Cambodia builds small, distant Freedom Park, criticized as place 'where no one will be heard' [-The Freedom to Muffle Protesters' Voices Park?]

Thursday, August 26, 2010
By Sopheng Cheang (CP)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia is building a small park to accommodate demonstrators, but would-be protesters criticize the project as a means to throttle dissent by keeping them far from government offices.

Democracy Square is 70 per cent complete and should be finished by the end of September, said Sam Samuth, chief of Phnom Penh's Municipal garden bureau, on Thursday.

The 60-by-200 metre (200-by-650 foot) site is very close to the U.S. Embassy and Wat Phnom, a famous old Buddhist temple that historically marks the city's centre but is not near any major government offices, such as the seat of government and the National Assembly.

It is about a mile (1.6 kilometres) north of a park across from the old parliament building that has been the most popular venue for political and social protests, some of which authorities ended with force.

Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, who has been active in staging demonstrations, says the purpose of the site — also known as Freedom Park — is to muffle protesters' voices.

"I think the location of the Freedom Park is not the right place for demonstrators to show their concern. I — and other protesters — would not stage a demonstration at a place where no one will be heard," Rong Chhun said.

The park, built where the headquarters of the military police used to be, will have no special facilities except for eight public toilets.

The government of Prime Minister Hun Sen is democratically elected but tries to limit dissent, often through legal means such as lawsuits. Journalists, human rights activists, opposition lawmakers and other critics have been convicted or jailed for defaming Hun Sen and his allies.

In October 2009, Cambodia's parliament approved a bill banning demonstrations by more than 200 people. The law also requires protesters to seek official permission five days ahead of a planned rally.

During the debate, lawmakers from the country's main opposition party, the Sam Rainsy Party, described the law as a clear setback for Cambodia's democracy.

Cambodian women rally behind condemned opposition MP Mu Sochua

Photos taken by Philip Skoczkowski on June 2, the day of Mu Sochua's third hearing in Phnom Penh.


Mu Sochua (centre) heads to her third hearing. Photo by Philip Skoczkowski.

27/07/2010
The Observers

Mu Sochua, a female MP of Cambodia's opposition Sam Rainsy Party, faces jail for refusing to pay 4,000 dollars in fines and compensation on a conviction last year for allegedly defaming prime minister Hun Sen. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called the proceedings against her an example of the "alarming erosion" of Cambodia's free speech and judicial independence.

Victoria Petitjean works for a women's rights NGO in Phnom Penh. She tells us how a nationwide network of women rallied in Cambodia in support of Sochua. This account has not been edited by FRANCE 24.

"A network of women has been created to support Mu Sochua and her cause"

Mu Sochua is considered the most prominent woman MP in Cambodia's leading political opposition, the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP). A New York Times article on February 21 described Mu Sochua as "part of a new generation of women who are working their way into the political systems of countries across Asia and elsewhere, from local councils to national assemblies and cabinet positions."

For more than twenty-five years, Mu Sochua has been a leading human rights advocate, working forcefully to prioritize women's issues after years of unrest and tragedy. As Minister for Women's Affairs (1998-2004), she joined with local and international actors, working to stop human trafficking, child abuse, domestic violence, worker exploitation and corruption. During her six years in office, she authored the Domestic Violence Law that was finally passed in 2005. Today, she is also battling governmental abuse of power in her own case as the Cambodian Supreme Court - a tool of the party in power - upholds her criminal defamation conviction for accusing the Prime Minister of gender discrimination during a political meeting a year ago. Her case has been denounced nationally and internationally as a politically motivated prosecution that violates principles of the rule of law and freedom of expression. Nationally, she has found herself being supported by a newly growing movement of Cambodian women. In this, Mu Sochua herself has never changed her line, "Be loud, be fearless, be united".

In April 2009, during a political meeting in Kampot Province, Prime Minister Hun Sen called Mu Sochua "strong leg" (a "gangster/thug"). He then further insinuated that the MP had unbuttoned her blouse in front of an officer. Mu Sochua filed a complaint against Premier Hun Sen and sued him for defamation, not only in defence of her own right to dignity and non-discrimination but for that of all Cambodians, including most particularly women. However, her lawsuit was followed by Hun Sen's counter-lawsuit alleging that Mu Sochua had defamed him. In June 2009, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court dismissed Mu Sochua's suit for lack of evidence, and in August, found her guilty, ordering her to pay a total of 16.5 million riels (approximately $4000) in fines to the court and compensation to the premier for "psychological trauma". In October, the Court of Appeals upheld the Municipal Court's ruling. Yet, Mu Sochua did not abandon her stand and this, despite political pressures including on her own lawyer. Indeed, he resigned after enduring political and personal pressures from the accusing party.

On June 2, 2010, Mu Sochua, without a lawyer of her own choosing, was summoned to appear by the Supreme Court, for the third and final ruling. The hearing took place in front of a full audience of SRP members, local and international journalists, as well as human rights advocates and EU representatives and diplomats. During the trial, Mu Sochua maintained the line she has relentlessly taken: this case is driven by the principles of fair trial, freedom of speech and gender justice. Yet, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict from the previous rulings, declaring it could not accept Mu Sochua's defence. She was ordered to pay the fine by 4th July, or else would have to face a prison sentence. On 5th July, Mu Sochua, as required by law, was given a final ten days to pay the defamation fine.

In this time, since the Supreme Court's ruling on 2nd June to uphold her conviction, Mu Sochua and her supporters gathered forces, raising awareness about her case within national and international public authorities, civil society and the media. A petition was circulated and signed in Cambodia and around the world, and was presented earlier in June to the US President, Barack Obama. Further, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay made a public statement, expressing "'serious' concerns about legal proceedings against opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua"

In Cambodia itself, a network of women has been created to support MP Mu Sochua and her cause. This movement, including garment workers, sex workers, university students and teachers, sellers, NGO staff, public officials and farmers, has been organizing a group of citizens who refuse to see MP Mu Sochua unjustly imprisoned for exercising her right to free speech and promoting women's rights in Cambodia. The group has been collecting donations whilst also circulating a petition across the country. Close to 2000 signatures were collected in just a few days, $6000, and broad-ranging national and international media implicated (including Radio Free Asia and Voice of America). As Arun Reaksmey, the movement's spokesperson, declared at a press conference, "Allowing Mu Sochua to be imprisoned will not only take away one of Cambodia's most important political figures and human rights advocates, but will also symbolically undermine the voice of all Cambodian women."

The 15th July was the final deadline for her fine to be paid to the National Treasury. With a resolute passion, Mu Sochua tirelessly maintained her never-changing stand: in the name of human rights, she would not pay the fine. However, rather than sending her to jail, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court ordered the National Assembly, on Tuesday 20th July, to take approximately 4.2 million riel, or $1,000, from MP Mu Sochua's pay check for two months. Today, in the eyes of MP Mu Sochua and the newly created Cambodian women's movement, if this is the end of her trial, this does not terminate the fight for justice and women's rights. As she stated in an interview, she is supportive of the women's movement created behind her and her cause, and would now like to join and work together. The movement's representatives are organizing a roundtable discussion this week, at which MP Mu Sochua along representatives of various women's associations and networks, have been invited. As declared by the movement, "Showing solidarity among us women is our way of expressing our freedom of expression as well as our strong willingness and support, and thereby increase the protection of women's rights."

