In Restarted Talks, Cambodia Parties Fail to Agree on NEC Membership

 
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the main opposition party resumed negotiations on Thursday to break their 10-month stalemate but failed to reach an agreement on how to reform the country’s election body, party officials said.

The CPP agreed to a proposal by the Cambodia National Rescue Party’s (CNRP) to make the National Election Committee (NEC) a constitutionally mandated body but refused the opposition party’s demand that the panel’s membership be endorsed by a two-thirds majority in parliament.

The CPP insisted that NEC members be approved by only an absolute majority,  officials said after the talks at the Senate building in Phnom Penh.

CPP lead negotiator Prum Sokha said changing to a two-thirds majority system would not provide a long-term solution to the political impasse the two parties have been locked in since July 2013 elections, in which the CNRP robbed the CPP of its long-running two-third majority.

“If changing it to a two-thirds majority would resolve all our problems then we would definitely do that, but it won’t,” he told reporters after the talks.

“The opposition says the two-thirds majority system will allow [the two parties] to have more confidence in one another. But it won’t…. It will just postpone our problems with each other.”

“That would lead to another deadlock and our democracy would be frozen. We wouldn’t be able to have another election,” he said.

If parliament is required to endorse the NEC with just a simple majority, the CPP will continue to retain control over who is in the panel.

Stalemate

After the July 28 polls, which the opposition maintains were fraught with irregularities, the NEC declared the CPP the winner with 68 seats in parliament to the CNRP’s 55.

CNRP lawmakers are currently boycotting the assembly in protest of the CPP’s victory and have called for a reelection.

The NEC, which oversees all elections in the country, currently has its members hand-picked by Hun Sen’s government. Critics have complained it lacks independence.

Hun Sen promised earlier this week that he would fulfill the opposition demand for a revamp of the NEC, in a turnaround from earlier CPP refusals that had led to a breakdown in talks between the two sides last month.

His statement that both the NEC’s responsibilities and its composition should be reformed had raised hopes that the two sides would be able to break their deadlock.

Senior CNRP member Eng Chhai Eang, who took part in the talks, said the opposition was sticking to its guns on the two-thirds majority demand because CNRP President Sam Rainsy and Hun Sen had already in private talks agreed on a need for both parties to have a say on NEC members.

“We want the NEC to be approved by a two-thirds majority because according to Sam Rainsy and Hun Sen’s conversation, they wanted to have NEC members agreed upon by both political parties in the assembly,” he said.

The CNRP was insisting on two-thirds approval for the NEC membership, but not for prime ministerial candidates, he said.

During the talks, which ended after about an hour, the CPP gave the CNRP a copy of a draft of a constitutional amendment that would add a chapter on the establishment of the NEC.

Prum Sokha told reporters the two sides would meet again for further discussions.

Party officials said the talks did not cover discussion on allowing the opposition a license to set up its own television, another issue Hun Sen had spoken of earlier this week.

All stations currently operating in Cambodia are either directly or indirectly controlled by the government or ruling party.

Senate approves laws on judiciary

Hun Sen has been pushing through bills in parliament despite the absence of elected opposition lawmakers.

Last month, the lower house or National Assembly passed three judicial laws that rights groups say will give Hun Sen’s government effective control over the judiciary and further undermine the independence of courts.

On Thursday, the Senate also approved the laws.

The 44 CPP members of the Senate voted unanimously to approve the laws, while the 11 CNRP members boycotted the session.

The three laws—the Law on the Organization and Functioning of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy, the Law on the Statute of Judges and Prosecutors, and the Law on the Organization of the Courts— in effect put the minister of justice at the center of all key decision-making by the judiciary and by the Supreme Council of the Magistracy, which is charged with appointing, disciplining, and overseeing the country’s judicial system. 

The laws will now be sent to the King, who can sign them and make them effective.

The Senate said in a statement that it had approved the laws with no amendments, saying they would help ensure justice and increase the public’s confidence in the courts, protect the independence of the courts, and ensure efficiency in the justice system.

Sam Oeun Sok, a lawyer from the AMRIN Law and Consultants Group who monitored the legislation, said there had been little debate or consultation over the laws outside the government.

Since the laws were aimed at improving the judicial system, there should have been more debate about the laws and public participation if they were to improve the public’s trust in Cambodia’s courts.

“We will wait and see if the people trust the courts [after these laws]. If the courts continue to have the same problems the people will lose their trust,” he said.

A coalition of more than two dozen local rights groups called last month for a delay in voting for approval on the laws, which they said had not been written up in consultation with civil society and relevant stakeholders as required by the constitution.

Hun Sen has warned the opposition not to “interfere” with government plans for judicial reform.

