Royce Disappointed by Trafficking in Persons Report Designation of Cambodia

US Rep. Ed Royce (R-California) at the lectern

Today, the U.S. Department of State released its 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report, a document that catalogues abuses of modern day slavery throughout the world

(From PoliticalNews.me)
Washington, Jun 14

"Having heard scores of accounts from NGO’s and from eyewitnesses, the Cambodian government’s corruption often hampers trafficking investigations, and at worse, covers up the problem. Rewarding Cambodia, as the State Department Report does, only hampers efforts to curtail human trafficking. I’d like to see my colleagues join me in pressing this issue by cosponsoring my resolution, H.Res.820," said Royce.

Today, the U.S. Department of State released its 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report, a document that catalogues abuses of modern day slavery throughout the world. The Report’s cataloging of abuses – and the categorizing of countries - can bring about change in some countries; the threat of sanctions on the most severe violators is also an important tool.

"While this report brings much needed attention to the plight of some of the world’s most marginalized women and children, I regret that it appears that some countries like Cambodia have gotten a pass," said Royce.

Citing it as a destination country for commercial sexual exploitation, the State Department had listed Cambodia as a "Tier 2 Watch List" country in its previous report. Despite an abundance of evidence that these problems still exist, Cambodia was upgraded one position. This will prevent automatic relegation to the lowest category (Tier 3) if next year it is once again listed as a Tier 2 Watch List country.

"The 2010 report cites Cambodian children being trafficked to Thailand and Vietnam for forced labor, the sale of virgin girls ‘continues to be a serious problem,’ and a significant number of Asian and foreign men ‘travel to Cambodia to engage in child sex tourism.’ Furthermore, the report cites that police and judicial officials are both ‘directly and indirectly involved in trafficking.’ And under these conditions, the State Department saw fit to upgrade Cambodia? We need to be sending a much stronger message that these forms of modern day slavery and unacceptable," said Royce.

Following a Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing entitled "Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Cambodia" held last year, Rep. Ed Royce introduced a House Resolution – H.Res.820 - condemning Cambodian corruption and the role it plays in furthering human trafficking.

"Having heard scores of accounts from NGO’s and from eyewitnesses, the Cambodian government’s corruption often hampers trafficking investigations, and at worse, covers up the problem. Rewarding Cambodia, as the State Department Report does, only hampers efforts to curtail human trafficking. I’d like to see my colleagues join me in pressing this issue by cosponsoring my resolution, H.Res.820," said Royce.

Rep. Royce is a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and is an active member of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.

US Congressman Eni Faleomavaega rewarded by Hun Xen to attend the CPP's celebration for blasting the Tom Lantos Commisstion hearing?

US Congressman Eni Faleomaveaga (D-American Samoa) in front row can be seen attending the celebration of Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. Mr. Faleomaveaga issued a scathing remark against the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing on Cambodia in 2009. He indicated that "I do not believe that holding a hearing that gives voice to the opposition party and excludes the ruling party is the way for us to proceed in affecting change in Cambodia." The congressman was in fact echoing a sentiment held by the ruling CPP. (Photo: Khmer Sovanna)
Hun Xen and Bun Rany Hun Xen presiding over the celebration (Photo: Khmer Sovanna)
Cambodia's stooges (Photo: Khem Sovannara)

Congressional Censure a Message of Solidarity: Official

(Photo: SRP Pennsylvania)

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
16 October 2009

A recent congressional reproach of Cambodia’s corruption and political repression is not meant as an attack on the government, a US official says, but it is meant to demonstrate to the Cambodian people they are not alone.

Four US congressmen issued a House resolution earlier this month censuring pervasive corruption and continued human trafficking, a message government officials have dismissed.

“We, the United States government, are aware of what is going on within your borders; and while Cambodia is a sovereign country it is also part of the international community,” the office of Rep. Jim Moran, who was among those sponsoring the resolution, said in a statement to VOA Khmer explaining the resolution’s intent.

“We, the United States, cannot stand by idly when we see the people of Cambodia lack what we here in the US take for granted—the freedom to speak up, move around and live where we wish, without the danger of persecution and prosecution,” the statement said.

The resolution—introduced Oct. 8 by representatives Ed Royce, a Republican from California; Frank Wolf, a Republican from Virginia; Moran, a Democrat from Virginia; and Anh Josept Cao, a Republican from Louisiana—calls on the House of Representatives to condemn the repression of opposition candidates by the ruling party and calls on the Cambodian government to better combat the “worsening problem” of human trafficking.

Cheam Yiep, a parliamentarian for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, told VOA Khmer earlier this week the resolution was one-sided and not accepted by the government.

“Everything we do is based on our laws,” he said. “Our laws and those of the US are different. You, the sharp-nosed, live more than 1,000 kilometers away, and I live in Asia. I, as a lawmaker voted in by voters, make laws based on what my people need. I thank you for sharing your concern, but the concern is unthoughtful, without analysis, without estimation, and without clear checks and balances.”

“You’ve based [the resolution] on only one side,” he said, referring to testimony by an opposition lawmaker, a leading rights advocate, and a union representative to the House’s Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission last month. “This is inappropriate and unacceptable.”

