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Cambodia's 1998 ElectionSRP Documents(Page 5 of 9)
Taking it to the streetsCAMBODIA JOINT STATEMENT BY FUNCINPEC AND THE SAM RAINSY PARTY PRESSURE TO ADDRESS ELECTION SHORTCOMINGS SHOULD COME BEFORE PRESSURE FOR A COALITION GOVERNMENT Phnom Penh, August 22, 1998 We have understood that the purpose of the Cambodian election was in general to determine the will of the Cambodian people and in specific to fill the seats in Cambodia's National Assembly in accordance with the people's will. But some foreign political leaders seem to have lost sight of that purpose. Prompted by their honest desire to see stability in Cambodia, they urge the Cambodian opposition to form a coalition government with the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), as if the results of this election had been verified as democratic. But there is no democratic political force in the world that should or would accept an electoral result with as many questions hanging over it as the Cambodian election has. The August 20 incident is the most recent evidence that the electoral process has been derailed by terrorism. The terror is designed to prevent anyone from monitoring the bags of ballots that should be recounted, to frighten anyone who would otherwise speak out against election fraud, and to deter anyone who might support the opposition now and in the future. FUNCINPEC and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) refer the attention of the international community to the failure of the Cambodian election authorities and legal institutions to carry out their duties and responsibilities. · The National Election Committee (NEC) has failed to show any evidence that it has ever adopted any rules and procedures for the election or that it has followed any legal decision-making process in accordance with Article 17 of the Law on Elections. · The NEC has failed to produce any evidence to show that before the elections it legally adopted a formula for seat allocation in the National Assembly; numerous independent local and international organizations have called attention to this issue of decisive political importance. · The NEC announced a sudden end to its work after re-counting less than half of one percent of the votes cast. It did not answer requests for spot-recounting of ballots. It refuses opposition party agents access to its building to safeguard the ballots, which now sit totally unsecured. · The NEC has failed to investigate or even respond to hundreds of >opposition complaints. It claimed that it had found the complaints baseless, while simultaneously it admitted that it lacked funds, personnel and time to investigate them. · The Constitutional Council has refused to receive many complaints, inaccurately citing petty procedural errors. · NEC President Chheng Phon has never answered an August 13 letter from the two main opposition party leaders formally requesting an explanation for the NEC's failure to address numerous official complaints, including some of those mentioned above. Too many questions remain unanswered. The consistent failure of the NEC and the Constitutional Council to fulfill their responsibilities at all, let alone in a neutral manner, demonstrate that these legal institutions are merely the proxies of the ruling CPP. To accept undemocratic results would be to condemn Cambodia to at least five more years of thievery, exploitation and environmental destruction, and to ask the international donors to pour more resources into this broken vessel while members of the ruling clique siphon off an equivalent amount for themselves. Our first duty as democrats is to respect the will of our fellow citizens of Cambodia. The electoral process has so far failed to show what that will is. Therefore we are demanding a thorough, serious investigation and analysis of the process and the results. No honest participant in the electoral process should be afraid to engage in this examination. We ask that until the people can be confident that a democratic result has been obtained, the international community remain fully engaged in the Cambodian electoral process, actively aid the process by lending impartial advice, and speak out forcefully in favor of transparency, honesty and legality in all stages of the process, especially in this crucial, final stage. We do not ask the international community to stand with us, but to help make clear the will of the Cambodian people and demand respect for it. Without a democratic result to the election, any government that takes power will be illegal and all true democrats will be honor-bound to condemn it. [signed] [signed] NORODOM RANARIDDH SAM RAINSY President of FUNCINPEC President of SRP
JOINT STATEMENT BY FUNCINPEC AND THE SAM RAINSY PARTY THE ELECTION IS WORTHLESS UNLESS IT SHOWS THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE Delivered on the occasion of the march to demand the correction of electoral failures, August 23, 1998 We have defied bullets and grenades today because we will not give up our right to show the leaders of Cambodia and the democracy-loving people in the rest of the world that we want freedom. We will not accept the results of an election that was fixed, and we will not be ruled by a regime that wins through a fixed election. Ever since last year, when the grenades of the regime murdered at least 16 people on March 30, and the guns of the regime killed hundreds of people on July 5 and 6, the regime has been preparing for this election. Hun Sen knew that if the international community accepts the election, aid and investment will continue to flow. Hun Sen knew that if his regime were to win, his criminal gang would reap great rewards. So we have to thank the international community, because without their insistence, there would never be any kind of election in Cambodia. Represented by the United Nations, the European Union and numerous other countries, including many democratic ones, the international community promised to work with the Cambodian government so that the people could express their will in a free and fair election. The international community said that the legal institutions must be neutral. The regime said they would be, but instead it created the institutions illegally and filled them with CPP supporters. The international community said that the parties must have equitable access to media. The regime said they would give that access, but instead it kept control of all the TV and radio stations, and gave us only five minutes a day. The international community said that human rights violations were unacceptable. The regime said it would respect our rights and the Constitution. But the supporters and activists of the opposition kept on getting threatened, attacked and murdered throughout the election campaign and afterwards. The international community said that impunity for the violators was unacceptable. The regime said it would investigate and bring the criminals to justice. But the authorities have not solved a single political crime and the killers still have total impunity. We thank the international community for its help. Without them there would have been no chance for democracy at all. Many democratic supporters could not have come back to Cambodia, there would have been no elections at all, and Hun Sen's regime of criminals would have squeezed the nation of Cambodia until there was nothing left. But unfortunately the election went ahead, while none of the necessary conditions were met. We did our best to expose the ruling party while it broke nearly every rule in the book during its campaign. It ignored the Law on Elections and stepped on the Constitution, while its National Election Committee looked the other way. We did everything we could to show the world what was happening. We asked over and over for clear conditions to be set for the elections to be acceptable. Now the regime is trying to steal the will of the people. The National Election Committee is ignoring complaints, the so-called Constitutional Council is rejecting appeals on every important issue. We organize this demonstration to give a chance to the people to express their will with their own voices, because the election has failed them so far. We demand that the authorities address all the complaints, and find the real result of the elections, which is the democratically determined will of the people. The people of Cambodia will accept nothing less than that. [signed] [signed] NORODOM RANARIDDH SAM RAINSY President of FUNCINPEC President of SRP