If there are many uncertainties and barriers still to be faced, it is at least certain that, today, the foundations for a strong women's movement are being set in Cambodia."

On-going violations of human rights and democracy in Cambodia

The Honorable Navanethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

May 14, 2010

Dear Honorable Ms. Pillay:

Please accept my thanks for the opportunity to bring to your attention issues relating to on-going violations of human rights and democracy in Cambodia.

Democracy in Cambodia continues to deteriorate. The country’s institutions are highly corrupted, and there is not a functioning system of checks-and-balances to prevent abuses. The erosion of civil liberties and systemic human rights violations are real and intensifying. Forced evictions and unethical land confiscations without proper compensation continue unabated. We cannot imagine the long term consequences for the people who were forced off their lands, or the futures of their children. We can only expect more of the same needless hardship and despair that we witness every day, even in the capital city.

Statistically, Cambodia has experienced rapid growth in GDP and a reduction in overall levels of poverty in the past decade, but these benefits have not legitimately been shared among citizens. Disparities in income and access to opportunities have increased, particularly in rural areas. Rural communities are heavily dependent on land and forest resources, and landlessness is a main cause of widespread poverty in rural Cambodia. Even so, the government prioritizes new 99-year leases with shadowy companies over granting legal land titles to the people who have occupied it for generations. Community members lose their land - the source of their livelihood and are struggling to find ways to provide for their families.

For example, Ly Yong Phat, a senator in the ruling political party, was recently awarded 20,616 acres for his Phnom Penh Sugar Company. Immediately adjacent, 24,710 acres were given to the Kampong Speu Sugar Company, which is registered in the name of the senator's wife. According to LICADHO (www.licadho-cambodia.org), a leading Cambodian Human Rights NGO, Senator Ly Yong Phat is also the beneficiary of 30,065 acres (to the Tonle Sugar Cane Company) as well as 26,996 acres (to the Cane and Sugar Valley Company).

The Land Law states that each concession must be below 24,710 acres for any individual owner of a company. While the land in the above cases is conceded to different companies, they are of course run and owned by the same person. Senator Ly Yong Phat is a powerful member of The Cambodian People’s Party, and retains close personal ties to premier Hun Sen. His companies have unconstitutionally used police and military armed forces to threaten protesters and villagers across the nation.

Instead of listening to communities’ concerns, government officials and company representatives accuse community members of being oppositionist, and accuse NGOs of inciting villagers to protest and cause unrest, discouraging investors and disrupting development.

Land and natural resources in Cambodia must be managed for the benefit of all Cambodians, in accordance with the national law and Cambodia’s commitments to international human rights treaties. The land and the ways of life of Cambodian communities should be protected by its government. The protection and fulfillment of human rights, including those enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic and Social Rights, are central to development and poverty reduction. Development is a people-centred process that encompasses economic and social well-being. It must benefit the population as a whole, and people must be involved in decision-making about their land and livelihoods. The participation of affected communities would improve the equitable use of and benefits from Cambodia’s land and natural resources, and would reduce the negative impact of land concessions.

We believe that the United Nations has a role to play in pressuring the Cambodian government to honor its commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We request that the UN remain aware of the erosion of civil liberties in Cambodia, and put the Cambodian government on notice that such abuses of power will not be tolerated by the international community. We are thankful for your concern about our issues of human rights and democracy in Cambodia. We hope that you and your colleagues will continue to play a vital role in channeling Cambodia towards becoming a thriving nation with strong independent institutions.

Respectfully Yours,

Ros Visal
Philadelphia, PA

Enclosure: LICADHO, Eviction and Land Grabbing Surges Across Cambodia

cc:

The Horable Kyung-wha Kang, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

The Honorable Ann Syauta, United Nations Human Rights Officer
United Nations Plaza
Room DC1-640
New York, NY 10017

The Honorable Brian E. Kidwell, U.S. Consul General
United States Mission To The United Nations
140 East 45th Street
New York, NY 10017

The Honorable Hillary R. Clinton
U.S. Secretary of State
State Department
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

TOM LANTOS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER:

The Honorable Frank R. Wolf, Co-Chairman, TLHRC
US Representative (Congress from Virginia)
241 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Jim Moran, High Commission, TLHRC
US Representative (Congress from Virginia)
2239 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable James P. McGovern, Co-Chairman, TLHRC
US Representative (Congress from Massachusetts)
438 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Niki Tsongas, High Commission, TLHRC
US Representative (Congress from Massachusetts)
1607 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Ed Royce, High Commission, TLHRC
US Representative (Congress from California)
2185 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Joseph Cao, High Commission, TLHRC
US Representative (Congress from Louisiana)
2113 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
--------------

Eviction and Land Grabbing Surges Across Cambodia

By Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
Published on April 2, 2010

The use of military police by government-affiliated companies and individuals to forcibly evict villagers featured prominently in land grabbing cases in first quarter of 2010, leaving over 2,500 families at risk of losing their homes or livelihood.

LICADHO received 23 complaints of land grabbing between January and March 2010, ten of which involved the violent eviction of individuals following the grant of economic land concessions by government ministers to relatives or elites, and their affiliated companies.

In 25 percent of the land grabbing cases, individuals and organizations accused of land grabbing have used sponsored military police units to threaten, intimidate and arrest land activists and community representatives involved in land disputes, and to prevent peaceful demonstrations by villagers.

The sheer volume of land granted by economic land concessions in the following three high profile cases highlights how the government-affiliated individuals and organizations are increasingly resorting to intimidation, violence and control of police and military units to grab land occupied by villagers.

Kompong Speu's Thpong District
2,000 hectares of land belonging to more than 300 villagers in 10 villages was confiscated on
23 September 2009 by Okhna Ly Yong Phat, a Senator from the ruling Cambodian People's Party, for use as a sugar plantation. Ly Yong Phat Company was granted 9,052 hectares of land by the government as an economic land concession, affecting families in the Thpong district's Omlaing commune.

The villagers were offered – and refused – a paltry sum $100 to $200 per hectare to abandon their farms and livelihoods. The villagers started to protest after they saw bulldozers and tractors clearing their farmlands in Omlaing commune, Thpong district.

On 17 March 2010, more than 30 soldiers from Royal Cambodian Armed Forces' 313 battalion were deployed on the concession area where a number of violations occurred. The battalion is one of the military units officially sponsored by the Senator Ly Yong Phat in a patronage system, whereby private companies can sponsor specific military units.

On 18 March 2010, some 500 villagers staged a protest to stop workers of the company from clearing the land but failed to do so. Villagers then torched two makeshift shelters owned by the company.

Community representative Khem Vuthy and commune council member You Tho were then summoned for questioning at Kompong Speu provincial court on 18 March 2010. On 24 March 2010 they were detained and charged with incitement, colluding to set the structures on fire, and colluding to incite violence. Two other men were also summoned for questioning over the incident, but went into hiding after Mr. You and Mr. Vuthy were arrested.

The two representatives appeared in court on 24 March 2010. The same day, more than 500 villagers drove for hours on farming trucks to Kompong Speu town, so that they could support their community representatives. Numerous eyewitnesses have claimed that the men were not present when the structures were burnt to the ground. Mixed police lined their path, and reported the group's progress to their superiors.

