As Cambodia Courts US Business, Old Problems Remain

Thursday, 05 July 2012
Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC

"When laws are firm, investors have confidence.”

As a delegation of US business owners prepares to travel to Cambodia with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, analysts say they will be tough to court, given Cambodia’s lack of law enforcement.

“Investors don’t bring guns, they don’t bring bodyguards—they bring money to invest,” said Sok Touch dean of Khemarak University in Phnom Penh. “So what protects them is not guns, not nuclear weapons, but laws. When laws are firm, investors have confidence.”

Cambodia’s economy continues to grow, with an estimated rate of about 6.5 percent forecast for this year. Per capita incomes have improved, to about $1,000 per year. But there are few prospects for new jobs, leading perhaps 200,000 people to seek work in neighboring countries. The idea, Sok Touch said, is to have more jobs stay in the country.

“Vietnam is a communist country, so why has the US put IT construction and automobile construction in Vietnam?” he said. “First, stability, and second, rule of law.”

Cambodia must also move away from short-term investment in its future, such as the sale of gold mines to Chinese companies, or the leasing of islands for real estate development. Such investors leave quickly and leave little in the country, he said.

US Asean Ambassador Encourages Strong Law, Low Corruption in Region

David Carden

Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

"Decreased corruption and strengthened law can help draw investors to a country."

The US ambassador to Asean met with other regional leaders in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, encouraging them to fight against corruption and strengthen the rule of law in their countries.

Ambassador David Carden addressed about 70 officials from 10 Asean countries as part of a seminar on legal information networks in the region.

Decreased corruption and strengthened law can help draw investors to a country, Carden said.

“If outside investment comes from outside of Asean, or within Asean, Cambodia has to protect those investors,” he said. In the US, he said, “we respect people who come in to invest in our country and create jobs for our citizens, and we will protect them in the court.”

The World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index 2011

Cambodia is ranked much lower than most other countries in the region on all dimensions. The overall legal and institutional environment remains quite weak, which is highlighted by the low scores in key areas, including effective limits on government powers (ranking 65th out of 66); regulatory enforcement; access to civil justice; and absence of corruption, where the country ranks last in the world. Property rights are very weak (ranking 66th), and police abuses remain a significant problem. On the positive side, Cambodia displays lower crime rates than most countries in the lower-middle income group.

The World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index 2011
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/57978914?access_key=key-1if7vaqdfozvwo0rjpxt

Rule of Law Strongest in Rich Nations, Weakest in Poor [-Tell that to the UN about the third-rate ECCC!!!]

By Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON, Jun 14, 2011 (IPS) - The rule of law - a critical element of good governance - thrives best in Norway, Sweden, and New Zealand and worst in Pakistan, Liberia, Cameroon, Cambodia, Kenya and Venezuela, according to the latest edition of a four-year-old index released Monday by the World Justice Project (WJP).

The Rule of Law Index, which this year assessed 66 countries on eight key variables relevant to the rule of law, found that, with some exceptions, high-income countries generally perform significantly better than the world's poorest countries.

But it also found strong performance on specific variables by low- income and middle-income countries, such as Ghana, which earned high scores on ensuring limits to government power and access to civil justice, and several Latin American countries, led by Chile, on government transparency and respect for fundamental rights.

Among the five so-called BRICS countries – the emerging powers of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – South Africa and Brazil were the best performers, while Russia and India scored the lowest, and China fell squarely in the middle, according to the 147- page Index.

101 East - Cambodia: Fight for justice

101 East looks at one of the most enduring legacies of Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia -- the absence of the rule of law.

Statement by Mr. Ros Visal

United Nations Human Rights Conferences in New York, December 11, 2009

Statement by Mr. Ros Visal, Sam Rainsy Party of Pennsylvania, USA

The United Nations was established as a body for facilitating international cooperation in law, security, economic development, social progress, human rights and conflict resolution. I am here today to discuss the challenges that we in Cambodia face on each of these points. As a member of the opposition political party, the views that I will share here would be dangerous to speak of in much of my home country. But I believe it is important for the truth to be heard.

Cambodians appreciate the democratic government structure that has been put in place since the UN's engagement with our country twenty years ago. Unfortunately, the political party that has ruled the country for that entire time has done more harm than good to our nation. Today I would like to share with you the most pressing threats to the well-being of our citizens, and the serious failures of the Cambodian government to properly manage our struggles.

Let us begin with the concrete examples of forced evictions and the abuse of property rights. The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, military police and civilian police officers armed with guns and lethal weapons, have been forcing tens of thousands of our citizens off of their farmland and from their urban homes. The government is engaged in a nation-wide scheme to install large agribusiness projects and commercial development. To accomplish this goal, they physically force thousands of families to leave their homes, their farms and their livelihoods. In their place, they plant the business ventures of foreign companies.

