Editorial | Articles about Cambodia | Khmer

Monday, November 26, 2012

Obama finds Southeast Asia much tougher than he thought — Murray Hunter

NOV 25 — US President Barack Obama’s visits to both Thailand and Myanmar went symbolically well. He did all the right things in Thailand and in spite of all the reservations about Obama’s Myanmar visit, he may have sent all the right messages, particularly through the way the visit was orchestrated and his speech at Rangoon University where he talked strongly about inclusiveness. Local news reports in local papers warmly reported the visit.

However the same could not be said for his visit to Cambodia.

Like Myanmar, Obama’s trip to Cambodia was also criticised by some human rights activists. And probably it was a visit with more concerns because, unlike Myanmar’s Thein Sien who has started on a road of liberalisation and opening up to the world, Hun Sen is reluctant to carry out any major reform in the country.

Human rights watch published a list of numerous breaches of human rights in Cambodia over the last 20 years, forcing Obama’s hand to declare publicly that his visit to Cambodia was only to attend the ASEAN and East Asian Summits.

There are many reports that Obama’s meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen upon arrival in Cambodia was a very tense one. The Obama administration, although not Obama directly, had previously criticised Hun Sen for his human rights record, political intimidation, imprisonment of opposition leaders, forced expulsion of peasants from the land, and the failure to hold free and fair elections.

A report in The Cambodian Daily reported the meeting between the two leaders and gave a very different account to the version that Obama aides gave the media.

According to Reuters quoting US deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes the meeting was almost totally devoted to human rights, but speaking at a press conference after the meeting, the Cambodian Council of Ministers Secretary of State Prak Sokhon said that Obama had only raised human rights issues because of being asked to by US lawmakers.

Ahead of the meeting Obama was specifically urged to ask for a pardon for opposition leader Sam Rainsy so he could return to Cambodia without having to serve an 11 year jail sentence believed to be politically motivated. According to Prak Sokhon this matter was not brought up by Obama at all.

According to Prak Sokhon, Hun Sen did request that a US$400 million loan with interest given to the Lon Nol Government back in the 1970s be converted to 30 per cent of that amount with a 1 per cent interest rate, where the Cambodian government could spend the rest of the loan amount on education and cultural projects. Sohkon remarked that this request was met with silence by Obama.

Hun Sen is a long-time politician in the region seasoned by frequent criticism from other foreign leaders over the years. Obama is just another one of those leaders and Hun Sen may even outlast Obama in office. Cambodia receives aid from China, South Korea and even Vietnam with little in the way of conditions over the use of the funds or rhetoric about human rights, something he continually says publicly. Therefore Obama’s visit and statements to Hun Sen just went on deaf ears.

Consequently, the US pivot into Asia is unlikely to include Cambodia. It appears naval ship visits, joint military exercises, counter terrorism training, and cooperation on human trafficking over the last five years have done little to warm up US-Cambodian relations. On the contrary, Obama’s visit to Cambodia has benefitted Hun Sen who could bask in the photo and TV opportunities with the US President which were all displayed prominently on Cambodian television.

The ASEAN Summit once again failed to reach any consensus in regards to territorial sea disputes with China. The Philippines even lodged a formal protest against Cambodia accusing it of suppressing discussion on disputed territorial areas with Vietnam. No questions from the media were answered on these matters during the summit.

This was a good close-up and personal lesson for Obama on the difficulty of reaching agreement to act within the region. The President’s Asia pivot is necessary for the US to create free trade agreements so the economy can continue to grow and maintain a balance of power in the region vis a vis China.

