UN Rapporteur to Visit Kingdom

October 10, 2016

UN Rapporteur to Visit Kingdom

10 October 2016

Rhona Smith, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, will start her 10-day visit to the Kingdom today, with plans to meet government officials, opposition party activists and civil society workers.

Am Sam Ath, a senior coordinator for rights group Licadho, said he was not sure who Ms. Smith would meet while she was here, but added that if he did get to meet her, he would ask about the situations surrounding land disputes, the country’s judiciary and systemic human rights violations.

“We will raise the issue of human rights which have seriously deteriorated and we will ask her to speak to the government,” he said.

“In this last period, human rights have deteriorated badly and the courts have become a tool of politicians,” he added, telling Khmer Times that the boycott of the National Assembly by the opposition party as well as the arrest of human rights activists and politicians critical of the ruling party were evidence that the government was not respecting human rights.

Seoung Sen Karona, a human rights monitor and investigator for rights group Adhoc, said he would have plenty to discuss with Ms. Smith because the last few months have been particularly contentious concerning human rights in Cambodia.

“In this last period, there were serious human rights violations. Politicians, land and human rights activists were used as a political tool, as seen in the case of four Adhoc officials and the deputy secretary-general of the NEC [National Election Committee],” he said, referring to the arrest in May and continued detention of four civil society workers and an election official.

Mr. Sen Karona said the issues in the political sector were permeating issues Cambodians faced on a daily basis. The goal, he said, should be to have a cohesive political process that was inclusive of all parties so the nation’s issues could be addressed instead of argued over for political gain.

“If the political situation becomes stuck, human rights issues will also get worse,” he said.

According to a press release from the Office of the UN’s High Commissioner For Human Rights, Ms. Smith will have meetings with senior government officials, head of the Cambodian Human Rights Committee Keo Remy, a number of civil society groups and other diplomatic organizations.

She also has plans to travel across the country and gather information from the provinces. In the statement, she said she planned to focus on the discrimination of minorities and other marginalized groups.

This will be Ms. Smith’s third visit to Cambodia since she was appointed in March 2015. Among other things, Ms. Smith will primarily be reviewing the human rights situation in the country, monitoring the implementation of previous recommendations and making suggestions for future changes.

Ahead of her arrival, a number of citizens and groups suffering from land evictions across the country will meet in Phnom Penh to plan a potential protest today to commemorate the 31st World Habitat Day.

Phnom Penh City Hall refused to allow the group to celebrate the day at a variety of locations across the city, and their rejection, for many involved in the celebration, was evidence of the kind of government response they are trying to work against.

Sao Kosal, the technical program manager of urban NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), said more than 1,000 people involved in land disputes or evictions from 99 communities in seven provinces will celebrate the day in the Dey Krahom area near the Russian embassy, even though City Hall refused to give them the go-ahead to gather there.

But for Mr. Kosal, any potential arrests paled in comparison to the reason why they chose that specific area to hold their event.

“The reason that all communities want to celebrate it at Dey Krahom is because the area is a place where authorities evicted hundreds of families in land disputes without proper compensation and with human rights violations,” he said.

Ley Ceremony at Wat Chas, Says Wife

October 10, 2016

Ley Ceremony at Wat Chas, Says Wife

 Monday, 10 October 2016

Despite authorities rejecting an application to have slain political analyst Kem Ley’s 100-day funeral ceremony at Phnom Penh’s Wat Chas pagoda, his wife and the organizing committee insisted yesterday that it would go ahead as planned.

Speaking via a video conference to local Social Breaking News, Mr. Ley’s wife expressed disappointment at Phnom Penh City Hall’s rejection of the application, adding that she didn’t understand the decision as it was normal for people to conduct funeral ceremonies at pagodas.

“The statue has no spirit. They [the authorities] are scared and I do not understand how they think,” said Bou Rachana, referring to a statue of her husband mourners planned to carry from Phnom Penh to his home in Takeo province.

“We normally organize funeral ceremonies at pagodas and we have asked for permission from two pagodas. Pagodas are for organizing funerals and we felt such regret when they denied ours.”

On Friday, local media reported that Phnom Penh City Hall had rejected the organizers’ request to have a 100-day ceremony at Wat Chas pagoda, saying that organizers needed to obtain permission from Mr. Ley’s family first.

Last Tuesday City Hall also rejected a similar request to hold a 100-day funeral ceremony at the city’s Wat Botum Park from Friday to Sunday, saying the venue was inappropriate for such a ceremony.

However, the organizing committee and Ms. Rachana said on Facebook yesterday that Mr. Ley’s 100-day ceremony will be held at Wat Chas pagoda, the same pagoda where his funeral was conducted, from Friday until the following Monday.

On Sunday morning there will be a procession from Phnom Penh to bring Mr. Ley’s statue to Takeo province, the post added.

Ms. Rachana has been in Thailand since August 28 after leaving Cambodia for fear of her and her family’s safety. She gave birth to her fifth son there, who was named Kem Leyvireak.