Early the next day, hundreds of other villagers headed to Kompong Speu town to also show support. At least three of them were beaten by police and seven others suffered minor injuries. Other villagers from the same group were prevented from reaching the town altogether, with police disabling the engine of one farmer's truck. This conduct by police intimidated the villagers and severely restricted their freedom of movement and assembly.

On 26 March 2010, more than 600 villagers gathered on National Road 4, blocking the road for almost two hours, and demanded the release of their two representatives, Khem Vuth and You Tho. This led to heavy traffic congestion and prompted the deputy provincial governor, court officials and provincial police commissioner to talk with villagers. After lengthy negotiations, the villagers agreed to move and discuss the matter at the provincial court.

On 29 March 2010 Mr. You and Mr. Vuthy were released on bail and placed under surveillance.

Kompong Thom's Kraya Commune
In 2007, an economic land concession of 8,100 hectares in Kraya commune, Santuk district, Kompong Thom province was granted by government to the Vietnamese Tan Bien-Kompong Thom Rubber Development Company, leaving 1,362 families under threat of forced eviction.

On 6 December 2009, military and local police surrounded the community and forced them to thumbprint documents stating families agree to relocate. The forces blocked anyone from entering the site (including families with houses in the disputed area).

This happened as a group of about 100 villagers, who had traveled to Phnom Penh to file a complaint with the Prime Minister, were forced into trucks and driven back to Santuk district. The villagers were forced to disembark in Sang Kreang pagoda and were prevented from returning to their homes in the disputed area.

On 6 March 2010, over 50 families went to meet with the land distribution committee appointed by the company to demand their farmland but the Company refused and advised the villagers that the committee had been cancelled. They then travelled to Banteay Roveang, Kraya commune, where they were blocked and surrounded by more than 20 policemen. One policeman shot at villagers, causing three people to be hospitalized at Kompong Cham provincial hospital with serious injuries.

Tan Bien-Kompong Thom Rubber Development Company has signed a contract to lease 8,100 hectares of land in Kompong Thom province for a rubber plantation and the building of a rubber latex plant. The contract will be valid for 70 years and is running under a cooperation program of the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments.

Kompong Speu's Aoral District
In early 2009, the Singaporean company H.L.H. Agriculture demarcated roughly 10,000 hectares of land within the Aoral Wildlife Sanctuary in Aoral district, Kompong Speu. The demarcated area surrounds five villages which form the core community of an indigenous group, the Suys, and overlaps with forestry communities and farming land of the indigenous group.

On 3 March 2009, the H.L.H Agriculture Company was authorized by the government to establish corn plantations on 9,985 hectares of land based in Sas village, Sangke Satob commune and Trapeang Chour commune, Oral district, Kompong Speu.

In early May 2009, Singaporean H.L.H Agriculture company started excavating the forest land used by 350 families of the Suy community from the five villages affected.

On 4 June 2009, over 400 Suys - mostly women - protested the clearing of their farming fields by the company to build irrigation canals, pushing the machinery and workers out of the area.

On 21 December 2009, over a hundred Suys mobilized once more to stop the renewed clearing of the community's farming land by the company that was attempting to construct a road. After a day of protest and night vigil, Aoral district deputy governor Moang Thy visited the area alongside the Trapeang Chour commune chief and asked for the company to move away.

Throughout January 2010, similar face-offs happened. Every time, a little more land was cleared and lost to the company.

The Suys people are only found in Cambodia. According to knowledgeable community elders, there are only 1,200 Suys left in Cambodia, and thus the world.

Most Suys reside in five neighbouring villages in Kompong Speu's Aoral district: Putrea village, Ta Nel village, Kao Doun Tei village, Traang village, and Chambak village. Encroachments on their land constitute a serious threat to their survival as a people.

LICADHO reiterates it call for the government to ensure that land disputes are peacefully and fairly resolved.

Cambodian-Americans petition to US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the lifting of Sam Rainsy's immunity

November 18, 2009

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State of the United States
U.S. Department of State
2201 C StreetNW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Madam Secretary:

On November 16, 2009 the Cambodian National Assembly hastily convened to remove the parliamentarian immunity of Mr. Sam Rainsy, an elected law maker and head of the only respectable opposition party, for defending rights of farmers losing their rice fields to border encroaching neighbor.

This undoubtedly paves the way for more drummed up charges against Mr. Sam Rainsy. In a way Cambodia is under attack by its own government through willful negligence in preserving its territorial integrity and by persecuting its own citizens for standing up to defend rights of the people.

Earlier this year we followed the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission testimonies by three respected public figures from Cambodia with much interest and we are appreciative of the United States Congress for giving attention to the sad chapter in Cambodia's fledgling democracy.

Despite candid testimonies on many abusive accounts to the highest institution, the Cambodian government continues to shamelessly persecute its own citizens. America is a great democracy that world under-privileged citizens such as Cambodia look up to for hope and leadership.

Please do not leave them behind to defend themselves without a voice. Please condemn the coward acts of the Cambodian government for turning on its own citizens.

Sincerely yours,

Cambodian-American Community in America

Remember Hun Sen? Mu Sochua does

Written by William T. Dowell
The Essential Edge (Geneva, Switzerland)

GENEVA--Mu Sochua, one of the more impressive speakers at "Courage to Lead," a gathering of more than 40 women involved in human rights last week, is not a woman to be taken lightly. After spending the last twenty years fighting against both human trafficking and general corruption in Cambodia, the deputy in Cambodia's leading opposition party has embroiled herself in a head-on clash with the country's perennial prime minister, Hun Sen. The spat now seems likely to land her in jail. At a superficial glance, the furor seems slightly silly. It began last spring when Mu Sochua protested against a Cambodian army officer using official government vehicles at public expense to campaign for Hun Sen's political party. A scuffle ensued and Mu Sochua's blouse accidentally ripped open. Hun Senwho likes to go by the rather ungainly honorific, "Samdach Akkak Moha Sena Padey Dekjo," referred to the incident in a speech, vulgarly dismissing Mu Sochua as a hustler, who liked to expose herself and had a propensity for grabbing at men. If the Samdach expected Mu Sochua to roll over, he was wrong. Mu Sochua promptly sued him for defamation in a Phnom Penh municipal court, demanding 500 Cambodian riels, or roughly 12 cents in damages along with an apology. Instead of apologizing, Hun Sen, promptly countersued and taunted Mu Sochua to appeal to the World Court if she thought it would do any good.

Not surprisingly Mu Sochua's case was thrown out of Phnom Penh's municipal court, while Hun Sen's countersuit stuck. Mu Sochua's parliamentary immunity was stripped away. An appeals court confirmed a lower court's verdict against her for libel, and the case is now headed for the Cambodia's Supreme Court, which Mu Sochua also expects to rule in favor of the "Samdach." The penalty for losing the suit is a fine of roughly $4,100, but Mu Sochua refuses to pay it, and insists that she will go to jail for six months instead.

It may all seem like much ado about not very much, but Mu Sochua insists that there is a lot more at stake. Hun Sen, who was propelled into his current position after Vietnam ousted Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in 1979, has held onto power ever since by making sure that his party hand picks Cambodia's 13,000 village chiefs. "This nation has to be built on the rule of law and not just one man," says Mu Sochua. "These people are afraid of democracy. The way they maintain control is by not allowing the people to elect their village chiefs. The Cambodian people live in fear of the village chiefs. At the same time the country has opened itself up to a market economy, which brings in a lot of money that is not managed well, which is why there is so much corruption."