If Obama’s time on the ground in Cambodia is an example of his effectiveness in achieving his Southeast Asian policy objectives, it’s going to be a tough road ahead. — The Jakarta Post

* The writer is an associate professor at University Malaysia Perlis, and the author of a number of books on agriculture, economics, and entrepreneurship.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Sam Rainsy, the voice of the Cambodian opposition in exile

11/09/2012
By Francois Bougon
Le Monde GEO WORLD AND POLICY
Translated from French by Pok Peuk

From his exile in Paris, Sam Rainsy, the leader of the Cambodian opposition prepares himself for a quick return to Phnom Penh . For him, the death on 15 October 2012 of former king Norodom Sihanouk provides a perfect opportunity for the regime which sentenced him to twelve years in jail in 2010, to redeem its injustice. "In Asia, face saving is a must. There are situations that would allow some to save their honor," he argues from his apartment near the Eiffel Tower.

"Experience shows that there is always a solution, this is not a legal issue but a political one. Sihanouk's death will encourage the solution policy ," the former Minister of Economy and Finance of the Government of coalition between 1993 and 1994 weighs in. In 2006, Sam Rainsy was pardoned by the king after being sentenced to eighteen months in prison. This time, he sent letters to Hun Sen, the Prime Minister, and to Norodom Sihamoni, the king who is Sihanouk's son, to allow him to "see the face of the hero-king for one last time." The former king died in Beijing at 89 and his body was repatriated back to the Cambodian capital.

Relationships between Sam Rainsy’s family and Sihanouk illustrate the tragic history of the Kingdom of Cambodia during the 20th century. His father, Sam Sary, a French speaker and a Francophile just like Sihanouk, fought alongside the latter after the World War II in order to obtain independence from France for this small country wedged between two giants: Thailand and Vietnam. In 1954, Sam Sary was part of the Cambodian delegation to the Geneva Conference for peace in Indochina. Thanks to his tenacity, he made the kingdom – which was under French protectorate since the 19th century – able to assert its existence despite the strategic greed of the Superpowers which was willing to sacrifice it and despite the appetite of neighboring countries. However, the faithful Sam Sary, a high ranking official of the regime and Minister of Economy, Financial Affairs and Planning, started to break away and he became to the eyes of Sihanouk a "traitor to the nation" after he left in exile and became involved with the anticommunist "Khmer Serey" opposition movement. Sam Sary eventually would killed by his own allies.

"The Banana Kingdom"

Sam Sary’s family, including his son Rainsy, fell the downfall and they eventually left for France which became his adopted country. Rainsy, meaning "light" in Cambodian, was named in honor of Paris (known as the City of Light) and French philosophers from the 18th century, continued his high school study at the French Lycée Janson-de-Sailly [in Paris] and graduated from Sciences Po [Political Science University]. Following a stint as a Financial Analyst in a large bank, he finally tasted political action by getting involved with Cambodian refugees who fled the Khmer Rouge horror. During that time, he also became closer to Norodom Sihanouk. "He can blamed for a lot of things, but he has two qualities that explain Cambodian respect for him: his integrity and the fact that he has always fought for the independence of his country," Sam Rainsy explained about Sihanouk.

After a brief stint at the head of the Ministry of Economy and Finance in the coalition government between 1993 and 1994, Sam Rainsy then left to form the opposition and he never ceased to denounce Cambodia’s strongman, Hun Sen, who came to power since 1985. Hun Sen was a former Khmer Rouge soldier who switched to the Vietnamese which occupied Cambodia from 1979 to 1989. In 1991, the Paris Agreements was signed and it led to national reconciliation and political pluralism which, ironically, was never practiced. Sam Rainsy argued: "This is a Banana Kingdom led by a mafia state built around corruption, human trafficking and drug dealing. In order to hide the reality of a single party state, Hun Sen always made use of the monarchy."

Nevertheless, for the opposition leader, the moment of truth beckons: the opposition is now united. His political party, the Sam Rainsy Party, and the Human Rights Party decided to merge for the general election in July 2013. "If we look at history of Eastern Europe, the opposition must be united to win, this is sine qua non condition before 2013." To lead the election campaign, Sam Rainsy expects to be physically present in Cambodia to challenge Hun Sen.

1949: Born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital
1965: Left for France.
1993-1994: Minister of Economy and Finance in the coalition government.
1995: Formed the opposition movement.

