Sokha soldiers onward for CPP
CAMBODIA’S military is politically neutral, except for when it’s not. This was no more evident than on Saturday in Svay Rieng province, where National Military Police commander Sao Sokha led a pre-election-campaign event for the Cambodian People’s Party.
With the June 4 commune elections now only a little more than five months away, Sokha sat between large CPP banners and hundreds of local villagers as he presided over the selection of a new commune chief candidate in Ream commune and pushed the party’s platform.
Not so long ago, Sokha’s military police forces shot dead five people and injured at least 40 more at a protest by garment workers on the capital’sVeng Sreng Boulevard, an action that ended months of demonstrations against the results of the disputed July 2013 national election.
In many other democracies, a man in such a position might strive hard to avoid any image of partisanship, even if privately he did prefer one party to another. But such discretion is unnecessary in Cambodia, according to CPP spokesman Sok Eysan.
“Other democratic countries, that is their democratic business, but Cambodia is democratic for the country of Cambodia, so what we implement is in compliance with Cambodian laws,” Eysan said, explaining that nothing prevents armed forces members from campaigning for the CPP as private citizens.
“[It] does not impact the CONTINUED
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