[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 6 (Thursday, January 26, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         RESOLUTION ON CAMBODIA

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I commend the majority leader for 
offering an important resolution on Cambodia yesterday that expressed 
concern with the systematic campaign by Prime Minister Hun Sen and the 
Government of Cambodia to undermine democracy and the rule of law in 
that country.
  Scholars can argue when this campaign was initiated--after U.N.-
sponsored elections in 1993 or before the coup d'etat in 1997--but no 
one disputes that it culminated early this year in the arrest of human 
rights leader Kem Sokha and other reformers in Phnom Penh on charges of 
defaming the Prime Minister.
  As the resolution points out, no sector in Cambodia has been spared 
in this campaign.
  Opposition leader Sam Rainsy was stripped of his parliamentary 
immunity last year and sentenced to 18 months in absentia for defaming 
the Prime Minister.
  Radio journalist Mom Sonando was arrested for criminal defamation.
  Even Rong Chhum, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers 
Association, was similarly charged.
  To be sure, other champions of freedom in Cambodia have suffered 
worse fates. Former parliamentarian Om Radsady and labor leader Chea 
Vichea were brutally murdered by unknown assailants. Justice remains 
similarly elusive for a grenade attack against a conference hosted by 
the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party in 1995 and a more brutal attack 
against a peaceful rally organized by the Khmer Nation Party--headed by 
Sam Rainsy--in 1997.
  The immediate and strong condemnation of the arrest of Sokha and his 
colleagues by international donors and multilateral organizations, 
including the United Nations and the World Bank, is certainly welcomed. 
U.S. Ambassador Joe Mussomeli and Deputy Chief of Mission Mark Storella 
deserve praise for standing by Sokha throughout the crisis. Assistant 
Secretary of State Christopher Hill's trip to the region succeeded in 
freeing Sokha from prison, and I know he cringes at Hun Sen's 
characterization of Sokha's release as a ``gift''. This may have been 
simply a poor choice of words, but it serves to affirm the world's 
perception of Hun Sen as a Southeast Asian dictator.
  The news that Hun Sen will drop charges against Sokha and other civil 
society reformers is not a cause for celebration. History shows that 
Hun Sen is a habitual offender, and we can expect continued harassment 
and intimidation against those championing freedom and the rule of law.
  The international community must now turn its attention to the plight 
of Sam Rainsy, Cheam Channy and other political prisoners. It is time 
for His Majesty King Sihamoni to derail Hun Sen's campaign by 
immediately pardoning Rainsy, Channy, and all other political 
prisoners. Only then will democracy have a chance to get back on track 
in Cambodia.
  The challenge for Cambodia's many donors is straightforward: hold Hun 
Sen and his government accountable for their actions. While this may 
require some soul searching by U.S. allies, particularly France, 
Germany, and Japan, the status quo in Cambodia serves only the 
interests of Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian People's Party. With a 
donor's conference approaching in March 2006, the international 
community must demand a return on the significant assistance provided 
to Cambodia.
  As over $2 billion has been invested in the democratic development of 
that country since the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, it is not too much for 
the international community to demand that the Prime Minister and his 
government conduct themselves in a manner that respects the 
constitutional rights and dignity of the people of the Cambodia.

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