Cambodia’s Ruling, Opposition Parties Resume Talks to End Standoff

 
Cambodia’s ruling and opposition parties resumed talks Thursday in a bid to end a nearly 10-month political standoff, with the two sides still remaining far apart on how to reform the electoral body which oversees the ballot.Opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) lawmaker Kuy Bunroeun, who participated in the talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) representatives, said that the two parties were unable to agree on how to revamp the National Election Commission (NEC).

The opposition and rights groups have accused the NEC, which declared the CPP the winner in the July 2013 general election despite allegations of fraud, of lacking independence from the government.The disputed elections had led elected opposition lawmakers to boycott parliament in protest.Kuy Bunroeun said the CNRP had proposed that the mandate of the NEC be enshrined in Cambodia’s constitution, but the CPP would not agree, resulting in an impasse which ended Thursday’s talks with plans to meet again “early next week.”

“We want the NEC to be a constitutional institution,” he said, adding that the CNRP plans to stand strong on its proposal for reforming the electoral body.CPP lead negotiator and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng urged the CNRP to agree to a meeting of the parties’ top leaders, adding the both sides must have the “political will” to resolve the ongoing standoff.“Now what we need is good political will because we had already resolved many issues, but in the end we abandoned what we had agreed upon,” he said.

“Only true will can resolve the deadlock.”Kuy Bunroeun said that the two teams on Thursday also decided to draft their own statements on 14 points they had agreed to in principle in March on reforming the electoral process.Among the points, he said, were guidelines on how to reform voter registrations and voting lists, laws on providing financial support to political parties, party access to independent media, election dispute resolution, election monitoring and how to ensure neutrality of the armed forces during the vote.

The two sides also agreed that a new election should be held in the aftermath of the disputed July 28 ballot but without any decision on the timing of the fresh polls.Kuy Bunroeun said that the teams would take the list of agreed upon points back to their respective party headquarters for review and that any approval would have to first come from Hun Sen and CNRP President Sam Rainsy.“We want the working groups to consider which points can be accepted,” Kuy Bunroeun said.

“Each party will draft its main points and see whether they match up.”

Latest talks

The CPP and CNRP have had several rounds of negotiations in the nearly 10 months since last year’s disputed polls, but have not held talks since April, after Sam Rainsy refused an offer from Hun Sen to sign a deal ending the deadlock on terms which the two had hashed out during talks via telephone.When refusing Hun Sen’s offer in April, Sam Rainsy had said that the two were not in full agreement.

The two leaders had agreed to revamp the NEC, but they were far apart on a date for new elections, with the prime minister offering to hold polls in February 2018 following earlier demands from the CNRP for a mid-term election in early 2016.Shortly after their talk by phone, Sam Rainsy left Cambodia to travel to Europe and his deputy Kem Sokha went to Australia, returning to campaign ahead of the council elections.Thursday’s talks followed elections for the country’s provincial, municipal, and district councils, which wrapped up over the weekend, with the ruling party winning the most seats but the opposition gaining ground.

First of three contentious laws passes

 

The National Assembly yesterday passed in a landslide vote the first of three judicial draft laws – the Law on the Organisation and Functioning of the Courts – in a move that signalled to observers that passage of the remaining two was practically a fait accompli.Sixty-four Cambodian People’s Party lawmakers – one was absent – voted unanimously to approve the draft law in its current form despite an ongoing parliamentary boycott by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, and over the objections of civil society, which has blasted the laws for their opaque drafting process and their potential to blur the line between the Kingdom’s executive and judiciary.

One of the biggest changes called for in yesterday’s bill is the creation of specialised courts, a move that one legal expert characterised as unnecessarily complicated.

“I would like to thank the National Assembly, which adopted the Law on the Organisation and Functioning of the Courts today,” Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana told lawmakers yesterday, adding that the aim of the law was “to make our people trust in the courts”.

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann, however, maintained the party’s position that the current assembly was not legitimate, and promised to fix any flawed legislation passed during the opposition’s absence.

“We will amend all of the laws that do not serve the interests of the nation when we have full power in the government and in the parliament,” he said.

Nonetheless, observers, including political analyst Kem Ley, said yesterday that the passage of the law’s companion legislation was only a matter of time. Ley characterised the hasty passage of the law as part of a broader scramble to enact more restrictive legislation in light of the CPP’s losses in last year’s national elections.“I went down to the communities, down to the villages; it’s very clear right now that the supporters of the CPP are in the minority,” he said. “So the group of the CPP in the central committee understands clearly the situation. If they move forward as a democratic country, they will not win the next election. Every law, every reform is to keep control on power, not to find justice for the people.”Duch Piseth, trial-monitoring program coordinator for the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, also said the two sister bills were as good as approved. “[The CPP] made it clear again and again that they would pass these laws in a few days, so we are sure that they’re going to pass these laws quickly,” Piseth said, expressing concern over the lack of debate on the bills.

