UN Chief Appeals For More Khmer Rouge Trials [in opposition to Hun Xen]

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, center, smiles while greeting foreign diplomats upon his arrival at the Cambodian Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. Ban is expected to hold a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during his official visit to Cambodia as part of his four-country Asian tour. (Photo: Associated Press)

October 28, 2010
The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

Human Rights Watch's Asia deputy director, Phil Robertson, said the warning "appears to be part of Hun Sen's master plan to ensure total impunity for himself and consolidate authoritarian power."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made an emotional appeal Thursday for Cambodia to send a message to the world that the Khmer Rouge's crimes against humanity will not go unpunished.

Ban's comments came after a tour of the Khmer Rouge's main prison and torture center during a visit to Cambodia that has been marked by heated words from the Cambodian leader.

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday ordered Ban to shut down the U.N. human rights office in Cambodia and to remove the current envoy. Ban has given no response to that.

Hun Sen also told Ban that Cambodia will not allow the U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal to expand the scope of its trials to include former low-ranking officers of the regime.

"Thirty years have passed. Yet here, in this tragic place, we still hear the echoes. The cries of human misery. The agony," Ban said at the infamous S-21 prison. "I will never forget my visit here today. In this place of horror, ladies and gentlemen, let the human spirit triumph. Words cannot do justice. But we can."

The 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime was blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million people from starvation, disease, overwork and execution.

The tribunal closed its first case in July when it convicted the regime's chief jailer and head of S-21, Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

As many as 16,000 people were tortured at S-21 before being executed. The prison is now a genocide museum.

A second trial is expected to start next year against the four top surviving Khmer Rouge leaders.

Hun Sen has said the trials will stop there, despite U.N. wishes to bring lower-ranking officers to justice for murder, torture and other crimes. The U.N. says progress has been blocked by political interference from Cambodian officials who oppose more prosecutions.

"We know it is difficult to relive this terrible chapter in your history," Ban said. "But I want you to know, your courage sends a powerful message to the world — that there can be no impunity. That crimes of humanity shall not go unpunished."

The Cambodian leader, who relishes his reputation as a strongman and has ruled for 25 years, has also had a long, contentious debate with the U.N. about the scope of the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

Critics accuse Hun Sen of trying to limit the tribunal's scope to prevent his political allies from being indicted. Hun Sen once served as a Khmer Rouge officer and many of his main allies are also former members of the group.

Hun Sen also objects to the presence of U.N. human rights envoys, who tend to criticize the government's human rights abuses.

"The office for U.N. human rights in Cambodia has to be shut down," government spokesman Khieu Kanharith quoted Hun Sen as telling Ban during a two-hour meeting Wednesday.

Hun Sen accused the U.N. rights envoy, Christophe Peschoux, of "not working on human rights issues with the government but working as a spokesman for the opposition," Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters.

Human Rights Watch's Asia deputy director, Phil Robertson, said the warning "appears to be part of Hun Sen's master plan to ensure total impunity for himself and consolidate authoritarian power."

Handbooks on "restricted" demonstation rights?

Government To Issue Demonstration Handbooks

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
29 March 2010

The government on Monday announced the launch of public handbooks outlining the rights of demonstrators under a new law passed late last year.

The handbook, which was sponsored by USAID, seeks to prevent legal conflict for protesters following the December 2009 passage of a controversial demonstration law.

Demonstrations in Cambodia sometimes lead to injuries among participants, who clash with armed security forces over issues such as land rights and labor conditions.

Some 200 officials, including provincial leaders, police and military police, as well as non-governmental organizations, took part in the announcement Monday.

Critics say the demonstration law, which restricts non-sanctioned gatherings to under 200 people, is too strict and reduces basic constitutional freedoms and that it does not clarify what issues relate to “national security, public order, health and public morality,” key provisions in the law.

However, officials said Monday that in exercising their rights, people must stay within the law.

“If there are 200 demonstrators, the demonstration leader must inform the local authorities, but doesn’t have to wait for a response,” Interior Minister Sar Kheng told participants Monday. “If there are more than 200 demonstrators, the demonstration leader should inform the authorities of the road of the march and the time of the march.”