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Saturday, October 27, 2012

Cambodian King Left Mixed Legacy

By PATRICK BARTA

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Norodom Sihanouk, a two-time king who helped guide the small Southeast Asian nation of Cambodia through its first years of independence but ultimately failed to prevent it from descending into genocide at the end of the Vietnam War, died early Monday of natural causes in Beijing. He was 89 years old.

br/> According to state-run Xinhua news agency, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee Li Zhanshu and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visited Cambodia's former Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk on Monday morning to express their condolences and sympathy. "We are greatly shocked and grieved to learn that His Majesty former King Sihanouk died this morning in Beijing," Mr. Xi said after a silent tribute in front of a portrait of Mr. Sihanouk.

Mr. Xi spoke highly of Mr. Sihanouk as an old friend of the Chinese people, who he said would live in the hearts of Chinese and Cambodian people forever. Mr. Xi said that he believed that the friendship between the two nations would continue and develop, according to Xinhua.

The energetic, mercurial leader was considered a major figure in 20th century Asian politics, and his years in power are remembered fondly by many Cambodians, many of whom viewed him as semidivine and credited him with securing Cambodia's freedom from France in the 1950s. His skillful diplomacy in the 1960s helped ensure that Cambodia wasn't swept into the mushrooming conflict in neighboring Vietnam, though he was eventually pushed from power as the conflict there escalated.

The legacy of Mr. Sihanouk's operatic life is tainted by his complex and controversial association with the Khmer Rouge, a radical left-wing insurgency that controlled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 and launched one of the worst genocides of the 20th century, leaving more than a million Cambodians dead. Although historians say Mr. Sihanouk didn't actively participate in Khmer Rouge policy making and deplored its tactics, he at times aligned himself with the group in hopes of regaining his power, and some critics say his affiliation with the group helped its cause.

In a 2005 memoir, Mr. Sihanouk said he "dared to struggle in alliance with the Red Khmers, against U.S. imperialism" but ultimately "condemned the despotic and bloody regime" of the Khmer Rouge, which he said "elevated lying, deception and intellectual dishonesty to the rank of a state institution."

Mr. Sihanouk still has many defenders, including some Cambodian historians who argue he wanted what he thought was best for his country, including peace, independence and recognition on the world stage. But he also was criticized widely for vanity and a domineering style, and for treating Cambodians as if they were children who couldn't decide their fates without his supreme guidance.

Photos
It isn't fair to blame Mr. Sihanouk directly for the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge, but his refusal to nurture a more mature democracy and bring other voices into government while he was in power "opened the way" for more-radical leftists to take over, said Milton Osborne, a former Australian diplomat in Cambodia and visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney.
"I think he can be faulted fundamentally for his inability to share responsibility with anyone in the Cambodian state and his belief that he, and he alone, knew what was best for Cambodia," said Mr. Osborne.

Mr. Sihanouk was a survivor, though, and in his later years Cambodians and international diplomats turned to him again as one of the few figures capable of unifying the war-torn country. He became king again in 1993, a post he held until 2004. In many ways the decision was an affirmation of Mr. Sihanouk's exceptional political skill, which he used to play superpowers off each other while scrambling to maintain a role for himself at home. With his health woes mounting, he abdicated in 2004, allowing the throne to pass to his son, former ballet dancer Norodom Sihamoni. His son is still on the throne in the largely ceremonial position.

Mr. Sihanouk was known as a hard worker who distrusted strict ideologies and foreign intervention, though he labored to charm foreign leaders with a legendary attention to detail when it served his interests. Diplomats recalled that he made sure British royalty were treated to British toilet paper during a visit before the Vietnam War.

He was something of a bon vivant, producing his own films, heading up a jazz band, and playing saxophone at late-night parties. He often boasted of his amorous adventures, and fathered 14 children from at least five marriages.

