News Update :

Uh oh: New York City Council president breaks with Bloomberg over “punitive” soda ban

Penulis : bang Sreymom on Thursday, May 31, 2012 | 10:13 PM

Thursday, May 31, 2012


POSTED AT 8:05 PM ON MAY 31, 2012 BY ALLAHPUNDIT

    
Yes, this is a big deal. The City Council can’t kill the ban — when it comes to controlling what you eat, NYC is no democracy — but Quinn’s opposition carries political significance. She’s president of the Council and a Democrat and a Bloomberg ally and usually a supporter of his little health crusades and a very strong contender to succeed him as mayor. If she’s abandoning ship, it can only be because she’s not confident that the ban is being well received even in the deep blue utopia of NYC.

And she’s not the only mayoral contender who feels that way.

Christine Quinn, the City Council speaker and a mayoral ally, pointed out that the key to getting people to eat healthier is to give them healthier options, and said during an avail today that she was concerned about the ban being excessively punitive.

“Fighting the obesity epidemic comes down to personal decisions and that’s why knowledge about nutrition is important because with it, people can make healthier choices. Another important factor is access to healthier foods. We’ve seen that if better choices are available, people will often take advantage of them. That’s why we’ve expanded Green Markets and the EBT program. However, limiting people’s choices is not about knowledge, empowerment or access. It seems punitive and I worry that in the end, this proposal won’t yield a positive result. Because after all, the person who doesn’t understand why it’s not healthy to drink 18oz of sugared soda, is simply going to get two 10oz cans or extra refills.”…

[Former City Comptroller Bill] Thompson says that the attention on the matter would be better focused on educating young people about the dangers of sugary foods.

“This move does nothing to teach people about positive nutritional values and sounds more like parlor talk than real solutions for the obesity epidemic. The city should be educating students in our schools about good health and not limiting what our citizens can purchase. Ten years into this administration and this is the best they can come up with?”

The current City Comptroller is also critical of the ban on grounds that we should be spending our time worrying instead about mandating bike helmets or something. (This is NYC, my friends. Sometimes nannyism can be defeated only through greater nannyism.) As much as I hate to undermine Quinn’s opposition, I’ve gotta say — the “people will simply buy two drinks now instead of one” argument seems a bit too pat to me. Some people will do that; if you’re parched and hankering for an ocean of soda, a 16-ouncer’s just not going to do it. Pop for two cups. But not everyone who springs for the 32-ouncer necessarily wants 32 ounces. Some people just want “a lot” and if they see 32 as an option, they’ll choose that because it’s undeniably “a lot.” If 16 is the top option, they might be satisfied with that instead — partly because of the psychological effect in choosing the largest available size, partly because of the inconvenience and expense in lugging around two cups, and partly because they’re not so thirsty that they need 32 ounces to feel sated. They might only need 20 and will make do with 16 rather than order a second cup for that extra little bit. If you’re opting for the occasional 16 instead of nursing a 32-ouncer that’s more than enough to fill you up but which you feel compelled to finish if only to get your money’s worth, then yeah, you’re going to lose some weight. That doesn’t justify his attempt to use state power to treat you like a child, but it’s not a wholly ineffective tactic.

Via Reason, two minutes of man-on-the-street reaction to the new ban. I don’t want to spoil it but the word “douche” is mentioned.
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Posted by bang Sreymom at 10:13 PM 0 comments
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Bill Clinton headed to Wisconsin to campaign against Scott Walker

 From Hotair
POSTED AT 6:44 PM ON MAY 31, 2012 BY ALLAHPUNDIT

On the one hand, is there a single vote left across the entire state that’s still in play here? Wisconsinites have been gorging on recall politicking for literally years now. Barring a catastrophic gaffe by Walker or Barrett in the last few days before the vote, who’s still making up his/her mind on this election?

On the other hand, dude, I’m nervous:

Former President Bill Clinton has decided to go to Wisconsin to campaign against Scott Walker in the final days of the battle over whether to recall the Wisconsin Governor, a move that could give a boost to the anti-Walker forces in a campaign that will depend heavily on who turns out to vote, a source familiar with Clinton’s plans confirms to me…

Democrats badly want Clinton to campaign in Wisconsin for Tom Barrett, and had lobbied him heavily for weeks. But Clinton remaind undecided until today…

Labor and Dems are widely believed to have a superior ground game to that of Walker, though it’s still unclear whether it will be enough to compensate for Walker’s seeming lead in the polls. A Clinton visit, Dems hope, will galvanize base turnout (the black vote in Milwaukee, for example) just enough to put Barrett over the top.

Clinton’s a famously good campaigner and he and Hillary have always appealed to blue-collar Dems, so if there’s anyone out there who can squeeze a little extra turnout out of Barrett’s base, it’s him. That’s not really the part that worries me, though. What worries me is that he must be sufficiently convinced by Barrett’s internal polls showing that this is a winnable race that he’s willing to stake a little of his own political capital on it. In fact, maybe that’s part of the logic of this — if Clinton shows up with Barrett, it’s a strong signal to depressed Wisconsin Dems that this thing might still be winnable after all. Doesn’t even matter what he says. Just the fact that he’s there is the message.

Then again, if Barrett’s internal polls are so compelling, why are other top Democrats running away from Wisconsin?

President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Minneapolis, which sits along the border of Wisconsin, on Friday, but has no plans to visit the Badger State.

White House press secretary Jay Carney distanced the administration from Barrett’s campaign at Wednesday’s briefing…

During an MSNBC interview Wednesday morning, Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter tried to downplay the significance of the recall effort, saying it had “nothing to do” with the presidential election.

“This is a gubernatorial race with a guy who was recalled, and a, you know, a challenger trying to get him out of office,” Cutter said. “It has nothing to do with President Obama at the top of the ticket. And it certainly doesn’t have anything to do with Mitt Romney at the top of the Republican ticket. So, no, I don’t think, you know, there may be some that will, you know, predict that it means doom for us in Wisconsin in the fall elections, but I think they’ll be proven wrong.”

Actually, there’s good reason to think that the recall effort will help Republicans contend in Wisconsin in the fall. The RNC claims it’s made more than two million voter contacts in the state and has opened 20 field offices that will segue to organizing for Romney once they’re done organizing for Walker. Worst-case scenario: Obama holds on to win the state in November but ends up having to spend money there that he had earmarked for a swing state. Best-case scenario: Romney pulls the upset and the Walker recall effort ends up exploding like a 20-megaton bomb in the Dems’ faces. That might also be part of the logic in sending Clinton out there: Even if Walker ends up winning, the closer the Dems can make it on Tuesday, the more Romney will think twice about gambling on the state by spending his own money there. He’s got a heavy lift to start with — Obama beat McCain in the state by 14 points — so absent a very solid Walker victory, Mitt might conclude that it’s a lost cause even if he’ll probably significantly improve on Maverick’s results. Clinton’s task is to make sure the victory isn’t so solid, even if it happens.
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Posted by bang Sreymom at 10:11 PM 0 comments
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Noted constitutional scholar Nancy Pelosi: I know that ObamaCare will be upheld


POSTED AT 6:01 PM ON MAY 31, 2012 BY ALLAHPUNDIT

    
I’m not knocking her for her prediction — she thinks it’ll be 6-3 to uphold, as do I — but I can’t get over this bit. Did a politician who’ll forever be infamous for responding to a question about the constitutionality of the mandate by stammering “are you serious?” really say this?

