[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 142 (Saturday, October 10, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10450-H10453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING CULPABILITY OF 
   HUN SEN FOR WAR CRIMES, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, AND GENOCIDE IN 
                                CAMBODIA

  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 533) expressing the sense of the House of 
Representatives regarding the culpability of Hun Sen for war crimes, 
crimes against humanity, and genocide in Cambodia (the former 
Kampuchea, the People's Republic of Kampuchea, and the State of 
Cambodia), as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 533

       Whereas under the Vietnamese communist occupation of 
     Cambodia (the former People's Republic of Kampuchea and the 
     State of Cambodia) between 1979 and 1989, Hun Sen was among a 
     large number of former Khmer Rouge members who were 
     designated by the Vietnamese communists as surrogate leaders 
     of the People's Republic of Kampuchea, where international 
     human rights organizations documented widespread human rights 
     violations;
       Whereas during the period leading to internationally 
     supervised elections in 1993, as Prime Minister of the State 
     of Cambodia and a Politburo member of the communist Cambodian 
     People's Party (CPP), Hun Sen was responsible for the 
     disappearances, murder, and assassination attempts against 
     democratic opponents of the Cambodian People's Party;
       Whereas after the Cambodian People's Party lost the 1993 
     national election, Hun Sen organized a military force that 
     threatened a military coup, resulting in his being given a 
     share of the Prime Minister position with Prince Norodom 
     Ranariddh, the election winner, and his Cambodian People's 
     Party maintaining control of the military, the internal 
     security forces, and provincial government administration;
       Whereas in July 1997, Hun Sen ordered a coup d'etat against 
     First Prime Minister Prince Ranariddh which resulted in the 
     deaths of a large number of civilians caught in the crossfire 
     and the torture and summary execution of at least 100 
     government officials and the forced displacement of at least 
     50,000 people as assaults continued on people or communities 
     loyal to Prince Ranariddh;
       Whereas during the period leading to the July 1998 national 
     election there were widespread threats, assaults, and the 
     suspected assassination of scores of members of parties 
     opposed to Hun Sen;
       Whereas in September 1998, Hun Sen ordered a violent 
     crackdown on thousands of unarmed demonstrators, including 
     Buddhist monks, who supported credible investigations of 
     irregularities in the electoral process and the change in the 
     format for allocating seats in the National Assembly which 
     permitted Hun Sen to maintain a small edge over Prince 
     Ranariddh's FUNCINPEC Party and entitled Hun Sen to maintain 
     the post of Prime Minister, which resulted in the brutality 
     toward tens of thousands of pro-democracy advocates and the 
     deaths and disappearances of an unknown number of people, and 
     led to widespread civil unrest which threatens to further 
     destroy Cambodian society; and
       Whereas Hun Sen has held, and continues to hold, high 
     government office in a repressive and violent regime, and has 
     the power to decide for peace and democracy and has instead 
     decided for killing and repression, who has the power to 
     minimize illegal actions by subordinates and allies and hold 
     responsible those who committed such actions, but did not, 
     and who once again is directing a campaign of murder and 
     repression against unarmed civilians, while treating with 
     contempt international efforts to achieve a genuinely 
     democratic government in Cambodia: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is a sense of the House of 
     Representatives that--
       (1) the United States should establish a collection of 
     information that can be supplied to an appropriate 
     international judicial tribunal for use as evidence to 
     support a possible indictment and trial of Hun Sen for 
     violations of international humanitarian law after 1978;
       (2) any such information concerning Hun Sen and individuals 
     under his authority already collected by the United States, 
     including information regarding the March 1997 grenade attack 
     against Sam Rainsy, should be provided to the tribunal at the 
     earliest possible time;
       (3) the United States should work with members of 
     interested countries and nongovernmental organizations 
     relating to information any country or organization may hold 
     concerning allegations of violations of international 
     humanitarian law after 1978 posed against Hun Sen and any 
     individual under his authority in Cambodia and give all such 
     information to the tribunal;
       (4) the United States should work with other interested 
     countries relating to measures to be taken to bring to 
     justice Hun Sen and individuals under Hun Sen's authority 
     indicted for such violations of international humanitarian 
     law after 1978; and
       (5) the United States should support such a tribunal for 
     the purpose of investigating Hun Sen's possible criminal 
     culpability for conceiving, directing, and sustaining a 
     variety of actions in violation of international humanitarian 
     law after 1978 in any judicial proceeding that may result.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Davis) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).


