Saturday, 6.10.2007: Rong Chhun and Chea Mony Support Prime Minister's Speech

The Mirror, Vol. 11, No. 528

“Mr. Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association [CITA] and Mr. Chea Mony, a representative of the Cambodian Watchdog Council [CWC] and the President of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia [FTUWKC], whose tendency is known as toward the opposition party, made a joint statement supporting and welcoming Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen who made a speech calling on the Burmese military government to stop the use of cruel violence to crack down on its monks and citizens who demonstrate nonviolently.

“According to the statement issued by Mr. Rong Chhun and Mr. Chea Mony on 4 October 2007, the CWC welcomes the speech of Samdech Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia on 3 October 2007 at the Faculty of Medicine in Phnom Penh, appealing to the Burmese military government to end the use of cruel violence to crack down on its monks and citizens.

“The CWC shares the grief over the death of monks and citizens which happened through the suppression by armed forces against those who demanded peace and democracy, and the CWC totally condemns the Burmese military government for using force to suppress its monks and citizens violently. It should immediately stop all violent activities against monks and citizens.

“The CWC remembers that in 1998, in the Kingdom of Cambodia, monks and citizens gathered opposite the National Assembly in order to demand justice over election results, and they were also confronted with suppression by the government.

“The CWC welcomes the speech of Samdech Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia, in a ceremony inaugurating a building in the Faculty of Medicine, asking the Burmese government to end aggression, and it hopes that violent crackdowns on protesters demanding democracy will no longer happen in Cambodia.

“Mr. Rong Chhun and Mr. Chea Mony are believed to be core supporters of the Sam Rainsy opposition party, as presidents of the CITA and the FTUWKC. Now they are believed to start shifting slowly from this opposition party, and this case is also considered to be a result from dissatisfaction with Mr. Eng Chhay Eang in the position of the secretary-general of the Sam Rainsy Party..

“It is not forgotten that after the Sam Rainsy Party congress on 8 September 2007, in which the Steering Committee decided to elect Eng Chhay Ieng as the party secretary-general again, an internal wave going against the presence of Mr. Eng Chhay Ieng started. In the meantime, Mr. Rong Chhun and Mr. Chea Mony also started to express their reaction openly, both of them hold the view that Mr. Eng Chhay Ieng, a person who is addicted to gambling, should not have been allowed to take this position.

“The presence of Mr. Eng Chhay Ieng in the position of the party secretary-general not only causes internal arguments in the country, but also many representatives of the party abroad, especially in Europe, oppose and condemn Mr. Eng Chhay Ieng.” Chakraval, Vol.15, #2721, 6.10.2007

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Saturday, 6 October 2007

Chakraval, Vol.15, #2721, 6.10.2007

Rong Chhun and Chea Mony Support Prime Minister’s Speech
7NG Company Takes 58 Families at Dey Krahom Area to Court [over land dispute – Chamkar Mon, Phnom Penh]
In 2007, US Provides $37 Million in Aid to Health Sector [in Cambodia]
Ten Stolen Right-Hand-Drive Cars Imported from Thailand through Svay Chek Border Crossing [Banteay Meanchey]

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.6, #1463, 6.10.2007

Council of Ministers Adopts Draft Law on Peaceful Demonstrations
Samdech Hun Sen Supports Move to Have No Tobacco Commercials on Media
Cambodia Plans to Build Clean Water Plant to Supply Water from Tonle Sap Lake to Siem Reap
Spoiled Goods Still Imported [from Vietnam] to Cambodia through Takeo Crossings
Truckloads of Smuggled Goods by Yeay Phon [“Grandmother Phon,” a businesswoman] Imported from Thailand without Paying Tax [Banteay Meanchey]

Koh Santepheap, Vol.40, #6163, 6-7.10.2007

Reaction of Cambodian Ministry of Interior: Interview of Mr. Brad Adams [Executive Director of Human Rights Watch with Radio Free Asia] Insults Khmer Prisoners to Be Like Animals [he compares the living conditions of Cambodian prisoners to be like the living condition of dogs]

Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.14, #3282, 6-7.10.2007

National and International Circles Have No Belief in Khmer Rouge Tribunal to Find Justice for the Victims
Civil Society Concerned about Law on Demonstrations, and Appeals to Hun Sen to Maintain His Position Like His Reaction Expressed against the Burmese Government [over suppression on demonstrations]
Thun Saray [President of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association – ADHOC]: Shooting Death of Burmese Monks and Citizens [in suppressing demonstrations] Is Crime against Humanity
Khmer Television Stations Do Not Dare to Broadcast Suppression in Burma, Because to Broadcast It Would Be Like to Reveal Hun Sen [who ordered suppression of monks who protested against election results handling in 1998]

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.15, #4408, 6.10.2007

Young Man Kills His Father [in dispute about inheritance] Then Pulls the Body with a Rope to Drop It in a Water Pond [he escapes – Kompong Tralach, Kompong Chhnang]

Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.14, #3157, 6.10.2007

Cambodian Civil Society Appeals to Burmese Dictatorial Government to Stop Using Violence against Monks and Demonstrators

Sralanh Khmer, Vol.3, #523, 6.10.2007

[Former Singapore Prime Minister] Lee Kwan Yew: Burma Is an About-to-Explode Bomb in Asia
Cambodian Watchdog Council Hopes Hun Sen Government Will Stop Shooting and Beating Monks and Citizens

Go to last week’s editorial