ថ្ងៃទី២២ ខែកញ្ញា ឆ្នាំង២០១៨នេះ ប្រធានដឺសុីរ៉ក់លោកសេង សុភ័ណ បានជួបសំណេះសំណាលជាមួយតំណាងរាស្ត្រប្រចាំមណ្ឌលបោះឆ្នោតរបស់គាត់គឺលោក MP Ron McKinnon ដែលតំណាងអោយរដ្ឋសហព័ន្ធកាណាដាក្នុងការគាំទ្រតែងតាំងគាត់ជាបេក្ខជនបន្តទៀតសំរាប់គណបក្សសេរីភាព(Liberal Party)កំពុងដឹកនាំរដ្ឋាភិបាលបច្ចុប្បន្ន ក្នុងមណ្ឌលបោះឆ្នោត Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam កំណត់ឡើងក្នុងឆ្នាំ២០១៩ខាងមុខ។
MP Ron McKinnon and Sophan Seng
ទន្ទឹមនឹងនោះដែរ លោកសុភ័ណបានពិភាក្សាលំអិតជាមួយលោកតំណាងរាស្ត្រអំពីស្ថានការណ៌សិទ្ធិមនុស្សនិងលទ្ធិប្រជាធិបតេយ្យនៅកម្ពុជា។ ការបោះឆ្នោតនៅថ្ងៃទី២៩ ខែកក្កដា ឆ្នាំ២០១៨ ជាការបោះឆ្នោតមួយដែលមិនអាចឆ្លុះបញ្ចាំងពីឆន្ទៈពិតរបស់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរពិតប្រាកដបានទេពីព្រោះគណបក្សប្រកួតប្រជែងដែលមានកំឡាំងប្រហាក់ប្រហែលគ្នាត្រូវបានផាត់ចេញពីសៃវេននយោបាយដោយការចាប់ប្រធានដាក់ឃុំ បំបិទសិទ្ធិថ្នាក់ដឹកនាំសំខាន់ៗទាំង១១៨នាក់ រំលាយគណបក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិចោល ដកយកកៅអីសភាតំណាងរាស្ត្រទាំង៥៥ទៅចែកអោយគណបក្សផ្សេង និងដកយកតំណែងឃុំ-សង្កាត់ទាំង៥០០៧ដែលប្រជាពលរដ្ឋបោះឆ្នោតអោយមកគ្រប់គ្រងខ្លួនឯង។ មិនតែប៉ុណ្ណោះ ពត៌មានឯករាជ្យសំខាន់ៗត្រូវបានបិទ អង្គការក្រៅរដ្ឋាភិបាលដែលធ្វើការឃ្លាំមើលសិទ្ធិមនុស្សនិងប្រជាធិបតេយ្យទាំងថ្នាក់ជាតិនិងអន្តរជាតិត្រូវបានគាបសង្កត់គ្រប់បែបយ៉ាងនិងបណ្តេញចេញក្រៅប្រទេស។ ការសំដែងមតិនិងចលនាសហជីបកម្មករត្រូវបានរឹតបណ្តឹង។ ជាលទ្ធផល គណបក្សប្រជាជនកម្ពុជាដែលដឹកនាំដោយលោកហ៊ុន-សែនប្រកាសឈ្នះកៅអីសភាទាំង១២៥កៅអីជាអត្តនោមតិ។
ពេលនេះ រដ្ឋសភាសហគមអុឺរ៉ុបក៏ដូចជាសហរដ្ឋអាមេរិកនិងអង្គការសហប្រជាជាតិ ដែលជាដៃគូរសំខាន់ក្នុងការអភិវឌ្ឍន៍សេដ្ឋកិច្ចនិងលទ្ធិប្រជាធិបតេយ្យបានថ្កោលទោសនិងចេញដំណោះ
Meeting space is at Public Starbucks Shop
ស្រាយរួមនិងដាច់ដោយឡែក ដោយចោទសួរចំៗទៅរដ្ឋាភិបាលឯកបក្សថ្មីរបស់លោកហ៊ុន-សែនអោយត្រឡប់មករកប្រក្រតីភាពឡើងវិញដោយការអោយគណបក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិវិលមកដូចដើមវិញ ដោះលែងប្រធានគណបក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិលោកកឹម-សុខាពីការឃុំឃាំងក្នុងផ្ទះនិងលោកសម-រង្សុីដែលកំពុងនិរទេសខ្លួននៅក្រៅប្រទេសក្នុងបទចោទនយោបាយរាប់ជំពូកដើម្បីគាត់អោយចូលស្រុកវិញប្រកបជីវភាពនយោបាយធម្មតា ផ្តល់សិទ្ធិនយោបាយអោយថ្នាក់ដឹកនាំទាំង១១៨នាក់ ប្រគល់តំណែងឃុំ-សង្កាត់ទាំង៥០០៧នាក់មកវិញ អនុញ្ញាតអោយសារពត៌មានឯករាជ្យ សង្គមសុីវិល និងសហជីបកម្មការមានដំណើរការនិងសិទ្ធិសេរីភាពឡើងវិញ។ បើមិនដូច្នោះទេ សហគមអុឺរ៉ុននិងសហរដ្ឋអាមេរិកជាដើម នឹងដក់កិច្ចអនុគ្រោះពន្ធនាំសំលៀកបំពាក់ចូល ដែលក្នុងមួយឆ្នាំជិត៧០០លានដុល្លាសហរដ្ឋអាមេរិក។ មិនតែប៉ុណ្ណោះ សហគមអុឺរ៉ុបនិងសហរដ្ឋអាមេរិកនឹងផ្តាច់ជំនួយក៏ដូចជាទំនាក់ទំនងការទូតនិងដាក់បញ្ជីខ្មៅដល់ក្រុមបក្សពួកដែលមានចំណែកក្នុងការធ្វើអោយធ្លាក់ចុះនៃលទ្ធិប្រជាធិបតេយ្យនិងសិទ្ធិមនុស្សនៅកម្ពុជា។
