US Pushes Cambodia on Rights

Radio Free Asia 

13th June 2012

Washington asks Prime Minister Hun Sen's government to free jailed women land activists and permit free elections.

AFP

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department in Washington, June 12, 2012.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has raised human rights issues in talks with her counterpart from Cambodia, prodding the Southeast Asian nation to free 13 women jailed for protesting a land grab and to allow full participation in elections next year.

In her talks with Foreign Minister Hor Namhong in Washington on Tuesday, Clinton said the United States was concerned about the Cambodian government's handling of the "whole issue" of land protests last month which led to the jailing of 13 women for between one year and two and a half years.

The protests were over a longstanding dispute between tens of thousands of residents of capital Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak Lake district who were evicted from their homes, or are in risk of losing them, and developers looking to turn the area into a luxury residential and shopping center.

The women had been jailed for disputing authority and trespassing on the development site.

"The Secretary did express our concern over the recent protests regarding land rights issues and urged Cambodia to allow Boeung Kak Lake detainees full access to due process. And she did note that their release would be a sign of support for freedom of expression," State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

Asked to elaborate on the area of concern, Nuland said it was "about the way the whole issue was handled and the fact that this ignited quite a bit of difficulty."

The Cambodian Ministry of Justice has called on the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to re-examine whether the decision to jail the 13 women was just, the Phnom Penh Post reported Wednesday, citing a letter.

“This case is in the jurisdiction of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, so the ministry has forwarded this [a petition from Boeung Kak villagers] to the court to re-examine and resolve this issue with transparency and justice,” it quoted the letter as saying.

Land disputes are a common problem in Cambodia, where an estimated 30,000 people a year are driven from farmland or urban areas to make way for real estate developments or mining and agricultural projects.

Cambodia’s land issues date from the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime, which banned private property and forced large-scale evacuations and relocations throughout the country.

Cambodian Secretary of State Kao Kim Hourn, who accompanied Hor Namhong to Washington, on Tuesday rejected accusations that land disputes such as the Boeung Kak case were due to unfair government policies.

“The government of Cambodia does not have a policy of land-grabbing,” he said. "Those so-called ‘forced evictions’ are of people occupying state land illegally,” he said, adding that such evictions occur in “any society with state land.”

“It’s a crime, in fact, to occupy state land,” he said.

Opposition leader

Clinton also raised the case of Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who lives in self-imposed exile in Paris after being convicted on a series of charges, such as forgery, that his supporters contend are politically motivated.

"The secretary talked about the importance of a free, fair, transparent election in 2013 and with appropriate participation across the political spectrum," Nuland said.

Asked whether Clinton believes that Rainsy should be allowed to participate in the elections, Nuland said it was "an issue for the Cambodians."

"She simply raised concerns that – about this election and ensuring that it is, in fact, free, fair, transparent, with equal access to participate."

Rights groups have accused Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has dominated the Southeast Asian nation for nearly three decades, of suppressing dissent and intimidating political opponents.

But Clinton praised Cambodia for shelving a planned law that activists fear would constrain non-governmental organizations.

"She ... commended the Foreign Minister and the Cambodian Government on the Prime Minister’s announcement that his government would not proceed with a planned NGO law until a consensus could be reached between the government and Cambodian civil society," Nuland said.

Chinese aid

He Guoqiang, a top ruling Chinese Communist party official (seated left), and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (seated right) clinch a variety of deals in Phnom Penh, June 13, 2012.

While the Cambodian Foreign Minister held talks in Washington, Hun Sen sealed a variety of deals on Wednesday with key ally China, in which Beijing will provide various forms of aid, including two military planes to the Cambodian Defense Ministry.

The deals were agreed to in Phnom Penh between the Cambodian Prime Minister and a top ruling Chinese Communist party official He Guoqiang.

He, the eighth ranked member of the party's Politburo Standing Committee, China's highest ruling council, also agreed to provide funds to expand a key highway, and to build a dam in Battambang province and a health clinic in Phnom Penh.

Hun Sen’s aide Eang Sophalleth told reporters that Chinese aid would further "strengthen" bilateral ties.

“Samdech [Hun Sen] said that Cambodia’s development cannot be done without Chinese aid. Chinese development brings about prosperity to other countries. Chinese aid helps us improve our economy,” he said.

The two countries also agreed to expand trade and have more direct flights to the tourism-driven Siem Reap province.

Opposition lawmaker Son Chhay said China has increased its influence over Cambodia, covering areas such as military, commerce, and politics.

“Chinese is using Cambodia for its political gains. Cambodia is losing its neutrality. Cambodia should be careful about natural resources exploitation which makes Cambodia becomes a vulnerable country,” Son Chhay said.

Reported by Sok Serey for RFA's Khmer service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English with additional reporting by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.