Cambodia is making progress with how it runs elections, but the country has a long way to go before ballots gain widespread approval, a European Union representative said yesterday.

PA NGOUN TEANG (LEFT), DIRECTOR OF THE CAMBODIAN CENTRE OF INDEPENDENT MEDIA, CONFREL SENIOR PROGRAM CO-ORDINATOR KIM CHHORN (CENTRE), AND THE PHNOM PENH POST MANAGING EDITOR SAM RITH PARTICIPATE IN AN EU- SPONSORED PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSING CAMBODIA’S ELECTORAL PROCESS YESTERDAY IN PHNOM PENH. PHOTO HONG MENEA

Speaking at an EU-sponsored workshop on human rights and democracy yesterday, Jean-Francois Cautain, head of the European Union delegation to Cambodia, said the Kingdom’s elections in 2008 were an example of progress being made.

“But they still fall short of key international standards,” he said.

NGO representatives involved in the Adhoc-organised event in the capital said independent monitoring of elections was lacking in Cambodia. 

An independent body overseeing elections would be an important step to change, Kim Chhorn, senior programme coordinator for Comfrel, the Committee for Free Elections in Cambodia, said.

Comfrel is ready to deploy investigators to monitor June’s commune elections, he said, but more needs to be done.

“We suggest creating more independent institutions that [examine] the election process,” he said, adding that the National Election Committee had not yet become independent. “We urge the NEC to improve its process and to correct mistakes to improve elections . . . there are so many things wrong.”

Incomplete electoral rolls and a huge difference in funding for ruling party and non-ruling party advertising were examples, he said.

Hang Puthea, executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, said the government was still the only body that oversaw the intricacies of each election.

According to Keo Phally, head of the legal department at NEC, this is something that may not change soon.

“We don’t have any law in place allowing for the creation of a separate independent body,” he said. “We still have flaws in our process, but we are proud of the processes we have established since 1993.”

Guest speaker Sam Rith, managing editor of the Post, said the media played an important role in progress and democracy.

“Sometimes it is very difficult to get comment from officials of ruling parties to get an article balanced,” he said. “And sometimes it is hard to contact representatives of other parties, especially in rural areas.

“The NEC is  . . . available most of the time when journalists contact them.”

Couple’s arrest ‘no mistake’

No mistake was made when former Anco Brothers executive Heng Chheang and his wife, Tep Kolap, were arrested last year, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday.

HENG CHHEANG, FORMER TREASURER OF ANCO BROTHERS, LEAVES THE SUPREME COURT YESTERDAY. PHOTO BY HENG CHIVOAN

Pin Vannak, a defence lawyer for the couple, had argued they had been arrested illegally because the Phnom Penh municipal court had not summonsed them before issuing warrants.

Heng Chheang and Tep Kolap, former rector of Phnom Penh International University, were jailed last month for a breach of trust over the disappearance of more than $58 million from the bank accounts of Anco Brothers, a company owned by Sok Im, the wife of senator Kok An.

Supreme Court judge Khim Pon said the Phnom Penh municipal court had done nothing wrong by arresting the couple on June 18.

“The Supreme Court understands there was not any mistake made in the [court’s] arresting procedure for Heng Chheang and Tep Kolap,” he said.

The couple also appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the Appeal Court not to release them while they appealed.

“The suspects have already been convicted by the lower courts, and their case is still in court. Therefore, the Supreme Court refuses their bid for bail,” Khim Pon said. 

The Appeal Court upheld the couple’s sentences last month and ordered them to repay Kok An, the chairman of Anco Brothers, more than US$58 million. 

They have appealed that verdict to the Supreme Court.

New Year’s price hikes kick in

As many flock to their hometowns today to celebrate Khmer New Year, complaints of price hikes and border bribes have started pouring in like clockwork.

PEOPLE PREPARE TO BOARD A BUS AT A TERMINAL IN PHNOM PENH’S TUOL KORK DISTRICT YESTERDAY. PHOTO BY HONG MENEA

PREV1 of 2 NEXT Passengers arranging transport to the provinces told the Post yesterday that bus companies and taxies had raised their prices despite a directive issued by Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema last week to keep prices constant. 

