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Violent Crackdown on Mam Sonando
A Second Day of Violence
27 Jan. 2014
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Bloody Return to Freedom Park Sunday, 26 Jan. 2014
All photos: Theary C. Seng
(go to Facebook, 26 Jan. 2014, for more photos and corresponding captions / narratives)
I spent 10-15 minutes in front if this group among their leaders asking them: are you here to protect us or wage war on us? Here to she'd more blood of monks and innocent civilians, your parents and siblings? It is our right to be here, my right to be here...
With the courageous(!!!) lauk Yeay Khuon Nget
Images / Videos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
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Wisdom from Neang Delilah
Lioness Delilah contemplative about the violence of this morning in this road trip with Toulouse uncle to Sre Ampil to meet with Lauk Pou Son Soubert and his children and visiting friends for lunch Neang Delilah says:
STOP THE VIOLENCE.
It's so uncool.
And it makes everyone sad ; (
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Cambodian Unionists Mark Murder of Prominent Labor Leader (AFP | 22 Jan. 2014)
Photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
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In Remembrance of Chea Vichea
Peaceful March on 10th Anniversary of his Assassination 22 Jan. 2004 - 22 Jan. 2014
Law on Peaceful Assembly in Cambodia "...the Free Trade Union as a matter of courtesy informed the Municipal of Phnom Penh about its plan to conduct a peaceful march in remembrance of Chea Vichea, the FTUWKC's slain union leader.
"As this is a march of remembrance and not a protest to make a public demand, the Free Trade Union is under no legal obligation to make a written notification to the authority... "Here, I am reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: 'There are some instances when a law is just on its face and unjust in its application.' (See his Letter from Birmingham Jail.)" - Theary C. Seng, 21 Jan. 2014
Route of Peaceful March, 22 Jan. 2014, starting at 8:30 A.M.
https://app.box.com/s/lv1hr35ujb6c7qkx1uue
Click to read Joint Press Release of Free Trade Union and CIVICUS Cambodia
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Burden of Proof
Theary C. Seng Phnom Penh, 14 Jan. 2014 -- In light of the court summons for CNRP president and vice-president Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha and union leader Rong Chhun and their appearance at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court today, I am again aghast at how easily this CPP regime violates basic principles of understanding, here the general (without the legal technicalities) idea of the burden of proof. As you read the article I had written in Jun 2008 published in The Phnom Penh Post, with a commentary on 30 Jan. 2010 published in KI Media, apply the principle to the current political turmoil and the threats of lawsuits against leaders representing garment workers.
* * * Phnom Penh, 30 Jan. 2010 -- SHAME ! SHAME ! SHAME ! How unspeakably shameful and unspeakably infuriating that we -- our dignity, our present, our future, OUR NATION, our people -- should suffer the FLAGRANT ignorance and FLAGRANT stupidity of our government and judiciary! It is one thing for someone who doesn't know how to read and write to not know how to read and write; we have a different understanding and expectations of them - lack of resources, lack of opportunities; we do not hold them morally bankrupt. Many times, to the contrary, we admire their simplicity and honesty. But for people - public officials, REPRESENTING US -- people, who hold themselves to be "educated" to play stupid and ignorant -- this would be laughable if not for the very real, serious spill-over consequences into public life and development of Cambodia. The context has changed by the many misused billions of U.S. dollars pouring into Cambodia to give us a better facade, a better designer suit, but the bloody dirt and grime, the bloody paranoia and deceit, the bloody elevation of ignorance and anti-intellectualism of Khmer Rouge mentality continue to lead us backward into Cold War destruction. The Khmer Rouge leadership claimed ignorance or "I have no choice" for the killings; do current officials in the government, in the judiciary, in parliament, not use the same line of argument, "I have no choice"? I was forced to kill; I was forced to lie; I was forced to inform on my neighbor, etc. Silence/inaction in the midst of wrongdoing is already considered morally bankrupt; how much more to be the hands to execute the unjust (even if lawful) order, to aid and abet?! What are the sorry excuses of the Svay Rieng Court to be either this incompetent or criminal (in knowingly convicting the villagers and opposition leader Sam Rainsy) or both? "I have no choice; if I don't do it, I will lose favor with the powers that be? I will lose my Lexus? I will lose my position?" What the Khmer Rouge Tribunal is telling us is that no matter how difficult the choice, we are all held INDIVIDUALLY RESPONSIBLE for our choices! If we are to consider the degree of difficulty of the Svay Rieng Court to those of KR cadres, the degree is one of comfort and less of life and death. SHAME! SHAME ! SHAME ! Unless we mature as individuals and as a people, expect more of this stupidity and ignorance and anti-intellectualism to be the norm. And weep. Weep for yourself, weep for our children. Weep for the death of Khmer dignity and Khmer nation. [The article below was first published in June 2008 in The Phnom Penh Post as part of the Voice of Justice columns.]