In addition to enacting onerous regulations, Piseth continued, the law would ensure that “the Ministry of Justice controls, administratively and financially, the courts”.Legal expert Sok Sam Oeun has also expressed concern over the law's threat to judicial independence, as well as logistical hurdles brought about by its creation of specialised courts – for criminal, civil, commercial and labour cases, each overseen by its own president – within Cambodia’s municipal and provincial courts.

“It is too many layers,” he said on Wednesday.

Additionally, he continued, the law would deepen the Justice Ministry’s control by codifying its de facto power over court clerks, ensure that civil cases would continue to be overseen by often-biased prosecutors and enact a system in which small-claims cases would be decided upon, in part, by non-professional counsellors.

The assembly yesterday also began its read-through of the next draft law, the Law on the Role of Judges and Prosecutors, and is expected to continue reading the bill today.

New charges as trial wraps

Despite presenting no hard evidence against defendants throughout the two trials of 23 men arrested during a strike that turned deadly in early January, a prosecutor used his closing statement yesterday to up the charges against union leader Vorn Pov.The final day of two trials that have dominated public discourse for nearly five months ended with prosecutor Ly Sophanna calling for guilty verdicts for 10 men he claims were responsible for violence at the Yakjin garment factory on January 2.More surprisingly, he told Judge Keo Mony that because Pov lacked evidence to support his claim that he attended that rally only in his role as a union president, he would increase charges against him to instigation with aggravating circumstances and additional penalties.Instigation with aggravating circumstances alone carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.“We raised the charges, because there is no evidence that Pov went to Yakjin [only] to monitor the protest,” Sophanna said.Pov’s lawyer, however, said in his closing statement that the prosecution had failed to prove the president of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA) had done anything wrong at all.

“There’s no real evidence to prosecute Vorn Pov,” defence attorney Sam Sokong said. “It’s just the word of witnesses who are not present at the court hearing.”When the trial began at the end of last month, Pov was answering two counts of inciting violence, which carries a maximum prison term of two years.Only one of eight witnesses testified in court, while the others submitted statements read aloud.Chu Eng, of the paratrooper unit that arrested the Yakjin suspects, named Pov as the instigator of the clash, saying that he encouraged people to act violently towards authorities after they arrested three people.

“I say again and again, if not for Vorn Pov, only three people would be [in court] today,” said Eng, who added that he later found rocks in the tuk-tuk from which Pov had been speaking. Proceedings were briefly suspended yesterday after Pov fainted in the middle of his questioning at 11am.

Prosecution and defence also rested their cases in the trial of 13 arrested at a protest on Veng Sreng Boulevard on January 3, when police shot dead at least four people.

“Based on reports from authorities and witnesses, the defendants are anarchic people,” prosecutor Top Chhunlong said. “They threw stones, sticks and other projectiles things at police.”

Chinese provocative activities in East Sea escorted by Chinese media

Means of communication play a very important role in driving public opinion. Therefore, they have big impacts on any policies, home or foreign. They are compared to the bridge that helps convey people’s opinions to the authorities, and as the tool for authorities to explain their policies to the people.As for China, mass media also serves as a propaganda instrument as well. Most of the press and media agencies in China are under the state’s control, which only disseminates the Chinese government’s viewpoints and policies.How has the Chinese propaganda engine been doing during the HD 981 oil rig deployment campaign

Providing wrong information
After Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s speech at the 24th ASEAN Summit, Chinese newspapers published a series of articles on the installation of the HD 981 oil rig.
Chinese newspapers all had the same argument: that the location where HD 981 is set up is entirely within its sovereignty and jurisdictional area. Chinese media argue that all the activities of its military patrols, mineral and oil exploration and exploitation in the area are consistent with Chinese sovereignty and with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Chinese website ifeng.com on May 7 made unfair accusation that Vietnam is trying to induce Japan and India, two countries which have territorial disputes with China, to join with it to balance the power.On May 13, Shen Zhen Television reported that the government of Vietnam used numerous tricks to pressure China.

A researcher from the Chinese Global and Asian Strategies Research Institute argued that it would be very difficult to reach a consensus from involved parties, including Vietnam, on the idea of putting aside disputes to exploit the treasure in the East Sea together. Therefore, China unilaterally deployed the drilling rig as a way to claim its sovereignty in the area.She also emphasized that the oil rig would serve as a testing method for the settlement of disputes in the East Sea. She wrote on ifeng.com that Vietnam has made the oil rig deployment activity complicated and has excessively criticized China, behaviors which would badly affect Vietnam-China bilateral relations.

Meanwhile, a representative of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided false information on CCTV that from May 3-7, Vietnam sent 35 ships to the site and attacked Chinese ships 171 times. He misled the public with the claim that most of the Vietnamese vessels on the site were military, while insisting that China did not send any military troops there. China said that Chinese ships were attacked from under water by Vietnamese frogmen, fishing nets, and other objects.

A dangerous tool of China
The Chinese administration, through its communication engine, has been trying to gloss over the illegal acts it is carrying out on Vietnamese territory, molding public opinion in a way that brings favor to it.

