Cambodian PM Agrees to Revamp Electoral Body, Grant Opposition TV License

 
Emerging from days of silence to quash rumors that he had suffered a massive stroke, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday that he would fulfill opposition demands to revamp the country’s tainted electoral body and for a license to set up their own television station.

Reports that Hun Sen, 61, had been ill gained steam on social media over the weekend, but the prime minister dismissed the rumors and discussed means to end a long political standoff between his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) during a visit with the disabled in Kampot province on Tuesday.

“I would like to inform you that … the CPP has agreed to amend the NEC’s responsibilities and how it is established,” Hun Sen said, addressing demands by the CNRP to reform the government-appointed National Election Committee, which critics say lacks independence from the ruling party.

The NEC declared the CPP victor of disputed elections in July last year despite widespread fraud claims, prompting elected CNRP lawmakers to boycott the National Assembly, or parliament. Several meetings between the two parties since then have failed to bring about an end to the deadlock.

Hun Sen said Tuesday that CPP members of parliament had agreed to amend the law to have the mandate of the NEC enshrined in Cambodia’s constitution—an opposition demand that the ruling party had earlier refused, leading to a breakdown in talks between the two sides last month.

He also promised to allow the CNRP to establish its own television station. All stations currently operating in Cambodia are either directly or indirectly controlled by the government or ruling party.

Hun Sen said the opposition would not be permitted to use its party logo for the television station and would have to acquire its license through a private company.He also warned the opposition that the CPP would continue to lead the government even if the two sides were unable to come to an agreement that brings the CNRP back to the National Assembly, and threatened the boycotting lawmakers with arrest if they “continue to provoke problems.”

The prime minister did not address opposition demands for an early election. In negotiations, Hun Sen has said that if the CNRP ends its boycott of parliament, he is willing to hold the next election in February 2018—five months ahead of schedule.“If you participate in the Assembly, it is good for you. If you don’t join the assembly we will continue to lead the government,” Hun Sen said.

“The election will be held in 2018,” he added.

Offer in writing

CNRP President Sam Rainsy welcomed Hun Sen’s announcement on the NEC and the television station license, calling it “a political turn that could end the deadlock.”He told RFA’s Khmer Service that his party would begin the process of applying for a license, adding that the CNRP wasn’t simply demanding a TV license for itself, but also for Cambodia’s nongovernmental organizations and any others who desire access to independent media.

“We don’t want political parties to control the media,” he said.Sam Rainsy said that the two sides would “continue to discuss” the possibility of an early election. Senior members of each party are scheduled to hold further talks on Thursday.

CNRP Deputy President Kem Sokha said that the opposition would not believe Hun Sen’s offer until he delivered it in writing.“We haven’t seen a written statement yet,” he told RFA.
“He can’t just talk about election reforms—there must be an agreement.”Kem Sokha said that the opposition would continue to boycott parliament in the absence of a deal to end the political standoff.

Talks last month ended with the two sides deciding to draft statements on 14 points they had agreed to in principle during a meeting in March, including guidelines on how to reform voter registrations and voting lists, laws on providing financial support to political parties, and party access to independent media.Other points included rules on 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.In April, CNRP president 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.

Rumor of stroke

On the weekend, reports suggested that Hun Sen had suffered a major stroke on Friday and was rushed to Calmette Hospital in the capital Phnom Penh before being flown to Singapore for treatment, but senior officials and sources close to the prime minister rejected the claims.The Cambodia Daily had quoted Sam Rainsy on Sunday confirming the reports, citing “internal sources in the CPP.”

On Tuesday, Hun Sen lashed out at the opposition for furthering the rumors, according to a report by the Associated Press.“In case I had suffered a massive stroke as was reported, you please should pack up your things and flee,” the AP reported him as saying.“I am speaking honestly, because the ability to command all the armed forces belongs to only one person,” he said, referring to himself.

He advised his critics not to wish for his death, and said that if he should fall victim to a stroke, they had better be prepared because anything could happen to them.Hun Sen, who has led Cambodia since 1985, is Southeast Asia’s longest-serving leader by far and has retained power amid accusations that his regime suppresses political freedoms and mistreats rights campaigners.The prime minister said last year ahead of national elections that he planned to stay in power until he was 74.

Sellers and beggars get hauled off

 

Beggars, street sellers, and homeless adults and children in Phnom Penh were rounded up yesterday morning and hauled into caged vans, while many more hid to evade capture.

