Sopheap Chak

By Chak Sopheap

Published on UPI Asia Online, September 17, 2009

Niigata, Japan — The world will soon once again celebrate the United Nations International Day of Peace, marked every year on Sept. 21. Yet the world is far from peace as civil wars, religious conflicts, growing insurgencies and the economic downturn bring more hardship than joy and smiles to people. Cambodia is no exception.

Cambodia claims to be a peaceful state, having recovered from a series of civil wars that included horrendous acts of genocide. However, there must be a clear consensus on how the country defines peace.

Peace should not be described as merely the absence of war or violence, which is “negative peace.” It should also include communal harmony, socioeconomic cooperation and equal political representation in government for all citizens. These, along with good governance, which respects the rights of the people, constitute the positive side of peace, or rather peace building.

Even when we say “absence of violence,” we must first examine what violence is. While war is direct visible violence, there is also a kind of “structural violence,” the result of bad and harmful state policies that have long-term negative effects on people, such as hunger and poverty, which harm and put peoples’ lives at risk.

If we look at the current trend in Cambodia, negative peace has been obtained but is jeopardizing positive peace. While parts of the economy are making considerable progress, more than 30 percent of the population is still living in extreme poverty. In addition, with corruption and continuous human rights violations – especially forced evictions and land grabbing under so-called development claims – there is little hope that Cambodia can move out of poverty.

In its current pursuit of development, the government of Cambodia has abused and violated people’s rights to housing and development. The judicial system is corrupt and the state is the main violator of the law. This state of affairs has rendered poor communities voiceless and powerless.

At the same time, freedom of expression – a fundamental right – has also been abused by the government, which applies various ill-defined laws with the help of the judiciary it controls as a political tool to silence critics. It is not surprising that the government recently filed many lawsuits against political activists, journalists and human rights defenders.

Systematic structural violence has not yet affected peace in Cambodia, but it will soon if the government does not undertake and implement reforms immediately. For example, there is fear that the ongoing land grabbing and evictions by the government could lead to a peasant revolution. This would then revive the cycle of bitter agrarian revolution that brought past political regimes, like Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge, to power.

The government therefore must commit to not only maintaining negative peace, but also to building positive peace in order to attain social harmony.

–

(Chak Sopheap is a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan. She runs a blog, www.sopheapfocus.com, in which she shares her impressions of both Japan and her homeland, Cambodia. She was previously advocacy officer of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.)

Recently, Phnom Penh Governor expressed his intention to request to Ministry of Interior to ban girls under 16 year old from going out alone without parents’ accompany after 9pm. His belief is that young girls are likely to show up at clubs, karaoke bars or other entertainment places where only adult should be allowed. He asserted that this proposal is aimed to promote the morals of the girl in society (“Girls Curfew Proposed,” Phnom Penh Post, Friday, August 28, 2009)

With his so-called morality claim, i would doubt if his proposal would effectively respond to the addressed problems. Instead, i could see two fallacies in his proposed idea:

Lack of Gender Promotion
Though he attempts to defend that girl curfew policy would help to promote girl morality, he  too far ignores the gender mainstream and misbelieve about girls‘ entertainment habits. His arguments was based on his belief that girls likely to appear at nightclubs or karaoke bars. It is doubtful of how many percents or girls he would witness? or whose girls he refer to? I supposed he may mix up with the club workers who somehow are young girls that most customers (the adult or middle age men demand so).

If he would promote girl morality by prohibiting them not to go out at night, it will bring another side of effect which girls’ rights to education, to mobility, or free will of her livelihood will be deprived. Some girls may still on her way at night from schools (english or other skill classes) or her working places to home. So with the governor’s proposal, it seem contrast to gender equity which government attempts to achieve.

Inconsistency of the problem and solution

His concern is that 16-year-old girls should not be allowed to visit nightclubs or adult entertainment areas which will harm to girl morality. If the governor wish to address this problem, his prohibition on the girls from mobility sound awkward. Alternative solutions he can suggest and must act on, as a governor, should be:

Strengthen the entertainment club rules: If there is already an existing rule which only adult (mostly above 18-year-old) can be allowed to enter the night club or other entertainment spots, it should be strengthened and monitored closely by the city hall or responsible agencies. By claiming to witness girls under 16 year old at nightclubs, it indicates the government agencies’ failures in strengthen its rules.

Establish more social infrastructure for children: As far as city development or beautification concern, the governors should establish more public spaces or parks where children can have their own entertainment zones. It apparently lack of public spaces while many adult entertainment spots, even gambling clubs, are allowed to rise. At the same time, the role of government is to provide safety to the children, so they better to take their patrols in banning girls to ensure social security from robbery, rapping, and other harms instead.