Phnom Penh, August 23, 1998 THOUSANDS PROTEST DESPITE THREATS, BLOCKADES Midnight deal postpones march until Monday By SRP staff Ten thousand to twelve thousand boisterous Cambodians came to a demonstration in Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium to demand resolution of the opposition's complaints about the recent election, but did not march as planned by FUNCINPEC, the SRP and other opposition parties Despite Thursday's deadly grenade attack at the National Election Committee (NEC) while Sam Rainsy was there, and yesterday's front page full of threats in Chakraval, the main regime-supporting newspaper, the crowd came ready to march to the National Assembly. "If the NEC did its job, and the Constitutional Council did its job, we would not have to march," said Rainsy. "We would find out legally if the election produced legitimate results-as in a normal democratic country." The crowd would have been even bigger had the authorities allowed 28 truckloads of people from several provinces through blockades. On Route 1 from Prey Veng, Route 2 from Takhmau, Route 5 from the north, and on the road along the Bassac, police stopped opposition supporters and forced them off the trucks. Some of the people turned back, but others continued on foot or by hiring motorbikes or other transport. In Takhmau, the capital of Kandal province and the site of Hun Sen's "Tiger's Lair," police stopped 15 trucks. When the people tried to walk toward Phnom Penh, fire trucks drove them back with water cannons. There were no serious injuries. The police seized an SRP loudspeaker truck and detained four people. The four were released in the presence of UN officials around 11:00 a.m., but the truck was confiscated. The police reportedly took a camera from a UN official and pulled out the film. In Tuol Kork, factory security ordered workers not to get onto trucks for the protest. The workers got on anyway, but the security officers ordered the driver not to move. (No further information was available at the time of this release. The factory is one near the broadcasting antennas.) Last night near midnight Sam Rainsy called Lakhan Mehrotra, the UN Secretary General's Personal Representative in Cambodia, and proposed that the opposition would not march to the National Assembly if security were ensured for the initial rally at the stadium. Mehrotra called Sok An, a top adviser to Hun Sen and the Minister of the Council of Ministers. At Mehrotra's suggestion, SRP representatives then went to municipal police, who agreed to ensure the safety of the opposition supporters in the stadium. The agreement was completed at 3:00 this morning. "There were so many indications yesterday that there would be trouble, we could not take the risk to our supporters. It is a compromise you have to make when there's no democracy," said Rainsy. "But we appreciate the UN's mediation and Sok An's cooperation in making sure that nobody was hurt." Rainsy, joined by FUNCINPEC officials including Ahmad Yahya and Lu Laysreng, along with the Son Sann Party's Kem Sokha, announced to the enthusiastic crowd that tomorrow there will a march as was planned for today, starting at 7:30 and going to the Assembly building on Sothearos Boulevard. The authorities have accepted that march as legal. For more information please call 855-12-802-062 or 855-23-215-375.
JOINT STATEMENT BY FUNCINPEC AND THE SAM RAINSY PARTY OPPOSITION OFFERS AUTHORITIES ONE WEEK TO ADDRESS ELECTORAL FLAWS August 23, 1998 In spite of the Thursday night attack on Sam Rainsy, threats of terrorism published by a pro-government newspaper given out for free, an official ban publicized on television and radio, and the blockades set up by police on the approaches to the capital, this morning's demonstration was a great success. Up to 12,000 people attended to show their anger against the improper and insufficient consideration of electoral disputes by the competent authorities. As a sign of good will we offer those authorities the opportunity to correct this problem before we mount another major demonstration. Unless the authorities properly and impartially address our electoral complaints before the official announcement of results on Saturday, August 29, we will organize mass demonstrations after that date. In the meantime we will use all peaceful and legal avenues available to advocate a full examination of the electoral process, with maximum participation of all parties and national and international groups. We note that some uncontrolled elements present at this morning's protest assaulted or damaged the property of others. This behavior is inconsistent with the spirit of our protest, which is for non-violence, legality, and freedom. We will do our best to compensate any victims for their losses. [signed] [signed] TOL LAH YIM SOKHA Secretary General of FUNCINPEC Secretary General of SRP
August 24, 1998 OPPOSITION USES ONLY PEACEFUL, NON-VIOLENT PROTEST This morning we were forced by circumstances to change our plans once again in the effort to reduce the chance of violence and to protect ourselves from false accusations by the regime. We had already announced last night that today's rally and march would be canceled in favor of a sit-in at the park across from the National Assembly. Last night we found that leaflets purporting to be from the SRP and signed by Sam Rainsy have been distributed around Olympic Stadium. These spurious leaflets urged SRP supporters to loot shops around the stadium. This is a provocation of the most obvious kind. This morning, several newspapers reported our change in plans, from a rally and march to a sit-in. However we were unable to inform everyone, and several thousand opposition supporters came to the stadium this morning. Because of the false leaflets and because of rumors indicating that there might be outside elements looting and causing other trouble, we decided to keep our supporters in the stadium, to speak to them there and to instruct them to go quietly and peacefully and reorganize at the park across from the Assembly. Now citizens are gathering peacefully in the park to start a vigil. The purpose is the same as the demonstration: to demand a fair resolution to all election problems. We have asked our supporters to avoid any violent acts and not to damage property. We have never and will never encourage them to commit any aggressive act. However we fear that the regime supporters may infiltrate and cause trouble. We cannot control the behavior of those elements. The regime is doing its best to force us to choose between security and freedom of expression. Between the issue of Chakraval threatening violence, the leaflets distributed last night, and the orders and prohibitions they make that infringe on the rights of the people, they are attempting to set up conditions for trouble which they will blame on the opposition. Meanwhile we are doing our best to prevent any kind of violence or property damage and to encourage our supporters to channel their energies in a peaceful way. At the same time we will not give up our right to express ourselves, which is guaranteed by the Constitution and is an essential part of any democracy. (For more information please call Rich Garella, SRP communications officer, on 012-802-062.)
