Resolution 533

Whereas under the Vietnamese communist occupation of Cambodia (the former

People's Republic of Kampuchea and the State of Cambodia) between 1979 and

1989, Hun Sen was among a large number of former Khmer Rouge members who

were designated by the Vietnamese communists as surrogate leaders of the

People's Republic of Kampuchea, where international human rights organizations

documented widespread human rights violations;

Whereas during the period leading to internationally supervised elections

in 1993, as Prime Minister of the State of Cambodia and a Politburo member

of the communist Cambodian People's Party (CPP), Hun Sen was responsible

for the disappearances, murder, and assassination attempts against democratic

opponents of the Cambodian People's Party;

Whereas after the Cambodian People's Party lost the 1993 national election,

Hun Sen organized a military force that threatened a military coup, resulting

in his being given a share of the Prime Minister position with Prince Norodom

Ranariddh, the election winner, and his Cambodian People's Party maintaining

control of the military, the internal security forces, and provincial government

administration;

Whereas in July 1997, Hun Sen ordered a coup d'etat against First Prime

Minister Prince Ranariddh which resulted in the deaths of a large number

of civilians caught in the crossfire and the torture and summary execution

of at least 100 government officials and the forced displacement of at least

50,000 people as assaults continued on people or communities loyal to Prince

Ranariddh;

Whereas in September 1998, Hun Sen ordered a violent crackdown on thousands

of unarmed demonstrators, including Buddhist monks, who supported credible

investigations of irregularities in the electoral process and the change

in the format for allocating seats in the National Assembly which permitted

Hun Sen to maintain a small edge over Ranariddh's Funcinpec Party and entitled

Hun Sen to remain the post of Prime Minister, which resulted in the brutality

toward tens of thousands of pro-democracy advocates and the deaths and disappearances

of an unknown number of people, and led to widespread civil unrest which

threatens to further destroy Cambodian society; and

Whereas Hun Sen has held, and continues to hold,

high government office in a repressive and violent regime, and has the power

to decide for peace and democracy and has instead decided for killing and

repression, who has the power to minimize illegal actions by subordinates

and allies and hold responsible those who committed such actions, but did

not, and who once again is directing a campaign of murder and repression

against unarmed civilians, while treating with contempt international efforts

to achieve a genuinely democratic government in Cambodia; Now, therefore,

be it:

Resolved, That it is a sense of the House of Representatives that

 

1.  the US should establish a collection of information

   that can be supplied to an appropriate international judicial tribunal for

   use as evidence to support a possible indictment and trial of Hun Sen for

   violations of international humanitarian law after 1978;

2. any such information concerning Hun Sen and individuals under his authority

   already collected by the US, including information regarding the March 1997

   grenade attack against Sam Rainsy, should be provided to the tribunal at

   the earliest possible time;

3.  the US should work with members of interested countries and non-governmental

   organizations relating to information any country or organization may hold

   concerning allegations of violations of international humanitarian law after

   1978 posed against Hun Sen and any individual under his authority in Cambodia

   and give all such information to the tribunal;

4. the US should work with other interested countries relating to measures

   to be taken to bring to justice Hun Sen and individuals under Hun Sen's

   authority indicted for such violations of international humanitarian law

   after 1978; and

5. the US should support such a tribunal for the purpose of investigating

   Hun Sen's possible criminal culpability for conceiving, directing, and sustaining

   a variety of actions in violation of international humanitarian law after

   1978 in any judicial proceeding that may result.