Hok Lundy Told to Strengthen Anti-Trafficking Efforts

Police Chief Told to Strengthen Anti-Trafficking Efforts

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
25/04/2007

Cambodian National Police Chief Gen. Hok Lundy met with US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and other State Department officials Tuesday, where the general was told "to strengthen significantly [Cambodia's] efforts to combat trafficking in persons, which remains a serious problem in Cambodia," the State Department said Tuesday.

Cambodia has been closely collaborating with the US in counterterrorism and counter-narcotics efforts, but needed "to address its poor human rights record," the State Department said in a statement.

Officials "also urged that Cambodia make much greater efforts to prosecute and convict public officials, including police officers, who are involved in trafficking, and that Commissioner General Lundy make the police more responsive to trafficking issues," according to the statement. "They also noted the need for the government of Cambodia to address its poor human rights record and corruption."

Hok Lundy met with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration Monday, on a trip that brought sharp rebukes from human rights officials. Hok Lundy, a close adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen, has been implicated in serious crimes, including human trafficking, extrajudicial killings and orchestrating the 1997 grenade attack on opposition demonstrators.

John Miller, a professor at George Washington University who until recently was the State Department's anti-trafficking czar, told VOA Khmer Tuesday he had been surprised to learn of Hok Lundy's visit.

"He's not the sort of person I would want to give a visa to," said Miller, who visited Cambodia as part of his State Department duties and was close to human trafficking investigations there. "To admit him, the FBI sure must be expecting something significant, but I don't know what it is."

Hok Lundy's deputy, Lt. Gen. Sok Phal, confirmed the meetings, but would not elaborate Tuesday. He said that before returning to Cambodia the delegation was traveling to California, to prepare for a case against arrested members of the Cambodian Freedom Fighters, who staged an attack in Phnom Penh in 2000.

The US considers the CFF a terrorist organization, and the FBI has been working in collaboration with Cambodia to arrest its members. Chhun Yasith, a California accountant who claimed to be the CFF's president, was arrested in June 2005 on charges stemming from the Phnom Penh attack.

Political Cartoon: Duck's Head

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

Mr. Hok goes to Washington ... to meet US State Dept Officials

US Dept of State
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
April 24, 2007
Taken Question from the April 24 Daily Press Briefing

Cambodia – Police Chief Hok Lundy

Question: Did Cambodia’s Police Chief Hok Lundy have meetings today at the State Department? Who did he meet with? What topics were discussed?

Answer: Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Anne Patterson, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Affairs Jonathan Farrar met with visiting Cambodian National Police Commissioner General Hok Lundy today. While noting improved bilateral cooperation between the United States and Cambodia in areas such as counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics, Hill, Patterson, and Farrar urged Lundy and the Cambodian police to strengthen significantly their efforts to combat trafficking in persons, which remains a serious problem in Cambodia. They also urged that Cambodia make much greater efforts to prosecute and convict public officials, including police officers, who are involved in trafficking, and that Commissioner General Lundy make the police more responsive to trafficking issues.

Hill, Patterson, and Farrar also stressed to Lundy that the Cambodian police should fully respect and protect human rights as they carry out their law enforcement duties. They also noted the need for the Government of Cambodia to address its poor human rights record and corruption outlined in the 2006 Human Rights Report. They reiterated the U.S. commitment to assist the Cambodian government with improving its law enforcement capabilities and specifically its capacity to fight the scourge of trafficking.

The United States has provided over $7 million in funding to combat trafficking in persons in Cambodia since 2003.

U.S. presses Cambodia police chief on trafficking

Senior US officials confronted Cambodia's visiting police chief Hok Lundy, seen here in 2006, over allegations of rights abuses and corruption by his forces after human rights groups protested the US decision to allow him into the country, the State Department said.(AFP/File/Heng Chivoan)

April 24, 2007
By Sue Pleming

"The statement does not address the most serious allegations against him, and the key question is, did they raise any of those unresolved political killings?" - Tom Malinowski, Human Rights Watch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday urged Cambodia's police chief, himself once a target of U.S. questions over human trafficking, to do more to address the problem and prosecute officials involved in such crimes.

Senior U.S. officials met Cambodia's top police officer, Hok Lundy, at the State Department amid criticism from human rights groups and others that a visa was granted to the police chief in the first place because of questions about his past.

"(The State Department officials) urged Lundy and the Cambodian police to strengthen significantly their efforts to combat trafficking in persons, which remains a serious problem in Cambodia," the State Department said after the meeting.

"They also urged that Cambodia make much greater efforts to prosecute and convict public officials, including police officers, who are involved in trafficking, and that Commissioner General Lundy make the police more responsive to trafficking issues," it added in a statement.

Lundy, who was in Washington chiefly for counter-terrorism talks with the FBI, was refused a U.S. visa in 2005 because of "what was believed to be credible evidence of complicity in human trafficking," former senior State Department official John Miller told Reuters last week.

