US to pull the welcome mat from under the feet of corrupt Cambodians named in Global Witness' Cambodia's Family Trees?

Some of the people named in Global Witness report: The dons
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Bill Seeks to Ban Corrupt Cambodians from Entering US

Brian Calvert, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
26 September 2007

The US Congress will request the State Department to deny visas to corrupt Cambodian officials, especially those named in a recent Global Witness report, and will ask for a report on the number of Montagnard asylum seekers in Cambodia, according to an annual bill waiting to become law.

The annual Foreign Operations bill sets out funding for the State Department and other international agencies.

The bill is currently under discussion between members of both houses of US Congress before it will be sent to the president to be signed into law.

The Senate's version of the bill includes a suggestion to the State Department that it restrict corrupt Cambodian officials from entering the US.

Those named in this year's Global Witness report, "Cambodia's Family Trees," should be prohibited entrance, according to a Senate report from the committee in charge of money appropriation.

The Global Witness report, which was banned in Cambodia, accuses a number of top officials with links to Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family of abetting the destruction of Cambodia's forests.

The Senate Appropriations Committee also requested a report from the Secretary of State on the number of Montagnard refugees in Cambodia.

Cambodia has seen a steady influx of Vietnamese hill tribe refugees seeking asylum, and the Senate committee requested a report on them by March 1, 2008.

The committee sought to allocate $57 million in assistance for Cambodia, including $15 million in an economic support fund.

It urged the administration of the president to make clear its support for democracy and human rights.

Reactions on the US Senate plan to ban Cambodian officials from entering the USA

19 July 2007
By Mom Sophon
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

NGO and opposition party officials expressed their support to the report saying that the US Senate appropriations committee is pushing for a ban from entering the US to those officials who are involved in illegal logging in Cambodia and whose names appear in the Global Witness report.

Ou Virak, CCHR President, told RFA on 19 July that the push by the US Senate appropriations committee is a very good thing for Cambodia.

Ou Virak said: “First, it’s the right thing to do, I say that those who are accused of deforestations … should not be authorized to enter the US in order to show that the US support the protection of the environment, and more importantly, it shows that the US defends the free expression of opinion, and it respects human rights. The action taken by the US is the right thing to do, and it is a declaration that the US does not condone such action anymore.”

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy told RFA that the plan by the US Senate appropriations committee is to display its opposition to corrupt officials, and it also strongly pushes Cambodia to get rid of corruption.

Sam Rainsy said: “This is a very good idea, because the USA should not welcome the criminals involved in illegal logging in Cambodia which forces Cambodian people to live in dire poverty due to this theft of national treasury, and the theft of state revenue, just as Global Witness revealed. Therefore, I am applauding the US plan to ban corrupt officials from entering the USA.”

Sam Rainsy also said that the ban of corrupt officials from entering the US does not interfere with diplomatic relations between the two countries because such ban only affect only those who are conducting criminal activities against their country and their own people.

Sam Rainsy also indicated that such action would serve as a warning to those involved in corruption.

Nevertheless, Khieu Kanharith, government spokesman, told a local newspaper that the reason the US Senate appropriations committee undertook this ban plan is for political reason only.

On 01 June 2007, Global Witness issued a 120-page document titled “Relatives of the thieves of the Nation” (Cambodia’s Family Trees, in English). This report named several high ranking officials and business tycoons, such as Chan Sarun, Ty Sokhun, Hing Bun Heang, Hak Mao, Dy Phen, Seng Kieng, etc…