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Dhamma talk by Maha Thera Dr. Hok Savann on November 15, 2019
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Ministry dismisses RFA EBA report as fake
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| An EU officer hands the report over to Cambodian officials. EU |
Taing Vida / Khmer Times, November 16, 2019
Read more: ‘Leaked’ EU report suggests Cambodian efforts to retain EBA are insufficient
The Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman yesterday issued a statement to dismiss report of Radio Free Asia that said it obtained a leaked copy of EU’s report on the potential withdrawal of its Everything-but-arms (EBA) agreement.
The spokesman said in the statement that the EU’s report is treated as a confidential document, noting that the RFA has purposely provided false information with the intent to deceive the public about the European Commission’s report.
“Its reference to the terms and paragraphs presented as quotations that were supposedly taken from the said report were not accurate,” the spokesman said.
“Such false information creates unnecessary worries among the hundreds of thousands of workers involved, misleads the public and tarnishes the reputation of government officials whom RFA claimed to have leaked the document,” he added.
The spokesman said RFA’s action provides proof that it is not a credible source of information, but simply a propaganda tool at the services of a political faction.
The European Commission has submitted on 12 November to the government its preliminary Report of Findings with regards to its assessment on the EBA trade preferences according to which the government is invited to provide its comments within one month.
Concerned ministries and institutions will undertake a full review of the report and will submit by the set timeframe an appropriate response that will reflect updates of recent development in the areas of concerns of the European Commission.
Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said government officials have been working with the EC’s fact-finding team over the past few months with the hope of retaining the Kingdom’s EBA status.
It is expected that the European Commission will make a decision by February 2020 whether or not the trade preferences will be withdrawn.
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Hun Sen warns opposition activists risk re arrest if insults comtinue
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| Prime Minister Hun Sen. KT/ Khem Sovannara |
Taing Vida / Khmer Times, November 16, 2019
Prime Minister Hun Sen today warned put opposition activists recently released on bail o notice that they will be arrested if they continue to insult or act against the government.
Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony of road constructions in Sihanoukville province, Mr Hun Sen said some critics claimed that the release of 72 opposition activists who were jailed for colluding with Sam Rainsy to stage a coup was made because of pressure from the international community.
Mr Hun Sen said Cambodia will not exchange national sovereignty with foreign aids, adding that opposition activists were released on bail in order to unite the nation and maintain security and peace because these people were actually misled.
“They dare to say I made the decision because of pressure. Believe or not! In just three days, we will have all of them arrested again. For security reason, these people will be arrested once again and detained in jails,” Mr Hun Sen said. “Then the court must speed up the cases and let them serve jails across the country.”
The premier said that these 72 opposition activists are now placed under court supervision pending investigation, and the authorities will have them arrested and jailed if any of them continue to insult or attack the government.
Additionally, Mr Hun Sen noted that some opposition activists who fled in Thailand are still trying to insult him and the government in order to obtain political asylum in third countries.
On Thursday, Mr Hun Sen ordered Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana to look into the possibility of releasing opposition activists, noting that they were duped by Rainsy and his colleagues to stage a coup on November 9.
Mr Hun Sen also called on the opposition supporters who fled overseas in fear of being arrested to return to the Kingdom, assuring them that they will be safe.
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Hun Sen learns how to fake democracy
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| Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, right, and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen address a press conference together in Bangkok in December 2015 . (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha) |
Surasak Glahan | Bangkok Post, November 14, 2019
Cambodia may avoid trade sanctions from the EU and US if its government has learnt the art of faking a return to democracy and rule of law from Thailand, which has done its neighbour a huge favour by barring entry to its exiled opposition leaders.
In fact, Thailand is the only "democratic" country in the region that bowed to the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen's government.
Indonesia and Malaysia ignored the demand not to let Cambodian dissidents land, even letting some enter and stay. But that does not seem to have made Thailand a bad guy in the eyes of the West.
"I also came to power through elections," Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the 2014 coup-maker, boasted to locals during his recent trip to Ratchaburi province.
Without a doubt, his government must have delivered the same message to western nations, who have bought it -- or perhaps faked their acceptance -- out of relief that the political mess in Thailand seems back to tolerable levels.
That indicates Prime Minister Hun Sen could have softened his crackdown on the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which has been so ruthless and rigorous that the West has threatened penalties over the past few years.
Here in Thailand, we cannot lie to ourselves that the political climate is any prettier. It just looks less ugly from the outside.
Suppression of the opposition to the previous and current regimes here has been as worrying as that in Cambodia, except that it is done in a more gradual and subtle way, and the West seems to feel comfortable enough with us.
Looking at the bigger picture, the ruling regimes in both countries have applied similar tactics against their political rivals.
First, they invented a string of new legislation (which, in the case of Thailand, includes a new constitution) and exploited existing laws to help facilitate their political purge and justify their path to power.
Next, they applied the legislation and cited "the rule of law" to justify their actions. All of this was done with the support of certain state organisations in which their influence was already embedded -- in Thailand, through the appointment of their leaders.
Then, there were concerted efforts by individuals and state agencies to exploit "the justice process" so as to have the opposition parties dissolved and their members banned from politics. All of this was and is being done in the name of law.
Prior to Cambodia's general election last year, the country's Supreme Court disbanded the CNRP and banned its senior members from politics for five years. CNRP president Kem Sokha also faces treason charges, which stemmed merely from his stating that he had received political advice from the US.
That has made Cambodia a de facto one-party state. By any legitimate standards, it is no longer a democracy.
Shocked by widespread arrests of CNRP supporters and charges against their leaders, the West finally lost patience and called for a restoration of their political rights.
Thailand had also been a de facto one-party state since the 2014 coup, until the general election in March this year.
The polls could have marked a transition to genuine democratic rule, but the Election Commission instead concocted a much-criticised interpretation of the election law that eventually resulted in party-list MP seats being given undeserved to a bunch of small parties.
That decision helped give the current coalition parties a thin majority in parliament.
