Phnom Penh faces US, EU action after banning opposition

PHNOM PENH: The United States promised “concrete steps” against Cambodia and the European Union threatened vital trade preferences after the Cambodian Supreme Court banned the main opposition party ahead of elections at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The ban on the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) followed the arrest of its leader, Kem Sokha, for treason, who presented Hun Sen with a major electoral challenge after more than three decades in power. Kem Sokha 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.

“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 labour. Between them, EU and US markets take some 60 per cent of Cambodia’s exports.

In a symbolic step, the US 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. Reuters