Showing posts with label Vote registration disenfranchisement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vote registration disenfranchisement. Show all posts
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Thursday, October 15, 2009
No homes and no votes for evictees
Villagers whose homes were burned in a forced eviction in Oddar Meanchey last week might be unable to vote because their identity documents were destroyed. (Photo by: Sovan Philong)Thursday, 15 October 2009
Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post
Thousands face exclusion because of lost personal documents, groups warn.
THE National Election Committee (NEC) is shirking its responsibilities to victims of land evictions, critics charged Wednesday, as the fallout continued over suggestions that thousands of evictees may have been erased from official voter rolls.
A day after announcing that the names of 33,144 people had been removed from voter rolls, NEC officials admitted Wednesday that authorities have refused to register some evictees because they lack proper government identification.
“Some individual evictees were not legally living in their relocation commune,” said Tep Nytha, a secretary general at the NEC, who called the issue a “headache”.
If evictees truly want to register for future elections, he said, they should go to their commune councillors and obtain new identification.
The suggestion sparked criticism from rights groups, who accused the NEC of abdicating its responsibilities to ensure proper elections throughout the Kingdom.
“The upcoming commune elections in 2012 will not be fair if evictees are unable to vote,” said Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (Comfrel), a local elections watchdog.
He urged the NEC to pressure the government to issue proper identification to the evictees, many of whose ID cards were destroyed or lost during the turmoil of their evictions.
It is not clear how many evictees may have been erased from the voter registry, but conservative estimates suggest they could number in the thousands, Koul Panha said.
He added that Comfrel survey of just three Phnom Penh communes – Trapaing Krasang, Prey Veng and Choam Chao – found at least 3,600 evictees who have been refused registration.
“We think that there are many other evictees who have lost their rights to vote,” he said.
In Oddar Meanchey province, where authorities burned homes to the ground this weekend in an ongoing land dispute, more than 200 evictees may have lost their papers, according to former Bos village Chief Huoy Chhuoy.
In Phnom Penh, 61-year-old Hem Sareoun said he and his wife, Som Ny, were refused registration because they had no ID cards nor a family book. The documents had been lost when the pair were rooted out of the Dey Krahorm community in 2008.
“The commune elections officers refused to register my name and my wife’s name,” he said. The Ministry of Interior oversees the management of government-issued identification. Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak declined to comment when contacted by the Post Wednesday.
THE National Election Committee (NEC) is shirking its responsibilities to victims of land evictions, critics charged Wednesday, as the fallout continued over suggestions that thousands of evictees may have been erased from official voter rolls.
A day after announcing that the names of 33,144 people had been removed from voter rolls, NEC officials admitted Wednesday that authorities have refused to register some evictees because they lack proper government identification.
“Some individual evictees were not legally living in their relocation commune,” said Tep Nytha, a secretary general at the NEC, who called the issue a “headache”.
If evictees truly want to register for future elections, he said, they should go to their commune councillors and obtain new identification.
The suggestion sparked criticism from rights groups, who accused the NEC of abdicating its responsibilities to ensure proper elections throughout the Kingdom.
“The upcoming commune elections in 2012 will not be fair if evictees are unable to vote,” said Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (Comfrel), a local elections watchdog.
He urged the NEC to pressure the government to issue proper identification to the evictees, many of whose ID cards were destroyed or lost during the turmoil of their evictions.
It is not clear how many evictees may have been erased from the voter registry, but conservative estimates suggest they could number in the thousands, Koul Panha said.
He added that Comfrel survey of just three Phnom Penh communes – Trapaing Krasang, Prey Veng and Choam Chao – found at least 3,600 evictees who have been refused registration.
“We think that there are many other evictees who have lost their rights to vote,” he said.
In Oddar Meanchey province, where authorities burned homes to the ground this weekend in an ongoing land dispute, more than 200 evictees may have lost their papers, according to former Bos village Chief Huoy Chhuoy.