In fact, sponsors of the resolution cited the rights commission testimonies and reports from the US State Department, Human Rights Watch, a UN special envoy for human rights, and the international environmental watchdog Global Witness, as cause for the censure.

Moran’s statement, issued Tuesday, said the congressmen’s “interest in Cambodia is not due to what the US can gain, but how the US can assist a country whose people strive for freedom of expression, thought and movement, but whose own government is knowingly preventing those functions from taking place.”

The resolution has moved to the House Committee for Foreign Affairs, officials said.

Land Crisis in Cambodia: Evictees' Testimonies

Source: Licadho

September 9, 2009 - In the past 5 years LICADHO has documented cases of land grabbing that have affected more than a quarter of a million Cambodians. The rampant land grabbing has seriously undermined the development of Cambodia, depriving entire communities of their livelihoods and dignity.

This video was shown on September 10, 2009, during the US Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing on Cambodia.

US resolution criticises govt

Tuesday, 13 October 2009
James O’toole and Chrann Chamroeun
The Phnom Penh Post

FOUR American lawmakers have submitted a resolution in the United States Congress condemning the “pervasive corruption” of the Cambodian government following a hearing in Washington last month that assessed the Kingdom’s human rights situation.

On September 10, three Cambodians – Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian Mu Sochua, Licadho rights group president Kek Galabru and Community Legal Education Centre labour programme head Moeun Tola – testified in front of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a US congressional body that monitors international human rights norms. All three offered pointed criticisms of the Cambodian government, with Mu Sochua testifying that democracy in Cambodia is currently experiencing “an alarming free fall”.

On Thursday, California congressman Ed Royce submitted a three-page resolution on behalf of himself, Tom Lantos Commission co-chairman Frank Wolf and congressmen Jim Moran and Joseph Cao, accusing the Cambodian government of a litany of human rights abuses.

The resolution registered particular concern over the July 2008 murder of opposition journalist Khim Sambo and the August defamation conviction of Mu Sochua, and cited the Global Witness rights group’s description of Cambodia as a state “run by a kleptocratic elite that generates much of its wealth via the seizure of public assets”.

Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) lawmaker Cheam Yeap called the resolution “slander”, and reiterated the CPP complaint that the American hearing was biased because representatives of the Cambodian government were not invited to testify.

“The US House of Representatives should focus on its own work rather than interfering with Cambodia’s Assembly,” Cheam Yeap said, adding that the resolution had “damaged [Cambodia’s] reputation”.

Witnesses voice approval

Moeun Tola said he welcomed the resolution and hoped that its focus on corruption would spur speedy passage of the long-promised anticorruption law.

“One of the biggest problems for business in Cambodia is corruption,” he said, adding: “If we have full respect of investment laws and [other] existing laws, we can have full trust from foreign investors.”

Though the Congressional motion lacks legal force, Mu Sochua noted, it is a sign of the success of last month’s hearing in raising awareness of the challenges facing Cambodia.

“Although the resolution is not binding, it is an acknowledgement by the signatories that the situation of human rights, corruption, rule of law and human trafficking is of grave concern,” she said.

Mu Sochua returns to Cambodia but remains quiet

Mrs. Mu Sochua and her supporters (Photo: Ly Meng Huor, RFI)

25 September 2009
By Ly Meng Huor
Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

On her return trip to Phnom Penh this Friday, SRP MP Mu Sochua escaped from the reporters at the Phnom Penh International Airport. She seems to remain quiet and trying to defuse the tense political situation, unlike when she was in the US.

Unlike from the past, Mrs. Mu Sochua, who used to criticize the violations of human rights, escaped from reporters instead this Friday. However, in her comment provided to the Light of Candle radio station run by the SRP, Mrs. Mu Sochua seems to defuse her criticisms against the government at a forum in the US recently.

In the almost 7-minute interview with the Light of Candle radio, Mrs. Mu Sochua confirmed that, in her testimony to the US Congress and the Cambodian people, she did not ask the US to cut aid to Cambodia, and neither did she defamed anyone. Quite to the contrary, she wants [to see] the US aids to Cambodia to be quality aids that benefit all the Cambodian people in terms of health service, education and freedom of expression, etc…

Seemingly trying to defuse the [tense] situation between the opposition party and the government, Mrs. Mu Sochua stressed that the SRP is an important partner in the construction of democracy. The SRP is fighting [the government], but an important partner of the government in all aspects.

During the wait for the arrival of Mrs. Mu Sochua at the Phnom Penh International Airport this morning, besides the presence of reporters, US embassy representatives were also seen observing the situation as well. The US embassy in Cambodia was asked by US representatives to follow up and provide refuge to human rights activists, as well as politician – including Mrs. Mu Sochua – who provided their testimonies to the US Congress human rights commission recently.

Nevertheless, Phay Siphan, the secretary of state and spokesman of the Council of Ministers, said that, in the name of the government, he welcomes Mrs. Mu Sochua’s and the SRP’s new standing.

Phay Siphan added that, the government, as well as the CPP, always welcomes any partnership for the construction of the country, and turning it into a plural democracy country.

A few hours following the return of Mrs. Mu Sochua to Phnom Penh, the prosecutor of the Appeal Court issued her a court summon, asking her to show up in court to provide her clarification on 02 October in regards to the appeal on her lawsuit against Hun Xen for defaming her in Kampot.