                             General Leave

  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on House Resolution 533, the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 533 
expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
culpability of Hun Sen for his violations of international humanitarian 
law after 1978 in Cambodia.
  I want to commend the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher), a 
member of our Committee on International Relations, for introducing 
this resolution condemning Hun Sen's violent transgressions in Cambodia 
over the past 20 years. We thank him for his outstanding leadership on 
this issue.
  I also want to thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), the 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the Committee 
on International Relations, for his work on this important measure and 
for his continuing attention to the crisis in Cambodia.

[[Page H10451]]

  I am a proud cosponsor of this resolution, which I support fully. It 
is incredibly important that this House express its concern about the 
violence that has plagued and continues to plague Cambodia, and make 
every effort to bring those responsible for this unnecessary violence 
to justice.
  If tyranny, and especially tyrants like Hun Sen, are allowed to 
thrive in an atmosphere of impunity, violence and destruction will 
reign not only in Cambodia but elsewhere as well. Our Nation must make 
a strong stand and take action to bring this senseless killing to an 
end and to punish those who are responsible.
  Before I close, Madam Speaker, I want to express my general concern 
about the situation in Cambodia and the pervasive high levels of 
violence that exist there. The extrajudicial violence must come to an 
end. Our Nation must use its influence and leverage to pressure any 
government which is formed to move in a direction of democracy and 
respect for human rights.
  The administration must also seek to garner support from other key 
nations, such as France, Australia, and Japan, to do the same. The 
Cambodian people deserve as much and the international community should 
accept no less.
  Though I never believed that the most recent elections could ever be 
free and fair, because of the environment in which they took place, the 
tremendous turnout by the Cambodian voters shows that the seeds of 
democracy have been sewn there. It is my belief that any tyrant who 
tries to stand between democracy, human rights, and the Cambodian 
people will ultimately find himself resigned to the trash heap of 
history, as have so many other despots who have tried to suppress the 
human spirit.
  To the forces of democracy in Cambodia we say, we in this body are 
watching carefully. Be assured that the Cambodian people will not stand 
alone in their quest for democracy, for justice, for human rights, for 
peace and freedom. This resolution sends that kind of signal.
  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume, and I rise in support of this resolution.
  I would like to start by commending the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Rohrabacher) for his leadership in bringing the resolution before 
the House today. Also appreciate his willingness to work with members 
of the administration and the concerns of Members of the House.
  House Resolution 533 is intended to send a clear signal to Hun Sen 
and his supporters that the United States and the entire international 
community views with grave concerns both his past actions and his 
current activities that threaten to impose a system of harsh 
dictatorship on the people of Cambodia. There are few people who, 
through no fault of their own, have suffered more cruelly in the past 
quarter century than the Cambodians.
  In the aftermath of a badly flawed election, Hun Sen is in the 
process of solidifying his hold over the levers of power in Cambodia. 
In the final analysis, I regret to say there is little that the United 
States can do to prevent this tragedy. But at an absolute minimum, we 
must make clear our opposition to the imposition of a repressive regime 
on the long-suffering Cambodian people. We can unequivocally, as well, 
state our conviction that those responsible for Cambodia's past sorrows 
should be brought to justice.
  So, Madam Speaker, this resolution deserves our support. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on this important measure.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Rohrabacher), the sponsor of this resolution and a 
member of our committee.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Madam Speaker, House Resolution 533 is intended to 
help support democracy in Cambodia and prevent a new ``killing fields'' 
by serving as the first step to bringing the violent dictator and 
former Pol Pot trigger man, Hun Sen, to justice. This legislation urges 
the United States Government and other interested countries to create 
an appropriate international judicial tribunal for the indictment and 
trial of Hun Sen.
  For the past 20 years, since he was among a core group of former 
Khmer Rouge officials installed as leaders during the Vietnamese 
Communist occupation of Cambodia, Hun Sen has been at the center of 
massive violations of international human rights law, including murder, 
torture, and other widespread abuses of the Cambodian people.
  During the past month, Hun Sen's storm troopers have cracked down on 
nonviolent pro-democracy demonstrators, including students and Buddhist 
monks, and tens of thousands of ordinary people. There are numerous 
reports by United Nations human rights monitors describing shallow 
graves containing mutilated bodies with hands tied behind their backs, 
including some people who were known to have been arrested by Hun Sen's 
security forces.
  Bodies of other victims have been reportedly seen floating down 
rivers and streams. Buddhist temples and monasteries have been raided 
and monks whipped by soldiers and goons carrying electric batons and 
rifle butts. Amnesty International reports that at least 200 democracy 
protestors arrested are still unaccounted for.
  New atrocities continue to emerge. For example, United Nations human 
rights monitors have been sheltering a 25-year-old woman who was held 
by Hun Sen's soldiers for 3 weeks in a water-filled fish pen. She saw 5 
of 13 fellow prisoners die during that time period from torture, 
starvation and drowning, including Buddhist monks.
  During the 1998 election campaign in Cambodia, the United States 
international Republican Institute, as well as the National Democratic 
Institute reported widespread incidents of violence, intimidation and 
deaths of campaigners for the democratic parties who opposed Hun Sen. 
The electoral process was described as, ``fundamentally flawed.'' Post-
election charges of irregularities in ballot counting and an 
unconstitutional allocation of parliamentary seats led to the pro-
democracy uprising and a subsequent repression in Phonm Penh.
  Many of these pro-democracy demonstrators courageously defied Hun 
Sen's storm troopers. They were carrying American flags and being 
broadcast by Voice of America, which they were playing for the rest of 
the people there through loudspeakers in this short-lived democracy 
square.
  The fear, intimidation and violence created by Hun Sen continues. 
Yesterday, an American investigative reporter named Nate Thayer, he is 
the one who broke the story of Pol Pot's death, and also the 
relationship between Hun Sen and reputed international drug dealer Teng 
Bunma, informed me that his wife, Carol, an American citizen, had been 
assaulted. That is Nate Thayer, an American citizen, a journalist in 
Cambodia. His wife has been assaulted and, in fact, a bullet was fired 
during the assault that grazed her head.

