Archives
now browsing by author
Cambodia: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2018
Op-Ed: U.S. Department of State
រដ្ឋមន្រ្តីការបរទេសអាមេរិកលោក ម៉ៃឃ៍ ប៉ុមប៉េអូ (Mike Pompeo) ថ្លែងទៅអ្នកសារព័ត៌មាន ប្រកាសរបាយការណ៍សិទ្ធិមនុស្សលើកទី ៤៣ នៃប្រទេសជិត ២០០ នៅក្រសួងការបរទេស នៅថ្ងៃទី ១៣ ខែ មីនា ឆ្នាំ ២០១៩ (RFA khmer)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliamentary government. The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won all 125 National Assembly seats in the July 29 national election, having banned the chief opposition party in November 2017. Prior to the victory, Prime Minister Hun Sen had already served for 33 years. International observers, including foreign governments and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and domestic NGOs criticized the election as neither free nor fair and not representative of the will of the Cambodian people.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security forces, which often threatened force against those who opposed Prime Minister Hun Sen and were generally perceived as an armed wing of the ruling CPP.
Human rights issues included unlawful or arbitrary killings carried out by the government or on its behalf; forced disappearance carried out by the government; torture by the government; arbitrary arrests by the government; political prisoners; arbitrary interference in the private lives of citizens, including pervasive electronic media surveillance; censorship and selectively enforced criminal libel laws; interference with the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of association; restrictions on political participation; pervasive corruption, including in the judiciary; and use of forced or compulsory child labor.
The government did not provide evidence of having prosecuted any officials for abuses, including corruption. A pervasive culture of impunity continued.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings
There were reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. As of July a local human rights NGO reported four extrajudicial killings.
In March 2017 the court sentenced Oeuth Ang to life imprisonment for the 2016 murder of Kem Ley, an outspoken and popular political analyst. As of July the case remained open and the government pledged to look for coconspirators, although it took no action. Noting that the victim and killer were not acquainted and other anomalies, including the impoverished assailant’s possession of an expensive handgun, many observers believed a third party hired Oeuth Ang.
On March 8, violence broke out in Kratie Province when security forces opened fire on persons protesting the transfer of land, decades before, to a rubber plantation. Several media outlets reported a death toll of two to six persons with another 40 injured. Shortly after the violence occurred, the government ordered local media to “correct” its news reports. Four NGOs and the UN Office of the High Commission on Human Rights (OHCHR) formed an investigation committee to tour the site. They found that on March 7, the company began demarcating its land and that a day later 150 soldiers, military police, and police burned down villagers’ houses, leading the villagers to block the main road and demand an immediate stop to the arson. According to the OHCHR report, the security forces opened fire to disperse the villagers. OHCHR acknowledged that, because the security forces closed off the site of the shooting, there were no reliable counts of the dead or injured.
After the incident Kratie governor Sar Chamrong denied reports that security forces shot the protesters. National Police spokesperson Kirt Chantharith claimed villagers with homemade rifles injured as many as seven police officers while only two villagers were slightly injured, not by gunfire, but by bamboo sticks.
b. Disappearance
The Venerable Meas Vichet, a well known monk and social activist who disappeared in June 2017 in Krobei Riel commune, Siem Reap Province, after security officials beat him, remained missing, and no new information on his case arose during the year to October.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The constitution prohibits such practices; however, beatings and other forms of physical mistreatment of police detainees and prison inmates reportedly continued during the year.
There were credible reports military and police officials used physical and psychological abuse and occasionally severely beat criminal detainees, particularly during interrogation. As of July a local NGO observed physical assaults against detainees and prisoners in nine cases. Journalist Kim Sok told local media following his release from detention that prison guards beat him whenever he disobeyed an order or opened books. Other detainees reported authorities forced them to walk for up to an hour with a bucket of water on their heads, or forced them to stand in the hot sun for several hours.
Read More …Remittances Pull Farmers Deeper Into Debt, Research Finds
Remittances Pull Farmers Deeper Into Debt, Research Finds
13 March 2019
- Men Kimseng
- Op-Ed: VOA Khmer
The study found that families receiving remittances saw an average increase in debt of 6 percent.WASHINGTON DC —
Remittances sent home by Cambodian migrant workers result in their families falling deeper into debt as they become more prone to borrowing, a study has found.
