Request of Civil Party Theary Seng to be on Co-Prosecutors' Witness List

Theary Seng (pointing at a mass grave, possibly where her mom was killed in 1978) speaking with man who was there at Boeung Rai (the heart of the East Zone) when she was a prisoner there; DC-Cam estimated that 30,000 to be killed here. Mrs. Andrea Mann (the German Ambassador's real boss!), Helen & Wally Boelkins, Daravuth Seng, village children, filmmaker Marc Eberle (Svay Rieng, 18 Jan. 2010).

* I forgot to include in my original submission this additional information, but just now informed the UN Co-Prosecutor that I am one of only 3 civil parties as stated in the Closing Order who could testify on Wat Tlork Security Center and the only one to its nexus, Boeung Rai Security Center, and also as part of the Phase III East Zone Movement. Moreover, as the person who started and shaped the victim-civil party movement since the ECCC came into operation in mid-2006, the representative of the only class (Civil Parties of Orphans Class), and the articulate public voice of victims - I'd make a strong and natural witness for the prosecution. Of course, I will make a similar request via the civil party co-lead lawyers, but as I described earlier, the request is stronger through the co-prosecutors and the civil party lawyers lack adequate resources and coordination, with the newly-hired UN co-lead lawyer yet to arrive into Cambodia.

The Co-Prosecutors, as my (victims') representatives, have the duty to defend and advocate for the rights and benefits of victims effectively and comprehensively, especially in light of my long engagement and public role in the matter.


- Theary Seng, 19 Jan. 2011

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On a more consistent basis, I will be writing a column to be published on KI-Media, my personal website www.thearyseng.com and other outlets on the Extraordinary Chambers (ECCC) in my capacity not only as a US-trained lawyer and civil society leader engaging Cambodians on the work of justice, peace and reconciliation in light of the ECCC, but more importantly as a Civil Party in Case 002 against the Senior Khmer Rouge leaders (the heart of the Extraordinary Chambers), the first victim to be recognized as such by and to testify in the ECCC.

There is an important deadline coming up for the Co-Prosecutors, 15 days after the final decision on the Closing Order (hence, end of this month of Jan. 31) to submit their list of witnesses to testify on the substantive facts and laws (crimes) against the senior Khmer Rouge leaders as set out in the Case 002 Closing Order to the Trial Chamber.

It it imperative that many voices of the 2,000+ accepted civil parties be given this role to testify as witnesses, as this is now the only means for us to have a direct voice in the criminal proceeding. This, however, requires that the names of the civil parties and their reasons as related to the crimes in the Closing Order be established and forwarded to the ECCC Trial Chamber for deliberation and acceptance. The strongest case is if the civil party's name is included in the list of witnesses of the Co-Prosecutors, due 12-13 days from now.

But if not in the list of the Co-Prosecutors, the civil party has a second chance if it is included in the list of witnesses to be submitted by the Civil Party Co-Lead Lawyers, Mr. ANG Pich and Ms. Elisabeth SIMONNEAU FORT, the deadline being mid-February 2011, 15 days after the deadline of the Co-Prosecutors.

It is highly questionable if the civil parties' lawyers -- both Khmer and foreign -- are able and capable to handle and represent effectively 2,000+ clients and still make the deadline of mid-February 2011.

First, the UN French Co-Lead Lawyer has yet to arrive in Cambodia and start her position. She is expected to arrive the end of January 2011 which will then give her 15 days to settle into a new home, new country, master the learning curve of general knowledge of Cambodia, then the specific history and rules of the ECCC, then the very specific nature of civil parties representation and details of 2,000+ clients. There is a rumor that she only speaks French and not Khmer or English. I wish her luck!

True, the Co-Lead Lawyers work in cooperation with a coterie of both Khmer and foreign civil party lawyers, approx. 40. The Khmer lawyers are limited to less than 10 persons; the foreign lawyers are either not based in Cambodia tending to their full-time positions in their respective country or if based in Cambodia full-time, it is questionable whether they "get" it for various reasons, e.g. language barriers, lack of commitment/seriousness/experience.

To address the insurmountable problems, it is suggested that the names of the civil parties to be forwarded to the Trial Chamber via the Co-Lead Lawyers be based on a quota system: for example, [ 5 ] names of civil parties from each of the 11 civil party lawyer teams.