She was then asked why she was so confident about her prediction, “Do you have a crystal ball or what is your confidence — you wrote the bill but why do you have this confidence?”

Pelosi said: “Because I know the Constitution. This bill is ironclad. It is ironclad.”

“Nobody was frivolous with the Constitution and the health of the American people in writing the bill,” she said. “So, that’s where my confidence springs from, the merit of the bill and the nature of the Constitution.”

The bill is “ironclad”? The same bill that we had to pass in order to find out what’s in it, which strangely ended up having no boilerplate severability clause even though that might force the Supreme Court to strike down the entire law instead of just the mandate? Hello?

Something else here intrigues me. Two months ago, after oral arguments, Pelosi sounded a lot less confident that the law would be upheld. Now, suddenly, she’s in take-it-to-the-bank mode. What changed? Could be that she’s simply engaged in raising expectations so that, if the Court does strike down the law, their decision will seem less legitimate. Could also be that she’s been briefed by a lefty law professor or two in the interim on the constitutional ins and outs and is now preaching the gospel of limitless Commerce Clause power. Or, for the ultimate cloak-and-dagger speculation, could be that someone inside the Court has leaked the decision to her and she’s now busy making herself look like a sage in anticipation of the announcement. I’m skeptical about that last possibility, though, especially since Senate Republicans have been inching out on the political limb in preparation for ObamaCare being struck down:

Sen. Roy Blunt (MO), vice chair of the Senate GOP Conference, offered a ringing defense of the “Obamacare” under-26 provision, and said he wouldn’t oppose ideas he previously supported simply because President Obama adopted them.

“I believe that’s one of the things that the Congress would surely reinstate,” Blunt told the St. Louis radio station KTRS in an interview last Thursday, pointing out that he has offered similar legislation in the past. “It’s a way to get a significant number of the uninsured into an insurance group without much cost. … It’s one of the things I think should continue.”

“I’ve been in a couple meetings lately and there’s some general understanding that that’s one of the things … and there are other things like that as well,” the senator added.

A GOP health aide explained the strategy on the shift: “Come up with a plan and come up with a plan quick to deal with popular … provisions. An interesting twist will be money spent and continued implementation. There could be a deal struck on those two issues as well.”

If there’s a leak, apparently only one side of the aisle is privy to it, as Blunt would never invite this sort of trouble from the base unless he was thinking seriously about having to replace a nullified law with something new. I doubt there’s a leak, though: The Court and its clerks have been amazingly good about keeping decisions under wraps, even under the most intense political pressure. (E.g., Bush v. Gore.) I think she’s just talking tough because there’s really no downside to doing so. If the law is upheld, she looks like a genius; if it isn’t, she gets to scream that democracy’s been cheated on what should have been an easy decision. Click the image to watch.
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Posted by bang Sreymom at 10:09 PM 0 comments
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House passes veterans funding bill


By ANDREW TAYLOR | Associated Press 
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio …

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled House approved legislation Thursday to boost health care spending for veterans and provide more money to compensate record numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans claiming service-related disabilities as they return home.
The 407-12 vote reflected the traditional bipartisan support for veterans in Congress and efforts by Republicans to exempt veterans' programs from cuts felt by other domestic programs.
Roughly half of the $148 billion measure is for veterans' pensions and disability payments over which lawmakers have little practical control. That includes a 20 percent, $10.5 billion increase for such payments.
The Associated Press reported earlier this week that 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. About 1.2 million veterans are expected to file for disability claims next year, on top of a backlog of almost 1 million applicants.
The measure also boosts spending for Veterans Administration medical services in 2014 by $2.2 billion, a 5 percent increase that came even as the VA revealed earlier this year that it had overestimated medical care costs by $3 billion for this year and $2 billion for next.
VA medical programs are budgeted more than a year in advance to insulate them from the ups and downs of the budget process.
Pro-labor Republicans joined with Democrats to win 218-198 passage of an amendment by Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., to strip a provision that would have blocked the Pentagon from requiring contractors to sign project labor agreements to secure federal contracts. Such agreements require contractors to negotiate with union officials, recognize union wages and generally abide by collective-bargaining agreements.
The veterans' measure is perhaps the most popular of the 12 annual spending bills that Congress must pass. It had been expected to pass easily despite a White House veto threat that was issued over moves by GOP leaders to break faith with last summer's budget deal by cutting overall funding for agency operating budgets by $19 billion, almost 2 percent.
The veto promise didn't find fault with the funding levels in the veterans' measure itself. Instead, it said the GOP moves on spending would force deep cuts to domestic programs like education, research and health care in subsequent legislation.
Disability claims from Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are running much higher than from veterans of prior conflicts. An estimated 21 percent of veterans filed claims after the first Gulf War in the early 1990s, government officials say.
What's more, these new veterans are claiming a greater number of ailments than veterans of prior conflicts like the Vietnam War and World War II.
Many factors are driving the dramatic increase in claims — the weak economy, more troops surviving wounds and more awareness of problems such as concussions and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Disability payments range from $127 a month for a 10 percent disability to $2,769 for a full one.
The measure also funds $10.6 billion in military construction projects.
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Posted by bang Sreymom at 8:54 PM 0 comments
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FREE THE 15! STOP THE VIOLENCE!

Please donate to help the 15 Boeung Kak Lake representatives jailed!

As reported by The Phnom Penh Post, in Prey Sar jail, “Food is inadequate both in terms of quantity and nutritional value. There are [also] health dangers related to . . . water, medical care, fresh air and space,” therefore our first goal is to send some money to the women and man jailed so that they may obtain adequate food in prison.

(Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)
Our second goal is to help the children of these women and man so that they may survive while one of their parents are in jail.


(Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)
 After discussion with Mrs. Mu Sochua, she agreed to accept online donations through her website and turn them to the BKL 15. As of this writing, we are able to raise $100 from our KI-Media team members, our initial objective is to raise about $300 to provide about $20 each to these women and man for their immediate needs. If you can, please help donate for these women and man who are unfairly arrested and sentenced. Any donation amount, be it $1 or $5 or $10, would be greatly appreciated by them.

Thank you for your generosity,

KI-Media team

PS: In the Paypal donation, please add a message to Mrs. Mu Sochua to let her know that the amount is for the BKL 15.