Hun Sen, who at 57, shows no signs of planning on early retirement, has plenty of reason for wanting to take on Mu Sochua's party. In November, he had, Sam Rainsy, who leads the opposition, stripped of parliamentary immunity for the second time this year: the reason, Sam Rainsy had removed several posts marking out the border with Vietnam. Rainsy contends that the Vietnamese, who were responsible for Hun Sen's rise to power in Cambodia, have been engaged in a land grab for themselves based on questionable treaty arrangements.

Mu Sochua insists that her spat focuses on Hun Sen's vulgar use of language and the corruption of Cambodia's legal system. "What is at stake," she says, "is democracy. The space for democracy is narrowed by the power of the ruling party, and mainly by the power of Hun Sen, who has his hands in every institution, including the parliament and the courts. He didn't just insult me as a woman. He insulted the parliament as an institution. I am actually taking the justice system itself to court."

The story gets a bit more complicated since Mu Sochua received a 2005 leadership award from Vital Voices Global Parntership, a Washington DC-based foundation which grew out of the US government sponsored Vital Voices for Democracy Initiative, co-founded by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Madeleine Albright in 1997.

"This is also a challenge for the international community," Mu Sochua says. "They invest $1 billion a year in Cambodia, but they never fulfilled their responsibilities by making it a condition that the government fulfills its obligations towards the human rights of its own people." Hillary Clinton delivered a brief address via satellite at the end of the Geneva meeting, but it was not clear what her take as Secretary of State would be on Mu Sochua's case.

Even more potentially troublesome for Hun Sen is the fact that Mu Sochua, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology at San Francisco State, and a masters in Social Work at UC Berkely, is married to an American who runs a major project on decentralization for the United Nations in Cambodia. "My husband is completely separate from my political life," she explains. Her three children now live abroad, but both her husband and children are emotionally supportive. "I told my family that I am going to jail. Please don't talk me out of it. It has come to that point" Mom is going to jail," she says. "It gives me peace in heart." Whether it gives Hun Sen or his supporters peace of mind is another matter. More information on Mu Sochua is available at her website: http://musochua.org
----------
The 3-day conference, "Courage to Lead," was organized at the International Labor Organization last week by Allida Black, the director and editor of George Washington University's Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, and it was supported by Vital Voices Global Partnership, which works to promote the status of women and to encourage women to become leaders worldwide. The partnership grew out of the US government's Vital Voices Democracy Initiative, which was launched in 1997 by Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project seeks to carry on with the tradition of Mrs. Roosevelt, who was one of the early proponents of the idea that everyone should have access to basic human rights. Allida Black, who is something of a fireball herself, continues to carry the flame.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project is on line at: http://gwu.edu/~erpapers/
Vital Voices is online at: http://vitalvoices.org.

Two ‘Youth Leaders’ Arrive for US Visit [-The IRI could learn something about Cambodia from these two Cambodian youths as well?]

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
18 September 2009

“We saw the selection for a leader was made with an election open to the public, but the question is whether the election came from the people’s true will or not ... We also haven’t seen freedom of expression, and youth participation in politics is still limited. We want the government and organizations involved to develop, encourage and urge more improvement in this field.” - 21-year-old Yon Sophal

Two Cambodian youths who won a trip to the US from a television contest in Cambodia are meeting with US government officials and lawmakers.

In the contest, youth exhibit leadership skills, confidence and knowledge of democracy, in a program broadcast on CTN that is gaining in popularity.

This is the third sponsored trip conducted with support from the International Republican Institute and the Youth Council of Cambodia.

Yon Sophal, 21, a-third-year student at the University of Law and Economic Science in Phnom Penh, was one of the winners, in 2008.

In an interview with VOA Khmer in Washington, she said the most difficult of 10 subjects was community development; she had tried to convince villagers in Kandal province to rebuild a bumpy road.

“When I went down to persuade the community to participate with our activities, they always asked us whether the program would benefit them,” she said. “So we had to explain to them and lobby them to participate with our development program.”

Each contestant is required to undertake activities such as gathering signatures for a petition, public speaking, or community activism.

Yon Sophal said democracy so far in Cambodia can be slow, its processes unclear.

“We saw the selection for a leader was made with an election open to the public, but the question is whether the election came from the people’s true will or not,” she said. “We also haven’t seen freedom of expression, and youth participation in politics is still limited. We want the government and organizations involved to develop, encourage and urge more improvement in this field.”

Chhem Pe, 20, a fresh high school graduate from Siem Reap Province, was a winner in 2009.

“The most difficult episode of the contest was when I was trying to lobby people to provide blood in Phnom Penh to contribute their blood to the Cambodian national blood bank,” he said. “Some people did not like it. They said we were collecting blood to sell, not for donation.” They were nevertheless successful, he said.

Chhem Pe was also required to convince people in Svay Antor district, Prey Veng province, to fundraise for a small road, in an area where travelers often had difficulty during periods of flooding.

“Those countryside people have a lot of issues related to the health care services,” he said. “Normally, the health care services in the rural areas is not like in the city. The health care service there is not appropriate for them, so that makes them have serious problems.”

In a two-week trip, the two youths will meet officials and lawmakers and visit the Capitol, as well as museums and a professional baseball game. They will tour New York and visit the UN and the Asia Society.

John Willis, Cambodian country director for IRI, said that the youths will bring back good experiences to improve society.

“They are no longer a frog trapped in a well, who can only see the walls around him,” he said. “Winners come back to Cambodia having seen how a successful society works, and how its component parts fit together. They raise their expectations for their own country. They have met real role models for how they can improve their country themselves.”

Politicians lock horns at democracy event

Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

SRP president fires verbal attack as elites gather to discuss democratic progress.

OPPOSITION leader Sam Rainsy launched a series of sarcastic oral salvoes at the ruling Cambodian People’s Party on Tuesday, as Cambodia’s political elite gathered to mark the second annual International Day of Democracy and promote political tolerance in the Kingdom.

Diplomats, human rights activists and members of five political parties came together for a parliamentary seminar at the National Assembly, focusing on the challenges of democratic consolidation.

But in a speech at the beginning of the daylong event, the Sam Rainsy Party president questioned the depth of the government’s commitment to democratic principles.

“I would like to take this opportunity to praise the government and the ruling party for trying to construct a picture of democracy. The ruling party has succeeded in building a picture of democracy,” he said.

He said that the “picture” painted by the ruling CPP had deceived some observers into thinking that since Cambodia had an elected parliament, it was fully democratic, adding that the Assembly was no more than a “rubber stamp” for the policy of senior government officials.

“If it is just a rubber-stamp parliament, this is not a democracy,” he said.

Sam Rainsy also offered sarcastic praise to the government, congratulating it for moving on from assassinating its opponents to merely using the courts to jail and silence them.

“It is better than before. It is not killing. Before, when I led a demonstration in front of the Assembly, [people] were killed by grenades,” he said, referring to the 1997 grenade attack on a peaceful SRP protest outside the then-National Assembly building on Sothearos Boulevard.

“But now that they’ve stopped killing, they just sue [critics] in the court or strip our [parliamentary] immunity to imprison us or force us to pay fines.”

