Fear for Safety Remains: Journalists

Sam Rithy Duong Hak, vice president of the Cambodian Association of Professional Journalists

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
22 July 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

Dam Sith, the editor of the opposition newspaper Moneaksekar Khmer who was jailed for a week in June and was the boss of slain journalist Khim Sambor, fully supports the FBI's offer to aid police in solving the murder.

Speaking by phone for fear of leaving his house, Dam Sith said Thursday on "Hello VOA" he regretted that Cambodia had not yet taken the FBI up on an offer to aid the investigation of the murder of Khim Sambor, who was shot dead with his son July 11 on a Phnom Penh street.

"I strongly support the FBI to help investigate, but it's a regret that the government refuses to grant their participation," Dam Sith said.

No suspect has been arrested in the murder, but the killing, two weeks from a national election, has meant a chilling effect on opposition journalists.

"We do not dare to cover news in public, because we're concerned about our safety," Dam Sith said.

At least 12 journalists have been killed in Cambodia since 1994, but no killers have been brought to trial.

Sam Rithy Duong Hak, vice president of the Cambodian Association of Professional Journalists, echoed Dam Sith's support for FBI assistance.

"There is more fear now," he said.

For Cambodians, fear is a way of life

January 23, 2008
By LAO MONG HAY
UPI Asia Online

Column: Rule by Fear

HONG KONG, China, Last December, in a speech at a rally in Phnom Penh to mark International Human Rights Day, Prof. Yash Ghai, the U.N. secretary-general's special envoy for human rights in Cambodia, said, among other things, that "fear -- fear of the state, fear of political and economic saboteurs, fear of greedy individuals and corporations, fear of the police and the courts -- describes the plight of numerous communities and families in Cambodia as they do in many other parts of the world."

Fear on the part of ordinary people in relation to their rulers at all levels of public administration, from village chiefs to the head of state, is a norm in Cambodia, where these rulers behave as masters, not servants, of their people. The concept of "public administration as service and citizens as clients" is absent in the political and administrative culture of the country, where these rulers still consider public services not the rights of their people, but favors they are doing them.

People invariably need to oil the palms of administrators to get things done, be they the registration of births, marriages or deaths; medical treatment at public hospitals; applications for licenses; adjudication of conflicts; or even the payment of taxes to the government. When they are in trouble with the law and get caught, they have an ingrained fear of being tortured by the police. They or their relatives need to offer bribes to them for better treatment.

Nor can people expect the courts to do their constitutional duty to protect the rights of citizens. Accused persons or litigants in civil cases cannot expect a fair trial or the enforcement of their rights when they engage in a legal conflict with the powerful or the rich.

The same special envoy also remarked in his speech about the attitude of the Parliament toward the plight of victims of land-grabbing, comments that are typical of the relationship between the rulers and the ruled across the country: "People threatened with eviction … reminded me that the National Assembly sits only a few meters away from them and yet has long turned a blind eye to their suffering."

Although they have exercised their right to vote and regularly elect their rulers, people do not have confidence and trust in the system and institutions of the country. Aggrieved Cambodians invariably have recourse first to nongovernmental organizations, especially human rights and legal aid NGOs, to seek assistance in getting the public authorities to adjudicate and enforce their rights. They also have recourse to the media to help publicize their cases and convey their requests to their rulers to enforce their rights and find justice for them.

In a report published last October, Ath Bonny, field editor of Radio Free Asia, said: "Nowadays the people don't complain to the government or police: they complain to RFA. Many people see us as a direct channel to communicate with their national leaders, and I think that makes the government nervous."

Such assistance and publicity have made the public authorities angry with NGOs and the media. For instance, in his Jan. 14 report to higher authorities, a commune chief in Siem Reap Province blamed human rights NGOs and RFA for "instigating" a protest by a group of 50 villages to get fair compensation for the damage to their properties due to the construction of a road.

