Topic: Expression and Assembly
Press Release: Stop Gun Violence Impunity: Arrest and Prosecute the Svay Rieng Shooter
Pages: Published on February 21, 2012; After years of blatant impunity for similar crimes, the latest shooting of three young women while protesting for better working conditions in Svay Rieng province comes as little surprise. Gun violence directed at unarmed protestors has been on the rise recently throughout Cambodia.
"This latest shooting appears to be a clear-cut case of attempted murder," said Am Sam Ath, from LICADHO. "Reports indicate that the gunman shot directly at the protesting workers. There can be no question that such actions constitute premeditation and an intent to kill under the Penal Code."
Published on January 21, 2012; On January 18, 2012, military personnel acting as security guards for TTY Co. Ltd opened fire on a group of villagers who had gathered to prevent clearing of their farmland by company's excavators in Kratie's Snuol district.
Four villagers were injured by bullets. None of the authorities present during the shooting proceeded to arrest the perpetrators.
Published on January 12, 2012; We, the ten undersigned civil society organizations, call for the immediate release of Borei Keila residents detained yesterday and since unlawfully detained at the Prey Speu Social Affairs Center. We also call for the permanent closure of the Prey Speu center, which has been proven time and again to be nothing more than an extra-judicial detention facility.
Published on December 22, 2011; Donors, who provide approximately half of Cambodia's national budget, should make clear to the Cambodian government that the fourth draft of the Law on Associations and NGOs (LANGO) must be revised to protect civil society or be withdrawn, a group of concerned international human rights organizations said today. Any revisions should involve meaningful consultation with civil society organizations and aim to support their activities instead of creating a legal framework allowing for arbitrary closure of organizations or the denial of registration.
Published on December 20, 2011; On the morning of December 20, 2011, at 8:30 AM, over 100 Cambodian citizens from Phnom Penh and 23 provinces peacefully unrolled a 230 meter long blue kramar petition in front of the National Assembly. The petition addressed in Khmer to the Royal Government of Cambodia from the citizens of Cambodia calls on the government to: '... halt its intention of passing the Law on Associations and Non governmental Organizations, the Law on Trades Union and the Law on Farmers' Cooperative which restrict the basic rights and freedoms of Cambodian citizens."
Published on December 15, 2011; On Dec. 12, 2011, the Royal Cambodian Government released the fourth draft of its proposed Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO). The release comes almost exactly one year after the first draft was introduced in mid-December 2010.
The contents of the three earlier drafts provoked extensive criticism from local and international civil society organizations, donor governments, and legal analysts. Twice previously the government has acknowledged these criticisms and promised to come up with a better draft. Twice previously they have failed.
With the fourth draft, they have failed again.
Published on October 26, 2011; Since 2008, the Cambodian government has embarked upon a furious campaign to propose and enact a wide range of new laws. While this new legislation is typically touted as evidence of Cambodia’s progress toward the rule of law, a new LICADHO report has found that in many cases, it actually marks the opposite.
In the report, “The Delusion of Progress: Cambodia’s Legislative Assault on Expressive Rights,” LICADHO analyzes five key laws proposed or enacted since 2008: the Penal Code, the Anti-Corruption Law, the Law on Associations and NGOs, the Law on Peaceful Assembly, and the Law on Unions of Enterprises. Overall, the analysis reveals several disturbing trends: Legislation is littered with improper restrictions on freedom of expression, provisions are misapplied, and vast sections are deliberately drafted to be used as weapons against those who speak out against the political and financial elite.
Published on October 18, 2011; On the morning of October 18, 2011, over 200 Boeung Kak lake residents peacefully gathered in front of the Phnom Penh court to show support for six of community representatives who were summoned by the court. The summons were in relation to complaints filed by local authorities, who accused the six of defamation and of making unlawful threats and insults.
Published on September 9, 2011; CCHR, LICADHO and CLEC condemn efforts on the part of Kampong Thom province and Sandan district officials to impose conditions on human rights activities above and beyond that provided for in law. Such conditions have no basis in law and any attempts to impose such conditions are in flagrant disregard of the human rights of the people of Kampong Thom province as well as others who travel to that province to participate in activities in the promotion and protection of human rights.
On the afternoon of 7 September 2011, representatives from CCHR, LICADHO and CLEC as well as the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) Cambodia attended a meeting with district officials in Sandan district, Kampong Thom province. The meeting was called after a training event organized by CCHR and the Natural Resource Protection Group (NRPG) was disrupted by officials accompanied by armed police.
