[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 46 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E689]]
     HOUSE RESOLUTION 121 SUPPORTS PEACE AND DEMOCRACY IN CAMBODIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEPHEN HORN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 17, 1997

  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I will be returning home this weekend for a 
particularly happy event. To celebrate the Cambodian New Year and the 
beginning of the Year of the Ox, we are expecting between 40,000 and 
50,000 people from all over America to attend a 3-day celebration in my 
congressional district, home to the largest Cambodian community in 
America. Unfortunately, in Cambodia itself, this New Year does not come 
with the same joy we will see in California.
  According to news reports, many families have stayed at home rather 
than risk their personal safety by attending festivals or touring in 
cities, particularly in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Fear of 
violence has returned to the daily life of many Cambodians as relations 
between the two leading political parties have plummeted.
  On March 30 of this year, Sam Rainsy, the leader of the Khmer Nation 
Party, was the target of a grenade attack that killed 19 and injured 
more than 100, including Ron Abney, an American who was in Cambodia 
working on behalf of the International Republican Institute to advance 
the cause of democracy. Sam Rainsy was only slightly injured in this 
attack. Sadly, those of us who championed the victory of the democratic 
process in Cambodia leading up to the free elections in 1993 are now 
watching the unraveling of peace and democracy in Cambodia.
  Following the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements, the United States worked 
closely to help the people of Cambodia create an environment that would 
allow democracy to prosper. In the 1993 elections, more than 93 percent 
of eligible voters turned out to the polls. In the period following 
these elections, the people of Cambodia made great strides to bring 
greater prosperity and security to their land. Now, we are seeing these 
gains slip, causing increasing concern in Cambodia and in the United 
States. The elections expected in 1998 must not fall victim to attempts 
by undemocratic forces to turn back the gains made in this decade and 
plunge Cambodia back into chaos and violence.
  Today, I am introducing House Resolution 121 with my distinguished 
colleagues Ben Gilman, chairman of the Committee on International 
Relations, and Doug Bereuter, chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and 
the Pacific. Both have been leaders in the long effort to establish 
democracy and peace in Cambodia. The United States must continue to 
help the people of Cambodia advance the democratic process and do so in 
an unbiased manner so that the people of Cambodia choose 
representatives who they want to lead them. We are introducing this 
resolution to express our deep concern over the events occurring in 
Cambodia and our concern for where these events may lead, while 
expressing our sympathy to the individuals wounded in the attack of 
March 30 and to the families of those killed. It condemns this incident 
as the act of terrorism that it was.
  House Resolution 121 calls upon our Government to offer assistance to 
Cambodian officials to help track down and prosecute those responsible 
for the attack and calls upon the Cambodian Government to accept this 
offer. Finally, it calls upon all political parties in Cambodia to 
renounce and condemn all forms of political violence. The right of the 
people of Cambodia to choose their future without coercion must be 
maintained.
  I know that many Members of this House also are committed to 
democracy and peace in Cambodia. We encourage you to cosponsor this 
important resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that House Resolution 121 be printed at the end of 
my remarks:
       Whereas Cambodia continues to recover from more than three 
     decades of recent warfare, including the genocide committed 
     by the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979;
       Whereas Cambodia was the beneficiary of a massive 
     international effort to ensure peace, democracy, and 
     prosperity after the October 1991 Paris Peace Agreements on 
     Cambodia;
       Whereas more than 93 percent of the Cambodians eligible to 
     vote in the 1993 elections in Cambodia did so, thereby 
     demonstrating the commitment of the Cambodian people to 
     democracy;
       Whereas since those elections, Cambodia has made 
     significant economic progress which has contributed to 
     economic stability in Cambodia;
       Whereas since those elections, the Cambodia Armed Forces 
     have significantly diminished the threat posed by the Khmer 
     Rouge to safety and stability in Cambodia;
       Whereas other circumstances in Cambodia, including the 
     recent unsolved murder of journalists and political party 
     activists, the recent unsolved attack of party officials of 
     the Buddhist Liberal Democratic in 1995, and the quality of 
     the judicial system--described in a 1996 United Nations 
     report as ``thoroughly corrupt''--raise international concern 
     for the state of democracy in Cambodia;
       Whereas Sam Rainsy, the leader of the Khmer Nation Party, 
     was the target of a terrorist grenade attack on March 30, 
     1997, during a demonstration outside the Cambodia National 
     Assembly;
       Whereas the attack killed 19 Cambodians and wounded more 
     than 100 men, women, and children; and
       Whereas among those injured was Ron Abney, a United States 
     citizen and employee of the International Republican 
     Institute who was assisting in the advancement of democracy 
     in Cambodia and observing the demonstration: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) extends its sincerest sympathies to the families of the 
     persons killed, and the persons wounded, in the March 30, 
     1997, terrorist grenade attack outside the Cambodia National 
     Assembly;
       (2) condemns the attack as an act of terrorism detrimental 
     to peace and the development of democracy in Cambodia;
       (3) calls upon the United States Government to offer to the 
     Cambodia Government all appropriate assistance in identifying 
     and prosecuting those responsible for the attack;
       (4) calls upon the Cambodia Government to accept such 
     assistance and to expeditiously identify and prosecute those 
     responsible for the attack; and
       (5) calls upon all Cambodian political parties to renounce 
     and condemn all forms of political violence.

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