*EPF418 03/21/2002
Text: Sen. McConnell Recalls Terror Attack on Cambodian Opposition
(Urges U.S. to condemn "corrupt" Cambodian government) (470)

Senator Mitch McConnell (Republican of Kentucky), in a March 20 speech in the Senate, recalled the terror attack against the Khmer Nation Party (KNP) in 1997, and criticized the Phnom Penh government for its failure to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack.

According to McConnell, 19 people were killed and 141 injured in the terror attack when four grenades were thrown during a peaceful rally organized by KNP leader Sam Rainsy "to protest the lack of justice and the rule of law" in Cambodia.

"Unlike hard line Prime Minister Hun Sen and certain diplomats in Phnom Penh, this Senator has not forgotten those murdered and injured by terrorists on March 30, 1997," said McConnell, who serves as Ranking Member of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee and sits on the Senate Agriculture, Appropriations, and Judiciary Committees.

Following is the text of Senator McConnell's March 20 speech from the Congressional Record:

(begin text)

TRAGIC ANNIVERSARY FOR CAMBODIA

Senate
March 20, 2002

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, March 30 marks the fifth anniversary of the horrific terrorist attack against the Khmer Nation Party (KNP) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Nineteen people were killed, and 141 injured, when four grenades were thrown during a legal and peaceful rally organized by opposition leader Sam Rainsy to protest the lack of justice and the rule of law in Cambodia. Among the injured was American democracy-worker Ron Abney.

Sam Rainsy's message was right on the mark. There was no justice in Cambodia then, and there is none today.

On this tragic anniversary, the United States and other freedom-loving countries should condemn the corrupt and ineffective Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) for failing to protect its citizens and to investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators of this terrorist crime.

Unlike hard line Prime Minister Hun Sen and certain diplomats in Phnom Penh, this Senator has not forgotten those murdered and injured by terrorists on March 30, 1997. This Senator vividly recalls the desecration by Cambodian authorities of the Buddhist stupa erected by the opposition party in the memory of those senselessly killed. And this Senator is left wondering why the RGC expended more time and effort destroying the stupa than investigating the crime itself.

I ask that the U.S. Senate honor the memory of those slain in the terrorist attack by having the names of the victims publicly known appear in the RECORD following my remarks. The victims and their families remain in my thoughts and prayers are:

Mr. Cheth Duong Daravuth; Mr. Han Mony; Mr. Sam Sarin; Ms. Yong Sok Neuv; Ms. Yong Srey; Ms. Yos Siem; Ms. Chanty Pheakdey; Mr. Ros Sear; Ms. Sok Kheng; Mr. Yoeun Yorn; Mr. Chea Nang; and Mr. Nam Thy.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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