Click here to donate to the BKL 15
http://sochua.wordpress.com/donate/

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Posted by bang Sreymom at 8:49 PM 0 comments
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Sunday's Polls a Test of National Election Committee's Neutrality: Expert




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVGBeHGrMOs
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwjRw4o53-o
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTOVWGEZ59c


May 31, 2012
Rick Valenzuela
Voice of America
"The wind of freedom is blowing all over the world, and this wind of freedom will reach Cambodia eventually"
VIENNA - Cambodians vote on June 3rd in local elections that are a preview of national parliament polls next year. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is unable to campaign at home because of a conviction he says was politically motivated. But he is visiting countries in Europe, pressing his case for fair elections and human rights.

As Cambodia prepares for local polls, the self-exiled leader of the opposition party is in Europe, speaking with officials and overseas Cambodians.

Sam Rainsy discussed election concerns with officials from the Austrian Foreign Affairs Ministry. Under portraits of royalty, he and Bruno Bilek spoke casually in what was less than an official diplomatic meeting.

"Actually it was an exchange of views and we were speaking on Cambodia and the forthcoming elections next year. What we hope is that the elections will be free and fair and transparent and that every party and every politician has access to means for campaigning and can compete fairly and freely for seats," Bilek said.


Outside observers worry that vote-buying and intimidation could mar the polls as in the last national election in 2008. But Sam Rainsy says even though he will not be present, his party is running a competitive campaign.

"What is important is not the physical presence but the virtual presence and the party depends on its ideology, on its machinery, on its human resources, on its organization," Rainsy said.

The politician says he also discussed human rights, a topic he raised in a recent stop in Switzerland. He spoke with United Nations officials and other groups about worker wages and their right to unionize.

"Those rights are being denied by the Cambodian authorities So I have to help my fellow compatriots before any institution that could help," Rainsy said.

As Southeast Asian economies continue to grow as an important trading partner, Bruno Bilek says Austria is following developments in Cambodia.

"We have relations politically and economically. Of course, as a country which is not so close to Austria, the relationship is not as intense as it is with neighboring countries. But what is important also is Cambodia, within ASEAN, in the ASEAN and also EU-ASEAN, in the general context -- this is an important issue for us," Bilek said.

In the 2008 poll, Sam Rainsy’s party took just 26 of the 123 seats in parliament. While Hun Sen’s ruling party is still accused of heavy handed tactics influencing the electoral process, Rainsy remains hopeful.

"The wind of freedom is blowing all over the world, and this wind of freedom will reach Cambodia eventually," Rainsy said.

Observers say the results of June polls will be a sign for national elections in July, 2013.
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Biography of Achar Hem Chiev, a National Hero - ព្រះបាឡាត់ឃោសនាគ ហែមចៀវ វីរបុរសជាតិ

ឆ្នាំងបាយលោកសង្ឃ គឺនៅនឹងប្រជាជន បើប្រជាជនវេទនា អត់បាយ ប្រជាជនគ្មានសិទ្ធិសេរីភាព បើប្រជាជននៅក្នុងឋានៈ ជាខ្ញុំកញ្ជះគេ លោកសង្ឃក៏ទទួល អំណោយផលអាក្រក់ដែរ។ ដូច្នេះ លោកសង្ឃមានភារៈ ប្រោសសត្វលោក គឺត្រូវស្តីប្រដៅ ធ្វើឲ្យមនុស្សមានស៊ី មានស្លៀក មានសេរីភាព ក្នុងប្រទេសឯករាជ្យ និងសន្តិភាព ដ៏បរិបូណ៌។

ទឹកភ្នែកប្រជារាស្ត្រ គឺទឹកភ្នែកព្រះសង្ឃ

- ទឹកចិត្ត ព្រះអាចារ្យ ហែមចៀវ -
-----
The monks’ rice pot remains with the people, if the people are miserable, have nothing to eat, if they have no freedom, if they live as slave, monks will also feel the hardship pinch. Therefore, monks whose duty is to save the humans, must teach and encourage people to find food to eat, to find clothes to wear, to find freedom for their country, to find independence and total peace.

Tears of the people are those of monks.


- View by Preah Achar Hem Chiev -

--------
Biography of Achar Hem Chiev

 Posted originally by M. P.


Hem Chiev was born in 1898 to a modest farmer family in Oudong. At the age of 12, his father took him to study at Wat Ounalom under the guidance of Monk Chuon Nath who is one of his father’s friends. Young Hem Chiev studied well while serving monk Chuon Nath until the age of 16. Under his parents request, the young Hem Chiev decided to take the vow and became a monk at Wat Ounalom where he further expanded his knowledge of Buddhism under the guidance of monk Chuon Nath still.

At the age of 20, monk Hem Chiev was ordained as Bikkhu at Watt Langka. He then went on to pass the exam to enter the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh.

According to Martin Stuart-Fox (2006), “[t]he Buddhist Institute did encourage Buddhist studies, but it also stimulated wider studies into culture and history, folklore and language, which rekindled cultural pride that fed into the rising tide of nationalism. The failure of France to protect either Laos or Cambodia from losing territory to Thailand in 1940-41 had a similar effect. Monks took the lead in opposing clumsy French attempts to introduce romanised forms of Cambodian and Lao scripts. In Cambodia, the monk Hem Chieu, a leader in this opposition movement …”

Achar Hem Chiev encouraged his students to study hard to liberate themselves from the yoke of the French colonial rule. He also started the movement to preach Buddhism in Khmer rather than in Pali.

As a member of the French opposition, Achar Hem Chiev kep contact with other Khmer nationalists at the time, among them: Pach Chhoeun, Son Ngoc Thanh, Chum Moung, Nuon Duong, and Sim Var. They all worked to find ways to free Cambodia from the French rule.

Meanwhile, Achar Hem Chiev kept on his Buddhist preaching, among the most notable principles he preached are:
Do not be a man of burden to the world (i.e. be useful in life).
We must bring well-being to the present first because if we now have well-being, there will be well-being in the future as well.
You must work, do not wait for fate.
You can cross hardship only if you are determined.
You can only depend on yourself (i.e. self-reliance).
You must not frequent bad friends, you should not frequent friends with low life, you should frequent good friends, you should frequent people with high ideals.
Unintelligent people will bring you actions that should not be brought up, they always bring you chores that are not of concern, they are people who are difficult to teach and bring back to the right path, when they are told about good behaviors, they become angry, they do not know about rules, if you do not meet them, or see them, it is best that way.
You should not depend on someone else to feed you in life.
At a preaching session where he spoke about independence, one man told him: “We want independence from France also, but we don’t know what to do.” Monk Hem Chiev told him back: “It is easy, as Lord Buddha told us: ‘The union will bring well-being in everything’”.

On July 17, 1942, under the instigation of French spies, Achar Hem Chiev was arrested and unceremoniously defrocked. He was then thrown in jail by the French colonial regime working under the occupation of Japan.

