SRP MP Mu Scohua (Photo: Mean Riddh, RFA)28 June 2009
By San Suwidh
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer
SRP MP Mu Sochua from Kampot province, whose parliamentary immunity was suspended last week, indicated that overseas Cambodian women, as well as legal women rights officials and donor countries are extremely disappointed with her immunity suspension.
Mu Sochua, who is currently visiting Montreal, Canada, New York City and Washington DC, USA, this week, said that Cambodian women communities that she met told her that they are determined to seek interventions from representatives of their respective countries to review the action taken by the Cambodian National Assembly, and to take action to bring about democracy as clearly stipulated in the 1991 Paris Peace Accords on Cambodia.
Mrs. Mu Sochua said: “I met with 8 US Congresswomen and Senators, they belong to a committee that helps set up the Democrats Women Caucus. I met with 4 well known US Senators, like the New York State Senator, the Minnesota Senator – a state where there are a lot of Cambodian-Americans – and these senators are very surprised about the suspension of my immunity, and they asked their committee, which is responsible for human rights and women rights, to look into my case, as well as the evolution of women rights in Cambodia.”
Mu Sochua said that she did not call for an ending to aid to the Phnom Penh regime, but she asked all donor countries to review the application of the Paris Peace Accords and the application of law in Cambodia, especially in regards to women.
Mu Sochua who will be flying to Aspen, Colorado, shortly to attend an international meeting of women issues as an international woman activist who is involved in this issue in the past 20 years, discussed about the application of law in Cambodia where serious discriminations against women are still taking place.
At the same time, Mu Sochua is calling on the Cambodian government, which is also a signatory of the Paris Peace Accords, to respect its signing and she compared the lack of respect of one’s signing to using one’s feet to erase one’s spirit in one’s own agreements.
Mu Sochua said: “We are very proud to be citizens of an independent country, and we are very proud that the government signed important conventions, but after we signed them, both the citizens and the government must be responsible for them. We sign with our own hands, and we must respect them with our spirits and we should not use our feet to erase the signatures in which we are responsible for the various conventions we agreed to.”
Mu Sochua, who is currently visiting Montreal, Canada, New York City and Washington DC, USA, this week, said that Cambodian women communities that she met told her that they are determined to seek interventions from representatives of their respective countries to review the action taken by the Cambodian National Assembly, and to take action to bring about democracy as clearly stipulated in the 1991 Paris Peace Accords on Cambodia.
Mrs. Mu Sochua said: “I met with 8 US Congresswomen and Senators, they belong to a committee that helps set up the Democrats Women Caucus. I met with 4 well known US Senators, like the New York State Senator, the Minnesota Senator – a state where there are a lot of Cambodian-Americans – and these senators are very surprised about the suspension of my immunity, and they asked their committee, which is responsible for human rights and women rights, to look into my case, as well as the evolution of women rights in Cambodia.”
Mu Sochua said that she did not call for an ending to aid to the Phnom Penh regime, but she asked all donor countries to review the application of the Paris Peace Accords and the application of law in Cambodia, especially in regards to women.
Mu Sochua who will be flying to Aspen, Colorado, shortly to attend an international meeting of women issues as an international woman activist who is involved in this issue in the past 20 years, discussed about the application of law in Cambodia where serious discriminations against women are still taking place.
At the same time, Mu Sochua is calling on the Cambodian government, which is also a signatory of the Paris Peace Accords, to respect its signing and she compared the lack of respect of one’s signing to using one’s feet to erase one’s spirit in one’s own agreements.
Mu Sochua said: “We are very proud to be citizens of an independent country, and we are very proud that the government signed important conventions, but after we signed them, both the citizens and the government must be responsible for them. We sign with our own hands, and we must respect them with our spirits and we should not use our feet to erase the signatures in which we are responsible for the various conventions we agreed to.”
