Cambodia defends its sovereignty, denounces American democracy

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia has hit back at US criticism over its decision to expel a US-funded pro-democracy group, accusing Washington of political interference and describing American democracy as “bloody and brutal”.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, the strongman who has ruled Cambodia for three decades, has taken a strident anti-US line in the increasingly tense run-up to an election next year.

The US State Department criticised Cambodia’s decision to expel the National Democratic Institute (NDI) on Wednesday and a statement from the US embassy in Phnom Penh questioned whether Cambodia was a democracy.

The Cambodian government asked yesterday whether the US was “coming to Cambodia to help or hinder the Khmer people” and blamed it for contributing to the rise of the genocidal Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. “Cambodians are well aware of what a democratic process means. You do not need to tell us what it is,” an open letter said.

“We wish to send a clear message again to the US embassy that we defend our national sovereignty.”

Tensions have risen in Cambodia, with rights groups and the UN expressing alarm and the opposition accusing Hun Sen of persecution ahead of the election. After the government’s order to expel the NDI and a threat to shut down a newspaper founded by a US journalist, the US State Department voiced concern at the government’s “curtailing freedom of the press and civil society’s ability to operate”.

Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander who is one of China’s closest regional allies, has warned of a possible return to war if his party doesn’t win the elections. – Reuters