On July 20, 1942, a demonstration asking for the release of Achar Hem Chiev was organized by Pach Chhoeun. He was joined by about 1,000 demonstrators including several monks. In the melee which ensued, Pach Chhoeun was pushed inside the perimeter of the French Resident compound. French agents took this opportunity to close the door behind Pach Chhoeun and arrested him on the spot. Seeing this arrest, the monks started to fight against French police agents and their Vietnamese agents using their umbrellas. Meanwhile, the civilians who were present at the demonstration started to throw rocks against the French. The demonstration idea originated from Son Ngoc Thanh who wanted to show the Japanese (who then occupied Cambodia) the displeasure of Cambodian people against the arrest of Achar Hem Chiev by the French agents of the fascist Vichy regime, he would then ask the Japanese troops for intervention and obtain the release of Achar Hem Chiev. However, the fight and the arrest of Pach Chhoeun changed all Son Ngoc Thanh’s plan. Following the demonstration, several important Cambodian nationalists were arrested by the French after the demonstration.

Accused of sedition (KI-Media Note: Villagers in Kratie who resisted forced evictions are currently charged of secession), Achar Hem Chiev and several other Khmer nationalists were sentenced to life in prison by the French colonial court, and sent to jail in Poulo Condor (Con Son Island) also known in Khmer as Koh Trolach jail. It was there that Achar Hem Chiev died. Rumors had it also that the French forced Achar Hem Chiev to sleep in lime which seriously affected his health (one of my uncle who then belonged to the nationalist movement told me about this rumor).

Before passing away, Achar Hem Chiev said: “The construction of the nation by one individual will never be successful. We must unite altogether, in great number, and we must keep on pursuing it! You must all continue the struggle for me. I cannot carry the country by myself… The country belongs to us all… I am not afraid of death but the only thing I regret, is not being able to see our Cambodia becoming independent. May you live in peace … If our country finds peace again, we must organize a republic, do not forget! I am leaving you…”

On July 4, 1972, the Khmer Republic regime repatriated the remains of Achar Hem Chiev from Poulo Condor back to Cambodia where he received his final proper religious rite. His remain was then kept at Wat Ounalom.

References

Preah Pothiveang So Hay, prepared by Kong Samphea. “Preah Balat Khosaneak Hem Chiev, a National Hero.” Historical document in Khmer. (see below in Khmer)


Acknowledgment

The following PDF edition of the biography of Ven. Hem Chiev was made available by Lok Ly Diep of Angko

http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2012/06/biography-of-achar-hem-chiev-national.html
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Tears of Boeung Kak Lake children - ទឹកភ្នែក កុមារាកុមារី បឹងកក់











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Ladies of the lake [-Do you still want to vote for the CPP???]



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yes5ym1eLR8
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Posted by bang Sreymom at 8:15 PM 0 comments
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Sunday’s Polls a Test of National Election Committee’s Neutrality: Expert



Thursday, 31 May 2012
Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC 

Sunday’s polls will be a major test of the National Election Committee and its mandate for neutrality, a leading rights expert says.

“We have noticed that the NEC is not neutral,” said Ou Virak, head of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights. “Its performance is lagging behind. It’s biased toward the ruling party.”

Cambodians will vote for their local commune council leaders across the country on Sunday, choosing among 10 separate parties and amid allegations of election irregularities. Opposition leaders have said as many as 1 million people will not be able to vote, due to problems in the registration and local voting lists, which are overseen by the NEC.


The national election body has failed to address concerns raised by campaigning parties over the last two weeks, Ou Virak said, speaking to VOA Khmer over Skype. “This local election will be a reflection on how much the NEC has developed itself.”

The NEC often faces criticism of bias toward the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, but officials there say it is an impartial election body.

However, Ou Virak said some of its leaders are members of the ruling party, which damages its independence.

The NEC should be allowed independent recruitment, funding and other measures, he said.

“These are very much beneficial for political stability and maturing democracy in Cambodia,” he said. “If there is confidence in the electoral body, people will not resort to violence or any activity threatening stability.”
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Boeung Kak Protesters Continue Demonstrations [-How much more suffering do they have to endure?]



Poa Sokun Kanha, 11, from Boueng Kak cries as she joins a rally to ask King Norodom Sihamoni to help release of villagers, in front of Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Thursday, May 31, 2012. The villagers were arrested when they tried to rebuild their homes on the land where their old houses were demolished by the developers, and were sentenced each to two years and half in prison by Phnom Penh Municipality Court on May 24. Phnom Penh's Boueng Kak is a lake area which the government awarded to a Chinese company for commercial development, including a hotel, office buildings and luxury housing. The headband reads: "Good people are in prison and thieves are free." (Photo: AP)


Thursday, 31 May 2012
Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh 
“I appeal to all embassy officials in Cambodia to look for a foster mother to feed my five-year-old son, and I will commit suicide.”
Around 100 protesters from the Boeung Kak development site in Phnom Penh continued demonstrations against the detention of 15 of their representatives on Thursday, submitting an appeal to the Ministry of Justice to help intervene.

Protesters, many of whom were the children of the arrested women, sang songs or shaved their heads in a sign of desperation.

“I appeal to all embassy officials in Cambodia to look for a foster mother to feed my five-year-old son, and I will commit suicide,” said Doung Chhoeut, 45, who said he lost everything in a forced eviction at Boeung Kak.


Meanwhile, 139 separate rights groups and other organizations issued a statement calling for the release of the 15 women. Thirteen of them were arrested May 22, attempting to rebuild a house in protest of a forced eviction earlier this year at the Beoung Kak site. Two more were arrested two days later as they demonstrated against the rapid conviction of the thirteen women in a rushed trial.

The rights groups said in their statement that protesters have faced continual violent crackdowns by Cambodian authorities, leading to fatalities or injuries on some occasions.

Environmentalist Chut Wutty was shot and killed while investigating illegal logging in Koh Kong province in April, and earlier this month a 14-year-old girl, Heng Chantha, was shot and killed by security forces in a crackdown on protesting villagers in Kratie province. Added to that is the shooting injuries of three women at a demonstration of garment factory workers in Svay Rieng province in February.

“These incidents are particularly disturbing because they indicate an increasing readiness on the part of security and military forces to use lethal force against civilians,” the statement said.

Chan Saveth, investigator for the rights group Adhoc, said the ongoing violence will effect the outcome of local elections scheduled for Sunday.
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Dedicate to the courageous Boeung Kak Lake women at Prey Sar jail

A dedication to the courageous and beautiful mothers, grandma...

If Hun Sen even has a tiny room in his heart for his mother, grandma, wife, daughter or grand daughter,
he would not treat these innocent women like this.

Hun Xen, if I were your mother, I would be very disappointed to have an evil child like you who has no respect for women...You will be forever drowning in the ocean of samsara...