Coupled with a new rule under the charter that allows appointed senators to vote for a prime minister, the parties managed to form a government when they should have been in the opposition camp.
Some called it "hybrid-democracy". Others may brand it "hybrid-dictatorship". Like it or not, it is something the international community can swallow.
It also demonstrates the regime's culture of yoo pen, loosely translated as the willingness to compromise and adapt in order to survive or be accepted as part of a community or a group.
Recently, the opposition Future Forward Party (FFP) announced its plan to launch a campaign based on the opposite principle, yoo mai pen, this Saturday to demonstrate its more principled stance.
With such an unforgiving stance, it's no wonder the FFP has become a target of political bullying by the current regime, in an echo of what happened to the CNRP in Cambodia.
The FFP and its executives have become targets of a string of lawsuits and formal complaints based on flimsy grounds. Observers and media outlets have come out to predict the "fate" of the party and its leaders, with the former threatened with dissolution and the latter a ban from politics. Under a genuine democracy where the rule of law is respected, these accusations would never have got this far.
Luckily, western governments seem to be okay with our political mess. Thailand has not been pressured with threats of trade or diplomatic sanctions, and for that we can thank our hybrid-democracy (or hybrid-dictatorship). But for Thais who stand up for principles, there is nothing much to be proud of.
While Cambodia's political repression has brought the threat of being removed from the US Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), which lifts tariffs and quotas on its exports, Thailand faces a similar fate but for a different reason -- US concerns about workers' rights.
The European Union is also considering whether to withdraw preferential trade status for Cambodia due to its democratic rollback, but Thailand has escaped any such pressure.
In a world where the West is also yoo pen -- knowing where the bigger problems are and dealing with them, while turning a blind eye to less serious issues -- Cambodia loses and Thailand wins.
Prime Minister Hun Sen over the weekend made a decision to ease restrictions attached to the house arrest of senior opposition member Kem Sokha. That may demonstrate the strongman's willingness to compromise, but he will have to do much more in order to win back support or acceptance from the West. And he can turn to Gen Prayut for advice on the art of faking a return to democracy.
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How Did Cambodia’s First Family Afford Their Long Island Home?
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| A four-bedroom detached home in Syosset, Long Island, outside of New York, purchased by the family of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2000. Nassau County Assessor. |
By Jack Davies RFA 2019-11-15
The purchase of a four-bedroom detached home in an unremarkable suburb of New York by the family of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2000, revealed in land records obtained by Radio Free Asia, appears to have been the first step in their nearly two-decade effort to offshore their immense wealth.
The home was bought for $550,000 by four of the prime minister’s children: Hun Manet, then 23; Mana, 20; Manith, 19; and Many, just shy of 18. The acquisition came as Manet embarked on the second year of his master’s in economics at New York University, having become the first-ever Cambodian to graduate from the nearby West Point Military Academy in early 1999.
Given that all four were still in full-time education and their father’s official salary was approximately $12,000 per year, the transaction raises questions about how it was financed. There’s no indication in the purchase records that the Hun children took out a mortgage against the property.
Detailed requests for comment were sent to all four siblings, though none responded.
Hun Sen’s critics have little doubt what would have bankrolled the purchase of the house in the affluent suburb of Syosset, Long Island – little more than an hour’s commute from Manhattan.
“Corruption, of course,” says exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy. “Government corruption, systemic corruption, predatory corruption.”
A humble, but significant, home
The home itself is modest by the extravagant standards Cambodia has come to expect from its ruling family. A Reuters investigation in October revealed the Hun clan owns real estate across the world worth tens of millions of dollars. However, the New York home was purchased at least a decade before any previously reported overseas properties, suggesting the prime minister’s family is even wealthier than previously assumed, according to Dr Lee Morgenbesser of Griffith University in Queensland, Australia.
“If in 2000 they are going off and purchasing property – expensive property – overseas, this suggests that the pillaging and building of their portfolios is far more advanced than what people know,” said Morgenbesser, who studies authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia. “It really suggests to me that the property portfolio is much bigger than what is currently being reported.”
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| Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's eldest son, Hun Manet (C), the first-ever Cambodian to graduate from the nearby West Point Military Academy, at West Point in undated photo. Cambodia Leaks |
Recalling his brief tenure in 1993-94 as Cambodia’s finance minister, Rainsy alleged that Hun Sen had deliberately worked to protect his family and associates’ corrupt interests in the timber industry by obstructing Finance Ministry supervision of forestry exports. His accusation chimes with investigations by NGOs such as Global Witness, which found that illegal logging in Cambodia operates under a nationwide patronage system in which illicit profits trickle up from smugglers to tycoons and then to senior government officials.
Cambodia currently ranks 161st out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perceptions Index’. Hun Sen has served as prime minister since 1985.
At the time when the Hun children bought their New York home, World Bank data suggest the average Cambodian earned $300 a year. Had an ordinary citizen saved every penny of that $300, it would have taken them more than 1,600 years to accumulate the $500,000 purchase price.
Moving on
The Hun children sold the home in 2007 for $740,000, seven years after they bought it. Among them, only Manet was present in New York to sign the sale deed. In order for Manet to execute the sale on their behalf, his siblings signed power-of-attorney documents, which were notarized by US consular officials in Cambodia and Australia.
The documents provide an intriguing window into the lives of the siblings at that time.
Manith, who is today director of Cambodia’s Military Intelligence, gave his home address as the multimillion dollar Australian home of Dy Vichea. Manith is married to Dy Vichea’s sister Hok Chendavy, whose father Hok Lundy was at the time Cambodia’s national police chief.
Many, by 2007 24 years old and today a member of parliament from the ruling Cambodia People’s Party, gave his address as a student dormitory in Melbourne.
Meanwhile Mana, who would go on to marry Dy Vichea, was listed as resident at perhaps Cambodia’s most exclusive address: her father’s official residence facing Phnom Penh’s Independence Monument. Hun Sen’s biographers describe the building as a “sprawling mansion”, its garden filled with “shrubs sculpted in the shape of deer and dogs.”