Asked whether Lundy was asked to address accusations against him during his talks with senior officials, a State Department spokesman declined to provide further details about the meeting.

Lundy previously has rejected charges of human trafficking, but Miller said the police chief is suspected of playing a role in freeing eight traffickers hours after they were seized in a raid in Cambodia.

According to the Human Rights Watch group, Lundy also is suspected of being part of a conspiracy to carry out a grenade attack on opposition leader Sam Rainsy in March 1997. The attack killed 16 people and injured more than 150.

"The statement does not address the most serious allegations against him, and the key question is, did they raise any of those unresolved political killings?" said Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch.

U.S. officials who attended Tuesday's meeting included Chris Hill, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and Anne Patterson, assistant secretary for international narcotics and law enforcement.

Despite criticism over human trafficking and other human rights issues, the U.S. officials noted improved cooperation between the United States and Cambodia on fighting drugs and terrorism, the State Department said.

US takes Cambodia police chief to task over rights, corruption

Tuesday April 24, 2007
AFP

"The US government thinks that I am a good law enforcement leader" - National Police Chief Hok Lundy

Senior US officials confronted Cambodia's visiting police chief Tuesday over allegations of rights abuses and corruption by his forces after human rights groups protested the US decision to allow him into the country, the State Department said.

Hok Lundy, Cambodia's national police chief, met here Tuesday with the State Department's top Asia official, Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill, top anti-narcotics diplomat Anne Patterson and an official from the bureau in charge of human rights, democracy and labor, the department said.

The trio "urged Lundy and the Cambodian police to strengthen significantly their efforts to combat trafficking in persons, which remains a serious problem in Cambodia," it said in a statement.

"They also urged that Cambodia make much greater efforts to prosecute and convict public officials, including police officers, who are involved in trafficking, and that Commissioner General Lundy make the police more responsive to trafficking issues," it said.

The State Department refused a visa to Hok Lundy in 2006 due to allegations he was involved in trafficking in prostitutes.

But it granted him permission to visit Washington this week for counter-terrorism talks with officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has praised the Cambodian officer in the past for his help in the government's so-called "war on terrorism".

The decision to grant the visa drew angry protests from human rights activists who accuse Hok Lundy of involvement in multiple crimes, including a 1997 grenade attack against anti-government demonstrators that killed at least 19 people and wounded more than 120 others, including a US national.

The FBI classified the attack as an act of terrorism.

Hok Lundy has also been accused of involvement in other politically motivated killings and drug trafficking.

While acknowledging the seriousness of the charges against Hok Lundy, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack last week said there were "compelling reasons" to grant him a visa for this week's meetings at the FBI. He did not elaborate.

In its statement Tuesday, the department said there had been improved bilateral cooperation with Cambodia in counter-terrorism and counternarcotics efforts.

But it said the US officials pressed Hok Lundy to improve on Cambodia's "poor human rights record" and problems of corruption which were highlighted in the State Department's 2006 Human Rights Report.

Before leaving Cambodia, Hok Lundy said the allegations against him were cooked up by his political opponents.

"The report is not true ... they want to attack me because I am in the government," he told local media, adding that the FBI's invitation was a sign of the US government's confidence in his work.

"The US government thinks that I am a good law enforcement leader," he said.

US entrust the mouse (human trafficking) to the fat cat (Hok Lundy) for safekeeping

Cambodia High on List for US Anti-Trafficking Projects

VOA Khmer, Brian Calvert,
Original report from Washington
24/04/2007

In a $74-million US State Department effort to curb human trafficking across 70 countries, Cambodia has the fifth-most number of projects and remains a "major source" of human trafficking, according to State Department documents.

Officials have said, though, that Cambodia's efforts to stop trafficking in recent years have been improving and that those improvements were one reason weighing in favor of granting Cambodian National Police Chief Hok Lundy permission to visit Washington this week.

Hok Lundy met with authorities from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Monday, a Bureau spokesman said. He was scheduled to meet State Department officials Tuesday. His visit comes despite an outcry from human rights organizations that he himself is involved in human trafficking and other crimes.

A State Department official told VOA Khmer last week that officials would deliver a "tough, direct message" to Hok Lundy on Cambodia's human trafficking problem.

Cambodia had five anti-trafficking projects supported by US funds in 2006, putting the country behind Bulgaria, Mexico, Russia and India in number, according to the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

India, Mexico and Cambodia are part of President George W. Bush's $50-million Anti-Trafficking in Persons Initiative, "and are major source and destination countries for trafficking victims," according to the anti-trafficking office.

New-York based Human Rights Watch said in a statement last week that the State Department denied Hok Lundy a visa in 2006 because of his involvement in human trafficking.

