SRP bail request for jailed SRP commune chief

Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

18 SRP MPs requested bail for Tuot Saron, SRP Pongro commune chief, Baray district, Kampong Thom province, who was arrested by the authority on 21 March for illegal detention of a person (Tim Norn). The SRP MPs signed the request on a letter dated 24 March and sent to the Kampong Thom provincial court, asking to act as guarantors for Tuot Saron for his release on bail. In this letter, the opposition MPs stated that the arrest of Tuot Saron was very unfair and that the entire case was concocted to blame him. Furthermore, this case should not involve incarceration of Tuot Saron. Ty Sovin, the Kampong Thom provincial court prosecutor, told the Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper that Tuot Saron’s defense lawyer already sent in to the tribunal the request for bail. Ty Sovin said that, in 5 days time, if the investigating judge finds that there is no reason for bail, then the court will issue a decision blocking this bail request.

International Community Must Rein Down Hun Sen

Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com/

“The international community, especially the donor countries, must use their aid and political leverage to rein down Hun Sen. If he is allowed a free rein then he will be unstoppable.”

The events in the Cambodian political landscape in the last few days don’t look promising for a free and fair election. It is looking even unimaginable for a smooth transition, if the opposition wins. In fact it is looking uglier by the day (read the links below).

First comes the surprised and the CPP-facilitated defection of the publisher of the pro-opposition Sralanh Khmer newspaper, Thach Ket. And starting from the 16th, with the arrests of the Sam Rainsy Party officials, namely Tout Sarorn, Huor Sarath and Men Vannak, which was aided and abetted by the once champion of democracy turned a political monster, Sok Pheng, who now is probably the most hated man in the Sam Rainsy Party, the balance of the political landscape is swiftly tipping.

Here, we see that Prime Minister Hun Sen is preaching one thing and is actually practising another thing. Case in point, the prime minister has appealed to his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) members not to engage in political violence and intimidation but with his order to Sok Pheng to orchestrate the arrests of the above-mentioned Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) officials, proved that the PM did not mean what he said and is not sincere in his appeals.

While the charges of kidnapping against the above-named SRP officials was not convincing, one must remember that Hun Sen had used these tricks successfully many times before. In the rightful mind of any rational persons, what the officials did was what any reasonable persons would have done- and that is to help a colleague, in this case is Mrs Tim Norn, find a sanctuary from the possible malicious revenge attacks from the CPP for her double-crossing them.

The trouble came for Mrs. Tim Norn when she defected to the CPP along with Sok Pheng. Later she was given $200 by Sok Pheng and his wife to entice more potential defectors from the SRP. She was not successful is doing so and by spending all the $200 given by Sok Pheng’s wife without having successfully done the job, she wanted to return to the SRP and began to fear for reprisal. Fearing for her life that Sok Pheng and his CPP death squad might do to her she asked the three SRP officials mentioned above to help her escape a possible assassination. That was when her ordeal begun and so the arrests of the three officials.

I feel very sad for Sok Pheng, who was once, as I mentioned earlier, a champion of democracy. It is unimaginable that such a fine young politician had turned into a political monster deserving condemnation in the strongest term. He had not only sold himself out to the CPP but he had also sold out his wife to become a CPP monster in which the CPP will use as a political tool to conduct a political witch hunt against his former colleagues from the SRP. This is a really cheap politics by any standard.

Coming back to the accusations against the three SRP officials, it doesn‘t need to take a genius to see that the charges are invented and politically motivated. In a full functional democracy Sok Pheng and Hun Sen will be charged with interfering in the democratic process by forcing someone, in this case Mrs. Tim Norn, to join the CPP against their will.

With the political trends moving toward a tense political atmosphere, the promise that the election will be free and fair is a remote possibility and is looking grim by the day. Hun Sen’s appeals for his supporters not to engage in political intimidation and violence is just a window dressing designed for political and diplomatic consumption to hypnotise the international community. The international community, especially the donor countries, must use their aid and political leverage to rein down Hun Sen. If he is allowed a free rein then he will be unstoppable.
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Related articles:
http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2008/03/attack-against-sam-rainsy-party-today.html
http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2008/03/srp-kampong-thom-authority-must-release.html
http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2008/03/defector-sok-phengs-wife-political.html

Defector Sok Pheng’s wife political buyout attempt led to false charges and arrest against SRP activisits

SRP officials accused of abduction

18 March 2008
By Sav Yuth Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

One SRP official who is the Pong-ro commune chief, Baray district, Kampong Thom province, was arrested by the police in the morning of Tuesday 18 March, and charged with abduction and illegal detention.