Mr. Sihanouk was born in 1922 in Phnom Penh. Over the years, the royal family's powers had been chipped away as France expanded its influence in Cambodia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. French officials chose then-Prince Sihanouk for the throne in 1941 because they thought he would be weak and compliant, serving as a figurehead while French authorities administered the state.

But King Sihanouk proved hard to manage. He rallied public support for independence, and secured it in 1953 as France sought to rein in its colonial adventures. A year later, Mr. Sihanouk abdicated to remake himself as a mass politician, serving as prime minister and in other roles that enabled him to effectively dominate Cambodian politics until 1970.

As Cambodia's main leader in that period, he took many steps to improve the country, including spending heavily on education. But the economy struggled at times after he nationalized key industries as part of a program he termed "Buddhist Socialism," and he became increasingly autocratic, cracking down on dissidents whom he saw as a threat to public order.

He steered a neutral course when tensions rose in Vietnam, though doing so became harder as the conflict escalated. Facing pressure from North Vietnam, he broke off diplomatic ties with the U.S. in the mid-1960s, and later retreated more into filmmaking, which critics said detached him from policy making and the realities of his country's poverty. At a 1969 international film festival stage-managed by the royal household, one of his films was awarded a solid gold statue made from ingots donated by Cambodia's national bank.

A year later, Mr. Sihanouk was overthrown by a pro-U.S. government, and the U.S. military expanded bombing campaigns in the country to flush out communists taking refuge there. In exile in Beijing, Mr. Sihanouk allied himself with China's communists and the Khmer Rouge, who were trying to oust Cambodia's new leader, Lon Nol. When the Khmer Rouge succeeded, taking over Phnom Penh in 1975, Mr. Sihanouk was installed, temporarily, as the Khmer Rouge's puppet head of state.

Upon his return to Phnom Penh, Mr. Sihanouk became a prisoner of the new regime, led by dictator Pol Pot, which wanted to make Cambodia into a Maoist utopia by abolishing private property and currency and setting up agricultural collectives around the country. The movement forced nearly all Phnom Penh residents into the countryside and massacred perceived enemies of the state, including some of Mr. Sihanouk's relatives, on a mass scale.

Vietnamese invaders toppled the Khmer Rouge in 1979, ushering in further instability. Mr. Sihanouk kept residences in China and North Korea but maintained links with Cambodia's main political players—including Khmer Rouge holdouts—until he was able to re-emerge in 1993, in his early 70s, as king again.

His second kingship was largely a symbolic post, and his ambitions were frequently thwarted by other leaders such as Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge cadre who defected from the group before becoming Cambodia's prime minister. Feeling marginalized, Mr. Sihanouk looked for other outlets to express himself, including regular bulletins and blog posts for diplomats and journalists filled with recipes, musings on Cambodian politics and graphic details about his various ailments, from diabetes to cancer.

—Sun Narin contributed to this article.
br/> Write to Patrick Barta at patrick.barta@wsj.com

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Truth About Cambodian Murder May Stay in the Forest

10/26/2012
Olesia Plokhii - Environmental writer
The Huffington Post

This week, a Cambodian judge set free the only man tried in a case related to the murder of tireless forestry defender Chut Wutty. While viewed with outrage and contempt, the verdict lacked any element of surprise.

The investigation into the death of Wutty, who was shot dead April 26 by military police protecting an illegal logging site in the Cambodian jungle, has been marred with doubt from the beginning.

The government has shifted their account of the events of that day, on which a military police officer was also killed, four times. Public knowledge about the two journalists at the scene -- I was one of them -- being threatened with death by police following the alleged double murder has been ignored. Key witnesses have been left unquestioned, evidence has been disregarded and a trial that began earlier this month is widely believed to be a cover-up. It was during that cursory hour-and-a-half long hearing Oct.4 that the judge announced the probe into Wutty's murder had been closed for months.

