អង្ករក្លាយជាបាយ ធ្វើឲ្យ ពួក CPP ពេលនេះកំពុង បៀមអាចម៏ព្រួសដាក់គ្នា

CPP Bandit

វិចារណកថា ៖ ឈូក បណ្ឌិត គួរធ្វើជាគំរូ ក្នុងការ ទទួល ស្គាល់ទង្វើ ដែលខ្លួនប្រព្រឹត្ដ

Monday, 05 March 2012
ដោយ ៖ ជ័យ តារា

DAP-News

Synopsis: According to this report by DAP-news, a mouthpiece of the CPP, Chhouk Bandit, the mayor of Bavet who was accused of shooting 3 protesting workers at the Kao Way factory, had not escaped to Vietnam as was rumored. In fact, he is hiding in Phnom Penh because he is backed by high ranking CPP officials in the regime. This is why, even with Sar Kheng, the minister of Interior, indicating his involvement the shooting, nobody dare touch or arrest Chhouk Bandit. Furthermore, even though he is accused of shooting, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has yet to remove Chhouk Bandit from his position and replace him by someone else. DAP concluded that, even when the identity of the shooter is known, legal aspects on Chhouk Bandit are coming late and this shows the weakness in the application of the law in Cambodia. DAP suggested that Chhouk Bandit should take responsibility for his action and the fact that he is hiding sets a bad precedent to government officials belonging to the ruling party. His hiding also allows the opposition parties and the civil society to attack on the government and the MoI. DAP recommends that powerful government officials who help protect Chhouk Bandit be removed from their positions and be dealt by the law. (sic!)

បើទោះបីជាលោក ស ខេង ឧបនាយករដ្ឋមន្ដ្រី រដ្ឋមន្ដ្រីក្រសួងមហាផ្ទៃ បានបង្ហាញអត្ដ សញ្ញាណ ជនសង្ស័យជាប់ ពាក់ព័ន្ធ ករណីបាញ់ ប្រហារ កម្មការិនី៣នាក់ នៅរោងចក្រកៅវ៉េ ក្រុងបាវិត ឱ្យរងរបួសធ្ងន់ រួចហើយក៏ដោយ ក៏ រហូតមកដល់ពេលនេះ សមត្ថកិច្ចមិនទាន់ ឃាត់ខ្លួនជនសង្ស័យ នៅឡើយទេ ។ ប្រការនេះ ធ្វើឱ្យប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ នៅ ក្នុងខេត្ដស្វាយរៀង តាមដានដោយយកចិត្ដទុកដាក់ ព្រោះលោកឈូក បណ្ឌិត អភិបាលក្រុងវិត ដែលជាជន សង្ស័យ នៅតែអាចគេចផុតពីសំណាញ់ច្បាប់ យ៉ាងរំភើយ ។ មិនតែប៉ុណ្ណោះសំណុំរឿងនេះ បានធ្វើឱ្យគណបក្ស នយោបាយ និងមន្ដ្រី អង្គការ ក្រៅរដ្ឋាភិបាលមួយចំនួន រិះគន់យ៉ាងខ្លាំង ចំពោះការងាររបស់ ក្រសួងមហាផ្ទៃ ដែល មានភាពយឺតយ៉ាវ ក្នុងការនាំខ្លួនលោកឈូក បណ្ឌិត ឱ្យសាលាដំបូង ខេត្ដស្វាយរៀង ស៊ើបសួរ តាមនីតិវិធី ។ ភាពយឺតយ៉ាវ របស់ ក្រសួងមហាផ្ទៃ ក្នុងការឃាត់ ខ្លួនជនសង្ស័យ ឈ្មោះ ឈូក បណ្ឌិត កំពុងតែធ្វើឱ្យ ប៉ះពាល់ ដល់កេរ្ដិ៍ឈ្មោះ របស់រាជរដ្ឋាភិ បាលផងដែរ ដោយសារតែមន្ដ្រីជាន់ខ្ពស់ គណបក្ស ប្រឆាំង និងក្រុមមន្ដ្រីសង្គម ស៊ីវិល ធ្វើការ រិះគន់ជាបន្ដបន្ទាប់ ។

មន្ដ្រីសាលាដំបូង ខេត្ដស្វាយរៀង បានអះអាង អំពីការទទួលកំណត់ហេតុស៊ើបអង្កេត របស់សមត្ថកិច្ចនគរបាលរួច ហើយ និងថាកំពុងតែពិនិត្យមើល កំណត់ហេតុនោះ ដោយពុំទាន់ មានការចាប់ខ្លួនជនសង្ស័យឈ្មោះឈូក បណ្ឌិត នៅឡើយទេ ។ លោកកែវ គង់ អធិការ នគរបាលក្រុងបាវិត ក៏បាន បញ្ជាក់ ដែរថា លោកមិនបានដឹងថា ជន សង្ស័យ ឈូក បណ្ឌិត កំពុងនៅកន្លែងណានោះទេ ។ ជាមួយគ្នានេះ មន្ដ្រីនគរបាលជាន់ខ្ពស់ នៃនាយកដ្ឋាន នគរ បាលព្រហ្មទណ្ឌ ក្រសួងមហាផ្ទៃ បានទទួលស្គាល់ថា ក្រសួងមហាផ្ទៃ មិនបាននាំខ្លួនលោក ឈូក បណ្ឌិតមកសាក សួរនៅឡើយទេ ។ ការអះ អាងរបស់មន្ដ្រីជាន់ខ្ពស់ក្រសួងមហាផ្ទៃ បែបនេះ បានបង្ហាញអំពីការភាពយឺតយ៉ាវ ក្នុង ការ ដាក់ទោសមន្ដ្រីរាជការ ដែលប្រព្រឹត្ដខុស ច្បាប់ ។ ករណី នេះ ក្រសួងមហាផ្ទៃ គួរតែពិនិត្យមើលឡើងវិញ អំពី ចំណាត់ការមិនប្រក្រតី របស់ខ្លួន ហើយលោកឈូក បណ្ឌិត ខ្លួនឯង គួរធ្វើជាគំរូ ក្នុងការទទួល ស្គាល់ ចំពោះទង្វើ ដែលខ្លួនបានប្រព្រឹត្ដ ដោយមិនត្រូវព្យាយាមរត់រកអន្ដរាគមន៍ខ្វែងដៃខ្វែងជើងតទៅទៀត ទេ ព្រោះធ្វើឱ្យប៉ះពាល់ ដល់ កេរ្ដិ៍ឈ្មោះមន្ដ្រីរាជការ ដែលគោរពច្បាប់ ។

