WSJ
December 4, 2009
By CARLYLE A. THAYER
It's been more than a decade since armed militia and security forces loyal to Cambodian strongman Hun Sen violently suppressed the democratic opposition to consolidate the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in power, and the country is once again on the brink of another political upheaval. This time, the battle lines are being drawn in courts rather than in the streets, but the effect will be the same—the slow but sure consolidation of authoritarian rule.
The immediate issue is the political future of opposition leader Sam Rainsy. Late last month, he tried to score political points against the Hun Sen administration by claiming Vietnam had "stolen" Khmer land by placing demarcation markers inside Cambodian territory. Border politics are a potent tool in Cambodia. Mr. Rainsy proceeded to uproot six wooden poles marking the border area and took them to Phnom Penh to press for an investigation. Vietnam officially voiced its concern.
Rather than let the issue rest, deputies from Mr. Hun Sen's ruling CPP unanimously voted on November 16 to strip Mr. Rainsy of his parliamentary immunity for the second time this year. They can do that because the CPP holds 90 seats in the 123-seat lower house of the National Assembly.
This is no ordinary censure. The legislature's action clears all legal impediments for a provincial court to charge Mr. Rainsy with willfully destroying property. If charged and found guilty by the provincial court, the opposition leader could be subject to impeachment in the National Assembly. And Cambodia would lose one of its most effective—and internationally known—opposition political voices against Mr. Hun Sen's regime.
Cambodians can rightly see this as a step backward in what has already been a struggle to consolidate democracy in their country. Since the Khmer Rouge conflict ended in 1991, the country has held four flawed national elections. For the first three ballots, no party was able to form a two-thirds majority to govern, which made it tough for Mr. Hun Sen to consolidate his power. Mr. Rainsy's secular nationalist party eclipsed the former royalist camp to become the main opposition force in the country.
Last year, Mr. Hun Sen's CPP won 73% of the total seats in a ballot marked by irregularities and administrative faults. CPP rule rests on genuine popularity at rice roots level through its economic development policies and nationalism in defense of Cambodia's territorial sovereignty vis-à-vis Thailand. Mr. Hun Sen's aggressive handling of the dispute with Thailand over land surrounding Preah Vihear temple in 2008 was a vote getter.
But as Kek Galabru, a leading human-rights activist noted at the time, "The ruling party will have the right to amend laws and strip parliamentary immunity from critics. We are afraid our democratic state will shrink and shrink." She has a point: The CPP is not only the dominant political force at the local level, but has also entrenched itself in power through control of the police, civil bureaucracy, judiciary and armed forces.
Faced with opposition threats to boycott the official swearing-in ceremonies, Mr. Hun Sen agreed to amend National Assembly rules to acknowledge the official role of the opposition and opposition leader, provide budgetary support and full immunity for all deputies. Last month's parliamentary decision not only puts that deal at risk, but is a stark reminder that 16 years after United Nations intervention, democracy has not been consolidated in Cambodia. The CCP regularly uses its levers of power to weaken the opposition by enticing defections or intimidating voters, as foreign election observers have noted. CPP-influenced courts regularly dismiss lawsuits brought against the government while convicting opposition deputies of defamation.
Mr. Rainsy certainly understands what's at stake. The day after he was stripped of his immunity Mr. Rainsy flew to Brussels, where he raised his plight with the European Parliament and International Parliamentary Union. According to Mr. Rainsy, "As a matter of principle, [the European Parliament] demands that there be a proper investigation." It is unclear when or if he will return to the country.
Mr. Hun Sen probably will eventually restore Mr. Rainsy's immunity after extracting a symbolic expression of regret for his actions. This is all part of Mr. Hun Sen's style of demonstrating that the CPP holds ultimate power. But no one should be fooled that Mr. Hun Sen's encroachments on the opposition are growing less serious. The international community, and particularly aid donors, must bring pressure to bear on Cambodia by supporting the European Parliament's call for an investigation into Mr. Hun Sen's handling of this matter. Other governments should also lobby Phnom Penh to make it harder for the National Assembly to strip immunity from a deputy.
