Cambodia: a Test of Coherence for the Global Community

Posted by AsiaViews | Dec 4, 2017 | 0 |

By Sam Rainsy*

The Phnom Penh Post

Nov 28, 2017

The recent, brutal political repression in Cambodia reached its zenith on November 16 with the dissolution of the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party. This dissolution, which results from a decision by the Supreme Court instigated by the Cambodian People’s Party of Prime Minister Hun Sen, destroys the facade of democracy already badly damaged under a regime for which the concept of a separation of powers exists only on paper.

The dissolution of the CNRP, the only opposition party represented in the National Assembly where it was close to parity with the CPP, returns Cambodia to the situation before the signature of the Paris Peace Accords of 1991, to a single-party, communist-style regime led by former members of the Khmer Rouge. The Paris Accords, signed by 18 countries, including the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, guarantee a process of democratization in Cambodia leading to a “liberal and pluralist” system of democracy.

The dissolution of the CNRP constitutes a fatal derailing of this democratization process. It should prompt all the Paris Accord signatories to take steps strong enough to reanimate democracy in Cambodia. The dissolution is not simply the violation of an international treaty but it also breaks the principles of democracy enshrined in Cambodia’s Constitution.

Hun Sen’s fear is understandable in that the growing strength of the CNRP seriously threatens his 32-year-old power at the next legislative elections set for July 2018.

Yet Hun Sen is the victim of his own trap. Wielding the levers of executive, judicial and legislative powers, and changing laws as he pleases to eliminate critical voices, he faces a constitutional provision that he cannot amend without the required two-thirds majority.

Article 76 of the Constitution stipulates that the National Assembly must have at least 120 members. This provision renders Hun Sen’s system of government unconstitutional.

The arbitrary dissolution of the CNRP is a collective punishment for its 55 deputies, whose parliamentary mandate based on universal suffrage has been removed by diktat. The dissolution is a negation of the very principle of parliamentary representation upon which all democracies are based.

Hun Sen has rushed to redistribute the 55 CNRP parliamentary seats among small parties that are favorable to him but which failed to obtain any seats in the last legislative elections of 2013.

The international community, which condemned the CNRP’s dissolution, must not follow Hun Sen in this charade. It must demand that the decision to dissolve the CNRP be annulled and the rights of the 55 CNRP deputies be restored. And it must consistently not recognize the “replacements” of those CNRP deputies who are simply usurpers named by Hun Sen.

Pending the restoration of the rights of the 55 CNRP deputies, the National Assembly comprises only the 68 CPP members elected in 2013, which is a breach of Article 76 of the Constitution.

The international community must pressure Hun Sen on the basis of legality of governance to put the democratic process back on track. Everyone knows that for political, economic and financial reasons, no government of Cambodia can survive without international legitimacy based on a minimal respect for democratic principles.

*Sam Rainsy is former leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

(http://www.phnompenhpost.com/opinion/cambodia-test-coherence-global-community)

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

Cambodia: a Test of Coherence for the Global Community