"That decision was linked to a brothel raid in December 2004, following which Lundy reportedly ordered the release within hours of several traffickers before an investigation could be conducted," Human Rights Watch said.

Hok Lundy has denied those allegations.

State Department officials declined last week to speak specifically about the claims made against Hok Lundy, saying only that Cambodia had made strides in improving its human trafficking problem.

The US considers Cambodia a country that is "making significant efforts" to meet minimum standards of a US anti-trafficking law.

"The Government of Cambodia made significant progress in combating trafficking in persons" in 2006, according to the State Department's anti-trafficking office. "The National Police reported that as of September 2006, 58 traffickers and pimps had been turned over to the judiciary for prosecution."

The courts made at least 34 convictions, with up to 24-year sentences, according to the anti-trafficking office.

"Cambodia has modestly increased efforts to combat trafficking-related corruption, although punishment of offenders with appropriate prison sentences remains uneven," according to the anti-trafficking office. "In August 2006, three police officers of the Ministry of Interior's Anti-Trafficking in Persons Department were convicted of trafficking-related corruption. However, only one of the three was imprisoned, one officer remains at large, and the other remains in his position. The National Police reported three additional arrests of low-ranking military officers for trafficking-related crimes during 2006."

Hok Lundy's VIP treatment in the US continues

National Police Chief Begins Security Meetings

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
23/04/2007

National Police Chief Hok Lundy began a series of meetings Monday with US officials on counterterrorism and trafficking of drugs and humans, officials said.

The visit has been heavily criticized by rights groups who say Hok Lundy is involved in trafficking and murder and orchestrated the 1997 grenade attack on opposition demonstrators.

Hok Lundy has said he will meet with officials from the departments of State and Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

A State Department official said Hok Lundy was scheduled for talks with State officials Tuesday.

Hok Lundy awarded by the US Fumbling Blind Initiatives (FBI)

Hok Lundy's Visit to US Follows FBI office, Accolades

Briant Calvert, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
22/04/2007

National Police Commissioner General Hok Lundy’s US visit this week follows the recent opening of an office by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in Phnom Penh and an awards ceremony last month from the FBI’s deputy director, an FBI official confirmed Friday.

Hok Lundy’s trip to Washington was harshly rebuked last week by Human Rights Watch, which implicated the general in serious crimes, including involvement in the orchestration of a 1997 grenade attack that killed 16 Cambodians, injured more than 100 others, including a US citizen.

Hok Lundy told VOA this week he will meet with officials from the FBI, the U.S. Justice Department and the State Department. A member of his entourage told VOA Khmer that meetings with those departments were scheduled in the Washington area on Monday and Tuesday.

FBI Deputy Director John Pistole visited Phnom Penh in March and awarded Hok Lundy a medal for his participation in the arrests of members of the Cambodian Freedom Fighters, FBI spokesman Stephen Kodak told VOA Khmer on Friday in an e-mail.

Members of the mostly US-funded Cambodian Freedom Fighters were involved in clashes with government forces in Phnom Penh in November 2000. US citizen Richard Kiri Kim was arrested and charged for his involvement with the group following the attack, and Chhun Yasith, a Californian accountant who claimed he helped finance the organization, was arrested in the US in June 2005 on federal charges related to the violence.

The FBI has “currently ongoing” collaboration with Cambodian authorities and the CFF arrests, Kodak said.

Pistole’s trip preceded the opening of an FBI office in Phnom Penh, one the US Embassy said would have “regional responsibilities,” adding to the Bureau’s offices in Bangkok and Jakarta as well as nine other cities in the Asia Pacific.

The legal attaché office opened March 26, the 60th such office the FBI has overseas, Kodak said. Prior to Sept. 11, 2001, the Bureau had 44 offices.

The new FBI office, housed in the US Embassy, comes as Cambodia-US relations are strengthening and as the US continues to root out terrorists in the region.

Cambodian authorities arrested three suspected members of Jemaah Islamiyah, an FBI-designated terrorist organization, in 2003, and the leader of the Islamic fundamentalist group, Hambali, was arrested that same year in Thailand.

"Notorious" Hok Lundy on his way to "controversial" US visit

Police Chief Takes Off for Controversial US Visit

Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
20/04/2007

A New York-based human rights group has slammed the U.S. government for granting a visa to Lundy, Cambodian police chief Gen. Hok Lundy, to visit America.

National Police Chief Hok Lundy defended to the last minute his trip to the US, to meet with FBI and other security agencies in Washington in coming days despite an outcry from rights groups.

Moments before boarding his plane, the police chief told VOA Khmer that the allegations leveled against him this week by Human Rights Watch—that he orchestrated the 1997 grenade attack on opposition demonstrators, ordered extrajudicial killings and runs human and drug trafficking networks—were unfounded and without proof.

