VZCZCXRO8537
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0297/01 1271134
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 071134Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0685
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000297 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, P, D, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KJUS CB
SUBJECT: DEFAMATION SUITS CONTINUE; GOVERNMENT ADHERES TO 
LAW, AVOIDING MU SOCHUA "MARTYRDOM" 
 
REF: A. PHNOM PENH 295 
     ¶B. PHNOM PENH 279 
     ¶C. PHNOM PENH 273 
 
Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES A.I. THEODORE ALLEGRA FOR REASONS 1.4 
(B,D) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY: The government and Hun Sen's lawyer are 
taking a low-key approach to the case against opposition 
parliamentarian Mu Sochua.  Deputy Prime Minister Sok An told 
Charge May 6 that the case against Mu would be carried out 
within Cambodia's legal framework and according to the rule 
of law.  He expressed certainty that she would not go to 
jail, and did not know of circumstances under which Mu 
Sochua's parliamentary immunity might be lifted.  Referring 
to Mu Sochua's defamation case against Prime Minister Hun 
Sen, he noted her apparent desire to become a "martyr" and 
repeated that the government would not go outside the law. 
In the meantime, action at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court 
continued May 7 with lawyers for both sides appearing as 
plaintiffs to answer prosecutor questions in support of their 
claims.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Sok An: Strictly Within the Framework of the Law 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2. (C) Charge requested an urgent meeting May 6 with Deputy 
Prime Minister and Minister of Council of Ministers Sok An to 
discuss the Mu Sochua case and to urge the government to show 
moderation.  The Charge and Pol/Ec Chief were summoned after 
8 p.m. to an empty and darkened Council of Ministers Building 
by Sok An's staff who said he had been closeted with the 
World Bank for the previous three hours.  Noting that the 
Embassy took a special interest in the case, and that Mu 
Sochua's situation was garnering international attention, the 
Charge said that the U.S. government was taking the matter 
seriously and that this interest would not flag.  Throughout 
the discussion, the Charge urged the government to consider 
reconciliation where both parties would agree to drop the 
suit and countersuit for defamation.  The Charge also 
suggested that PM Hun Sen might take the initiative in 
offering to drop the suit and challenge Mu Sochua to 
reciprocate. 
 
¶3.  (C) Sok An said that first, the Cambodian government did 
not want to play the "communications game", referring to 
publicity seeking to make political statements.  Instead the 
government's idea was to act in a way that was in the 
framework of the rule of law, he said.  That is the approach 
the government lawyers have to take, Sok An continued.  They 
cannot work outside the framework of a legal basis.  Whatever 
happens will have to emerge from the lawyers' specialized 
legal knowledge, he noted, and in the context of Cambodia's 
existing laws.  He volunteered that Mu Sochua would not go to 
jail.  When asked about the prospect of lifting Mu Sochua's 
parliamentary immunity (Ref A), the DPM was less certain, 
saying that he would have to refer to the Council of Jurists, 
a group of 60 lawyers at the Council of Ministers.  He 
repeated that he was certain that Mu Sochua would not go to 
jail. 
 
Human Rights Watch Criticized; Mu Sochua No Martyr 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶4.  (C) Commenting that he had read the just-issued public 
statement by Human Rights Watch, Sok An noted with distaste 
that it was "very, very strong," and recalled that the HRW 
statement made reference to the government behaving like 
"dictators".  (NOTE: HRW Asia Director Brad Adams stated that 
Hun Sen's goal is an "elective dictatorship, not a genuinely 
pluralistic democracy." END NOTE.)  He also noted in this 
context that Mu Sochua was trying to become a "martyr", but 
indicated that it was unlikely the path defined by the law 
would allow this to happen.  Charge responded that neither 
the law nor politics should be vehicles to provoke 
threatening responses in this case. 
 
Inter-Parliamentary Union Following the Case 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Poloff attempted to gather more information on the 
ostensible letter from the AIPU sent to the Prime Minister 
(Ref A).  An assistant in the Human Rights Program office at 
the Inter-Parliamentary Union headquarters in Geneva 
confirmed that the IPU is "dealing with the case," but is 
doing so under the confidential procedures of the Committee 
on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians.  When asked if the 
IPU had made any attempt to contact the Cambodian government, 
the assistant said "probably," and then declined to answer 
any further questions. 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000297  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Municipal Court Takes First Procedural Steps 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Embassy sent an observer to monitor action at 
the Municipal Court throughout the day on May 7.  The Prime 
Minister's lawyer, Ky Tech, was originally expected to appear 
in support of the PM's complaint at 9:30 a.m., but did not 
arrive until afternoon, around 3:40 p.m. According to the 
court clerk, Hong Bunhour, Ky was taken to an office for 
questioning.  Upon emerging 30 minutes later, Ky was 
approached by several reporters.  He would not answer any 
detailed questions about the case, but only reiterated the 
basics of the complaints he had filed on behalf of Hun Sen. 
He said the complaints were for "defamation," then directed 
reporters to consult with the prosecutor for more information. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Mu Sochua's lawyer, Kong Sam Un, also arrived at 
the court in the afternoon, around 3:30 p.m., and was taken 
to a separate office.  He emerged after more than one hour of 
questioning, and answered reporters' questions.  He stated 
that Mu Sochua is the victim in this situation, and asked the 
court to find justice for his client.  When asked by a 
reporter if he feared the Prime Minister's influence and if 
he "wanted protection," he said yes. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Neither lawyer indicated when they might be 
summoned to appear as defendants, which is the next step 
under Cambodia's French-based judicial system.  Following 
that, the prosecutors would determine whether to press 
forward with criminal complaints or to turn a case over to an 
investigating judge to gather more information, or to dismiss 
the suits entirely. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) COMMENT:  The usually voluble Ky Tech has declined 
to provide specifics about Hun Sen's case several times now. 
On May 6, he told reporters he was "too busy" to comment on 
the case, and following today's questioning he also remained 
close-lipped.  Although it's too early to tell if that is how 
the RGC intends to deal with the case going forward, today's 
low-key approach was a welcome contrast to the shrillness and 
provocation that has characterized much of the public debate 
thus far. 
ALLEGRA