This year, SRP lawmakers Ho Vann and Mu Sochua were stripped of their legal immunity in connection with lawsuits filed against them by senior government officials.

“It is better than killing, I recognise,” Sam Rainsy added.

CPP officials speaking at the event dismissed Sam Rainsy’s barbed comments, defending the government’s democratic behaviour since the first UN-backed elections in 1993.

“If we speak about democracy, we speak about the full freedom of people to choose their representative leaders. Cambodia has enforced this policy since 1993,” said CPP lawmaker Chheang Vun.

He said that the CPP’s success in the 2008 national elections – in which it won 90 of the National Assembly’s 123 seats – showed that Cambodians had a “mature” understanding of politics and democracy.

“All this shows that the concerns of … opposition party leader Sam Rainsy are maybe not correct,” he said.

In his speech, Chheang Vun also appealed to both international and national organisations not to drag the issue of human rights into partisan politics and use it to attack the government.

Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, who attended the ceremony, said that the proceedings demonstrated a wide contrast in views and a positive step forward for freedom of expression and open debate.

“I think that when speaking of political tolerance today, we should take this chance to show tolerance, so that even if we debate each other, we can do so in a friendly manner,” he said, adding that politicians on both sides had made valid points during the seminar.

Obama's words ring true for Cambodians too

July 22, 2009
By Gaffar Peang-Meth
UPI Asia Online Guest Commentary

"The 18 signatory states to the Oct. 23, 1991 Final Act had declared “to commit themselves to promote and encourage respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cambodia.” But their commitment has fallen short."

Washington, DC, United States, — U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech to a special session of Ghana’s Parliament during his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa earlier this month could well have been addressed to Cambodia’s Parliament and the Cambodian people. “We must start with a simple premise that Africa’s future is up to Africans,” Obama said. Africa could be replaced with “Cambodia” and Africans with “Cambodians.”

Obama declared, “No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy; that is tyranny. And now is the time for it to end. With strong institutions and a strong will, I know that Africans can live their dreams whether in Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Congo, or in Ghana,” he said.

Referring to those who have stood up for democratic principles despite grave danger, he said, “Make no mistake. History is on the side of these brave Africans, and not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power.”

There is nothing new in stating that a nation’s future is up to its people. Leaders and politicians have said that throughout history. But Obama added, “With strong institutions and a strong will,” people can live their dreams. So can Cambodians.

Two weeks ago, I wrote in my column in this space that the 1991 Paris Peace Accords promised Cambodia a liberal democracy whose citizens could enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms. After being subjected to three years, eight months and 20 days of former Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot’s rule and the loss of an estimated 1.7 million lives, the Paris Peace Accords offered Cambodia and its citizens the best anyone could have wished for.

Yet, almost 18 years after the accords were signed, Cambodia is neither a liberal democracy nor do the people enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms.

The 18 signatory states to the Oct. 23, 1991 Final Act had declared “to commit themselves to promote and encourage respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cambodia.” But their commitment has fallen short.

Denial – a defense mechanism to escape from unpleasant reality or a painful truth – is not a monopoly of any group in particular but a general human behavior. But one who accuses others generally seeks to absolve himself from culpability for an unforeseen consequence.

As the signatory states to the peace accords and Cambodia’s faction leaders vowed commitment to liberal democracy in Cambodia and to human rights and fundamental freedoms for the Cambodian people, the unsuccessful attainment of the common goals is a collective failure.

A respected Western commentator said the “international community can assist in creating the opportunity for a more democratic system, but it cannot force the local politicians to behave in a democratic fashion.” True, the accords provided precisely that – the opportunity for a more democratic system.

“Cambodia will follow a system of liberal democracy,” stipulated the accords, which outlined in Cambodia’s Constitution provisions for the powers and limitations of each of the three branches of government – a system of separation of powers and checks and balances – and for conflict resolution through regular channels, among other things.

The architect of the European Union, Jean Monnet, said, “Nothing is possible with men; nothing is lasting without institutions.” And the great forefather of the American Constitution, James Madison, said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”

While Madison saw people as the primary control over government, he counseled the need for “auxiliary precautions” when framing a government “administered by men over men.”

Keeping in mind the warnings of Monnet and Madison, it is nevertheless true that men create, staff, and run admirable as well as corrupt institutions. Consequently, the man or woman at the helm of a political ship will carry sway over the course of the nation.

A leader of high integrity, high values, and strong democratic beliefs would steer Cambodia’s ship to a better shore than those who sell the nation’s natural resources for private gain; evict the weak and the underprivileged from their land to allow development by the wealthy and the powerful; sue and lift the immunity of lawmakers; and jail or run out of the country those whose words and opinions differ from theirs.

One Western commentator wondered if Cambodia ever had the social and cultural basis for democracy to succeed, and a Cambodian commentator spoke of the necessity to empower institutions to enable the country to follow a course of liberal democracy in which the peoples’ constitutional rights were secure.

Indeed, the Paris Peace Accords provide a good foundation for liberal democracy and for human rights and freedom of the Cambodian people. But the bottom line is that Cambodians need to strive toward these goals, and foreign donors need to insist on the application of the framework outlined in the Accords, with a consequence attached for non-compliance.

Man can learn, unlearn, and relearn. Encourage man to think freely, to innovate and not to shy away from risks; dare man to read, write and speak without fear; instill in man hope, which specialists define as “energy and ideas that drive people to change their circumstances,” to reach goals, to have motivation, and to seek improvement. This is the road to a better way for Cambodians.
--
(Dr. Gaffar Peang-Meth is retired from the University of Guam, where he taught political science for 13 years. He currently lives in the United States. He can be contacted at peangmeth@gmail.com. ©Copyright Gaffar Peang-Meth.)

Reality off the rails in Phnom Penh [-Phnom Penh is in complete denial]

Muzzled opposition in front of the National Assembly (Photo: SRP)

Jun 26, 2009
By Sam Campbell
Asia Times (Hong Kong)

PHNOM PENH - Science fiction author Philip K Dick once explained reality as "that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away". As sensible as this may sound, it is a definition unlikely to take hold in Cambodia, where recent events have shown the government's tendency to obstinately dismiss anything but the most convenient information.

The denials have come from the highest ranks of government to the lowest rungs of social entertainment and conscripted the judicial system to fend off criticism. Experts and economists say the government backlash risks driving away the vital foreign investment and international aid the country now desperately needs to keep the economy afloat.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have both predicted a 0.5% contraction in Cambodia's 2009 gross domestic product (GDP), while the independent Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) estimated an even sharper 3% drop. The government sees things differently and announced last month a beaming 6% GDP growth projection, down only slightly from its 7% projection in April.

That optimistic spin, economists and experts say, is totally out of whack with Cambodia's on-the-ground economic realities, as well as regional and global trends. The crucial garment industry, usually the country's main export engine, saw exports plummet 25% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009. The foreign revenue-generating tourism sector is equally troubled, with air arrivals in the first four months of 2009 down 16% over the same period last year.

The kingdom's rapid economic growth - GDP increases were measured in double digits for several years - seems to have made officials reluctant to concede that the downturn is having serious effects in Cambodia.