The entire process has felt like a nightmare that will never end. If a relocation site is offered, it often does not have schools or clean drinking water. Often sites are not offered, and small farmers are forced to live in make-shift tents along the side of roads. Livestock starve and die. Children become malnourished and listless. More than a quarter million of our citizens have been victims of government sponsored land grabbing. This is unconstitutional, of course, but the law is applied only to benefit the already wealthy and well connected. In a perversion of justice, the people typically sent to jail are not the thieves, but the farmers who attempt to defend access to the land they have been tilling for decades. Many of our citizens have been killed while trying to defend their plots of land from government take-over.

And what happens in our courts? Nothing. What is labeled "the justice system" in Cambodia has little to do with defending the rights of our citizens, and more to do with justifying the crimes of the powerful. Innocent people are falsely prosecuted for crimes, and high ranking government officials are above the law. Impunity is sadly the rule rather than the exception. The gravest of crimes - murder, torture, rape, the trafficking of women and children - go unpunished if the perpetrators have money or influential connections. Cambodia's justice system would be better called a justification system. Corruption is common in the police and behind the bench, and decisions regularly follow the instructions of the ruling political party.

Under such a sloppy legal regime, nothing could be easier than abusing human rights and getting away with it. As in many other semi-authoritarian states across the globe, Cambodian citizens, politicians and journalists who criticize the government face intimidation and violence. Labor leaders, community activists and journalists have been murdered, and their families sent into hiding. Many have no option but to leave the country.

In a legitimately democratic state, social problems would be debated, and the society would work together to determine solutions. In Cambodia, voices that question or criticize are silenced. The government consistently establishes rules and enacts policies to deny speech. Critics are thrown into jail, newspapers are forced to close their doors through intimidation, legal defenders of human rights are debarred, the legal rights of vocal Members of Parliament are stripped away, the size of demonstrations are restricted. At the core of a legitimate democracy lies a commitment to solving problems through mutual dialogue. At the core of the Cambodian government lies a commitment to push through what it wants while silencing any voices of dissent. While freedom of speech has never been particularly strong in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia, the situation has worsened in recent years. Many of us believe that the country faces the gravest threats we have seen to democratic development, and the future seems most likely to bring further deterioration, unless a different course is taken than what has become standard practice.

All of these points contribute to a larger conclusion, that the Kingdom of Cambodia, under its current leadership, is not a legitimate democracy, but rather a semi-authoritarian state. 1991 was a watershed year in our nation's history. It was then that the Paris Peace Agreement was signed, ending a decade of violence that followed the terrible years of the Khmer Rouge. In 1991, all the relevant parties agreed to work towards the advancement of the Cambodian nation and people, without discrimination or prejudice, and with full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. All of the rival political groups in Cambodia signed this pledge, as did the Secretary General of the United Nations, the United States of America and 18 other nations. The Cambodian People's Party, the current ruling party, has failed to follow through on its promise to the world. It has neither respected the rule of law nor kept the public well-being as its central goal. Rather, the party views the Kingdom of Cambodia as a fiefdom in which its word is unquestionable, and they back this up with force against their own citizens.

I do not believe that my country has to look like this forever. This is why I am involved with an opposition political party. I believe that with a public-minded leadership and the support of the United Nations, Cambodia's future could be bright and promising. To this end, we request the United Nations to continue their focus on Cambodia, particularly to monitor human rights abuses and to ensure the safety of Cambodian human rights activists. We need to draft and implement a human rights law, and would appreciate your support in that effort. We also believe that the UN has a role to play in pressuring the Cambodian government to accept opposition groups as legitimate actors in building a stronger Cambodia. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today, and look forward to continued engagement with the UN on securing the rights of every Cambodian citizen.

Ros Visal
SRP of Pennsylvania, USA
samrainsyparty.usa@gmail.com

Crackdown in Siem Reap [-"There is no truth in [state-run] media"]

Video by Licadho

Monday, 27 April 2009
Written by Vincent MacIsaac
Asia Sentinel (Hong Kong)

The rule of law goes by the board for Cambodia's land sharks

Victims of police shooting: A legacy of 30 years of CPP rule?

Video footage of an allegedly unprovoked attack by police on unarmed farmers in Siem Reap last month has sparked outrage in Cambodia because of what it showed and because the reaction from the national government sent another strong signal that state officials and those connected to them can violate laws with impunity, human rights groups say.

