Opening Remarks

PekThov Tan, Chairman

Venerable, Lady and Gentlemen:

Good morning, and welcome to the Third Convention of the World Cambodian Congress for Peace and Development (WCC). On behalf of its Board and the convention committee, I would like to thank you all for sacrificing time, money and energy, and for some, family obligations to be here today. This is proof of your commitment to help building a better society for our country of origin, Cambodia and its citizens.

Before we begin the session, may I ask the audience to raise and observe a one minute silence to pay homage and respect to our forefathers who built our country into one of the most prominent nation in the world, our heroes, democrats, peace lovers and crusaders who sacrificed so much, including their very own life to help preserve and to rebuild Cambodia into a peaceful society with respect of the rule of law and human rights. We would like to pray that their soul will rest in peace, that they did not die in vain, and most importantly, that their causes will forever stay alive in the heart of all Cambodians.

Thank you very much. Please sit down and allow me just a short opening to set the tone of this historic meeting, and inform you of today agenda to proceed.

In retrospectives, WCC was set up just three years ago in Rockland County, upstate New York, north of Manhattan. That county is part of the 20th district the United States Congress and its representative is the Honorable Benjamin A. Gilman, Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, a champion of democratic principles and defender of human rights.

WCC is the brain child of Khmer Solidarity, an ad hoc committee set up in 1992 by Cambodians from the Northeast of the United States to petition the United Nations to ensure that UNTAC would faithfully implement the Paris Peace Accords. We owe our existence to Cambodian Americans in Rockland County who understand their role as Citizens of free society, wisely use their rights by voting for the right persons to represent them, and nurture contacts with them to advocate for Cambodia. They took the initiatives to structure WCC into a Not-for-profit, non-government and tax-exempt organization to better advance their causes. They all deserve our thanks for their sacrifice and unselfish interests to make sure that Cambodia will come out of the dark age to join the civilized world so that the younger generations will be proud of their heritage and country as it was in Angkorian time.

WCC held its first two meetings in 1994 and 1995 in New York. However, with the shifting of all attentions to Washington, DC where many Senators, Congressmen, their respective staff, and other peace lovers and friends of Cambodia have devoted so much energy to help it stays its course as the 1991 Paris Accords envisioned, and brave Cambodians voted for, despite threats and personal dangers encountered in the 1993 election, it is more than appropriate to move this meeting to the nation capital to emphasize WCC's belief in finding solutions for Cambodia, not just seeking publicity for the organization, or keeping it to ourselves as private ownership.

WCC founding members would also like to advance accountability and morality into the new framework because 1/- there cannot be a fair society without both members and their leaders being responsible (Prof. Naranhkiri Tith will elaborate it later), and 2/- higher moral is duly respected in the society, with unquestionable examples set by those who aspire to lead/serve. As Czech playwright and current president Vaclav Havel wrote in his New Year's Address to the Nation on January 1, 1990: ``...politics should be an expression of a desire to contribute to the happiness of the community rather than of a need to cheat or rape the community. Let us teach ourselves and others that politics can be not only the art of the possible, especially if ``possible" includes the art of speculation, calculation, intrigue, secret deals, and pragmatic maneuvering, but that it can also be the art of the impossible, namely the art of improving ourselves and the world ``(*). This quote is not an illustration of how western moral is better, but rather just a confirmation that our aspiration is not out of the context, nor it cannot serve as practical base to rebuild leadership. Khmers always have very high moral and customs, but unfortunately later leaders conveniently forgot them, and they brought the country so much destruction and sufferings. We intend to rebuild them back, and Ven. Hok Savan will thoroughly illustrate that concept in his section called ``Moral Foundation of Cambodian History" right after Prof. Kiri.

The meeting will also illustrate practical success stories achieved by the FCAC (Federation of Cambodian Associations of Canada) and WCC, bring update information on latest development and review important democratic concepts to prepare us to discuss the next steps.

Last but not least, I would like to again remind the audience that this is not a political gathering. WCC is a public forum where free expression, ingredient of democratic society is at play. We are practicing that concept with clear understanding of our role as CITIZENS of a free world. However, we also respect/listen to each other's arguments. Nobody has all the rights because theirs should end when others begin. Furthermore, it is within the law of this country that we, Cambodian Americans can get together to advocate the rule of law and respect of human rights in Cambodia (or anywhere else in the world for that matter to stop tyranny). And tonight, we will have our gala dinner at the House of Asia in Wheaton, MD, and enjoy some Khmer songs performed by Angkor Band to bring back good old memories.

I thank you for your patience. Let me begin our first session by inviting Prof. Naranhkiri Tith, Ph.D., of the John Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, and member of WCC Board to address a theme called ``the Role of Overseas Cambodians".