Published on August 21, 2011; We, representatives of the undersigned members of civil society and private sector groups, support national development that is equitable, inclusive, and sustainable. We believe national development should contribute not only to the growth of commerce and industry but also to the welfare of the wider population. Civil society actors, both local and foreign, play a vital role in this development through monitoring, community development, poverty alleviation, humanitarianism, research, and advocacy. In promoting equitable development and good governance, we also have a right and a responsibility to speak out when development projects have harmful effects.
We condemn the suspension of STT in the strongest possible terms. The suspension of STT is completely arbitrary and a violation of the constitutional right to freedom of expression and association, and an assault on human rights defenders. We demand its immediate reversal. We regard this act to silence STT as an act of oppression against us all. The use of a vague administrative technicality to suspend an organization is an alarmingly clear sign of how the Cambodian government intends to use the Law on Associations and Non Governmental Organizations (LANGO) to curb the activities of all associations and NGOs that advocate for the rights of marginalized groups within Cambodian society.
Published on August 18, 2011; CCHR, CLEC and LICADHO condemn today's mass detention of peaceful activists in Phnom Penh, in which police detained over 100 villagers for distributing environmental fliers.
The activists, who mostly hail from Cambodia's Prey Lang forest, gathered in 14 provinces and Phnom Penh to raise awareness over deforestation and economic land concessions that have been granted inside the forest. The Prey Lang network maintains that the preservation of Prey Lang is critical to the preservation of wildlife habitat and flora that is sacred to indigenous communities. They also claim that deforestation would contribute to climate change and ultimately affect their livelihoods.
Approximately 300 Prey Lang members gathered in front of the Royal Palace to conduct a religious ceremony early on Thursday morning. The network members then dispersed in small groups throughout the city to distribute fliers advocating for the preservation of the forest. Police and local officials immediately descended on each of the locations, confiscated the leaflets and detained participants in local commune offices for questioning and "re-education."
Published on August 1, 2011; On July 29, 2011, the government released a third draft of its widely criticized Law on Associations and on-Governmental Organizations (NGO Law), once again claiming that the newest draft addresses the litany of concerns that have been raised by civil society. One needs look no further than the first chapter of the law, however, to discredit the government's reassurances. Registration is still mandatory, meaning Cambodians cannot exercise their fundamental rights of assembly, expression and association without navigating complex registration procedures and securing the blessing of government officials, who would be given absolute power to create or dissolve civil society groups.
The majority of LICADHO's comments in its briefing papers discussing the first and second drafts of the law are still relevant. As with the second draft, the remaining changes in the third draft are almost entirely cosmetic. The third draft does, however, make one significant improvement in that it expressly mentions a right to appeal a denial of registration. This welcome addition is not without its own issues - namely the lack of a timeline and legal standards for assessing an appeal - but it is an important reflection of the impact that advocacy efforts have had to date.
Published on July 14, 2011; The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) strongly denounces the Appeals Court's decision to uphold Leang Sokchouen's two-year prison sentence and to change the conviction using legal provisions that were non-existent at the time of the alleged offense.
On August 30, 2010, the Takeo provincial court sentenced Sokchouen to two years in prison on charges of disinformation. The prosecution did not present any in-court witness testimonies or credible evidence. The trial judge only relied on written statements by four dubious witness statements from police officers, ignoring in-court testimony in favor of Sokchouen's innocence.
On Thursday, July 14, 2011, the Appeals Court judge Pol Sam Oeun issued a verdict upholding the lower court's verdict against Sokchouen after a two-hour long trial that took place on June 30, 2011, which failed to present any evidence of Sokchouen's guilt.
Published on June 13, 2011; On April 26, Buddhist Supreme Patriarch Non Nget banned Venerable Sovath from all pagodas in Phnom Penh on the grounds that these actions "[had] caused villagers to think badly about Buddhism." This was the latest threat by Buddhist authorities against Venerable Long Sovath, a monk who decided to actively defend the rights of Cambodians.
Since 2009, Venerable Sovath has supported communities forcibly evicted from their land. In the video, he explains that his actions are in line with Buddhist teachings that advocate helping and saving people's lives. Buddha, he says, would also go where there is misery.
Published on May 8, 2011; ADHOC, CLEC and LICADHO strongly condemn the government's brutal dispersal of union garment workers in Phnom Penh on Sunday morning during an ongoing strike over a labor dispute that begun with the recent burning of the workers' factory. The protest left at least eight workers injured, some seriously.
Approximately 2,000 workers from Mithona garment factory gathered on Sunday morning at the burnt factory on Ponchentong Road near the capital's airport. The group intended to temporarily block the road to draw the attention of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who was scheduled to return from abroad via the airport, to their situation. The action was organized by a local wing of the Free Trade Union Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC).