"Unless action is taken to defuse the tense land situation in the country, sadly there will likely be more shootings such as occurred in Chi Kreng [district, Siem Reap]," said Kek Galabru, president of to the Cambodian League for the Promotion of Human Rights (Licadho).

"Real action must be taken to address Cambodia's land crisis and to ensure that authorities do use violence against innocent villagers who are merely trying hold on their land," she said.

According to the monitoring department of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (Adhoc) the number of forced evictions in Cambodia is rising and land disputes are becoming more violent despite the free fall in land prices that began in the middle of last year and more frequent and fiery warnings from Prime Minister Hun Sen that any state officials involved in illegal land deals, no matter how high their rank, will be severely punished.

Moreover, the border conflict with Thailand and the subsequent build up of troops on the Cambodian side has increased land grabbing by the military as well as illegal logging in protected forests along the border, environmentalists and human rights investigators warn.

The Siem Reap farmers are the victims of both land grabbing and state-sanctioned violence, human rights groups say. At the root of the incident is a five-year dispute that escalated last December when two community leaders and one journalist were arrested following a court complaint from two businessmen who the farmers allege illegally obtained and then resold titles to 92 hectares of land they had been farming since, in some cases, 1982. In January farmers surrounded the provincial courthouse for 17 days to demand the release of the three.

It escalated further last month when a joint task force of about 100 police and military personnel opened fire on the farmers. The video of the crackdown almost never made it out of the rural pagoda where it was first shown, according to Buddhist monk Sovath Loun, who transmitted it to human rights groups in Phnom Penh via cell phone.

Sovath Loun, whose older brother and nephew were shot and wounded during the March 22 crackdown, said that at one point during his negotiations with district police over the incident, he was warned that if he didn't turn over his videos and photographs, the military might storm his pagoda in Chi Kreng district to seize them. The pagoda is located about 30 kilometers from Angkor Wat, the country's top tourist destination.

One video, which the monk obtained from a farmer who hid his video-equipped cellphone under his hat, suggests that the signal to begin shooting came from the deputy district police chief, and clearly identifies another officer who allegedly wounded two farmers after he opened fire with his AK47, according to the Cambodian League for the Promotion of Human Rights (Licadho). www.licadho-cambodia.org

The footage contradicts government claims that the police were acting in self defense, the league says, and it is calling for the prosecution of those who shot four farmers as well as the release of nine others subsequently jailed on charges of assault and attempted theft (of the rice they had planted).

"This was extremely serious violence against villagers committed by government armed forces, and it demands a strong response by the government. The police and other officials who committed this violence must be punished," Licadho said.

The province's governor, Mr. Sou Phirin, pledged to personally resolve the dispute following the protest at the provincial court, but his attempt at reconciliation aggravated it. He proposed that the businessmen be given the rice and farmers who had planted it be compensated by being paid for their seeds, according to the Adhoc report, which also said the governor's attempt at reconciling the two sides was marred by open hostility towards the farmers and their lawyer, whom he cursed at during the negotiations.

Sovath Loun's videos and scores of photographs include the aftermath as well as extremely graphic footage and photos from the hospital, including close ups of gaping wounds and doctors trying to treat them, as well as bleeding farmers beaten unconscious and tied together in rows. His videos and photos provide an extremely rare and detailed look into what many have been warning for years is, among other things, a grave threat to stability in Cambodia: the government's alleged complicity in allowing, and in some cases assisting, those in positions of power to steal land from the poor.

The 30-year-old monk first showed the videos to about 20 monks, nuns and laypersons at Vat Sleng Pagoda a week after the crackdown. The day after the first of several police officers paid a visit. The low-ranking officer had been instructed by the district chief of police to find out how many VCDs had been made and to take them, Sovath Loun said. "I asked the officer, ‘what law did I break?"

He broke the silence that ensued by enquiring further, "Do you want to borrow it or do you want to take it?"

"If you want to borrow it you can, but if you want to take it you can't," he continued. If the officer was devout he would be aware it would be a severe transgression to lie to a monk, while if he was merely superstitious he could be frightened into believing that a lie to a venerable monk in pagoda might be an invitation to bad luck for him and his family, he said.

The officer opted to relay the choice to his superiors. Over the next few days more officers and district officials visited him at the pagoda and the hospital where he was tending his brother and nephew. They told him to stop taking photos, turn over his VCD and sign a letter pledging not to disseminate the images, Sovath Loun said. He replied by telling them they could have the VCD if they signed a letter promising to resolve the land dispute and bring those who shot the farmers to justice.

During a second visit by police to his pagoda an officer warned him that if he kept the VCD he might have to deal with the military. Sovath Loun quoted the officer as saying: "The military might attack the pagoda to seize it."