In Phnom Penh, 61-year-old Hem Sareoun said he and his wife, Som Ny, were refused registration because they had no ID cards nor a family book. The documents had been lost when the pair were rooted out of the Dey Krahorm community in 2008.
“The commune elections officers refused to register my name and my wife’s name,” he said. The Ministry of Interior oversees the management of government-issued identification. Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak declined to comment when contacted by the Post Wednesday.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
NEC to Reinstate 1,000 Voter Names
By Win Thida, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
06 June 2008
Original report from Phnom Penh
06 June 2008
The National Election Committee will reinstate more than 1,000 voter names for a single Phnom Penh commune, a large number of residents for one small area.
The committee decided to add the 1,138 onto the voter registry for July's national election, NEC Secretary-General Tep Nitha said, because the names were omitted by the "carelessness of the clerk and the Stung Meanchey commune council."
The NEC has faced criticism in the past over its decision to strike names from the voting lists. On Thursday, the governmental body issues 8 million controversial voter information cards that critics say could lead to voting bias for the ruling Cambodian People's Party.
The committee decided to add the 1,138 onto the voter registry for July's national election, NEC Secretary-General Tep Nitha said, because the names were omitted by the "carelessness of the clerk and the Stung Meanchey commune council."
The NEC has faced criticism in the past over its decision to strike names from the voting lists. On Thursday, the governmental body issues 8 million controversial voter information cards that critics say could lead to voting bias for the ruling Cambodian People's Party.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Voter registration ends, results disputed
Watchdog groups question unusual number of 'proxy' registrations and other irregularities
By Vong Sokheng
Phnom Penh Post, Issue 16 / 22, November 2 - 15, 2007
The National Election Committee said this week it will not extend the voter registration period, although three voter watchdog groups complained about problems with deleting voters from the lists.
The groups also said there were a "surprisingly high" number of new voters, raising the possibility of multiple registrations by some voters.
The NEC reported that about 8.6 million Cambodians have registered to vote including almost 900,000 new voters.
NEC said 664,796 voter names were deleted from the lists and 682,459 eligible voters failed to register.
The three voter rights watchdog groups issued a joint statement October 26 saying they had "serious concerns" about the deletion list."
The joint statement was issued by the Committee for Free and Fair Election in Cambodia (Comfrel); the Neutral and Independent Committee for Free Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC); and the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI).
Voters are supposed to register in person. But the groups said that a "substantial number of voters were registered by proxy as party agents, commune officials, military police officers and Royal Cambodian Armed Forces officers took their identity documents and photographs and registered them as voters in connivance with registration officials."
It cited several locations where that happened in the provinces of Banteay Meancheay and Steung Treng.
The statement said several voter registration stations did not comply with stipulated working hours and either opened late or closed early.
They said the high number of new voters registered was "30 % more than originally estimated by NEC." They raised questions about the possibility of "multiple registration," and possible underage or non-Cambodian citizens being registered.
The Center for Social Development called for NEC to extend the registration process by at least one more month in order to accommodate other potential voters to come to register.
The changes in the list took place between September 15 and October 20 to reflect deaths, migration and other changes in advance of the national elections in July 2008.
Tep Nytha, secretary general of NEC, said the process has been done according to the law and NEC will not extend the registration and revision period.
"We were working according to the law and there was also participation from the local election NGOs and political parties," Nytha said.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, president of the Sam Rainsy Party, in a letter to NEC on October 23, called for a new meeting to examine the deletion of voter names in 241 commune councils, about 15 percent of the communes nationwide.
"Our party representative found that some of the commune councils did not respect and implement the guidelines of the NEC and deleted the voter names without relevant documents and evidence to prove lost voting rights," Rainsy wrote in his letter to NEC.
By Vong Sokheng
Phnom Penh Post, Issue 16 / 22, November 2 - 15, 2007
The National Election Committee said this week it will not extend the voter registration period, although three voter watchdog groups complained about problems with deleting voters from the lists.
The groups also said there were a "surprisingly high" number of new voters, raising the possibility of multiple registrations by some voters.
