer Rouge revolutionaries, Nuon Chea, the senior-most surviving leader of the regime.

"I asked him to compare the society that he toppled and present society, to say which is better," Lao Monghay said. "He said it was the society that he toppled. I was shocked with anger to hear that Cambodia toppled a better society for the worse."

Interview with Cambodian rights activist Dr Kek Galabru

Friday, July 25, 2008
ABC Radio Australia

On Sunday eight-million Cambodians are eligible to cast a vote in the country's national elections.

The eleven parties are wrapping up a month-long campaign that has been marred by the shooting death of a journalist, and other opposition activists. There's little doubt that the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party will win and its leader Hun Sen will add to his 23 years running the country. It's only the country's 4th election and human rights organisations say a lot more needs to happen to ensure a full and thriving democracy.

Presenter: Karen Percy
Speaker: Dr Kek Galabru is from the organisation Licadho

Click here to listen to the audio program in English

Election travesty at work: Hun Sen appeals for the Nation to vote ... while the CPP threatens and intimidates other parties

Hun Sen Appeals to Nation to Vote

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
23 June 2008

"If the rate of participation is low, that means democracy is down, because people do not care about voting to choose a good leader ... That's why they encourage people to go vote as much as possible" - Kek Galabru, Licadho President

In his last speech ahead of an election campaign period that begins Thursday, Prime Minister Hun Sen urged Cambodians to vote, no matter their party preference.

Speaking at the opening of a development center in Pursat province, Hun Sen told voters a high rate of participation was good for democracy.

"Please go to vote all together, to express your opinion," Hun Sen said. "This is our right of expression. We must show our participation in the decision of choosing parties and leaders."

Hun Sen has said he will remain silent during the one-month campaign period, a traditional time of mass rallies and public marches by competing political parties. There are 11 parties slated to compete for parliamentary seats in this election.

More than 8.1 million Cambodians are registered to vote in the July 27 election, but the 2007 commune elections saw the lowest participation rate ever, less than 70 percent. The first national elections following the Paris Peace Accords, in 1993, saw a turnout greater than 90 percent.

"If the rate of participation is low, that means democracy is down, because people do not care about voting to choose a good leader," said Kek Galabru, president of the rights group Licadho. "That's why they encourage people to go vote as much as possible."

Commission Calls for Cease to Land Grabs

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
17 June 2008

Click here to sign the online petition
http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/landgrabbing/

The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission launched an Internet petition Monday to urge the Cambodian government to immediately halt land grabbing for development projects or other purposes which have already caused tremendous suffering to hundreds of thousands of Cambodians.

Lao Monghay, a senior researcher for the Commission, said the petition, to be given to Prime Minster Hun Sen, could be an effective way to solve land issues if more people support and sign it.

"If many people help us by signing, it could be an influence to the government and the prime minister to finish or to decrease the land grabbing issues from the poor," he said.

Land grabs are taking place across Cambodia, he said, because the government has granted land concessions to private companies.

"In the city, as we can see that some people who have been living here for a long time were chased out by the government using the excuses to improve and develop the city," he said. "The same as in the countryside, the government needs to grant land concessions to private companies to grow plantations and some other agriculture crops."

Kek Galabru, president of the rights group Licadho, said she supported the petition.

"If there is a petition for people to sign to support halting land-grabbing, then I agree with it because I think that it is serious problem," she said. "I am not only the one who talks about that. Prime Minister Hun Sen usually says that the land issue in Cambodia is a major matter. So he tries to tell the big private companies or powerful officials to stop grabbing the land from the poor people."

Journalists, rights groups condemn Cambodian jailing

Tuesday, 10 June 2008
ABC Radio Australia

A Cambodian rights group says the imprisonment of a newspaper publisher affiliated with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party is creating a climate of fear in the run up to next month's general election.

The president of LICADHO - the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights - Kek Galabru, says the arrest of Dam Sith jeopardises free and fair elections.