Morality through Education: Morality should be always started from education, not prohibition or government directive orders. There must be programs to educate children on how to act morally and behave properly since they were young. Also, parents will take much responsibility for this awareness. Thus, what the city hall can take their role in are to cooperate with Ministry of Education to strengthen the morality education and to organize community events where community members including parents, children can learn the morality awareness.

On August 07, 2009, AsianWeek released a feature titled “Chinese American Hero: Dr. Haing S. Ngor.” It was a surprise feature to most Cambodian readers who have known that Dr. Ngor is a Cambodian whose fame of winning the 1985 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Killing Field movie. As a result, there were some comments posted to this feature in order to express their disappointment, curiosity, and request for correction.

I was among those who feel uneasy and wonder about this feature. After seeing no respond on the earlier commentary, i wrote a letter to editor of AsianWeek in order to seek for their explanation and correction on this feature as the following:

Dear Asianweek editor,

I refer to your current article about Chinese-American Hero. Dr. Ngor.

http://www.asianweek.com/2009/08/07/chinese-american-hero-dr-haing-s-ngor/#comment-28332

Would you mind read all comments and also review again if Dr. Ngor is
Chinese or Cambodian?
I would request for your correction or clarification on this matter.

Regards, Sopheap

However, There was no any respond neither. This partly indicates a lack of responsibility of AsianWeek in communicating with its readers.

Fortunately, on August 09, 2009, Roger S. Dong, the Chairman and Founder of Chinese American Heros, post his comment in responding to the above all commentary. It mean somehow our concern got heard and we expect the satisfied explanation on this matter. Though he accepted that Dr. Ngor is Cambodian, his explanation apparently contradict to his feature and attach the neocolonialism sentiment. The following are some excerpt of his respond:

“[...] In this instance where we included Dr. Ngor as a hero in our website, we had to make a judgment call and we are being questioned on that call. A few of you are strongly incensed that Dr. Ngor’s heroic biography is included in a Chinese American heroes website. With the power of the DELete key, I can fix that with a click. But is that what you really want?
After reading all your comments, I can see why many of you are angry, I agree that Dr. Ngor is a Cambodian American, more than he is a Chinese American. (We never said he was a Chinese American, we just included him into our website, but I can fix that really fast.)”

“[...] But before I take any action, for those of you who think that we are trying to change Dr. Ngor’s genetic makeup, which we could never do, please re-read the article. The word “Chinese” appears two times in this article, once referring to his Chinese father and once in reference to Chinese New Year. The word “Cambodia” or “Cambodian” appears 10 times, and the word “Khmer” appears 5 times. Our story about Dr. Ngor is about his very difficult life in Cambodia, his Cambodian heritage, his Cambodian heroism and Cambodian philanthropy. There is very little spoken about his “Chinese-ness.” [...]“

This claim contradicts to the above title he put as “Chinese American Hero: Dr. Haing S. Ngor.” which was later changed to “Chinese-Cambodian American Hero: Dr. Haing S. Ngor,” on August 10, 2009. The fact of letter counting he mentioned is not equally important to the highlighted title.

He also mentioned:

“If there were a Cambodian Heroes organization and website, no doubt Dr. Ngor would be one of the first Cambodian heroes in that website. But to date, there isn’t, and by inclusion into the CAH website, we tell a great story about a great man.”

From his statement, it implies that Cambodians is very fortunate to have AsianWeek post our hero on its website. Regard the fact that Cambodia is a yet poor infrastructure country where could not afford to have its own Hero website or institution, it does not mean that the Chinese American Hero could manipulate the media or profile of other country or individual while claiming that such act is a good cause. Such explanation somehow appear to misuse the media professionalism.

Instead of giving a justified explanation to his feature, Mr. Roger somehow denied the allegation. Consequently, there are more comments on this matter and he repeatedly maintained his position of doing a good cause for Cambodian Hero.

Nevertheless, I personally thank for his respond to readers and his so-called claim of good cause for Cambodians. Yet, his assertions are not justified his act. However, one thing that we could learn from his advise is that Cambodians should improve our infrastructure and involvement to create our Cambodian Heroes organization or website. This message is influential for the fact that we would not want others to manipulate our profile.

By Chak Sopheap

Guest Commentary on UPI Asia

August 19, 2009

Niigata, Japan — In a true democracy, freedom of expression is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. In Cambodia, however, repeated violations of this right by the government to silence critics are jeopardizing the pace of democracy.