It takes two to play the political fear game

The high-ranking gov't official (L) who hates criticisms vs the outspoken gov't critics (R)

Friday, 25 September 2009
By Victoria Khiev
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post

Dear Editor,

This letter is in response to the situation that is currently playing out in Cambodia politics. I would like to play devil’s advocate since a Post reader, Chansokhy Anhaouy, made his argument for the Khmer government (September 23, see below). The so-called “fear” that Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian Mu Sochua has stirred up within Cambodia against its government is the same type of political game that the current government has played in the past. I don’t place blame on one side over the other because in politics (anywhere around the world), whatever resources and network one has, he/she will utilise it the best way he/she can. In the case of MP Mu Sochua, she is simply taking steps she knows will help and work to garner the attention Cambodia needs. To say that she is the only one with a political agenda is like the pot calling the kettle black.

As a not-too-long-ago example, back in the 2008 national election, I recall the fear stir-up that was ubiquitous in Cambodia’s headlines, with one known high-ranking official at the centre of power grandstanding over the situation between Thailand and Cambodia. If that wasn’t propaganda, then I believe we’re all in a state of denial. Not to refer to the Cambodian-Thai conflict as unreal or made-up, but the strong nationalism that was created during that time was apparent. That was also created in fear – the same type of fear mentioned by reader Chansokhy Anhaouy in his letter to the editor. A game can’t be resumed unless both sides are in play. Here, both sides are certainly in play.

The reader previously said that those people who recently met with US congressmen to speak about their situation did have the right to do it and were “free to travel to perform their roles as opposition parties”. Correct.

They also have foreign citizenship and a party to back them up. They wouldn’t have gone to the US if they didn’t have an issue with the current Cambodian government. If their actions indicated democratic ways, then I can conclude that democracy in Cambodia is very selective because the average Khmer person wouldn’t dare speak out against the ruling party or the government. If this reader says it’s false that Cambodians can do what they can, then can he explain why the US has given so many Khmer citizens political asylum? What does that signify to the rest of the world?

One other thing is that many Khmers simply don’t get themselves involved in politics at all because they fear what can be done to them. They would rather be ignorant of laws and even their rights as citizens – not that knowing them would help. The average person would never put him/herself and/or their families in a position where they would be the target of violent threats and persecution.

Mu Sochua has done what any clever person would have done, knowing that her own government wouldn’t take any other positions besides those of the Khmer premier. If one’s government will not listen or even adhere to the complete ideas of democracy that its country claims to have, that person is stuck with nowhere to seek help and has lost faith in those leaders who were sworn to protect the people and their birthrights. What type of democracy is it where a country’s own people are trapped in their nation and have become mute in fear of being threatened by high-ranking officials who, by the way, do not wish for any dissent or criticism? Cambodia shouldn’t be about only words on a piece of paper that claims to be democratic. Let’s execute real actions and stick to a non-selective process of law for all citizens to convey what an actual democratic nation is. That is fair, my friends.

Victoria Khiev
Rhode Island, USA

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Government critics have their own agendas

Wednesday, 23 September 2009
By Chansokhy Anhaouy
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to your article “Congressmen fear for speakers’ fate”, written by Meas Sokchea and James O’Toole (September 17). Cambodia has an elected government that was voted in by the majority of the people of Cambodia. For both men to listen to a one-sided camp (opposition groups whose interest is to win the next election) and come back with such a suggestion as stated in this article is unacceptable. What are the agendas of these opposition groups?

James Moran and Frank Wolf have obviously abused their own power on this issue. As outsiders, both congressmen should not dictate change by helping to create an assumption that Cambodia is a fear state, such as to say that if you have spoken out against the Cambodian government, you should seek protection. It sounds to me like an infant’s game in politics.

I am a man who lives in Canada, but Cambodia is my birth country. It is still my home. I am aware of the situation there, its cultural, social and political situation. Any changes, whether they be cultural, social or political development, should be given time and addressed with constructive criticism, not with fear.

Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian Mu Sochua, Licadho rights group president Kek Galabru and Community Legal Education Centre labour programme head Moeun Tola, who testified in front of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, are all doing things to serve their personal interests, endeavours and/or goals.

They are not necessarily doing what is best for the majority of the people and the good of the country.

It is obvious that in the business of politics, they have the political knowledge to use the Western media and mobilise international friends to support their causes.

But one should not give them full credit for what they do and should not make them be seen as stars.

Finally, I would like to remind both congressmen that it is because Cambodia is a monarchist liberal democratic country that the people whom they met can speak out and are free to travel to where they wish and perform their roles as opposition parties and groups similar to where we live in the West. This is the democratic way.

To be noted also, Canada is an educated and well-developed country with no history of genocide; and yet, large-scale corruption by banks and governments is a daily occurrence, and the human rights of our First Nations people and other minority groups are being violated daily. How is this a fair game?

Chansokhy Anhaouy
Vancouver, BC, Canada

If the US does not care about human rights issues in Cambodia as Tea Banh claimed, why would Hor 5 Hong has to approach Hillary Clinton on this issue?