False witness?
The purchase deeds also raise the question of whether eldest child Manet, who today heads Cambodia’s armed forces, gave false testimony under penalty of perjury to a US federal court in 2017.
“I attended the United States Military Academy from 1994 to 1999,” Manet wrote in a declaration to the California Central District Court in response to a case brought by opposition figure Meach Sovannara accusing Manet of complicity in torture. “This was the only time I lived in the United States for any extended period of time.”
However, when Manet and his siblings purchased the New York home in 2000, he gave another address in the state as his home address, suggesting he was resident there after 1999. Seven years later, he would be the only of his siblings to personally appear in New York to sign the deed of sale. He was also enrolled in New York University’s economics master’s program until January 2002. His father’s biographers, who interviewed Manet in Bangkok in 2003, describe him as having lived in New York during his studies.
Human rights lawyer Morton Sklar, an attorney in the case against Manet, believes this was a clear instance of perjury.
“There’s no question about it,” Sklar told Radio Free Asia.
Lying under oath is a criminal offence in the United States and can result in a prison term of up to five years. However, perjury in civil cases, such as that of Meach Sovannara, is rarely prosecuted.
Cambodian government spokesperson Phay Siphan declined to comment about the details of the purchase and sale of the New York home by the Hun children, describing it as “purely a private case” unrelated to the government.
But he pushed back against suggestions the house was bought with proceeds of corruption.
“If such a purchase was from money laundering, why was the U.S. so stupid to have permitted such thing to happen?” he told RFA.
Sovannarith Keo of RFA's Khmer Service contributed to this report.
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Cambodian leader releases activists to save EU trade perks
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| Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has been criticized for quashing the opposition during his more than three decades in power. © Reuters |
Hun Sen eases grip on opposition after blocking Sam Rainsy's homecoming
Tomoya Onishi, Nikkei staff writer | November 16, 2019
HANOI -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appears to be bending to European Union criticism over his human rights record, freeing dozens of opposition activists from jail to save an important trade agreement with the bloc.
Roughly 30 already have been released, local media reported. About 70 activists were detained over the past several months on suspicion of planning a coup and other charges. Hun Sen on Thursday said these individuals were tricked by Sam Rainsy, an opposition icon who had planned to return home from self-exile for Cambodia's Independence Day on Nov. 9.
The Cambodian government also freed Kem Sokha from house arrest on Sunday. Kem Sokha led the now-barred opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party after Sam Rainsy left Cambodia in 2015.
Sam Rainsy announced his plan to return to Cambodia in August. He planned to fly into Thailand from Malaysia and cross the border over land, but was blocked from boarding the plane by the Thai government. He instead entered Indonesia on Thursday, and is expected to stay there until Saturday.
Now that Hun Sen is relatively confident he can keep Sam Rainsy from returning to Cambodia, he is loosening his grip on the opposition in a nod to European concerns.
The European Union currently has an Everything But Arms deal with Cambodia, which exempts all Cambodian exports barring weapons from European tariffs. The bloc takes in about 40% of Cambodia's exports. The country shipped $4.6 billion worth of goods to the EU in 2018, much of it in apparel and shoes, according to the World Bank.
But the EU is weighing whether to maintain these perks, given Hun Sen's crackdown against his opponents. On Tuesday, it told Cambodia to submit a plan for improving the situation within a month.
Hun Sen is eager to avoid penalties, as a drop in exports would deliver a major blow to the country's garment industry, a key support base behind his 34 years in power. He has significantly increased minimum wage in the field and visited factories to encourage continued support.
Meanwhile, Kem Sokha met separately with Carmen Moreno, the EU ambassador to Cambodia, and with Japanese Ambassador Masahiro Mikami on Wednesday. The former opposition leader was detained in September 2017 for treason. His party was ordered to disband that November by the Cambodian Supreme Court, and he had been under house arrest since September 2018.
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What’s Next for Cambodia’s Opposition Politics?
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| Credit: Pixabay |
After a big week for the country’s opposition, a look at what may lie ahead for it as well as Cambodian politics more generally.
By David Hutt | The Diplomat, November 14, 2019
The past week has marked a big week for Cambodia’s opposition politics, and yet another test of how Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in his position since 1985, continues to navigate the country’s power dynamics in order to prolong the grip of power he and the Cambodian People’s Party have had on the Southeast Asian state.
On November 10, Kem Sokha, the leader of the now-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was released from house arrest after more than 26 months in detention. This came less than 24 hours after Sam Rainsy and other exiled CNRP grandees failed in their much-anticipated march back into Cambodia, during which, Sam Rainsy claimed, massive public protests would either force the dictator to the negotiating table or to resign.
But with Kem Sokha now allowed to travel freely in Cambodia (though still banned from leaving the country or publicly discussing politics) and Sam Rainsy with little chance of returning to Cambodia, it has all the hallmark of a Hun Sen ruse. It is likely that Hun Sen will give time for Sam Rainsy’s return to collapse (giving time also for the “coward” and “liar” barbs to stick) and will then move to create some space for Kem Sokha in politics. Kem Sokha’s treason charges were always considered spurious, and Hun Sen was only detaining him for so long in order to wait for the most perfect moment for his release.
That his “release” from house arrest happened to come just weeks before the European Union is set to publish its preliminary report on the situation in Cambodia – which may eventually lead Brussels to remove Cambodia from its preferential Everything But Arms (EBA) trade scheme, on which much of the country’s export-drive economy relies – likely indicates Hun Sen is now moving quickly to rectify the international problem he created, too.
Hun Sen will also likely soon issue a pardon for Kem Sokha and he will be allowed to reform the CNRP – just as the West demands. But, all the while, Sam Rainsy and his supporters won’t be allowed to return to Cambodia, thereby physically dividing a party long divided between the two leaders’ factions. (A reformed CNRP will then have three years in the wilderness before the next general election, in 2023).