This is to ensure security officials can keep public safety, he said.

“We are not banning freedom of expression,” he said. “We are promoting democracy and respect the freedom of expression by the people. If the demonstration has 50,000 to 100,000 people without informing the local authorities and the government, Cambodia may not advance to that point yet.”

Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association, said Sar Kheng’s comments did not reflect the letter of the law. “I think continued discussion is meaningless,” he said.

Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said the law must be explained to authorities because points on public order and security are unclear.

“If the authorities are strict in implementing the demonstration law, the demonstration and demonstration leaders will suffer from this law,” Chan Saveth, an investigator for the rights group Adhoc, said. “We are very worried for the restriction of the freedom of expression.”

An old Sacravatoons: One Party

..........Cambodia is beginning to look more and more like its neighbors, which are mostly one-party states. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the country's nascent multi-party democracy was riven by intimidation and violence, but there was space for competing ideas and parties to have a voice. Today, the main opposition party finds itself repeatedly muzzled. As China's influence in Southeast Asia continues to expand, this pattern may only grow stronger.

Mr. Brady is a free-lance journalist based in Southeast Asia.

Cartoonist Sacrava's old cartoon published on 23 June 2004

Nothing changes with the authoritarian regimes in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma

Saturday, January 23, 2010
By Scott Johnson
Canada Free Press

Nothing changes in Vietnam. Nor in Laos, Cambodia or Burma. These authoritarian regimes continues to do anything to repress its people in order in maintain a corrupt and brutal regime.

And can you beleive that hundreds of Montagnards remain in Vietnam’s prisons and the US State Department doesn't want to include these people as prisoners of concern?? (ie: not enough evidence of religious persecution)

Just an appalling act of abandonment.

Regards
Scott
Human Rights Watch
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Vietnam: Repression Intensifies Prior to Party Congress

"With its treatment of peaceful critics, the Vietnamese government seems determined to stand out as one of the most repressive countries in Asia. We’d be thrilled if the Vietnamese government proved us wrong, but there are no signs that it will reverse its increasingly harsh crackdown on dissent." - Brad Adams, Asia director

Rights Defenders, Democracy Activists Targeted

January 21, 2010
Source: Human Rights Watch

(New York) - This week’s convictions and heavy sentences for four Vietnamese democracy activists, including the prominent human rights lawyer Le Cong Dinh, highlighted the climate of increasingly harsh political repression in Vietnam, Human Rights Watch said today after the release of its World Report 2010.

The 612-page World Report 2010, the organization’s 20th annual review of human rights practices around the globe, summarizes major human rights trends in more than 90 nations and territories worldwide. In Vietnam, the report says, the government arrested and imprisoned dozens of democracy activists linked to opposition parties, independent bloggers, land rights protesters, and members of unsanctioned religious organizations during 2009.

“With its treatment of peaceful critics, the Vietnamese government seems determined to stand out as one of the most repressive countries in Asia,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “We’d be thrilled if the Vietnamese government proved us wrong, but there are no signs that it will reverse its increasingly harsh crackdown on dissent.”

In the lead-up to a key Vietnamese Communist Party congress in 2011, Human Rights Watch is concerned that the Vietnamese government will intensify its campaign to silence government critics and curb social unrest in an effort to quell any potential challenges to its one-party rule.
Away from the public spotlight, in 2009, the police cracked down on farmers protesting land grabs in the Mekong Delta, on Catholic parishioners in central and northern Vietnam opposing government confiscation of church properties, and on Montagnard activists in the Central Highlands resisting government control of their churches.

The four activists just sentenced to prison - Le Cong Dinh, Nguyen Tien Trung, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, and Le Thang Long - were tried in Ho Chi Minh City on January 20 and 21 and received prison sentences ranging from five to 16 years. They were arrested during May and July for alleged links with the banned Democratic Party of Vietnam. They were accused of “colluding” with Vietnamese activists based abroad to create anti-government websites, post critical articles on the Internet, and incite social instability, and charged with attempting to overthrow the government under article 79 of Vietnam’s penal code. A fifth defendant, Tran Anh Kim, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison under article 79 on December 28.

