What can Hillary clinton do in this matter? NOTHING....... On May 5, 3:57 pm, "Sam Rainsy Party of North America" <[email protected]> wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Gaffar Peang-Meth > Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 1:43 PM > Subject: Women call for Third World rights > > PACIFIC DAILY NEWS > May 6, 2009 > > Women call for Third World rights > > A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D > > Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during her February Asian trip, > "Clearly, > the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn't influenced the > Burmese junta," but "reaching out and trying to engage them has not > influenced them either. > > "We want to see a time when citizens of Burma and the Nobel prize winner > Aung San Suu Kyi can live freely in their own country. Because we are > concerned about the Burmese people, we are conducting a review of our > policy," she said. > > In the Apr. 20 Washington Post, Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote that while > we await the "thoughtful review," the Burmese junta "is not waiting, > ... it moves a step closer to ... eliminating opposition and > consolidating power." He says the Obama administration "must somehow > think and lead at the same time, before it loses the initiative, and > misimpressions about where it stands spread. > > "The brave Burmese people who have struggled for their freedom believe this > is a moral universe, where right and wrong still matter," he wrote. > "They need to know that the world's most powerful democracy still > believes it, too." > > Surely, all the peoples who struggle for rights and freedom want to know that. > > When the Vital Voices' Global Leadership Awards honored the world's women > leaders for expanding democracy at grassroots level, promoting legal > reforms and human rights, among others, on March 19 at the Kennedy > Center, Clinton received the Global Trailblazer award. > > She told those attending the ceremony, "No nation can be successful if it > invests only in or listens to only half of the population," and pledged > to "do all we can to ensure that America is not only an example of the > best values that humanity has to offer, but that we pursue every chance > we can to give every woman a vital voice on behalf of herself, her > family, her community and her country." > > Tutu wrote, "My sister, ... Suu Kyi, the heroic and beloved leader of the > Burmese democracy movement, remains under house arrest and cannot speak > to the world." > > But standing next to Clinton was a 55-year-old Khmer woman, Mu Sochua, a > mother of three daughters, herself a 2005 awardee of Vital Voices' > Global Leadership Awards for Human Rights and Anti-Human Trafficking. > She urged Clinton "to send a delegation to Cambodia to hear what the > people have to say" in a country in which "life is still cheap." > > Sochua, one of 1,000 women proposed for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize, told > Katrin > Redfern of The Independent Media Center in New York City that she seeks > the Obama administration's support for democracy and human rights in > Cambodia, "a democracy on paper but in reality a dictatorship." > > When asked if she was hopeful about improvement, she said, "No, not until > there is a change of regime. That can only happen when we have a real > election that is free and fair. The West should insist on that, > otherwise all the aid they have poured into Cambodia will not work." > > But she knows no dictator trades a free and fair election to keep him from > power, and many countries put their interests above other people's > rights and freedom. > > Her stubborn belief in the power of ideas and actions prevents her from being > complacent. > > On April 24, The Cambodia Daily's front page article, "Mu Sochua To Sue > Premier For Defamation," reports Hun Sen's nationally broadcast speech > that he wouldn't help villagers who side with the opposition; he told > about a woman "cheung klang," or "strong legs," a derogatory term, in > the 2008 election campaign who had "hugged" someone, and complained her > "blouse" had been unbuttoned by force. > > The Daily states that last June, an army officer "twisted her am, thus > making her blouse buttons come undone," so Sochua filed an "assault > complaint." > > At an April 23 news conference, she announced her lawsuit against Sen for > defamation, for 500 riels, or 13 cents, and a retraction of his > statement. > > In a country where "disappearances" and "accidents" are routine, Sochua's > action makes her either foolhardy or the symbol of renowned Khmer > Pundit Krom Ngoy's advice, "Kom chloah noeung srey" or "Don't fight > with women." > > But Sen chooses to fight with Sochua: The April 27 Daily's front page read, > "Prime Minister To Countersue Mu Sochua." > > Sen controls all branches of government, but Sochua says she's not scared. > > Born in 1954 to an affluent family, Sochua attended a French school. As > Cambodia was engulfed in the Vietnam War in 1972, she and her sister > were sent away to Paris and never saw her parents again -- her father > died of starvation under Pol Pot, her mother's fate was unknown. > > A refugee who lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, she earned a > bachelor's in psychology at San Francisco State University, and a > master's in social work at the University of California, Berkeley. > Canada's Guelph University bestowed upon her an honorary doctorate in > law. > > In 1981, Sochua left the United States to work in refugee camps along the > Khmer-Thai border where she met her husband. In 1989 she returned to > Phnom Penh and devoted her all to advancing women's rights. > > She was elected a lawmaker in 1998 on a royalist ticket, served as minister > of women's and veteran affairs in 1998-2004, left the royalist party > after a political falling out, and became secretary general of > Cambodia's largest opposition party. > > Clinton's resounding words at the Vital Voices' Global Leadership Awards > shine on Sochua and others in their struggle. > > But words are even more awesome when backed by actions. > > A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the Universityof Guam, where > he taught political science for 13 years. Write him at [email protected]. > > http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200905060300/OPINIO...- > Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. 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