Still, this week, the attention of the entire country was in Koh Kong province, a short drive from the red dirt road where Wutty was killed, anxiously awaiting the verdict in the case of Ran Boroth, a timber company security guard who has been charged in connection with the case.

On Monday, the judge found Boroth guilty of "unintentional murder," sentenced him to two years behind bars, and immediately suspended 18 months of his sentence. Having already served six months in jail since his arrest, he will be a free man as early as next month.

The trial, which rights groups have criticized for being politically motivated, was tainted with irregularities, contradictory witness testimony and a lack of evidence. The court failed to hear about ballistics analysis, fingerprints or wound trajectories, according to Cambodian rights group Licadho, present during the trial.

"The investigation into Chut Wutty's killing has been a mockery of justice from day one -- from the farcical explanations for his death, to the presentation of vague, uncontested conclusions masquerading as a trial," said Licadho director Naly Pilorge.

With the official closing of the case, the hope of getting answers into how Wutty died recedes further from reality. The blood of another fallen hero stains the pages of Cambodia's tragic history, and the profiteers behind systemic deforestation in the country continue to be spared from blame.

It is perhaps the most tragic thing of all that the powerful players behind the multinational companies stripping Cambodia of its last remaining trees continue to go about their plunder unimpeded and unnamed. Since Wutty's killing, there has been no inquiry into the people and outfits he lost his life fighting to expose.

"The court's decision represents a victory for Cambodia's corrupt business and political elite," said Patrick Alley, director of Global Witness, a UK-based environmental justice NGO. "It sends a clear signal that those who attack and kill the brave few who stand up for the rights of ordinary Cambodians can do so with impunity."

Now, with the official end of the probe into the double killing, which comes days after Cambodia failed to secure a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council and weeks ahead of a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama, Cambodia has once again proved it has no intent to change the course of its gruesome human rights record. It has proved it values profits over the lives of its own people, plantations over forests and national disgrace over justice.

Most chillingly, Cambodia has sent a message to the world that the daytime murder of a leading environmental and human rights crusader is a small price to pay to keep the grimy underbelly of Cambodia's multimillion dollar illegal logging industry intact.

And that the haunting secrets of the forest will forever remain between its rustling trees.

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Tuesday, October 02, 2012

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The Obama administration and two journalists' organizations Monday criticized the 20-year prison term given a Cambodian radio station owner for insurrection.

Independent Cambodian broadcaster Mam Sonando was handed the lengthy jail term in Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

The U.S. State Department said in a release that it is "deeply concerned by the conviction and harsh sentence."

"A number of observers in Cambodia have noted that the charges against him appear to have been politically motivated, based on his frequent criticism of the government," the State Department said.

"We strongly support freedom of expression, including the rights of members of the press to peacefully express political views without fear of persecution, retribution or intimidation, consistent with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"We call on the Cambodian government to release Mam Sonando immediately, to ensure that its court system is free from political influence, and to reaffirm its commitment to guaranteeing its citizens' basic human rights."

Reporters Without Borders, which has its headquarters in France, and the Cambodian Center for Independent Media issued a statement expressing their displeasure with the punishment given the 71-year-old Radio Beehive owner for allegedly inciting unrest in the southeastern province of Kratie in mid-May.

"Freedom of expression and media freedom are in danger in Cambodia," the two organizations said. "We call on the authorities to release Mam Sonando at once and to quash this conviction on charges for which there is no evidence."

Sonando was arrested in July at the behest of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and was found guilty of "insurrection" and "inciting the use of arms against the state" regarding a supposed uprising in Kratie aimed at creating "a state within the state."

Sonando was out of the country during the unrest.

He previously was arrested in 2003 and 2005 for allegedly defaming the prime minister.

The journalists' organizations expressed concern for the safety of journalists and rights activists in Cambodia, noting journalist Hang Serei Oudom was slain in mid-September after implicating local officials in illegal trafficking in timber, and journalist Ek Sokunthy and his wife told the Phnom Penh Post last Wednesday they had been attacked by a former police officer and two other men for no apparent reason.

