Opposition win ‘could spark war’

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen again warned on Thursday that civil war could resume if the country’s main opposition party wins upcoming elections.

“War can easily happen and will surely happen if the opposition party continues to use words such as calling those who will vote for the ruling Cambodia People’s Party as Vietnamese puppets and traitors,” he said in a meeting with the country’s Christian community.

In recent weeks, Hun Sen has warned several times about war resuming if the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) wins next month’s commune elections and next year’s general election.

But the CNRP keeps repeating war would never happen as it has no military and no weapons.

Hun Sen said that even though the CNRP is not armed, its words can be even stronger than weapons.

Twelve political parties are participating in the June 4 commune elections, the results of which are expected to impact the general election scheduled for July next year.

Commune elections are held every five years to elect a council of five to 11 members in each of the country’s communes, or clusters of villages.

Of the 12 parties in the race, Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party and the CNRP — which are the only two parties represented in the National Assembly — are widely expected to win most, if not all, of the seats up for grabs.