[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12655]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 309--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
 CULPABILITY OF HUN SEN FOR VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN CAMBODIA

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

                              S. Res. 309

       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 Senate 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.

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