Cambodia lashes out at UN envoy, accuses him of trying to incite violence

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: Cambodia denounced a U.N. envoy Tuesday (11 Dec) as unfit to represent the world body and accused him of trying to incite unrest by predicting that the country would rise up against the government to protest human rights violations.
Yash Ghai, the U.N. secretary-general's special envoy for human rights in Cambodia, wrapped up a 10-day visit Monday with a scathing attack against the government and judiciary. He said many Cambodians lived in constant fear of having their land stolen by developers and had no recourse because of a corrupt judiciary.
Ghai accused the government of fueling "development that impoverishes people, deprives them of their resources, adds further to marginalization (and) increases enormously the number of people who can barely make a living."
"Sooner or later, people are going to rise," Ghai said, adding "there's a limit to how far you can use coercion as a method of development."
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith called Ghai's words an "incitement for people to revolt."
He added that Ghai "is not fit" to be a U.N. envoy and had come to Cambodia "to curse" the government.
"Has he ever offered any ways to solve problems? And does he ever care to learn about the problems the government has solved?" Khieu Kanharith said.
Ghai, a persistent critic of the rights situation in Cambodia, was shunned by the government during his visit.
The Interior Ministry spokesman, police Lt. Gen. Khieu Sopheak, also lashed out at Ghai, saying that like his predecessors he was using his mandate to badmouth the government.
"He has no competence to solve human rights problems in Cambodia," Khieu Sopheak said.
In recent years, land disputes have become frequent occurrences in Cambodia, usually pitting poor farmers against wealthy developers.
Ghai said he met several victims of land disputes and housing evictions who have little faith in the courts to address their problems.
"Fear of the state, fear of political and economic saboteurs, fear of greedy individuals and corporations, fear of the police and the courts describes the plight of numerous communities and families in Cambodia," he said.
He said he plans to present a detailed report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in March that will discuss these "critical issues" of human rights and access to justice in Cambodia. (AP)