Mr. Ley was shot twice on July 10 while he was reading a newspaper at a Caltex gas station coffee shop in Phnom Penh.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, among a host of others, claimed the government was involved in the murder.

He pointed to the fact that Mr. Ley had only days earlier commented on a Global Witness report highlighting ties between Prime Minister Hun Sen’s family and some of the country’s largest corporations. He also mentioned alleged shooter Eurth Ang’s past as a soldier known to love guns and shooting.

Critics also cited the police refusal to release video footage from the gas station and publish any information about potential motives the shooter may have had to murder Mr. Ley.

The initial motive Mr. Ang gave upon arrest – that Mr. Ley owed him $3,000 – was dismissed days later when Mr. Ang’s wife and mother confirmed to Khmer Times that the family was poor and would have had no way to loan someone that large a sum of money.

Mr. Ang has been charged with premeditated murder and illegal possession of a weapon, according to articles 200 and 490 of the Criminal Code.

Boycott May Lead to Fines

October 10, 2016

Boycott May Lead to Fines

 Monday, 10 October 2016

Opposition members of the National Assembly may soon have their pay and expenses docked if they continue their months-long boycott of the sessions.

The Parliamentary Permanent Committee is thinking of amending the National Assembly’s internal regulations to include disciplinary articles concerning members who boycott sessions, including possibly docking their pay and expenses.

Chheang Vun, a spokesperson for the majority Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) at the National Assembly, said a proposal was made last month to conduct an in-depth study into fining MPs who boycott sessions or “use inappropriate words.”

“The decision to modify the internal regulations requires a 50 percent plus one vote only. So the CPP members have enough votes to do so,” he told Khmer Times.

“I think the reason for the opposition’s boycott is just an excuse, as they just want to waste time,” he added.

Ou Chanrith, the vice-president of the assembly commission that will likely conduct the study, and a member of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Yem Ponhearith, a spokesman for minor parties at the National Assembly, said they would oppose any additional disciplinary articles since the current internal regulations are enough.

“There is no need for any change to the regulations that are written already,” he said.

At a press conference at the CNRP party headquarters in Phnom Penh on Friday, party spokesperson Yim Sovann insisted that MPs not attending sessions did not mean that they were boycotting their duties as a whole, and said they would continue such actions as summoning government officials for questioning over their conduct.

While the CNRP had suggested it would start attending sessions again last week, its members were not present at Friday’s session due to vague safety fears, said Mr. Sovann.

“The latest information we got from our source is that there would be threats to us if we entered the parliament on that day. For the following sessions, we will consider to join if it’s necessary.”

Sok Eysan, the CPP spokesperson, dismissed the CNRP’s claims as simply an excuse aimed at negotiating the release of their members now in prison.

“This is just an excuse by the CNRP,” he said, calling on foreign governments not to listen to the claims.

The CNRP boycott started in late May after security forces attempted to arrest deputy leader Kem Sokha after he refused to attend questioning at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court over an alleged affair.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said at the time that the National Assembly would be able to continue working normally with or without the opposition members.

On Friday, he took a more conciliatory position, writing on his Facebook page that the assembly is where both parties meet and work and it was best for the nation if they sat down and discussed their issues.

Jarai Say No to Ratanakiri Gold Mine

October 10, 2016

Jarai Say No to Ratanakiri Gold Mine

Khmer Times/Sonny Inbaraj Krishnan and May Kunmakara Monday, 10 October 2016

An insurrection led by ethnic Jarai villagers against the Kingdom’s first commercial underground gold mine, to be operated by Indian-owned Mesco Gold (Cambodia), looms over the green, serene remote hamlet of Plung, a few kilometers from the Vietnamese border, in Ratanakiri’s O’Yadaw district.

About 140 Jarai families live at the edges of the forest there that are still teeming with wildlife and home to the much sought after Siamese rosewood. Chainsaws and bulldozers have spared these jungles, unlike the neighboring forested land that has been decimated and converted into mammoth rubber and cassava plantations.

“This Indian gold mine would destroy the environment by their dynamiting and the chemicals they use to extract the gold underground will poison our land,” Romam Davit, a 28-year-old Jarai villager, told Khmer Times.

“Our forests are also sacred to us. We have our spirits here, where we can make sacrifices to our ancestors. If all this is taken away, we will have nothing to pass on to our children,” he said.

“If the company doesn’t agree to stop mining and leave our land alone, we will stop them by using force if necessary,” warned the villager.

Last month the Ministry of Mines and Energy issued Cambodia’s first industrial mining license to Mesco Gold, with a 30-year concession, to start operating a 12-square kilometer underground gold mine in Phum Syarung in O’Yadaw district.

“With the grant of the first fully approved mining license in Cambodia to Mesco Gold, a new stage in the evolution of the mining industry in the country has begun, which so far was limited to exploration only,” JK Singh, chairman of Mesco Gold’s parent company, Mesco Group, said in a media statement.