The arrest and imprisonment of many human rights activists since the end of 2005 and early 2006 have been a big setback for democracy in Cambodia. Activists like Kem Sokha, former president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and president of the Human Rights Party; Yeng Virak, executive director of the Community Legal Education Center; Mom Sonando, founder of Beehive Radio; and Pa Ngoun Teang, former director of the Cambodia Center for Human Rights’ Voice of Democracy radio and current president of the Cambodian Center for Independent Media have been imprisoned on charges ranging from defaming the government to promoting freedom of expression.

Many other prominent activists, including politicians like Sam Rainsy of the Sam Rainsy Party, have fled overseas for fear of being arrested by the government.

Following many appeals from international and local nongovernmental organizations and pressure from the international community, the Cambodian government has released the activists and promised to decriminalize defamation charges levied against them.

Despite that, in a surprise move, a new law was introduced to silence the voice of parliamentarians. It is similar to the U.N. Transitional Authority for Cambodia Law of 1992, which was used in the past to detain government critics on charges of criminal defamation.

The newly adopted Statute of Parliamentarians contradicts the Constitution, which states that no assembly member shall be prosecuted, detained or arrested because of opinions expressed while exercising his or her duties. Article 5 of the new law, however, takes away that protection if a parliamentarian is found to be abusing an individual’s dignity, social customs, public order or national security – without clarifying what constitutes these acts. How can parliamentarians exercise their duties when they fear arrest?

The situation has become worse with the government using various ill-defined laws and the judiciary it controls as a political tool to silence critics. Government officials have filed recent lawsuits against political activists including members of the Sam Rainsy Party, Mu Sochua and Ho Vann, and other prominent journalists and individuals. These activists had raised their voices and concerns against the mismanagement of public services, with the constructive aim of remedying the situation.

Judges have ruled most of these cases in favor of the government officials without following independent court procedures. The case of Mu Sochua is proof that Cambodia’s courts and other public institutions function only to appease the rulers.

In April, Sochua announced that she would sue Prime Minister Hun Sen for allegedly using derogatory and threatening language against her in a speech he made during a visit to Kampot province in southwest Cambodia in March. Kampot is the parliamentary district represented by Soucha. However, the court rejected her case while a counter case filed by her opponent was allowed.

Another case of abuse of court and power was shown by a provincial judge in Ratanakiri province in northeastern Cambodia. Instead of fulfilling his function to resolve a case, he appealed to a human rights organization to remove its two provincial staff, who were involved in the court case, to end the story.

The continuous abuse of the court system and public institutions will weaken the rule of law, making it difficult to sustain democracy in Cambodia. If the government can arrest, sue and fine political opponents and human right activists for their criticisms of state policies, then the judges in the country are also not immune from such action, which then poses a serious threat to democracy and public confidence.

Therefore, the government should review its policies and procedures to improve human rights protections and the rule of law. This will help Cambodia to comply with its Constitution and other international rights covenants, and commit to fully democratize society.

–

(Chak Sopheap is a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan. She runs a blog, www.sopheapfocus.com, in which she shares her impressions of both Japan and her homeland, Cambodia. She was previously advocacy officer of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.)

Reading Summary:

Teamba A. Nolutshungu (2008) “Civil Society? NGOism at Work,” Liberal Institute Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, Occasional paper 47.

In the paper “Civil Society? NGOism at Work,” Teamba A. Nolutshungu aims to address the way that NGOs, especially those in developing countries, influence on government through statist policies and solution to local problems. The author acknowledges there are different approaches that NGOs may employ to influence government policies, yet they have common goal that is to advocate for social well-being. Through his qualitative analysis, the author proposes that the NGOs should demand for all policies to be subjected to cost/benefit analysis or regulatory impact assessment (RIA).

Though the NGOs may vary in their fields and countries, the author categorizes them into two opposing paradigms: 1) a statist or social-democratic model (those advocate for greater government control and intervention in social service and economic transaction)  and 2) a classical liberal approach (that insists for a minimal role of government and believe that private entities and individual should make their own destiny).

