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Address at the Delegation of Position to the Head
of National Anti-Drug Authority
Phnom Penh,
May 19th, 2009
Excellencies, Ladies and
Gentlemen
Today, I am
pleased to participate in this important ceremony to reassign the leadership of
the National Anti-Drug Authority.
I would like to convey my profound gratitude
to H.E. Deputy Prime Minister SAR KHENG, Minister of Interior, who have
taken the highly challenging responsibility as the head of the National
Anti-Drug Authority for the last 10 years and brought about countless
achievements and pride to the country.
In particular,
this ceremony is being held at the time when H.E. SAR KHENG is busy with
the management and leadership of the Ministry of Interior, especially in the
decentralization and de-concentration process, along with our needs of new human
resources to lead the National Anti-Drug Authority. In this spirit, I strongly
believe that H.E. Deputy Prime Minister KE KIM YAN is fully capable of
assuming the leadership position of the National Anti-Drug Authority to achieve
further outcomes in the prevention and fight against drug trafficking and use.
Under the
management of H.E. Deputy Prime Minister SAR KHENG, the National
Anti-Drug Authority has made numerous significant achievements in the fight
against drug trafficking and use, either at national, regional, and global
levels. I am extremely proud of all past achievements made by the National
Anti-Drug Authority, especially with regard to policy formulation and
international cooperation. So far, the National Anti-Drug Authority has
continuously strengthened and expanded its activities by integrating itself into
all sub-regional, regional and global mechanisms even though this body is young
and lacks experience compared to other anti-drug bodies in the region and the
world. These achievements represent the national pride and reflect the proper
implementation of the Royal Government’s strategy in the fights against drugs.
In this sense, I would like to praise the National Anti-Drug Authority for all
of its achievements.
I would like to
take this opportunity to go back to the history of anti-drug effort in Cambodia.
The first-ever anti-drug body in Cambodia was the Anti-Drug Office which was
established in 1994. Later on, in 1995, given the nature and complexity of
anti-drug job, the Royal Government established the National Anti-Drug Authority
which comprised of ten ministries/institutions as member and was chaired by the
then Co-Prime Ministers. Adding to this effort, the first Anti-Drug Law was
approved in 1996, followed by the Sub-Decree on the Establishment and Operation
of Secretariat of the National Anti-Drug Authority. This secretariat acts as an
agency of the National Anti-Drug Authority. Later on, as the Royal Government
faced with more challenging tasks, I proposed the King to transfer the
leadership of the National Anti-Drug Authority to H.E. Deputy Prime Minister SAR KHENG. The transfer of leadership from H.E. Deputy Prime Minister SAR
KHENG to H.E. Deputy Prime Minister KE KIM YAN is based on the
identical ground when H.E. Deputy Prime Minister SAR KHENG assumed this
position. This attributes to actual implementation of reform programs with the
Royal Government’s firm and determined political will.
Along with this,
I would like to stress that the fight against drug is not that simple as this
job involves multi-sectors and complexities and require close cooperation
between competent agencies, such as law enforcement, education, and
rehabilitation agencies. I think no single institution or country can succeed on
its own in the fight against drug. Drugs have been threatening both developed
and developing nations as they are striving to seek solutions and effective
responses to this problem.
In particular,
it should be noted that, prior to 1990, the use and production of drug did not
take place in the country. However, after the 1993 General Election, as the
market is opened, drugs start to take root in the country, in particular, during
recent years. Cambodia used to be a victim, when the international mafia,
capitalizing on our lack of law and regulation, instability, and unawareness,
induced the people to plant cannabis and export overseas, which severely damaged
the country’s reputation. Moreover, while the Royal Government is fighting hard
to eliminate cannabis and locked in the rehabilitation of economic
infrastructures aimed at integrating into the region, the criminals take the
opportunity to traffic in drugs, especially they even attempted to use Cambodia
as their discreet production ground.
After years of
experience in addressing the issues relating to drugs, I would like to commend
all levels of drug enforcement forces and related units for their efforts and
timely crackdown on all attempts to use Cambodia as a route, market, and
production place.
