THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH CAMBODIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000776 SIPDIS STATE FOR D, P, DRL, EAP/MLS NSC FOR L. PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2018 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL PHUM KTIA CB SUBJECT: THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH CAMBODIAN OPPOSITION PARTY LEADERS REF: A. PHNOM PENH 763 ¶B. PHNOM PENH 705 ¶C. PHNOM PENH 629 ¶D. PHNOM PENH 611 Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES PIPER CAMPBELL FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (U) September 15, 2008; 13:30; Phnom Penh, Cambodia ¶2. (U) Meeting Participants U.S. The Deputy Secretary Deputy Assistant Secretary Scot Marciel Charge D'Affaires, a.i. Piper Campbell A/DCM Greg Lawless (notetaker) Opposition Parties Sam Rainsy, President, Sam Rainsy Party Kem Sokha, President, Human Rights Party ¶3. (C) SUMMARY: In an alternately strident critique of the newly elected government and an impassioned plea to further develop democracy in Cambodia, opposition party leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha September 15 explained to the Deputy Secretary that their parties would boycott the initial session of the National Assembly on September 24. Though acknowledging the elections were less violent, they outlined a litany of complaints about election rigging. An immediate concern expressed by Sam Rainsy was the Cambodian Peoples Party's (CPP) announcement that all of the parliament's nine committee chairmanships would go to CPP. Rainsy averred that the CPP was unwilling to talk about committee assignments in advance of the first parliamentary session. He explored the possibility of arranging for a brokered deal of the opposition parties' committee positions. Kem Sokha outlined a long-term goal for further reforms. Expressing concern that the CPP was trying to eliminate the opposition, Rainsy insisted that the current government was in violation of the spirit of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement and that it had built a "facade of democracy." For that reason, the opposition would boycott. Prime Minister Hun Sen confirmed the same day that the opposition might lose committee seats by boycotting, but would not be stripped of their National Assembly seats. END SUMMARY. SRP to Boycott Opening National Assembly Session -------------- --- ¶4. (C) Noting that the Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party were the second and third largest parties in the National Assembly, Rainsy said that the minority parties in Cambodia had no rights in the Cambodian system, as they would in other parliamentary systems. Noting that the CPP would take all the committee chairmanships, he said that the National Assembly is a "Party assembly." In the upcoming first session of the new National Assembly elected last July 27, the CPP would propose a package vote for the national assembly leadership and for the new government. Such a vote was "anti-democratic," said Rainsy. Moreover, election irregularities were not addressed properly. Since the opposition did not want to endorse an undemocratic and illegitimate government, they would boycott the first session of the new National Assembly. Rainsy alluded to an earlier CPP statement that the Sam Rainsy party might be stripped of its National Assembly seats if it boycotted the first session and worried the CPP was trying to eliminate the opposition. (NOTE: Prime Minister Hun Sen September 15 confirmed private CPP statements (Ref A) that the CPP would not strip the SRP of its parliamentary seats but that SRP would be on no committees if its members did not participate in the swearing-in ceremony. Further, the SRP parliamentarians would not be paid their MP salaries. PM Hun Sen told the press, "I don't want the (SRP) seats divided among other parties." END NOTE.) ¶5. (C) Citing the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, Rainsy said that it was a very good instrument to address Cambodia's internal and external problems. He said that the agreement could ensure governmental integrity and that Cambodia follow a democratic path. Cambodia is at a turning point and its people were looking to the U.S. for support for the democratic process, he added. Democracy was being perverted, and was moving further and further from the Paris Peace Agreement. Reforms of the NEC, More Checks and Balances -------------- PHNOM PENH 00000776 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Kem Sokha outlined a long-term goal for further reforms of the election law and the National Election Committee (NEC),for constitutional support for a balance of power, and for the conferral of a more explicit "status" for the opposition in parliament. Noting past U.S. support for democracy and governance programs in Cambodia, he urged more support for the UN Center of Human Rights and for NGO's and civil society. ¶7. (C) In answer to several questions by the Deputy Secretary, Rainsy averred that the election complaints mechanism was biased and that the NEC could not be a neutral arbiter. Kem Sokha said that he would like to see a more independent and neutral NEC. Rainsy noted that the EU and UNDP would be releasing assessments of the election in October, hinting these would be negative. (NOTE: The EU released its initial assessment of the pre-election and election period just two days after the election. END NOTE.) In the end, what Rainsy wanted most was not a correction to the election, but recognition for a minority party role in the National Assembly. U.S. in Broker Role? -------------- ¶8. (C) Noting that former U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Kent Wiedemann had helped Sam Rainsy negotiate with CPP leaders the building of a memorial at the site of a 1997 grenade attack against the Sam Rainsy Party, Sam Rainsy appealed to the U.S. to now build a bridge with the CPP "as a peace partner." Otherwise, in 10 days Cambodia could undergo a political crisis. Kem Sokha reiterated the appeal for U.S. assistance, noting his party's commitment to work within Cambodia's legal and electoral framework. ¶9. (C) The Deputy Secretary asked if there might be a difference of perception regarding the conduct of the election and suggested there might be a role for the opposition on the various committees in the National Assembly. (NOTE: When SRP joined the National Assembly in 1998, it had two members on each of the nine committees. END NOTE.) Rainsy insisted he would have no power without Committee Chairmanship positions, which were in themselves difficult to manage under an overwhelming majority. Without an active opposition with a meaningful role to put a brake on government excesses or find solutions to the population's pressing needs, the people would be "ripe for revolt," he concluded. CAMPBELL