On January 14 and 15, the Gia Lai provincial court sentenced two Montagnard Christians to prison, for nine and 12 years respectively, allegedly for organizing a “reactionary underground” network in violation of the country’s unity policy.

“Rights-respecting governments should speak up to protect peaceful activists and rights defenders in Vietnam and insist that the government abide by its international commitments,” Adams said. “Donors have been far too quiet about rights in recent years, but Vietnamese activists say that they will never succeed without consistent support from influential governments.”


Vietnamese courts sentenced at least 20 government critics and independent church activists to prison during 2009 on vaguely worded national security charges, according to the World Report. These include nine dissidents from Hanoi and Haiphong convicted in October for disseminating anti-government propaganda under penal code article 88. Their sentences are expected to be upheld in hearings before Vietnam’s Supreme Court this week even though the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention determined last year that five of the defendants had been detained arbitrarily.

Hundreds of other peaceful political and religious activists are serving long prison sentences in Vietnam. Religious freedom deteriorated during 2009, Human Rights Watch said. The government targeted religious leaders and their followers who advocated civil rights, religious freedom, and equitable resolution of land disputes.

There were also clashes between police and thousands of Catholic parishioners in Quang Binh protesting government confiscation of church properties, and government-orchestrated mobs violently dispersed followers of Thich Nhat Hanh, a renowned Buddhist monk who has advocated more religious freedom.

In the Central Highlands, authorities continued to arrest Montagnard Christians suspected of belonging to unregistered house churches considered subversive by the government, or of planning land rights protests or conveying information about rights abuses to activists abroad. On several occasions the police beat and shocked Montagnards with electric batons when they refused to sign pledges to join government-sanctioned churches.

During the review of Vietnam’s rights record by the UN Human Rights Commission in May, Vietnam defiantly rejected recommendations by UN member states to allow groups and individuals to promote human rights, express their opinions, and express public dissent. The government also refused to issue invitations to visit Vietnam to UN rights experts covering freedom of religion, expression, torture, and violence against women.

Vietnam’s antipathy toward free expression and other fundamental rights does not bode well for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which Vietnam now chairs, Human Rights Watch said. Vietnam has signed the ASEAN Charter, a legally binding agreement that commits member states to “strengthen democracy, enhance good governance, and protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

“By locking up peaceful rights defenders, democracy activists, and cyber-dissidents, the Vietnamese government is clearly flouting its promises to ASEAN and the international community,” Adams said.

Cambodia’s opposition leader denounces the authoritarian drift of Hun Sen’s regime

Sam Rainsy deplores the authoritarianism of Cambodia's prime minister who is in power for the past two decades (Photo: AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)

15 December 2009
By Jacques Follorou
Le Monde (Paris, France)
Translated from French by Tola Ek

L'article en français se trouve en fin du texte anglais.

“For now, I am an alibi for democracy to Hun Sen, my country’s prime minister, however I think that he will kill me before he quits power.” Opposition leader Sam Rainsy already escaped two assassination attempts: in 1997 and 1998. “To Hun Sen, I am a guarantor to the foreigners that he respects freedom, but in reality, his regime never ceased to harden up.”

Currently in Paris, where he once lived, Sam Rainsy uses his quick wit and his oral gift to describe the development of the Cambodian society. Symbolizing an elite in exile before returning back home to take on political position, he looks ten years younger than his actual 60-year-old age. A former Finance minister between 1993 and 1994 in the coalition government, he embodies an alternative to the old decaying Hun Sen regime. The latter is in fact one of the oldest leaders in the world who still in power, and he is also the leader of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) which advocates a Vietnamese-inspired model of market economy.

In November, the political hardening of Cambodia was translated into a crisis with Thailand, its neighbor. Diplomatic relations were cut off between the two countries after Hun Sen decided to offer asylum to Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai prime minister who was sentenced in his country to two years in prison for embezzlements. Cooperation agreements between the two countries were suspended following Thaksin’s nomination as personal advisor to the Cambodian prime minister.

“Hun Sen is pouring oil on fire with Thailand to weaken it within ASEAN, but also to hide the strengthening of his relationships with Vietnam, his other neighbor,” Sam Rainsy said.