With advice from NGOs or on their own, aggrieved people band together and stage protests against evictions from their homes and lands, the arrests of their fellow villagers or representatives or other violations of their rights, all of which are serious issues affecting many people in the country. They stage such protests locally or in the capital in front of the residence of the prime minister and the Parliament, bracing themselves against the consequences of bans on all public demonstrations and protests.

On Jan. 15, for instance, 40 villagers from two provinces went to stage a protest in front of the Parliament against the grabbing of their lands. Earlier, in November 2007, a group of 30 peasants with sickles in their hands went to the court in Battambang to support their representative who had been summoned to appear and to put pressure on the court not to arrest her in a land dispute case, for they knew that arrest is a common practice used to break the spirit of the weaker party that has a stronger case.

There is an urgent need to allay the fear that is so prevalent in Cambodia and to win public confidence and trust in the government and all public institutions of the country that are now so lacking. This aim could be achieved by the realization of the concept of "public administration as service, citizens as clients" through observance of, and respect for, the rights of the people and the diligent enforcement of these rights.
--
(Lao Mong Hay is currently a senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong. He was previously director of the Khmer Institute of Democracy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and a visiting professor at the University of Toronto in 2003. In 1997, he received an award from Human Rights Watch and the Nansen Medal in 2000 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.)

Khlean - Khlao - Khlach (Hungry, Uneducated, Sacred) - A Poem by Sam Vichea

Click on the poem to zoom in

Poem by Vichea Sam (on the web at http://kamnapkumnou.blogspot.com)

World Bank launches accountability program

By Brendan Brady
Phnom Penh Post, Issue 16 / 25, December 14 - 28, 2007

"Good governance is part of our culture, and that's why there's so little corruption," HE Ngy Champal, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Interior, told a full house attending the launch of a new World Bank "social accountability" program.

He may have thought so, but the some 400 hundred students as well as local and international NGO officials attending the launch of the World Bank's Program to Enhance Capacity in Social Accountability (PESCA) didn't agree and were eager for change in the Kingdom's performance in governance.

World Bank country manager Nisha Agrawal said there is a "climate of fear" regarding efforts to hold government officials accountable.

"In the villages, you can do this in a way that is non-threatening. Invite the village chief, invite the police - they will see you are helping everyone," she said.

Addressing concerns of government reprisal, PECSA program coordinator Dinky Solomon said, "We all know there are risks involved because there are interests that could be threatened."

Heng Monychenda, Director of Buddhism for Development, cautioned the audience to seek lawful governance in baby steps. "Please believe me, we cannot eliminate corruption. We can reduce it but we cannot eliminate it," he said.

The launch of the program December 3 came just three days before the release of a new Transparency International bribery survey, in which Cambodia finished second-to-last out of 60 countries.

PECSA sets out to strengthen civil society as a watchdog and provider of public services through training programs in global best practices and grants for pilot initiatives to monitor government spending and private sector transactions, according to the program's mandate. PESCA organizers also hope the program will encourage more networking amongst activists and social accountability practitioners.

The event drew particular attention to hot button issues such as the management of Cambodia's national budget and natural resources, and heard repeated encouragement to use media to publicly voice grievances. While PESCA seeks to expedite drastic improvement in the Cambodian government and private sector's governance practices, local participants had curbed expectations.

Discussing funds allocated for grass roots spending, NGO Forum representative Ou Sivhouch said, "If the government spends what it says on paper that it will spend, that would be great. Even if they spend 50% or 60%, that would be great. But when they spend around 30%, it's a problem."

Student-essay contest winner Chan Rotha encouraged young Cambodians to use all media outlets to voice their opinion. He criticized the country's entrenched patron-client system and hierarchical culture wherein "subordinates tend to find it socially unacceptable to show any contempt for the actions and decisions of their leaders."

