Sunday, March 21, 2010
Cambodian Parliament Member Mu Sochua Visits U.S., Speaks on Lack of Human
Rights at Home
MuSochua with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the Occasion of theVital
Voices Tribute to Global Women Leadership last week.
M.P. Mu Sochua visits a paralyzed woman denied quality health services.
Wavingto her supporters, the odds are stacked against Cambodian
ParliamentMember Mu Sochua. Many of her contemporaries in the opposition
havebeen assassinated.
CoryAquino fought with yellow ribbons, Aung San Suu Kyi fights with adignified
silence. Cambodian Parliament Member Mu Sochua leads theopposition with candles.
Armed police in Phnom Penh blocking the opposition's anti-corruption march.
Mu Sochua receives the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for leadership in human rights
from
Allida Black, Director of the Eleanor Roosevelt Project at George Washington
University. (U.S. Mission Photo: Eric Bridiers.)
CambodianParliament Member Mu Sochua, whose is in danger for leading
theopposition, with Jean-Michel Tijerina of the Cambodia Project and me inthe
safety of New York City. (Photo courtesy of Nozomi Terao.)
March 19, 2010
Jim Luce
The Huffington Post
Jean-Michel Tijerina, CEO and Founder of the Cambodia Project, insisted I must
meet her.
After an hour over coffee, I fully comprehended why.
I was talking to the Cory Aquino or the Aung San Suu Kyi - of Cambodia.
And given her courageous outspokenness, I am now very concerned for her safety.
CambodianParliament Member Mu Sochua (Wiki) is headed back to Cambodia where
shefaces possible arrest and imprisonment. Yet she is headed backnonetheless.
She was in New York last week to attend Women inthe World: Stories and
Solutions, a conference that provides a platformfor women across the world to
tell the stories that have shaped theirlives.
Some of the speakers in attendance are well-known, likeHillary Clinton, Diane
von Furstenberg, and Queen Rania of Jordan.Other faces were less familiar but
shared no less powerful stories,such as Mu Sochua.
This high-poweredevent was sponsored by HP, Exxon Mobil, Bank of America, and
GoldmanSachs' 10,000 Women, and follows on the heels of the Vital
Voicesconference at Kennedy Center in Washington last week.
Theyinvited internationally prominent women such as Mu Sochua toparticipate. In
2005, she was one of 1,000 women nominated for theNobel Peace Prize and has
received many awards for her human rightswork.
Mu Sochua became a member of her nation's Cabinet in 1998,after having returned
in 1989 after 18 years in exile during the periodcalled the Killing Fields. She
was then one of two women in high powerthere.
War and genocide took me away from my nativeCambodia when I had just completed
high school, in 1972. War explodedin addition to genocide from 1975 to 1979.
In just three years,over one million lives were lost - a quarter of Cambodia's
people. Thegreen rice fields of Cambodia became killing fields.
Armed conflict continued until the Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1991.
She was the first woman to preside over the Office of Women's Affairs. Prior to
her, it had been considered a man's job.
Ileft Cambodia as a young adolescent and returned as a mother and anactivist,
working with women's networks and human rights organizationsto promote peace
and to include strong provisions in the 1993Constitution to protect the human
rights of women.
In 1998, Iran for a parliamentary seat in the North West of Cambodia, the
mostdevastated region, and won. The same year, I became Minister of Womenand
Veterans' Affairs -- as one of only two women to join the cabinet.
Ideclined a ministerial post in the next government, joining theopposition
party instead, and joining forces with Cambodian democratsto fight corruption
and government oppression.
But thegovernment there is not particularly democrat and she felt thecorruption
and nepotism kept Cambodia's women back. She did not wish tobe co-opted, so she
joined the Sam Rainsy Party, the lead oppositionparty in Cambodia.
As a minister, I proposed the draftlaw on domestic violence in Parliament,
negotiated an internationalagreement with Thailand to curtail human trafficking
in Southeast Asia,and launched a campaign to engage NGOs, law enforcement
officials, andrural women in a national dialogue.
