VZCZCXRO7684
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #1500 3441120
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101120Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 001500 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA'S PEACEFUL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY MARCH 
 
REF: PHNOM PENH 1491 
 
¶1.  (U) On December 10, Cambodia seized a prime opportunity 
to show its progress as an increasingly open society by 
allowing a Human Rights Day march and rally in Phnom Penh. 
The Ambassador took part in the orderly, peaceful march along 
with approximately 500 (some estimates as high as 1,000) 
human rights activists, monks, and other Cambodians.  The 
march wound through a half mile of Phnom Penh's roads before 
convening on the centrally located Wat Phnom where a rally of 
approximately 3,000 participants took place. In the past two 
years, Human Rights Day rallies without marches have occurred 
in an enclosed space. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On December 6, the Phnom Penh Municipality and the 
Ministry of Interior denied permission for the Human Rights 
Day march and rally citing public order and security concerns 
(reftel).  On December 7, after consultation with the 
Ambassador and others, MOI officials apparently realized that 
allowing the march and rally would be a step forward for 
freedom of assembly and demonstration in the country. 
 
¶3.  (U) During the December 10 march, activists held banners 
with messages urging that all citizens get involved in the 
celebration of human rights, and one marcher used a bullhorn 
to lead calls for an end to human rights abuses.  Marchers 
wore white t-shirts and caps commemorating the 59th year of 
the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  A few 
police officers were on hand to assist with traffic -- poloff 
counted five police officers -- but vehicle traffic and 
public order were not a problem.  Marchers walked a half mile 
from a public park in the northern part of the central city 
to Wat Phnom where they convened for a three-hour rally. 
Marchers were joined at Wat Phnom by approximately 2,000 
additional participants.  The United Nations Special 
Representative of the Secretary General for Human Rights in 
Cambodia Yash Ghai also took part in the march and gave a 
speech at the rally.  In his speech Ghai stated that it was 
important for the Cambodian people to stand up for their own 
rights, and not always rely on government officials to 
protect their rights.  Some observers speculated that a rally 
of the opposition political party Human Rights Party held at 
the same time -- exploiting the association between its party 
name and this special day -- caused some to arrive late at 
the NGO-sponsored rally. 
MUSSOMELI