Indeed, Prime Minister Hun Sen's economic lieutenants have been slow to acknowledge the impact of the global crisis on Cambodia's until recently rising fortunes, opting instead to discredit or clamp down on critical news and assessments.

Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon said in early June that a US$6.6 million training program and a $1 million micro-loans program would be adequate to mitigate the 60,000 garment factory workers who recently lost their jobs - a claim greeted with skepticism from economic analysts. Keat Chhon did not respond to an Asia Times Online request for an interview about the programs.

Hun Sen has responded to downcast projections with a characteristic sharp tongue. When the EIU this year rated Cambodia among global countries at high risk of political instability due to the economic crisis, the strongman leader questioned the report's "political orientation" and said the experts that compiled it wore "glasses with prescriptions too strong for their eyes".

In an April 6 speech, the premier went further, claiming that the report was "a political attempt to stop the flow of investments". Meanwhile, Cambodia's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Hor Nambora, dismissed the report as based on "sketchy and unconvincing" evidence. In a letter to the EIU, he called the report "perverse" and "insulting".

"Your scare-mongering allegations are highly dangerous, as they could be construed as actively inciting unrest," wrote Hor Nambora, son of Cambodia's veteran Foreign Minister Hor Namhong. "They also happen to be a gross distortion and misrepresentation of Cambodia's true position, and there can be no justification for these claims."

He also upbraided the EIU for having "arrogantly dismissed" Hun Sen's vow that Cambodia would maintain its economic growth this year: "You seem to have ignored this reassurance from the highest possible level, preferring to rely on your own evidence."

Comedic criticism

The government's protestations peaked in early June following a May 30 concert organized by rights organizations to bring attention to the thorny issue of corruption.

At the so-called "Clean Hands Concert", newly appointed United States ambassador Carol Rodley called corruption one of the main obstacles to socio-economic development in the country, claiming the scourge "costs Cambodia up to $500 million per year in terms of forgone state revenue that could otherwise be spent on public services in education and health care and jobs for Cambodian youth".

She claimed that the sum was "equivalent to the cost of constructing 20,000 six-room school buildings or the ability to pay every civil servant in Cambodia an additional US$260 per month". Her arithmetic, however, was not well received by the government.

"The Royal Government of Cambodia absolutely refutes the politically motivated and unsubstantiated allegation made by the United States diplomat in contradiction of the good relations between Cambodia and the United States Government," read a stern letter the Cambodian Foreign Ministry sent to the US Embassy.

Cambodia's UK ambassador Hor Nambora again entered the fray, saying Rodley seemed to have allied herself "with the discredited views of the international pressure group Global Witness which continually engages in virulent and malicious campaigns against the Royal Government of Cambodia". Global Witness has long been an irritating antagonist to Hun Sen's administration, once labeling its leaders as a "kleptocratic elite".

Pointing to a conspiracy to undermine the government is becoming a common theme when responding to critics of the government. The eventual aims of this unnamed group of conspirators - which encompasses such diverse organizations as environmental watchdogs like Global Witness, economic think-tanks such as the EIU and human-rights groups - is unclear.

One conspiracy theory was put forth publicly by Chy Koy, a performer with the popular Koy comedy troupe. Although Koy had performed at the Clean Hands anti-graft concert, he appeared on June 6 on a Cambodian People's Party-owned television station to ridicule anti-corruption NGOs (non-governmental organizations) as money hungry fabricators of non-existent corruption.

"Some NGOs accuse the government of being corrupt without thinking about its achievements," he explained to the local press after the parody. "You can say that the government is corrupt if nothing had developed in our country, but the government is working and everything is developing." Although Cambodia is officially one of the world's least-developed countries, the comedian claimed: "Now we have everything. Some families have two SUVs, some have three."

The Koy performance was followed - again on CPP-controlled TV - on June 13 by the Krem comedy troupe, which portrayed NGOs and journalists as conspiring to stage fake forced evictions - another bete noir of the Cambodian government. The well-documented and sometimes violent evictions of impoverished communities, according to Krem's sketch, are merely an invented tool to enable greedy foreigners to indulge their appetites for luxury hotels and local women.

With official denials and social satire fending off criticism on one front, another battle was playing out in a very different sphere: home decoration.

In what many viewed as one of the most peculiar assaults on free speech so far this year, Soung Sophorn, a 22-year-old law student, was fined $1,250 after being convicted of defamation. Oddly, the medium for the defamation was graffiti, and the slogans "Against dictatorial policy", "People suffer because the government bows down to the company", and "Stop Evictions" in English, had been sprayed on June 1 on the side of Soung Sophorn's own home.

Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Touch Naruth told local media that Soung Sophorn, a member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and a vocal critic of evictions, was convicted because, "He can insult any individual or company but not the government." Prior to the three-day arrest and conviction process, Soung Sophorn had been summoned to the headquarters of local developer Shukaku Inc, the company responsible for the looming eviction of Soung Sophorn's community, for his opinionated house painting.

Private developer Shukaku's 99-year, $79 million lease to develop 133 hectares of state land where 4,000 mainly poor families live, including the area adjacent to the Boeung Kak backpacker ghetto, has provoked a steady stream of censure from foreign diplomats and rights organizations. According to local reports, the company and its owner, CPP Senator Lao Meng Kim, have steadfastly refused to engage with civil society or the media.

Disorienting defamation

Meanwhile, an ongoing dispute between opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) parliamentarian Mu Sochua and Hun Sen typifies a flurry of tit-for-tat lawsuits that also represents a clear threat to democratic debate. For years, the CPP has used out-dated defamation laws to muzzle critics, among then union leaders, journalists and opposition leaders.

According a lawsuit filed by Mu Sochua on April 27, the premier allegedly made defamatory comments in an April 4 speech; the only compensation sought was an apology. The lawsuit claims that Hun Sen defamed Mu Sochua by referring to a female parliamentarian from Kampot province who embraced a general and then later complained that the buttons of her shirt had come undone. Mu Sochua, the only female MP from Kampot province, had complained of voter irregularities and physical intimidation from CPP officials during the run-up to the 2008 national assembly elections.

Mu Sochua's case was dismissed on June 10, but the premier struck back with a counter defamation case against Mu Sochua that is ongoing. Kong Sam Onn, the lawyer representing Mu Sochua, is also being sued for having held a press conference where he had allegedly defamed the prime minister by claiming that the prime minister had defamed his client. The Cambodian Bar Association has begun an investigation into this alleged ethical misconduct of speaking publicly about a case.

The National Assembly voted on June 22 to lift Mu Sochua's parliamentary immunity, leaving her open to criminal prosecution. Hun Sen noted on June 17 that the two-thirds parliamentary majority required to strip immunity would also be needed to reinstate it. He also used the opportunity to threaten further lawsuits against interfering NGOs.

Even nationalists cannot safely criticize, as Moeung Sonn, a local tour operator and president of the Khmer Civilization Foundation, found out. Moeung Sonn was slapped with a $2,400 lawsuit by the government after he claimed at a press conference that the installation of new lights at Angkor Wat might have damaged the legendary temple. Moeung Sonn, a vocal supporter of the government on cultural and territorial issues, and a significant donor to Cambodian soldiers stationed around disputed zones near Preah Vihear, has fled to France to avoid arrest.