Reporters Without Borders ranks Cambodia 117th out of 179 countries in its 2011-2012 press freedom index.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/10/01/Cambodia-broadcasters-sentence-criticized/UPI-25361349145286/#ixzz287E52Y35

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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Cambodia and Cronyism

Phnom Penh's foreign donors are enabling abuses of human rights.
The WALL STREET JOURNAL

On Sept. 11, the body of Cambodian journalist Hang Serei Oudom was found stuffed into the trunk of his car with his head bashed in. At the time of his death, Mr. Oudom was writing about collusion between local businessmen and officials in the mountainous northwest. There as elsewhere in the country politicians, officials and logging companies have conspired to clear-cut virgin forests that are supposedly protected by the government.

The murder of Mr. Oudom is hardly an aberration in Cambodia. At least 10 journalists have been killed in Cambodia since 1996. Social activists have fared no better: In April, a military policeman shot and killed environmentalist Chhut Vuthy as he investigated illegal logging in southwestern Koh Kong province. Dozens more have been summarily imprisoned for protesting illegal land seizures.

European Pressphoto Agency Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen

In 2011, Transparency International ranked Cambodia 164th out of 182 countries in its annual Corruption Perception Index. Rampant cronyism also suits Cambodia's one true foreign friend, China, which has poured billions of dollars of aid and soft loans into the country. In the process it has secured economic concessions and diplomatic fealty. At the July 11-12 summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Phnom Penh, Cambodian diplomats scuppered a collective response to Beijing's encroachment in the South China Sea. Coincidentally, Beijing this month announced another $2.5 billion in investment and soft loans.

Trade between America and Cambodia is also on the rise, with the U.S. accounting for 41% of Cambodia's garment-driven exports. Yet the Obama Administration has remained largely silent about Cambodia's recent malfeasance, most notably at the Asean summit. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made no public mention of Cambodia's rights record. Two days after Mrs. Clinton left the country, the authorities imprisoned one of the country's leading opposition figures on dubious charges of secessionism.

Cambodia's ongoing genocide tribunal still receives a lion's share of Western attention when it comes to human rights. But the most pressing issue for most Cambodians is land use. In the past decade, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians have endured land grabs and evictions. They have suffered further when they dared to protest these abuses.

Phnom Penh's international donors might stop to consider that Cambodia's oppressive cronyism is ultimately a manifestation of its disregard for the human right of private property. Absent meaningful pressure to protect property rights, foreign aid and investment will bring limited benefits.

Labels: Prime Minister Hun Sen

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Friday, August 31, 2012

Cambodia steps up Internet surveillance

By Clothilde Le Coz Aug 30, 2012 2:42PM UTC
http://asiancorrespondent.com

As Burma loosens its grip on the media, Cambodia has begun to rank high among the countries repressing internet and telephone freedom in the name of national security, safety and social order. It is still not comparable to China or Vietnam, but Cambodia is moving in the wrong direction.

Last February, the Kingdom of Wonders adopted an “inter-ministerial circular”, according to which every Internet cafe in the country has to set up surveillance cameras and any phone shop has to register callers using its services. According to an unofficial translation obtained by the Asian Correspondent, the circular is meant to “promote protection of national security, safety and social order for the country”. Even though nothing has been implemented thus far, the circular is a threat to every phone and Internet user in the country.

“This is not a law. The authorities simply decided to do whatever they want to regulate online content in the country only because it could violate khmer culture,” stated Norbert Klein, the “founding father” of the Internet in Cambodia and now the head of the Cambodia chapter of the Internet Society. To him, the circular is a “means of intimidation for Internet users more than a means to protect their safety “.

