On the ride home from work this evening, my mom and I sat silent as we listened to the judgment over the radio. Even though, it wasn’t a complete surprise to me, I secretly hope that justice would have prevailed somehow and not just because Mam Somando, is my grand uncle, but because he has been the epitome of the Cambodian Human Rights movement for the last 20 years or so. He is more than just the less then the humble Beehive Radio Station owner and the director of the Democrats Association, he is a leader and symbolizes salvation and hope for thousands of victims, for an entire nation, for me.
On Monday, October 1, 2012 Mam Sonando, a broadcaster, human rights defender and land-rights campaigner was sentence to 20 years in prison for Phnom Penh Municipal Court for is alleged part in leading an attempted secession in Kratie after finding him guilty of leading an anti-state rebellion, a verdict condemned by activists as the latest crackdown on human rights.
Three court judges convicted Sonando even though Several of the prosecution’s witnesses said that their testimony was based entirely on hearsay, and none had any evidence to offer about the men actually on trial, who has joint Cambodian-French citizenship, and 13 others of inciting villagers in eastern Kratie province to rebel against the government. The verdict was handed down after two hours as hundreds of protestors gathered at Neang Kong Hing intersection to demand the release of the broadcaster.
He has been apprehended and incarcerated his return to the country back on July to face charges when the arrest warrant was issued which only came three days later which was only 24 hours after foreign ministers and diplomats from around the world departed the city, including United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton who were here to attend the ASEAN Summit.
Mam Somando, appeared in court for three and a half days last month and facing a maximum penalty of 30 years.
Sonando, a long-time rights campaigner and critic of the goverment, stood accused of inciting villagers to take up arms and of aiming to recruit up to a million people to topple the government.
Sonando had pleaded not guilty.
The increasing number of human right violations have occured during countless land-rights disputes arising in Cambodia has exploded in recent years as the economy grows rapidly and companies move to exploit natural resources such as rubber, sugar, and minerals.
Today's verdict only serves to demonstrate, yet again, the courts in Cambodia are not independent and that justice system is a tool of oppression rather than a platform for serving justice to the nation and its people.
It’s truly a sad day for the people of Cambodia, but rest assured true justice will be served, because "they'" can't expect everyone to roll over and play dead and they can try to wrongfully imprision '"us'" all, but honestly who are '"they'" kidding, there are poorly outnumbered.The powers that be have not a clue that they have started. This is precedence for the Cambodian Human Rights movement and defunct justice system has inadvertently elevated Mam Sanado into a self-made martyr status. He is but the candle that lights the way for the Human Rights movement here in Cambodia. I fear for what’s yet to unfold for the country and its people will not sit idly by and let injustice occur without recourse, Mam Sanado may very well become the catalyst for radical changes yet to unfold in Cambodia. God Save us all.
Lost's Final thoughts: There is no transparancy in a dual justice system. Someone is not guilty till proven innocent and in the eyes of the law, guilt isn't proven just because a defunct legal system says you are. Something is a midst in a system that was set up to uphold the law, but instead has been used as a tool for oppression. True justice must be prevail. Advocating for human rights for victims and the rights for the oppressed isn't a crime.! It is high time we played our hand as it stands, time to call a spade a spade, shall we!
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