Rainsy Sam Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 2:02 AM *A POLITICAL LEGACY FOR THE FUTURE GENERATIONS*
What the CNRP has been striving for is not intended to serve the interests of any political party or any individual and is not designed to only address the current political situation. Our intention is to lay the foundation for Cambodia’s democratic future, for other political parties and leaders who will take up their positions in the years and decades to come in the spirit of democracy. We are actually engaged in institution building and consolidation of the democratic process. A number of our demands to this end have been met in principle. - Formation of a new and more independent electoral commission in order to ensure better and fairer elections in the future, when election results will better reflect the will of the people, which is the basis of democracy. - The right to operate radio and television stations with national coverage to the minority (formally called opposition) party. This will ensure that the Cambodian people can receive information and ideas from various sources, which will allow them to make free and informed choices. - Recognition by the government and the ruling party of the minority party as an institution with guaranteed rights and privileges, as a part of the checks and balances system that characterizes any democracy. - Recognition by the government and the ruling party of the position of “minority leader” for the leader of the largest parliamentary opposition party, who will be the dialogue partner of the prime minister on issues of national interest. What the CNRP has obtained represents significant strides towards democracy for a country which has only recently emerged from a long period of authoritarianism when a communist-born ruling party only strived to eliminate any form of opposition through most repressive means including violence. Sam Rainsy =================== In the News=============== *After Compromise, CNRP Returns to Grass Roots* http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/after-compromise-cnrp-returns-to-grass-roots-73344/ BY ALEX WILLEMYNS <http://www.cambodiadaily.com/author/alex-willemyns/> AND VAN ROEUN <http://www.cambodiadaily.com/author/van-roeun/> | DECEMBER 1, 2014* The Cambodia Daily* KHSACH KANDAL DISTRICT, Kandal province – Laying the groundwork for the opposition party’s long run to the elections due in early 2017 and 2018, CNRP Vice President Kem Sokha over the weekend again returned to his party’s base to sell the case for change through compromise with the CPP. Although it was not the first time Mr. Sokha or CNRP President Sam Rainsy has made the case that cooperation with the ruling party is the best way to defeat it, the journey to the provinces was the opposition’s first chance to defend the details of the electoral framework finalized on Friday. CNRP Vice President Kem Sokha takes questions from the audience after delivering a speech at a public forum in Kandal province Sunday. (Alex Willemyns/The Cambodia Daily) Speaking in front of about 250 supporters here in Kandal province Sunday, Mr. Sokha cautioned against becoming demoralized when the opposition is forced to capitulate to the CPP in order to push promised reforms forward. He told the audience that the CNRP had come a long way against a government prone to violent suppression. “Step one for change was to go and vote,” Mr. Sokha reminded the audience. “After the voting, we did not see them show the true results…so we demanded they check the results again but they did not let us look or investigate.” “When we did not see the true results, we gathered together to hold demonstrations—to demonstrate and to protest to make demands from one step to another,” he said. Mr. Sokha, who spent his Saturday at forums in Preah Sihanouk province, recalled that the protests had achieved few tangible results and led the CNRP’s leaders to believe that cooperating with the CPP was the only option. “The ruling party did not change its stance at all, even though millions demonstrated. It used violence to repress