Mu Sochua disappointed by her parliamentary immunity suspension

SRP MP Mu Scohua (Photo: Mean Riddh, RFA)

28 June 2009
By San Suwidh
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

SRP MP Mu Sochua from Kampot province, whose parliamentary immunity was suspended last week, indicated that overseas Cambodian women, as well as legal women rights officials and donor countries are extremely disappointed with her immunity suspension.

Mu Sochua, who is currently visiting Montreal, Canada, New York City and Washington DC, USA, this week, said that Cambodian women communities that she met told her that they are determined to seek interventions from representatives of their respective countries to review the action taken by the Cambodian National Assembly, and to take action to bring about democracy as clearly stipulated in the 1991 Paris Peace Accords on Cambodia.

Mrs. Mu Sochua said: “I met with 8 US Congresswomen and Senators, they belong to a committee that helps set up the Democrats Women Caucus. I met with 4 well known US Senators, like the New York State Senator, the Minnesota Senator – a state where there are a lot of Cambodian-Americans – and these senators are very surprised about the suspension of my immunity, and they asked their committee, which is responsible for human rights and women rights, to look into my case, as well as the evolution of women rights in Cambodia.”

Mu Sochua said that she did not call for an ending to aid to the Phnom Penh regime, but she asked all donor countries to review the application of the Paris Peace Accords and the application of law in Cambodia, especially in regards to women.

Mu Sochua who will be flying to Aspen, Colorado, shortly to attend an international meeting of women issues as an international woman activist who is involved in this issue in the past 20 years, discussed about the application of law in Cambodia where serious discriminations against women are still taking place.

At the same time, Mu Sochua is calling on the Cambodian government, which is also a signatory of the Paris Peace Accords, to respect its signing and she compared the lack of respect of one’s signing to using one’s feet to erase one’s spirit in one’s own agreements.

Mu Sochua said: “We are very proud to be citizens of an independent country, and we are very proud that the government signed important conventions, but after we signed them, both the citizens and the government must be responsible for them. We sign with our own hands, and we must respect them with our spirits and we should not use our feet to erase the signatures in which we are responsible for the various conventions we agreed to.”

Yim Sovann on Mu Sochua and Ho Vann's parliamentary immunity suspension

On June 22, 2009, SRP MP Yim Sovann talked to reporters after the National Assembly lifted parliamentary immunity of MPs Mu Sochua and Ho Vann.

Immunity Vote Will Hurt Parliament: Expert

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
23 June 2009

Click here to listen to the audio program in Khmer (MP3)

The National Assembly’s vote to take parliamentary immunity from two opposition lawmakers will lead to a deterioration of lawmakers’ expression, a leading democracy expert said Monday.

Without a guarantee of immunity, lawmakers will be less likely to express their opinions, said Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”

“They express their opinion, that is their main task—voicing support or criticism on policy, its implementation by the government, the ruling party, a draft law—that’s the role of the [parliamentarian],” he said.

Truly democratic countries rarely stripped immunity of its lawmakers, he said, but wrongdoers often themselves resign. The constitution provides for strong protections of parliamentarians, he said.

One of the Sam Rainsy Party lawmakers, Mu Sochua, who is a facing a lawsuit for defamation from Hun Sen, spoke live on “Hello VOA” before her departure from Phnom Penh International Airport, saying she had not had any problem with the police and would return July 6.

The court dropped Mu Sochua’s own suit against the prime minister, for allegedly degrading remarks during the 2008 campaign, following Hun Sen’s countersuit.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Monkey's Laws

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

The National Assembly is totally terminating democracy in Cambodia through the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of SRP MPs

Click on the SRP statement in Khmer to zoom in

Unofficial translation from Khmer

The National Assembly is totally terminating democracy in Cambodia through the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of SRP MPs

The CPP-controlled National Assembly voted to lift the parliamentary immunity of two SRP MPs, Mr. Ho Vann and Mrs. Mu Sochua, in a closed door session held in the morning of 22 June 2009.

The lifting of the immunity of the two SRP MPs above is a threat and an intimidation to opposition MPs, and it constitutes a serious violation on the immunity of MPs who represent the entire Cambodian people as [this immunity] is guaranteed by the Cambodian Constitution. The current lifting of the parliamentary immunity shows the total termination of democracy in Cambodia, a country which abides by the 1991 Paris Agreements and the 1993 Constitution.

