SRP MP Yim Sovann: Cambodian media are under government control and free and independent thinking is almost impossible

Asean MPs vow to ensure charter implementation

March 1, 2009
The Nation

Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan yesterday morning took time off from his tight schedule to have a working breakfast with a group of lawmakers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand. The Asean members of parliament are seeking his endorsement on the plan to establish a new caucus on rights and freedom of expression.

They hope their new group will help Asean to transform into a people-oriented community.

Djoko Susila, MP of Parai Amanat Nasional (National Mandate Party), minced no words when he said that Asean had been dragged down by conservative new members Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Burma. They acted as a team, he said. That was why the Indonesian lawmakers at first were very reluctant to ratify the Asean Charter. They were not happy with the charter, but it was too late to do anything.

He said that as an Indonesian MP he did not want to make the same mistake again. This time, he said, he wanted to make sure Asean leaders would implement the charter and protect human rights. Without rights protection and freedom of expression, how can Asean become a people-oriented community, he asked.

Yim Sovann, an MP from Cambodia, concurred, saying that to make the Asean people feel that they belonged to the grouping, the charter must be fully implemented. At the moment, the Cambodian media are under government control, he said, and free and independent thinking is almost impossible. A caucus to protect freedom of expression would facilitate the realisation of the Asean charter in the near future.

Both Senator Francisco Pangilinan and Congressman Teddy Casino of the Philippines gave strong support to the idea of establishing a new caucus that would not only ensure that Asean legislators understood the content of the charter but also how to implement it.

Casino said the caucus could be used to promote public awareness of the role of freedom of expression in promoting the Asean community. Free flow of information is an important element for such an endeavour, he said.

Kraisak Choonhavan, a Democrat Party MP, pointed out that the new caucus needed the support of local people and communities. Since this new group is aimed at materialising the objectives of the charter, it needs cooperation from the people's sector, he said. He said he was sharing the experience of his own five-year caucus on Burma. Now the Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Burma has a secretariat office in Kuala Lumpur.

From the meeting with Surin and the subsequent brainstorming session, it emerged that the Asean lawmakers, especially from member countries with more liberal political systems, will no longer take Asean norms and values for granted, they said.

"We are reading the Asean Charter and other documents, so that we can effectively monitor it," they said.