According to the author, in opposite to the classical liberal NGOs who apply “critical engagement” vis a vis government, the statist NGOs tend to rely much on the role of government in reducing social inequality and offering social welfare to all citizens. More importantly, it is the government who will protect the local consumers and entrepreneurs from foreign exploitation and competition. This type of NGOs believe of society as bifurcated: villains on one side, victims on the other. For instance, the rich is perceived as the villains who accumulate wealth on the cost of the poor or victims. The author apparently criticises the modus operandi of statist NGOs which are likely to play up social divisions, exaggerating differences and inequalities. Interestingly, he highlights that these NGOs could succeed their advocacy goals through understanding the nature of politicians and constructively engage with those political decision makers. To support his arguments, he raises examples ranging from the worldwide controversy on the use of biotechnology  in agriculture like genetically modified organisms (GMOs), globalization, to the debate on precautionary principle.

Regardless the provided arguments, in my opinion, his idea seems fit to the prospective theory which only look at the current situational needs or risks rather than reflecting to the future risk. For example, he negatively comment on the precautionary principles: “regulations based on the precautionary principle severely compromise the potential for new technology.” If it is such a case, what if the new technology would harm to society? who will be responsible? who will bear the cost? That is precautionary principle aimed to protect the affected stakeholders and held those who believe that their product is useful accountable for any damages.

As illustrated, the author attempts to analyse the critical problems that statist NGOs may influence on government in a way that it would not help to reduce the real issue, but expanse more control of the government. Thus, he suggest that any proposed policies should be exposed to Regulatory Impact Assessment, through which there will be no politicised chance and proper policy engagement will be implemented.

By: Chak Sopheap

Guest Commentary, Published on UPI Asia

Niigata, Japan — It has been more than four decades since the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was established. While ASEAN and its supporters claim that this regional institution has contributed significantly to peace and stability in Asia, there are still many challenges. The dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over the Preah Vihear Temple that stands on their shared border provides a striking example of ASEAN’s failure to mediate regional conflict.

The group’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, which dates to 1976, promised to promote peace, solidarity and cooperation among its people. Article 2 in particular highlighted the principles of noninterference, settling disputes through peaceful means, and mutual respect for members’ sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

The more recent ASEAN Charter – which came into force in December last year after Thailand was the last nation to ratify it – again lists maintaining regional security and respecting members’ sovereignty among its principles and purposes. In reality, however, ASEAN is not even capable of resolving the current conflict on the Thai-Cambodian border.

Thailand and Cambodia have been in confrontation over a small stretch of disputed land since the United Nations approved Cambodia’s application to have its Preah Vihear Temple recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2008. The Thai government has repeatedly violated Cambodia’s sovereignty by deploying military forces to the border, twice sparking battles that killed a few soldiers on both sides, destroyed a Cambodian market and damaged part of the temple site.

Yet there has been no compensation or even acknowledgment of the Thai attacks on Cambodian territory. Instead of making stronger efforts to resolve the border issue during his visit to Cambodia last week, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has taken another provocative step by proposing that UNESCO reconsider its decision and list the temple as a World Heritage site under the joint management of Cambodia and Thailand.

This constitutes direct interference in Cambodian affairs and a violation of Cambodian sovereignty as guaranteed by international law. It also violates the principles of ASEAN, over which a Thai general secretary currently presides.

The border tension appears to be politically motivated to distract attention from the internal turmoil that has plagued Thai society ever since the military coup that toppled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from office in 2006. In revenge, Thaksin has stirred up popular sentiment and appealed to his rural supporters to protest against the military regime.

Diverting attention away from this internal conflict to the border dispute with Cambodia appears to be a political strategy on the part of the Thai government to gain support from its citizens.

This provocative behavior should be condemned or at least discussed by ASEAN, but it has never been raised on the group’s agenda. It seems that ASEAN is simply irrelevant when it comes to member states’ security.

If this continued violation of another member state’s sovereignty is acceptable to ASEAN, regional stability will surely deteriorate. Other states with conflicting territorial claims can use this populist strategy to incite nationalistic sentiment against their neighbors. They can divert their citizens’ attention from internal conflict by creating international conflict.

Thailand, as a civilized state whose former foreign minister, Surin Pitsuwan, is the current secretary general of ASEAN, should respect the rule of law and the principles aimed at securing regional stability. Otherwise ASEAN cannot continue to be considered a crucial regional body.

–

(Chak Sopheap is a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan. She runs a blog, www.sopheapfocus.com, in which she shares her impressions of both Japan and her homeland, Cambodia. She was previously advocacy officer of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.)

Chak Sopheap, Guest Commentary

Published on UPI Asia

Niigata, Japan — Thousands of people around the world celebrated World Environment Day last Sunday with various “green activities.” The global U.N. event to combat climate change was embraced by companies, locals and heads of state heeding U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call: “Your planet needs you.”

