Opposition Lawmaker Summoned to Court

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
03 June 2009

Kampot province parliamentarian Mu Sochua, who is engaged in a reciprocal defamation case against Hun Sen, was summoned to municipal court Wednesday.

The opposition lawmaker filed suit last month claiming statements made by the prime minister during 2008 elections were degrading and defaming. Hun Sen filed a countersuit.

Wednesday’s summons was for questioning related to Hun Sen’s suit.

“If we take responsibility for what we have done, we dare to come,” Mu Sochua told reporters outside the court Wednesday. “I came to the court today because I want to tell the court that Prime Minister Hun Sen insulted my reputation.”

Hun Sen “affected the honor of Khmer women,” she said. “I want Phnom Penh court to summon Prime Minister Hun Sen too.”

Mu Sochua’s summons came as an opposition journalist was also called into court.

Hang Chakra, director of the Khmer Mchas Srok newspaper, was brought in for questioning after he ran stories accusing Council Minister Sok An of involvement in corruption and praising Hun Sen for “destroying” corrupt officials under Sok An.

Sok An is a deputy prime minister and one of the most powerful officials in government. He oversees matters concerning the Khmer Rouge tribunal and oil exploration, among others.

Hang Chakra told reporters Wednesday his stories were based on evidence, and he accused the court of bias and political influence.

Groups Postpone Results of Corruption Survey

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
03 June 2009

An umbrella group of rights organizations postponed a press conference to discuss corruption research Wednesday, in the wake of a row between the US and Cambodian governments.

The group, Pact Cambodia, was scheduled to present findings of a 2008 corruption survey, funded by USAID, Thursday. No new date was set.

The government held a press conference on Tuesday lambasting anti-corruption statements by US Ambassador Carol Rodley, who said in a speech last week the country loses $500 million annually to corruption.

The Report on Corruption Barometer Survey in Cambodia for 2008 was supported by Transparency International and funded by USAID.

No reason was given by organizers for the postponement, but the cancellation came just a day after senior government officials said Rodley’s remarks on corruption were one-sided and unsupported.

“The Royal Government of Cambodia absolutely refutes the politically motivated and unsubstantiated allegation made by the United States diplomat in contradiction of the good relations between Cambodia and the United States Government,” the government said in a letter to the US Embassy.

US officials have declined to comment on the government’s statement.

Nuth Youthy, a senior researcher for Pact Cambodia, declined to comment on the postponement of the report’s release.

Instead of seeking help to deal with corruption, Hun Sen's regime would rather silence critics

Cambodia Lashes US Over Corruption Statement

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
02 June 2009

Senior Cambodian officials told reporters Tuesday that remarks about corruption made by the US ambassador last week could damage diplomatic relations between the two countries.

US Ambassador Carol Rodley said at a ceremony for an anti-corruption concert Saturday that the practice costs Cambodia $500 million a year.

At a press conference Tuesday, Om Yentieng, a senior adviser to Hun Sen and head of the government’s anti-corruption body, assailed the remarks as “one-sided.”

US-Cambodian relations have thawed in recent years, and the Southeast Asian nation has emerged as a willing ally in the regional war on terror.

But donors have pushed Cambodia to reign in deep-rooted corruption and continue to seek the passage of anti-corruption legislation that has been in a draft stage for more than a decade.

US Embassy spokesman John Johnson declined to comment on the government’s statements.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cabinet Minister sent official letters to the US Embassy saying the statement was regrettable.

The two government offices said the US was basing its view on a biased assessment from an opposition-aligned economic institute.

One of the most corrupt regime in the world accuses US of meddling its affairs for revealing the scale of its corruption

Cambodia accuses US of meddling in its affairs

Tuesday, June 02, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

Cambodia has accused the United States of meddling in its internal affairs after the US ambassador said the impoverished nation was losing up to 500 million dollars a year through corruption.

US ambassador to Cambodia, Carol Rodley, says rampant graft is preventing the country from developing its public services, education and healthcare.

Cambodia's anti-graft chief, Om Yentieng, says the ambassador's remarks were an attempt to undermine a government which has the support of the people.

Transparency International last year ranked Cambodia as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, placing it 14th among 180 nations studied.

Hun Sen's regime on US ambassador's corruption allegation: Deny! Deny! Deny!

Cambodia denies US diplomat's corruption allegation

Tue, Jun 02, 2009
AFP

"We have never said that there is no corruption in Cambodia..." - CPP Ong Yentieng

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - Cambodia Tuesday rejected a US diplomat's reported statement that graft costs the country up to US$500 million every year, branding her assertion "politically motivated and unsubstantiated."

US ambassador Carol Rodley made the allegation Saturday at a Phnom Penh anti-corruption concert, remarking, "five hundred million is equivalent to the cost of constructing 20,000 six-room school buildings," said a local report.

In a letter to the US embassy on Tuesday, Cambodia's foreign ministry said it "absolutely refutes the politically motivated and unsubstantiated allegation made by the United States diplomat."

The letter added that the US$500-million corruption figure was a "biased assessment" that came from an opposition party-linked economic institute.

Rodley's use of it, the letter said, was "in contradiction of the good relations between Cambodia and the United States."

Senior minister Om Yentieng, chairman of the government's anti-corruption unit, said in a press conference Tuesday that Rodley's allegation "strongly affects the honour and reputation of the Cambodian government."

"We have never said that there is no corruption in Cambodia.... But when saying that the level of corruption in Cambodia is so serious like the allegation, we cannot accept it," Om Yentieng said.

The US embassy was not immediately available for comment, but a 2004 report by the US Agency for International Development said informants estimated annual diversions from Cambodian government coffers at US$300 - US$500 million.

Donors pledged nearly one billion dollars in development aid to Cambodia last year despite strong concerns over rampant corruption and demands by rights groups that donors get tough on the government's apparent refusal to reform.

Cambodia's cabinet also issued a statement Tuesday saying Rodley's US$500 million figure was "regrettable" as well as a "groundless" allegation that it considered a "manipulation of the truth."

Corrupt Hun Sen's regime wants to silence US ambassador's critics

Cambodia hits back at U.S. over graft comments

Tue Jun 2, 2009

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia accused the United States of meddling in its internal affairs on Tuesday after Washington's ambassador said the impoverished nation was losing up to $500 million a year through corruption.

Cambodia's foreign ministry urged diplomats to "refrain from interfering" after the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, Carol Rodley, said rampant graft was preventing the country from developing its public services, education and healthcare.

"(The government) wishes to remind all members of the diplomatic corps to maintain their neutrality and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of Cambodia," the ministry said in a statement.

Cambodia's anti-graft chief, Om Yentieng, said Rodley's remarks, made on Saturday at an anti-corruption concert in Phnom Penh, were an attempt to undermine a government which had the support of the people.

"If the ruling party had acted in such a way, we would not have gained votes and continued to stay in power," Yentieng told reporters.

A report last year by anti-graft watchdog Transparency International ranked Cambodia as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, placing it 14th among 180 nations studied.

(Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Martin Petty and Sugita Katyal)

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Clean Hand

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