Mesco Gold (Cambodia) is a subsidiary of Indian steelmaker Mesco and purchased the rights to develop and mine the Phum Syarung prospect from Canadian exploration company Angkor Gold Corp in 2013.

Angkor Gold holds six exploration licenses in northwestern Cambodia, and sold its rights to the O’Yadaw license to Mesco Gold for $1.9 million. Angkor Gold also negotiated a net smelter agreement of between two and 7.5 percent that will see it receive a share of any gold extracted.

The forests and its surrounding land in O’Yadaw district are valuable to the Jarai of Plung village, and they claim Mesco Gold is already preventing them from gathering fruit, medicinal plants, rattan and bamboo from the jungle and working in their small upland rice fields.

“The gold mine does not allow us to go into our own land to farm, and we can’t go into the forest to gather plants and fruits and also hunt small animals for food,” said 34-year-old Romam Char.

“The gold from our land is mined by the company and taken away. Nothing comes back to us, and to insult us further we now cannot even have access to our own land and the forests.”

Rajeev K Moudgil, director of Mesco Gold, in an interview with Khmer Times said the notion that gold mining gives high returns to companies “is based on wrong perceptions.”

“Projects of this nature require major investments and payback periods are usually long, due to the complexity and uncertainty in gold mining, and even when profits come they are very nominal,” said Mr. Moudgil.

Commenting on the lack of access of the Jarai in Plung village to their farmland and forests, Mr. Moudgil said: “The project will not prevent in any way access to farms and people’s normal life will continue without interruption. Mesco Gold is operating according to the laws of Cambodia and it will support programs for development of the villages near its operations.”

“If any land is needed for the mine infrastructure then following a due process of consultation, adequate compensation shall be paid to the existing land user in a transparent manner,” he added.

Last March 18 Jarai families in Pheak village, at the fringe of the Phum Syarung gold mine, occupying an area of 40 hectares, were paid $1,500 per hectare compensation by Mesco Gold.

“The amount of compensation was well above the market rates. On this piece of land, mine construction and the process plant will be commissioned,” said Mr. Moudgil.

The Mesco Gold director also stressed that no damage to land or soil will take place due to the mining operations.

“It is to be noted that these are standard processes and are approved in countries like Australia, US, India and elsewhere. It would cause no damage to land or water,” he pointed out.

Meng Saktheara, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Mines and Energy, told Khmer Times that the ministry had been working closely with both Angkor Gold and Mesco Gold (Cambodia) and conducted feasibility studies over the mining area before granting a mining license to Mesco Gold to start their mining operations in Phum Syarung.

Mr. Saktheara clarified that though the mining license was for a 12-square-kilometer concession, mining at the moment will start in a one-square-kilometer area.

“There is no argument with local villagers on this area. However, for the other 11 square kilometers the company [Mesco Gold] has yet to do its own feasibility study and an environment impact assessment,” he said.

“Later on, they [Mesco Gold] will work on other 11 square kilometers if they think it has mining potential. If it doesn’t have mining potential, the company can decide not to work on it.”

Mesco Gold’s Mr. Moudgil said the project will create jobs, generate tax revenue for the government, provide training skills to those who want to work in the mining projects besides assisting local people for their development.

But the prospect of being reduced to a day laborer, earning a pittance on a gold mine and needing cash to buy food that previously came from the community through farming, bartering and hunting is just too harrowing for 45-year-old Jarai villager Sow Lit.

“I would not work for Mesco Gold even if they offered me $30 a day. We, the Jarai people, live off the land and we depend on the land. Nature doesn’t need us but we need nature,” said Mr. Lit. “Without our land we would die.”

“We need help to fight this mining company. Please help us tell our story to the outside world,” he pleaded.

Mr. Lit’s plea resonated with Greg McCann, an environmentalist and field coordinator for Habitat ID, an NGO that works in Ratanakiri’s Virachey National Park bordering Vietnam.

“From a bio-regional perspective, the mine is insane. The project epitomizes everything that is wrong with big decisions being made from afar by people who have no connection to the landscape,” said Mr. McCann who is also the author of “Called Away by a Mountain Spirit – Journeys to the Green Corridor” – an ethnographic travelogue based on Cambodia’s remote northeast.

“The Jarai of O’Yadaw have every right to be fretting about the ecological impacts of this mine. It will be an environmental disaster, there can be no doubt about it. In a sense it’s almost like someone detonating a tactical nuke in their terrain, leaving them with a mangled and permanently contaminated landscape,” he added.

The Jarai, Cambodia, and the world would lose the forests, the animals, and the free-flowing freshwater sources, said Mr. McCann. “But we will lose more. The landscape becomes ‘de-storied.’  The legends, the myths, the oral histories, and animist beliefs will dissipate in the smoke of chainsaws and bulldozers.”

Mr. McCann concluded: “I really hope they [the Jarai] do not resort to violence. I don’t want to see anyone hurt or killed and the sacrifice would probably not help them achieve their aim.”