However, recent studies highlighting the impact of climate change on Cambodia point to worrisome risks that the country can no longer afford to ignore.

According to the U.N. Environmental Program, climate change is occurring due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases caused by human activities, especially industrial processes that produce intense emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. While there remain uncertainties as to the speed, timing and impact of the resultant global warming, the associated risks on humans and our planet have been identified.

According to the U.N. Development Program’s Human Development Report 2007/2008, “Humanity is living beyond its environmental means and running up ecological debts that future generations will be unable to repay.” These facts can no longer be denied and require an immediate and urgent global and local response.

In Cambodia, the impact of climate change has become apparent, yet the general public does not feel alarmed due to limited knowledge and other, more pressing social problems like land grabbing, human rights violations and corruption, which are more visible in daily life.

Studies have examined the impact of climate change on the country by two approaches: direct and indirect. The direct impact is seen in the change in natural rainfall patterns in the country. Though incidences of flood and drought are common in Cambodia, a study conducted by the Cambodian Ministry of the Environment on climate change impact says that global warming may increase the country’s wet season rainfall and decrease its dry season rainfall. This indicates a relationship between the degree of global warming and natural disasters in Cambodia.

Cambodia, like other agrarian economies, is especially vulnerable to weather-related disasters as more than 80 percent of its population is subsistence farmers. Based on data from the past five years, Cambodia’s paddy production was destroyed as much as 70 percent by floods, and 20 percent and 10 percent respectively by droughts and diseases.

Besides, natural disasters have increased the risk of contagious diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, and other physical and psychological disorders. There were about 40,000 reported cases of dengue fever in Cambodia in 2007 alone, and 407 deaths.

Also, according to health workers, Cambodia could be facing another severe dengue fever outbreak with an increasing mosquito population. Although there had been a general decline in malaria cases over the last decade, the severity and fatality rate has increased since 2003.

The Ministry of the Environment estimates that under changing climatic conditions Cambodia may experience increasing incidences of malaria, up 16 percent from its current rate. Natural disasters have upset fragile ecosystems, which in turn have triggered other changes that have affected issues such as rising poverty and malnutrition in children. These have disturbed the growth and development in children.

Meanwhile, damage to infrastructure and land has compelled people to relocate, which has caused psychological disorders in many. This illustrates how vulnerable Cambodiais in facing the impact of climate change due to a lack of infrastructure and mechanisms to lessen the effects.

Strict environmental policies adopted by developed and developing countries have in some ways affected Cambodia, where the rule of law and economic development is still weak. For example, there are reports that tons of toxic waste are deposited in Cambodia by other nations.

In November 1998, a large quantity of mercury-laden waste from Taiwan was dumped in Sihanouk Ville, a famous tourist and port area in Cambodia. Due to health concerns, thousands of residents fled from the area, resulting in several accidents along a bumpy, narrow road with at least four dead and 13 injured, as reported by the New York Times.

Surprisingly, a month later another case was found involving more than 650 tons of film scraps from Taiwan again. In addition, several months prior to this, the Sihanouk Ville police found waste materials including x-rays, used cassette and videotapes from South Korea.

This is evidence of the environmental pollution and hazards caused by “dumping” waste in Cambodia. With corruption common and the rule of law lacking, it is an easy target for other countries looking for a place to shift their waste.

Moreover, the “race to the bottom” – the competitive lowering of standards – is another catalyst for some domestic and foreign investors to operate businesses, such as logging and mining minerals or coal, at the cost of environmental and natural resources depletion. In some cases, land or forest concessions were granted without transparent procedures and contracts were approved without environmental impact assessments.

With these direct and indirect impacts from climate change, different level of impact can be analyzed on the country, community and individual level.

On the country level, with agricultural inactivity and losses due to natural disasters, Cambodia, which largely depends on its agricultural sector, will experience slow economic growth made worse by the global recession and economic crisis. Also, poor and underdeveloped health infrastructure will aggravate health problems and further burden the government.

Though the results of environmental and natural depletion may not be visible now, it will be a heavy burden for Cambodia’s next generations, who will have difficulty in bridging its ecological deficit.

On the community level, the livelihoods of many will be affected by natural disasters. Not only homes and properties, agricultural produce and health, but even community collaboration and trust will be broken when every individual family faces the economic downturn, which in turn will lead to more social crimes.

On the individual level, people will no longer get fresh air and clean water. Depletion of natural resources and bad economic policies will discourage foreign direct investment, which otherwise provides employment to locals.

Ultimately, the current trend illustrates that Cambodia is now facing the risk of unsustainable development for its next generation. Immediate action is required to tackle the potential risks that climate change brings.