Unexpected resistance

However, as head of the Cambodian opposition – the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) –that counts 26 MPs and 7 senators, “the worst” is inside of the country itself. According to Sam Rainsy, “Hun Sen is held by his throat.” He recently reduced salaries for police officers, soldiers and civil servants and he is also initiating property tax, as well as taxes on motorcycles, the most popular transportation means in Cambodia. “Yet, he promised never to touch lands or popular transportation means.”

According to Cambodia’s opposition, public freedom is also seriously threatened. “The novelty is that he is now attacking militants at the base, not just the leaders only. Public meetings without authorization and demonstrations are prohibited, this regime holds itself up only through fear,” Mr. Sam Rainsy indicated.

The traditional political equilibrium which was assured by the weight of the royalist is no longer working. “Before, the royalists were the alternative to communism, but, since 1995, they only act as a guarantor and they allowed Hun Sen to remain in power.”

Likewise, according to Sam Rainsy, Hun Sen’s virulent attacks against the international tribunal currently trying the former Khmer Rouge leaders in Phnom Penh reveal “the regime’s true nature.” “He (Hun Sen) criticizes new charges brought up by the special tribunal because he is afraid to reveal openly the stranglehold of the former mid-level Khmer Rouge cadres who are now the main actors of the current regime.”

Nevertheless, according to the Cambodian opposition leader, “the authoritarian drift” of the regime would be blocked by unexpected resistance. The increasing use of mobile phones in the country contributes to the advancement of plurality during election campaigns and also to the distribution of alternative information to the regime’s media propaganda. The opening up of competition in some market segments, such as telecommunication, would loosen up the country’s stranglehold. “When a dictatorship wants modernity, it must accept a dose of freedom,” Mr. Rainsy indicated.
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Le chef de l'opposition cambodgienne dénonce la dérive autoritaire du régime de Hun Sen

15.12.09
Jacques Follorou LE MONDE

"Pour l'instant, je suis l'alibi démocratique de Hun Sen, premier ministre de mon pays, mais je pense qu'il me tuera avant de quitter le pouvoir." Le chef de l'opposition cambodgienne, Sam Rainsy, a déjà échappé, en 1997 et 1998, à deux tentatives d'assassinat. "Pour Hun Sen, je suis une caution pour les étrangers attestant qu'il respecte les libertés, mais en réalité, ce régime ne cesse de se durcir."

De passage à Paris, où il a vécu dans le passé, il use d'un esprit vif et d'un certain don de la formule pour décrire l'évolution de la société cambodgienne. Symbole de cette élite exilée avant de revenir au pays exercer des fonctions politiques, il fait dix ans de moins que ses 60 ans. Ex-ministre des finances entre 1993 et 1994 dans un gouvernement de coalition, il entend incarner une alternative au régime vieillissant de Hun Sen. Ce dernier est l'un des plus anciens dirigeants au pouvoir au monde et leader du Parti du peuple cambodgien (PPC), qui prône un modèle communiste d'inspiration vietnamienne tourné vers l'économie de marché.

Le raidissement de la politique du Cambodge s'est traduit, en novembre, par la crise déclenchée avec son voisin, la Thaïlande. Les relations diplomatiques ont été rompues entre les deux Etats après qu'Hun Sen a décidé d'offrir l'asile à l'ex-premier ministre thaïlandais, Thaksin Shinawatra, condamné dans son pays à deux ans de prison pour malversations financières. Les accords de coopération ont été suspendus après la nomination de Thaksin comme conseiller personnel du premier ministre cambodgien.

"Hun Sen jette de l'huile sur le feu avec la Thaïlande pour l'affaiblir au sein de l'ASEAN (l'Association des nations de l'Asie du Sud-Est), mais aussi pour masquer le renforcement de ses relations avec le Vietnam, son autre voisin", estime Sam Rainsy.
Résistances inattendues

Mais, selon le chef de l'opposition cambodgienne, dont la formation politique, le Parti de Sam Rainsy (PSR) compte vingt-six députés et sept sénateurs, "le plus grave" se trouve à l'intérieur du pays. "Hun Sen est pris à la gorge", selon M. Rainsy. Il vient de réduire les salaires des policiers, des militaires et des fonctionnaires, et il a instauré un impôt foncier ainsi qu'une taxe sur les motos, moyen de locomotion très répandu au Cambodge. "Il avait pourtant promis de ne jamais toucher à la terre ou aux transports populaires."

