Hem Chieu (Khmer: ហែម ចៀវ; 1898 - 1943) was a Buddhist monk and a prominent figure in the development of Cambodian nationalism.
Chieu was a professor at the Higher School of Pali in Phnom Penh, and strongly objected to attempts by the French colonial authorities, beginning in the late 1930s, to romanize the Khmer writing system. Although the reforms were not intended to be applied to religious texts, he began to make vocal criticisms of the French administration. He became associated with two nationalist activists, Son Ngoc Thanh and Pach Chheoun, editor and founder of a pro-independence Khmer-language newspaper, Nagaravatta. The French authorities believed that Thanh, Chieu and Chheoun, with Japanese backing, were attempting to recruit followers for a bid for independence from the French.[1]
Arrest
On July 18, 1942, the French authorities moved to arrest Chieu and an associate, Nuon Dong. Chieu was alleged to have preached anti-French sermons to Khmer troops in the colonial militia in preparation of the revolt; the manner of his arrest deeply offended many other members of the sangha.
Reaction to Arrest
A large demonstration against the arrests, in which many monks took part, was organised two days later in Phnom Penh by Thanh and Chheoun. Pach Chheoun marched at the head of the demonstrators, and several monks who would later take an active role in Cambodian politics, such as later Communist activists Achar Mean (Son Ngoc Minh) and Achar Sok (Tou Samouth) were present. The demonstration was broken up violently by the French, and Chheoun was arrested and sentenced to death (later commuted to life imprisonment).[2]
Death
Hem Chieu, "still preaching" according to an observer, was also sentenced to death by a military tribunal, later commuted to life imprisonment with hard labour.[3] He died in the notorious Côn Sơn Island prison in October 1943. While there he met several leaders of the Viet Minh, such as Phạm Văn Đồng and Tôn Đức Thắng, who afterwards related that Hem Chieu's heroic conduct in the prison led to sanctions which directly contributed to his illness and death.[4]
Chieu soon came to be regarded as a martyr by leftist Cambodian nationalists and insurgents of the United Issarak Front. In 1950, a political school named after Hem Chieu was established in the south-west of the county and an armed guerrilla unit named itself after him.[5] He was also, however, honoured as a national hero by the anticommunist Khmer Republic.
References
Jump up ^ Kiernan, B. How Pol Pot Came to Power, Yale UP, 2004, p.42
Jump up ^ Harris, I. Buddhism and politics in twentieth-century Asia, CIPG, 2001, p.60
Jump up ^ Kiernan, B. How Pol Pot Came to Power, Yale UP, 2004, p.45
Jump up ^ Kiernan, p.47
Jump up ^ Harris, I. Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice, University of Hawaii, 2008, p.158
Chut Wutty (Khmer: ឈុត វុទ្ធី; 1972–2012) was Founder and Director of the Natural Resource Protection Group (NRPG). He was a Cambodianenvironmental activist best known as the country’s most vocal critic of the military's alleged role in illegal logging conducted by companies granted land concessions in protected forests and related government corruption.
Life
Wutty was born in Svay Meas village, Vihear Sour commune, Kchlach Kandal district, Kandal, Cambodia. Chut Wutty obtained a Master's Degree in Military Studies from Russia in 1992. After his graduation, Wutty was employed as an Electrician's Helper by the small Canadian Contingent of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) with 92 (CDN) Transportation Company, Delta Platoon, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) Det at Camp Canada, Pochentong Airport until 1993.[2] Later he worked with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) and as a military trainer at the Ministry of National Defence. In 2003, he was a Deputy Director of Global Witness in Cambodia, who acted as a watchdog on the illegal logging all over the country. After the expulsion of Global Witness by the Cambodian government, Wutty founded the organization Natural Resource Protection Group (NRPG), with financial support from Germany. The organization has its focus on the protection of the forest and natural resources in Cambodia.[3]
Death
On 26 April 2012, Wutty was shot dead at Veal Bei Point in Mondol Seima, while escorting two journalists from The Cambodia Daily near a protected forest in Koh Kong Province, where he had repeatedly attempted to expose illegal logging rackets that include military officials.[4] He was 48 years old.[3] Local rights groups ADHOC and LICADHO immediately dispatched investigators, and LICADHO's Koh Kong provincial coordinator, In Kong Chet, said that after talking to ballistics police, he had established that Chut Wutty was shot as he tried to drive away from the military police. Wutty is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son. This was supported by other rights groups.
