LIBRARY

2 March 2011

We, the undersigned civil society organizations, commend the Supreme Court's decision today to release Thach Saveth, who was wrongly convicted of murdering union leader Ros Sovannareth in 2004.

The Supreme Court overturned Thach Saveth's conviction and ordered him released on bail pending a reinvestigation of the case. Thach Saveth was originally convicted in February 2005 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. His conviction was then upheld by the appeal court in February 2009.

16 February 2011

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) condemns the ongoing censorship of the Internet in Cambodia, which has targeted news and opinion sites critical of the government.

"Until now, Cambodia's Internet environment had been noticeably freer than in neighboring countries," said LICADHO President Pung Chhiv Kek. "More importantly, the Internet was the only audio or visual media not fully controlled by the government. The censoring of controversial Web sites marks a significant milestone in the march toward a more oppressive media environment."

The ongoing disruption of certain Web sites began for some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) on January 19, 2011, with the blockage of the controversial Web site KI-Media (and initiall all blogs hosted by the domain Blogspot). The problem affected ISPs Ezecom, Metfone, WiCAM and possibly others.

27 January 2011

We, the undersigned members of civil society, deeply regret the conviction on defamation charges of community representative Reach Seima and ADHOC staff member Sam Chankea, following their work to help the victims of a land-grab in Kampong Chhnang province. The verdict is a setback for freedom of expression, and represents yet another instance where the Cambodian judiciary has been misused to punish a human rights defender who dared to
publicly demand justice for victims of human rights abuses.

Sam Chankea, ADHOC's Kampong Chhnang provincial coordinator, was convicted and sentenced by the court on January 25, 2011. The court ordered him to pay a 1 million riel fine and an additional 3 million riel in compensation to the plaintiff, the K.D.C. International Company. Last week, the same provincial court also sentenced community representative Reach Seima, who was a victim of land grabbing by the same company. He was also convicted of defamation and sentenced to pay a 2 million riel of fine and an additional 8 million riel of compensation. He faces 6 months in prison if he cannot pay.

20 December 2010

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) condemns the groundless conviction of United Nations' World Food Program national staff Seng Kunnaka by the Phnom Penh court on Sunday morning, December 20, 2010.

Seng Kunnaka was arrested on Friday before noon by the Russei Keo district police. The arrest occured after Kunnaka printed and shared material found on the website ki-media, an online blog dedicated to aggregating news articles and opinions on Cambodia including material critical of its government.

20 December 2010

Cambodia took a step backwards on freedom of expression issues in 2010, and is poised to continue the trend in 2011, according to a new report from LICADHO.

The report, "Freedom of Expression in Cambodia: The Illusion of Democracy" documents nearly 50 cases in which the government violated individuals' expressive freedoms during 2010. The incidents, taken together, illustrate a disturbing trend: Authorities are growing increasingly bold in their campaign to silence those who speak out against the political and economic elite. As a result, Cambodians are being excluded from participating in their own democracy.

10 December 2010

More than 20,000 Cambodians from communities and other civil society groups around the country, including trade unionists, students, farmers, fishermen, musicians, youths, entertainment workers, tuk tuk drivers, motorcycle drivers and NGO workers, will celebrate International Human Rights Day (IHRD) in their communities this year.

These celebrations are tied together with the common theme "We All Need Justice and Sustainable Livelihood!" and a common symbol ‐ the blue Kramar to represent the important role of human rights defenders in Cambodia.

Initiatives from civil society groups will mark the achievements made in human rights in Cambodia, but also focus on critical issues still facing the country's citizens - including exploitation of land and natural resources; restrictions to the freedoms of expression, association and assembly; and violations of labor rights.

9 December 2010

In summer 2010, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay provoked strong condemnation from the Cambodian government when she criticized the judiciary's and ling of cases involving opposition politicians Mu Sochua and Sam Rainsy.

As of Dec. 10, 2010, the same criticism could make her a criminal in Cambodia.

Under Article 523 of the Penal Code, which comes into effect tomorrow, any person who criticizes a "judicial act or decision" aiming to "endanger Cambodian institutions" can be sentenced to up to six months imprisonment and 1 million riel fine.

The provision is one among several problematic provisions highlighted by LICADHO in a brief analysis of new penal code sections which may potentially affect freedom of expression in Cambodia. The nalysis is being released to mark the official enactment of the code, which coincidentally falls on International Human Rights Day.