Kem Sokha will likely face an unenviable choice: salvage what’s left of the CNRP but without the input of Sam Rainsy and his team (which will defang much of the party’s popular appeal) or remain loyal to Rainsy and give up the opportunity. Sam Rainsy will have an even harder choice. Will he put his own ambitions aside so that Kem Sokha can attempt to reform the CNRP? How would the Cambodian people respond if they knew there was a chance to resurrect the CNRP, but it was given up because some leaders couldn’t acquiesce to losing their place in it?
Hun Sen knows there is a scenario in which the opposition party can be routed from the inside, and appears to be pursuing it. The increasingly slathering pro-CPP newspaper Khmer Times can be trusted to parrot what prominent ruling party politicians are thinking, and an editorial published on November 13 informs us that “Sam Rainsy is being marginalised within his own group. Kem Sokha and his supporters have lost trust in Sam Rainsy… A new face and era for the opposition party in Cambodia is crystalising, likely to be led by Kem Sokha’s faction.” “If Kem Sokha is rationale and pragmatic, he could save the future of his political party,” it added. “[But] he needs to keep Sam Rainsy at bay.”
To be sure, one should not overestimate Hun Sen and the CPP’s ability to manipulate the opposition and control the future trajectory of Cambodian politics. While he is one of the world’s longest serving leaders, support for the CNRP has been rising in recent years. And in moving to finish off the opposition party over the past few years, Hun Sen may have made one of the biggest mistakes of his career in both narrowing the space for future political compromises domestically and failing to anticipate the forceful response from international actors such as the United States and the European Union. These mistakes may be rooted in other domestic dynamics, including the extent of factionalism within the CPP and Hun Sen’s own dynastic succession.
Nonetheless, the evolution of Cambodia’s opposition dynamics and how they play into power politics in the Southeast Asian state will continue to be important to watch in the next few months. As this past week has shown, while the fundamental forces at work may remain generally the same, there will likely be no shortage of twists and turns along the way as well.
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How CNRP Rift Benefits Hun Sen
Pseng-Pseng
17xi19
How CNRP Rift Benefits Hun Sen
“បទពិសោធន៍នៃការរួបរួមគ្នា អ្នកប្រជាធិបតេយ្យត្រូវរួបរួមគ្នាដាច់ខាត ដើម្បីឈ្នះ ចាំបាច់ត្រូវរួបរួមគ្នា។ ហើយបើមិនរួបរួមគ្នា អត់ងាយឈ្នះទេ។ ហើយបើឈ្នះហើយ បែកបាក់ការរួបរួមគ្នា ចាញ់ទៅវិញ។ ហ្នឹងហើយបទពិសោធន៍ គេ(ដំណាងរាស្ត្រម៉ាឡេស៊ី) ក៏ឯកភាព យើងក៏ឯកភាពអញ្ចឹង។”
ប្រធានស្តីទីគណបក្សសង្រ្គោះជាតិ សមរង្ស៊ី វិទ្យុអាស៊ីសេរី ១២វិច្ឆិកា ២០១៩
“ខ្ញុំមិនបានទាក់ទងលោកកឹមសុខាទេ មិនមានលទ្ធភាព។”
ប្រធានស្តីទីគណបក្សសង្រ្គោះជាតិ សមរង្ស៊ី វិទ្យុអាស៊ីសេរី ១២វិច្ឆិកា ២០១៩
“ខ្ញុំអត់ចង់ឆ្លើយតបទេ អ្នកណាទិតៀនសមរង្ស៊ី ទិតៀនអ្នកដែលស្មោះត្រង់នឹងសមរង្ស៊ី
ទិតៀនចុះ គ្រាន់តែខ្ញុំសូមរំឮកថា យើងកុំលេងល្បែងហ៊ុនសែន។ ល្បែងហ៊ុនសែនចង់ឲ្យ
យើងវាយមក ចង់ឲ្យយើងឈ្លោះគ្នា កុំលេងល្បែងហ៊ុនសែនឲ្យសោះ បើយើងចង់ឈ្នះជនផ្តាច់ការហ៊ុនសែន។ យើងត្រូវតែរួបរួមគ្នា ពីព្រោះគោលដៅយើងតែមួយ គឺផ្ដួលរបបហ៊ុនសែន… ។”
ប្រធានស្តីទីគណបក្សសង្រ្គោះជាតិ សមរង្ស៊ី វិទ្យុអាស៊ីសេរី ១២វិច្ឆិកា ២០១៩
Sam Rainsy claims after his meeting with some Malaysian parliamentarians that one major experience he learns from his hosts is that all democrats “must” unite to win. He says it is very difficult to win with disunity. How true.
In practice, nevertheless, Sam Rainsy seems struggling with how the unity works. While insisting he and Kem Sokha be one, he makes little or no effort to heal an obvious widening CNRP internal rift. He claims, without elaborating why, it is not possible for him to communicate with Kem Sokha after the latter’s recent conditional release from house arrest. Neither has Kem Sokha contacted him. Given modern communication facilities, the disconnection means the rift is widened to the extent that their liaison is no longer a priority.
A simple phone call between the two could do wonder for the CNRP unity. Kem Sokha may be persuaded to declare his support for a Sam Rainsy return including the 9/11. He could be thrown back in house arrest for breaking a court order not to be political, but it would be a massive boast to the morale of all CNRP supporters. Anyhow, that crucial phone call is not possible.
The CNRP rift has surfaced since Hun Sen dissolved the party. A CNR Movement is then founded to take over CNRP roles with Sam Rainsy in charge. He abandons it soon after and becomes acting president of a resuscitated CNRP. This re-arrangement of chairs on Titanic deck splits the CNRP right in the middle between Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha factions. All along, Sam Rainsy pledges to reach out to dissidents, but he fails.
Sam Rainsy refuses to address criticisms that are laid before him. Perhaps, he cannot resolve them; or, he may dismiss them as irrelevant. He may not realise a burning cigarette butt can often lead to bushfires. However, he reminds all not to play a game Hun Sen sets up to break up the opposition. Yet, he forgets he has already been deep in the game by trivialising the criticisms.
