KHMER INTELLIGENCE


05 February 2005


Prominent US Senators ask for sanctions on Phnom Penh government (1)
In a February 3 letter related to the lifting of the parliamentary
immunity of three Cambodian opposition lawmakers, five prominent US
Senators – Bill Frist, John McCain, Mitch McConnell, Patrick Leahy,
and Norm Coleman – ask Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
to "immediately review [US] assistance programs for Cambodia and to
encourage other donors and international financial institutions to
do the same" and to "examine the possibility of imposing sanctions
on the Cambodian government unless and until the Assembly reverses
its recent action". The letter continues: "Among the possible
sanctions we urge you to examine is a visa ban on [Cambodian]
members of parliament who voted to strip their colleagues'
immunity.  Such a ban is consistent with the goals of the
President's Proclamation dated January 12, 2004, which establishes a
policy of denying entry into the United States to corrupt public
officials." The letter forcefully stresses that "the United States
must back its words with specific actions."
The US Senators also note that National Assembly and Funcinpec
President Norodom Ranariddh "has aligned himself with the more
hardline elements of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), including
Prime Minister Hun Sen", and that the vision of the current
Cambodian leaders for their country's development "apparently
includes neither justice nor freedom" given their "penchant for
violence and lawlessness."


________________________________________________________________

For more information: http://www.khmerintelligence.org

If you want to share your opinion with over 7,000 KI regular readers
worldwide, including many decision makers, click on
http://www.khmerintelligence.org/Opinion-KI.html

If you want to post an announcement on KI website, to make any
Cambodia-related inquiry or offer, or to publicize any information
locally or internationally, click on
http://www.khmerintelligence.org/Announcements-KI.html