On the third visit the monk turned over his VCD, but by this time he had already distributed about 100 copies throughout surrounding villages and widely transmitted the video of the crackdown taken by the farmer via his cell phone. This video ended up at human rights organizations based in Phnom Penh and on the internet (http://hub.witness.org/en/upload/shooting-chi-kreng-siem-reap-v2).

On April 2, Sovath Loun left his pagoda for Phnom Penh. "My heart was too heavy to remain in Siem Reap. I came here to try to regain my peace of mind," he explained at Ounalum Pagoda. The pagoda, which was founded in 1443, is the headquarters of the Cambodian Buddhism and has been experiencing a steady rebirth following its desecration by the Khmer Rouge.

Sovath Loun said his attempt to regain his peace of mind at the pagoda became more difficult after an advisor to the Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia's Buddhists, a layman and official from the Ministry of Cults and Religion, arrived at the pagoda on April 10 in a silver Lexus and told him to order the about 100 farmers from his district who had sought refuge with him to return to Siem Reap on April 10.

He described the ultimatum as being inspired by politics rather than the teachings of Buddha. "The order came from the government," he said.

During their 30 minute conversation, he tried to explain to the advisor that his claim that the farmers were "disturbing the pagoda" was illusory. "I kept telling him that no monks had complained while the farmers stayed at the pagoda. Instead, we gave them food and blessings. We felt great sorrow for them."

The government advisor, whom the monk described as "aggressive", could not be swayed, and after he drove off in his silver Lexus Sovath Loun had to tell the panicked farmers to leave the pagoda and return to Siem Reap. By midafternoon all but four had left. Monks paid for those who could not afford tickets, he said.

The four who remain in Phnom Penh, identified by Siem Reap police as leaders of the group, are in hiding at a "safe house". They fear they will either be shot or arrested if they return to their villages, one said by telephone. Police are searching house to house in their villages for them, Chan Soveth, an investigator with Adhoc said. The disputed farmland is now under guard by armed police and soldiers, he added.

"There is no truth in [state-run] media," Sovath Loun said, explaining his motivation for compiling and disseminating the videos. "Soldiers and police have guns for protecting people not shooting them," he added before beginning his evening meditation on April 12.

Within a week, however, he had also left the pagoda, according to venerable monk Thaich Chhorn, who kept a written diary of the protests by the Siem Reap farmers in Phnom Penh . Thaich Chhorn said Sovath Loun, who is also a painter, left the pagoda to paint murals on the inner walls of another one in the countryside.

The history of extremism runs deep

Dear KI-Media Readers,

The recent closing of gambling institutions in Cambodia brings to mind another episode in 2001, when Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the closing of all night clubs, discos and karaoke parlors within a few days. At that time, Dr. Lao Mong Hay wrote an article to the Phnom Penh Post to comment about this sudden closure. As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they remain the same, we feel that Dr. Lao Mong Hay's comment in 2001 is still relevant to the present case. Please find below, Dr. Lao Mong Hay's comment.

Again, we are indebted to Dr. Lao Mong Hay for his kindness in sharing his insight with us.

Thank you,

KI-Media team
-------------
The history of extremism runs deep

Friday, 07 December 2001
Written by Lao Mong Hay
The Phnom Penh Post

On Tuesday November 20 Prime Minister Hun Sen issued an order to close down nightclubs, discos and karaoke parlours because of violence and drug trafficking associated with such establishments. That order was effective as from 18:00 Friday, November 23.

Orders of our "strong man" are our laws, and our obedient "law" enforcement agencies could not afford to waste any time and rushed to enforce the latest order of our prime minister. Like Greek philosopher Socrates who preferred abiding by the law of his land to acceding to a plea by his friend Crito to escape the death sentence imposed on him by that law, the owners of those establishments together with their workers, being law-abiding citizens as always, uttered no word of protest and accept the death of their businesses and employment. Phnom Penh that Friday night fell dark and quiet when those establishments were closed down.

For puritans our prime minister's decision is justified. But it was too sudden, taken on the spur of the moment without proper consideration of its consequences or alternative measures. It suppressed the problems it had been meant to address. It made the innocent pay for the incompetence of our authorities.

To take the issue of incompetence first: Before giving any license to open and operate such establishments, owners must have satisfied the authorities that they met a certain number of requirements such as good character, no criminal record, adequate measures and ability to ensure law and order in their premises, and financial surety, so that their customers could fully enjoy themselves free of any trouble, and their neighbors were not disturbed. Furthermore, the authorities should have conducted spot checks to ensure that law and order prevailed, and there were no drugs or even prostitution. Non compliance with the standard above would be subject to a variety of penalties such as warning, fine, and closure.

