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| Kravanh Daran |
Showing posts with label Daran Kravanh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daran Kravanh. Show all posts
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Parties merge to ‘eliminate poverty’
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post
The Khmer Anti-Poverty Party announced a three-party merger yesterday – and indicated an interest in future mergers with other political parties – at its national convention in Kandal province’s Takhmao town.
Speaking in front of an estimated 1,000 supporters, KAPP president Daran Kravanh, who lives in the US, said the KAPP would merge with the Society of Justice Party and the Democratic Society Party ahead of next year’s national elections.
He also indicated an interest in merging with the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party.
“We are merging to eliminate poverty,” he said.
“Today we have three parties coming together, tomorrow we might have the Sam Rainsy Party and Kem Sokha’s party [the Human Rights Party],” he said.
The candidate jokingly made reference to merging with the Cambodian People’s Party, if it ever wanted to be “released from Vietnam’s control”.
When contacted yesterday, senior CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said “we are not under Vietnamese control”.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Is Daran Kravanh a New Hope for Cambodia and the Khmer People or a Misleading Demagogue?
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| Daran Kravanh (Center) |
Opinion by Kravan Issara
The 1997 coup d’état by forces loyal to Hun Sen and the CPP that overthrew Prime Minister Ranariddh of the Funcinpec Party made Hun Sen the Prime Minister and the CPP the sole political party in Cambodia.
Since then, there has been no political party able to bring hope to the Khmer people of unseating Hun Sen and the CPP. During the dictatorship of the last 30 years, Cambodia has seen more and more Vietnamese settlers in Cambodia, from Bavet (on the Cambodian-Vietnamese border) to Poipet (on the Cambodian-Thai border).
Where are the other political parties – the Funcinpec party, the NRP, and the Sam Rainsy party? They are dying out due to internal problems.
Recently, a new political party was born, the “Khmer Anti-Poverty Party” (with the acronyme KAPP). Daran Kravanh is the President and Sophin Ourn is the Vice-President of the KAPP.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
2 Cambodian parties make alliance before general election
PHNOM PENH, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Two small political parties in Cambodia, the Khmer Anti-Poverty Party (KAP) and the Justice Society Party (JSP) announced Monday that they agreed to make an alliance before the general election on July 27.
"We will both get benefit from this alliance because we could get more votes and have more seats in the parliamentary election," KAP President Krovagn Darorn told reporters.
"We will help each other in this election campaign," he added.
"We have similar political platforms. Therefore we could reach this alliance agreement," JSP President Ban Sophal said.
Long Rith, president of the Khmer Republican Party (KRP) also showed to make alliances.
"Up to now, we have not put all things on the table to discuss and I do not refuse to do so," he said.
Cambodia will conduct the parliamentary election on July 27, in which all 11 parties will compete for 123 seats in the National Assembly.
"We will both get benefit from this alliance because we could get more votes and have more seats in the parliamentary election," KAP President Krovagn Darorn told reporters.
"We will help each other in this election campaign," he added.
"We have similar political platforms. Therefore we could reach this alliance agreement," JSP President Ban Sophal said.
Long Rith, president of the Khmer Republican Party (KRP) also showed to make alliances.
"Up to now, we have not put all things on the table to discuss and I do not refuse to do so," he said.
Cambodia will conduct the parliamentary election on July 27, in which all 11 parties will compete for 123 seats in the National Assembly.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Khmer Anti-Poverty party held its first congress
Monday, March 31, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
The Khmer Anti-Poverty Party, a new political party that not many know its name, held its first congress in Phnom Penh in the morning of 29 March 2008. Daran Kravanh, the party president is a Cambodian-American citizen. He said that Cambodians have suffered poverty for too long, therefore, Cambodians should receive a new life through real US-like democracy so that they may lead a prosperous life. Daran Kravanh said that the current Cambodian society suffers all kinds of poverty: poverty from joblessness, poverty from lack of justice, poverty from their inability to decide their own destiny. He told reporters that if his party wins the election to lead the country, he will add 4 more ministries to serve the people: the ministry of social welfare to provide money to people to buy food and to provide health insurance, the anti-corruption ministry, the ministry for handicap people, and the ministry of labor. He said that his party would win the election if the National Election Committee (NEC) works properly and fairly, however, he said that he had no confidence that the NEC could do it.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
A Tacoma Man's Quest to Lead Cambodia [Daran Kravanh]
Daran Kravanh, center, visits with those attending his fundraiser including Sue Felix, right, of Port Orchard, Sunday January 6, 2008. Kravanh's plans to run for prime minister of Cambodia. (Janet Jensen/ The News Tribune)3/5/2008
Ruby de Luna
KUOW Radio Station Transcript (Univ. of Washington, USA)
Nearly three years ago, KUOW introduced you to a Cambodian musician who lived through the horrors under the Khmer Rouge regime. Daran Kravanh survived the killing fields by playing accordion. His story and music were featured in the documentary, "Crossing East." These days, Kravanh is busy organizing from his home in Tacoma, to be the next prime minister of Cambodia. KUOW's Ruby de Luna has this update.