protesters,” Mr. Sokha said. “They dared to kill the people.” “As you see, they have no morality or merit,” Mr. Sokha continued. “We know their background, that they are former Khmer Rouge leaders who used to kill people and that they will continue to kill the people without hesitation.” On Friday, Mr. Rainsy and Prime Minister Hun Sen reached a compromise over the remaining disputed details of the July 22 deal that led the CNRP’s 55 lawmakers to end a 10-month parliamentary boycott. Mr. Hun Sen pledged that the CNRP would also get the analog television station that the opposition said it had been promised on July 22, but which Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said Thursday would not be granted. In exchange, the CNRP backed down on its refusal to accept a ban on dual nationals on the new National Election Committee (NEC), to be composed of four members from each party and a neutral ninth candidate. Mr. Sokha said the CNRP had not betrayed the will of its supporters by decamping from the streets in July and starting to negotiate with the CPP. “Change can either be made through fair elections or through turmoil,” he said. “As we can see with the change made by the coup in 1970, eventually Khmers still killed Khmers.” “The change made by the Khmer Rouge’s war in 1975 had the spilling of blood. Change was made by relying on foreigners in 1979 and the Khmer still suffered,” he said. “So the CNRP chooses one path. Change is made through free and fair elections,” Mr. Sokha said. “If change is made through elections, there needs to be changes to the election law—there needs to be the change of the NEC.” The next national election is presently set for February 2018. Elections for the more than 1,600 commune councils in the country are scheduled for February 2017. Until then, Mr. Sokha said the CNRP’s lawmakers would set about making up for their recent “silence,” which he said was due to their pressing work in the National Assembly putting the July 22 political deal into law. “Lawmakers should have a clear schedule for sitting in their lawmakers offices in the provinces, and in each province there is a lawmaker office,” Mr. Sokha said. “The provincial lawmakers have in the past been closed and not functioning, and there was a lot of grass and cattle grazing there.” Mr. Sokha also called on opposition supporters not to be tricked by the CPP, which he said would seek to divide the opposition before the next elections arrive. “The CNRP needs unity and firm solidarity,” Mr. Sokha said. “Our weakness is disunity. If they break us apart, we lose. They could do nothing, and even though the NEC is changed, if we have disunity, we lose.” *[email protected] <[email protected]>**, **[email protected] <[email protected]>* -------------------------- *New parties on horizon* Mon, 1 December 2014 David Boyle <http://www.phnompenhpost.com/author/david-boyle/3233> and Bennett Murray <http://www.phnompenhpost.com/author/bennett-murray/20558> The Phnom Penh Post Political analyst Kem Ley plans to create a diverse set of independent political parties in the new year, tackling what he says is an autocratic “disease” infecting both the ruling party and the opposition. Using his newly founded “social network” Khmer for Khmer as a springboard, Ley will register the parties at the communal, district and provincial levels of government, as well as create an Islamic party and an ethnic minority party, he told the *Post* last week. The idea is to start with five parties in different provinces and then potentially expand. Ley’s intention, he said, is for the new entities to act as models of pluralistic “intra-party democracy” at the grassroots level. “We will create local political parties, and those political parties will educate the people about the politics,” he said, adding that he does not intend to influence the parties’ politics beyond helping them establish their internal structures and bylaws. Ley expects to register a provincial party in Kampong Speu, a commune party in Takeo, a district party in Ratanakkiri, an ethnic minority party in Mondulkiri and an Islamic party in