This is the most absurd suggestion for obvious reasons, the main ones being:

One, witnesses should be determined based on their ability to testify on a substantive point of fact or law of the Closing Order, not based a random lottery picking to satisfy the fairness/unfairness of lawyers. The interests of the law and of the civil parties (and not the lawyers!) should be paramount.

Two, each team of civil party lawyers has clients ranging from 1 individual to 700+ individuals.

Three, it is a lazy, fatalistic method of handling a challenge without even attempting to tackle the problem.

By way of example, I am here publishing an excerpt of only my personal request and reasons to the Co-Prosecutors to be in their list of witnesses to the Trial Chamber with the hope that other civil parties will follow my lead in proactively engaging and assisting this process with their lawyers.

- Theary C. SENG, Civil Party and representative of Civil Parties of Orphans Class (18 Jan. 2011, Phnom Penh).

============

I. Introduction

1. I, Theary C. SENG in my personal capacity as the first applicant and first-recognized Civil Party by the Extraordinary Chambers (“ECCC”) (see http://www.thearyseng.com/eccc-civil-party, in particular http://www.eccc.gov.kh/english/cabinet/courtDoc/176/C22_I_62_EN.pdf) am requesting to have my name be included in the List of Witnesses of the Co-Prosecutors to be submitted to the ECCC Trial Chamber to testify in the criminal proceeding against the senior Khmer Rouge leaders—Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and his wife Ieng Thirith—of Case 002 for the reasons delineated below.

2. I, Theary C. SENG in my capacity as founder and president of the Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia (“Victims Association”), the first Cambodia-based victim association to be registered with the Ministry of Interior and the first to be accepted by the ECCC Victims Support Section, and in my capacity as the Representative of the Civil Parties of Orphans Class, a sub-group of the Victims Association whose inception preceded even the formal formation of the Victims Association, am requesting to have 12 members of the Orphans Class who are ECCC-recognized Civil Parties, listed below and in the attached Summary Annex, also be included in the List of Witnesses of the Co-Prosecutors for the reasons delineated below. Most members of the Civil Parties of Orphans listed me in their civil party application as their Representative.

3. In both capacities, herein, the “Applicant”.

4. It should be noted that the Applicant is nationally and internationally known for her tireless efforts to engage the Cambodian population in-country and in the diasporas on victims participation as (i) witness, (ii) complainant, or the novel (iii) civil party. See http://www.thearyseng.com/peace-builder, in particular http://thearyseng.com/peace-builder/42/54 and http://thearyseng.com/victims-association. She is the subject of countless documentary films, many mentioning her roles as the first civil party and representative of the Civil Parties of Orphans Class, notably Facing Genocide (Story Production, Sweden), Judging Genocide (ABC Australia, CNN World Untold Stories), and another in-production by German filmmaker Marc Eberle with thousands of hours of footage include outreach efforts by the Applicant spanning the last 3 years.

II. Witness List

Witness No. 1 – Ms. Theary C. SENG

5. Theary C. SENG is a child victim of forced Movement of the Population from Phnom Penh – Phase I (Closing Order: Part One VIII.A. para. 221-261), during which she suffered inter alia the “disappearance”/murder of her father KAO Im, a high-ranking military commander of the Lon Nol regime; Movement of the Population from the East Zone – Phase III (Closing Order: Part One VIII.A. para. 283-294), during which she suffered inter alia illegal arrest and illegal detention at Wat Tlork Security Center (Closing Order: Part One VIII.C. para. 664-666) later transferred to Boeung Rai Security Center (Closing Order VIII.C. para. 665) where she underwent Compulsory Labor as a child, witnessed the murder of a mentally insane woman and suffered the death of her mother and other prisoners, both security centers within the heart of the notorious East Zone during the height of the purges.