The NEC reported that about 8.6 million Cambodians have registered to vote including almost 900,000 new voters.
NEC said 664,796 voter names were deleted from the lists and 682,459 eligible voters failed to register.
The three voter rights watchdog groups issued a joint statement October 26 saying they had "serious concerns" about the deletion list."
The joint statement was issued by the Committee for Free and Fair Election in Cambodia (Comfrel); the Neutral and Independent Committee for Free Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC); and the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI).
Voters are supposed to register in person. But the groups said that a "substantial number of voters were registered by proxy as party agents, commune officials, military police officers and Royal Cambodian Armed Forces officers took their identity documents and photographs and registered them as voters in connivance with registration officials."
It cited several locations where that happened in the provinces of Banteay Meancheay and Steung Treng.
The statement said several voter registration stations did not comply with stipulated working hours and either opened late or closed early.
They said the high number of new voters registered was "30 % more than originally estimated by NEC." They raised questions about the possibility of "multiple registration," and possible underage or non-Cambodian citizens being registered.
The Center for Social Development called for NEC to extend the registration process by at least one more month in order to accommodate other potential voters to come to register.
The changes in the list took place between September 15 and October 20 to reflect deaths, migration and other changes in advance of the national elections in July 2008.
Tep Nytha, secretary general of NEC, said the process has been done according to the law and NEC will not extend the registration and revision period.
"We were working according to the law and there was also participation from the local election NGOs and political parties," Nytha said.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, president of the Sam Rainsy Party, in a letter to NEC on October 23, called for a new meeting to examine the deletion of voter names in 241 commune councils, about 15 percent of the communes nationwide.
"Our party representative found that some of the commune councils did not respect and implement the guidelines of the NEC and deleted the voter names without relevant documents and evidence to prove lost voting rights," Rainsy wrote in his letter to NEC.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Sam Rainsy: Voter Blacklists Unfairly Shift Burden of Proof
As of Aug 3, commune councils posted 653,986 names on "blacklists" in their offices. The councils officially propose that these names be deleted from the voter register. If a citizen suspects that his name has been wrongly blacklisted, he must now come to the council office, check if his name is on the deletion list, then file a complaint if his name is there. If he does not do so, his name will be erased from the register, and he will be ineligible to vote.
This process directly contradicts a basic principle of justice: that the burden of proof lies with the accuser, not the accused. Currently, if the authorities decree that your name should be deleted from the official register, you bear the burden of proof to show them that they are wrong. This process is unjust.
The burden of proof should not weigh on the shoulders of the innocent, busy, poor and often illiterate, but rather with those who allege that a name should be erased. The burden must be shifted by requiring the authorities to provide evidence for any name set for deletion—a death certificate, witnesses attesting that a person has permanently moved away from the commune, etc.
The Sam Rainsy Party will demand such proof for each name on the blacklist in every village in the country. If it is not provided, and the names are still deleted, then the legitimacy of the 2008 election will be called into question.
This problem of unjustified blacklisting would not be so widespread if the authorities had considered for deletion only the names of people who did not vote in April's commune election. I wrote a letter to the editor of The Cambodia Daily on Aug 6 highlighting two benefits of this approach: less effort required (investigating only 2.7 million names of non-voters rather than 7.8 million names of eligible voters) and reduced likelihood of blacklisting those who are eligible to vote. Since this proposal was not heeded, the authorities must now put in extra effort to minimize unjustified blacklisting, a problem of their own creation.
In their attempt to "clean" the voter register, the authorities must recognize unjustified blacklisting as a denial of democratic rights, unless they are engineering it as a means to improve their odds in the 2008 election by disenfranchising opponents.
Sam Rainsy,
SRP President
This process directly contradicts a basic principle of justice: that the burden of proof lies with the accuser, not the accused. Currently, if the authorities decree that your name should be deleted from the official register, you bear the burden of proof to show them that they are wrong. This process is unjust.