                              {time}  1615

  This all happened in central Phnom Penh. Nate and Carol have 
previously received four death threats due to his reporting on 
corruption and tyranny in Hun Sen's regime. Like many cases of 
independent reporters in Cambodia, Cambodians themselves, Cambodian 
reporters and editors who have been shot and bludgeoned to death, the 
case of Nate and Carol, this whole incident has been shrugged off 
officially as being called a robbery attempt.
  This legislation was amended after my staff spent long hours in 
discussion with the State Department in an effort to find a common 
position to stopping the violence and to bringing to justice those 
responsible. The amendment begins with the year 1979 when the 
Vietnamese communist army installed collaborating Khmer Rouge officers, 
including Hun Sen, to power in Cambodia. The amendment is an effort to 
avoid interfering with the State Department's efforts to form a 
separate tribunal to cover just the Pol Pot years.
  After the resolution passed through the Committee on International 
Relations, Hun Sen protested. In response, the U.S. Embassy in Phnom 
Penh issued a press release just a few days ago to reassure this tyrant 
and his

[[Page H10452]]

thugs that this resolution is simply the opinion of Congress, a signal 
that he need not worry about his ongoing human rights violations and 
crackdown on democrats. Satisfied with knowing the embassy was 
kowtowing to his position, a now confident Hun Sen then demanded, after 
this press release, demanded that the embassy hand over a Cambodian 
democracy leader, Kem Sokha, who is being provided asylum in the 
embassy.
  A ``yes'' vote on this resolution will send a message to Hun Sen that 
the United States House of Representatives does count and that we are 
speaking for the American people, and that the House of Representatives 
will not tolerate murder as a political tool and the denial of 
democracy by Hun Sen and his thugs.
  Madam Speaker, dictators such as Hun Sen must understand the United 
States Congress, whose Members are elected by the American people, 
represent the ideals of freedom and stand by democrats and ordinary 
people around the world who are struggling for justice and human 
rights. There is no excuse for unelected bureaucrats in our State 
Department to scorn congressional processes in order to appease 
dictators.
  As far as tribunals go, we must not permit legal action in Cambodia, 
which is moving forward, to focus exclusively on a handful of geriatric 
Khmer Rouge leaders while former Khmer Rouge like Hun Sen are creating 
today's killing fields by murdering and torturing with impunity. 
Today's killers must understand that they will be held accountable for 
their actions and they must permit democracy and a respect for human 
rights and the rule of law to take place. That is what this legislation 
is all about.
  I would ask my colleagues to join me in support of this resolution.
  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Rohrabacher) for his eloquent support of this 
resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) vice chairman of our committee and the chairman 
of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.Res. 533 
and I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. This resolution, 
of course, addresses the precarious human rights situation in Cambodia 
and the brutish behavior of the illegal junta in Cambodia and its 
strongman, Hun Sen. I use that term ``illegal junta'' advisedly. The 
gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) is to be particularly 
commended for this legislation and also for his continued focus on 
Cambodian affairs. Without question, the people of Cambodia have 
suffered enormously in the past few decades, almost beyond human 
understanding. They have suffered through colonial rule, Civil War, the 
genocidal horror of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge and then the Vietnamese 
invasion. Prolonged negotiations among the various political factions 
finally led to the Paris Peace Accords of 1991. A $3 billion 
international peacekeeping effort resulted in elections in 1993 where 
90 percent of the population voted. Though the 1993 elections soundly 
rejected strongman Hun Sen and his formerly communist Cambodian 
People's Party CPP, Hun Sen simply refused to turn over the reins of 
power to the victorious FUNCINPEC party. A tortuous and largely 
unsuccessful power-sharing arrangement with FUNCINPEC's leader Prince 
Ranariddh lasted until July 1997 when a bloody coup d'etat ousted First 
Prime Minister Ranariddh and his supporters. Hun Sen's 1997 coup dealt 
a body blow to the fragile democratic institutions which slowly had 
