I spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Cambodia, visiting my brother and his partner who currently live in Phnom Penh. It is an amazing country with an incredibly turbulent and violent history from which it is still struggling to recover. The scars left by the Khmer Rouge are still pretty raw throughout the country and democracy is still in an early and fragile stage.
Unfortunately, I heard some news yesterday that signals that the Cambodian people still have many challenges ahead in building a genuinely free and democratic government. Around 3pm yesterday the government of Cambodia arrested two prominent citizens who have been vocal critiques of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his government. One is the head of the Community Legal Education Centre and the other is the head of a prominent Human Rights organisation who was apparently charged with being responsible for a banner displayed in a Human Rights Day demonstration last December the 10th. The government has alleged that the banner contained statements critical of the prime minister.
These arrests follow charges against opposition MPs Sam Rainsy, president of the SRP, Chea Poch, and Cheam Channy. Sam Rainsy and Chea Poch were subsequently convicted, in absentia, of criminal defamation, after fleeing the country. Cheam Channy has been jailed for 7 years by a military court for trumped up charges of organized crime and fraud, despite the fact that, according to Human Rights Watch, Cambodian law does not grant the military court jurisdiction to hear cases against civilians. HRW also report that “[n]o credible evidence of a criminal law violation was provided at the trial, which was marred by severe procedural irregularities.”
These steps are a worrying escalation of the Cambodian governments efforts to intimidate and silence its critiques in an apparent attempt to further tighten its grip on power. What concerns me even more is that this has not even registered in the International media. The last thing that Cambodia needs is another dictator.
Update: I was glad to see that this story was picked up by BBC World, The Guardian, and ABC Asia Pacific, although it was certainly not a prominent story.
The leader of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights is Mr Kem Sokha and a few days after his arrest his deputy was also arrested.
The head of the Community Legal Education Centre is Mr Yeng Virak, and he was charged with providing “offensive material” at a workshop held on December 10 (International Human Rights Day).
It saddens me to hear this Cristy, along with Vietnam; democracy has/is being strangled. Myanmar another casualty thank’s to the power mongers and some Lee Quan Yew Confucian inspired ‘Asian values’ keep-one’s-mouth-shut policy of Asean. I am now of the view that Indonesia qualifies on a democratic scale higher than Singapore and Malaysia, excess corruption notwithstanding.
While working behind the scenes works better in a ”face” conscious region, (and John Howard’s neo-racist nee-Hanson ‘we will decide which brown people…’ —message content and megaphone diplomacy is the opposite of that) I just wish Asean would exert a little more pressure on these recalcitrants with foreign investment/aid as a little bit more of a bargaining stick.
So much cultural heritage to show the world from their Angkorian empire’s past, but so sad to see Gareth Evan’s multilateral work coming undone.
Why is John Howard a “neo racist” whilst Arthur Caldwell (two wongs dont make a white), Gough Whitlam (who described Vietnamese boat people as “Asian Balts”) and Bob Hawke (“Any sovereign country has the right to determine how it will exercise its compassion and how it will increase its population”) are not?
Your comments are discriminatory.
Clyde Cameron records his position regarding the possible evacuation of Vietnamese who wanted to come to Australia, writing:
“I rejected the `bloodbath’ propaganda from Saigon and the USA which was being peddled by the Liberal and Country Parties and I decided that all Vietnamese would be treated in the same way as European applicants for emigration to Australia, except that I added `unprocessed’ orphans to the categories of eligible applicants …Whitlam then put an injunction on the processing of all nominations of Vietnamese.â€?
Clyde Cameron recalls
“…Whitlam stuck out his jaw and, grinding his teeth, turned to Willesee and thundered, `I’m not having hundreds of fucking Vietnamese Balts coming into this country with their religious and political hatreds against us!â€?
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/deakin/stories/s295948.htm#_ftnref6
Why is John Howard a “neo racist�
cos that’s the Asian perspective Rog. They get the news from Australia loud and clear, and when Pauline spat her racist dummy little Johnny’s condemnation was NOTORIOUSLY conspicuous by its absence in Asia. I know, I was there at the time, but clearly the Straits Times, Berita Harian and Jendela Dunia wasn’t (and is never) part of your daily news.
Nobody’s saying Labor has a perfect record on saying things, but seeing as you brought up Arthur Caldwell, who was the immigration minister who brought out all the “Wogs” that set this nation on its multicultural path?
Rog, Whitlam’s hatred of Asians built on an old Labor tradition going back to the Mongolian octopus days.
Of course asians arent racist are they, or the ALP, or anybody else, its only John Howard that has to prove that he is 110% non discriminatory.
I will now make a racist statement, I like chinese food.
Rog, CL: Cristy has said nothing about the role of governments of the past, of either stripe. Besides, I for one would not deny inherent racism within the ALP of the past. Why not just address the content of the post?
It was reported on sbs last night, Cristy. But not on the abc news. My general impression is that the foreign coverage on abc is getting thinner and more selective – whether because of budget cuts or editorial decisions, I don’t know. Last night’s abc news was almost standard tabloid tv – fires, new years eve stuff, crime, sport, weather.
Why not just address the content of the post?
Probably because Peter – who, like the Cambodian government, believes in making arrests on trumped-up charges of “defamation” – poisoned the discussion by reference to John Howard and his “which brown person” foreign policy.
Gough Whitlam, like today’s left, believed it was preferable for brown persons to be robbed by people-smuggling mafiosi and left to drown at sea.