The burden of proof should not weigh on the shoulders of the innocent, busy, poor and often illiterate, but rather with those who allege that a name should be erased. The burden must be shifted by requiring the authorities to provide evidence for any name set for deletion—a death certificate, witnesses attesting that a person has permanently moved away from the commune, etc.
The Sam Rainsy Party will demand such proof for each name on the blacklist in every village in the country. If it is not provided, and the names are still deleted, then the legitimacy of the 2008 election will be called into question.
This problem of unjustified blacklisting would not be so widespread if the authorities had considered for deletion only the names of people who did not vote in April's commune election. I wrote a letter to the editor of The Cambodia Daily on Aug 6 highlighting two benefits of this approach: less effort required (investigating only 2.7 million names of non-voters rather than 7.8 million names of eligible voters) and reduced likelihood of blacklisting those who are eligible to vote. Since this proposal was not heeded, the authorities must now put in extra effort to minimize unjustified blacklisting, a problem of their own creation.
In their attempt to "clean" the voter register, the authorities must recognize unjustified blacklisting as a denial of democratic rights, unless they are engineering it as a means to improve their odds in the 2008 election by disenfranchising opponents.
Sam Rainsy,
SRP President
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Voters Lists Remain a Problem, Opposition Says
Neou Sarem, VOA Khmer
Washington
06 August 2007
Washington
06 August 2007
Click here to listen to Neou Sarem hosts 'Hello VOA' in Khmer
Traditional systems for putting together voter lists and cleaning them up continues to give the Cambodian People's Party an advantage in elections, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Monday.
The lists have emerged as a way to eliminate voters who do not support the ruling party, Sam Rainsy said, as a guest on "Hello VOA."
Independent monitors say the lists are a problem, and Sam Rainsy has said up to 550,000 names could be erased under a current program to clean them up ahead of next year's national elections. The CPP and the National Election Committee maintain that the lists contain the names of diseased or otherwise ineligible voters and need to be culled before the elections.
Sam Rainsy said he was countering this alleged strategy by informing members of his party to closely watch when voter lists are posted later this year and to bring any mistakes to the attention of election authorities and party leaders.
Sam Rainsy also said "ghost voters," such as soldiers who appear to have voted but no longer live in the areas where their ballots were cast, were also a problem.
He encouraged people to vote—especially in the wake of weak voter turnout in this year's commune elections—and to raise complaints sooner rather than later.
The lists have emerged as a way to eliminate voters who do not support the ruling party, Sam Rainsy said, as a guest on "Hello VOA."
Independent monitors say the lists are a problem, and Sam Rainsy has said up to 550,000 names could be erased under a current program to clean them up ahead of next year's national elections. The CPP and the National Election Committee maintain that the lists contain the names of diseased or otherwise ineligible voters and need to be culled before the elections.
Sam Rainsy said he was countering this alleged strategy by informing members of his party to closely watch when voter lists are posted later this year and to bring any mistakes to the attention of election authorities and party leaders.
Sam Rainsy also said "ghost voters," such as soldiers who appear to have voted but no longer live in the areas where their ballots were cast, were also a problem.
He encouraged people to vote—especially in the wake of weak voter turnout in this year's commune elections—and to raise complaints sooner rather than later.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Khmer Intelligence News - 3 August 2007
3 August 2007
CPP punishes three district governors in Siem Reap province (1)
The CPP removed three district governors in Siem Reap province last month: Mok Samphear, Chau Sen and Tes Chankiri, respectively governors of Sotr Nikum, Prasat Bakong and Puok districts, were removed from their position as a punishment for not being able to prevent the CPP from losing ground to the opposition SRP (see KI, 22 July 2007: "CPP provincial leaders reprimanded for poor election results"). At the April 2007 commune election, the CPP won 16 councillor seats from Funcinpec but lost 57 seats to the SRP, suffering a net loss of 41 seats. The SRP won 57 seats from the CPP and 35 seats from Funcinpec, making a total gain of 92 seats.
Apparently, from a political point of view, economic growth resulting from an increase in tourism (Angkor Wat temple is located in Siem Reap province) benefits more the opposition than the ruling party.
