A partially paralyzed stroke victim who's a double amputee relaxes in his new home at a resettlement community in Cambodia.
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Human rights and freedom of expression are under grave threat in Cambodia today, a panel of Cambodian witnesses told representatives of Tom Lantos' Human Rights Commission, a US congressional body that monitors human rights norms around the world. The hearing took place earlier this month at the US Congress in Washington DC, USA.
TESTIMONY BY NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEMBER MU SOCHUA
In prepared remarks obtained by the Phnom Penh Post, Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian Mu Sochua testified, "I am one of the thousands of innocent journalists, trade union leaders, teachers and villagers who are tried by a judicial system that is well known for corruption, for incompetence and for acting under the control of the government and those who have political influence & money..."
Sochua continued, Cambodian democracy is "experiencing an alarming free fall." Sochua, having refused to pay court-ordered compensation to Prime Minister Hun Sen in connection with her defamation conviction last month, warned that she will be sent to prison in the absence of intervention by the US and other donor countries.
TESTIMONY BY DR. CHHIV KEK PUNG OF LICADHO
Testimony by Dr. Chhiv Kek Pung, President & Founder, Cambodian League for the Promotion & Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) stated, "The ruling party has embarked on a campaign to crack down on freedom of expression and suppress the parliamentary opposition, the news media, the legal profession and, to some extent, NGOs. At the center of the campaign is the government’s misuse of the courts to file unjustified criminal charges against its critics."
Dr. Chhiv Kek Pung's testimony continued, "The situation of the news media – which was already tightly-controlled, especially television and radio – has grown particularly dire. The pro-opposition print media is on the verge of extinction, with the editor of the last remaining major-circulation daily newspaper aligned to the opposition (Hang Chakra, of Khmer Machas Srok newspaper) serving a one-year prison sentence."
As for Cambodia’s justice system the statement asserted that, "Cambodia’s justice system fails to uphold the rule of law and on a daily basis deprives justice to countless victims of crimes and rights abuses. Corruption is endemic in the police and judiciary, as well as political interference. Impunity is rampant, and the gravest of crimes – including murder, (PDF 4.6 MB, pp 41, 85) torture, rape, and trafficking of woman and children –frequently go unpunished if the perpetrators have money or influential connections."
Mu Sochua echoed these criticisms, calling for visa sanctions on officials suspected of corruption and a suspension of US aid to the Ministry of Defense until a regulatory framework is established for mineral and petroleum concessions.
PLEASE READ DR. CHHIV KEK PUNG'S ENTIRE 4 PAGE TESTIMONY (PDF, 130 KB) TO US CONGRESSMAN TOM LANTOS
CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT DENIES REPRESSION
The Cambodian Embassy in Washington released a statement defending its government's record on human rights, though it did not mention the congressional hearing specifically. Koy Kuong, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, repeated his criticism that the hearing was "unfair" because no representatives of the Cambodian government were invited.
"Like any democratic country in the world, Cambodia cannot allow the proliferation of voluntary public defamation and disinformation intended to create social disorder," the statement said.
"The opposition groups have never said anything good about the government," he said. "Whenever there is good news, they ignore it.", he added.
PLEASE CONTINUE READING ABOUT DEMOCRACY IN CAMBODIA
While I agree that the Cambodian government should have been invited to the hearing so the US congressional body could HEAR ALL VIEWS, so to should have Mu Sochua been allowed to speak on her own behalf on June 22, 2009 when the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) dominated National Assembly stripped her of parliamentary immunity.
Further, the June 22nd proceedings should have taken place out in the open with the international press, NGO's and human rights groups invited to attend. Instead, the Cambodian government's closed-door session effectively slammed Cambodia's door of democracy in the rest of the world's face.
After all, like any democratic country in the world, Cambodia cannot allow the proliferation of an atmosphere of government secrecy similar to that which has led to recent social disorder in China, Myanmar (Burma), Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and elsewhere.