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10,000 Days of Hun Sen



May 31, 2012
By BRAD ADAMS
The New York Times
Op-Ed Contributor

“I not only weaken the opposition, I’m going to make them dead ... and if anyone is strong enough to try to hold a demonstration, I will beat all those dogs and put them in a cage.”

No, this was not Muammar el-Qaddafi in his infamous “cockroach” speech in 2011, when he urged his supporters to go “house to house” to kill the opposition. The speaker was Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, responding with typically threatening language to the suggestion by a Cambodian critic that he should be worried about the overthrow of a dictator in Tunisia.

Often overlooked in discussions about the world’s most notorious autocrats, on Friday Hun Sen will join the “10,000 Club,” a group of strongmen who through politically motivated violence, control of the security forces, massive corruption and the tacit support of foreign powers have been able to remain in power for 10,000 days.

With the fall of dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, the ranks of the 10,000 Club have been depleted, making Hun Sen one of the 10 longest-serving political leaders in the world.


A former Khmer Rouge commander, Hun Sen has proven to be a highly intelligent and ruthless leader, able to keep his domestic opponents and international critics off balance. His main tactic has been the threat and use of force.

For example, when the then largest-ever United Nations peacekeeping force entered Cambodia to implement the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements, Hun Sen and his party mobilized the security forces to intimidate and attack opposition party members. More than 100 opposition party members were killed under the U.N.’s nose.

In March 1997 his personal bodyguard unit colluded in a grenade attack on a rally led by the opposition leader, Sam Rainsy, in which 16 people died and more than 150 were injured. Because an American citizen was wounded, the F.B.I. was sent to investigate. Its chief investigator concluded that the chain of command led to the prime minister.

Months later, fearful of losing the next election, Hun Sen staged a coup against his royalist coalition partners. Units under his command committed more than 100 extrajudicial killings. My U.N. colleagues and I dug up bodies of men stripped to their underwear, handcuffed, blindfolded and shot in the head. No one has ever been held accountable.

One of the most acute problems in Cambodia now is a massive land grab by Hun Sen’s cronies through what the government calls “economic land concessions.” This has led to widespread protests, but they carry severe risks.

In April, Chut Wutty, Cambodia’s best-known environmental activist, was gunned down while researching illegal timber sales. The government first claimed he died in a shootout, then that he had been killed by a soldier who had subsequently managed to commit suicide by shooting himself twice in the chest. Last week, 13 women protesting their forced eviction from prime real estate in Phnom Penh — sold by the government to a crony company and its Chinese partner — were whisked off to court and summarily sentenced to prison terms.

Widespread corruption is the subject that makes Cambodians most angry. Though Hun Sen has worked only for the Cambodian government since 1979, he appears to be fabulously wealthy. Ten years ago a U.S. State Department official told me the U.S. government estimated his personal wealth at $500 million. When I repeated this figure last year to a different U.S. official, he said, “Is that all?”

Today Hun Sen rules Cambodia with an iron fist, a fact that no Phnom Penh diplomat would dispute, but few confront. He has forced opposition leader Sam Rainsy into exile after orchestrating a prison sentence of 10 years for an act of nonviolent protest. The country goes through the trauma of manipulated elections every five years in which no one imagines that the vote will be free and fair or that an electoral defeat would result in Hun Sen leaving power.

In 1998, after government-manipulated elections, tens of thousands of protesters poured into Phnom Penh’s streets. In a Tahrir Square-style show of defiance, they set up a “Democracy Square” in a park and demanded a recount or new elections. Hun Sen ultimately sent in his shock troops and cleared the park. Western governments muttered their disapproval but did nothing. When Cambodians had their “Khmer Spring,” the world let them down.

At 59, Hun Sen is the youngest member of the 10,000 Club. He has said that he wants to rule until he is 80. After all the pious post-Arab Spring diplomatic talk about confronting dictatorships, Cambodians can be forgiven for asking why no one seems to be paying attention while Hun Sen begins work on his next 10,000 days.

Brad Adams is Asia director at Human Rights Watch and worked as a lawyer with the United Nations in Cambodia.
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Borei Keila evictees will be given a lift back to vote


A cart passes yesterday through a relocation site established in January for people evicted from the Borei Keila community. The relocation site is in Kandal province, about 40 kilometres outside Phnom Penh. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post






“I will try one more time to vote for the CPP, because I want to know if they will construct a brick house for me as they promised or not,” he said.

Thursday, 31 May 2012 
May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post 

Borei Keila evictees will have a chance to revisit the area they were forcibly evicted from this Sunday when authorities truck them back from the makeshift tents of their relocation site for a special purpose – to vote.

Touch Khorn, a representative of the Borei Keila community villagers who were evicted from their homes in Phnom Penh in January, said yesterday that their one-time Veal Vong commune chief, ruling party member Keo Sakal, had agreed to provide two trucks for the ballot.

“On June 3 at 6:00am, the trucks will go to take us to Phnom Penh,” he said.

The 133 families that were evicted by private security forces hired by development firm Phan Imex will have to travel some 50 kilometres from their Srah Po village relocation site in Kandal province’s Punhea Ley district.

Most are reluctant to divulge their political preferences, but despite the experience of seeing their homes bulldozed, some maintain they will stick with the Cambodian People’s Party.


San Sarom, 28, said he was willing to give Keo Sakal one more chance, but with a condition.

Keo Vuthy, 52, said on Monday that although he had been forced out of the village, Keo Sakal had been good to him, often giving him sarongs.

“I will go to vote for her, because she always helped me,” he said.

But not everyone will be voting on Sunday: many are unregistered voters and either never had the necessary documents required to vote, such as identity cards and family books, or lost them in the upheaval of the eviction.

Sitting in a narrow shack covered by blue tarp, 70-year-old Sin Vanny said she had lost her election card when she was forced to evacuate her house immediately during the eviction and could not get a new one because she had forgotten the code.

“I want to vote for a commune chief, but I have no right,” she said.

More pressing than elections for people here is the promise of land as compensation for their lost property.

Sin Vanny said the municipality told her they would not do this until after the election because they did not want to be accused of trying to attract votes.

Providing free transport to constituencies, however, was perfectly above board unless the CPP gave the villagers money, National Election Committee secretary-general Tep Nytha said, adding that no one could be forced to vote.

“In 2011, NEC didn’t deny any villagers [from] voting – they could not vote if they were not registered,” he said.

Sitting on a bamboo bed in a zinc-roofed house without any walls other than some blue tarpaulins, Ban Thuon, 37, said she had been promised a voting card after losing her old one, but not before these elections.

“I used to register at Veal Vong commune hall, but they did not do it for me, as they said that I did not have any documents, and they asked me to wait to do on September 1, 2012,” she said.

“On behalf of Cambodia, I want to have my right to go to vote for a good leader, but now I have lost my right,” she said.

In 2003, the government granted the company Phan Imex the right to develop 2.6 hectares of land at Borei Keila in exchange for building 10 buildings on two hectares of land.