The SRP is condemning the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of the MPs above, and we are calling on all donor countries, on national and international human rights organizations, on the national and international community to follow and to intervene through all means in order to prevent the termination of democracy in Cambodia in this manner.

The SRP sincerely thanks US, German, British and French embassy officials who came to the National Assembly this morning to follow up on the violation perpetrated by the ruling party, and we hope that other foreign embassy officials, such as Australia, Japan, as well as those signatory countries to the Paris Agreement accept the responsibility in preventing the violation of the Paris Agreement stipulations.

At the same time, the SRP insists that the National Assembly leaders from the CPP party closely examine and review for an immediate return of the parliamentary immunity to MP Ho Vann and MP Mu Sochua, without any pre-condition, in order to provide value to the parliamentary immunity for all MPs, as well as to honor the value of the National Assembly institution, which is a top institution for the entire Cambodian Nation.

Phnom Penh, 22 June 2009

SRP Secretariat Office

"Definitely I am very determined to face the court and I will not be surprised if the court finds me guilty": Mu Sochua

Cambodian opposition MPs stripped of parliamentary immunity

June 23, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

Cambodia's opposition says it's under attack because of what it describes as a new round of politically motivated lawsuits and a vote by the National Assembly which has resulted in two opposition MPs being stripped of their parliamentary immunity.

Mu Sochua, former Cambodian minister of women's affairs, and Ho Vann, a Phnom Penh municipality representative, had their immunity lifted after a single show-of-hands vote by the National Assembly. They both face defamation lawsuits in Cambodia's notoriously corrupt courts.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane
Speaker: Mu Sochua, Cambodian opposition MP

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

COCHRANE: High profile opposition MP Mu Sochua has been locked in a battle of lawsuits with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen for some weeks now.

But, now that the National Assembly has voted to remove the Parliamentary immunity from Mu Sochua and her fellow party member Ho Vann, effectively, the gloves are off...

SOCHUA: The procedures where the most undemocratic because we were not allowed a chance to speak at all and there was a vote by raising of hands, lifting immunity of two members of parliament at the same time in one vote.

COCHRANE: Let's deal with them separately, why was your immunity lifted?

SOCHUA: My case is from a lawsuit by the Prime Minister against me for defamation. The Prime Minister pointed very clearly at me when he went to my constituency and talked about a number of parliament, a women from the opposition party and called me by a name that is not acceptable to call me, he called me a hustler. Second he said that I went and grabbed men and thirdly it was related to meetings that I went to and I was not allowed to go in, and he said that I had a very thick skin. And fourth, which is very, very serious is that I incite my constituents and people against the government.

COCHRANE: And can you tell me about the other member of parliament whose immunity was lifted? Who was that and why was the immunity lifted?

SOCHUA: My colleague, Mr Ho Vann is a member of parliament elected in the municipality of Phnom Penh. He made a comment by responding to the media about honorary degrees that were received by some military officials. His comment was that he didn't think that these degrees were valuable, but if they were valuable then the quality of degrees should allow the numbers of the armed forces to help and then to protect the nation.

COCHRANE: Without parliamentary immunity you face the court as an ordinary citizen, what chances do you think you'll have of finding justice at the court?

SOCHUA: The chance of me getting justice is very close to zero.

COCHRANE: Mu Sochua you've said previously that you would rather go to jail rather than pay a fine if you are found guilty of this defamation charge. Are you still feeling that same way?

SOCHUA: Definitely I am very determined to face the court and I will not be surprised if the court finds me guilty. My stance will not change, I am ready, my conscience is clear about wanting justice, wanting a judicial system that can protect citizens of Cambodia. So I am ready, I am preparing to go to jail.

COCHRANE: There are rumours around at the moment that you are about to flee the country or you may have already fled the country. Is there any truth to those rumours?

SOCHUA: I have always been very transparent that I am not fleeing the country. I came back to Cambodia in 1989, I have never gone back to America to live. My country is Cambodia, I said from the very beginning that I will not flee, I will come back to face the courts.

COCHRANE: Mu Sochua, just finally, this is not the first time this sort of thing has happened. In the past opposition leader Sam Rainsy and Cheam Channy and others have had their immunity stripped, and in Cheam Channy's case gone to jail. Do you think this is a political action against you.

SOCHUA: Yes it's a political action against the opposition. Cambodia is walking more than one step backwards, democracy in Cambodia is in real jeopardy. I think the world community cannot ignore this and especially the government of Australia. What is Australia doing when democracy in Cambodia is facing such a serious set of going back to dictatorship?