Mu Sochua, Dr. Pung Chiv Kek and Moeun Tola giving their testimonies to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (Photo: SRP North America)

Hor 5 Hong plans to meet Hillary Clinton

23 September 2009
By Leng Maly Radio Free Asia Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy Click here to read the article in Khmer

The spokesman for the ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAIC) indicated that Hor 5 Hong, the Cambodian vice-PM and minister of Foreign Affairs, plans to meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton soon, during his trip the US to participate in the UN General Assembly meeting on 22 September 2009.

Regarding the planned upcoming meeting between Hor 5 Hong and Hillary Clinton, Koy Kuong, MFAIC spokesman, declared: “His Excellency the vice will hold a bilateral meeting with a number of ministers of Foreign Affairs, including Mrs. Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State.”

Koy Kuong indicated also that in the meeting with Clinton, Hor 5 Hong will discuss the the US-Cambodian relationships issue, as well as the recent criticisms on human rights violations in Cambodia leveled by NGOs and the opposition party.

Koy Kuong said: “First, he will talk about the relationship, and the bilateral cooperation between Cambodia and the US. Second, regarding the 3 opposition persons who declared to the US Congress [Tom Lantos] Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) on 10 September that there is a restriction on the freedom of expression in Cambodia, it is completely opposite to what these people tell the foreign government.”

Recently, human rights issues in Cambodia was the topic of a hearing held by the US Congress’ TLHRC, an institution which reviews human rights conditions in the world. Dr. Pung Chiv Kek of the Licadho human rights group, Moeun Tola of the Community Legal Education Center (CLEC), and SRP MP Mu Sochua gave their testimonies to this commission.

Oeur Sam Ol, the deputy cabinet chief of the SRP, indicated that Mrs. Mu Sochua plans to return to Cambodia on 25 September 2009. “It was for the 24, by right now she has to go to San Francisco, and she will be back in Phnom Penh on the 25th.”

Koy Kuong said that Hor 5 Hong will comment on the criticisms leveled by Mrs. Mu Sochua regarding the human rights violations to Hillary Clinton.

Tea Banh pays US official visit

Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Jacob Gold and Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

Meeting with the US defence secretary addresses greater military cooperation, though concerns linger about alleged rights violations by Cambodian soldiers.

CAMBODIAN Defence Minister Tea Banh met with US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates at the Pentagon in Washington during an official visit on Monday, Defence Ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat told the Post on Wednesday.

The agenda included improving military cooperation during humanitarian assistance scenarios and strengthening the capacity of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. The discussion also focused on regional security issues and cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

“We expect that the relationship between the RCAF and the US military will move close together after this high-level visit by the Cambodian defence delegation,” Chhum Socheat said.

The US has promised to sponsor Cambodia’s role in defence exercises scheduled for July 2010 and slated to involve more than 2,000 military personnel from countries across the Asia-Pacific region, he said.

Tea Banh is expected to arrive back in Cambodia today. The US embassy declined to comment further on the outcome of the meeting pending an official statement due to be released today.

US-Cambodian military relations have come under scrutiny from US congressmen following testimony by Human Rights Watch to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing in Washington earlier this month.

The NGO reported that since 2006 the US has provided training and material assistance totalling approximately US$4.5 million to Cambodian military units such as Prime Minister Hun Sen’s personal bodyguard unit, Brigade 70, Special Airborne Brigade 911 and Brigade 31 of the RCAF. Eight congressmen sent a letter last Friday to Gates inquiring about the connection between and US military aid and these units’ alleged human rights abuses, which the Cambodian military denied.

The meeting of the two nations’ defence chiefs comes ahead of a bilateral agreement, due to be signed by the US and Cambodia today, under which the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide Cambodia with US$7.79 million to help stimulate broader economic growth.

The additional funding will finance an expansion of USAID’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 2 and Business Enabling Environment programme, aimed at alleviating rural poverty by making family-owned businesses more productive, the organisation said in a statement released to the media on Tuesday. USAID expects to commit a total of $61.8 million in assistance to Cambodia this year.

Mu Sochua's US Human Rights Commission Testimony 09/10/2009

If she’s so scared, why would she return back, can you explain, Doc Cheam Yeap?

Cheam Yeap: Another CPP PhD without attending school?

Dr. Cheam Yeap: The opposition people exaggerate so much overseas and they are now scared (sic!)

21 September 2009
By Ratana
Khmer Sthabna
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Click here to read Ros Visal's letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

A high-ranking official of the ruling CPP reacted to the critics by human rights group and an opposition MP after the latter talked without restraint (on 10 September 2009) to the US Congress Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and these people are scared when they return back to Cambodia.

On 18 September 2009, Ros Visal, President of the SRP in the US, wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking that the US government helps improve human rights and democracy in Cambodia, and he is also concerned about the use of the biased judiciary system to sue opposition MPs, NGO officials, and reporters. He also asked [for the US] to help ensure the safety of opposition MP Mu Sochua, the elected MP from Kampot province, and Phnom Penh MP Ho Vann, Dr. Pung Chiv Kek, President of Licadho, and Mr. Moeun Tola, the planning director of the Community Legal Education Center (CLEC).

