Engnews July 2013

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RFA BREAKING NEWS: Sam Rainsy Warns of Protests If He's Not Allowed to Contest

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Sam Rainsy Warns of Protests if He's Not Allowed to Contest JULY 19, 2013— Cambodia's opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Friday that if he is continued to be barred from contesting the upcoming national elections, he will not recognize any victory by Prime Minister Hun Sen's party in the polls. This could set the stage for mass protests by his supporters and other Cambodians, Sam Rainsy told RFA's Khmer Service in an interview hours after he returned Friday to Phnom Penh from four years of self-imposed exile. The National Election Committee, which conducts and manages elections in Cambodia, has ruled out Sam Rainsy's participation in the July 28 elections although he has received a royal pardon for offenses which he says are politically motivated. The 64-year-old Sam Rainsy, who heads the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), believes the international community would also not endorse any victory by Hun Sen's dominant Cambodian People's Party (CPP) if the opposition leader's name is not on the ballot. He said it would be unfair if he is barred from contesting the parliamentary elections as he is the head of the main opposition party and a potential prime ministerial candidate. “If I can’t participate, after the elections all the Cambodian people will protest and the whole international community will condemn the result and regard this as a sham election," Sam Rainsy told RFA when asked about his options if he is not allowed to compete in the polls. "Then we will demand a real election to allow Cambodians to decide their true destiny,” said Sam Rainsy, who was greeted by tens of thousands of supporters on his arrival Friday. 'Rescue' He vowed in a speech to his supporters that he would "rescue" the country from corruption and harsh rule if his party wins the elections and ousts the CPP, which has held power for 28 years and at present holds 90 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly, the country's parliament. Sam Rainsy, who had been living in France since 2009 to avoid a 11-year prison term for politicized offenses, was granted a royal pardon by King Norodom Sihamoni at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen a week ago. However, he cannot contest the elections because the registration of candidates has long been closed and his name has been removed from the electoral register, the NEC said. "In order to value this competition and for the election result to be recognized, there must be two competitors," Sam Rainsy said. "Now without me, Sam Rainsy, who must run as the prime ministerial candidate for the CNRP, the current prime minister [Hun Sen] doesn’t have any rivals and will not be competing with anyone. So even if he announces a victory, it is not a victory,” he said. Sam Rainsy has accused the NEC of being under the control of the CPP, which has won the last two polls by a landslide despite allegations of fraud and election irregularities. Hun Sen has said he will try to stay in office for another decade, until he is 74. Rights groups say his continued rule will only worsen human rights violations and corruption and further suppress political freedoms. Problems in electoral system Rights groups say Cambodia's electoral system is riddled with major problems, including issues over voter registration lists, the use of civil servants and army personnel to campaign for the CPP, government control of mass media to slant the news, and intimidation against opposition figures and civil society monitors. While Sam Rainsy's return has given a shot in the arm to the opposition, rights groups are concerned that Hun Sen's administration may move to thwart the opposition campaign. "The deck is heavily stacked every day in Cambodia against anyone who dares to oppose Hun Sen," Phil Robertson, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, told RFA. He said the CPP has openly said that if it loses the election, there will be civil war, suggesting possible CPP-instigated violence against the opposition and its supporters. Sam Rainsy said he and CNRP Deputy President Kem Sokha were united in their zeal to wrest victory following their decision to merge their parties. The CNRP is a merger between the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and Kem Sokha's Human Rights Party (HRP). “We want the people to win and become the owners of their country,” Sam Rainsy said. “We are uniting the whole nation." Kem Sokha said Hun Sen's party was trying to split the CNRP but their efforts would fail. “We have the same goal, we have a slogan to be united to make changes. We are holding hands to end the people's current plight,” Kem Sokha said. “This is a lesson [that we have already learned]. Nothing will split Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha," he said. The two parties tried to forge a union before the 2008 national election but failed after they openly criticized each other. Reported by RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/contest-07192013171936.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

11 years, 3 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Sam Rainsy Claims His Party Won Enough Seats to Form Government

