US, ASEAN Urged to Push Rights in Cambodia

Khmer Times / By Taing Vida

Wednesday, 10 February 2016

US Secretary of State John Kerry shaking hands with Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace during his visit to Phnom Penh last month. KT/ Ven Rathavong

Twelve civil society organizations submitted a joint statement asking the US government and heads of democratic ASEAN members to raise issues of human rights violations in Cambodia and the misuse of courts to stifle the opposition at next week’s US-ASEAN Summit in California, in order to “restore democracy and ensure free and fair elections in the Kingdom.”
 

“We… call upon the US and ASEAN summit, especially the US government and the democratic states of ASEAN, to address these problems directly with the Royal Government of Cambodia,  in order to restore the enabling environment for free and fair election in 2017 and 2018 and allow democracy in Cambodia to flourish,” the statement reads.
 

The 12 groups include Adhoc, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, the Housing Rights Taskforce, Silika, and the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia.
 

They say the government is abusing its power and cracking down on opposition party members and activists, while using a weak and biased judiciary to harass and jail members of the opposition and activists.
 

“In 2015 there was a disturbing increase in action taken by the government against opposition party members and activists,” the statement said, adding that: “In almost all of these cases, the security forces and the judiciary were used as instruments to suppress legitimate dissent and harass the government’s political opponents.”
 

The groups expressed concerns that this could undermine the commune elections in 2017 and the national elections the year after.
 

The statement accused the ruling Cambodian People’s Party of violating the Constitution, referring to the court decision to arrest and imprison Cambodia National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy, and the removal Kem Sokha as National Assembly vice president last year. It also pointed to the August 15 arrest of opposition Senator Hong Sok Hour who was detained despite his parliamentary immunity for “posting what he believed to be a genuine border treaty on Facebook.”
 

The statement says the “most disturbing incident” took place on October 26, when two CNRP lawmakers were severely beaten in front of the National Assembly during a demonstration calling for Mr. Sokha to step down from his post at the National Assembly.  “Police standing on the spot did nothing to prevent or stop the attacks,” the groups note.
 

The perpetrators were only arrested after a public request from the prime minister, despite conclusive photographic and video evidence identifying them as the attackers, the statement said. “This clearly demonstrates that respect for human rights is deteriorating yet further,” it adds.
 

The groups also call for the resolution of Mr. Rainsy’s case “through peaceful negotiation” and call for an end to “the long-standing practice of using the courts to clamp down on the political opposition.”
 

 Thida Khus, executive director of Silaka, said even if Cambodia’s internal issues may not be on the summit’s agenda she was optimistic that ASEAN member countries and the United States would consider the issues of human rights and politics in Cambodia because they are linked to healthy diplomatic and economic ties.
 

“This joint statement is part of the contribution of civil society so that the country’s problems are heard and resolved and democracy can be fully guaranteed. I believe that the talks between the heads of each country must raise the issue of human rights to promote democracy,” she said.
 

CPP spokesman Sok Ey San called the joint statement an immoral attempt to misrepresent the facts, and said that the summit on Monday and Tuesday would not include discussions of issues raised in the statement.
 

“This is just a report to contradict reality,” Mr. Ey San said. “The Cambodian government does not influence the judiciary and I believe that the summit will not raise these questions for discussion, because this is a meeting mainly about strengthening relations and economic purposes,” he added.
 

During his visit to Cambodia late last month, US Secretary of State John Kerry stressed the important role the democratic process plays in developing countries like Cambodia.  He also said law enforcement should strengthen the political system by ensuring elected lawmakers can work without fear of attack or arrest and called for free and fair elections in 2017 and 2018.