During my mandate, Icampaigned widely with civil society and NGOs to encourage
women at thegrassroots to run as candidates for commune elections, the first
oftheir kind in the history of Cambodia.
Although thegovernment rejects these numbers -- and critics are often
challengedwith misinformation charges -- it appears from credible sources
thatCambodia remains one of the poorest countries in Asia, with 30% of
thepopulation living below the national poverty line of 45 cents a day in2007,
with 68.2% of the population living on less than $2 a day.
Mu Sochua wants to improve Cambodia's economy - with the help of Cambodia's
women:
Myefforts have always been for long-term development which includesdevelopment
of human resources for Cambodia, where most of ourteachers, doctors, and judges
were killed during the Khmer Rouge years.
Asa woman leader I lead with the strong belief that women bring stabilityand
peace, at home, in their communities and for the nation.
I am a strong supporter and advocate for a gender quota, although this special
measure is yet to be adopted by the government.
Leavingthe government to join the opposition is not the same as Joe
Liebermanbeing a Democrat or Republican. In Cambodia, they don't play. The
headof the opposition party, Sam Rainsy, has been found guilty ofdestruction of
public property and sentenced to two years in prison.
This trumped-up charge was followed by another three weeks later that will
likely send him to at least ten years behind bars.
Drummed-upcharges and show trials are part of the Cambodian judiciary system
thatis directly controlled by the government. It is a direct form ofpolitical
prosecution of the government's critics.
A letter tothe editor to The Phnom Penh Post this week by a prominent human
rightsdefender points out the charges against Sam Rainsy are similar to thenew
electoral law in Burma which is designed solely to keep oppositionleadership
out of atonal elections.
Sam Rainsy, a prominent economist trained in France, was made Finance Minister
following the U.N.-sponsored elections in 1993.
However,his parliamentary immunity was stripped and his former party
expelledhim from his government position in 1995 for his attempt to clean
upcorruption - forcing him to form the opposition party.
He hassurvived at least two assassination attempts when leading
workers'demonstrations. At one of the demonstrations his body guard died on
topof him. He has since fled into exile in Paris.
Mu Sochua explained her dedication to opposition founder Sam Rainsy:
Heleads with one thing in his mind: Justice. A man with strong
democraticprinciples, he delegates power, he seeks the truth, and never
shiesaway from threats to his life.
He has walked thousands of mileswith the poor to end land grabs, he has lead
hundreds of demonstrationsto fight for workers' rights.
And he has risked his life morethan once to end corruption which is calculated
at close to US$500million per year according to the U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia.
Since1995, Mu Sochua told me -- as we sat in the safety of the
Time-WarnerBuilding opposite Columbus Circle in New York City -- that
185activists from her opposition party have been killed.
Shecasually mentioned that just to care for that number of bodies was aburden
for her and her followers. As hardened as I have become by mytravels, I was
shocked.
More than once I have come faceto face with armed police and military. My
strategy for self-protectionis to remain vocal, visible and high profile.
The day I joinedthe opposition party was the day the leader of the workers'
movement --Chea Vichea -- was assassinated. He was the founder of the
oppositionin Cambodia.
The documentary of his life and death, WhoKilled Chea Vichea?", will premiere
March 27 at the Frederick FilmFestival in Maryland. Chea was shot in broad
daylight by assassins, butthe government arrested two other men and imprisoned
them for theirsupposed crime.
I was given a private screening of this movingfilm by its director Bradley Cox
and will write its review shortly.Images of Buddhist priests crying as they
watch the funeral processionare haunting.
The reason I fear for Mu Sochua's safety isbecause the Government of Cambodia
wants her gone. Try to follow thisstory - she is charged with "defamation." As
I understand it:
ThePrime Minster insulted my new friend Mu Sochua. She insisted heapologize. He
said, "forget-about-it - just sue me!" So she did.
However,her lawyer was immediately threatened with being disbarred, so he hadto
drop her as a client. The case was then closed for 'lack ofevidence.'
