Cambodian-Americans praise Mu Sochua

SRP MP Mu Sochua at her arrival at the Phnom Penh airport on 05 July 2010 (Photo: Yun Samean, RFA)

10 July 2010
By Taing Sarada
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Click here to read the article in Khmer

“Cambodia is lucky to have a brave daughter like her. I hope that there will be a lot of other women who will stand up like her. All the other men should be ashamed by her bravery.”

Overseas Cambodians praise the decision made by SRP MP Mu Sochua not to pay her fine. The Phnom Penh municipal court ordered her to pay a compensation to Hun Xen regarding the defamation lawsuit brought up by the latter.

Cambodian-Americans are calling Mrs. Mu Sochua a “famous heroic woman” who dared fight against the Cambodian justice system which is well known for being under the whim of the ruling party.

Im Sinith, a Cambodian-American living in Alabama, said that Mu Sochua’s struggle is undertaken to seek justice for herself and to set an example to the entire country: “They [the CPP regime] violated her rights, and she is the one who is sentenced instead. If there is arrangement made, then there would be no justice at all. To have justice, there should be no arrangement made. Therefore justice requires justice, so I want her to maintain her strong position in spite of the circumstances, we cannot just stand and watch.”

Saro Sivutha, the former president of the Student Movement for Democracy, said from Long Beach, California, that he praises Mu Sochua’s courage to dare bring reform to improve the justice system: “Cambodia is lucky to have a brave daughter like her. I hope that there will be a lot of other women who will stand up like her. All the other men should be ashamed by her bravery.”

The Phnom Penh municipal court and the Phnom Penh treasury issued an ultimatum for her to pay 16.5 million riels in fine because she lost her case in the defamation lawsuit brought up by Hun Xen.

On 06 July, the Phnom Penh court of first instance issued an order telling Mu Sochua to pay the entire amount of her fine within a period of 10 days starting from 06 July, otherwise, the police will arrest her and send her to jail.

However, Mrs. Mu Sochua used to indicate that she will not even pay one single riel and that she is ready to face her arrest.

Cambodian-Americans living in several US states announced that they will push their US congressmen and senators to put pressure on the Cambodian government should the police arrest Mrs. Mu Sochua.

READ MORE - Cambodian-Americans praise Mu Sochua

July 15th event in Phnom Penh: Buddhism, "The Opposite of Buddhism"

This isn't a "typical" announcement for Khmerization to post on the
website, however, (1) you do run stories about the state of Buddhism
in Cambodia, and (2) your website probably has at least a few regular
readers who would be interested in attending this lecture ... if
they're in Phnom Penh. On the 15th, the lecture will be in English
only: I am hoping to (subsequently) translate the full text into
Khmer, and then present it again to a broader audience.

Time and Place:

15th of July 2010
6pm – Baitong Restaurant
(7 Street 360/ Norodom Bd, Beung Keng Kang I)

http://hshhpp.pbworks.com/

The lecture is very much addressed to a Cambodian audience, and makes
explicit links to the problems Cambodian students and scholars are
facing today (in "inheriting" the European tradition of Buddhist
studies).

Best wishes,
E.M.


[Title:] The Opposite of Buddhism: European Colonialism and Interpretation

[Author:] Eisel Mazard

[Abstract/Synopsis:] The legacy of European scholarship is burdened
with distorting biases; conversely, the "canon" of this scholarship is
increasingly available in digital formats, instantly accessible, and
used throughout Asia (even within Buddhist monasteries) and
incorporated into (seemingly) indigenous versions of Buddhist texts.
The formative influence of Imperialism, Christianity, Theosophy and
Aryan race theory in early European (mis-)interpretations of Theravada
Buddhism continues to have implications for the current generation of
scholars --both in Asia and in Europe. This lecture broaches some of
the outstanding problems of interpretation in the European tradition,
tracing out a few patterns over a period of centuries, with some
distortions originating in European colonialism but continuing to have
salience to debates about the content of Buddhist philosophy that
are ongoing (in Asia and Europe) today.