6. Theary C. SENG, as a child from age 4–8, is a WITNESS to CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY “whereby ranking officers and officials of the Khmer Republic (as well as their subordinates and family members) were targeted because they were considered likely to be hostile to the CPK”

- Legal elements of MURDER of father, mother, mentally insane woman, and other prisoners

· Wat Tlork and Boeung Rai Security Centers in the East Zone

o Para. 1376. “As regards security centers, for the entire period of the regime, the personnel of these centers, both directly and indirectly, caused the death of a large number of detainees. In most instances, the prisoners were killed deliberately through a variety of means, including summary execution in or near the security centers. Moreover, many prisoners died as a result of torture and ill-treatment.”

o Murder of Mother SENG Chen Eat.

o Murder of mentally insane woman.

o Murders of other prisoners. The Documentation Center of Cambodia estimated that 30,000 lives were lost in Boeung Rai Security Center.

· Phase I Movement

o Murder of Father KAO Im

- Legal elements of EXTERMINATION (para. 1381)

· Wat Tlork and Boeung Rai Security Centers in the East Zone

o Para. 1387. Inhuman conditions. As a child, Theary Seng was forced to pick dried animal manures among the countless mass graves.

o Every night, the prison guards shackled the ankles of prisoners, including her juvenile brothers.

· Phase I Movement – during the exodus out of Phnom Penh and during the temporary stay at Wat Champa pagoda, sea of human suffering (starvation, lack of medical treatment, shelter etc.)

- Legal elements of ENSLAVEMENT (para. 1391)

· Wat Tlork and Boeung Rai Security Centers

o Para. 1392. “As regards the actus reus, the personnel of these cooperatives, worksites and security centers deliberately exercised total control and all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership over of the persons placed there, without them being given any real right to agree.”

o Para. 1394. “Moreover, in all the places mentioned above, including security centers, the victims were forced to perform work without their consent, unpaid and without the opportunity to reap the direct benefits thereof. Work venues, duration and schedules were imposed. The victims could not refuse to perform any work assigned to them. The work, coupled with the constraints described above, stripped them of their free will, and amounts to enslavement.”

- Legal elements of IMPRISONMENT (para. 1402)

· Wat Tlork and Boeung Rai Security Centers

o Para. 1403. “As regards the actus reus, the personnel of these sites intentionally imposed serious, arbitrary deprivation of liberty on the detainees, in violation of legal guarantees.”

o As set out in the “Factual Findings – Joint Criminal Enterprise” section, “the network of security centers replaced the judicial system in order to facilitate detention based on the presumed dangerousness of individuals as perceived by the CPK authorities”, the “dangerousness of individuals” include Theary Seng a child victim only seven years old.

- Legal elements of TORTURE (para. 1408)

· Wat Tlork and Boeung Rai Security Centers

o Para. 1409. “As regards the actus reus, on numerous occasions, CPK cadres through their acts or omissions, deliberately inflicted severe harm and suffering, both physical and mental, during interrogations.” Theary Seng witnessed the torture of a mentally insane woman in the courtyard of one the two Security Prisons where she was detained as a child of 7 years old.

o Para. 1410. “Taking account of all the objective and subjective elements of the case, the treatment to which these people were subjected was so severe that it amounts to torture: the methods used, coupled with the inhumane conditions and the context of terror in the security centers, had very serious physical and psychological effects, and in some cases, resulted in death. Torture was both premeditated and institutionalized as the centerpiece of CPK policy against ‘enemies’”, including that of Theary Seng, a child of seven years old.

· As a child living in the East Zone, Theary Seng was tortured when a Khmer Rouge village authority pierced her right eye and almost blinded her; the scar on her right eye lid is visible to this day.

- Legal elements of POLITICAL PERSECUTION

· Wat Tlork and Boeung Rai Security Centers

o Para. 1417. “The CPK authorities identified several groups as “enemies” based on their real or perceived political beliefs or political opposition to those wielding power within the CPK. Some of these categories of people, such as former ranking civilian and military personnel of the Khmer Republic, were automatically excluded from the common purpose of building socialism. As for junior officials of the former regime, some were arrested immediately after the CPK took power, because of their allegiance to the previous government, and many were executed at security centers… The entire population remaining in towns after the CPK came to power was labeled as ‘new people’ or ‘17 April people’”.

o Para. 1424

· Phase I Movement – Theary Seng as a child of 4 years old was forced with her maternal family members to exit her birth city of Phnom Penh; they were targeted for being a member of the “new people”.