The roundup came a day after a directive signed by Deputy Governor Seng Ratanak was issued, ordering 12 district governors and the municipal social affairs department to remove homeless people from public areas.At about 9am, police forcefully took people from the streets of the capital. They were put into vans and taken to the police station before being transferred into the custody of NGOs.

“They are at risk of labour exploitation and human trafficking, and we need public order,” Ratanak said.

City Hall spokesman Long Dimanche confirmed that the roundup was well under way.

“We are working to totally clear [the streets].… We started to round them up after the order was released. They will find help from NGOs through education and training,” he said.

But many said the help was unwanted. A 14-year-old flower seller, who asked not to be named, told the Post that since his mother died, his income had been crucial to his and his father’s survival.

“I help to sell [jasmine] flowers. If I can sell a lot each day, I will get a lot of tips to buy food with,” he said.

But after hearing about City Hall’s directive, he said he was too scared to return to his job.

“I heard from my friend, a street boy, that the authorities will round us up. I am so afraid.”

Thirty-seven-year-old beggar Sam Sros said that after seeing a friend arrested yesterday morning she and her two children went into hiding.“I hid after I saw my friend was arrested by authorities. We did not do anything wrong or commit any crime. We only beg to get some money to buy food for our children,” she said.A 47-year-old homeless beggar, who declined to be named, was angry with city authorities.“We just need a little money to buy food.… Since the [directive], it is difficult for us to walk into public areas to beg,” he said.Pour un sourire d’enfant (PSE), one of the partner NGOs charged with monitoring and educating those rounded up, voiced concerns about the authorities’ approach.“They need to improve the way to gathering people,” said Ouk Sovan, deputy program director at PSE.

Sovan said that in total, PSE received 13 children rounded up from Russian Boulevard yesterday, where he said the authorities would continue to collect people today.

“The role of PSE will [be to] support all street children in necessary means to integrate back [into] society.… We are assessing each child to identify their problem then provide necessary solutions such as health support, education, accommodation, food, protection, vocational school for young people, support their family [and] income generation,” Sovan said.

But opposition leader Sam Rainsy said he sees the measures as merely “cosmetic”.

“It doesn’t address the root of the problem.… The government has shown irresponsibility, sweeping these people away, and we condemn it. This is not the solution; it is unfair and cruel,” he said.

Thai media reports request to rein in fugitive

 

Thailand has requested that Cambodia rein in the activities of fugitive red-shirt leader and Phnom Penh resident Jakrapob Penkair, according to Thai media.Cambodian Ambassador Eat Sophea was allegedly summoned by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier this week and asked to “cooperate” by preventing the opposition activist from publicly criticising the coup, the Khao Sod Daily reported.Jakrapob, a Thaksin-era minister, has lived in Cambodia in self-imposed exile since 2009, fleeing claims that he instigated violence as well as a lèse majesté charge, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. After the Thai army’s coup last month, the military junta announced it would “track down” Jakrapob, who has publicly vowed to create a resistance movement and institute a government in exile.

In an interview with blogger Andrew Spooner last week, Jakrapob called the junta “not only illegitimate but illegal and criminal”, and said he would consider using violence to restore democracy.Last week, the National Council for Peace and Order summoned all those with lèse majesté charges, including Jakrapob, to turn themselves in by Monday or face harsher penalties.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Post yesterday that the Kingdom has “no idea” of Jakrapob’s whereabouts, and reiterated previous assertions that Cambodia would not play host to a Thai government in exile.

“So far, our authorities have confirmed that there is no presence of Jakrapob or red-shirt [political activities] in Cambodia,” said Koy Kuong, a spokesman with the Foreign Ministry.

Kuong said he had no knowledge of Cambodian Embassy officials being summoned by the Thai junta, and that he has not heard of any request to arrest or extradite Jakrapob.

“Tensions between Cambodia and the Thai junta are looming in the horizon,” said Chheang Vannarith, a senior fellow at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace. “Border conflicts between the two countries [could] potentially re-emerge any time.”

Officials at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh declined to speak to the Post yesterday, and Jakrapob did not return requests for comment.

First carrot, then stick

 

Prime Minister Hun Sen offered equal parts carrot and stick in a speech aimed at the opposition yesterday, affirming the ruling party’s willingness to concede key opposition demands while simultaneously threatening prosecution and forceful crackdowns if demonstrations start anew.