[About the Author:] Eisel Mazard is a scholar of Pali, the most
ancient language and literature of Theravada Buddhism, and of the
history, languages and politics of Theravada Asia. His research has
primarily concerned mainland Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Laos, Yunnan
and Thailand.

[Website:] http://www.pali.pratyeka.org/
[A list of recent articles:] http://profiles.tigweb.org/EM0

READ MORE - July 15th event in Phnom Penh: Buddhism, "The Opposite of Buddhism"

Cambodian population to reach 17.5 mln by 2025 - [How many are Khmers and how many are Xmers?]

As Hun Xen claimed, Cambodia's morality squad is spearheaded by Generalissimo Bun Rany Hun Xen (L), Hun Xen's wife (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

July 10, 2010
Xinhua

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen said Friday that his country's population will reach 17.5 million by 2025 citing the average birth rate at 1.54 percent per year.

In an open message to the World Population Day, Hun Sen said the Cambodian populations were recorded at 13.4 million in 2008 to about 14.3 million by July 2010.

He said with the capacity of having 3 to 4 children in one family and with an average birth rate of 1.54 percent per year, the country's populations will "reach 17.5 million by 2025".

He said women have played an important role in Cambodia's society and their roles have been elevated through the rectangular strategy set out by his government and their education was also recorded high.

Hun Sen said that literary rate among women at their ages of 15 and above was recorded having basic education from primary to graduate level was increased from 57 percent in 1998 to 71 percent in 2008.

Also, at the same time, women have been integrated and posted in the government cabinet, parliaments as well as other governmental institutions.

Cambodia holds it population census every 10 years and since 1993, Cambodia has held twice, one in 1998 showing 11,437,656 with 5.5 millions as males and 5.9 millions as females, and the second was in 2008 showed the populations increased to 13,388,910 with 6.5 millions as males and 6.9 millions as females.

READ MORE - Cambodian population to reach 17.5 mln by 2025 - [How many are Khmers and how many are Xmers?]

Long Beach nonprofit trying to help another young Cambodian heart patient

Doctors in Cambodia examine Bunlak Song, who was abandoned by his homeless birth mother at two days old.
Bunlak Song, 2, needs heart surgery.

07/09/2010
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram

"As we checked in at a small hotel," Chhun recalls, "she begged me, `Please help Bunlak, lok ta (grandpa), I hope and pray, and I pray very hard that you can save his life."'

At a dusty roadside store in Cambodia between Phnom Penh and the Vietnamese border, Peter Chhun found his latest cause, another life in the balance.

Bunlak Song, was only two days old when his homeless mother begged Siv Leng Chuy and Chin Song Hai, who were visiting their adult daughter in the hospital, to take her son. By nightfall the mother left the hospital and her child behind.

Bunlak's adoptive parents scratch out a living selling gas in plastic bottles to local taxis, motorcycles and tuk-tuks in their home village of Kampong Popil. But they have taken the boy in and say he has brought them luck.

However, they need a miracle if Bunlak, who will be 3 in October, is to live a normal life.

Bunlak suffers from several congenital heart defects, including a ventral septal defect, or a hole in the heart, and coarctation, or narrowing, of the aorta.

This has led to a variety of maladies, including hypertension in the lungs and a history of dyspnea, or labored breathing, since birth, according to a report by Dr. Luy Lyda of Angkor Hospital for Children.

Left untreated, the conditions could lead to a shortened life expectancy and declining health.

Chhun founded Hearts Without Boundaries, a small nonprofit in Long Beach to help children like Bunlak. Since 2008, Chhun has helped three destitute Cambodian children receive life-altering open heart surgeries not available to them in their home country.

Chhun annually travels to Cambodia with Variety Lifeline which provides minor heart procedures for children. He hopes after that visit to bring Bunlak to the U.S. in December if the boy is determined a good candidate for surgery.

In the interim, he hopes to broker a deal with a hospital to take on Bunsak.

Chhun's three previous clients, Davik Teng, Soksamnang Vy and Socheat Nha, were treated by surgeons who donated services and hospitals that either donated facilities or offered them at deep discounts.