* * * SHIFTING BURDEN OF PROOF: From Victims to Government of Political Violence On June 2, the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (Chrac), Nicfec and Comfrel held a press conference on political violence during the pre-campaign period, and questions arose as to how we know that these cases of violence were related to politics. Do we have proof? These are legitimate questions and the response requires us, first of all, to distinguish between what one knows and what one can prove, and related, to understand the term "burden of proof". In law and in politics, as in life and in love, what we know can be different from what we can prove. The opposition commune chief was beaten unconscious: was he beaten for his political affiliation or for a personal vendetta or as a result of violence in the course of a random robbery? The victim, his family and neighbors believe (or know) the violence occurred because of his political stance, but how do they prove it? The government denies their charge or claim. In current Cambodia, we see this scenario repeat itself over and over again, with only the names, location and context changing. What is the "burden of proof? In law and philosophy, the term "burden of proof" refers to the onus (duty, obligation) to establish (demonstrate, prove) a disputed charge or allegation for it to be accepted as true (or reasonable to believe). Simply put, the burden of proof is the responsibility of proving a fact in dispute. Normally, the burden of proof rests on the person who asserts, not who denies. That is, the necessary of proof lies with he who complains. The principle that it should be this way is commonly known as the "presumption of innocence". If "he who asserts must prove" then the plaintiff has the burden in a civil case, and the prosecutor in a criminal case. This allocation of burden is correct and as it should be. Additionally, the less reasonable a statement or allegation seems, the more proof it requires. Current burden on victims Currently in Cambodia, when there is violence against opposition activists, the victims cry "politics!" and the government decry against it, claiming instead that it was random violence or personal vendetta. The victims carry the impossibly heavy burden of proving that it was politically motivated. It is impossible because the perpetrator hardly ever states his motivation; it is heavy because of the high threshold of non-existent visible proof, unlimited possibilities and motivations which could be and are posited, as well as a culture of fear and lack of investigative resources. Cambodians, who read or hear of the repeated patterns of these incidents, intuitively know that these acts of violence are politically related, their knowledge framed and informed by their personal experience and acute understanding of their society, even if the victims cannot prove the case. These cases provide a dissonance and disconnect between public knowledge and proof. Hence, to maintain the burden of proving it was political on the victims is to invite and encourage further political violence and impunity of the perpetrators and powers-that-be. It is to play a pretend game of life when everyone knows otherwise. Shifting burden to government We need to shift the burden. We need to shift the responsibility of proof which is currently on the victims to the Government. We need to make it the Government’s duty to prove it was not political. The exceptions to this general principle that "he who asserts must prove" can be had through a statute expressly placing the burden on the Government... "it shall be for the Government to prove..." However, the shifting of burden through a statute must be limited (e.g., to the elections period) in order for it to be fair and reasonable. Sample Statute Six months prior to and three months after the July 27 national elections, any violence perpetrated on a known political activist (it does not matter which political party) will be considered a prima facie [automatically/ "on its face"] political case, and it shall he for the Government to prove that [the murder, the threat, the intimidation etc.] is not political. The Government shall compensate the victim or his family [US$100,000 for murder, etc.]. If the Government is serious about stemming political violence and would like to proactively erase the high suspicion and distrust of the public, and conversely build public confidence and communicate that life is sacred by giving token compensation, this Statute is very reasonable and necessary. However, if it would like the public to continue to be cynical, suspicious and fearful, then the Government should maintain the status quo and continue to parrot "personal vendetta; random violence" speech. Other random matters The arrest of opposition journalist Dam Sith is a deeply, deeply shameful, flagrant disrespect for the rule of law, due process and free expression, and adeeply, deeply shameful display of brute power that has no place at the table of civilized people and civilized nations in a globalized community of 2008. Has defamation not been de-criminalized? Moreover, what is the falsehood to be legally charged? In defamation, truth is a defense. Generally speaking, we see that the ancient Greek, Anarchus, was very prophetic of Cambodia when he wrote: "Written laws are like the web of a spider, and will like a spider web only entangle and hold the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful will easily break through them." Or a more modem version of this: "For my friends, whatever they want. For my enemies, the law."