- Legal elements of OTHER INHUMANE ACTS through “Attacks Against Human Dignity”

· Wat Tlork and Boeung Rai Security Centers and Phase 1 Movement.

o Para. 1435. “Regarding the actus reus, by depriving the civilian population of adequate food, shelter, medical assistance, and minimum sanitary conditions, the CPK authorities inflicted on victim serious mental and physical suffering and injury, as well as a serious attack on human dignity of similar gravity to other crimes against humanity.”

- Legal elements of FORCED TRANSFER - Other Inhumane Acts Through Forced Transfer

· Phase I from Phnom Penh and Phase III from East Zone

o Para. 1448. “Considering the facts set out in the sections relating to the three phases of the movement of the population, the material facts of the crime against humanity of other inhumane acts through forced transfer have been established. In particular relating to the movement of the population from the city of Phnom Penh following the entry of CPK troops on 17 April 1975 (phase 1) […], and the movement of the population from the East Zone from late 1977 until late 1978 (phase 3) [for Theary Seng, to Wat Tlork and then Boeung Rai Security Centers] – the places where they lawfully resided without grounds permitted by international law.”

o Para. 1449. “With respect to the actus reus, victims endured great suffering, or serious mental or physical suffering or injury or a serious attack on human dignity of similar gravity to other crimes against humanity.”

- Legal elements to FORCED DISAPPEARANCES – Other Inhumane Acts Through Enforced Disappearances

· Wat Tlork and Boeung Rai Security Centers

o Para. 1470

7. Theary C. SENG, as a child from age 4–8, is a witness to crimes in the Cambodian Penal Code 1956 - charges of MURDER and TORTURE of father KAO Im, mother SENG Chen Eat and torture of Theary Seng (piercing of her eye) and that of mentally insane woman when in prison.

8. Theary C. SENG, in her individual capacity, makes the perfect witness to address the substantive matters delineated above, especially as a child victim and the associated set of rights violated in the crimes and matters abovementioned.

9. Moreover, Theary Seng gives voice and representation to countless million other Cambodian victims by nature of her consistent, persistent work with victims, her very public platform and writings as well as her law training.

10. Theary Seng is the author of Daughter of the Killing Fields (London, 2005), a memoir with particular focus on her experience during the Khmer Rouge years. This memoir will be updated and augmented with additional chapters to be published with Seven Stories Press (New York, late 2011).

Hu's Missing

Chinese rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, the victim of an enforced "disappearance" from February 2009 to March 2010, and again in April 2010. © CHRD

Give China's disappeared a voice at U.S.-China summit

By Phelim Kine
Published in: The Washington Times.
January 17, 2011

"If President Obama can raise just one human rights issue at the summit this week with Chinese President Hu Jintao, he should speak for China's disappeared." - Phelim Kine, Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch.

If President Obama can raise just one human rights issue at the summit this week with Chinese President Hu Jintao, he should speak for China's disappeared.

On Dec. 19, 2009, 20 Uighurs - a Muslim ethnic minority in China who have long suffered from state discrimination and other abuses - were forced onto a Chinese government plane in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, flown back to China and effectively disappeared into official custody. Since then, the only whisper of the fate of the deported Uighurs - who included two infants - was an unconfirmed report in mid-January 2010 that some of them had been sentenced by a Xinjiang court to verdicts that included the death penalty.

The group - which had sought refugee status in Cambodia - had been issued "persons of concern" letters by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees; under international law, those documents should have provided them protection from deportation. The Chinese government insisted that the 20 Uighurs were "criminals" to whom those protections did not apply. The Cambodian government ignored the high likelihood that the Uighurs would face torture, disappearance and/or arbitrary detention upon return to China, and under pressure from Beijing, Cambodia forced the Uighurs to return. Shortly after their plane left, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping touched down for a high-profile state visit to Cambodia, suggesting that Phnom Penh prioritized Beijing's demands over Cambodia's obligations under international law.

In a report released Jan. 11 on the failures of China's first human rights "action plan," Human Rights Watch documented an alarming variety of enforced disappearances in China. Ongoing efforts to locate dozens of Uighur men and boys disappeared by security forces in Urumqi in the wake of the July 2009 protests there have yielded virtually no information as to their status or well-being.