28 October 2010

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) condemns the authorities’ brutal response to peaceful protesters who demonstrated during the visit of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The incident took place during a protest in front of the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital this morning, October 28, 2010, where a group of fifty protesters gathered to seek intervention by the UN Secretary-General into the ongoing Boeung Kak land grab in Phnom Penh by Shukaku Company, owned by a ruling party senator.

Around 10:15AM, as the UN Secretary-General was visiting the Hospital with government officials, a mixed group of armed anti-riot police and administrative police officers launched a violent assault on standing protesters, pushing people to the ground, beating some with walkie-talkies and shocking others with electric batons.

21 September 2010

We, the undersigned organizations, are deeply disappointed with the government’s actions to intimidate and threaten workers and union members who have joined the four-day-garment strike from September 13-16, 2010.

The government’s response to this entirely legal - and long-declared - strike has included attacks on protesters, legal threats against organizers, and the court-sponsored retaliation against union members. This must stop immediately if the two sides are to reach an agreement during upcoming talks on September 27.

Thousands of workers from the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Unions (C-CAWDU), the National Independent Federation of Textile Unions of Cambodia (NIFTUC) and 13 other unions took part in a peaceful strike to demand an increase in the current wage to meet minimum living standards.

2 September 2010

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) condemns the conviction on disinformation charges of LICADHO employee Mr. Leang Sokchouen. This politically-motivated decision has no basis in fact or law, and underscores the dire state of Cambodia’s judiciary. The disproportionate two-year prison sentence also sends a disturbing message to members of Cambodian civil society.

Sokchouen was accused of distributing anti-government fliers in Takeo Province on January 4, 2010. Sokchouen was a longtime acquaintance of co-defendant Tach Khong Phoung, but consistently testified that he had no knowledge on the flier incident. The so-called evidence provided by the police against Sokchouen consisted of a simple list of phone numbers claiming Sokchouen and Tach Khong Phoung had called each other.

2 September 2010

In June 2009, Khmer Machas Srok newspaper editor-in-chief Hang Chakra was accused of creating political instability and charged with disinformation after publishing articles about alleged corruption in the government. At a preliminary hearing, the court pressured Chakra to reveal his sources inside the government. He refused, explaining that the Press Law of 1995 guaranteed the protection of his sources.

"You are the court," he told the judge, "and you have to uphold the law."

On June 26, Chakra was tried in absentia, convicted and sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of nine million riel (USD $2,250).

The case of Hang Chakra was perhaps the most publicized threat to Cambodia's human rights defenders (HDRs) in 2008 and 2009. But it was by no means the only one. Chakra's case was one among 66 serious abuses against HRDs investigated and documented by The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO). These cases are featured in LICADHO's latest report, "Attacks & Threats Against Human Rights Defenders in Cambodia January 1, 2008- December 31, 2009," which will be released on September 1, 2010.

8 August 2010

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) strongly condemns the violent dispersal and forced removal of about fourty-five villagers from Phnom Penh by the municipal and district police, and security guards. The villagers had peacefully assembled at a distance of a hundred meters from Prime Minister Hun Sen’s villa in central Phnom Penh earlier this morning.

The group of villagers, composed of men, women, and children, including babies, had reached the capital either one or two days earlier. The trip was organized to raise awareness about a longstanding land dispute between the villagers and local authorities, including members of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. This dispute involves over 400 families in the Doun Ba commune, Koas Krolar district, in Battambang.

25 July 2010

We, the undersigned organizations, would like to salute the courage and determination of union members from the Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC) and Cambodian National Confederation (CNC) who took part in a peaceful rally in front of the National Assembly on the morning of July 25, 2010, despite initial restrictions by Phnom Penh authorities. Between 3,500 and 4,500 union members gathered to demand a minimum wage increase that would meet minimum standards of living.

We also welcome the late change of mind by the Phnom Penh police this morning to tolerate this peaceful assembly of workers.

16 June 2010

“When I was putting the soil into the mixing machine, the soil was stuck, so I tried to push it in, suddenly the machine caught my arm inside. After the incident, I returned to hometown to live with my single father and three younger brothers. I need to look after all of them because my father is mentally weak. I am so hopeless and my dreams are also destroyed, as I am disabled and uneducated. I don’t know what I can do besides tending cows every day. I left school when I was in grade 1 before I went to work in the brick factory.”

