PM slams HRW ‘double standards’
PRIME Minister Hun Sen has chided Human Rights Watch (HRW ) Asia director Brad Adams for keeping quiet over protest crackdowns in the US following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.
Addressing reporters while inspecting infrastructure development in Preah Sihanouk province on Monday, Hun Sen said the inaction demonstrated HRW’s double standards on human rights issues.
“Where are Brad Adams and
Human Rights Watch? Where are they now? Why haven’t we heard its cries for human rights?
“When Cambodia curbs demonstrations, they say Cambodia violates human rights. But when other countries clamp down on demonstrations, they say it’s a measure to safeguard social order. Why is it extremely different [from Cambodia]?” he asked.
The prime minister pointed out that when China placed Wuhan under lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19, it was also accused of having violated citizens’ rights.
But whenWestern countries followed suit, he said the move was regarded by the same critics as necessary measures to protect against the pandemic.
“When Cambodia broke up demonstrations, t hey said we v iolated freedom of expression and the right to protest. But when a pro-democracy countr y does the same, when they curb the same t y pe of demonstrations, sometimes with bloody clashes, t hey said it’s a measure to maintain socia l order.
“Doesn’t Cambodia also need socia l order? If Brad Adams dares not speak about the suppression of demonstrations in the US, then stop speaking ill of Cambodia.
“Where have a ll the human rights defenders in the world gone? Why are they so quiet now? They used to ta lk a lot about us arresting destroyers of t he nation,” he said.
Citing the words of US President Donald Trump, Hun Sen said US protesters were lucky that they had not entered the White House, where there are vicious dogs and guns.
He regarded Trump’s comment as a warning that people may have been killed had they jumped onto the White House ground.
The prime minister reca lled demonstrations in Cambodia after t he 2013 elections. At t he time, a diplomat asked his son not to shoot demonstrators if t hey entered t he Peace Palace, he said, referring to his Cabinet at the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh.
“If they [US] have the right to shoot, why can’t we?” he asked.
Cambodia Human Rights Committee (CHRC) spokesperson Chin Malin, who is also a justice ministry secretary of state, joined in the fray.
On Facebook, he posted pictures
of clashes bet ween police and demonstrators in the US with the message: “Human rights and wrong acts of humans. Human rights and public safet y.”
Reached for further comment on Tuesday, Malin said the message was intended to remind civil society organisations (CSOs) at home and abroad about human rights issues and social order.
He said the Cambodian government implemented laws to maintain social order and security in the event of chaos, with those committing violent acts brought to justice.
CSOs, he said, are known to accuse the government of violating human rights when curbing demonstrations.
“They talk about human rights but overlook the mistakes of those who commit crimes. Some CSOs at home and abroad have political trends [towards the opposition], so they only look at human rights and ignore ‘human wrongs’.
“When we implement the law, they say we violate human rights. But they don’t look at the activities that affect public order, security, society and privacy,” he said.
On ongoing protests in the US, he said he would wait and see the CSOs’ reactions at home and abroad.
“If they don’t react to the US’ [protests] as they did to Cambodia, it goes without saying that their activities and assessments represent double standards between human rights and the wrong acts of humans,” he said.
On Tuesday, HRW released a statement on the events in the US, saying Floyd was killed for no reason and that his family deserved justice.
Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR) executive director Chak Sopheap said on Tuesday that the laws against racial discrimination and discrimination against African Americans had been violated.
She said CCHR condemned human rights abuses whether in Cambodia or abroad.
“Current events in America should not be used by the Cambodian government as a political tool to deflect attention away from the human rights situation in Cambodia.
“Human rights organisations are entitled to speak out on human rights abuses globa lly by exercising t heir freedom of expression, but ultimately, states hold t he obligations to respect, protect and f ulfil human rights.
“We further call for peaceful protests but remind states that their obligation to protect citizens extends to violent protests, and state’s use of force must only be exercised when it is strictly necessary,” she said.