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Sam Rainsy Claims His Party Won Enough Seats to Form Government July 30, 2013 - Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Tuesday that his party had won at least 63 of the 123 seats that were at stake in Cambodia's weekend parliamentary elections, enough to form a government with a simple majority, disputing victory claims by Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling party. "Based on calculations by activists at polling stations, the CNRP [Cambodia National Rescue Party] won at least 63 seats" in the National Assembly, the country's parliament, Sam Rainsy told RFA's Khmer Service. "I hope that we won more, because that would allow the CNRP to easily form its own government," he said, revealing for the first time his own estimate of the number of seats the CNRP grabbed in Sunday's elections based on his feedback. Sam Rainsy's announcement came as he threatened to hold mass protests against the victory claimed by Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and if the government refuses to hold investigations into election irregularities. Hun Sen's CPP claimed a narrow victory of 68 parliamentary seats on election night, down from 90 in the previous elections in 2008, citing its own assessment of initial results. It also acknowledged that the CNRP had nearly doubled its number of seats from 29 to 55. The National Election Committee (NEC), which manages Cambodia's elections, has virtually endorsed the CPP findings although it has not announced the official results yet, an NEC official said. Sam Rainsy said that his party has also been robbed of a firm victory because of irregularities that had marred the vote. The CNRP claims that more than 1 million names had been removed from the voter lists, with a similar number of "phantom" voters added to them along with what it calls the duplication of about 200,000 names. Sam Rainsy was barred from voting or running in the election by the NEC despite receiving a royal pardon for politicized criminal charges that got him an 11-year jail sentence and had kept him in self-exile in France. The pardon came about two weeks before the July 28 election and the NEC-which the opposition accuses of lacking independence from the ruling party-said it was too late for him to register as a voter and contest in the polls. Sam Rainsy's appeals had been rejected. Threat of protests Sam Rainsy on Tuesday posted a video on Facebook warning the CPP of a "massive demonstration on a nationwide scale" if it "doesn't respect the election results." He asked his supporters to reject the CPP's election count. The opposition politician told RFA that the "only option to avoid a demonstration" would be for the government to establish an independent committee to investigate the election irregularities. "I would like to announce that the CNRP-(Deputy President) Kem Sokha and I-don't want any demonstration that would lead to the participation of millions of people, but this is our last option," he said. "If we are facing a deadlock there must be a demonstration, but if we can avoid that we would be happier." CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann stressed that Sam Rainsy's announcement of a demonstration wasn't aimed at inciting his supporters, but to inform the government that if it failed to resolve the election irregularities, Cambodia would see a mass movement of people speaking out against the results. "The people are angry because their names were missing," he said. "Some people couldn't vote because others had already voted in their names." Sam Rainsy said the CNRP would not be responsible for any turmoil if the CPP refused to allow a probe into the election irregularities. Also on Tuesday, he wrote an official request to the NEC requesting permission to participate in any investigation committee that it sets up. The United States and the European Union have both expressed concerns over reports of election irregularities and have called for a full and open probe by the NEC despite an earlier call by the opposition for an inquiry involving the United Nations. 'Not afraid' But the government appeared to reject calls for any such probe. NEC Secretary General Tep Nytha told RFA that his committee would "resolve any complaints" filed with it but would have nothing to do with an investigation panel. He said that he didn't expect any complaints would affect the election results as they had already been announced. Reuters news agency quoted a senior Foreign Affairs Ministry official as rejecting allegations of irregularities in the vote. Ouch Borith, secretary of state at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said the elections had been labeled "free and fair" by more than 10,000 national observers and 100 international monitors. "The opposition party should be asked to show clearly what evidence it has about the irregularities it alleges," he said, adding that there was no proof of any missing names. "The National Election Committee has already said 'please bring up evidence, don't just say it, so we can work together to solve things'." CPP senior party member Chheang Von lashed out at the opposition statement, saying the ruling party is "not afraid" of any threat of a mass demonstration. He warned that if a demonstration took place, "the people would suffer." Long-ruling Hun Sen, who suffered his most serious political setback in years following the poor showing at the polls, has not spoken in public since the election. CNRP Deputy President Kem Sokha said any protests against the election results would be peaceful. "The CNRP will hold a nonviolent demonstration. If the government decides to crack down on us, they must be responsible," he said. "We don't want to hold a demonstration, so if the government and NEC want to avoid it, there must be a solution. The CNRP already introduced one option, but they have refused . so we can't guarantee anything." Reported by RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org

