<
https://theconversation.com/cambodias-new-leader-may-sound-like-a-reformer-in-australia-next-week-but-little-has-changed-back-home-224726>
"When Cambodia’s new prime minister, Hun Manet, visits Melbourne next week for
the ASEAN Australia Summit, he may seem a welcome change from his long-serving
authoritarian father Hun Sen. But hopes for a democratic and human rights
renaissance in this genocide-ravaged and long-misgoverned country remain sadly
misplaced.
Hun Sen, who had ruled Cambodia for 38 years, transferred power to his son, the
45-year-old Hun Manet, last August.
In Australia next week, the soft-spoken, Western-educated and technocratically
savvy Hun Manet will likely present himself as the face of a modern, developing
Cambodia, talking the talk of economic reform and more effective governance.
However, his father’s talk back home is jail for his critics. And his father
continues to call the shots that matter.
Hun Sen, still only 71, remains president of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP)
and is in practical control of what effectively remains a one-party state. And
he is, for good measure, the de facto constitutional head of state, as well.
As the expected new president of the Senate, he will act for King Norodom
Sihamoni when he is out of the country – as the king often has been, not least
when controversial legislation has been signed into force.
The governing CPP has successfully used broad defamation laws to prosecute
government critics in the courts. Last year, an opposition leader, Son Chhay, a
dual Cambodian-Australian citizen, was ordered to pay $US1 million (A$1.5
million) in damages for saying the CPP bought and stole votes. Jail awaits if
he cannot pay.
Commenting on this case, the deputy head of one of the country’s leading NGOs,
Soeng Sengkaruna, whose long record of defending human rights was detailed in
co-author Gordon Conochie’s book
A Tiger Rules the Mountain – Cambodia’s
Pursuit of Democracy, said the CPP should stop using the courts to silence the
opposition.
This led the party to sue him this month, too, seeking US$500,000 (A$770,000)
in damages. Knowing the prospect of the courts defying the CCP’s wishes, he and
his family have now fled the country."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
