Uncertain Future of Opposition Party after Merging

While the date of parliamentarian election is approaching, there is still a poor sign for this opposition leader in returning to Cambodia to prepare and join the election. Ministry of Interior on 28 September 2012 signed official endorsement recognizing Sam Rainsy as the leader of new political party, Cambodian National Rescue Party. This new party has been formed by the emerging of Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and Human Rights Party (HRP). SRP and HRP announced their agreement to merge the two parties into one on 17 July 2012 in Manila, Philippine. Be noted that SRP and HRP are holding 26 and 3 parliamentary seats respectively amongst 123 of the total seats. The two parties believe to achieve a great achievement in the next parliamentarian election in July next year.

However the Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is the vice-president of Cambodian People Party (CPP) standing as permanent candidate as prime minister, claimed that he has no fear with the merging among these opposition parties by saying that it is the storm in the jar. In fact, this forming really draws his attention, otherwise he might not had mentioned and leave any message relevance to this. Additionally, he promised to step down if he loses the election next year-it is assumed that the prime minister is strongly confident to win the next election, while the opposition is strongly accusing the election had been conducted in an unjustifiably way.

The opposition leader, who is staying exile escaping from the imprisonment executed by the court, is calling for the reform of national election committee accusing of having committed unfair process with political influence from the ruling party. The two major opposition parties used to threaten to consider boycotting the general election next year, but the ruling party responded that it would be a chance for other political parties to win the seat in the parliament. However, the ruling party itself might understand that this is quite a threat in which the boycotting could drag the attention of international community to take action for political interference, and the oppositions parties themselves might also know how much it will face with a huge lose if it is the fact. It is quite sure that the boycott will be resulted nothing to the opposition parties, but they aim to release their intention to do so in order to call for international community to urge the electoral system reform in Cambodia. Interviewed by Australian radio, the opposition leader expects the help from international community leaders including US, when the president Barak Obama comes to Cambodia to join ASEAN-U.S. summit, and Australian government, which is one of the biggest donors, to put pressure on Cambodian government to reform election system. He also pointed out that the main reform should be made within the National Election Committee which had performed their role of being partial and political tool for the ruling party.

In 2005, Sam Rainsy was sentenced to 18 months in jail for defamation conviction by the court. In February 2006-two years before national election in 2008 and one month before donor meeting in March-he was granted with Royal Pardon by the king at the request of Cambodian prime minister. By the way, it was also believed that there must be a secret political promise between the opposition and the ruling party at that time in order to allow the opposition party leader to return to Cambodia to prepare for and join the election in 2008. On 27 January 2010, Svay Rieng court of first instant sentenced him to 2 years in jail for the conviction of racial incitement and the destruction of demarcation post. On 23 September 2010, he received additional sentence to 10 more years in jail for the conviction of producing forgery map and disinformation. Totally, he is now baring a 12 years term in jail and has always been threaten to arrest if he returns to Cambodia.

As mentioned earlier, the opposition leader hopes for the international pressure on the Cambodian government rather than political promise for his expectation to return to Cambodia after ASEAN Summit. The hope of international pressure from US and Australian governments somehow is strong and effective, if the tendency of Cambodian government is with these two giant countries, but it would be not because Cambodia has chosen China for its closed friend. Anyway, it is hoped that the regard of Cambodian government toward the U.S at this moment is likely to be more effective than the past, because Cambodia is seeking to burst bilateral trade between the two nations.

Still, there is no clear sign showing that Sam Rainsy will be able to return to Cambodia to join the election in 2013. Even if he could return, it seems to be too late for him to prepare himself for election campaign. Moreover, while he was staying exile abroad, he has not been able to build more credit with his political popularity with Cambodian people. But the merging of the opposition party and assigning Kem Sokha, who is the former president of Human Rights party, as vice president of the new party is one of the defensive strategy of Sam Rainsy party. The merging came close to the date of the general election and while there is poor sign of returning of Sam Rainsy party leader to Cambodia. This uncertainty will give the opposition party less hope in receiving good result of parliamentarian election in the next mandate.