Phnom Penh, August 24, 1998 THOUSANDS START VIGIL IN PARK Party president to join round-the-clock democracy protest By SRP staff Sam Rainsy plans to spend the night in a park across the street from Cambodia's National Assembly tonight, joining hundreds of other Cambodians angry about the government's failure to look into evidence of irregularities and fraud in the recent parliamentary elections. Thousands of people regrouped in the park after the second of two rallies in Olympic Stadium was scaled back. The opposition parties decided on Sunday that a round-the-clock vigil would present less opportunity for outside elements to cause trouble. The decision was prompted by several factors. Chakraval, a newspaper with close ties to the Hun Sen regime, distributed a free issue on Saturday claiming that Khmer Rouge terrorists armed with grenades and AK-47 rifles would infiltrate the opposition rally and march Sunday morning and saying that protesters should "be careful not to get killed." On Sunday night unknown persons distributed leaflets purporting to be signed by Rainsy and encouraging looting by protestors. "We were not sure when we should start the vigil in the park. But the people in the stadium this morning demanded it. They wouldn't just go home," said Rainsy today. "You have to give people a peaceful, productive way to express themselves. Sometimes you lead the people, and other times the people lead you." Rainsy arrived in the park at about 2:00 pm, and was surrounded by a throng of enthusiastic supporters, including Buddhist monks. He and others spoke to the crowd through a sound system mounted on a pickup truck. Cyclo and motorcycle-taxi drivers, factory workers, fruit-sellers, teachers and others donated crumpled, small-denomination bills to help pay for food, water, and other supplies for the people protesting. Vendors from the city's markets raised money from their fellows and brought the donations to the park. Donors gave more than money. First 15 and then 20 more blue plastic tarps arrived, as did two truckloads of straw mats. Soon a village of tents arose to shield protesters from the afternoon sun. By 5:00 the joint committee of the two main parties organizing the vigil had raised nearly $1000, and most people in the growing crowd were wearing yellow scraps of cloth around their heads or on their arms. "This is the color of Buddhism," explained an excited protester. "It means peace and democracy!" For more information call 855-12-802-062 (English) or 855-23-215-375 (Khmer).
Phnom Penh, August 24, 1998 THOUSANDS START VIGIL IN PARK Party president to join round-the-clock democracy protest By SRP staff Sam Rainsy plans to spend the night in a park across the street from Cambodia's National Assembly tonight, joining hundreds of other Cambodians angry about the government's failure to look into evidence of irregularities and fraud in the recent parliamentary elections. Thousands of people regrouped in the park after the second of two rallies in Olympic Stadium was scaled back. The opposition parties decided on Sunday that a round-the-clock vigil would present less opportunity for outside elements to cause trouble. The decision was prompted by several factors. Chakraval, a newspaper with close ties to the Hun Sen regime, distributed a free issue on Saturday claiming that Khmer Rouge terrorists armed with grenades and AK-47 rifles would infiltrate the opposition rally and march Sunday morning and saying that protesters should "be careful not to get killed." On Sunday night unknown persons distributed leaflets purporting to be signed by Rainsy and encouraging looting by protestors. "We were not sure when we should start the vigil in the park. But the people in the stadium this morning demanded it. They wouldn't just go home," said Rainsy today. "You have to give people a peaceful, productive way to express themselves. Sometimes you lead the people, and other times the people lead you." Rainsy arrived in the park at about 2:00 pm, and was surrounded by a throng of enthusiastic supporters, including Buddhist monks. He and others spoke to the crowd through a sound system mounted on a pickup truck. Cyclo and motorcycle-taxi drivers, factory workers, fruit-sellers, teachers and others donated crumpled, small-denomination bills to help pay for food, water, and other supplies for the people protesting. Vendors from the city's markets raised money from their fellows and brought the donations to the park. Donors gave more than money. First 15 and then 20 more blue plastic tarps arrived, as did two truckloads of straw mats. Soon a village of tents arose to shield protesters from the afternoon sun. By 5:00 the joint committee of the two main parties organizing the vigil had raised nearly $1000, and most people in the growing crowd were wearing yellow scraps of cloth around their heads or on their arms. "This is the color of Buddhism," explained an excited protester. "It means peace and democracy!" For more information call 855-12-802-062 (English) or 855-23-215-375 (Khmer).