Puritans would argue that corruption had rendered such supervision for compliance with any standard ineffective. Such an argument simply admitted corruption among our authorities. But why make owners and workers pay for the incompetence and corruption of our authorities whose job it is to provide security to citizens anyway? Why does our prime minister or his government not punish those authorities for their incompetence and corruption?

The closure of all such establishments has penalized the ones which had made efforts and taken measures to ensure law and order and have no drug problem within their premises. What kind of value system is it when it cannot differentiate good and evil, and when good is subject to the same penalty as evil?

Look at investment in such establishments. License or approval was obtained before making such investment. It was lawfully made or at least with the knowledge of those authorities in the vicinities. Such investment was badly affected, or even ruined, by such an unpredictable measure. Such an unpredictable measure has faltered all planning and has sent a bad signal to actual and potential investors in other sectors.

How about those workers? Are they well-off people? They had already been punished by the society whose socio-economic organisation had failed to create more decent employment for them and also by its ill-consideration of their employment at those establishments. Such a sudden measure has punished them further. Are we not so cruel to fellow countrymen who had the misfortune of not having been born in better-off or more well-to-do families or in better-off areas, or of not receiving better education? Where will their next meals come from if all of a sudden they lose their job? And the next meals of those who depend on their earnings?

Our prime minister's drastic decision was not unique though in our society and in our history. Many of our actions have an extreme aspect.

In the family, the way we scold our children has such an extreme aspect and has no sense of proportion: "I kick you dead"; "I beat you dead", and the like. When we insult one another we also use "brutal" language: "May the lightening strike you!" "May a bullet hit you!", "May a grenade blast you!", and the like.

At times members of the same family, when having some conflicts, have disowned one another until their death. In our social relations too, sometimes we curse one another and pledge not to talk with one another again or not step on one another's doorstep again, and that for good. We have resorted to such drastic measures over differences or conflicts which a bit more of patience or moderation can solve without necessarily breaking relationships for good or without damage or harm to one another.

In love affairs, among those who have failed, there are those who have made up their mind that it is the end of the world for them in this life or even in the next. Some pledge to avoid their hated partners for this life and for all the next lives if they are born again. Some have committed suicide, others have taken refuge in Buddhist monasteries. Many a time those victims of love affairs are young and have a full life ahead of them.

Some wives who are jealous of their husbands' mistresses have simply got these mistresses killed or thrown acid at. Some men have raped very young girls including girls under ten years old.

The lack of patience, moderation and sense of proportion and the concomitant drastic and extreme decisions have been shown now and again by criminals as well as by those who have arrested and punished them. Sometimes criminals kill their victims to steal earrings worth less than $10, or to steal motorcycles worth some $1,000 or much less. Sometimes those who have arrested robbers have brutally beaten them to death. At times one hears warnings that a killer or a group of killers can be hired for less that $100 or $200 only. Such a case has recently happened in Battambang province.

The change of behavior of some people has also an extreme aspect, and in the old Cambodian value system, in order to characterize the drastic change of behavior following a change of situation, people used a well-known metaphor of butterflies finding caterpillars disgusting and looking down on them. Butterflies forgot altogether that they had been born from caterpillars. Some time back poor Cambodians joined the fight against "the bourgeois" and "the feudal lords" who, they claimed, had exploited the poor. Those revolutionaries were very humble during their struggle days. Once they got power and riches they became bourgeois or feudal lords themselves, at times more arrogant than the bourgeois and feudal lords they had overthrown, forgetting all their humble days and their humble fellow countrymen. There are friends who have become strangers to one another and have avoided one another after they joined different political parties.

Such drastic and extreme measures have also been taken in public affairs, and Cambodians cannot afford to forget some of the disastrous ones.

Our King, when He was Head of State in the 1960s, alleged that American aid and the "dollar god" were corrupting Cambodian army officers and other officials at that time. As a measure to end that corruption he refused to receive that aid.

In 1970 Lon Nol resorted to force to rid the sanctuaries and bases of communist Vietnamese forces in the border regions at the end of the Ho Chi Minh trail thereby engulfing the country in the Vietnam War. He also took a drastic decision to overthrow the monarchy and turn Cambodia into a republic.

In 1975 the Khmer Rouge went to even more extremes. They were not happy with townsfolk and were not able to feed them when they took power. They simply forced them to the countryside to till the land and grow their own food until their death. They alleged that money was corrupting. They simply abolished it. If they were not happy with somebody, they simply killed them. Examples of their drastic and extreme measures are endless.

