Please Sign Online Petition to block Deputy Prime Minister Sok An's appearance at the Cambodian New Year Parade in Long Beach

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To: Parade Committee, Mayor Bob Foster

Mayor Bob Foster
333 W. Ocean Blvd 14th Floor
Long Beach, CA 90802

Dear Mayor Foster:

We are writing to protest the appearance of Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An at this year's annual Long Beach Cambodian New Year Parade, to be scheduled in April.

For over a decade, Cambodia has been under the administration of Prime Minister Hun Sen, a government that has violated an incalculable multitude of human rights with impunity since 1997, so much so that they have simply ceased to meet with the latest United Nations rights envoy this past December. Cambodia has one of the most corrupt governments in the world today, ranked 162nd out of 180 nations according to Transparency International (180 being most corrupt). Mr. Sok An is the head of the Cambodian Council of Ministers and is that government's second in command.

We the undersigned, Cambodians and non-Cambodians alike, are deeply shocked and saddened that the right hand man of such a government has been invited to parade himself in an event purported to celebrate diversity, community, and personal freedom. How does one celebrate these values by welcoming the very figure that is a perpetrator against them? What community and freedom are our brothers and sisters celebrating in Cambodia, where Mr. Sok An and colleagues rule the people with forced evictions and rampant land grabs, where simple freedom of expression is met with incarceration and death?

In their press release on January 9, 2008, the committee that invited Mr. Sok An stated that they "believe in open dialogs and making changes through peaceful means as taught by Dr. Martin Luther King." That may be well and good but a parade is simply not an appropriate venue for having such dialog. While Dr. Martin Luther King met with opposition figures to create open dialog and further understanding, we cannot imagine he would have invited members of the Ku Klux Klan to participate in a parade celebrating the African-American community as a means of opening this dialog.

We implore your understanding and compassion in this matter and fervently hope you will rescind Mr. Sok An's unfortunate invitation.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned (Click here to sign the petition online)

Cambodian parade success welcomed

Organizers predict another large crowd for New Year's Festival in two weeks.

04/09/2007
By Greg Mellen, Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram

LONG BEACH - On Monday, as organizers of the third annual Cambodian New Year parade and celebration went about the dull process of disassembling floats, there was still a residual sense of excitement about the weekend event's success.

There is also hope that the momentum from Saturday's parade can be carried over to the community's annual New Year's Festival in two weeks at El Dorado Regional Park.

Parade organizer Richer San joked how much harder it was to get volunteers to break down the floats than erect them. But he was still happy at the parade attendance.

"I think we had more people turn out than in the past two years," San said of a crowd he generously estimated at 14,000.

Despite cloudy skies and the event occurring on Easter weekend when many families go out of town, the crowd was upbeat and seemingly larger than last year.

The parade itself also reached new highs, with 91 entries easily eclipsing last year's 62.

"We got so many entries we had to turn some away," San said.

San added that several local merchants along the parade route reported strong sales as well.

City representatives were also pleased.

"It seemed it was really well-attended and there were very positive results," said David Ashman, manager for the city's Special Events Bureau.

Blair Cohn of the city said the events at the park were similarly well attended between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. and concluded on schedule.

Perhaps most important, as of Monday afternoon, Ashman said his office had not received any complaints.

Buoyed by what they see as a breakout success, parade organizers are hoping for bigger and better things next year.

Whether such an idea will work remains to be seen. Last year, parade organizers apparently overstepped and allowed unpermitted vendors at MacArthur Park. This year, activities at the park were limited to informational booths and cultural, educational and entertainment stage presentations.

San says the parade met the city's permit requirements this time and hopes it will be rewarded.

"We were very on-schedule," San said, adding that the group cleaned up and was out of MacArthur Park by 3 p.m.

"Next year, we'd like to make (the parade) a little bigger. We want to turn it into a whole-day event," San said.

The annual festival will be held at El Dorado Park, Area 3, on Saturday, April 21.

The event is delayed this year in part to avoid conflicts with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and to allow elders to religiously observe the New Year at temple.

Festival organizer Peter Long says his group has already sold 1,000 tickets (one ticket is sold for a carload of people) and he expects the event to be near capacity and possibly a sellout.

Each year the festival includes traditional food, activities and entertainment.

This year, Long said that three new traditional stage performances have been added: a comedy, an opera/musical and a two-person play.

The festival runs from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at El Dorado Park, 7551 E. Spring St., Long Beach. Admission is $20 per car in advance or $30 on the day of the event. Information on tickets can be found online at www.cam-cc.org or by phone at (562) 607-9261.

Greg Mellen can be reached at greg.mellen@presstelegram.com or (562) 499-1291.

Long Beach New Year Parade today

04/06/2007
Cambodian parade today

From staff reports
Long Beach Press Telegram

LONG BEACH - The third annual Cambodian New Year Parade makes its way down Anaheim Street this morning.

The opening ceremony will start at 9:30 a.m. on the corner of Junipero Avenue and Anaheim Street. At 10:30 a.m., the Parade will proceed west on Anaheim Street through the heart of the Cambodian community, now nicknamed "Cambodia Town," to MacArthur Park.

The Parade theme is "Building the Bridge to the Future Together" in recognition of the diversity of the Long Beach residents who have united to build a better city for all to enjoy, according to the Cambodian Coordinating Committee, which is sponsoring the parade.

More than 60 community and cultural groups and four floats are expected to participate in the parade, followed by cultural presentations and entertainment at MacArthur Park.

Cambodian New Year is a three-day celebration that traditionally occurs in April. This year, it falls April 14-16. The new year is 2552 on the Cambodian calendar, the "Year of the Pig."