A 16-year-old boy who lost his left arm while he was working in a brick factory.

LICADHO and World Vision Cambodia will mark World Day Against Child Labour on June 12, 2010, by organizing a street march and local concert in Sangke District, Battambang. The event aims to sensitize the public on the issues of child labour, particularly on child labour in brick factories. The event will take place between 3 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

1 June 2010

To mark International Children’s Day this year, LICADHO is promoting the theme of “A community without child trafficking” in Kien Svay district, Kandal province, to promote children’s rights as well as raise awareness of child trafficking and the worst forms of child labor. The program will run from 7.30 am until 11am and will provide children with an opportunity to participate in singing, games, quizzes and awards. Secondary school students, community workers, local and vulnerable children, and the general public are encouraged to attend. Guests at the event include the Kien Svay district deputy-governor, Korky commune chief and LICADHO’s President, Dr. Pung Chhiv Kek.

25 March 2010

We, the undersigned civil society organizations, condemn the Kompong Speu Provincial Court’s decision yesterday to arrest and detain two community representatives involved in the ongoing Omlaing Commune land dispute. The bogus charges against the two community representatives constitute yet another instance of Cambodia’s rich and powerful using the judicial system as a tool of enrichment and weapon of intimidation. We also condemn the response of mixed police forces to the villagers who came to the provincial court to show their support.

Omlaing Commune Council member You Thou and community leader Khem Vuthy were arrested on charges that they incited villagers to burn two temporary shelters used by construction workers belonging to Ly Yong Phat’s Phnom Penh Sugar Company. The two representatives also stand accused of colluding to set the structures on fire.

11 March 2010

Although the Coalition of Cambodian Civil Society Organizations (hereafter “the Coalition”),comprised of more than 200 local NGOs and Associations, only received a copy of the current Draft of the Anti-Corruption Law “hereafter “the Draft” at the last minute, the Coalition have made a concerted effort to provide several key comments on the Draft in its previous joint statement issued on March 09, 2010 on the eve of the National Assembly Session convened to debate the Law.

The joint and several efforts of the Coalition are aimed at ensuring that the proposed law is good and that it is able to adequately serve Cambodian society and the people well into the new decade through various radio talk shows, press conferences, and the submission of a letter attached to our previous joint statement, requested that the parliamentary debate and adoption of the draft law be deferred until a later date to allow for more time and scope for public input into the discussion now before the National Assembly.

5 March 2010

We the named organisations, express our deepest concern at the prevention by Dangkar district police of a demonstration by villagers against the alleged seizure of their farmland, the arrest and reported blackmail of villagers who attempted to take part in the demonstration and the deletion of photographs taken by human rights monitors from the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Organisation (ADHOC) and the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO).

The attempted demonstration in question was set against the all too familiar backdrop of a land dispute. On 1 March 2010, villagers from Proka Village in Dangkor District who are involved in a land dispute with In Samon, the deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, attempted to hold a demonstration outside the home of Prime Minister Hun Sen in Takhmao.

27 January 2010

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) calls for an immediate end to the illegal land-clearing and military violence against families in Preah Sihanouk's Prey Nob district. The disputed land is claimed by Chinese-owned Yi Chea Company, a resort company which has enlisted the help of the Cambodian military's Brigade 31 to forcibly clear the land.

The dispute began in early 2009, when Yi Chea Company started clearing a 3,300-hectare land concession within Ream National Park given by the government. But the concession overlapped with the land of 116 families from Ream and Thma Thom villages.

9 December 2009

More than 10,000 Cambodians from communities around the country, including trade unionists,students, farmers, fishermen, musicians, youths, tuk tuk drivers, motorcycle drivers and NGO workers, will celebrate International Human Rights Day (IHRD) in their communities this year.

These celebrations are tied together with the common theme "We All Need Freedom of Expression and Justice!" and a common symbol - the blue Kramar to represent the important role of human rights defenders in Cambodia.

The community initiatives will mark the achievements made in human rights in Cambodia, but also focus on critical issues still facing the country's citizens - including exploitation of land and natural resources; restrictions to the freedoms of expression, association and assembly; and violations of labor rights.