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Can Cambodia’s opposition keep pressure on PM Hun Sen?
Opposition leader Kem Sokha has been released from house arrest but the crackdown on dissent continues.
Inside Story11 Nov 2019 20:17 GMT Cambodia, Asia Pacific
Cambodia‘s Prime Minister Hun Sen has silenced nearly all voices of dissent in recent years.
His government shut down independent media and dissolved the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).
CNRP leader Kem Sokha was freed after a year of house arrest, but he still faces severe restrictions and is banned from leaving the country.
His colleagues, including party co-founder Sam Rainsy, are facing challenges of their own as they try to return to Cambodia from exile.
This is happening as the government faces international condemnation for undermining democracy and human rights.
Can they maintain the pressure despite a government crackdown?
Presenter: Nastasya Tay
Guests:
Sam Rainsy – acting president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party
Graham Ong-Webb – research fellow at S Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Benjamin Zawacki – independent Southeast Asia analyst and author
Source: Al Jazeera News
Why a 65-year-old grandmother is freely flying to probable imprisonment in Cambodia
“My daughters would rather I take a break from politics. They are worried about me,” Sochua admitted when we had lunch together before she left on her way home. “But they’ve decided to support me as a woman defending democracy and human rights. And yes, I’ll miss the grandchildren.”
៉កូនរបស់ខ្ញុំថាខ្ញុំគួរតែឈប់សម្រាកពីនយោបាយ។ ពួកគេបារម្មណ៍អំពីខ្ញុំ ៉ អ្នកស្រីមួរ សុខហួរទទួលស្គាល់ការពិតនៅពេលពួកយើងទទួលទានអាហារត្រង់ជាមួយគ្នា។ ប៉ុន្តែពួកគេបានសម្រេចចិត្តគាំទ្រខ្ញុំក្នុងនាមជាស្ត្រីការពារលទ្ធិប្រជាធិបតេយ្យនិងសិទ្ធិមនុស្ស។ ហើយពិតណាស់ ខ្ញុំនឹកដល់ចៅៗខ្ញុំណាស់។
Why a 65-year-old grandmother is freely flying to probable imprisonment in Cambodia
By Elizabeth Becker November 6, 2019 at 12:02 p.m. PST, Washington Post
Elizabeth Becker is a former Post war correspondent in Cambodia and author of “When the War was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution.”
In a few days, a 65-year-old grandmother will freely board a plane on a journey to probable imprisonment in a foul Cambodian jail. Mu Sochua, one of Cambodia’s most influential politicians, is the vice president of the outlawed opposition party trying to return democracy to Cambodia. She carries a U.S. passport but is under no illusion that this will protect her from the ire of Hun Sen, the strongman of Cambodia.
He has marked her as one of the country’s most dangerous traitors and has ordered the Cambodian army and police to use force to stop her and her colleagues from entering the country by land, sea or air. But Sochua and her peers thoughtfully announced their date of return in advance: Nov. 9, Cambodian Independence Day.AD
“This is the moment to go back,” Sochua told me. “Inside Cambodia, fear is everywhere. I can’t accept that Hun Sen continues as a cruel dictator.”
Sochua is a reminder of the unbearable personal sacrifices required to protect and promote democracy in this age of brutal tyrants, especially for women. We met decades ago when she opened the first nongovernmental organization for women’s rights in peacetime Cambodia, tackling domestic violence, human trafficking and gender equality under the law. Over the years, we shared our enjoyment of gossip, mutual admiration of Cambodian architecture and her hopes to pull the country closer to the ideals she absorbed in the United States.
Sochua was a practical idealist in a country traumatized by the Khmer Rouge genocide. After her parents sent all four children overseas to study when the Vietnam War spread into Cambodia in 1970, Sochua ended up in the Bay Area, graduating from San Francisco State and earning a master’s degree in social work from the University of California at Berkeley. She was on the cusp of the successful immigrant path — bright career, professional security and family.AD
Instead, she spent the next five years on the Thai border helping Cambodian refugees, honoring her parents who had disappeared under the Khmer Rouge. At the border camps, she met her husband, Scott Leiper, a Khmer-speaking American who was working to reunite children with their parents. They moved to the broken mess that was Cambodia and, with a family of three daughters, threw themselves into the country’s recovery: Leiper with the United Nations, Sochua from NGOs to politics.
As a Cambodian woman, Sochua faced huge pushback in the male-dominated political arena. Her daughters noticed what she was going through — the rough behavior, betrayals and threats of violence. Despite the obstacles, she won a seat in parliament and then became the first woman to head the Ministry for Women, chalking up success with new laws and the addition of women throughout government.
But Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge officer, pushed out his co-prime minister to rule Cambodia on his own and add to the spectacular corruption that had made him, his family and cronies multimillionaires in a poor nation. Sochua left the government to join the opposition. The country was looking for change and, in 2017, her party — the Cambodia National Rescue Party — scored an unexpected victory in local elections. The CNRP appeared headed for an even better showing in the upcoming national elections.
Read More …‘Hun Sen is taking the piss’: Labor MP unloads on Cambodian dictator
Australia and the world made a promise to the Cambodian people, to stand up for human rights, peace and democracy. But 28 years on, the world has failed to keep its promise. Instead, Hun Sen’s regime has attacked human rights; killed democracy; given away the Cambodian people’s sovereignty; accumulated secret wealth overseas; and undermined prosperity in our region.