Kem Sokha may now grow sick and tired of the rift and consider another opposition party. He can expect plenty of support from the West to go solo. Within three days after his release, ambassadors from eight significant Western and Asian democracies rush to pay him a home visit. They must be impressed with his tenacious and audacious decision to suffer in jail, rather than fleeing the country. Meanwhile, Sam Rainsy has been knocking at doors searching for friends and sympathy, which he says is successful. Contrary to his claims, however, there are no Western dignitaries accompanying him in his 9/11 trip. They may suspect it is just another hot air.
Hun Sen will smile on any Kem Sokha move that isolates Sam Rainsy. With his recent decision to grant amnesty to those he refers as duped 9/11 participants, the West may choose to maintain all trade concessions. Then, even lemon juice will not wipe the smile off Hun Sen’s face.
Ung Bun Ang
17xi19
Funny News You Can Use
So, when ambassadors of Western democracies request all charges against Kem Sokha be dropped, it is an act of interference in the Cambodian justice system, according to Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin; he reminds them they also act against the international law. How pretentious.
Nevertheless, when Hun Sen declares an amnesty for those who have participated in the fizzled Sam Rainsy 9/11 return, Chin Malin makes it clear that is not an order from the master, but just a request. And best of all, this request, according to him, does not interfere in the judiciary system. He just parrots a Hun Sen standard line that the court is independent, taking instructions from nobody.
It is indeed a request that – to reflect on Godfather Don Vito Corleone’s words and sentiment– Chin Malin et al cannot refuse. They will bend over backward to ensure Hun Sen’s request is their command. In this instance, Kampot provincial court releases two CNRP activists from jail within hours after Hun Sen’s request specifies the two. He says a prompt release will show how effective his words are. What can Chin Malin et al say besides executing the request pronto.
As Hun Sen points out, his legal system allows the Ministry of Justice to control prosecutors of the court and he, as the prime minister, has a control over the Ministry of Justice. It is a kind of a crooked democracy by law, which lumps the three branches of government system into one man for expediency.
Those ambassadors must be shaking their head in private and wondering if they will ever quit this charade nonsense.
« [ប្រព័ន្ធតុលាការកម្ពុជាអនុញ្ញាតឱ្យនីតិប្រតិបត្តិក្តាប់នយោបាយព្រហ្មទណ្ឌ តាមរយៈដាក់ព្រះរាជអាជ្ញាឱ្យនៅក្រោមការពិនិត្យមើលរបស់ក្រសួងយុត្តិធម៌] អ៊ីចឹងក្រសួងយុត្តិធម៌ វាជានរណា? ក្រសួងយុត្តិធម៌ វាជាក្រសួងមួយចំណុះ ឱ្យ រាជរដ្ឋាភិបាល ។ ដូច្នេះ រាជរដ្ឋាភិបាល នាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រី មានសិទ្ធិនឹងនិយាយ ។»
នាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រី ហ៊ុន សែន ថ្ងៃទី ១៥ វិច្ឆិកាឆ្នាំ២០១៩ ភ្នំពេញប៉ុស្តិ៍
By the Way
Help my team make a difference
Think about this for a second: globally, men die 6 years earlier than women. To make it worse, the reasons are largely preventable. 1 in 6 Aussie men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer among young men. And 3 out of 4 suicides in Australia are men.
Pretty shocking, right? That’s why we – my son Dean, my sons-in-law Ian and Sam, and I – are growing a moustache for Movember this year to raise some fund for their effort: they’re hell-bent on changing the face of men’s health and so are we.
The money we raise this Movember will help fund ground-breaking research, innovative health projects, scientific breakthroughs for cancer treatments and life-changing mental health programs.
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Donate to the good cause. Just go to the following link with your heart and wallet open and click, “Donate to team”.
Should you feel inclined, please share the campaign with your friends and relatives.
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UBA
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PM addresses infrastructure spending at P Sihanouk groundbreaking
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| Prime Minister Hun Sen greets villagers during the groundbreaking ceremony for 34 new roads in Preah Sihanouk province on Saturday. hun sen facebook page |
Voun Dara | The Phnom Penh Post
Publication date 17 November 2019 | 23:11 ICT
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday addressed the Kingdom’s spending on new infrastructure projects during the groundbreaking ceremony for 34 new roads in Preah Sihanouk province amid calls for greater transparency over Cambodia’s expenditures.
“Originally, the cost for the project came to $294 million, but that posed a lot of questions. Some people asked: ‘Why are the roads so expensive?’ or ‘Where is the money to build roads coming from?’
“I would like to emphasise that taxes generate more than enough income for the government’s budget. The income generated through customs imports alone is about $250 million on average.
“Cambodia earns about $500 million each month, and between $300-400 million is spent each month so Cambodia can save $100-200 million per month,” he said.
Hun Sen said that the 84km-long stretch of road networks were originally estimated to cost $294 million, but the government was able to negotiate the cost down by some $100 million.
“I want to emphasise that we aren’t playing all the cards we’re dealt,” he said, referring to the budget surplus.
“A [benefit] of $100 million is still very small when compared to the whole of the government’s savings in cash,” he said, noting that observers had claimed that the government was “dying of foreign pressure”.
The decision to upgrade the roads came when Hun Sen visited the province during July’s infamous seven-storey building collapse at an illegal construction site which claimed the lives of 28 construction workers.
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| Prime Minister Hun Sen operates a bulldozer during the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of 34 new roads in Preah Sihanouk province on Saturday. Hun Sen's Facebook Page |
“At that time, I observed that Preah Sihanouk province’s infrastructure was not what it used to be. It needed to be rebuilt again.
“When we looked up, we saw very beautiful buildings, but when we looked down . . . we saw that we were in mud . . . we were walking, driving cars and motorbikes in mud,” he said, adding that the coastal province was critical to the Kingdom’s economic development.
“The government would not dare approve $300 million in funding for Preah Sihanouk province if it did not successfully attract sources of capital.
“All buildings are decorated with good lighting. But we look down, we walk, ride motorbikes and cars in mud,” the prime minister stressed.
