Gov’t assures Japan of democratic measures
MINISTER of Foreig n A f fa i rs a nd I nter nat iona l Cooper at ion P r a k Sok honn has assured Japan that the Cambodian government has ta ken a ll measures to strengthen the democratic and politica l space, ministr y spokesperson Ket Sophann said on Wednesday.
He sa id Sok honn gave t he assurance to the Japanese Parliamentar y V ic e-Mi n i ster of Foreig n A f f a i r s Norikazu Suzuki, who is on a v isit to the Kingdom from Wednesday to Friday. Suzuki is also due to meet Prime Minister Hun Sen during his v isit.
Sokhonn made his remarks when Su z uk i pa id a cour tesy ca l l to t he ministry on Wednesday after landing in the Kingdom, said Sophann, who told reporters after t he meeting t hat Su z u k i had be en welc omed by S ok hon n on h i s f i r s t v i s i t t o Cambodia.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs told Suzuki that relations bet ween Cambodia and Japan continued to grow.
He a lso assu red Su zuk i t hat t he government had addressed concerns raised by the EU regarding the democratic and politica l space in Cambodia, Sophann said.
“In strengthening the democratic a nd politica l space, Cambodia has f ul ly responded to t he concerns of the EU, with measures to strengthen t he politica l space in t he Kingdom.
“We a ll k now that Japan supports t he democratic process in Cambodia. The Cambodian government has executed consistent ly a nd f ul ly a l l t he measures a nnounced, such as le ga l refor ms, r ehabi l it at ion f or former politicians and t he release of politica l and la nd activ ists.
“Permission was a lso given for the opening of the Voice of America [VOA r ad io s t at ion ] of f ic e,” S opha n n stressed.
He sa id t he meet i ng had a l so touched on bilateral cooperation and regiona l issues.
“Minister of Foreig n A f fa i rs a nd I nter nat iona l Cooper at ion P r a k Sok honn a nd Japa nese Parlia mentar y Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Norikazu Suzuki exchanged ideas on reg iona l a nd i nter nat iona l a f fa i rs, i nclud i ng Nor t h Korea a nd Sout h China Sea issues,” Sophann said.
However, pol it ic a l a na l y st E m Sova nnara sa id t he EU process to wit hdraw Cambodia’s access to its “E v e r y t h i n g But A r ms” ( E B A ) ag reement cont inued because t he
gover nment had yet to f ul ly implement what the 28-member bloc had demanded.
“Cambodia claims to have done well regarding some principles laid out in the Universal Human Rights Convention.
“But t he EU has requested Ca mbodia to relea se [Kem Sok ha], t he former president of t he Ca mbodia Nat iona l Resc ue Pa r t y [ CNRP], a nd d r op t he c ha r ge s a g a i n s t more t han 100 CNRP polit ica l f ig ures.
“These demands have yet to be met. Cambodia has still not f ulf i l led important condit ions, so EBA wit hdrawa l s t i l l pr e s ent s a pr oblem,” Sova nnara sa id.
Roya l Academy of Cambodia president Sok Touch sa id t he gover nment has i mplemented a la rge nu mber of measures laid out to strengthen t he democratic a nd politica l space in Cambodia.
“We see that the process has gone smoothly. Space is still narrow, but we can see that it h a s opene d e x t e n s i v e l y,” Touch said.
InFebruary,theEUannounced that it had begun the 18-month process of withdrawing the Kingdom’s access to EBA over what it said was “a deterioration of democracy [and] respect for human rights”.
EBA a l lows least developi n g s t a t u s n a t i o n s t o hav e dut y a nd t a r i f f-f r e e excess into t he EU.
The EU has said Cambodia was t he second la rgest benef icia r y of EBA last year, wit h it s g o o d s a c c ou nt i ng f or more t han 18 per cent of a l l imports into t he single market under t he ag reement.
Exports from Cambodia to t he EU tota l led € 5. 3 bi l l ion last yea r, wit h more t han 95 per cent included in t he EBA, of wh ich € 4 bi l l ion ( $ 4. 51 bi l lion) was in clot hing a nd tex t i les.