Opposition leader Sam Rainsy (L) meeting with Tuot Saran (R) in jail (Photo: SRP)Thursday, 26 August 2010
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post
SELF-EXILED opposition leader Sam Rainsy wrote to Amnesty International yesterday, following up on an earlier request that the organisation pressure the government to release imprisoned Sam Rainsy Party activist Tuot Saran.
The email, addressed to Janice Beanland, a spokeswoman for Amnesty International in Southeast Asia, asked whether the organisation “has been able to do anything to help Tuot Saran”, a former commune chief who is serving a three-year prison sentence after being convicted of kidnapping and illegal confinement. He was arrested in March 2008.
In the email, a copy of which was sent to the Post, Sam Rainsy said he first mentioned the request during a meeting with Beanland in London in February. “I asked you whether it would be possible for AI to consider Tuot Saran as a prisoner of conscience,” he said.
SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said yesterday that Tuot Saran qualified as a prisoner of conscience because he “has struggled for his national ideals and to serve national interests, and he was convicted unjustly by the court”.
In March 2009, after having already been detained for a year at Kampong Thom provincial prison, Tuot Saran was found guilty of illegally confining a fellow party member who was in the process of joining the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
Later that month, local rights group Licadho released a statement calling Tuot Saran’s conviction “baseless and politically motivated”.
In July 2008, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia released a statement saying that it had found “no evidence to support the charges” against Tuot Saran.
Beanland and other Amnesty officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Tith Sothea, spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit at the Council of Ministers, said yesterday that the case was a Cambodian affair, and that the SRP should not attempt to draw international attention.
“We have seen many issues that the SRP has always taken to foreign [agencies],” he said.
The email, addressed to Janice Beanland, a spokeswoman for Amnesty International in Southeast Asia, asked whether the organisation “has been able to do anything to help Tuot Saran”, a former commune chief who is serving a three-year prison sentence after being convicted of kidnapping and illegal confinement. He was arrested in March 2008.
In the email, a copy of which was sent to the Post, Sam Rainsy said he first mentioned the request during a meeting with Beanland in London in February. “I asked you whether it would be possible for AI to consider Tuot Saran as a prisoner of conscience,” he said.
SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said yesterday that Tuot Saran qualified as a prisoner of conscience because he “has struggled for his national ideals and to serve national interests, and he was convicted unjustly by the court”.
In March 2009, after having already been detained for a year at Kampong Thom provincial prison, Tuot Saran was found guilty of illegally confining a fellow party member who was in the process of joining the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
Later that month, local rights group Licadho released a statement calling Tuot Saran’s conviction “baseless and politically motivated”.
In July 2008, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia released a statement saying that it had found “no evidence to support the charges” against Tuot Saran.
Beanland and other Amnesty officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Tith Sothea, spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit at the Council of Ministers, said yesterday that the case was a Cambodian affair, and that the SRP should not attempt to draw international attention.
“We have seen many issues that the SRP has always taken to foreign [agencies],” he said.
13 comments:
i like the way opposition people use their influence to help khmer. it shouldn't be mixed with politics though!
12:49AM! do you know what is politic?
difficult as long as you create it and run away. responsible leader has to face consequence by himself by not bringing inocent people involve. he should realise that normal people can not run away like him so he should knew in advance what hardship that common people bear with. It is naive to think no political thing. Relating with politics, everything is potical game
Most Khmer in Cambodia is clueless about ours government or politic. They just know about rich old husban, Lexus and massage bar. That why Hun Sen take over. King didnt do shit for the country when he got the power.
1) Multi-parties with limit of times for PM.
2) One party with limit of times for PM.
3) Multi-parties without limit of times for PM.
4) One party without limit of times for PM.
Cambodia is number 3) and we are very far from democracy and justice.
Let me translate for you sir!
Cambodia Government need to reshape
1. Set Terms Limit for a Prime Minister to 2 terms MAX that 10 yrs
2.No more Then 50% party sit in Congress senate and house. No more then 50% of CCP sit in congress.
3. set 2 terms for congress max 6 yrs
4. Cannot hold sit if not Khmer natural born citizen.
just get rid of the king or monarch. Then reset the Khmer government
Of course, Tuot Saran have no change as Sam Rainsy.
Sam Rainsy is not courageous as leader.
ដើម្បីជួយខ្មែរ មានវិធីតែម្យ៉ាងគត់ដែលយើង
យល់ឃើញថានឹងជួយឲ្យកូនខ្មែររស់នៅមានសេរីភាពដ៏ពេញលេញបរិបូរណ៍៕
សូមអញ្ជើញស្ដាប់
www.camldp.org/voice.php
ភ្នំសំពៅ
Hello Mr. Raingsy,
Why don't you think of the big picture as well! did any of your parliaments officer raise the issue with the International Community regarding our sovereignty and the 1991 Paris Accords? or are we just complaining among ourselves as it goes nowhere?
Thanks,
1 concerns khmer
Dear 1 concerns khmer
The issue has been raised. You need to understand that only the sitting government can move the that issue forward. If the CPP-led continues to give away land at will to Vietnam, and the short-sighted majority khmers continues vote for them, then the world will do no s*it about Khmer problem. Samdach here and samdach there, and before you know it, khmer will have no more land to own, but to continue selling and more selling to keep the float... a long suffering process.
As it goes against Cambodian conventional thinking, I chose to be different. Most have constiously or sub-constiously chosen to see the country being ruled and ruined by a KWAK. As such, most of you will live in the state of KWAK (blindness). You will suffer along the way until it reaches a point that you have had enough, but by then it might be all too late to know that A KWAK was there to serve and implement Vietnam's ultimate goal and objectivesm - total control of your land and your sub-servient destiny. Let's hope that you will wake up on time, so you won't have to change your last name to Thach,Yanh, Song or the like.
IF YOU BELIEVE HS GOVT YOU ARE ENTITLE TO EXPRESS YOUR THOUGHTS.
IF YOU BELIEVE HS IS GETTING BETTER NO WAY. HS IS YOUN CONTROL. DO NOT BE MISTAKEN HS HAS NO ABILITY WHAT SO EVER.... HIS ROOTED IN EVIL YOUN ALRADY. FOR 40 YEARS PLUS HS IS DEAD WHILE HE IS ALIVE ... BELIEVE IT OR NOT. INCLUDING HIS FAMILIY THEY ARE ALREADY DEAD WHILE THEY ARE STILL LIVING.
CHOOSE YOUR PICK WISELY...MAYBE YOU CAN SEE THE DAY LIGHT OF ANGKOR WAT. THINK WISELY !!!
Post a Comment