Ros Visal added in his letter that the court system in Cambodia is not independent and government officials are above the law. In regards to freedom of expression, the government did not provide freedom to the people to speak the truth, and whoever dares to criticize the government, that person will be sued for defamation by the court. Freedom of the expression is the foundation to guarantee freedom and democracy, but it is actually not guaranteed, as stipulated in the Constitution.

The content of the letter to Mrs. Clinton also indicated that, in regard to the human rights problems, Members of Parliament, NGO officials, reporters are sued by the court and the legal system is used to lift MP’s parliamentary immunity for political purpose. Regarding the recent forced evictions in Cambodia, no proper compensations were provided and several thousands of families lost their lands and houses and these people have to face even more dire poverty situation.

Cheam Yeap, the CPP MP from Prey Veng and a high-ranking CPP official, reacted by saying that these are exaggerations of the truth provided to US representatives (on 10 September 2009), and he added that these people are now scared when they want to return back to Cambodia, so they are sending out letters seeking help interventions.

Dr. Cheam Yeap indicated the US government cannot interfere inside Cambodia’s boundaries, and what the opposition people spoke, it was way out of limit, and now they are scared. He said that what the Phnom Penh regime undertook, it was all according to the law, and it was never outside of the law and the democratic principle, but nevertheless, there are still some cracks in everything.

Khieu Kanharith, the minister of Information and government spokesman, could not be reached over the phone in the afternoon of 21 September.

However, recently, Ouch Borith, the secretary of state for the ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Mrs. Mu Sochua and the civil society close to the opposition party are lying, and that it was not true. He said that the government plays the democracy game, so Mrs. Mu Sochua should return back without fear.

Yim Sovann, SRP spokesman, said that both Cambodians and foreigners are very concerned about the human rights and democracy situation in Cambodia.

Someone is lying

Alternatives Watch – 20ix09
Op-Ed by Ung Bun Ang
Originally posted online

In the current episode of Cambodia politics, there are four potential liars: SRP parliamentarian Mu Sochua, Cambodian foreign affairs secretary of state Ouch Borith, US ambassador to Cambodia Carol Rodley, and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton. They all have reasons to lie.

Mu Sochua may lie as she could not afford to disappoint her supporters who have been hyped up by her rhetoric. Following her meeting with Clinton, Mu Sochua claims the US will, at the end of September, inform the Cambodian government that there will be conditions attached to US aid. Mu Sochua maintains that a high level US delegation led by Melanne Vereer – president Obama’s ambassador at-large for global women's issues – will visit Cambodia to assess human rights conditions. With such details, Mu Sochua is either telling the truth or a good liar.

But the claims prompt Cambodia’s Ouch Borith to brand Mu Sochua a liar. He asserts ambassador Rodley, whom he summoned to the ministry of foreign affairs to clarify what had transpired in the meeting between Hillary Clinton and Mu Sochua in Washington DC, has assured him the US secretary did not respond to any of Mu’s requests. Mu will thus be a liar if Ouch Borith accurately reports the outcome of his meeting with Rodley. He lies, however, if Rodley in fact confirms the parliamentarian’s claims.

There is a good reason for Ouch Borith to lie. Though the Cambodian government may not need the US aid, it could do with a public relations coup. A Mu Sochua run-away success will put a huge dent into the ego of prime minister Hun Sen, who has been mounting pressures on the parliamentarian to back down from their court tussle.

Or, ambassador Rodley could lie to Ouch Borith by not confirming the Mu Sochua claims. The US Administration has moved decisively in recent times to improve its relation with the Cambodia government with more aid and high level visits. US defence secretary and Cambodian defence minister are about to hold face-to-face meetings in Washington DC with undisclosed agenda. US energy giant Chevron has submitted an application to Cambodian authority for exploration rights in Cambodian maritime areas. Confirming Mu’s claims could jeopardise the efforts. Embassy spokesman John Johnson has declined to comment on the claims.

For the same reasons, secretary Clinton could just play lip service and lie to protect the US interest that must dwarf any personal regards she may have for Mu Sochua. She has not so far cared to clarify the matter, keeping all concerned up in the air.

It may be difficult to prove now who is lying as all have conformed to a requirement for a good lie: the meetings are one-to-one behind closed doors, and mum’s the word. But sooner or later, it will become clear who has lied. A major test comes if the US high level delegation actually visits Cambodia as claimed. Or, they may just send a lower level delegation, which is a compromise that makes everyone a liar.
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Quotable Quote:

“Nixon is a shifty-eyed goddam liar...He's one of the few in the history of this country to run for high office talking out of both sides of his mouth at the same time and lying out of both sides.” - Harry S. Truman (1884–1972), U.S. president. Referring to Richard Nixon.

A Lie or An Irony:

Duch, at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal hearing on 27 August 2009:

“… Another influence [on me] was from within the country. I used to have close and distant grandparents who were poor telling me, ‘you are a clever student, when you grow up you will definitely oppress me’. I was determined then that [I] would not let their foresight turn right.”

Duch did more than just oppressing them.

US Embassy Asked to Monitor Witness’ Safety

By Men Kimseng and Taing Sarada
Washington
18 September 2009

Click here to listen to Men Kimseng's report
Click here to listen to Taing Sarada's report

A congressional committee has requested the US Embassy in Phnom Penh to monitor the safety of several rights and opposition figures, following their testimony in a rights hearing earlier this month.

