CAMBODIA: Information Minister welcomes new political party

In Cambodia, another political party has been launched to contest next year's much anticipated national polls. Social activist Kem Sokha has announced the formation of the Human Rights Party. But it's still the ruling Cambodian People's Party which is set to further consolidate its power in the 2008 vote.

Presenter/Interviewer: Linda LoPresti
Speakers: Khieu Kanharith,Cambodia's Information Minister

KANHARITH: In Cambodia, anybody can form a political party and that's why I think this new political party would add more diversity to the democratic horizon in Cambodia.

LOPRESTI: So it's a good thing.

KANHARITH: The more the better.

LOPRESTI: Ken Sokha is highly regarded, both within Cambodia and internationally. He is the head of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights. He says he's going to step down to form this party and he's also a dissident who has gained some international recognition. He says he hopes to win about 30 seats in the 123-seat parliament in the national elections next year. What do you think?

KANHARITH: When you form a political party, you expect to win some seats but it depends on your ability to conduct your campaign, your ability to gather support from the masses.

LOPRESTI: Alot of Cambodia's opposition parties, like the Sam Rainsy Party, like the Human Rights Party, many of them have one thing in common which is that they seem to be united in their calls for a greater crackdown on corruption. Even the US ambassador to Cambodia, Joseph Mussomeli has been quoted as saying that corruption is a major problem in Cambodian politics. What does the ruling party intend to do about this.

KANHARITH: You know before everyone talked about democracy, now they're talking about corruption. But the problem is not so simple. In Cambodia, the ruling party has taken alot of measures to fight corruption that's why you have some high officials who have been demoted because you can't find any argument to win the hearts and mind of the people, it's the current catch phrase of the day.

LOPRESTI: But I would think that given you have national elections coming up next year, the ruling party would want to make it a focus of its election campaign.

KANHARITH: For the ruling party it's not just corruption. First of all what the people want is to impove their living conditions. Two, for the young people they want that the corrupt people be removed or some legal action be taken. Up to now more than 60 judges and attorneys were disciplined, so they can see that alot of steps have been taken. Sure we don't have a law against corruption. But that doesn't mean that the government stays idle. Alot of concrete measures have been taken.

LOPRESTI: But even so isn't it concerning that the US ambassador to Cambodia is publicly putting himself out there as saying that corruption is a problem. I mean I can understand that you have opposition parties which have a vested political interest but in saying so, but when you've got high international officials.

KANHARITH: It's not so simple. If you want to fight corruption you must have some law. We have already finished the draft on corruption but we must pass first the penal code. Right now the national assembly is examining the civil code already.
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LOPRESTI: Just on another matter, the Khmer Rouge trials. There appear to be constant delays in getting these trials up and running. There now appears to be a conflict of interest between the international judges and the Cambodian Bar Association over money, over lawyers' fees. Government opponents have accused your party of fanning the flames of delay because of the damaging political fallout from testimonies of the Khmer Rouge leaders.

KANHARITH: First of all I can say that the Khmer Rouge trials was the Khmer's idea, Cambodian idea, this idea was proposed first in 1992.

LOPRESTI: It's now 2007.

KANHARITH: In fact in 1996 second time, and only after that, after the Khmer Rouge was dismantled in 1998 and after 2000 only then everybody tried to push ahead on this. Now you have one or two months delay and everybody blames Cambodian government. It's unfair, it's involved in that because you have this conflicting offer about the freeze between the lawyers it's already had that. For us the sooner the better.

LOPRESTI: Now during that time, during the Khmer Rouge time you were editor of the Kampuchea newspaper, and a decade later you lost that position and you were actually detained yourself in 1990. Can you tell us about that?

KANHARITH: In Cambodia, you must form a political party to run the elections, that's why some of my friends decided to set up a political party, and because some of my friends they had been arrested and because I knew them that's why.

LOPRESTI: So by association, you were arrested by association?

KANHARITH: Some conservative groups, that's why they tried to demote me and cast me aside.

LOPRESTI: And during that time that you were detained I understand you carried a copy of the book "Shogun" with you?

KANHARITH: Yes, I spent five years to translate this book.

LOPRESTI: And what is it about that book that touched you obviously, that had an impact on you?

KANHARITH: After my friend was arrested I thought that maybe it was my turn and I think that maybe I would be arrested.

LOPRESTI: So you thought you were going to be arrested as well?

KANHARITH: That's right, I think that after there might be some interrogation, long interrogation, I might be detained I don't know how many months or years, that's why I bring this book "Shogun", and after that I feel that for maybe Cambodians, they had Vietnamese, they had the Thai, because they always think that the Thai or the Vietnamese destroy the Khmer party, but they never asked the question why, that's why when I read "Shogun" I want to show that you that there might be also the other civilisations, other people who have a strong point. That's why I translate this book just to make my companions understand that when we talk about Cambodia be proud, but sometimes we only look at the past, we never look at the future. This book it's just to say that you have to try to combine the best of your side with the best of the other side.