In 1990, Norbert Klein connected Cambodia to the web at the back of what is today an always-full restaurant in the heart of Phnom Penh, where NGO workers and the expat population mix. At that time, he wanted to help one of his colleague to complete an online fellowship. With a Colombian email program and a Singaporian modem it took them weeks to get connected and finally read and receive emails. Moreover, since the connection was asking for stable and steady supply, the electricity was generated by a Vietnamese truck battery stationed outside the house. At that time, never Klein would never have imagined that the Internet in Cambodia could deal with censorship. After all, the only censor they faced in 1990 was the price: $5 per minute of connection.

But then came human rights defenders like the Venerable Loun Sovath using online tools to advocate for a cause, scandals arose when the behaviors created by the Internet attempted to cult and religion and the feared Jasmine Revolution started in neighbouring countries. As of today, Cambodia has a bit more than 3% of its population online with one of the quickest rates of growth in the region since it is more than twice the number registered in 2011. These are some of the reasons behind the Internet crackdown, which is nothing but a simple agreement that the government can claim at any moment and that consulted no elected member.

According to the inter-Ministerial circular signed by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Post and Telecommunications, “past experiences […] have shown that criminals and offenders always used telecommunications services such as mobile phones, fixed phones, VoIP and Internet as a means to commit terrorism, trans-boundary crimes, robberies, kidnapping, murders, drug trafficking, human trafficking, economic offenses, illegal installment of and illegal corporation of all forms of telecommunications service, broadcasting of obscene pictures and debauchery, which affect national customs, traditions and social good moral values.” For these reasons, “all locations serving telephone and Internet services shall be equipped with closed circuit television camera and shall store footage data of users for at least 3 months. Telephone service corporation owners along public roads shall [also] record National Identity Cards of any subscriber”.

As of today, there are more than 19 million sim card holders in Cambodia. And it is still very difficult to get an ID card for Cambodian nationals. For the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, which organizes “good governance” forums in the country, the first obstacle to possess a national id card is the price. There is no fixed economic value to it and it can vary from $2.5 to $50.

According to the Ministry of Interior there are 9,27866 Cambodian holding ID cards. What does this circular mean for the almost ten million Cambodians with sim cards but no ID ?

The will to control telecommunications is not new

This February circular is not the first attempt to control the use of telecommunications. However, it shows once again that the Ministry of Information is excluded from the decision and seems to be less relevant when it comes to regulation. In 2010, the same Ministry of Post and Telecommunications attempted to get the monopoly over the Internet cable industry in the country. There are about 30 internet service providers in the country and 10 phone operators, which causes a loss of profit to the state-owned services. To solve this, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications attempted to direct all international internet traffic through Telecom Cambodia, which would have charged other operators a transmission fee. However this time, because the ministry of information went publicly against it, it had to be abandoned.

Moreover, it has only been five years since the use of the peer-to-peer software Skype has been authorized. Even if it was possible to connect to it, it was still illegal for the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications was loosing money. This sounds like a false argument since the people using Skype were the ones who could not afford a phone call. There was a Cambodian version of Skype but its lack of popularity among the high ranking society and its difficulty to be used made the government give it in.

For most of human rights defenders, Internet remains a free space where sensitive topics can be discussed. For Chak Sopheap, online activist and contributor to the network Global Voices online, Internet is a “digital democracy”, which should be put in place in reality, outside of a computer screen. Internet activists in Cambodia are being more effective to advocate for themselves and denounce human rights violations. For example, when Loun Sovath records them, he get a double answer; the international community takes an interest while the Cambodian authorities arrest him. “Internet users are the ones that the government fears the most”, continues Klein. This is also confirmed by Ou Virak, from the Cambodia Center for Human Rights (CCHR), according to whom “activists use more the Internet during protests for example. They can advocate for themselves online, especially through Facebook. Before the Internet became popular, media were the target of the government. Today, activists are”.

This circular is not only limited to online and mobile content and usage but also to radio stations since “any radio communication wave system corporation shall require permission from the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications”. The radio’s mission is mainly defined as a “public service”. Therefore, the decision maker should be an institution and not a private corporation. This could therefore apply to any independent media trying to set up as a private company to own airtime and a frequency.