Enforced disappearances are a favorite tool for purging China's petitioners - rural residents seeking legal redress for abuses of power at the local level. Every year in Beijing alone, thousands of petitioners are abducted, detained and subjected to appalling abuses in a network of secret, illegal detention facilities known as "black jails." Despite a recent spate of Chinese state media reports of these abuses, the government has failed to publicly decry such violations or take decisive actions to halt them or punish the perpetrators.

China's high-profile dissidents are also subjected to enforced disappearances. Gao Zhisheng, a lawyer who took on some of China's most controversial causes, including defending miners and religious minorities like the Falun Gong and underground Christians, was the victim of an enforced disappearance in February 2009. Mr. Gao re-emerged in his Beijing apartment in early April 2010 but vanished again days later, apparently back into official custody. Mr. Gao's location, health and circumstances remain unknown.

Rights-respecting governments have made regular inquiries about all of these kinds of cases, only to be told not to "interfere in internal affairs." The deportation of the Uighurs and the recent events in Oslo serve as a stark reminder of the Chinese government's greater willingness to try to use its rising economic power and growing diplomatic heft to exempt itself frominternational human rights standards, no matter how shrill and crude those tactics appear.

Just six days after the Uighurs' deportation, a Beijing court sentenced Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo to an 11-year prison term on spurious "subversion" charges for his role in drafting the online petition Charter '08. That document calls for peaceful political change and rights embodied in China's constitution. As expectations grew that Mr. Liu would win the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, the Chinese government dispatched no less than its deputy foreign minister to Oslo to threaten that honoring Mr. Liu would harm bilateral China-Norway relations. After his selection was announced, the Chinese government vociferously denounced the award. Early last month, it issued explicit warnings to foreign governments not to attend the Dec. 10 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo on the basis that Mr. Liu was a "criminal." While 45 nations ignored that pressure, a total of 19 countries - including China's close allies Pakistan, Russia and Cuba - chose to stay away.

Mr. Obama will meet with the leader of an assertive government ever more willing to use its rising influence to obtain international silence for its abuse of human rights. The onus is on Mr. Obama to express the same support for universal human rights and freedoms as he did on Dec. 10, when he praised Mr. Liu's Nobel Prize victory and urged his immediate release.

Mr. Obama must use the occasion of his summit with the Chinese president to reiterate U.S. government expectations that a rising China must respect universal rights and freedoms rather than undermine them. Failure to do so will only ensure that more innocent Chinese citizens will join those lost 20 Uighurs in the ranks of China's disappeared.

Phelim Kine is an Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch.

Massive Earthquake Hits Southwest Pakistan

Two Pakistani men, left, read verses from the Quran as they gathered with others outside their homes after as an earthquake hit Pakistan, early Wednesday. (Arshad Butt/Associated Press)

JANUARY 18, 2011
By TOM WRIGHT and ZAHID HUSSAIN
Wall Street Journal

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—A 7.2-magnitude earthquake jolted southwestern Pakistan early on Wednesday in a sparsely-populated area near the nation's borders with Iran and Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

There were no immediate reports of large casualties. The quake's epicenter was 30 miles west of Dalbandin, a town in Pakistan's Baluchistan province. Television reports from Quetta, the provincial capital and the most populous city in the area, appeared to show that it had been spared major damage.

Officials in Karen, another town close to the epicenter, told the Associated Press that the town suffered no widespread damage.

Nasir Baluch, a police officer in Karan, told AP that several mud houses collapsed or were damaged in an area outside the town called Mashkil. There was no immediate word on casualties, but the area is sparsely populated, he said.

People came out of their houses in the southern city of Karachi, home to 18 million people, but no major damage was reported.

Karachi resident Mohammad Zubair told AP that he was watching a cricket match on TV when his bed began to shake.

"I jumped out of bed realizing it was an earthquake," the 28-year-old said. "My mom started reciting verses from the Quran, and we rushed outside."

The quake's aftershocks were felt in New Delhi, India's capital, more than 700 miles away, with walls shaking for a few seconds.

Some Chinese state-owned mining companies have operations in the area close to the epicenter of the quake. It was unclear whether they were affected.

