asianews

Draft Penal Code Risks Freedoms: Group

A coalition of 30 civic organizations warned on Thursday that National Assembly debate over a new penal code appeared to erode civil liberties while skimming over clarity on criminality.

The National Assembly has approved more than 400 of 672 articles in the new law, as more debate remains ahead.

Groups have warned the draft law is damaging to freedoms of expression and assembly, at a time when the executive branch of government has been slammed for its own attacks on dissent, with opposition parliamentarians and journalists shouldering punitive lawsuits from senior government officials.

The penal code, drafted with the help of the French government, seeks to update a combination of 1995 laws, tradition, the constitution and principles of international law.

The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee said it was concerned that public officials “will be able to use some articles in the penal code to shut the rights and freedoms of demonstration and assembly.”

The group has sent recommendations to the National Assembly voicing these and other concerns.

Yim Sovann, a lawmaker for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, called the recommendations “very positive.”

“The penal code has some good points, but some points are obstacles to rights and freedoms of expression,” he said.

Under the draft law, he said, “if someone makes an improper expression, someone will be guilty of defamation, insult, incitement, or falsifying information.”

“More seriously, if someone dares to make a lawsuit against any corrupt man, and if that man cannot find evidence, and the court understands that the complaint is not true, that man will face punishment,” he said.

However, Cheam Yiep, a lawmaker for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, said the draft code “respects the rights and freedom of expression and the principles of UN fundamental human rights.”

Last week, the National Assembly voted against amendments to the new code that opposition proponents said would increase freedom of expression and improve justice and democracy.

Calling senior leaders of the ruling party to court could weaken social safety and political stability: Tith Sothea from the PQRU

Calling senior leaders of the ruling party to court could weaken social safety and political stability: Tith Sothea from the PQRU

Tribunal Summons Six Government Officials

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday questioned the tribunal summonses for six government officials as witnesses, claiming they should instead be treated as plaintiffs.

“Why do they call the plaintiffs to be witnesses?” Hun Sen said at a ceremony in Phnom Penh celebrating the 30th anniversary of the National Bank. “Because those people are known to have toppled Pol Pot, and they are also the ones who approved the laws to try the Khmer Rouge.”

The court’s French investigating judge, Marcel Lemonde, sent summonses to Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly President Heng Samrin, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, Finance Minister Keat Chhon and senators Sim Ka and Ouk Bunchhoeun.

They are being asked to testify in the upcoming case against four jailed leaders of the regime, the second trial of the UN-backed court.

Both investigating judges declined further comment Thursday.

Government adviser Tit Sothea called the summonses “wrong,” saying to call senior leaders of the ruling party to court could weaken social safety and political stability.

“This summon is against people’s will, because we don’t want to do that,” he said.

Long Panhavuth, project officer for the Open Society Justice Initiative, which monitors the tribunal, said Lemonde’s summonses were a positive step for the court.

“This is a good means, by which [Lemonde] informed the public about who knows about the Khmer Rouge,” he said. In his role as investigating judge, “he should summon all people who know about the killing fields of Democratic Kampuchea.”

Kingdom denies laying mines

Photo by: Tracey Shelton.

Cambodian soldiers keep a watchful eye on the border at Preah Vihear in July.

Cambodian ambassador, military commanders dismiss allegations from Thais who have accused RCAF troops of deploying new land mines near Preah Vihear.

CAMBODIA’S ambassador to Thailand and an RCAF commander have both rejected media reports and claims by Thai soldiers that Cambodian soldiers have been laying more land mines in the disputed border area around the Preah Vihear temple.

Yim Phim, commander of Brigade 8, which is stationed at the Preah Vihear temple, said Wednesday that there was no reason to lay new land mines in the area. “I reject the Thai military’s accusation,” he said. “Cambodian soldiers are not laying land mines along the border. All the mines on the border were put there in the ’80s and ’90s. [The Thais] have always made accusations against the Cambodian military and have tried to provoke problems with Cambodia in different ways.”

You Ay, the Cambodian ambassador in Bangkok, wrote a letter to Thai newspaper The Nation in response to an article published on September 30 that also alleged that Cambodian troops were laying mines at the border.