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Hun Sen's War on the People
PLEASE, PLEASE, use discretion in posting images of the dead! We do not need to see an open bloody head or spilled out stomachs. An issue of respect AND emotional societal health. - Theary, 3 Jan. 2014
Go to Truth2Power Media for AGGREGATED news for more photos and both national and international coverage of fatal clashes, in both Khmer and English
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Happy New Year !!
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Season's Greetings!
Cuteness amidst the turmoil
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Cambodia Spring
For all AGGREGATED NEWS on Cambodia, I go to Truth2Power (T2P) Media
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LEAD WITH WISDOM
my gift arrived from Australia (on Christmas Eve)!!
What a BEAUTY!
Guess who's mentioned in Chapter 6?!
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Crackdown
on Christmas Eve Morning!
Read articles at Truth2Power Media TURMOIL in Phnom Penh this CHRISTMAS EVE -- Please help us to monitor during this holiday season, the time that this autocratic CPP regime normally cracks down on peaceful Cambodian demonstrators and activists, knowing that the world is busy celebrating Christmas and New Year.
- Theary, 24 Dec. 2013
Celebrating CHRISTMAS EVE at my sister-in-law's restaurant "Chenda;s BBQ" in Boeung Keng Kang I, immediately behind Lucky Market, corner of Trasaek Paem (Street 63) and street behind Lucky Market, next to Tokyo (Central) Hotel -- here, the CNRP youth leaders are celebrating Christmas Eve with Senators Mardi Seng and Vannol Teav after their many successful daily protest.
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GIVE THANKS!
Dinner at Nick and Claire Wolterstorff's home -- a mini reunion with friends I met in Honduras for the Association for a More Just Society seminar (Photo by Jill, Grand Rapids, MI, 6 Dec. 2013)
(More photos / narrative of Thanksgiving in Michigan at Facebook accounts)
PRAYER OF PRAISE C. S. Lewis
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not be able to tell anyone how good he is; to come suddenly, at a turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to keep silent because the people with you care for it no more than for a tin can in the ditch [...] Read more of this essay on why we praise...
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FREE YORM BOPHA ! NOW! Without Conditions!
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(click to watch video)
ABC News (Foreign Correspondent) | CNN (World Untold Stories Film interview with me at Preah Vihear in 2007
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First day of 3-day Protest and March to UNOHCHR 23 Oct. 2013 (22nd anniversary of Paris Peace Agreements) More photos on KI Media 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Go to my Facebook pages for captions to these and other photos.
X. LAW TALK 20 YEARS OF CAMBODIAN CONSTITUTION Moving towards implementation of Constitutional Law? 11.-13.10.2013 Sihanoukville Province, Independence Hotel
My presentation on the first day was on The Right to Vote
Board of Trustees Meeting Ms. Theary C. Seng attending as Board President Tagaytay, The Philippines | 2 Sept. 2013
Sam Rainsy Returns
to a Rapturous
Hero's Welcome
Photos: Theary C. Seng, 19 July 2013 More images taken by me from the truck carrying Sam Rainsy at my Facebook accounts and in KI-Media 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Global Convening to End Mass Atrocities Istanbul (16-21 June 2013) Istanbul, Turkey's largest city at 15 to 17 million people, is magical, as exquisitely stunning as one can imagine it to be and more (!!). Also known as Constantinople, named after the Roman Emperor Constantine who converted to Christianity in 4th century, it has now only one percent Christian out of 55 Million population.