An earthquake of similar intensity in Pakistan's Kashmir region killed more than 70,000 people in 2005. The area hit by the quake on Wednesday is known for its seismic activity. The country is also still reeling from last summer's deadly flooding, which killed almost 2,000 people, affected 20 million others, and caused billions of dollars in damages.

The city of Bam in eastern Iran was hit by a temblor in 2003, killing some 25,000 people.

U.S. officials in Washington said they did not have an immediate idea about what aid might be needed to respond to the Pakistani earthquake or what the U.S. could offer.

But as soon as the geological service reported the earthquake on Tuesday, U.S. defense officials began gathering assessments of the damage and whether humanitarian aid might need to be provided.

The earthquake was centered in a critical area for both the U.S. and Pakistan. Baluchistan is a safe haven for the Afghanistan Taliban, whose leaders live in the region's capital, Quetta. American officials for years have pressed, unsuccessfully, for Pakistan officials to move against militants in Baluchistan.

Any natural disaster that distracts the Pakistani army from counter insurgency operations along the western border will be of worry to U.S. officials. The Pakistani military is only now beginning to resume its combat operations after spending months leading recovery efforts after last summer's floods which displaced millions from their homes in western and central Pakistan.

If damage from the earthquake is extensive throughout Baluchistan, much will be riding on the government response. Last year, President Asif Ali Zardari was criticized for the failure of his government to immediately respond to the floods. Almost any natural disaster carries the risk of highlighting the civilian government's inability to provide real services or relief outside of the Pakistan heartland.

Militant groups may also try to mount their own aid efforts. After the floods militant groups opposed to the Pakistani government publicized their relief work in an effort to undercut public support for Mr. Zardari's government.

Still, there remains opportunity in natural disasters. The U.S. response to the Pakistan earthquake in 2005, which killed more than 70,000, was widely praised. The defense department flew thousands of helicopter sorties and the State Department funneled in hundreds of millions in relief aid. The quick response was credited with raising public opinion of America throughout Pakistan, at least temporarily.

—Julian E. Barnes contributed to this article.

Gov't has no plan to shut down KI-Media: So Khun

DAP-News reported in its frontpage that So Khun, the minister of Post and Telecommunication, indicated the Hun Xen's government has no goal and no plan to shut down KI-Media.

Cambodia: Judicial harassment against Mr. Sam Chankea

Suy Sem, the CPP minister of Mining and Energy, and Chea Kheng, his wife who is accused of harassing Sam Chankea

URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY

KHM 001 / 0111 / OBS 002
Judicial Harassment
Cambodia
January 18, 2011

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Cambodia.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed of the judicial harassment faced by Mr. Sam Chankea, Coordinator of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) in Kampong Chhnang, a human rights defender active in land rights issues.

According to the information received, Mr. Sam Chankea will face trial today, January 18, 2011 before the Kg. Chhnang Provincial Court in Cambodia for allegedly defaming the work of KDC International Company, owned by Lauk Chumteav Chea Kheng, wife of Minister of Mining and Energy.

The complaint against Mr. Sam Chankea follows a radio interview broadcast on December 26, 2009 in which he expressed his opinion over a land case conflict opposing dozens of villagers and the KDC International company in Kampong Chhnang province. In this interview Mr. Sam Chankea stated that “what the company has done is an act of violation since the court has yet to rule on the merits of the case. Therefore the company should suspend the activity and await the ruling on the merits of the case”. He was subsequently quoted in Koh Santepheap newspaper on December 30, 2009.

The dispute, which dates back to 2002, is a long-standing land conflict between the above-mentioned company and more than 100 families which have sued the company for having bulldozed their land, damaged their properties, grabbed their land and violated their rights. The proceedings are still on-going.

The Observatory calls for the full respect of fair trial standards and urges the Kampong Chhnang provincial Court to dismiss the case so as to ensure that anyone's right to freedom of expression is adequately and properly upheld.

More generally, the Observatory urges the Cambodian authorities to ensure the protection of human rights defenders who face reprisals as a consequence of the legitimate exercise of their right to freedom of expression.

Actions requested:

Please write to the Cambodian authorities and ask them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Sam Chankea;

ii. Put an end to acts of harassment - including at the judicial level - against him as well as against all human rights defenders in Cambodia;

iii. Conform in any circumstances with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, and in particular :

- Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”,

- Article 6 (b) and (c) which states that “Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, as provided for in human rights and other applicable international instruments, freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms; to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters,

- and Article 12.2 which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”.

iv. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Cambodia.

