KEEP SPREADING THE HATE TO THE WORLD.
On Mar 21, 7:12 am, "Sam Rainsy Party of North America" <[email protected]> wrote: > Sunday, March 21, 2010 > Cambodian Parliament Member Mu Sochua Visits U.S., Speaks on Lack of Human > Rights at Home > > Mu Sochua with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the Occasion of the > Vital Voices Tribute to Global Women Leadership last week. > M.P. Mu Sochua visits a paralyzed woman denied quality health services. > Waving to her supporters, the odds are stacked against Cambodian Parliament > Member Mu Sochua. Many of her contemporaries in the opposition have been > assassinated. > Cory Aquino fought with yellow ribbons, Aung San Suu Kyi fights with a > dignified silence. Cambodian Parliament Member Mu Sochua leads the opposition > 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.) > Cambodian Parliament Member Mu Sochua, whose is in danger for leading the > opposition, with Jean-Michel Tijerina of the Cambodia Project and me in the > 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. > > Cambodian Parliament Member Mu Sochua (Wiki) is headed back to Cambodia where > she faces possible arrest and imprisonment. Yet she is headed back > nonetheless. > > She was in New York last week to attend Women in the World: Stories and > Solutions, a conference that provides a platform for women across the world > to tell the stories that have shaped their lives. > > Some of the speakers in attendance are well-known, like Hillary 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-powered event was sponsored by HP, Exxon Mobil, Bank of America, > and Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Women, and follows on the heels of the Vital Voices > conference at Kennedy Center in Washington last week. > > They invited internationally prominent women such as Mu Sochua to > participate. In 2005, she was one of 1,000 women nominated for the Nobel > Peace Prize and has received many awards for her human rights work. > > Mu Sochua became a member of her nation's Cabinet in 1998, after having > returned in 1989 after 18 years in exile during the period called the Killing > Fields. She was then one of two women in high power there. > > War and genocide took me away from my native Cambodia when I had just > completed high school, in 1972. War exploded in addition to genocide from > 1975 to 1979. > > In just three years, over one million lives were lost - a quarter of > Cambodia's people. The green 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. > > I left Cambodia as a young adolescent and returned as a mother and an > activist, working with women's networks and human rights organizations to > promote peace and to include strong provisions in the 1993 Constitution to > protect the human rights of women. > > In 1998, I ran for a parliamentary seat in the North West of Cambodia, the > most devastated region, and won. The same year, I became Minister of Women > and Veterans' Affairs -- as one of only two women to join the cabinet. > > I declined a ministerial post in the next government, joining the > opposition party instead, and joining forces with Cambodian democrats to > fight corruption and government oppression. > But the government there is not particularly democrat and she felt the > corruption and nepotism kept Cambodia's women back. She did not wish to be > co-opted, so she joined the Sam Rainsy Party, the lead opposition party in > Cambodia. > > As a minister, I proposed the draft law on domestic violence in Parliament, > negotiated an international agreement with Thailand to curtail human > trafficking in Southeast Asia, and launched a campaign to engage NGOs, law > enforcement officials, and rural women in a national dialogue. > > During my mandate, I campaigned widely with civil society and NGOs to > encourage women at the grassroots to run as candidates for commune elections, > the first of their kind in the history of Cambodia. > Although the government rejects these numbers -- and critics are often > challenged with misinformation charges -- it appears from credible sources > that Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in Asia, with 30% of the > population living below the national poverty line of 45 cents a day in 2007, > 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: > > My efforts have always been for long-term development which includes > development of human resources for Cambodia, where most of our teachers, > doctors, and judges were killed during the Khmer Rouge years. > > As a woman leader I lead with the strong belief that women bring stability > and 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. > > Leaving the government to join the opposition is not the same as Joe > Lieberman being a Democrat or Republican. In Cambodia, they don't play. The > head of the opposition party, Sam Rainsy, has been found guilty of > destruction 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-up charges and show trials are part of the Cambodian judiciary system > that is directly controlled by the government. It is a direct form of > political prosecution of the government's critics. > > A letter to the editor to The Phnom Penh Post this week by a prominent human > rights defender points out the charges against Sam Rainsy are similar to the > new electoral law in Burma which is designed solely to keep opposition > leadership 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 > expelled him from his government position in 1995 for his attempt to clean up > corruption - forcing him to form the opposition party. > > He has survived at least two assassination attempts when leading workers' > demonstrations. At one of the demonstrations his body guard died on top of > him. He has since fled into exile in Paris. > > Mu Sochua explained her dedication to opposition founder Sam Rainsy: > > He leads with one thing in his mind: Justice. A man with strong democratic > principles, he delegates power, he seeks the truth, and never shies away from > threats to his life. > > He has walked thousands of miles with the poor to end land grabs, he has > lead hundreds of demonstrations to fight for workers' rights. > > And he has risked his life more than once to end corruption which is > calculated at close to US$500 million per year according to the U.S. > Ambassador to Cambodia. > Since 1995, Mu Sochua told me -- as we sat in the safety of the Time-Warner > Building opposite Columbus Circle in New York City -- that 185 activists from > her opposition party have been killed. > > She casually mentioned that just to care for that number of bodies was a > burden for her and her followers. As hardened as I have become by my travels, > I was shocked. > > More than once I have come face to face with armed police and military. My > strategy for self-protection is to remain vocal, visible and high profile. > > The day I joined the opposition party was the day the leader of the > workers' movement -- Chea Vichea -- was assassinated. He was the founder of > the opposition in Cambodia. > The documentary of his life and death, Who Killed Chea Vichea?", will > premiere March 27 at the Frederick Film Festival in Maryland. Chea was shot > in broad daylight by assassins, but the government arrested two other men and > imprisoned them for their supposed crime. > > I was given a private screening of this moving film by its director Bradley > Cox and will write its review shortly. Images of Buddhist priests crying as > they watch the funeral procession are haunting. > > The reason I fear for Mu Sochua's safety is because the Government of > Cambodia wants her gone. Try to follow this story - she is charged with > "defamation." As I understand it: > > The Prime Minster insulted my new friend Mu Sochua. She insisted he > apologize. He said, "forget-about-it - just sue me!" So she did. > > However, her lawyer was immediately threatened with being disbarred, so he > had to drop her as a client. The case was then closed for 'lack of evidence.' > > But the case was far from over. The Prime Minster then took her to court - > for having sued him. He claimed she had committed a 'conspiracy to defame his > reputation.' Unbelievable. > > She lost this suit in June of 2009. She was told by the court she must pay > a $4,000 fine. She refused and appealed - and lost again in November 2009. > > Now -- about the time she will return home -- it goes to the Supreme Court > there. The Court is controlled by the Cambodian Government, 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!" > She faces this verdict upon her return. I call on the world press to monitor > this closely, and for the people of the world to reach out to their Cambodian > Embassies and let them know: The Whole World Is Watching. > > Mu Sochua has a 25-year history now of advocacy. As a Member of the Cambodian > Parliament and mother of three, Mu ... > > read more » -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. 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