Sierra Leone and Cambodia establish diplomatic relations

The Permanent Representatives of the two countries, Ambassador Shekou Momodu Touray of Sierra Leone and Ambassador Kosal Sea of Cambodia toasting the new relations.

October 8, 2010
By Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu
Cocorioko News

Sierra Leone’s international stature and outreach under the progressive leadership of President Ernest Bai Koroma continue to broaden. Yesterday, at a colourful ceremony held at the Permanent Mission of Cambodia to the United Nations in New York, Sierra Leone established diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Cambodia , about two weeks after the country entered into similar relations with the South American nation of Uruguay.

The Permanent Representatives of the two countries, Ambassador Shekou Momodu Touray of Sierra Leone and Ambassador Kosal Sea of Cambodia signed the communique on behalf of their respective nations.

In his remarks, the Cambodian Permanent Representative hailed the new diplomatic relations between the two countries. “We are glad to establish diplomatic ties with Sierra Leone”, he said and expressed optimism that the two nations will establish areas of cooperation that will be fruitful to both countries. He said that he will do everything within his power to ensure that the two countries achieved the highest level of cooperation to the benefit of both countries.

In response, Ambassador Touray of Sierra Leone also said that he was also happy with the decision by Sierra Leone and Cambodia to establish bilateral and multilateral relations at the diplomatic level .He stated that both countries had gone through the same turbulent histories but he was optimistic that the two countries have many areas where they can cooperate fruitfully. He mentioned some of these areas as the socio-economic sphere, agriculture and ameliorating the adverse effects of Climate Change which is affecting the two countries. He said that both Sierra Leone and Cambodia have a lot to offer each other and he expressed the hope that the two countries will make maximum use of their diplomatic relations.

Also representing Cambodia at the ceremony were Mr. Seyla Eat. Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the United Nations; Mr. Sokveng Ngoun, First Secretary; Lt.Col. Dara Him, Military Attaché; Mr. Sambo Has, Second Secretary; and Mr. Saravann Ung, Third Secretary.

Apart from Ambassador Touray, Sierra Leone was also represented by the Director -General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Mr. Soulay Basiru Daramy ; the Minister Plenipotentiary to the UN, Mr . Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu; and Counselor Victoria Sulimani, also of the Sierra Leone Mission to the UN .

Cambodia: A government in denial ... by the likes of Hun Sen, Baby Hor and Sea Kosal

A government in denial: from the top (Hun Xen - Left) to the bottom (Baby Hor 5 Hong - Center, and Xea Koxal - Right)

The government’s Rectangular Development Strategy to develop Cambodia Dey Krahorm eviction site - 24 January 2009
Addressing the issues? How the Cambodian Government responded to a Global Witness report on extractive industries

Excerpt from "Land Grabbing & Poverty in Cambodia: The Myth of Development"
Published by Licadho

In recent years it has become a tragic cliché to say that Cambodia is suffering from an “epidemic” of land-grabbing by the rich and powerful – an epidemic which is resulting in the loss of residence and livelihoods by the poor and vulnerable on a massive scale.

The statistics, which have become more alarming year by year, speak for themselves. In the 13 provinces in which LICADHO works – roughly half the country – more than a quarter of a million people have been affected by land-grabbing and forced evictions since 2003.

• In the capital, Phnom Penh, 133,000 people – more than 10% of its population – are believed to have been evicted since 1990.
• In 2008, according to Amnesty International, a further 150,000 Cambodians were at risk of forced relocation nationwide.
• As of 2004, it was estimated that 20-30% of landowners held 70% of the country’s land, while the poorest 40% occupied only 10%; in the countryside, 45% of families were landless or near landless.

The excuse invariably trotted out by the government whenever another group of people are forcibly evicted from the homes they have occupied for years, and sent to a distant relocation site lacking the basic amenities for living, or lose the farmland that has sustained their families for generations, is that this is necessary for “development”.

There is little doubt that the appropriation of land in Cambodia has been a very positive development for the powerful individuals and private companies who have acquired prime real estate at little or no cost – as well as government officials who profited from the transactions.

There is little evidence, however, that ordinary Cambodians are benefiting from the mass confiscation of their land. On the contrary, those who are displaced are explicitly excluded from any benefits, and instead find themselves facing loss of income, poor health, lack of education and other dire consequences that are directly opposed to the government’s public commitment to development, expressed through targets such as the “Millennium Development Goals” (MDG).

