The Mirror, Vol. 14, No. 694
The Mirror has always considered it to be an important challenge to look at things which belong together – but for some reason they are not mutually related. There is some lack of communication, or straightforward mis-communication – and by pointing to such unrelated elements which should relate to each other, maybe the necessary mutual communication can be initiated. And this is a challenge not only for the writer, but also for the readers.
On Tuesday, it was disclosed that a report, released by the government and the UN Development Program, pointed out the growing disparities between some sections of the country far away from the centers of economic action, and the conditions in the major cities – pointing especially to the provinces of Mondolkiri, Ratanakiri, and Stung Treng, where a large section of the population belongs to non-Khmer ethnic minorities. A UN Development Program staff warned even about “a poverty gap developing between these provinces and the rest of the country.”
The CPP member of the National Assembly Mr. Cheam Yeap is then quoted to have said “that the increasing disparity in health and income were in large part due to the lack of education. “Only education can improve livelihoods and narrow the gap between urban and rural.” And he continued to say that the government’s effort to improve education and infrastructure was difficult to achieve because the hill tribes did not pay enough attention to education. “The indigenous people seldom understand education enough to send their children to school.” But “it was also hard to find qualified teaching staff to teach in the remote provinces” – where the people speak a variety of different languages.
But on the same day the following statement was published in The Cambodia Daily. It does not speak much about eduction as the key to economic growth, but it points rather to the difficulties to get their right recognized and their land not easily and without consultation assigned by the government and handed over to some private companies.
We share the full text of the Closing Statement of this forum, which had met at the end of November:
The Right of Indigenous Peoples to Consultation and Participation in the Development Process
Closing statement of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum
25-26 November 2010
Today marks an extraordinary occasion as Cambodian indigenous people have demonstrated the capacity to organize this Indigenous Peoples’ Forum with participants from 20 different ethnic groups (Bunong, Jarai, Kachok, Kavet, Khaonh, Kraol, Kreung, Kuoy, Lun, Mil, P’ong, Por, Praov, Rode, S’Och, Stieng, Suoy, Thmoun, Tumpuon, and other groups) from 15 provinces.
To date, our peoples have established and managed two organizations, named the Highlanders Association, and the Organization to Promote Kuoy Culture, a network named Indigenous Rights Active Members, and an association named the Cambodia Indigenous Youth Association.
Through this two-day forum we have identified challenges and problems that our indigenous peoples continue to face. On behalf of all the Cambodian indigenous people in our communities, we would like to call attention to the following issues:
1. Lack of implementation of the law in indigenous areas by the Royal Government:
2. Problems faced by indigenous communities face in consultations:
In response to these issues, we make the following requests for full involvement and consultation:
As indigenous people who face challenges and whose communities are being affected by development projects, we would like to publicly request that the Royal Government of Cambodia take into consideration our above-mentioned issues and implement our requests to bring about effective mechanisms to ensure full rights and sustainable livelihoods for indigenous peoples like those being enjoyed by the rest of the population.
Thank you.
Norbert KLEIN
This article was first published by The Mirror, Vol. 14, No. 694 – Tuesday, 7.12.2010
Have a look at the last editorial - you can access it directly from the main page of The Mirror.
Norbert Klein is the Editor of The Mirror – The Mirror is a daily comprehensive summary and translation of the major Khmer language press - More about The Mirror