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission formally requested the embassy to monitor the three activists in a Sept. 15 letter, claiming, “dissidents and human rights defenders often face threats and discrimination by the government and government-controlled security forces.”

“The US embassy should represent an island of freedom in a country such as Cambodia,” wrote Frank Wolf, a Republican from Virginia and co-chairman of the commission.

Among those who testified was Mu Sochua, a National Assembly member of the Sam Rainsy Party representing Kampot province, who met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week. Mu Sochua was fined $4,500 after losing a defamation suit brought against her by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

“I really want the US to pay attention to other victims who are suffering from the court system,” Mu Sochua told VOA Khmer after the meeting.

Congressmen fear for speakers’ fate

Left to right: Mu Sochua, Dr. Pung Chiv Kek, Moeun Tola (Photo: SRP North America)

Thursday, 17 September 2009
Meas Sokchea and James O’toole
The Phnom Penh Post

Advise US Embassy to offer ‘island of freedom’ to Lantos commission witnesses.
REPRESENTATIVES from the US Congress sent a letter to the US Embassy in Phnom Penh urging the protection of three Cambodians who testified in Washington, as the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sought to downplay the significance of the US hearing.

Last Thursday, Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian Mu Sochua testified with Licadho rights group president Kek Galabru and Community Legal Education Centre labour programme head Moeun Tola in front of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a US congressional body that monitors human rights norms around the world. All three witnesses offered fierce criticisms of the government, with Mu Sochua testifying that Cambodian democracy is “experiencing an alarming free fall”.

On Tuesday, two members of the Tom Lantos commission sent a letter to US Ambassador Carol Rodley urging her to monitor the safety of the three witnesses when they return home to Cambodia.

“The US Embassy should represent an island of freedom in a country such as Cambodia, where dissidents and human rights defenders often face threats and discrimination by the government and government-controlled security forces,” US congressmen James Moran and Frank Wolf wrote.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs secretary of state Ouch Borith dismissed concern for the safety of Mu Sochua and the other witnesses on Wednesday as overblown, comparing them to other prominent figures associated with the opposition.

“Have we ever arrested [SRP head] Sam Rainsy?” Ouch Borith asked. “Sam Rainsy is a leading party representative, and he always wants to speak badly about Cambodia when he travels abroad.... As for [Mu Sochua’s] return to Cambodia, don’t worry about this.”

Ouch Borith went on to dispute Mu Sochua’s characterisation of a meeting she had with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last Friday. On Sunday, Mu Sochua told the Post that Clinton expressed interest in sending a US State Department delegation to Cambodia later this year, and “made it very clear that she does not wish to see further deterioration” in the Kingdom’s rights situation.

Ouch Borith said that during a recent meeting with Carol Rodley, the US ambassador clarified to him that the meeting between Clinton and Mu Sochua “was not official – it took place outside [Clinton’s] office”.

To the issue of the US delegation, Ouch Borith said Clinton “didn’t respond at all”.

US Embassy spokesman John Johnson confirmed in an email on Wednesday that Clinton “did meet briefly with Mu Sochua to discuss the current situation in Cambodia” but did not offer further details regarding the meeting.

"We cannot accept democracy fed to us by the teaspoon; we want full democracy": Mu Sochua

Cambodian opposition leader Mu Sochua speaks of government repression at home

Social-welfare grad faces potential arrest following testimony to U.S. lawmakers, she says

16 September 2009
By Cathy Cockrell, NewsCenter
UC Berkeley News (California, USA)

BERKELEY — "We cannot accept democracy fed to us by the teaspoon; we want full democracy," a Cambodian parliamentary opposition leader, Mu Sochua, told an audience at Berkeley in a brief but impassioned talk Sept. 14.

Her campus appearance came just four days after she testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, telling members of Congress that "democracy in Cambodia is experiencing an alarming free fall."

Mu Sochua (Cathy Cockrell/NewsCenter image)According to the human-rights advocate, that act of defiance has been ill received by the ruling regime back home, and daily radio attacks against her by a government spokesman have taken a serious turn. "This morning … he used the word 'traitor,'" she said, noting that treason carries a prison sentence of 20 years to life in Cambodian law. "I am going home facing jail," Ms. Mu said with emotion.

"I have no fear of jail," she later added, "but I fear something else which I can't tell you — not the bullets, but the acid attack. That is very common."

A Cal alum who earned her master's degree at the School of Social Welfare in 1981 and Berkeley's prestigious Haas International Award in 2006, Mu has spent a quarter century battling sex trafficking, domestic violence against women, government corruption, and illegal appropriation of land in her country. In 2005, in recognition of her efforts, she was one of 1,000 women from 153 countries nominated jointly for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Mu has served in the Cambodian government as adviser on women's affairs to the prime minister and as the nation's minister of women's and veterans' affairs. More recently, as a member of the Sam Rainsy opposition party, her relationship with government authorities has deteriorated. Mu has been stripped of the immunity normally accorded members of Parliament, and on Aug. 4 was found guilty by the courts in Phnom Penh of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has held power since the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge in 1979.