There is no sign of the Cambodian authorities slowing down the pace of land grabbing and forced evictions, usually committed in flagrant contravention of their own laws. Economic Land Concessions continue to be granted in unlawful secrecy, concealed from the public, and sometimes in sizes far exceeding the legal limit of 10,000 hectares.

Social Land Concessions continue to be established illegally – in fact, not a single one has been completed in accordance with the relevant laws – and perversely have been used to steal land from the poor rather than provide it to them. The Cambodian military continues to be involved in evictions, in contravention of the law, as well as heavily implicated in landgrabbing for their own benefit. The Cambodian courts continue to act on behalf of rich and powerful interests, ignoring the evidence, the Land Law and other relevant legislation, enforcing eviction where ownership remains undecided and imprisoning those who dare to protest. And to underline the fact that these evictions are really about grabbing valuable land – rather than actual development – many sites from which people have been evicted in recent years remain largely untouched by their new owners.

The government, meanwhile, says there is no problem.

A Government in Denial

Despite a mounting tide of concern and criticism from both Cambodian civil society and the international community, the Cambodian government has so far adopted a policy of blanket denial that any problem exists – even going so far as to deny that any forced evictions take place – and of attacking those who point out otherwise.

Typical was the government’s reaction to Miloon Kothari, the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing Rights, who visited Cambodia in 2005 and found a “frenzy now across the country by the rich and powerful in Cambodia to acquire land”. Instead of addressing the valid concerns raised, Prime Minister Hun Sen launched a personal attack on the Special Rapporteur, saying in a public speech that “One guy, a UN representative… He came just for money. He regarded Cambodians as thieves.”

When in 2008 Amnesty International released a detailed report on forced evictions in Cambodia, the government responded by denying that any “unlawful and forcible evictions” take place. Bizarrely, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited the under-threat communities of Borei Keila and Dey Krahorm in Phnom Penh – where human rights workers have documented countless violations of land rights in recent years – as being “happy” with the government’s approach. (Within a year of the ministry’s statement, the remaining families of Dey Krahorm would be violently evicted in yet another example of forced evictions which the government claims do not occur). Meanwhile Hor Nambora, Cambodia’s Ambassador in London, attacked the messenger, accusing Amnesty International of “sensationalism” and its researcher of being an “adventurist”, and instead of addressing the report’s detailed criticisms boasted of the international donor community’s praise and support for the government’s policies.

Ambassador Hor continued in a similar vein in 2009, when he responded to a Global Witness report on Cambodia’s extractive industries – which also highlighted the widespread allocation of land to private companies – by ridiculing the report as “rubbish”, claiming that the organization was “naïve” and stating that Cambodia’s donors were “fully aware of the way the Royal Cambodian Government’s conducts its affairs and its commitment to demonstrating the highest possible standards.”

But perhaps the most telling response was that of Dr Sea Kosal, Cambodian Ambassador to the UN, following the visit of UN Special Representative Yash Ghai to Cambodia in December 2007. During his visit, which focused on land and housing rights issues, Professor Ghai warned of the social instability which Cambodia risked because of such uncontrolled “development”. Dr Sea responded with a furious letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon accusing Professor Ghai of having “incited the people in Cambodia to revolt” against the government (ironically echoing the spurious criminal “incitement” charges that are frequently brought against the representatives of communities fighting evictions and land grabbing).

The government ignores such warnings at its peril. Numerous local and international human rights organizations have supported Professor Ghai’s observations. The links between land alienation and conflict are well-documented. And the dangers for Cambodia have been repeatedly highlighted, most recently in a report issued by a British think-tank in March 2009 on risks posed by the global financial crisis, which analyzed factors such as social inequality and economic distress, and concluded that Cambodia is currently one of the very most vulnerable nations in the world to social and political unrest.

Such willful disregard of the problems facing the country does no favors to the Cambodian people and, in the long run, will do no favors to the Cambodian authorities. While there is no doubt about the complexities of economic management – and that the country is affected by many factors outside its control – Cambodia is in the fortunate position that there are steps which could be taken immediately to address the hardships faced by its people. First and foremost among these would be to stem the tide of land-grabbing and other economic pillage in the name of “development”.

About 300 Xmers in the US and Canada celebrate 07 January, including Sea Kosal, Hun Sen's mouthpiece at the UN

06 January 2008
By Mayarith
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

About 300 people coming from various states in the US, who are supporting the CPP, including Sea Kosal, the Cambodian representative at the UN, and a number of other Cambodian diplomats, celebrated the 29th anniversary of 07 January in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The celebration took place on Saturday 05 January, 2 days prior to the official celebration organized by the CPP in Phnom Penh city.

