Newsletter:
Cambodia in review
A publication of the Royal Embassy of
Cambodia to the United States
July 1998
Vol. III No 29
Message From His Majesty Norodom Sihanouk, King Of Cambodia
On the occasion of the Independence Day of the United States of America on July 4, 1998, His Majesty Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia sent a congratulatory message to The Honorable William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, which reads as follows:
The auspicious celebration of the Independence Day of the United States of America gives me the opportunity to present to Your Excellency on behalf of the Royal Family of Cambodia, the Royal Government of Cambodia, the Cambodian People and on my behalf my warmest congratulations and fervent wishes for the continuous tremendous success of the United States of America in her historic and very impressive work of national development, as well as for the prosperity and happiness of the great American People.
The Kingdom of Cambodia expresses its deep gratitude to Your Excellency, to the prestigious United States of America and the very esteemed People of the United States of America for their historic contribution to the accomplishment of peace in Cambodia and for their leading role in the process of democratization, rehabilitation and reconstruction in favor of the Cambodian nation. The multiform assistance which was and is generously provided every year by the United States of America for the development of Cambodia will be always cherished by the Cambodian nation.
I am convinced that the already existing strong links uniting our two Peoples and the fruitful cooperation which was established between our two Countries will be further enhanced in the future.
Please accept, Mr. President, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration, with my warmest congratulations and fervent wishes for Your good health, longevity and happiness.
Siemreap-Angkor, July 1, 1998
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Too Soon To Pronounce The Election Unfair
Recently, Samdech HUN SEN, Second Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia responded to the US media regarding the preparation for the upcoming elections in Cambodia. The Royal Embassy of Cambodia hereby publishes his remarks in its entirety as follows:
With Cambodia's July 26 national election nearly one month away, it is too soon for anyone to pronounce it unfair. The election will, of course, be a crossroads. It will be the first and the most significant one since it will be held in an unprecedented context of Cambodian history.
First, contrary to the 1993 general election, which was organized and supervised by UNTAC, this time it is run by the people of Cambodia. Presiding over the electoral process is a National Election Committee, endowed with plenary powers. Its purpose is to establish a national network to ensure that the July 26 voting is carried out smoothly. All election related legislation is drafted by Cambodians themselves. The Constitutional Council which is already in place, is empowered to review the constitutionality of the Cambodian legislation and to settle election disputes. Three of its members are appointed by King Sihanouk, three by the equivalent of your Supreme Court, and the remaining three by the National Assembly.
Cambodia welcomes international and local observers. The European Union has already deployed its long-term observers while many countries have already accepted to send their people to observe this election. We have promised them access throughout the country during the whole electoral process. The UN Secretary General's Representative and the National Election Committee are jointly coordinating the activities of the international observers. The non-governmental community is active. A number of coalitions of dozen Cambodian NGO's have undertaken a voter education program and are also involved in election observation.
Second, it is a free, democratic and pluralistic one. The registrations of voters have been proceeding smoothly without violence and the vote will be secret. The secrecy of the ballot is central to the legitimacy of any election. It will be fully guaranteed in Cambodia. Every effort is being made to insure against a distortion of the results through fraud or manipulation. I have made numerous speeches to discourage unfair election practices, and the National Election Committee is doing all it can to insure that there are observers/party agents from all registered parties at every voting station.
So far, no political figure is restrained or gagged – a practice that is not unknown elsewhere in the region, in particular Prince Ranariddh, leader of FUNCINPEC Party, has been pardoned by the King and is eligible to offer himself as a candidate, participate in the electoral debate, and stand for office. The opposition is free to campaign without any fear of threat or intimidation since nowadays security is much more guaranteed than that in 1993. The Royal Government abhors and will not tolerate any act of violence. And I have urged restraint and the avoidance of intimidation to my party colleagues and throughout the nation in my numerous public statements and speeches.
Competitive party activity is robust, to say the least. There are 39 political parties registered to participate in this year's campaign. The access to the media will be equal for all political parties during the electoral campaign. One would be hard pressed to name any other nation in Southeast Asia where the press is so unrestrained in its criticism of the government and the ruling party as in Cambodian today. The state-owned-television and radio station with nation-wide reception will insure each political party equal airtime to campaign in the 30-day period leading up to the election.