ជាការកត់សំគាល់ រដ្ឋាភិបាលថ្មីក្រោយការបោះឆ្នោតក្លែងក្លាយនេះ មិនមានប្រទេសណាច្រើនទទួលស្គាល់ទេ មានប្រទេសចិនដែលប្រកាសជំហរគាំទ្រនិងសហការជាមួយកម្ពុជានៅពេលដែលការវិនិយោគរបស់ចិនភាគច្រើនជាការវិនិយោគបែបគ្មានតម្លាភាពដោយការកាប់ទន្ទ្រានព្រៃនិងជីកយករ៉ែ និងដឹកមកជាមួយនូវសម្ភារៈនិងកម្មកររបស់ចិនមកជាមួយ។ ការណ៍នេះ ធ្វើអោយនឹកឃើញដល់កិច្ចព្រមព្រៀងពាណិជ្ជកម្មរវាងនាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រី Justin Trudeau របស់កាណាដាជាមួយចិនដែលទទួលបានបរាជ័យពីព្រោះលោកទ្រូដូបដិសេធន៍សំណើរចិនក្នុងការនាំចូលសម្ភារៈនិងកម្មករចិនមកជាមួយក្នុងការវិនិយោគក្នុងប្រទេសកាណាដា។ លើសពីនេះ លោកសេង សុភ័ណ សង្កេតឃើញភាពអនាធិបតេយ្យរបស់ជនជាតិចិននៅប្រទេសកម្ពុជាជាពិសេសទីក្រុងព្រះសីហនុតែម្តង។
បញ្ជាក់ជាមួយលោកតំណាងរាស្ត្ររ៉ន ប្រទេសកាណាដាបានទទួលការនាំចូលទំនិញពីកម្ពុជាបែបអនុគ្រោះពន្ធទំហំជិត៦ភាគរយ ហើយរដ្ឋាភិបាលកាណាដានៅបន្តជួយកម្ពុជាពង្រឹងផ្នែកសិទ្ធិមនុស្ស នីតិរដ្ឋ ការកសាងកំឡាំងសមត្ថភាព និងសេដ្ឋកិច្ចសង្គមបន្តជារៀងរហូតក្រោយពីបានចុះហត្ថលេខាលើសន្ធិសញ្ញាកិច្ចព្រមព្រៀងសន្តិភាពទីក្រុងប៉ារីស២៣ តុលា ១៩៩១ មក។ ទាក់ទងនឹងញត្តិអនឡាយរបស់រដ្ឋសភាកាណាដាដែលធានានិងគាំទ្រដោយលោកតំណាងរាស្ត្រ លោកសុភ័ណនឹងជជែកពិភាក្សាជាបន្តបន្ទាប់ជាមួយជំនួយការផ្ទាល់របស់គាត់ប្រចាំការិយាល័យនៅអូតាវ៉ា។ បើមុនថ្ងៃ២៤ តុលាខាងមុខ ចំនួនញត្តិបានគ្រប់៥០០ លោករ៉ននិងសហការជាមួយក្រសួងការបរទេសដឹកនាំដោយអ្នកស្រីChristia Freelandមុននឹងចេញសេចក្តីថ្លែងការណ៌អនុមត្តិដំណោះស្រាយរួមក្នុងរដ្ឋសភាកាណាដាក្នុងការស្តារនិងកំណត់វិធានការណ៍ជាក់លាក់ចំពោះការធ្លាក់ចុះនៃលទ្ធិប្រជាធិបតេយ្យនៅកម្ពុជា។ លោកអ្នកអាចចូលរួមចុះហត្ថលេខាលើញត្តិបន្ថែមបាន៖ https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-1746
This September 22, 2018, Mr. Sophan Seng, President of the CEROC met and discussed with member of parliament for federal government in his Constituency Mr. Ron McKinnon who is also collecting support signatures for his Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam candidacy of the Liberal Party for the upcoming national election in 2019.
In the meantime, Mr. Sophan discussed in details about the human rights and democracy environment of Cambodia. The election on 29 July 2018 has not been a free and fair election reflecting genuine will of the Cambodian voters at all because the key opposition party that have paralleling capacity to compete with the ruling party CPP was banned not to compete in the election by jailing its leader, banning top leadership of 118 politicians not to engage in politics, dissolving