"I think this is a success for Cambodia. This visit is a [moment of] pride for us because a superpower wants the Kingdom of Cambodia to go to the meeting on experiences of the US on national securities," Hok Lundy said. "

The Justice Department and the FBI want to meet me about stopping terrorism," he said. "The DEA wants to have a meeting on drug trafficking. Most important of all is that the National Security and the Justice Department want to discuss visas and Cambodians repatriation. The State Department wants to talk about women and children trafficking."

Hok Lundy: US visit is ‘great honor’ [- Mu Sochua: "... Why is [the US] not a champion [of human trafficking] today?"]

20 April 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Cambodia National Police Chief, General Hok Lundy, said that the FBI’s invitation for him to visit the US is a great honor. Hok Lundy made this comment during an interview with the CTN TV station which was broadcasted on Thursday. Hok Lundy said that it is an honor for him and it is also a national pride that a Superpower invites the Cambodian national police delegation. He said that this is a great honor. He also indicated that his US visit will bring in a lot of benefits to the mutual cooperation between the two countries in the fight against terrorism, and in the strengthening of the friendship between the US and Cambodia. He said that he will avoid talking about the controversial issues raised by Human Rights Watch which leveled accusations against him about this visit.

KI-Media note: The Cambodia Daily reported also that Soy Sopheap, the CTN interviewer of Hok Lundy, said that the interview was made to burnish the image of both Cambodia and Hok Lundy. According to The Cambodia Daily also, regarding the US visit by Hok Lundy, Mu Sochua, SRP Secretary-General, wondered: “The US was a champion of human trafficking just two years ago. Why is it not a champion today?”

Police Chief's US Visit Undercuts Rights Work, Local Groups Say [-Brad Adams: Hok Lundy is "up to his neck" in criminal activity]

Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
19/04/2007

Local rights groups and the opposition appealed to authorities Tuesday to stop the US visit of National Police Chief Gen. Hok Lundy, saying the trip harms their efforts to strengthen human rights in the country.

The general, a powerful supporter of Prime Minister Hun Sen, has been implicated in serious crimes against Cambodians, and his visit, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies, undercuts the work of human rights organizations, the groups said.

People implicated in crimes should not be invited to the US, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said.

"We know that in the US, many people are demanding the reconsideration" of Hok Lundy's visit, he said, "because the decision has no support from many establishments in the US itself."

Hok Lundy was denied a US visa by the State Department in 2006 on what the general called confusing allegations he was involved in human trafficking. In 2004, Hok Lundy's approval was widely suspected in the release of a group of brothel owners and sex traffickers.

Hok Lundy is "up to his neck" in criminal activity, Brad Adams, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch, told VOA Wednesday. "It's not even a subject of debate."

"Our people, our country, and countries in general, look up to the US," Center for Social Development Director Seng Theary said Thursday. "The US is inviting Hok Lundy for a visit, meaning it gives big consideration and an honor to Hok Lundy."

This is turn, she said, was not beneficial to the Cambodian public.

The appeal follows a statement Tuesday by Human Rights Watch that pointed out Hok Lundy's suspected involvement in the 1997 grenade attack, extrajudicial killings and drug and human trafficking.

"Two US Drug Enforcement Agency (Administration) officials and a former US ambassador to Cambodia have confirmed to Human Rights Watch that the US government is aware of Lundy's involvement in drug trafficking," the rights group said.

A press officer at the US Drug Enforcement Administration was not immediately able to comment Thursday.

"In February 2006, the State Department's human trafficking office specifically cited Lundy's alleged involvement in human trafficking as grounds for denying him a visa," the group said. "That decision was linked to a brothel raid in December 2004, following which Lundy reportedly ordered the release within hours of several traffickers before an investigation could be conducted."

A State Department official said Thursday Cambodia had made "significant efforts" to combat trafficking, but that "strong diffrences of opinion" remained between the two countries over the matter.

The State Department planned to use the occasion of Hok Lundy's visit to deliver a "tough, direct message" to the police chief on its views, the official said. The State Department upgraded Cambodia from the worst trafficking category, "Tier 3," to Tier 2 in 2006.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak dismissed the accusations against the police commissioner, saying no evidence points to Hok Lundy.

Hok Lundy: Mighty Cambodian Sam Rainsy Party is able to order around International Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch is under the thumb of Cambodian opposition party

19 April 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Cambodian National Police Chief General Hok Lundy had accused Human Rights Watch (HRW) – which accused him of being behind the 1997 grenade attack – of following the order issued by the Cambodian opposition party. General Hok Lundy told The Cambodia Daily that the report is untrue and that [HRW] wants to defame him. He said that: “HRW made the accusation based on the request by the Sam Rainsy Party. They want to attack me because I am in the government.” Hok Lundy rejects the accusation against him saying that he is involved in several criminal activities. Regarding his invitation by the US government to visit the USA, he said that the US trusts his ability as the police chief. He added: “The US government thinks that I am a good law enforcement leader.” He added that he and six delegates will leave for Washington on Friday to discuss about transnational crimes with FBI agents.