been taking root in the long-suffering country. In the weeks and months 
that followed nearly all political activity except that of Hun Sen's 
CPP came to a halt. Most prominent opposition politicians, including 
Prince Ranariddh, fled for their lives into exile. Of those who chose 
to remain or were too slow in fleeing, many were murdered.
  On July 26 of this year, the long-awaited election was held but this 
has done little to effectively resolve the long-standing differences or 
to restore credibility to the governance of the Cambodian people. The 
party of Hun Sen seems almost certain to continue to hold the reins of 
power and opposition parties will continue to be marginalized.
  Madam Speaker, this is a situation where there are no simple answers 
and no clear blacks and whites. However, one constant thread has 
continued throughout this sordid mess, that is, the appalling behavior 
of Hun Sen. His forces have been responsible for the summary arrest, 
torture and murder of hundreds of opposition leaders. He has done 
everything in his power, including the 1997 coup, which is exactly what 
it was, despite the fact that the State Department never called it that 
because they knew it would result in kind of sanctions being imposed 
under law, to prevent the will of the people from being reflected in 
their properly elected leaders.
  These concerns, and others, are reflected in H.Res. 533, which 
highlights the human rights violations which have been perpetrated by 
the Hun Sen regime. This Member would say that the author of the 
resolution the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. 
Rohrabacher) has worked very constructively with others interested in 
the fate of Cambodia to ensure that his resolution has the broadest 
support possible. The gentleman has crafted a resolution that merits 
broad support.
  The gentleman has mentioned before what has happened with respect to 
the State Department and our embassy in Cambodia, and I am concerned 
about what he said. Unfortunately, I have some verification of it, too. 
In fact, my office was contacted suggesting that the embassy would no 
longer be able to protect Americans or the personnel at our embassy in 
Cambodia if this resolution was brought to the floor of the House of 
Representatives. We cannot be intimidated in this body. We cannot start 
down that slippery slope. The Members will not permit that kind of 
thing to happen. I would say that kind of threat by Hun Sen or people 
who represent him only confirm what he is, a bloody murderer. We will 
not be silenced. And so I want my colleagues to know, this is a 
resolution which is appropriate to express our concerns about the 
terrible things that have happened and that continue to happen under 
Hun Sen.
  Madam Speaker, I urge support of H.Res. 533.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) the distinguished chairman of our 
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the distinguished gentleman for 
yielding me this time.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and 
express my deep gratitude to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Rohrabacher) for authoring it and for helping to bring it to the floor 
today and to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) for his strong 
support for it and also to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) for 
the very powerful words they have expressed on this floor, and to my 
friends on the other side of the aisle.
  Madam Speaker, the self-styled ``international community'' has 
displayed an unseemly haste in trying to persuade the pro-democracy 
parties in Cambodia--which between them soundly defeated the dictator 
Hun Sen in the recent election, despite the regime's attempt to 
intimidate voters and to silence the opposition--hey have tried to get 
them to fold their tents and just slink away into oblivion. But to 
their credit, the democratic opposition has refused to give up. This is 
because they know Hun Sen and his government all too well. They know 
that he is a monster, as the gentleman from Nebraska pointed out a 
moment ago. He is bloodthirsty. He kills. They know that as a Khmer 
Rouge commander who split with Pol Pot, he did it not out of some moral 
principle, but in a factional power struggle. They know that he has 
killed many of his political opponents, probably by the thousands, and 
will kill more if he is given the opportunity. And they know that the 
only hope for Cambodia is for the forces of freedom and democracy to 
hold on as long as they can. This resolution comes at a very timely 
moment. It will give them some hope, yes, maybe a small and modest 
amount of hope, but it will