44-year-old Tim Norn, who lives in Chak Traloak village, Baray commune and who was the former chairwoman of the National Khmer Women Movement and commune councilor, accused 3 men: Tuot Sarorn, Pong-ro commune chief, Huor Sarat, Chraneang commune councilor, and Men Vannak, 2nd councilor of Sralao commune, of abducting her on 16 February, and detaining her at the house of Thorn Rithy in Phnom Penh. The alleged abduction took place after Tim Norn defected the SRP to join the CPP with Sok Pheng, another SRP defector.

Tim Norn said: “They came to arrest me from the pagoda, and transported me through Kampong Cham province, detained me at Thorn Rithy’s house for one night, then in a guesthouse for another two nights. He took me to meet with Sam Rainsy’s wife also.”

Chea San, the Kampong Thom province police commissioner, reacted to the use of the word “arrest” made against the SRP commune chief. Chea San said that there is no warrant issued for the arrest of the SRP activist at all, but that he only invited Tuot Sarorn to come over and clarify on the accusations made by Tim Norn who said that the SRP activists abducted her and detained her at a house in Phnom Penh. Chea San said: “I don’t understand, the police cannot make any arrest without a warrant.”

On Tuesday, RFA cannot contact the accuser to clarify on this accusation made against the 3 SRP activists because all the phones were turned off.

However, Eng Chhai Eang, SRP Secretary-general, rejected the accusation made by Tim Norn, saying that her accusation was not true. “This is a make-believe story to intimidate SRP supporters. We ask the Phnom Penh regime to end such tactics, if it wants to win the election, let’s compete fairly.”

In Kong Chit, an investigator of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) said that, based on witnesses in the case, this is what he found out: “Tim Norn went to (SRP defector) Sok Pheng’s house, there, Sok Pheng’s wife gave her $200 to help influence other SRP activists to make them defect to the CPP. When Tim Norn received the money, she did not execute Sok Pheng’s wife order, instead she spent all the money, and she became concerned and wanted to re-join the SRP back. She escaped from her own home, and called a number of SRP officials whom she knew to help bring her to Phnom Penh.”

During the installation of the foundation of Wat Mesang Pagoda, in Prey Veng province, on 17 March, Hun Sen pushed for an investigation into an alleged case of threat and detention of a person in Phnom Penh Thmey commune, Phnom Penh city. Hun Sen also asked for an investigation on Licadho also.
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KI-Media Note: On 17 March 2008, The Cambodia Daily reported that Am Sam Ath, Licadho investigator, confirmed that Licadho received Tim Norn from SRP officals including SRP MP Tioulong Saumura. Tim Norn told Licadho investigators that she feared for her life because she wanted to re-join the SRP back, and SRP officials speculated that the CPP might kill her for this action. Am Sam Ath also said that Tim Norn was in great mental distress and had to be taken to the Calmette Hospital where she was hospitalized for a few days before returning back home. Licadho’s Naly Pilorge was quoted by The Cambodia Daily as stating: “This woman (Tim Norn) did not complain to Licadho about any detention of her by anyone.”

From championing for the victims' cause to serving the oppressors

The defectors claim that their former parties are no good

Monday, February 11, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

At the approach of the general election season, there are always talks about high-ranking political party officials defecting to join another party. The majority of these defectors always attack their former party leaders, calling them bad people, weak people, and clannish people. This is the case of two former SRP MPs who defected to the CPP last week, they are now praising the party which they just joined while attacking the party which was their previous home for many years. Ngo Sovann, the former SRP MP who defected to the CPP, told RFA about the reason behind his defection, he claimed that the CPP leaders are good, and they brought progress to the country, that is the reason why he decided to join the CPP, and he also accused the SRP of being clannish and lacks fairness. In the past two weeks, 3 SRP MPs: defected their party to join the CPP, Ahmad Yahya, Sok Pheng and Ngo Sovannthey all talk badly about their former party while praising the CPP which they just joined.