While later information suggests that the light installation has done no damage to the ancient structure, draconian reactions to well-meaning comments suggest that dissenting voices will no longer be allowed.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, SRP parliamentarian Ho Vann (also stripped of his parliamentary immunity) and Hang Chakra, editor-in-chief of Khmer Machas Srok newspaper, are also facing defamation suits.

Cambodia doth protest too much

The increasing trend toward intolerance has not gone unnoticed. A June 15 statement from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia cautioned, "Pursuing the current complaints may reverse the course of the still fragile democratic development process in Cambodia."

"This recent surge in the use of criminal defamation and disinformation lawsuits filed mostly against politicians, journalists and other persons expressing their views in a peaceful manner on matters of public interest threatens to inhibit what should be a free debate and exchange of ideas and views on these matters," the UNOHCHR wrote.

The group also warned that stifling freedom of expression through such means "is a serious threat to democratic development which may undermine the efforts of the past 16 years to rebuild a tolerant and pluralistic environment in Cambodia". The same day, US rights advocacy Human Rights Watch appealed for the CPP to halt "threats, harassment and spurious legal action against members of parliament and lawyers defending free expression".

The crackdown on political opposition is all the more perplexing, given that the CPP, with 90 of 123 seats, is in firm control of the National Assembly. A showing of 58% in the generally free and fair 2008 parliamentary elections, the biggest margin ever for a National Assembly election, shows widespread support for the CPP.

Some analysts believe that by persecuting a mostly fractured and generally powerless opposition, the government risks making martyrs of otherwise unremarkable politicians. Perhaps more significantly, Hun Sen risks further alienating the Western donor nations and the foreign business community that in recent years have contributed largely to Cambodia’s economic progress.

The US, a major donor and significant provider of aid and technical assistance, not to mention one of the kingdom's biggest export markets, has been critical of the recent turn of events.

"It appears that the courts are being used to silence critics of the government," US Embassy spokesman John Johnson told Asia Times Online. "Free speech and freedom of the press are fundamental rights in democracies throughout the world, and public figures and politicians should be prepared to receive both praise and criticism from the people they govern as part of the democratic process."

It's a democratic reality Hun Sen's government seems reluctant to face.

Sam Campbell is a reporter and editor based in Cambodia.

Markus Karbaum's "Cambodia Under Hun Sen"

Book Review
Published by The Southeastern Globe Magazine
May 2009

"[Karbaum] suggests that when Hun Sen steps down, there will be a more "democratic" government in charge."

Winston Churchill once remarked: "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." In his analysis of Cambodia's political System, produced for Germany's Federal Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development, Markus Karbaum seems to suggest that its current government employs an autocratic mandate that is in many ways the antithesis of the liberal democracy that Churchill saw as the least of the evils of governance.

Since the early 1990s the international Community has implemented programmes to encourage the establishment of a truly democratic System in Cambodia, but the author believes the country remains mired in a climate of nepotism, fear, violence and corruption.

Cambodia Under Hun Sen is a comprehensive portrayal of the kingdom's political setup and an astute analysis of the way in which its prime minister maintains his grip on the reins of power.

Karbaum pays particular attention to the country's electoral system and examines the level of legitimacy of the most recent polls, which returned Hun Sen to power with a landslide of support.

Karbaum also studies what he believes is a recurring pattern of political violence, even though all evidence points to a vast improvement in that area over successive elections. He also analyses the country's economic development in the light of persistent charges of corruption from both inside and outside the nation's borders.

Karbaum feels he needs to question the legitimacy of the entire System of governance based on what he describes as Hun Sen's "neo-patriarchal style". Fortunately, and quite rightly, Karbaum concludes that democratic values are well established in the country. Perhaps the only real quibble he has with the democratic process is that too few schemes allow grass roots representatives to communicate issues directly to those in power — except, of course, at election time.

Although, as a political analyst, he will recognise that Cambodia's progressive foundations have been achieved by decisive decision-making amidst a dislocated and chaotic political environment.

Karbaum has to balance his criticisms with the strength of Hun Sen's support across all sections of modern society despite his "undemocratic" tactics. He suggests that when Hun Sen steps down, there will be a more "democratic" government in charge. Through this he sees the strengthening of a liberal and democratic ethos throughout the country's institutions - hopefully, allied to like economic achievements.

Given that the book is a highly coherent and unique study of a little-known political arena, an English-language version is in the pipeline.

Southeast Asia Struggles With Democracy [-Cambodia has long been led by PM Hun Sen and his CPP]

By Heda Bayron
Voice of America
Bangkok
20 April 2009

The political turmoil in Thailand renews questions about democracy's future in Southeast Asia - a region historically ruled by authoritarian and military governments. Once celebrated democracies in the region - Thailand and the Philippines - are facing problems.

When Philippine President Gloria Arroyo and other Asian leaders were hastily evacuated from the rooftop of a hotel last week, as anti-government Thai protesters stormed an Asian summit, she may have felt a sense of déjà vu.

In 2001, barely four months into her presidency, a group of protesters attempted to storm the presidential palace to drive her out of office, just like what the Thai protesters were trying to do to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Mr. Abhisit and Mrs. Arroyo rose to power following the fall of democratically elected governments. Mrs. Arroyo became president when President Joseph Estrada was forced to step down amid corruption allegations, street protests and the withdrawal of military support.

Filipinos call it "people power" democracy, but analysts say this pattern of government change has brought political instability in Thailand and the Philippines - once icons of democratic change in Southeast Asia.

Give and take plays key role

William Case is a professor at the City University of Hong Kong and author of books on politics and democracy in Southeast Asia.

"Established interests will consent to democracy as long it produces the results and the governments that they like, and once they get governments they don't like they turn the democracy over," Case said.

That is how he explains what happened in Thailand. The red-shirted protesters who taunted Mr. Abhisit last week were from the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) - a group allied with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup because of alleged corruption. UDD supporters come mainly from the provinces, which benefited most from Mr. Thaksin's populist policies.

Elections brought back Mr. Thaksin's allies in government in 2007, and Mr. Abhisit's People's Alliance for Democracy party (PAD) demonstrated for months against the ruling party, taking over the parliament building and the international airport.

When Mr. Abhisit became as prime minister in December after the election commission dissolved the ruling party because of election fraud, the UDD launched counter protests against the PAD, whose supporters are largely urban middle class.

Protests undermine Thailand's constitutional democracy

Thanet Aphornsuvan, a politics professor at Thammasat University in Bangkok, says recent events further weakened Thailand's constitutional democracy.

"The constitution has never been respected, for the past 77 years," the professor said. "So any country, which doesn't have a real higher law, they have it but it never functions, there's always some group, some institution that can intervene and dissolve and rewrite it. In the past year, I think the PAD just started a new revolt of the masses to bring it to the streets, outside the Parliament, to rectify what they deem as corrupted policies of politicians. The UDD is a logical outcome of the PAD - two sides of the same coin. They exploit different situations and reasons."

Thailand's path to democracy has been rocky. The country was ruled by the military, on and off, until the 1992 elections. It entered an era of political stability, becoming a model of democratic transition from military rule, until the return of the military in 2006.

The Philippines' return to democracy, post-1986, has also been rough. Coup attempts plagued the country until the early 1990s. Like the fall of Mr. Thaksin, the end of Mr. Estrada's government in 2001 exposed class divisions in Philippine politics between the middle class, which sided with Mrs. Arroyo, and the lower class, supporting Mr. Estrada.

