[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 26, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H2851-H2853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               DETERIORATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN CAMBODIA

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 345), expressing concern about the deterioration of 
human rights in Cambodia, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 345

       Whereas the Paris Peace Accords of 1991 and the successful 
     national elections of 1993 ended two 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 since 1991 the international community has 
     contributed more than $3,000,000,000 to peacekeeping and 
     national reconstruction in Cambodia and currently provides 
     over 40 percent of the budget of the Cambodian Government;
       Whereas recent events in Cambodia, including the arrest and 
     exile of former Foreign Minister Prince Sirivudh, the 
     expulsion of the former Finance Minister Sam Rainsy from the 
     government coalition FUNCINPEC Party and the National 
     Assembly, a grenade attack against the independent Buddhist 
     Liberal Democratic Party of Cambodia, and mob attacks against 
     pro-opposition newspapers, suggest that Cambodia is sliding 
     back into a pattern of violence and repression;
       Whereas rampant official corruption in the Cambodian 
     Government has emerged as a major cause of public 
     dissatisfaction, which in turn has resulted in the government 
     crackdown against these outspoken opposition politicians and 
     the press;
       Whereas heroin traffic in and through Cambodia has become 
     so widespread that Cambodia has been added to the Department 
     of State's list of major narcotics trafficking countries;
       Whereas the desire to cite Cambodia as a success story for 
     United Nations peacekeeping and international cooperation has 
     stifled the expression of concern about deteriorating human 
     rights conditions in Cambodia; and
       Whereas conditions in Cambodia have deteriorated since the 
     House of Representatives passed House Bill 1642 on July 11, 
     1995, which grants Cambodia unconditional most favored 
     trading status: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) urges the Secretary of State to make human rights 
     concerns among the primary objectives in bilateral relations 
     with Cambodia;
       (2) urges the Secretary of State to closely monitor 
     preparations for upcoming Cambodian elections in 1997 and 
     1998 and attempt to secure the agreement of the Cambodian 
     Government to full and unhindered participation of 
     international observers for these elections;
       (3) urges the Secretary of State to support the 
     continuation of human rights monitoring in Cambodia by the 
     United Nations, including monitoring through the office of 
     the United Nations Center for Human Rights in Phnom Penh and 
     monitoring by the Special Representative of the United 
     Nations Secretary General for Human Rights in Cambodia;
       (4) urges the Secretary of State to encourage Cambodia's 
     other donors and trading partners to raise human rights 
     concerns with Cambodia;
       (5) supports efforts by the United States to provide 
     assistance to Cambodia to broaden democratic civil society, 
     to strengthen the rule of law and to ensure that future 
     elections in Cambodia are free and fair; and
       (6) urges that the United States raise human rights 
     concerns at the June 1996 meeting of the Donor's Consultative 
     Meeting for Cambodia and during consideration of projects in 
     Cambodia to be financed by international financial 
     institutions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York [Mr. Gilman] and the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Moran] will each 
be recognized for 20 minutes.

[[Page H2852]]