Speaking to disabled soldiers in Kampot province, Hun Sen said the ruling party would acquiesce to the opposition’s demand for its own television licence, as long as it applied through a private company. Hun Sen also said he would give the National Election Committee constitutional status – another major sticking point for the opposition and observers.However, the premier tempered the concessions with sharply worded threats to both Cambodia National Rescue Party leadership and those who would join any grassroots-level demonstrations, saying to those who may plan to come out, “be careful of death”. On the subject of an opposition TV licence, Hun Sen said he had first made the offer to the CNRP on April 9 in a phone call with party president Sam Rainsy.

“I also asked [Information Minister] Khieu Kanharith to divide one channel from the frequency of the national television [TVK] for them to set up” a station, the premier said, blaming the party leadership’s reluctance to file the paperwork on their stubbornness at the negotiating table.

The prime minister went on to say that he would also agree to adding a constitutional mandate for the NEC to Chapter 15 of the constitution, even though he indicated that he found the idea somewhat outlandish.“The National Election Committee as a constitutional institution, I have never heard of such a thing,” Hun Sen said before signalling he had accepted the request. “[We] will amend the constitution to add one more chapter to put the [NEC] into … the constitution.”

Hun Sen also reaffirmed the ruling party’s concession to hold the 2018 election in February, several months in advance – an early election being a key opposition demand – but took pains to remind listeners that there was still an iron fist inside the velvet glove.“I have already let you be free for a while, and if you want to test me, I need only 48 hours” to crack down, he said, going on to warn the opposition against being “overbearing” in their demands of constitutional change.Hun Sen also insinuated that documents accusing CNRP leaders of incitement were ready and waiting, should he deem it necessary to file them.“Incitement documents are already drafted,” he said. “You cannot escape, and you have no immunity – no need to remove your [parliamentary] immunity in the National Assembly, just [to file] an arrest warrant.”

He went on to urge the opposition to join the National Assembly and get down to the work of drafting their proposed reforms, but concluded with another thinly veiled threat.“It is your right as to whether you recognise [the government] or not, [but] if you are against the law, you will be handcuffed – and don’t try to hide in an embassy,” the prime minister went on to say.Moeun Chhean Nariddh, director of the Cambodian Institute for Media Studies, said that an opposition television station would be a big step forward in a country with a ruling party-dominated broadcast media.

“Given the recent media blackout on the return of the leader of the opposition party [Sam Rainsy] and of the electoral campaign by the state-run TV and private TV that is aligned with the ruling party, this is a good opportunity for the opposition party to represent their voice,” he said.However, CNRP deputy president Kem Sokha yesterday dismissed Hun Sen’s offer of a TV licence as “bait”, and said the party had more important things to worry about.“It is not important, this [offer] about the television licence. What is important, is the electoral reform,” he said. “We have not thought of this yet – we are thinking of [a new] election first.”

Sokha reacted more favourably to the suggestion to join the National Assembly to draft the NEC constitutional amendment, but said the opposition couldn’t end its boycott without a clear, detailed agreement in place.“If the [ruling] Cambodian People’s Party really has the intention to amend the constitution, it must allow the negotiating groups to meet and talk together. [We] must have clear political agreement and witnesses,” he said.Fellow opposition lawmaker-elect Son Chhay also responded coolly to Hun Sen’s concessions, saying they had been on the table for months, and hardly represented a leap forward.“The offer has already been around for quite some time,” he said. “Now we need to clarify what it means by ‘constitutional NEC’ … to write down the points that will make the NEC truly independent – independent budget, independent decisions, independence in the way people will be recruited.… And the National Assembly needs to be reformed too, because it has been a rubber stamp for too long.”“The offer of a [new] election in February was not acceptable, that’s why we got stuck” in stalled negotiations in April, he added.

Argentinean Asia expert: China must withdraw from Vietnam’s waters

 

He said China’s illegal placement of the oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 at Lot 143 in the East Sea violated the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS), since this area is deep inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), where Vietnam has sovereign right and jurisdiction.Ramoneda supported Vietnam’s stance of promoting negotiations on the basis of international law to solve disputes with China.

According to 1982 UNCLOS, as a coastal country, Vietnam has sovereignty over all natural resource as well as drilling and exploiting activities for economic purposes in its EEZ and continental shelf. However, China’s illegal positioning of the oil rig ignored Vietnam’s legitimate sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago, he said.He noted that China’s move has political motivation and was timed ahead of the 24th ASEAN Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, on May 10-11. China positioned its rig to show off its strength to the 10 ASEAN member nations, including Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines, with whom it is locking horns over sea and island disputes.He added that the act was also timed to follow US President Barack Obama’s tour of Asian countries, including the Philippines and Malaysia, which indirectly created competition between China and the US.