Third, it is held in the quasi-totality of Cambodian territory. One of the certain accomplishments of the current government is the containment and isolation of the Pol Pot forces before he was reportedly dead and subsequently, the dismantling of his army through military action and a policy encouraging defection. The KR now are reduced to a few hundred soldiers, a pitiful and harmless remnant of the brutal hordes who decimated the nation and killed some 2 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979. As it turned out, the areas formerly controlled by the Khmer Rouge hard-liners such as Pailin, Samlot, Malay and Anlonveng will also cast their votes in the upcoming election while in 1993, these areas had been used to intimidate the voters and attack the general population. It is also important to recall that people living in Samlot area have never had a chance to cast their votes in any election held in Cambodia.
With the KR movement comes to an end, military and politically, the issue of safely and security is much more guaranteed than that in 1993. The 8-point-security-order that I announced in August 1997 has greatly contributed to creating a neutral political environment conductive for a free, fair and just election.
These are the ambitious efforts of any country to insure the elections are free, the ballot secret and the votes counted fairly. But the polling stations will not be open for another four weeks, and it is too soon to declare the results tainted. Indeed, I suggest Cambodia's struggle to institute democracy deserve the encouragement and support of the international community. This election is important to show to the world that it is a democracy, committed to peaceful political process and attendant to the people's will. That is why I have promised to peacefully transfer the power to the winners if the CPP lost the upcoming votes.
In sum, Cambodia is making progress toward democracy and representative government. This process is all the more remarkable given my country's long, dark history of killing–not all of itself administered. We are hopeful that the July election will open a new and brighter chapter in our national experiences and Cambodia could enter into the 21st century with dignity and honour, and that the American people join us in that endeavor.
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Appeal For People To Vote For Any Party of Their Choice
"With the election day coming closer, I would like to solemnly appeal to all my compatriots not to be afraid of any pressure, threat or intimidation made by any party," His Majesty The King of Cambodia said in his statement on June 17, 1998.
"The election scheduled for July 26, 1998, will be a secret vote and be conducted in a liberal democratic way. Therefore, I would like my compatriots to exercise their rights to freely and decisively vote for any candidate and any party of your choice," concluded His Majesty The King.
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China Donates 27 Jeeps To Cambodia For Election
A reception ceremony of twenty seven jeeps and spare parts donated by the Chinese Government was held at the National Election Committee (NEC) on July 1, 1998.
The hand-over ceremony was presided over by H.E. Dean Chheng Phon, Chairman of National Election Committee, H.E. Uch Kiman, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, representing the Royal Government of Cambodia and H.E. Mr. Yan Ting Ai, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to the Kingdom Cambodia.
The jeeps and spare parts worth an amount of two million RMB yuan (250,000 US dollars) represented a donation from the government of the Republic of China to the NEC for the purpose of the July 26 election.
The Cambodian side expressed its profound gratitude to the Chinese government and people for their timely help, stressed that the donation would greatly contribute to the success of the upcoming election and also reaffirmed the NEC's firm determination to hold a free, fair, transparent and peaceful election.
H.E. Yan Tin Ai said that the upcoming election is a major event in political life of Cambodian people and expressed his hope that the election would be held on schedule and go smoothly and peacefully so that Cambodia could enter a stage of long-term stability after the election. He also said that the Chinese government would actively take part in the free and fair observation process.
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ASEAN'S View On The Election In Cambodia
On June 27, 1998, H.E. Surin Pitsuwan, Foreign Minister of Thailand, led a delegation from the ASEAN "Troika", which comprised Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, to visit Cambodia.
"The preparations for the election have been going well. The three days of the campaign so far have been smooth. We are quite satisfied with what we have seen so far," he said during his visit in Cambodia.
"We are quite encouraged and hopeful that the election will be carried out smoothly and the international community will be rewarded for its efforts," he concluded.
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The Structure Of The National Election Committee
The National Election Committee composed of eleven members namely one chairman, one deputy chairman, four representatives of political parties in the National Assembly (FUNCINPEC, CPP, BLDP and MOULINAKA), two representatives of people, one representative of non-governmental organizations in Cambodia, one representative of the Interior Ministry.
At the provincial level, the NEC established 23 provincial and municipal Election Commissions composed of 1017 officials. At the communal level, there are 1595 Communal Election Commissions with 12,760 officials. The NEC will set up 11,699 polling stations with the help of 60.000 officials recruited by the NEC.
The total number of the NEC officials across the country is 74,528.
In addition, there are 95,000 security and military personnel of the Ministries of Interior and National Defense being placed at the disposal of the NEC to guarantee the safety and the election process.
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NEC Activities To Hold A Free And Fair Election
Since early this month, the National Election Committee has launched a voter education campaign with the aim of informing Cambodian voters about the procedures for casting a ballot on 26 July and of assuring them that their vote is secret.
