Showing posts with label Unfair election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unfair election. Show all posts
Friday, June 01, 2012
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Little Progress in Democracy: Rights Groups
Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights WatchBy Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
15 July 2008
Cambodia's political system has not moved closer to true democracy, international human rights leaders and political candidates say.
The Cambodian People's Party has strict control over state media, the courts, the bar association and the National Election Committee, said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch.
The July 27 election "is not competitive," Adams said. "Of course the CPP is going to win, and I think there is quite a lot of dissolution among Cambodian voters…. A lot of young people in particular think that there is no point to be involved in politics."
Om Yentieng, a permanent member of the CPP's central committee and a senior adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen, objected.
"He doesn't love the Cambodian people more than the Cambodian people, and what he said is not for Cambodia’s benefit," Om Yentieng said of Adams. "He only speaks from abroad. He has white skin, [and] his democracy is older than Cambodia's, so he should not do what we call bad pretending on this issue.
"When millions of voters listen to his speech, they can judge whether it is true or not true, so that he should not destroy a wonderful democratic legacy," Om Yentieng said. "Democracy in Cambodia is getting better."
Not everyone believe Cambodia's democracy has shown progress, including political leaders competing in the upcoming election.
Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha said Cambodia's democratic process was weak and slow.
"Ten days into the election campaign, we have seen so many problems happening to us, such as the pulling down of many non-ruling party political signs," he said. "One of our activists was killed in Kampong Cham province, and there has also been physical abuse of our activists."
Katie Redford, co-founder of the Washington-based Earth Rights International, told VOA Khmer the election process in Cambodia was not yet moving toward democracy.
Cambodia's political system had not moved in the direction of democracy and transparency, she said, "but really in the direction of corruption and one-party rule."
"I think that the upcoming election is going to reflect that trend," she said.
The Cambodian People's Party has strict control over state media, the courts, the bar association and the National Election Committee, said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch.
The July 27 election "is not competitive," Adams said. "Of course the CPP is going to win, and I think there is quite a lot of dissolution among Cambodian voters…. A lot of young people in particular think that there is no point to be involved in politics."
Om Yentieng, a permanent member of the CPP's central committee and a senior adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen, objected.
"He doesn't love the Cambodian people more than the Cambodian people, and what he said is not for Cambodia’s benefit," Om Yentieng said of Adams. "He only speaks from abroad. He has white skin, [and] his democracy is older than Cambodia's, so he should not do what we call bad pretending on this issue.
"When millions of voters listen to his speech, they can judge whether it is true or not true, so that he should not destroy a wonderful democratic legacy," Om Yentieng said. "Democracy in Cambodia is getting better."
Not everyone believe Cambodia's democracy has shown progress, including political leaders competing in the upcoming election.
Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha said Cambodia's democratic process was weak and slow.
"Ten days into the election campaign, we have seen so many problems happening to us, such as the pulling down of many non-ruling party political signs," he said. "One of our activists was killed in Kampong Cham province, and there has also been physical abuse of our activists."
Katie Redford, co-founder of the Washington-based Earth Rights International, told VOA Khmer the election process in Cambodia was not yet moving toward democracy.
Cambodia's political system had not moved in the direction of democracy and transparency, she said, "but really in the direction of corruption and one-party rule."
"I think that the upcoming election is going to reflect that trend," she said.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Media Environment Tipping: Groups
By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh
18 March 2008
The loss of an opposition newspaper has further tilted Cambodia's media environment in favor of the ruling party, damaging the free-and-fair potential of this year's national election, rights groups and opposition officials said Tuesday.
Publisher Thach Keth, who had made Sralanh Khmer, or Love Khmer, an opposition paper, announced Monday he was throwing his support behind the ruling Cambodian People's Party, effectively eliminating the paper from the dwindling opposition voice.
That left two newspapers and one local radio station as tacit supporters of the Sam Rainsy Party, further tipping media bias toward the CPP, officials said.
Boay Roeuy, editor-in-chief of Sralanh Khmer and a member of the Sam Rainsy Party, said Tuesday that currently there remain only two local newspapers and local radio station that support the Sam Rainsy Party: papers Moneaksakar Khmer, or Khmer Conscience, and Khmer Mchas Srok, or Khmer Homeland Owner; and radio FM 93.5.