Les libertés publiques, d'après les opposants cambodgiens, seraient également menacées. "La nouveauté, c'est qu'il s'attaque désormais aux militants de base et pas seulement aux chefs, les réunions publiques sans autorisation et les manifestations ont été interdites, ce régime se maintient par la peur", assure M. Rainsy.

L'équilibre politique traditionnel assuré par le poids des royalistes ne fonctionnerait plus. "Avant, les royalistes étaient l'alternative au communisme, mais depuis 1995, ils ne sont qu'une caution et ont permis à Hun Sen de se maintenir au pouvoir."

De même, les prises de position virulentes de Hun Sen contre le tribunal international jugeant actuellement, à Phnom Penh, d'ex-chefs khmers rouges dévoileraient, selon Sam Rainsy, "la vraie nature du régime". "Il critique les nouvelles poursuites engagées par le tribunal spécial, car il craint que n'apparaisse au grand jour l'emprise des ex-cadres intermédiaires khmers rouges jouant aujourd'hui un rôle de premier plan dans le régime".

Néanmoins, à en croire le chef de l'opposition cambodgienne, "la dérive autoritaire" du régime s'opposerait à des résistances inattendues. La multiplication des téléphones portables dans le pays contribuerait à faire avancer la pluralité dans les campagnes et à diffuser une information alternative à celle donnée par des médias tenus par le régime. L'ouverture à la concurrence de certains marchés, comme les télécommunications, desserrerait l'étau imposé sur le pays. "Quand une dictature veut la modernité, elle doit accepter une certaine dose de liberté", estime M. Rainsy.

Human rights should top Obama-ASEAN summit: HRW

Human rights abuse in Cambodia (Photo: John Vink/Magnum)

11/13/2009
Agence France-Presse

Human Rights Watch demanded Obama also "openly challenge Prime Minister Hun Sen's increasingly authoritarian practices" in Cambodia

Barack Obama must address "rampant" rights abuses in Myanmar and across Southeast Asia during the first summit between a US president and regional leaders this weekend, campaigners said Friday.

Barack Obama must address "rampant" rights abuses in Myanmar and across Southeast Asia during the first summit between a US president and regional leaders this weekend, campaigners said Friday.

"Obama should use his first trip to Southeast Asia as president to put human rights on the ASEAN agenda," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"Burma (Myanmar) is the obvious place to start, but media repression and unpunished rights violations are rampant throughout the region," she said in a statement.

Obama is due to hold an unprecedented meeting on Sunday with the 10 ASEAN leaders including the prime minister of military-ruled Myanmar, Thein Sein, following an Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore.

The US administration is pursuing a new approach of engagement with the isolated state, while vowing to keep sanctions in place until Myanmar makes significant strides towards democracy.

"ASEAN leaders have long sent mixed messages on Burma, so Obama should encourage them to unite in a strong statement of support for real democratic reforms," Pearson said.

"All ASEAN countries should oppose repression in Burma and adopt basic refugee protections to promote the rights of the Burmese people."

Human Rights Watch demanded Obama also "openly challenge Prime Minister Hun Sen's increasingly authoritarian practices" in Cambodia, and demand that Vietnam release "hundreds of peaceful government critics".

"A major problem is the widespread use of legal systems in Southeast Asia to silence peaceful government critics, journalists, and human rights defenders, in violation of international law," the group said.

Pearson added that a new ASEAN commission on human rights, which activists have condemned as toothless, "should have the power to protect people from abuses, not just pay lip service to human rights".

From Singapore, Obama will head for a state visit to China. On Thursday, Human Rights Watch said it was "seriously disappointed with the administration's efforts to date on human rights in China".

The US preaches "democratic and just government" in Cambodia ... but goes on to support Hun Sen's authoritarian regime: Go figure that out!