Cambodia’s weak social infrastructure will largely affect the poor. The government and all other stakeholders must come up with strong policies and fast action to combat climate change.

By Chak Sopheap

Published on UPI Asia, May 27th 2009

Niigata, Japan — Corruption exists in all countries, but has the most destructive effect in developing economies. In a poor country like Cambodia, rated as a highly corrupt state, it threatens democratic institutions and fundamental rights and freedoms. It undermines socioeconomic development and deepens poverty. It also provokes irrational decision making, disrupts the development of the private sector and undermines sustainable development of the environment.

It is even worse when a vital branch of the government, the judiciary, and its affiliate academic institution, the Royal Academy for Judicial Professions, is corrupt.

Ongoing corruption allegations against the Khmer Rouge Tribunal are still blurred, yet there is no adequate mechanism to respond to this situation. Claims that corruption should be a separate issue if the tribunal is to proceed make no sense, as one of the core expectations of the tribunal is to strengthen the rule of law.

Another recent allegation has claimed that corruption affects the securing of admission to the Royal Academy for Judicial Professions. The two cases are crucial and related, because if young professionals in the judiciary resort to bribes, then it is bound to affect the court system as a whole. The protracted corrupt behavior seen at the very basic judicial level leaves little hope for improvements in the country’s court system.

However, the corruption case involving the academy was resolved in court and a senior student who took the bribe returned the money to the student who was promised a seat in Class Five of the academy. The court case proved that corruption exists in the system. It should be noted that the senior student was not solely responsible in this case, but the student who paid the bribe also abused the law and can be said to be involved in the corruption.

Corruption must be clearly defined and interpreted so that it can encourage people in reporting potential cases. The involvement of the court in settling the case related to the academy is a good example of a corruption suit being lawfully settled, but impunity still persists within the system. Cambodia does not have adequate anti-corruption laws, which clearly state the terms of punishment.

The concerned institutions and stakeholders should not ignore corruption allegations and must carry out sufficient investigations. It is not surprising that most of the concerned and responsible stakeholders harshly deny accusations instead of exploring the evidence and cooperating with other agencies, like the media.

The recent denial of corruption by a leading government lawyer to the well-known Voice of America, which was reporting on an alleged corruption case, is one of the worse scenarios where the press is silenced and government claims of fighting corruption are undermined.

In Cambodia corruption continues partly because the people see it as something “normal” that most are unable to change. Besides, there is a lack of political commitment to encourage people to speak out against it and hold authorities accountable.

Although Prime Minister Hun Sen has declared “war” on corruption and an anti-corruption law has been proposed, with recent promises that it will be adopted soon, questions still linger on how soon and effective it would be.

The government thus needs to show its real commitment to an anti-corruption campaign and encourage a culture of mutual collaboration with the civil society instead of immediate denial and manipulation of charges. Also, people’s attitude toward corruption needs to be changed so that it will no longer be tolerated.

By Chak Sopheap, Guest Commentary on UPI Asia

Niigata, Japan–Cambodia is among the world’s poorest countries. While parts of the economy are making considerable progress, more than 30 percent of the population still live in extreme poverty. Though the government has proposed many strategies – the Poverty Reduction Strategy Program, Cambodia Millennium Development Goals and the National Strategic Development Plan – there is little progress in improving people’s living standards.

On the U.N. Development Program’s Human Development Index (2007-2008), Cambodia is ranked 131 out of 177, just above Myanmar but below Laos. This is a slight improvement over 1995-2005. Cambodia’s economic growth rate has been in double digits in the past few years, which has helped reduce poverty from 34.8 percent in 2004 to 30.1 percent in 2007, according to World Bank figures.

Prolonged civil conflict, internal displacement and discriminatory development processes are the main causes of poverty in Cambodia, made worse by high population growth. Poor people face inadequate opportunities, low capabilities, insecurity, exclusion and vulnerability. Although more than 70 percent of Cambodia’s population is employed in agricultural production, between 12 and 15 percent have no agricultural land.

This figure could be even higher with the current speculation, land-grabs and evictions for both rural and urban communities. Also, most peasants work small land holdings that don’t even provide enough food for their own consumption.

Apart from land, many families face a shortage of capital and a lack of knowledge and skills. They lack access to other natural resources such as forests and fish. Poor health is another major cause of impoverishment and other forms of social deprivation. The cycle of poverty, ill health, and high healthcare costs cripples poor Cambodian families.

