FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-FST-050-2012
November 16, 2012
A Statement from The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights
Commission (AHRC)
Cambodia: A Cambodian That Tolerates Dissent Sends The Right Message To President Obama
Phnom Penh, 15 November 2012 — The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) expresses its condemnation
at the arrest today of eight community activists in Thmar Kaul Village, Po Sen Chey District, Phnom Penh. The community
activists are guilty of nothing more than exercising their legitimate right to freedom of expression, and coming in the
wake of intimidation and harassment of civil society groups attempting to organize and hold meetings ahead of the
upcoming ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh, the arrests and detention of these community activists is yet another example of
the Cambodian authorities’ disregard for human rights. The Cambodian authorities have expressed a desire to show the
"good" face of Cambodia to the world, however, their intolerance of dissent and willingness to use the police to stifle
freedom of expression instead demonstrates little more than the shrinking democratic space in the country.
At 7:30am on November 15 2012, eight community activists—Un Sokny; Kin Leang; Chray Nim; Khea Sary; Uch Srey; Mach; Sem
Phal Sokunthy; Yun Sovanna; and Phung Sopheap—were arrested in Thmar Kaul Village, Po Sen Chey District, Phnom Penh,
after writing the word "SOS", on the roof of their building. Their plea for help was written beside a picture of the
President of the United States, Barack Obama. The eight are currently being detained at the Sangkat Kakab police station
while the Prosecutor decides the charges to be brought against them. Residents in Po Sen Chey District are currently
locked in a land dispute with authorities ahead of the ASEAN Summit. They have been told that they must vacate their
properties and forfeit their land to make way for a security area around Phnom Penh International Airport, where foreign
leaders are shortly due to arrive. ADHOC has repeatedly called for fair compensation for the residents. This
compensation has not been forthcoming, and instead the security zone appears to be little more than another case of
forced eviction in a country beset with forced evictions, land grabbing and ecologically and socially damaging Economic
Land Concessions (ELCs), amidst a general disregard for the land rights of poor and marginalized Cambodians.
The eight community activists were exercising their right to freedom of expression in an attempt to bring their plight
to the attention of foreign leaders. Freedom of expression is a fundamental freedom and is intimately linked with the
conditions of transparency and accountability that are necessary in a fully functioning democracy. Freedom of expression
is guaranteed under Article 41 of the Cambodian Constitution, in addition to article 19 of the Universal Declaration on
Human Rights (UDHR). It is also incorporated into Cambodian law by Cambodia’s ratification of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1992, which provides for freedom of expression under Article 19. As this
article states: "this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds,
regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his
choice". Therefore, not only is the issue raised by the community activists an important one; they have every legal
right to raise it.
There is no little irony that the community activists were arrested when sending a message to President Obama. Only last
week President Obama was re-elected to office after a lively and long-fought presidential election in which freedom of
expression was crucial to the democratic process. Moreover, freedom of expression is enshrined in the Constitution of
the United States and therefore the exercise of this right would surely be welcomed by the delegation from the United
States. Instead, in their heavy-handed suppression of this basic right and arbitrary arrest of the community activists
the Phnom Penh authorities have shown how far a gulf there is between the human rights protections guaranteed under
domestic and international law and the extent to which they are respected in practice.
The 2012 ASEAN Summit presents Cambodia with a unique opportunity to show its commitment to human rights. The arrest of
the eight community activists gives the opposite message. If the Cambodian authorities truly wish to show the best of
the country, then it must be willing to tolerate criticism and not attempt to stifle the democratic space in the
country.
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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in
Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of
these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
ENDS