Chargè d’affaires Piper Campbell delivers remarks at an Asia Foundation sponsored event.

Chargè d’affaires Piper Campbell addresses the future of Cambodian/U.S. relations with the Asia Foundation

Le Royal hotel
January 12, 2009
Source: US Embassy in Phnom Penh

On the 12th of January at an Asia Foundation sponsored event entitled “America’s Role in Asia” the Chargè d’affaires spoke to a packed house at the Le Royal hotel in Phnom Penh on the many ways the U.S. is engaged with the Royal Government of Cambodia. In her remarks she noted that while we are welcoming a new President, Secretary of State and U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, both the level of our engagement and the general direction of our efforts are not likely to change. She hypothesized that this was mainly due to the enormity of the issues that Cambodia faces such as poverty, weak rule of law and poor health – all of which require stable, long term solutions. She also listed the long term goals that the U.S. has which are “to see a country which is domestically stable and able to secure its borders; where government is democratic and just; where the government joins coordinated donors investing in the Cambodian people to improve health and education standards; and where a healthy economy raises more people out of poverty and provides an opportunity for business”. The Chargè concluded by concurring with the Foundation’s hope that the new US administration accords Asia the attention that its intrinsic importance to the US demands.

RIGHTS-CAMBODIA: New Laws May Curb NGO Activity

By Andrew Nette

PHNOM PENH, Dec 15 (IPS) - Cambodia could be the latest Asian country to adopt tighter laws governing the activities of local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) -- a move many believe will put further pressure on the country’s already fragile democratic space.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen foreshadowed the move after the July national election in which his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) was returned with a significantly increased majority.

In a five-hour speech late September, Hun Sen said the law was necessary to track the funding sources of NGOs, as "he feared terrorists might settle in the kingdom under the guise of NGOs".

The Prime Minister, who has had a fractious relationship with some local and international NGOs, also said: "NGOs are out of control...they insult the government just to ensure their financial survival."

He said the law is one of three priority pieces of legislation for the government’s current five-year term, along with a new penal code and a much-anticipated anti-corruption law delayed since the 1990s.

Officials from the interior ministry, which has carriage for the law, have claimed it will address ‘serious irregularities’ such as NGOs setting up to exploit tax loopholes and their involvement in party politics, although no concrete evidence has been provided to support either claim.

Debate over the proposed law is muted due to the fact its content remains unknown.

Little information has been made public, unlike the government’s previous attempts to introduce laws governing NGOs, when drafts were either released for comment or leaked to the media.

And although interior ministry officials have committed to public consultation, they have not said when the proposed legislation will be made available.

Secretary of State of the interior ministry, Nut Saan, and Under Secretary of State, Sieng Lapresse, both declined to be interviewed by IPS on the proposed legislation.

The Cambodian government last attempted to introduce a law regulating NGO activities in 2005.

That law banned NGOs and local organisations from supporting ‘activities for any political interests’ and providing ‘non-material, material financial means, and human resources in support of any political party’, but did not define what either meant.

It contained more comprehensive registration and reporting procedures, and sanctions for failure to comply, including fines, jail sentences and suspension.

Critics of the 2005 law were also concerned the interior ministry, a body they claim is not neutral, would have final say over the process of NGO registration and suspension.

"At this moment in time no," said Borithy Lun, executive director of Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC), the country’s main NGO umbrella body, about whether the law is needed.

"Any NGO operating in Cambodia is already registered with the Ministry of Interior if it is a local one and with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if it is foreign. That is sufficient for the government in terms of knowing what they do and who they are."

"Here, with the weak judiciary and lawlessness that we have, we don’t see any benefit from an NGO law," said Naly Pilorge, director of the prominent local human rights organisation Licadho.

Further, NGOs say they are accountable to international donors who audit and evaluate their work and insist on regular reporting.

"All NGOs operating in Cambodia also report regularly to line ministries they work with or directly to the Council of Development for Cambodia," said Borithy.

CCC administers a self-regulating code of conduct, which he said is recognised internationally as best practice.

In operation since 2004, Borithy would not comment on how many of CCC’s several hundred members had signed on, but stressed it set high reporting and governance benchmarks which not all local NGOs had the capacity to implement at this time.