OFFICIALS TESTIFY TO ELECTORAL FRAUD IN STUNG TRENG We have received a sworn statement from election officials and a Cambodian People's Party (CPP) party agent from Kang Cham commune, Talaborivat district, Stung Treng province. Copies of the Khmer original are available at 12 Street 240. The election officials explain how they cheated during vote-counting to help the CPP and to take away votes from the opposition, and witnessed other officials cheating. They have already reported their experience to UN human rights officials in Stung Treng. We have forwarded the report to the main election-observing agencies, including the international observer groups. We are filing a demand for a new election in Kang Cham commune or Stung Treng province [TRANSLATION OF COMPLAINT] On August 15, 1998 at 9:00 am, Vann Tem, deputy chief of the third station of the Commune Election Commission [CEC], reported to the No. 18 [Sam Rainsy Party] agent from Polling Station 0066 in Kang Cham commune of Talaborivat district, that: It is very easy to steal the vote. The first strategy is to put a second or third mark on the ballot that was already marked for No. 18, to make it a spoiled ballot. Second, they mark on the abstaining [used but unmarked] ballot and mark on No. 35 [CPP]. A person who did that job was Mak Sourn Neang, chief of the CEC of Kang Cham commune. Another man named Nuon Ket, the secretary of the same CEC of Kang Cham, was witnessed by Mr. Pat Sophy, secretary of Polling Station 0068, stealing ballots and putting them in his trousers. It was also witnessed by Mr. Chheang Bunheang, party agent at Polling Station 0068. Pat Sophy and Chheang Bunheang added that in the night, the election committee at station 0066 with counting staff named Nuon Ket, Vann Tem [who reported it], and Srey Phoeung did not unfold the ballots to show them to party agents. Another case is that they did not show how the spoiled ballots were marked [in what way they were spoiled]. About these irregularities, we saw by our own eyes and it was obvious, but during the time it was happening, we were afraid to report it, because there were so many armed force men around the station, crowding around. This complaint is true, we guarantee and we dare to give thumbprint before the law. [thumb-printed by the following] Person who received report: Tuy Khorn Person who wrote down the report: Kim Vanny Witness of the irregularity: Chheang Bunheang, Party agent of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) Pat Sophy, Secretary of the Election Committee of Station 0068 Witness of the report: Meas Mony [END OF TRANSLATION] The statement is dated August 24, 1998 and was accompanied by a complaint from SRP agent Kim Vanny to the election committees.
SRP STATEMENT August 25, 1998 REGIME THREATENS COUNTER-DEMONSTRATIONS Opposition party denounces potential violence A senior Cambodian government spokesman is reported in today's Cambodia Daily saying he is "worried about violence by supporters of other parties." We have also heard the rumors that Hun Sen or his allies will sponsor a counter-demonstration. Meanwhile, officials at the markets in Phnom Penh have been forcing vendors to thumb-print statements saying they support the election results, possibly to lend credibility to counter-protests. Our struggle is for the right of anyone to protest, according to the Constitution. If Cambodian citizens want to peacefully demonstrate to show their support for the electoral process, they should do so without any hindrance. However, for the sake of reducing any chance of violence, we hope that those who take that view will choose a separate area for their demonstration. However, we do not think there would be much popular support for such a demonstration. Counter-demonstrations by regime-supporting thugs are used by repressive governments all over the world to terrorize popular movements and break up protests. Hun Sen's regime already used this tactic when Prince Norodom Ranariddh initially returned from Bangkok this year. We denounce all efforts to frighten people by threatening political violence. The regime is completely controlled by the Cambodian People's Party (CPP). When the CPP regime says that other parties might demonstrate against the democracy protesters in front of the National Assembly, it is threatening to organize such demonstrations itself. Such a "demonstration" might be made to appear as if sponsored by one or more of the small parties that are well-known to be CPP tools. We remain firmly committed to peaceful and non-violent protest, and we will make every effort to let the people express their will without fear of bloodshed. We ask for the cooperation of the authorities to help us and work with us in that effort.
[The following statement was adopted by Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Sam Rainsy, and officials of their two political parties in a meeting on Wednesday.] JOINT STATEMENT BY FUNCINPEC AND THE SAM RAINSY PARTY THE PEOPLE WILL NOT MOVE FROM DEMOCRACY SQUARE August 26, 1998 The people will not move from Democracy Square. It is a public place, it is the site of the National Assembly that is meant to represent the people's will, and it is a place where the people have left their blood in the struggle for freedom. However, we recognize that there are security, safety and hygiene issues related to this or any location. We will cooperate with the authorities to address these issues as follows: 1. We will ask the protesters to move all structures so that all public roads and sidewalks are clear for normal traffic flow. 2. We will move our shelters further toward the center of north end of the square. 3. We will construct or otherwise provide toilet facilities in or near the square. 4. We will establish clean-up crews to pick up all refuse from the square and package it for collection by city garbage crews. 5. Our security team will work in conjunction with the police to control pickpockets and petty crime and to address any security issues that may arise. Government representatives have clearly stated that they are able to ensure safety and security at their will. We appreciate that authorities have taken a peaceful approach thus far, and we hope that they will continue to do so.