COCHRANE: A representative from Cambodia's National Assembly was not available for comment on the issue.

The thief of the Nation: Opposition and NGO officials are corrupt, they have money to fly in and out of the country

"For the [immunity] lifting, 91 [MPs] voted [to lift the] Phnom Penh [MP], and 90 [MPs] voted to [lift the] Kampot [MP], but to return back [your immunity], it cannot be done" - Hun Sen (Photo: Khmer Sthabna)
If opposition and NGO officials who are flying in and out of the country in commercial planes are corrupt, does it mean that a PM who flies short distances inside the country in his private helicopter is an ULTRA-CORRUPT THIEF OF THE NATION? (Photo: Reuters)

22 June 2009
By Sopheak and Sopheap
Khmer Sathabna news
Translated from Khmer by KI-Media

On 22 June 2009, at Kraing Yov village, Sa’ang district, Kandal province, Prime minister Hun Sen criticized opposition and NGO officials for involvement in corruption: that is why they have money to fly in and out of the country.

Hun Sen said: “… These peasants (using derogatory “Ah Srer”) curse others for being corrupt, they fly in and out in planes. When they travel outside, they have nothing to ride, they own no company, they do not farm, they only have NGOs and political parties. Where do they get the money to take planes in and out? When they travel by plane twice, it costs one school building, they stay in 5-star hotels…”

Hun Sen added that those who point others as being corrupt, where do they get the money to go gamble everyday? Hun Sen added: “I know where they gamble, it is at 3030 Chhouk Tip 404, now they go to Street 6A, I know their gambling place,” Hun Sen warned. He said that this gambling leads to corruption, there is nothing to be puzzled about, don’t yell at others as being corrupt.

Hun Sen also used to claim that opposition officials call each others over the phone to gamble in private houses, and he said that some of these officials are also MPs.

At the same time, Hun Sen said: “Now, we lift the immunity of 2 of them: one Phnom Penh MP and one Kampot MP. They lift their immunity to push the court to sentence them. This time, we are strengthening both democracy and the rule of law, this not anarchic democracy. Democracy must go along with the rule of law.”

Hun Sen added: “As a MP, if you do wrong, the court will sentence you, to sentence you, we must lift your immunity. The Phnom Penh MP’s [Ho Vann] speech affects the army [generals], the army [generals] studied hard to receive their degrees, he said that these army [generals] only try to fill in their biography gaps so their chief respect them.”

Hun Sen said: “Let’s fight each other at the court. For the [immunity] lifting, 91 [MPs] voted [to lift the] Phnom Penh [MP], and 90 [MPs] voted to [lift the] Kampot [MP], but to return back [your immunity], it cannot be done. Now that the lawsuits are on, the foreigners and a number of other people don’t get involve with [our] law. If you get involved with the law, we also have the law to deal with those who get involved also. When we use the law, you say that we are this and that.”

Hun Sen indicated: “We use the court to avoid [any] situations, if we don’t resolve them according to the law, like [for example, when] people chase after the robbers and beat them to death, the reason the people beat them was that when they send these robbers to the court, the court release them back. So, when we use the court to strengthen the law, to strengthen the rule of law, you can say whatever you want as long as you don’t touch the rights of others, because others have the rights also, they are human, they are not animal.”

Immunity Pulled From Two Opposition Figures

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

The National Assembly voted to suspend the parliamentary immunity of two opposition lawmakers Monday, as journalists and diplomats were barred from the session.

The two Sam Rainsy Party lawmakers, Mu Sochua and Ho Vann, are each facing lawsuits from figures in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, which has a vast majority of National Assembly seats.

Mu Sochua is being sued by Prime Minister Hun Sen for defamation, and Ho Vann faces a similar charge from a block of 22 military officers, following public criticism of certificates they were awarded by the Vietnamese government.

Mu Sochua’s original lawsuit against Hun Sen, for allegedly degrading remarks made during the 2008 election campaign, has been dropped by the court.

Democracy advocates have said the cases represent political intimidation and an erosion on the freedom of expression.

Lawmakers from two opposition parties gathered after Monday’s session wearing masks to protest the immunity pull.

All 90 of the CPP lawmakers were present for the closed-door session Monday.

“The National Assembly is thinking of the [CPP],” Mu Sochua told reporters after the decision Monday. “The National Assembly is not an National Assembly belonging to the nation.”