U Mao, 41, who bought a ticket to Siem Reap province, said prices had increased from the usual 25,000 riel (US$6.25) to 35,000 riel ($8.75).

“I, however, forced myself to buy it [ticket] to visit my parents, uncle, aunt and other relatives,” he said.

“I think that the increased price is disobedient to the prohibition of the city hall’s governor Kep Chuktema … His prohibition is ineffective,” he added.

Sok San, a Neak Krorhorm Travel and Tourism staffer, said ticket prices had increased to compensate for a recent fuel price hike, a lack of passengers returning to the capital after trips to the provinces and bonuses for staff to work over the new year period.  

Taxi driver Bun Theoun, who usually takes passengers from Phnom Penh to Battambang, similarly said he was unable to comply with the governor’s orders as he needed to cover the costs of parking, bribes at fake police checkpoints, which are rampant during the period, and fuel prices.  

Kep Chuktema declined to comment yesterday, saying he was busy. 

Meanwhile, Cambodian workers returning from Thailand for the holiday alleged yesterday that border officials were demanding bribes.

One worker said he had been asked to pay 10,000 riel ($2.50) at the Poipet border checkpoint when he returned for his yearly trip home on Tuesday. 

“When I come back, I need to spend money for the ‘tip’ at the border. It is so bad,” he said.  

Ouk Keo Ratanak, Banteay Meanchey provincial hall spokesman, however denied the practice was taking place, saying that payment was not required if workers returned via legal checkpoints.

A migrant state of mind

A lone Cambodian woman was found sitting outside Phnom Penh International Airport late on Tuesday night by patrolling police. 

Smiling to herself, with a vacant expression, she was unable to explain where she came from or what she was doing, but a Malaysian stamp was found in her passport.

DOMESTIC MIGRANT WORKERS WHO SUFFERED ABUSE IN MALAYSIA COVER THEIR FACES AFTER RETURNING TO CAMBODIA IN FEBRUARY. PHOTO BY PHA LINA

Duong Lorn, her younger brother, said Poung Savong, 30, had been beautiful and happy before she left to work as a maid in Malaysia, but the sight of her now only filled him with pity. 

The little that police were able to cobble together about her told the latest of an all-too-familiar tale – Poung Savong had left two years ago to work as a maid in Malaysia, where she had been beaten and tortured by her employers until she had cracked.

Tackling trauma 

Tens of thousands of Cambodians are repatriated from frequently exploitative migrant work every year, and while many hope to leave their ordeal behind them, mental health analysts are warning their troubles are far from over. 

The Psychosocial Support For Victims of Human Trafficking and Labour Exploitation programme that Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation project coordinator Pich Panha heads has recorded an increase in patients in the past few months. 

From January to March, the programme had reached out to 26 victims, more than double the 12 patients seen over the same period last year and almost half of last year’s total of 59.

The Ministry of Interior said 118,791 migrant workers had been repatriated from Thailand and Vietnam  in 2011, while a rash of abuses of Cambodian maids in Malaysia led to a temporary ban being imposed in October. 

That ban has yet to be lifted. 

Psychological plight

Deputy head of Adhoc’s women’s section Lim Mony said about 80 to 90 per cent of female migrant workers that the organisation had assisted developed mental problems. 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was common among female victims, which included symptoms like nightmares, withdrawal from people and hyper-arousal, said Pich Panha. 

One patient – another maid – was the alleged victim of rape and attempted murder by her employers in Malaysia, who then trapped her in a large plastic bag and left her in a dustbin. 

When interviewed afterward, the 21-year-old from Kampong Thom showed classic symptoms of a depressive disorder, said Pich Panha, including defensiveness and an inability to focus during her daily routine. 

Distorted perception

Male victims often exhibit stress and anxiety, he said. 