នៅក្នុងសំណុំរឿង លោកឈូក បណ្ឌិត ជាប់សង្ស័យពីការប្រើប្រាស់អាវុធ បាញ់ប្រហារ កម្មការិនីរោងចក្រ កៅវ៉េ ក្រុងបាវិត ឱ្យរងរបួសធ្ងន់៣ នាក់ កាលពីថ្ងៃទី២០ ខែកុម្ភៈ ឆ្នាំ ២០១២ មានប្រភពក្រៅផ្លូវការបានបញ្ជាក់ថា លោក ឈូក បណ្ឌិត មិនទាន់ត្រូវបានសមត្ថ កិច្ចឃាត់ខ្លួននៅឡើយទេ ។ ប្រភពពីមន្ដ្រីនគរបាលក្រសួងមហាផ្ទៃ ដែល សុំមិនបញ្ចេញ ឈ្មោះ បានឱ្យដឹងថា មានមន្ដ្រីជាន់ខ្ពស់ ក្នុងជួររដ្ឋាភិបាលម្នាក់ ជួយការពារលោកឈូក បណ្ឌិត ហើយបច្ចុប្បន្ន លោកឈូក បណ្ឌិត កំពុងស្នាក់នៅក្នុងផ្ទះមន្ដ្រីជាន់ខ្ពស់រូបនោះ ។ ចំណុច ដែលគួរឱ្យចាប់ អា រម្មណ៍នោះ គឺប្រភពក្រៅផ្លូវការ បានបញ្ជាក់ថា ជនសង្ស័យឈូក បណ្ឌិត មិនមែនរត់ទៅប្រទេសវៀតណាម ដើម្បីគេចខ្លួនទេ ហើយកំពុងស្នាក់នៅក្នុងរាជ ធានីភ្នំពេញ ប្រកបដោយ សុវត្ថិភាព ។ ដោយសារតែមានមន្ដ្រីជាន់ខ្ពស់ នៅពីក្រោយខ្នង បែបនេះហើយ ទើបឈូក បណ្ឌិត អាចគេចខ្លួន រហូតមក ដល់ពេលនេះ បើទោះបី ក្រសួង មហាផ្ទៃ បានរុញសំណុំរឿងដល់តុលាការយ៉ាងណាក៏ដោយ ។

មិន​ត្រូវ​យក​កម្លាំង​ប្រដាប់​អាវុធ​មក​គំរាម​ពលរដ្ឋ​ដៃ​ទទេ ទេ - Armed forces should not be used to theaten defenseless citizens

កម្លាំង​ទ័ព​​ដែល​​គេ​​ដឹក​​យក​​ទៅ​​គម្រាម​​អ្នក​​ភូមិ​​អម​លាំង​​នៅ​​តុលាការ​​កំពង់​ស្ពឺ​​។ រូបថត ជី​វ័ន
RCAF soldiers were brought in to threaten Omlaing villagers at the Kampong Speu court (Photo: Chivoan, The Phnom Penh Post)

Monday, 20 February 2012
តុង សុប្រាជ្ញ
The Phnom Penh Post

«កម្ម​យើង​ទេ​ ឪវា​អើយ​ នេះ​មក​ពី​យើង​អន់ មក​ពី​យើង​ខ្សោយ មក​ពី​យើង​ធ្វើ​បុណ្យ​ពី​ជាតិ​មុន​មិន​ល្អ បាន​ជា​ជាតិ​នេះ​ រង​កម្ម​បែប​នេះ​» នេះ​ជា​ពាក្យ​ត្អូញត្អែរ ​របស់​តួអង្គ​ម្តាយ​ លឹម ​ដែល​ជឿ​ទៅ​លើ​កម្មផល​ ប្រាប់​ទៅ​កាន់​ប្តី​របស់​គាត់​ ដែល​ពួក​គាត់ ​​បាន​ទទួល​រង​ការ​គំរាម​កំហែង​ជិះជាន់​ ពី​សំណាក់​អាជ្ញាធរ​​ស្រុក​ តាំង​ពី​សម័យ​កង​ទ័ព​ជប៉ុន​ ដេញ​កង​ទ័ព​ និង​ប្រជា​ជន​បារាំង ​ចេញ​ពី​ស្រុក​ខ្មែរ​ ក្នុង​សម័យ​សង្គ្រាម​លោក​លើក​ទី​ ២ ​ឆ្នាំ​ ១​៩៤៥​ មក​ម្ល៉េះ ​ក្នុង​រឿង «​គូលី​កំណែន»​ សម្រាប់​សិក្សា ថ្នាក់​បាក់​ឌុប​​សព្វ​ថ្ងៃ​នេះ​។

ហេតុអ្វី​បាន​ជា​ជាង​ ៦០​ ឆ្នាំ កន្លង​មក​ហើយ​ស្រុក​ខ្មែរ​ មិន​មាន​អ្វី​ប្រែប្រួល​គួរ​ឲ្យ​កត់​សម្គាល់​សោះ ​ប្រជា​ពល​រដ្ឋ នៅ​តែ​ត្រូវ​គេ​ជិះ​ជាន់​សង្កត់​សង្កិន​ដដែល​?​ បើ​ទោះ​បី​ជា​ប្រទេស​ជាតិ​សព្វ​ថ្ងៃ​នេះ មាន​ច្បាប់​ទម្លាប់​ហើយ​ក៏​ដោយ​?​ តើ​នេះ​មក​ពី​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា​ ដែល​អាន​ថា​៖​«​កម្មពុជា​» ​បាន​ជា​ប្រជា​ពលរដ្ឋ ចេះ​តែ​រង​កម្ម​រហូត​មក​ពី​របប​មួយ​ទៅ​របប​មួយ​ មិន​ចេះ​ចប់ មិន​ចេះ​ហើយ​អ៊ីចឹង​? ​

Rights activist fined, the culprit gets away free: Justice-a-la-Hun Xen?

Sam Chankea, Adhoc’s provincial coordinator in Kampong Chhnang province (centre), speaks to reporters outside the provincial court earlier this month. (Photo by: Photo Supplied)

Suy Sem (L) and his wife Chea Kheng (R), the owner of KCD

Court Fines Rights Activist for ‘Defamation’

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Tuesday, 25 January 2011

“The court did not have evidence.”

Kampong Chhang provincial court ordered a human rights worker to pay nearly $1,000 in damages and fines Tuesday, after defamation charges were brought against him by a powerful company.

Sam Chankea, a Kampong Chhnang coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, will pay $750 in damages to the KCD Company, which reportedly belongs to the wife of the Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy.

He was charged with defamation, a criminal charge, in May 2010, after giving an interview to Radio Free Asia on a land dispute between KCD and 64 families who said they were being pushed off nearly 150 hectares of land in Kampong Tralach district.

Cambodia: Chokehold on Basic Freedoms Tightens

Forced evictions continue to escalate in Cambodia. The forced eviction of more than 300 villagers in Chuk district, Kampot in 2008, was carried out by a mixed group of about 100 Brigade 31 soldiers, forestry and environment officers, police, and military police. Most were armed with handguns or AK-47s. (© 2008 Licadho)

UN, Donors Should Forcefully Challenge Increased Restrictions on Rights

January 24, 2011
Source: Human Rights Watch

"The Cambodian government has used bluster and intimidation to push the UN and donors into silence about abuses. The international community needs to advocate more forcefully for the human rights of the Cambodian people." - Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch

(New York) - The Cambodian government tightened restrictions on fundamental freedoms in 2010, making it increasingly difficult and risky for human rights defenders, land rights activists, and trade unionists to operate, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2011.

The 649-page report, Human Rights Watch's 21st annual review of human rights practices around the globe, summarizes major human rights trends in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. During 2010, Human Rights Watch said, the Cambodian government increasingly ignored or dismissed human rights concerns of United Nations agencies and international donors that have made significant contributions to the country's budget for years. Instead, Prime Minister Hun Sen rebuked UN officials, threatening to expel the UN resident coordinator and the UN human rights office director in Phnom Penh.