Cambodian National Research Organisation director Sok Sokhom told The Post that it was important that the new roads are built competently as almost every road in Sihanoukville was badly damaged.
“We already know that the redevelopment of the 34 roads is funded by the government. So, the use of the budget to build the roads must be transparent,” Sokhom stressed.
Provincial governor Kouch Chamroeun read a report at the ceremony that said the roads would largely benefit high-end areas of the province popular with tourists. The total construction will include three roundabouts and six bridges spanning 252m.
Chamroeun said the roads were being built to help Sihanoukville’s further transformation from a sleepy coastal province to a model multi-purpose, economic area.
“I humbly request that Samdech Techo Hun Sen order that when the roads are completed, no one is allowed to cut into or drill them,” Chamroeun said.
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Why Asia’s longest-serving leader is warning about a coup
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| Hun Sen, Cambodia’s prime minister, speaks at the Future of Asia conference in Tokyo, Japan, on May 30, 2019. Image Credits: Akio Kon/Bloomberg |
By Philip J. Heijmans | Bloomberg News
BusinessMirror, November 17, 2019
On his path to becoming Asia’s longest-serving leader, Hun Sen has mastered the art of fighting for power.
When he first took charge of Cambodia as a 33-year-old in 1985, he battled remnants of the Khmer Rouge for control of the Southeast Asian nation. After losing the first election following a United Nations-brokered peace in 1993, he threatened to secede unless he was made co-prime minister. Four years later, a de facto coup put him solely in charge, a position he’s kept to this day.
Now 67, Hun Sen is suddenly worried that a group of exiled dissidents might overthrow him by force—a claim that looks hysterical on its face given many of his main political opponents have been locked up or abroad since he won all of the country’s parliamentary seats during a boycotted election last year.
But he has lots of reason to worry.
Discontent is building among the country’s 16 million people—most of whom have never been alive under another leader—over skyrocketing household debt, resentment at an influx of Chinese investment and a lack of jobs. The European Union is threatening to pull preferential tariffs that could upend the garment sector, the economy’s most important industry. And questions over succession are spurring rumors of internal rifts in his ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
“There could easily be a popular uprising,” said Ou Virak, director of Phnom Penh-based think-tank Future Forum and former chairman of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.
‘Peaceful uprising’
Hun Sen’s opponents see an opportunity to pounce. Long-time opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who has spent the past four years in Paris, has vowed to return to Cambodia to fight for democracy along with others who fled abroad. Hun Sen’s government said the efforts amounted to a coup attempt, and he moved the military to the border while warning he’d use “weapons of all kinds” to stop them.
After arriving in Malaysia, Sam Rainsy told reporters this week he and his colleagues would head to Cambodia “when there is a material, physical possibility to do so.” He said the whole word wanted democracy in Cambodia except for China, and called for a “peaceful uprising” among the masses.
“I have called on the Cambodian army not to shoot at the people, not to shoot at the civilians, not to shoot at innocent people,” Sam Rainsy said. “And Mr. Hun Sen is very afraid because he is not sure of the loyalty of the army. The army will stand with the people. The army will not stand with dictators.”
Phay Siphan, a Cambodian government spokesman, dismissed talk of an uprising, a mutiny in the army or any internal dissent within the ruling party.
“Everything is under control,” he said by phone, while also ruling out talks with the opposition. “The government will in no shape or form negotiate with Sam Rainsy.”
On Wednesday evening, the government issued a statement appealing to opposition supporters to “stop listening to Sam Rainsy” adding it had fully restored public order after defeating the exiled leader’s attempted coup, the AP reported. Sam Rainsy on Tuesday said he could still return to the country “at any time.”
Still, Hun Sen has taken at least one step to ease tensions. On Sunday, the government released Kem Sokha, the founder and co-leader of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), after for more than two years. Another 85 political prisoners are still in custody, according to the UN.
One reason for Kem Sokha’s release may be the EU’s looming decision on whether to pull Cambodia’s access to a preferential trading scheme due to its deteriorating human rights record. Such a move could decimate its $5-billion garment industry and threaten the jobs of about 750,000 Cambodians, some of whom stood with Sam Rainsy during mass rallies in 2013 calling for the prime minister’s resignation.
We “expect the Cambodian authorities to reinstate the political rights of all opposition members banned from political life and to fully release all opposition members, supporters and activists recently put under detention,” the EU wrote in a news statement on Monday.
China factor
Hun Sen’s move to curtail political and media freedoms over the years has coincided with closer ties with China. As President Xi Jinping’s biggest ally in Southeast Asia, the Cambodian government has garnered $7.9 billion in Chinese investment from 2016 to August 2019, representing more than a third of all foreign investment, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
The slew of Chinese property projects and tourists has led to a growing backlash both in the capital Phnom Penh and the once sleepy coastal resort town of Sihanoukville, where more than a dozen new casinos have driven up crime and prostitution. China’s stake in an investment zone encompassing 20 percent of Cambodia’s coastline also raised fears in the US that it would become a Chinese naval base, something the government denied.
“Cambodians do not feel good about the Chinese influx and it created insecurity inside the country,” said Noan Sereiboth, an influential political blogger and frequent contributor to the youth-centered media group Politikoffee.
Another headache for Hun Sen is growing discontent over mounting public and personal debt. With a median of $3,370 per loan, Cambodia now has the highest average for small loans in the world, according to a report published in August by local rights groups.
Mostly owed to just nine lenders, the total outstanding amount is equal to roughly a third of the country’s entire GDP for 2018, while seven largest microfinance institutions (MFI) made more than $130 million in profit in 2017. During last year’s election, Hun Sen disavowed connections to microfinance lenders.
Question of succession
Confounding the problem is the question of succession as various factions jostle for power.
Hun Sen’s three sons are seen as competing for the top spot, with his eldest Hun Manet the odds-on favorite. Educated at West Point and commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, Hun Manet was elevated last year to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party’s Standing Committee, a key decision-making body.
