Controversy Surrounds Cambodian Parade [-Cam-CC Borann Heam: "I don’t think (Sok An) is a controversial figure" -sic!-]

Feb. 25, 2008
By Carla M. Collado
Staff Writer
Downtown Gazette (Long Beach, California, USA)

For additional info, visit: www.StopSokAn.com
Click here to sign petition to block Sok An's appearance in Cambodia Town

Plans for its largest annual celebration this April have Long Beach’s Cambodian community divided.

At issue is a scheduled appearance at the Cambodian New Year Parade by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, who some in the community say they feel represents (and works for) one of the most corrupt governments in the world.

“He’s representing a government that is very corrupt, that oppresses people and violates so many human rights,” said Navy Phim, a resident who is leading the charge to rescind Sok An’s invitation and is circulating a petition protesting his appearance. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to put this person in a celebration.”

According to Borann Heam — vice president of the Cambodian Coordinating Council (Cam-CC), which organizes the parade — the decision to invite Sok An was part of an effort to start an open dialogue with the Cambodian government. With the United States continuing to do business with Cambodia, and with Long Beach’s Cambodian community being the largest outside of Cambodia, it is beneficial to establish that kind of dialogue with the country’s leaders, Heam said.

The delegation of local groups that visited Phnom Penh in December 2007 — including members of Cam-CC, Long Beach/Phnom Penh Sister Cities, Cambodia Town, Inc. and some Long Beach City Council members — first met with U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli, Heam explained. At Mussomeli’s recommendation that Cambodian-Americans engage the Cambodian government more, the delegation extended invitations to all government leaders to attend the New Year Parade, he added.

“This is an open invitation to anyone in the Cambodian government,” Heam said. “We’re not excluding any one party.”

When delegation members ran into Sok An, they personally invited him to the Long Beach event and he accepted, he said.

Phim said that Sok An’s participation in the parade also makes Long Beach appear to be taking sides in Cambodian politics, as it is a parliamentary election year in Cambodia (July) and Sok An is running for reelection in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. She is now pushing for Cam-CC to organize a town hall meeting so residents can express their opinions on Sok An’s visit.

“It’s very important for everyone to express their concerns, not only in Cambodia Town but in all of Long Beach,” Phim said. “It (his visit) reflects on everybody in the city.”

Phim said she has gathered about 1,000 signatures through her online petition protesting Sok An’s visit (the petition is addressed to Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and Cam-CC), and that there are other Cambodian groups circulating petitions as well.

She said she voiced her concerns at a Jan. 31 meeting of Cam-CC’s parade planning committee, but that committee members told her she was simply trying to make Sok An seem controversial when he’s not. Phim later was invited to speak at Cam-CC’s Feb. 10 board meeting and allowed to bring four people total, but declined the invitation.

“Four people don’t represent the whole community,” she said.

Heam said Cam-CC has done its best to answer Phim’s questions and address her concerns, and added that he understands why some Cambodian residents are worried about Sok An’s participation in the parade.

“There are speculations of human rights violations and a lot of corruption is linked to his name,” Heam said. “I don’t think he is a controversial figure. It’s just very sad that a few people are taking this opportunity to label certain figures controversial.”

Heam said Cam-CC encourages residents to express their opinions, as long as it is in a peaceful and nonviolent manner.

“We respect everyone’s opinion in the community,” he said. “People have the right to freedom of speech and if they feel that he is a controversial figure, then that’s okay. We encourage the community to engage with us.”

However, Cam-CC currently does not feel that it needs to revoke Sok An’s (or anyone else’s) invitation to the parade, and the community needs to respect that decision, Heam added.

Heam explained that Cam-CC has public meetings every month to update the community on plans for the New Year Parade and celebration, as it is the community’s largest event of the year. He said if residents organize a town hall meeting, the group would gladly attend to hear concerns.

He stressed the fact that Cam-CC has not decided whether Sok An will do more than just ride in the parade, and assured that the Cambodian leader will not get any special treatment.

The Fourth Annual Cambodian New Year Parade will take place April 6 along Anaheim Street (from Junipero Avenue to Orange Avenue), and the Cambodian New Year Celebration will take place April 12 at El Dorado Regional Park. Each event draws about 15,000 visitors.

To voice concerns over Sok An’s participation in the parade, e-mail Cam-CC at board@cam-cc.org. To sign Phim’s petition, visit www.stopsokan.com.

Announcing "StopSokAn.com" - Say No to Sok An's appearance at Long Beach New Year Parade

Click here to access StopSokAn.com

The Good It Does

Police and military police stand guard over cowering villagers after setting fire to their homes. Sixty houses were burned down.
Thirteen villagers were arrested for allegedly resisting the unlawful eviction, yet up until now there has been no investigation or prosecution by the authorities into the excessive violence used by police during the eviction.
A group of 48 Khmer Kampuchea Krom monks, ethnic Khmer originally from southern Vietnam, had convened in front of the Vietnamese Embassy to submit a petition
The anti-riot unit brutally charged the Khmer Krom monks with their shields and electric batons

Editorial by Soch
Originally posted at:
http://www.myp1t.com/blog/view/id_446

Please post your comment at the author's blog by clicking here

I have been at a loss lately, trying to wrap my mind around the Sok An controversy. Every time I think I've reconciled myself to the issue, something else pops up to blow me away.

