Cambodia dismisses Human Rights Watch criticisms as 'lie' [-Tith Sothea should pull his head out from his boss' derriere sometime]

Tith Sothea in rare instance when his head is not buried in his boss' derriere (Photo: DAP)

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 25 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The Cambodian government on Tuesday dismissed as a "lie" a report by a U.S.-based human rights advocacy group that accused it of stepping up its repression of freedoms of expression, assembly and association last year.

Tith Sothea, spokesman of the Office of the Council of Ministers, slammed the accusations made in Human Rights Watch's annual report, calling it "inaccurate and a lie" and rejecting it as devoid of value.

He said the report ignored the Cambodian government's commitment to implement and strengthen the country's rule of law.

Human Rights Watch's report said the government in 2010 used the judiciary, new laws, and threats of arrest or legal action to restrict free speech, jail government critics, disperse workers and farmers peacefully protesting and silence opposition party members.

The report also said the government violated Cambodia's obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention by deporting to China some 20 Uighur asylum seekers at risk of torture and mistreatment there, which happened on the eve of a visit by senior Chinese officials that finalized a massive aid package to Cambodia.

It said journalists who criticize the government face biased legal action, imprisonment, and violence, while politically motivated court cases continue to target opposition members.

Hun Sen's gov't on AI accusation of illegal forced land eviction: Deny! Deny! Deny! [-Will Hor Nam Bora call for a regime change at AI also?]

2008-02-14

Cambodian government disputes human rights group's charges of illegal forced evictions

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Cambodia's government denied Thursday that it illegally evicts poor people from their land, accusing an international human rights group of concocting the allegation to get publicity.

London-based Amnesty International has tried «to manipulate facts, exaggerate the situation and invent reality in Cambodia» in making such allegations, the Cambodia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement called the allegations deplorable and accused Amnesty of trying «to make sound bites and grab headlines in the news without due regard for truth and reality in the country.

On Monday, Amnesty released a report titled «Rights Razed - Forced evictions in Cambodia» that examined cases of land and housing rights violations that have affected poor Cambodians in both rural and urban areas in recent years.

It said at least 150,000 Cambodians across the country now live at risk of being forcibly evicted due to land disputes, land-grabbing and commercial development projects.

Catherine Baber, director of the group's Asia-Pacific Program, accused the Cambodian authorities of failing to protect people's rights and being «instrumental in demolishing villages, setting homes ablaze and making poor people homeless without due process and at the behest of those who wield economic and political power.

The victims, Amnesty said, have been ejected from their homes and land with little or no advance notice, no access to adequate alternative housing and no recourse to justice.

The evictions are in «sharp contrast to the rhetoric of the government's pro-poor policies and in breach of international human rights laws and standards,» Amnesty said.

The Foreign Ministry said the government, in trying to establish public and social order, has to remove illegal occupants from state land.

The authorities have always given those evicted «advance notice with a spirit of great tolerance,» the ministry said, adding that «there is absolutely no unlawful and forcible evictions in Cambodia.