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CAMBODIA: PERSECUTIONS IN CAMBODIA AND VIOLATIONS OF THE COOPERATION AGREEMENTS BETWEEN UE AND CAMBODIA ARE GETTING WORSE. MARCO PANNELLA AND EMMA BONINO TABLE A PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION AT THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO CALL FOR A STRONG EUROPEAN INTERVENTION
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Bruxelles, November 23, 2005 - Marco Pannella and Emma Bonino, Radical Members of the European Parliament, tabled today a Parliamentary at the European Parliament question on the recent crackdowns on the opposition and on the respect of human rights by the Cambodian Government, which represent a clear violation of the cooperation agreement between the European Union and Cambodia.
In particular, Pannella and Bonino called on the European Commission to denounce to the EU-Cambodia Joint Committee the repeated and continuous violations by the Cambodian authorities of the principles of fair trial and the rule of law for the members of the Sam Rainsy Party, the only opposition party in Cambodia, Trade Union leaders and the remaining independent journalists. Sam Rainsy, the leader of the Cambodian party that carries his name, has been forced in exile in France for several months now after an arrest warrant against him was issued by a Cambodian Court, for defamation against the Prime Minister Hun Sen. In addition to this, the Cambodian Government has also repeatedly violated the international obligations of the UN refugee convention with the forced repatriation to Vietnam of Ethnic Montagnard asylum seekers.
Below is the text of the Parliamentary question.
Persecution in Cambodia and violation of the cooperation agreements between UE and Cambodia are getting worse.
- On 11 October, Mam Sonando, owner and manager of the only independent Cambodian radio station, Radio Behive 105, was arrested and detained, under a court order issued by the Phnom Penh attorney, on charges of criminal libel filed by Prime Minister Hun Sen and other government officials; he was arrested after an interview with Sean Pengse, an expert on the issue of borders between Cambodia and Vietnam;
- On 15 October, the trade unionist leader, Rong Chhun, was arrested for having criticized the same treaty border and is still detained (he was denied bail) and waiting to be judged;
- On 20 October, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for human rights in Cambodia, Peter Leuprecht, stated that "The arrests and detention of Mam Sonando and Rong Chhun in Prey Sar prison are highly irregular, and illustrate a deeply worrying trend".
- Since 9 August, the Sam Rainsy Party MP Cheam Channy is detained and has been sentenced to 7 years of prison, in the context of a criminalization campaign launched by the Prime Minister Hun Sen against the opposition, which is charged of "libelling" the government, and the liberal leader Sam Rainsy, to avoid the arrest for the same defamation charge, has been forced to go into exile to France where he has now been living for a few months.
- Although some Western embassies in Cambodia, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Transnational Radical Party have denounced, in vain as of now, to highlight these and other abuses, such as the forced refoulement of Montagnard refugees to Vietnam, in a context of rooted corruption, Hun Sen overtly continues to disrespect international agreements concerning democracy and human rights ratified by Cambodia, despite the fact that his country largely depends on financial aid provided by European and democratic countries.
In the light of the above information, would the Commission answer the following questions?
- would the Commission continue to omit to denounce the cooperation agreement signed with Cambodia despite its systematic and increasingly serious violation by the Phnom Penh government; and if such violation exist doesn’t the Commission recognize that also the EU legality as well as the international and communitarian law would be violated?
- is the Commission willing to demand the immediate cessation of persecutions against all democratic Cambodians and in particular against the liberal leader Sam Rainsy, his MPs and fellow members?
In particular, Pannella and Bonino called on the European Commission to denounce to the EU-Cambodia Joint Committee the repeated and continuous violations by the Cambodian authorities of the principles of fair trial and the rule of law for the members of the Sam Rainsy Party, the only opposition party in Cambodia, Trade Union leaders and the remaining independent journalists. Sam Rainsy, the leader of the Cambodian party that carries his name, has been forced in exile in France for several months now after an arrest warrant against him was issued by a Cambodian Court, for defamation against the Prime Minister Hun Sen. In addition to this, the Cambodian Government has also repeatedly violated the international obligations of the UN refugee convention with the forced repatriation to Vietnam of Ethnic Montagnard asylum seekers.
Below is the text of the Parliamentary question.
Persecution in Cambodia and violation of the cooperation agreements between UE and Cambodia are getting worse.
- On 11 October, Mam Sonando, owner and manager of the only independent Cambodian radio station, Radio Behive 105, was arrested and detained, under a court order issued by the Phnom Penh attorney, on charges of criminal libel filed by Prime Minister Hun Sen and other government officials; he was arrested after an interview with Sean Pengse, an expert on the issue of borders between Cambodia and Vietnam;
- On 15 October, the trade unionist leader, Rong Chhun, was arrested for having criticized the same treaty border and is still detained (he was denied bail) and waiting to be judged;
- On 20 October, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for human rights in Cambodia, Peter Leuprecht, stated that "The arrests and detention of Mam Sonando and Rong Chhun in Prey Sar prison are highly irregular, and illustrate a deeply worrying trend".
- Since 9 August, the Sam Rainsy Party MP Cheam Channy is detained and has been sentenced to 7 years of prison, in the context of a criminalization campaign launched by the Prime Minister Hun Sen against the opposition, which is charged of "libelling" the government, and the liberal leader Sam Rainsy, to avoid the arrest for the same defamation charge, has been forced to go into exile to France where he has now been living for a few months.
- Although some Western embassies in Cambodia, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Transnational Radical Party have denounced, in vain as of now, to highlight these and other abuses, such as the forced refoulement of Montagnard refugees to Vietnam, in a context of rooted corruption, Hun Sen overtly continues to disrespect international agreements concerning democracy and human rights ratified by Cambodia, despite the fact that his country largely depends on financial aid provided by European and democratic countries.
In the light of the above information, would the Commission answer the following questions?
- would the Commission continue to omit to denounce the cooperation agreement signed with Cambodia despite its systematic and increasingly serious violation by the Phnom Penh government; and if such violation exist doesn’t the Commission recognize that also the EU legality as well as the international and communitarian law would be violated?
- is the Commission willing to demand the immediate cessation of persecutions against all democratic Cambodians and in particular against the liberal leader Sam Rainsy, his MPs and fellow members?