In the longer term, donors must continue programs to enhance the capability of civil society groups, the media and elected parliamentarians to provide effective checks and balances. While the CPP is popular at the moment, it won't necessarily stay that way forever. Cambodians deserve the right to a choice, and part of that means ensuring the survival of a genuine opposition.
Mr. Thayer is professor of politics at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.
Showing posts with label Cambodia-Hun Sen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cambodia-Hun Sen. Show all posts
December 08, 2009
Cambodia: Hun Sen/Opposition
NYT
By SETH MYDANS
Published: July 20, 2009
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia’s courts have been busy in recent weeks with cases of defamation, disinformation and incitement brought by the government in what critics say is part of a broad assault on civil liberties.
“If you’re just walking into the situation, it seems like a series of ridiculous lawsuits,” said Sara Colm, a senior researcher for the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch, who said at least nine lawsuits have recently been filed against critics and political opponents by Prime Minister Hun Sen and his supporters.
But she and other analysts say the targets seem carefully chosen to send a chill through the free press, independent judiciary, political opposition and civic organizations that were introduced by the United Nations in the early 1990s.
The surge in lawsuits amounts to “a serious threat to democratic development, which may undermine the efforts of the past 16 years to rebuild a tolerant and pluralistic environment in Cambodia,” the United Nations human rights office in Cambodia said in a statement in June.
In the most prominent cases, two opposition politicians have been stripped of their parliamentary immunity and sued for libel by Mr. Hun Sen and his associates. Threatened with a lawsuit and disbarment, their lawyer has abandoned the case, apologized to the prime minister and pledged allegiance to the ruling party.
The editor of one of the country’s last opposition newspapers was sent to prison in June for articles he had published, and another, soon afterward, apologized and agreed to shut down his newspaper to avoid court action.
A young political activist was convicted of defamation in June and jailed for spray-painting slogans critical of the government on the walls of his house.
“The court has always been used as a political tool,” said Theary C. Seng, whose leadership of a human rights group, the Center for Social Development, is being challenged in what she says is a politically motivated court case. “But recently, there is a concentration of cases which seem to be very political and which seem to use the court as a political tool to silence opposition voices.”
Mr. Hun Sen dismisses, and even appears to parody, his critics, declaring earlier this month that he was acting in the interests of democracy by stripping the two lawmakers of their parliamentary immunity so that they could face prosecution in the courts.
“From now on we are strengthening democracy and the rule of law,” he said. “This is not an anarchic democracy. Democracy must have the rule of law.”
Together with land seizures that are driving tens of thousands of people from their homes, analysts say these actions demonstrate a sense of impunity in a government that has resisted efforts to strengthen the rule of law in Cambodia.
In the most recent evictions, about 150 poor families were forced from their homes on prime land in Phnom Penh on Thursday and Friday, part of what the World Bank called “a major problem” in Cambodia’s fast-growing cities.
The court cases come at a time when countries in the region are looking increasingly toward China as a political and economic model and questioning the democratic and humanitarian values of the West.
In recent years, China has become a major donor and investor in Cambodia in projects that do not place the kinds of demands on governing and management that generally accompany assistance from Western nations and aid organizations.
“We have been fearing all along that Cambodia’s government is looking eastward toward China and Vietnam as models,” with their strong central governments and intolerance of dissent, said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.
“Now there are a lot of activities recently that confirm our fear, and so it’s pretty scary,” he said. “What they are trying to do is to have only one strong party, and ultimately probably only one party.”
The aggressiveness of the government has been matched by what appears to be resigned acquiescence among many of its opponents to the dominance of Mr. Hun Sen and his ruling elite in the Cambodian People’s Party.
Nothing demonstrates this more sharply than the apologies that Mr. Hun Sen apparently requires as the price of leniency.
“I ask permission to demonstrate deep respect and bow down to apologize,” said Dam Sith, editor in chief of Moneaksekar Khmer, a pro-opposition newspaper, as he promised earlier this month to cease publication of his 10-year-old newspaper.
