July 17, 2009
MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
INTERVENE IN FAVOR OF DEMOCRACY IN CAMBODIA
Members of the European Parliament from the Liberal Group (ALDE)
issued yesterday the following statement. The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) is
affiliated with Liberal International and many MEPs from ALDE have visited
Cambodia to support democracy here.
SRP Cabinet
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Distribution: immediate - July 16, 2009, 1:03 pm
LIBERALS AND DEMOCRATS CALL FOR EU
TO UPHOLD HUMAN RIGHTS IN CAMBODIA
Today the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) have
tabled a question to the European Commission and Council demanding action to
stand up for Cambodian opposition politicians, journalists and lawyers who are
facing serious defamation charges for daring to criticise the governing
authorities.
The ALDE political initiative comes in support of a UN Human Rights
report published last month indicating an increasing use of defamation and
disinformation lawsuits to undermine freedom of opinion in the country and
stifle any criticism of the ruling elite or the Cambodian People's party which
has a huge majority in the Cambodian Parliament.
In particular, in recent weeks the editor of a national newspaper
(Khmer Mchas Srok) which has shown support for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party
and published articles accusing the Deputy Prime Minister of corruption was
arrested. Similarly, two deputies from the Sam Rainsy Party were stripped of
their parliamentary immunity at the end of June and face a trial on 24th July.
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (FDP, Germany) and ALDE first
Vice-President initiated the appeal to EU leaders to intervene in defence of
democracy in Cambodia with whom the European Union has had a trade and
cooperation agreement since 1997. The first article of this agreement deals
with "respect for democratic principles and fundamental human rights" which are
to "inspire the internal and international policies of the EU and Cambodia" and
which "constitute an essential element of the agreement".
"The EU has the vocation and obligation to export its values of
democracy and human rights across the globe. Its soft power can and should be
exerted through political and economic pressure on partner countries with which
it has contractual relations," said Lambsdorff.
"We expect the Cambodian Government to drop its lawsuits against
members of the opposition and we call on the European Union to send an observer
to monitor the trial in Phnom Penh on 24th July of Mu Sochua, member of the Sam
Rainsy opposition or any other politician facing similar charges."
The ALDE initiative has been co-signed by ALDE MEPs Niccolo Rinaldi
(Italia dei Valori) and Annemie Neyts (OpenVLD, Belgium). See attached a copy
of the full text of the parliamentary question.
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Les Démocrates et les Libéraux exhortent l'UE à faire respecter des
droits de l'homme au Cambodge
Texte en français non disponible.
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For more information, please contact:
Neil Corlett: +33-3-88 17 41 67 or +32-478-78 22 84
e-mail: [email protected]
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Fw: Reaction from the European Parliament
Sam Rainsy Party of North America Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:03:17 -0700