The Sam Rainsy Party also rents time on Beehive Radio to air its one-hour, daily Voice of Candlelight program, he said.
He was not worried that even though the Sam Rainsy Party will have less newspapers now, he said, citing the 2003 national election, when the Sam Rainsy Party had less newspapers than the competition, CPP and Funcinpec, but still earned enough votes for 24 parliamentary seats.
Hang Chakra, publisher of Khmer Mchas Srok, who is not overtly politically affiliated, said his newspaper has been suspended for two weeks while he was busy abroad, but he expected it to start publishing again on Thursday.
The next issues will support the Sam Rainsy Party more vigorously than before, he said, adding that he was still satisfied with Sam Rainsy's leadership and was confident the party would not collapse due to recent defections.
Sok Sovann, president of the Khmer Journalist Democracy Association, which formed in 2002, said that publishers have a right to politicize newspapers, just as voters have a right to cast ballots.
All of TV, and most of radio and newspapers are biased toward the CPP, putting the system out of balance, Ouk Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said Tuesday.
Local radio is barely independent, including Beehive Radio and FM 95.5, a radio station based in Siem Reap, he said.
"When we don't have independent media, we see the result of democracy is not good, because the people cannot receive all kinds of information," he said.
A biased media system is unfair for national elections, as political parties are not granted access to the media, he said.
Eng Chhay Eang, secretary-general of the Sam Rainsy Party, said Tuesday that if the media system is biased to one party, elections cannot be free and fair, because the media is an important part of the election process.
"We appeal to the donor countries to put pressure on the government because we don't want the government to do as it will," he said. "Unless the media is balanced, the election can't be free and fair."
Publisher Thach Keth, who had made Sralanh Khmer, or Love Khmer, an opposition paper, announced Monday he was throwing his support behind the ruling Cambodian People's Party, effectively eliminating the paper from the dwindling opposition voice.
That left two newspapers and one local radio station as tacit supporters of the Sam Rainsy Party, further tipping media bias toward the CPP, officials said.
Boay Roeuy, editor-in-chief of Sralanh Khmer and a member of the Sam Rainsy Party, said Tuesday that currently there remain only two local newspapers and local radio station that support the Sam Rainsy Party: papers Moneaksakar Khmer, or Khmer Conscience, and Khmer Mchas Srok, or Khmer Homeland Owner; and radio FM 93.5.
The Sam Rainsy Party also rents time on Beehive Radio to air its one-hour, daily Voice of Candlelight program, he said.
He was not worried that even though the Sam Rainsy Party will have less newspapers now, he said, citing the 2003 national election, when the Sam Rainsy Party had less newspapers than the competition, CPP and Funcinpec, but still earned enough votes for 24 parliamentary seats.
Hang Chakra, publisher of Khmer Mchas Srok, who is not overtly politically affiliated, said his newspaper has been suspended for two weeks while he was busy abroad, but he expected it to start publishing again on Thursday.
The next issues will support the Sam Rainsy Party more vigorously than before, he said, adding that he was still satisfied with Sam Rainsy's leadership and was confident the party would not collapse due to recent defections.
Sok Sovann, president of the Khmer Journalist Democracy Association, which formed in 2002, said that publishers have a right to politicize newspapers, just as voters have a right to cast ballots.
All of TV, and most of radio and newspapers are biased toward the CPP, putting the system out of balance, Ouk Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said Tuesday.
Local radio is barely independent, including Beehive Radio and FM 95.5, a radio station based in Siem Reap, he said.
"When we don't have independent media, we see the result of democracy is not good, because the people cannot receive all kinds of information," he said.
A biased media system is unfair for national elections, as political parties are not granted access to the media, he said.
Eng Chhay Eang, secretary-general of the Sam Rainsy Party, said Tuesday that if the media system is biased to one party, elections cannot be free and fair, because the media is an important part of the election process.
"We appeal to the donor countries to put pressure on the government because we don't want the government to do as it will," he said. "Unless the media is balanced, the election can't be free and fair."
