Cambodia: Liberal politicians facing increasing oppression

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Liberal International Briefing Document

• Cambodian MP Mu Sochua sentenced for defamation by Supreme Court
• Liberal Leader Sam Rainsy facing jail sentence

This week, Cambodian MP and member of the Sam Rainsy Party (LI Observer) Mu Sochua was convicted for defamation by the Cambodian Supreme Court, after being stripped of her parliamentary immunity earlier this year. The Court’s ruling, despite the sheer lack of evidence against Mu Sochua, shows the court did not base its decision on an independent and impartial application of the facts to the elements of the law, but instead bowed to political manipulation by the executive. Local human rights groups have described freedom of expression in Cambodia as in a "perilous state".1

Earlier this year, the Cambodian government initiated a politically motivated lawsuit against Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy of Liberal International member party the Sam Rainsy Party on the charges of falsifying public documents and distribution of false information. Mr. Sam Rainsy is facing up to 18 years in prison. Liberal International stresses its concern regarding the political persecution of Mr. Rainsy and members of his party, who are democratically elected liberal opposition members, by the Cambodian authorities.

Mr. Rainsy is currently living in exile after being sentenced in absentia by a Cambodian court in 2009 to two years' in prison for a political protest directed against the government. Mr. Rainsy’s immunity as an MP had been lifted in February 2009 to enable prosecution against him for allegedly insulting the Camdodian People’s Government. Prime Minister Hun Sen reportedly warned that he would not request a pardon for Mr. Rainsy should he be found guilty. The Cambodian government has issued an order against Mr. Rainsy, which prohibits him from returning to his country.

In a January 2010 decision of its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) said it “is deeply concerned at the lifting of Mr. Sam Rainsy’s parliamentary immunity for the same reasons as the ones it has expressed in the cases of opposition parliamentarians Ho Vann and Mu Sochua, namely that without proper examination of the request for the lifting of immunity, without an open and public parliamentary debate, during which the parliamentarians concerned can present their arguments, without a secret vote, parliamentary immunity is reduced to a mere formality and is thus meaningless.” 2 On 2 April 2010 the IPU again expressed its grave concern on the request for the lifting of immunity of the MPs listed above.3

The above cases demonstrate proof of a politically motivated attack on the rights of a parliamentarian – an issue that is concerning to liberals and democrats everywhere. Three points are important regarding the case of Sam Rainsy and Mu Sochua:

1) The accusations made against Mr. Rainsy and members of his party are politically motivated: the Cambodian government’s purpose is to silence Sam Rainsy’s voice from speaking out against undemocratic government practices. These are political trial and Cambodian courts are being used as a tool to oppress the opposition.

2) The filing of new lawsuits is aimed at preventing Sam Rainsy and members of his party from participating in the 2013 elections as well as being used as an excuse to crack down on the Cambodian opposition.

3) The lawsuit against Mr. Rainsy, the conviction of Mrs. Mu Sochua and the request for lifting of immunity for democratically elected Cambodian Members of Parliament is yet another blow to Cambodia’s foundering democracy, and the ongoing and disturbing trend of using the courts to intimidate and weaken political opponents shows the lack of respect for Human Rights and freedom of speech in Cambodia.

Liberal International’s call for action

Liberal International regrets that lawsuits against Mr. Sam Rainsy and members of his party have been filed for political reasons, and calls for a united worldwide liberal response to the actions of the Cambodian government.

Liberal International would like to encourage member parties to support each other with the matter, by submitting the following written question through their parliamentary Foreign Affairs spokesperson to their country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs:

Written questions regarding the lawsuit against Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy:

• Is the Foreign Minister aware of the politically motivated charges made by the Cambodian government against Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy, leader of the Sam Rainsy Party and member of Parliament, on February 26 2010, following a 2009 ruling sentencing him to two years in prison for involvement in a political protest? Is the Foreign Minister aware of the request for lifting of parliamentary immunity of a number of democratically elected Cambodian opposition MP’s by the Cambodian government, and the ruling this week of the Cambodian Supreme Court convicting Mu Sochua for defamation?
• Is the Foreign Minister of the opinion that this orchestrated attack of the Cambodian government against lawful representatives of the Cambodian people is an intolerable act of power abuse? Does the Foreign Minister share our concerns about the foundering state of Cambodian democracy and its continuing disturbing trend of using Cambodian courts as a government tool to oppress the lawful opposition?
• Is the Foreign Minister planning to inform the Cambodian embassy of these concerns, and at the same time point out his/her support for the lawful and democratically elected opposition of Cambodia including Mr. Rainsy and Mrs. Mu Sochua to fulfill their democratic job without government interference? Will the Foreign Minister demand from the Cambodian Government to stop the political persecution of Mr. Rainsy and members of his party and restore their parliamentary immunity?
• What other action will the Foreign Minister undertake regarding these issues?

And, in the case of being an aid donor to Cambodia:

• Does the Foreign Minister agree that aid donors to Cambodia must condemn the lack of reforms of the judiciary in Cambodia and the direct manipulation of the justice system by the executive branch, and place more strict demands on the government to allow judges and lawyers to exercise their roles and functions according to the rule of law?

Liberal International (LI) is the world federation of over 100 liberal and progressive democratic political parties. LI was founded in 1947 to strengthen liberal protection from totalitarianism and communism. The founding “Oxford Manifesto” is widely considered as one of the most important political documents of the 20th century. It has since become the pre-eminent network for promoting liberalism, individual freedom, human rights, the rule of law, tolerance, equality of opportunity, social justice, free trade and a market economy.
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1 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia_pacific/10215597.stm
2 http://www.samrainsyparty.org/archives/achieve_2010/February/D-Rainsy-128-E.pdf
3 http://www.ipu.org/conf-e/122/122.pdf