The poor have little access to basic social services and facilities, with many living in remote areas. Illiteracy is also a barrier, as the poor are excluded from the development process.

Women in Cambodia do not enjoy equal access to education, paid employment and ownership of land and other property. Ethnic minorities are disadvantaged due to lack of representation at the management and legislative levels, and because of language barriers.

Lack of access to government information and decision making has prevented the poor from participating in community activities, contributing to gaps between government policies and their implementation. Also, the poor are not able to understand the law, unaware of their rights and vulnerable to exploitation and corruption.

Government policies aimed at reducing poverty will not work without collaboration from grassroots people, civil society organizations and donor communities.

An active grassroots civil society would ensure that citizens’ diverse voices are articulated and heard by local governments. It would also act as a check on local government action and ensure that it complies with the wishes of citizens – a community-based monitoring function that enhances accountability. Both roles would promote pro-poor governance.

Poverty reduction is one of the mandates of international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and has become their joint focus since 1999. Their continued financial and technical assistance is crucial to both government and civil society organizations.

There are huge grants from major donor countries and agencies that prioritize agricultural and rural development, human rights issues, decentralization, disability and rehabilitation, disarmament and demobilization, education, electoral reform, fishery and forestry sectors, gender and women’s participation, governance and transparency, health and HIV/AIDS, landmines and unexploded ordinances in affected communities, land reform, microfinance, resettlement and rights of affected people and the rule of law. If these sectors are effectively implemented they will contribute to poverty reduction.

Since the early 1990s NGOs in Cambodia have been heavily involved in post-conflict reconstruction, emergency relief work, repatriation and resettlement of refugees, and assisting with the implementation of basic services and infrastructure. NGOs work hard under difficult conditions in many sectors and geographical areas where the Cambodian government has outsourced, ignored or failed to provide assistance.

Despite their contributions to government policies, the activities of some such groups – especially those that advocate civil rights or fight corruption – are obstructed or denied by the government in the name of protecting national security and social order.

The central issue here is thus a lack of cooperation between the government and civil society organizations. For donor agencies, there is no communication and coordination so funds can be channeled properly to avoid task duplication, and no common fund-requesting procedures to facilitate the organizations’ work.

In addition, there are donor-driven agendas to which NGOs often have to conform to maintain their funding. Such shifts may not be appropriate for the NGO in terms of expertise, or for the particular development needs of the various communities. They also create conflicts of interest among civil society organizations in approaching the funding sources, which ultimately contributes to a lack of collaboration between them.

Furthermore, there are many challenges for grassroots people to exercise their role. A small oligarchy of high-ranking government officials, army generals and rich entrepreneurs are dominating the country politically, socially and economically. The National Assembly and the Senate do not fulfill their functions effectively and hardly take any initiative on their own. The judiciary system, which is not dependent from the executive power, provides the rich and mighty with impunity. All TV channels and most of the radio stations and print media are controlled by the government and do not report fairly on the opposition parties.

The corruption rate is very high in Cambodia; corruption is one of the main sources of human rights violations and poverty determinants. Instead of being properly consulted, rural and urban community leaders are intimidated and pushed aside. In most cases, the courts do not protect their rights to fair trial. Grassroots activists who try to resist are arrested and charged excessively.

The poorest and most disadvantaged parts of society have limited opportunities to exercise their civil and political rights. They neither know about their rights nor how to advocate for them. The failure of the authorities in protecting their rights, and the excessive use of force by security forces, sometimes lead to counter-violence. Thus it is necessary for civil society organizations and donor communities to lobby the government for administrative and judicial reforms and empower the grassroots in order to tackle poverty and violence.

Poverty reduction requires a strong government role with collaboration from civil society. The Cambodian government should first work toward a clean, highly competent and courageous leadership. Second, Cambodia must develop a highly educated, development-oriented, non-corrupt, efficient bureaucracy. The National Assembly should enact laws against corruption and should strictly carry out such laws.

Third, all civil society and government stakeholders interested in the development of the country should work toward a culture of mutual collaboration, through extensive community consultation, rather than through pressure exerted by powerful groups or lobbies.

Ultimately, the Cambodian government should enforce reforms of the administrative, legal and judicial, military, economic and financial branches to improve living conditions of the Cambodian people. Only if these reforms are implemented will poverty reduction policies be feasible.

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(Chak Sopheap is a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan. She runs a blog, www.sopheapfocus.com, in which she shares her impressions of both Japan and her homeland, Cambodia. She was previously advocacy officer of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.)

