By KER MUNTHIT,Associated Press Writer AP - Friday, March 21PHNOM
PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia dismissed a U.N. envoy's re****t criticizing
its government for human rights abuses and corruption as sensational
and exaggerated, saying the country is on the right track for
democracy.
Om Yentieng, head of the government's human rights committee, said the
re****t ignored the progress his government has made in improving
rights and the rule of law.
He said the government is disappointed with Yash Ghai, the U.N.
secretary-general's special envoy on human rights in Cambodia, who
submitted the re****t to a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva.
Many issues described in Ghai's re****t "are selectively made for
sensational purposes and/or overly exaggerated," Om Yentieng said in a
statement received Thursday.
His response is the latest shot in the Cambodian government's long-
running war of words with Ghai, a Kenya-born professor, whom Prime
Minister Hun Sen has called "deranged" for accusing his administration
of poor governance.
Om Yentieng, who is also a senior adviser to Hun Sen, described as
"unacceptable" Ghai's assertion that the country's justice system has
failed to function independently from the executive branch.
"Legal guarantees and security associated with the rule of law are
largely missing in Cambodia," Ghai said in a statement on the release
of his re****t.
Ghai said the government's control of the judiciary has bred a "high
level of corruption" resulting in victimization of the poor across
Cambodia and "legal impunity for ministers, officials and friends of
the government."
Cambodia's judicial system is widely regarded as corrupt and
susceptible to political manipulation.
The U.N. envoy also slammed the government on the issue of land and
property rights.
Thousands of urban and rural dwellers have been "illegally and
inhumanely" evicted from land that has been appropriated by
cor****ations and influential individuals, he charged.
He warned that, in the long run, the inability of courts to settle
disputes in a fair manner will "aggravate tensions, conflicts and the
risk of violence that will be hard to manage."
Om Yentieng responded that Ghai's evaluation "does not fairly reflect
the reality in the country" which "is moving on the right track" of
democratic and economic progress.
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