“I have in the past committed inappropriate acts again and again,” he said, adding that his only hope to avoid a defamation conviction is the “compassion and forgiveness” of Mr. Hun Sen — which he duly received.
By SETH MYDANS
Published: July 20, 2009
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia’s courts have been busy in recent weeks with cases of defamation, disinformation and incitement brought by the government in what critics say is part of a broad assault on civil liberties.
“If you’re just walking into the situation, it seems like a series of ridiculous lawsuits,” said Sara Colm, a senior researcher for the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch, who said at least nine lawsuits have recently been filed against critics and political opponents by Prime Minister Hun Sen and his supporters.
But she and other analysts say the targets seem carefully chosen to send a chill through the free press, independent judiciary, political opposition and civic organizations that were introduced by the United Nations in the early 1990s.
The surge in lawsuits amounts to “a serious threat to democratic development, which may undermine the efforts of the past 16 years to rebuild a tolerant and pluralistic environment in Cambodia,” the United Nations human rights office in Cambodia said in a statement in June.
In the most prominent cases, two opposition politicians have been stripped of their parliamentary immunity and sued for libel by Mr. Hun Sen and his associates. Threatened with a lawsuit and disbarment, their lawyer has abandoned the case, apologized to the prime minister and pledged allegiance to the ruling party.
The editor of one of the country’s last opposition newspapers was sent to prison in June for articles he had published, and another, soon afterward, apologized and agreed to shut down his newspaper to avoid court action.
A young political activist was convicted of defamation in June and jailed for spray-painting slogans critical of the government on the walls of his house.
“The court has always been used as a political tool,” said Theary C. Seng, whose leadership of a human rights group, the Center for Social Development, is being challenged in what she says is a politically motivated court case. “But recently, there is a concentration of cases which seem to be very political and which seem to use the court as a political tool to silence opposition voices.”
Mr. Hun Sen dismisses, and even appears to parody, his critics, declaring earlier this month that he was acting in the interests of democracy by stripping the two lawmakers of their parliamentary immunity so that they could face prosecution in the courts.
“From now on we are strengthening democracy and the rule of law,” he said. “This is not an anarchic democracy. Democracy must have the rule of law.”
Together with land seizures that are driving tens of thousands of people from their homes, analysts say these actions demonstrate a sense of impunity in a government that has resisted efforts to strengthen the rule of law in Cambodia.
In the most recent evictions, about 150 poor families were forced from their homes on prime land in Phnom Penh on Thursday and Friday, part of what the World Bank called “a major problem” in Cambodia’s fast-growing cities.
The court cases come at a time when countries in the region are looking increasingly toward China as a political and economic model and questioning the democratic and humanitarian values of the West.
In recent years, China has become a major donor and investor in Cambodia in projects that do not place the kinds of demands on governing and management that generally accompany assistance from Western nations and aid organizations.
“We have been fearing all along that Cambodia’s government is looking eastward toward China and Vietnam as models,” with their strong central governments and intolerance of dissent, said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.
“Now there are a lot of activities recently that confirm our fear, and so it’s pretty scary,” he said. “What they are trying to do is to have only one strong party, and ultimately probably only one party.”
The aggressiveness of the government has been matched by what appears to be resigned acquiescence among many of its opponents to the dominance of Mr. Hun Sen and his ruling elite in the Cambodian People’s Party.
Nothing demonstrates this more sharply than the apologies that Mr. Hun Sen apparently requires as the price of leniency.
“I ask permission to demonstrate deep respect and bow down to apologize,” said Dam Sith, editor in chief of Moneaksekar Khmer, a pro-opposition newspaper, as he promised earlier this month to cease publication of his 10-year-old newspaper.
“I have in the past committed inappropriate acts again and again,” he said, adding that his only hope to avoid a defamation conviction is the “compassion and forgiveness” of Mr. Hun Sen — which he duly received.
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