  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman].
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been 2 years since Cambodia had its first 
democratic election that brought to power the current coalition 
government.
  Over the past 4 years, the United States donated some $700 million to 
the efforts to help Cambodia rebuild its economy and become a 
democracy.
  But some very serious problems remain.
  Last year the Cambodian National Assembly passed a provision to the 
press law that will allow the Government under the vague rubric of 
national security and political stability virtually unfettered power to 
confiscate and close down newspapers and charge journalists with 
criminal offenses.
  The government has requested prosecution and closure of several 
Cambodian newspapers, as well as the highly regarded english language 
weekly, the Phnom Penh Post.
  In addition to these problems, there are the serious questions 
surrounding the unsolved killings of three journalists, and the 
expulsion and threatened expulsion of members of parliament who 
expressed views critical of the ruling coalition.
  One trial ended with the conviction of Thun Bun Ly, the editor of 
Khmer Ideal on charges of disinformation for critical and satirical 
essays that the paper published.
  The newspaper has been closed and Thun Bun Ly has been fined 10 
million riel--$4,000--and sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment should 
he fail to pay in 2 months.
  The Congress needs to closely watch the situation in Cambodia. The 
leaders of that nation need to permit the development of an independent 
judiciary, to allow for complete freedom of the press and independent 
political participation.
  Another important issue is the drug trade. there are many reports 
coming out of the region pointing out that Cambodia's army and security 
apparatus is providing transportation and protection for the heroin 
trade.
  I want to thank the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Bereuter, and 
the ranking minority member, for their work on House Resolution 345.
  House Resolution 345 expresses important American concerns and I 
wholeheartedly support its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Democratic minority is going to support this 
resolution as amended. We do wish it was a little bit more balanced. It 
is true certainly that the human rights situation in Cambodia has 
deteriorated over the past year, but the resolution does not adequately 
recognize the difficulties that Cambodia faces.
  Cambodia is not a police state. It is far more open and free than 
many of its neighbors. Unlike many of its neighbors, it has an active 
opposition press that does not hesitate to criticize the government 
and, in many ways, in an inflammatory language that we would be shocked 
at in this country.
  While it is true that government troops have committed human rights 
violations, it is also true that the Cambodian Government and military 
have stepped up their efforts to ensure that these abuses are not 
repeated. The U.S. Government is in fact funding those efforts.
  So I would urge my colleagues not to give up on Cambodia, given that 
country's tragic history over the past quarter century in which we 
played a significant role. We should not be surprised if it fails to 
fully live up to our ideals on human rights. Progress is being made.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter], the 
distinguished chairman of our Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
  (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman of the 
committee for yielding me this time and for his support.
  Mr. Speaker, this Member introduced House Resolution 345 to put the 
Cambodian Government on notice that the House is increasingly concerned 
about the deterioration of democracy and human rights in that country. 
The resolution at the desk includes two minor technical corrections. 
the first corrects the date of upcoming elections; the second notes the 
fact that Cambodia has been added to the State Department's list of 
narcotics trafficking countries.
  Mr. Speaker, Cambodia has made tremendous strides toward democracy 
since the killing fields of Pol Pot and the Vietnamese occupation; but 
serious problems remain. House Resolution 345, while commending the 
Cambodian people for their commitment to democracy and stability, 
expresses serious concern about human rights problems in that country. 
This Member is concerned that the desire by the administration and the 
international community to cite Cambodia as a success story for U.N. 
peacekeeping has stifled the expression of concern about the 
deterioration of democracy and human rights conditions in Cambodia.
  On September 21, 1995, the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific held 
hearings on internal stability, democracy, and economic development in 
Cambodia. At this hearing, several well-informed private witnesses, 
including the International Republican Institute, described a serious 
deterioration of democracy and human rights in Cambodia during the last 
12 months.
  Few people have experienced as much suffering the last 30 years as 
the people of Cambodia. Cambodia was drawn into the Vietnam war. The 
country endured 3 years of tyrannical rule by the Khmer Rouge [KR], 
under which more than 1 million Cambodians perished. Cambodia was 
invaded by Vietnam in 1979 and then suffered another 12 years of civil 
war.
  Cambodia's road back from this horror began with the October 1991 
Paris Peace Accords, under the auspices of the United Nations. These 
accords led to remarkably successful national elections in May 1993, 
during which 90 percent of Cambodia's eligible voters braved threats 
from Pol Pot and his henchmen and voted to install a democratic 
parliamentary system of government. Cambodia's national unity coalition 
government, which resulted from these elections, demonstrates the 
desire of the Cambodian people for representative government and 
stability.
  The 1993 elections, however, were only the first step toward 
democracy in Cambodia. The impediments remain formidable: the Khmer 
Rouge continues to fight a low intensity war against the Government; 
the former ruling party--the ex-communist Cambodian People's Party--has 
found it difficult to share power; the royalist party which won the 
elections has been charged with corruption; and, the Government seems 
to be drifting toward authoritarianism.

  Not only are there questions about the depth and staying-power of the 
current democratic system in Cambodia, but the Government of Cambodia 
has taken some troubling actions. As a parliamentarian, and Member of 
Congress, I am very troubled by what appears to be an increasing 
tendency toward intolerance of dissent in the Cambodian National 
Assembly. The expulsion from the National Assembly of the outspoken Sam 
Rainsy, the arrest and exile of former Foreign Minister Prince 
Sirivudh, and the threatened expulsion of other legislators is of 
particular concern. Moreover, the arrest of some journalists and the 
enactment of a restrictive press law raise questions about the 
Cambodian Government's commitment to free speech and a free press.
  Mr. Speaker, since the House acted to approve most-favored-nation 
trading status for Cambodia earlier this year, we certainly now need to 
balance that action with a straightforward message to Phnom Penh on 
human rights violations. That is exactly what House Resolution 345, as 
amended, does.
  One positive sign, which could make a long-term contribution to 
democracy and human rights in Cambodia, is the strong network of local 
and international nongovernment organizations. This Member commends the 
Government for its continued welcoming of NGO's in that country and 
hopes this positive attitude will continue.
  The resolution urges the administration to bring a larger effort to 
making

[[Page H2853]]

democracy and human rights concerns among our primary objectives in 
bilateral relations with Cambodia, calls for close monitoring of 
important upcoming elections, supports democratization efforts of 
United States assistance programs, and urges that the United States and 
other donors raise democracy and human rights at the June 1996 meeting 
of the Donor's Consultative Meeting for Cambodia.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 345 represents a balanced and 
constructive effort to advance democracy and human rights in Cambodia. 
This Member wants to thank the distinguished gentleman from New York 
and chairman of the House International Relations Committee, [Mr. 
Gilman] and the distinguished Member from California and ranking member 
of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, [Mr. Berman] for their 
assistance and support for this resolution. This Member urges all his 
colleagues in this body to support House Resolution 345, as amended.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman of our 
subcommittee, the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter] for his 
supportive comments.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman] that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, House Resolution 345, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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