By Chak Sopheap
Guest Commentary, Published on UPI Asia

Niigata, Japan — One of the untold tragedies of U.S. policy has been the forced repatriation of young Cambodians, mainly men, who went to the United States as refugees after escaping the Khmer Rouge genocide of the late 1970s. The United States took in 130,000 Cambodian refugees between 1985 and 1995 as tacit acknowledgement of U.S. involvement in the destabilization of Cambodia in the early 1970s, according to a report in the National Journal, “Between Two Nations,” by Bruce Stokes.

By November 2008 about 189 refugees had been deported to Cambodia under a law that mandates deportation for noncitizens who commit felonies, according to a New York Times report. Another 2,000 Cambodians are in the deportation pipeline waiting their turn.

Although these Cambodians had obtained permanent resident status, they lost the right to remain in the United States after being convicted of a felony, despite having already served sentences of up to 10 years in prison.

As a result, they are being sent back to a country where they were traumatized, with which they are unfamiliar after spending most of their life in the United States, where they have no family and little hope of escaping poverty.

Under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, noncitizens who commit felonies must be deported. Previously, immediate deportation was enacted only for offences that could lead to five years or more in jail. This included crimes such as murder, terrorism or threatening the president. However, the 1996 law expanded the scope of crimes meriting deportation to include even minor crimes such as shoplifting.

In one case, a man was ordered to be deported after being convicted for urinating in public. Another example is that of a woman, whose children were born in the United States and are therefore citizens, facing deportation after serving three years in jail for disciplining her children with unlit incense sticks.

The 1996 law was applied retroactively to those convicted of deportable offenses, including some who had committed minor offences decades ago. Moreover, the act stripped judges of nearly all discretion in determining whether permanent residents should be deported. There are limits on litigation that prevent individuals or groups from suing the government or appealing decisions by the Immigration Department or lower courts.

In fact, Cambodian criminals were not deported until an extradition agreement was reached between Washington and Phnom Penh in 2002; after that, Cambodians convicted of felonies were subject to deportation after finishing their prison terms in the United States.

Cambodians who had not applied for U.S. citizenship suddenly found themselves liable to be deported even for committing misdemeanors. This included those with green cards or married to U.S. citizens. It seems that many missed the opportunity to apply for citizenship either because they didn’t think it necessary, or they didn’t understand the process due to lack of information in the Cambodian Language.

Most U.S. immigration laws enacted in the past 20 years were introduced during periodic episodes of anti-immigrant hysteria. Immigration has been a major political issue during presidential election campaigns as well. The 1996 law was signed under Clinton administration in September, shortly before the election in November that year. Also, the 2002 extradition agreement between the United States and Cambodia was signed after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. on Sept. 11, 2001.

In his book “Deporting Our Souls,” Bill Ong Hing, professor of law and Asian American studies at the University of California in Davis, offers explanations by criminologists, social scientists, parents and criminals themselves as to why there has been a relatively high level of criminality in the Cambodian refugee community in the United States.

First, he cites the refugee camp experience, with few activities or opportunities to be productive. The crowded camp life easily led to violence and crime. Many parents who survived the Khmer Rouge’s inhuman genocide suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and their mental health was affected by long periods of malnutrition.

In addition, once they arrived in the United States the difficulties of language and cultural assimilation strained the relationship between parents and children. Many were resettled in low income neighborhoods where poverty and poor academic performance were common. Young men tended to band together in gangs, which they viewed as family.

Those who ended up committing crimes and serving jail time are now being doubly punished by being deported to their home country. Older refugees are still traumatized by the inhuman acts of the Khmer Rouge and may be terrified of returning. As for those who came to the United States as children, they have adapted to American life and culture. Most cannot speak, read or write Khmer, the Cambodian language.

It is a tough challenge for such returnees to communicate and make a living in Cambodia, where they carry the added burden of their criminal deportee status. It is even tougher for those who are separated from their parents, wives or children. They surely never expected to face this deportation nightmare after setting foot in the United States, the “land of opportunity.”

As young refugees these people were legally accepted into the United States and are essentially the product of that country. Thus it would seem the U.S. government should take responsibility for them, rather than sending them back to a land they hardly know. The deportation of convicted refugees should be reexamined and their right to appeal should be granted.

Most of all, U.S. policymakers should not take advantage of the plight of immigrants for their own political benefit at the expense of the refugees’ lives and their families’ happiness.

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(Chak Sopheap is a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan. She runs a blog, www.sopheapfocus.com, in which she shares her impressions of both Japan and her homeland, Cambodia. She was previously advocacy officer of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.)