But the case was far from over. The Prime Minsterthen took her to court - for
having sued him. He claimed she hadcommitted a 'conspiracy to defame his
reputation.' Unbelievable.
Shelost this suit in June of 2009. She was told by the court she must paya
$4,000 fine. She refused and appealed - and lost again in November2009.
Now -- about the time she will return home -- it goes tothe Supreme Court
there. The Court is controlled by the CambodianGovernment, where she will most
probably lose again.
"If I lose, I will not pay that fine," she told me defiantly. I will go to jail
first!"
Shefaces this verdict upon her return. I call on the world press tomonitor this
closely, and for the people of the world to reach out totheir Cambodian
Embassies and let them know: The Whole World IsWatching.
Mu Sochua has a 25-year history now of advocacy. As aMember of the Cambodian
Parliament and mother of three, Mu Sochua hasplayed a crucial role in the
empowerment of women and has workedtirelessly to lead the fight against
gender-based violence.
Her political issues are both specific and universal:
Human Rights of Women.She campaigns widely to defend the human rights of women
through theadoption and full implementation of legislation against
gender-basedviolence.
Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children.She travels around
the country to sensitize villagers to the danger oftrafficking, pursues the
prosecution of traffickers through a strongnetwork of local organizations, and
leads the fight against corruptionof officials.
Women in Politics.She is the principal leader of the women's movement for
transformativeleadership, campaigning widely for legislation and policies to
promotewomen's participation and positions in decision-making.
The Urban Poor.She advocates for the rights of squatters to improve their
livingconditions and gain lease-hold rights to land. She also supports
thedevelopment of communities for squatters with schools, health
centers,sanitation, and access to employment.
Land Rights.She advocates for the rights of tenants in her constituency of
Kampotand throughout Cambodia, investigating evictions and
land-grabbingfirst-hand, listening to villagers' stories, and supporting
formalcomplaints.
There are said to have been at least 11,600victims affected by land disputes in
2009. When urban communities areforcibly evicted and relocated to remote areas
lacking propersanitation, jobs, and food security, female heads of household
sufferthe most.
Malnourishment of infants and children under fivedouble. Relocation of rural
communities are even more dangerous towomen as the families who are already
vulnerable are further facingmore violence as they are relocated to less
secure, unfamiliar areas.
Forcedevictions and illegal economic concessions happen almost on a dailybasis,
with villagers arrested without arrest warrants and leading thepoor to chronic
poverty and food insecurity.
Civil society andlocal human rights organizations working to empower the
landless areoften subject of government scrutiny, law suits, and illegal
detention.
Healthcare for women in Cambodia itself is beyond comprehension to me.
According to Mu Sochua:
Maternalmortality rates in Cambodia are higher than any other country in
theregion although some progress has been made in the at five years.
Thereare currently over 4,000 deaths of women during delivery or five womendie
in childbirth per day, and one woman dies every five hours fromchildbirth. An
average of 19,780 children die per year -- with 55 dyingevery day during the
first year of life.
Education is also a mess. According to Mu Sochua's research:
Theliteracy rate among women are 55.6%; only 12.6% of girls in rural
areasattend lower school and 4.1% of rural girls attend lower secondaryschools.
Drop out rates also at primary level is at 50%.
Lastmonth the organization that I founded, Orphans International
Worldwide(OIWW) presented its 2010 Distinguished Global Citizenship Awards
forHelping Humanity. U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney andDionysia-Theodora
Avgerinopoulou, a Member of the Hellenic Parliament,were awarded.
It is obvious to me that this Cambodian Member ofParliament, the Hon. Mu
Sochua, must receive my organization's 2011Distinguished Global Citizenship
Awards for Helping Humanity. It is upto the world to make sure she is not in
prison so she can receive it.
Posted byHeng Soy| Permalink|
Labels:CPP silencing the opposition voice | Hun Xen's travesty of justice | Mu
Sochua | Promoting women issues | Sam Rainsy | SRP MP
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