But the company constructed only eight of the promised buildings and built a motorcycle shop on the land set aside for one of the final two, causing great outrage amongst those now set to be displaced.

On January 3, Borei Keila residents violently clashed with about 100 police, military police, security guards and Phan Imex employees as bulldozers moved into to destroy their homes.

The following day, those who had lost their homes were packed into trucks and driven to two relocation sites.
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Land’s ‘owner’ alleges violence



Touch Vanna, a former resident of the Boeung Chhouk community which was demolished in 2010, is seen at her former home before it was removed. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

Thursday, 31 May 2012 
Khouth Sophak Chakrya 
The Phnom Penh Post 

Six residents of the Boeung Chhouk community in the capital’s Russei Keo district have been summonsed to court to answer charges they used violence against the supposed owner of their land – a person they claim never to have met.

Khiev Chenda, 42, one of six who will appear in Phnom Penh municipal court today, said a police officer had delivered summonses to them in Kilometre 6 commune early this week, relating to their alleged treatment of a person named Tea Thoeun.

“This name I have never heard or been aware of before,” she said.

“I have never had a dispute or fought with others. I will appear at court and I believe the court will provide justice for us.”


According to the summonses, Tea Thoeun owns the one hectare of land on which about 200 people live in wooden homes.

Many residents claim they have rights to the land, having occupied it since 1991.

The police officer’s visit wasn’t the first authorities have made to Boeung Chhouk in recent years.

The Tuol Sangke commune authority issued a notice in March 2009 ordering 30 families to dismantle and remove their houses because they were on “state land”, an order the villagers refused.

In early 2010, district governor Khlaing Hout issued another notice, which claimed residents were living on land that belonged to Lao Tong Ngyg, whom villagers also claim never to have met. This notice suggested they vacate “voluntarily” or face “administrative measures” if they didn’t.

About one hundred district and commune authority forces surrounded houses and removed six families from the site soon after.

Villager Chhim Sophon said he had lived at Boeung Chhouk for 20 years but had never met Lao Tong Ngy or Tea Thoeun.

“I don’t know what they want from innocent villagers in this area,” he said.

Sok Khim, Kilometre 6 commune chief, supported the residents, whom he said had lived there more than 20 years.

“I also don’t know Lao Tong Ngy or Tea Thoeun. Who are they? Why did not they complain when people settled here,” he said. Lao Tong Ngy and Tea Thoeun could not be reached for comment yesterday.
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King tells voters to be strong


Thursday, 31 May 2012 
Vong Sokheng 
The Phnom Penh Post 

An appeal by King Norodom Sihamoni to voters not to bow to intimidation from any political party or individual ahead of this Sunday’s commune council elections was released by the National Election Committee yesterday.

“I publicly appeal for compatriots, brothers and sisters, children and grandchildren not to be scared of oppression, intimidation or threats by any individual or political party,” the statement, signed March 9, said.

NEC secretary-general Tep Nytha said they have received 10 complaints of threats and another 10 related to insulting language this election season.


Koul Panha, executive director of election monitoring group Comfrel, said the ruling Cambodian People’s Party had intimidated voters through indirect other means this election.

“I think that even if there were less direct violence related to the election, during the campaign there is an increasing amount of violence involved in the land disputes and the image is one of indirect intimidation to the voters,” he said.
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Prince Doggy wags his tail in cue from Hun Xen



Prince Norodom Rannaridh (left) hands out 5,000 riel notes (about US$1.25) to party supporters at Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photograph: Hong Menea/Phnom Penh Post

Prince makes case in capital 

Thursday, 31 May 2012 
Meas Sokchea 
The Phnom Penh Post 
He then showered Hun Sen with effusive praise, calling him a strong leader who solves problems while claiming that opposition parties can’t help people.
In a flashy first appearance on the campaign trail yesterday in Phnom Penh, Prince Norodom Ranariddh peeled off cash to supporters, defended the upcoming merger with Funcinpec and said that voting for certain opposition parties was the same as throwing ballots into the river.

Representatives from the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party, whom Prince Ranariddh targeted for criticism, responded by calling him a puppet DOG of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who had encouraged the merger. And an election monitor said that doling out cash to supporters was common, but it could give observers the wrong idea.

“All the parties, they give money to the activists, because they pay them to organise activities. They post leaflets, they carry loudspeakers,” said Koul Panha with the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia.

“It’s not a good image. People could consider it vote buying, because they don’t know who they [the activists] are.”


Pen Sangha, a spokesman for the Norodom Ranariddh party, said the money is needed to pay supporters for their services.

It is intended for necessities like “gasoline and lunch” after campaigning, he said.

Standing at a spot outside the Wat Phnom resort, Prince Ranariddh explained that only Hun Sen could have facilitated this merger. Indeed, he said the idea appeared to him in a dream.

He then showered Hun Sen with effusive praise, calling him a strong leader who solves problems while claiming that opposition parties can’t help people.

Representatives from SRP and HRP shrugged his comments off and categorized Prince Ranariddh as an irrelevant political figurehead.

“We are not interested in what he said, because he is a spokesman of the Cambodian People’s Party. He used to be prime minister until he lost almost all the seats,” SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said.

“What Samdech Krom Preah [Ranariddh] said, no one listen. There is no surprise. Everyone knows who Samdech Krom Preah is. Samdech Krom Preah’s name is not in the heart of people any more,” HRP spokesman Pol Ham said.
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Maid forced to drink urine, eat faeces: NGO [-Are the M'sian employers animals?]



Chea Phalla, 28, was tortured by her employers. Photograph: Photo Supplied

Thursday, 31 May 2012 
Cassandra Yeap and Phak Seangly 
The Phnom Penh Post 
“It is unspeakable. I pity her. I absolutely have pity on Khmer women when I see such cases”
A Malaysian couple has been charged with causing grievous harm to a Cambodian maid, a rights worker said yesterday, in the latest of a recent string of such prosecutions.

Hairdresser Tan Mong Huwai and his wife Eng Lay Sang, both 36, were charged this week with abusing Chea Phalla, 28, between August 2011 to May in Kuala Lumpur, according to Liva Sreedharan, anti-trafficking program officer at Malaysian NGO Tenaganita.

Chea Phalla had testified in a written statement that her employers had used an iron rod to beat her and forced her to drink her own urine and eat her faeces, Sreedharan said.

“The agency was alerted about the abuse and they got the employer to bring the domestic worker to the embassy. The embassy then brought her to the hospital upon seeing her injuries,” she added.

If found guilty, the couple faces 20 years in prison and a fine or whipping.


Cambodian embassy official Chhay Kosal said Chea Phalla was still recuperating in hospital, breaking down slightly as he recounted her injuries.

