September 11, 2010
PRINCIPLE OF “EFFECTIVITÉ” IN BORDER DEMARCATION
AND DISSEMINATION OF FALSE INFORMATION
Concerning the principle of “effectivité” (in French language) that reflects the actual situation on the ground for the implementation of a law or treaty with regard to the border demarcation process between Cambodia and Vietnam, there is an interesting study at
J. Touscoz, Le principe d' « effectivité » dans l'ordre international, Paris, 1964
« On peut parler d’une fonction “révisionniste” de l’effectivité qui est la manifestation dynamique du principe d’effectivité : un changement dans l’effectivité d’une règle entraîne une variation de son contenu. Il fait apparaître nettement cette fonction tant sur le plan de la coutume que sur celui de l’interprétation des traités, entraînant la révision de ces règles. De même la disparition de l’effectivité d’un titre juridique tend à supprimer la validité.
Le principe d’effectivité permet de régler, dans l’ordre international, ordre juridique non hiérarchisé, les conflits de titres juridiques : le titre, dont l’effectivité est établie de façon durable, tend peu à peu à affermir sa validité et à prendre le pas sur celui dont l’effectivité n’est pas maintenue. C’est ce qui se passe pour les conflits de compétence et les traités incompatibles ».
Because the recent border delimitation and demarcation treaties between Cambodia and Vietnam refer to the principle of “effectivité” (see attached Report by Chief border negotiator Var Kim Hong to the Council of Ministers dated August 6, 2005 referring to “kar krop krong pit prakat / kar kankap cheaksdaeng roboh prachachun” or “the actual management / the effective occupation of the concerned areas by the local peoples”), I understand now why the Vietnamese have always tried to "make up" the border areas by writing fake dates (such as 1981 or 1992) on newly built graves where bodies (?) were buried much more recently (in the 2000s). Many other Vietnamese-built landmarks have also been "backdated" in order to assert the “effectivité” of a long-time Vietnamese occupation of those areas which are actually on Cambodia's territory based on official maps.
I better understand now why the Vietnamese and their servants in Phnom Penh don't want Khmer farmers to protest against land grabbing associated with border encroachment [such as in Svay Rieng, Takeo, Kampong Cham] : because any protest by Khmer farmers would make “effectivité” work in favor of Cambodia. Hence, the current repression against those who try to defend Cambodian farmers along the border.
CPP top leaders Chea Sim, Hun Sen and Heng Samrin did refer to the principle of “effectivité” in their November 16, 2009 letter to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk http://tinyurl.com/ylexj9s . They wrote about "kar komnot prum den tam kar kankap cheaksdaeng " [border delimitation according to effective occupation by the local peoples] and recognized the necessity for some arrangement or compromise to resolve local conflicts ("kar samroh samruol knea").
Unfortunately the "arrangement" or "compromise" works only in favor of the Vietnamese because Khmer farmers are not allowed to say anything; if they dare protest they are put in jail like Meas Srey and Prum Chea in Svay Rieng.
In order to maintain the fiction of a fake arrangement or compromise on the ground, Chea Sim, Hun Sen and Heng Samrin wrongfully said in their letter, "until now, not a single Khmer farmer has lost their rice fields" [because of the demarcation process]. They, not me, have disseminated false information in order to mislead the King-Father, the Khmer people and the international community.
Sam Rainsy
Member of Parliament
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