1.4 million non-CPP voters to be disenfranchised (2)
Realizing that they are losing ground to the opposition (as shown above for Siem Reap province), the ruling CPP is more and more heavily using the state apparatus (village chiefs, commune chiefs and commune clerks) to disenfranchise non-CPP voters through the ongoing voter list "cleaning" process. Tep Nitha, Secretary-General of the CPP-controlled National Election Committee (NEC) was quoted by pro-CPP Koh Santepheap newspaper (August 2 edition) as saying that up to 1.4 million names (mainly those of people identified by CPP-affiliated village chiefs as potential opponents to the CPP) would be deleted from the electoral rolls. Therefore, voter list "cleaning" is nothing less than political opponent "cleansing".
Read Koh Santepheap article in Khmer by clicking here.
See "cleaning" and "cleansing" techniques in English by clicking here.
Subtle forms of corruption in Cambodian NGOs (2)
In a July 31, 2007 statement, former employees of the embattled Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) elaborated on the subtle forms of corruption that prevailed in a Cambodian non governmental organization financially supported by international donors. From 20 to 30 percent of donor money was usually diverted through forged documents, forged signatures, forged bills and receipts, bills inflated associated with kickbacks from suppliers, withholding of a portion of employees' salaries (for example, some employees accepted to declare that they had received $500 a month whereas they had received in fact only $350), cuts in telephone allowances (for instance, a person who received $5 had to sign a $10 receipt), disbursements for activities that had never taken place, withholding of a portion of the daily allowances (for food, accommodation and travel cost) given to participants to seminars.
Read full text of the statement in Khmer by clicking here.
HRP refrains from criticizing CPP (2)
In exchange for the logistical, technical (and possibly financial assistance) provided by the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) to the newly formed Human Rights Party (HRP), the latter has reportedly committed itself to refraining from criticizing the CCP-led government. Three issues have been pointed out by the CPP as particularly sensitive; they are all related to Vietnam: border delineation, illegal immigration, and Kampuchea Krom (Cambodian minority living in the southern part of Vietnam). Moreover, the CPP has promised HRP President Kem Sokha to protect him from lawsuits that his former colleagues at the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) have filed against him for corruption, embezzlement and breach of trust (for a "breach of trust" charge, Prince Norodom Ranariddh has been sentenced to 18 months in prison by the CPP-controlled Court).
To frighten Kem Sokha and to keep holding him hostage, the CPP ordered the Court to summon the HRP President on July 30, 2007. This information was released in the August 1 edition of the pro-CPP Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper. Neither the Court nor Kem Sokha has made any statement following the interrogation.
Read Rasmei Kampuchea article in Khmer by clicking here.
[End]
The CPP removed three district governors in Siem Reap province last month: Mok Samphear, Chau Sen and Tes Chankiri, respectively governors of Sotr Nikum, Prasat Bakong and Puok districts, were removed from their position as a punishment for not being able to prevent the CPP from losing ground to the opposition SRP (see KI, 22 July 2007: "CPP provincial leaders reprimanded for poor election results"). At the April 2007 commune election, the CPP won 16 councillor seats from Funcinpec but lost 57 seats to the SRP, suffering a net loss of 41 seats. The SRP won 57 seats from the CPP and 35 seats from Funcinpec, making a total gain of 92 seats.
Apparently, from a political point of view, economic growth resulting from an increase in tourism (Angkor Wat temple is located in Siem Reap province) benefits more the opposition than the ruling party.
1.4 million non-CPP voters to be disenfranchised (2)
Realizing that they are losing ground to the opposition (as shown above for Siem Reap province), the ruling CPP is more and more heavily using the state apparatus (village chiefs, commune chiefs and commune clerks) to disenfranchise non-CPP voters through the ongoing voter list "cleaning" process. Tep Nitha, Secretary-General of the CPP-controlled National Election Committee (NEC) was quoted by pro-CPP Koh Santepheap newspaper (August 2 edition) as saying that up to 1.4 million names (mainly those of people identified by CPP-affiliated village chiefs as potential opponents to the CPP) would be deleted from the electoral rolls. Therefore, voter list "cleaning" is nothing less than political opponent "cleansing".
