Martin Luther King Jr. once said that "Peace is not merely the absence of conflict but the presence of justice". WE should meditate on that when making any assessment on any situation.
RFA:
Excerpts:
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In a letter to coincide with the International Day of Peace on Monday, Hun Sen said Cambodian democracy and human rights are making progress, but he also said groups that abuse the principles to serve their “political purposes” would not be tolerated.
Some groups use the guise of human rights or democracy as “tricks’ to advance their cause, he said.
“I would like to appeal to all patriots, as well as all international organizations and civil societies in Cambodia, to grab hands and support the spirit of this International Day of Peace, to continue implementing ‘the culture of dialogue’ thoroughly, and continue putting an effort into improving and broadly disseminating the foundation of supporting peace, which includes the strengthening of non-violent culture, patience, mutual understanding, mutual respect, and mercy in our society.”
Meanwhile, protesters gathered outside the Cambodian Embassy in Washington on Monday to demand the release of opposition activists, who have recently been jailed on charges related to leading demonstrations, and three environmental activists, who were leading a campaign to halt sand dredging along the coast of Koh Kong province.
Yap Kim Tung, president of Cambodian Americans for Human Rights and Democracy, told VOA Khmer that the government’s recent “aggressive” attitudes toward dissent propelled them to organize the protest. “We want real democracy,” he said. “We want the government to release environmental activists and the lawmakers from the opposition party.”
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