DARAN KRAVANH NEVER PLANNED ON RUNNING FOR OFFICE. HE'S A MUSICIAN. BY DAY HE WORKS AS A STATE SOCIAL WORKER. BUT THE THOUGHT OF JUMPING INTO POLITICS CHANGED WHEN KRAVANH RETURNED TO CAMBODIA IN 1997. HE HAD BEEN AWAY FOR NEARLY A DECADE. IT WAS A BITTERSWEET TRIP. HE SAW A LOT OF OLD FRIENDS, FELLOW SURVIVORS...
KRAVANH: "This picture I went to the place where the Khmer Rouge killed me. This person, he survived too. I said, wow! you survived—me too!"
KRAVANH SAYS WHAT HE SAW IN CAMBODIA MADE HIM SAD. THERE WERE NO JOBS. EVERYWHERE HE WENT HE SAW POVERTY. IN HIS HOMETOWN OF PURSAT, THE RICH WILDLIFE THAT HE REMEMBERED FROM HIS YOUTH WAS GONE.
KRAVANH: "I didn't see even one monkey, one bird, one deer, everything like empty. That surprised me; I feel disappointed and start angry. I said this country not supposed to be like that."
MEMORIES OF THAT TRIP STAYED WITH HIM. LAST FALL KRAVANH LAUNCHED HIS CAMPAIGN. HE FORMED THE KHMER ANTI-POVERTY PARTY. KRAVANH SAYS ELECTION LAWS THERE DON'T ALLOW CAMPAIGNING UNTIL ONE MONTH BEFORE ELECTION DAY. UNTIL THEN, KRAVANH SAYS HE DOES ALL HIS CAMPAIGN–RELATED BUSINESS BY PHONE—JUST ASK HIM ABOUT HIS PHONE BILL.
KRAVANH: (Laughs) "I have two cell phones, include home. They're really high, yeah."
AND IT'S NOT JUST HIS PHONE BILL. HE'S RACKED UP MORE THAN 40 THOUSAND DOLLARS IN CREDIT CARD DEBT. OBSERVERS SAY KRAVANH, OR ANY CANDIDATE OUTSIDE OF THE RULING CAMBODIAN PEOPLE'S PARTY, HAS A LONG SHOT OF WINNING.
STEINEMANN: "I think there are real concerns about the dominance of the ruling party, CPP."
NAMJI STEINEMANN IS WITH THE EAST WEST CENTER IN HAWAII. SHE SAYS AFTER DECADES OF CIVIL UNREST, CAMBODIA HAS REACHED SOME STABILITY. THE CURRENT PRIME MINISTER, HUN SEN, HAS BEEN IN POWER SINCE 1985. BUT THE COUNTRY IS STILL TRYING TO FIND ITS POLITICAL FOOTING.
STENEMANN: "The concerns range from unequal access to the media by all political parties since the CPP the ruling party, really controls the airwaves. I think there's also non–transparency of campaign finance issues…the ruling party controls much of the resources."
ANOTHER CHALLENGE IS VOTER APATHY. STEINEMANN SAYS THERE'S A SENSE OF RESIGNATION THAT THE SYSTEM ISN'T GOING TO CHANGE. AND CAMBODIANS GENERALLY ARE RELUCTANT TO TALK ABOUT THEIR POLITICAL VIEWS OPENLY—A LEGACY OF THE KHMER ROUGE PERIOD. THAT DOESN'T DISCOURAGE DARAN KRAVANH. HE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT HE'S SHOOTING FOR THE MOON, BUT HE SAYS THE SKEPTICISM ONLY FUELS HIS DETERMINATION.
KRAVANH: "You not just sit and want to change. No way. You have to take action and motivate yourself and go for it and do it. If you don't do it, you have nothing."
THESE DAYS KRAVANH SPENDS HIS TIME TRYING TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT HIS PARTY, AND RAISING MONEY. BEING NEW TO POLITICS, HE'S CALLED ON CONGRESSMAN NORM DICKS' OFFICE FOR ADVICE. KRAVANH'S WIFE BREE, SAYS THEIR LIFE TOGETHER HASN'T BEEN THE SAME SINCE HE DECIDED TO RUN FOR OFFICE. HIS TIME HAS BEEN SO CONSUMED.