Addresses:

- Mr. Hun Sen, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia, Fax: +855 23 36 06 66 / 855 23 88 06 24 (c/o Council of Ministers), Email: leewood_phu@nida.gov.kh

- Mr. H.E. Ang Vong Vathna, Minister of Justice, No 240, Sothearos Blvd, Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia, Fax: 023 364119. Email: moj@cambodia.gov.kh

- Mr. Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Ministry of Interior, 275 Norodom Blvd, Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia, Fax: + 855 23 212708. Email: moi@interior.gov.kh

- Mr. Hor Nam Hong, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 161 Preah Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia, Fax: + 855 23 21 61 44 / + 855 23 21 69 39. Email: mfaicasean@bigpond.com.kh

- Ambassador Mr. Sun Suon, Permanent Mission of Cambodia to the United Nations in Geneva, Chemin de Taverney 3, Case postale 213, 1218 Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland, Fax: + 41 22 788 77 74. Email: cambodge@bluewin.ch

Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Cambodia in your respective countries.

***

Paris-Geneva, January 18, 2011

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

- Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

- Tel and fax FIDH: +33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / 01 43 55 18 80

- Tel and fax OMCT: + 41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29

Like husband like wife!

A dumb speech of the first lady Bun Rany Hoon Xen aka Bun Sam Heang

Bun Rany gave a speech on Birth Control today at Prek Dach, Srok Lerk Daek which broadcasted on all TV Channels in Cambodia that;” Hhom nak ot deung trov reu kos te na , nak rean pek deung kom serch nhom.” “ញុំអ្នកអត់ដឹងត្រូវរឺខុសទេ អ្នករៀនច្ើនពេកដឹងកុំសើចញុំអី”

What a shame for a first lady of the country gave such a useless speech! But of course she is better than her husband that she recognized that she is illiterate, ignorant and dumb​​. This is the fate of our country that the educated are terminated, discriminated, unwelcome, and have no or less chance to help and lead the country except those illiterate, traitorous, puppet, and brutal people.

SHE SPEAKS LIKES HER HUSBAND HOON SEN! RUBBISH!

KI-Media blocked in Cambodia

19 January 2011
By Ly Meng Huor
Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by Soy

On Wednesday, Internet users in Cambodia could not access the KI-Media website anymore. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) claimed that the blocking of this website that is critical of the government is an order issued on 18 January by the Ministry of Interior (MoI). However, government officials denied, saying that the Cambodian government has no goal of shutting down or blocking Internet users from accessing KI-Media.

Employees for the EZECOM ISP indicated in the afternoon of 19 January that the MoI told it to block all websites hosted by blogspot.com. KI-Media is also hosted by blogspot, a free webhosting service.

The blocking of blogspot and KI-Media, in particular, received outcries from the public as being a prevention of the freedom of expression and the freedom to receive information. The public indicated that the government should shut down KI-Media alone, if this website is found to be doing something wrong.

Nevertheless, the minister of Information and the minister of Post and Telecommunication denied that the government has a goal of shutting down KI-Media, in spite of the fact that EZECOM and Metfone Internet users could not visit KI-Media or blogspot as of 19 Jan 2011.

General Khieu Sopheak, the spokesman for the ministry of Interior (MoI), declined to comment on the order to block KI-Media.

Khieu Kanharith, government spokesman and minister of Information, said briefly that the government has no plan to block KI-Media.

During a press conference on the results of the 10th ASEAN meeting of Telecommunication and Information ministers held in the afternoon of 19 Jan, So Khun, the minister of Post and Telecommunication, denied that the government shut down KI-Media. He said that the inability to access this website could be due to technical problem.

KI-Media criticized and insulted nonstop the government leaders. Recently, the pro-opposition website KI-Media attached the word traitors to the pictures of the government leaders in regards to the border issue between Cambodia and Vietnam.

The printing of an article from KI-Media on 19 Dec 2010 landed a 6-month jail sentencing on Seng Kunakar, an employee for the World Food Program (WFP).