August 26, 1998 PHNOM PENH GOVERNOR GRANTS APPROVAL TO SIT-IN Today the Sam Rainsy Party has requested and received the approval of the Governor of Phnom Penh municipality, Chhim Seak Leng, to hold a peaceful sit-in demonstration starting Wednesday, August 26 in the park in front of the National Assembly. The Governor added that as he has no security forces, we should check with the Ministry of Interior, so we notified Prum Sokha, the director-general of adminstration there. As we pledged in a joint statement this morning with FUNCINPEC, we have asked the protesters to move the temporary structures from Sothearos Boulevard onto the grounds of Democracy Square. This move is in accordance with an order from the office of Daun Penh district of Phnom Penh, which we received today. The district requested that the road be opened so traffic could flow easily. We are now organizing the relocation of these items, having waited for nightfall so that the crowds would thin and make the job easier and safer. Meanwhile, we have received further reports of potential attacks using water cannons, electric cattle prods, poisonous cobras, or grenades. One man was shown on TVK and Bayon TV confessing that he was hired by the Sam Rainsy Party to throw a grenade into the demonstration, for a fee of $1000. This is preposterous. We have asked human rights officials to investigate this case. We note that government officials have said they can ensure the security of the people in Democracy Square. Now that the legal question is resolved, we expect the security forces to do their job, and again we offer our cooperation to ensure the safety of the protesters and others in and around Democracy Square. For more information, please call 012-802-062.
Phnom Penh, August 27, 1998 GRENADE ACCUSATION FIZZLES By SRP Staff The spokesman of the Council of Ministers reportedly stated today that the Sam Rainsy Party is responsible for an alleged plot to throw grenades into the sit-in. This accusation follows a "confession" broadcast on television and radio last night, in which a man identified as Khem Khorn claimed to have been offered $1000 by the Sam Rainsy Party to throw a grenade. The Chief of Foreigner Police in the Ministry of Interior, Mok Chito, repeated the same allegations. The man who made this "confession" is Pou Makara, a police lieutenant who is a subordinate of Mok Chito. He is accused of crimes including kidnapping women. Sufficient evidence to prove Makara's identity, and to prove that he has already lied numerous times in connection with this matter, has already been brought to the attention of human rights officials. If the regime continues to raise this falsified case against us, then we will make that evidence (and more) available to the relevant international agencies. We do not expect them to bring up this issue again. However, the Sam Rainsy Party and its president, Sam Rainsy, plan to file defamation suits against Mok Chito, the Municipality of Phnom Penh, TVK television, Bayon radio, the ministries of Information and Interior, and the Council of Ministers. We note with bitterness that this kind of theater has been used before. The Sam Rainsy Party's chief of security, Srun Vong Vannak, remains in prison after being falsely convicted in February 1997 of plotting the murder of Hun Sen's brother-in-law. He is a prisoner of conscience listed by Amnesty International. Meanwhile, following the approval of the Democracy Square sit-in by Phnom Penh Governor Chhim Seak Leng last night, representatives of the city met with representatives of FUNCINPEC and the Sam Rainsy Party and introduced seven proposals of a technical nature, related to security and other logistics. The party representatives took the proposals for consideration. We welcome the opportunity to cooperate with officials to help ensure security, cleanliness, and peace at the sit-in.
Phnom Penh, August 28, 1998 His Excellency Kofi A. Annan Secretary General of the United Nations New York Your Excellency: As the presidents of two of the three political parties that clearly won representation in Cambodia's National Assembly, together representing a plurality of the vote in the July elections according to preliminary results, we ask the United Nations under your leadership to renew its commitment to its central role in the international community's efforts to assess the Cambodian elections. Today we are jointly filing complaints to the Constitutional Council against the National Election Committee (NEC) in regard to two critically important issues: § The NEC has announced it will use a seat allocation formula that is not specified by the Law on Elections and does not fulfill Constitutional requirements. Many independent and internationally recognized ob-serving groups have objected to this decision by the NEC. The choice of formula and the process that led to it speak directly to the issue of the NEC's independence from the ruling Cambodian People's Party. § The NEC has failed to meet its duties of hearing appeals and protests, as specified in the Law on Elections. We believe that this failure, if not rectified, will destroy the credibility of the election in the eyes of the Cambodian population. The right to appeal is a fundamental democratic right. We have followed the laws and regulations to exercise every legal option in our effort to achieve a credible election result. We have filed hundreds of protests and appeals as provided for by the Law on Elections, the Constitution, and the basic principles of liberal democracy, but the NEC and the Constitutional Council have rejected most of them without consideration. We have appealed for recounts in areas where fraud seems most likely and where electoral margins are very small, but the recounts were stopped after less than 0.5% of communes were recounted, and observers have been barred from monitoring the ballots in storage. We have asked for re-voting in certain areas where evidence is most convincing, as provided for in the Law. We have asked for a reconciliation of used and unused ballots and been refused. We have amassed evidence and witnesses to large-scale electoral fraud, despite the continuing total impunity that leaves most citizens in terror of reporting what they have seen, and despite the lack of any clear and effective avenues to remedy these problems. Meanwhile we have been beset by pressures to negotiate with the ruling party and form a coalition government. We feel that it would be more appropriate that pressure should first be directed at the ruling party, to address the shortcomings of the electoral process that we have described. The election has international credibility only because of early statements by some observing groups. We believe that a coalition government formed before the remaining problems with the election are addressed would not represent the will of the people, would not work on behalf of the people and would not be willingly accepted by the people. The United Nations has taken on a basic duty to monitor the elections and coordinate the assessment of their validity. We feel entitled to ask the United Nations to: § reaffirm its commitment to actively monitor the electoral process to its conclusion, § create a multilateral body to examine the ongoing electoral process and to instruct its coordinating officials in Phnom Penh to create an open process with clear channels for the submission of evidence, § remain engaged in the electoral process until a credible result is achieved and a legitimate government is formed, § refrain from making any further assessment of the electoral process as a whole until it has reached its conclusion, § state that any recommendations in regard to recognition of the next Cambodian government will be conditional on cooperation with this open process of evaluation, and § transmit these requests to the other observation bodies so that the international community's assessment can be coordinated. The people of Cambodia must be able to see that the electoral result reflects their will. An initiative by the United Nations could provide such an assurance. We are very hopeful that we will receive a clear and positive response, as we believe that much is at stake in the current political crisis. Please, Your Excellency, accept the assurances of our highest regards. [signed] [signed] Prince Norodom Ranariddh Sam Rainsy President, FUNCINPEC President, Sam Rainsy Party
JOINT STATEMENT BY FUNCINPEC AND THE SAM RAINSY PARTY LEGAL DEMANDS OF THE SIT-IN August 30, 1998 The sit-in at Democracy Square is fundamentally about the election. The lack of transparency, the refusal of the election authorities to deal with complaints, the rejection of appeals by the Constitutional Council and the silence of the international community leaves the Cambodian people with no other legal choice but public protest. The opposition parties have four demands that the government has refused to meet. They are no more than what the law requires. 1. Use the legal method for seat allocation: the Balinski/Young method. 2. Reconcile the used, unused and reserve ballots so that we can see that unused ballots were not used for fraud. 3. Conduct random recounts of communes we specify. 4. Organize re-voting in areas where other measures are not satisfactory. If the ruling party has not stolen these elections, it is time to follow the law and to give all sides due process by considering appeals filed according to the law. If these demands are met, then we believe the people will end their protest, and we will encourage them to end it.