BREE KRAVANH: "It feels a little bit like sacrifice in that my own needs have become secondary. And to see my husband not even be able to eat dinner without talking on the phone at the same time, I don't even remember the last time we sat down for dinner without him spending time on the phone, but to see the joy that he has when he's with people, encouraging people, it's really worth that sacrifice."
THE KRAVANHS PLAN TO RETURN TO CAMBODIA IN APRIL FOR THE NATIONAL CONVENTION LEADING UP TO THE ELECTION IN JULY. I'M RUBY DE LUNA, KUOW NEWS.
DARAN KRAVANH NEVER PLANNED ON RUNNING FOR OFFICE. HE'S A MUSICIAN. BY DAY HE WORKS AS A STATE SOCIAL WORKER. BUT THE THOUGHT OF JUMPING INTO POLITICS CHANGED WHEN KRAVANH RETURNED TO CAMBODIA IN 1997. HE HAD BEEN AWAY FOR NEARLY A DECADE. IT WAS A BITTERSWEET TRIP. HE SAW A LOT OF OLD FRIENDS, FELLOW SURVIVORS...
KRAVANH: "This picture I went to the place where the Khmer Rouge killed me. This person, he survived too. I said, wow! you survived—me too!"
KRAVANH SAYS WHAT HE SAW IN CAMBODIA MADE HIM SAD. THERE WERE NO JOBS. EVERYWHERE HE WENT HE SAW POVERTY. IN HIS HOMETOWN OF PURSAT, THE RICH WILDLIFE THAT HE REMEMBERED FROM HIS YOUTH WAS GONE.
KRAVANH: "I didn't see even one monkey, one bird, one deer, everything like empty. That surprised me; I feel disappointed and start angry. I said this country not supposed to be like that."
MEMORIES OF THAT TRIP STAYED WITH HIM. LAST FALL KRAVANH LAUNCHED HIS CAMPAIGN. HE FORMED THE KHMER ANTI-POVERTY PARTY. KRAVANH SAYS ELECTION LAWS THERE DON'T ALLOW CAMPAIGNING UNTIL ONE MONTH BEFORE ELECTION DAY. UNTIL THEN, KRAVANH SAYS HE DOES ALL HIS CAMPAIGN–RELATED BUSINESS BY PHONE—JUST ASK HIM ABOUT HIS PHONE BILL.
KRAVANH: (Laughs) "I have two cell phones, include home. They're really high, yeah."
AND IT'S NOT JUST HIS PHONE BILL. HE'S RACKED UP MORE THAN 40 THOUSAND DOLLARS IN CREDIT CARD DEBT. OBSERVERS SAY KRAVANH, OR ANY CANDIDATE OUTSIDE OF THE RULING CAMBODIAN PEOPLE'S PARTY, HAS A LONG SHOT OF WINNING.
STEINEMANN: "I think there are real concerns about the dominance of the ruling party, CPP."
NAMJI STEINEMANN IS WITH THE EAST WEST CENTER IN HAWAII. SHE SAYS AFTER DECADES OF CIVIL UNREST, CAMBODIA HAS REACHED SOME STABILITY. THE CURRENT PRIME MINISTER, HUN SEN, HAS BEEN IN POWER SINCE 1985. BUT THE COUNTRY IS STILL TRYING TO FIND ITS POLITICAL FOOTING.
STENEMANN: "The concerns range from unequal access to the media by all political parties since the CPP the ruling party, really controls the airwaves. I think there's also non–transparency of campaign finance issues…the ruling party controls much of the resources."
ANOTHER CHALLENGE IS VOTER APATHY. STEINEMANN SAYS THERE'S A SENSE OF RESIGNATION THAT THE SYSTEM ISN'T GOING TO CHANGE. AND CAMBODIANS GENERALLY ARE RELUCTANT TO TALK ABOUT THEIR POLITICAL VIEWS OPENLY—A LEGACY OF THE KHMER ROUGE PERIOD. THAT DOESN'T DISCOURAGE DARAN KRAVANH. HE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT HE'S SHOOTING FOR THE MOON, BUT HE SAYS THE SKEPTICISM ONLY FUELS HIS DETERMINATION.
KRAVANH: "You not just sit and want to change. No way. You have to take action and motivate yourself and go for it and do it. If you don't do it, you have nothing."