She called the decision a “very serious” blow to Cambodian democracy. “The suspension of parliamentary immunity has no justice.”

Ho Vann called the decision “not fair or proper, because I corrected what I said.”

Am Sam Ath, chief of the investigation unit for the rights group Licadho, called the decision improper, as both cases were minor, while Rong Chhun, head of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Assocition, called on all 26 opposition lawmakers to resign from the National Assembly over the matter.

“The parliamentarians cannot defend themselves,” he said. “So the people will face a violation of their rights and freedoms, because the parliament represents the people, to protect the people, and now, parliamentary immunity is not guaranteed. This is a serious point.”

CPP parliamentarian Cheam Yiep said Monday the decision had been made “following the procedures and the law.”

“We must respect the law,” he said.

Journalists, diplomats and other observers were barred from Monday’s meeting.

“We’re surprised and disappointed about this,” Elizabeth Haven, deputy chief mission for the British Embassy told reporters in front of the National Assembly. “We do not understand why access has been denied. We normally monitor the National Assembly.”

“Usually, this should be a public session,” said German Ambassador Frank Mann, adding that he too was disappointed.

Mu Sochua reiterated Monday claims that she would not flee the country and would struggle by legal means against Hun Sen’s lawsuit. She did say, however, that she is to travel for business purposes to the United States and would be back in early July.

Cambodian Democracy in Freefall

CCHR- CITA- CLEC- FTUWKC- IDEA- KKKHRA- LICADHO-SILAKA-GAD/C

Joint Media Release
Phnom Penh, June 22, 2009

Joint NGO Statement on the Lifting of Mu Sochua’s and Ho Vann’s Parliamentary Immunity: Cambodian Democracy in Freefall

We, the undersigned members of Cambodian civil society, condemn the lifting of parliamentary immunity from SRP members Ms. Mu Sochua and Mr. Ho Vann by the National Assembly today, Monday 22 June 2009. The National Assembly’s action is a significant blow to democracy and freedom of expression in Cambodia.

In addition to the decision to lift Ms. Mu Sochua’s parliamentary immunity, which was made to allow Prime Minister Hun Sen’s criminal defamation lawsuit against her to proceed, the National Assembly also made a surprise decision to lift Mr. Ho Vann’s immunity this morning. In his case, the decision clears the way for a lawsuit, filed by a group of military officers, for criminal defamation, disinformation and incitement to be made against him.

The manner in which the lifting of the two SRP MPs’ immunity was conducted this morning leaves no doubt that the government understands that this process was unfair. The decision to include Mr. Ho Vann’s immunity in the vote was made in secret and only known at the last minute. National and international observers – including foreign diplomats – were refused access to the National Assembly to observe the vote. One open handed vote, rather than separate ones, was used to lift the immunity of both MPs.

We condemn these actions, which show clearly that the government and ruling party had something to hide. We note that Cambodian television stations were prevented from reporting on today’s events, and that National Assembly staff members were told to leave the session hall. We commend the efforts of representatives of the international community – namely from the Embassies of the USA, Britain, Germany and France – who were present to monitor today’s events.

Today’s events are testament to the lack of true democracy in Cambodia and the willingness of the ruling party – with the support of their partner National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC) and the Norodom Ranariddh Party, it seems – to violate freedom of expression in Cambodia. Cambodian democracy is in free-fall.

The removals of parliamentary immunity and the recent increase in defamation, disinformation and incitement charges against journalists, civil society members and opposition party leaders is reminiscent of the 2005 crack down on opposition and non-governmental voices. In that year, Mr. Sam Rainsy and two other SRP MPs Mr. Chea Poch and Mr. Cheam Channy also had their parliamentary immunity removed so they could face criminal charges filed by the government. Mr. Cheam Channy was subsequently imprisoned for a year after being unlawfully convicted by the military court on bogus criminal charges. Mr. Sam Rainsy was convicted in absentia of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen and then FUNCINPEC leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh. These acts accompanied the arrests of eight civil society leaders on various charges of defamation, disinformation and incitement.

The recent acts of the government prove that it continues to use the criminal charges of defamation, disinformation and incitement to silence critics and attack democratically elected representatives of the people.