Kampong Cham, all in the first half of 2015. While Ley said it is legal to register parties at a commune or district government level, he admitted it has never been tried before. Given their small sizes, he said, it would be more practical for the parties to join forces with others instead of fielding their own candidates. “They can make alliances if the CPP or CNRP agrees on their political platform, or all of them can come together to adopt a new body,” he said. Ley also said the parties must ensure that ordinary party members vote for their leaders, adding that the large parties too often appoint leaders based on favouritism. The plan has been welcomed by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party but criticised by one opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmaker as “a waste of time”. “The people are very smart and understand that in this situation the only ones who can compete with the CPP are the CNRP,” said Yim Sovann, CNRP spokesman and lawmaker. “[Voters] do not want to waste their time just to go from one party to another when the CNRP is already strong.” Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said his party welcomed anyone to participate in political activities. “As nation builders, we are never enemies with anyone who wants to help build our country as one nation,” he said. Conscious of the potential for grassroots parties to divide the opposition and dilute its strength, Ley said any threat posed to the CNRP would be the result of their own internal weakness. The CPP has long pursued a political strategy to divide opposition coalitions and inflame differences of opinion between, for instance, CNRP president Sam Rainsy and his deputy, former Human Rights Party president Kem Sokha. “If the CNRP is still very strong, and more competitive with the CPP . . . 100 new parties will not attract the supporters [away],” Ley said, adding that the CNRP, which came into existence in 2012 when the Sam Rainsy Party merged with Sokha’s Human Rights Party, could be in an ideal position to forge alliances with the new grassroots parties. In the meantime, large sums of money are still needed to finance Ley’s endeavour and many barriers could stand in the way. None of the parties have applied for registration and projected costs have not been finalised. Political analyst Chea Vannath said *the “ambitious idea” seemed too grand to succeed, and that “it could work in theory on a conceptual level, but in practice is far beyond capabilities”,* she said. *Ley’s goal is to raise more than $1 million for Khmer for Khmer, which he said would accumulate enough interest in the bank to fund its support of the grassroots parties. He would like to be funded by “development partners* rather than okhnas or political allies”, he said, adding that the latter are common symptoms of “dirty politics”. On Friday, the CNRP struck a deal with the CPP, securing an analogue television licence and setting a path for Sam Rainsy to become the head of all minority parties in parliament in exchange for concessions on reforms of the National Election Committee. Yesterday, Rainsy merely said via email that he would consider all “interesting proposals” in response to Ley’s plan, but he did not elaborate further. *Opposition TV ‘will be truly independent’* Mon, 1 December 2014 Shane Worrell <http://www.phnompenhpost.com/author/shane-worrell/18201> The Phnom Penh Post The opposition party will aim to deliver Cambodians television programming similar to that seen on CNN and the BBC, a spokesman said yesterday. As part of a political deal finalised on Friday, the government granted the Cambodia National Rescue Party an analogue television licence, enabling it to compete against the country’s traditionally government-aligned and -owned stations. CNRP lawmaker and spokesman Yim Sovann yesterday gave no indication as to when the station would begin broadcasting or whether presenters were already being groomed. But, he said, the CNRP already has a firm idea of what direction it wants the station’s programming to take. “We have to learn from international TV