THESE DAYS KRAVANH SPENDS HIS TIME TRYING TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT HIS PARTY, AND RAISING MONEY. BEING NEW TO POLITICS, HE'S CALLED ON CONGRESSMAN NORM DICKS' OFFICE FOR ADVICE. KRAVANH'S WIFE BREE, SAYS THEIR LIFE TOGETHER HASN'T BEEN THE SAME SINCE HE DECIDED TO RUN FOR OFFICE. HIS TIME HAS BEEN SO CONSUMED.
BREE KRAVANH: "It feels a little bit like sacrifice in that my own needs have become secondary. And to see my husband not even be able to eat dinner without talking on the phone at the same time, I don't even remember the last time we sat down for dinner without him spending time on the phone, but to see the joy that he has when he's with people, encouraging people, it's really worth that sacrifice."
THE KRAVANHS PLAN TO RETURN TO CAMBODIA IN APRIL FOR THE NATIONAL CONVENTION LEADING UP TO THE ELECTION IN JULY. I'M RUBY DE LUNA, KUOW NEWS.
Monday, January 07, 2008
He survived "Killing Fields," now he wants to lead Cambodia
Daran Kravanh, center, visits with those attending his fundraiser including Sue Felix, right, of Port Orchard, Sunday January 6, 2008. Kravanh's plans to run for prime minister of Cambodia. (Janet Jensen/ The News Tribune)January 6th, 2008
By Steve Maynard; steve.maynard@thenewstribune.com
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington, USA)
A Tacoma social worker wants to be elected prime minister of Cambodia.
Impossible? Don’t mention that word to Daran Kravanh.
Kravanh survived and escaped the Khmer Rouge slaughter in Cambodia that killed his mother, father, six brothers and a sister.
After living in Tacoma since 1991, he wants to lead his homeland, challenging the regime of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“I want to change the Cambodian society from bad to good,” Kravanh said.
His campaign had its first fundraiser Sunday in Tacoma at the Landmark Convention Center. Three young Cambodian women in colorful costumes honored him with traditional folk dances once reserved only for the Cambodian royal court.
About three dozen friends and supporters listened to his wife, Bree Kravanh, read from “Music Through the Dark,” her book about Kravanh’s account of surviving the Communist Killing Fields.
In between readings, Kravanh played the accordion, the instrument whose forbidden music he played to charm soldiers and somehow avoid death. And pausing often to rub his eyes, he talked of those terrible years when music was the only sanity amid the horror.
He recalled the words of a friend who was killed by the Khmer Rouge: “Play music. Music is powerful. Play until you die.”
Jarret McGill, who works with Kravanh at the state Department of Social and Health Services, was there to support his friend and contribute to his cause. “He’s probably the most giving person I’ve ever met,” he said. “He would be good for Cambodia.”
Chanday Nourn, a former Cambodian general and police officer who fled to America six years ago and now lives in Tacoma, said Kravanh has support locally, in Cambodia and elsewhere in the world.
Added Ted Savun, a former leader of the Cambodian association in Florida and now a community college instructor in Olympia: “Daran is the guy who likes human rights. He likes justice and freedom. He would go to Cambodia to free the country.”
Bringing change to his homeland means fighting poverty, adding jobs and promoting social justice, Kravahn said. And it means defeating Sen in the July 27 election.
Kravanh, 50, said he’s already an official candidate for prime minister, the country’s top elected position. He registered his own political party in Cambodia, the Khmer Anti-Poverty Party, with himself as its candidate.
On a visit to Cambodia last year, Kravanh said he gained the 6,000 registered supporters required to form the party. He spoke at a conference last April on the Khmer Rouge era. Leading Buddhist monks told him then, “‘I want you to be a leader of this country,’” Kravanh said.
He’s opened a campaign office in a house in Phnom Penh.
Kravanh said there are at least two other serious candidates competing against Sen.
Kravanh’s trying to raise money to go back to Cambodia in February to have a convention for organizing his supporters and campaign. He plans to return in March for a debate. And then, he plans to go back in June and stay through the election. If he wins, he’ll stay in Cambodia and leave his job as a social worker for the state.
Kravanh has been a leader in Tacoma’s Cambodian community and has helped organized Bon Om Tuk, a water festival that honors Cambodia’s boat racing tradition.
Speaking forcefully during an interview, Kravanh explained why he’s running for prime minister.
He witnessed people suffer during the Khmer Rouge regime before it fell in 1979. More than 2 million Cambodians were killed or died of starvation or illness during the reign of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge tyrant.
But still, Cambodia suffers from poverty. The United Nations says Cambodia is the eighth least-developed country in the world.
“I saw the people suffer,” Kravanh said. “I cannot stay still.”
Bree Kravanh wrote “Music Through the Dark” before she and Daran married a year ago – when her name was Bree Lafreniere. She overcame her own doubts about her husband’s dream of becoming prime minister of his homeland.