The report, “The Cambodia Debt Trap? A Study of the Relationship Between Remittance and Household Debt”, published in January by the Future Forum think tank, found that households that received more remittance payments tended to rely more heavily on loans from banks, microfinance institutions, and private lenders.
“The situation of remittances and debt in the Cambodian context in the short run can be viewed positively as it helps migrant families ensure their living requirements [are met], such as food, transport, and accommodation,” wrote Lor Samnang, the lead researcher.
But in the long term, Samnang found that families become over-indebted as loans are used to finance unprofitable ventures.
The study found that families receiving remittances saw an average increase in debt of 6 percent.
Some 2 million Cambodians work overseas in countries such as Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore, predominantly in low-paid jobs such as construction, fisheries, manufacturing, farming, and the service industry.
They send home more than $400 million annually, according to the World Bank.
“Debt has forced many into migration, but what we’ve found is not only that,” said Ou Virak, president of the Future Forum. “We’ve found out that those who have migrated are indebted even further after they have more money. It’s now not only debt that has forced them to migrate, but migration is putting them deeper in debt.”
The Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community, a farmers association, said debt was the second most important issue facing farmers after lack of market access for their produce.
“The main factor is their livelihood, which is getting harder and harder,” said Theng Savoeun, coordinator of Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community. “Their agricultural work in rural areas is getting tougher. Their rice or agricultural products do not have enough market. These have forced them to migrate or seek other jobs.”
Formal lenders may charge interest rates as high as 20 percent per annum, while informal lenders often charge more.
“Prices do not enable our farmers to make more profit to pay their debt,” said agriculture expert Yang Saign Koma, chairman of the board of directors of the Grassroots Democracy Party. “We’ve seen this getting worse and worse. At the end of the month, they are worried about finding money to repay debt. This will become a big catastrophe for Cambodia in the next four or five years.”
Former opposition politicians have criticized Cambodian agricultural policy for its failure to find markets for farmers and boost production.
“This is a big deal,” said Mu Sochua, vice president of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party. “People migrate because of debt. The debt is not used only for meeting the needs of their agriculture, but to pay for other services like health and education for their children. These should be free, but they are not available.”
The study also found that only about a third of loans were used to finance economic activities, with most of the debt going on essentials and non-profitable spending. It recommends a financial literacy program and support from major financial institutions and the authorities.
“At the moment I see that this is a topic that must be debated to pressure banking institutions, especially microfinance, to pay more attention before giving out loans,” said Virak. “They are worried to lose their money when people are unable to pay back and they cannot confiscate their houses or rice fields or farm. Therefore they must be cautious.
“I believe that putting pressure on the banks is a more effective measure.”
ការស្រាវជ្រាវថាប្រាក់បញ្ញើធ្វើឱ្យគ្រួសារជនចំណាកស្រុកជំពាក់បំណុលកាន់តែខ្លាំង
05 មិនា 2019
ក្នុងឆ្នាំ២០១៨ ពលករចំណាកស្រុកផ្ញើប្រាក់ចំនួន៤១៤លានដុល្លារទៅឱ្យក្រុមគ្រួសារ។ នេះបើតាមតួលេខឆ្នាំ២០១៨របស់ធនាគារពិភពលោក។វ៉ាស៊ីនតោន —
ប្រាក់បញ្ញើពីក្រៅប្រទេសរបស់ពលករចំណាកស្រុកមិនអាចជួយដោះបន្ទុកប្រាក់បំណុលរបស់ក្រុមគ្រួសារទេ។ ផ្ទុយទៅវិញ វាបានក្លាយជាអន្ទាក់មួយធ្វើឱ្យមានការជំពាក់បំណុលកាន់តែខ្លាំងឡើងក្នុងរយៈពេលយូរ ដែលអាចធ្វើឱ្យកសិករធ្លាក់ក្នុងភាពក្រីក្រកាន់តែជ្រៅ។ នេះបើតាមលទ្ធផលនៃការសិក្សាស្រាវជ្រាវមួយ។
Read More …Interview: Book Author’s 10-Year Observation of Cambodia
Interview: Book Author’s 10-Year Observation of Cambodia
09 March 2019
My book is exactly about “Cambodia in the 21st century”. I thought the book could include some kind of photos of Cambodian society now. What is happening and what is changing, from a traditional to a more modern society.PHNOM PENH —
[Editor’s Note: Marc Baudinet, author of “Cambodia In The Twenty First Century: A Short Social Study”, sat down with VOA Khmer’s Ky Mengly to share the key takeaways from his recently published work and his observations of the country, from the state of the rule of law to domestic politics, foreign policy and socio-economic progress.]
