[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 65 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 65

  Calling for the Government of Cambodia to release Cheam Channy from 
                    prison, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 17, 2005

 Mr. Brownback (for himself and Mr. McConnell) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Calling for the Government of Cambodia to release Cheam Channy from 
                    prison, and for other purposes.

Whereas, on February 3, 2005, the Cambodian National Assembly voted in a closed-
        door session to strip the immunity of Sam Rainsy Party opposition 
        parliamentarians Sam Rainsy, Cheam Channy, and Chea Poch;
Whereas local and national press, foreign diplomats, and other observers were 
        refused entry into the National Assembly during the vote;
Whereas the stripping of the parliamentary immunity of Sam Rainsy, Cheam Channy, 
        and Chea Poch places the fate of these opposition parliamentarians in 
        the hands of a notoriously corrupt and politicized judicial system;
Whereas Sam Rainsy, Cheam Channy, and Chea Poch face trumped-up charges of a 
        highly political nature that are intended to silence the democratic 
        opposition;
Whereas Cheam Channy is currently imprisoned in a military jail and, in 
        contravention of Cambodia law, is subject to the jurisdiction of the 
        Military Court in Cambodia;
Whereas the National Assembly vote is yet another attempt to intimidate the 
        democratic opposition in Cambodia, attempts which include the unsolved 
        killing of political activists, including Chea Vichea and Om Radsady, 
        and unsolved attacks against peaceful and legal demonstrations, 
        including the grenade attack against the Khmer Nation Party in March 
        1997 during which an American citizen was injured;
Whereas the United States, United Nations, and other organizations and 
        individuals have strongly condemned the National Assembly vote as a blow 
        to the democratic development of Cambodia;
Whereas international donors acknowledged during a consultative group meeting in 
        Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last month that accountability and transparency 
        are vital to the country's economic and social development;
Whereas the National Assembly vote underscores the lack of commitment of Prime 
        Minster Hun Sen and National Assembly President Norodom Ranariddh to 
        democracy, accountability, transparency, and the rule of law in 
        Cambodia; and
Whereas President George W. Bush issued a proclamation on January 12, 2004, that 
        entry into the United States should be denied to former and current 
        corrupt public officials and their families: Now therefore be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) calls upon the Government of Cambodia to immediately 
        and unconditionally release Cheam Channy;
            (2) calls upon the Cambodian National Assembly to reverse 
        its recent action to strip the immunity of opposition 
        parliamentarians Sam Rainsy, Cheam Channy, and Chea Poch;
            (3) urges the Secretary of State, the Secretary-General of 
        the United Nations, international financial institutions, and 
        democracies around the world to continue to publicly and 
        forcefully condemn the Cambodian National Assembly vote;
            (4) urges international donors to consider imposing 
        appropriate sanctions against the National Assembly and the 
        Government of Cambodia unless and until it reverses its recent 
        action;
            (5) calls upon the Secretary of State to impose visa 
        restrictions on members of the Cambodian National Assembly and 
        their families who voted to strip the immunity of Sam Rainsy, 
        Cheam Channy, and Chea Pok, consistent with the President's 
        Proclamation of January 12, 2004, regarding the denial of visas 
        to corrupt public officials and their families; and
            (6) calls upon Prime Minister Hun Sen and Cambodian 
        National Assembly President Norodom Ranariddh to cease and 
        desist their efforts to undermine democracy, human rights, and 
        the rule of law in Cambodia.
                                 <all>