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Sam Rainsy: Cambodia still does not have an independent tribunal
01 October 2007By Sophorn
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
During the commemoration for the victims of front of the National Assembly and a ceremony to pay respect to the souls of all pro-democracy people who unfairly died in 1997-1998, Sam Rainsy criticized again the fact that Cambodia does not have an independent tribunal yet.
On 01 October, the fifth day of Kan Ben festival, opposition leader Sam Rainsy declared in front of the stupa (located in front of the National Assembly) that, currently, Cambodia does have an independent justice system yet, as the tribunal is under the control of the ruling party.
Regarding the election in Cambodia, Sam Rainsy said that it lacks transparency and it is unfair. He indicated that up until now, some of the perpetrators of the grenade attack (in front of the National Assembly) in 1997 are known.
Sam Rainsy said: “For a country to be called democratic, it must fulfill 3 conditions: (1) it must have a strong opposition party, and the opposition party leader must have the freedom to speak, the freedom to travel to meet his/her constituents and the international community freely. I recognize that this condition is fulfilled in Cambodia already, but there are 2 more steps which we must have: we must have a fair tribunal, and we must have an independent court system. These, we don’t have at all. We know that the Cambodian court system is currently under the control of the ruling party. On the 3rd condition, it is still lacking: we must have a free and fair election, a true justice system.”
In response to Sam Rainsy’s criticism, Khieu Kanharith, government spokesman, said that if the election was not fair and not right, and the tribunal is not independent, why during the past commune election, the SRP saw an increase in the number of votes it obtained.
Regarding the grenade attack in 1997, Khieu Kanharith said: “Our government depends on the FBI investigation which indicated that there were 3 people there, one was his bodyguard, another one was Bresil, and another unknown man. When we went to investigate his bodyguard, he replied that this fellow fell from the car, broke his neck and died. Isn’t it funny? And Bresil, in 1997, during the dispute (Hun Sen coup d’état), he fled to the Funcinpec camp. If Bresil was the one who really knows about this case, why didn’t Bresil talk about it during that time? Right now, he disappeared also, and the third person, we couldn’t find him.”
Sam Rainsy also said during the commemoration of the 1997 and 1998 events, that several people and monks died during the demonstration to demand an independent justice system, but they were attacked with grenades instead.
On 01 October, the fifth day of Kan Ben festival, opposition leader Sam Rainsy declared in front of the stupa (located in front of the National Assembly) that, currently, Cambodia does have an independent justice system yet, as the tribunal is under the control of the ruling party.
Regarding the election in Cambodia, Sam Rainsy said that it lacks transparency and it is unfair. He indicated that up until now, some of the perpetrators of the grenade attack (in front of the National Assembly) in 1997 are known.
Sam Rainsy said: “For a country to be called democratic, it must fulfill 3 conditions: (1) it must have a strong opposition party, and the opposition party leader must have the freedom to speak, the freedom to travel to meet his/her constituents and the international community freely. I recognize that this condition is fulfilled in Cambodia already, but there are 2 more steps which we must have: we must have a fair tribunal, and we must have an independent court system. These, we don’t have at all. We know that the Cambodian court system is currently under the control of the ruling party. On the 3rd condition, it is still lacking: we must have a free and fair election, a true justice system.”
In response to Sam Rainsy’s criticism, Khieu Kanharith, government spokesman, said that if the election was not fair and not right, and the tribunal is not independent, why during the past commune election, the SRP saw an increase in the number of votes it obtained.
Regarding the grenade attack in 1997, Khieu Kanharith said: “Our government depends on the FBI investigation which indicated that there were 3 people there, one was his bodyguard, another one was Bresil, and another unknown man. When we went to investigate his bodyguard, he replied that this fellow fell from the car, broke his neck and died. Isn’t it funny? And Bresil, in 1997, during the dispute (Hun Sen coup d’état), he fled to the Funcinpec camp. If Bresil was the one who really knows about this case, why didn’t Bresil talk about it during that time? Right now, he disappeared also, and the third person, we couldn’t find him.”
Sam Rainsy also said during the commemoration of the 1997 and 1998 events, that several people and monks died during the demonstration to demand an independent justice system, but they were attacked with grenades instead.
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