Yearbook 2006
Cambodia. In January, for the first time elections were
held for the Cambodian Senate, the upper house of
Parliament. Only just over 11,300 people from the country's
local parishes and the lower house of Parliament, however,
had the right to vote. According to
CountryAAH, Prime Minister Hun Sens's ruling
party CPP (Cambodian People's Party) won big and took home
45 of the 57 selectable seats. The royalist party FUNCINPEL
won ten seats, while opposition party Sam Rainsy's party
secured the two remaining seats.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy - in exile since February
2005 - criticized the election in harsh terms and demanded
that the election commission, which he believed consisted
solely of CPP-faithful persons, should be replaced. In
February, Sam Rainsy returned to his homeland from his exile
in France. In December 2005, he had been sentenced in his
absence to 1.5 years in prison for having blamed Prime
Minister Hun Sen, among others. Rainsy was able to return
after being pardoned by the country's King Norodom Sihamoni
at the request of Hun Sen. In recent times, laws against
defamation and slander had been used extensively by the
government to silence eg. opposition politicians, union
leaders and independent media workers. However, following
growing criticism from the outside world and pressure from
K's important donors, a number of pardons were made during
the year. Opposition parliamentarian Cheam Channy, who was
sentenced in 2005 to seven years in prison for conspiracy
against Hun Sen, were among the pardoned. Cheam Channy and
Sam Rainsy, with several opposition MPs, also regained their
prosecution immunity during the year.
In July, the 17 Cambodian and 13 UN-appointed judges were
set to form the core of the long-planned tribunal, which is
tasked with trying red Khmer leaders suspected of serious
human rights violations. The crimes were committed between
1975 and 1979 when around 1.7 million people died as a
result of the Red Khmer regime's executions, torture,
starvation and forced labor as routine elements. The first
trials against Red Khmer leaders were expected to commence
in 2007. At the end of 2006, only one high-ranking Red Khmer
leader was detained pending trial. The other dozen still
living suspects had been pardoned by the current government
and lived freely in K. In the summer of 2006, the dreaded
commander of the Red Khmer, Ta Mok, passed away about 80
years old. The regime's highest leader, Pol Pot,
In the autumn, human rights organizations criticized the
government's way of forcing thousands of residents into the
capital of Phnom Penh's slum. With riot police and
excavators, they had removed the slum dwellers who refused
to move. The governing authorities announced that the
evictions were necessary for the development of the city;
Phnom Penh would be beautified, and riverine slums would be
transformed into tourist routes, public places, modern
apartments and shops. The residents of the slum were moved
to the outskirts of the city where there is no running
water, sewerage system or electricity. Nor are there schools
or market places nearby. The city authorities have promised
over time to improve the standard of living of the
displaced.
In September, Parliament passed a law prohibiting
infidelity. The motivation was that this ban could prevent
government officials from stealing public funds to give to
their mistresses.
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