Phnom Penh, August 30, 1998 RALLY DRAWS 15,000 OR MORE TO CAMBODIA'S DEMOCRACY SQUARE By SRP Staff At least fifteen thousand Cambodians angry about the government's failure to look into problems with the elections converged on Phnom Penh's newly dubbed Democracy Square this morning, joining hundreds who have built a tent city on the site, which faces the National Assembly. The new arrivals marched from a rally at the city's Olympic Stadium to hear speeches by party president Sam Rainsy and other speakers from FUNCINPEC and the Sam Rainsy Party. Police reportedly stopped other protesters on roads leading into the capital. Cambodia's National Election Committee, which was largely funded and advised by foreign donors, has consistently refused to investigate allegations of voting and counting fraud, as it is required to do by law. The Constitution Council, which is the legal avenue for appeals, has refused even to consider hundreds of appeals filed by the opposition parties. During the rally, most people crowded around the speakers, including Rainsy. But a mob of people painted slogans on a monument erected by the Vietnamese-backed former regime to commemorate Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian friendship, which stands several hundred meters away from the speaking stand. Many Cambodians see the monument as a symbol of Vietnamese domination and the Hun Sen regime. Despite appeals by Sam Rainsy not to damage public property, some people climbed up the monument and chipped pieces off two figures, one of which depicts a Vietnamese soldier, and ignited some gasoline. There is an unconfirmed report of one person injured by a falling piece of stone. Rainsy then walked across the park to convince them to stop damaging the monument. He returned later after reports that more damage was being planned, and led the crowd away from the monument, telling them that it is better to buy food for the people at the protest than tires to try to burn the monument. The two main opposition parties and others have helped coordinate the sit-in, but stress that they are not able to control the actions of every person. Hundreds of supporters have volunteered to act as "safety officials," doing weapons checks and turning pickpockets and other petty criminals over the authorities. Some of them formed a protective cordon around the monument itself. "The people are frustrated. They feel their votes were stolen and no one is answering the complaints about the election," said one Sam Rainsy Party official. "We do what we can to keep the crowd peaceful but at the same time it is not surprising they are angry. It's just important to try to prevent anyone from getting hurt." The authorities have responded to the sit-in by insisting that it is illegal and by presenting false evidence to implicated Rainsy in a variety of alleged plots. Meanwhile several spurious leaflets have been circulated, over unauthorized photocopies of Rainsy's signature, in an apparent effort to discredit him, and rumors of impending crackdowns and grenade attacks have run rampant. "If the authorities want the sit-in to end peacefully, then they should obey the law, hear the appeals, and show that they did not steal the election," said Rainsy. "Don't ask people to accept a fake result and keep living under a regime that exploits them."