Without specifically addressing the opposition’s calls for an uprising, Hun Manet took to Facebook on Tuesday to implore citizens to enjoy annual water festival this week.
“What the people do not want is chaos, insecurity, instability and the loss of peace,” he wrote. “We must work together to fully protect the peace we have today.”
For all the noise, Sam Rainsy’s move is “desperate” and has little chance of success, according to Lee Morgenbesser, author of the book Beyond the Façade: Elections Under Authoritarianism in Southeast Asia.
“A failure to try to re-enter Cambodia would raise significant questions about whether those exiled are the right leaders for Cambodia’s pro-democracy movement,” Morgenbesser said.
Still, those outside the country see this as one of their final chances to act. Vanna Hay, a 33-year-old CNRP supporter living in Tokyo, plans to join other activists in returning to Cambodia.
“No matter whether Sam Rainsy was on Cambodian soil on November 9 or later, the people will rise and people power will bring Hun Sen down,” Vanna Hay said. “They will collapse soon by their own sin they made.”
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Dhamma talk by Maha Thera Dr. Hok Savann on November 17, 2019
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Cambodia eases up on one dissident to distract attention from another
The government hopes to avoid European sanctions for repressing democracy
SINGAPORE | November 14th, 2019
On the day that Kem Sokha was released from 14 months of house arrest, he decided to stay at home. The Cambodian opposition leader did meet politely with foreign bigwigs who were at last free to call on him, but declined to address waiting reporters. He was still barred from participating in politics, he explained, and did not know what the courts might construe as a political act. He still awaits trial on trumped-up treason charges. The Cambodia National Rescue Party (cnrp), which he used to lead, remains banned. And despite a court’s decision on November 10th to ease other restrictions on him, he cannot leave the country.
Ironically, the little breathing room Mr Kem Sokha has been afforded is probably thanks to the efforts of his predecessor as leader of the cnrp, Sam Rainsy, to enter Cambodia. In August the former finance minister announced that he would return to Cambodia on November 9th from self-imposed exile in France. (He fled four years ago after being convicted of defamation.) Ahead of his arrival, the government arrested more than 50 people aligned with the opposition. Military reinforcements were sent to the border with Thailand.
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សម្ភាសន៍ជាមួយមន្ត្រីសង្គមស៊ីវិល ស្តីពីផលវិបាកនៃការដកប្រព័ន្ធអនុគ្រោះពន្ធ EBA
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ក្រុមអ្នកឃ្លាំមើល សោកស្ដាយដែលព្រឹទ្ធសភាផ្តល់សច្ចាប័នលើសន្ធិសញ្ញាបំពេញបន្ថែមឆ្នាំ២០១៩
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កម្មវិធីទូរទស្សន៍អាស៊ីសេរីសម្រាប់ ថ្ងៃទី១៨ ខែវិច្ឆិកា ឆ្នាំ២០១៩
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លោក ហ៊ុន សែន ថាតុលាការ នឹងមិនទម្លាក់ចោលបទចោទលើសំណុំរឿងលោក កឹម សុខា ទេ
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Families moved after tower crane incident
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| A tower crane’s handle collapsed on a building on Saturday morning in Commune IV’s Village 2 in Sihanoukville. Supplied |
Khouth Sophak Chakrya | The Phnom Penh Post
Publication date 17 November 2019 | 23:11 ICT
More than 30 families were forced to temporarily evacuate their homes after a tower crane’s handle collapsed on a building on Saturday morning in Commune IV’s Village 2 in Sihanoukville.
Specialist officials took two small mobile cranes to the construction site of the affected 11-storey building to remove the tower crane’s broken handle.
Commune IV police chief Sam Prak told The Post on Sunday that although no one was hurt in the incident, the situation made residents staying near the construction site fear for their safety.
“We didn’t know what would happen next as the specialists were launching the operation to remove the broken handle from the roof of the building. So we had to evacuate more than 30 families staying nearby to avoid possible danger,” Prak said.
Resident Eng Sokorb told The Post on Sunday that his family had run out of their home after the handle had broken and fell on the building’s roof.
“It was shocking for me to see the handle of the crane tilt to one side and break at a height of more than 20m. But luckily, it did not fall on our home because a stone was tied to one end of the handle.
“It [the handle] was drawn to the other side of the building, causing it to break and fall on the control room which was on the roof of the building. The handle did not fall to the ground,” he said.
Village 2 chief Sim Sameth told The Post on Sunday that he initially speculated that the big building had collapsed because he had seen in a distance the handle of the tower crane collapsing.
He then rushed to the scene to check the situation and realised it was not the case of the building collapsing. There was no injury or death in the incident.
“According to a technical official, the handle of the tower crane broke because of [a glitch] when the shaft of the crane’s handle was released. The release of the shaft was technically wrong,” he said.
Building and Wood Workers Trade Union Federation of Cambodia secretary-general Yann Thy told The Post on Sunday that the mishap had affected dozens of families staying near the big building.
“Normally, the tower crane will not easily break if it was used following proper standards and the technical tool’s quality was properly checked.
“But in this case, we understand it was part of the negligence of the technical working group and supervisor of the construction site,” he said.
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Officials demolish 49 illegal huts in Siem Reap
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| The authorities dismantled 49 of some 1,000 huts which had been built illegally on forest land in Siem Reap’s Phnom Kulen National Park. Supplied |
Voun Dara | The Phnom Penh Post
Publication date 17 November 2019 | 23:16 ICT
After the authorities on Friday and Saturday dismantled 49 of some 1,000 huts which had been built illegally on forest land in Siem Reap’s Phnom Kulen National Park, Banteay Srei district governor Khim Finan said on Sunday that a hunt was on for a group of activists who have been inciting people to commit forest crimes.
He said the huts were demolished because the villagers had failed to obey an ultimatum demanding they remove the illegal structures themselves.
After the huts were demolished, the authorities made a second announcement on Saturday giving the remaining families five more days to remove the structures.
Finan said people had not demolished the huts because they were encouraged by a group of land activists to erect more of them over the Water Festival.
