Police surrounding Mu SochuaAHRC-ETC-001-2010
June 15, 2010
"The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein, German-born American physicist
A column by Dr. Gaffar Peang-Meth published by the Asian Human Rights Commission
The French playwright Moliere said, "It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable." Robert F. Kennedy posited: "It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope."
Two events that occurred in Cambodia on June 2, 2010 speak volumes about human nature and politics. On this day, Cambodian officials, non-governmental groups (minus the London-based Global witness that charged Cambodia with "gross mismanagement" of her natural resources) and foreign donors began a two-day conference to discuss the country's most pressing issues before awarding more than one billion dollars in development aid.
On the same day, Premier Hun Sen's executive-dominated Supreme Court upheld the lower courts' ruling against legislator Mu Sochua, who sued Premier Sen for defamation for 500 riels (about 12 cents) for calling her "strong leg," a “gangster/thug,” and for insinuating in an April 2009 speech in Kampot, that Sochua unbuttoned her blouse in front of an officer and then filed a complaint against him. Sochua's lawsuit was met by Sen's counter-lawsuit that Sochua defamed him.
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