Case says the violent turn of events in Thailand, last week, may foil the spread of democratization in the region, in places like military-ruled Burma and in communist Laos and Vietnam.

"They could conclude that the problem in Thailand is that there's not enough democracy or, conversely, they could say that this is what happens when you have too much democracy and use it as a pretext to clamp down in their respective countries," Case said.

Elections do not produce desired results

Indeed, democracy remains unsteady in Southeast Asia. Several countries hold elections, but analysts say elections do not reflect the quality of democracy in these countries. The Philippines, which inherited democracy from its former colonial ruler the United States, suffers from weak political institutions, widespread corruption, often violent elections and increasing impunity.

Malaysia and Singapore hold competitive elections but parliament remains in the hands of long-dominant parties with entrenched political machinery. Last month, the Malaysian government banned opposition newspapers from publishing ahead of a hotly contested special election. Cambodia has long been led by Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Cambodia People's Party.

Indonesia praised for progress

"There's only one democracy in Southeast Asia today and that's Indonesia. Even there, there are major problems," Case said. "The civilian government does not have full control of the military. There's a lot of intimidation in the local level. But it's the great beacon of democracy in Southeast Asia."

Once ruled by the authoritarian General Suharto, Indonesia's democratic transition has not produced the kind of chaos seen in the Philippines or Thailand. It held parliament elections, this month, and its second presidential election is scheduled in July.

Thanet of Thammasat University says the protests in Thailand also show that people value democracy. He says, in the past few years, Thai people have displayed strong democratic aspirations.

"The uprising of the PAD and the UDD are probably similar to the people power in the Philippines," Thanet said. "We should share these kinds of experience; try to give much more meaning to democracy in this part of the world."

Democracy in Southeast Asia may be far from the stable, but there appears to be less talk about abandoning it, more about strengthening it.

Cambodia: National Congress Where The Ruled And Rulers Meet Must Not Be A Still-Born Constitutional Institution

Friday, 13 March 2009
Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission

Cambodia's constitution which the Constituent Assembly issued from the UN-organised election had adopted in 1993 has established an institution of direct democracy called National Congress. This is the congress of people where, according to Article 147 of the Constitution, Cambodians meet their rulers "to be directly informed of various matters of national interest" and "to raise issues and make proposals for the state authorities to address." The Prime Minister is to convene this congress once a year in early December and, according to Article 148, it is to be chaired by the King of Cambodia.

Since 1993 this congress has never been held and there has been mounting pressure on Prime Minister Hun Sen to convene it. On 4 March 2009, in a public speech, he rebuffed the pressure instead of looking for ways to fulfill his constitutional duty and convene the congress. He said that "it is impossible to make the law" on its organization and functioning as required and "it is impossible to hold the National Congress."

Referring to the existence of at least 50 registered political parties which would take advantage of the congress, he expressed fears that "holding it could cause turmoil in the system" of government. According to him, the congress was unnecessary when his party, the Cambodian People’s Party, already received enough input from its parliamentarians to need to convene the congress to stay in touch with the people. He concluded that "it would be better to remove it from the Constitution altogether" and suggested that, with its majority in the Parliament, his party could amend the Constitution to that effect.

The reasons Hun Sen has put forward to scotch this important institution of democracy are hardly plausible. This institution is not a brand new one in Cambodia. The National Congress was first instituted as a constitutional institution in 1958. It was held every six months in an open space next to the Royal Palace in the centre of the capital. The Head of State, Prince Sihanouk, chaired each congress which lasted several days at a time. Thousands of people from every corner of the country participated in it with enthusiasm, heard their government’s report on national affairs, made recommendations and challenged corrupt officials. There was no turmoil, but rather peace and order throughout every congress.

To discharge his constitutional duty, Hun Sen needs simply to draw on that past experience to make the law on the organisation and functioning of the National Congress and to hold it in an orderly manner. After all, the present constitutional provisions on the National Congress are almost the exact copy of those that had instituted its predecessor in 1958.

However, the arrangements and practices in the past may not entirely fit the new circumstances of the country, and more needs to be done to ensure a smooth-running, trouble-free congress. In the first place, the country’s total population has doubled and the population of Phnom Penh, which provided the most active participants in the past, has almost tripled. Proportionally speaking, more people than in the past are politically conscious and may be willing to participate in the congress. People are more polarized than in the past.

The larger number of participants requires a larger venue, good organization so as to give more people an opportunity to voice their opinion, and also effective crowd control. The biggest venue Cambodia is the Olympic stadium in Phnom Penh which can seat up to 100,000 people. Participation may be limited to this number, either through local registration of participants on a first-come, first-served basis or with random-sampling based on electoral rolls.

Rules of procedure could be devised to enable participants to meet in harmony, voice their opinion and engage in debates in harmony and to break up in harmony.

As for crowd control there does not seem to be an insurmountable problem. So far, public gatherings, be they public demonstrations or protests, have been orderly. The trouble and disorder that have happened have been mainly caused by crackdowns by public forces. Mass meetings comprising thousands and even tens of thousands of people at a time, including the one organised by the ruling party in early January 2009, have been held in an orderly manner in the Olympic stadium. Additional fences may need to be erected to help this crowd control.

The real obstacle to holding the National Congress may be something else, and it is curious to note that, in the same statement, Hun Sen also said that if he were to convene a National Congress, he would only invite his party’s supporters. This part of the statement is more significant and should indicate he was not so sure he and his security forces could prevent criticism from being voiced in the congress and in his presence. He could face embarrassment to say the least.

When there is no insurmountable technical obstacle to the organization of an annual National Congress, the killing of this institution of direct democracy through a constitutional amendment is a serious violation of the Cambodian people’s constitutional rights to freedom of expression (Art. 41), and to participate actively in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the nation and have state authorities seriously consider all their proposals (Art.35), through the denial of an important venue for the exercise of these rights.

Furthermore, for a country where Buddhism is the state religion, the killing of this venue is also a derogation of one of the seven principles the Buddha taught a powerful and strong people called the Vajjians for their continued prosperity, a principle that may have inspired the establishment of the National Congress in 1958. The Buddha said that “as long as the Vajjians hold regular and frequent assemblies…as long as they meet in harmony, carry on their business in harmony and end in harmony they may be expected to prosper and not decline."

Prime Minister Hun Sen should honour his country’s international human rights obligations by meeting the constitutional rights of the Cambodian people. He should positively consider the Buddhist principle of governance above. He should abandon his scheme to remove the National Congress from the Constitution. He should instead fulfill his constitutional duty by making a law on its organization and functioning and the related rules of procedure, and convening this congress at the earliest possible moment.

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Hun Sen wants a silent opposition? He must be dreaming in communist-la-la-land still

PM says opposition remains too critical

Thursday, 29 January 2009
Written by Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

PRIME Minister Hun Sen Wednesday again blasted the opposition over their criticism of government activities, saying whether the government is right or wrong, they always criticise.

Responding to opposition comments that the ruling Cambodian People's Party leaders (CPP) have the "same faces", Hun Sen said: "The same opposition has opposed us since the beginning .... We do right or wrong, they always oppose."

Chea Vannath, an independent political analyst, said that in a democratic system if there were no criticism it would not be good governance, as the government would then judge what is right or wrong itself.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Elephant Weep

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

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