"The Cambodian government has used bluster and intimidation to push the UN and donors into silence about abuses," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The international community needs to advocate more forcefully for the human rights of the Cambodian people."

Cambodia suppresses question on '97 grenade attack

Source: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

Bangkok, January 24, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that Cambodian officials deleted digital recordings and confiscated recording equipment from a number of journalists who covered a January 21 government press conference in Phnom Penh.

Om Yentieng, head of the government's anti-corruption unit and Human Rights Committee, ordered an aide to confiscate the property after a reporter asked a question about an unsolved grenade attack that targeted an opposition rally in 1997, according to a statement released by the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia. Sixteen activists were killed in the attack.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan later told news media that the government was within its rights to confiscate reporters' recordings and equipment to protect the "privacy rights" and "dignity" of officials. The Press Club noted in response that the confiscation of tapes and recorders constitutes censorship in violation of Article 3 of the 1995 Press Law, which broadly guarantees press freedoms.

The censorship generated some coverage in the Cambodian press. The independent English-language daily, The Phnom Penh Post, reported the question and Om Yentieng's reponse. The official called the question a "trap," labeled the reporter a "Khmer child," and asserted that recordings required permission, the Post reported.

Ong Yen Tieng confiscated reporters’ voice recorders: A ruthless and high-ranking CPP official

Just like his boss, Hun Xen, who threatened reporters...

Ong Yen Tieng also behaves ruthlessly toward reporters

Press group expresses concern

Monday, 24 January 2011
Thomas Miller
The Phnom Penh Post

The Overseas Press Club of Cambodia said yesterday it was “seriously concerned” about the actions of the government’s anti-corruption head, Om Yentieng, who on Friday ordered his staff to confiscate voice recorders from reporters at the end of a press conference.

Om Yentieng, a close advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen, called a press conference to detail the Anti-Corruption Unit’s investigation and arrest of anti-drug czar Moek Dara.

Om Yentieng answered several questions following the event. A Cambodia Daily reporter asked him about a shelved United States Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the deadly 1997 grenade attack that left 16 opposition Sam Rainsy Party activists dead and over 100 wounded.

The Daily has published articles about recently obtained FBI files relating to the investigation.

“Don’t put me into your trap, how much you know about the FBI report”, he said. “You are a Khmer child with Khmer blood, and you recorded my voice without permission”, Om Yentieng said, adding that the reporter could face a court complaint.

Officials then confiscated the reporters’ voice recorders and deleted material from the Q&A.

Ong Yen Tieng ordered confiscation of tape recorders from reporters asking questions on 30 March 1997 grenade attack

Aftermath of the coward 30 March 1997 grenade attack on peaceful SRP demonstrators

Om Yen Tieng (Photo: Ly Meng Huor, RFI)

VOA Khmer Service reported that on Friday 21 January 2011, reporters asked Om Yen Tieng questions on the FBI's investigation report on the grenade attack on SRP supporters on 30 March 1997. Following the questioning and most likely the rude answers provided by Ong Yen Tieng, the latter decided that all recorders belonging to reporters present during the questioning be confiscated. The audio portion of the questioning was erased from all the recorders. What does Ong Yen Tieng have to hide? Is he trying to hide the involvement of his boss in this coward attack?

Click here to listen to the VOA report in Khmer:

Mouthpiece of the rights violation-regime blasts UN over CPP human rights violations report

Official blasts UN over report

Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Written by Sebastian Strangio and Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

"They pretend to take care of [these issues] but in reality it is not the case" - SRP MP Yim Sovann

A SENIOR government official lashed out Tuesday at the recommendations released by a UN human rights body, claiming they are part of a pattern of bias against the Cambodian government.

"I think it is usual for UN human rights bodies to blast the ruling party and look on the government as its enemy," said Cheam Yeap, a senior CPP lawmaker.

"As a lawmaker, I want to see the checks and balances of the UN before they criticise the [Cambodian] government."

He added that the government was working to improve human rights in the country and that the Kingdom's leaders were better placed to judge the needs of Cambodians.

"We are trying to improve the living conditions of the Cambodian people," Cheam Yeap said. "I don't think that the UN loves the Khmer people more than Khmers love the Khmers."

In its concluding observations to Cambodia's May 11-12 review in Geneva, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights criticised the government for its lack of action on issues including land rights, gender equality, conservation, unemployment and labour rights.

Prominent among the committee's 24 recommendations was a call for a moratorium on land evictions "until the proper legal framework is in place and the process of land titling is completed".

It also slammed the government for its apparent refusal to send a delegation to the review, which itself came 15 years late because of the government's delay in filing its initial report to the committee.

"The Committee regrets the absence of experts from the State party and that the information provided was in some cases not sufficiently detailed," the report said.

Rights groups said the committee's report was an accurate snapshot of the situation in Cambodia. "The Committee has picked up on the most salient issues with regard to the state of economic, social and cultural rights in Cambodia," said David Pred, country director of rights group Bridges Across Borders.

He also expressed hope the government would respond by bringing the country into compliance with its obligations.

"This is what the ambassador promised in Geneva that the government would do, but now it is up to the central government in Phnom Penh to translate his words into action," he said.

Thun Saray, president of Cambodian rights group Adhoc, said that the committee had been "quite balanced" in its reporting, noting areas of improvement in Cambodia, and said the government should take the recommendations seriously.

Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann also supported the committee's efforts, adding that the CPP's "top to bottom" control of the government meant human rights issues were ignored. "They pretend to take care of [these issues] but in reality it is not the case," he said.

"So now the international community has to try."

Hor 5 Hong lambastes Dey Krahorm evictees ... while keeping silence on the illegal land-grabber: Hun Sen's no rights-no law rule?

Minister Lambastes ‘Professional Squatters’

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
18 May 2009

While rights groups seek to find fair deals for families displaced in Phnom Penh developments, the foreign minister says many of the capital’s squatters are “professionals,” moving from place to place to demand money when they are expelled.

In remarks at the opening ceremony of a consulate in Lowell, Mass., last month, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said residents of the Dey Krahorm community, who were evicted earlier this year, were squatters living on state land that had been granted to a private company for development.

“Nowadays, there are many squatters in Phnom Penh, and these squatters always grab people’s land,” he said. “When they push them out, the squatters always demand money. When they get the money, they go build another hut to live in, then demand money again. They are professional squatters.”

In fact, the situation is more complicated, and, critics say, indicative of the abuses suffered by many of the displaced.

Rights and opposition officials objected to the minister’s portrayal of the displaced.

The Dey Krahorm community was a cluster of shacks on 4 hectares of land in Phnom Penh’s Tonle Basaac commune, Chamkarmon district. Around 6,000 people had lived in the neighborhood before they were gradually pushed out, starting from 2003 and ending in January 2009.

Residents, many of whom were resettled on 3 hectares of land outside the city, claimed they had lived in the area since the 1980s.

Land was granted to development company 7NG as a social land concession, a move opposed by Dey Krahorm residents.

