VZCZCXRO8359
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0097/01 0230119
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 230119Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000097 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR P, EAP/MLS, DRL, S/WCI, G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KWMN CB
SUBJECT: DAS MARCIEL RAISES LAND ISSUES, ELECTIONS WITH SAR 
KHENG 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  Deputy Assistant Secretary For East Asian 
And Pacific Affairs Scot Marciel met with Deputy Prime 
Minister of Interior Sar Kheng January 17 to discuss 
preparations for Cambodia's 2008 National elections and the 
issue of forced land evictions.  Sar Kheng raised security 
issues related to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT).  Sar Kheng 
was well-briefed on U.S.-Cambodia bilateral issues discussed 
earlier in the day at a bilateral dialogue meeting (septel). 
The Ambassador and DCM were also in attendance. END SUMMARY. 
 
KRT ARREST SUCCESS STORIES 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Sar Kheng opened the discussion by emphasizing the 
symbolic importance of the KRT in responding to the wishes of 
the people of Cambodia and the international community, and 
in providing justice to the victims.  He described the 
difficult logistics put in place to defuse any potentially 
violent reaction to the arrests of Nuon Chea and Khieu 
Samphan, who still claim popular support in the Pailin area 
where they resided.  Sar Kheng said that only with the 
cooperation of Pailin municipal authorities were the arrests 
conducted successfully.  He also described the great lengths 
to which the RGC went in order to stabilize Khieu Samphan's 
medical condition and stated his death would have been a "big 
loss" to the KRT.  Sar Kheng expressed a desire for the KRT 
court to take these security issues into account when 
considering expanding the scope of arrests.  DAS Marciel 
responded that the KRT helped create a positive impression in 
the international community and that the U.S. supported the 
U.N. in efforts to strengthen court management in the KRT and 
address administrative issues.  DAS Marciel summarized the 
positive growth in the bilateral relationship and stated the 
U.S. desire to support efforts to resolve issues and continue 
to find areas where the U.S. could be helpful. 
 
IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTION ENVIRONMENT? 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU)  DAS Marciel asked Sar Kheng to explain specific 
plans for security for the 2008 national elections.  Sar 
Kheng explained that the RGC wanted to ensure equal 
opportunity for political parties to conduct campaigns, 
ensure the safety and security for the election itself, and 
create an environment where people feel free to vote.  Sar 
Kheng stated the RGC welcomed national and international 
election observers.  Sar Kheng committed to working with the 
National Election Committee to ensure political parties' 
ability to campaign.  He noted that in a country of 14 
million people there were 45 registered political parties. 
(NOTE: The final number who register to participate in the 
actual election will likely be smaller. END NOTE.)  He 
believed that the preparations for the 2008 elections were 
"far better" than in 2003 when there were still outstanding 
political issues and security concerns.  Sar Kheng expressed 
his belief that democracy could be accepted by all Cambodians 
and that no other regime, communist or authoritarian, could 
interrupt its progress.  Sar Kheng highlighted the success of 
the local commune elections in 2002 and 2007 and the MOI's 
plans to help with development of democratic governance at 
the local levels.  He stated the draft sublevel law required 
amendment to the Cambodian Constitution.  He expected the law 
to be enacted in 2009.  DAS Marciel congratulated the RGC on 
the successful commune elections and concluded that peaceful 
national elections would be good not only for Cambodia but 
for the region. 
 
FORCED LAND EVICTIONS SCRUTINY 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Raising the topic of human rights, DAS Marciel told 
Sar Kheng that one issue receiving considerable attention in 
Washington was forced land evictions.  He asked Sar Kheng how 
serious the problem was and what could be done further.  Sar 
Kheng acknowledged there were cases of forced evictions, then 
took the opportunity to highlight the RGC efforts to resolve 
several specific disputes.  He noted the direct intervention 
of the RGC in the settlement area near the Council of 
Ministers to assist the people after which the development 
company reach an agreement on building residences for the 
evicted. 
 
¶5. (SBU)  Sar Kheng stated that in the Boeng Kak lake case, 
the municipality of Phnom Penh had planned to evict the 
residents 2 weeks ago but that the RGC asked for further 
studies to determine who would actually be landless at the 
location or who may be squatting there but with a residence 
elsewhere.  He stated that Prime Minister Hun Sen supported 
this initiative.  Sar Kheng also discussed two settlement 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000097  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
cases in Battambang in the lake five area where 400 families 
from various provinces were living on public land.  He stated 
the families were living in "disorganized communities" and he 
had sought approval to turn these communities into villages 
with proper administrative management and infrastructure such 
as roads and schools.  He also sought to delay the closure of 
the voter registration for these communities by several days 
acknowledging "they are in disarray, but they are Cambodian 
and the government can't deny they exist."  Sar Kheng stated 
the goal was to provide land concessions for private 
ownership to the families and organize them into one or two 
villages of 200 families each.  He extended an invitation to 
the Ambassador to attend an inauguration ceremony for the 
villages at a future date. 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT:  Sar Kheng was well-briefed on Marciel's 
bilateral dialogue and moved quickly into substance.  His 
remarks on the government's internal deliberations about how 
to manage potential unrest in Pailin were enlightening -- and 
possibly influenced by the fact that a group from the 
tribunal had been in Pailin seeking to address concerns 
earlier in the week.  Although Sar Kheng illustrated 
knowledge of specific land issues and empathy with the 
evicted, he took the same "solving these problems 
one-at-a-time approach" we've seen from other senior leaders, 
who seem not to recognize that lack of transparency and 
systemic weaknesses are underlined when a Deputy Prime 
Minister must intervene to resolve specific cases. END 
COMMENT. 
 
¶7. (U)  DAS Marciel did not have the opportunity to clear 
this cable. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MUSSOMELI