Along with this,
the crackdowns and prevention of drug usage require cooperation from all related
governmental institutions, civil society, and private sector which must do it in
parallel and strike a balance between law enforcement and education to ensure
that the public are fully aware of the danger of drug and rehabilitation
measures for addicts. These three strategies complement each other, namely law
enforcement, education on the danger of drug, and rehabilitation for drug
addicts must be implemented in parallel. This approach is necessary in order to
promote social moral, security, and order.
The government
is absolutely determined to protect the independence, sovereignty and land
integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia by combating any attempts to threaten
peace, political stability, security and social order, and maintaining peaceful
livelihood of the people. At the same time, the Royal Government is of clear
view that socio-economic development is associated with the rehabilitation and
development of many sectors; hence it is a must to prioritize growth base
sectors. Obviously, ensuring peace, political stability, security and social
order is the prerequisite and vital supporting environment for economic growth
and social development. Of course, we have laid out numerous measures for these
matters and made quite a number of prideful achievements.
Despite all the
achievements made so far, we are still confronting with some remaining issues
besides drug, particularly issues of gangster and traffic accident which are the
obstacles to social and economic environment. Even though these issues look
small and light, if we do not prevent and eradicate them early they can have
disastrous consequences on socio-economic development in the near future.
Issues of teenager and
gangster is directly related to the delinquency of overjoyed teenagers, making
friends with gangsters, loss of conscience, forgetting gratitude of parents,
guardian and bring society with insecurity and disorder. With respect to these
issues, we must take measures in all forms in order to send them back to school
for the sake of their future and the society at large. Through this, I would
like to appeal to all teenagers to give up all indecent activities, because
socializing with the delinquent and gangsters and using drugs would bring no
benefit and light to your future and families.
Although education and
human resource development must be done through education at schools where there
are available teachers to teach, there must be also cooperation from parents,
guardians, the elders and all members in the family and the whole society. Also,
we must acknowledge that inadequate education and family breakdown are also the
motivations for teenager groups or gangsters to commit crime and misconduct.
Therefore, parents and students’ guardians must make effort to instruct their
children to go to school, to be at home, to be with the family and make good
friends in order to keep them from socializing with gangster group, escaping
from home, playing truant and sparking problem at public compound and schools. I
think that this is the common concern for families, the government and the whole
society, which we must jointly prevent and combat, especially through existing
measures such as good communication between schools, families and society.
Separately, the
issue of traffic accident at the present time has become a chronic social
disease which can spread rapidly and turn unmanageable. The traffic accident
issue is a huge one and poses long term impact on socio-economic development as
well as poverty reduction of the people. If we examine the figure of fatal
traffic accidents, we know that it is pretty shocking. Obviously, the increase
in the mean of transportation is a sign of progress; however anarchic traffic is
the symptom of disease which causes social disorder. Therefore, traffic issue is
both the determinant of honor and pride of the nation and the determinant of
disgrace and shame of the nation.
Regarding the
issues of drugs, we have always considerably and timely suppressed and prevented
the crimes of trading and trafficking drugs in a large and medium scale.
However, some other crimes such as the distribution, retailing, which have
always happened at the local level, seem not to have been extensively cracked
down yet. At this juncture, although the selling and distributing scale is
petty, it posed anarchy and insecurity in the local community, affecting the
national security and social order. This problem has created the unhappiness
and open criticism from the local people. In this regard, I would like to
suggest all levels of provincial and municipal authorities to take immediate
actions in those areas or locations where drugs are being distributed and used.
Along with that, all levels of local authorities, law enforcement agencies and
court must cooperate based on the spirit of ownership in implementing these
works with consciences and abide by the professional code of ethics aiming to
make the community safe from the threatening of drugs, armed robberies, gang,
mob bullies and traffic accidents.
Taking this
opportunity, I would like to suggest and appeal to all ministries and
institutions of the Royal Government, especially the National Anti-Drugs
Authority, all levels of local authorities, civil societies as well as private
sector to pay attention and strictly implement the points as follows:
1. Participate in and cooperate with every
activity related to the dissemination, education on the danger of drugs use and
treatment in order to rehabilitate the drugs addicted people. At the same time,
the efficiency in providing public services must be improved at all times to
increase closer cooperation.
