Civil society groups secure pledges from PM Hun Sen at forestry forum

Billed as a Cambodian first, the invitation of 500 civil society and community representatives to a forum on environmental issues with Prime Minister Hun Sen proved largely a platform for the premier to hold forth on policy and politics, with many observers bemoaning the sidelining of community voices.

“We consider this an enlarged cabinet meeting and decisions taken today have the effect of cabinet decisions . . . otherwise the value of today is just sweet talk,” Hun Sen said near the start of a five-hour soliloquy on environmental policy that left little room for contributions from the audience.

NGO Forum director Tek Vannara, the first to speak from the floor, requested that the town-hall-style meeting be repeated every three months. Hun Sen met him part way, decreeing that it should become an annual event, starting next March.

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