Food for Thought

The Human Right Defender Recently, a lot of blood has been spilled on the outskirt of Phnom Penh when Cambodian authority opened fired on garment factories demonstrators. Based on news reports, 5 people have been killed and more than 30 are injured. This is a clear case of human right violation. But what is even more bothersome is that our prominent human right defender, namely, the esteem director of the Cambodian Center for Human Right, Mr. Ou Vireak, did not immediately voice any concern. If I may, let me ask you a question, Mr. OU: Are you in some way incapacitated or too shocked over the bloodshed that you could not find strength to comdemn the Cambodian authority over the use of forces to commit this horrendous crime? One may recall that Mr. Ou Vireak bitterly fought tooth and nail against the use of the word "Youn" by Khmer as a reference to the people of Vietnamese origin lest it incites discrimination or violent attitude toward Youn. Comparing the use of word that could lead to discrimination or incite violence and the use of fire arms to commit violence, one does not need to be a human right defender to see the real human right abuses. If human right defender in Cambodia the like of Mr. Ou Vireak could not differentiate this minor point, Cambodian human right improvement will have a very long way to go. Let's remind each other again that human right, like justice, is color blind and free of racial biases. As a principle, human right does not discriminate against or kowtow to anyone. So, stop being a hypocrite and do what you proclaim to be doing.