For several years ago, I have spent my time on the blog before creating this page while I have been using YouTube for uploading videos at the same time. Lately, I’ve found my videos have become more popular and gain more views. Further, I’ve provided descriptions of each famous people on YouTube whereas you can see it easily by just clicking on their names.
Mong Reththy is one of Cambodia’s most prominent tycoons and a close ally of Hun Sen. In 2006 he became a senator for the CPP.
Plantations, commodities trading, cattle farming and real estate development are just some of Mong Reththy’s interests. His eclectic business portfolio has also encompassed illegal logging in Bokor National Park and an economic land concession in Stung Treng which at 100,852 ha is more than ten times the size permitted by the Land Law. This ELC is sited on the cancelled Macro Panin logging concession in violation of the sub-decree on Forest Concession Management. Chan Sarun signed off on the deal in November 2001, three months after the passage of Land Law limiting ELCs to 10,000 ha. When Global Witness wrote to Chan Sarun to question the legality of his decision, the minister responded with the argument that the government was obliged to give Mong Reththy the concession because he had asked for it before the Land Law was ratified. In December 2006 Global Witness received reports from a human rights worker that Mong Reththy’s company had begun clearing parts of the Green Sea ELC close to the Lao border.
Mong Reththy has also been at the forefront of the recent rash of land-swap deals in which ownership of public buildings has been transferred to tycoons with links to the CPP. His land-swap acquisitions have included Cambodia’s Supreme Court, Appeals Court, Phnom Penh Municipal Court and Justice Ministry buildings. He has also flattened the historic Royal University of Fine Arts campus in Phnom Penh and forcibly evicted local residents in order to make way for a development he has named ‘China Town’.
The government’s decision to give the green light for Oknha Mong Port demonstrates considerable confidence in a man previously subject to allegations of drug trafficking. Claims that there was more to Mong Reththy’s import-export business than met the eye first surfaced in April 1997, when officials in Sihanoukville seized seven tons of marijuana from containers labeled as rubber. Newspapers reported that documents taken during the seizure bore stamps and seals of a company belonging to Mong Reththy. In media interviews Mong Reththy denied any involvement.
Secretary of State at the Ministry of Interior Ho Sok, a member of the CPP’s Funcinpec coalition partner, led the investigation into Mong Reththy’s alleged connection with the marijuana. His announcement that a court was preparing an arrest warrant for the tycoon prompted Hun Sen to comment that anyone attempting to arrest Mong Reththy had better “wear a steel helmet”. In July 1997, during the coup in which Hun Sen ousted his Funcinpec co-prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Ho Sok was detained by CPP forces and murdered. The investigation into Mong Reththy’s dealings proceeded no further.
Mong Reththy has continued to deny any connection with drug trafficking. In an interview with a local newspaper in 2004, he said “I was accused of planting and smuggling marijuana. I have tried to ignore it. I have never even smoked a cigarette in my life, so how could I do business like that? I only do what is legal”.
Global Witness wrote to both Mong Reththy and Hun Sen to ask them for their comment on the reports of drug trafficking. As this report went to print, Hun Sen had not replied, however Mong Reththy’s lawyer responded by e-mail as follows: “We have received the inquiry from your office related to Mr Mong Reththy and he is pleased to receive it. Mr Mong has asked us to inform you that he is unable to give Global Witness a written statement BUT he is willing to interview with a Global Witness representative in Phnom Penh or in London. If you have any further inquiry, please do not hesitate to contact us.”
Global Witness accepted the invitation to take part in an interview with Mong Reththy, and proposed a tape-recorded discussion over the telephone. At the time of the report’s publication, Mong Reththy’s lawyer had not responded to this proposal.
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