KI-Media note: The Cambodia Daily also reported that SRP leader Sam Rainsy dismissed General Hok Lundy’s accusation of collusion with HRW as nonsense. “[General Hok Lundy] does me a great honor by saying that HRW are working for me,” Sam Rainsy was quoted.

Phnom Penh to the rescue of Hok Lundy

Thursday, April 19, 2007
Cambodia dismisses rights abuse claims against police chief

The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodia on Thursday dismissed calls for the national police chief to be barred from the United States because of alleged human rights abuses, calling the claims against him "nonsense."

Gen. Hok Lundy is scheduled to leave for Washington on Friday to discuss counterterrorism and transnational crimes with FBI officials, said Lt. Gen. Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch has urged the U.S. State Department to cancel Hok Lundy's visa, alleging in a statement Monday that he once ordered an extrajudicial killing and has been involved in drug smuggling and human trafficking.

"This is nonsense," said Khieu Sopheak.

The allegations are "unacceptable, groundless, baseless," and they "have tarnished the reputation of the national police chief" and the police force, he said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Tuesday that Washington had "compelling reasons" to issue Hok Lundy a visa, which he declined to discuss.

Hok Lundy was denied a U.S. visa early last year for reasons never made public.

Neither McCormack nor the FBI would comment on Lundy's alleged misdeeds or on the planned counterterrorism discussions.

Brad Adams, the Human Rights Watch Asia director, said Monday that Hok Lundy "represents the absolute worst that Cambodia has to offer and should never have been given a U.S. visa."

He said the FBI should investigate, not host, the police chief for his "alleged involvement in political violence and organized crime in Cambodia."

Human Rights Watch said Hok Lundy has been implicated in a number of serious human rights abuses, including a conspiracy to carry out a grenade attack on a peaceful demonstration by opposition supporters in March 1997, in which a U.S. citizen was injured.

Most bizarre quote of the day by Om Yentieng

Om Yentieng, Hun Sen's mouthpiece (Photo: RFA)

Excerpt from Cambodge Soir
Unofficial translation from French

Click here to read Cambodge Soir’s article in French

Cambodge Soir reported the following reaction of Om Yentieng, Hun Sen’s personal advisor, on the demand made Human Rights Watch to cancel Hok Lundy's visa to visit the US:

Om Yentieng, advisor of the Prime Minister, declared yesterday that the demand made by Human Rights Watch to cancel Hok Lundy’s visa was a violation of human rights whereas this organization (HRW) is supposed to be fighting to protect human rights.

Political Cartoon: "US: Human Laundering"

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

Police Chief's US Visit Unaffected by Outcry, Officials Say

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington DC
18/04/2007

The US visit of National Police Chief Hok Lundy will continue as planned, despite calls this week for the US State Department to rescind his visa, officials said Wednesday. Hok Lundy plans to travel to Washington April 19 through April 14 for talks with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on counterterrorism and human and drug trafficking, but his visit has been sharply criticized by rights workers. His trip is "common practice," US Embassy Spokesman Jeff Daigle told VOA Wednesday.

Security officials often make trips to the US to meet with their counterparts and strengthen relationships, he said. "And that's exactly what Hok Lundy is trying to do."

Human Rights Watch Tuesday implicated Hok Lundy in a number of crimes, including extrajudicial killings in the 1997 coup and orchestrating a grenade attack on opposition supporters that same year. The group called on US officials to revoke his visa.

In 2006 Hok Lundy was refused a US visa to attend an anti-crime conference on "confusing allegations" that he was involved in human and drug trafficking, the police chief said last year.

He was granted a visa this year to visit Washington for "compelling reasons," a State Department spokesman said.

Human Rights Watch officials remained concerned that his visit would send a negative message to Cambodians.

"This is a very cynical gesture on the part of the US," said Sophie Richardson, a rights worker with the group, "to on one hand talk about how important human rights and the rule of law are in Cambodia, but to invite to visit the FBI somebody who is deeply implicated in violating these rights."

Interior Ministry Spokesman Khieu Sopheak said the US had made the "right decision" in inviting the general to Washington, and that accusations made against him were "groundless."

Hok Lundy on people accusing him of ordering the July 5 and July 6 1997 coup: (they) are correct in one sense

Joke of the New Year: Hok Lundy urges HRW to bring forth proofs of his involvement in the 1997 grenade attack against peaceful demonstrators in front of the National Assembly to the head of the Cambodian government ... The only thing National Police Chief General Hok Lundy failed to mention is the fact that he is a powerful ally of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, the head of the Cambodian government. (Photo: RFA)

National Police Chief Addresses Rights Abuse Allegations

Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18/04/2007

Click here to listen Heng Reaksmey reports in Khmer
(Real Media Player required)

Cambodian National Police Chief General Hok Lundy told VOA Khmer on Wednesday that he is not concerned his visa to visit the US this week could be canceled, despite the outcry during the past 48 hours from international human rights groups.

