CAMBODIA – Decriminalise defamation now! No transparency, no democracy
15 July 2009 4:50 am

Civil society organisations in Cambodia, including FORUM-ASIA member LICADHO, condemned the lifting
of parliamentary immunity of two members of the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP)
and lack of transparency of the event to the public. This lifting enabled
the Prime Minister's defamation lawsuit proceed, attacking
"democratically elected representatives of the people". Below is the
organisations' statement issued on 22 June 2009.
Civil society organisations in Cambodia, including FORUM-ASIA member LICADHO, condemned the lifting
of parliamentary immunity of two members of the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP)
and lack of transparency of the event to the public. This lifting enabled
the Prime Minister's defamation lawsuit proceed, attacking
"democratically elected representatives of the people". Below is the
organisations' statement issued on 22 June 2009.

We, the
undersigned members of Cambodian civil society, condemn the lifting of
parliamentary immunity from SRP members Ms. Mu Sochua and Mr. Ho Vann by the
National Assembly today, Monday 22 June 2009. The National Assembly's
action is a significant blow to democracy and freedom of _expression in
Cambodia.

In
addition to the decision to lift Ms. Mu Sochua's parliamentary immunity,
which was made to allow Prime Minister Hun Sen's criminal
defamation lawsuit against her to proceed, the National Assembly also made a
surprise decision to lift Mr. Ho Vann's immunity this morning. In his
case, the decision clears the way for a lawsuit, filed by a group of military
officers, for criminal defamation, disinformation and incitement to be made
against him.

The
manner in which the lifting of the two SRP MPs' immunity was conducted
this morning leaves no doubt that the government understands that this process
was unfair. The decision to include Mr. Ho Vann's immunity in the vote
was made in secret and only known at the last minute. National and
international observers – including foreign diplomats – were
refused access to the National Assembly to observe the vote. One open handed
vote, rather than separate ones, was used to lift the immunity of both MPs.

We condemn these actions, which
show clearly that the government and ruling party had something to hide. We
note that Cambodian television stations were prevented from reporting on
today's events, and that National Assembly staff members were told to leave the
session hall. We commend the efforts of representatives of the international
community – namely from the Embassies of the USA, Britain, Germany and France –
who were present to monitor today's events.

For the complete statement, please click here (pdf).