the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), taking away the parliamentary seats of 55 to redistribute to other parties, and taking away the commune-Sangkat councillors of 5007 posts voted by the people to its own party. Further more, the independence media were shut down, non-governmental organizations whose missions are to monitor election and democratization, both domestic and international, were pressured and dispelled. Freedom of expression and movement of labor unions were oppressed. As a result, the ruling party Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) grabbed all 125 seats from the election.
Right now, the European unions, United States of America, and the United Nations, who are partners of development and democratization each have condemned and approved resolution by interacting directly to Prime Minister Hun Sen to bring back normality by allowing CNRP to normal operation, release President of the party Mr. Kem Sokha from house arrest, and Mr. Sam Rainsy who is in self-exile by several political verdicts of the government to be able to return back home to conduct his political career freely, allowing all 118 politicians to freely engage in politics without having legal reprisals, giving back the 5007 posts of commune-sangkat councillors, allowing media, NGOs and unions to exercise their rights and freedom fully without obstacles. If not following this scenario, the 
European unions and the United States etc. shall cut off the free-tariff on garment exporting value near 700 millions per year while diplomatic tie and aids will be in dilemma, and blacklisting will be created to punish those individuals who have engaged to human rights violation and de-democratization in Cambodia.
Remarkably, the new government born after a fake election, just few countries recognized especially China who has come out to support and incorporate with Cambodia while major investments from China are the nontransparent FDI by conducting deforestation and mineral exploitation with bringing all China’s materials and manpower/workers in. This problem reminds us of trade negotiation between Justin Trudeau and China which was failed completely because China insisted to bring their own materials and workers to invest in Canada. More than this, Mr. Sophan noticed on the anarchy of Chinese people in Cambodia particularly in Sihanoukville.
