Tuesday, 15 September 2009

Officials of the Opposition Parties and of the Ruling Party Will Discus Mutual Tolerance in Front of Diplomats – Monday, 14.9.2009

Posted on 15 September 2009.
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 630

“About 200 Khmer politicians from the five parties that have seats in the National Assembly, government officials, many ambassadors in Phnom Penh, and also civil society representatives will meet at the National Assembly on Tuesday, 15 September 2009, for a serious discussion about democracy in Cambodia.

“This workshop is organized by the secretariat of the National Assembly with support from UNDP, with the assistance plan for legislative organization, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and Inter-Parliamentary Union.

“During the one day workshop, there are many topics about the process of democracy in Cambodia on the agenda that will be discussed between national and international politicians and also diplomats. In addition to many representatives from embassies in Cambodia, the Philippino Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr., and the Malaysian parliamentarian, Honorable Fuziah binti Salleh, will also attend this workshop.

Note:
The contributions of Senator Pimentel to the Inter-Parliamentary Union Regional Seminar on the Role of Parliaments in Promoting Peaceful and Sustainable Societies in South-East Asia, held on 9 and 10 March 2009, also in Phnom Penh, are referenced here for further information:

A Powerpoint File of 4.68 MB can be downloaded at this site.

A Powerpoint File of 4.81 MB can be downloaded at this site.

“The topics to be raised for discussion are about democracy, political tolerance, and the democratic process in Cambodia. This workshop will be held while the immunity of two Khmer parliamentarians from the Sam Rainsy Party, of Ms. Mu Sochua and of Mr. Ho Vann, has been suspended by the National Assembly, in order the open way for courts to indict them according to the law on defamation, called for by government officials.

“Therefore parliamentarians from the Sam Rainsy Party are considering whether to participate in this workshop or not, or whether it is organized allowing attendants only to listen to explanations especially from Mr. Om Yentieng who administers human rights affairs for the government.

“The Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian, Mr. Son Chhay, told Khmer Machas Srok at the party headquarters in Phnom Penh in the morning of 12 September 2009 that now, there have been many issues. He said that this workshop is really important to discuss about democracy in Cambodia and to revise and check the implementation of democratic principles in Cambodia.

“Mr. Son Chhay added, ‘For this workshop, there seems to be an agreement to allow the ruling party and the opposition parties to raise their points about the implementation of democratic principles in the country, and to allow expressions of the opinions and views of politicians with experience in the region.’

“Mr. Son Chhay went on to say that the Philippino politician, Mr. Aquilino Q. Pimentel, well-known for fighting against the dictatorship of Mr. Marcos, will also attend the workshop, and he will speak about democracy in the Philippines.

“Mr. Son Chhay continued to say that the Sam Rainsy Party thought that there must be the possibility for the expression of opinion during the workshop, because in Cambodia, the opposition parties are refused the right to do so as they do not have certain roles in the National Assembly, which is controlled by the ruling party alone. Therefore, the Sam Rainsy Party wants to mention those issues during the workshop, but this is opposed by the leaders of the National Assembly. This makes it difficult for Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarians to decide to attend.

“The workshop, planned to be held tomorrow, will raise questions related to the relations between the ruling party and the opposition parties. Mr. Son Chhay said, “The Sam Rainy Party always wants democratic relations, and we have never wanted to consider any party as our enemy – besides dictatorship and communism.’

“Mr. Son Chhay said that the Sam Rainy Party wants to get explanations from diplomats for the ruling party, to understand democracy and to respect the role of opposition parties.

“The Human Rights Party parliamentarian, Mr. Ou Chanrith, told Khmer Machas Srok by phone that he will attend this workshop, because there will be discussions about good topics like political tolerance.

“A parliamentarian and high ranking official of the Cambodian People’s Party, Mr. Cheam Yeap, could not be reached for comment yesterday, as no one accepted calls on the phone.

“The resident of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association, Mr. Rong Chhun, does not support the idea that there is a special need for political tolerance, because Cambodia has laws. He said, ‘In fact, a country that has laws does not need to have discussions about political tolerance. Those in power have to respect the laws according to the Constitution, the election law, and they have to respect human rights, as we – Cambodia – had acceded to the United Nations.’ Also, he appealed for equal respect for the laws of Cambodia, both by normal citizens in general, and also by powerful people, but they should also not use their power to force weaker people to apologize.”
Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #490, 13-15.9.2009
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Monday, 14 September 2009

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