Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions - S 1365

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Mr. MCCONNELL (for himself, Mr. KYL, and Mr. LEAHY):

    S. 1365. A bill to provide increased foreign assistance for Cambodia under certain circumstances, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

    Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, today, along with my colleagues Senators KYL and LEAHY, I offer the "Cambodia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2003". This Act is particularly timely, given that national elections are scheduled in that country on July 27th.

    Cambodia is on its third round of parliamentary elections since the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, with previous elections having been funded by the United Nations in 1993 and by the Cambodian governments in 1998. Despite the billions of dollars spent on elections in that country—over $2 billion by the U.N. alone—there has yet to be a credible poll that accurately reflects the will of the Cambodian people.

    My colleagues will remember that the U.N.-sponsored elections resulted in a large voter turnout—but also an unworkable power sharing deal brokered between the winning royalist FUNCINPEC party and the hard line Cambodian People's Party, CPP, that quickly dissolved into open hostilities, including a bloody grenade attack against a peaceful, pro-democracy rally and a CPP sponsored coup d'etat in 1997.

    The debilitating hangover from this coup—destroyed party offices, dead activists, and a palpable climate of fear and repression—undermined prospects for free and fair elections in 1998 even before the first ballots were cast.

    Fatigued and frustrated, the international community found it expedient to endorse the flawed elections, even as students and Buddhist monks erected a "democracy square" in Phnom Penh to protest the polls. A CPP crackdown left many of these peaceful protestors killed, beaten or harassed.

    It is time that Prime Minister Hun Sen—as the self-proclaimed strongman of Cambodia—is held accountable for the murder of political activists, Buddhist monks, civilians, and students. There is no rule of law, if the leaders of the government are not subject to it.

    A second "coalition" government between royalists and hard liners was cobbled together in the aftermath of the 1998 elections. This time, there was no pretext of power sharing, and for the past 5 years CPP has been firmly and completely in control of the country.

    Nevertheless, in the months and weeks before the upcoming July elections, the political marriage between FUNCINPEC and CPP is fraying. In an effort to harass and intimidate his opponents, in late January Prime Minister Hun Sen whipped up nationalistic sentiment against Thailand, let loose the so-called Pagoda Boys, government-paid thugs, and destroyed $50 million worth of Thai public and private interests in Phnom Penh.

    Despite frantic pleas for assistance, the Thai ambassador and other diplomatic personnel escaped injury by scaling the embassy's walls and scurrying to safety. In the aftermath of the riots, Hun Sen arrested and intimidated students, independent broadcasters, and political activists. A senior opposition figure sought—and was granted— refuge in the U.S. Embassy.

    In February, former royalist parliamentarian Om Radsady was gunned down in a mafia-style murder in Phnom Penh. Well liked and respected by his colleagues from all Cambodian political parties, Radsady's assassination sent a not so subtle message that no one is immune from the black hand of CPP.

    It is time Hun Sen is held accountable for his complicity in actions that grossly violate international and domestic laws, and the human rights and dignity of the people of Cambodia.

    The fundamental question facing the Cambodian people today is whether the July 27th elections will be a meaningful exercise in democracy, or another lost opportunity to chart a new course for that beleaguered country.

    Last week, Prime Minister Hun Sen assured Secretary of State Colin Powell that Cambodia would hold free and fair elections. Secretary Powell should not be duped by these hollow promises. A preponderance of evidence suggests that CPP is actively trying to steal the elections before July 27th: political activists continue to be murdered and intimidated, creating a chilling tone of fear and repression; the CPP continues to directly influence and manipulate the election machinery, with members of the National Election Commission, NEC, nominated in a closed manner by the co-Ministers of Interior and the NEC already failing to investigate allegations of election improprieties; and, opposition political parties continue to lack access to media, with several broadcast outlets in Cambodia unwilling to sell air time to CPP's challengers.

    Let me take a moment to describe what the Cambodian Democracy and Accountability Act does—and does not—do.

    The Act provides additional foreign assistance to Cambodia—an increase by half (or $21.5 million) over the fiscal year 2004 budget request of $43 million—if new leadership has been elected in free and fair elections, and if Hun Sen is no longer Prime Minister. It has been apparent to me that Hun Sen has long been part of Cambodia's problems—and not part of the solution.

    The Act does not preclude the Cambodian people from voting for the political party of their choice. Ballot secrecy must be ensured—as well as transparency in the process of vote counting and tabulation—in order that the will of the Cambodian people is accurately expressed. It is my fear that CPP pre-election chicanery may already have violated the integrity of the election process.

    If I wanted to interfere with the elections I would have offered legislation that restricts all assistance to Cambodia unless a specific political party or parties was elected. This Act does not do this. It does not cut any assistance—not a single penny—to Cambodia included in the fiscal year 2004 budget request. It simply provides that if the major obstacle to democracy and development in the country—namely Prime Minister Hun Sen—is out of power, additional foreign aid will be forthcoming.

    It is important to recall that Hun Sen's coup resulted in severe restrictions on assistance to Cambodia—that continue to this day. If given an opportunity through free and fair elections, the Cambodian people will make the right choices that will ensure a dawn for development in that country.

    Why will they make the right choice? Over the many decades he has been in power, Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia through violence, fear and repression. Under his watch, the country has become a haven for sexual predators and pedophiles, the criminal underworld, and international terrorists. Hun Sen has repeatedly abused the most basic of freedoms protected by the Cambodian Constitution, attacked his political opposition, and perpetuated a climate of impunity that stifles the advancement of freedom and free markets.

    And he has never—not once—been held accountable for his actions.

    In addition to increasing foreign assistance under certain conditions, the Act restricts assistance to a Khmer Rouge tribunal unless the President determines that, among other things, the tribunal is supported by democratic Cambodian political parties and is not under the control or influence of the CPP. It also requires the Federal Bureau of Investigations to resume its investigation of the March 30, 1997 grenade attack against opposition leader Sam Rainsy that killed and injured scores of Cambodians.

    I should remind my colleagues that American democracy worker Ron Abney was injured in this act of terrorism, reportedly carried out by the CPP. Ron—and all the victims of this attack—are still waiting for justice.

    Secretary Powell wrote in a June 24 op-ed that Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe's "time has come and gone." As democracy is similarly under siege in both Zimbabwe and Cambodia, dictator Hun Sen's time has also come and gone.