Labels: Internet

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Warning of Return to Violence

2012-08-28
Radio FREE Asia

UN special envoy Surya Subedi warns of possible unrest in Cambodia if the authorities refuse to embrace election reforms.

Cambodia may plunge into violence if it does not reform the current electoral system to allow for fair and free elections, Surya Subedi, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, has warned in a report.

He said there are "major flaws" in the administration of elections in Cambodia and called for "urgent and longer-term reforms" needed to give Cambodians confidence in the electoral process and in the National Election Committee (NEC), which organizes and manages polls.

"It is regrettable," he said, that most of the proposals by bilateral and multilateral agencies to reform the electoral process based on shortcomings identified in previous elections "remain unimplemented" by the Cambodian authorities.

In a report to be presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva at its upcoming September meeting, Subedi said that he is "concerned by the capacity gaps that persist in the electoral process."

"If the electoral process is unable to command the trust and confidence of the electorate, the very foundation of the Cambodian political and constitutional architecture embodied in the Paris Peace Agreements will be shaken and the country may run the risk of a return to violence," he said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen's government "must therefore do its utmost to avoid such a situation," he said in the report released this week.

Exile return

Subedi also called for a "political solution" to enable exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy to return to Cambodia "to play a full role" in politics.

Saying that Sam Rainsy has been convicted on charges that are allegedly politically motivated, Subedi added that "a concerted effort by the ruling and opposition parties towards reconciliation is in the interests of stronger and deeper democratization of Cambodia," especially ahead of the 2013 elections.

Sam Rainsy, who is currently involved in efforts to merge Cambodia’s two key opposition parties into a united alliance against Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), went into exile in 2009 after leading a border protest and was convicted in absentia on charges of incitement and damaging property.

He has called his conviction groundless and unacceptable.

Subedi's proposal for electoral reforms was shrugged off by the national electoral body.

Tep Nitha, General Secretary of the NEC, said on Tuesday that Subedi’s report "sounds like he is only listening to the opposition party and certain NGOs rather than reflecting the NEC’s current work."

Tep Nitha claimed that Subedi’s recommendations had effectively been implemented, including the part about making the electoral panel independent and autonomous, and guarantor of voters’ rights.

He said Sam Rainsy's absence "will not affect the process of the elections and democracy in Cambodia.”

Recommendations 'necessary'

But the Executive Director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL), Koul Panha, stressed that all of Subedi’s recommendations "are vital and necessary" for electoral reforms.

"And the most urgent and immediate reform to be done prior to the national election in 2013 is the full guarantee of voters’ rights," he said.

In his report, Subedi cited a host of issues that needed to be addressed before parliamentary elections scheduled in July 2013. Among them:

== The NEC should have independent and autonomous status in the constitutional and legal structure of Cambodia, with its own independent budget allocated by the parliament.

== There should be consensus among the major political parties represented in the parliament on the appointment of the president and members of the NEC and the provincial election committees.

== There is a need to amend the law and to create another institution, such as a special election tribunal or election court within the judicial structure of Cambodia or a special election tribunal within the National Constitutional Council to resolve election-related disputes, rather than using the NEC itself to do so.

== All major political parties should have fair and equal access to the mass media to convey their messages to the electorate.

== All opposition parties must be free to organize and campaign without fear and hindrance. The Special Rapporteur "has been informed of cases of harassment and intimidation of people attending party political meetings of opposition parties by government officials and the secret police."

== There should be a more effective, impartial and non-discriminatory procedure for the registration of voters in Cambodia.

Subedi also cited a petition directed to him from a Cambodian citizen who had expressed "frustration with the existing electoral process.

The Cambodian wrote that "if the current state of affairs continued, the ruling party would win the elections forever and that there was no hope for other political parties."

Reported by Neang Ieng for RFA's Khmer service. Translated by Yanny Hin. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.

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Labels: Comfrel, Election 2013, hun sen, NEC, Sam Rainsy

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