I'm presenting on 19 June 2013 "Reconciling Peace with Justice in Cambodia: the Limitations of Tribunals to Address Mass Crimes"
https://www.box.com/s/g9go7em1jyvuhvy8jbjj
Click here to read narratives and see more photos, or go to Ms. Seng's Facebook accounts
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Theary C. Seng and the Road Ahead in Cambodia By Michelle Phipps-Evans Asian Fortune News, 3 Feb. 2013
The name Theary Chan Seng generates a fervor approaching reverence in the Cambodian community here and abroad. She is the Cambodian-born, American-educated lawyer and civil rights activist who founded the Cambodian Center for Justice & Reconciliation. It is a major component of another organization she serves as founding president, CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education. This nonprofit group is dedicated to promoting an enlightened and responsible citizenry committed to democratic principles. It is actively engaged in the practice of democracy and reconciliation in Cambodia and the larger, globalized world. So who really is Seng, the person? She is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge (KR) regime, and has spent almost two decades advocating for its victims, many of whom were orphaned, widowed, abused or molested—victims who were like Seng herself.
. . . Obama, in Cambodia for a Meeting, Sidesteps the Ghosts of History
International Herald Tribune (Peter Baker, November 20, 2012)
Theary Seng, president of the Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia, said, “President Obama should have met with the human rights community and activists challenging the Hun Sen regime, and while then and there, offer a public apology to the Cambodian people for the illegal U.S. bombings, which took the lives of half a million Cambodians and created the conditions for the Khmer Rouge genocide.”
Click here to read this complete news analysis
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Protests Greet Obama's Visit International Herald Tribune / New York Times PHNOM PENH — Theary Seng was taking aim with precision and anger. The 41-year-old U.S.-trained lawyer and a regular on Cambodia’s crowded protest circuit was about to throw a dart at a poster of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Kissinger is one of 13 politicians and senior Khmer Rouge leaders in a dart game created by Poetic Justice, a nongovernmental organization run by Theary Seng that highlights deficiencies of the special U.N.-backed tribunal judging the Khmer Rouge’s crimes. Each player gets five throws. A bull’s-eye is worth seven points. The highest score wins. Last Sunday afternoon, Theary Seng and three members of her staff were playing on Phnom Penh’s riverfront opposite the storied Foreign Correspondents’ Club. On this occasion — the fourth time the game has been staged in public — the point was to draw attention to the narrow scope of the Khmer Rouge tribunal ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit for a summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Click here to read full article.
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Watch the TV3 New Zealand broadcast with Mike McRoberts (aired 21 Nov. 2012) At ASEAN summit, trade overshadows human rights
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Open Letter to U.S. President Barack Obama Published in The Phnom Penh Post, 20 November 2012
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Theary Seng and some 30 security (plus more embedded in Wat Phnom Penh and Sunway Hotel) Narrative of harassment and images of Ms. Theary C. Seng's stand-off with at least 30 big bulky, heavily armed security in front of US Embassy Phnom Penh (Tuesday, 19 Nov. 2012)
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Emotional Violence of Past Poetic Justice Dart Games flared into Physical Assault on Ms. Theary C. Seng and those around her along the Riverfront, Sunday, 18 Nov. 2012
Reykjavik, Iceland SESSION 3: CALLING 4.15 - 5.45 pm Led by Miriam Subirana, Foundation for a Culture of Peace The session includes: Theary C. Seng, Founder, Centre for Justice and Reconciliation, Cambodia
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More at Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia... "Cambodia's Khmer Rouge Court 'Dying' ABC News film, aired 16 Oct. 2012
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Khmer Rouge defendant Ieng Thirith ruled unfit for Cambodian genocide trial due to dementia The Washington Post, 13 Sept. 2012 Of course if she is seriously ill with Alzheimer’s, she should be released. There is no point in trying an incapacitated person,” said Theary Seng, a human rights advocate representing some victims who are allowed a role in the proceedings. “The point is the (tribunal) is so late in coming. The political foot-dragging and inertia has caused this travesty of justice.”
