Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017
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115TH CONGRESS RESOLUTION IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES ON CAMBODIA DEMOCRACY AND ELECTION
Whereas S. 1780 also includes language addressing the ‘‘inadmissibility of Cambodia officials who undermine democracy in Cambodia’’: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate—
(1) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in Cambodia;
(2) condemns all forms of political violence in Cambodia, and urges the cessation of ongoing human rights violations;
(3) urges Prime Minister Hun Sen and the 9 Cambodian People’s Party to end all harassment and intimidation of Cambodia’s opposition and foster an environment where democracy can thrive and 3 flourish;
(4) urges the Department of State, in association with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Department of the Treasury, to consider placing all senior Cambodian government officials implicated in the abuses noted above on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list;
(5) urges the Government of Cambodia to free Mr. Kem Sokha immediately and unconditionally;
(6) calls on the Government of Cambodia to respect freedom of the press and the rights of its citizens to freely assemble, protest, and speak out against the government;
(7) supports electoral reform efforts in Cambodia and free and fair elections in 2018 monitored by international observers; and
(8) urges the President to communicate to the Government of Cambodia that if it ignores the recommendations of the international community and maintains the current restrictive and intimidating political environment, the United States Government will have no choice but to determine that the 2018 elections were not conducted freely or fairly because the results could not be an expression of the democratic will of the Cambodian people.
Read entire resolution in pdf file
National Assembly seat reallocation floated on Fresh News
Now, it has come to the critical questions: 1. The Fresh News has always released news to open way for action (messenger to those unheard members?, or 2. Fresh News got information from internal action plan and has tried to test the water?
At the end, it is the rice has become a cooked rice (អង្ករក្លាយជាបាយ): step forward face the crocodile, step backwards face the tiger….it is all about the one person who are working to change the credible rule of the game (game changer) to fit his ambition.In this moment, the victimized partner is silent which means allow the cruise to slip through its path without obstructing while enjoy the bigger space from cruise territory.The critical question right now is not about plundering the fruits to own themselves or to distribute to others who have effortless grown the tree, the critical question is about the legitimate government to do such daylight plundering, and the legitimate government given birth from a legitimate election.Khmer proverb say “the bigger balloon, the bigger perilous exploding” (ពើតប៉ោងកាន់តែធំ កាន់តែបែកខ្សុល)
National Assembly seat reallocation floated on Fresh News
Op-Ed: The Phnom Penh Post
An opinion piece published by government mouthpiece Fresh News suggests, among other things, dissolving the Cambodia National Rescue Party and allocating its National Assembly seats to five minor parties, including Funcinpec, which plans to sue for the dissolution of CNRP.
The piece is the latest in a stream of often anonymous editorials and letters to the editor, which in the recent past have proven prescient during a crackdown on the opposition and media.
The article, under the name Baksey Chamkrong, begins by noting that the CNRP is guilty of “secret plans” of “colour revolution”.
The opposition party’s president, Kem Sokha, was arrested last month on charges of “treason”, and controversial amendments to the Law on Political Parties could allow for the dissolution of the CNRP if he is convicted.
Over the weekend, Funcinpec announced its intention to file a lawsuit to the Supreme Court requesting the CNRP’s disbandment.
“If CNRP is dissolved, then all seats … are divided among parties in the parliament. But because there are only two parties in the parliament, the CPP will get all 123 seats,” wrote Chamkrong, whose pseudonym translates to “Bird Guarding the City”.
Sotheara Yoeurng, legal officer at election watchdog Comfrel, confirmed that under the current law the seats “would be 100 percent allocated to CPP”.“In a real sense of democracy, it would be death,” Yoeurng said.
Deputy CNRP President Mu Sochua said such an outcome would violate the constitution, which describes Cambodia as a “multi-party democracy”.
Human Rights Watch’s Phil Robertson, meanwhile, said, “If the government really plans to dissolve the CNRP then it should just call off the 2018 election and proclaim PM Hun Sen dictator for life.”
Robertson called the article part of a “psychological operations campaign” against the opposition. “One by one, the CPP is whittling down the opposition through a mixture of threats and intimidation designed to stampede them out of the country,” he said via email.
Past Fresh News articles preceded the expulsion of the US-backed National Democratic Institute and the arrest of Sokha, with a parade of posts detailing the alleged involvements of both in anti-government conspiracies and colour revolutions.
In his opinion piece, Chamkrong recommends a compromise allocating seats to minor parties rather than for the CPP to take the entire assembly, following an amendment to the Law on the Election of Members of the National Assembly.