In July 2003, ahead of national elections, Prime Minister Hun Sen granted rights to some families in the neighborhood to live on the land. 7NG, however, continued with evictions, and many families were forced to settle in Choam Chao commune, in remote Dangkor district.

Residents complained they were being compensated below market price for their land. Protesters were evicted by Phnom Penh security forces, military police and soldiers, armed with electric batons, rifles and bulldozers, tractors and water trucks. Several were injured.

Meanchey District Governor Kouch Chamroeun told VOA Khmer he has never experienced forcible evictions and prefers peaceful negotiations.

Rights groups claim the evictions were a contradiction of a 2001 land law and blamed the government for a lack of responsibility.

Lao Monghay, a senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission, in Hong Kong, questioned Hor Nahmong’s accusations.

The authorities had been careless, and the ownership of the land was questionable, he said.

“Whose land is this?” he said. “How did they grant the land to the company? Was there any transparency? Any bid? How much did the company pay to the government? So the top government officials who have big houses and land in Phnom Penh, did they really build them by themselves? Don’t you think they also took someone’s house and someone’s land after the Khmer Rouge regime?”

If the people of Dey Krahorm were illegal, under which law was it, he asked. When people began to return to the city following the Khmer Rouge, no one in the country possessed a thing, he said.

“The Khmer Rouge revoked all land and house possession,” he said. The people of Dey Krahorm lived freely after into the 1990s under the State of Cambodia.

“If they first moved to live in that area, why didn’t the government immediately prohibit this?” he said. “So this is the authority’s mistake, not the people’s mistake. The people did nothing wrong.”

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Hor Namhong’s remarks “are to protect the big, evil companies and businessmen who depend on the dictator leader in order to steal and rob the Khmer people of their property.”

“The people can’t accept such language, because the people are the owners of the country,” he said.

Thun Saray, president of the rights group Adhoc, told VOA Khmer the people in Dey Krahorm were not to blame, but the company had taken their land away.

“People lived there for a long time before the company existed,” he said. “When the people oppose the company’s policy, it is their right to do so because they have their own plot of land in the Dey Krahorm community. They should respect their land rights.”

Resources watchdog Global Witness has reported that 45 percent of Cambodian land belongs to private companies or powerful individuals, while millions of dollars from land concessions disappear from national coffers.

The UN, meanwhile, has urged Cambodia to cease forced evictions across the country, warning that such policies do not meet international rights standards and are against UN conventions.

End Threats to Opposition Lawmaker

Cambodia: End Threats to Opposition Lawmaker

One of Parliament’s Few Women Faces Criminal Defamation Suit

May 5, 2009
Human Rights Watch

(New York) - Prime Minister Hun Sen and other senior members of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) should stop threatening to orchestrate the removal of lawmakers' parliamentary immunity in order to silence government critics, Human Rights Watch said today.

In a speech on April 29, 2009, Hun Sen said that it would be "as easy as ABC" to have the parliamentary immunity lifted for Mu Sochua, a National Assembly member. This would permit the government to bring criminal charges against her and prosecute her for publicly criticizing the prime minister. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has summoned Sochua to court on May 7.

"This is yet another blatant attempt to silence the political opposition," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "By threatening to prosecute opposition members of parliament on bogus charges, Hun Sen shows once again that his goal is elective dictatorship, not a genuinely pluralistic democracy."

Under Cambodia's Constitution, members of the National Assembly are immune from prosecution unless the assembly lifts their parliamentary immunity. The CPP has a long history of lifting the parliamentary immunity of opposition figures, though, in order to bring politically motivated criminal charges against them.

Mu Sochua, a member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) representing Kampot province, is one of the few female members of the National Assembly. On April 23, she and her lawyer announced her intention to file a defamation complaint against the prime minister after he publicly accused an unnamed woman from Kampot of "inciting" problems and acting like a gangster (cheung klang, literally "strong leg," a term considered especially derogatory for women). Sochua had said she was physically manhandled by a CPP military general during the 2008 election campaign. But Hun Sen, in his remarks, contended that she had instead acted provocatively by "rushing to embrace someone" and then complaining that the person had ripped open several of the buttons of her blouse.

The day after Sochua announced her lawsuit, a senior prime ministerial adviser, Om Yentieng, told the press that Hun Sen would counter-sue Sochua, and that all CPP National Assembly members would support lifting her immunity.

Five days later, Hun Sen confirmed that he was suing "a lady," whom he described as "stupid," as well as her lawyer. The lawsuit against Sochua was filed on April 27 by Hun Sen's lawyer, Ky Tech, former president of the Cambodian Bar Association. Ky Tech has also filed a complaint with the Bar Association against Sochua's lawyer, Kong Sam Onn, accusing him of violating the lawyers' code of ethics in this case.
Opposition figures convicted on politically motivated charges after their parliamentary immunity was lifted include Cheam Channy, an SRP member convicted in a biased trial in 2005 on unsubstantiated charges of creating a rebel army, and the party leader, Sam Rainsy, the same year for allegedly defaming government leaders.

"Punishing Mu Sochua is no idle threat as Hun Sen continues to find ways to intimidate the opposition," said Adams. "Threats to prosecute government critics and lawyers are especially difficult to counter in Cambodia, where the courts are controlled by the government. No judge in Cambodia would stand up to Hun Sen."

CPP's latest achievement: Cambodians evicted to make way for Hanoi road

House-breakers, employed by local authorities, saw at a resident's house in the Sen Sok district of Phnom Penh on Monday. Residents of the area's Hanoi Road had been warned to leave, but many had not, instead staying to watch in shock as their homes were torn down. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)
A bulldozer tears down houses along Sen Sok district's Hanoi Road on Monday. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)

Pleas fail to stop the Hanoi Road eviction

Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Written by May Titthara and Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post

Roadside properties demolished by authorities in advance of road-widening project, with affected families calling on the municipality to provide them with fair compensation.

HOMES and fences belonging to residents of Teuk Thla and Phnom Penh Thmey communes in Sen Sok district were demolished by Phnom Penh authorities on Monday to make way for a road expansion project, with witnesses reporting that hundreds of armed police were deployed in the action.

Ten families comprising 40 people lost their homes along the Cambodia-Vietnam Frienship Highway - popularly known as Hanoi Road.

The demolition began after Sen Sok district Governor Khoung Sreng on March 6 told some residents living along the road that they had five days to remove their homes, fences and stalls. Residents did not move in time.

Oeum Reun, 53, whose house was demolished Monday morning, said she had lived there since 1979 and would go to Prime Minister Hun Sen's house to ask for his personal intervention.

"This is crueller than what Pol Pot's soldiers did to us - they mistreated me and then made me put my thumbprint on the form allowing them to demolish my house," she said.

"If they want to kill me I don't care because my house has been ... demolished."

"It's up to them - if they want to kill me, I don't care because my house has been completely demolished."

Oeum Reun said she was not interested in being relocated to the four-by-eight metre site at Thnot Chrum that the municipality was offering. "I would rather die than live at Thnot Chrum. I want to live in this area."

The expansion plan requires a width of 22 metres for the road, 8 metres of which will be for drainage infrastructure.

Sek Sovanna, a lawyer for the Community Legal Education Centre (CLEC), which has been representing the residents, filed an injunction with the Municipal Court last month seeking to halt the construction and has also filed complaints to City Hall. But she said CLEC has yet to receive any response.

