We will see what the National Assembly with added representatives from CNRP will do about it.
The day after:
Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
24 October 2014
WASHINGTON DC—
Rights
workers say that 23 years after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords,
Cambodia is improving, but still has work to do to fulfill the promises
of the treaty.
The accords ended decades of violence in the country and paved the way for a constitutional democracy.
Critics say the countries who signed the accord have not fully pushed for its mandates and that Cambodia still has work to do.
However, Thun Saray, president of the rights group Adhoc, told “Hello VOA” Thursday much good has come from the accords.
Foreign
countries consistently watch the evolution of Cambodia, and when
something happens like the 1997 coup, “the international community did
not ignore it,” he said.
And
when Cambodia and Thailand were engaged in a standoff over the border a
few years ago, international mechanisms helped them resolve the
problem, he said.
More
people understand their fundamental human rights, and more NGOs are
working in the country to help improve it, he said. That’s a big
difference from the early days, when authorities used police, soldiers
and tanks to prevent Adhoc from opening offices in the provinces, he
said.
“So if we compare that to the present, we see thousands of NGOs that can operate and do activities in every sector,” he said.
Politicians have developed as well, and are now capable of compromise, which has helped the country develop, he said.
Yong
Kim Eng, president of the People’s Center for Development and Peace,
said the accords brought stability to Cambodia and a chance for a
constitution and free market, but more needs to be done.
“The
remaining issues that Cambodia has not fulfilled are the protection of
sovereignty, in accordance with the Paris Peace Accords, and we have
problems and skepticisms that have not been tackled,” he said. “Second,
we see the violations of people are increasing, especially the land
grabs from the poor and the weak.”