Chhun met Bunlak and his family on a recent trip to Cambodia. He recalls talking to Chuy after a 5-hour trip to Siem Reap to have Bunlak examined.

"As we checked in at a small hotel," Chhun recalls, "she begged me, `Please help Bunlak, lok ta (grandpa), I hope and pray, and I pray very hard that you can save his life."'

Information about Hearts Without Boundaries is available online at heartswithoutboundaries.org. The group also has a page on Facebook.

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 562-499-1291

READ MORE - Long Beach nonprofit trying to help another young Cambodian heart patient

Chhang Song sidelined with health problems in Long Beach

Chhang Song, ex-Lon Nol regime minister, ex-CPP senator, renominated as CPP advisor in 2007 (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Cambodian diplomat sidelined with health problems in Long Beach

07/09/2010
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram

LONG BEACH - Song Chhang had hoped to be celebrating this weekend in Washington D.C.

He certainly didn't expect to be in a bed in a nursing facility considering his life and wondering what the future holds.

"I still have so many things to do," the 72-year-old says wistfully.

There are stories yet to tell. He wants to see how things turn out in his Cambodian homeland. But now, he just doesn't know.

Chhang is a prominent if rather low-key Cambodian in Long Beach. He is French and American educated, the former Minister of Information for Lon Nol's government during the Cambodian civil war. In the United States he helped craft the legislation that paved the way for 150,000 refugees to flee Cambodia after the fall of Pol Pot's brutal Khmer Rouge regime, under which upwards of 2 million Cambodians died.

He returned to Cambodia around 1994 and was part of the Cambodian People's Party until he was ousted in the late 1990s.

This weekend, Chhang had looked forward to speaking at a special dinner among diplomats and fellow Cambodians to recognize the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cambodia and the United States.

The actual date of the beginning of Cambodia-U.S diplomatic ties was in July 15, 1950. That year, the U.S had sent its first ambassador to Cambodia to recognize its impending independence before the country's final separation from France in 1953.

Although relations have been rocky at times and even severed, in recent years the relationship has improved.

Later this month, there will be events in Cambodia to mark the anniversary, including a performance by Long Beach resident Sophiline Shapiro's Cambodian classical dance troupe of "Seasons of Migration."

Although he'd love to take it all in, instead, Chhang will have to hear second-hand from his bed at the Regency Oaks Skilled Nursing Care facility.

Initially, Chhang thought he suffered a stroke, but he says doctors are still doing tests.

Chhang traces his health problems to overextending himself in a recent visit to Phnom Penh for a reunion of war correspondents, or the "old hacks," as they called themselves. Before his ascension to Minister of Information, Chhang was a press liaison.

At the reunion, Chhang helped oversee the installation of a small memorial to the 37 journalists who died covering the civil war between 1970 and 1975. He was also part of a group that traveled south of Phnom Penh to plant a tree in memory of an NBC team killed there.

Chhang says he wrote and made eight different speeches over the reunion events.

Now he hopes to get out of his bed and do whatever he can to help his country. He had planned a speech about refreshing sometimes rocky relations between the U.S. and Cambodia before his country falls too much under the sway of China.

And he wishes to see a day when a more "spiritual leadership" comes to his country. That's would make the old man happy.

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 562-499-1291

READ MORE - Chhang Song sidelined with health problems in Long Beach

Rendez-vous at No. 71 Sothearos Blvd in Phnom Penh on Thursday 15 July 2010 - Bring In Your Krama (BIYK)!

Please come out (in your kramas!)
on Thursday, July 15
to No. 71 Sothearos Blvd.
in support of outspoken parliamentarian and
champion of women's rights
Madam MU Sochua
when the police come to arrest her.

A visit with a hero (beautifully wrapped in silk krama) at her elegant home after being treated to a wonderful lunch at Atmosphere (Phnom Penh, 7 July 2010).

------
Thank you Anet Khmer for the correction!

