Cambodia Moves Toward Openness

SAMRONG DISTRICT, Cambodia -- Kem Sokha, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, addressed a throng of 1,000 villagers, nuns and monks who had gathered recently at an ancient Hindu temple here to cheer his release from jail.

Many of them had put their thumbprints on a petition seeking his freedom. He thanked them, but he urged vigilance. "The situation is not that different from before," he said, the yellow ribbon on his safari suit symbolizing freedom of expression. "Don't be too happy."

Kem Sokha was among the activists and opposition politicians who have been detained during the past year and then released in recent weeks as the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen appeared to step back from its campaign to silence critics.

"The last six to eight weeks have been remarkable," U.S. Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said in an interview. "There's still a lot to be done and the institutions need enormous strengthening, but the goodwill and the atmosphere is right for developing those institutions."

Hun Sen's government was rewarded last week when foreign donors meeting in Phnom Penh, the capital, pledged to give Cambodia at least $600 million in aid this year, a 20 percent increase over last year. They said they were encouraged by economic progress and Hun Sen's conciliatory moves toward the political opposition, although they still were concerned about corruption.

Human rights groups contend that the boost in aid without stiff conditions sends the wrong signal to a government they say continues to harass activists and threatens journalists with prison even as it releases some imprisoned people. They say the government has failed to keep pledges to end illegal logging and prevent illegal land sales to officials and groups linked to the ruling party, prime issues among the rural poor who make up 80 percent of Cambodia's population.

"This is a decade-old pattern: assurances by the government right before donor meetings, followed by a return to the old ways afterward," said Basil Fernando, executive director of the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission.

Hun Sen, who has been the sole prime minister since 1998 and will be up for reelection in 2008, has renewed a promise that a long-delayed anti-corruption law would pass soon. He also has pledged to set up a land dispute resolution committee.

"If Hun Sen fails, I am not sure who can have more success than Hun Sen," he told the meeting of donors -- representatives of 12 countries and institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the European Commission. He said he had the power to remove corrupt governors and police chiefs and send them to court.

Over the past year, however, he has used that power to silence critics. The government stripped opposition leader Sam Rainsy and two colleagues of parliamentary immunity. Sam Rainsy fled into exile and was sentenced to 18 months in prison in absentia for criminal defamation. One of his colleagues was accused of setting up an illegal army and sentenced to seven years. A radio journalist and a union leader were jailed on charges of defaming Hun Sen. Kem Sokha and a fellow human rights activist were jailed on defamation charges. A few days later, Kem Sokha's deputy was arrested and faces a similar charge.

The U.N. human rights envoy for Cambodia said the country was on the brink of totalitarianism. Western editorials decried it as a dictatorship. Human Rights Watch compared it to Burma, which is ruled by a military junta.

Then Hun Sen appeared to reverse course. On Jan. 10, a human rights activist was released on bail. A week later, Kem Sokha and three others were freed. In February, Sam Rainsy's colleague was released. A few days later, with a pardon deal in hand, Sam Rainsy returned to Cambodia. On Valentine's Day, Hun Sen called for the decriminalization of defamation. He has begun discussing with Sam Rainsy what the opposition figure has said are "solutions to national issues."