11 years, 5 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Lao Activist Sombath May Not Be Alive

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Lao Activist Sombath May Not Be Alive: Diplomats JULY 9, 2013—More than six months after his disappearance, some foreign diplomats in Vientiane think it is very unlikely that respected Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone is still alive. Sombath was driving on the outskirts of the Lao capital Vientiane on Dec. 15 last year when he was stopped in his vehicle by police and then transferred into another vehicle, as surveillance video from that day showed. No one has seen him since. Based on private discussions with officials from the Lao government, ruling Communist Party and the military as well as other well-connected sources in the country, several foreign diplomats told RFA's Lao Service that the 60-year-old community worker's chances of being alive are very slim. Lao authorities have reported little or no progress in their investigations since Sombath's disappearance on the night of Dec. 15, 2012, when police-recorded surveillance video showed him being stopped at a police post. Amid the impasse, many in the foreign diplomatic community in Laos think it is most unlikely that Sombath is still alive, one diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The diplomat indicated that Sombath may have been killed by government-linked groups, saying that one "highly placed source" told him bluntly that Sombath was "finished" and "planted," using jargon to exemplify that he may have been murdered and buried in an undisclosed location. Lack of trust Another diplomat quoted an unnamed member of the Lao Communist Party's central committee as saying that the party leadership did not trust Sombath, who has been campaigning to upgrade youth training, improve the rights of the poor rural population and to protect the environment. His attempt to plant the seeds of “freedom” in Lao youth minds was perceived as a clear challenge to the Communist party leadership, which has ruled Laos with an iron fist since 1975, the diplomat said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. The Lao authorities have also been concerned over Sombath’s role in organizing the Asia Europe People's Forum— where various "sensitive" issues such as corruption, land rights and environmental threats were discussed— ahead of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit that took place in Vientiane in November 2012, he said. One particular concern of the authorities was that Sombath had allegedly written a letter to Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi inviting her to attend the forum, he said. Aung San Suu Kyi did not attend the forum. The Communist Party’s suspicion was further inflamed by Sombath’s close contact with Thai and international environmentalist groups fiercely opposed to the construction of dams on the Mekong River and which had organized demonstration against the Xayaburi Dam project during the ASEM Summit, the second diplomat said. The diplomat felt that the Lao government’s current strategy is to "drag its feet" over the Sombath's case, hoping that the issue will fade away like all past arbitrary arrests, imprisonments, and forced disappearances in the country. International community's concerns The United Nations, the United States and the European Parliament have all raised concerns about Sombath's disappearance while human rights groups expressed fears he may have been abducted by security groups linked to the government. London-based Amnesty International and U.S.-based Human Rights Watch had said that Sombath was a victim of "enforced disappearance"—defined under international law as the arrest or detention of a person by state officials or their agents followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty, or to reveal the person’s fate or whereabouts. “Based on the evidence, the most plausible conclusion is that Sombath Somphone is a victim of an enforced disappearance, for which Lao officials are responsible,” Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam said recently. “The fact that Sombath was taken from a police post in the center of Laos’ capital city and that the police there did nothing to resist raises very serious concerns,” he said. Human Rights watch had said that the authorities in Laos have "failed to seriously investigate or credibly explain the enforced disappearance" of Sombath. It said there was no indication that the Lao authorities had made any follow-up inquiries into the actions recorded on the police security video. “After six months, the Lao government’s failure to explain the abduction of a prominent social activist at a police checkpoint or account for his whereabouts raises the gravest concerns for his safety,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Sombath was the former director of the Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC), a nongovernmental organization he founded in 1996 to promote education, training, and sustainable development. He was the recipient of the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership for his work in the fields of education and development across Asia. Reported by RFA's Lao Service. Translated by Viengsay Luangkhot. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/sombath-07092013214754.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

11 years, 6 months

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Engnews July 2013