[[Page H10453]]

give them some hope that those of us in the international community, 
those of us in the People's House know what is going on and we stand in 
solidarity with those pro-democratic forces. It is a very good 
resolution. I hope it has the unanimous support of the House of 
Representatives.
  Again, I want to thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) and the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Gilman) for their leadership in bringing this to the 
floor.
  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the 
resolution introduced by the Gentleman from California (Mr. 
Rohrabacher).
  In January of 1997, I went to Cambodia and met with Hun Sen. At that 
time the power-sharing agreement between Hun Sen and Prince Ranaridh 
was still in place but it was clear that it was weakening. The violent 
July 1997 coup by Hun Sen was the final blow to this ill-conceived 
relationship that was born by threat of force. During this bloody coup, 
scores of opposition political leaders and average citizens were killed 
by Hun Sen's armies.
  Since the coup, Hun Sen has consolidated his ill-gotten power and 
human rights abuses in Cambodia have continued to escalate. Before, 
during and after the flawed July 1998 elections, Hun Sen again showed 
his true colors. The pre-election climate was marked by fear and 
intimidation. The election apparatus was controlled by Hun Sen; the 
democratic opposition was disadvantaged in all aspects of the process, 
especially in the important area of broadcast media. It was no surprise 
that Hun Sen's communist party captured more seats than any other party 
in these flawed elections. Given their disadvantaged position, the 
strong showing of the opposition--which together accounted for more 
than half the total seats in the legislature--was remarkable. These 
results were a strong statement of the dissatisfaction of the Cambodian 
people with his corrupt and authoritarian rule, and their strong desire 
for a return to democracy and a new age of good governance.
  From his Khmer Rouge days up to the present, Hun Sen has always used 
brutal force--intimidation, violence, torture, murder--to get and keep 
power. According to a new report from the relief group, Medecins sans 
Frontieres, Hun Sen was responsible for the deaths of 200,000 
Cambodians as leader of Cambodia's Vietnamese communist puppet regime 
from 1984 to 1989. While he was a Khmer Rouge commander, there is no 
accounting of how many innocent civilians he sent to their deaths. Hun 
Sen rules through force--it is all he knows and all he understands.
  His crimes against the Cambodian people cannot be chronicled only in 
terms of the loss of life, but must also take account of his consistent 
efforts to deny their aspirations to a better life. The people of 
Cambodia have consistently rejected violence and one man rule, and 
continue to raise their voices in favor of freedom, justice, democracy 
and the rule of law. As a country which embodies these ideals, we must 
do our utmost to support them. This means that we cannot continue to 
turn a blind eye to the abuses of Hun Sen or send the Cambodian people 
the message that they have to settle for something less than real 
democracy, genuine freedom or full human rights.
  I commend this resolution to the attention of my colleagues, and I 
urge your strong support of it.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Emerson). 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 533, 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.
  The title of the resolution was amended so as to read: ``Resolution 
expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
culpability of Hun Sen for violations of international humanitarian law 
after 1978 in Cambodia (the former People's Republic of Kampuchea and 
the State of Cambodia).''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________