Cambodia faces U.S., EU action after banning opposition

[geovalin]

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - The United States stopped election support for Cambodia with a promise of more “concrete steps” and the European Union threatened vital trade preferences after the main opposition party to Prime Minister Hun Sen was banned.

 

But China voiced support for Cambodia’s government, standing behind the former Khmer Rouge commander who has become one of Beijing’s most important allies in Southeast Asia after more than three decades in power.

 

The ban on the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), decreed by the Supreme Court at the government’s request, followed the arrest of its leader, Kem Sokha, for treason. He is accused of plotting to take power with American help.

Hun Sen’s critics called the CNRP dissolution an attempt to steal the election and the death knell for democracy. Western donors have spent billions of dollars since 1993 trying to build a multiparty system following decades of war.

“On current course, next year’s election will not be legitimate, free or fair,” a White House statement said, promising to take “concrete steps”.

The first of those was to end support for the Cambodian National Election Committee ahead of the 2018 election, it said.

In Brussels, an EU spokesman said the election could not be legitimate without the opposition and noted that respect for human rights was a prerequisite for Cambodia’s access to EU trade preferences under its “Everything But Arms scheme.”

 

That scheme, giving tariff-free access, and similar trade preferences in the United States have helped Cambodia build a garment industry on low-cost labor. Between them, EU and U.S. markets take some 60 percent of Cambodia’s exports.

In a symbolic step, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution calling on the Treasury and State departments to consider placing Cambodian officials implicated in abuses on a watch list for asset freezes and travel bans.

Huy Vannak, undersecretary of state at Cambodia’s Interior Ministry who is close to Hun Sen, said the U.S. position was “made without consideration to the evidence and court hearing”.

“We hope that the U.S. will consider the overall bilateral relations with Cambodia and continue to collaborate with common interests of both countries,” he said.

In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a news briefing that China supports Cambodia in pursuing its own development path. China is by far the biggest single donor to Cambodia and its biggest investor.

WAR OF WORDS

Hun Sen has been in a deepening war of words with the U.S. embassy and State Department over a crackdown on his critics, but at the weekend posed with U.S. President Donald Trump at a regional summit and praised his policies of non-interference.

The fact that the threat of action came from the White House gave it greater weight than previous statements from the State Department calling for the release of Kem Sokha.

 

So far Western countries have shown little appetite for sanctions and the opposition itself has shied away from calling for steps to restrict garment exports because of the hundreds of thousands of workers who depend on them.

But leaders of the CNRP now say they support some sanctions.

“Sanctions are the best leverage for negotiation for free, fair and inclusive elections,” said Mu Sochua, a deputy to CNRP leader Kem Sokha, who fled Cambodia fearing arrest.

There have been no protests over the opposition party ban and many people in the capital, Phnom Penh, said they were afraid to speak out.

 

There were no party members at the CNRP headquarters on Friday, only security guards. “They are worried about their safety,” said security guard Chin Savy.

The central market was full of its usual bustle and one man told Reuters he was glad to see the back of the opposition.

“Hun Sen has a lot of help from China. If he just depended on the U.S., we wouldn’t be anywhere,” said Khen Kong, 69, a businessman.

In a televised address on Thursday, Hun Sen told Cambodians the election would go ahead “as normal” and appealed to politicians from the CNRP who had not been banned to join his Cambodian People’s Party.

 

Additional reporting by Michael Martina in BEIJING, Gabriela Baczynska in BRUSSELS and Eric Beech in WASHINGTON; Writing by Matthew Tostevin; Editing by Michael Perry and Nick Macfie

 

source https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-politics/cambodia-faces-u-s-eu-action-after-banning-opposition-idUSKBN1DH033

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 17/11

[spidermike007]

Has Cambodia ever been a democracy? Hun Sen has always been a despotic, serial killing thief. He has always preyed on this people, to amass his multi billion dollar fortune. Same goes for his top 20 generals. All billionaires, at the expense of the people.

 

For some reason, the west has always given his thug a free pass. About time they did something. However, I fear it will be a weak move, designed to continue to allow him to ply his murderous ways. 

[Baerboxer]

44 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Has Cambodia ever been a democracy? Hun Sen has always been a despotic, serial killing thief. He has always preyed on this people, to amass his multi billion dollar fortune. Same goes for his top 20 generals. All billionaires, at the expense of the people.

 

For some reason, the west has always given his thug a free pass. About time they did something. However, I fear it will be a weak move, designed to continue to allow him to ply his murderous ways. 

 

Once a wannabee dictator, Hun Sen, Mugabe, etc etc, get their hands on the military, then they last for a very long time. And usually their countries become impoverished with little wealth, whilst their, their family's and their generals and cronies' wealth increases fabulously.

 

The trick seems to be to pretend to be some kind of socialist and suck up to China and Russia as only the US and it's Western Allies are likely to complain.

[spidermike007]

7 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Once a wannabee dictator, Hun Sen, Mugabe, etc etc, get their hands on the military, then they last for a very long time. And usually their countries become impoverished with little wealth, whilst their, their family's and their generals and cronies' wealth increases fabulously.

 

The trick seems to be to pretend to be some kind of socialist and suck up to China and Russia as only the US and it's Western Allies are likely to complain.

 

In this case, the US has supported Cambodia for decades now, while Hun Sen and his cronies have robbed the place blind, killed and maimed the opposition, and gotten away with mass murder, just as he did when he was a commander in the Kymer Rouge. This gangster has never been held responsible for the thousands of felonies, murders, land grabs, and other crimes he has committed. Never. Not by the US, not by the EU, not by any country.