In her talk before a standing-room-only audience of several hundred, Mu said her life's work had been informed by values she learned at the School of Social Welfare. But "what I learned on the ground," she added, "is that social work alone" — as a means to ameliorate her people's social and economic problems — "will continue to make the people feel as if they are victims.

"We cannot afford to let our people believe they are victims," Mu said. "We have to go one step beyond that…. If we really want a change, it has to be a political issue." Language and culture present barriers to political change, she said: the term "accountability," for example, has no equivalent in Cambodian, while the word for "opposition" implies someone who is confrontational and destructive. Working against such obstacles, Mu, as leader of her party's women's movement, spearheaded a campaign to identify and encourage grassroots women to run for office in their villages.

According to the Asian Human Rights Commission, the Cambodian government is increasingly using the judicial system to silence opposition leaders, journalists, and human-rights organizations. Mu noted that Cambodia receives $1 billion a year in foreign aid, $53 million of it from the United States, despite its flaunting of legal and human rights. She called on members of the campus community to demand that U.S. aid to Cambodia be tied to compliance with human-rights standards and to demand that those Cambodians who speak out publicly against the government not be persecuted for doing so.

"Send a signal to Hillary Clinton," Mu said. "I don't want to go to jail. With your silence, I will go to jail."

Lawmaker [Mu Sochua] Hails US Trip a Success

Left to right: US Congressman Jim Moran (D-Va), US Congressman James P. McGovern (D-Ma), SRP MP Mu Sochua and US Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (D-Ma)

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
16 September 2009

Mu Sochua, an opposition lawmaker who testified before US Congress Thursday, said her trip to the US had meant more attention to Cambodia’s rights issues and more monitoring of the situation by the US.

The US will work to end injustice in the court and other crackdowns, she said, as a guest on “Hello VOA” Monday, following talks with senior US officials.

“First, they will send a team of high-level delegates to clearly assess the situation in Cambodia,” said Mu Sochua, who represents the Sam Rainsy Party for Kampot province. “And second, they said aid must be attached to the respect of human rights. Third, they will pay close attention and they will monitor and take action to end the use of injustice in the courts to crack down on opposition members of parliament.”

Mu Sochua was referring to herself and SRP lawmaker Ho Vann, both of whom had their immunity stripped earlier this year and faced lawsuits from high-level officials.

She testified Thursday before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the US House of Representatives, along with Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Lichado, and Moeun Tola, of the Community Legal Education Center.

Cambodian officials dismissed the hearing as biased and denied many of the accusations of its participants as exaggerations.

“What I came to testify here for was not my personal interest,” Mu Sochua said Monday, “but the people’s interest.”

Official Denies Statements at US Rights Hearing

Ouch Borith: A master of "truth spinning"?

By Chun Sakada and Men Kimseng
Original reports from Phnom Penh and Washington
16 September 2009

A Foreign Affairs official dismissed as false statements made to US Congress by Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua, in a human rights hearing last week.

Mu Sochua’s description of a country where democracy was a “façade” was meant “only for cheating the Cambodian people,” said Uch Borith, a secretary of state for the ministry, told reporters at a press conference after meeting with US Ambassador Carol Rodley.

He also denied reports on a Web site called Khmer Intelligence KI-Media that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would send a delegation to investigate rights issues.

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission invited three prominent Cambodians to testify on Thursday, after noting a worrying trend in the erosion of rights and freedoms in the media.

Mu Sochua and another opposition lawmaker had their parliamentary immunity revoked earlier this, as the courts pursued lawsuits against them by senior officials; and at least one opposition journalist is in jail after accusing senior officials of corruption.

Meanwhile, a US congressman said Cambodian government representatives should have been invited to the hearing last week should the US wish to see changes in Cambodia’s human rights record.

“I do not believe that holding a hearing that gives voice to the opposition party and excludes the ruling party is the way for us to proceed in affecting change in Cambodia,” Eni Faleomavaega, a Democrat from Samoa, said in a statement issued on the day of a hearing conducted by Tom Lantos Human Rights commission. “I also do not believe that any Commission should usurp the role of the US Department of State or the diplomatic relations we have established between our two countries.”

KI-Media’s Open Letter to Mrs. Carol Rodley, US Ambassador to Cambodia

The public needs to know the truth!

16 September 2009

Mrs. Carol A. Rodley
US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia

Dear Mrs. Rodley,

On 16 September 2009, several Cambodian news media, including the US-funded Radio Free Asia, quoted Mr. Ouch Borith, the Cambodian secretary of state of the ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying: “…Therefore, what the [US] ambassador told me yesterday when I met her, it was a clear confirmation that the internet publication by KI[-Media] does not reflect the truth, it is an exaggeration and a lie.” (Click here to read the RFA article in Khmer).

What we would like to confirm with you is whether you indicated to Mr. Ouch Borith that the article in which KI-Media translated in English from an original article posted by Radio Free Asia, a station funded by the US, was “an exaggeration and a lie” – as Mr. Ouch Borith seems to attribute this claim to you – or that it was merely Mr. Ouch Borith’s personal malicious interpretation.

