Kim Yuthana and Shane Worrell
Friday, 18 May 2012
Phnom Penh Post
The ruling Cambodian People’s Party has been accused of cutting the
salaries of national police officers to help fund its political campaign
ahead of the country’s commune elections on June 3.
A police
official at the National Police Commissionaire’s internal security
department, who did not want to be named, told the Post yesterday that
officers were being forced to “contribute” as much as 100,000 riel
(US$25) per month to the party.
The enforced deductions had begun
last month and would continue until next year’s general election,
regardless of their political affiliations, he said.
“I’m not
really happy with my money cut, because our salary – like other civil
servants – is a small amount,” he said. “It is not a good policy for the
ruling CPP; they can find other ways to support the party.”
The
officer added that the contributions were being deducted on a sliding
scale based on position, from as much as 100,000 riel per month for
higher ranking posts, to 10,000 riel for ordinary officers.
Another
police officer, who also asked not to be named, said he had been told
the money would be used for election purposes, while several more police
officials confirmed the cuts were affecting their department.
National
Police Commissioner Neth Savoeun and spokesman Kirt Chantharith could
not be reached for comment yesterday; however, Ministry of Interior
spokesman Khieu Sopheak denied the allegations, saying the CPP had no
authority to cut the salaries of civil servants.
“There is no
policy to cut the salary for the party,” he said. “But there are some
volunteer [financial donors] and they have the right to make political
donations – this is mapped out in the constitution.”
Although
unaware of the allegations, opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son
Chhay said civil servants faced many pressures to support the CPP.
“This
is a big problem. The CPP has been pestering public servants,
particularly police and teachers, to join their party. If they do not
join, they will not be promoted,” he said. “They’re also being forced to
pay. They have no choice. This kind of pressure is causing a lot of
pressure on the system.”
Cambodian Center for Human Rights
president Ou Virak said the police officers’ allegations came as no
surprise to him. “It’s widespread. I know of these things happening,” he
said.
Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free
and Fair Elections in Cambodia, said parties had the right to collect
money from members, but a lack of internal policy outlining how best to
do this led to problems.
“Do [members] have an obligation [to contribute] or not? It is not clear. They must improve transparency,” he said.
Meanwhile,
as parties prepared to step up campaigning yesterday, the Human Rights
Party and the Norodom Ranariddh Party demanded the National Election
Committee take action against the Commune Election Commission and CPP
party officials they claim have been sabotaging their campaign plans.
The
two parties, during a meeting at NEC headquarters yesterday, claimed
the provincial CEC in Kampong Speu and CPP-aligned village and commune
chiefs were making it difficult for other parties to campaign.
In
some cases, HRP and NRP had been told they could not hold marches or
rallies, especially using microphones, without seeking permission from
the village chief – a CPP member.
“CEC telling political parties
to ask permission from the village chief is contrary to election law,”
NRP’s election secretariat Kouy Sokharith said.
NEC
secretary-general Tep Nytha said he had not advised CEC to tell
political parties to seek permission from the village chiefs to
campaign.
“You must ask three days before starting a campaign and
you must ask clearly,” he said. “If [the CEC or any authority] does not
allow it, you must inform the NEC.”
Ou Virak said village chiefs were often involved in the CPP and were “at the whim of the ruling party”.
“Until village chiefs are elected by the people . . . you’re not going to get a fair election.”
No comments:
Post a Comment