Read Koh Santepheap article in Khmer by clicking here.
See "cleaning" and "cleansing" techniques in English by clicking here.
Subtle forms of corruption in Cambodian NGOs (2)
In a July 31, 2007 statement, former employees of the embattled Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) elaborated on the subtle forms of corruption that prevailed in a Cambodian non governmental organization financially supported by international donors. From 20 to 30 percent of donor money was usually diverted through forged documents, forged signatures, forged bills and receipts, bills inflated associated with kickbacks from suppliers, withholding of a portion of employees' salaries (for example, some employees accepted to declare that they had received $500 a month whereas they had received in fact only $350), cuts in telephone allowances (for instance, a person who received $5 had to sign a $10 receipt), disbursements for activities that had never taken place, withholding of a portion of the daily allowances (for food, accommodation and travel cost) given to participants to seminars.
Read full text of the statement in Khmer by clicking here.
HRP refrains from criticizing CPP (2)
In exchange for the logistical, technical (and possibly financial assistance) provided by the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) to the newly formed Human Rights Party (HRP), the latter has reportedly committed itself to refraining from criticizing the CCP-led government. Three issues have been pointed out by the CPP as particularly sensitive; they are all related to Vietnam: border delineation, illegal immigration, and Kampuchea Krom (Cambodian minority living in the southern part of Vietnam). Moreover, the CPP has promised HRP President Kem Sokha to protect him from lawsuits that his former colleagues at the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) have filed against him for corruption, embezzlement and breach of trust (for a "breach of trust" charge, Prince Norodom Ranariddh has been sentenced to 18 months in prison by the CPP-controlled Court).
To frighten Kem Sokha and to keep holding him hostage, the CPP ordered the Court to summon the HRP President on July 30, 2007. This information was released in the August 1 edition of the pro-CPP Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper. Neither the Court nor Kem Sokha has made any statement following the interrogation.
Read Rasmei Kampuchea article in Khmer by clicking here.
[End]
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Khmer Intelligence News - 14 July 2007
Khmer Rouge Tribunal will not really start before the death of Nuon Chea (2)
The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) will continue to use different tricks to block the newly-formed Khmer Rouge Tribunal, which could start to effectively and significantly move forward only after the death of Nuon Chea, who is now 82-year-old and seriously ill. Known also as "Brother number 2", Nuon Chea could reveal facts showing the involvement of some high-ranking officials of the current government in the mass killings perpetrated under the Pol Pot regime.
A possible but not credible president for the Anti Corruption Commission (2)
Bin Chhin, former president of the Constitutional Council and a member of the CPP Permanent Committee, could be appointed president of the to-be-formed National Anti Corruption Commission, pending the adoption by the National Assembly of the long-awaited Anti Corruption Law.
Second step in the disenfranchisement of non-CPP voters (2)
To secure landslide election victories before voting day, the ruling CPP is implementing a two-step strategy based on manipulation of voter list:
1- Preventing non-CPP supporters from casting their ballots:
At the 1 April 2007 commune council election, with the full support of the National Election Committee (NEC) and the Interior Ministry that controls all the village chiefs, the CPP succeeded in preventing some 2 million "suspicious" potential voters (25 percent of the electorate) from casting their ballots. The techniques used against those perceived as non-CPP supporters included confiscation or retention of voter identification documents, administrative harassment, withholding of accurate/relevant information and dissemination of false/misleading information, intimidating and/or paying people not to go to vote.