"The authorities wrote to them in 2004. Since then the residents have tried asking the authorities to negotiate, but they kept quiet until the end of 2008," she said.

"If they had expanded the road to the width they said in 2004, it wouldn't affect the villagers - back then they said it would be widened by 8 metres along the 4-kilometre length. Now they have turned up and said it must be widened to 30 metres."

Sek Sovanna said the authorities were obliged to pay compensation since the residents were living there legally.

She added that in 2004 there were 90 families, but more than half had left since they did not dare stand up to the authorities.

District Governor Khuong Sreng told the Post Monday that the authorities could not delay the project simply because residents had failed to move and said most would get no compensation.

"They have to respect our notice. This is for development, and City Hall has a policy only to speak to those whose entire houses are affected," he said. And because the expansion project "affected only one or two complete houses", the authorities had offered those people a plot of land each in Thnot Chrum village.

He said that other affected families had lost fences and pavement area and therefore would not be entitled to compensation.

"They have big houses and villas," he said.

No compensation

Resident Prum Navy, 38, said her 14-metre house had lost 12 metres of its length to the project.

"My house has just 2 metres left - how can I live?" she asked. "I would like compensation from the authorities to buy a new house, but they say they have no plan to provide any compensation."

She said of the 10 families that had lost their property, just one had been compensated.

"The authorities came to demolish our houses with rage - they came to tell us on Friday and gave us just three days. And today they have come and destroyed them," she said.

"We are poor people and we don't have power like them. So they can do anything to us."

Chen Ton, 60, watched as her house lost 12 metres of its length, leaving her with just 2.5 metres of living space. She said the authorities showed no pity for the poor.

"We don't deny that the authorities need to develop, but they should know how this affects us. We are humans, not animals," she said.

"They use their power to destroy our houses. We have asked them about compensation since 2004, but they never spoke with us."

Resident Tey Narin told reporters that none of the residents dared to confront the police and the authorities and simply left their houses and fences to be demolished: "No one dares to protest - we fear being arrested," he said.

30 years of communist Vietnamese influence under the CPP tyranny: Can this be considered a milestone in Cambodia’s history?

Authoritarian communist legacy: Illegal eviction
Vietnamese communist influence: Beating of Khmer Krom monks by government soldiers

A milestone in Cambodia’s history

01/06/2009
VOV News (Hanoi)

Thirty years ago on January 7, a red flag with five yellow towers at its centre, signifying the Cambodian United Front for National Salvation, fluttered high above Phnom Penh, marking the fall of the genocidal Pol Pot regime and the start of national reconstruction in the war-torn country.

The genocide in Cambodia originated from the brutal dictatorship of a group of intellectuals represented by Saloth Sar known as Pol Pot. Unlike fascist dictator Adolf Hitler who suffered a bitter defeat in the end due to the capitalist policy, Pol Pot thought that he would succeed in establishing a dictatorship in Cambodia hold on to power and build communism in the country.

To realize his plan, he founded a military-ruled communist party known as the Khmer Rouge in which all Party members knew how to use guns. He acted as General Secretary and Commander in chief.

On April 17, 1975, Khmer Rouge guerrillas marched into Phnom Penh, four days after US Ambassador to Cambodia John Gunther Dean and acting Cambodian president General So kom Khoi fled the country. Four years later, Cambodia fell victim to a genocidal regime under the leadership of Pol Pot. He planned to build a special communist society in which only Khmer people were respected. City-dwellers were forced to move into rural areas and the entire population, including monks and intellectuals, had to work in Khmer Rouge-ruled communes. All non-Khmer people were tortured or executed. According to statistics, more than 3 million people were killed in the country, where there has been no freedom and no human rights but blood and tears. Cambodia was on the brink of mass genocide.

After April 17, 1974, Pol Pot alleged that Vietnam had developed a scheme to establish the Union of Indochina with the aim of taking over Cambodia. Besides chasing away and killing Vietnamese nationals in Cambodia, on May 10, 1975, the Khmer Rouge deployed its troops on Vietnam’s Tho Chu islands, arresting and killing hundreds of local islanders.

On April 30, 1977, the Khmer Rouge deployed 13 key divisions to launch attacks on Vietnam along the border. In late 1978, it sent in 19 out of its 23 key divisions to attack the Ben Soi area in the south-western border province of Tay Ninh in an attempt to support reactionary forces to overthrow the newly-established administration in Ho Chi Minh City.

However, three of its regular divisions were smashed by Vietnamese forces and its plot to overthrow the young administration was foiled.

On December 2, 1978, the Cambodia National News Agency and national radio announced that the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) had established the Cambodian United Front for National Salvation and released an appeal to the Cambodian people for support in their cause. On December 25, 1978, Vietnamese and Cambodian soldiers jointly launched counterattacks against the Khmer Rouge and liberated Phnom Penh on January 7, 1979. Pol Pot fled and his dictatorship crumbled into dust.

After the victory, the Cambodian people got down to work on the national reconstruction process under the leadership of the CPP. To defend the fruits of the revolution, in addition to Vietnamese volunteer soldiers, Cambodia asked Vietnam to send its specialists to the war-torn nation.

As a result, Cambodia alleviated hunger between 1979-1980 and gradually revamped its economy to meet its people’s needs. On September 27, 1989, all Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and specialists withdrew from Cambodia, completing their international humanitarian mission. The withdrawal testified to the fact that the Cambodian people had successfully escaped from the genocidal regime and begun to rebuild the country.

At a get-together in Phnom Penh on January 7, 1989 to mark their 10-year presence, State President Heng Somrin said that the Cambodian people would forever remember in their hearts and minds the great contributions to their nation by Vietnamese specialists and volunteer soldiers.

In recent years, Cambodia has recorded notable socio-economic achievements with its annual GDP per capita increasing to US$589 and likely to hit US$1,000 by 2015, and its poverty rate dropping from 35 percent in 2004 to 31 percent in 2007.

Corruption! Two Million Dollars Per Month Squandered By Mr. Hun Sen

“Prime Minister Hun Sen has elevated at least 70 ruling party politicians to new titles and ranks within the government in the last few months at a cost to the national budget estimated at $2 million a month.” - Phnom Penh Post

Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com/

About a week ago, I editorialised that Mr. Hun Sen has corruptly squandered the national budget by unnecessarily appointing all opposition defectors who joined the CPP to many high paid government positions. Now it is evident that Mr. Hun Sen has just corruptly squandered public money to the tune of two million dollars per month by promoting 70 of his CPP stooges unnecessarily. Mr. Hun Sen seemed to wrongly think that, as a prime minister of a country, he has the right and can appoint anyone at his own will. Mr. Prime Minister, you are wrong!

In a parliamentary democracy, under a constitution that was written and approved by the constituent assembly of which you were a member, the prime minister is accountable and is answerable to the constitution, to the parliament and to the people. And in a fully democratic country your actions are unconstitutional and are impeachable by parliament.