ប្រទេសអូស្ត្រាលីនិងពិភពលោកបានសន្យាជាមួយប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរអោយក្រោកឈរឡើងដើម្បីការពារសិទ្ធិមនុស្ស សន្តិភាព និងប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ។ តែ២៨ឆ្នាំមកនេះ ពិភពលោកបរាជ័យក្នុងការរក្សាកិច្ចសន្យារបស់ខ្លួន។ ជាការជំនួសវិញ របបលោកហ៊ុន-សែន បានវាយប្រហារទៅលើសិទ្ធិមនុស្ស សំលាប់លទ្ធិប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ បោះបង់ចោលអធិបតេយ្យភាពដែនដីរបស់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរ សន្សំទ្រព្យរាប់កោដិទុកនៅក្រៅប្រទេស និងបំផ្លិចបំផ្លាញសុខដុមរមនាក្នុងតំបន់។
‘Hun Sen is taking the piss’: Labor MP unloads on Cambodian dictator
WAtoday, By James Massola, October 22, 2019 — 4.30pm
Jakarta: Federal Labor MP Julian Hill has launched an extraordinary attack on Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, declaring the dictator has sold out his country to China and warning the rising superpower is using the same tactics it used to militarise the South China Sea.
Mr Hill, whose seat of Bruce is home to one of the largest Cambodian-Australian populations, said that on the eve of the 28th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords that ended Cambodia’s long and bloody civil war, democracy was dying.
Billions of dollars of Chinese investment have transformed the town of Sihanoukville in CambodiaThirty-nine found dead in truck in Essex, UK
The MP recently spent a week in Cambodia on a self-funded study tour where he met with civil rights groups, union activists and the remnants of the now-banned political opposition.
“Australia and the world made a promise to the Cambodian people, to stand up for human rights, peace and democracy. But 28 years on, the world has failed to keep its promise,” he told Parliament.
“Instead, Hun Sen’s regime has attacked human rights; killed democracy; given away the Cambodian people’s sovereignty; accumulated secret wealth overseas; and undermined prosperity in our region.”
In a speech that goes much further than the Labor leadership has been willing to in criticising the links between China and Cambodia, Mr Hill said “I don’t mean this as anti-China rhetoric … must be honest and say that I do not see what Hun Sen has let China do in Cambodia as positive”.
“It [Chinese investment] may be couched as BRI [Belt and Road Infrastructure investment], but it shows all the signs of Hun Sen allowing the development of naval and air facilities to facilitate Chinese military planning. The same salami slicing tactics that the world saw in the South China Sea are at work.”
Sihanoukville, which has seen a huge amount of Chinese investment, is “like the fantasies about the Wild West of old. Casinos. Booze. Guns. Riches. Women”.
“Sihanoukville is the worst place I have ever been.”
CAMBODIA
China’s takeover of Sihanoukville is almost complete, despite base row
Hun Sen won all 125 seats in the parliament in elections in July 2018 and has banned the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party. Former leader Kem Sokha is under house arrest in Phnom Penh, other leaders including Sam Rainsy and Mu Sochua are in exile while many activists and politicians have been jailed.
Rainsy has recently threatened to return to Cambodia on November 9 to lead a popular uprising, prompting threats of violence and military intervention from Hun Sen, who has ruled the country for 34 years.
Against this back drop, Hill said Australia’s current approach to “just keep talking” to the Hun Sen regime was insufficient.
Hill said Australia should ramp up sanctions against Cambodia, get back into the “information game” through Radio Australia and short wave radio and push back by using our considerable soft power resources.
Read More …Sam Rainsy will again stunt the world this November 9, 2019
Not just violating the Constitution, abusing power and declaring enemies with his own people, Hun Sen dares to make any concession while in power such as exchange from good to evil by defending and promoting the evils, the thieves and the murderers. A concession to China to freely use Khmer land for military purpose, concession to Vietnam in border demarcation, etc. Hun Sen dare all kinds of concessions to foreign nations and individuals who dare to defend his power during this fragile transitional period.
Sam Rainsy will again stunt the world this November 9, 2019
We remember Sam Rainsy’s homecoming on July 19, 2013, when nearly million of people in Phnom Penh, especially young people, came out to receive and welcome him. The greeting procession was long crowded from the airport to the CNRP headquarters. Observers of the situation observed that his overwhelming popularity at that time was because he was a political figure who has been realistic in bringing real democracy to the Khmer people. And what turned out to be the overwhelming majority of supporters at the time was because the government under Hun Sen had been constantly harassing him especially through the court orders. Cambodia courts have had bad reputation in its profession. Among those court orders, charging against Sam Rainsy of removing border posts and accusing him of damaging the Cambodian government’s friendship with Vietnam were the ignition leaded to such people tsunami gathering.
The events of 9 November 2019 are more logic than 2013. Sam Rainsy’s party’s resignation is seen as his high-paid example and this act aimed to keeping the CNRP life from new amended laws orchestrated by Hun Sen. But the arrest of Kem Sokha, the successor of the party, dissolving the party prior the convicting and prosecuting Kem Sokha, further upset more than three million members who voted for CNRP.
Sam Rainsy’s repatriation as CNRP’s acting president and return to the country to save the party is something that over 3 million party’s supporters cannot stay silence.
Hun Sen, on the other hand, observers of the situation have seen much of the wrongdoing as a result of conceit and delusion allowing himself drunken in endless thirst for power. Instead of acknowledging the reality of the dwindling popularity under his leadership for more than 30 years, declaring himself to retire or taking a rest from politics as a statesman, Hun Sen has resorted to vengeance with his own people. Nearly half of the kingdom population who voted for the CNRP, Hun Sen ordered to arrest their leader, detained on false charges, dissolving the party without conducting credible judicial procedure. Judgment of the Supreme Court without any real legal basis and the stealing of the 55 Assembly seats as well as the 5007 commune councillors directly voted by the people is a gross political authoritarianism.
Read More …