Nop Virak, Student from University of Cambodia

Phone: +85589 861965

E-mail: viraknop@gmail.com

Concept Note; Challenges of Cambodian ADR

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is an informal mechanism designed for resolving disputes outside the court system. The current situation of this mechanism is like a green shoot starting to appear from the seed in which it would be easy to be collapsed or continue growing – it depends on how much we care. There is hope in Cambodian customary ways of dispute resolution and the low trust on the court system which make this mechanism to be more preferential for people, but the ground challenges are still the lack of resources and professionalism of ADR staffs in performing their roles.

Plan of actions of the Right Access to Justice Project in Cambodia highlights the successful study on the Alternative Dispute Resolution model with 20 communes in KampongChhnang, KompongSpeu, Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri. As the result Right Access to Justice Project notes in its final evaluation report that amongst all their interviewees viewed positively on ADR , but it does not elaborate clearly about the involvement from those people at the commune level. The involvement and trust from people on ADR is the major force to develop and enlarge the areas of the project over Cambodia. However, this is a positive sign for further development of the project.

With generous support from international community, the studies had been completed with an attempt to recommend for a wide use of ADR in Cambodia. In a workshop on ADR on 20 September 2012, the government official said that there will be 18 new alternative justice service centers by next year in addition to 31 alternative justice centers in provinces which have solved around 686 out of 849 cases in 2011.

ADR aims to deal with commercial and minor disputes including minor criminal cases, at commune level, between civil parties before the compliant is brought to the court. It drives dispute parties to join the Table for Peace to sit and negotiate for reasonable solution. Even the settlement of the dispute is not strongly bound like the law but it helps the dispute parties to avoid using violent and reduce the cost in dealing with the case. Reconciliation and mediation are mostly used as the method of dispute resolution in Cambodia which requires people who are skillful in doing coordinating job. This mechanism has been introduced as a tool to reduced the caseloads of the court and ease people at the commune level to access to justice in their area without getting through the complex system at the court.

Areas of Concerns

Human resource is the crucial concerns in the future when Alternative Dispute Resolution is fully implemented. To reach the solution, ADR needs to form an arbitration council consisting of at least commune councils and one representative from Ministry of Justice and/or Ministry of Interior in which all of them need to be skillful in law as well as reconciliation and mediation. Recently, Cambodian court, which is an authorized institution rolling as a judicial body, is facing the lack of human resources including judges, prosecutors and court clerks, particularly people who is specialized in legal skill. Then, it brings the question of concern whether the arbitration council performs their role in an effective and equitable manner with all kinds of dispute brought before them due to their knowledge.

Financial Resource has always been the fact that leads to destroy working incentive of the officials and the collapse of this infant mechanism. Recently, the project is being supported by international community which seems to be sustained in a limited period. Somehow it is believed that the funding on this sector will not be lasted long for Cambodia, then when the project is fully implemented and widespread to the rest of areas in Cambodia financial problem will fall back to the burden of the government again. The trust on this informal dispute resolution will be gradually less and less if there is the lacking of fund to support the staff and its operation – it is resulted from the low working incentive of ADR staffs and just as the same as some government officials who get low paid.

The maybe of overlapping of court jurisdiction; there is no clear division between the case that ADR should uphold rather than bringing it to the court. Even now, ADR is largely focusing on civil dispute, but it also aims to deal with some minor criminal cases which we need to set special criteria determining the minor case which can go through this informal justice system. By the way, solving some kinds of minor criminal offense at commune level by not bringing it to the court is quite necessary as it helps to reduce the caseload in the court. Doing so, there must be a committee to decide on the term “minor crime” in which the result from the offense is expected to be a lenient penalty. This decision will prejudice the criminal case and leads to the overlapping of jurisdiction of the court.

Possible corruption and unjust; there is always a brutal concern on the ground of corruption which there is nothing to guarantee that the process of resolution is handled in a justifiable basis, particularly in the case that one party has poor understanding about the law or has less power in the society. Regarding to social status, it raises the question about the impartiality of dispute resolution council whether it will be able to maintain its unfavorable manner toward all dispute parties. Furthermore, the old concept of Cambodian officials of being favored to their group or relative is strange and doubtful phenomenon of ADR. If it is the case, the poor and powerless people will become more harmful with this mechanism.