Phnom Penh, August 31, 1998 THE COUNCIL'S LAST COMPLAINT? The so-called Constitutional Council has summarily dismissed or rejected all of the hundreds of election-related complaints it has received so far, exactly as we predicted when Mr. Hun Sen illegally assembled it in order to satisfy the international community. Now the Council is left with only the following complaint: the Sam Rainsy Party's challenge of the legality of an electoral process that apparently took place without the benefit of any rules. We sincerely hope the Council makes use of this last opportunity to take its duties seriously. (Note: By Tuesday, this complaint was also rejected.) ________________ [TRANSLATION] No. 324/98 Complaint to the Constitutional Council (CC) Subject: Complaint about the illegal National Election Committee (NEC) "Regulations & Procedures for the Election of Members of the National Assembly for the Kingdom of Cambodia" for 1998. Ref: Article 16 (point 4) and Article 17 from the Law on Elections of Members of the National Assembly. To address the Subject and Reference, the Sam Rainsy Party complains to the CC about NEC's declaration that it would officially use the "Regulations & Procedures for Election of Members of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia" made on May 29, 1998 because it was not legally adopted under Article 16 (point 4) of the Law on Elections of Members of the National Assembly, saying that: "the NEC has the right, power, duty and responsibility…making the Regulations & Procedures and all instructions for the election process within the framework of the law…" and Article 17 of the same law which says: "…all the decisions of the National Election Committee can be valid when they have a majority opinion." So far, the NEC has never shown any minutes of meetings that show that a decision was made in accordance with the above law when they promulgated their "Rules & Procedures for Election of Members of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia." Therefore, the Sam Rainsy Party alleges that the NEC has applied the "Regulations & Procedures for Elections of Members of the National Assembly for the Kingdom of Cambodia" illegally and this document has no legal standing. The Sam Rainsy Party suggests that the CC declare that the "Regulations & Procedures for Elections of Members of the National Assembly for the Kingdom of Cambodia" has been illegally promulgated. The CC clearly should decide that the July 26 election that was prepared according to the "Regulations & Procedures for Elections of Members of the National Assembly for the Kingdom of Cambodia" by the NEC was illegally carried out and cannot be taken as a legal election. The Sam Rainsy Party has the right to deny all the illegal election results if the CC does not investigate thoughtfully every complaint. Yours sincerely, Phnom Penh, August 31, 1998 [signed] Sam Rainsy
September 1, 1998 WE WILL NOT BETRAY THE PEOPLE We reject the results of the 1998 Election of Members of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The electoral process has failed to meet legal and democratic standards from start to finish. There is no reason to believe that the results to be announced today reflect the will of the Cambodian people. In the past few days, due process has been completely denied to the opposition parties, in direct violation of the Election Law and the Constitution. The National Election Committee and the Constitutional Council have rejected out of hand all requests to the authorities to obey the law and show that the election was democratic, and all demands that legal procedures be followed. The behavior of these supposedly independent bodies has consistently violated the Laws that created them and the Constitution under which they function. Thus the last hope for credibility has been dashed in an electoral process that featured systematic intimidation by the ruling party, threats and murders of opposition supporters, total impunity that continues to this day, a near-blackout of media access for the opposition, failure to form neutral legal institutions, consistent refusal to investigate irregularities, failure to legally establish rules for the election, failure to legally choose a method of allocating seats before the election, and, finally, the complete failure of due process. We pointed out almost every one of these failures as they occurred, but they were not corrected. We now call to account the international community that funded this failed process and pronounced it successful before it was complete. We ask the international community to make a revised assessment of the electoral process as a whole. We ask the international community to tell the Cambodian people whether any failures might have occurred, and whether the international community finds these failures acceptable. This is the opportunity for the international community to avoid a historic failure in Cambodia. We pledge to help avoid this failure. We will cooperate to the maximum degree with any and all efforts to review, re-evaluate, and reorganize elections democratically. Unlike the ruling party and the supposedly neutral bodies that have done its bidding, the democratic opposition has followed legal processes at all stages, and we will do our best to continue to do so. But we demand that the flaws in this process be corrected. We will not betray the Cambodian people. We will not participate in a perversion of the will of the Cambodian people. We will not frustrate the will of the Cambodian people. Democracy is not an empty word. Democracy is a promise of hope to the Cambodian people and we will keep it. LONG LIVE DEMOCRACY IN CAMBODIA! LONG LIVE THE CAMBODIAN PEOPLE! [signed] Sam Rainsy President of the Sam Rainsy Party
HELP SUSTAIN CAMBODIA'S DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT Appeal to Cambodians abroad and other supporters of freedom in Cambodia Thousands of Cambodians have come to Democracy Square, across from the National Assembly in Phnom Penh, to raise their voices and demand fair elections and democracy in Cambodia. They have taken the risk of opposing the Hun Sen government. Many of them have even donated their own money to the protest. Usually it is only 1000 riel (25 US cents), but it is all they can afford. The people in Democracy Square are the visible sign of the Cambodian people's love of freedom and rejection of corruption and dictatorship. They sleep on mats on the ground at night, asking for nothing. But we have to provide a minimum of support for them in the form of some meals, some tents for shelter, medical supplies, etc. It is costing about $2000 a day. We ask for your support of this people's movement. Without it there would be no evidence to show the world that the people do not accept an unfair election. Every meal we provide costs 1000 riel. If you give $100, you are buying 400 meals. Hun Sen has said that the longer the people stay in Democracy Square, the more it will cost the opposition parties. He hopes lack of funds will force us to give up. Meanwhile, he has stolen more money than all the protesters in Democracy Square put together will ever see. Please help as much as you can. Everything you donate will be used to maintain the protest at Democracy Square, or if there is a crackdown or has to end for some reason it will be used to continue the fight for democracy. Please send your donation to the Sam Rainsy Party through a bank transfer in dollars to: The Sam Rainsy Party, account 800-03-2-15931-6 Cambodian Commercial Bank Limited 26 Monivong Road Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The money will go directly into the SRP account. We will acknowledge all donations as soon as possible. If you know other supporters, please print this out and pass it along to them! With our highest regards and appreciation, Sam Rainsy, President Yim Sovann, Treasurer (tel.855-11-868-686)
