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CAMBODIA: Police Captain assaults a boy at a border crossing in Banteay Meanchey province

November 30, 2008

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-256-2008



30 November 2008
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CAMBODIA: Police Captain assaults a boy at a border crossing in Banteay Meanchey province

ISSUES: Police assault; impunity
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a police captain named Ros Man assaulted and kicked a 14-old boy named Pheak Vuthy with his boots. This occurred when he arrested him during a protest by traders against the levy of a fee on 26 November 2008 at the border post of Poipet in Banteay Meanchey province. Pheak suffered severe pain in the head and body as a result of this assault.

CASE DETAILS:

On November 26 about 10:30am more than 200 traders and goods porters staged a protest against the levy of a fee of 1.5 baht (1500 riels or just under USD 0.04) per kiliogramme on goods transported to the Thai market. This market was on the other side of the Cambodian-Thai border crossing of Poipet, O Chroeu district, Banteay Meanchey province. A confrontation then erupted between the protesters and a mixed police presence of 50 men taken from different units.

A 14-old boy named Pheak Vuthy, a student, joined in the protest with his mother and, along with other protesters, shouted protests against the fee. At this moment, a police captain named Ros Man rushed towards him, arrested him, beat him, kicking him twice with his boots. This took place in full view of the protesters while he was taking him to the police post some five meters away from the scene. A medical officer intervened to free the boy and Ros slipped quietly away.

Pheak suffered severe pain in the head and body as a result of the beating and kicking he had received.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Poipet crossing is a bustling trading post where the bulk of the trade between Thailand and Cambodia crosses. The Thai baht is the currency most used in the area.

A company named Chhouk Lon Export-Import Enterprise claimed that it had been awarded a concession from the Banteay Meanchey provincial authorities to levy a fee of 150 riels (under USD 0.04) per kilogramme on goods transported to the Thai market just on the other side of the border. These goods are transported on carts pulled by porters.

A deputy provincial denied any knowledge of that concession. But Lim Taing Por, the owner of Chhouk Lon Export-Import Enterprise, claimed his company is mandated to establish an orderly export of goods from Cambodia. The levy of such a fee on exports and imports is normal "across Cambodia and the world", he said. However, the affected traders claimed they already had a license from the Ministry of Trade to conduct their business and should not be made to pay that fee.

The timing of the levy of this particular fee seems odd. Odd because at almost the exact same time, to help exports, the Cambodian government reduced by 10 percent the fees on garment exports. And furthermore, they offered to issue fee-free passports to workers going to work abroad.

The border crossing police collaborated with the company to enforce the levy of the fee for the company from 24 November 2008. This levy angered the traders and porters and sparked off the protest.

When he assaulted Pheak Vuthy, Police Captain Ros Man violated the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials which is incorporated in the Cambodian criminal law. Under article 2, the Code states: "In the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons."

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities listed below requesting them to investigate the assault of Pheak Vuthy and take action against Police officer Ros Man.

Please be informed that the AHRC has also written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture and the Special Representative for human rights in Cambodia and the OHCHR in Cambodia calling for intervention in this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ______,

CAMBODIA: Police Captain assaults a boy at a border crossing in Banteay Meanchey province

Name of victim: Pheak Vuthy, 14, goods cart puller, Poipet commune, O Chroeu district, Banteay Meanchey province
Name of perpetrator: Ros Man, police captain, border crossing post, Poipet commune, O Chroeu district, Banteay Meanchey province.

I am writing to express my deep concern relating to the assault by a police captain named Ros Man on a 14-old boy named Pheak Vuthy. He beat him and kicked him with his boots after he arrested him on 26 November 2006 at the border crossing of Poipet in Banteay Meanchey province.

That day about 10:30am over 200 traders and goods porters staged a protest. They objected to the border crossing police's levy of 1.5 Thai baht (equivalent of 150 riels or just under USD 0.04) per kilogramme on goods transported to the Thai market at the Cambodian-Thai border crossing of Poipet, O Chroeu district, Banteay Meanchey province. As a result of this levy, a confrontation erupted between the protesters and a police presence of some 50 men from various units.

I have been informed that the border crossing police collaborated with Chhouk Lon Export-Import Enterprise to enforce this new levy from 24 November 2008. In fact, this company had dubiously been granted a concession by the Banteay Meanchey provincial authorities to establish an orderly export system and levy a fee. This levy angered the traders and porters and sparked off their protest.

A 14-old boy named Pheak Vuthy, a student, joined in the protest with his mother and, along with other protesters, shouted protests against the fee. At this point, a police officer named Ros Man rushed towards him, arrested him, beat him, kicking him twice with his boots in full view of the protesters. This took place while Ros was taking him to the police post just some five meters away from the scene. Thanks to the intervention of a medical officer, the boy was freed and Ros slipped quietly away.

Pheak suffered severe pain in the head and body as a result of the beating and kicking he had received.

I therefore urge you to investigate the assault of Pheak Vuthy and take action against Police Captain Ros Man for his breach of the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials incorporated in the Cambodian criminal law.

I trust you will positively consider my above request.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOU LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Hun Sen
Prime Minister
Cabinet of the Prime Minister
No. 38, Russian Federation Street
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: +855 23 36 0666
Tel: +855 2321 9898
E-mail: cabinet1b@camnet.com.kh

2. Mr. Sar Kheng
Deputy-Prime Minister
Minister of Interior
No.275 Norodom Blvd., Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax/phone: +855 23 721 905 / 23 726 052 / 23 721 190
E-Mail: info@interior.gov.kh

3. Mr. Henro Raken
Prosecutor-General
Court of Appeal
No 240, Sothearos Blvd.
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: +855 23 21 66 22; +855 23 21 63 22
Tel: +855 11 86 27 70

4. Mr. Ang Vong Vathna
Minister of Justice
No 240, Sothearos Blvd.
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: +855 23 36 4119 / 21 6622
E-mail: moj@cambodia.gov.kh

5. General Neth Savoeun
National Police Commissioner
General-Commisariat of National Police
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: +855 23 22 09 52
Tel: +855 23 21 65 85

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-256-2008
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.