First, I'm completely baffled as to how the invitation could have been issued in the first place. Going by parade entry rules, which the parade committee themselves seemed to have had the foresight to draft:

1. All entries should have a positive theme which respects diversity, is non-controversial, and does not advocate any political candidate

How is inviting a leading political figure in an election year (2008 Cambodian elections) not a political or controversial statement? How exactly does one parade a political candidate on a float without advocating them? After transgressing on their very own policies, we are then told by the parade committee to "put homeland politics aside." To be honest, I have never considered the current situation in our homeland to be a matter of politics. When a government violates its own laws, mistreats, exploits, and oppresses its people, it has gone far beyond politics; it becomes a criminal matter. In fact, it is called a crime against humanity, accountable to an international tribunal. These are the language and concepts of the world we live in, the world where we Cambodian-Americans have supposedly come to take refuge from the very ravages and atrocities of none other than our "homeland politics."

So far, the arguments for Sok An's participation in the parade have ranged from slightly absurd to downright incomprehensible. No, it is not likely that his participation will induce a change of heart in his governance. And on the slim chance it could, does it require a vantage point from atop a float for it to come about? A non-Cambodian American actually stated that "as a professional," she cannot take sides on the issue. Can you imagine if professionals the world over refrain from taking sides on issues for such stated reason? The political and social wheels of many a great nation would topple to a standstill. I respect people's opinions, but I find it insulting when they opt out of expressing one for such a nonsensical excuse. Had she said, "as a professional who is acquaintanted with the parties involved," she cannot take sides, I would by far respect her honesty. Last I check, Cambodians are at least able to look up "professional" in a dictionary.

Perhaps more distressing than the Sok An invite has been this mixed-bag response. I would have thought the presence of a prominent figure of a famously corrupt and criminal regime in an event meant to celebrate and honor would inspire unified outrage and disgust among a western community. Not so. In fact, the most unified response so far has been the usual laments upon Cambodian disunity, the go-to argument meant to stymie any opposition, when all else fails. Ladies and gentlemen, since when is unity suppose to be blind? Were you to herd a community of sheep, perhaps you can ask for united support for whatever hare-brained scheme you may come up with, but until then you might have to put up with a little pastime of the free world, called dissent. Interesting enough, Harvard University used to publish a literary magazine by this very name. Stanford has a magazine called "Chaparral," a reference to a fire-prone environment. What does it say that these premier American institutions give such weight and tribute to said dissent and differing sentiments in shaping the brightest minds of their generations? According to the unity argument, are we now to feel ashamed because we cannot unite under an act we find unconscionable?

Let's be clear: I do not hate Sok An. I haven't the honor to know this man from Adam. However, as a citizen of the free world, I deplore his administration's activities and policies. And as the man in a pivotal position of power, he is fully accountable for the atrocities under his watch. Sok An may be a wonderful father and a cozy friend and you may have him over for tea in your living room, but he is also a figurehead of brutal injustice and murder and to welcome such a figurehead in a public celebration of diversity, community and freedom is to willfully turn a blind eye to the injured, victims of an intolerably corrupt and morally depraved administration. A parade is not a symposium for change; rather it is a public event meant to celebrate and honor. In fact, if there is any other function of a parade, it could be said that it is a vehicle for propaganda. As such, it is morally reprehensible that this vehicle is to be used to honor an agent largely responsible for the suffering of thousands.

The last entreaty to the opposition is: why can't we just let things be? They suggest we stay home that day if we choose not to support Sok An's presence. What good does it do to cause a stir, make a ruckus? My dear friends and countrymen, the good it does is this: whatever happens, it is on record for the people depicted below that we do not in any way, implicit or otherwise, support their tormentors. To put it baldly: half a world away, our brothers and sisters cannot speak without getting maimed or killed. On their behalf, we can. It is the very least we can do. This is the good it does.

Please Sign the Petition to Block Sok An Appearance at Cambodian New Year Parade

Originally posted at: http://www.myp1t.com/blog/view/id_424

Please find below the circulating petition to block Deputy Prime Minister Sok An's appearance at the 4th annual Cambodian New Year Parade in April. We are trying to collect it from everybody across the nation as it is a human right issues and it should apply whether or not you live in Long Beach and we will keep this petition as a precedent on how Cambodian-Americans feel about the Hun Sen government.

January 18, 2008

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

(Your Signature)

Download Petition in PDF Form

Please sign and mail petition to:

myP1T.com
PO Box 4129
Long Beach, CA 90804

or email a scanned copy with signature(s) to:

petition@myp1t.com