Even more recently such drastic and extreme measures have been taken from time to time. Somebody or a group of people were not happy with Sam Rainsy, currently the opposition leader, and his followers, and they threw four grenades into the demonstrators he was leading on 30 March 1997, killing 19 demonstrators and injuring over one hundred.

In those days also the two ruling parties, CPP and Funcinpec, were not happy with one another. They armed themselves and eventually on 5 and 6 July, 1997 they fought each other to the destruction of Funcinpec. Somebody or a group of people were not happy with Ho Sok, a senior Funcinpec official, at that time. They simply killed him in his detention cell at the Ministry of Interior.

Later on our then second prime minister was not happy with the rise in crime, and alleged that some criminals were using cars with dark Rayban windows and windscreens and were committing crimes from there. He then banned such windows and windscreens as a measure to fight crime.

When becoming sole prime minister he was still not happy with the level of crime. He alleged that judges were corrupt and released criminals thereby rendering ineffective the government 's measures to combat crimes. He then ordered the re-arrest and retrial of those the courts had acquitted or released.
More recently, previous to his order to close down night clubs, he was not happy with members of the government and government officials for speaking their minds at variance with government policies, he simply banned them from participating and speaking at seminars organised by the civil society unless they had his prior approval.

Almost all drastic, and at times extreme, measures, if not all, taken either by individuals, or by groups, or by "strong men" have met with immediate effectiveness. They have suppressed the problems they have been meant to address, but in general they have not addressed or solved them. They have created new problems some of the consequences of which we have continued to suffer.

It is about time we avoided such measures and proceeded to solve problems in a methodic way, not on the spur of the moment, looking at alternative solutions and weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each of these alternatives.

If we could not get what was suggested above, we wish our prime minister would use the stroke of his pen to raise the salaries of our civil servants and ban corruption throughout the country. Such a drastic measure would be as effective as his order to close down nightclubs, discos and karaoke parlours.

Source: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/200112076532/National-news/The-history-of-extremism-runs-deep.html

No land rights for the ordinary citizen or opposition in Cambodia

SRP MP Son Chhay (L) vs Sok An (R), the powerful right hand man of Strongman Hun Sen

Opinion by Dr. Christina Son

On Friday February 15, opposition MP Son Chhay, has been ordered to appear again in court to contest his appeal more than a year after his last unsuccessful attempt to seek justice over the force removal of his property and transfer of his land in Siemreap province to the ruling CPP controlled Apsara Authority for the sole purpose of developing the Angkor Hotel Resort. This sudden order was not surprising given several outspoken public criticisms recently given by Son Chhay against corrupt government officials and the current political environment aimed clearly at intimidating opposition party members using false legal pretences. As a lawyer and, having worked in Cambodia for many years on land tenureship issues, this dispute illustrates that the Rule of Law is still sadly amiss in Cambodia and I would argue illustrates why offering the poor and marginalised avenues to pursue legal redress or any alternative adequate remedy in Cambodia, as suggested by Amnesty International in their 2006 report, or more recently by the Center for Social Development in encouraging victims of the Khmer Rouge to file civil suits, is futile. As Son Chhay's case clearly illustrates - even a long serving opposition parliamentary member in this country can not protect what is rightfully theirs because the corrupt and politically aligned judiciary system only protects those with powerful and influential connections.

I attended the trial on the morning of the 16 December 2006. As a lawyer I realize that no system is perfect but there are due processes, legal precedents, legislation, particularly the Constitution, that we as legal officers of the court must respect. Regardless of the jurisdiction, our first duty is to the court and to uphold the principles of justice. Thus independence of the judiciary from the executive is critical. What I witnessed that morning was clear manipulation of the court by government officials for the purpose of unjustly evicting, not simply another landowner, but also to intimidate an opposition party member by threatening his assets.

Son Chhay originally bought the 170 x 220 square metre property in Siemreap, his home province on the May 15, 1995. Five months later, on the October 13, 1995, the area was rezoned to allow for the Apsara Authority to create the Angkor Hotel Resort Development project on January 5, 1996. To add officialdom to what really was another vicious land grab scheme by the government, on March 23, 2000 Mr Sok An, a Minister in the Council of Ministers, issued an announcement. This announcement offered compensation in unreasonable terms from 30 cents to 2 dollars per sq metre. Following this announcement, on May 5, 2000, the Second Governor of Siemreap Province, Mr Suy San openly declared, and even advertised through the newspaper, that the Office of Governor will request people with property in the rezoned area to either accept the price offered or they will consider these people to have “abandoned their property”.

