Cambodian political opposition struggles hard to obtain proper parliamentary recognition

By Duong Sokha Ka-set.info
20-11-2008
Phnom Penh (Cambodia), 24/09/2008. Mu Sochua, deputy Secretary-General at the Sam Rainsy Party, on her way out of the National Assembly after the investiture of the new government. © John Vink / Magnum Cambodia's main political opposition coalition, the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), was hoping to obtain better legislative recognition through the allocation of an active role within the National Assembly but saw its ambitions shattered as Prime Minister Hun Sen declared his views on the matter on Monday 17th November as he was away for business in the Kandal province. Hun Sen was quite straight forward in his approach and even called “stupid” the party's demands about the amendment of the National Assembly's internal rules, which was meant to provide the opposition party with official recognition and therefore important positions and roles within the institution. Despite being prevented from leading the executive and legislative powers, the SRP does not yield and is willing to continue the struggle to obtain a proper parliamentary status. Hun Sen: no parliamentary positions for the opposition The Prime Minister counter-attacked after having received criticism from representatives of the opposition, accusing him of having deceived them into taking part to the first parliamentary session on 24th September. The result is that from now on, SRP deputies will be refused important positions within the National Assembly, he declared, thus promising to stand in the way of any important appointment. “I did not fool you. You [Sam Rainsy] tried to get hold of me over the phone through ohnha Kith Meng. I refused to talk to you. Whether you do take part or not [in the first parliamentary session] was your own business!”, the country's “strong man”, in power since 1985, said, irritated. The SRP won 26 seats at the outcome of the July 27th legislative elections and warned several times that it would boycott the deputies' swearing-in ceremony before going back on its decision on the very day of the ceremony. The day before, the SRP and Kem Sokha's Human Rights Party (HRP) had sent a statement to the head of government, requesting that the lower chamber officially acknowledges the role of the opposition parties who lack representation within the government and made this acknowledgement the sine qua non of their future participation in parliamentary projects. “You asked for the modification of twenty-six articles out of eighty-two [of the National Assembly's internal rules] among which the ones relating to the position of vice-President of the Assembly, the presidency of several commissions and a specific budget [for the opposition parties]! These requests are major. You must wait till you reach your after-life [to have access to these]!”, the Cambodian People's Party vice- chairman retorted. Landslide winner of the July 27th elections with 90 seats, Hun Sen did not hesitate to dub the proposition “stupid” and asked Sam Rainsy, who was actually away for business in France, to “give better advice to the members” of the party. For a real political equilibrium between powers The SRP is nevertheless intending to continue fighting for parliamentary recognition and several important positions within the Assembly, which would be split according to the number of seats they won after the elections. Opposition deputy Yim Sovann, for his part, did not think the request was “excessive”. “Our demands comply with the principle of pluralism. We want to reach a balance between the executive and the legislative powers”, the former chairman of the parliamentary commission of Interior and National Defence explained, quoting the example of foreign political systems: “In the United States or Germany, if the ruling party is in charge of the Ministry of Economy, then the opposition must be in charge of the parliamentary commission of Economy and Finance”. The Phnom Penh deputy also deplored the fact that the lower chamber commissions were too weak in numbers- nine in total – whereas the government has twenty-four ministries. Some of the commissions are in charge of controlling five to eight ministries on their own. “The system is stupid”, Yim Sovann estimated. “Each of the commissions should only control one ministry or two, at most”. Cheam Yeap, CPP chairman of the parliamentary commission of Economy, Finance, Banking and Audit, looked at the example of his own commission, which is “only” in charge three institutions (the Ministry of Economy, the central Bank and the National Audit Authority) and reckoned the argument used by the SRP was specious, reminding that the current procedure does not prevent the lower chamber from creating new commissions. A budget for the parties present within the National Assembly? Yim Sovann stressed the fact that the issue was also a financial one and argued in favour of the strengthening of the budget available to the parties present in the National Assembly. The budget would then be proportionally split between representatives according to their number in the Assembly, thus following the rule stipulating that opposition parties are allowed to enjoy enough public funding and are therefore able to play their part in every respect. And there again, foreign political patterns, especially European ones, are a source of inspiration for the SRP. “In Germany, the budget is split according to the number of votes gained by every party. In order to be in a position to give constructive advice to the government, the opposition parties, which act as a mirror in which the government would see itself, must have financial resources available”, Yim Sovann considered. “These funds are not meant for deputies to grow rich or buy cars, but will be used to buy computers, stationary and pay for the electricity and water bills”, he precised. Opposition weakened but still hopeful The opposition, deprived of any important posts within the National Assembly, declared itself under pressure. Opposition representatives denounce the difficulty of access to any information relating to the lower chamber, especially concerning permanent committee meetings. “We cannot debate on the proposed bills and we do not have our say when it comes to modifying them before they are presented in a parliamentary session. Serving the interest of citizens is therefore difficult.” And as long as the role of the opposition is not guaranteed, SRP deputies will continue to boycott meetings and seminars organised within the Assembly, including those initiated by NGOs or the international community, with the exception of parliamentary sessions, as a direct response to the ostracism they claim to be the victims of. The main opposition party's elected representatives claim they have now gone onto a new strategy: working out of the parliamentary system by directly visiting inhabitants and “inform them of the country's evolution”. “The word 'despair' does not exist in the SRP dictionary. We are still breathing. We will continue our struggle, with hope. One day, success will come to us because everything has to come to an end and nobody is immortal”, Yim Sovann concluded with a touch of philosophy in his words...