Dogs bark as the UN Envoy wrapped up his visit to Cambodia

2007-12-11
Cambodia lashes out at UN envoy, accuses him of trying to incite violence

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Cambodia denounced a U.N. envoy Tuesday as unfit to represent the world body and accused him of trying to incite unrest by predicting that the country would rise up against the government to protest human rights violations.

Yash Ghai, the U.N. secretary-general's special envoy for human rights in Cambodia, wrapped up a 10-day visit Monday with a scathing attack against the government and judiciary. He said many Cambodians lived in constant fear of having their land stolen by developers and had no recourse because of a corrupt judiciary.

Ghai accused the government of fueling «development that impoverishes people, deprives them of their resources, adds further to marginalization (and) increases enormously the number of people who can barely make a living.

«Sooner or later, people are going to rise,» Ghai said, adding «there's a limit to how far you can use coercion as a method of development.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith called Ghai's words an «incitement for people to revolt.

He added that Ghai «is not fit» to be a U.N. envoy and had come to Cambodia «to curse» the government.

«Has he ever offered any ways to solve problems? And does he ever care to learn about the problems the government has solved?» Khieu Kanharith said.

Ghai, a persistent critic of the rights situation in Cambodia, was shunned by the government during his visit.

The Interior Ministry spokesman, police Lt. Gen. Khieu Sopheak, also lashed out at Ghai, saying that like his predecessors he was using his mandate to badmouth the government.

«He has no competence to solve human rights problems in Cambodia,» Khieu Sopheak said.

In recent years, land disputes have become frequent occurrences in Cambodia, usually pitting poor farmers against wealthy developers.

Ghai said he met several victims of land disputes and housing evictions who have little faith in the courts to address their problems.

«Fear of the state, fear of political and economic saboteurs, fear of greedy individuals and corporations, fear of the police and the courts describes the plight of numerous communities and families in Cambodia,» he said.

He said he plans to present a detailed report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in March that will discuss these «critical issues» of human rights and access to justice in Cambodia.

Political Cartoon: Cambodia, Fear of State

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

UN envoy calls for judicial reform, donor responsibility in Cambodia

Monday, December 10, 2007

Phnom Penh (dpa) - Cambodia's poor face a judicial system that favours the rich and educated, and major donors should lobby for change, the UN special envoy for human rights to Cambodia said Monday.

Yash Ghai ended a 10-day fact-finding trip not facilitated by the government, due to his critical reports.

"Here I have found people very muted. People seem to be very reluctant to take on Hun Sen and the government," he said.

"I am puzzled by why people seem to be so frightened of this government - but maybe they are not frightened. Maybe I am just a tourist, as I have often been called by this man," he said, referring to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

But Ghai did not reserve his criticism for the government alone, saying those who gave aid to the country must also take some responsibility "because they are such large donors." Around half of Cambodia's budget is based on donor aid.

Ghai said he was distressed that some embassies and foreign governments had "publicly disowned what I have said."

He said was most concerned about reforming the justice system.

"We need to look at the whole structure of laws - for people who don't understand modern economies, who don't read and write," he said.

UN special envoy, rights group accuse Cambodian courts of failing to uphold justice

Monday, December 10, 2007

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - A U.N. envoy accused Cambodia's government and courts today of failing to uphold human rights and justice in the poor Southeast Asian nation.

Yash Ghai, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for human rights in Cambodia, said many Cambodians live in constant fear of being swindled and mistreated by authorities. He spoke at an event marking International Human Rights Day.

"Fear of the state, fear of political and economic saboteurs, fear of greedy individuals and corporations, fear of the police and the courts describes the plight of numerous communities and families in Cambodia," said Ghai, who is winding up a 10-day fact-finding mission in which he toured several areas of the country.

Ghai, a persistent critic of the rights situation in Cambodia, said many poor villagers have been evicted from their land by commercial developers and have no means of protecting themselves and their livelihood.

Ghai's past criticisms have angered the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, which has dismissed them as untrue.