John Howard’s policy has saved the lives of probably hundreds of the “fucking…Balts” that Whitlam hated. Gough also okayed the Indonesian liquidation of East Timor. Cost in human lives: 250,000 dead. Not a word of protest from Whitlam then or since. Who led the intervention that ended that genocide?
John Howard.
“Why not just address the content of the post?”
I did, the post by Peter Kemp was another feeble attempt to have a shot at John Howard under the guise of concern for Cambodia.
Yawn.
“…and John Howard’s neo-racist nee-Hanson… bla bla bla-bla bla bla…”
Double yawn.
(It’s a plot, analagous to fishing, to raise concern for Cambodia! and while you’re here…?)
I gather this is an entirely binary debate, in which the only two positions possible are Whitlam’s or Howard’s.
Another who will be disappointed in the turn of events in Cambodia will be Justice Michael Kirby:
http://www.lawfoundation.net.au/resources/kirby/profile.html
“Dec 1993
Consultations with Human Rights Centre, Geneva on Human Rights for Cambodia.
Jan 1994 [Representative until 1996]
First Mission to Cambodia as Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.”
One telling point in his 1994 report which resonates with the recent arrests:
http://www.lawfoundation.net.au/resources/kirby/papers/19941127_uncam3.html
(We need to clone another Gareth Evans. Dolly just isn’t up to it.)
Evans was another one who remained silent on the East Timor genocide. (Not wanting to offend “Father”). He was most notable for throwing ashtrays at people, scambling a fighter jet to Tasmania and screwing Cheryl Kernot.
“Sir Humphrey” Dolly Evans did write the UN peace plan for Cambodia and is now esconced as President and Chief Executive of the International Crisis Group (ICG)
http://www.un-globalsecurity.org/bios/evans.asp
There has been some quite some coverage by the media on the latest developments http://news.google.com.au/news?hl=en&ned=au&q=“hun sen” cambodia&btnG=Search News
Erm … WTF have Whitlam and Caldwell got to do with anything? Nobody, so far as I am aware, has tried on this thread or indeed anywhere else to claim that either of them was ever up to code on race, even for their times. If we’re talking about history, then if pushed, or even if not pushed, I for one would be willing to admit that Fraser was always Whitlam’s superior in matters of race, particularly at an international level.
(Re Evans and his achievements: oh, CL, do the reading, chum!)
What matters to Australians now is the behaviour of the man who has been running the country and shaping its laws for nine years, the man through whom international views of Australia are refracted and who now wields quite extraordinary power. If he f*cks up, he should be held accountable — as, God knows, Gough was held accountable in his own time. NB: his own time was 30 years ago. Pull yourselves together. As it were.
What has John Howard got to do with Cambodia?
Actually an F111 CL. I think that’s how he got the name ”Biggles”, checking up on those Ghengis Khans wanting to destroy a big bit of Australian wilderness heritage. ”A good idea at the time” he said. The feds won the resulting High Court Case based on the external affairs powers.
‘’screwing Cheryl Kernot.” Well all I can say is we can be thankful is history doesn’t record a parallel universe and some liberal ladies that spring to mind. That would be a situation far way above and beyond the call of Labor party duty. (retching sounds.)
I’m really unimpressed with the way you guys address the issue of Cambodia, but I’m really impressed by a seemingly secret web software that funnels attacks on your beloved exemplars, your political deities, straight to your current web browsers?
”He threw an ashtray” —well, such perfidious malicious indictable evil shouldn’t over-ride anything good the man did I suppose.
Senator Lugar was most congratulory of ”Biggles” and his multilateral efforts in the Cambodian gig, but hey, maybe that guy has skeletons in his closet as well, so let’s go off on another irrelevant tangent!
F1-11 dispatched to deal with Tasmanian Ghengis Khans!!
Gough was never held accountable, Pavlov – despite greenlighting the liquidation of 250,000 people. Keating and Evans were also obedient servants of Suharto – the butcher they called “Father.”
Peter, you started the tangential commentary when you referred to Howard’s view of “brown people” in a post on Cambodia. It was perfectly reasonable to point out that the left’s hero-in-chief, Gough Whitlam, did not like Asians – nor did he want them in Australia.
Notwithstanding Peter’s trolling, Cristy, I would like to say that this was an interesting and important post – one based on your own experience. I did appreciate it and I agree with your concerns and conclusions absolutely. Cambodia is one of those places about which one screams “enough” whenever this kind of recidivism occurs.
You’ve been nothing but tangential until that last post CL. Read my posts for comparison-Evans/Kirby/Lugar/Cambodia. If a lefty can’t have a little slag-off on a lefty blog, what’s the world coming to?
Shorter CL: I never go off on a trolling tangent when Gough W. or “Islamofacism” can be dragged into it.
Illiterate jibberish as usual.
Again, Cristy, well done. Take no notice of him.
Sorry, have been offline for a while. Just thought that I should update the post with a few facts that I didn’t have handy the other day.
I must say that I am a little unsure about what kind of response I actually expect or want from the rest of the world. On the one hand I think that this slide away from democracy and freedom of expression is deeply disturbing and demands an internation response (particularly to support the activists in question). On the other hand, it makes me cringe when we talk about exporting our brand of democracy and presume to dictate to other countries how they ought to run their countries – as though our houses were actually in order on that front…
The solution must lie somewhere in the middle – more towards providing support to the local people who are trying to build a better political system, rather than a simple attack on the government from outside. How you actually go about doing that effectively is, of course, no where near simple.