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Political Restrictions Mar Pre-Election Environment in Cambodia

Investigate Violence, End Restrictions on Freedoms of Expression and Assembly

(Phnom Penh)-The Cambodian government must act immediately to allow opposition parties access to broadcast media and to repeal restrictions on public demonstrations and party meetings in the weeks before the July 27 national election, Human Rights Watch said today.

In a new briefing paper, Human Rights Watch said that action should also be taken by the government to investigate recent incidents of political violence and intimidation that have had a chilling effect on the electoral climate.

"Unless concrete changes are immediately implemented, Cambodians will go to the polls with minimal information about their political choices and with fears about their safety influencing how they vote," said James Ross, senior legal advisor at Human Rights Watch. "At a time when political speech and association should be encouraged, it is being increasingly restricted."

Human Rights Watch called on the members of the ASEAN Regional Forum, including U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, to insist on fundamental improvements by the Cambodian government at their meetings in Phnom Penh next week.

The ASEAN Regional Forum and ASEAN members, as well as Cambodia's international donors, should insist that the Cambodian government:

Ensure that political violence and other electoral violations are promptly investigated, prosecuted, and punished according to the National Assembly Election Law and Cambodian criminal law;
Respect the rights to freedom of assembly, association, and expression in the pre-election period; and
Immediately allow opposition parties fair access to the broadcast media.

The briefing paper concludes that electoral violence continues to plague Cambodia's political environment. The assassination of high-profile politicians, such as the royalist Funcinpec party's senior advisor and former member of parliament, Om Radsady, in February, and the murders of twelve political activists for Funcinpec and the Sam Rainsy Party since last year's local elections, are a reminder that politics remains a deadly game for those who dare to challenge the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

"Cambodia has now been holding elections for a decade, but little has been done either to protect opposition parties from political violence or ensure they can campaign on an equal footing with the ruling CPP," said Ross. "If things don't change, no one should be surprised if Cambodian voters start losing faith in this process."

Cambodian voters remain at the mercy of local authorities, who continue to use threats, coercion, and intimidation to ensure support for the ruling party. Cases of politically related violence and intimidation go unpunished so often that voters, party activists, and even senior political figures remain highly vulnerable.

Human Rights Watch found that the Cambodian government has used the January anti-Thai riots--in which government security forces stepped aside and allowed mobs to attack the Thai embassy and Thai businesses--as an excuse to clamp down on the right to demonstrate and hold political rallies. In late May, the National Election Committee and the Ministry of Interior decided to restrict private and public meetings of political parties outside the campaign period on the grounds of maintaining public order.

"The pretext of national security and public order is now being to used to deny peaceful rallies by students, victims of domestic violence, and environmentalists," said Ross.

In addition, the government's persistent unwillingness to open up the broadcast media to opposition political parties means that only information about the incumbent CPP consistently reaches voters.

"If voters cannot get information about their choices at the ballot box, parties cannot meet freely and get their messages out to people, and fear is determining voters' choices, the purpose of holding an election at all is defeated," said Ross.

Human Rights Watch also called upon the National Election Committee to implement a thorough and impartial electoral complaints process. All political parties should refrain from violence, racist rhetoric, and vote buying.

Human Rights Watch urged international and local observers to refrain from reaching hasty public judgments about the election immediately after the polling without taking into account the full context of the election and long-standing problems with violence, intimidation, media access, and the fears of voters, activists, and candidates.

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