In 1974? President Richard Nixon was impeached and forced out of office due to a moronic action of one of his party workers who broke into the opposition candidate’s office and stole some documents. In 1975, an Australian prime minister, Mr. Gough Whitlam, was sacked by the Governor-General due to a very ambiguous reason. As of this week an Australian minister is facing the sack after he appointed his friend to a high paid government job. These are just a few examples that have been actioned in a fully democratic country that Mr. Hun Sen should be aware of.

Coming back to the $2 million a month spent on the wages of the 70 newly appointed CPP stooges, it is pure corruption. The $2 million squandered in such a fashion is just a tip of the iceberg. If the opposition is correct, when they claimed that there are thousands of unneeded government advisors, it meant that Mr. Hun Sen has corruptly squandered $30 million a month, or $360 million a year. Coupled with $500 million (World Bank figures) a year lost through corruption, it meant that Cambodia has lost $860 million a year because of official corruption. Considering that the Cambodian economy is a small economy, this amount represented a titanic amount.

So, how Mr. Hun Sen can be stopped? Well, MP Son Chhay has done a small step by strongly reminded Mr. Hun Sen, through his media appeal and letter to the Prime Minister himself, that there will be legal consequences if the prime minister does not right his wrongs.

Another measure would be that the parliament move a motion to censure the prime minister over his actions, request for an audited lists of appointments and audited salaries being spent on those appointments. If his appointments were found to be corruptly unjustified he should be impeached and force out of office. This measure is a wishful thinking and would most definitely fail because all of the CPP parliamentarians, due to their vested interests, will not agree to move such a motion to impeach their prime minister. But such a measure, success or without success, must be tried. If Mr. Hun Sen is allowed to do whatever he wants, without regard for the laws and without anyone putting a stop to it, Cambodia would still be poor as long as Mr. Hun Sen is still the prime minister. Poor Cambodia!

Phnom Penh: scrapheap of the poor

10 years on from historic coup, success story is blighted by corruption

From Nick Meo in Phnom Penh
Sunday Herald (Scotland, UK)

THE MUNICIPAL dump on the outskirts of Phnom Penh is where Cambodia's luckless poor go when they become truly desperate.

As the monsoon rains pour down scavengers hunt through piles of stinking refuse for bits of saleable scrap or even edible food. At this time of year, with the rain and mud at their worst, they have been known to disappear into water-filled holes or slip under the tracks of the dump's bulldozers.

This is the Cambodia that the tourists don't see. On the surface the nation appears to have become a success story, with its years of mass murder and war behind it; now there is political stability, more than 10% annual economic growth and a thriving textile sector.

But the scavengers at the dump are evidence of the downside - the victims of the corruption and greed which has thrived since the current prime minister, Hun Sen, grabbed power in a coup 10 years ago this week. Since then, behind a veneer of democracy, the corrupt elite around him has become richer and a gaping chasm has opened between rich and poor.

The corruption problem is one of the worst in Asia. Last year, Transparency International rated Cambodia at 151 out of 163 nations in its government corruption index. Yet fears are growing that a dysfunctional political system will soon become much worse.

In three years' time, massive offshore oil wealth will start to be pumped - perhaps as much as 500 million barrels.

It should produce a bonanza which could fund the schools, roads and hospitals that Cambodia desperately needs, but instead it will almost certainly flow into the pockets of the corrupt. The poor could then become even worse off because prices will be forced up as the economy grows.

Aid workers speak of the example of Nigeria, where years of oil revenues have been stolen by the corrupt and life has hardly changed for the poor. The resulting anger there has caused crime and instability - spectres which are beginning to concern diplomats in Phnom Penh.

So far, the poor have had to accept their fate, but with so many dispossessed existing alongside a class of wealthy who enjoy flaunting it there are concerns that political unrest could grow.

The ugliest form of exploitation has been an epidemic of land-grabbing in which businessmen pay thugs or corrupt police to drive the poor from their homes so they can build on sites which are rocketing up in value.

Many of those victims end up struggling to survive in the dump. Some were evicted from urban shanty towns which are bulldozed for development; others were tribal people tricked out of their forest lands or peasants with a few paddy fields which a sharp-eyed developer realised could turn a quick profit.

In the dump most of them live on the edge of the sprawling refuse heaps in a shanty town which they have built from scrap, afflicted by disease and preyed on by toughs. Other victims of land-grabbing live in refugee camps, waiting for help promised by the authorities which never seems to arrive.

The problem is so serious that the UN's Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Cambodia last month issued a report on land-grabbing, accusing the corrupt rich of having a devastating effect on the poor and driving tens of thousands from their homes into destitution.

It is easy to drive the poor off because few Cambodians have land titles. After the chaos of Khmer Rouge rule between 1975 to 1979, when more than a quarter of the population was murdered and property was abolished, the survivors often settled where they could without documents to prove ownership. Following the fall of the regime the most ruthless thrived. Now they are rich.

Illegal logging of the once-beautiful and extensive forests has been another way for the rich to turn a fast buck. Last month watchdog group Global Witness castigated a clique around Hun Sen for making tens of millions of dollars out of logging. The prime minister was furious - with Global Witness.

He also attacked international aid donors when they ticked him off for corruption last month at an annual meeting to fork out millions of dollars in taxpayers' money, much of which will be stolen. Hun Sen pledged to clean up the corruption, as he does every year, and the donors pretended to believe him, as they do every year. The donors don't press too hard. Most are worried that Cambodia is getting too close to China, which is eyeing the offshore oil and making aid pledges without complaining about human rights abuses.

Meanwhile, as the rich build mansions and work out how to make money out of the forthcoming oil boom, the poor are left to survive as best they can.

CPP “magic” oath water drinking ritual: Shouldn't the CPP institutionalize this experimental ritual for all top CPP leaders and family members also?

22 May 2007
Siem Reap CPP official forces villagers to drink “magic” oath water

By Sav Yuth
Radio Free Asia (a station labeled insolent by Hun Sen)
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

A group of villagers living in the Svar Sor commune, Varin district, Siem Reap province, claimed that the population of many villages were rounded up by their CPP village chiefs and commune chiefs who forced them to drink “magic” oath water in order to prove their faithfulness to the CPP party in the commune.

Some villagers in the Svay Sor village, Svay Sor commune, said on Tuesday that several villagers were rounded up by the village chief and commune chief, and they were handed water for them to drink, one at a time. “… they forced us to drink, they say whoever are faithful to them, they let them drink (the water), but those who are not, they let them go. I drank, we all drank, and we are drinking every day. In this village, several hundred people (drank)…”

Other villagers said that they don’t understand what is behind this “magic” oath water drinking ritual, but they just drank it anyway because they were afraid to protest.

Prang Chhoeun, the (CPP) Svay Sor commune chief, recognized that he organized this ritual, but that he only forced CPP party members to drink only, and he is not forcing anybody else to drink at all.

Prang Chhoeun said: “We organized this ritual because we want to know who among the villagers are faithful to our CPP, we don’t force anyone, we just conducted business as usual.”

Em Wat, the Varin district governor, said that he knew about this activity also, but he believes that there is nothing wrong with this ritual because it is organized only for party members to attend.

Em Vat said: “I think that their (CPP) members numbered 1,900 in the past, now, they have filtered and selected only 1,000 sure (party members), this is an experiment they conducted only for their party members. This is their criterion, this is a commune affair only.”