The powerful ally of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told VOA Khmer that he provides essential assistance to US regional efforts to "fight international terrorism" as well as drug and human trafficking and denied he was involved in serious crimes and violence against average Cambodians.

Hok Lundy, who was denied a visa to visit the US last year because of alleged ties to international human trafficking networks, said he is looking forward to visiting Washington later this week as head of a Cambodian delegation to conduct official talks with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security. He noted that the agenda of his visit was provided to him by US Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli on Wednesday morning in Phnom Penh.

VOA Khmer's Heng Reaksmey conducted a telephone interview Wednesday with Hok Lundy. Below is a transcript, translated from Khmer into English.

Q: The Human Rights Watch (international rights group based in New York) statement released Tuesday accused you of a number of serious crimes. What is your reaction to these allegations?

A: Thank you VOA for allowing me to express my opinion regarding the allegations of this human rights organization. As I said before, a number of people who are unhappy with me tend to accuse me of human rights violations when I perform my duties as police commissioner and leader. As an example, this human rights organization accuses me of being behind the use of force, involving the 1997 grenade attack, in front of Parliament.

This accusation is totally false. For about 10 years now, since the grenade attack in front of Parliament, we made efforts to conduct investigations thoroughly to find the culprits. The Ministry of Interior established a commission to lead this investigation. The then co-ministers of Interior made a request to the US FBI to help in the search for the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

I don't understand why this human rights organization accused me of being behind the grenade attack. I want to say that this allegation is false. If HRW has enough evidence to back the allegations, I urge them to bring evidence to the head of our government so we can take action to arrest the criminals and bring them to justice. HRW must not say what is not true. If it has enough evidence, it must bring it to the head of our government.

Q: Another HRW allegation is that you were involved in ordering the bloody events of July 5 and July 6, 1997, the fighting between forces loyal to Norodom Ranariddh and those of Hun Sen. What do you think of this allegation?

A: The event of July 5 and July 6, 1997, is a general event. It involved the emergence of an anarchic group that wanted to overthrow the government. I think after the end of the event, the international and national opinions are that all eyes have seen the clear picture.

At that time, the legal head of government ordered the army and the national police to defend the political stability and security to prevent the anarchists from overthrowing the government. Thus, the army and the department of defense and its commander, and I as the commander of the National Police, have the obligation to fully defend the political stability, security and social order.

I think the people who accuse me of ordering the July 5 and July 6 armed struggle, are correct in one sense, but my duties as commander and National Chief of Police required that I defend the royal government because the government was legally created. If there is an illegal force that intends to overthrow the government, not only me, but army forces that have the obligation as a tool of the government, must defend and protect at all cost.

Q: You rejected the HRW allegations. As a top member of the government, what do you think HRW should do?

A: As an individual, I only urge HRW to reconsider their improper allegations which could affect the work relationship of the national police, especially with us directly, who used to have direct contact with human rights organization, because currently police authorities have constant contact with human rights groups in promotion, education of the national police that they have programs to educate the National Police forces in the provinces, as well as in the case of violence against civilians that requires the national police authority to intervene and defend. And if HRW accuses me as commander-in-chief of the National Police, this would affect the morale of the local National Police forces. So, I urge HRW to reconsider this issue and before raising another allegation, they should have proper evidence so that their report will not become an attack or the defamation or propaganda of an opposition party that doesn't like the government.

Q: When do you intend to leave Cambodia by the invitation from FBI?

A: With the FBI invitation to our National Police delegation, I have the consent of the Ministry of Interior and the head of the government, Samdech Hun Sen, allowing our delegation to leave (Cambodia) on the 20th to work officially in DC with the FBI.

Q: After the release of the HRW report will there be any change to the visa (status) decision of you and your delegation?

A: There will not be any change because my delegation is prepared to depart because, until now, it is not only the FBI who invites us to work with them, according to the program given to us by the US Ambassador to Cambodia on Wednesday morning April 18, but there is a plan to meet a US undersecretary of state in order to exchange views in preparing a number of reports relating to the goal of the US government knowing the work of the Cambodian authorities; and, second, (a plan to meet with) the Justice Department that works in partnership with, and has invited the FBI and DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency), which are against (illegal) drugs coming to the US; thirdly, the Homeland Security Department plans to meet our delegation as part of our work program (in the US). I understand these are three institutions that plan to meet our delegation to work allowing our delegation to meet and report, exchange the situation and seek directions to coordinate work with Khmer authorities in the future. I think, relating to visas, there won't be any change.

Q: What cooperation will Cambodia offer to the US where your delegation participates in the meeting on the prevention of terrorism?