2- Deleting the names of non-CPP supporters from the voter list:
For the upcoming 27 July 2008 national election, the CPP is trying to delete from the voter list the names of citizens identified by CPP-affiliated village chiefs as non-CPP supporters. In every commune, starting 12 July 2007, the voter list is going through a "cleaning" process whereby the commune authorities are supposed to delete the names of people who are "dead", "unknown", "cannot be found", "have already been registered", "have moved out of the commune", or are "foreigners with no voting right." Actually and more importantly, by using the pretexts "unknown", "cannot be found", and "have moved" put forward by village chiefs, the commune authorities are deleting the names of those perceived as non-CPP supporters. Therefore, through this "cleaning" process, the CPP and the NEC are legalizing and making permanent the political exclusion of those who were not able to vote on 1 April 2007 for artificial reasons (see point 1 above).
Read protest letter and suggestions in English from the parliamentary opposition to the UNDP by clicking here.
Salaries suspended for VOD employees (2)
According to a July 5 statement by the Truth Committee founded by former employees of the embattled Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), employees of Voice of Democracy (VOD) -- a radio program run for a long time by the CCHR -- have not been paid for two months (May and June). The financial trouble is reportedly due to corruption and embezzlement when the CCHR was led by Kem Sokha, who now leads the Human Rights Party (HRP). Kem Sokha was summoned by the Court on June 28 but has asked to appear before the Court only after a HRP congress on July 22.
Read statement by the Truth Committee in Khmer by clicking here.
Read related press article in Khmer by clicking here.
[End]
The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) will continue to use different tricks to block the newly-formed Khmer Rouge Tribunal, which could start to effectively and significantly move forward only after the death of Nuon Chea, who is now 82-year-old and seriously ill. Known also as "Brother number 2", Nuon Chea could reveal facts showing the involvement of some high-ranking officials of the current government in the mass killings perpetrated under the Pol Pot regime.
A possible but not credible president for the Anti Corruption Commission (2)
Bin Chhin, former president of the Constitutional Council and a member of the CPP Permanent Committee, could be appointed president of the to-be-formed National Anti Corruption Commission, pending the adoption by the National Assembly of the long-awaited Anti Corruption Law.
Second step in the disenfranchisement of non-CPP voters (2)
To secure landslide election victories before voting day, the ruling CPP is implementing a two-step strategy based on manipulation of voter list:
1- Preventing non-CPP supporters from casting their ballots:
At the 1 April 2007 commune council election, with the full support of the National Election Committee (NEC) and the Interior Ministry that controls all the village chiefs, the CPP succeeded in preventing some 2 million "suspicious" potential voters (25 percent of the electorate) from casting their ballots. The techniques used against those perceived as non-CPP supporters included confiscation or retention of voter identification documents, administrative harassment, withholding of accurate/relevant information and dissemination of false/misleading information, intimidating and/or paying people not to go to vote.
2- Deleting the names of non-CPP supporters from the voter list:
For the upcoming 27 July 2008 national election, the CPP is trying to delete from the voter list the names of citizens identified by CPP-affiliated village chiefs as non-CPP supporters. In every commune, starting 12 July 2007, the voter list is going through a "cleaning" process whereby the commune authorities are supposed to delete the names of people who are "dead", "unknown", "cannot be found", "have already been registered", "have moved out of the commune", or are "foreigners with no voting right." Actually and more importantly, by using the pretexts "unknown", "cannot be found", and "have moved" put forward by village chiefs, the commune authorities are deleting the names of those perceived as non-CPP supporters. Therefore, through this "cleaning" process, the CPP and the NEC are legalizing and making permanent the political exclusion of those who were not able to vote on 1 April 2007 for artificial reasons (see point 1 above).
Read protest letter and suggestions in English from the parliamentary opposition to the UNDP by clicking here.
Salaries suspended for VOD employees (2)
According to a July 5 statement by the Truth Committee founded by former employees of the embattled Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), employees of Voice of Democracy (VOD) -- a radio program run for a long time by the CCHR -- have not been paid for two months (May and June). The financial trouble is reportedly due to corruption and embezzlement when the CCHR was led by Kem Sokha, who now leads the Human Rights Party (HRP). Kem Sokha was summoned by the Court on June 28 but has asked to appear before the Court only after a HRP congress on July 22.
Read statement by the Truth Committee in Khmer by clicking here.
Read related press article in Khmer by clicking here.
[End]
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