“At first, I thought this was impossible,” said Bree Kravanh, 48.
Now, she said, “There’s no other good candidate that’s speaking to what people want and need desperately.”
After Sunday’s event, Kravanh said his supporters will have fundraisers in Oregon and California.
Kravanh concedes his candidacy appears be a longshot.
“I’m not a politician,” Kravanh said. “I’m a peacemaker.”
“A lot of people laugh at me because I don’t have enough money,” he said.
“I have the capacity, I have the ability and I have the energy,” Kravanh said. “I will win.”
Steve Maynard: 253-597-8647
News Tribune staffer Mike Archbold contributed to this report.
Impossible? Don’t mention that word to Daran Kravanh.
Kravanh survived and escaped the Khmer Rouge slaughter in Cambodia that killed his mother, father, six brothers and a sister.
After living in Tacoma since 1991, he wants to lead his homeland, challenging the regime of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“I want to change the Cambodian society from bad to good,” Kravanh said.
His campaign had its first fundraiser Sunday in Tacoma at the Landmark Convention Center. Three young Cambodian women in colorful costumes honored him with traditional folk dances once reserved only for the Cambodian royal court.
About three dozen friends and supporters listened to his wife, Bree Kravanh, read from “Music Through the Dark,” her book about Kravanh’s account of surviving the Communist Killing Fields.
In between readings, Kravanh played the accordion, the instrument whose forbidden music he played to charm soldiers and somehow avoid death. And pausing often to rub his eyes, he talked of those terrible years when music was the only sanity amid the horror.
He recalled the words of a friend who was killed by the Khmer Rouge: “Play music. Music is powerful. Play until you die.”
Jarret McGill, who works with Kravanh at the state Department of Social and Health Services, was there to support his friend and contribute to his cause. “He’s probably the most giving person I’ve ever met,” he said. “He would be good for Cambodia.”
Chanday Nourn, a former Cambodian general and police officer who fled to America six years ago and now lives in Tacoma, said Kravanh has support locally, in Cambodia and elsewhere in the world.
Added Ted Savun, a former leader of the Cambodian association in Florida and now a community college instructor in Olympia: “Daran is the guy who likes human rights. He likes justice and freedom. He would go to Cambodia to free the country.”
Bringing change to his homeland means fighting poverty, adding jobs and promoting social justice, Kravahn said. And it means defeating Sen in the July 27 election.
Kravanh, 50, said he’s already an official candidate for prime minister, the country’s top elected position. He registered his own political party in Cambodia, the Khmer Anti-Poverty Party, with himself as its candidate.
On a visit to Cambodia last year, Kravanh said he gained the 6,000 registered supporters required to form the party. He spoke at a conference last April on the Khmer Rouge era. Leading Buddhist monks told him then, “‘I want you to be a leader of this country,’” Kravanh said.
He’s opened a campaign office in a house in Phnom Penh.
Kravanh said there are at least two other serious candidates competing against Sen.
Kravanh’s trying to raise money to go back to Cambodia in February to have a convention for organizing his supporters and campaign. He plans to return in March for a debate. And then, he plans to go back in June and stay through the election. If he wins, he’ll stay in Cambodia and leave his job as a social worker for the state.
Kravanh has been a leader in Tacoma’s Cambodian community and has helped organized Bon Om Tuk, a water festival that honors Cambodia’s boat racing tradition.
Speaking forcefully during an interview, Kravanh explained why he’s running for prime minister.
He witnessed people suffer during the Khmer Rouge regime before it fell in 1979. More than 2 million Cambodians were killed or died of starvation or illness during the reign of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge tyrant.
But still, Cambodia suffers from poverty. The United Nations says Cambodia is the eighth least-developed country in the world.
“I saw the people suffer,” Kravanh said. “I cannot stay still.”
Bree Kravanh wrote “Music Through the Dark” before she and Daran married a year ago – when her name was Bree Lafreniere. She overcame her own doubts about her husband’s dream of becoming prime minister of his homeland.
“At first, I thought this was impossible,” said Bree Kravanh, 48.
Now, she said, “There’s no other good candidate that’s speaking to what people want and need desperately.”
After Sunday’s event, Kravanh said his supporters will have fundraisers in Oregon and California.
Kravanh concedes his candidacy appears be a longshot.
“I’m not a politician,” Kravanh said. “I’m a peacemaker.”
“A lot of people laugh at me because I don’t have enough money,” he said.
“I have the capacity, I have the ability and I have the energy,” Kravanh said. “I will win.”
Steve Maynard: 253-597-8647
News Tribune staffer Mike Archbold contributed to this report.
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