Emphasizing with MP Ron, Canada has provided free-tariff importing of Cambodia products accounting nearly 6%, and the royal government of Canada has continued to support human rights, rule of laws, capacity building, social and economic development eversince since Canada was a signatory of Paris Peace Agreement of October 23, 1991. Regarding the online petition sponsored by MP, Mr. Sophan shall contact and discuss with his personal assistance at main office in Ottawa continuously. If before the expiry date of October 24, the signatures are reached 500, MP Ron will detail this with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led by Christia Freeland before giving speech on official statement on collective resolution of proper restoration and measures to the situation of democracy in Cambodia. You can sign the petition at: https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-1746
Op-Ed: Cambodia Leadership Skills
Next Steps for Accountability
Given these new developments, the U.S. should take concerted action to hold Hun Sen and other cronies in the Cambodian government to account. The U.S. and 
other key actors in the international community, including the European Union, signaled their disapproval of the dissolution of the opposition and deteriorating conditions in the country. These actions may have been too little too late. A more robust response should have been carried out five years ago after flawed 2013 elections revealed a state of deteriorating democracy in Cambodia.22 The U.S. should take further steps to hold the Cambodian government accountable:
- Name and sanction Hun Sen and other party cadres for the role they play in undermining democracy in Cambodia. The U.S. Treasury Department should use all available tools in its toolbox to freeze and seize assets of known individuals actively obstructing freedom in Cambodia. It should expand its use of existing Global Magnitsky authorities and use any other relevant authorities to place individuals on the SDN list. Such an action would send a clear signal to Hun Sen that the U.S. will intervene in necessary ways to get Cambodia back on the path toward democratic reform.
- Expand existing visa restrictions on Cambodian officials undermining democracy. The U.S. State Department should follow through on promises made in its condemnation of the July 2018 election to expand existing visa restrictions on Cambodian government officials. One potential way to expand these authorities would be to extend visa restrictions unequivocally to family members, especially to Hun Sen’s direct family members. (Current visa restrictions only apply to family members on a case-by-case basis.)23
- Create and convene an emergency meeting of the Cambodia Contact Group comprised of parties to the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, including the United States, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, the U.K., and France, to monitor and press for democratic reform. Among the purposes of the Paris agreement was to ensure “the right to self-determination of the Cambodian people through free and fair elections” and “assuring protection of human rights.”24 The signatories have a continuing moral obligation in this regard. The contact group should be used to coordinate human rights policies and assistance programs toward Cambodia. In short order, leaders from all of the countries at the foreign-minister level should convene to draw up coordinated plans to hold the Cambodian government accountable and get Cambodia back on the path toward reform.
- Condition assistance to Cambodia on the health of democracy. The U.S. should adopt stringent metrics for determining whether Cambodia is eligible for key assistance programs. Such language could mirror proposed conditions in the 2019 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations bill.25 Language in the Senate version of the appropriations bill is particularly strong and specific. The U.S. government should conduct a thorough review of all assistance to Cambodia and consider instituting more severe restrictions on aid. Emphasis should be placed on holding the Cambodian government accountable without harming the people themselves.
- Continue to press for the release of Kem Sokha. Every U.S. government statement issued in response to deteriorating conditions in Cambodia should continue to reference Kem Sokha’s imprisonment and request that the Cambodian government release him immediately. The U.S. government should also make clear that there will be additional consequences if Kem Sokha continues to be held. Without a swift, coordinated plan democracy may never be restored in Cambodia. The U.S. and the international community should learn from the mistakes of its limited response after the 2013 election and respond to the 2018 elections in an offensive, rather than defensive, manner. The U.S. should plan for conditions to continue to deteriorate and put in place mechanisms that ensure Hun Sen and his CPP cronies are held to account
Read more details at Asia Foundation…
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As Singapore dredges sand out from beneath Cambodia’s mangrove forests, an ecosystem, a communal way of life, and one woman’s relationship to her beloved home are faced with the threat of erasure.
I remember my first trip to the mangrove forests near the island of Koh Sralau and along Cambodia’s coastline. I had no idea how extensive the mangrove forests were or how spectacular they would be. The forests stretched for miles and miles, carving out small islands, narrow waterways and channels, and ecologically diverse estuaries. I wanted to document the impact of sand dredging on the mangroves and on the lives of the people who live and thrive in these forests and the oceans surrounding them.
For over a decade, the government of Cambodia has granted several private companies concessions to mine these mangrove forests for sand. Each year, millions of metric tons of sand are shipped to Singapore to enlarge this island nation’s land mass, while Cambodia destroys its only natural protection against erosion, rising sea levels, tsunamis, and hurricanes and lays waste to a vital and fragile ecosystem that thousands of families depend on for their livelihood.