Freedom of expression is guaranteed for all Cambodian citizens in Article 41 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia. By initiating counter proceedings against Ms. Sochua, as well as her lawyer Mr. Kong Sam Onn, Prime Minister Hun Sen has shown that this guarantee only exists in theory and can be removed whenever the government sees fit. Moreover, by facilitating these defamation suits and the action against Mr. Ho Vann, the National Assembly has sent a definitive message to the Cambodian people and the international community that Cambodia does not respect freedom of expression as guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We implore Prime Minster Hun Sen to respect his previous promise to decriminalize defamation and to heed longstanding national and international calls for the decriminalization of defamation and disinformation. We further urge the government and the courts to bring a swift end to the legal action against Ms. Mu Sochua, Mr. Ho Vann, and Mr. Kong Sam Onn.

For more information, please contact:

• Mr. Ou Virak, President, Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), 012 404 051
• Mr. Rong Chhun, President, Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA), 012 930 706
• Mr. Yeng Virak, President, Community Legal Education Center (CLEC), 012 801 235
• Mr. Chea Mony, President, Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC), 012 941 308
• Mr. Vorn Pao, President, Independent Democratic of Informal Economic Association (IDEA), 012 534 796
• Ms. Pilorge Naly, Director of Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), 012 803 650
• Mr. Ang Chanrith, Executive Director, Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Association (KKKHRA), 012 934 802
• Ms. Thida Khus, Executive Director of Silaka (SILAKA), 012 838 464
• Ms. Ros Sopheap, Executive Director of Gender and Development for Cambodia (GAD/C), 012 627 857

Cambodia lawmakers, stripped of immunity, protest

2009-06-22
Associated Press

Cambodia's Parliament stripped immunity Monday from two opposition legislators who face defamation lawsuits by the prime minister and senior military officers. The two accused Parliament of serving the prime minister's interests as colleagues staged a walkout.

The National Assembly stripped immunity from prosecution from Mu Sochua and Ho Vann, both from the Sam Rainsy Party, pending a court investigation of the defamation lawsuits.

Mu Sochua told reporters the immunity was lifted to serve the political interests of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling party, which dominates Cambodia's political scene. Immunity protects lawmakers from both criminal charges and civil suits.

All 26 members of the legislators' party walked out of the lower house of Parliament after the vote, wearing masks to express that their rights of free speech had been blocked.

The case against Mu Sochua came after her attempt to sue the prime minister for what she says were defamatory remarks made about her during two speeches.

In early April, Hun Sen referred to an unnamed lawmaker as a "strong leg," a term seen by some in Cambodia as particularly offensive to women. Mu Sochua has said the speech clearly referred to her. She also denounced his remarks in another speech.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court rejected her lawsuit earlier this month, saying it was groundless, but it moved ahead with the prime minister's countersuit.

Close military allies of Hun Sen filed a lawsuit against Ho Vann after a local newspaper quoted him as allegedly saying in April that 22 senior military officers had received meaningless awards from Vietnam.

Last week, the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia and New York-based Human Rights Watch criticized the lawsuits against the lawmakers.

"The lawsuits undermine the constitutional freedom of opinion and expression," the U.N. said in statement.

Human Rights Watch said Hun Sen had "a long history of trying to muzzle Cambodia's political opposition and undermine the independence of the legal profession."

Cambodia strips MPs of immunity

Mu Sochua faces a defamation charge from Prime Minister Hun Sen

Monday, 22 June 2009
BBC News

Cambodia's National Assembly has voted to strip parliamentary immunity from two opposition members.

The vote means the two politicians, Mu Sochua and Ho Vann, can be prosecuted on defamation charges.

The UN's human rights organisation has criticised the government's increasing use of the courts against its critics.

The government has defended its use of the courts, saying in one case a critic had attempted to cause "chaos and confusion" with inaccurate remarks.

The ruling Cambodian People's Party has a large majority, so the vote against the two members of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party was never in doubt, says the BBC's Guy DeLauney in Phnom Penh.

The two politicians are among at least six critics of the government who have been the subjects of recent legal action.

Mu Sochua had originally launched a defamation suit against Prime Minister Hun Sen. That was dismissed and the prime minister counter-sued.

Ho Vann is being sued for defamation by senior military officials, over allegations that he insulted the quality of their university degrees.

The UN's human rights office in Phnom Penh recently issued a statement expressing concern about the use of defamation and disinformation laws to silence government critics.

But the government has consistently defended its human rights record, pointing to the success of several democratic elections since the return of peace in the 1990s.

