[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 195 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 195

                   Concerning the crisis in Cambodia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 1997

 Mr. Gilman (for himself, Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Bereuter, Mr. Porter, Mr. 
   Faleomavaega, Mr. Berman, and Mr. Leach) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
                   Concerning the crisis in Cambodia.

Whereas during the 1970s and 1980s Cambodia was wracked by political conflict, 
        civil war, foreign invasion, protracted violence, and a genocide 
        perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979;
Whereas the Paris Agreement on a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the 
        Cambodia Conflict led to the end of 2 decades of civil war and genocide 
        in Cambodia, demonstrated the commitment of the Cambodian people to 
        democracy and stability, and established a national constitution 
        guaranteeing fundamental human rights;
Whereas the 1991 Paris Peace Accords set the stage for a process of political 
        accommodation, national reconciliation, and the founding of a state 
        based on democratic principles;
Whereas the international donor community contributed more than $3,000,000,000 
        in an effort to secure peace, democracy, and stability in Cambodia 
        following the Paris Peace Accords and currently provides over 40 percent 
        of the budget of the Cambodian Government;
Whereas the Cambodian people clearly demonstrated their support for democracy 
        when over 93 percent of eligible Cambodian voters participated in United 
        Nations sponsored elections in 1993;
Whereas since the 1993 elections, Cambodia has made significant progress, as 
        evidenced by the decision last month of the Association of Southeast 
        Asian Nations to extend membership to Cambodia;
Whereas notwithstanding the notable societal and economic progress since the 
        elections of 1993, concern has increasingly been raised regarding the 
        fragile state of democracy in Cambodia, in particular the quality of the 
        judicial system, which has been described in a United Nations report as 
        thoroughly corrupt; unsolved attacks in 1995 on officials of the 
        Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party; and the unsolved murders of 
        journalists and political activists;
Whereas tensions within the Cambodian Government have erupted into violence in 
        recent months;
Whereas on March 30, 1997, 19 Cambodians were killed and more than 100 were 
        wounded in a grenade attack on a peaceful political demonstration in 
        Phnom Penh;
Whereas in June 1997 fighting erupted in Phnom Penh between military and 
        paramilitary forces loyal to First Prime Minister Prince Norodom 
        Ranariddh and Second Prime Minister Hun Sen;
Whereas on July 5, 1997, Second Prime Minister Hun Sen deposed the First Prime 
        Minister in a violent military coup d'etat;
Whereas at least several dozen opposition politicians have died in the custody 
        of Hun Sen's forces, some after being tortured, and hundreds of others 
        have been detained due to their political affiliation;
Whereas democracy and stability in Cambodia are threatened by the continued use 
        of violence to resolve political differences;
Whereas the administration has suspended assistance to Cambodia for 1 month in 
        response to the deteriorating situation in Cambodia; and
Whereas the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has decided to delay 
        indefinitely Cambodian membership: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the forcible assault upon the democratically elected 
        Government of Cambodia is illegal and unacceptable;
            (2) the recent events in Cambodia constitute a military 
        coup against the duly elected democratic Government of 
        Cambodia;
            (3) the authorities in Cambodia should take immediate steps 
        to halt all extralegal violence and to restore fully civil, 
        political, and personal liberties to the Cambodian people, 
        including freedom of the press, speech, and assembly, as well 
        as the right to a democratically elected government;
            (4) the United States should release the report by the 
        Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning the March 30, 1997, 
        grenade attack in Phnom Penh;
            (5) the United States should press the authorities in 
        Cambodia to investigate fully and impartially all abuses and 
        extralegal actions that have occurred in Cambodia since July 4, 
        1997, and to bring to justice all those responsible for such 
        abuses and extralegal actions;
            (6) the administration should immediately invoke section 
        508 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related 
        Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104-208), as it 
        is required to do;
            (7) the United States should urgently request an emergency 
        meeting of the United Nations Security Council to consider all 
        options to restore peace in Cambodia;
            (8) the United States should encourage the Secretary 
        General of the United Nations to expand the monitoring 
        operations of the United Nations Special Representative on 
        Human Rights in Cambodia;
            (9) the United States and the Association of Southeast 
        Asian Nations (ASEAN) should coordinate efforts to restore 
        democracy, stability, and the rule of law in Cambodia;
            (10) direct United States assistance to the Government of 
        Cambodia should continue to be suspended until violence ends, a 
        democratically elected government is reconstituted, necessary 
        steps have been taken to ensure that the election scheduled for 
        1998 takes place in a free and fair manner, the military is 
        depoliticized, and the judiciary is made independent; and
            (11) the United States should call for an emergency meeting 
        of the Donors' Consultative Group for Cambodia to encourage the 
        suspension of assistance as part of a multilateral effort to 
        encourage respect for democratic processes, constitutionalism, 
        and the rule of law.
                                 <all>