READ MORE - Rendez-vous at No. 71 Sothearos Blvd in Phnom Penh on Thursday 15 July 2010 - Bring In Your Krama (BIYK)!

Cambodian Activist Chooses Jail in Standoff with Prime Minister

Cambodian opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua says she would rather go to jail than pay the prime minister for defamation. (Photo: Heng Sinith)

Kate Woodsome, Voice of America
Washington 09 July 2010

“It is about the opposition party making all its efforts to fight a prime minister who acts as a dictator. And it is about time to make a move for change.” - Mu Sochua, Cambodian opposition parliamentarian

To be a critic of the Cambodian government is difficult and, sometimes, dangerous work. But to be a female activist is even more challenging in the male-dominated society. Mu Sochua, an opposition party parliamentarian, is one of the country’s most powerful women. She is now counting down the days until her arrest on charges of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Strong legs

It all started when Mu Sochua sued the prime minister for defamation. Last year, Mr. Hun Sen called Mu Sochua “cheung klang,” which means strong legs. Mu Sochua says “cheung klang” was used in a disparaging way to disrespect her gender and intimidate the opposition. She sued him for the equivalent of 12 cents in what she called a symbolic protest. The prime minister responded with his own defamation suit, alleging that her lawsuit unfairly disparaged him.

Cambodia’s courts struck down Mu Sochua’s case but upheld the prime minister’s. She has until July 15th to pay about $4,000 in fines. But she says she would rather go to prison.

“It is my conscience that tells me I have not committed any crime. It is my conscience that tells me that we have to stop living in fear, and fear of one man who has ruled Cambodia for over 30 years,” Mu Sochua says. “And for me, it’s a gender issue as well. Because if I allow it to happen, if I pay the fine, what does it mean to the value of women who represent more than half of the people of Cambodia?”

Women's rights

Mu Sochua was not always a member of the opposition. From 1998 to 2004, she served in the government as the minister of women’s affairs. Since then, many more women have joined the government. Mu Sochua says the social image of women has improved somewhat, but that the changes have not been institutionalized.

“The women who are elected from the ruling party, the party of the prime minister, unfortunately do not serve their constituency because they serve their party first,” she says. “Which means that they don’t challenge, they don’t monitor the implementation of the laws.”

Mu Sochua says she is unwilling to stay silent while Prime Minister Hun Sen intimidates the Cambodian people, including those in his own party.

“It’s not about me and the prime minister,” Mu Sochua says. “It is about the opposition party making all its efforts to fight a prime minister who acts as a dictator. And it is about time to make a move for change.”

Detention

Authorities have not said how long Mu Sochua would spend in prison if arrested. She says she is mentally preparing to be behind bars for six months. Her case is not unprecedented. In 2005, several human rights activists were also jailed for defamation but released in less than a month largely because of international pressure.

The world may be watching Mu Sochua’s case, as well. The Cambodian parliamentarian is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee and a U.S. citizen. But she says she is not using her status to try to avoid arrest. She says if going to prison will help illuminate Cambodia’s problems, then she is willing to do whatever it takes.

Western nations often raise concerns about democracy and human rights in Cambodia, but critics say they do not do enough to hold the Hun Sen government accountable. In June, foreign donors awarded Cambodia more than $1 billion in development aid on the same day the Supreme Court upheld the prime minister’s case against Mu Sochua.

READ MORE - Cambodian Activist Chooses Jail in Standoff with Prime Minister

“Shall Women Remain Silent?” A Roundtable Discussion

Press Release

“Shall Women Remain Silent?”
A Roundtable Discussion

We, a group of university students, individual advocates, and Cambodian women groups share an urgent concern regarding women’s freedom of expression. We believe in the potential that Cambodia has to become a great nation promoting equality and rights for all. Therefore, in view of the criminal charges against Member of Parliament H.E. Ms. Mu Sochua regarding the defamation of Prime Minister Hun Sen, we believe we must step forward. We support our sister Mu Sochua in her time of need and the issues on women’s rights that she and many women advocate for.

