“Cambodia’s Descent: Policies to Support Democracy and Human Rights.”
Recent actions by
These and previous actions by the Cambodian government should be seen as nothing less than a clear violation of the spirit and letter of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, which ended the nation's 12 year civil war. That agreement -- signed by 19 governments, including
When the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement was signed,
NDI has focused its efforts in
While serious development challenges remain, advances have been made, including improved health care, a better education system and the proliferation of an independent and active civil society. Although
The Cambodian people have struggled, sometimes at great personal risk, to help advance the nation's economic and political development. However, the progress that has been made is unlikely to be sustained without the underpinning of a democratic process. The absence of a multi-party political system that helps ensure the accountability of public officials and provides a check on official corruption, as well as the lack of a free media and public participation in the political process, put the country's stability and further development at serious risk.
Cambodian officials have developed a "color revolution" narrative to justify their repressive measures. They claim that the opposition party was colluding with civil society, various individuals and foreign governments, including the
There is a more persuasive explanation for the government's repression. In hindsight,
According to a report by the
The political space open to critics of the government seemed to rely on the government's concern for its international standing, its reliance on foreign assistance and confidence that it could always resort to more coercive measures if its power was threatened. And, at key moments, those measures have been employed. In fact, since the Paris Peace Accords,
The first coup occurred when the results of the 1993 elections, conducted by the
The second coup occurred in 1997, when
The third coup, of course, occurred this year when the government disbanded the CNRP, the only opposition party that could effectively challenge them. The opposition's strength was clearly growing. In the 2013 national elections, the CNRP made a strong showing, increasing their seats in parliament from 29 to 55, while the CPP saw their representation decline from 90 to 68 seats. However, the newly elected opposition members refused to take their seats, alleging that over one million eligible voters had been omitted from the electoral rolls. Their claim was based, in part, on a civil society organization's audit of the voters' list, which had been conducted with NDI technical assistance. The ensuing crisis saw tens of thousands of CNRP supporters take to the streets. The 2013 elections demonstrated that the opposition CNRP was not only gaining in electoral strength, but that it also had the ability to mobilize large numbers of supporters.
In the elections' aftermath, the CPP-led government became increasingly repressive. In July of 2015, the
The CPP's motivation seems obvious. Its own internal polling, leaked to the press and reported in the local media, showed the ruling party facing tight races in upcoming local and national elections. Foreshadowing the CPP's electoral strategy, the party's poll, conducted by the
Commune council elections were held in
There was hope that the commune elections might usher in a period of greater political pluralism. For the first time, the opposition had a substantial presence in local government in the nation's heartland; the political parties had contested vigorously and relatively freely; the voter rolls had been improved and election authorities performed their responsibilities fairly and competently. That hope, however, was short lived.
In
Cambodian civil society and political leaders were also a target. Several civil society organizations were charged with bias under the vague provisions of LANGO and closed; staff of domestic monitoring groups and human rights organizations were intimidated and prevented from conducting their work; staff of NGOs working on sensitive issues such as the environment, land evictions and land grabbing have always been at risk and are especially vulnerable in the current political environment. On
The allegations against NDI were ironic because the Institute, which had been working in the country since 1992, engaged all the major parties, including the ruling CPP, in its programs. In fact, the morning that NDI received the letter ordering the closure of its office and expelling its international staff from the country, the Institute had met with a representative of the ruling party to plan its next training session with the CPP. Furthermore, the
The Cambodian government's repressive actions are clearly designed to maintain the ruling party in power; Prime Minister
During the past decade,
Whether a strategic realignment would be popular with the Cambodian people is unclear. One poll conducted in March, 2017 found that 80.7 percent of Cambodians had either a favorable or very favorable view of the
In order to establish the conditions in which credible elections could be held, measures the Cambodian government must implement include: reinstating the CNRP as a legal entity; immediately releasing
Much work would need to be done to build a level of trust between the ruling and opposition parties, beginning with the government making a firm commitment to cease all forms of violence and intimidation and permitting domestic and international organizations to monitor political conditions in the county in order to help ensure that the pledge is kept. In addition, there must be sufficient time before elections are held to permit the opposition to reassemble in
There has been widespread condemnation of the Cambodian government's recent actions from governments and organizations throughout the world, ranging from the
I want to recognize the
Embassy and
There are other actions that the international community should consider until political conditions in
1. Consider the withdrawal or suspension of all but humanitarian aid to the Cambodian government until the conditions for the return to democracy are met. At a minimum those conditions should be the release from custody of
2. Continue to support the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) within
3. Review the possibility of altering the terms of trade with
4. Continue international engagement -- such as the international response to
5. Support exiled political leaders' efforts to negotiate their return. Despite their current condition, the CNRP opposition remains a legitimate and important political force within
6. Assist efforts to engage international financial institutions, as well as global and regional bodies on the
Institutions, such as the
Read this original document at: http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA05/20171212/106721/HHRG-115-FA05-Wstate-WollackK-20171212.pdf
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