“It is unspeakable. I pity her. I absolutely have pity on Khmer women when I see such cases,” he said, adding that Chea Phalla had worked in Malaysia for two years. The embassy had worked together with the recruitment agency, Cambodian Labor Supply, to bring the case to court, he said.

The embassy has assisted and repatriated more than 10 maids this month.

The charges come a month after Malaysian employers Soh Chew Tong and Chin Chui Ling were charged with murder.

Their maid, Mey Sichan, 24, died in March of suspected starvation and physical abuse, police have told the Post.

Sreedharan said the recent prosecutions showed awareness of abuses had been heightened by the ban on Cambodian maids to Malaysia – imposed in October after a rash of abuses surfaced there.

“There is more prosecution, more willing to be witnesses, to speak up and assist these girls in getting to the embassy,” she said.
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CAMBODIA: The culture of impunity and violence must stop


A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

Phnom Penh, 30th May 2012- We, Cambodian and International civil society organizations represented in this statement, condemn the use of armed force and escalating violence against citizens peacefully defending their land, labor and natural resources rights. We are referring to not only the events earlier last week on 22nd May, when dozens of peaceful Boeung Kak Lake (BKL) protesters were violently dispersed and two days later when fifteen (fourteen women and one male) BKL residents were sent to Prey Sar prison and charged and convicted of unfounded criminal offenses, but also the recent shooting incidents—the killings of environmental activist Chut Wutty in Koh Kong province and 14-year old girl Heng Chantha in Kratie province, and the shooting of three young women protesting for better working conditions in Svay Rieng province. These incidents are particularly disturbing because they indicate an increasing readiness on the part of security and military forces to use lethal force against civilians.

The year 2012 has already witnessed at least five such instances, not including numerous other human rights abuses. We are deeply concerned, shocked and saddened about this escalation of violence, particularly in disputes related to Economic Land Concessions (ELCs). Pursuant to Article 41 of the Cambodian Constitution and international conventions to which Cambodia is a party, all citizens enjoy a fundamental right to free expression, which includes the right to protect against decisions of public authorities that infringe on their rights and livelihood . In practice, the exercise of this right is all too often denied or met with violent repression.

Cambodian citizens have a right to live under the rule of law. They deserve to be protected, served with dignity and fairness based on universally agreed basic rights. Public authorities not only have a duty and obligation to ensure that a culture of impunity is never condoned but also must make fighting against impunity a priority. All instances involving the use of firearms against civilians should be promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigated. Investigations that find shootings to be “accidental” or the result of low-ranking officers acting on their own initiative should be supported by evidence gathered in a rigorous, transparent manner. At the very least, protection against threats and intimidation should be provided to witnesses and all victims should have access to effective judicial verdict and justice.


The recent shootings took place despite the fact that Prime Minister Hun Sen has made an announcement prohibiting the use of firearms against protesters4 and issued a moratorium on the granting of ELCs5. Civil society organizations welcome the Prime Minister’s much needed directives, which work to improve human rights in Cambodia. However, the Prime Minister's directives should be followed by detailed, binding regulations that highlight how public authorities—both local and provincial and armed forces—should thoroughly and systematically implement these directives.

It is necessary to fully review all existing concessions to ensure they all are fully compliant with relevant national and international legal frameworks. Gaps in resources or technical capacity should be identified and addressed, and the implementation of these decisions should be monitored and reported to the public.

We, the 122 undersigned civil society organizations, believe that violence against citizens is never acceptable and should cease immediately and will also continue to monitor individual cases related to land, labor and natural resources rights. In addition, we will seek to engage the Royal Government of Cambodia with the aim to strengthen the rule of law and to break the current cycle of violence and impunity.

This statement is endorsed by the following Cambodian and International Civil Society
Organizations:

1) 3S Rivers Protection Network (3SPN)
2) Action for Environment and Communities (AEC)
3) Action for Research and Development (ARD)
4) ActionAid International-Cambodia
5) Advocacy and Policy Institute (API)
6) Affiliated Network for Social Accountability-East Asia and the Pacific (ANSA-EAP
CAMBODIA)
7) Aide Et Action International-Cambodia
8) Alliance Action for Rural Restoration Organization (AARR)
9) Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
10) Assistance to Poor Children’s Agency (APCA)
11) Australian Council for International Development (ACFID)
12) Banteay Srei (BS)
13) Buddhism for Development (BFD)
14) Building Communities Voices (BCV)
15) Burma Partnership
16) Cambodia Women's Crisis Center (CWCC)
17) Cambodia’s Media Forum on Environment (CMFE)
18) Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM)
19) Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR)
20) Cambodian Children’s Trust (CCT)
21) Cambodian Civil Society Partnership (CCSP)
22) Cambodian Defenders Project (CDP)
23) Cambodian Food and Service Workers Federation (CFSWF)
24) Cambodian HIV/AIDS Education and Care (CHEC)
25) Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC)
26) Cambodian Human Rights and Development (ADHOC)
27) Cambodian Indigenous Youth Association (CIYA)
28) Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
29) Cambodian Mental Health Nurses Association (CMHNA)
30) Cambodian National Research Organization (CNRO)
31) Cambodian Rural Development Team (CRDT)
32) Cambodian Volunteers for Society (CVS)
33) Cambodian Worker Center for Development (DWCD)
34) Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children's Rights (CCPCR)
35) Center for Advanced Study (CAS)
36) Child Hope Cambodia
37) Children and Life Association (CLA)
38) Children Development Association (CDA)
39) Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC)
40) Christians for Social Justice (CSJ)
41) Coalition for Integrity and Social Accountability (CISA)
42) Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC)
43) Community Capacities for Development (CCD)
44) Community Economic Development (CED)
45) Community Empowerment and Development Team (CEDT)
46) Community Managed Development Partners (CMDP)
47) Community Peace-Building Network (CPN)
48) Concern Worldwide Cambodia
49) Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC)
50) CORD South & East Asia
51) Culture and Environment Preservation Association (CEPA)
52) DanChurchAid/ChristianAid
53) Danmission-Cambodia
54) Development and Partnership in Action (DPA)
55) Development and Peace-Canada
56) Diakonia
57) Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment (ELIE)
58) Environment and Society Organization ( ESO)
59) Environmental Protection and Development Organization(EPDO)
60) Equitable Cambodia
61) Farmer of Cambodia Organization (FOC)
62) Forum Syd
63) Friends of the Earth Indonesia (WALHI)-based in Indonesia
64) Gender and Development for Cambodia (GADC)
65) Heinrich Böll Stitfung Cambodia
66) Highlander Association (HA)
67) Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF)
68) ICCO & KiA Southeast Asia and Pacific
69) Inclusive Development International
70) Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA)
71) Indigenous Community Support Organization (ICSO)
72) Indigenous Rights Active Members (IRAM)
73) International Center for Conciliation (ICfC)
74) Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC)
75) Jesuit Service Cambodia
76) Kelompok Studi Konservasi (KSK)- based in Indonesia
77) Khmer Institute for National Development (KIND)
78) Khmer Youth Association (KYA)
79) Korean Missionary Society (KMS)
80) Krom Akphiwat Phum (KAWP)
81) Kunathor (TNK)
82) LICADHO Canada
83) Life with Dignity (LWD)
84) Mercy Teams International
85) Mlup Baitong (MB)
86) My Village (MVi)
87) Neak Poan Organization For Development (NOP)
88) Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFIC)
89) NGO Committee on the Rights of the Child (NGOCRC)
90) NGO Education Partnership (NEP)
91) NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGOF)
92) Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP)
93) Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)-Cambodia
94) Operations Enfants du Cambodge (OEC)
95) Organization to Promote Kuy Culture (OPKC)
96) Partnership for Development in Cambodia (PADEK)
97) People in Need Cambodia (PIN-Cambodia)
98) People’s Action for Change (PAC)
99) Phum Baitong
100) Ponleu Ney Kdey SangKhum (PNKS)
101) Ponlok Khmer (PKH) based in Preah Vihear
102) RACHANA
103) Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia (RHAC)
104) Riverkids Foundation
105) Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT)
106) Save the Children
107) Servants of Cambodia
108) Silaka
109) Social Action for Change (SAC)
110) STAR Kampuchea
111) Strey Khmer Organization (SKO)
112) The Cambodian Center for the Protection of the Children’s Rights (CCPCR)
113) Trócaire
114) Urban Poor Development Fund (UPWD)
115) Village Focus Cambodia (VFC)
116) Volunteers for Sustainable Development (VSD)
117) WAI Bangladesh Steering Committee
118) Welthungerhilfe Cambodia (DWHH/GAA)
119) Women Association for Community Development (WACD)
120) World Rainforest Movement (WRM)
121) World Vision Cambodia (WVC)
122) Youth Resource Development Programme (YRDP)
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Coming out in Cambodia: Women in same-sex relationships stand up for human rights