A: I have prepared in principle, with the consent of the Minister of Interior Sar Kheng and with PM Hun Sen, that the point of the cooperation with the US, with the three institutions we plan to meet, the first big issue is the cooperation to prevent the international terrorism. Because today the terrorism issue is the issue that the work is focused on. Therefore, the Cambodian National Police is also a part of the long-term cooperation with the US institutions that are involved in the prevention of terrorism around the world.

Secondly, on other crimes, so called transnational crime, across borders, is also very essential for the Cambodian National Police to cooperate with the US side on solving these problems.

Thirdly, relating to the women and child trafficking issue, human trafficking, which is also the strong focus of the US and the world, we also plan to discuss and receive good recommendations from the US side in order to solve and improve our work in Cambodia.

Fourthly, the issue relating to the prevention of drug trafficking. The drug issue, also, is an issue of strong interest to the US government, in our area, and we are also concerned because the drug problem is a problem that the world must pay attention to. I think the cooperation with the US, with the DEA, is very critical, that requires the exchange of opinions, in order to increase the effectiveness of the control and prevention in Cambodia.

Q: Thank you, Commissioner General Hok Lundy for the VOA Khmer interview.

A: Thank you very much.

Hok Lundy dismisses trafficking allegations [-It would be surprising if he declares otherwise; Will he dare sue HRW in the US for defamation?]

18/04/2007
Cambodian police chief dismisses trafficking allegations

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Cambodia's police chief Hok Lundy, has dismissed a call from Human Rights Watch that he should be denied a visa to the United States because of suggestions he is linked to human trafficking.

He says the organisation wants to defame him.

Hok Lundy, who carries the rank of police general, has been granted a visa to attend counter-terrorism talks with the FBI later this week.

He was denied a visa to the US in 2005 because of what Washington called credible evidence of complicity in human trafficking.

Hok Lundy says the allegations by the New York based Human Rights Watch are baseless and has called on the NGO to produce some proof.

Crimes pay ... for some

US Defends Granting Visa to Controversial Cambodian Police Official

By David Gollust
State Department
17 April 2007
Posted on Voice of America

The State Department Tuesday defended a decision granting a U.S. visa to Cambodia's national police chief, Hok Lundy, despite charges linking him to political violence and other crimes. A major human rights group is urging that the visa be rescinded. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Officials here are suggesting there was a vigorous debate among U.S. agencies about whether to grant the visa to the controversial Cambodian police official.

But the State Department says there were compelling reasons for allowing Lundy to attend a Washington counter-terrorism meeting this week hosted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The FBI last year awarded Lundy a medal for his cooperation with the U.S.-led war on international terrorism. However, he has in the past been accused of involvement in political violence and other illegal activity in Cambodia, including trafficking in persons.

At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said U.S. officials understood the seriousness of the allegations against Lundy but that an inter-agency review of his case turned up no legal grounds for excluding him, and that the process came down to a policy decision:

"I know there are a lot of allegations, and I'm not trying to discount those allegations,” he said. “The key here is that there is no, in the review of the visa application, there was no legal bar to his being granted a visa, and that in that process there are certain standards that have to be met in terms of information. That is really the best I can offer you."

McCormack acknowledged that Lundy was once refused a U.S. visa over allegations he was involved in a human trafficking case in 2004.

The spokesman declined to elaborate on what he said were the compelling reasons for the decision to grant the visa this time.

A senior State Department official later said there had been a pretty healthy internal debate within the U.S. government on the issue, and in the end it was decided it was in the U.S. national interest to allow the visit.

The monitoring group Human Rights Watch issued a statement Tuesday urging that the visa be rescinded. It said Lundy was being allowed to attend a U.S. anti-terrorism event even though he had been implicated in an act of political violence 10 years ago classified by the United States itself as a terrorist act.

The group said Lundy was part of a conspiracy to carry out a 1997 grenade attack aimed at Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy that killed 16 people and wounded more than 100 others.

Human Rights Watch Deputy Director for Asia Sophie Richardson told VOA her organization cannot fathom how a Cambodian figure linked to terrorism can be allowed to visit the United States:

"The visa should be revoked for a couple of different reasons, not least Hok Lundy's track record of being implicated in serious violations of human rights,” he noted. “And we are particularly concerned that he's been invited to the U.S. to participate in bilateral discussions with the FBI about counter terrorism cooperation when one of the most serious abuses in which Hok Lundy was implicated was designated by the FBI itself as a terrorist act."

A written statement by Human Rights Watch said Lundy commanded troops supporting the then co-Prime Minister Hun Sen in a July 1997 coup that were involved in extra-judicial killings, and has also been implicated in drug trafficking.

The New York-based group said instead of playing host to the Cambodian police chief, the FBI should be investigating him. It said there is no one in Cambodia aside from his boss, Hun Sen, who has shown more contempt for the law than Hok Lundy.

