CAMBODIANS GET SUPPORT FROM PHILIPPINES IN STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS
The Philippine Senate today
unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the United Nations
recommendations for the organization of the national elections in
Cambodia on July 28, 2013.
This comes a week after the
launch of the International Parliamentary Committee for Democratic
Elections in Cambodia (IPCDEC) in Manila.
The IPCDEC, chaired by Filipino
Senator Franklin Drilon, is an international organization grouping
Members of Parliament from all over the world. It was formed to support
legitimate demands of the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party.
These demands, which are in line with UN recommendations, are a reform
of the National Election Committee (NEC) and my return to Cambodia, as
Opposition Leader, to take part in the forthcoming elections.
The UN recommendations are
contained in a Report by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in
Cambodia published in August. The report calls for an overhaul of the
leadership and the composition of the NEC so as to include balanced
representation from all political parties represented in the National
Assembly, with consensus required for any important decisions. The UN
also calls for a political resolution of my case in order to open the
way for my return and my free and full participation in the election
process.
We expect other Parliaments and
Governments, especially in neighboring countries, to express their
solidarity with the Cambodian people and their support for free and fair
elections in Cambodia in 2013 that meet international standards.
Democracy and respect for human
rights are universal values that guarantee true and lasting stability
allowing sustainable and equitable development. With all its member
states upholding these values, ASEAN -- whose Parliaments are currently
meeting in Lombok, Indonesia, in the framework of the Asean
Inter-Parliamentary Association (AIPA) -- will become a stronger, more
cohesive, more united and more respected organization that will play a
distinct leadership role for peace and international cooperation in Asia
and the rest of the world.
I am grateful to Filipino
President Benigno Aquino III for discussing the situation in Cambodia
with me, and to other Filipino leaders from different political parties
for their support for democracy in Cambodia, as evidenced by today’s
Philippine Senate Resolution. I am also grateful to Indonesia’s Foreign
Minister Marty Natalegawa for receiving me last week in Jakarta and for
the fruitful discussion we had.
SAM RAINSY
Elected Member of Parliament
President
of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, Cambodia’s united democratic
opposition which currently has 40 elected National Assembly Members and
Senators
Please read the full text of the UN Recommendations at http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session21/A-HRC-21-63_en.pdf
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