Recommendation

Responding to the areas of concerns above, the implementable and achievable recommendations are provided below; 

-         Provincial judges and prosecutors should set up regular schedule in providing legal training and workshop to ADR staffs in their area of jurisdiction. It should be initiated and supported by the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior with participation from competent authorities and civil society. 

-          Set up an autonomous financing system for District Justice House for self-support. Doing so, it will reduce the worries on financial cut in the future from international community. For example, one or both parties who come to find resolution on commercial dispute would be entitle for paying a specific amount of operation cost. 

-          Adapt, enforce and implement the legal instruments, stipulating clearly the function and role of ADR mechanism to avoid the wrong implementation and especially to overlapping on the authority of the court. 

-          Establish a disciplinary committee to check and punish any ADR staffs who perform their role unprofessionally to damaging the impartiality of ADR council and trust of the people.

Nop Virak

Mobile: 089 861965

Email: viraknop@gmail.com or viraknop@cchrcambodia.org

Exploring Cambodia-Traditional Rice Production

Soft raindrops are blown by the wind covering the view of the countryside with mist, and we cannot see things clearly as we look in the far distance. The grey shadow of a man in the field is walking and following a pair of cows, as he is plowing his field preparing for rice plantation in the early part of the rainy season in June. As we look towards a small paddy field located near the canal, there are some people including ladies and a couple of young kids who are busy pulling out the young rice plants and tying them up into bunches and stacking them up on a wooden-ox-cart. In the next field, a dozen or more people are standing in row in the ankle-deep of water, bending their bodies forward with their left hand holding a bunch of young rice plants and their right hand is pushing a single plant of rice into the soil. That is a typical view on a paddy field in Cambodia, during the rainy season.

After the first two months of the rainy season, all paddy fields are filled with young rice plants which look green and fresh with the wind blowing across the land creating waves on the surface of the paddy fields. Farmers are released from their busy work schedules, and they would have some time to stay at home, look after their children and sometimes go to the field for pulling out unnecessary plants, weeds or grass. Natural fertilizer had been simply put together by combining cattle-dung, dry leaves and straw and used in to the field to increase their output.

Another three or four months later, rice in the paddy fields starts to get ripe, turning its color from green to a soft golden yellow. The sunlight in the morning and evening spreads its red-yellow light on to the soft yellow of the ripe rice creating an amazing view in the paddy field like a large rug lying on earth. A puppet made by straws wearing an old cloth and palm-leaves-hat, is standing in the field like a guard to scare the birds from eating the young rice. Farmers start being busy again with the advent of the harvest season. Several families exchange their labor forces by forming a group which we can call them a “solidarity group” to harvest their ripe-rice. That means the solidarity group will work in the field together to harvest the rice from one field to another until they finish working on all the fields that belong to them. All harvested rice will be tied in bunches and dried under the sun before hitting them with a piece of wooden board to separate the seeds from its trunk.

Yet, some farmers still keep using wooden mortar in removing the bark of rice seeds as it is their tradition. However, this kind of rice is tastier than the rice processed by machine and it would be very healthy for eating because there is less chemical. Unfortunately, rice farming in Cambodia yields only 2.5 to 3.5 tons per hectare on average. This low quantity caused by poor technology and chemical fertilizer in rice production; then the capacity of exporting rice is very low compared to other neighboring countries.

Cambodian traditional rice production has been used until today in some areas of the country especially in the remote areas where infrastructures and public service are inaccessible. Also, those farmers are trying to adopt the modern technique of rice production, but they lack capital to buy machineries using instead a human labor force. However, it is estimated that Cambodia will be able to export 1 million ton of milled rice to important markets such as the United State and Europe by the year 2015. This optimistic theory will tend to change the traditional rice production in Cambodia, and will bring Cambodian farmers an opportunity to reduce the poverty gap between the rich in urban areas and farmers.