One fisherman who developed PTSD and depression had been forced to work 24 hours a day on a Thai fishing boat and was beaten by the boat’s captain, said Pich Panha. 

He eventually escaped by jumping from the boat and swimming to a nearby island where he was repatriated by local authorities, he added.  

Trafficking and exploitation experiences affected victims’ self-perceptions as human beings, he said.

“In some cases, they are treated as animals, sometimes lower than animals. This kind of experience impacts the feelings, thoughts and spirit of the people. This damages their mental well-being,” he said. 

Short on support

Lim Tith, national project coordinator at the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking, which is supporting the TPO program, said the UN agency had responded to a need.

“There is a shortage of psychosocial support for victims outside of shelters, specifically male victims of trafficking,” he said. 

“They often cannot fully recover from their traumatic experiences and reintegrate with their families and communities if they do not receive such psychosocial support,” he added. 

Legal Support for Children and Women advocacy officer Natalie Drolet said about 60 per cent of the trafficking and labour exploitation cases handled by her organisation were referred to NGOs such as TPO for their psycho-social services. 

“In about 20 per cent of our domestic worker cases, the victims have been so traumatised that they have stopped speaking altogether,” she said.   

In addition to emotional trauma, this also created complications in prosecuting victims’ cases in court, as they may not have been able or willing to talk about the abuses, she said. 

Red tape

Lim Mony said victims were usually referred to TPO or commune hospitals, however, according to Drolet, provincial health facilities did not always have qualified staff to make proper assessments and issue certificates which were needed as evidence in court. 

Chak Thida, director of the psychiatric department at the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital – the only hospital in Phnom Penh specialising in mental health services – said her psychiatric unit had received victims mostly after the National Program on Mental Health was set up in 2001 due to an increase in awareness of such services. 

However, due to a lack of resources, there was no treatment specifically tailored to helping such victims, she said. 

There were also often difficulties in completing the recommended three-month follow-up period with male victims, said Pich Panha. 

“A lot of NGOs try to help them [male victims], but when they return to their homeland, I observe their needs could not be fulfilled.

“NGOs have administration, paperwork that takes a long time and they have to wait, so they say, ‘I am free now, what can I do? I have no job.’ If our intervention cannot be in time, they have to move again.” 

Cambodia brings up rear in well-being poll [-Misery reigns in the Banana Kongdom]

Only 2 per cent of Cambodians believe their lives are thriving – the lowest of 146 countries surveyed – according to research by US company Gallup.

In a well-being survey, compiled during 2011 and released by the company this week, Cambodia languishes at the bottom, below neighbour Laos, Togo and Comoros (3 per cent).

Thailand (46 per cent) and Vietnam (30 per cent) recorded much higher percentages of residents who consider their lives to be thriving, while North Korea and Myanmar did not appear on the list.

According to the results, which shows one in four around the world think their lives are thriving, 72 per cent of Cambodians believe they are struggling, while 26 per cent say they are suffering.

Although Cambodia is among the poorest nations in Asia, Cambodian Center for Human Rights president Ou Virak said poverty alone could not explain Cambodians’ low sense of well-being and happiness.

“Security is one of the most important things,” he said. “People feel a lack of security when it comes to the rule of law in Cambodia . . . [the] government and the banking system,” he said.

With land grabs and a “failure of the justice system”, people felt unsure about their future, leading to a culture of greed, Ou Virak said. “When you have way more than you need, if you end up having something taken away, then you still have enough to keep your lifestyle.”

Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit spokesman Ek Tha, however, said the government had “done its utmost” to rebuild Cambodia.

“This country has started from scratch after 30 years of war,” he said. “The government has been doing its best.

“In 1979, 100 per cent of people were under the poverty line, now it’s 27 per cent. You can see people now have access to healthcare, education, arts, jobs. They have vehicles, clean water, electricity.

“Our legal and economic situation has improved . . . the government is working for the people.”

The Gallup poll surveyed about 1,000 people aged 15 and older per country.

About 74 per cent of Denmark’s population believe they are thriving, the highest of any country.