Chinese leaders have been nurturing expansionism for the past thousands of years. The propaganda engine regulated by the leaders, therefore, leads Chinese people to misunderstanding.
In long run, skewed Chinese viewpoints will make it more difficult to settle disputes based on argument and reason. The Chinese communication apparatus, double-tongued and equivocal – especially on the issue of sovereignty – will not help settle the internal problems of the country. To the contrary, they will make the situation worse and more dangerous.
Vietnamese mass media needs to help protect Vietnamese territory with its convincing arguments, explaining the Vietnamese fight for justice to the international community. Youtube  and social networks should be considered as effective tools for transmitting information to the Chinese people, especially given that Vietnamese websites are being blocked by their government.
Small countries can put themselves at an advantage if they follow smart policies.

Thai military takes over in coup -- again

 

Thailand is now under military control -- with its military chief in power, its constitution tossed, its political leaders detained, its citizens under martial law -- thanks to a coup that capped months of unrest.Thursday's announcement, in a televised address by the Asian nation's military chief, followed a last-ditch meeting purportedly aimed at resolving the crisis.Leaders of the governing Pheu Thai Party, the opposition Democrat Party, the anti-government protesters, pro-government "Red Shirts" as well as the military were among those in attendance.

But only one faction walked out free.

Troops escorted the political party leaders from the meeting; a lawyer for the "Red Shirts" later confirmed they'd been detained.That left Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, the head of the Asian nation's military, in charge.The military released a statement saying Prayuth now has the powers to act as Prime Minister until a new one takes office.How exactly the government will operate is in question, given that the military also has thrown out the 2007 constitution, except for Section 2, which acknowledges that the king is the head of state.The last six months have been marked by protests, both by those backing the government and those against. There has been deadly violence in the streets.

Schools will be closed nationwide between Friday and Sunday, the de facto military government ordered. A curfew is in place for between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. (11 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET) And all state-run, satellite and cable TV providers have been ordered to carry only the signal of the army's television channel; CNN is among those networks that have been taken off the air.

In a speech hours after the meeting with political party leaders, Prayuth explained that these actions were necessary to restore order and push through needed reforms.

He said there will be security provided for foreigners, including vacationers and diplomats. As to Thai citizens, Prayuth urged them to go about their business as usual -- including civil servants and officials, who should report to work.

And in many ways, this is normal for Thailand.Thursday's sudden transfer of power is the 12th time the military has taken over since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.It's the second coup for Pete Kraisittipong, a lifelong Bangkok resident and CNN iReporter. While there are noticeable differences -- like closed convenience stores -- he said most people don't seem too taken aback but the sudden, if hardly unprecedented, political shift."People associate this as the silent coup. They just go home and don't go out after 10," he said. "... People just live their normal lives."

Amnesty bill furor spirals into more unrest

In a way, if not years in the making, the latest coup has been in the making since November.

That's when then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra tried to push through an amnesty bill to allow the return of her brother Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister who lives in exile. A military coup deposed Thaksin in 2006.Groups opposed to the government seized on the amnesty bill furor and began large-scale protests in central areas of Bangkok.

Trying to defuse tensions, Yingluck called early elections. But the Democrat Party boycotted the February race, and Yingluck's foes blocked voting in enough districts to prevent a valid outcome.

Yingluck, who first took office in 2011, stayed on after the disrupted election as a caretaker Prime Minister. But the Constitutional Court forced her from office two weeks ago, finding her guilty -- despite her professions of innocence -- of violating the constitution over the appointments of top security officials.

She is now wanted, along with three of her relatives, having been summoned to report to military authorities late Friday morning, an army spokesman said.

The situation hasn't calmed much since Yingluck's departure from office. Demonstrators on all sides of the fight remained active in the streets. And attempts to resolve differences through negotiations -- such as Thursday's meeting, the second in two days -- seemingly went nowhere.

On Tuesday, the military stepped up its involvement by declaring martial law. At the time -- even as an aide to interim Prime Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan insisted it had taken "this action unilaterally" -- the military insisted this wasn't a coup.

U.S. suspends 'military engagement and assistance'

The developments have caught the attention of world leaders, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who appealed "for a prompt return to constitutional, civilian, democratic rule and an all-inclusive dialogue," according to his spokesman.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed disappointment and concern about the detention of political leaders, the shutting down of media outlets and the suspension of the Thai constitution.

"There is no justification for this military coup," Kerry said in a statement. "... I urge the restoration of civilian government immediately, a return to democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms."American officials have tried but -- as of Thursday afternoon -- failed to contact Thai military officials to urge them "to immediately restore democracy and civilian rule," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.The State Department and USAID send approximately $10 million annually to Thailand, according to Psaki. In light of everything, there is "a comprehensive review" of all such ties between the two countries, including militarily."We've taken preliminary steps to suspend military engagement and assistance, while we consider the facts on the ground," said the U.S. spokeswoman.