Wednesday 30 May 2012
guardian.co.uk

In a Cambodian case that has attracted UN attention, Phlong Srey Rann is currently serving a five- year prison sentence for having sex with her girlfriend. She has been charged with human trafficking and illegal detention despite insisting that their relationship was consensual.

The case is surrounded by controversy and police are suspected of fabricating charges that the defendants' girlfriend was underage. Srey Rann's litigator told the Phnom Penh Post that her "girlfriend's family bribed local authorities to change her real age" in order to take legal action against Srey Rann.

A 2010 report from the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights highlights that although same-sex relationships are legal there are many examples of lesbians being persecuted by the law. The report suggests that those in authority who discriminate and persecute LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] individuals may "conceive of such treatment as 'punishment' for not adhering to accepted social norms."


Srun Srorn, a key player in the struggle for LGBT rights in Cambodia, has met lesbians from all over The Kingdom with similar experiences of heartache, discrimination and forced marriages.

He explains: "There are some [lesbian] couples that have died because their parents, family and local authorities have got involved with their cases. In Banteay Meanchay, one lesbian's family forced her to marry a man and gave her some traditional medicine which resulted in her dying. When she died, her partner killed herself too."

Cambodia prides itself as the Kingdom of Wonder, but overwhelming problems with poverty, low levels of education and poor health provision dominate the news and agenda for development agencies. In this context, issues of sexuality and gender identity can be overlooked or seen as a low priority.
Srorn argues that the first problem lesbians in Cambodia face, is being female in a society that favours men and boys: "Women are discriminated against and stigmatised every day by cultural norms."

Traditionally, a Cambodian woman's main role is to marry well and raise children. School lessons often reflect this and are geared towards preparing girls for these roles. As a result, many girls believe that this preparation is more important than academic aspirations. The Chbap Srey or Women's Code of Conduct, which until recently was taught to all school children, outlines the importance for women to be feminine, modest and obedient thus limiting decision making power, political power and women's social and professional capacity to express themselves and build relationships.

Although female employment is relatively high, women are more commonly employed informally by family members on a low wage. As a consequence, women are rarely financially independent and are typically dependant on their parents or their husbands. This factor is particularly significant for Cambodian lesbians as they are often financially incapable of living on their own or with their female partners.

Many Cambodian lesbians identify as neither fully male nor fully female but as third gender. A large number of women in same-sex relationships choose to express themselves using male pronouns and dressing in masculine clothes, thus transgressing gender norms. Women that express themselves in such a way find that they can be excluded from school, have limited employment options and may be excluded from their communities. As a result, many Cambodian lesbians find they are discriminated against firstly as women, and secondly as lesbians.

Ly Pisey supports women in marginalised communities including sex workers, trans women and lesbians. Pisey explains that women in same-sex relationships are often isolated in their communities and that "homosexuality has not yet been understood widely by families, communities, work places, charity workers, government officers and society as an alright way of living. Many people cannot accept it..."

In 2008, Pisey and Srorn joined forces with national and international LGBT volunteers with a shared desire to improve the situation for LGBT Cambodians. They enlisted the support of several non-governmental organisations and local businesses and together they created an extraordinary and pivotal moment in Cambodian LGBT history: The first Pride week.

Organised in 2009 to coincide with International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, for many Cambodian lesbians it was the first opportunity to celebrate their identity and meet like-minded individuals and couples from provinces all over Cambodia as well as other countries. Since this event, the organisers have continued their work and formed Rainbow Community Kampuchea (RoCK), an LGBT rights advocacy collective.

Pride 2011 featured a Buddhist blessing ceremony. In a country which places so much importance on Buddhist teachings this ceremony was a great accomplishment in the realisation of LGBT acceptance.

This year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer Peoples Caucus convened in Phnom Penh. The convention celebrated diversity and reminded governments and members of civil society that LGBTIQ rights must be recognised, promoted and protected. This is an indicator of how successfully RoCK has not only built strong grassroots foundations but also linked in with regional and international communities.

With so many socio-economic problems present in Cambodia, some may say that focussing on the rights of lesbian identities and women in same-sex relationships is of low importance. In fact, one could argue that the empowerment of a group that faces double discrimination due to their gender and their sexual orientation could be ground-breaking by challenging societal structures that favour both heterosexuality and patriarchy.

In many cultures, women are discouraged from seeking or expressing sexual pleasure and their sexuality remains hidden. As such, in western and developing countries, female sexuality is often suppressed. These factors may be hindering development efforts.

Last year's report from the Institute of Development studies and Pathways of Women's Empowerment found that "focusing on the positive aspects of female sexuality is a key strategy in challenging limiting social norms that restrict women's wellbeing and opportunities at work, in politics and in the public domain."

Srorn and the RoCK team continue challenging deep-seated cultural beliefs that lead to discrimination: "Sometimes gays and lesbians are seen as almost sub-human by many people in our society. We want to tell those people that we are human beings- and we love who we are."
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Posted by bang Sreymom at 2:39 AM 0 comments
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