This clearly reflects Cambodia's history of impunity to-date and the ridiculous attempt by authorities to "legalise" what clearly is an illegal land grab by the government for corrupt purposes. Unfortunately, in Son Chhay's case, as in most of these cases, many landowners succumbed to the pressure and took the meager compensation; some now forced to live on the streets with their families. Others fought and in some cases achieved a slightly better financial reimbursement but clearly still far removed from to what they were entitled. Others left under threat of further intimidation to themselves and their families. However, Mr Son Chhay as a lawmaker in Cambodia (ironically Son Chhay is author of the anti-corruption legislation that to-date the government refuses to pass), knew that there was no legal basis to bring the matter to court and decided to fight.

Land grabbing is a violation of the right to ownership guaranteed by Article 44 of the Cambodian Constitution. It also a violation of the right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions as stipulated in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which Cambodia is a party. In addition, Article 5 of the Land Law also states clearly that "no-one's property can be taken away if the action is not for the purpose of the public use" and if land is thus decreed to be in the public interest it must be done in accordance with the law and the owner given "just" compensation. Although Cambodia 's Land Law was enacted in 2001, it is not enforced. In fact, many laws are not enforced within the country, illustrating the government's complete disregard of the Rule of Law. While the brunt of this has been felt by the poorer and marginalized sectors of society it is now beginning to seep into other sectors of society affecting anyone including political opponents.

Apsara Authority argued that it was evicting Son Chhay to use the land for the public interest. Son Chhay's lawyer asked what evidence they had to support this claim. No evidence to support the claim of altruistic development was at any time produced. The prosecution and the trial judge should have discharged the case as there was insufficient evidence. In Son Chhay's case Apsara Authority was clearly not developing the land for the public interest. In fact, in court the legal representative for Apsara Authority, flagrantly admitted clearly that the development was for a hotel/resort.

Apsara Authority are very powerful stakeholders in some of the biggest ventures in Cambodia including visitation rights to Angkor Wat amounting to millions a year in revenue. They have little evidence if any to show that they have used these monies to benefit the people of Cambodia. I challenge those reading this article to drive around, past the mesmerizing beauty of the temples and into the villages and judge yourselves how the situation has changed little since the Khmer Rouge period. Children are still malnourished and schools and health care are clearly lacking let alone the necessary infrastructure, such as roads!

Unfortunately Son Chhay is not alone and his case is one of many. As a lawyer I believe in the justice system. I even naively wrote once that trials were an important process to bring to justice perpetrators of human rights abuse and ‘any trail was better than no trial’. I reiterate this now. Politically biased trails are detrimental and destructive to the psyche of the Cambodian people. Land grabbing in Cambodia has increased since 2004 and is now widespread throughout the country affecting hundreds possibly thousands of people. The use of force and intimidation in these illegal evictions is common. When this fails to deter victims, government officials have even pressed criminal charges against them or thrown them in jail. The hope that the Khmer Court tribunal, with international support would help strengthen the judiciary, is quickly fading. The fact remains that a government official, such as Sok Ann, can make an announcement at any time and his word is law. The government’s pledge in December 2004 “to strengthen the rule of law, promote social justice, reduce corruption, eliminate the culture of impunity, and strengthen the culture of peace and the primacy of law” has failed to implement the necessary reforms including a much needed reform of the Supreme Council of Magistracy which should formally act to ensure the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary. Rule of Law – it doesn’t exist in Cambodia !

Phnom Penh February 11, 2008
Dr. Christina Son

For further information contact 61-4-131 99099 or email christina.son@flinders.edu.au

Cambodia Inks Stock Market Deal for 2009

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
24 January 2008

The government signed a stock market contract with Korea Exchange Monday, paving the way for an exchange starting mid- or late 2009, officials said this week.

Korea Exchange is the fourth largest stock market in Asia.

The government plans to allow at least 10 companies—five state run and five foreign—to be listed on the initial exchange, officials said.

The news was met with mixed feelings. Some analysts warn that the rampant corruption and weak rule of law that continually plague Cambodia will sink stock exchange efforts.

But some officials were optimistic the stock market could provide more sophisticated options to investors.

“The Cambodian stock market provides an additional opportunity for a company to collect capital for investment,” said Hang Chuon Narong, general director of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. “Either [the company] deposits money to get interest, or it invests in the stock market.”

The impending stock market, which stems from the signing of a securities law last year, will help strengthen Cambodia’s financial system and will ensure money circulates “smoothly,” said Kang Chan Dararoath, an independent economic analyst.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who was once Finance Minister, encouraged Cambodians to buy shares in stocks to increase their income, but warned extreme caution.

“Our current authorities are corrupt and conspiratorial, and if the stock market is created under these circumstances, I worry that some people can be cheated,” he said. “They could lose a lot of money and become much poorer.”