“People saw us removing the huts, now some of them have begun dismantling them by themselves. But some people are still refusing to do so because a group of land activists has told them not to. Now we’re searching for the activists,” Finan said.
After being made aware of the land grab, in Tbeng Lech and Srah Khvav villages in Banteay Srei district’s Tbeng commune, the authorities ordered the people to remove the huts and prohibited any further construction in the area.
“The law is the law. Illegal land grabs must be cracked down on whenever they happen. People gathering to protest will not legitimise illegal acts,” Finan said, adding that legal homes belonging to permanent residents were not affected.
He said the authorities also never leave people homeless and always attempt to find an appropriate solution for them.
Chan Chamroeun, the provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, confirmed that he was aware the huts had been demolished. He said as of Sunday afternoon, no one had filed a complaint with the organisation.
He acknowledged that the authorities were only following the law, but said they should find people who were genuinely poor somewhere to live.
Ministry of Environment spokesman Neth Pheaktra said the land grab was the result of incitement by land brokers who violated the law and destroyed natural resources under the pretext of growing crops. They attempted to make it appear that they had lived on and owned the land for a long time.
He said the ministry was working with relevant authorities to take strict action against offenders to prevent such land grabs.
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New Prey Sar block set to open
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| The Kingdom’s defunct ‘pay-to-stay’ VIP prison plans were modified to temporarily alleviate overcrowding at Phnom Penh’s Police Judiciaire prison. Photo supplied |
Mech Dara | The Phnom Penh Post
Publication date 17 November 2019 | 23:15 ICT
A new Prey Sar prison building – part of the scrapped VIP prison project – was handed over to the Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Prisons on Friday and will be put into operation soon.
General Department of Prisons director-general Chan Kimseng said the new building will help reduce overcrowding and temporarily replace Phnom Penh’s Police Judiciaire (PJ) prison, which is filled beyond capacity until a new prison has been completed.
The building, on the compound of Prey Sar prison in the capital’s Dangkor district, was built on 1.5ha at a cost of some $4 million by Kunn Rekon Holdings Co Ltd.
“According to the principle of [Minister of Interior] Krala Hoam Sar Kheng, the Phnom Penh prison is allowed to use the building for some time to alleviate overcrowding.
“We will use this building until the new prison is finished. It won’t be long before it is put into operation.
“We need to process the legal documentation regarding prisoner relocation and submit the documents to the government. It’s less than a month away, but we will try to speed up the process,” Kimseng said.
Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said in July that the ministry had abandoned the VIP prison project after a study found no other country had “pay-to-stay” prisons for inmates able to afford them.
“At first, we asked permission from the government to build a prison for those who want to have more space in return for paying a little money.
“[But] we have looked at other countries, and none has built such a prison. So we have decided to abandon the project.
“No other country has done this, so if we were to, they would use us as an example to follow, and if we were to do it alone, it would be unfeasible,” he said.
Am Sam Ath, the deputy director of monitoring at human rights organisation Licadho, welcomed the decision to abandon the VIP prison project saying it meant the government would avoid criticism about unfair discrimination against the poor.
“Private prisons are not good for Cambodia. It would discriminate against poor people by making life easier for wealthy criminals.
“They will be less afraid to commit crimes because they know they could go to a private prison with comfortable facilities,” he said.
General Department of Prisons spokesman Nuth Savna recently told The Post that there were more than 36,600 people detained in prisons across the country, of whom more than 3,000 were women, with many of them drug offenders.
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At Least 74 Opposition Activists and Members Released After Hun Sen Directive
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| Former CNRP officials are released from Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh at 7:00pm on Friday, November 15, 2019. (Courtesy of Ma Chettra) |
Hul Reaksmey | VOA Khmer, 18 November 2019
Justice Ministry spokesperson maintained that the release of 74 people had nothing to do with the EU Commission’s EBA report.
PHNOM PENH — Following Hun Sen’s directive to court officials on Thursday, at least 74 Cambodia National Rescue Party activists and members were released on bail as of Sunday evening, many of them jailed for allegedly aiding opposition leader Sam Rainsy in a coup plot.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Hun Sen directed judicial officials to release opposition activists and members, though reports suggest some non-CNRP, high profile detainees have also been released on bail. Human rights workers and CNRP lawyers confirmed that 74 people had been released on bail as of Sunday.
This includes CNRP former officials, security guards at the party headquarters and grassroots activists from across the country. This included arrests not linked to the CNRP, such as youth activist Suong Neak Poan who was released on bail Friday, after being arrested in July for participating in a memorial service for slain political commentator Kem Ley.
Those released on bail were arrested in the run up to opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s planned return to Cambodia on November 9. They were arrested for allegedly aiding a coup plot, the government’s characterization of the planned return of Sam Rainsy.
Hun Sen on Thursday said that these people had been misled by Sam Rainsy and that he was releasing them out of compassion and not under pressure from external sources. The releases came days after the European Commission completed a preliminary report looking at the country’s human rights record.
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| Four former CNRP officials are released from Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh at 7:00pm on Friday, November 15, 2019. (Courtesy of Ma Chettra) |
Justice Ministry spokesperson Chin Malin said the government had been made aware that the opposition members and activists had been tricked into helping overthrow the government. This is why there was a request from the government to give them bail, though the court would continue to investigate the charges.
“For charges to be dropped or not, it relies on the courts. It relies on further investigation procedures,” he said.
He maintained that the release of 74 people had nothing to do with the EU Commission’s report.
Soeng Sen Karuna, senior human rights staffer at Adhoc, said that giving people bail was not akin to freeing them, because they were still under investigation, hampering their personal and professional lives.
“A real freedom means that they are not attached to any condition, meaning that they can exercise their freedom to participate in political activities or run any business without any condition. This is what we want to see.
The Cambodian government has till December 12 to respond to the EU Commission’s report, which has yet to be made public. However, Radio Free Asia accessed a leaked copy of the report that shows the commission raising serious concerns over the country’s human rights record.
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