Nevertheless, human rights NGO oppose this action. Suos Narin, a facilitator for the Adhoc human right group, called this action a violation of human rights. Suos Narin said that forcing people to drink “magic” oath water is a violation on the election law.

Suos Narin said: “There is no law that states that people must drink ‘magic’ oath water to prove their faithfulness. If the commune officials want to obtain votes, it depends only on their campaigning, the election law does not allow the forcing of people to drink ‘magic’ oath water like this.”

Kul Panha, the executive director of Comfrel, said that according to the commune election law, and the general election law, it is stated that forcing of people to drink ‘magic’ oath water must be fined between 5 and 25 million riels ($1,250 to $6,250).

Hun Sen Government Urged To Clean Up Its Own People's Acts To Protect Forests

19 Apr 07

Bou Thang's Son-in-Law Is Becoming Protector of Illegal Small-Size Sawmill Operators in Ratanakiri Province

By Pheakdei
Moneakseka Khmer
Translated from Khmer and posted online

Ratanakiri province officials hinted that the son-in-law of Bou Thang, lawmaker from the Cambodian People's Party, is turning himself into a most arrogant protector of illegal small-size sawmills. It is said that just in Ban Lung district alone about 40 sawmills of this type are operating smoothly under the warm protection of Yu Kanvimean, deputy chief of the local forest administration district known to be Bou Thang's son-in-law.

Because of the very great influence of Yu Kanvimean, Bou Thang's son-in-law and nephew of Bou Lam, deputy governor of Ratanakiri province, competent authorities have not dared to do anything to him besides turning a blind eye, allowing this man to break the law as he pleases.

It is known that illegal small-size sawmill operators under the tight protection of Yu Kanvimean are doing business in all districts throughout Ratanakiri province. Because of this proliferation of illegal sawmills, the logging of forests in this province is also on the rise.

Some provincial officials said that because of the backing from Bou Thang's son-in-law, the sawmill operators are not afraid to carry on their illegal activities. Moreover, the owners of these small sawmills are sending their workers to cut trees in a most extensive manner.

The widespread logging business that is being conducted through the good offices of Bou Thang's son-in-law is said to be the second worst forest crime in Ratanakiri province after the one committed by Kham Khoeun, former governor of this province.

The criminal named Kham Khoeun, found guilty for destroying the forests, was last year sentenced in absentia by the Phnom Penh tribunal to 17-year imprisonment. This was after the discovery that nearly 80 percent of the forests in the Vireakchey National Park were logged out.

Based on the lawsuit filed by the Ministry of Environment on 15 November 2004, forests in the O Royeul and Kantuy Neak regions of the Vireakchey National Park were extensively logged and destroyed between 10 March 2003 and May 2004.

According to survey of the destruction, the interests were distributed among several very rich people, including some senior officials in the Interior Ministry. Consequently, Kham Khoeun was sent away and given prison term only in absentia.

As far as Bou Thang's son-in-law Yu Kanvimean is concerned, sources said that he has also set up a similar system by using money to bind the hands and blind the eyes of big officials at the provincial and ministerial levels, permitting his loggers and sawmill operators to act freely like unbridled horses.

According to the local people, some high-quality trees were not only felled but were uprooted, which is a sign of serious danger to the forests in Ratanakiri.

However, the forests in Ratanakiri province are being destroyed not just by the local timber merchants. There are several big companies, both domestic and international, that have received logging concessions from the state. Each of them has been given a permit to massively log tens of thousands of hectares of forests.

It is known that the companies that have received forest concessions with contract to replant trees following the logging do not live up to their commitment. They just log out the forests, sell the timber, and move on.

In this case, in order to prevent all types of forest crimes, the Hun Sen government should clean up the acts of its own people first, or Cambodia would surely become a desert.

One big happy family in Cambodia

One of the big happy family in Cambodia

Mar 20, 2007

By Bertil Lintner Asia Times (Hong Kong)

PHNOM PENH - Cambodia's rough-and-tumble politics have long been bloody, marred by frequent political assassinations and violence. But never before have they been quite so blood-linked.

The English-language fortnightly Phnom Penh Post published without comment in late February a family tree it had compiled, revealing how the top leaders of the ruling Cambodia People's Party (CPP) have become more intimate through an old-fashioned Cambodian custom: arranged marriage. And the growing family ties run all the way to the top of Cambodia's political pyramid, Prime Minister Hun Sen, Southeast Asia's longest-serving leader.

For instance, there is Hun Sen's brother, Hun Neng, currently serving as governor of Kompong Cham, whose daughter, Hun Kimleng, is married to the deputy commissioner of Cambodia's National Police, Neth Savoeun. Meanwhile, Hun Neng's son, Hun Seang Heng, is married to Sok Sopheak, the daughter of Sok Phal, another deputy commissioner of the National Police. Hun Sen's 25-year-old son, Hun Manith, is married to Hok Chendavy, the daughter of Hok Lundy, the National Police commissioner.

Another of the premier's sons, Hun Many, 24, is married to Yim Chay Lin, the daughter of Yim Chay Li, secretary of state for rural development. One of Hun Sen's daughters, Hun Mali, 23, meanwhile, is married to Sok Puthyvuth, the son of Sok An, Hun Sen's right-hand man and minister of the Council of Ministers. The friendship between Hun Sen and Sok An dates back to the early 1980s, when Hun Sen was foreign minister and Sok An director of the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Now those personal ties run blood deep as in-laws.

And that's just a sampling of the connections at the highest echelons. Heng Samrin, who was Cambodia's head of state from the Vietnamese invasion in January 1979 to the United Nations intervention in 1991, and now serves as president of the National Assembly and honorary CPP president, has a daughter named Heng Sam An, who is married to Pen Kosal, an adviser to Sar Kheng, deputy prime minister and minister of the interior - as well as brother-in-law of Senate and CPP president Chea Sim.

Heng Samrin's adviser, Cham Nimol, is the daughter of Cham Prasidh, minister of commerce. Another of Cham Pradish's daughters, Cham Krasna, is engaged to Sok Sokann, another of minister Sok An's sons. Sar Kheng's son, Sar Sokha, meanwhile, is married to Ke Sunsophy, daughter of Ke Kim Yan, commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. And Hun Sen's wife, Bun Ramy, currently serves as president of the Cambodian Red Cross, while its second vice president, Theng Ay Anny, aka Sok An Anny, is Sok An's wife.

Family traditions

There has been no official reaction to the Phnom Penh Post's revealing study. Intermarriage among members of the ruling political and business elites is not uncommon in Asia.

In neighboring Thailand, Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan's son, Chatichai Choonhavan, became prime minister of Thailand, while his daughter, Khun Ying Udomlak married Phao Sriyanond, director general of the Thai police. Another high-ranking Thai army officer, Thanom Kittikachorn, was the brother-in-law of fellow military dictator Praphas Charusathien, while his son, Narong Kittikachorn, also became a military strongman, while his sister Songsuda married Suvit Yodmani, who has served with several Thai governments.

Sino-Thai tycoons are known to have arranged their children's marriages to members of other top business families to progress their commercial interests. But in Cambodia's case, where many of the political elite were wiped out during Khmer Rouge-led purges between 1975 and 1979, the number of political marriages is extraordinary. And these new family ties between the children of ministers and top officials potentially set the stage for the CPP's grip on power to continue for generations.