Some 50,000 copies of a first NEC leaflet giving general information about the polls have been distributed nationwide through the NEC networks and with the help of independent Cambodian NGOs.
A poster has been produced depicting all 39 political parties and their logos as part of the campaign to help voters, especially illiterate voters, to identify their party choice. Illiterate voters will not be allowed to asked for help in reading the ballot paper. Therefore, it is important that as many people as possible are able to study this poster, and 100,000 copies have been printed and distributed to all provinces.
Two more leaflets and one other poster dealing with the secrecy of the vote and procedures for casting a ballot is distributed by the second week of July.
Eight theater troupes financed by the EU have begun to stage performances aimed at explaining the voting procedures and assuring voters that the ballots will be cast in secret. The actor will tour 11 provinces over 21 days.
Television and radio program on voting procedures and other information related to the elections have been broadcast continuously since July 7.
Worth noting that the EU, which financed the NEC's voter education campaign during the registration period, has also contributed much of the funding for this second campaign under its program of Support for the Democratic Electoral Process in Cambodia.
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Progress On The Preparations For The Election In Cambodia
On June 10, 1998, The Honorable Stanley Roth, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs of the US State Department, outlined the US policy towards Cambodia in a Hearing on US policy Strategy on Democracy in Cambodia at the Senate Sub-Committee for Asia and Pacific Affairs. The Assistant Secretary noted much progress has been made in the preparations for the upcoming elections in Cambodia.
" While we still have a long way to go in restoring the democracy to Cambodia, the situation on the ground has improved significantly since we spoke last," he said. " First, opposition leaders are back in country and operating freely. Second, the Hun Sen government has taken or is in the process of taking many steps that I outlined last September as critical to the establishment of a legal framework for new elections: election and party laws have been passed; an election commission has been established; voter registration has begun; international observers have been invited to monitor the election process; and the requisite constitutional and magistracy councils have been set up….."
The Assistant Secretary said that the question changed from "can there possibly be elections?" to " what kind of elections will there be?" Voter registration has proceed surprisingly well. As a result, there is a broad consensus among domestic and international observers that the registration process has been acceptable thus far.
"Despite calls from some opposition leaders to postpone or even boycott the elections, these figures continue to organize vigorously and consistently draw large crowds at countryside rallies. Opposition figures have been enjoying unhindered travel in the provinces," he noted
On the role of NGOs in the upcoming election, the Assistant Secretary said that NGOs are playing a central role in this process, providing monitors at the grassroots level while working to address broader issues of civic education and participation.
"The US government recently released $2.2 million to NGOs to fund 25-50 US observers in addition to the 2,000 Cambodian poll watchers. That number will surge to 7,000 on election day. We have also provided an additional $ 300,000 to support the UN Elections Assistance Secretariat (EAS) in Cambodia," he continued.
"I think it is useful to remember that despite similar concerns about the elections five years ago, when many in the international community were pessimistic about the prospects for the UN-conducted elections, the Cambodian people surprised us all, turning out in droves and returning election results which defied popular expectations and brought a new government to power," he said.
In closing, the Assistant Secretary expressed his hope that for the sake of the people of Cambodia, the elections would proceed in a free, fair and
credible fashion. He also urged all Cambodian parties to work together to bring this about.
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On July 7, 1998, a ceremony was held to symbolize Japan's financial assistance to the electoral process in Cambodia.
Japan has provided almost $10 million in election aid to Cambodia: $ 9.2 million to the NEC for the procurement of polling materials, vehicles, radio equipment and office equipment, $500,000 to the UN for monitoring and observation projects and $ 93,000 to the Women's Media Center for the voter education campaign.
During the hand-over ceremony, H.E. Masaki Saito, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Kingdom of Cambodia expressed his hope that the ballot boxes will make historical turning point to be followed by political stability, peace and democracy in Cambodia.
H.E. Kassie Neou, Vice Chairman of the NEC, extended profound thank to the Japanese government and people for their exceptionally generous assistance to the Cambodian electoral process. He also appealed for the dispatch of more observers, saying that although 400 international observers are due to be in Cambodia on July 26, 30 of them Japanese, more are needed to ensure a peaceful and credible election.
Worth noting that the NEC is short of $ 3.1 million for holding the up-coming election. Therefore, the NEC is appealing to donor countries to provide some more money in order to fulfil its mission successfully.
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The Royal Embassy of Cambodia
4500 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20011