King seeks editor’s freedom

Hang Chakra (Photo: Sok Serey, RFA)

Monday, 09 November 2009
Meas Sokchea and Sebastian Strangio
The Phnom Penh Post

KING Norodom Sihamoni has encouraged Prime Minister Hun Sen to request that Hang Chakra, the opposition newspaper publisher who received a one-year prison term in June after being convicted of disinformation, be granted amnesty and released.

In a letter dated October 27, the King said an earlier appeal from the Sam Rainsy Party had prompted him to push for amnesty.

“I have received a letter from the SRP dated October 23, 2009, asking me to give amnesty to Khmer Machas Srok newspaper publisher Hang Chakra, currently imprisoned at Prey Sar prison on disinformation charges,” the letter stated.

“I am submitting this letter to Samdech Techo [Hun Sen], head of the Royal Government, for consideration.”

On June 26, Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted Hang Chakra of spreading disinformation, sentenced him to one year in prison and ordered him to pay 9 million riels (US$2,250) in fines.

The charge, which drew strong criticism from human rights groups and free speech advocates, stemmed from a series of articles Hang Chakra published in April and May accusing officials working under Deputy Prime Minister Sok An of corruption.

According to Article 27 of the Constitution, the King has “the right to grant partial or complete amnesty” to any Cambodian subject. But Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodia Defenders Project, noted that a sub-decree predating the 1993 Constitution requires the premier to issue a formal request before amnesty can be granted.

Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith declined to comment in detail but said he supported the King’s decision to send a letter requesting amnesty for Hang Chakra.

“I support the King’s intention, but it depends on the plaintiff,” he said, referring to Sok An, who brought the charges against Hang Chakra.

But government lawyer Suong Chanthan, who prosecuted the case against Hang Chakra, said the decision whether to grant amnesty would “depend on the government, not on individuals”.

SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said the court system had displayed an obvious bias in the Hang Chakra case as well as in other disinformation and defamation cases involving government critics, meaning the only chance for justice would be through Royal intervention.

“The courts are not independent – they are influenced by the ruling party. We can’t trust anybody else but the King,” he said.

He added that the request for the release of Hang Chakra – whom Yim Sovann described as a “prisoner of conscience” – was an indication that the monarch recognised the unjust nature of the case against him. “By writing a letter to Hun Sen [about Hang Chakra], it’s a recognition he is innocent,” he said.

This is not the first time the King has intervened on behalf of a journalist, said Um Sarin, director of the Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists, who added that in cases of perceived bias on the part of the legal system, a royal plea is often the only recourse.

“It is the last resort of ordinary people,” he said.

When contacted on Sunday, Hang Chakra’s daughter, Hang Chanpisey, said her father’s health had deteriorated during his five months in prison.

“My father looks so thin. His face keeps getting thinner and thinner,” she said.

Hun Sen’s superstition: Tomb-like building for the Council of Ministers will see his power demise

The pyramid-shape new building for the Council of Ministers. (Photo: Chea Phal, http://tumnei.wordpress.com)

By Chan Kosal
Khmer Post (Cambodian newspaper in the US)
No. 03, Vol. 33
06-25 April 2009
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

The pyramid-shape building styled after an ancient Greek (KI-Media note: Egyptian?) tomb has almost been completed to lodge the new office of the Council of Ministers. This building also includes a room for prime minister Hun Sen.

The elegant and luxurious middle-eastern looking pyramid building did not please Hun Sen because his office space is smaller than Sok An’s. Furthermore, the building is located next to a street thoroughfare and Hun Sen’s office is located right underneath the pyramid itself. Hun Sen’s wife does not want him to work there because she is concerned that he will meet his power demise in the future.

In this luxurious building, each high ranking government official will have their own international-standard office, as planned by Sok An, Hun Sen’s in-law. However, when the building was almost completed, Hun Sen was not pleased at all and he delayed its inauguration and he did not want to work from there.

Hun Sen was angry at Sok An, his in-law, for the construction of this building in which China provided $36 million in financing, and the Cambodian government paid $6 million. Rumors circulated that corruption affected this construction project.

Along with Hun Sen’s displeasure on Sok An, an official at the Council of Ministers revealed that Hun Sen used to visit the construction side, and he was not pleased that (1) his office is smaller than Sok An’s, (2) there will be a lot of foot traffic nearby, and (3) it is located on the ground floor. What Hun Sen wanted was an office space at the top of the building where his helicopter could land and take off in case of danger.

The same official above added that rumors are circulating in which Hun Sen’s wife is not pleased as well with the pyramid-shape building. She went to consult a fortuneteller who told her that the building is not good, and if Hun Sen insists on working there, he will meet his power demise for sure. Therefore, the best solution is to find another place for him to work instead.

The source above said that Hun Sen decided to buy a piece of land belonging to Yeay Phu – a major tycoon [and crony of Hun Sen] in Cambodia – located nearby to build a new office building, regardless of the cost involved. Furthermore, the building contractor for Hun Sen’s office is also a relative of Sok An also, observers see in this action a renewed corruption case.

The source added that, based on the type of the building, the construction cost for the pyramid-shape building would be about $20 million only, therefore, rumors are circulating about a major case of corruption ($42 million actually spent for the construction) under Hun Sen’s leadership.

Even though Hun Sen knows that Sok An is stepping all over him, he did not dare scold Sok An because the latter is his major Guru (teacher), and Sok An used to lead him for several years already. Therefore, any misunderstanding between the pair will be resolved sooner or later.

Major Chumteavs (wives of high-ranking officials) ran around town looking for fortunetellers to look for the feng-shui of their husbands’ workplaces, but the majority of them found out that the location [of the new Council of Ministers building] is “ bad.” Furthermore, government leaders can clearly see the corruption of those involved in the construction of this building, and Hun Sen himself also clearly sees the major corruption involved in the construction of the Council of Ministers building, but he is not willing to deal with it.

It should be noted that pyramids in the Middle East were mainly built to hold the body of dead rulers. Most of these pyramids are thousands of years old, and nowadays, they are considered as famous World Heritage sites.