The International Federation of Journalists has also condemned the arrest, saying "democracy cannot prevail where the media is hampered in its efforts to report on politics and the election campaign".

Mr Dam was arrested and charged for printing allegations that Cambodia's foreign minister, Hor Namhong, had ties to the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime.

He will run for a parliamentary seat as a candidate of the Sam Rainsy Party.

Licadho's Kek Galabru discusses about Dam Sith's arrest and the threat to the 2008 General Election

Newspaper publisher arrested in Cambodia

Tuesday, 10 June 2008
ABC Radio Australia

Presenter: Corinne Podger
Speaker: Licadho spokeswoman Kek Galabru

Click here to listen to the audio program in English

Cambodia's human rights group Licadho says the publisher of a newspaper known to support the main opposition Sam Rainsy Party is in custody after his surprise arrest on Sunday.

Dam Sith publishes the newspaper Moneakseka Khmer, or Khmer Conscience. He's been charged with printing allegations that Cambodia's foreign minister had ties to the Khmer Rouge regime. Cambodia watchers say Prime Minister Hun Sen's used a mix of guile and threat to turn the July 27 polls into an undemocratic one horse race.

Kratie Radio Will Not Reopen: Ministry

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
06 June 2008

Click here to listen the program in Khmer

The Minister of Information on Friday denied an appeal by a local human rights group to reopen a Kratie radio station that aired messages from four competing political parties.

The Angkor Ratha station, broadcasting on FM105.25, operated for only two weeks before it was shuttered by a ministry order May 28.

"The abrupt closure of this radio station reflects very poorly on the government's commitment to allowing democratic debate prior to the July national elections," said Kek Galabru, president of the rights group Licdho, in an appeal Thursday to have the radio reopened. "It also highlights how freedom of expression and information is tightly controlled on Cambodia's radio and television stations, particularly in rural areas."

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said Friday he will not allow the station to continue its broadcasts.

"The station owner broke the agreement," he said. "Before making an appeal, Licadho should first look into the Angkor Ratha radio station's contract or agreement in Kratie province."

The station had broken with its agreement, and its closure was not an issue of media freedom, he said.

"Media freedom cannot break the law or written contract," he said.

Keo Chan Ratha, the station's owner, has acknowledged breaking his original agreement with the ministry, which states he must inform the ministry if he sells air time to other entities.

But Kek Galabru said Thursday the requirement in the radio license amounted to "censorship."

"Radio stations should not have to seek Ministry of Information permission to broadcast the programs of political parties, NGOs or other organizations," she said.

Keo Chan Ratha urged the ministry to reconsider its decision "for the need of the people."

Licadho calls for the lifting of the ban on Kratie FM 105.25 Radio Angkor Ratha

June 5, 2008
Licadho Media Statement

FREE EXPRESSION & DEMOCRACY:
GOVT SHOULD LIFT BAN ON RADIO STATION

LICADHO appeals to the government to allow the immediate reopening of radio FM 105.25 in Kratie province, without any censorship or other restrictions on its broadcasts.

The Ministry of Information last week closed down the new radio station, which had broadcasted for only 13 days, because it sold air time to political parties.

“The abrupt closure of this radio station reflects very poorly on the government’s commitment to allowing democratic debate prior to the July national elections,” said Kek Galabru, LICADHO’s president. “It also highlights how freedom of expression and information is tightly controlled on Cambodia’s radio and television stations, particularly in rural areas.”

FM 105.25 began broadcasting in Kratie province on May 15 after being granted a license by Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith in January. On May 28, Khieu Kanharith, in a five-line written order which gave no reason or legal justification, reversed his earlier decision and cancelled the station’s license. The cancellation occurred immediately after Provincial Information Department officials questioned the station’s staff about the sale of radio airtime to political parties.