In the context of MP Mu Sochua’s trial and pending imprisonment on the 15th of July, we are organizing a roundtable meeting on Cambodian women in politics, to be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Saturday, 10th July, 2010. Cambodian women will share their experiences, opinions, and hopes, followed by open discussion.

A formal statement will be released next week, followed by a petition currently being circulated throughout Cambodia.

For further information please contact:

Arun Reaskmey, Tel: 012236653
Chrek Sophea, Tel: 092293257

Event Details:
Saturday 10th July 2010.
Baitong Restaurant, Number 7, Street 360, Phnom Penh
From 3-5pm.

READ MORE - “Shall Women Remain Silent?” A Roundtable Discussion

Video on the 61st Kampuchea Krom Loss by the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community

The 61st Kampuchea Krom Loss Memorial Buddhist Service to honor past heroic Khmer Buddhist leaders, clergies, heroes and fallen armed forces personnel and Commemorate June 4, 1949 France gives Khmer land, Kampuchea Krom, to authorities of colonial Vietnam until today.

To watch videos, please kindly click on this link:

http://www.khmerkromngo.org/multimedia/kk61Loss.htm

READ MORE - Video on the 61st Kampuchea Krom Loss by the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community

‘Unprecedented’ Cambodia, US Ties

King Sihamoni of Cambodia diplomatic papers from newly appointed US Ambassador Carol Rodley, 2009. (Photo: VOA Khmer)
Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Friday, 09 July 2010

“It would be good if Cambodia could learn from a rich and democratic country, not a communist one."

Cambodia and the US are experiencing their strongest ties in 60 years, according to historians and other experts, in what has been a relationship with a lot of ups and downs.

Diplomatic ties were cut twice, in 1965 and 1975, and the countries were torn apart by the Cold War. Relations were strained further after the Cambodian People’s Party seized power in fighting in 1997. And the two countries occasionally clash on issues of human rights and democracy.

Despite all this, ties are growing.

“From economic growth projects to cultural exchange programs to military cooperation, the level of substantive collaboration is unprecedented,” Kenneth Foster, a spokesman for the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, told VOA Khmer. “In no time over the last 60 years have our two countries coordinated on a daily basis as much as we do now.”

Kenton Clymer, a historian of Cambodia-US relations, said Cambodia’s Cold War position and the US’s inability to “forge a policy” damaged the relationship. He suggested a non-ideological path of diplomacy to ensure a long-term relationship.


“It it is hard to predict the issues that will arise in the next, say, 60 years will be,” he said in a phone interview. “All I can say is that as long as both sides follow an intelligent and thoughtful diplomacy, that will prevent or at least mitigate problems that will arise.”

The US is now one of the biggest donors to Cambodia, providing development assistance topping $40 million per year. And unlike aid in the 1970s, which went to war-fighting, this aid is for development.

“Nowadays, cooperation between our two countries focuses on economic development, improving democracy, human rights [and] counterterrorism and fighting drugs and human trafficking,” Cambodia’s ambassador to the US, Hem Heng, told VOA Khmer in a recent interview.


Still, there are areas where Cambodia does not meet US expectations.

“Issues like human rights, democracy, and corruption are not properly addressed,” said Kem Sokha, president of the opposition Human Rights Party. “Whenever the US raises these issues, the government of Cambodia always objects. There are still disagreements over these big issues.”

Kem Sokha said Cambodia’s leaders often talk about US invasion and past mistakes, “but never talk about those of China.”

“It is obvious that current leaders lean to another side that is still contrary to the US stance,” he added.

The most recent strain came in December 2009, when Cambodia sent 20 Uighur Muslim asylum seekers back to China, in what some groups said was a violation of international obligations.

The US suspended a military aid package as a result, but there has been little other public fallout. China followed with a military aid package of its own.

That development disappointed some.

“It would be good if Cambodia could learn from a rich and democratic country, not a communist one,” said Yap Kimtung, president of the group Cambodia-Americans for Human Rights and Democracy.

However, it has not derailed the relationship, and a stream of celebrations are planned as July continues.

READ MORE - ‘Unprecedented’ Cambodia, US Ties