JOINT STATEMENT BY FUNCINPEC AND THE SAM RAINSY PARTY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE September 1, 1998 The Members of Parliament of FUNCINPEC and the Sam Rainsy Party will faithfully take up their seats in the National Assembly as soon as: 1. the used, unused and reserve ballots are reconciled, 2. sufficient recounts are done according to the law so that the results are verified, 3. re-voting takes place in areas where there is strong evidence of polling and counting fraud, and where electoral margins are minimal such as in Kompong Thom, and 4. the seats are allocated according to the legal formula (Balinski/Young) described in the Law on Elections and meeting the goals described in the Constitution. To participate in the formation of a government without these steps being taken would be to participate in a fraud against the Cambodian people and democracy. The National Assembly represents the people and belongs to the people. [signed] [signed] Samdech Krom Preah Norodom Ranariddh Sam Rainsy President of FUNCINPEC President of the Sam Rainsy Party
September 3, 1998 Cambodia: THE COUNCIL'S LAST FAILURE On August 31, 1998, the Sam Rainsy Party filed an appeal to the Constitutional Council (CC) against the legality of the entire electoral process. We pointed out that the National Election Committee (NEC) never adopted the Regulations & Procedures for Election of Members of the National Assembly as the Law on Elections plainly requires in Articles 16 and 17. On September 1, 1998, the president of the so-called Constitutional Council, Chan Sok replies to this substantive complaint with a complete irrelevancy. He writes: "[Regarding] the Regulations & Procedures promulgated and publicly put into effect since 29 May 1998, every political party including your party accepted [them] since the start of the election process, election, ballot-counting, adding up the results, etc. all together, but when the announcement of the official result is approaching, your party raises the Regulations & Procedures to claim there is a problem." [translated by SRP] The Law on Elections requires the NEC to formally adopt Rules & Procedures. The NEC did not do so. The CC fails to address this obvious legal problem. Instead, its president implies that we endorsed a kind of illegal process in which the Rules & Procedures were adopted through the signing of a simple receipt by some of the political parties. We reject this implication. Unlike the authorities, we follow the law, and were therefore unaware that the NEC and the CC would later present this signing as if it were a legal process, apparently because they cannot produce any meeting minutes to show that the requirements of the Law on Elections were met. This final failure by the Council caps the consistent disrespect of the law shown by the election authorities. The whole electoral process has been carried out illegally and the institutions that should be neutral are not. If they had carried out the elections according to the law, we as democrats and supporters of the rule of law would accept the results no matter what they were. We regret that the foreign countries and agencies that sponsored the election have so far made no substantial comment on the failure of the authorities to respect the legal process in organizing the elections.
September 3, 1998 SRP DELEGATION TO MEETING IN SIEM REAP On September 2, 1998, party president Sam Rainsy sent a letter to His Majesty the King, expressing gratitude for the initiative to host a meeting in Siem Reap on September 5-7. He listed the Sam Rainsy Party delegation as follows: Ou Bunlong, legal adviser (head of delegation); Meng Rita, Deputy Secretary General; and Eng Chhay Eang, Steering Committee member. He further requested that the three be permitted the assistance of Steering Committee members Tioulong Saumura and Kim Suor Phirith. The delegation is to travel to Siem Reap on Friday, September 4. --------------- STATEMENT September 3, 1998 As President of the Sam Rainsy Party, I understand that His Majesty the King's intention with regard to the meeting set for September 5, 6 and 7 in Siem Reap is to discuss disputes related to the 1998 Election of Members of the National Assembly and related legal and technical matters. Out of respect for His Majesty's intent, the Sam Rainsy Party has selected its delegates based on their familiarity with these legal and technical matters. We agree that it is critically important to resolve these legal and technical issues before approaching the larger issues that depend on them. [signed] Sam Rainsy President, Sam Rainsy Party
CAMBODIA JOINT STATEMENT BY FUNCINPEC AND THE SAM RAINSY PARTY _______________ RESPONSE TO EARLY ENDORSEMENTS OF ELECTION RESULTS September 4, 1998 We deeply regret that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Government of Japan have already endorsed the National Election Committee's announced results of the elections for the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Cambodian citizens continue to protest the failure of election authorities to investigate complaints about the conduct of the election and the failure of the election authorities to fulfill their duties according to the Law and the Constitution. Independent agencies including the Asian Network for Free Elections, the US-based National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute, the International Crisis Group, and the internationally recognized Cambodian observer groups have called for further investigation and urged that assessment of the election results be delayed until these issues have been properly addressed. His Majesty, King Norodom Sihanouk, has initiated a meeting September 5-7 between representatives of the National Election Committee, the Constitutional Council, and the three major political parties. It is our hope that this meeting can begin to address the legal and technical problems with the election and lead to the credible and democratic result that the Cambodian people deserve. However, we are concerned that premature endorsements of the electoral process may jeopardize the process initiated by His Majesty. We urge once again that further endorsements of the Cambodian electoral process be withheld until the many serious legal and technical problems with the conduct of the election are resolved and the will of the people is known. Premature conclusions made by outside observers can only damage the prospects for Cambodia's long-term political stability. [signed] Norodom Ranariddh President of FUNCINPEC [signed] Sam Rainsy President of the Sam Rainsy Party
September 4, 1998 ATTACKS ARE NOT THE ACTS OF PATRIOTS President Sam Rainsy and the Sam Rainsy Party condemn in the strongest terms possible the heartless attacks this morning and yesterday, which reportedly left three people dead and a fourth in grave danger of losing her life. No one has the right to attack another human being or to take another person's life. There is no excuse and no justification. It does not make any difference whether the person is the same or a different ethnic group. The individuals who carried out these acts are not Cambodian patriots. They betray the ideals of peace, justice and freedom that true patriots support. Real Cambodian patriots must struggle to build a better and more democratic society for everybody. I, Sam Rainsy, urge you with all my heart not to join them. Work tirelessly for peace in Cambodia. Answer lies not with lies, but with the truth. Answer violence not with violence, but with ideas, hope, and love for all human beings. Once again we urge the health authorities to work closely with international agencies to investigate the rumors of poisoning quickly and to supply the public with accurate information so that panic is reduced. We also urge the legal authorities to work closely with the international and local human rights agencies to investigate all attacks. We must all work together to prevent these tragedies from being repeated. [signed] Sam Rainsy President, Sam Rainsy Party
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