Srok Kampong Ter Voat - "They are gobbling up the county" - A Poem in Khmer by Khmer Sachak

Clash with the cops during a forced eviction in Kampong S

Interview of Hun Xen by Soy Sopheap - A satire (Cont'd)

Inspiration to fight for freedom

January 19, 2011
By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
PACIFIC DAILY NEWS

"If man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression," the world's nations warned as they proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. "It is essential ... that human rights should be protected by the rule of law."

Tibetan Buddhist leader, the 14th Dalai Lama posited: "Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free," and "it is the inherent right of all beings to yearn for freedom, equality and dignity, and they have an equal right to achieve that."

The concept of equal rights to freedom, equality and dignity was what drew me to study the ideals of America's republicanism when I set foot on U.S. college campus almost 50 years ago: equal rights, equal opportunity, equal treatment.

I continue to be awed by the work of Presidnet Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the self-evident truths, "that all men are created equal ... with certain unalienable rights," and who envisioned an "Empire of Liberty" for America that would uphold republicanism to counter British imperialism. I wanted nothing less for myself, and thought my countrymen should not be denied those truths.

The power of one

Robert F. Kennedy recalled how in history the work of a single person had created great movements of thought and action that swept the world.

Just so, I look for ways to inspire readers to action. A politician from Massachusetts and former president of Harvard University, Edward Everett, wrote, "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."I have written frequently about how it's possible to disintegrate a dictatorship.

I write to impart and share what I know, to encourage and inspire. But, in the final analysis, Andrew Carnegie's words say it all: "You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb it himself."

Perseverance

Last month, my wife and I watched the 2002 award winning film, "Whale Rider," about a 12-year old Maori girl's perseverance and determination to overturn the tradition of the Whangara people that dictated only males can be leaders.

Attempts to find a proper male successor failed. The young girl believed she could be the next leader, yet tradition forbade a woman leader; her grandfather was bound by tradition to pick a male leader.

It's a moving story about a grandfather's unyielding stubbornness and hurt; a grand-daughter's love for him and determination to prove her natural leadership ability; life's realities and change; and faith's miracles.

The movie shows change is possible. In the movie's finale, the young girl was celebrated as their leader by the village people and by her grandfather.

Last year, I wrote a column about a humorous award-winning British animated film "Chicken Run." The chickens on evil Mrs. Tweedy's farm dream of a better life outside of a chicken coop that looks like a World War II prisoner of war camp -- surrounded by barbed wire, patrolled by Mr. Tweedy and his ferocious dogs.

I was fascinated to observe what excited my grandchildren, and other children, as they watched the film: A clever hen named Ginger who, though she ends up again and again in solitary in the coal shed, never stops looking for ways to escape to be free.

I caught myself cheering along with the children -- as the chickens in the movie also cheer -- ringleader Ginger's vow: "We either die free chickens or die trying."

A year later, one of my grandsons, then 10, who sees a struggle to be free as inherently human, assured me, "perseverance brings success!"

Inspiration

Clint Eastwood's 2009 film, "Invictus," in which Morgan Freeman plays the role of South Africa's president Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon is the country's white Springboks rugby team captain, Francois Pienaar, is inspiring.

Mandela, an anti-apartheid activist was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to life in prison and performed hard labor for 27 years. He condemned the white Springboks. He said a poem "Invictus" -- Latin for "unconquered" -- inspired him "to stand when all I wanted to do was to lie down. ... I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."

Domestic and external pressures saw his release from jail at age 72. Four years later, Mandela became South Africa's first black president. He wanted then for the white Springboks rugby team to win the third Rugby World Cup in 1995 as a unifying event for his nation. So the black leader and the white rugby team captain joined forces to help unite their racially divided people to support the Springboks as South Africa's rugby team.

Last year, the theme "Rise and rise again until lambs become lions," which encourages to never give up fighting for the cause of liberty -- to persevere, rise and rise again until lions are born out of docile lambs, and liberty is achieved -- emerged in the 2010 adventure film, "Robin Hood," with Russell Crowe as Robin Longstride who fought in 13th century England against the crown and became the symbol of the people's freedom.

Of course, what inspired me may not inspire some others. But share I must!

A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam. Write him at peangmeth@yahoo.com.