Ramoneda said it is obvious that China is not seeking a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the East Sea issues, but is instead elevating tensions and risks of instability in the region.

The expert stressed that China’s act not only violated 1982 UNCLOS but also ran counter to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, agreed upon by China and ASEAN countries in 2002, along with agreements reached by its officials and Vietnamese counterparts.

In terms of politics, China’s actions in sea disputes with Southeast Asian countries and other nations fan the risks of an arms race and trigger a diplomatic crisis in the region, he said. 

Regarding economics, the move jeopardises ASEAN - China free trade agreements and the negotiation on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement that China is pushing.

China will suffer from economic losses rather than gains in case of political crises and military conflicts set off by its unilateral use of force to take control of resources in the East Sea, he noted.

On May 2, China illegally stationed the Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil rig at 15 degrees 29 minutes 58 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 12 minutes 06 seconds east longitude. The location is 80 nautical miles deep inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone.It has also deployed a large number of ships of various kinds to the area, including military, coast guard, marine surveillance, marine patrol and fisheries vessels.Chinese ships have repeatedly rammed and fired water cannons into Vietnamese coast guard and fisheries surveillance boats which are carrying out their law enforcement missions in the country’s waters, leaving many Vietnamese ships damaged and many fisheries surveillance officers injured.

Miss Universe Thailand steps down after 'red shirts' slur

 

Less than a month after she was crowned Miss Universe Thailand, pageant winner Weluree "Fai" Ditsayabut has relinquished her title under a barrage of criticism for comments she made online against supporters of the country's ousted prime minister."I felt under pressure. I tried to improve myself but what I could not stand was to see my mother stressed," an emotional Weluree told reporters in Bangkok Monday.After the 22-year-old won the competition on May 17, scathing comments predating the contest were found on her Facebook page. They referred to pro-government demonstrators, who are known as "red shirts," as "dirty" and "evil activists" that should "all be executed.""I am not neutral. I am on the side of His Majesty the King," Weluree said in a now-deleted Facebook comment from November, when the country's political crisis began, according to local news site Khaosod English.

Weluree reportedly said Thailand would be cleaner if the "dirty" red shirts left the country.

Pro-government supporters questioned Weluree's pageant victory on popular online forums and social media sites. A Facebook page in protest of her winning the competition garnered thousands of "likes" -- although some users criticized her appearance and claimed she won because of her connections, rather than raising concerns about her anti-red shirt comments. Other netizens seemed to be preoccupied with comparing Weluree's appearance to that of Nissa Katerahong, who won the Miss Tiffany's Universe transgender beauty contest in Pattaya last month.

Weluree -- an actress, talk show host, and English student -- apologized for her remarks on May 19. "I was careless. I was young. I did it recklessly," she said in an interview on Thailand's Channel 3.

But the unrelenting public scorn appears to have worn her down.

"At first, my family was happy for me when I was crowned," Weluree said Monday. "But there's no more happiness following waves of criticism from the society." She said the decision was hers alone, and thanked the pageant judges and her fans for their support.It is unclear whether Weluree's crown will be passed to the competition's runner-up and audience favorite Pimbongkod "Ellie" Chankaew.The pageant controversy emerged at the height of a political crisis that has plagued Thailand for months, and prompted the military to seize power in a coup in May.The turmoil began in November when the government attempted to pass a controversial amnesty bill that would have cleared the way for the return of then-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra's brother, Thaksin, to politics. The former prime minister and tycoon has been living in self-imposed exile to avoid a corruption conviction, after being overthrown in a military coup in 2006.

Since November, the People's Democratic Reform Committee led anti-government protesters, who were mostly middle-class royalists, in calling for Yingluck's government to be replaced with an unelected "people's council."

Competing rallies were held by pro-government supporters, many of whom came from the country's rural north and northeast and view Yingluck's ouster as a "judicial coup."

Yingluck was found guilty of abuse of power and removed from office along with several cabinet ministers on May 7, and indicted by Thailand's anti-graft body. In a televised address on May 22, Thailand's army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha announced that the country had been placed under military control. Since then, the junta has imposed a series of measures purportedly aimed at restoring order and resolving the crisis, including curfews, bans on public assembly, and media blackouts.