{"id":30174,"date":"2022-11-09T14:53:13","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T19:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/?p=30174"},"modified":"2022-11-09T14:53:15","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T19:53:15","slug":"university-hosts-activist-to-discuss-human-rights-nonviolent-resistance-in-cambodia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/2022\/11\/09\/university-hosts-activist-to-discuss-human-rights-nonviolent-resistance-in-cambodia\/","title":{"rendered":"University hosts activist to discuss human rights, nonviolent resistance in Cambodia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Ellie Sennhenn<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
November 3, 2022<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Mu Sochua, an activist and former politician in Cambodia, came to URI to speak on human rights. PHOTO CREDIT: outoftheboxpodcast.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Featuring Cambodian politician and activist Mu Sochua, the University of Rhode Island\u2019s Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies hosted a lecture on Oct. 26 entitled \u201cNonviolent Activism: Protecting Freedom and Human Rights in Cambodia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The center\u2019s lecture series gives prominent international speakers a platform to share their experiences with nonviolence and aspirations for peace. Sochua, this year\u2019s guest speaker for Nonviolent Activism, focused on the ongoing struggle for human rights and democracy in Cambodia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For over 25 years, Sochua has been an advocate for peaceful political change. She was first the minister of Women and Veteran Affairs in Cambodia, as well as a member of Parliament. In 2005, she received the Leadership Award from the Vital Voices Foundation for her work towards women\u2019s rights, as stated in the flier for the lecture. The flier also notes that she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize that same year for her work against human trafficking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Sochua was Vice President of the now banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) \u2014 a group who believed in the reinstitution of free and fair elections. As Sochua explained in the lecture, the Cambodian government has arrested many members of the CNRP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sochua introduced herself as \u201ca traitor\u2026 to serve 36 years in prison\u201d following the lecture\u2019s opening statement. Because of her outspoken efforts against communism, the Cambodian government would charge her with treason if she were to return to the country. Advocating for change firsthand in Cambodia would lead her to face a similar fate as other CNRP members, according to Sochua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sochua continues to campaign for the end of corruption and oppression in Cambodia by bringing awareness to the country\u2019s situation. Throughout the lecture, Sochua urged attendees to explore all avenues for peace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  \u201cWe cannot take democracy and human rights for granted,\u201d Sochua said. \u201cWe must fight for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The renowned advocate demonstrated the urgency of Cambodia\u2019s condition by looking back through history, detailing the tragic events in the country\u2019s near history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the lecture, Sochua described her own experiences with losing human rights. After her parents disappeared in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, she lived through \u201cthree years, eight months and 20 days\u201d of genocide and communism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These \u201cyears of terror,\u201d depicted by Sochua, were characterized by a lack of education, individuality, and freedom. However, Cambodia saw a new beginning following the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement in 1991.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this time, people walked with the country\u2019s Buddhist monks throughout the newly free streets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was. . . a pure [and] beautiful moment. Everywhere had hope,\u201d Sochua said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These peace walks were Sochua\u2019s first experience with peaceful activism. According to Sochua, these moments showed that opposition groups had power and strength in nonviolence. People \u201cwalked with patience, understanding [and] compassion,\u201d the advocate said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearing the end of the lecture, Sochua focused on working towards rebuilding Cambodia. Sochua explained that the country has issues concerning freedom of expression, and described how Cambodia\u2019s problems with poverty, politically motivated killings and corruption are ongoing. Achieving democracy in Cambodia is a major goal for the human rights advocate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sochua warned that unresolved corruption in Cambodia will result in the complete loss of the country\u2019s true identity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou cannot rebuild a soul once it is destroyed,\u201d Sochua repeated. \u201c[Cambodian citizens] will lose their soul[s].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thupten Tendhar, who coordinated the Nonviolent Activism lecture, hopes that Sochua\u2019s message will \u201cshare wisdom\u201d and promote \u201cpositive social change\u201d in Cambodia. Tendhar is also a specialist at the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, and seeks out renowned speakers for the lecture each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born to Tibetan parents, Tendhar\u2019s family experienced communism firsthand. Through his experiences and training, Tendhar sees strength and importance in peaceful activism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe all have a responsibility to learn about what is happening around the world,\u201d Tendhar said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies aims to give listeners a \u201cdeeper understanding\u201d about efforts for peace worldwide, and in turn create a \u201cbenevolent community\u201d at URI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sochua encouraged members of the URI community to be part of her movement for peace by continuing to spread the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThe journey for peace [is] very long, and still unfinished,\u201d Sochua said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sochua\u2019s organization, Courage Fund Cambodia, can be found at https:\/\/couragefundcambodia.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ellie Sennhenn November 3, 2022 Mu Sochua, an activist and former politician in Cambodia, came to URI to speak on human rights. PHOTO CREDIT: outoftheboxpodcast.com Featuring Cambodian politician and activist Mu Sochua, the University of Rhode Island\u2019s Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies hosted a lecture on Oct. 26 entitled \u201cNonviolent Activism: Protecting Freedom […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4681,"featured_media":30175,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4681"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30176,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30174\/revisions\/30176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}