Significantly, the CPP's family connection is emerging simultaneously with a waning of the royal family's influence over national politics. Ever since Hun Sen and his inner circle of friends and advisers ousted former prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh in a 1997 coup, the royalist Funcinpec party's political fortunes have waned.

Ranariddh was forced into exile after the bloody putsch that killed many of his party members, but later returned to Cambodia to become president of the National Assembly after inconclusive general elections in 2003, when the CPP was unable to garner enough votes to form a one-party government and after much squabbling joined with Funcinpec in a wobbly coalition.

One of the sons of former king Norodom Sihanouk and half-brother of the present monarch, Sihamoni, Ranariddh resigned that post last March and subsequently left the country again. While he was away, he was dismissed as co-chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia as well as the National Olympic Committee. He later returned to Cambodia - and was ousted as president of Funcinpec, the main opposition party, amid an internal power struggle in October that many political analysts believe Hun Sen had a hand in.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, several of Funcinpec's original leaders were also related. Ranariddh's uncle and former king Norodom Sihanouk's younger half-brother, Norodom Sirivudh, served as foreign minister in a Funcinpec-led government in 1993. Ranariddh's half-brother, Norodom Chakrapong, meanwhile, helped found Funcinpec but later defected to the CPP. Their half-sister and Sihanouk's eldest child, Norodom Bopha Devi, has served as minister of information and culture, while her latest consort, Khek Vandy, was elected to the National Assembly on a Funcinpec list in 1998.

But Funcinpec's family pride has waned considerably since it emerged as the biggest party in the UN-supervised elections in May 1993, when it captured 45% of the popular vote and outpaced the CPP, which came in a close second with 38%. Many political observers think Ranariddh's recent ouster from Funcinpec may represent his last political gasp.

His former Funcinpec colleagues recently sued him on allegations that he embezzled US$3.6 million from the sale of the party's headquarters last August. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court found the prince guilty and sentenced him - in absentia - to 18 years in prison. Ranariddh had recently set up a new party, aptly named the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP).

Funcinpec, the NRP and the opposition Sam Rainsy Party will be among 10 different political parties standing against the CPP juggernaut in upcoming commune council elections, which are scheduled for April 1 and widely viewed as a bellwether indicator for next year's general elections.

It may well be an April Fool's election, with the opposition fractured and vulnerable and the CPP allegedly pursuing a campaign of violence and intimidation against opposition candidates and their supporters in rural areas. Khieu Kanharith, CPP minister of information, predicted on February 22 that his party would win about 97% or 98% of the positions in the commune councils, and 95% of the vote in the general elections next year. That may well be the case, as Cambodia is fast morphing into a one-party state dominated by the CPP.

The Phnom Penh Post in its February 9 edition quoted a foreign diplomat as saying: "The CPP controls the government, the National Assembly, the Senate, 99% of the village chiefs, the provincial governments. Their influence goes through the judiciary, through the police ... Practically everything is controlled by one party."

That assessment would appear to jibe with 55-year-old Hun Sen's January 9 pronouncement that he does not intend to stand down from the premiership until he is at least 90 years old. By then, a third generation of CPP family-tied politicians and officials, if everything goes according to the apparent plan, will just be coming of political age.

Bertil Lintner is a former correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic Review, where he reported frequently on Cambodian politics and economics. He is currently a writer with Asia-Pacific Media Services.

Koh Kong villagers who lost their lands to CPP Tycoon-Senator Ly Yong Phat are demonstrating in front of the Nat'l Assembly

Koh Kong villagers (L) who came to demonstrate in Phnom Penh about the lands they lost to CPP Tycoon-Senator Ly Yong Phat (R), are settling themselves in front of the National Assembly to have their case heard and resolved. (Photo: Sralanh Khmer Newspaper)

Thursday, March 08, 2007
Koh Kong Families are demonstrating

By Kang Kallyan
Cambodge Soir
Translated from French by Luc Sâr

They took the road from Koh Kong since Monday, they are men, women, children, and old people who have walked from their far away southwestern province. They completed their journey by bus to arrive in Phnom Penh on Tuesday evening. Since then, they have been demonstrating in front of the National Assembly, holding pictures of the prime minister and that of his wife. They protest against the expropriation of their lands, and the absence of reaction from the local authorities in spite of negotiations which were held for several months.

Their object of their grievances is a contract concluded last summer between the Ministry of Agriculture and two private companies for a 90-year land concession. The concession was destined for a sugar cane plantation covering an area of 20,000 hectares, 9,700 of which belong to farmers in three villages: Chi Khor, Chhouk, and Trapeang Kondor, all in Sre Ambel district.

41-year-old Lach Hour lost all her farmlands. “We are no longer eating our fill anymore. The company took away the 8-hectare of land I owned, and they finished clearing half of it already,” the mother of 7 explained. She added that no compensation was given to her for her lands. Lean Muy lost her small 35-square-meter plot where she grew cashew nut. “I lost everything,” the old woman said in tears.

It is not because the farmers did not ask for intervention from the authorities, in fact the villagers brought three complaints against the two companies belonging to CPP Tycoon-Senator Ly Yong Phat. Later on the companies proposed to some villagers a compensation of between 150,000 and 200,000 riels ($38 to $50) per hectare. The two parties did not come up to an agreement, the villagers who lost their lands would like to be compensated in land [exchange] rather than money. Faced with the quagmire of the conflict, the villagers are now appealing to the prime minister. “We will not leave as long as our problems are not resolved,” one of the representative of the villagers declared. “Now that we are here, we are not moving.”

Hun Sen admits: Land-grabbers and power abusers are CPP officials

March 4th 2007
Cambodia Premier Warns Politicos Against Land Grabbing

DPA

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen criticized his party members for land grabbing during an internal meeting of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), according to a statement received Sunday.

The statement and sources close to the ruling party said Hun Sen had warned the senior CPP members to desist from land grabbing and other abuses of power.

He also removed the former governor of north-eastern Ratanakiri province, Kham Khoeun, from the party's central committee. Khoeun was recently sentenced in absentia to 17 years in prison by a Cambodian court for his conviction of involvement in a 2004 illegal logging scandal in a protected area of the province.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, a former Khmer Rouge cadre member who defected to Vietnam and returned as a member of the nucleus that overthrew that regime in 1979, was promoted to become a party Permanent Committee member at the same meeting, the statement said, as was Constitutional Council president Bin Chhin.

Chhin led a recent delegation to neighbouring Vietnam aimed at building Cambodian government expertise in clarifying legal documents such as land titles, solving election disputes and fighting government corruption.

The 30-member Permanent Committee is pivotal in formulating party policy.

CPP sources said Hun Sen has grown increasingly impatient with party members who abuse their positions to take land from poor rural villagers and that at least one senior military official has already been forced to give land back to the government.

Donors, rights workers and political analysts have warned that if the problem is not solved, it could disenfranchise CPP supporters in the party's heartland rural areas and eventually lead to political instability. Donors have threatened to withold funds to the aid-dependent nation if endemic corruption is not curbed through legislation.

The Central Committee meeting, held Saturday, came less than a month before vital national commune elections scheduled for April 1.