Strongman Gbagbo extradited to the Int'l Criminal Court ... hear that, Puny Xmer Strongman?

Ivory Coast's Gbagbo En Route to Hague

November 29, 2011
By LAURA BURKE and RUKMINI CALLIMACHI Associated Press

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) - Ivory Coast's former strongman, who nearly dragged his country into civil war in a bid to retain power, is being extradited to the International Criminal Court following the issue of a warrant for his arrest, his spokesman said Tuesday.

The ex-president has been under house arrest in the tiny village of Korhogo over 300 miles (500 kilometers) north of Abidjan since being ousted by internationally backed forces seven months ago.

In Abidjan, Gbagbo's spokesman Kone Katinan confirmed that the former ruler had left the remote village in a special flight headed to The Hague. "He's in the plane," Katinan said. The public prosecutor's office in Ivory Coast said Gbagbo changed planes in Bouake, the regional capital, before continuing to the Netherlands.

"I can confirm that he left Korhogo at 6:31 p.m. GMT. He is passing through Bouake, because the landing strip in Korhogo can only accommodate a small plane."

Tried and found wanting

Asia’s dismal record on tackling war crimes is an indicator of illiberalism

Nov 26th 2011
The Economist

Sadly, for large parts of Asia with weak democracy and illiberal strongmen in charge, the chances of a fair reckoning for vile crimes are slender indeed.

BEHIND a huge bulletproof screen sit judges, lawyers and three wizened former leaders of the Khmer Rouge. In their 80s, the defendants may be the last people to be prosecuted over the deaths of at least 1.7m people in 1975-79, when the Khmer Rouge exercised monstrous power in Cambodia. Gawped at daily by busloads of onlookers—monks, black-clad teenagers, turbaned villagers, earnest foreigners—the men can expect to pass much of the rest of their lives in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, a hybrid local and United Nations creation that sits just outside the capital, Phnom Penh.

The tribunal has an impossible job. The crimes in its ambit are too many and various for more than symbolic justice to be seen to be done. Set up in 2003 and now costing $40m a year, it has so far managed a single conviction, of Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, who ran the infamous Tuol Sleng prison, where 14,000 entered and only a dozen came out. Though a monster, he was a relatively low-ranking one, with a degree of remorse.

Yim Sovann: I’ve never seen a country leader in the world with so many bodyguards as Hun Xen

A show of force by Cambodia's Strongman

03 August 2011
The Free Press Magazine
Translated from Khmer by Soch
Click here to read the original article in Khmer

Yim Sovann, spokesman for the Sam Rainsy Party – the top opposition party in Cambodia, had strongly criticized a CPP party leader who maintains a huge number of bodyguards. Yim Sovann said that this action affects the livelihood of the poor. Yim Sovann’s criticisms came yesterday, after the inauguration of a warehouse for tanks belonging to Hun Xen’s bodyguard unit which was built a cost of $28 million.

Yim Sovann told The Phnom Penh Post: “I’ve never seen any country leader in the world with so many bodyguards as PM Hun Xen, and I think that the national budget used to maintain this bodyguard unit will affect the livelihood of the poor and it will create corruption inside the country.”

At the same time, Rong Chhun, President of the Cambodia Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA), criticized the fact the PM has so many bodyguards, it will affect social problems. “I believe that the bodyguards for the PM, the ministers and other high-ranking officials have used their influence on social problems, such as in illegal logging, land-grabbing and various disputes etc…”

The exact number of bodyguards for Hun Xen is not officially announced. However, based on the size of the warehouse for tanks, armored personal carriers (APC) and military gears yesterday, [Hun Xen’s bodyguard unit’s warehouse can] store hundreds of tanks and APC in there.

Passionate election after all …

04 June 2008
By Jérôme Morinière
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr

Two months into the election, the names of the parties authorized to take part in the general election are now known, but there are only 11 of them. A number much smaller than that in 2003, where there were 23 parties, and 39 parties in 1998.

The decrease can be explained in many ways. The optimistic version: during the years, the political class is becoming professional, and the parties that remain are those which are the most credible ones. This theory may not fare well with the actual facts.

In this edition, Cambodge Soir Hebdo presents the first two parties: Hang Dara and the Khmer Republican party, founded by Lon Nol’s son. Their programs really lack consistence to offer themselves as an alternative choice to the more powerful CPP. The decrease in the number of competing parties can, more correctly, mean some discouragement of the opposition in front of the CPP. Some parties no longer want to waste time and money in a fight which they know they will lose.

Nevertheless, the election remains interesting. Of course, the CPP is the favorite, and Prime minister Hun Sen appears as the truly strongman. However, is he really sheltered from internal contest within his own party? This is not as certain as it may look… From the outside, under an economic condition which is increasingly difficult, Hun Sen’s adversaries, especially the Sam Rainsy Party, could take advantage of the public discontent. From one election to the next, the SRP gained votes. Will the SRP continue its climb in 2008? Funcinpec is faring very badly. The NRP, with or without its chief presence, does not fare any better than Funcinpec. To think that these 2 parties will garner a good score during the election would be surprising.

More globally, it would be interesting to see which arguments the candidates will used during the election campaign. Will they be able to seduce the voters who are supposed to be more and more indifferent to the election? A large number of abstentions will mean that the young democracy in Cambodia does not fare well at all.