In the letter, which ran on October 6, You Ay wrote that decades of war had left Cambodia contaminated with millions of land mines, particularly along the border areas. Though they are decreasing, You Ay wrote, mine explosions in these areas still claim the lives of Cambodians and still pose a grave threat to the people who farm those areas for a living.

“It is extremely provocative and belligerent to allege that Cambodian troops have laid new land mines,” she said in the letter. “This rabble-rousing insinuation to which the Thai media always resorts will only cause greater tension between Cambodia and Thailand.”

Cambodia and Thailand have never fully demarcated their 805-kilometre border. Tensions flared when Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple, situated surrounded by territory claimed by both nations, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2008. Since then, troops from both sides have exchanged gunfire, killing at least seven soldiers.

Heng Ratana, director general of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), said that since 2003 his organisation had cleared roughly 130,000 land mines – and Halo Trust about 3,000 land mines – from around the temple. “The landmines we cleared were old, but still in good condition. They could still pose a danger to humans,” Heng Ratana said. CMAC is clearing other sites requested by the Preah Vihear Authority.

Khmer Preservation Group Praised in US

Hem Heng, Cambodia ambassador to US

Friends of Khmer Culture, Inc., is, according to its motto, “dedicated to supporting the artistic and cultural heritage of Cambodia.” And judging by a recent fundraiser of the US-based preservation group, in the state of Maryland, it’s a motto with a lot of support.

The group “was founded to address these areas that have been neglected by the major donors,” Franklin Huffman, well-known author of “Modern Spoken Cambodian”and an English-Khmer dictionary, told VOA Khmer at the fundraising gathering. The group was established in 2000 by people concerned about the survival of Cambodia’s artistic and cultural heritage.

The group supports training programs for the restoration of the temples of Banteay Chhmar, in Banteay Meanchey province, and of young Cambodian students for conservation work.

While everyone has heard of Angkor Wat, Huffman said, Cambodia has hundreds of other temples and archeological sites across the country.

Hem Heng, Cambodian ambassador to the US, who attended the fundraising ceremony, said he was please to see Cambodians and the US get together to help Cambodia’s temples, which were damaged by the war.

“This is a pleasant opportunity for me to participate in this important fundraising, to help conserve and restore our Khmer temples,” Hem Heng said. “This organization not only helps restore and conserve temples, but also trains people, which is a good gesture.”

Narin Seng Jameson, a member of the group’s advisory council and organizer of the gathering, told VOA Khmer she was happy to see so many supporters. The money from fundraising will support the publication of Khmer arts and culture.

“This proves that we Khmer love our culture and our country very much,” she said.

Friends of Khmer Culture works with Cambodian institutions to support “all forms of Khmer cultural expression and work with Cambodian and international scholars, artists, and institutions to preserve past achievements and encourage new vitality in art, literature, scholarship, and the performing arts.”

The hope, the group says, is to “rebuild civil society and enhance awareness and appreciation of Khmer culture both within and beyond Cambodia.”

Tribunal Summons Six Government Officials

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday questioned the tribunal summonses for six government officials as witnesses, claiming they should instead be treated as plaintiffs.

“Why do they call the plaintiffs to be witnesses?” Hun Sen said at a ceremony in Phnom Penh celebrating the 30th anniversary of the National Bank. “Because those people are known to have toppled Pol Pot, and they are also the ones who approved the laws to try the Khmer Rouge.”

The court’s French investigating judge, Marcel Lemonde, sent summonses to Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly President Heng Samrin, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, Finance Minister Keat Chhon and senators Sim Ka and Ouk Bunchhoeun.

They are being asked to testify in the upcoming case against four jailed leaders of the regime, the second trial of the UN-backed court.

Both investigating judges declined further comment Thursday.

Government adviser Tit Sothea called the summonses “wrong,” saying to call senior leaders of the ruling party to court could weaken social safety and political stability.

“This summon is against people’s will, because we don’t want to do that,” he said.

Long Panhavuth, project officer for the Open Society Justice Initiative, which monitors the tribunal, said Lemonde’s summonses were a positive step for the court.

“This is a good means, by which [Lemonde] informed the public about who knows about the Khmer Rouge,” he said. In his role as investigating judge, “he should summon all people who know about the killing fields of Democratic Kampuchea.

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