Controversial Cambodian to Visit U.S.

Police Chief Hok Lundy is accused of ties to a terrorist act and the trafficking of women. (By Heng Sinith -- Associated Press)

Wednesday, April 18, 2007
By R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Staff Writer

"If this was done because somehow or other Cambodia was in the throes of a radical Islamic insurgency and you needed every hand on deck to fight it, you could make a case. But this is not the case. There is no jihadist threat emanating from Cambodia. All that's threatening the United States from Cambodia are drugs, which pass on their way to Western destinations under the supervision of high regime officials." - Stephen Morris, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

A U.S. visa application by Cambodia's police chief provoked a rancorous argument inside the Bush administration because of the official's alleged links to an act of terrorism and to trafficking in women. But the State Department decided to permit Hok Lundy to travel here this week for counterterrorism meetings with senior officials at the FBI, U.S. officials and others disclosed yesterday.

The decision was a policy reversal for the department, which last year told Lundy, a longtime aide to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, he would not get a visa to attend a U.S. police conference. John Miller, then head of the State Department's anti-trafficking office, said at the time that the threatened denial was based on "reports and allegations concerning his role in trafficking in persons."

But Lundy's visa approval is just the latest step in the restoration of his reputation in Washington, which U.S. officials ascribe to his support for the counterterrorism effort. Earlier this month, Lundy boasted of helping to arrest members of the militant Islamic group Jemaah Islamiyah, designated by the Bush administration as a terrorist organization. Two weeks ago, the FBI announced the opening of its first permanent office in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.

"This is kind of a hold-your-nose deal," said a senior U.S. official who was not authorized to speak for attribution. The U.S. Embassy in Cambodia, the State Department's East Asia bureau, the Justice Department and the FBI pushed for the visa approval, while the State Department's human rights and anti-trafficking offices strongly urged its rejection, two U.S. officials said. R. Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs, cast the deciding vote.

Lundy is not the first foreign official implicated in human rights abuses to be welcomed by U.S. counterterrorism officials. Sudan's intelligence chief, Salah Abdala Gosh, visited Washington in 2005 as a guest of the CIA, despite his alleged links to war crimes in Darfur being investigated by the International Criminal Court. Although the administration has called him an ally in the counterterrorism fight, the United Nations last year put Gosh's name on a list of Sudanese officials who it said should be sanctioned for crimes by subordinates.

The decision to admit Lundy nonetheless provoked dismay and anger among human rights groups and others. "This is a guy who should be the target of us law enforcement operations and not a partner," said Tom Malinowski, the Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. "It sends a miserable message."

Pressed to explain the decision, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday: "I know that there are a lot of allegations, and I'm not trying to discount those allegations. The key here is that there's no -- in the review of the visa application, there was no legal bar to his being granted a visa." Essentially, he added, "it comes down to a policy judgment, and the policy judgment in this case was he was scheduled to attend a conference or a meeting with the FBI concerning counterterrorism issues."

"I wouldn't be surprised if there was a healthy discussion about this matter," McCormack said. An FBI spokesman declined to comment, saying he was under instructions to refer calls to the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia. McCormack said, in turn, that only the FBI could say why it was necessary to bring Lundy here. The Cambodian Embassy in Washington did not return phone calls. A woman who answered the phone at its United Nations mission said no one there was authorized to speak about Lundy or his visit.

Lundy's reputation initially suffered because of evidence -- detailed in a classified FBI report described by four U.S. officials -- linking his police forces to a March 1997 grenade attack on a Phnom Penh rally organized by a political opponent of Hun Sen. It killed more than 20 and wounded 150, including an American employed by the International Republican Institute. Lundy's response, on Hun Sen's order, was to arrest those who organized the otherwise peaceful rally.

His reputation took another hit in 2004, when a police unit conducted a major raid against a notorious Cambodian brothel and it was -- Miller said -- "reversed within hours," with the managers freed, dozens of women forcibly returned to the brothel and the head of an anti-trafficking group "roughed up." Some U.S. officials concluded from the event that Lundy was profiting from trafficking; he denies that.

"Do you think this just happens by accident?" asked Miller, U.S. ambassador at large on modern-day slavery from 2002 until last December. "All of this could only have happened with the approval of the chief of police. He's not the sort of person I would want to issue a visa to, based on what I know." A U.S. official said the brothel had since been closed, however, and that at least one local anti-trafficking group had endorsed Lundy's trip.

Stephen Morris, a Cambodian scholar and research fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, said: "If this was done because somehow or other Cambodia was in the throes of a radical Islamic insurgency and you needed every hand on deck to fight it, you could make a case. But this is not the case. There is no jihadist threat emanating from Cambodia. All that's threatening the United States from Cambodia are drugs, which pass on their way to Western destinations under the supervision of high regime officials."

Staff researchers Madonna Lebling and Julie Tate contributed to this report.