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Poetic Justice and Civil Party Withdrawal in the News Nov. 2011 Ex-leader: Khmer Rouge atrocities are 'fairy tale' AP Newswire, 23 Nov. 2011 "I'm not surprised that Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary continue to deny their crimes as the charges against them of genocide, war crimes are very serious," said Theary Seng, a Cambodian lawyer and human rights activist who lost family members under their regime. "Even if I am not surprised, I am however disgusted by their lack of remorse for the suffering they caused. They are delusional in their denial in light of the weight of evidence against them - the mounds of skulls and bones, the horrific testimonies from every survivor of cruelty, the magnitude and scope of evil unleashed by them across the whole of Cambodia."
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"Khmer Rouge trial is failing Cambodian victims of Pol Pot's regime" Human Rights Watch Brad Adams' editorial The Guardian, 26 Nov. 2011
. . . "Justice Denied" Douglas Gillison, Foreign Policy Magazine, 23 Nov. 2011 . . . Deputy President of Victims Association, a Civil Party of the Orphans Class, Mr. CHEY Theara, Withdraws Civil Party Status, Denounces ECCC as Political Farce _______________________ PRESS RELEASE _______________________
Full statement in both Khmer and English in KI-Media. Here, if ISP censors in Cambodia.
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Khmer Rouge Trial Missing a Marquee Defendant Wall Street Journal, 21 Nov. 2011 “The release of Ieng Thirith is only one reflection of how incredibly late these trials are coming into place,” said Theary Seng, founder of the Cambodian Center for Justice and Reconciliation and herself, too, a victim of the Khmer Rouge regime, having lost her parents and spent five months in prison. She has withdrawn from the tribunal process, and instead put her energy into organizing public games of darts featuring the faces of the Khmer Rouge leaders along Phnom Penh’s riverfront – a “way of release” following victims’ frustrations with the trial process, mixed with “dark humor,” she said.
But the trial - a joint enterprise between the UN and Cambodia - has been heavily criticised. Theary Seng, whose parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge, said putting three people on trial for the deaths of 1.7 million simply wasn't enough. (BBC News, 21 Nov. 2011)
Khmer Rouge Trial: Cambodia Awaits Answers BBC News, 21 Nov. 2011
. . . AFP, 21 Nov. 2011 Khmer Rouge survivor Theary Seng told AFP she was "frustrated beyond words" that only Khieu Samphan looked likely to shed light on what happened. "The people want to know who is behind the Khmer Rouge, we want to see and understand the larger picture and we're not going to get that," she said.
From Tragedy to Sham in Cambodia Asia Times Online, 19 Nov. 2011 In KI-Media Others have gone further, arguing that the time might be ripe for the UN to pull the plug on the controversy-plagued court altogether. Last week, Theary Seng, a Cambodian-American survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime and a prominent advocate for victims' rights, withdrew her status as a civil party to the court, describing the proceedings as a "complete sham". She said the UN should threaten to withdraw after setting some clear conditions for its continued participation. By pressing ahead, Seng said, the world body runs the risk of rubber-stamping a flawed process and further embedding cynicism in the Cambodian population. "I understand the unwieldiness of any large bureaucracy, but at the end of the day it comes down to personalities, and there have been extremely weak personalities," she said. "In this regard, the UN is complicit."
In the End, Loss of Faith in Tribunal: Former Complainant Hello VOA Special with Theary Seng, 16 Nov. 2011 Khmer Rouge Victim Quits Tribunal Saying UN-backed Court is a Sham DPA, 15 Nov. 2011
Prominent Victims' Advocate Quits Khmer Rouge Tribunal VOA International/English, 15 Nov. 2011 KRT Critic Offers 'Poetic Justice' The Phnom Penh Post, 16 Nov. 2011 Theary Seng Denounces Tribunal; Introduces Dartboard Scheme The Cambodia Daily, 16 Nov. 2011
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Click here to read the full press release...
More information at "ECCC Civil Party" More information at Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia Theary Seng Criticizes KRT as "Political Farce" The Phnom Penh Post, 10 Nov. 2011
Radio Free Asia (both AM and PM broadcasts on 10 Nov. 2011)
Cambodian-American Lawyer Withdraws her Civil Party Status Voice of America Khmer Service, 10 Nov. 2011
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