Sea Kosal, the official representing the CPP, said about the meaning of 07 January: “Today, we are gathering to remember and celebrate the 07 January victory, which is a day that gave us our second birth, because, without 07 January 1979, we all wouldn’t be present here, and our country during that time, would be completely destroyed already.”

For the CPP supporters, 07 January is considered as a liberation day from the yoke of the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge killing, however, the opposition parties consider 07 January as the day of the aggression and invasion of Cambodia by the Vietnamese army.

Som Kealey, the representative of the CPP branch office in Philadelphia, said that 07 January is not an evil day like the opposition claim. Som Kealey said: “This day is the super victory of our (Xmer?) brothers who came from various states and Canada, New York, etc… to participate in the celebration of 07 January, the super victory day of (Vietnam over) Cambodia.”

Mayarith: How do you consider 07 January?

Som Kealey: 07 January is a day that Cambodians won because they were saved from the Pol Pot’s regime danger.

The celebration of 07 January in Pennsylvania takes place every single year. During this year celebration, the event seems to be participated by numerous foreigners also.

Hun Sen's puppy barks at the UN

Are you unhappy with Sea Kosal's (pictured above) condemnation of Prof Yash Ghai? Please write him a letter, or call him, or send him an email at:327 East 58th Street, New York, NY 10022, Tel: (212) 336 0777, (212) 759 7129 Fax: (212) 759 7672, Email: cambodia@un.int

Cambodian U.N. ambassador condemns U.N. human rights envoy

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian ambassador to the United Nations Sia Kosal on Wednesday condemned the current U.N. human rights envoy to Cambodia Yash Ghai, accusing him of "having rude and arrogant behaviors" to the Cambodian people and government.

Yash Ghai looked down upon the Cambodian people and government by his comments in public, Kosal said in an official letter delivered to U.N. Secretary General Ban Kim-moon.

Yash Ghai said Cambodia was not ruled by law, Kosal said in the letter, adding that Ghai's words are equaled Cambodia with an anarchic and pre-history country.

Yash Ghai also urged the Cambodian people to rebel against the Cambodian government which was elected in democratic process, he said.

Cambodia is very upset for Ghai's words and behaviors which are unacceptable, Kosal said in the letter.

Although Cambodia did not need an U.N. special envoy on human rights, the government has always expressed the goodwill to accept the U.N. special envoy for improving human rights conditions in this country, Kosal said, adding that now the Cambodian government is considering whether the U.N. special envoy is still necessary.

Last week, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen criticized Yash Ghai and proposed to Secretary General Ban Kim-moon that he should be replaced.

If Yash Ghai is rude, then Hun Sen's words are those of a Khmer Rouge thug-in-chief

Wed Dec 19, 2007
Cambodia takes U.N. rights gripe to the top

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia complained to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday about a damning human rights assessment of the country by Ban's special rapporteur.

In a letter, Ambassador Sea Kosal said Cambodia was "very disappointed about the rude attitude" of rapporteur Yash Ghai, whose criticism this month of land rights violations prompted a fierce rebuke from Prime Minister Hun Sen.

"That cannot be accepted for the dignity of Cambodia as an independent state," the two-page Khmer-language letter released by the Information Ministry said. "Yash Ghai has insulted the people and government of Cambodia."

Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge soldier who has been in charge for the last two decades, has refused to meet Ghai. The letter said he was considering whether to allow the post of U.N. human rights envoy to continue.

The focus of Ghai's criticism was the government's failure to protect the land rights of the poor, a situation he said would come back to haunt the government in the long run.

In a statement released on Monday, he urged Hun Sen to tackle the problem, quoting a Cambodian proverb: "You cannot hide a dead elephant with a basket."

(Reporting by Ek Madra; editing by Ed Cropley and Roger Crabb)

Another Karl Marx U becomes the Cambodian UN rep

Representative Presents Credentials to UN

Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
13/04/2007

Sea Kosal, a former diplomat to the US, presented his credentials April 9 to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to become Cambodia's permanent representative to the world body. Publish

Sea Kosal, 42, served as the Minister Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission for the Cambdodian Embassy in Washington from 2003 to 2005, a UN statement said.

He began his career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993 and was also a lecturer in international law at the Faculty of Law and Economics and the Royal School of Adminstration in Phnom Penh, the statement said.

Sea Kosal earned a bachelor's of law at the Karl Marx University in 1988 and his master's in law in East Germany in 1989, the statement said.