stations such as CNN, the BBC and Channel News Asia,” he said. “It has to respect a code of ethics and show professional programs. I assure you, it will be truly independent.” Because the opposition was so resolute about this, it would effectively forfeit any further influence it has over programming, Sovann said. This would leave content in the hands of an independent team of programmers – and leave the opposition party, in theory, subjected to as much scrutiny as the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. “We want public debate,” Sovann said. Scheduling would consist mainly of Cambodian programs that focus on human rights, democracy, education and health, Sovann said. Entertainment would also have a place, he added. The Ministry of Information said on Friday it had seized back an analogue channel for the opposition to use. A company linked to the CNRP, Cambodian Independent Media, will be granted the opposition’s licence as well as a radio tower in the capital and relay stations in the provinces. But the opposition is still appealing to financial backers. “We want private investors. But it does not mean they are loyal to the party,” he said. Asked whether the opposition would accept investment from tycoons connected to the CPP, Sovann said the party would “look at [their] companies’ style”. In any case, “investors can buy shares but not make [news] decisions”, he said. *គណបក្សប្រឆាំងធានាថា ទូរទស្សន៍ខ្លួន គឺឯករាជ្យ* Mon, 1 December 2014 Shane Worrell <http://postkhmer.com/author/shane-worrell/1559> ភ្នំពេញ ប៉ុស្តិ៍ ទូរទស្សន៍ក្នុងស្រុកមួយកំពុងផ្តិតយកព័ត៌មាននៃកិច្ចប្រជុំពេញអង្គសភា កាលពីសប្តាហ៍មុន។ ហុង មិនា <http://postkhmer.com/photographer/%E1%9E%A0%E1%9E%BB%E1%9E%84-%E1%9E%98%E1%9E%B7%E1%9E%93%E1%9E%B6/320> *ភ្នំពេញៈ* អ្នកនាំពាក្យគណបក្សបានឲ្យដឹងថា គណបក្សប្រឆាំងមានគោលបំណងផ្តល់កម្មវិធីទូរទស្សន៍ប្រហាក់ប្រហែលនឹងកម្មវិធីដែលបញ្ចាំងនៅលើកញ្ចក់ទូរទស្សន៍ ស៊ីអិនអិន និង ប៊ីប៊ីស៊ី។ ជាផ្នែកមួយនៃកិច្ចព្រមព្រៀងនយោបាយដែលបានបញ្ចប់នៅថ្ងៃសុក្រ រដ្ឋាភិបាលបានផ្តល់អាជ្ញាប័ណ្ណទូរទស្សន៍ អា ណាឡូក (analogue) មួយទៅឲ្យគណបក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិ ដែលផ្តល់លទ្ធភាពដើម្បីប្រកួតប្រជែងនឹងស្ថានីយទូរទស្សន៍ចងសម្ព័ន្ធនឹងរដ្ឋាភិបាល។ លោក យឹម សុវណ្ណ ជាតំណាងរាស្រ្ត និងជាអ្នកនាំពាក្យគណបក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិ ពីម្សិលមិញ ពុំបានបង្ហាញថាតើ ពេលណាស្ថានីយទូរទស្សន៍នេះនឹងចាប់ផ្តើមផ្សព្វផ្សាយទេ ឬថាតើបុគ្គលិកត្រូវបានជ្រើសរើសហើយឬនៅទេ? ប៉ុន្តែ លោកបន្តថា គណបក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិមានជំហររឹងមាំអំពីថា តើទិសដៅអ្វីដែលគណបក្សចង់បាននៅក្នុងកម្មវិធីទូរទស្សន៍របស់ខ្លួន។ លោកប្រាប់ថា៖ «យើងត្រូវរៀនសូត្រពីទូរទស្សន៍បរទេស ដូចជា ស៊ីអិនអិន ប៊ីប៊ីស៊ី និង Chanel News Asia។ ត្រូវគោរពក្រមសីលធម៌ ហើយបង្ហាញកម្មវិធីបែបវិជ្ជាជីវៈ។ ខ្ញុំសូមធានាថា ទូរទស្សន៍នេះ គឺពិតជាទូរទស្សន៍ឯករាជ្យ»។ លោក យឹម សុវណ្ណ បានបញ្ជាក់ថា ដោយសារតែគណបក្សប្រឆាំងប្តេជ្ញាចំពោះចំណុចនេះ គណបក្សនឹងមិនប្រើឥទិ្ធពលខ្លួនទៅលើកម្មវិធីឬក៏ផ្តល់ខ្លឹមសារការផ្សព្វផ្សាយទៅឲ្យក្រុមរៀបចំកម្មវិធីឯករាជ្យ ហើយមិនឲ្យគណបក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិធ្វើការត្រួតពិនិត្យកាន់តែច្រើន ដូចគណបក្សប្រជាជនទេ។ លោក យឹម សុវណ្ណ បន្ថែមថា៖ «យើងចង់បានការជជែកជាសាធារណៈ»។ លោកបន្ថែមថា កាលវិភាគផ្សាយនឹងមានជាចម្បងនូវកម្មវិធីដែលផ្តោតលើសិទិ្ធមនុស្ស លទិ្ធប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ ការអប់រំ និងសុខាភិបាល។ កម្មវិធីជាច្រើន គឺជាកម្មវិធីផ្អែកលើព័ត៌មាន ប៉ុន្តែ ក៏មានការកម្សាន្តផងដែរ។ ក្នុងសេចក្តីថ្លែងការណ៍កាលពីថ្ងៃសុក្រ របស់ក្រសួងព័ត៌មានថា ខ្លួនបានរឹបអូសប៉ុស្តិ៍អាណាឡូក សម្រាប់គណបក្សប្រឆាំងប្រើប្រាស់។ ក្រុមហ៊ុន ដែលមានសម្ព័ន្ធនឹងគណបក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិ គឺបណ្តាញផ្សព្វផ្សាយឯករាជ្យកម្ពុជានឹងទទួលបានអាជ្ញាប័ណ្ណផងដែរ ក៏ដូចជា អង់តែនវិទ្យុ ក្នុងទីក្រុង និងស្ថានីយផ្សាយបន្តនៅក្នុងខេត្ត។ ប៉ុន្តែ គណបក្សប្រឆាំងនៅតែអំពាវនាវដល់ពាណិជ្ជករផ្តល់មូលនិធិដល់ស្ថានីយទូរទស្សន៍នេះ។ លោកបន្ថែមថា៖ «យើងចង់បានអ្នកវិនិយោគឯកជន។ មានន័យថា ពួកគេត្រូវមានភក្តីភាពជាមួយនឹងគណបក្ស»។ នៅពេលសួរថាតើ គណបក្សប្រឆាំងនឹងទទួលការវិនិយោគពីឧកញ៉ាដែលពាក់ព័ន្ធនឹងគណបក្សប្រជាជនឬទេ ? លោកឆ្លើយថា គណបក្សនឹងពិនិត្យលើក្រុមហ៊ុន។ អ្នកវិនិយោគអាចទិញភាគហ៊ុន ប៉ុន្តែ មិនអាចសម្រេចក្នុងការផ្សព្វផ្សាយទេ»៕ -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. 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