Cambodian PM warns foreign diplomats not to meddle in politics

About 20 military and police blocked the public road in front of the National Assembly and barred reporters and others from watching the parliamentary vote.

Monday, 22 June 2009
Reuters

Prime Minister Hun Sen warned foreign diplomats not to meddle in Cambodian politics on Monday after envoys were barred from a parliamentary session that voted to remove the legal immunity of two opposition lawmakers.

Mu Sochua of the main opposition Sam Rainsy party now faces a charge of defaming the government and risks a hefty fine. Another lawmaker, Ho Vann, is accused of spreading false information and risks a three-year jail sentence if found guilty.

"Foreigners, do not interfere in Cambodian laws. We choose the way of the court to solve problems because we want to avoid violence," Hun Sen said in a speech aired on national radio.

Turning to the lawmakers, he added: "Although you are MPs, when you act wrongly, you will be punished by the court".

About 20 military and police blocked the public road in front of the National Assembly and barred reporters and others from watching the parliamentary vote.

"There has been no reason given why today this is not a public session," German Ambassador Frank Mann told reporters outside the gate to parliament, where he stood with diplomats from the United States, Britain and France.

Critics and human rights activists have accused the government of using the courts to muzzle the opposition.

Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge guerrilla, has dominated Cambodia for more than two decades.

His party won a landslide victory in the last general election in July 2008 and although European Union observers found some irregularities in the polling, they said these were not enough to alter the result.

The Nat. Ass. lifted parliamentary immunity of SRP MPs Mu Sochua and Ho Vann

SRP and HRP MPs donned masks on their face to show the public how they were silenced by the CPP-controlled Nat. Ass. (All photos: SRP)
SRP MPs in front of the Nat. Ass. following their walkout after the suspension of Mu Sochua and Ho Vann's parliamentary immunity
SRP MP Yim Sovann talking to reporters
SRP MP Mu Sochua talking to reporters
SRP MP Ho Vann talking to reporters
Heavy police presence in front of the Nat. Ass.
Cops in front of the Nat. Ass.Scene in front of the Nat. Ass.
Foreign embassy staffs were also present in front of the Nat. Ass.

Cambodian opposition MPs stripped of parliamentary immunity

Monday, June 22, 2009
Liam Cochrane

Cambodia's National Assembly has voted to remove the parliamentary immunity of two opposition MPs, in a move criticised by a human rights group as an attack on the role of the political opposition.

Two members of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party - former Minister of Women's Affairs, Mu Sochua and Phnom Penh municipality representative, Ho Vann - had their immunity stripped in a single show-of-hands vote by the National Assembly.

Without immunity, Mu Sochua now faces a defamation charge from the Prime Minsiter Hun Sen, while Ho Vann is being sued for defamation by senior military officials.

Mu Sochua says the decision is a sign democracy is going backwards in Cambodia and says she is prepared to go to jail, rather than pay a fine to the Prime Minister, if found guilty.

Hun Xen's travesty of justice: Mu Sochua and Ho Vann's immunity suspended by the CPP-controlled Nat. Ass.

Two SRP MPs saw their parliamentary immunity suspended

Monday 22 June 2009
DAP-news
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

In the morning of 22 June 2009, the National Assembly controlled by the majority ruling CPP party approved the suspension of the parliamentary immunity of Mrs. Mu Sochua, MP for Kampot province, and Mr. Ho Vann, MP for Phnom Penh, who belong both to the SRP party. The immunity suspension was done based on the request made by the prosecutor of the Phnom Penh municipal court through the ministry of Justice, in order to open the way for the court to take care of the lawsuits brought up by Hun Xen and RCAF [Hanoi PhD] generals.

In the case of Mrs. Mu Sochua, 90 out of 111 MPs voted to approve the suspension of her immunity, and in the case of Mr. Ho Vann, 91 out of 96 votes approved his immunity suspension.

Immediately after the two MPs saw their immunity suspended, SRP and HRP MPs walked out of the chamber and they came out to the front of NA, they all wore masks to give a press conference. However, reporters were not allowed to report inside the NA as usual.

CPP MP Cheam Yiep said that the suspension of the two SRP MPs stems from the request made by the ministry of Justice. If the court does not find any fault with them, the NA will reinstate their immunity back. He said that the walkout of the NA chamber by SRP and HRP MPs is illegal.
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KI-Media note: The CPP counts 93 votes at the NA, however, it looks like it couldn’t round up all its votes to support this travesty of justice.