VOA: How long did you spend researching and writing this book?
Baudinet: I came here the first time in 2010. I come from Europe. Everything was very different, quite amazing compared to where I come from. And I was struck straight away by how different things are and how I couldn’t quite understand how people interacted. So, I wanted to know more about that and I started doing interviews, asking people questions in a very informal ways. Why’s this and why’s that? And much later basically three years ago, I thought I could write something about how Cambodians are changing fast. Therefore, it would be interesting to observe Cambodian society now. That’s how I got the idea to do the book. And it took me two and a half years to write this.
VOA: Can you tell us briefly what your book is about?
Baudinet: My book is exactly about “Cambodia in the 21st century”. I thought the book could include some kind of photos of Cambodian society now. What is happening and what is changing, from a traditional to a more modern society. People’s education is improving, more people are going to school, people are buying cars, mobile phones, and people are getting jobs that never really existed here before. So, there is a lot happening in this society and this is my point really. And how is that affecting the traditional society? What are the consequences on how people interact? All of these interest me and basically that’s my reason why I wrote the book.
VOA: In the book you seem to lack optimism about the current Cambodian government. Why is that?
Baudinet: So, I started writing the book in 2016 and everyone was talking about the Commune Elections in 2017 and the General Elections in 2018 and I thought that many people were quite optimistic that things could change and then suddenly there were upheavals. Everything took a different path in November 2017. The rule of law is a key aspect of a successful society. If you take Singapore and Singapore’s rule of law is very strong, meritocracy is very strong, good governance is very strong and that society is very successful. Here, the rule of law is shaky. It is very much about having more money than whoever is against you. Therefore, there is a problem for people to trust in their own society and have the courage to invest for instance when they know possibly that the law is not on their side because they’re not rich enough for instance. Meritocracy is also very important. It is improving I think. I think that there are many problems. I think as education is improving, meritocracy is also more valued than a few years ago. So, this is very good for the future. However, there is still a long way to go. So, I’m sometimes optimistic and sometimes a bit pessimistic here.
VOA: You mention in the book that the “natural order” in Cambodia does not sit well with democracy. What do you mean by that?
Baudinet: The idea of democracy … is that basically every individual every person has the same rights and has the same value. No matter whether they’re a cleaner, a poor farmer, they’re as important as rich land owners or rich business persons. Everyone, when people vote, everyone is the same. Equality is very much the key or let’s say not the key but the grounding within which democracy can grow. Now here in the traditional society in Asia in general not only in Cambodia, the idea that everybody is equal is not part of a traditional understanding of how a society functions. People accept that there is an elite and then there are a lot of other people and those people should just do their work and not challenge authority. Therefore, here I think in terms of democracy, the idea that everyone is equal, is possibly not yet accepted, especially by of course the elites.
VOA: Towards the end of the book you draw a comparison between King Ang Duong’s embrace of France and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s embrace of China. What is the implication of this?
Baudinet: Geopolitics is very much a power game between different players; some are big players and some are smaller players. Cambodia, in the 19th century, had a lot of problems with its two bigger neighbors: Vietnam and Thailand. For Cambodia, the king decided to call a third power to somehow help. But there was a price that possibly the king did not realize. Cambodia became a colony, lost its independence. Now of course, the situation is very different. The context is vastly different from those days. However geopolitics remains of course a power game. I was wondering whether the way Cambodia today is possibly giving too much to China or a lot to China. Is it going to affect in the longer term prospects of Cambodia’s independence. Not that China is going to colonize Cambodia. No, those days are over. But there are other ways to manipulate or influence smaller countries.
Read More …