Vietnam affirms consistent human rights policy at UN meeting

 
During discussions on civilian, political, economic, cultural, social and development rights, Vietnam’s delegates also reported on progress the country has made in building legal institutions and implementing policies and strategies relating to citizens’ rights, particularly those of vulnerable groups such as women, children and victims of human trafficking.
They reiterated the country’s resolve to fully carry out its voluntary commitments as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, and made several proposals on solutions to promote and safeguard human rights, particularly the rights under discussion at this session of the HRC.

At the dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to health and the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises on June 11, Vietnam’s Ambassador Pham Quoc Tru stressed that governments, enterprises, UN organisations and all relevant sides should strengthen cooperation to alleviate the negative impacts of the globalisation process on human rights. He said alongside efforts to facilitate the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and protect the legitimate interests of corporations, appropriate attention should be paid to protecting and exercising labourers’ rights, ensuring harmony in the interests of businesses, labourers and other concerned parties.

At the June 12 dialogue with the Special Rapporteurs on violence against women and on extreme poverty, Ambassador Tru called on countries, relevant UN mechanisms and international organisations to discuss and define the priorities for the time ahead, as well as the specific measures to be taken to effectively end violence against women and eradicate hunger and poverty. He also asked developed countries and international organisations to increase collaboration and assistance for developing countries in this cause.During the June 13 dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, Vietnam’s representative acknowledged the efforts made by the Special Rapporteur, UN agencies and international community in building and promoting a human right-based approach to deal with human trafficking. At the same time, Vietnam expressed hope that countries pay more attention to community-based measures to fight human trafficking, including making use of information provided by former victims.The council’s session will continue with discussions on issues relating to women, children, people with disabilities and education during the week from June 16. The council will also examine the human rights situation in a number of countries, including Belarus, Syria, Eritrea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

China sails into a sea of controversy

 
When it comes to sabre-rattling, China’s neighbours are starting to feel rattled. During the past two years, the second biggest economy in the world has crossed swords with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam over disputed specs of land in the South and East China Seas.
The latest flashpoint came less than four weeks ago, when Vietnam accused China of sinking a fishing boat near an oil rig in hotly-contested waters. Last month, the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation started drilling for oil in part of the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam and China.

Since then, relations between the two communist countries have deteriorated. Clashes at sea have escalated, a media war has broken out and anti-Chinese protesters in Vietnam have set fire to Taiwanese-owned factories. Chinese workers have also been attacked and hundreds have fled across the border to Cambodia. “Many Southeast Asian countries are reluctant to challenge China because it has become their largest trading partner and it is the largest aid donor to nations like Cambodia and Laos,” wrote Murray Hiebert, a senior fellow and deputy director of the Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
But China’s biggest rival in the region, Japan, has taken a more aggressive stance. Japanese naval power is substantial, with more than 100 warships, state-of-the-art aircraft and 45,000 personnel as well as 400 coastal patrol vessels, according to the The Military Balance 2014, published by The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).Grouped under the umbrella organisation the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, America’s key ally has swapped verbal broadsides with China over disputed Senkaku or Diayou Islands, along with South Korea.

“On a general level, we see China insisting on what it claims to be legitimate sovereignty rights to large areas of the East and South China Sea,” Dr William Choong, a Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security at the IISS, told the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
“The Chinese repeat to themselves that they don’t have to heed international law when it comes to such claims. What China’s neighbours don’t accept is that Beijing is not adhering to generally accepted norms of behaviour.

“[Chinese president] Xi Jinping’s overarching narrative of the Chinese dream is based on the idea of restoring China’s honour. [He] sees a China that is all for peace and cooperation with regional countries. Yet China will not step back from tensions or conflict. It’s all part of the message that China is a power to be reckoned with and has a right to prosecute its claims on territorial issues.”
To back that up, China spent $111.2 billion on defence last year, the The Military Balance 2014 reported. Part of that was to upgrade a surface fleet that includes the Lioaning aircraft carrier and more than 60 combat vessels.

This has allowed Beijing to throw its weight around, claiming almost the entire oil and gas rich South China Sea and rejecting rival claims from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
Naturally, this has increased tension in the region. “[China is playing] a dangerous game of brinkmanship and gunboat diplomacy,” Benigno Aquino, the Philippines president, told the Financial Times. “Normally what happens to Vietnam eventually happens to the Philippines.”
Yet regional leaders concerned about Beijing’s growing power still have a few cards left to play. In the months ahead, foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will take part in key summits with representatives from America, Japan and India.
Undoubtedly, the territorial disputes will be high on the agenda.