Om Yentieng, an adviser to the prime minister and chairman of the government's human rights committee, could not immediately be reached for comment on the remarks.

Yash Ghai: Hun Sen's government instills a climate of "fear"

UN rights envoy lashes out at Cambodian government at rally

Mon, 10 Dec 2007
DPA

Phnom Penh - The UN special envoy for human rights in Cambodia on Monday chastised the Cambodian government's rights record at a rally in Phnom Penh that was called to mark International Human Rights Day. Yash Ghai, accompanied by members of 15 local human rights groups, told the gathering that fear still governed Cambodia.

"Fear - fear of the state, fear of political and economic saboteurs, fear of greedy individuals and corporations, fear of the police and the courts - describes the plight of numerous communities and families in Cambodia as they do in many other parts of the world," he said in a speech.

"The lesson, therefore, is that the struggle for human rights and human dignity is unending as became so sharply and painfully obvious to me as I met the embattled communities in Dey Krahorm and the Group 78 villages," he added, referring to two communities where residents are involved in bitter land disputes and are faced with evictions.

"People threatened with eviction ... reminded me that the National Assembly sits only a few metres away from them and yet has long turned a blind eye to their suffering," the envoy said.

He urged Cambodia's people to be custodians of human rights and justice.

The government has refused to cooperate with Yash Ghai since soon after his 2005 appointment, claiming he refuses to acknowledge its progress on human rights in recent years.

Government representatives have refused to see him, and Prime Minister Hun Sen has said on state radio that he should return to his native Kenya and fix the problems there before "coming to lecture us in Cambodia."

Despite predictions in local media that the crowd at the rally might top 20,000 people, unofficial estimates by participants put figures at about 4,000, and police said 1,000 people at the most attended.

Yash Ghai was scheduled to give a press conference later Monday to end his current 10-day visit.

Fear reigns in Cambodia after the disappearance of Monk Tim Sakhorn

Buddhist monks and laypersons are worried about expressing their opinions

24 July 2007
By Moeung Tum
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

"[P]eople keeps saying that the Cambodian people have peace, but in reality, they don’t have peace because if they were to have peace, people don’t disappear like this" - Seller in Phnom Penh on the disappearance of Monk Tim Sakhorn

A number of Cambodian monks and laypersons in Phnom Penh have complained about their fear to express their opinions.

The Cambodia Daily reported on Tuesday that a number of people and monks claimed that they are concerned about their personal safety if they talk to reporters about the disappearance of Monk Tim Sakhorn.

This fear took place when news broke out about the defrocking of Monk Tim Sakhorn and he was subsequently taken away in a car by a group of armed men. Monk Tim Sakhorn was the former abbot of the Phnom Den North pagoda located in Takeo province, he disappeared since his defrocking on 30 June 2007.

Chhim Sithan, a citizen, compared the disappearance of Monk Tim Sakhorn to a scare tactics perpetrated against all those who criticize the government.

Chhim Sithan indicated that not only monks are scared, but the entire population is also scared to express their opinions on this issue also. A 35-year-old monk from Moha Montrey pagoda said that monks are afraid of retaliations if they expressed their opinions.

Patriarch Non Nget said that Monk Tim Sakhorn created a lot of troubles and that was why the Cambodian authority defrocked him, he said that this was done according to the law. However, Prak Saran, a facilitator of the Adhoc organization in Takeo province, indicated that Monk Tim Sakhorn provided shelters to Khmer Krom monks who fled from Vietnamese oppressions.

Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said in the past that the Cambodian authority sent Monk Tim Sakhorn to Kampuchea Krom (South Vietnam) because he volunteered to do so, nevertheless, recently, Khieu Sopheak said that he has no idea where Monk Tim Sakhorn is.

A Cambodian woman who is a seller in Phnom Penh said that people keeps saying that the Cambodian people have peace, but in reality, they don’t have peace because if they were to have peace, people don’t disappear like this.