Seeking Justice in Cambodia: Human Rights Defenders Speak Out edited by Sue Coffey
Published: 5 November 2018
ISBN: 9780522873290
RRP: $34.99
Extent: 256 pages
In 1970, the Vietnam War reached Cambodia when Prince Norodom Sihanouk was overthrown by General Lon Nol. This event paved the way for ‘the decade of the genocide’ to follow; a term created by the Finnish Inquiry Commission to describe the brutalities committed by the Khmer Rouge [1]. In 2014, two influential key figures of the Khmer Rouge were sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide and crimes against humanity. This was a landmark case for Cambodia seeking justice for the lives lost. Yet, have the people of Cambodia finally achieved peace?
Sue Coffey’s book, Seeking Justice in Cambodia: Human Rights Defenders Speak Out (2018), suggests not. Cambodia appears quiet on the global stage. But, as Coffey’s collection shows, this a result of the silencing of its people. Hun Sen, the leader of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), is one of the world’s longest-running prime ministers and Cambodia’s longest-serving prime minister since 1985. For the past three decades, the Cambodian people have been denied their rights to freedom of expression and information that threatens or contradicts the merit of Hun Sen’s leadership in the Cambodian ‘democratic’ parliament. Some people have been put into prison for something as innocuous as reading a newspaper [2]. Anyone who shares a dissenting or a critical view of the current political party risks intimidation and criminal charges by the Cambodian authorities.
Seeking Justice is not quite investigative journalism; it is a collection of interviews Coffey has conducted with several individuals who have been at the forefront of the human rights movement since the 1990s. Many have lived through the Khmer Rouge, some have left Cambodia for the Global North and some like Mam Sonando—the founder and independent radio broadcaster for Beehive Radio who lived in Europe for thirty years—have returned to redefine Cambodian society. This book seeks to amplify and empower the diverse voices of Cambodia and share the personal stories of human rights defenders with the rest of the world. Human rights defenders in Cambodia are fighting for self-determination in a country that has been marred by foreign interference. With their multifaceted perspectives, the interviewees provide a great insight into the reality of their country that is utterly sobering.
Being a human rights defender in Cambodia is incredibly risky. In Seeking Justice, Coffey notes that the book was written in 2017 but was published after the election in 2018. This was done to protect the people in the book as the election stirred up anxiety and immense political tension. In the words of Coffey:
‘…in the run-up to the Cambodian general election on 29 July 2018, intimidation was felt everywhere throughout the country…as a result of the extraordinary changes taking place, and the danger they brought to the interviewees in the book, I resolved to hold publication until after the election, at which time the interviewees encouraged me to publish’ [3].
The arrest of one interviewee, Kem Sokha, is a case in point. Just two weeks after Coffey had interviewed him for her book, Sokha—who was the leader of the main opposition party Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)—was charged with treason in September 2017. Since then, the CNRP has been disbanded, causing all CNRP-elected officials to lose their seats. Several members have fled into exile.
Other interviewees include Pung Chhiv Kek (Dr Kek Galabru), the founder and President of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), whose mother was the first woman to enter into Cambodian politics in 1958; Chak Sopheap, the Executive Director of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR); Mark Chann Sitha, the Coordinator of the Workers’ Information Center; and Ou Virak who is the founder and Executive Director of Future Forum, a think tank that is empowering the youth of Cambodia to pursue careers in policymaking.
The passion and courage of the fifteen interviewees, who are at the forefront of the fight for social and political justice, is stirring to behold. Every chapter starts with a harrowing personal story, taking the reader on a journey that, while confronting, leaves them with a sense of optimism. Against all odds, the activism of these participants is relentless and inspiring. But, as the collection shows, achieving and maintaining a civil society cannot simply be the work of others. As readers we are encouraged to translate the inspiration we garner from these stories into action. In the words of Thida Khus, ‘you are not going to get anything free of charge…. You must build this society yourself’ [4]. And in Seeking Justice, we as readers learn what it means to be a human rights defender and seek to build society anew.
Seeking Justice is an important book for anyone who wants to gain an understanding of Cambodia’s relationship to the global political economy, and how this relationship undermines existing human rights frameworks domestically. What is currently happening in Cambodia is undeniably delicate. As the government assumes greater power with the financial and political support of China, its liberal democracy is quickly deteriorating. ‘Many [Cambodians] feel that Cambodia has become a vassal state of China’ [5]. China is now Cambodia’s largest bilateral creditor, taking over the US as the country’s main trading partner in 2014. The Cambodian economy is no longer dependent on Western donors and no longer embracing the liberal consensus. Those living outside of Cambodia are suppressed for speaking out, with ‘the world’s reaction to the dramatic undermining of democracy in Cambodia…muted’ [6].
The problem is that the Cambodian economy is dependent on foreign investors which use the state to silence the people who are demanding better working conditions and a living wage. People are not benefiting from the economy, and when they speak out they are met with abuse and intimidation. This demands a real solution that is not just about Cambodia enforcing laws that reflect the international standards in a world when countries like China and the US have veto power over them.
In Coffey’s book, interviewees often reveal just how influential some of our global political players are. They can dictate the terms and conditions of trade and production that ultimately tarnish the social and political fabric of a small country:
‘The foreigners who are the senators control the executive. The legislators propose legislation and the executive implements the law. The role of the senate is to read the legislation proposed by the legislators and suggest changes or amendments. What happens when the senators are oknha/foreigners and the legislators are businessmen?’ [7]
This is the reality told by Mam Sonando, who has been jailed three times by the Hun Sen government for his view. The question is: how do we achieve a fairer economy that doesn’t undermine Cambodian democracy?
While Seeking Justice in Cambodia does not offer any concrete answers to this question, it does emphasise hope. ‘[T]here are many amazing grassroots activists’, Ou Virak tells us, ‘who do not speak English nor can they write an email…They sleep in hammocks around the village, but they work on the issues that affect the lives of thousands of people.’[8] Despite ongoing intimidation by the Hun Sen government, solidarity is there among the people whose hopes and dreams for a Cambodia free of censorship remain intact.
A copy of Seeking Justice in Cambodia has also been translated into Khmer and this version is free for download on the Melbourne University Press Website.
Bibliography
Coffey, Sue. Seeking Justice in Cambodia. Melbourne University Press, 2018.
Herman, Edward S., and Chomsky, Noam. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Vintage Arrow, 1995.
Footnotes
[1] Herman, Edward S., and Chomsky, Noam. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Vintage Arrow, 1995.
[2] Coffey, Sue. Seeking Justice in Cambodia. Melbourne University Press, 2018.
[3] Coffey, p. 25
[4] Ibid.
[5] Coffey, p. 94
[6] Coffey, p. 25
[7] Coffey, p. 22
[8] Coffey, p. 124
Kimberly lee is a freelance writer who lives and works in Naarm/Melbourne. She is currently completing her Master of Public Policy and Management at the University of Melbourne. In her free time Kimberly enjoys reading, cooking, and solo travelling.