Photo by: Photo Supplied
Supporters of opposition leader Sam Rainsy wave placards during a demonstration against the “deterioration of democracy in Cambodia” on Parliament Hill in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, on Monday. Hundreds gathered to protest against the Cambodian government’s alleged mistreatment of opposition politicians.SUPPORTERS of embattled opposition leader Sam Rainsy gathered in North American capitals this weekend to protest what they called the deteriorating state of democracy in Cambodia.
Organised as a response to the National Assembly’s decision last month to strip Sam Rainsy of his parliamentary immunity, nearly 200 people protested on Parliament Hill in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, while a smaller group demonstrated in front of the Cambodian embassy in Washington on Saturday, organisers said.
Pretty Ma, secretary general of the Sam Rainsy Party North America, said opposition politicians in the Kingdom face “mistreatment and harassment”.
“The way immunity can be easily revoked from the people’s representatives is something almost unheard of here in the West,” he wrote in an email. “It’s overdone, truly abusive and ridiculous.”
The protesters urged Canada and the US to deny entry visas to “any corrupted official, including any human rights violators”.
Sam Rainsy, who is currently in Europe, was stripped of his immunity last month after an October incident in which he uprooted six wooden posts in Svay Rieng province along the border with Vietnam.
Villagers had claimed the Vietnamese were encroaching on their land.
The Vietnamese government, however, reacted with outrage, and the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the act “perverse”.
5 comments:
It is a completely waste of time - my personal opinion.
No, it is not a waste of time. It sends a clear message to the Hun Sen government that human rights abuses will never allowed to go without protests. It also helps draw the attention of the world community to Cambodia's human rights abuses and violations of human rights principles in Cambodia.
Sam Riansy got back his immunity before because of international pressures. Ho Vann and Mu Sochua can live in peace now because of international, especially, U.S pressures.
Hi 8:17 AM
Cambodia internal affairs are to small for USA and the world to draw 100% of their attention too and the world have knew too well about politics and politicians there. If you care to think "Why all financial aids have no string attached" if the world are serious about seeing changes in Cambodia as you stated.
Mr. SR is smart, out-spoken and straight shooter but has often missed his many targets.
All financial aids have "strings attached". All aids are conditional on institutional reforms, good governance and human rights respect. Please read the aids documents. Every year at the time of the Consultative Group meeting around June, Hun Sen's government must table and detail all its reports, its plans, reforms, governance and its other measures to the meeting.
It is true that the USA is too pre-occupied with its wars against global terrorism. But don't think that the USA will totally forget other issues, such as human rights abuses. Mu Sochua and Rainsy still have access to higher officials and congressmen in the U.S.
The re-instatement of Rainsy's immunity did not happen by accident. And the dropping of all charges against Ho Vann and the suspension of all court proceedings against Mu Sochua didn't happen by accident either. Charges against Ho Vann were dropped after Tea Banh met U.S Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Washington. Proceeding against Mu Sochua was suspended after Sochua met U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington.
On more thing, changes in Cambodia happened because of external helps and pressures. Without external pressures, Cambodia would be worse than Burma because in Cambodia Hun Sen is the sole ruler of the country, but in Burma it was ruled by a military junta- a committee of military leaders.
Dear 9:26
I am glad to hear that you are truly seeing chnages in Cambodia as I did. Many Khmer abroad don't see it that way at all.
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