Read more details at Emergence Magazine…
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In late July, Cambodia participated (sort of) in the General Election, without having the option to choose the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which had been dissolved by the Supreme Court last November. The landslide victory by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) all but assures Prime Minister Hun Sen of near total control of the country. For poll watchers, observers of democracy and human rights activists, the post-mortem reflection on Cambodia’s decline will be painful. But for how long? This brief analysis offers three likely developments in Cambodia that offer both a glimpse of optimism and words of warning.
No. 1: Any imposed sanctions on Cambodia will fail: When the CPP clamped down on political freedoms, Western governments reacted strongly, yet predictably. Economic sanctions were at the top of the list of suggested responses. The United States called forsanctions for Cambodia in January after the arrest of CNRP leader Kem Sokha. Recently, the U.S. and the European Union have called for sanctions on high-ranking officials and more, including thoughts of stripping Cambodia of tax-free access to Western textile markets. If implemented, the loss of revenue could top $650 million. While that wouldcause few reservations for the CPP and Prime Minister Hun Sen, the impact would be felt by up to a million poor Cambodians who work in the textile and garment industries. Sanctions would almost certainly jeopardize efforts to boost national economic standing. The World Bank graduated Cambodia from LDC to lower-middle-income status in 2016and the United Nations has been supporting the country in efforts to move to upper-middle income status by 2030. Threats of sanctions reflect myopic foreign policies that fail to grasp the larger economic and political landscape. While Cambodia will not be able to find alternative Chinese markets for their goods, they will find political solace from Beijing and a new source of legitimate criticism in which to rest short-term political futures. The Americans should learn from the past. The U.S. imposed a trade embargo on Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge gained to power in 1975 and kept them through 1992. Cambodia relied then on China and communist states for their economic survival and it will soon again. Economic sanctions simply don’t work. They rarely have.
No. 2: Cambodia’s civil society will re-emerge: Creeping authoritarianism in the months before the July 2018 election subjected Cambodian civil society groups working in Cambodia to repressive restrictions. Recently, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that the judiciary has been used by the government to tighten controls on civil society groups that the regime saw as a threat, including the closure of some independent media organizations, violent responses to demonstrations, and arbitrary detention and arrest of human rights and political activists. The government passed the Law on Associations and NGOs in 2015, which provided a legal means for threatening civil society groups. However, the cost of repression is often high and civil society often quickly learns to adapt to acts of state violence. One need only look at Cambodia’s neighbor to the west as an example. Thailand imposed a number of repressive laws in the aftermath of the 2014 coup d’etat. Groups of five people were banned from gathering in public, political activists were arrested, and thousands were forced into re-education camps. But, five years after the coup, civil society is showing signs of re-emergence. Unless Hun Sen is willing to use much more repressive means to curtail civil society activities, it is highly likely that CPP dominance will face the same legitimacy challenges Prayut and the NCPO face today. Discounting the power of civil society in Cambodia is to not properly remember its history. Cambodians who faced human rights challenges during the Khmer Rouge eramobilized society and formed the basis for a robust human rights movement–even before the arrival of UNTAC. While it may not emerge in the short-term, it will inevitably happen.
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In the meantime, Mr. Sophan discussed in details about the human rights and democracy environment of Cambodia. The election on 29 July 2018 has not been a free and fair election reflecting genuine will of the Cambodian voters at all because the key opposition party that have paralleling capacity to compete with the ruling party CPP was banned not to compete in the election by jailing its leader, banning top leadership of 118 politicians not to engage in politics, dissolving the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), taking away the parliamentary seats of 55 to redistribute to other parties, and taking away the commune-Sangkat councillors of 5007 posts voted by the people to its own party. Further more, the independence media were shut down, non-governmental organizations whose missions are to monitor election and democratization, both domestic and international, were pressured and dispelled. Freedom of expression and movement of labor unions were oppressed. As a result, the ruling party Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) grabbed all 125 seats from the election.
European unions and the United States etc. shall cut off the free-tariff on garment exporting value near 700 millions per year while diplomatic tie and aids will be in dilemma, and blacklisting will be created to punish those individuals who have engaged to human rights violation and de-democratization in Cambodia.
