CONTENTS

THREE FREEDOMS IN CAMBODIA
November 1999  

INTRODUCTION 

The last complete report on the observance of the freedom of association, assembly and expression in Cambodia was published in June 1999.[1] This report was mainly based on the events related to the factional fighting of July 1997, during which first Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh was ousted by second Prime Minister Hun Sen, and contained an extensive overview of the political situation in Cambodia since 1970. The report was updated until the elections of July 1998 and the violent crackdown of the post-election demonstrations in September 1998. This paper will therefore focus on the events since September 1998, which positively or negatively affected the protection of the three freedoms in Cambodia. 

In general, a relative calm descended over Cambodia after the two largest political parties, CPP[2] and the royalist Funcinpec[3] reached a power sharing agreement and a new government was formed in November 1998 with Hun Sen as Prime Minister. The third party in the National Assembly, the Sam Rainsy Party, forms the opposition. 

Almost all remaining Khmer Rouge leaders and their forces defected to the government in December 1998, while the last leader of the brutal genocidal regime which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 and fought a guerilla warfare during the next 20 years, was arrested in March 1999. Negotiations between the Cambodian government and the United Nations on a tribunal to try the former Khmer Rouge leaders for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity so far have not led to a acceptable compromise. 

At a Consultative Group meeting of Cambodia’s donor countries and agencies in Tokyo in February 1999, the donors pledged $ 470 million for the following year in development assistance. However, the donors insisted on quarterly review meetings to monitor the process made by the Cambodian government in the fields of demobilization, forestry, fiscal/financial reform and administrative reform. Much to the dismay of the human rights organizations, a proposal for a separate working group on rule of law and judicial reform was not approved. 

There remain numerous problems related to the human rights situation in the country. ADHOC continues to receive an average of 60 cases a month, varying from extra-judicial killings to land disputes, and from illegal arrest and detention to torture. Despite the fact that most cases are well documented and often the perpetrator is known, only an very small percentage of the cases is solved. Impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations remains the largest problem. 

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION  

The media is still is heavily politicized and - like many other professional groups in Cambodia – it lacks independence, professional skills and ethics. There are over 40 Khmer language newspapers, a small number of foreign language newspapers, a dozen radio stations and five television channels. Broadcast media is generally dominated by the government and since the 1997 coup has been mainly controlled by the CPP. 

The 1995 Press Law fails to protect journalists from arbitrary pressure from the government and lacks clear definitions for terms such as, “political stability” and “humiliation of a national institution”. Moreover, the law allows the authorities to suspend publications arbitrarily and lacks provisions for appeals. Since 1993, there have been continuous attempts to hinder the ability of journalists to operate freely, through the imposition of restrictions on the issuing of permissions and licenses for broadcast and print media alike.

Over the last four years, over a dozen acts of violence against journalists or their offices have taken place. These include five murders of journalists, three attempted murders, three grenade attacks and two incidences of ransacking of newspaper offices by mobs. None of those responsible for the violence have been brought to justice. 

The owner of a radio station that was forced to close down temporarily in September 1998 after he angered the government by covering allegations of rice-wine poisoning and calling the election results fraudulent launched a newspaper in November 1999. Although he opened his radio station after six months and remained critical of the government, he got permission from the Ministry of Interior to publish his newspaper, The Sonando News. 

In October 1998, the Secretary of State for Information said in an interview with the pro-government newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea that the authorities were planning to suspend  two English language publications, the Cambodia Daily and the bimonthly Phnom Penh Post, and to expel American journalists who had “committed serious professional errors”. 

In October 1998, the Ministry of Information threatened to revoke the visa of an American reporter for his coverage of the events related to the inauguration of the National Assembly. After protests from foreign diplomats, the Ministry backed down. 

On March 3, 1999, the Minister of Information announced a temporary halt to the issuing of new press licenses. He stated that more regulation was needed and that there were too many newspapers in Cambodia. He also intended to oblige newspapers to renew their licenses annually.

One of the newspapers that suffered repressive actions was Sathea Ronakrath (Republican News), a pro Lon Nol era (1970 - 1975) newspaper. The paper was suspended on September 14 for 30 days after writing that King Sihanouk was partly responsible for Cambodia’s civil war. The Cambodian Constitution forbids insulting the monarch, a crime for which another newspaper, Sraoch Srang Cheat, had been suspended for a week in November 1998. Republican News previously was suspended in 1996 for printing a Lon Nol era flag. Lon Nol ousted then-leader Prince Sihanouk in 1970 and ruled Cambodia until the Khmer Rouge took over in 1975. In recent months, several attacks have taken place on the wife of the editor of Republican News, including a bomb on the roof of her car which failed to detonate and a shooting which left her seriously injured in hospital. However, both the Municipal Police and human rights organizations which investigated the attacks claim that there is no evidence that the attacks were politically motivated. ADHOC investigations led to the conclusion that it was most likely a personal dispute. 

FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION 

Since 1993, over 250 national NGOs were established. The activities of these NGOs range from grassroots development to human rights. The government has allowed NGO participation in a wide range of fields, and acknowledges that NGOs play an important role in the development of Cambodia. However, there have been several efforts by the government to control NGOs involved in human rights and the rule of law. 

As mentioned in the previous report on the three freedoms in Cambodia, the government drafted the first version of an NGO law in 1996. This law received substantial criticism from the NGO community, although they approved the draft. This draft law was not implemented, and in mid-1998 a new law was drafted. The new draft attempted to control the sources of funding of associations and local NGOs, excluding foreign assistance. Furthermore, this draft made it mandatory that all associations and NGOs function on the basis of membership and organize in assemblies. However, this draft was abandoned as well and a new draft NGO and Association Law was written in October 1999. This draft is a clear improvement in comparison to previous drafts. It makes fewer restrictions and rules for the registration, composition and funding of NGOs and associations. However, there are still a number of serious problems in the draft law, including:

• the reason for registration;

• the obligation to submit detailed annual reports to the government;

• the obligation to transfer assets of a dissolved association to the Cambodian Red Cross;

• the composition of Cambodian NGOs and associations;

• the basis for rejection of registration of an NGO or association;

• the lack of a clear explanation of rights and duties of chairpersons, treasurers and boards of directors;

• the exclusion of funding from foreign resources for associations (though it is part of sources for funding of NGOs);

• the lack of a clear explanation which serious violations of the law cause a breach of the public order or present a danger to the national security, which can be reason to dissolve the association or NGO.

In December 1998, two human rights workers were arrested after monitoring of demonstrations against the dumping of toxic waste in  Sihanoukville. Even though the Appeal Court released them on bail after they had spent one month in prison, the charges were only dropped after three days of trial, six months later. 

Also in December, a human rights defender who worked as a volunteer activist for ADHOC was killed, reportedly for representing fifteen families who were threatened with eviction from the land they had lived on for five years.  One of the suspects in this case is a local militia member.  To date, no warrant for his arrest has been issued. 

Between January 6 and 19, 1999, NGO representatives were intimidated by government authorities as they gathered 84,195 signatures from Cambodians requesting the United Nations to establish an international tribunal to try Khmer Rouge leaders for the mass killings and crimes against humanity committed during their rule from 1975 to 1979.  Throughout the petition process, NGO workers were intimidated by several commune and district authorities in six provinces and on January 13 authorities in Kandal province threatened to arrest an NGO worker for his participation in gathering signatures for the petition. 

In January 1999, representatives of NGOs who had voiced their opposition against the establishment of a Senate, were attacked by a pro-government newspaper as being enemies of the government and tools of the opposition. The views of independent NGOs are often interpreted as political and several NGO representatives feel threatened. 

FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY 

Prior permission from local authorities is needed to hold demonstrations. This aspect of the law is seen as overly restrictive, especially since permission is often denied on grounds contrary to, among others, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Articles 1 and 2 of the Demonstration Law ban gatherings deemed to "public tranquility, order and security", which is contrary to the democratic principle that demonstrations should not be prohibited simply because they may provoke negative reactions from bystanders. Furthermore, "public tranquility, order and security" are not specifically defined in the law. Under article 3, authorities are not required to provide specific reasons for banning a demonstration, although demonstrators are allowed to appeal decisions. Article 4, which outlines measures to stop unauthorized demonstrations, could be used to prohibit spontaneous demonstrations. 

In February 1999, a student organization asked permission to hold a demonstration in favor of an international tribunal for the trial of the former Khmer Rouge leaders. This permission was denied, reportedly because the students had omitted to include a contact address. 

The arrest of two human rights workers in Sihanoukville in December 1998, who were peacefully monitoring demonstrations, can also be viewed as a violation of the freedom of assembly. 

A nation-wide teachers' strike and demonstrations for higher salaries in February 1999 was met with several instances of intimidation and threats by authorities in a number of provinces. 

Demonstrations organized in June 1999 by student organizations to protest the alleged border encroachments by Thailand, Vietnam and Laos did not receive permission from the authorities, but nevertheless took place peacefully under large police presence. 

CONCLUSION 

The situation related to the protection of the freedom of expression, the freedom of association and the freedom of assembly did not deteriorate in the past 14 months, though there have been a number of instances which show an excessive government control over civil society and the media. The Press Law and the Law on Demonstrations still contain too many possibilities for indiscriminate prohibition of newspapers or demonstrations for reasons that are not further defined, such as national security, political stability, and public tranquility, order or security. It remains to be seen what the function of the future NGO and Association Law will be, either providing NGOs with clarification of their rights and duties, or increasing oppression of civil society. 

Close monitoring of the observance of the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms will remain necessary. Pressure should remain on the Cambodian government to respect fundamental freedoms. In this respect, strengthening of the judiciary should be one of the most important areas for the government, as well as donor countries and agencies, to focus on. Only an independent judiciary will be able to assess the constitutionality and compliance with international norms of laws and actions by authorities.   

ADHOC
November 19, 1999