Since it began operating, the station had aired programs prepared and paid for by political parties FUNCINPEC, Norodom Ranariddh Party, Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party. These programs were identical to those broadcast by an affiliated radio station in Siem Reap province, which is owned by the same owners as FM 105.25 and has operated for three years.

While the Ministry of Information has permitted the Siem Reap station’s broadcasts, and similar political party programs aired by other stations such as Beehive Radio in Phnom Penh, it quickly withdrew the license of the remote Kratie station.

“Why should radio listeners in a distant rural area like Kratie not be allowed to listen to the same information and political opinions that people in urban areas like Phnom Penh and Siem Reap can?” asked Kek Galabru. “It seems the government wants to restrict freedom of information in the countryside.”

The apparent reason for singling out FM 105.25 for closure is that its radio license, issued by Khieu Kanharith on January 30, specified that the station staff must obtain Ministry of Information permission before selling air-time to anyone. The radio station’s management acknowledge that they did not do so.

“This requirement in the radio license was nothing short of censorship,” said Kek Galabru. “Radio stations should not have to seek Ministry of Information permission to broadcast the programs of political parties, NGOs or other organizations.”

LICADHO believes the experience of FM 105.25 is part of a wider pattern of tight control by the government over radio and television. “There are no independent television stations in the country, and only a few independent radio ones,” said Kek Galabru. “The government closely restricts who can get broadcasting licenses and then – like the case of FM 105.25 – it tries to dictate what they can and cannot broadcast.”

LICADHO urges the Ministry of Information to immediately reinstate FM 105.25’s license, and to remove the requirement that the station must seek permission before selling airtime to political parties or other organizations. Such an action would display government commitment to permitting freedom of expression on Cambodia’s radio airwaves, and to encouraging a free and fair environment for the July 27 national elections.

For more information about restrictions on radio and television in Cambodia, see the May 2008 LICADHO report ‘Reading Between the Lines: How Politics, Money & Fear Control Cambodia’s Media’, available at: http://www.licadho.org/reports.php?perm=119

For further comment, please contact:
Kek Galabru, LICADHO president, 012 940 645

2008 LICADHO Report: Media Plagued By Fear And Corruption

May 2, 2008
LICADHO

Cambodia's media is often described as one of the freest in the region, but in reality journalists describe an environment in which the pursuit of truth is undermined by political bias, fear and corruption.

Most of Cambodia's media outlets are aligned to a political party and most favor the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP). Bribes are so commonplace they are not even considered corruption. Formal censorship exists and self-censorship is widespread through Cambodia's media.

A new survey shows that many Cambodian journalists have been attacked – physically or legally – and most feel vulnerable. Threats and fear have a direct influence on their work, and their reporting has a direct influence on the public's perception of their country, especially around election periods.

“Remaining criminal sanctions need to be eliminated including disinformation and misinformation to ensure an environment free of political pressures for media to cover sensitive and important issues affecting Cambodians” says Naly Pilorge, Director of LICADHO.

While some journalists are victims to this system and some are part of the problem, a significant number of Cambodian journalists wish the situation was different. They complain of low pay and pressure to conform to ingrained political biases. A surprising 85 percent of Cambodian journalists consider themselves to be "human rights defenders".

These are some of the findings of a new report from LICADHO, titled Reading Between the Lines: How Politics, Money and Fear Control Cambodia's Media published in celebration of World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2008.

“There is still hope as most journalists have expressed the desire to be able to perform their work in an ethical, impartial and professional manner”, says LICADHO’s President Kek Galabru.

This 72-page baseline report looks at Cambodia's media from a human rights perspective. The report gives an overview of the media environment, as well as covering issues such as media ownership, political bias, access to information, censorship, attacks and threats to media.

The report includes the results of a survey of 141 Cambodian journalists across the country – one of the most comprehensive media survey ever undertaken - as well as insights from key media stakeholders.

For more information, contact:
Dr. Kek Galabru, President of LICADHO at 012 940 645