Although the topic was surprisingly omitted from the ASEAN conference in Phnom Penh last year, it will be aired this time around. “ASEAN officials recognise that they will not need to take the lead in discussions with China about the South China Sea at these meetings,” writes Hiebert.
Of course, Washington’s role will be crucial. With the largest blue water fleet in the world, America holds the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region and is monitoring the situation closely. In a tough statement last month, the US vice president Joe Biden and other senior officials warned that Beijing’s behaviour in the maritime disputes was “dangerous and provocative”.

Anti-coup group’s home ‘elsewhere’

 
Thai dissident Jakrapob Penkair says an anti-coup organisation has been formed to fight Thailand’s reigning junta, but that Cambodia won’t be its base.“We have jointly founded the organisation to fight the dictatorship,” Jakrapob wrote on his official Facebook page on Wednesday, referring to the military takeover that occurred in May.Thanks to an influx of global support, Jakrapob, who has been interviewed by several media outlets in Phnom Penh in recent weeks, said the newly minted organisation will work for the “freedom and liberty of Thai people” from the military dictatorship.
In an email to the Post this week, Jakrapob said he was not a permanent resident in Cambodia and that the Kingdom’s officials “had no policy to support [his] state of exile or to get [a] resistance movement established”.

“I have not chosen Cambodia as a place of exile just as a transit [location] to different countries,” Jakrapob said.Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Kuoy Kuong reiterated yesterday that authorities had no evidence of any local activities in support of the “red shirts” – those who back ousted Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.Jakrapob, a former spokesman for Yingluck’s brother and former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was himself ousted in a 2006 coup, has been in and out of Cambodia since 2009, fleeing charges of instigating violence and insulting the Thai monarch. The latter charge can carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

Last week, Thailand’s junta, the National Council for Peace and Order, called on all those accused of insulting the king, including Jakrapob, to turn themselves in by Monday or face harsher penalties. In the wake of the Thai army’s seizure of power last month, the military junta declared it would track down Jakrapob, who has declared on multiple occasions his intention to form a government in exile.
If he does ultimately run his operation from Cambodia, he may not have much to fear from the local government.According to political analyst Peter Tan Keo, if an organisation takes root in Cambodia, political dissidents like Jakrapob will probably be fine as long as internal business affairs remain normal and “pressure to curtail a resistance movement” isn’t spearheaded by ASEAN leaders.
“Mr. Hun Sen’s government has a tradition of leaning towards Thaksin, favoring the ‘red shirts,’ and as such the pro-Royalist military junta may lack sufficient political capital to get Cambodia to sway in their favor,” Keo wrote in an email.

Poachers kill beloved Kenyan elephant known for giant tusks

 

Poachers killed one of Kenya's most beloved elephants -- a behemoth animal with tusks so large, they touched the ground.Satao was shot with poisoned arrows in the sprawling Tsavo National Park in the country's southeast.Wildlife officials found his carcass with two massive holes where his tusks once stood. His face was so badly mutilated, authorities used other ways to identify him, including his ears and the pattern of mud caked on his body."Satao is dead, killed by an ivory poacher's poisoned arrow to feed the seemingly insatiable demand for ivory in far off countries. A great life lost so that someone far away can have a trinket on their mantlepiece," Tsavo Trust said in statement late Friday. "Rest in peace, old friend, you will be missed."

Satao was about 45 years old, and a hit among visitors at the national park, where understaffed conservationists monitored him regularly to protect him from poachers.

"When he was alive, his enormous tusks were easily identifiable, even from the air," said Tsavo Trust, a non-profit that protects wildlife.Though he mostly roamed within a limited part of the park, he recently started venturing to an area considered a hotbed of poaching activity.

The area he moved to in search of fresh water is hard to access due to its thick vegetation and scarce roads."With today's mounting poaching pressures and anti-poaching resources stretched to the limit, it proved impossible to prevent the poachers getting through the net," Tsavo Trust said.

His carcass was found earlier this month, but authorities verified his identity Friday.

"We are left with no choice but to acknowledge that the great Satao is no more," the trust said in a statement.

South Africa marks worst year in rhino killings

Satao is a victim of an illegal ivory trade that has doubled worldwide since 2007, with the United States among the top markets for illegally acquired tusks because of unregulated ways of purchasing ivory, including the Internet and auctions. China is the largest market, and other Asian nations such as Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam also drive demand.Conservation groups say the recent surge in the illicit ivory trade has resulted in the killing of 30,000 African elephants annually in recent years. The tusks sell for thousands of dollars, making it a lucrative trade and endangering already fragile populations in Africa."The surge in the killing of elephants in Africa and the illegal taking of other listed species globally threatens not only wildlife populations but the livelihoods of millions who depend on tourism for a living," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. environment program.Armed groups are capitalizing on the increasing value of ivory by killing elephants and trading their tusks for arms and ammunition.