[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 18 (Thursday, February 17, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1684-S1685]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 65--CALLING FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF CAMBODIA TO RELEASE 
            CHEAM CHANNY FROM PRISON, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

                               S. Res. 65

       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

[[Page S1685]]

     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.

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