John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photography
Photo © John Brown All Rights Reserved - Follow Me On Twitter
Human rights and freedom of expression are under grave threat in Cambodia today, a panel of Cambodian witnesses told representatives of Tom Lantos' Human Rights Commission, a US congressional body that monitors human rights norms around the world. The hearing took place earlier this month at the US Congress in Washington DC, USA.
TESTIMONY BY NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEMBER MU SOCHUA
In prepared remarks obtained by the Phnom Penh Post, Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian Mu Sochua testified, "I am one of the thousands of innocent journalists, trade union leaders, teachers and villagers who are tried by a judicial system that is well known for corruption, for incompetence and for acting under the control of the government and those who have political influence & money..."
Sochua continued, Cambodian democracy is "experiencing an alarming free fall." Sochua, having refused to pay court-ordered compensation to Prime Minister Hun Sen in connection with her defamation conviction last month, warned that she will be sent to prison in the absence of intervention by the US and other donor countries.
TESTIMONY BY DR. CHHIV KEK PUNG OF LICADHO
Testimony by Dr. Chhiv Kek Pung, President & Founder, Cambodian League for the Promotion & Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) stated, "The ruling party has embarked on a campaign to crack down on freedom of expression and suppress the parliamentary opposition, the news media, the legal profession and, to some extent, NGOs. At the center of the campaign is the government’s misuse of the courts to file unjustified criminal charges against its critics."
Dr. Chhiv Kek Pung's testimony continued, "The situation of the news media – which was already tightly-controlled, especially television and radio – has grown particularly dire. The pro-opposition print media is on the verge of extinction, with the editor of the last remaining major-circulation daily newspaper aligned to the opposition (Hang Chakra, of Khmer Machas Srok newspaper) serving a one-year prison sentence."
As for Cambodia’s justice system the statement asserted that, "Cambodia’s justice system fails to uphold the rule of law and on a daily basis deprives justice to countless victims of crimes and rights abuses. Corruption is endemic in the police and judiciary, as well as political interference. Impunity is rampant, and the gravest of crimes – including murder, (PDF 4.6 MB, pp 41, 85) torture, rape, and trafficking of woman and children –frequently go unpunished if the perpetrators have money or influential connections."
Mu Sochua echoed these criticisms, calling for visa sanctions on officials suspected of corruption and a suspension of US aid to the Ministry of Defense until a regulatory framework is established for mineral and petroleum concessions.
PLEASE READ DR. CHHIV KEK PUNG'S ENTIRE 4 PAGE TESTIMONY (PDF, 130 KB) TO US CONGRESSMAN TOM LANTOS
CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT DENIES REPRESSION
The Cambodian Embassy in Washington released a statement defending its government's record on human rights, though it did not mention the congressional hearing specifically. Koy Kuong, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, repeated his criticism that the hearing was "unfair" because no representatives of the Cambodian government were invited.
"Like any democratic country in the world, Cambodia cannot allow the proliferation of voluntary public defamation and disinformation intended to create social disorder," the statement said.
"The opposition groups have never said anything good about the government," he said. "Whenever there is good news, they ignore it.", he added.
PLEASE CONTINUE READING ABOUT DEMOCRACY IN CAMBODIA
While I agree that the Cambodian government should have been invited to the hearing so the US congressional body could HEAR ALL VIEWS, so to should have Mu Sochua been allowed to speak on her own behalf on June 22, 2009 when the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) dominated National Assembly stripped her of parliamentary immunity.
Further, the June 22nd proceedings should have taken place out in the open with the international press, NGO's and human rights groups invited to attend. Instead, the Cambodian government's closed-door session effectively slammed Cambodia's door of democracy in the rest of the world's face.
After all, like any democratic country in the world, Cambodia cannot allow the proliferation of an atmosphere of government secrecy similar to that which has led to recent social disorder in China, Myanmar (Burma), Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and elsewhere.
John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photography
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