Ouch Borith: "Anyone who claims Cambodia is a country without laws must be blind"

Prime minister Hun Sen is half-blind. His left eye is fake.

Cambodian gov't dismisses comments of UN Human Rights Envoy

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government has blasted UN Rights Envoy Yash Ghai's recent criticism of the country's judicial system and land rights management, calling him tourist rather than envoy, local media said on Wednesday.

Yash Ghai on Monday attended the ceremony in Phnom Penh to mark the International Human Rights Day and released a statement claiming that Cambodian citizens live in fear of land grabbing, repression and a court system which offers scant hope of justice, with international donors seemingly turning a blind-eye.

However, at a specially convened government press conference on Tuesday, Ouch Borith, secretary of state for the Foreign Ministry, said that it was Ghai himself that was sightless, reported Cambodian-language newspaper the Moneaksekar Khmer.

"Anyone who claims Cambodia is a country without laws must be blind. This is not a dictatorship," said Borith at the press conference, adding that Ghai is simply a tourist.

Claiming that Ghai's comments were unacceptable, he said government leaders could not meet with Ghai during his ten-day visit as they were busy with working to develop the country, promote economic growth and eliminate poverty for the people.

Meanwhile, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told reporters that Ghai's words were an incitement for the people to revolt, adding that Ghai isn't fit to be a UN envoy.

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

In addition, Ministry of the Interior spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak described Ghai as a long-term tourist, who wants to make people oppose the government, reported English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily.

As Rights Day Approaches, Cambodia's Record Disappoints

By VOA Khmer Stringers
Original reports from Phnom Penh
07 December 2007

A coalition of rights groups said Friday human rights remains a major concern in Cambodia, as International Human Rights Day approaches.

While Cambodia has progressed economically, it has not matched that progress with the rule of law, independence of courts or free and fair political processes.

Monday is the 59th International Human Rights Day.

A group of advocates for the Khmer Kampuchea Krom ethnic minority said the anniversary was a chance to look at the withering rights of the marginalized group.

Ang Chanrith, director of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Organization, said this year saw even more serious rights violations for members of the group than 2006.

Human Rights in Cambodia: The Charade of Justice Report 2007

Click here to read the full document (in PDF format)

December 2007
Licadho

The Cambodian justice system has failed. Despite the UNTAC intervention and 15 years of aid to legal and judicial reform, in 2007 the primary functions of the courts continue to be to:

1. Persecute political opponents and other critics of the government,
2. Perpetuate impunity for state actors and their associates,
3. Protect the economic interests of the rich and powerful

This report examines the performance of the Cambodian judiciary since the Consultative Group (CG) donor meeting of 2-3 March 2006. It seeks to point out patterns in injustice and impunity, highlight the Cambodian government’s ongoing lack of tangible action to promote rule of law, and to urge the international community to revise its strategies in assistance to legal and judicial reform.

Doing business in Cambodia: It all boils down to connection with political leaders and organized crime

Political Links Influence Way Of Doing Business In Cambodia

November 07, 2007
From D. Arul Rajoo

PHNOM PENH, Nov 7 (Bernama) -- A study on the investment climate in Cambodia undertaken by the World Bank showed that companies with links with political leaders and organised crime have more influence over business regulations in the country.

Charis Woerffel, social research director of Indochina Research which is carrying out the study for World Bank, said initial results from 100 respondents showed they are also influenced to a lesser extent by business associations and foreign firms operating in Cambodia.

Asked who have less influence on them, the respondents, mostly small companies, mentioned international development agencies, said Woerffel at the Cambodia Investment, Trade and Infrastructure Conference here today.

But she was quick to point out it was preliminary results as they have only interviewed 100 of the targeted 500 firms operating in Phnom Penh, Seam Reap, Sihanoukville, Kampong Cham and Battambang.

The selected firms are in the garment, tourism, retail and trade industries, she said.

On a positive note, Woerffel said the respondents wanted to invest more in the next three years but also cited concern over corruption, anti-competitive issues and high electricity tariffs.

Senior partner of Sciaroni & Associates, Brett Sciaroni, described Cambodia as the "best kept secret" of Asia despite some rating agencies and international development agencies giving it poor marks.

"There is a lot of potential in the country. With all the poor reports and rankings, the country still attracts interest and that is why we have 600 participants today, more than double the number two years ago," he said.

One of the main reasons for the foreign interest was political stability, Sciaroni said, adding that the current government has been in office for some time and likely to win the mandate again in the election next year.

"There are little changes to the ministries and the ministers are the same. So there is not much swing in policies," he said.