"If there is a need to have such a law we need it to be designed in a framework of open dialogue so that we can express our views on this important piece of legislation because this will surely impact on our work and those views should be legitimately reflected in the law," he said.

‘We agree that terrorism is an important issue," said Thun Saray, president of local rights group, ADHOC. "But the government should deal with it by other laws, not through an NGO law."

"They don’t care about financial management or governance structure what they want to do is control the voice of NGOs," he said, echoing the opinion of many in the sector.

Many believe the law will squeeze democratic space in Cambodia, a trend some say is already underway post the July election, which left the opposition weakened and the ruling CPP in control of both houses of parliament.

"After the election it does appear that the space is narrowing," said one observer who declined to be named. "There is the expectation civil society should be a check and balance but this is under retreat."

Cambodia dropped 41 places on the 2008 Paris-based Reporters Without Borders press freedom index for 2008 compared to the previous year. This was based on factors such as murders, imprisonment and physical attacks on journalists, threats and censorship.

A recent Amnesty International report found there had been a pattern of increasing attacks on human rights workers and local community activists.

An October 2004 report on the status of human rights defenders by the special representative of the UN Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani, highlighted a trend in governments using NGO laws to restrict human rights organisations and their staff. They did this using many of the same mechanisms in the Cambodian government’s proposed 2005 law, including increased registration procedures, denial of registration and suspension.

"In the Cambodia context any NGO law -- regardless of its particular content -- poses a threat to the work of human rights defenders and other NGOs," stated a 2006 Licadho briefing paper on the issue.

The paper cited evidence that China, Thailand and Malaysia had all used registration requirements to restrict the activities of organisations critical of the government.

Similar legislation planned in Nepal and Bangladesh was withdrawn due to donor and NGO opposition.

"While human rights defenders are most at risk because of their role in continually criticising government actions, the objectives of all NGOs and development agents -- both foreign and domestic -- can be compromised."

"People need to step back and look at the big picture," said Pilorge. "It is not necessarily only going to affect certain NGOs. It could affect them all."

There are further concerns the law could have a chilling effect on Cambodia’s much larger informal community sector.

"Much of the work to reach out to communities depends on networks and community associations," said Borithy.

"It would be difficult for them to comply with the law when and if it comes into force. There is the possibility that the reach to the beneficiary will be much harder."

The NGO law is part of a broader attempt by the Cambodian government to reconstitute its relationship with the Western aid community.

Private investment is increasing and a looming resource boom in oil, gas and minerals could see millions flowing to into state coffers.

China is now one of Cambodia’s most important aid donors. At the annual donor conference in December, China pledged 257 US dollars million in aid, up from 91.5 million dollars last year, out of a total of nearly one billion pledged at the meeting.

As Prime Minister Hun Sen misses no chance to point out, Chinese aid comes with none of the good governance and other conditionalities imposed by Western donors.

All these developments have given Cambodian greater power to negotiate the terms of future aid flows and make traditional donors nervous about being marginalised.

In a departure from previous attempts to introduce new laws governing NGOs and associations, sources say a number of donors are believed to support the law and could be willing to provide technical assistance to help draft it.

"So far we have not received a concrete request for support, but we have indicated to the government that we would be very willing to consider lending support if it is required, in close cooperation with other development partners on this issue," Rafael Dochao Moreno, head of the EU mission in Phnom Penh told IPS.

"Whether or not Cambodia should have an NGO law is up to Cambodia to decide. In principle we have no objection against the extension of the legal framework ... The content of the law is of course of vital importance."

Unrest a blow to democracy

Lawless protests that shuttered Thailand's airports caused massive economic damage, with police unable or unwilling to uproot them. (PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Dec 14, 2008
AFP

"Although Cambodia saw another round of successful elections in July, Prime Minister Hun Sen has largely cemented his 23-year iron-fist rule by intimidating and undercutting his rivals."

BANGKOK - LAWLESS protests that shuttered Thailand's airports will be seen by authoritarian regimes in an increasingly undemocratic Southeast Asia as a vindication of their own iron rule, analysts say.