2. The National Authority must prepare a circular
or declaration on defining the roles and functions of the ministries and
institutions, which are members of the National Anti-Drugs Authority, for the
Royal Government to adopt for the sake of efficiency of their duty
implementation. The law enforcement agencies and state-owned civil institutions,
which are members of the National Anti-Drugs Authority must design the education
programs on the danger of drugs for their own institutions and actively and
permanently participate in the activities of public dissemination. Along with
that, you must set up the Rehabilitation Center for Drugs Addicts, gangsters by
providing vocational trainings, jobs and sports. Also, you must mobilize them to
help support the society in order to repay their indecent deeds in which they
have to clean the public spaces, roads, gardens, maintain roads, sewage system
and canal renovation.
3. Strengthen law enforcement ability and take
permanent measures to crack down, prevent and eliminate gangsters, mob bullies,
robberies, production, trading, distribution and use of drugs, illegal acts and
prostitution. Along with that, the law enforcement agencies must take immediate
action in solving armed robberies, gangsters, mob bullies, drugs and traffic
accidents by turning down all kinds of interventions, which violate the legal
procedures and must punish and fine all crimes without discriminations.
4. The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, while
giving license, must require all productions to produce drugs education spots
(one minute at least) in all tapes, CDs, VCDs, DVDs. In the mean time, drugs
education spots are required to be played before the movies show in every movie
hall, aiming to keep the people in public informed about drugs.
5. Call on all kinds of media, newspapers, radio,
state-owned and private-owned TV stations to disseminate articles on drugs
education and actively broadcast the drugs education spots free of charge. I
would like to appeal to the commentators and program directors to integrate the
danger of drugs use into their programs as much as possible. The Ministry of
Information must promote this kind of work intensively by calling on all private
companies to consider on the possibility of inserting message on danger of drugs
in all kinds of their products (e.g. the use of drugs is to destroy future and
lives).
6. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
must publish and disseminate the danger of drugs to students at all levels more
extensively and integrate the study of law on controlling drugs into higher
education curriculums and put some of those contents into all levels of
education programs. The Ministry of Cults and Religious Affairs must encourage
and appeal to the Buddhist monks and pagodas to join hand in education on the
danger of drugs to all parishioners as well as savaging the drugs addicted
people in various pagodas.
In sum, in order
to make the above work effective and efficient, I would like the National
Anti-Drugs Authority to coordinate and pose favorable conditions for all
ministries and institutions, all levels of local authorities, civil societies
and private sector to participate in all activities. At the same time, the
National Anti-Drugs Authority must record the total and evaluate those
contributions in order to consider about the possibility of providing
certificate of congratulations or honorary medal every year for the sake of
contributing to fighting against and eliminating drugs. This work is the art of
attracting the contributions and increase the spirit of competitions with an
intention to make sure our country is away from the threat of drugs.
On behalf of the
Royal Government, I would like to declare the support on the principles and
action plans requested by the National Anti-Drugs Authority so far, especially
the 6 prioritized strategic plans, raised by H.E. KE KIM YAN, Deputy
Prime Minister, and I would like to support the process of drafting the law on
drugs control as well as the creation of the National Center for Treatment and
Rehabilitation of Drugs Addicts. Through this, I would like the newly appointed
head of the National Anti-Drugs Authority to speed up these two efforts and at
the same time, all ministries and institutions, especially members related to
the process of creating the National Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of
Drugs Addicts, must actively participate to make this work smooth and
successful. Once again, I would like to express my appreciation and highly
evaluate all efforts to deal with all the challenges with considerable
achievements. In this sense, I strongly believe that the National Anti-Drugs
Authority under the leadership of H.E. KE KIM YAN, Deputy Prime Minister,
together with strictly additional measures, will keep our society away from the
threat of drugs.
Before ending, I
would like to take this opportunity to deeply thank the National Election
Committee, all levels of local authorities in all provinces, cities and the
national and international observers as well as all relevant institutions for
putting joint efforts in making the election of city, provincial/municipal, and
district/khan councils conducted on May 17, 2009 successful, free, fair, just,
transparent and free of violent.
Finally, I would
like to wish His Excellency newly appointed Head of the National Anti-Drugs
Authority great success in a mission to lead the National Anti-Drugs Authority
and may I wish Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, who are present at the
meeting today, the four gems of Buddhist blessings: longevity, nobility, health and strength.
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