Your reply is of utmost importance for the parties involved, including the following:

1. For Mrs. Mu Sochua, whom according to Mr. Ouch Borith, the Phnom Penh regime representative, would be the source of this “exaggeration and lie”.
2. For Radio Free Asia, an institution funded with US taxpayer dollars to “provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press,” who would be the source for spreading this “exaggeration and lie”.
3. For KI-Media, which translated the RFA report from Khmer to English in order to provide information to the general public on the actual situation in Cambodia that would otherwise be censored by the Phnom Penh regime, who would also be a secondary source for spreading this “exaggeration and lie”.

As a representative of a country that champions freedom of expression in the world, we urge you to clarify this issue and confirm or deny the claims attributed to you by the Phnom Penh regime representative. If Mrs. Mu Sochua did not tell the truth about her meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, you, as the representative of the US government, or Mrs. Clinton should demand an apology from Mrs. Mu Sochua.

If RFA’s report was indeed an “exaggeration and a lie”, you, as the representative of the US government, should petition the US Congress to stop funding this institution which seems not to “provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press”.

If KI-Media indeed helped spread “exaggeration and lie” as Mr. Ouch Borith claimed, please do let us know so that we may bring a correction or an apology, or even retract our publication, if necessary.

On the other hand, if what Mr. Ouch Borith attributed to you was merely a spinning of the truth by the Phnom Penh regime, we would also like to obtain your clarification in this matter, in order to show to the world, and more specifically the Cambodian public, how low this regime has to stoop to protect its authoritarian image.

We would greatly appreciate the honor of your reply. Please email it to us at kiletters@gmail.com

Sincerely,

KI-Media team

KI-Media is the target of CPP Ouch Borith’s wrath for reporting an article from Radio Free Asia on Mu Sochua-Clinton meeting

Ouch Borith's press conference ... to spin the truth or to control the damages? (Photo: Khmer Sthabna)

Ouch Borith: Mrs. Hillary Clinton did not reply to the request made by Mrs. Mu Sochua

16 Sept 2009
By Sopheap
Khmer Sthabna
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

"Ouch Borith claimed that, according to Carol Rodley, she clearly indicated KI-Media’s publication does not reflect the truth, it was an exaggeration and a lie."

Click here to read the RFA report about the meeting between Mu Sochua and Hillary Clinton

The Cambodian ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAIC) held a press conference in the afternoon of 16 September to discuss about the meeting between Ouch Borith, the CPP secretary of state of the MFAIC, and US Ambassador Carol Rodley on 15 September 2009.

Ouch Borith declared that he usually meets with the US ambassador in Cambodia for exchange of opinions in the development of the bilateral cooperation between Cambodia and the US. In his most recent meeting, Ouch Borith told Carol rodley about an article published by KI-Media regarding what Mrs. Mu Sochua spoke in Washington DC. In its publication, KI-Media indicated that Mrs. Mu Sochua met with Mrs. Hillary Clinton, and according to Mrs. Mu Sochua also, she said that: “I asked Mrs. Hillary Clinton to send a delegation led by the US ambassador at large [Melane Verveer], and in response [to this request], Mrs. Clinton gave a positive answer to the request.”

Ouch Borith indicated that, regarding this issue, Carol Rodley clearly indicated that indeed Mrs. Clinton met with Mrs. Mu Sochua, but that meeting was done outside of the office [unofficial?]. The pair shook hands without planning in advance [by chance?], it was not a bilateral [meeting] or anything else. Regarding the request made by Mrs. Mu Sochua to Mrs. Clinton to send a high level delegation of check the human rights violations in Cambodia, Carol Rodley said that it was true that Mrs. Mu Sochua raised this issue. However, Mrs. Clicnton did not provide any answer to any request, there was none.

Ouch Borith claimed that, according to Carol Rodley, she clearly indicated KI-Media’s publication does not reflect the truth, it was an exaggeration and a lie.

US Ambassador Carol Rodley asked to ensure that Mu Sochua, Dr. Pung Chiv Kek and Moeun Tola do not come under the pressure of the PPenh regime

Click on the letter to zoom in

Congress of the United States
Washington, DC 20515

September 15,2009

Ms. Carol A. Rodley
Ambassador
Kingdom of Cambodia
c/o Department of State

Dear Ambassador Rodley:

We write today to ask the assistance of the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh in ensuring that three Cambodian individuals who recently traveled to the United States to speak at a congressional hearing do not come under any pressure from the government of Cambodia.

As you may know, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing on Thursday, September 10, on human rights and the rule of law in Cambodia. We were fortunate to have the following individuals travel from Cambodia to share with us firsthand accounts of the current situation: Mu Sochua, member of Parliament; Pung Kek, founder of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, and Moeun Tola, head of the labor program at the Community Legal and Education Center.

The U.S. Embassy should represent an island of freedom in a country such as Cambodia where dissidents and human rights defenders often face threats and discrimination by the government and government-controlled security forces. Such is the case with Mu Sochua who was stripped of her Parliamentary immunity and sued for defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen.

We ask that the embassy monitor the fate of these individuals upon their return to Cambodia and keep members of Congress informed.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Best wishes.

Sincerely,

Frank R. Wolf
Member of Congress

James P. Moran
Member of Congress