For eight days, protesters determined to bring down a democratically-elected government blockaded Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi international airport causing massive economic damage, with police unable or unwilling to uproot them.

They only agreed to leave when a court dissolved the ruling party and forced the Thai prime minister from office in early December, leaving the kingdom scrambling to put together a new coalition government.

'There may be some people who are saying 'if this is what democracy leads to, then maybe we're better off without it',' said Mr John Virgoe, Southeast Asia director for global think-tank International Crisis Group.

Thailand's reputation as a beacon for democracy in the region was already tarnished after the army removed twice-elected prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a coup in September 2006 following massive street protests.

Elections in December 2007 notionally returned the kingdom to democracy, but two prime ministers aligned to Thaksin have been removed by court decisions which critics have labelled 'disguised coups'.

Mr Virgoe said that Indonesia's democracy was flourishing with elections due next year, but said there were few other shining lights in the region.

'Indonesia aside, it is hard to point to anything by way of democracy in Southeast Asia that you could feel particularly encouraged about,' he said.

'The Philippines is in a perpetual crisis and now Thailand, which always was the bell-wether for democracy in Southeast Asia, has allowed three prime ministers to get kicked aside by court action and action on the streets.'

Elsewhere in the region, Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962 and keeps pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi locked up.

The junta has promised elections in 2010, but pro-democracy groups say this is simply a ploy to legitimize their rule.

Although Cambodia saw another round of successful elections in July, Prime Minister Hun Sen has largely cemented his 23-year iron-fist rule by intimidating and undercutting his rivals.

Malaysia's own version of democracy has been sullied by suppression of the media, widespread corruption in politics and business, election-rigging and a lack of faith in the police and judiciary.

The departure in 2003 of premier Mahathir Mohamad, who ruled for two decades, lifted the lid a little and allowed a measure more freedom, but his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi failed to make good on his promise of reform.

Vietnam and its smaller neighbour Laos have been ruled by communist governments since their 1975 victories over US-backed forces that ended the Vietnam War.

Both have introduced market reforms, but politically they remain authoritarian states with a tight grip on all political activity and the media.

Mr Carlyle Thayer, a Southeast Asia specialist and visiting fellow at the Australian National University, said Thailand's recent turmoil received heavy media coverage in Vietnam.

'It's a good example to the Vietnamese what happens if you do try to adopt democratic norms,' he said.

Thayer said Thailand's troubles also weakened its position in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which is in the process of adopting a common charter with a human rights bill.

Singapore, which has been dominated by one party since independence in 1965, 'would be absolutely shocked' by the Thai experience, he said.

'Even the opposition, I think, in Singapore would be shocked by that because of the violent aspect and the destruction to the economy,' Mr Thayer said.

Mr Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said Myanmar, Vietnam and even China would all be wary.

'They are very uneasy about this whole civil society movement and protests and the machinations and mechanics and dynamics of democratisation,' he said.

'Thailand will be used by the repressive regimes, less democratic regimes, as a justification for maintaining things the way they are.'

But Virgoe warns that although there may be short-term boons to authoritarian governments such as economic growth and relative stability, the long-term effects can be catastrophic.

'You can see from the history of a number of countries in Southeast Asia, that without democracy, social strains build up, problems build up, nepotism builds up and corruption builds up to the point that it can explode,' he said.

And the slide back from democracy does not bode well for Asean, which has tried to position itself as the European Union of Asia.

'I think the setbacks in Malaysia and Thailand are quiet but significant blows,' Mr Thitinan said.

Authoritarian Regime Won: Opposition

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
31 July 2008

After an apparent landslide victory for the ruling Cambodian People's Party, long-running Prime Minister Hun Sen will have another term in office, an "impact to national prestige," opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Wednesday.

"The CPP has held power for 29 or 30 years," he said, comparing it to authoritarian regimes around the world.

CPP lawmaker Chiem Yeap discounted the remarks, saying the election had the support of international observers and was smoother than elections past.

"How can [the government] be authoritarian, as we have the National Assembly, government, Senate, people as voters and other institutions," he said. "Our leaders need face too. We will not give hopelessness to people who voted for us.